Revelation

Chapter 12

1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

More insights were given to John for the benefit of those enabled to hear (22:16,17).

1 Who does this woman represent? She is described as 'a great wonder', which interpreted is 'a great sign'. Signs point to objects, places or events, and they are to direct us or draw our attention. Altogether, 'signs' (New King James Version) are mentioned seven times in the remainder of Revelation: v 3; 13:13,14; 15:1; 16:14; 19:20. The women portrayed is most likely symbolic of Israel, who in the Old Testament is likened to the wife of God (Isaiah 54:5,6;Jeremiah 3:6-8;31,32;Ezekiel 16:32;Hosea 2:16). The 'twelve stars' probably represent the twelve tribes.

2 Isaiah 66:7 could have a link with this verse, because the 'child' Jesus (v 5) was legally from the tribe of Judah through Joseph (Luke 3:26), although not his seminal father, but Israel in the general sense encompasses all twelve tribes. The Jewish nation to this day look to the time of their Messiah (Isaiah 9:6,7) to be born. They do not accept Jesus as being that Messiah. The Bible often refers to Israel as being in labour (Isaiah 26:17,18;54:1; 66:7-12; Hosea 13:13; Micah 4:10).

3 - 6 These verses portray a second 'wonder' (sign), most likely representing satan whose aim from the beginning (Genesis 3) has been to overcome God's chosen people and especially Jesus whom he tried to kill when a babe (Matthew 2:13-15) and thought he had done so on the cross (Luke 22:3;23:33;Matthew 27:6). Some commentators believe the 'seven heads' and the 'seven crowns' represent satan's dominance of seven past kingdoms and his 'ten horns' tell of his supremacy over ten kingdoms to come. His red colour is synonymous with the spilling of the saints' blood through false religion (17:6).

Verse 4 tells of satan's rebellion in heaven (Isaiah 14:12) when one third of the angelic beings aligned with him were cast to the earth in the form of demons (Isaiah14: 9,13).

Verse 5 speaks of Jesus who ascended to heaven to rule at His Father's right side (Ephesians 4:8-10; Luke 24:51; Acts 2:33 - 36).

Verse 6 probably prophesies of the second half of the Great Tribulation (three-and-a-half years [see notes on 3:10]) when chosen Israelites will flee to the deserts of Edom, Moab and Ammon (Daniel 11:41) for God's protection from the Antichrist's attack on the Holy Land.

7 - 9 Here is a continuum of verse 4 (See Daniel 10:13; Jude 9).

10 Victory is and has been accomplished in and by Christ through His substitutionary sacrifice on the cross. The meaning of the word 'devil' comes from the verb to slander or falsely accuse (Job 1:9; Zechariah 3:1), but no longer can he successfully accuse saved brethren.

11 The saints were prepared to die for their faith and many more will die during the Great Tribulation, but they have already triumphed because their sins have been forgiven through the shedding of Christ's blood (Romans 8:33-39).

12 The sovereign God has allotted a time span (10:6) for the works of satan.

13 Satan knows he is on the losing side, but he strikes at those chosen of God, the Jews, to cause as much havoc as he can.

14 See note on verse 6 (Daniel 7:25; 12:7).

15, 16 These verses explain that Israel will be attacked by an enormous enveloping army, but somehow, perhaps by earthquakes, the invading force will be destroyed (Isaiah 59:19).

17 With further resources satan will turn his attack upon the saints.

 Once again, thank you for sharing these important teachings of John.

May our studies be for the glory of God, His worship, adoration and the extension of His kingdom.

My prayer, if you do not know Him, is that the Holy Spirit will enliven your soul to everlasting life, to the praise and glory of His Name.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to get in touch by E-mail to me, Bill Serjeant, at: w.serjeant@btinternet.com