Revelation 12, Satan Cast Down

Two "witnesses" have appeared and been destroyed, then resurrected.  The seventh trumpet has sounded – along with the third Woe? – and heaven has been opened. 

Revelation 12: 1-6, The woman and the dragon

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".

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.

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.

1. Two Witnesses (Rev 11)
2. The Beast from the Abyss, killer of the Witnesses (Rev 11)
3. The Pregnant Woman and her Child,
4. The Dragon (7 heads, 10 hours), identified as Satan,
5. Michael, the archangel.

The list of characters will grow in the next chapter.

Revelation 11, Two Witnesses and the Seventh Trumpet

John has eaten the scroll of a might angel, feeling the sweetness, then the nausea of that scroll.  Then he is told to prophesy to all the world....

Revelation 11: 1-2, John to measure the temple

I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there.  But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. 

John measures the temple.  Why?  (This measurement is then not mentioned again, as we move on with the events regarding the witnesses.)

Revelation 11: 3-6, The two witnesses

And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth."  These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 

If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die.  These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want. 

We have two witnesses, two olive trees, two lampstands.  [As Tim Hall points out in a comment, this imagery occurs in the Old Testament, in Zechariah's vision, Zechariah 4.]  

The Witnesses seem indestructible, with supernatural powers.  They seem to represent God, in some way?

If we view a year as 360 days then the period 1260 days is 3 and a half years. Much has been made of this. Those who see a specific historical period of the "Great Tribulation" see that period as lasting seven years and so this event would occur halfway through that time.

Revelation 11: 7-10, The death of the two witnesses

Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them.  Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.  For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial.  The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. 

The witnesses seem indestructible.  And then they are destroyed.  They are destroyed by a Beast that comes up out of the Abyss (Hades?) Their bodies are displayed for 3 1/2 days.

Why does 3 1/2 suddenly appear throughout this passage?  (1260 days = 42 months = 3 1/2 years.)

Revelation 11: 11-14, Their revival

But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them.  Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.  

At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. 

The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon. 

Yet the Witnesses live on, at God's command.  Who are they? Nothing is said here about the beast; presumably it lives on?

And so ends the second woe.

Revelation 11: 15-18, The last trumpet

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever."  

And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.  The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great-- and for destroying those who destroy the earth." 

Finally, the seventh trumpet sounds. It apparently announces the final kingdom of the world, the heavenly kingdom.

What is said to occur with the sounding of this last trumpet?

Revelation 11: 19, The last trumpet

Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm.

What does it mean for God's temple to "open"?

The chaos here will continue in the next chapter as a woman dressed in sunlight appears, and is pursued by a red dragon.

Revelation 10, Angel 'Twixt Land and Sea

The seven seals have been removed, the scroll of history unrolled, leading to seven angels with seven trumpets.  The seventh trumpet has now sounded. But, as before, there is an interlude between the sixth and seventh event.

Revelation 10: 1-4, The mighty angel

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars.  He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. 

And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down." 

This angel is dramatic, majestic.  He plants a foot on the sea and one on land, as if he were larger than either.  He too has a scroll and seven thunders respond to his shout.  But John in prevented from communicating the message of the seven thunders.  After all the things revealed so far, suddenly something is hidden from John.  Why?

Revelation 10: 5-7, No more delay

Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven.  And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, "There will be no more delay!  But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets." 

Note the word "delay". The people of John's time asked, "Why had Jesus delayed his return?" Two thousand years later that question is certainly stronger, sharper. But John says that someday the "delay" will finally end.

Revelation 10: 8-11, Eating the angel's scroll

Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: "Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land."  

So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. 

He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey."  

I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.  

Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings."

In this vision, John ingests the scroll and it starts sweet in his mouth but brings nausea afterwards. And then John is told to go further in the prophesy, prepared to address all people and all nations, all languages and kings.

Revelation 9, Three Trumpets, Three Woes

Four trumpets have been sounded. Each has announced something falling from heaven to strike the one-third of the earth.

Revelation 9: 1-12, The fifth trumpet

The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss.  When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.  And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.  They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.  They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 

This falling star set loose locusts. This time there appears to be no real destruction (of "one-third") as previously, but pain and suffering.

Revelation 9: 1-12, The first woe

During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.  The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces.  Their hair was like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth.  They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.  They had tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. 

They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.

The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come. 

The NIV footnotes say that Abaddon and Apollyon mean "Destroyer".   The star that fell with the fifth trumpet seems to be the "angel of the Abyss", that is Satan, Destroyer.

There are more "locusts".

The first four trumpets brought destruction; the last three will bring "woes".

Revelation 9: 13-19, The sixth trumpet

The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God.  It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."  And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. 

The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number.  The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur.  A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths.  The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury. 

Four angels are released. The Euphrates is mentioned in Genesis 2:14-16 as bordering the Garden of Eden. Once again, a third are killed.  Mounted troops number 200,000,000, a large number even in modern times!

Revelation 9: 20-21, The world's reaction to the plagues

The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood--idols that cannot see or hear or walk.  Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Despite the horrible disasters, mankind is resistant to change.  The most persistent charge against mankind is their idolatry, their worship of gods made by idols. But they also murder, steal, are sexually immoral and involved in "magic arts".

Why didn't the people repent?

Revelation 8, A Burning Star

John saw the One of the Throne with a scroll that could not be opened, until the Lamb appeared to unseal this scroll.  Then (in chapter 6), six of the seven of the seals of the scroll were removed. Finally, in this chapter, the last seal is removed.  We now will see a repetition of the count to seven, representing either new events or a parallel description of the previous events.

Revelation 8: 1-6, The scroll opened

When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.  And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.  Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.  The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand.  Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.  

Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them. 

The scroll is finally opened, after removing seven seals. Now we have seven trumpets sounded by seven angels.

Why is there silence for a time?

Revelation 8: 7, The first trumpet is sounded

The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. 

The trumpet played by the first angel brings hail and fire "mixed with blood", burning up a third of the earth. Something is "hurled down" upon the earth -- this image will be repeated.

Revelation 8: 8-9, The second trumpet is sounded

The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. 

The trumpet played by the second angel brings a blazing mountain into the sea and a third of the sea is destroyed, along with animals in it and ships sailing on it.

Revelation 8: 10-11, The third trumpet is sounded

The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water-- the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. 

Again something falls from the sky and a third is destroyed. What is the significance of the name of the star? (It is given to us as if it had meaning; Wormwood means Bitterness, say the NIV footnotes.) Is this falling star an astronomical phenomena? Or a metaphor for an angelic event?

Revelation 8: 12-14, The fourth trumpet is sounded

The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.  As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: "Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!"

Could these four trumpets all be explaining the same event?  In each case, one-third of something is destroyed: earth, sea, waters, stars.

There have been four trumpets.  Three more will be heard in the next chapter.

Revelation 7, The Great Multitude

The first six seals of the Scroll have been removed.  Only one remains.

Revelation 7: 1-3, Preparations to open the scroll

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.  Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:  "Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God." 

A horrible natural disaster is about to unfold.

What do the seals on foreheads represent?  It indicates some type of identification and protection. (The beast also seals people, see chapter 13.)

Revelation 7: 4-8, Those of Israel sealed by God

Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.  From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000. 

Each of the twelve tribes of Israel has twelve thousand who are "sealed". Is this intended to be literal? Or is there something deeper, some symbolic meaning intended by the 12,000 from each tribe?

Revelation 7: 9-12 ,The great multitude

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.  And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."  

All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,  saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" 

Whatever the role of the 144, 000 in the previous paragraph, they are part of a larger "great multitude", larger beyond counting.

Revelation 7: 13-17, Who are they?

Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes--who are they, and where did they come from?"  

I answered, "Sir, you know." 

And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.  Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat.  For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

This large multitude have come out of a great tribulation and now receive every protection and honor God can bestow on them.  I look forward to that time when "God will wipe away ever tear from their eyes."

Many view the "great tribulation" as a particular short time in future history, with a specific start date and end date (such as World War II, for example.) But that need not be the interpretation of this phrase.  In it is possible that the entire church age, or various episodes of it, can be described as the "great tribulation", as Christians await the eventual redemption of the universe.

In the next chapter the scroll is opened.

The Book of Revelation

The book at the end of the Bible, the book of Revelation, is a fascinating book!  It is majestic, with a cosmological view of the role of Jesus, the Jewish Messiah.  It deserves regular reading within the churches; it deserves much more exposure than it gets!

The book includes a promise to those who read it, the only book with such a promise. Despite this promise (given in verse 1:3) it is not much read in American churches, probably because of the tendency for some to view it as some type of timeline of current events and to then attempt to interpret it.  But the book is much larger than any prophetic timeline and (in my opinion) a search for a timeline is to search for something that the book does not give.

The book gives a large, cosmological view of God working within the human race and of the general resistance of the human race (and world system) to the things of God. Christians are told to be patient and to persevere, keep their eyes on Jesus. The book describes the end of creation and the universe in majestic terms, leading to a new heaven and a new earth at the end.

The book has a lot to say about Jesus, identifying him as God, the One sitting on the throne of heaven, with tremendous power and purpose.  It is the identity of Jesus that explains the importance of patient confidence that is expected of the believer.  Jesus is described by name thirteen times in the book, is described as the "First and Last" three times and as the "Lamb" 27 times!  In this book we get a view of Jesus that is very different from the gospels; here he is not just  a view of him not as Savior but Creator and Judge.

The book also includes numerous short praise choruses, sung by heavenly beings.

The book of Revelation is full of symbolic language.  Most of it cannot be taken literally. It is called "Revelation" and so our struggle is to understand. "What does this book reveal?"

The book breaks into three pieces, an introductory vision and statement to seven churches (chapters 1-3), then the main vision (chapters 4-19) which describe the eventual downfall of the world system and then a final vision (chapters 20-22) of judgement, defeat of Satan and the appearance of a new heaven and earth.

There are a number of ways to interpret Revelation.  I will not elaborate on those here, other than to say that the Christian who believes that God has really given this revelation to his Church must then understand that the book is not intended for a small group of people at the end of the age, but for all Christians everywhere.  I think this principle --  that this book was as relevant to Martin Luther as it is to Christians of the twenty-first (or thirty-first) century -- gives some guidance on how it is to be interpreted.

To quote Merrill Tenney, "No other part of Scripture has proved so fascinating to expositors, and no other has suffered so much at their hands."  Let us read this book with fascination and excitement and avoid ruining it with wild speculation.

Resources for a study in Revelation

OverviewBible.com has a nice summary of Luke here. along with theme verses and other simple "overviews".  In a similar way, a nice Youtube video project, The Bible Project, has some short capsules on the book, Luke 1-9, and Luke 10-24.  These are nicely done, great for an introductory class on this book.

I have two commentaries on Revelation, Interpreting Revelation by Merrill Tenney and another, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, by Walvoord.  I prefer the first, for Merrill Tenney always emphasizes trying to carefully read and understand the text, without jumping to conclusions or claiming some quick spiritual hit.  (Indeed, I recommend any commentary by Tenney!  I have three.)

My friend, Tim Hall, recommends a sermon by D. A. Carson on Revelation 12. Although the sermon focuses on the twelfth chapter, it has a lot of good things to say about the message of Revelation.