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| Chapter 12 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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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 in pain to be delivered. 3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4 And his tail drew a third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered 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 by 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 serpent of old called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world. He was cast out onto the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice saying in Heaven, "Now have 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, who 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 inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! For the devil has 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 who 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 by 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 he went to make war with the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. |
This chapter records a battle between good and evil, Christ and Satan. The Devil has realized that his time of judgement is approaching fast, so he fights like a cornered animal. Satan centers his anger against the Church which still does exist upon the earth, made up of people who had known the truth but had not made a decision for Christ before the rapture. The writing of Revelation contains description which may be pictures, representation or symbols of an object or person. The object or description can often be taken literally. Much of what John sees as described in this passage appears to be symbolic, he even starts with "there appeared a great wonder (sign) in heaven." v1,2 There has been much discussion by Bible students as to who or what does the "woman" symbolize or represent. It is obvious that the child is Christ as He will rule all nations v5. Therefore the most obvious meaning is that the woman represents Israel, covering the Old and New Testament period, twelve stars being the twelve tribes. See also Isaiah 54:1-8; Isaiah 66:7; Jeremiah 3:6-10; Micah 4:9,10; Micah 5:2,3. In comparison, the world, which is against God, is called an harlot, Rev 17:1ff, and the church a pure bride, Rev 19:7ff. v3 The dragon is identified in v9 as Satan. His seven heads and ten horns show that he is to be the antichrist of the spiritual world just as the beast of Rev 13:1 is the earthly antichrist. In Daniel the seven heads were divided between the four beasts which described the world powers of the earth, Daniel 7:1ff; The ten horns Daniel 7:24. Rev 17:12. v4 The "tail drew a third part of the stars of heaven," suggests that a third of the angels in heaven turned against God to follow Satan. v6 God will protect the Israelites for a period in some place He has prepared for them. Matt 24:15-21. Some Bible students believe this to be Petra. v7-9 When Jesus died on the cross Satan was defeated, John 12:31-33, but he still has access to heaven, Job 1 to 2, even though he turned against God and was cast down, Isaiah 14:12-15. Satan perhaps tries one last fight to win but he is defeated by Michael and his angels. We must also consider that this is also the time that the Christians are taken to heaven in the rapture and are before the Judgement seat of Christ, being examined for their works for the Lord, Satan may have been present trying to point out the failures of the saints, Eph 5:26-27; 1 John 1:5-2:2. All our failures are covered by the Blood of Christ on Calvary. Satan will be furious with this situation and make his last fight. Satan and his followers are thrown out of heaven onto the earth. Remember that Satan and his followers are only fallen angels, created beings, they may be powerful but that power is under God’s control. Only God is omnipotent (has all power, control), omnipresent (everywhere), omniscient (knows all things). v10-12 Heaven rejoices when this event happens, but earth will not, this event is part of the final "woe." v13 Satan now turns all his anger towards the people of earth, especially Israel. If he could destroy Israel before the return of Christ to the earth he would have a victory but God has prepared a special place of protection. For the second half of the tribulation, three and an half years, God will protect them. v15,16 "water as a flood" is not explained but indicates a terrible outpouring of hatred, whether as propaganda or as an army against the protected Israel. An earthquake sent by God destroying the army. v17 Satan cannot touch the protected people so turns on the unprotected Jews. |
Easy English Translation
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