Revelation #8 The Woman, Her Child & The Dragon Revelation 12

Revelation #8- The Woman, Child, and the Dragon Be sure not to get bogged down in the details and miss the point of Revelation: To encourage Christians to remain faithful despite and during dire persecutions and circumstances. Up to this point, the book has primarily dealt with exhortations, warnings, calls to repentance, and the dire judgments which are about to come upon the enemies of God and the faithful….

Revelation #8- The Woman, Child, and the Dragon Now the book shifts emphasis to the real behind the scene struggle between: >God vs. Satan >Truth vs. Error or perhaps as man saw it, >The Church vs. Rome! While previous chapters have been somewhat specific, now the big picture of things seems to be more the point.

Revelation #8- The Woman, Child, and the Dragon The last few verses of chp.11 set the stage for chp.12: “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord” v.15 “and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” v.15 “And the nations were enraged…” v.18 “And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened…” In this context, “a great sign appeared”…

Revelation #8- The Woman, Child, and the Dragon I. The Woman and the Dragon, vv.1-4 -a woman clothed with the sun, moon, and stars (thus clothed with light, cf. John 1:4-5; 8:12) -and she was with child; even in labor, v.2 Care must taken in identifying this woman because of subsequent verses. -a great red dragon appeared, v.3. He had: seven heads>world dominion ten horns>destructive power seven diadems>royal authority All emphasize Satan’s power and ability.

Revelation #8- The Woman, Child, and the Dragon I. The Woman and the Dragon, vv.1-4 -with his tail the dragon “swept away a third of the stars of heaven” v.4a. (perhaps an indication of how Satan enticed angels to evil, cf. 2Pet.2:4 & Jude 6) -he stood before the woman, waiting for her to give birth, that he might devour the child, v.4b Throughout the biblical landscape, Satan tried to cut off the Seed of Woman, cf. Gen.3:15 & Matt.2:16.

Revelation #8- The Woman, Child, and the Dragon II. The Child is Born, vv.5-6 -Obviously, this is the long-prophesied and long- awaited Messiah! -Through the Child, the woman must be identified: >Cannot be the Church since Christ brought it into existence rather than the other way around. >Must therefore be representative of the faithful remnant which had been spared by God through whom the Seed would come. (as depicted in the Minor Prophets)

Revelation #8- The Woman, Child, and the Dragon II. The Child is Born, vv.5-6 -He would “rule all the nations with a rod of iron” cf. 19:15 & Psalm 2:7-9 -He also would be “caught to God and to His throne”- obviously His ascension, cf.Eph.1:19-23 After which, -the Woman fled into the wilderness to be nourished by God for 1260 days (42 months / 3 1/2 years- half of seven, thus an incomplete time) This is further described in more detail on down in vv It refers to Satan’s persecution of God’s faithful.

Revelation #8- The Woman, Child, and the Dragon III. The War in Heaven, vv.7-9 -Michael and the angels waged war with the Dragon, -and prevailed. Satan and those with him was cast down to the earth, vv.7-9. Some considerations: >This is not some yet future event, for where has Satan roamed since the dawn of time? cf. Gen.3:1ff & Job 1:7. >Rather it seems to shown from God’s perspective of the whole of time in one dramatic scene- combining past, present, and future together.

Revelation #8- The Woman, Child, and the Dragon IV. The Effects of the War, vv Heaven rejoices with demonstration of Christ’s power and victory, v.10. -Though Michael & the angels waged war in heaven, it was Christ who gained the true victory! v.11 (see also Heb.2:14-15) -But, this also meant that the wrath of Satan would be poured out on the earth and sea; and he knew he only had a short time, v.12.

Revelation #8- The Woman, Child, and the Dragon V. The Persecution of Woman, vv Since Satan lost the War in heaven, he sought to inflict as much harm as possible on the earth. -His vengeful wrath was therefore poured out as a flood of persecution upon the Woman (again, the faithful of God), vv.13,15. -But she was given help from God: >two eagle’s wings, v.14 (symbolic of God’s deliverance cf. Ex.19:4; Deut.32:11; Ps.36:7; Isa.40:31) >the help of the earth, v.16 (perhaps symbolic of Rome’s providential demise!)

Revelation #8- The Woman, Child, and the Dragon VI. The Conclusion, v.17 -Satan suffered defeat at every turn: >in trying to cut off the Seed (Christ) >in trying to kill Him after His birth >in trying to tempt Him >even in killing Him >so he was defeated in Heaven >and likewise on earth in that Rome’s persecution would also fail…. So he went of to make war with the rest of her offspring (the faithful through subsequent generations).

Revelation #8- The Woman, Child, and the Dragon Take-Home Points: Surely seeing the big-picture panorama of all things was great encouragement to the severely persecuted saints of the late first and early second centuries. What about you? Does knowing who wins in advance help you decide for which army you will fight? IT SHOULD!