Image: "The Wilderness", 2021, The "Grand Canyon" of Yellowstone, view of the Yellowstone River, downstream of the lower falls.
Revelation 12:1–2 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.
Revelation 12:5–6 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.
Revelation 12:9 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.
Revelation 12:11 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.
Revelation 12:17 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.
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This chapter, with its fantastic symbols, opens the second half of this book. The first half gave us a view of the "earthly struggle" between the Church and the world. In this second half, beginning in this chapter, we see this earthly struggle as actually the "outward manifestation of the war between Christ and Satan." [cf. W. Hendricksen, "More Than Conquerors"]
We see three main "symbols" here: the Woman, the Dragon, and the Satanic warfare being waged against the "Woman" and "her other seed."
Notice that Christ appears in this chapter only in terms of "a male Child" who was born to Cosmic Royal Reign and was "caught up to God and His throne." I don't intend to minimize the importance of this "symbol" at all. It forms the ground on which all else in the chapter is built but it is significant that the entire incarnate ministry of our Lord, including His miraculous birth, His Person, His sin-bearing ministry, His atoning death on the cross, and His resurrection, is generally lumped together into the period between His birth and His ascension. (Vs. 5)
What is being portrayed is the very real, but spiritual, overview of the period of time from Genesis 3 (Satan as the Dragon/Serpent - vs. 3 & 9) through the present day. The Woman can be understood two ways: She is either (or both) the representation of the Old Testament Church in its primary mission to give birth to the Child, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God, or it is the Church in both ages, comprised of the true Israelites in the Old Testament and the New Testament Church. I tend toward the first interpretation because the New Testament Church here seems best to be represented as the "rest of her offspring who keep the commandments of God, etc." (vs. 17) I think this also fits best with the picture of the "Woman" as being swept away into the "wilderness" (of history) where she has been preserved as an ethnic people against the fury of Satan as the earth has swallowed up every attempt he has made to obliterate them. (Note: this distinction also fits with my understanding of the "two witnesses" in the preceding chapters.)
What is presented is a dramatic characterization of the ongoing rage of the powerful but demonic forces that everywhere and in every age seek to persecute and destroy the people of God.
The Dragon is portrayed as having "seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems on his heads." (vs. 3) These are symbols of great power and authority manifested in various "heads". We will see later when this symbol reappears, that this represents the highest attainments of human autonomy and power on earth. Quite blatantly it was the Roman Empire in John's day but the "heads" indicate that it was also all the great powers arrayed against God's people prior to the birth of Christ and, by inference, those that have followed in its stead.
We are thus confronted with a solemn and somewhat depressing truth: never, in the course of human history, has there been or will there be a truly godly human government. If David's and Solomon's government were ultimately corrupted and bred sin and warfare against God, so too all those governments which followed them have been implacably given over to demonic powers. Some have been relatively better than others but, at their heart, they are controlled by idols and demons themselves.
Spiritual warfare is the character of the history of the world and continues down to this day. We have our Christ in heaven Who is, in fact, ruling with a "rod of iron" (cf. vs. 5 & Psalm 2) but the nations still rage against Him. This warfare is real and immediate. In it, we see that the rage of Satan is effected through the use of earthly, coercive, and deadly force, but the victorious Church overcomes these strategies by "the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony." (vs. 11) In one sense it is a senseless war. Satan and His legions are already defeated, having been cast out of "heaven" and "cast down to the earth". His rage is vindictive and represents Satan's fury over his inevitable, ultimate, defeat and punishment. Nevertheless, during this "short time" remaining (vs. 12) it is a time of great "woe" for the inhabitants of the earth for they will feel the sting of wars, persecutions, injustice, and fury.
What we must embrace is that it is, quoting Dickens, "the best of times and the worst of times." We have reason to rejoice but we must soberly realize that the time of trials continues. We must not despair but, as Jesus taught, we must be prepared to follow in His footsteps and to face, in His name, the harsh reality of demonic wrath.
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