Revelation Chapter 12

Revelation 12:1

And a great sign appeared in heaven:a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. (ESV)

“But his father kept the saying in mind”; this was the reaction Jacob had toward Joseph’s vision. In the vision Jacob was the sun, with Leah being the moon and eleven of the stars bowing down to the remaining star, Joseph. Now we see the woman being the nation of Israel all as one clothed with these symbols that were given to us many generations ago but instead of having one star removed this time, it is back where it belongs with the rest of the children of Jacob. Now some (with the movement seeming to grow) believe that this woman is symbolic rather than Israel and even skewing all sorts of scripture and calling her “the church”. This couldn’t be further from the truth as we will continue to explore in the next few lessons speaking about this woman, and we will discover that this woman in no way could be the church. If there is anything in this scripture that could hold some sort of debate about the identity of the characters it would have to be the involvement of Leah in this prophecy rather the Rachel, the one Jacob loved. Leah was not in fact the mother of Joseph and yet Jacob had questioned him about whether or not he and his mother would be bowing down to Joseph. The one thing that gives us clarity is that this prophecy is regarding the mother of the male child that is about to be born, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

ref: Genesis 37:9-11

Revelation 12:2

She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. (ESV)

In the previous lesson we spoke briefly about Jacob, his twelve sons, and Leah; and how when Joseph had the dream they were all bowing down to him. In preparation for this I actually read one commentary that said that the child about to be birthed was Israel and another commentary said the child was the church. The child cannot be Israel due to the fact that this is who the woman giving birth is since she is robed with the sun, the moon being beneath her feet and having a crown of 12 stars. The child also cannot be the church due to the fact that Israel did not give birth to the church. In fact you might can say that we are as Paul would say, abnormally born, having not been promised anything beforehand and yet receiving everything because of the work of Jesus. Now more and more we see teachings that show the church claiming the promises that were given very specifically to the nation of Israel but this simply is not so. The birth of this child is the single most important birth to have taken place ever. It is the birth that was spoken of in the garden and is the same birth that will end up saving Eve if she continues in the faith. This birth of this child is none other than that of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

ref: Genesis 3:15; 1 Timothy 2:15

Revelation 12:3

And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. (ESV)

Earlier we saw a sign in heaven showing Israel in the midst of birth pangs with our savior. Now we see a different type of sign given to us and in heaven no less. Let’s lay some groundwork for discovering the identity of this dragon so as to not get him confused with the other characters we are about to encounter in scripture. If you are using a digital bible or have footnotes in your bible, for this passage it possibly refers you to Rev 17:13 and/or Isaiah 27:1 among others. At least these two instances are not actually referring to this dragon. It will help us keep this straight

if we realize that every single time in Revelation that the word “dragon” is used, it is referring to that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan. Every time it uses the word beast it is referring to another creature(s) that is not Satan. Now while the dragon and the beasts have agendas that are aligned it is important to realize that they are incredibly different beings with different attributes and they will be punished differently. Now is not the time that we will discuss the 7 heads, 10 horns and 7 crowns other than the fact they do represent something and will very soon be given away to accomplish a purpose, but for now just remember that this dragon is Satan.

Revelation 12:4

His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. (ESV)

Now there is much speculation as to the events and times that Satan fell from heaven and the ramification of that fall. The confusion I think lies with what we mean when we say he fell. Does that mean lost his position, permanently kicked out or simply realizing that he was no longer pure? Naturally since he will be later referred to as that ancient serpent, we know he was in the garden with Adam and Eve. So since he was there to deceive that must have been about the time he was ejected? But then we get to the book of Job and realize that while people are living upon the earth, that Satan came to present himself to the LORD along with the rest of the sons of God; so he must not be totally banished at that point. In fact he does it twice in a somewhat short timeframe so it would seem that this is a regular custom for God and His angels. So it would seem that this custom continued; with Satan, “going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it” and then coming to present himself before the LORD. Then this day came when he left heaven and stood before the woman ready to devour Jesus, because if there ever was a time that this might be possible it would have to be when He was yet a newborn infant. Part of me wonders if it was ever mentioned as it was with Job, “have you considered my Servant Jesus?” If God had confidence in Job the way He did, that confidence was surely in place as He looked upon His Son; even as a helpless child.

Let’s take a second and explore the identity of these stars that were swept from heaven and cast down to the earth. In a few verses down we see the war in heaven with Michael and his angels fighting the dragon and his angels, so it would be easy to assume that this third being swept down are “his angels”, but let’s look closer. The word swept is the word “syro” meaning: to draw or drag and in the bible is always used in reference to something regarding a struggle or a dragging against a force such as “But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.” It is not necessarily something that is difficult but is most often against their will. The word cast is “ballo” meaning: to throw or let go of a thing without caring where it falls. By now you might be asking, “who cares about Satan’s angels falling?” Well, they may not be Satan’s angels. We assume mostly because of what we are taught that this is the third of Satan’s angels that we have heard about but scripture does not say Satan has a third of the angels. These angels were likely cast from heaven by Satan because of his power and not because they were his followers. If you are like me then this reasoning is not quite enough evidence to convince you of this though. So assuming I’m wrong that would mean that these angels are, as we already believe, part of Satan’s kingdom and in some respect his followers. Well remember that word “cast”; a version of that same word bello is used again somewhere else in scripture. “And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?” Jesus used that same word describing something that Satan would not do if he wanted his kingdom to stand. He would not cast out those angels because then his kingdom would be divided against itself. So what is the probable outcome of these angels that Satan cast out of heaven? It is written in the prophecy of Daniel saying, “And some of the host and some of the stars it cast down to the ground and trampled on them.” So as it turns out, they are in fact angels of the Lord that he had defeated with a swipe of his tail.

It is also noteworthy that as Satan would come to test this same Jesus that he once wanted to devour, he would offer Jesus “kingdoms of the world and their glory.” We mentioned in the last lesson that Satan was already seen with 7 diadems (kingly crowns) on his head. So when he led Jesus up and offered Him the kingdoms of the world and their glory, I don’t believe he was lying. They were his kingdoms to give out as he pleased. Thankfully Jesus was not moved by such an offer and set out to retrieve the kingdoms of the earth in a different fashion.

ref: Revelation 12: 7-9; Job 1:6-7; Matthew 4: 8-11; Acts 8:3; Matthew 12:26; Daniel 8:10

Revelation 12:5

But she gave birth to a Son — a male who is going to shepherd all nations with an iron scepter — and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. (HCSB)

The pregnant Israel gave birth to Jesus, the male child, who will rule all the nation with an iron rod. A reference to this is found in the Psalms saying, “I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron

and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.” Now some claim that this child being born is speaking of the church of Thyatira due to the promise Jesus gave them earlier in the book. This cannot be however for two major reasons. The first being that Israel did not give birth to the church, this was the work of the Holy Spirit. The second being that the church was promised this if they endured to the end; but scripture clearly says that this male child was caught up to God and to His throne. This being caught up could not happen if they were supposed to endure to the end. In addition, later in Revelation we see Jesus ruling with an iron scepter just as scripture has promised to us. Now we might wonder what is the purpose of the scepter being iron instead of gold like many other materials that are found in the throneroom of God. A closer look at the above Psalm verse points out that the rod will be used to break the nations into pieces and the Revelation verse has Him having the rod whenever He is treading the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God. So it would appear that one of His first duties of ruling with the iron scepter is for the punishment and destruction of the nations. So it would make one wonder why it was/is that His followers are eagerly awaiting His coming when one of His first acts is destruction? Possibly because we don’t really believe the things that He says will happen.

ref: Psalm 2:7-9; Revelation 2:27; Revelation 19:15

Revelation 12:6

and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days. (ESV)

So Israel begins to flee into the wilderness at this time but we are not told as to why just yet. All we have is the dragon trying to devour Jesus before He was caught up to God’s throne. Yet again we have exchanged the promises to Israel for a lie to suit ourselves. We believe that it is the church who gets to be raptured away and saved from the tribulation but this verse here says that Israel is the one that gets to sit out the punishment. So when they go to to the wilderness for 3 ½ years, what exactly is this prepared place and what will they be doing there? First lets look at this wilderness place. This is not some random cave or desert that they go and find comfort away from the dragon but it is a specific place prepared by God, for His people. Jesus spoke saying, “In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” This is one of the few places that Jesus speaks about a prepared place and He said once He prepares that place He will come again and will take them to Himself. Now one may be thinking that He is speaking of preparing a place in heaven but He just got finished saying that there are already rooms in heaven so why would he have to go prepare something that already exists? I do concede though that if that is my only argument, it is fairly weak. Hosea prophesied that, “"Therefore, behold, I will allure her,

and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.” So again we see God promising to bring them into the wilderness in order to speak tenderly to Israel and to distribute the land again. Going forward we see Isaiah say, “"In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages, saying to the prisoners, 'Come out,'to those who are in darkness, 'Appear.’” Isaiah once again points out that God will come to their aid in a time of favor to apportion their heritages. There are several other scriptures that we will cover in a later lesson but I did want to speak about what else will be happening in this place besides the distribution of land. So because He will be with them at this time He will also be fulfilling another scripture we think is meant for us: “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” This is partially what is meant by speaking tenderly to them as He teaches them His ways; and they will finally be His people. This goes on for the entire time that the dragon and the beasts are reigning upon the earth, torturing the Christians.

ref: John 14: 1-7; Hosea 2: 14-15; Isaiah 49: 8-9; Hebrews 8: 8-13

Revelation 12:7

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, (ESV)

There is much speculation as to what this war is and when it takes place. Many believe it took place before the events in the garden in Genesis. This teaching is in large part because of the words of Jesus saying, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning.” I don’t doubt in the least that Jesus saw this but we may misconstrue when and what He actually saw. It may mean that Satan had fell from heaven before the events in the garden and had simply not lost his place and is getting ready to be thrown down again. I say this because in this instance it is heavily suggested that at this war, Satan will not be allowed back into heaven. We know that the first fall did not accomplish this due to his dealings with God in the book of Job where he regularly came to present himself before the LORD with the rest of the sons of God. Most likely it is simply Jesus affirming His disciples when they exclaimed that, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." Jesus, always watching over His disciples, told them He was watching as it happened. We tend to think of Satan as being in hell and on the earth, but scripture makes it clear that he rules the lower heavens.

So sometime between Jesus being caught up to the throne of God and the time before the beast comes there will be this war in heaven. Michael being one of the strongest angels is battling alongside his angels. The dragon, being mighty as well, is battling alongside his angels. As said before these are most likely not the angels that were dealt a blow back in verse 4. Those angels were simply swept down by the power of his tail. These angels battling here are his angels, those who follow him. What we are not exactly sure of is the circumstances regarding how this battle began; what was the inciting offense? It’s possible he had come as before presenting himself to the LORD to accuse one of us and his pride got the best of him. It could be that he got so full of himself he followed Jesus up to heaven and tried to attack Him there (as that was his original intent), and the angels weren’t having it. This, however, is not the case because although he did follow Jesus up to the throne, Jesus led him there to publicly humiliate him. Whatever the case may be it is the timing of this war that concerns us. Now this war may have already begun but keep this scene in your minds because if it has begun already, I’m not convinced it has ended quite yet and will explain this stance in a future lesson.

ref: Luke 10:18; Revelation 13:8; Colossians 2:15; Ephesians 4:8, Ephesians 2:2

Revelation 12:8

but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. (ESV)

It was a valiant effort. He has been defeated by the might of Michael and his angels. Again we like to think that Satan had a third of angels by his side, which may be true; but still we have no scriptural basis for this belief due to scripture not saying how many are his. What is made clear is that there no longer is a place for them in heaven. This word “place” that he lost has a couple of aspects to the meaning. The first part of the meaning is a portion or space (usually marked off or apportioned from a surrounding space). So he literally lost whatever place that might have been suggested as his; he no longer has a place to set his feet in heaven. This is why we believe that from this point forward he is no longer allowed in heaven.

The second meaning is the station/condition regarding opportunity or power in a group or assembly. Like it or not Satan had a job to do that was ordained in heaven. Too often, even though we don’t say it, we believe that God is mostly an absentee God in the affairs and dealings of Satan until things are a complete mess. We think that Satan is down here running amuck and causing havoc and God is hopefully going behind him and cleaning up messes. I argue that this is not the case at all and Satan actually has to ask permission in some cases and receives orders from God in other cases to carry out his actions. For instance in the dealings with Job, it was God who brought it up and told Satan to go and do this and that. In another place, Jesus told Peter that Satan had asked to sift them like wheat and instead of Jesus saying that the answer was “no Satan you can’t do that”; he told him that He had prayed for them. This leads us to believe that Satan asked permission and God had granted. We often speak all sorts of blasphemous judgements over Satan when the decree in many cases probably came from God Himself. Satan is attacking me, Satan made me do it, Satan is trying to destroy this or that. We say many things like this and while many may be true, most likely he had received his orders from God, but most of us will definitely stop short of saying God is attacking me, God made me do it or God is trying to destroy this or that. We so desperately want God to accept us as we are, without change or new birth but we most definitely don’t want to accept God as He is, Holy and Righteous. Satan had a job and a position in heaven and then there was no longer any place for him in heaven to do that job. We will discuss later another aspect of that job and his reaction to having been cast down.

Revelation 12:9

And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world— he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (ESV)

The great dragon is thrown down to the earth, a spectacle for all of heaven to see. That ancient serpent who was in the garden with Adam and Eve is known as the deceiver of the whole world and mankind does many things like him but mainly having to do with deception to ourselves. If we look at his ancient words, “Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?” We as Christians do this ALL of the time in order to deceive ourselves and to twist the words of God. Don’t believe me, watch. Did God actually say, “All scripture is breathed out by God?” Did He actually say, “the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are FEW.” Did God actually say, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.”, and again, “among a thousand people I have found one true man, but among all these I have not found a true woman.”? Did God really say, “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.”? Did He actually say, “And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons (I wonder what dragons?) of the wilderness”, and again, “I hate divorce.”? By twisting the word of God we have helped Satan to deceive the whole world about what it is that God expects from us. When we do this we are guilty of what is spoken of in John saying, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.” From the beginning, of ancient days he was a murderer and telling the exact same lies we tell ourselves on a daily basis. And just in case you think that Satan and his angels are the only ones being thrown down, God also says, “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Faith is fine and indeed very necessary my friends but we as Christians have much good fruit that we are to bear and our time is short.

ref: Genesis 3:1; 2 Timothy 3:16; Matthew 7:14; 1 Timothy 2:12; Ecclesiastes 7:28; Isaiah 45:7 Malachi 1:3, 2:16; John 8:44

Revelation 12:10

And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

We have seen Satan defeated in the war in heaven, and has been hurled to the earth. No sooner did this happen until a voice is heard from heaven saying something very peculiar for the modern Christian to hear; the salvation of God has now come. So for born again Christians this poses a question, if salvation is barely coming at the end times, what exactly did I receive when repented of my sins and believed in the resurrected Jesus? Did not the preacher tell me I had received salvation; but how could this be if salvation only comes when the devil is thrown down? And if salvation hasn’t come, where in the world are those who have died before us? It seems that salvation is not something that we have taken ahold of if this is the case. Looking further, almost every instance salvation is mentioned in the new testament it is in relationship to salvation from an enemy and/or a salvation that is to come. So let’s look at a few of these passages. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Looking at the whole of scripture helps us paint a more vivid picture of the plan of God. Remember earlier when we discussed the coming of Jesus unto the Jews when he led them into the wilderness to be nourished with the word by Him? This is an extension of this verse. It was not speaking of when Jesus had walked the earth but at the end times when salvation comes first to the Jew and then to the gentile. We will discuss this further in another lesson. Again Paul writes, “that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” He is stating that through believing salvation is ever creeping closer in time. He also expands on the armor of God saying “a helmet the hope of salvation.” Saying that the helmet of salvation is the hope of salvation clarifies that it is something that is still hoped for and not yet received. It is our salvation we are receiving from the enemy of God, Satan. He will save us, not necessarily from destruction but from his power. Salvation from the enemies of God, and not only Satan but also possibly from ourselves saying, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” What’s the deal with the fear and trembling? Perhaps it is due to us not obeying the very words of Him who holds salvation. Also it has distinct implications that if we do not work out our salvation then we very well may end up in the fire that is meant for the devil and his angels. So what hope do we have if we have not yet received salvation and in fact have to work it out in order to receive it? That hope lies in what was said to be received by us in the book of Ephesians. “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” We were sealed with the Holy Spirit as a promise to receive the salvation which is from God and His Messiah. This is partly why it is of the utmost importance to stay in good standing with the Holy Spirit and not to blaspheme Him because if you do, the promise of your salvation has left you. And if that happens the ending that is coming will not be pleasant for you as you will be consigned to the fiery lake as you are not able to be forgiven in this age, nor the next.

ref: Romans 1:16; Romans 13:11; 11 Thessalonians 5:8; Philippians 2:12; Ephesians 1:13

Revelation 12: 10-11

for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. (ESV)

We didn’t really have time to cover the second half of verse 10 in the last lesson so we will touch base with that today. Satan being the great accuser had been before God both “day and night” accusing people. So who are these that he is accusing? So far with the exception of one group, every voice in heaven we have heard has come from God, an angel(s), the four living creatures or the elders so it would be safe to say that this voice has likely come from one of these entities and we can probably rule out God or Jesus. So we have a heavenly being referencing a group called “our brothers”. So with Satan being thrown down salvation has come to these brothers, but who exactly are they? If we look backward in the book we may find out who these brothers are. In chapters 6 and 7 we see a group of humans under the altar in heaven and then later these same people are given white robes. These are those that were beheaded during the tribulation. Well apparently Satan had been in heaven accusing these people for an unknown period of time before God. They had made it through the fire of the altar and yet still Satan was most likely still making a case about how they were yet still unworthy. It is peculiar what they were saying at the time they were seen holding palm branches saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” They were last seen acknowledging that God and Jesus were the holders of salvation and I would argue that even though they were given white robes, they had not yet taken hold of salvation until this moment. The reward of Jesus is with Him and now that Satan has been cast from heaven, those that were beheaded have finally received salvation from Him. They received this salvation by the blood of the Lamb AND by the word of their testimony. With Jesus still being in heaven these are the only people who have received salvation as of yet. They are said to be before the throne of God and serve Him “day and night” in His temple. They were not so cowardly as to shrink from death but held on, building up the word of their testimony. Their testimony held them in heaven for this time and once put through the fire and being accused by Satan the blood of the Lamb had made them the redeemed of the Lord. Satan had no case and they have now received salvation from their enemy. Hallelujah! But before the rest of us can get too happy, we will soon hear these words, “woe to you O earth and sea”...

ref: Revelation 6:9-11, 7:9-17

Revelation 12:12

Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!" (ESV)

In the last lesson we explored the different timing of salvation that has now come to the once-beheaded Christians in heaven. Continuing we see that this is a cause for celebration; that Satan being thrown down and defeated by Michael and his angels is the salvation they have been looking forward to. Satan had been accusing them day and night before God all the while we have seen them serving day and night in His temple. I can only imagine as they are serving in the temple before God, Satan pointing in their face about the things they had done (or didn’t do) on earth and their lack of worthiness to stand before his God. So while the heavens and those who dwell in them are rejoicing there is a warning to everyone else; woe! The devil has come down to us in great wrath, because his time is short and he knows that. Now the salvation has come, but...this is not exactly something we want to hear. The devil is here and his wrath is great. We say and assume many things about God and Satan and their relationship between each other and to us. Those in heaven will conquer the devil by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony but we like to think and sing songs saying that we have done these things as well. I argue that this is not accurate in the least due to the use of the word woe. If that conquering is something that we can claim now, how come the Christians on the earth when the devil is thrown down to them can’t claim that same victory but instead get a resounding woe? This is a fundamental problem with the way that Christians think, that we tend to look down upon other Christians, future believers or not, and basically believe that somehow we deserve better than they do. And what’s worse is that we believe these things all the while using the love of God as a crutch to save us that then turns into a hammer to beat them down. For instance, when we look at the problem of the concept of “the rapture”; no matter where on the Revelation timeline one places Christians being swept away, there raises a question: “why didn’t God love those that He knows will end up believing to draw them to Him as little as one day sooner?” Why would He choose to snatch me off the earth but continue to let those who will end up believers stay and endure through what is the worst period on earth ever? Perhaps I’m just a little bit more holy and they needed a little bit more time to simmer; and I’m ok with that. No! Those rejoicing in heaven literally lost their heads over their faith and have conquered. Every other Christian alive during that time gets to go through this time known as the tribulation. The only way out is to die before that time or to be killed in it. Those are the options. We Christians are to endure to the end, not the beginning. Woe to us on the earth because the devil will come down to us and when He is not able to kill off the pregnant woman who gave birth, he will surely turn his wrath toward all the rest of God’s children who are so very content with blaming him for every problem that had ever occurred in their life.

ref: Revelation 7:15

Revelation 12:13

And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. (ESV)

Sometimes I wonder if the devil has lost a battle, because by the way this is worded it almost seems shocking to him that he was thrown down. He saw that he was thrown down and knew that his time was short. He wasted no time and began pursuing the woman who had given birth. He had already tried to destroy Jesus and so now that he knows that cannot happen he goes to destroy the woman. In an earlier lesson we had discussed that this woman is the nation of Israel, but we didn’t really talk about the time period of all of this. Chapter 12 of Revelation spans thousands of years at least. We know this due to the fact that he was trying to devour the male child (being Jesus) and that happened about 2000 years ago. Then we fast forward to this moment in time, which is sometime during the tribulation or just before it. He is furious with the woman and will try his best to destroy the nation of Israel but to no avail. In the next lessons we will discuss the tactics of Satan to destroy her and how Israel will be helped.

Revelation 12:14

But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. (ESV)

Once again we get to explore yet another promise given to Israel that we happily accept as being for the Christian without any thought to the context. Israel is seen here mounting up with wings like eagles in order to flee to the wilderness, so let us explore bible verses pertaining to such references to see if we find biblical evidence for our theft of Israel’s promise. One of the more popular verses says, “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” This is the one most often quoted in songs and so forth but it was not said to us. If we look back to verse 27 we see very clearly that the writer is telling this to Israel. In fact we can use this method in almost every single “feel good” bible quote we use now days, especially if we see those quotes coming from the old testament. It is shockingly peculiar how God goes out of his way to mention the name of Israel in the surrounding verses. We will be careful to point these verses out as we move forward through Revelation. In another verse we get a glimpse of God being the same yesterday and forever; “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” If we put this with the previous lesson of verse 6, we would see Israel once again being mounted up on wings like an eagle and brought to Him to be nourished. Much like He did with Israel earlier with the Egyptians He brings them to Himself. This happens as we look at the last of our reference verses, “keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me.” The deadliest of enemies (Satan) is trying to kill Israel and yet Jesus will keep them safe just as He has promised them. And though we think it is us who will be raptured out and kept from harm during the reign of the beast, we see that for those 3 ½ years it is actually Israel who will be kept from harm under the watchful eyes of our Savior. Salvation truly is first for the Jew and then for the gentile. But going back to the resemblance to that Exodus verse we see what else will be taking place during that time. “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord, ' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." This Jeremiah verse is the prophecy of this very moment. The house of Israel will no longer tell one another to “know the Lord”, because they will all know Him as they are taught during the tribulation period by God.

ref: Isaiah 40:27-31; Exodus 19:4; Psalm 17:8; Jeremiah 31:31-34

Revelation 12:15

The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. (ESV)

So apparently Israel will not be given literal wings with which to fly but figurative wings like the Israelites in Moses’ days had that they used to fly into the wilderness. This passage does raise a very interesting question though; will Satan know the place where Israel will be kept safe? It is not clear whether or not this event takes place as they are fleeing or as they are arriving or somewhere in between but I would argue that it would not matter. God will be with them and He will be their God and they will be His people so it would not matter if Satan came to visit every day because his efforts would be futile. Nevertheless he spews out water from his mouth like a river. Now reading commentaries on this event many scholars believe that this water is not actually water but an army of multitudes with which Satan sends after Israel. Two things stop me from accepting this teaching as truth. The first is that the term water used here is used 79 times in the new testament with every one of them meaning water. I don’t understand why it is so difficult to accept a more literal translation of God’s word. Are there symbols and figures of speech in the bible? Absolutely. But we often see them used when it is hard for the writer to describe what is taking place. Surely John knows what an army chasing after someone looks like so he wouldn’t necessarily need to describe them as water. The second reason I trend toward a literal water view is the line, “sweep her away with a flood.” When translated from the original text this is literally “drown her with water.” So it would appear that Satan is going to pour water from his mouth in hopes to drown Israel. It is interesting that Satan went straight for Israel in the aftermath of him falling and not toward the church first. It definitely says something regarding the place God has for his chosen people Israel and because of the promises He made toward Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, etc that He truly does favor them and that this would make the devil as angry as he is.

Revelation 12:16

But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. (ESV)

Quite a curious passage. All of a sudden the earth reacts on behalf of Israel. Commentators are surprisingly short on their teachings about this verse but are almost all in complete unison as to what it means. They say that the earth is inanimate and that it is not actually the earth that does this but the power of God driven by mercy that makes the earth swallow the river. In at least the next few chapters we will be exploring some very strange ideas; some you may have heard in passing and some you may have never heard. I pray that we remain in the scriptures and let the word of God teach us. The first of these strange ideas is almost the opposite of what scholars try to teach here. I argue that the earth will become animate in some way. While we try to make logical sense of the verse about what would happen, perhaps it is best to listen and accept what John is telling us, that the earth comes to the help of the woman. The earth witnesses what is taking place with Israel and decides to help her out, possibly with the help of God but maybe not. It is a different kind of thought process that can accept the earth actually doing something because we believe that if it’s not a creature then it couldn’t possibly move without some divine intervention. But if we take a look back at scripture this is not that far-fetched an idea. Earlier in this chapter we saw that there was a warning saying, “woe to you, O earth and sea”. Now of course many explain this away saying the earth is Israel and the sea being the gentiles or some other explanation but what if the loud voice was actually speaking to the land and water? A little bit earlier we saw people crying out to the mountains and the rocks to fall on them and hide them. Now they were wanting to be hidden from God so it would not be a divine act that would make this happen but perhaps the realization that the earth acts on its own accord if need be. But that’s not a air tight case so let's go all the way back to book of Joshua. In this scene we have Joshua speaking to the multitude of Israel and is about to send them into their inheritance. When the conversation is coming to an end, they admit to being witnesses against themselves that they would serve the Lord. Then Joshua points out a rock and breaks the news to them, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God." This is what I believe. At sometime during judgement, this very rock may be called in as a credible witness against the Israelites that were there that day. Though they may argue and plead a case this stone will testify against them because it had seen and heard all the Lord commanded to these people. Now if a rock will speak as a witness in the court of God, surely the earth is able to swallow some water in order to save Israel. So the question then becomes, why would the earth do this; why would it choose to pick a side in this battle? Simply, it knows its Creator. Soon heaven and earth will come under judgement along with the rest of everyone else and realizes that its time is short as well.

ref: Revelation 12:12, 6:16; Joshua 24:27

Revelation 12:17

Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea. (ESV)

Can you imagine the fury that must exist inside of the devil? After all he was at one point the pinnacle of all of God’s creation. There was none that were like him and I imagine few who were able to challenge him and yet he finds himself in a position where creation is rebelling against him. Michael and his angels have dealt a difficult blow for him to accept and now the earth itself, the very place of his kingdom, has helped out his enemy. He is furious. Having gotten nowhere with destroying Israel, he goes and makes war against the rest of Israel’s offspring, but who could this be? Up until this point we had not heard about this woman having anymore children since she had the male Son. Ever since He had been snatched up to God she had been multiplying herself with the help of the Holy Spirit. God had been multiplying His children up unto this day and we call these children Christians. Most times these children seem to be Gentile, but sometimes as with the early church, they consist of Jews who hold to the testimony of Jesus. So Satan goes to make war against the Christians. This idea is key to a lot of theology surrounding the book of Revelation that if we understand and accept this principle, many things become so very clear for us in all of God’s word. That principle is this; God protects and keeps Israel from Satan, so the devil then sets out to make war against the Christians. If we cannot accept this truth then most of the events in this book will not make sense. Without the acceptance of this we begin making up all kinds of falsehoods regarding end times events such as the tribulation being Israel’s punishment as well as any kind of rapture theories. We would also start to believe that the acts of the devil are aimed toward those who fail to hold on to the testimony of Jesus. So now we would ask what exactly would qualify someone to be one of these children that Satan is going to make war on? What makes someone a Christian? This single line makes their characteristics very clear; “hold on to the testimony of Jesus and keep the commandments of God”. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy as the word would later proclaim. In other words if one holds that Jesus is exactly what all the prophecies said He was and is and is going to be then that would be one of the qualifiers. We would call that ‘faith’ since it is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. Hoped for as in we need such a Savior as this and not seen as in we have not seen these things. We have a tough time holding on to just that portion but it appears something else is required of us; keep the commandments of God. We would call these things works, since it requires of us something to either do or refrain from doing. We could spend days listing out the commandments we are supposed to be keeping but I’m not going to do that because I believe it is of utmost importance to those who are called by His Name to diligently search the scriptures and find out what it is that He has told us to do and be. If you pay attention to our other weekday posts that occur at 7am you will find many scriptures that pertain to what we are actually supposed to be doing as Christians. Several of which you have seen most recently is the helping of the poor. Whenever this topic comes up you will most often hear this argument as an excuse not to, “bible says if a man don’t work, he don’t eat.” Even if that verse wasn’t speaking to lazy Christians who eat off the fat of the church without contributing (which it is), that would still not excuse us from what it is that Jesus has commanded us to do. Let me break down what is correct for a Christian to do. If He has told me to go and feed a poor person and then He tells that poor person that if he doesn’t work, he doesn’t eat; does that then excuse me from my responsibility of what he commanded me to do? Absolutely not! If anything that would be showing the extreme mercy of God. I bring up this specific commandment of feeding the poor because it will soon become a subject we will tackle in the outplaying of what the beast(s) will be pulling very soon in our studies. We must begin obeying the commands of God and holding on to the testimony of Jesus because soon the devil will be making war against us and the first stop he makes on this endeavor is on the shore(sand) of the sea.