Revelation 12:1-17

1. the woman – 12:1-2
1. the remarkable vision of this chapter begins by looking backwards
1. the first coming of Christ – 1-2, 5
2. the return of Christ to heaven – 5
3. then it looks forward to the return of Christ – 5
4. it looks forward to the events of the tribulation period
2. John’s vision was symbolic rather than literal – 1
1. "wonder" means miracle or sign
2. John feels the necessity to call this fact to our attention even though the facts made it obvious
1. she is wearing the sun, and for shoes she wears the moon
2. for her hat she wears a crown studded with twelve stars
3. this would imply that most of Revelation should be taken literally
3. the meaning of the sign: who is the woman
1. the woman is not actually in Heaven, but upon the earth
2. the sign is in Heaven, but the birth takes place right here on this earth
3. the woman, clothed in the most unusual attire anyone could ever wear, is ISRAEL
1. remember Joseph’s dream in the OT, he saw the sun, the moon, and stars bowing down to him
2. Israel is the woman who brought forth the man-child who is to rule with a rod of iron
3. Israel brought forth the Redeemer, the Church did not produce the Savior
4. Israel is often spoken of as a woman married to God under the terms of the old covenant
4. the woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet and the stars upon her head, presents a complete system of government
5. the crown on the woman's head signifies royal dignity
1. these stars point back to Joseph's dream in which the future glory of the twelve tribes is set forth
2. every promise made to Abraham will be fulfilled to the letter
4. who is the child that is to be born – 2
1. she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron – 5
2. her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne – 5
3. certainly the child can be none other than the Lord Jesus Christ
5. OT prophecy says that the birth will come before the time of travail – Isaiah 66:7
1. the travailing and pain for Israel is yet future, during Daniel's seventieth week
2. before that time of travailing, Israel was to bring forth a man child – Jesus
3. the travail will come centuries after the birth, depending upon how much longer Jesus tarries
4. why, in our present Scripture, are the travail and birth mentioned together
1. the long period of time that Israel is set aside is not mentioned in our present chapter, but is fully discussed in many other books in the Bible
2. the reason for the birth of Jesus being mentioned in this Scripture is to connect Him with Israel during this terrible time of Jacob's trouble
3. God has not forgotten His own, and He never will
6. Remember, we are dealing with earth and Israel in this chapter
7. the Church is with Jesus in the air, and has been since the beginning of the reign of the Antichrist
8. the Church is to be raptured before the Antichrist is revealed
9. Israel is on earth in her own land, The false messiah is in power
10. now, during the last three and a half years of the Tribulation, all hell will brake loose
2. the red dragon – 12:3-4
1. the red dragon is Satan – 9
1. the Bible tells of evil spirits, and of Satan as the head of them
2. reason is reluctant to receive such a doctrine
3. it is one of the favorite devices of Satan to try to persuade people that no such being as he exists
4. some think it is impossible for such an evil power to find a place in God’s creation
5. but there is no greater difficulty in explaining the existence of wicked angels than the existence of wicked people
6. The very nature of moral government implies and necessitates the possibility of evil
7. God never made an evil being; but He made moral beings with the ability to do wrong as well as good
2. the dragon had seven heads and ten horns
1. the head is the governing power, and implies rule
1. when crowned, it implies political rule
2. the seven heads of the dragon are all crowned, indicating sovereign rule as a dictator
2. the number of the crowned heads is seven, which is the number of completeness and fullness
1. we have in these heads the symbol all government in this world from beginning to end, the universal control of the earth in all periods
2. we do not need to bother ourselves about the seven hill on which the city of Rome was built
3. nor about the seven dynasties, which are said to have marked the history of the Roman Empire
4. nor go on a search through the history of the world to find seven successive governments to press history into
5. the number is the symbol of fullness and completeness, which takes in all of its kind in the world
6. It is nothing more nor less than earth's political system, however and wherever put forth, from the beginning of time to the day of judgment
7. God is sovereign; but in this world, Satan has usurped much of God’s control
8. three times in the gospel of John, Jesus pronounces him "The Prince of this world"
9. Paul speaks of him as the "god of this world"
10. the kingdoms of the world are not yet our Lord's, nor will they be until the last trumpet sounds
11. God has not resigned His sovereignty over the world; but Satan has a hold on the nations
12. the image before us presents him as wearing the crowns of all the governments of this world
3. the ten horns
1. his ten horns point to the future
2. he will be the unseen force behind ten kings who will rule over the ten kingdoms
3. he will carry on his government through the heads of these kingdoms
3. this dragon is red
1. this was the color of the horse whose rider was to take peace out of the earth, and who filled the world with bloodshed and slaughter
2. it tells of flaming heat, of intensity of fierceness, of bloody administrations
3. this well describes the inmost nature of Satan, He is a fierce and murderous being, cruel, bloodthirsty, and ever intent on destruction
4. Jesus says, "He was a murderer from the beginning"
5. he is the destroyer of both souls and bodies
4. another feature specially noted is his greatness
1. great in power and strength
2. great in wisdom and cunning
5. the dragon's tail will pull down one-third of the stars in Heaven
1. these heavenly bodies with which we are now dealing are not the little stars that twinkle
2. the stars here are angels - 9
3. Satan, the red dragon mentioned here, was at onetime the leader of all stars
4. there was a day when Lucifer, "the shining one," became so jealous of God that he decided to overthrow God
5. he brain washed some of the angels, and they allied with him in an all-out attempt to overthrow the God who had created them
6. the Bible does not say how many angels Satan led astray, except here in this Scripture, where the dragon pulls ONE-THIRD of the stars down to earth
7. they were drawn from their place of shining in God's great Heaven of beauty
6. he stands ready to devour the woman's man child the moment it is born
1. the dragon was not trying to destroy the WOMAN -- but the SON . . . Jesus
2. in Genesis 3:15 God announced to Satan that the Seed of the woman would bruise his head
3. at that moment war was declared between the Seed of the woman and the seed of the devil
4. the battle became bloody when Cain killed Abel (Satan attempt to destroy the Seed)
5. the battle raged through the Old Testament and was renewed in the New Testament
1. he tried to corrupt the seed in the Old Testament era
2. he tried to kill the Baby when it was born
3. he caused the parents to forget the Child when He was twelve years of age
4. an unholy crowd tried to push Him over a cliff, they tried to stone Him
5. it continued in all bitterness until at last Jesus proclaimed, "It is finished!"
6. Jesus Christ the Son of God had a single mission to fulfill, and He marched on until He could say, "It is finished!"
6. thank God, the devil and all hell went down in defeat because Christ arose
3. the child – 12:5-6
1. the man child that is born is Jesus Christ
1. OT scriptural proof: "to rule all nations with a rod of iron" – Psalm 2:9
2. He has already ascended into heaven [caught up unto …]
3. in this verse we are looking both backwards and forwards; viewing both the first and second coming
2. when Christ comes back He will put down all opposition and rebellion on earth [rule … rod of iron)
1. He will break them with a rod of iron and dash them to pieces
2. if the peace-nicks of this world could come up with a plan that works, there would be no need for military action
3. there is no other way of putting down rebellion except by force
4. how else will Christ be able to rule in a rebellious world
1. are the rulers in this world prepare to surrender to Him, and turn their authority over to Him
2. is the United States prepared to yield to Jesus Christ
3. if any would say "yes," why don’t they do it now
4. they could yield to Him today, but they are in rebellion against Him
5. we all hate violence and war, but it is the only way to put down rebellion
6. the Lord Jesus Christ is going to rule
3. God will protect and care for His chosen people during the last half of the tribulation – 6
1. no mention is made of the many hundreds of years between the Ascension (v. 5) and the future Tribulation (v. 6)
1. only God knows the centuries covered in Revelation 12, and God has plenty of time
2. we can rest assured that God's program is running on schedule
2. in the middle of the seven years of tribulation, Israel will be forced to flee into the prepared place lest she be completely annihilated
3. the woman Israel fleeing into the wilderness signifies a place devoid of natural resources, and a place of complete isolation
1. the Bible tells us that Israel will again be fed as in the days when God rained manna from Heaven and sent quail for meat
2. if God did it then, could He not do it again
3. "when ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains" – Matt 24:15-22
1. this refers to the middle of Daniel's seventieth week of prophecy
2. the time when antichrist breaks all his promises to the Jews who are then back in their own land
3. the people in Judaea are here instructed to flee to the mountains when they see the "abomination of desolation" stand in the holy place
4. except those days should be shortened there would not be any flesh saved (Matt. 24:22), but for the sake of Israel those days will be shortened
4. a war in heaven – 12:7-12
1. it might be difficult to imagine a war in heaven – 7
1. long ago Satan fell from his exalted position at the throne of God
2. Satan still has access to heaven and the presence of God
3. as long as Satan can be in heaven, there will be a problem
4. that situation is about to be ended
5. Satan and his angels have been allowed in heaven for thousands of years by the grace of God, but the time has come to expel them
6. there will be a fierce struggle because satan will not retire easily
2. Satan will not win this battle – 8-9
1. God could have destroyed Satan and his angels with His spoken word
1. instead, He allowed His faithful angels to do battle with the wicked angels
2. after a long restraint, Michael is finally permitted to enter into direct combat with his ancient foe
2. Satan’s privileges in heaven are to be withdrawn
1. he is to be limited exclusively to the earth
2. Michael and his angels will gladly enter into this battle to remove Satan and purify the heavens
3. the weapons of this warfare will be beyond our understanding
1. angels cannot be injured or slain with earthly weapons
2. the physical forces, such as we know about, will not move spiritual beings
3. this event also marks the middle of the tribulation period
1. the rapture of the two witnesses, the treaty with the Jews broken, and the flight of Israel also mark the middle of the tribulation
2. all these events will happen within a short time of each other
4. the names and tiles that are listed of the wicked one, removes all doubt of his identity
1. the old serpent in genesis is the great dragon in Revelation (dragon is a present day dinosaur)
2. the Satan that tempted Job is the devil that tempted Christ
3. he is the great enemy of God and of God’s people throughout the ages
4. he often appears deceptively as an angel of light or a minister of righteousness
5. an amazing assertion: he is the deceiver of the whole world
1. the educated and ignorant, kings and paupers, male and female, strong and weak are all deceived by him
2. all the high-sounding philosophies that were ever conceived by brilliant thinkers, aid Satan in his deception
1. these high-minded philosophies are all man-originated, man-centered, and man-honoring rather than God-centered and God-honoring
2. the philosophies of man are all based on a denial of God’s Word as supreme, true, and final
1. they assert man’s reasoning into the judgment of God’s Word
2. If Satan can persuade man to question, doubt, modify, or compromise the Word of God, he will defeat God’s purposes in creation
3. how can he deceive the whole world into rejecting God’s Word and believing the lie of humanism
1. by persuading man that God is not real, and that the universe is the only real eternal entity
2. teaching that our universe is in a perpetual state of evolutionary flux, ever changing but always interconnected
3. all humanistic philosophies are based on the grand deception of evolution
4. the devil is effectively deceiving the world by using the same deception whereby he deceive himself: that he could be God
3. the rejoicing of those in heaven – 10-12
1. when the heavens are finally cleansed of all demonic powers, there will be a glad cry of victory from around the throne of God – 10
2. the coming of God’s kingdom and the reign of Christ are again the object of their thankful praise – 10
1. this time the celebration will be more exciting than ever (if that’s possible)
2. it has now been demonstrated that the omnipotent God and even His angels can defeat Satan
3. truly Satan is a defeated foe
3. the object of thanksgiving is the fact that Satan no longer has personal access to God – 10
1. this was a privilege that he had abused through the ages by continually accusing the saints
2. when such accusation are made, Jesus Christ is our intercessor and advocate
3. Satan’s presence and continual accusations are an intense irritant in heaven
4. great will be the rejoicing when he is finally kicked out forever
4. a testimony by the heavenly saints concerning the tribulation saints – 11
1. these tribulation saints, like many other saints through the ages, have maintained their faith and testimony in the face of martyrdom
2. Satan’s slanders become hollow and empty when they prove the genuineness of their faith even in the presents of opposition, ridicule, suffering, and death
5. Satan’s wrath – 12
1. while those in heaven can experience great joy, it will be great woe for those on earth
2. the believers on earth will undergo the most severe persecutions to which Satan can subject them
3. all other inhabitants of earth must be quickly organized into a massive army against God
1. his demonic host had proven insufficient
2. Satan’s only hope is the ungodly men and women still left on earth
3. it is a foolish and desperate hope, but it is all he has
4. he knows that on God’s calendar he only has forty-two months left
5. the inhabitants of earth must quickly be sealed in their rejection of God
5. the dragon’s persecution of the woman – 12:13-17
1. the last wave of anti-Semitism to hit this world – 13
1. Satan hates Israel because Christ came from this nation according to the flesh
2. this is the Time of Jacob’s Trouble
1. some think that the present return of Israel to their land is for the coming Millennium
2. the truth is, they have gone back for the Great Tribulation Period
2. in order to escape the wrath of the beast, she requires special help – 14
1. some people think that the "two wings of a great eagle" is speaking of airplanes
2. "two wings of a great eagle" is not something unusual to the people of Israel
1. it is reminiscent of the grace of God in His past deliverance of Israel from Egypt
2. "how I bare you on eagle’s wings, and brought you to myself" – Exodus 19"4
3. they did not come out of Egypt by their own effort or ability
4. they came out because God brought them out, and eagle’s wings was a symbol of that
3. once she reaches her place prepared by God, she will be "nourished"
1. the Jewish remnant will be kept secure in a definite place and for a definite time
2. as hard as Satan will try, he will be unable to reach the woman in the wilderness
3. Satan’s attempt to destroy the woman – 15
1. the most probable meaning of this sign is a massive army sent to destroy the Jewish people
2. Satan mounts want seems to be an invincible attack
1. how will he be stopped; there is no nation there to stop him
2. God is there, and He will destroy him with natural forces [earth opened her mouth]
3. God is equal to and greater than all our needs
4. God’s great help – 16
1. with all his wrath, cleverness and power; Satan cannot reach one person who is under God’s protection
2. the whole scene before us reminds us of the pursuit of Israel by Pharaoh at the time of the Exodus
3. whatever the exact fulfillment of this prophecy may be, it is devastating to the purposes of Satan
5. the remnant of Israel – 17
1. this may refer to the 144,000 who were sealed
2. a testimony concerning this remnant
1. they keep the commandments of God
2. they have the testimony of Jesus Christ
3. some would have us believe that these two thing cannot go together
4. these tribulation saints find them compatible, even in the most difficult circumstances
3. Satan leads this attack against these people because of the man child – Jesus Christ
6. isn’t it remarkable …
1. that such a small and insignificant nation could be the focus of so much attention
2. that the Israelites who have been scattered around the world for thousands of years still retain their national identity and still feel that the land of Israel is their home land