The Book of Revelation Chapters 12-16 May 18, 2016

1-3 4-7 8-11 12-16 17-19 20 21-22 Vision of Jesus and Seven letters to seven churches Throne of God & Scroll with seven seals Seven trumpets Christ, the Dragon & the Seven Bowls The Harlot on Seven Hills & the Bride The King reigns New Heaven & New Earth Each ends with a promise of 2nd Coming Christ wipes away every tear (7:17) Christ will reign forever & ever (11:15) Fall of the nations “It is done” (16:17) Rider on the White Horse (19:16) Judge & Lake of Fire I am coming quickly (22:20)

Revelation 12:1-3 The Woman and the Dragon 1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.

Revelation 12:4-6 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. 5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

Revelation 12:1-6 One of the MOST crucial questions is who is this woman? Roman Catholics interpret her as the Virgin Mary Many protestant interpreters see her as the church through out the ages Better is that she is seen as the redeemed people of God as He sees them Another way of saying the above – and the most reasonable interpretation – is that this Israel – Israel – God’s covenant people Important to recognize interpretive signs/marks: Sun, moon and stars – from Joseph’s dream in Gen. 37:9-10 Jacob interpreted this (after Joseph told him of the dream) as himself, Rachel and Joseph’s brothers as they all bowed down before Joseph Jesus came to the world out of Israel – His humanity born from Israel

Revelation 12:1-6 The woman represents how God has seen His covenant people throughout time – Israel primarily, the church is the new Israel This vision is – remember – in heavenly time We are seeing from God’s perspective the events of the devil’s assault on His people and the coming of Jesus into creation playing out The dragon is identified for us in verse 9 – he is Satan (“the accuser”) – the signs further show more of his attributes: He is noted as “great” because of the vast power he possesses He is “red” to illustrate that he is a murderer He is a “dragon” because of the viciousness of his character The “Seven heads” speak of complete wisdom – this goes to Ezekiel 28:12 which describes Lucifer’s origin, “…full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty”

Revelation 12:1-6 The dragon is identified for us in verse 9 – he is Satan (“the accuser” or “adversary”) – the signs further show more of his attributes: (Cont.) “Ten horns” mean the amount of power he holds – NOTE: Ephesians 6:12, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” “Seven crowns” speak to his blasphemous kingly claims “Swept down one third of the stars” indicates the extent of the rebellion he led in heaven His hatred is shown in the fact that he “stood in front of the woman … so that he might devour her child the moment He was born” We can see throughout scripture the devil’s efforts to defeat and kill Jesus

Revelation 12:1-6 The Child is, obviously, Jesus – He is born to “rule all nations with an iron scepter” That He “was caught up to God and His throne” is a clear reference to His ascension to Heaven Do not misunderstand His being “caught up” to heaven – this is both the literal description of His ascension but also the illustration of His victory over Satan The woman being God’s covenant people “fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days” This is likely NOT a literal place but it certainly shows God’s protection of His people from His wrath as it must happen against the world Just as He marked His followers now He prepares and protects them from the horrors of His judgements on the world

Revelation 12:7-9 Satan Thrown Down to Earth 7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Revelation 12:7-9 There is a mystery here as to when this happens – are we seeing chronologically or are we seeing heavenly (out of our sense of time) It is safe to believe from scriptural references (Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28, Luke 10:18) that Satan has been defeated and thrown from heaven Satan was further defeated a second time with Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection So – are we seeing backward (in our perspective) or are we seeing a final attempt by Satan and his demons to attack God and heaven? There are no solid clues here; though, given the flow of the Revelation it would seem this is mentioned when Satan knows “his time is short” it could be the third attempt, but I believe it is the past being seen BUT, remember that Satan has had access to heaven as we know from scripture (Job, Jude 9, Luke 22:31) so he may have used this to make his final attempt

Revelation 12:7-9 Regardless of which time this falls into – Satan’s ultimate defeat is shown and he knows it – this drives his desperate attacks and efforts against us and God He is defeated by God’s army of angels led by Michael the Archangel It is notable that Michael seems to have a special relationship or responsibility with Israel He is mentioned in Daniel 10:13 that Michael holds a heavenly place as a “prince” in assisting Israel and her people There is no mistaking Satan and his imprint on the pain of God’s people He is “the old serpent” going back to the fall of man in the garden Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Revelation 12:10-12 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

Revelation 12:10-12 See the span of human history shown in the previous 9 verses: the fall, Israel called as God’s people, the coming of the Messiah, satanic opposition to Jesus, Jesus’ ascension to heaven, the devil cast down, God’s protection of His people, Christ’s final rule of His people The great voice is likely the voices of the Old Testament saints and martyrs rejoicing Whether this is over a third and final victory or a shutting out of Satan from heavenly access we don’t know due to the question of timing of events Some commentators hold the view that the first great demonstration of power against evil after the death and resurrection of Jesus is the casting out of Satan, the barring of his access to God Given Jesus’ victory on the cross and the fact that, as noted in Colossians 2:14, “By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross.” Satan’s role of accuser has been removed by Jesus’ atonement

Revelation 12:10-12 The preceding events completely show the authority of Christ and His right to rule creation. All authority belongs to the Messiah – not to the devil. Satan’s dismissal from access to the throne shows Jesus’ full authority as never before. All grounds of satanic accusation have been removed by Jesus’ victory on the cross and His resurrection, this has demonstrated God’s total power, the righteousness of His kingdom and the authority of Christ. Satan has, for reasons not explained in scripture, been permitted to accuse humanity before God – this is likely an important reason for the intercessory ministry of Jesus on the Cross and in heaven (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25) The devil’s utter defeat fills him with a fury against all of God’s people and he realizes that his time is short so he attacks as brutally as possible We also see that salvation comes to those who believe it is better to trust in Jesus than to go on living and give into the world and enemy’s ways

Revelation 12:10-12 Recognize the importance of what is being said in verse 12: Satan has lost and been cast from heaven, he not only is enraged but knows his time is short – and he is now on earth. His attack is now against the people of God, against God’s creation to do as much damage as possible before the end

Revelation 12:13-15 13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood.

Revelation 12:13-15 Again we see Satan as he is – a rabid wounded animal that knows he is going to die but wants to kill as much as he can while he has life Satan’s pursuit of the woman is a description of / symbolizes the persecution of the church “… was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness…” is strongly tied to the Old Testament After the Exodus God told Israel in 19:4, “…how I bore you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself.” In Isaiah 40:31, the prophet spoke of what would happen to Israel after the exile, “they shall mount up with wings like eagles…” This speaks of God’s swift and powerful protection for His people Verse 12:14 parallels verse 12:6 and this shows that “a time, and times, and half a time” is 1,260 days – 42 months – 3 ½ years

Revelation 12:13-15 The time period noted is a period of intense suffering and protection for Christians During this period, any harm to God’s redeemed people will be strictly limited to what God permits The image of the flood can be seen as linking back to Pharaoh’s commands to drown the Hebrew children in the Nile This is illustrative that the way Satan opposed the people of God in the past is similar to the way he opposes them now that Christ has come

Revelation 12:16-17 16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.

Revelation 12:16-17 The description of the earth saving the people speaks of God’s dominion over all of creation and that His protection from the devil’s attacks will be as extensive as He wants. Looking to the parallel with Israel and the exodus again – God has accomplished the new exodus in Christ, and God will protect His people through the return from exile that is happening as they move toward His promised land When it is said that Satan goes “off to make war on the rest of her offspring” this speaks to the attacks that will come upon individual believers during the final days It can be seen in several, even parallel ways – the rapture is one view, with the ones who come to God later being those attacked Or it can be protection of God’s people and attacks on the new believers who come to Christ after the believers have been sheltered

Revelation 12:16-17 A case can be made for these believers being the remnant, particularly the 144,000 Jews sealed as God’s own That they “keep the commandments of God” places them back under the law and would seem to indicate that they are Jews