REVELATION
Chapter 12
"War in Heaven and Earth"
I. THE SCENE IN HEAVEN (11:19) (This verse properly belongs as the beginning of chapter 12.)
A. The Ark of the Covenant (Ex. 25)
1. To protect its contents: law, manna, Aaron's rod (Heb. 9:4)
2. The place of God's presence with Israel (Ex. 25:22)
3. A symbol of the covenant God made with Israel
B. The Ark of the Covenant in Heaven (11:19)
1. Seen in the midst of judgment--thunderings, lightnings, etc.
2. God is acting in judgment from His temple in heaven, and according to His covenanted arrangements, He will restore the kingdom to Israel, albeit by means of punishment.
3. This ark in the midst of judgment is God's promise of assurance that Israel will be saved out of it.
II. SPECIFICATION OF THE CHARACTERS
A. The Woman (vs.1,2)
1. Identified (v.1)
a. Through the interpretation of a dream (Gen. 37:9,10)
b. Jacob, Rachel and Joseph's brothers were the sun, moon and stars.
c. The three entities were the foundation of the nation of Israel.
2. The patriarchs - The twelve stars refer to the twelve tribes and their founders as in Joseph's dream.
3. The travail of the woman (v.2) (cf. Isa. 66:7,8)
a. The normal order of the birth process is travail, then birth.
b. With regard to Israel, she brings forth first, then follows the travail. (cf. Isa. 66:7,8)
c. The Child will be born first to Israel, after which the nation will suffer the travail of the tribula- tion period.
4. The woman is identified as the nation of Israel.
B. The Red Dragon (vs.3,4)
1. His names (v.9)
a. Dragon - Denotes a mythical monster; also a large serpent, so called because of its keen power of sight. (Vine's) ("that old serpent")
b. Devil
1) Not "demon" ("daimon"-Gr.)
2) There is only one devil but many demons.
3) The word means "accuser or slanderer" (cf. Job 1:6-11; 2:1-5; Zech. 3:1,2)
c. Deceiver (Satan) - "to deceive by leading into error, to seduce"
2. His identity - He is none other but Satan himself.
3. His description (v.3) (From J.V. McGee - "Revelation")
a. "Seven heads" - suggests the perfection of wisdom which characterized the creation of Satan (Ezek. 28:12)
b. "Ten horns" - suggests the final division of the Roman Empire, which is dominated by Satan and which is his final effort to rule the world. The crowns (diadems) represent kingly authority and rulership. (End of McGee quote)
c. His color "red" indicates the color of murder or blood. (cf. John 8:44)
4. His prior activity (v.4)
a. His own rebellion (cf. Ezek. 28:15-17; Isa. 14:12- 14)
b. He causes one-third of the heavenly host to follow him in rebellion..."the third part of the stars of heaven". (cf. Rev. 9:2,3; Jude 6,7; II Pet. 2:4)
5. His purpose (v.4)
a. To devour the Child that was to be brought forth out of Israel..."to consume by eating". (cf. Mt. 13:4; Mk. 4:4; Lk. 8:5)
b. His attempts to destroy the line of Christ in order to keep Him from taking His place as King.
1) Prophesied - Gen. 3:15
2) The mixture of the unholy alliance between the sons of God and the daughters of men (Gen. 6:4)
3) The decree of Pharoah to slay male infants (Ex. 1:16-22)
4) The decree of Herod to destroy the son of Mary, Christ (Mt. 2:13-16)
5) The incitement of the mob to kill Christ by throwing Him over a cliff (Lk. 4:28,29)
6) The temptation of Christ to throw Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple (Mt. 4:6)
7) He will attempt to do the same by seeking to destroy the nation of Israel during the tribu- lation.
C. The Child (v.5)
1. The birth of the Child foretold (Isa. 7:14, 9:6; Micah 5:2)
2. The birth fulfilled (Mt. 1:23-25; Lk. 2:7,11; Mt. 2:4-6)
3. "Indeed it was from the chosen people, the Israel of God, that Jesus Christ sprang in His human lineage. God's great purposes in bringing Israel into being were to make that nation a repository for His Word and a nation out of which Christ should come." (Strauss)
III. THE STRUGGLE IN HEAVEN (vs.7,8)
A. The Conflict - "war in heaven"
1. Perhaps starts with the attempt of Satan to circumvent the rapture
2. Most likely referred to by "the voice of the arch- angel" (I Thess. 4:16)
3. "This phase of the war started at the time of the rapture." (Herman Hoyt) (cf. Dan. 12:1,2)
4. The rapture of the church through the domain of Satan, which is the aerial and stellar heavens, arouses him to try to preclude the rapture.
B. The Combatants
1. Michael
a. An archangel - one of high authority (Jude 9; Dan. 10:13)
b. A warrior angel
1) As opposed to a messenger angel such as Gabriel (cf. Dan. 8:16; 9:20,21; Lk. 1:19,26)
2) Seen in his battle with Satan over the body of Moses (Jude 9)
c. A protecting angel over the nation of Israel (Dan. 10:13; 12:1)
2. Holy angels (cf. Mt. 26:53)
a. Innumerable in number (Rev. 5:11)
b. Inconceivable in power (II Kgs. 19:35)
c. Included in the return of Christ to restore His kingdom (Mt. 25:31)
3. Satan
4. Unholy angels - demonic forces
a. Their whole existence is an attack on man, especially believers.
b. They are an unseen host to us. (Eph. 6:12)
c. They seek physical habitation though they cannot indwell or possess the body of a believer. (Mk. 5:8-13; contra. I Cor. 6:19,20)
d. They inhabit the earth and its atmosphere (Eph. 6:12: "air; the atmospheric heavens")
e. They are numerous. (Rev. 12:4; cf. 5:11)
C. The Consequence (vs. 8-12)
1. Satan is cast out of heaven. (vs. 8-10,12)
a. He has limited access to it now. (Job chps. 1,2; Zech. 3:1; Lk. 22:31,32)
b. His activity in heaven is to accuse the brethren of sin and demand the judgment of death for it.
c. He is now thrown headlong into the earth and restricted to it (v.12). Compare Lk.10:18 which is prophetic.
2. Satan's angels are likewise cast out which will account for the onslaught of demonic activity during the tribulation.
3. Christ wins the battle through Michael and his angels. (v.10)
4. The saints whom Satan accuses are victorious. (v.11)
a. Through the power of the blood of Christ
b. Through the power of their testimony by which many become martyrs (testimony - "marturios", Gr.)
c. Through their perseverance - even in the face of death
5. Two reactions (vs.12,13)
a. Heaven rejoices that Satan has been cast out.
b. Satan is maddened because he now knows he has only 3-1/2 years left to accomplish his goal of unseat- ing Christ. (cf. his wrath - I Pet. 5:8)
IV. THE SEVERITY OF THE PERSECUTION (vs.13,15,17)
A. Persecution of the Nation
1. The flood (v.15)
a. "The flood cast after Israel is the total effort of Satan to exterminate the nation." (Walvoord)
b. Perhaps armies flowing like a flood over the land (cf. Ezek. 38:9; Isa. 8:7,8; 59:19)
B. Preservation of the Nation (vs.14,16)
1. "Wings of a great eagle" (v.14)
a. Speaks of the miraculous swiftness with which God will help them to escape.
b. Compare the eagle in Israel's past (Ex. 19:4; Dt. 32:11,12)
2. The wilderness (v.14) cf. v.6
a. Some believe this refers to the city of Petra though there is no Scriptural evidence of it.
b. Others believe it to be the wilderness of people.
1) A term frequently used in connection with the scattering of Israel (cf. Hosea 2:14; 9:10; Rev. 17:3)
2) "Mountains" (Matt. 24:16) symbolically used of governments of nations (cf. Isa. 2:2; Dan. 2:35; Rev. 17:9,10)
3) Most likely suggests a mass exodus from the Land to foreign countries in the hopes of escaping the persecution.
4) A second "diaspora"
3. The nourishment (v.14)
a. Means to nourish, support, feed, stiffen
b. Because of not having the beast's mark they will have no ability to sustain themselves. (Rev. 13:16- 18)
c. As God cared for Israel in the Sinai wilderness, He will do also in the wilderness of the Gentiles during the persecution.
1) Food (manna) - Ex. 16:4,14,15; cf. Jn. 6:35
2) Water - Ex. 15:22-27; cf. Jn. 7:37,38
d. He will care for them all through the last half of the tribulation. (v.14)
4. The help of the earth (v.16)
a. Refers to help offered by some Gentiles.
b. Such assistance or non-assistance to Israel during the tribulation will be the basis of the judgment of the Gentile nations. (Mt. 25:31-46)
5. In spite of every attempt to obliterate Israel, Satan will not succeed - there is a remnant he cannot destroy. (v.17) cf. Zech. 13:8,9