THE WOMAN AND THE RED DRAGON |
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As we saw in our last study, as we move into Revelation chapter 12, we are actually backtracking in the book. We have what is called the law of recurrence. As chapter 11 closed we were at the verge of seeing the Lord take back what belong to Him. When the angel sounded the 7th trumpet it set off a time of celebration in heaven. In 11:15 John heard “great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” John saw the moment nearing when the Lord Jesus will come back to the earth and establish His rule and reign over the earth, a reign he will never relinquish.
As we move from chapter 11 to chapter 12, instead of seeing that moment happening, in chapters 12-14 we are taken back to the beginning of the Tribulation Period. We are taken back to where we started in chapter 4 and once again brought through the tribulation to the point that we were at when we came to the end of chapter 11.
Chapters 4-11 focus on the chronology of the Tribulation period. Chapters 12-14 focus on the characters of the Tribulation Period. As I mentioned in our last study, in chapter 4-11 the Lord Jesus Christ is the focus. In chapters 12-14, the anti-Christ is the focus. In chapters 4-11 we are given a broad picture of the Tribulation Period. In chapter 12-14 we are given the details. As one has said, in chapter 4-11 we see the Tribulation Period through a telescope. In chapters 12-14 we see it through a microscope.
This is important to understand or you will come up with all kinds of interpretations and theories about what is happening in Revelation. You could be like the young preacher who was interviewing for his first Church. The Pulpit Committee had met with him to interview him. One of the committee asked, “Son, do you know your Bible pretty good?” The young preacher said, “Yes, pretty good.” The chairman asked, “Which part do you know best?” “The New Testament” was the young preachers answer. The chairman said, “Well, why don’t you tell us the story of the Prodigal Son.” The young preacher said he would be glad to and proceeded.
"There was a man of the Pharisees name Nicodemus, who went down to Jericho by night and he fell upon stony ground and the thorns choked him half to death. The next morning Solomon and his wife, Gomorrah, came by, and carried him down to the ark for Moses to take care of. But, as he was going through the Eastern Gate into the Ark, he caught his hair in a limb and he hung there forty days and forty nights and he afterwards did hunger. And, the ravens came and fed him.
As I said, it is important to understand what is happening in chapter 12 to have an accurate understanding of the next three chapters.
Let’s begin looking at the 12th chapter and notice a woman and a red dragon. As I said earlier, chapters 12-14 focus on the characters of the Tribulation Period. There are 7 characters that we will meet in chapter 12-13. In chapter 12, we are going to meet a woman, a dragon, a man-child, and Michael the Archangel. In chapter 13 we meet the beast out of the sea and the beast out of the earth.
In our present study we are going to meet the woman, the dragon, and the man-child. Let’s begin by first noticing:
1. THE APPEARANCE OF THE WOMAN
We read in verse 1, “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” The word “wonder” refers to a miracle or a supernatural sign which would indicate that what was seen was symbolic. John saw a woman clothed with the sun, the moon was under her feet, and on her head 12 stars. Obviously, this is not a real woman. John did not see a woman who wore the sun as a coat, the moon as a pair of shoes, and the stars as a hat. Obviously, this woman is symbolic.
There has been a difference of opinion as to the identity of the woman. There have been those who said she represented the Virgin Mary. Still others say she represents the Church. Several years ago, Mary Baker Patterson Glover Eddy, founder of the Christian Scientists, claimed that she was this woman and the man-child brought forth was the religion she established. As for me, I think the identification of the woman is clearly given to us in the description of this woman.
Notice with me:
A) The Clothing Of The Woman
Again notice that John saw “a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” These symbols find their roots in the Old Testament and a particular prophecy that was given to Joseph.
We read in Genesis 37 of a series of dreams God gave to Joseph. The symbolism of his second dream gives us the identification of the woman in Revelation 12. We read of that dream in Genesis 37:9: “And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.” The sun in Joseph’s dream represented his father Jacob; the moon his mother Rachel; and the stars his brothers (there were 12 boys in the family). It was well understood that the sun, moon and 12 stars were a symbol for the nation of Israel.
The woman that John saw represented the nation of Israel. That this is the nation of Israel is further substantiated in:
B) The Child Of The Woman
We read in verse 2, “And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.” This woman is described as a woman in labor about to give birth to a child. Who that child is clearly defined in verse 5, “And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.” This is clearly a description of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It was from the nation of Israel that the Lord Jesus came. He was born of Jewish parents and His Jewish heritage is often stated in the Bible. He is called the “Son of David” and the “Son of Abraham” in Matthew 1:11. The Lord Jesus was a Jew by birth.
In Genesis 3:15 the prophecy was given of the Lord Jesus, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” The woman was the nation of Israel and Christ being the seed of Israel.
In Romans 9 Paul gave this description of the nation of Israel: “Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; [5] Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.” Paul described the nation of Israel gave us Christ.
John saw the Lord Jesus as the ruling One. Verse 5 says that Christ “was to rule all nations with a rod of iron.” We see the fulfillment of this prophecy in Revelation 19:15, “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” As we have been seeing all through the Book of Revelation, the Lord will rule and reign over this earth and all the nations of the earth. He will take rule with a “rod of iron.”
John also saw Christ as the resurrected One. He saw in verse 5 how “her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.” The words “caught up” are the same that describe how the Christian will one day be caught up (1 Thess. 4:17). Jesus died, rose again and then ascended, or was caught up, back into heaven.
The labor and birth pains of verse 2 speak of how for centuries of times the nation of Israel longed for the coming of the Messiah. As John Phillips says in his commentary on Revelation, “The promised Seed, of course, was to come through Israel…That was the great hope of the nation, the ringing theme of the prophets, the grand climax toward which all else pointed. Every devout Jewish mother hoped that through her would come that Seed. The nation agonized throughout its long history for the coming of the promised Messiah.” (Exploring Revelation)
Even today, Jews await the return of the Messiah. According to the Talmud, Jews are obligated not only to believe in the messiah, but to yearn for his arrival. Thus the list of credos recited daily by many traditional Jews concludes: "I believe with perfect faith in the advent of the messiah, and though he may tarry, I will await his arrival every day."
On the Passover seder, there is the tradition of opening the door for Elijah, who, according to the prophet Malachi, will precede the coming of the Messiah.
What they don’t see is that the Messiah has already come and Jesus was the promised Messiah. The nation of Israel gave birth to their long awaited Messiah, yet did not accept Him. John declared in John 1:10-11, “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. [11] He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”
That Messiah is none other than the Christ who died on Calvary’s cross, was buried, but rose from the dead on the third day and was caught up to heaven where He awaits the hour when He will come back to rule and reign upon the earth.
Secondly, notice with me not only the appearance of the woman, but also:
2. THE ADVERSARY OF THE WOMAN
There was a second wonder that appeared in the heavens. We read in verse 3, “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.” The identity of the great red dragon is plainly stated in verse 9: “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan.”
We see this great red dragon (Satan) has an adversary of the woman – an adversary of the nation of Israel. Notice with me closer by first noticing:
A) The Features of the Red Dragon
Again symbolism is used to describe the character of Satan. First, he is described as a “dragon.” A dragon is a picture of fierceness and brutality. He is described as a “red dragon.” Red is the color of war, bloodshed and death. In Revelation 6:4 we saw a rider on a red horse with a sword given to him to take peace from the earth and to bring death upon mankind. Satan is the ultimate killer, fierce and brutal in all His ways. Jesus said in John 8:44 that he was “a murderer from the beginning.”
We see that he is described as “having seven heads.” Seven, as we have seen several times in Revelation, is the number of completeness. Heads is the symbol of wisdom. Make no mistake about it, the devil is a very wise foe. In Ezekiel 28:12 it is said of the devil before his fall, “Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.” His wisdom is a corrupt wisdom, but none the less, he has complete and full wisdom.
He is also described as having “ten horns.” Horns in the Bible are a symbol of power. Satan is not all-powerful, but he is powerful.
He is also described as having “seven crowns upon his heads.” Crowns are a symbol of authority. As I have mentioned in previous studies, he is called the “god of this world” and the “prince of this world” in the Bible. At the present, he is the ruler of this world.
Secondly, you see:
B) The Fall of the Red Dragon
We read in verse 4, “And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth.” This speaks of the fall of Satan and the angels of heaven that fell with him. There was a time in eternity past when the devil tried to usurp God’s throne. There were other angels that joined in the revolt and both them and the devil were cast out of heaven.
I drew your attention to Isaiah 14 in an earlier study, but let me once again share the passage with you. We read in Isaiah 14:12-15, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! [13] For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: [14] I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. [15] Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”
John sees this fall of Satan and the angels with him. The “stars” that were drawn in by the tail of the red dragon speaks of the angels that joined in Satan’s revolt and were cast from heaven. Verse 4 indicates that 1/3 of the angels joined in the revolt and were cast with Satan out of heaven. We now know these fallen angels as demons.
Since his fall and the tempting of Adam and Eve, he has exercised his power and authority over this world. There are some who only see the devil as some cartoon character running around in a red suit with a pitchfork in his hand. But he is more than a cartoon character. He is real and alive and well.
Lastly, notice with me:
3. THE AFFLICTION OF THE WOMAN
Israel, as symbolized by the women, is seen as a people enduring much sorrow and suffering. There is no people that has ever suffered as much as the Jewish people. No people has been persecuted as much as the Jewish people. Throughout history, they have been the objects of scorn and attacks.
One of the most heart-wrenching and disturbing places I have ever visited was the Dachau concentration camp outside of Munich, Germany. Col. William W. Quinn of the 7th U.S. Army wrote: “Dachau, 1933-1945, will stand for all time as one of history's most gruesome symbols of inhumanity. There our troops found sights, sounds, and stenches horrible beyond belief, cruelties so enormous as to be incomprehensible to the normal mind. Dachau and death were synonymous."
After going through it, I rolled and tossed all night with images of what I saw going through my mind. The SS Barracks have been turned into a museum. It is full of pictures and things from the camp in the days of Hitler. As I entered, you can hear people talking among themselves. But as you move through the museum it got quieter and quieter. By the time you got to the end you could hear people sniffing and sobbing.
At the other end is the crematorium where the bodies of thousands of Jew were cremated. Inside the crematorium are the infamous gas chambers. Behind the crematorium there is the pistol range where thousands of Jews were executed. Again, it was a very disturbing place to visit. I still cringe when I think about what I saw. Yet, it stands in memorial of a persecuted people, a people persecuted through out all of history.
As I said, no people have suffered like the Jewish people. John sees some of the persecution of the Jewish people. They are described in Revelation 12 as:
A) A Hated People
One of the reasons the Jewish people have been so hated and persecuted is because the devil hates the nation of Israel. He has been the master-mind and instigator of all their persecution. Why does the devil so hate the Jewish people they he does? We read in verse 4, “and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”
He hates them because from them came Christ. He does not hate them because they are Jews. He hates them because from them came the Lord Jesus Christ. He hates Jesus, thus He hates the Jews. He does not hate Jesus because of the Jews. He hates the Jews because of Jesus.
John describes how the red dragon “stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered.” Even before Christ was born, Satan did everything he could to destroy the nation of Israel. When God said in Genesis 3:15 Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel,” he knew exactly what that meant. He knew that woman to be Israel and from her the Messiah would come. From that point on, Israel was a nation in his cross-hairs.
The Old Testament is a story of how nation after nation came against Israel to destroy them. Where do you think all that antagonism came from? The devil was behind it all. Wipe out Israel and God could not keep His promise.
John also describes in verse 4 how the Red Dragon was waiting for the woman’s child “to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.” He fought tooth and nail the birth of the Lord Jesus. He was behind Herod killing all the male babies two and under in hopes one would be the Christ-child.
Again, the Jewish people are a hated people because from them came Christ. During the tribulation, this persecution by Satan will intensify. John describes this intensified persecution.
We not only see them as a hated people, but also as:
B) A Hiding People
In verse 6 we read, “And the woman fled into the wilderness.” John mentions are particular period of time in the latter part of verse 6: “a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” This is a number of days and a length of time we have seen several times in Revelation. It is a period of 3 ½ years.
This no doubt refers to the second 3 ½ years of the Tribulation Period. During the first period, the anti-Christ will make a covenant with Israel and bring in a time of peace. But in the middle of the seven year tribulation period, he will break his covenant and set himself against Israel.
Jesus described this time in Matthew 24:15-22, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) [16] Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: [17] Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: [18] Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. [19] And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! [20] But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: [21] For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. [22] And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.”
It will be a time when they will flee into the wilderness and the mountains. Where they will flee is described by John “where she hath a place prepared of God.”
There are many who believe this place to be the ancient city of Petra. Petra (meaning rock) lies about 3-5 hours south of modern Amman, about 2 hours north of Aqaba, on the edges of the mountainous desert of the Wadi Araba. The city is surrounded by towering hills of rust-coloured sandstone which gave the city some natural protection against invaders. The entrance into Petra is through what is called the Sig, a ravine enclosed by immense walls that reach hundreds of feet at places. It’s layout makes for a good place to hide and seek shelter.
Back in the 1920’s, there was a man in US, known as W. E. Blackstone. This man was so certain that Petra would be the secret hideout of Jews during the tribulation, that he invested $8,000.00 to place boxes of Bibles in all of the caves in Petra, so that the Jews would have some interesting reading when they were hiding from the ravages of war.
We do not know if it be the place they will seek shelter or not, but there will be a place prepared for them by God that will give them protection from the anti-Christ and his armies, all energized by Satan and his hatred for Christ and the people from whom He came.
John also describes them as:
C) A Helped People
We read in verse 6, “that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” Wherever they flee to hide, there will be those that will feed them and take care of them. Who they are, I’m not sure. Just as Satan is behind the hatred of the Jews, God will be behind the helping of the Jews.
There has been a war going on through the ages and it will reach its culmination during the Tribulation Period. It is a spiritual war – a war between Satan and Christ.
I don’t have to tell you who is going to win this war. It may appear as if the devil is winning. There are times when it looks like the devil is getting the upper-hand in this war.
I read about a man who walked by a baseball field where a little league baseball game was being played. He looked up at the scoreboard and it read 21 to 0. A little boy was sitting on the bench of the losing team. He said to him, “Son, it doesn’t look very good for your team, does it.” The little boy cheerfully replied, “Oh no, we haven’t come to bat yet.”
Let me assure you that when God comes to bat, the outcome will change. He will wipe the deficient out real quickly. I’m glad that I’m on the winning side.
© 2005 by the Living Word |