Verse By Verse Through Revelation
Chapter Twelve
Revelation 12:1-2 “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: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.”
- In Joseph’s dream of old the “sun, moon, and stars” represented the children of Israel; his brothers (Genesis 37:1-11; cf. Genesis 50:15-21).
- Israel, the physical people of the past, are significant (Exodus 19:3-6 and Romans 9:1-5). The promise of the new law did not change the opportunity for Israel to be among God’s people (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Remember who had Jesus’ first attention (Matthew 1:21, Acts 5:30-31, and Romans 11:25-27).
- The sun, moon, and stars are also just the Heavenly lights (Jeremiah 31:35). So, we don’t want to say that defines this. Just take it as “food for thought.”
- In this context, the woman is going to prove out to be a look back at Israel and the role of Israel as a whole in bringing Christ into the world contrary to the will of Satan. Isaiah wrote with imagery somewhat like this (Isaiah 49:1-7) in reference to Jesus Christ (Luke 2:25-42 and Acts 26:23).
- Israel, going back to Abraham, is how Jesus came into this world (Galatians 3:16). Specifically, through the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10 and Hebrews 7:14).
- The Jerusalem of above is the mother of us all (Galatians 4:26) long before the Jerusalem of beneath ever existed. The planning of this goes to before the world existed (Titus 1:2).
- The language of travailing in birth (Micah 5:1-3; cf. Matthew 2:4-6).
- We will see a transition from the physical Israel and the spiritual (the church) in this chapter (Revelation 12:5).
- We will see “and” throughout this chapter. Consider this, the plan of Jesus was conceived in Heaven before the foundation of the world (I Peter 1:18-20). This immediate context takes us back to before the beginning of the world.
Revelation 12:3-4 “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. 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.”
- The first wonder (Revelation 12:1-2).
- The dragon is the Devil; Satan (Revelation 12:9 and Revelation 20:2).
- Having seven heads and ten horns will be given clarity later in John’s vision when a woman [the great city] is described (Revelation 17:3-18).
- The dragon drawing the third part of the stars of Heaven and casting them to the earth (Revelation 12:7-9).
- From the moment Jesus was born, the goal was to devour Him (Matthew 2:1-23). Even after failing to kill Him, Satan wanted to tempt Him (Matthew 4:1-11).
- John is seeing God’s plan to give birth to His plan of redemption. He is also seeing Satan’s efforts to stop that plan from coming about. Now, with God being theAlmighty, why would He have a plan that He is actually going to allow Satan to destroy after it comes about. For, if Satan wins at the time John is having these visions, what would have been the point if thousands of years of labor to bring Christ into the world for it all just to fail?
- Satan is and had long been the adversary of God’s people (I Chronicles 21:1, Zechariah 3:1-2, I Peter 5:8, and Revelation 2:10) FROM THE BEGINNING (John 8:44).
Revelation 12:5-6 “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. 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.”
- As all saints then and now know, Israel succeeded in bringing Christ into the world (Matthew 1:1-25).
- As prophesied of old, He was to rule all nations (Isaiah 9:1-7 and Daniel 2:31-45).
- The child caught up to His throne (Acts 2:22-36 and I Peter 3:18-22).
- The woman was hidden (Revelation 12:13-17).
- Remember, among those sealed were Jewish Christians (Revelation 7:1-8).
- The period of time “a thousand two hundred and threescore days” is the same figurative period of time the church is persecuted [the holy city] and the two witnesses prophesied (Revelation 11:1-3). It is also the same period of time the beast to make war with the saints (Revelation 13:1-9).
Revelation 12:7-9 “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 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.”
- For those who knew Satan was cast out of Heaven (Luke 10:17-18), here you get why.
- The angels that sinned (II Peter 2:4 and Jude 1:6).
- The ultimate punishment awaiting them (Matthew 25:41).
- Concerning Michael, he is the chief of the angels (Daniel 10:13, Daniel 10:21, Daniel 12:1, I Thessalonians 4:13-17, and Jude 1:9).
Revelation 12:10-11 “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. 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.”
- These three sentences begin with “And, And, [and then] Therefore.” In John’s vision, Satan being cast out of Heaven is not shown as a loss or as a point of sorrow. Rather, as a victorious sort of statements. John was shown things that apparently happened before the heaven and earth were created or at least after man was created, because Satan [the serpent; Revelation 12:9], in the beginning, was on the earth (Genesis 3:1-4).
- Satan being cast to earth, though he will persecute and try to prevent Jesus from coming as was promised, is victorious because Satan won’t win (John 12:27-35, Romans 16:20, and Hebrews 2:14-15; cf. I Corinthians 15:26 and I Corinthians 15:50-58).
- When Jesus came into this world in human form, to carry out the Father’s will (Philippians 2:3-11), Satan’s grip was coming to an end. There was nothing, prior to Christ, that made sinners pure. Animal sacrifices didn’t accomplish the remission of sins (Hebrews 10:1-18). Satan was winning (so far as sin abounding was concerned - Romans 5:20). Then Jesus came and things changed forevermore (II Timothy 1:8-10 and I John 3:8-10).
- Through Christ, man is able to turn from the power of Satan (Acts 26:18-20).
- The angels did not have all of this information at the beginning (I Peter 1:3-12), but this confirms they had trust in God.
- The kingdom is significant in this win (Colossians 1:12-14).
- Satan is referred to as the accuser. Think back to Job here (Job 1-2).
- “They” (vs. 11) is brethren (vs.10).
- Saints overcome the accusations of Satan through the blood of Christ (Revelation 1:5).
- The saints “loved not their lives unto death” (Matthew 16:24-25, II Corinthians 5:14-15, and Galatians 2:20).
Revelation 12:12-13 “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. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.”
- Satan, who is full of wrath because of this, had a short time because what he could do and when he could do it was limited by God (Revelation 20:1-10).
- The heavens can rejoice while the inhabitants of the earth and sea had something to be concerned about with the wrath of Satan. This shows there was a separation of the departed from this world (Luke 16:19-31), the angels of Heaven (Matthew 22:30), and those on the earth. Similar imagery is in Isaiah’s prophecies of old (Isaiah 42:10).
- Like from the beginning, Satan is at work against God’s people.
- The church, which is the Israel that has been on earth since the first century (Galatians 6:16; cf. Galatians 3:26-29, Ephesians 2:11-17, Hebrews 12:22-23, and I Peter 2:1-12), is under persecution from here forward in John’s revelation.
Revelation 12:14 “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.”
- As we see throughout the first century, saints fled persecution (Acts 8:1-4, James 1:1, and I Peter 1:1-2).
- Wings like an eagle (Isaiah 40:28-31).
Revelation 12:15 “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.”
- This reminds me of the language of “the floods of ungodly men” that one Psalm [unrelated to this vision] spoke of in the past (Psalms 18:1-6).
Revelation 12:16 “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.”
- Satan fired, but missed the target. The world took the damage. The faithful are separate from the world, while the world loves their own (John 15:18-19; cf. John 8:44, I John 4:5, and I John 5:19).
- He attacked his children (I John 3:8-10).
Revelation 12:17 “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.”
- Satan was looking to devour the faithful (I Peter 5:8). He was angry that he failed.
- Satan is not done. He is reloading with different ammunition (Revelation 13:1-9).
- His target, those who remain of her seed; the word (I Peter 1:18-25).
- Those who keep the commandments of God; the saints (Revelation 14:12).
- He will lose here too. The obedient are not going to be lost (Revelation 22:14; cf. Hebrews 5:8-9).
Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22