Revelation 12:1-17 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Revelation 12:1-17. As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
Revelation 12:1-2 (NIV)
1 A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.
On verses 1-2: Who is this pregnant woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head? According to many commentators, the best interpretation is that the woman represents the nation of Israel. On what basis do commentators reach this conclusion? One reason is that for a Jew like John, an image of the sun, the moon and 12 stars together would likely remind him of Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37:9 where Joseph dreams of the sun (symbolizing his father Israel), the moon (symbolizing his mother Rachel) and 11 stars (symbolizing his brothers, the other sons of Israel) bowing down to him. The idea is that when John sees this woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head (representing the 12 tribes of Israel), John would think of the nation of Israel. A second reason is that when you consider the entire vision John describes in this chapter and its meaning, the woman as a symbol for Israel seems to make the most sense.
Revelation 12:3-4 (NIV)
3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads.
4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.
On verses 3-4: Who is the red dragon with seven heads, ten horns and seven crowns on his heads (v3)? This is a picture of Satan, as verse 9 will explicitly confirm. When verse 4 describes how his tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to earth, many commentators believe that this is a reference to how before the world began Satan was cast out of heaven and took with him a third of the angels. Various other Scriptures in the Bible are said to speak of Satan’s fall, such as Isaiah 14:12, Ezekiel 28, Jude 1:6, and 2 Peter 2:4.
Who is the child that Satan the dragon stands in front of the pregnant woman Israel to devour? Let’s look at him in verse 5.
Revelation 12:5 (NIV)
5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.
On verse 5: Who is the male child who is born and who will rule the nations with an iron scepter? The best interpretation is that this baby is the Messiah Jesus Christ. Earlier in Revelation 2:27, Jesus describes Himself as the One who “will rule them with an iron scepter”. The picture of the child being snatched up to God and to His throne symbolizes Jesus’ ascension back to heaven to the right hand of the throne of God.
Revelation 12:6 (NIV)
6 The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
On verse 6: Having failed to devour the Christ child, Satan the red dragon directs his anger at the woman (the nation of Israel), who flees to the desert to be protected for 1,260 days. This time period of 1,260 days, or 42 months, or 3.5 years, or “a time, times, and half a time” comes up often in Revelation. In the book of Daniel, the prophet Daniel mentions this 1,260 day time period in connection with a vision that the prophet Daniel has about the end times (Daniel 12:7, 11).
Revelation 12:7-9 (NIV)
7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.
8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.
9 The great dragon was hurled down–that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
On verses 7-9: In Daniel 12, the prophet Daniel has a vision of the end times where he sees the archangel Michael protecting God’s people from attack. Here in Revelation 12, John has a similar vision of Michael and his angels fighting Satan the dragon in a great war. Satan loses the war and with it his place in heaven. He is hurled to the earth and his angels with him (v9).
Revelation 12:10-12 (NIV)
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.
11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”
On verses 10-12: With Satan defeated, ousted from heaven and hurled down to earth, the salvation, power and kingdom of God and the authority of Jesus Christ the Son are fully established in heaven. In the great conflict between heaven and Satan, heaven wins and Satan loses.
Meanwhile, we learn something about Satan from this verse: he is an accuser of God’s people. Verse 10 says that “day and night” Satan never stops accusing them before God. Though Satan has been defeated by God and knows his final destiny is to be destroyed, until that time Satan the accuser will do whatever he can to divert people away from the grace of God. So when you hear voices of accusation condemning you for the things you have done in the past for which you have already sought and received God’s forgiveness, you know that it is not the Holy Spirit but Satan who is accusing you. In those situations, you must remind Satan that you have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus and that through Christ you are now forgiven, accepted, and righteous in God’s sight. That is how Christians can overcome Satan “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (v11). It is the blood of Jesus as well as our professed faith in His blood (our testimony) that give us victory over the enemy.
Revelation 12:13-16 (NIV)
13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.
14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.
15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent.
16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
On verses 13-16: Similar to what was stated in verse 6, verses 13-14 describe how Satan, having been ousted from heaven and being unable to hurt the Christ child, now directs his anger at the woman (the nation of Israel) who gave birth to Him. Yet the woman is given eagles’ wings to fly to a place where she is protected and taken care of for “a time, times and half a time” (v14), or 3.5 years. It is not clear what exactly the water spewing from the serpent’s mouth is meant to symbolize, but the general idea is that Israel is ultimately delivered from Satan’s attacks.
As a number of commentators point out, it is puzzling that while Jews make up a tiny fraction of the world’s population and while the nation of Israel sits on a tiny land with limited natural resources and few other economically valuable assets, nonetheless the Jews and the land of Israel have been the object of more hostility, hate and attack than possibly any other group in history. Verses like these help us to see why: throughout history Satan has had a personal agenda to destroy the Jewish nation.
Revelation 12:17 (NIV)
17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring–those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
On verse 17: Not only is Satan’s agenda to destroy the woman Israel, but also “to make war against the rest of her offspring”, that is, Christians (“those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus”). Satan’s agenda is to kill, steal and destroy the church of Jesus Christ (see John 10:10), but praise God that by the blood of Jesus and the word of our testimony (i.e. our professed faith in Jesus), we have victory over Satan.
Heavenly Father, both now and forever You reign victorious over Your enemy Satan. Though Satan’s agenda remains to kill, steal and destroy Your people, thank You that through Jesus Christ, His precious blood and our faith in Him, we have victory over Satan too. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
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