Revelation 12

Revelation 12—13 introduces us to the three key characters in the -false Christ and the false prophet. These three are, in a sense, an evil trinity, opposing the true God and His people on earth. While these events will be of special significance to God's people at that time, the message of these two chapters can encourage suffering saints during any age.

Saran is the great enemy of the church, and he fights against God and His people by accusing the saints in heaven and attacking them on earth.

However, Christ has overcome the old serpent, and He gives victory to His people.

The adversary always works through human means, in this case, "the beast" (false Christ or Antichrist) and the false prophet. Satan is an imitator and a counterfeiter, seeking to control men through deception.

"The beast" is the future world dictator who promises to solve the pressing problems of nations; the False Prophet is his "propaganda minister." For a time, it appears that the satanic trio is succeeding, but then their world empire begins to collapse, the nations assemble for one final battle, Jesus Christ appears, and the battle is over.

Has this not been the pattern for the church's conflict with evil over the centuries? Whether the ruler has been a Caesar, a Hitler, a Stalin, or an agnostic humanist, Satan has energized and motivated him. The ruler has promised the people all that they want and need, only to lead them into slavery. He has usually had an associate to promote his program to the people and to entice them, if not force them, to obey. Often their submission amounted almost to worship.

God has permitted His people to suffer under the despotism of these rulers, but He has also enabled His people to experience great victories, even in martyrdom. They have been true overcomers! Then he has brought deliverance, only to have the cycle repeat itself, with each succeeding dictatorship worse than the previous one. The climax will come with the appearance of the Antichrist in his time (2 Thess. 2).

THE DRAGON (Revelation 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.

John's vision opens with two wonders in heaven (Rev. 12:1-6).

The first is a woman giving birth to a son. Since this child is identified as Jesus Christ (compare Rev. 12:5 with Rev. 19:15 and Ps. 2:9), this symbolic woman can be none other than the nation of Israel. It was through Israel that Jesus Christ came into the world (Rom. 1:3; 9:4-5). By further comparing the description in Revelation 12:1 with Genesis 37:9-10, the identification seems inevitable.

In the Old Testament, Israel is often compared to a woman, and even a woman in travail (Isa. 54:5; 66:7; Jer. 3:6-10; Mic. 4:10; 5:2-3). The apostate world system is compared to a harlot (Rev. 17:1ff.), and the church to a pure bride (Rev. 19:7f.).

The son is born and is then caught up to the throne of God (Rev. 12:5).

We have symbolized here the birth of Christ and His victorious ascension, but nothing is said about either His life or His death. The colon in the middle of the verse represents thirty-three years of history!

The woman with child is the first wonder; the great red dragon is the second. Revelation 12:9 makes it clear that this is Satan. The color red is associated with death (Rev. 6:4), and Satan is a murderer (John 8:44).

The heads, horns, and crowns will appear again in Revelation 13:1 and

17:3. The heads represent mountains (Rev. 17:9), and the horns represent kings (Rev. 17:12). We shall study the meaning of these symbols in more detail later.

The dragon was cast out of heaven (Rev. 12:9), and he took with him a third of the angels (Rev. 12:7, 9). They are spoken of as "stars" in Revelation 12:4 (see also Dan. 8:10). This is a reference to the fall of Satan (Isa. 14:12-15), when he and his hosts revolted against God. However, the casting out described in Revelation 12:7-10 is yet future.

Just as soon as the child was born, Satan tried to destroy Him. This conflict between Satan and "the woman" began soon after man fell (Gen.

3:15). Throughout Old Testament history, Satan tried to prevent the birth of the Redeemer. There was always a

“Dragon" standing by, waiting to destroy Israel or the ancestors of the Messiah. Pharaoh is called a "dragon" (Ezek. 29:3), and so is Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 51:34). At one critical point, the royal line was limited to one little boy (2 Kings 11:1-3). When Jesus Christ was born, Satan used King Herod to try to destroy Him (Matt. 2).

Satan thought that he had succeeded when he used Judas to betray the Lord and hand Him over to be crucified. But the cross was actually Satan's defeat!

"And they overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 12:11).

Even today, Satan has access to heaven, where he accuses God's people, but he cannot dethrone the exalted Savior. His strategy is to persecute God's people and devour them if possible (1 Peter 5:8). He has a special hatred for the Jewish people. He has been the power behind anti-Semitism from the days of Pharaoh and Haman (see the book of Esther) to Hitler and Stalin. Finally, during the tribulation, a wave of anti-Semitism will emerge that the world has never seen (Rev. 12:6). However, God will protect His people during those three and a half years (1,260 days; see Rev. 11:2; 13:5).

Apart from the 144,000 (who are sealed and protected), a believing remnant of Jews will survive this very troublesome time. We are not told where God will protect them or who it is that will care for them. Matthew

24:15-21 will take on special meaning for those believing Jews who live in the end days. Note especially the parenthesis in Revelation 12:15.

You and I are involved in a similar conflict today (see Eph. 6:10ft.).

Satan is out to destroy the church, and our victory can come only through Jesus Christ.

The next scene in this cosmic drama is a war in heaven (Rev. 12:7-12).

Scripture makes it clear that Satan has access to heaven even today Job 1—2). Once he was the highest of God's angels, but he rebelled against God and was cast down (Isa. 14:12-15). Interestingly, as God's church faithfully serves Christ and wins the lost, Satan is also cast down and defeated (Luke 10:1-2, 17-20; Matt. 16:18; note also 12:29).

Of course, when Jesus Christ died on the cross, it meant Satan's ultimate defeat John 12:31-33). Satan will one day be cast out of heaven (Rev. 12:7-10), and then finally cast into hell (Rev. 20:10).

What is this celestial conflict all about? The fact that Michael led God's angels to victory is significant because Michael is identified with the nation of Israel (Dan. 10:10-21; 12:1; note also Jude 9). The name Michael means

"Who is like God?" and this certainly parallels Satan's egocentric attack on Jehovah—"I will be like the Most High" (Isa. 14:14). Apparently, the Devil's hatred of Israel will spur him to make one final assault against the throne of God. Still, Michael and a heavenly host will defeat him.

However, perhaps there is another factor at play in this war. After the church is taken to heaven, believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and have their works examined. Based on this judgment, rewards will be given (Rom. 14:10-12; 1 Cor. 3:10-15; 2 Cor. 5:10-11). It seems likely that Satan will be present at this event and will accuse the saints, pointing out all the "spots and wrinkles" in the church (Eph. 5:24-27).

The name "devil" means "accuser," and "Satan" means "adversary." Satan stands at the throne of God and fights the saints by accusing them (see Job 1-2; Zech. 3). But Jesus Christ, the "heavenly Advocate" (1 John 2:1-2), represents the church before God's holy throne. Because Jesus Christ died for us, we can overcome Satan's accusations "by the blood of the Lamb." Our salvation is secure, not because of our own works, but because of His finished work at Calvary.

How furious Satan will be when the church comes forth in glory "without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing." When the accuser sees that his tactics have failed, he will become angry and threaten the very peace of heaven.

How does this future war apply to the church today? The same serpent who accuses the saints in heaven also deceives the nations on earth (Rev.

12:9), and one of his strategies is to lie about the church. He deceives the nations into thinking that the people of God are dangerous, deluded, or even destructive. It is through Satan's deception that the leaders of the nations band together against Christ and His people (Ps. 2; Acts 4:23-30). God's people in every age must expect the world's opposition, but the church can always defeat the enemy by being faithful to Jesus Christ.

Christ's shed blood gives us our perfect standing before God (1 John 1:5 2:2). 

However, our witness to God's Word and our willingness to lay down our lives for Christ also defeat Satan. Satan is not equal to God; he is not omnipotent, omnipresent, or omniscient. His power is limited, and his tactics will fail when God's people trust in the power of the blood and the Word. Nothing Satan does can rob us of "salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ" (Rev.

12:10), if we are yielded to Him. God's great purposes will be fulfilled!

Believers of any age or situation can rejoice in this victory, regardless of the complexity of their experiences. Our warfare is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of the wicked one, and these have been defeated by our Savior (Eph. 6:10ff.; note also Eph. 1:15-23).

Heaven will rejoice when Satan is cast out, but the earth-dwellers will not, for the last half of the tribulation will mean intense suffering for the world. The "woe" in Revelation 12:12 reminds us of the "three woes" referred to in Revelation 8:13. The first "woe" is described in Revelation

9:1-12, and the second in Revelation 9:13-21. The third "woe" is referred to in Revelation 11:14ff., but this passage only summarizes the events that will climax God's plan for the earth. It may be that part of this third "woe" is casting out Satan and permitting his terrible wrath on earth.

This, then, is the third scene in the drama: Satan's wrath on earth (Rev. 12:13-16). 

Knowing that his time is short and having no more access to heaven, the adversary must vent all of his anger toward the earth. He begins with Israel (the woman), and creates a wave of anti-Semitism. Satan has always hated the Jews because they are God's chosen people and the vehicle through which salvation came into the world. Satan would like to destroy the nation, particularly as the time draws near for the Messiah to return to earth to establish the promised kingdom. A Jewish remnant must be ready to receive Him and form the nucleus for the kingdom (Zech.

12:9-14:21;Rev. 1:7

God will prepare a special place where the Jewish remnant will be protected and cared for. Interestingly, the remnant's escape from Satan is described in terms of a flying eagle, for this is a repeated image in the Old Testament about Israel. God delivered Israel from Egypt “on eagles wings" (Ex. 19:4) and cared for the people in the wilderness as an eagle would her young (Deut. 32:11-12). Their return from Babylonian captivity was like "mounting up with wings as eagles" (Isa. 40:31).

Note that the remnant will be sheltered for the last half of the tribulation. We do not know where this sheltered place will be, nor do we need to know. But the lesson for all of us is clear:

God cares for those whom He wants to use to accomplish His purposes on earth.

True, some people will give their lives (Rev. 12:11), but others will be spared (see Acts 12 for an example of this principle).

The phrase "water as a flood" is not explained, but there is a parallel in Psalm 124. (Also note the phrase "escaped as a bird" in verse 7 of this same Psalm.) This "flood" is probably an outpouring of hatred and anti-Semitic propaganda. Or it may symbolize armies that invade Israel and seek to defeat the remnant. If that is the meaning, then the earth opening up could well be an earthquake that God sends to destroy the invaders. When Satan discovers that the people he seeks to kill are protected, then he turns on those who were not carried to the hidden place of safety. He will declare war, and God will permit him to have victory for a time (Rev. 13:7), but ultimately, the old serpent will be defeated.