Revelation
Lesson 6
Revelation chapter 12
Comments, Questions and Discussions
COMMENTS
Revelation chapter 12 begins another series of visions about the end times. In Revelation 12 through 14, I believe it will be evident that the events run parallel.
For the sake of identification we will name them. The Woman, 12:1-6, The War, 12:7-17, The Seven Headed Beast, 13:1-10, Another Beast, 13:11-18, The Hundred-Forty-Four Thousand, 14:1-5, The Judgment Has Come, 14:6-13, and The Harvest, 14:14-20. Do you count 7? Isn't this amazing?
In this lesson we will look at the two found in chapter 12.
12:1 " a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman. . . ."
The woman is probably the preserved remnant of Israel, selected to bring forth the promised Christ. I say probably because the woman could be the faithful body of those who waited for the Messiah or the heavenly Jerusalem which is compared to a woman in Galatians.
Galatians 4:26-27 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written: "Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband."
Whether the preserved remnant, those who waited for the Messiah, or the heavenly Jerusalem the application is the same. Prophecies which can apply are as follows
Micah 5: 2-4 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting." 3 Therefore He shall give them up, Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; Then the remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of Israel. 4 And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth
Isaiah 66:7-13 7 "Before she was in labor, she gave birth; Before her pain came, She delivered a male child. 8 Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children. 9 Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?" says the Lord. "Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?" says your God. 10 "Rejoice with Jerusalem, And be glad with her, all you who love her; Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her; 11 That you may feed and be satisfied With the consolation of her bosom, That you may drink deeply and be delighted With the abundance of her glory." 12 For thus says the Lord: "Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then you shall feed; On her sides shall you be carried, And be dandled on her knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforts, So I will comfort you; And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem."
Some conclude that the woman is the church both new and old. There is difficulty with this because the church was not the mother of Christ, rather, Christ was the builder of His church. While we have in the text an apparent transformation as when the woman flees to the wilderness which is considered to be the New Testament church.
Consider that the church in Judea were the ones who needed to flee, not the church in every place. These were the converted Jews, who no doubt had been keeping the ceremonial aspects of the law. This group would certainly be part of the promises regarding New Jerusalem. They would be among the faithful who waited and part of the remnant of that generation who brought forth the man-child, the Lord of Host.
The clothing of the sun, the moon under her feet and the garland of 12 stars is indicative of her prominence and authority. Others have gone into greater detail, but this is probably sufficient for this study.
12:3 a great, fiery red dragon
The dragon is identified as the Devil and Satan in verse 9. The 7 heads, 10 horns and 7 diadems no doubt refer to the rulers under the influence of Satan. Herod was determined to destroy the King, Jesus, as is told in Matthew's gospel (2:16). These rulers were rulers of the Jews, Herod and his dynasty and the Judean rulers after the reign of Herod Agrippa I in Judea.
12:5 'She bore a male Child"
There is no doubt that this is the Christ, at least in my mind. If it is not obvious the "rule all nations with a rod of iron" should end all doubt. Psalms 2:7-12 says:
7 "I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, `You [are] My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 Ask of Me, and I will give [You] The nations [for] Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth [for] Your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.' " 10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish [in] the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed [are] all those who put their trust in Him.
The Child was called up to God and His throne. This is where Christ was until the restoration of all things. Acts 3:19-23 describes the overall picture.
19 "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 "and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 "whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 22 "For Moses truly said to the fathers, `The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 `And it shall be [that] every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.
Please note the parellel. Sins needed to be blotted out through their repentence and subsequent conversion. This waited for the sending of Jesus until the prophets could be fulfilled. It was necessary to hear Jesus. Jesus gave testimony and prophesied regarding the destruction of the people, Matthew 24. Those from among the people who did not hear would be utterly destroyed. The facts are too obvious. Do we not see Jesus' promise to come in judgment, the fulfillment of the prophets words and the destruction of Jerusalem. How can one fail to see that Revelation deals with the destruction of Jerusalem and is in harmony with the recorded scriptural record of the prophets, the preaching of the Gospel, and the historical record of the destruction.
12:6 one thousand, two hundred and sixty days --
It might be good here to identify the parellel periods of time. Three expressions are thought to be equal. 1260 days = 42 months = time, times and a half time. 1260 divided by 30 (days in a month) = 42. 42 divided by 12 = 3 1/2.
Revelation 11:3 - The two witnesses prophesy -- They have the power to protect themselves.
Revelation 12:6 - The woman is fed in the wilderness.
Revelation 11:2 - Gentiles will tread the holy city 42 months.
Revelation 13:5 - The beast with authority from the dragon is given 42 months to continue.
Daniel 7:25 - The saints will be in the hand of a King of the forth kingdom a time, times and 1/2 time.
Daniel 12:7 - The time of fulfillment till the power of the holy people has been shattered.
Revelation 12:14 - The woman is nourished from the presence of the serpent a time, times, and 1/2 time.
According to Daniel, the power of the holy people was to be completely shattered, but the woman, in Revelation is fed and nourished (protected). The two witnesses testified during this period of time until their testimony was complete. This lead me to conclude that the woman is Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the faithful remnant. She was protected but the nation chosen by God (holy people) was shattered their end came. At the end of Daniel 12 we have 1290 days and 1335 days. The 1260 days is in this larger group of days. The end of these days marks the end when Daniel would arise to receive his inheritance.
Jesus warning in Luke 21:20-21
But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 "Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.
No doubt, those who believed in Jesus did so flee. Eusebius records in Church History, book 3, chapter 5:
"But the rest of the apostles, who had been incessantly plotted against with a view to their destruction, and had been driven out of the land of Judea, went unto all nations to preach the Gospel, relying upon the power of Christ, who had said to them, "Go ye and make disciples of all the nations in my name."
But the people of the church in Jerusalem had been commanded by a revelation, vouchsafed to approved men there before the war, to leave the city and to dwell in a certain town of Perea called Pella. And when those that believed in Christ had come thither from Jerusalem, then, as if the royal city of the Jews and the whole land of Judea were entirely destitute of holy men, the judgment of God at length overtook those who had committed such outrages against Christ and his apostles, and totally destroyed that generation of impious men."
12:7 "War broke out in heaven"
Can you imagine it, war in heaven? We are talking major stuff here. Michael, as a heavenly being, is first mentioned in Daniel. Jude says that Michael the archangel disputed with the devil over the body of Moses. In Daniel we find that Michael, one of the chief princes, is the prince of Daniel's people and is the only one helping in the fight against the Prince of Persia. Daniel 10:13-11:1. The one addressing Daniel, possibly helped Michael in the first year of Darius the Mede. It is fitting in context to compare this battle with Michael standing up in Daniel 12:1. This seems to be a heavenly battle in Daniel among those heavenly forces belonging to the various nations. Typically the heavenly powers refer to the rulers in high places, when the heavens shake, major changes take place among the nations of the earth. In Ephesians 6, Paul mentions warfare on a higher plane.
Eph. 6:12-12 -- 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places].
Heaven is a better place, the devil and his angels are gone. But, he was cast to the earth and began to make war on the woman. The casting out of Satan at first glance might appear as necessary for the kingdom of God to come. Verse 10 -- ""Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down." However, I believe the emphasis is that since salvation, strength, the kingdom and power of Christ had come, the Devil and his forces could be subdued. Now consider, not only did all earth await the Messiah, but all of heaven as well. Do not forget however that Revelation is a book of symbolism, See notes on 12:10. The devil did everything in his power to prevent the Christ's coming. When Christ came, Satan and his angels were defeated and there was no place in heaven for them any longer.
Psalms 96:10-13 - 10 "Say among the nations, "The Lord reigns; The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously." 11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; 12 Let the field be joyful, and all that [is] in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord. 13 For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth."
12:10 - "for the accuser of our brethren"
Symbolically, this must be Israel, here and in the above. It was the Jews who constantly accused the Christians of wrong doing. Satan's influence over them was obvious and is the declaration of Jesus, John 8:44 -- "44 "You are of [your] father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do." Like wise in the above, no place in heaven was found for Israel as God's people after Christ came. I cannot help but think, in the same sense as it is described here, about the conversation in Job where Satan appeared among the sons of God to complain that Job was protected and would sin if trials came upon him. Satan used the forces at his disposal to take away what Job had. Regardless of the symbolism here, the Jews were certainly under Satan's control as they persecuted the Christians. The Christians however defeated him with the blood of the lamb and did not love there lives to the death. Jesus words again ring in our ears.
Matthew 16:25 - "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."
12:12 - "He has a short time."
12:13-17 - "When the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth --"
Now, you're going to have to watch me real close here. Read it all very carefully. First Satan was going after the woman, but she escapes. Then Satan causes a flood hoping to sweep her away. But the earth helps the woman and she is protected. Then he goes after her offspring which doesn't do him any good because they keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus (converted Jews).
There was a lot going on in the world at this time. Nero is really going off the deep end. Christians aren't real popular. His Jewish wife, Poppea, had a lot of influence on him. In AD 64 a big fire broke out in Rome. To take pressure from himself, Nero blamed the Christians and began to persecute them. In AD 66 Paul and Peter were executed. Then the Jewish rebellion got into full swing and Rome had to deal with the Jews.
Now I see a parallel here. The flood caused by Satan was the persecution of Nero, the beast. If we understand earth to be the land, and the land to refer to Israel, then we can see that the Jewish rebellion curbed the persecution of Christians. When the Roman armies attacked Jerusalem, the Christians escaped and dwelt at Pella. Josephus accuses Florus of starting the war because he was such a Tyrant. Florus could be one of the bad people in the symbology here. He stole, robbed, plundered, took bribes and over taxed. He wanted the Jews to go to war to cover his crimes, confronting them with troops and shows of hostilities while he was speaking of peace.
We might also keep in mind that Jesus was to return to Jerusalem, in judgment. Jerusalem was also the place where Christianity (for lack of a better word) began. Zion, Jerusalem, was the city of God. A heavenly Jerusalem was not comprehended. The forces of evil were definitely against Jerusalem. John of Gischala was ruthless. When Galilee was overthrown, he escaped but when coming to Jerusalem he claimed to be there to help them fight claiming to have done damage to the Romans in Galilee He then robbed and killed the people of Jerusalem to satisfy his own desires and the needs of his army. He also conspired with the Zealots, who were ready to claim their place in Jerusalem. The Zealots in turn brought in the Idumeans, who killed the temple guards, Ananus and other priests and then the people in the city.
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS
1. Who was the woman and why do you so think?
2. To whom did she give birth?
3. What danger did the child face? Describe how this happened.
4. What period of time do verses 5 and 6 cover? Briefly describe the events.
5. Is Satan a fallen angel? Explain.
6. Explain verse 12.
7. In what period of the history did the time, times and 1/2 time occur. How long a period of time was this? Describe all the events you can find that took place during this period.
8. Describe the Serpent's effort to get rid of the woman? Why didn't this work?