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The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

Seed Basket’s look at Revelation continues with chapter twelve. The subtitle refers to symbols for Israel, Jesus and Satan.

It is important to realize that this chapter refers to several different eras in history: the past, present day, and the future.

Also, I just want to remind you that we should never get so preoccupied with the future that we forget to be devoted to God’s calling on our lives, today, to share the Gospel and to pray for and be faithful to our family of faith. Above all, don’t be afraid.

Many of you are familiar with this passage:

“So, humble yourselves under the mighty power of God,

and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.

He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 

Stand firm against him and be strong in your faith.

Remember that your family of believers all over the world

is going through the same kind of suffering you are.”

1 Peter 5:6-9 (NLT)

The Woman is Israel

A great 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 labor and agony as she was about to give birth.  

Revelation 12:1 & 2 (CSB)

The Dragon is Satan

Then another sign appeared in heaven: There was a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven crowns Its tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth it might devour her child.  

Revelation 12:3 & 4 (CSB)

The Child Is Jesus

She gave birth to a Son, a male who is going to rule all nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and to his throne.  The woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, to be nourished there for 1,260 days.

Revelation 12:5 & 6 (CSB)

Verse five is a look back to the birth of Jesus and Satan’s intense hatred for Him. Satan used such wicked men as Herod to look for a way to kill the Savior. This single verse details the rest of Christs’ time on earth and the verse ends with His ascension back to Heaven.

The last part of this passage tells how long Israel will be protected from destruction during the tribulation.

As you read the next part of our study of chapter twelve, you may see why I opened with the passage from 1 Peter. We need to be vigilant in our prayer life and in keeping God’s Word in our hearts.

A war breaks out in heaven. Michael, called “the archangel” in Jude 1:9, and his angels fight against the dragon, Satan, and the dragon and his angels fight back. Michael appears in Scripture as the defender of holiness and all that is good.

Satan is the fourth of seven key individuals listed in this passage which refers to Satan as “the dragon”. Satan appears in Scripture as the perpetrator of evil and everything opposed to God. Ephesians 2:2 refers to him as “the prince of the power of the air.”

The conflict between good and evil rages today, as Satan attacks believers (1 Peter 5:8). Using trials and temptations, he tries to render believers spiritually ineffective. Ephesians 6:10–12 reminds us that we are engaged in a vicious warfare with the Devil and his demonic followers.

Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, but he could not prevail, and there was no place for them in heaven any longer. So, the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say,

The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Christ
have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them
before our God day and night,
has been thrown down.
They conquered him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
for they did not love their lives
to the point of death.
Therefore rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them!
Woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has come down to you
with great fury,
because he knows his time is short

Revelation 12:7-12 (CSB)

Now take a look at the end of chapter twelve.

The Woman (Israel) Persecuted

When the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given two wings of a great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent’s presence to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, times, and half a time. From his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river flowing after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth helped the woman. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. So, the dragon was furious with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep the commands of God and hold firmly to the testimony about Jesus. The dragon stood on the sand of the sea.

Revelation 12:13-18 (CSB)

Israel will be relentlessly persecuted because God brought Jesus to the world through Israel. The Messiah—in Matthew 2:2 refers to Him as king of the Jews.

Satan’s hatred of our Savior unfolds in Eden. It was in the garden of Eden that God told him, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he [Jesus the Messiah] shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15).

All of the assaults on Israel come through the provocation of Satan. But even their enemies know God. Just look at the remark made in the last few days by Iranian press leaks. They admitted that Israel still stands because of Supernatural Forces. God.

There are two more figures left to be revealed in our next study of Revelation.

Please share the Gospel in your world. Pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.