Objective in Studying this Chapter:
1) To note the primary force behind the persecution that was about to come upon the early Christians
2) To appreciate why the persecution of the early church was so intense
THE WOMAN, THE CHILD, AND THE DRAGON (VERSES 1-6)
“Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. 2 Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.
3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. 5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.”
A Brief Introduction
The seven seals have been opened. The seventh trumpet has sounded as we acknowledged last week at the close of chapter 11. We now see associated with the sounding of that seventh trumpet that “a great sign appeared in heaven.”
This is introducing some rather difficult text for us to deal with. If we have seen some things that have not been very clear and somewhat confusing, and that there’s a lot of disagreement about among those who are considered to be scholars in this area, we’re getting into some real ones now! That is, what is meant here? What is this symbolism that John is relating, that John is seeing?
First of all, I think it’s important for us to always keep in mind the figurative nature here; and moreover, you see how John begins this. He says, “Now a great sign appeared in heaven…,” [verse 1a]. Well, we know, then, right from that point onward that we’re not dealing with something which is literal here. We want to attempt to understand it; we want to attempt to define it as best we can, but we’re certainly not dealing with something which is literal, because, once again, John has identified this as a SIGN—something that is representative of something else. Even though what John saw here is something that is really supernatural, it’s something that no doubt defied description, it is something that transpired 2000 years ago, or thereabouts, it is still something that we can share as we read these words. It is as if we are there to see it for ourselves. We want to attempt to understand, of course, as much about this as we possibly can.
We mentioned that, being a sign, the suggestion is that, first of all, this same word that is translated here “sign” could also be translated “miracle” or “wonder.” It was something that was phenomenal, something that was fantastic, something that defied description in human terms. But it was also representative of something, as well. We try not to have too much of a literal approach here to some of these things, albeit, I think we can understand what is being said as we look at it from the figurative point of view.
The Woman with Child (verses 1-2)
John is introducing something of a great conflict, and this conflict is going to be played out here in these next few verses. What John sees, this sign, is a woman clothed with the sun. She is radiant; she is glorious. The moon is under her feet. She’s wearing a crown of twelve starts on her head. She is regally adorned and has this regal appearance about her [“a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars,” [verse 1b].
But, there is a deep contrast which exists. In spite of this regal appearance that she has, she is crying with pain because she is with child—she is in labor to give birth to a child [“Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth,” [verse 2].
The Dragon Ready to Devour the Child (verses 3-4)
“And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.”
And then John sees, again, as a sign, there in verse 3—“another sign appear[ed] in heaven.” This, John sees, is a hideous dragon, red on color, with seven heads, ten horns, and each head crowned with a diadem [a band; a crown; an ornamental headband], or a type of crown. Its huge tail draws down to the earth a third of the stars of heaven in it’s sweep.
The picture here—the scene that is before John’s eyes and that he relates to us—is that this horrid dragon stands ready to devour the Child as soon as the Child is born. It is obvious, it is apparent, that the dragon is the foe of the woman as well as the foe of her Child. And it is obvious, as well, that the radiant woman has a special place, a special way, in the protection of God.
Identifying Who and What These Things are and What They Represent in Verses 1-6
Who Is The Child?
First, let’s ask the question, “Who is the Child?” Well, upon the interpretation of this basic question rests the proper identification of the woman who is so dramatically pictured here.
Verse 5 of the text makes His identify very clear. Notice there: “She bore a male Child Who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron.” Well, this male Child is described in his maleness, if you will, as One Who is “to rule all nations with a rod of iron.” Any idea who this might be? Obviously, it is a reference to Christ, is it not? There is an Old Testament passage, Psalm 2, and verse 9, which is recognized as a Messianic prophecy, which has this very description of Him ruling the nations with a rod of iron [Psalm 2:7-9: “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.’”]. And so, this is understood; this is applied to Christ.
We see, though, that the dragon, even though he would seem to be poised, ready to destroy, ready to devour the Child when its born, is not able to do that. Instead, the Child is caught up to the throne of God before the dragon can devour Him [“And her Child was caught up to God and His throne,” verse 5b]. It becomes very clear that the Child cannot be anyone else except Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the true Messiah of His people.
What or Who Is The Woman?
If the Child, then, is clearly Christ, then who is the woman? The identification of the woman is not going to be quite so easy for us. Roman Catholics identify the woman as the Virgin Mary. And in popular art she is often depicted as having the moon under her feet and stars in her crown. There are a number of famous paintings and works of art that depict her in this way. Yet, the further description of her in later verses in this chapter makes it very difficult to apply and to characterize the woman here as Mary the mother of Jesus.
Some have equated the woman with the nation of Israel, and that is acceptable—that’s an agreeable identification. Others have identified the woman as the church, but since the church was not in existence at the time that Christ was born, it would seem that the church could not be, or would not be, identified as the woman.
Actually, we’ve seen here three identifications of the woman here:
1) Maybe the most obvious, the easiest, is Mary the mother of Jesus. But once again, this does not seem acceptable. This is not able to be fully carried out as we go on through this chapter.
2 & 3) What about the nation of Israel? What about the church? Well, actually, from what reading I have done on this, many, if not most, scholars combine these two. They say that this is a depiction, a sign that is described as a woman giving birth, but it represents the people of God of both the Old Covenant as well as the New Covenant. Under the Old Covenant, this meant the faithful remnant of fleshly Israel from whom the Messiah comes. And under the New Covenant, it means the faithful Christians, the spiritual Israel—the church—the continuing people of God today.
The figure of a “woman” was something that was used in the Old Testament in reference to “the children of Israel,” and something that was also used in the New Testament in reference to “the church.” Let’s take a moment and look at a couple of those references:
References in the Old Testament:
Isaiah 54:5-6: “‘For your Maker is your husband, The LORD of hosts is His Name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth. 6 For the LORD has called you Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, Like a youthful wife when you were refused,’ Says your God.” Well, this is, of course, the prophet speaking of the nation of Israel. He is a prophet to the nation of Israel. He’s speaking here in the illustrative terms about the nation, using this idea of a woman, or of a wife.
Jeremiah 6:2: “I have likened the daughter of Zion To a lovely and delicate woman.” Well, “the daughter of Zion” is another clear reference to the children of Israel.
And so we see here in the Old Testament (and there are other references as well, but these are two clear references) where the figure of a woman is used to represent the people of God, the nation of God, the chosen of God.
References in the New Testament:
2 Corinthians 11:2: “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” Here is the image of the church being a woman, being the bride of Christ. Of course, there any number of references that we could look at in this regard. For example, Ephesians 5, the latter part, where Paul is talking about the husband/wife relationship, and he uses the relationship of Christ to the church in illustrating that [Ephesians 5:22-33: Ephesians 5:22-33: “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious [“radiant” – NIV] church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31 ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”].
Again, we have these clear, very clear, unambiguous references that are made, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, concerning this image, this figure, of a woman representing the people of God. It is too confining to limit the image of the woman to the nation of Israel, or to limit it only to the church. And so we, rather, think about this image, this sign, this vision that John had of a woman, as representing the redeemed of God of every age, the faithful of God of every age.
We may have some difficulty with this concept, this idea of it giving birth, or being the one who gave life to Christ, but if we think about it in the sense that we know that God chose the nation of Israel—His special people—for the express purpose of “bring forth” His Son. Now, they, as a people, didn’t give birth in a literal way, but once again, we’re not talking here about a literal birth. We’re talking about a sign; we’re talking about a figure.
And if we think about it in the sense of God’s faithful people even today, we can see that brings into His realm, if you will, the faith of both the Old and the New Testaments. In fact, this is related a bit to some of what we discussed last week about what purpose, what function, the nation of Israel had. Again, we might think about what Paul has to say. Look over in Galatians, chapter 4 and verses 21-26 in this regard: “Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar — 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children — 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.”
Well, does that relate here? I believe that it does. Again, we’re speaking here about a sign, a symbol, of this image that John has; and I think that it will become clearer to us as we go along. So, it is from fleshly Israel that the Messiah shall come and did come and the Old Testament looks forward to that. Those who make up the seed of the woman are the ones who keep God’s commandments and have the Testimony of Christ Jesus. The Child that she shall bring forth is her firstborn Son followed by MANY sons, many who become heirs—heirs of Christ. [See below for “heirs” and “sons.”]
[Romans 8:16-17: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”
Galatians 3:26-29: “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Ephesians 3:1-6: “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles — 2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the Gospel….”
Titus 3:4-7: “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 Whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Hebrews 2:10-11: “For it was fitting for Him, for Whom are all things and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren….”].
What or Who Is The Dragon?
Let’s look at the dragon. What or who is the dragon? He is clearly called in verse 9 “…that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world….” He will also be identified the same way in chapter 20 and verse 2 [“…that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan….”]. In fact, in chapter 12 there occur for us more names for the devil than in any other place in Scripture. He is pictured here as being horrible, as being cruel. He’s pictured here as having horns, which indicates his power. You’ll recall that under the Old Testament scheme of things and in the economy [of words—the management of words] of also the 1st Century world that “horns” were representative of power, so he is pictured as having great power.
He has seven heads crowned with diadems, symbolizing, possibly, his cleverness and his sovereignty over men.
And the stars that he drags down from the heavens are those that he, as the arch foe of God, has drawn down with him. Several writers agree that they represent his angels. There is one writer who writes this: “He traces through the Old Testament the various efforts that were made to try to thwart the coming of Christ into the world to block God’s plan of redemption.”
Well, this is a rather impressive story, whether or not that’s what is primarily referred to in this passage. It would appear, though, that what is being spoken of here in this passage does concern—it is connected with—Satan’s desire, Satan’s attempts, to destroy the Messiah as He comes into the world.
We see, of course, that if we look at the imagery here, that if we look at it on the grand scale, there is this contest. Satan knows what is transpiring. He knows what it will mean when the Son of God comes to the world, to his realm, to his domain. This, by the way, is something that has been anticipated, something that has been looked forward to, all the way from Genesis, the third chapter, right after the fall of man. And so, Satan, in anticipation of the coming of the Son of God, has done everything that he can do to be prepared, to be ready. We see in his workings with God’s people under the Old Covenant, that they were always in apostasy; they were always engaging in idolatry and other pagan behavior and whatnot. But he is very concerned about the coming of the Messiah, the Son of God, because he understands, he knows, what that is going to mean. And if he can in some way, in some fashion, destroy “the second Adam,” he will be victorious. He was involved in the successful fall of the first Adam, and Jesus is used metaphorically, of course, as “the second Adam.” Satan was successful in being a part of, a party to, the fall of the first Adam. So, his desire, his intention, is to make “the second Adam” fall as well.
We know that Satan’s involvement, his activity, his work, began almost immediately after the birth of the Child, Jesus. We know what happened in the city of Bethlehem when Herod, the King, called for all the male children, ages two years and below, to be slaughtered, to be murdered. Do you think Satan had any involvement, any participation, in that? Well, of course he did! Do you think that that was an attempt on his part, perhaps, to annihilate, to wipe out, the Messiah, the Son of God? Of course it was!
Then we see, as Jesus is about to begin His earthly ministry, that Satan is directly involved in the very specific, the very direct, temptation of our Lord. Of course, we know that he was unsuccessful with that, Matthew, chapter 4. We know that that was not the last, the final, attempt by Satan to tempt, to cause the Son of God to sin, to fall, to be unsuccessful, in His mission on behalf of His Father, but this continued throughout the earthly ministry of our Lord [Luke 4:13: “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.”].
Satan, no doubt, used direct attempts, but moreover, he was involved in the trouble, the problems, the confrontations that Jesus always encountered, whether it was with the Pharisees, whether it was with those who were close to Him, who followed Him, and so on. And then, of course, Satan was involved in all of the events leading right up to the death of Jesus.
I think this is the sense of what this sign would be that John is seeing here, that the Son of God, that the Messiah, is to come forth. Of course, what John is seeing here had already transpired, it had already taken place; it’s history. But what John is relating to these people of the 1st Century to whom he writes, who are so oppressed and so persecuted, brings encouragement to them by refreshing their minds, their memories, about the victory that Christ had over Satan.
I think that we can see ALL of these things, then, in that first section of Revelation, chapter 12—this image of the Child, of the woman and of the dragon, who is Satan, or the devil.
The “Man Child”
When the woman brought forth her child, it was a “man Child.” The Greek text here is very strong in the way that it’s written. It literally reads, “son, a male child,” which is a redundant expression. Redundancy used in this way makes the point very specific. The “maleness” of this Child is particularly emphasized, as if to say that He was strong, that He was powerful, that He was a ruler, that He was a leader, that He would be One Who would rule all nations with a rod of iron.
That Satan, that the devil, failed to kill Him as he had slaughtered the male babies in Bethlehem—that he failed to thwart the Messiah through the temptations to distract and to derail Him from His purpose—that Satan failed to overwhelm Him even through the instrumentality of those who were closest to Him, those like Peter, when Peter attempted to dissuade Him from the path of going to Jerusalem to face death and Jesus would say, “Get thee behind Me, Satan,” Matthew 16, verse 23—and that Satan failed to kill Him, or to overcome Him, in the struggles of Gethsemane—all of these eloquently proclaim the dragon’s failure.
Can you see now this picture, this image that John has before him, of the birth of the Messiah, of the Son of God, Him coming forth into the world, and the dragon, the devil, Satan himself, ready to devour Him, desirous of devouring Him? But at every turn, at every attempt, he failed to do so.
The Child would eventually be snatched up to God’s throne and to fellowship with God. For not even death could overwhelm Him [Romans 6:8-9: “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.”].
The Outcome of the Child and the Woman (verses 5-6)
“She bore a male Child Who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.”
The woman who had born the male Child, God’s Messiah, now is provided a place that has been prepared by God where she may feed for “one thousand two hundred and sixty days,” verse 6, for SHE is still the object of the devil’s wrath.
Now, we talked about this “1260” days before. We’d seen this number of days, or this period of time, mentioned in chapter 11, verse 2and 3, and we’ll see it again in chapter 12 here, and verse 14. You’ll recall that we had described this as being a period with a beginning and with an end—no, not that it’s specifically 1260 days, or 3 ½ years, but it is a period with a beginning and with an end. It represents the period of tribulation, the period of time when the people of God, the children of God, will be oppressed and persecuted.
But during all of this time, she, the woman (and, if you will, the people of God) will be protected and will be cared for in the providence of God—she will be nourished in her place in the wilderness [Providence: the foreknowledge that allows appropriate provision: Philippians 4:19: “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”]. In the Old Testament, the wilderness wandering was the period in Israel’s history when God nourished her [Israel], as a people, and was a period when God led her. In the same way now, God’s people will be nourished, will be led, by His Own power.
It would appear from this that following the ascension of Christ to God’s throne, the woman [representing the redeemed of God of every age, the faithful of God of every age] begins the time when she is fed and cared for by God in “the wilderness.” The time would be representative of her great trials, and this would continue until the end, that is, until the coming of the Lord the second time. And this is the time of “the great tribulation.” In this symbolic way, in this term, the whole of “the last days,” or “the Christian Age,” which we are currently in, is included, is embraced. As we have seen, other interpreters refer to this term as “the final time,” the final period of distress, of oppression, of persecution—the time that we are in even to this day.
There is a reference that we could make—the description of the dragon resembles a figure, a vision that is in Daniel, the seventh chapter.
[Daniel 7:1-8: “In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts.
2 Daniel spoke, saying, ‘I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it.
5 ‘And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: “Arise, devour much flesh!”
6 ‘After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.
7 ‘After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.’”]
There, four beasts are described, and those represent the successive world powers in history, where the seven heads are divided among the four beasts. All of those are concentrated into this one image, this one picture, this one overwhelming image of evil here in Revelation, chapter 12. My point is, that while in Daniel the picture there of four beasts represented four independent or separate secular empires that were evil, here in Revelation 12, those four are sort of boiled down, or concentrated down, now into this one image of Satan himself. While those empires were the workers of Satan, now here we have this image of Satan concentrated in this dragon.
SATAN THROWN OUT OF HEAVEN (VERSES 7-12)
“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the Word of their Testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.’”
A War in Heaven (verses 7-9)
“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
Here we see a heavenly struggle, a heavenly warfare, if you will. There are two forces that are engaged, that are locked in this struggle. There is one who is named here by John—Michael [verse 7]. He is called elsewhere in Scripture the “archangel,” Jude 9 [“Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’”]. He’s also identified on the Old Testament as sort of a “special patron” of Israel, if you will, and her defender, Daniel, chapter 10, verses 13 and 21 [“But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia…But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince….”)] and Daniel, chapter 12, verse 1 [“At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book.”].
We might wonder and say, “Well, why would Michael necessarily be associated with this?” or “Why is he specifically identified.” It’s, no doubt, because Michael was the one who was involved, but there is also a certain symbolism, as well, for those who were Christians converted from Judaism who would have had this special affinity for Michael—knowing him from the Old Testament as being the defender and special patron of the children of Israel.
In this struggle Michael leads his angels in the fight against the dragon and his angels. Michael stands as sort of the angelic representative of the power of goodness, of right, in this strife, in this struggle, in this warfare, against evil. Through the triumphant rise of “the Child,” of the Messiah, to the throne of God, —and you recall from the first section in this chapter, that is the eventuality of the Child; He does escape the clutches of the dragon, and He does ascend to the throne in heaven—the dragon is cast out so that he no longer can accuse the saints before God. No longer can his accusations be lodged against them because their sins have been covered, their sins have been cared for, and that, of course, in the sacrifice of the Child, of the Son of God, on the cross, the shedding of His blood. Indeed, we are washed with the blood of the Lamb. Now, because of what Christ has done, God’s justice is satisfied and, here again, no longer can Satan, the accuser, —and by the way that is what that word, that title, means; it means “accuser” in the Hebrew language—accuse the people of God and have any credibility in being able to do that.
We might recall, we might think about, that scene in the heavenly realm that is described for us in the first and second chapters of Job, where Satan is in this discussion with God. What is it that he is doing? What is it that he is pictured as doing in that discussion? Well, he is accusing the man of God [Job] of not really being who God thinks that he is . Satan IS the accuser of mankind. But because of what the Child, the Son, has done, then there is no longer a place, there is no longer the opportunity, for him to accuse those who are the children of God.
The dragon and his angels “did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him,” [verses 8-9]. Now, this is, perhaps, a difficult section. It’s looked at by folks in a number of different ways.
Some folks look at this section of Scripture as being a description for where Satan came from, that there was some cataclysmic warfare that took place in the heavenly realm at some time in eons past, and Satan was defeated and he and his angels were cast down to the earth. Thus, they say, there we have a description for where Satan came from and so on.
I’m not sure that that is really the Message that we have here. We do understand and we do know the origin of Satan. He is a fallen angel. But, I think what we have in view here is not so much a literal war, as if Michael and his battalions and legions had a knock-down-drag-out fight with Satan and his angels, and Michael and his angels won. Rather, it is a symbolic battle, symbolic of the war that was waged by Jesus Christ on earth against Satan and his demons, and which made it impossible, then, for Satan to any longer hold men in the grip of his tyranny. So, I think what we are looking at here, again, is something that is symbolic.
There is no question that the one that is being identified, the one who is being spoken of here, is the dragon, that so-called “serpent of old”—and again, we can refer back to Genesis, chapter 3, and see that there [the serpent tempting Eve]—but he is called the Devil(that Greek word, Diabolos, means “slanderer” [an accuser, a slanderer—from diaballo, to accuse, to malign]), and he is called Satan (that carries with it the idea of “adversary” and that could be an adversary of any kind if we go back to the Hebrew word).
Again, we’re looking at Satan’s defeat. Because of what Christ has done, because of the warfare that the Son of God waged on him on the earth and was victorious—and NO, we can’t go back in history and find the historical account of some great battle that took place on a battlefield with armor and chariots and horses and all those kinds of things—because of the perfect life that Christ was able to live on this earth, He defeated Satan, the accuser, the adversary of men.
Satan has been defeated. The “final chapter” is still being written, but the outcome of that “chapter” is already known, and we have that here in the New Testament. We’re reminded of that catchy little statement that’s actually in the words of a contemporary song, “I’ve read the back of the book, and WE WIN!” The victory has already taken place. The “final chapter,” though, is still being written, and we are a part of, we are living out, that “final chapter.” Satan’s defeat is complete and final, but he is not yet destroyed. He continues to work his evil, having great wrath because he knows that he has this “short time,” [verse 12].
A Loud Voice in Heaven (verses 10-12)
“Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the Word of their Testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.’”
This is a song of triumph. John has been witnessing this sign, he’s seen this sign that we have described and now he hears this loud voice in heaven extolling this victory of Christ in all of its cosmic significance, if you will. Salvation is now come!
Satan not only induced men to sin, but then, He accused them of their guilt before God’s bar of justice, demanding that they receive their justice. Now, this may be a bit simplistic, but I think it is actual. We may have a difficult time picturing this, but again, I refer us back to Job, the first chapter, and this scene which is played out twice there where Satan, the serpent, the accuser, goes before God accusing one of God’s righteous. So, in this sense, Satan has induced men to sin, and then, he accuses men, demanding justice. But through the atonement of Jesus Christ, there are no longer grounds for an accusation for you and me because Jesus has taken away our sins. He has satisfied the perfect justice of God. We can stand before God pure and clean. We can stand before God sinless. We can stand before God without accusation as long as we are in the blood of Christ. That is what this represents to us here. As Paul would say, “Who shall bring a charge against God's elect?” Romans 8:33. Well, really? Who can lay a charge? Satan cannot do that any longer. By means of the blood of the Lamb we have overcome the accuser, and by means of the Word of our Testimony, which was sealed with His death and with our participating in the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus. [Verses 10-11: “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”]
Therefore, (now, get the picture here). Therefore, all of heaven, those who dwell in the heavens, are called upon to rejoice [“Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them!” verse 12a]. Is this a picture of the great cloud of witnesses that the Hebrew writer speaks about in Hebrews, chapter 12 [“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God,” Hebrews 12:1-2]? Is this a picture of the angels in heaven who rejoice when one sinner repents [“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance,” Luke 15:4-7]? I think it’s all of them.
Our struggle in this life is not going unobserved, and we have “a cheering section.” We have those who are desirous…yes, each one of us share in that with one another…but have a heavenly chorus, we have a heavenly “cheering section,” if you will, who rejoiced over the victory that Christ had over the accuser, over the old serpent, but moreover, who continue to rejoice, even to this day. In effect, and I don’t want to minimize this, but they are “cheering us on” in this life. And here we see indication of that in this song of triumph.
THE FAILED ATTEMPT TO PERSECUTE THE WOMAN (VERSES 13-17)
“Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the Commandments of God and have the Testimony of Jesus Christ.”
The Dragon’s Attempt to Persecute the Woman (verses 13-17)
What do we have in view here? Simply that the dragon has failed. He’s been cast out of heaven and he knows—we need to understand this, even impress it on our minds. Satan is not oblivious; he’s not ignorant to what is going on here. Again, the battle’s been fought, the victory’s been won and he knows that he’s been defeated, BUT he is compelled to bring as many down, to take as many down, with him as he possibly can. So he is filled with wrath, and he attempts to take out his vengeance upon the woman [“Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child,” Verse 13].
Well, again, who is the woman? She is symbolic of the faithful of God of every age. So, he persecutes this woman who brought forth the man child, and God steps in to protect her.
This is beautiful imagery here. The woman is given the wings of a great eagle to fly to her prepared place in the wilderness. This, of course, is taken from the imagery of the Old Testament, Exodus, chapter 19, verse 4, where we read about Israel being borne up on the wings of an eagle—that symbolic imagery of the mother eagle bearing her young on her wings, and so on. [Exodus 19:3-6: “And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” These are the Words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.’”]
God, thus, provides the means of escape for the woman and provides a place of security. And “she is nourished for a time and times and half a time,” [verse 14] which is, in light of what we have already looked at from back in chapter 11 and from Daniel 7:25, a period of one thousand two hundred sixty [1260] days or forty-two months. Again, it represents the period of tribulation; it represents the period of time that we are in right now—the whole period, if you will, until He comes again.
This dragon, called “the serpent”in verse 16, tries, like a “water monster,” to overwhelm the woman by casting out his mouth floods of water to carry her away. He wishes to engulf her, that is, the people of God, to drown her. However, he fails in his attempt and the earth swallows up the water of the flood just as the sand in the desert swallows up streams flowing through it [“So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth,” verses 15-16].
What did Jesus promise concerning His kingdom? What did He say would, or could, prevail against His kingdom? Nothing! Not even the gates of Hades, He said, will prevail against the church, Matthew 16:18 [“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”].
The Dragon’s Intent to Persecute the Woman’s Offspring (verse 17)
Again, the dragon is very angry with the woman and since he fails to destroy her and her Son, he has failed in his battle. So, he concentrates his attention on the remnant of her seed [“And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ,” verse 17].
Once again, we are looking at the fact that we are living in that time—we’re living in the last day; we’re living in the time that is in view here; we’re living in the time when Satan continues to prevail…not pressing on toward victory, because the victory has already been won, but rather, to take as many casualties as he possibly can.
I think I may have shared this with you before, but I read this a while back, and it sort of helped me to picture this. The image was given of the first Gulf War back in 1990 when the coalition forces had ejected the Iraqis out of Kuwait and they were into the southern part of Iraq, etc. And you remember what Saddam Hussein and his forces did as they were leaving Kuwait? Well, they were clearly defeated—there was no victory to be won at all. But what did they do? They brought as much destruction as they possibly could—lighting those gas wells on fire and destroying the infrastructure, and just doing everything imaginable. Why? To win the war? No, the war had already been lost. But simply in the evil mindset of that tyrant, he was going to make it as hard, as difficult as possible—he was going to take as many casualties as he could. He wasn’t going to go quietly.
That is, perhaps, an example of the same thing that we see here in the actions/reactions of Satan. His desire is to take as many casualties as he can. He goes about, as Peter said, like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour [“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, Who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen,” 1 Peter 5:8-11]. And Satan is seeking to devour you and me.