Two "witnesses" have appeared and been destroyed, then resurrected. The seventh trumpet has sounded – along with the third Woe? – and heaven has been opened.
A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.
Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.
She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
What does it mean "another sign appeared in heaven"? Is this in the sky? Or in God's Heaven?
Who is the woman? Who is her child? The woman and the child are part of God's plan and the dragon's attempt to kill the child is defeated. One-third of the stars are swept out of the sky. The Child is snatched up to heaven while the woman flees into the desert.
The woman may be Israel and her child the Messiah, Jesus.
1260 days occurs again, as does the destruction of "one-third".
The woman may be Israel and her child the Messiah, Jesus.
1260 days occurs again, as does the destruction of "one-third".
Revelation 12: 7-9, War in heaven
And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
When was Satan thrown from heaven? (See Luke 10:18)
I think we see Satan thrown from heaven a number of times in this book. If the downfall of Satan is a single event then it appears to be outside of time.
I think we see Satan thrown from heaven a number of times in this book. If the downfall of Satan is a single event then it appears to be outside of time.
Revelation 12: 10-12, Satan thrown to earth
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short."
The devil now concentrates on earth? Why is he called the accuser? How was the "accuser" overcome?
The devil's defeat and exile to earth is not good for earth....
Revelation 12: 13-17, Satan pursues the woman
When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring--those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
The woman spends 3 1/2 "times" in the desert, before the serpent attempts to sweep her away in a river. The river is defeated by the earth. Then the dragon attacks the woman's children, the followers of Jesus. (Is there any way to view any of this literally? Surely not....)
The woman continues to be pursued by the dragon.
We need to keep track of a cast of characters. So far, in these two chapters we have seen the following.
The woman continues to be pursued by the dragon.
We need to keep track of a cast of characters. So far, in these two chapters we have seen the following.
- Two Witnesses (Rev 11)
- The Beast from the Abyss, killer of the Witnesses (Rev 11)
- The Pregnant Woman and her Child,
- The Dragon (7 heads, 10 hours), identified as Satan,
- Michael, the archangel.
The list of characters will grow in the next chapter.
Best sermon I've heard on this chapter: http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/how-long-o-lord-steadying-our-soul-in-the-midst-of-the-storm
ReplyDeleteReally clear interpretation of the vision of the Woman in the Wilderness as the Covenant people of God and the flight from the dragon as a summary of the world-historical conflict between the Kingdom of God and the rebellion of the devil. My comments here are becoming "why I'm amillennial now, and this is exhibit A.
The sermon by D. A. Carson is a good reference. He does a good job, I think, of suggesting a reasonable interpretation of Revelation. I've added a link to that sermon now in several places.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I've told you the joke of a friend of mine, who claims to be a "pan-millenialist". He claims "it will all pan out in the end".
That it will surely do!
ReplyDelete