20/05/18 Revelation 12:1-10 “Israel has never been
forgotten!”
Revelation 12:1 – And there appeared a great wonder (sign) in heaven; a woman clothed with the
sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars (aster):
woman – usually used of a married woman; wife.
But who is this woman? Most commentaries say it represents the Church; very few (Eg Cambridge) even dare to suggest that it might actually be Israel.
Ellicott says It is the picture of the bride, the Church. Yet this does not fit the context of the next few verses which are about Jesus being born of this woman. (Many of the commentaries say that it is the Church that has delivered Christ to the world!) The context can only be of that nation from which the Messiah would be born.
Matthew Henry says But the words of St. John
are much stronger, and more emphatically express the pangs and struggles which
the church endured from the first publication of the gospel to the time of
Constantine the Great, when she was in some measure eased of her pains, and brought
forth a deliverer.
Pulpit says The woman is undoubtedly the Church of God. Benson says that this represents the church as a woman, and a mother
bearing children unto Christ.
Expositor’s,
after saying it probably represented to the
prophet the true Israel, then says The messiah of Revelation 12 is not the son of Mary but
simply born in the messianic community, and the description is no more than a
transcendental version of what Paul notes in Romans 9:4-5.
Ellicott says of Vs 2 There is an anguish of the Church which Christ laid upon her; it is the law of her life that she must bring forth Christ to the world; it is not simply that she must encounter pain, but that she cannot work deliverance without knowing suffering.
However, if we are to accept that this final 7 years is all about Israel and not the Church, then this is a picture of Israel, often pictured in the Old Testament as the unfaithful wife of God, who was nevertheless chosen to be the nation that brought forth God’s Son, their Messiah (and the Saviour of the world).
This woman is clothed with all the glory of the lights of heaven: sun, moon, stars. Benson says that the 12 stars represent the 12 apostles, but in the correct context of Israel, the 12 stars would have to represent the 12 patriarchs of Israel (as demonstrated by Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37:9).
Note Isaiah’s prophecy which is clearly about the glory of their Messiah.
Isaiah 49:1-8 – 1
Listen, O isles, unto me; and
hearken, ye people, from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the
bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. 2 And he
hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid
me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; 3 And
said unto me, Thou [art] my servant, O Israel,
in whom I will be glorified. 4 Then I said, I have laboured
in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: [yet] surely
my judgment [is] with the Lord, and my work with my God. 5 And
now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb [to be] his servant, to
bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be
glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. 6 And
he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my
servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of
Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be
my salvation unto the end of the earth. 7 Thus saith the
Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, [and] his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth,
to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship,
because of the Lord that is faithful, [and] the Holy One of Israel, and
he shall choose thee. 8 Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of
salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a
covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the
desolate heritages;
Revelation 12:2 – And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
And the woman, Israel, being with child (her Messiah), is about to give birth and in deliverance agonies (birth pangs – see Romans 8:22).
Micah 4:10 – Be in pain,
and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt
dwell in the field, and thou shalt go [even] to Babylon; there shalt
thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine
enemies.
pained – to test (metals) by the touchstone, which is a black siliceous stone used to test the purity of gold or silver by the colour of the streak produced on it by rubbing it with either metal; torture; vex with grievous pains (of body or mind); harassed; of those at sea struggling with a head wind.
Revelation 9:5 – And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment [was] as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
Revelation 11:10 – And
they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and
shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented
them that dwelt on the earth.
Surprisingly, Barnes says but
still the question arises, to what time this representation refers: whether to
the church before the birth of the Saviour, or after?
And where was the Church before the birth of the Saviour??
Revelation 12:3 – And there appeared another wonder (sign) in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Vs 9 defines this dragon as the devil and satan. If the woman is simply what she appears to be (that is, Israel), then the dragon is also simply satan, the devil, but in the form of the antichrist of Daniel 7. In this form, satan is pictured as having 7 heads with a crown (diadem) on each head, and 10 horns. The red colour would signify the bloodshed and violence of this representation of satan. Daniel’s vision also has a beast with 10 horns, with one extra one that came up; 3 of the original horns are plucked out, leaving 7 horns.
Daniel 7:7-8; 20-25 – 7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it [was] diverse from all the beasts that [were] before it; and it had ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn [were] eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
20 And of the ten horns that [were] in his head, and [of]
the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even [of] that
horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great
things, whose look [was] more stout than his
fellows. 21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the
saints, and prevailed against them; 22 Until the Ancient of
days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most
High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. 23
Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the
fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall
devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24
And the ten horns out of this kingdom [are] ten kings [that]
shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse
from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 25 And he
shall speak [great] words against the most High,
and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and
laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the
dividing of time (3½
years).
This is the antichrist, a man indwelt by satan, who will rule the earth by taking control of 10 kingdoms, subduing 3 of them, leaving 7 kingdoms (obviously wearing their kingly crowns). But who are the 10 kingdoms? In Daniel 2 we have the vision of the great image of a man with a head of gold (Babylonian empire), upper body silver Medo-Persian empire), lower body brass (Greek empire), legs of iron (Roman empire), with the feet (including the 10 toes) partly iron and clay (revived Roman empire). Daniel also says that the people to come after the Messiah is cut off (70AD) will be the people from whom the antichrist prince will come.
Daniel 9:26a – And after
threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the
people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;
The legs of iron become the feet and 10 toes of iron and clay; the toes represent the 10 kingdoms of the revived Roman empire. These 10 toe kingdoms are also the 10 horns of Daniel 7, and the smaller horn growing in the midst of them is the antichrist, who subdues 3 of those 10 horn kingdoms, leaving 7 remaining with crowns on their heads (Revelation 12:3). Thus, the red dragon is antichrist, the embodiment of satan, who will conquer 3 kingdoms who refuse to be ruled, and rule the remaining 7 who agree to obey the antichrist. Whether these 10 kingdoms are of the old Roman empire (that is, approximately Europe) or of the whole world is unclear, though. Note the Club of Rome, founded by the UN in 1968, and its map of 10 world regions. Refer to map from http://www2.ministries-online.org/biometrics/rome.html
Note the similarity of Revelation 12:3 to Revelation 13:1 – And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Revelation 12:4 – And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
I believe that these stars of heaven represent those angels who followed satan in his rebellion against God, after which he was cast out of heaven by God.
Ezekiel 28:16-17 – 16
By the multitude of thy
merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast
sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of
the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst
of the stones of fire. 17 Thine heart was lifted up because
of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I
will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may
behold thee.
Because satan (along with his fallen angels – demons) was cast out of heaven, and his authority taken away from him, satan has desired the dominion that man enjoys over the earth (Genesis 1:28). Satan could still have had dominion over the earth if he could have taken control of mankind. But if God were to buy back mankind from his bondage, then satan could never have the control he desired. Thus, the dragon (satan) has a special interest in destroying God’s remedy for man’s bondage – Jesus the Messiah. Many times satan has endeavoured to prevent this child Saviour to be born (come into existence), from the pre-flood era, to Egypt, to the plethora of false gods pushing in on Israel, to their captivity in Babylon, to even the killing of all young boys in Bethlehem. Herod (the servant of the dragon – satan) did his best to destroy Jesus but failed.
Revelation 12:5 – And she brought forth a man child,
who was to rule
(shepherd) all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and
[to] his throne.
rule – to feed, to tend a flock, keep sheep; rule; govern; provide pasture for food; nourish; cherish; supply all one’s needs.
And Israel (through Mary) brought forth a man child, the Christ, who would one day rule all nations with a rod of iron (that is, absolute authority). This child was caught up (seized; carried off by force; snatched out or away) to God and to His throne. Christ now rules from on the right hand of God in heaven.
It is possible that this child caught up to heaven is not just Christ but the body of Christ, the Church, noting that the same term “caught up” is used in the following:
1 Thessalonians 4:17 – Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
However, the context does better support this child being Christ the Messiah of Israel, with the next verse clearly relating to Israel being kept in safety in the wilderness for 3½ years (also see Revelation 12:13-14).
Revelation 12:6 – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days.
And the woman, Israel, fled (escaped from danger) into the wilderness (eremos – solitary, lonely, desolate, uninhabited; desert; deserted regions), into a place that God has prepared for her in order for her to be cared for (feed = nourish; support; bring up; nurture) for 1260 days (= 3½ years; 42 months). Clearly this occurs during the same period of time that the antichrist rules Jerusalem, the 2 witnesses are prophesying, and the image of the beast is in the holy place.
Note that while the woman was in heaven in Vs 1, she is clearly now on earth, and probably has been since Vs 2 onward; Vs 4 shows the dragon on earth standing before the woman who must be on earth then too.
Revelation 12:14 says the woman is in the wilderness for 3½ years.
that they should feed her – or that she should be fed; that she should be sustained.
Revelation 12:7 – And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Some think Michael is Christ, but this is not so; Michael is most likely the archangel (Jude 1:9) or chief prince (Daniel 10:13) responsible for Israel, or, traditionally, the advocate for the Jews. This battle relates to either satan’s rebellion in the beginning after which he is cast out of heaven, or a separate battle (or series of battles) where satan seeks to oppose or destroy the woman, Israel. In the context here, the latter option seems likely: that Michael and his angels oppose satan’s attacks upon Israel, and that they finally prevail, causing Israel to be protected in the wilderness for the final 3½ years before the end. In fact, it probably commences with that battle in heaven, followed by the ongoing battle that satan has brought against mankind ever since, in particular against God’s nation, Israel, because the Redeemer would come through her.
The overall context strongly supports this view, with the battle continuing through to the final victory as noted in Vs 10 below, beginning with the casting out of satan from heaven in the beginning, with the final “death-blow” being dealt to satan and his angels after many centuries of fighting against God’s people.
Revelation 12:8 – And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
And satan and his forces couldn’t win, nor were they permitted to have access (as they had previously) to heaven.
Revelation 12:9 – And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
And that great dragon, the devil (false accuser) and satan (the adversary), who is the deceiver of the whole world, was cast out of heaven and down to the ground (Ezekiel 28:16-17), and all those angels who chose to take satan’s side were cast out with him.
Jesus talked about the prince of this world (satan) being judged because of the coming victory on the cross.
John 16:11 – Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
John 12:31 – Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
When the 70 disciples returned with joy that even the devils were subject to them, Jesus told them that He had seen satan fall from heaven, clearly in defeat.
Luke 10:18 – And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
The whole world lies in wickedness, yet the Christian is protected from this.
1 John 5:18-19 – 18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. 19 [And] we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
Revelation 12:10 – And I heard a loud (megas) voice (phone) saying in
heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and
the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which
accused them before our God day and night.
Now is come the salvation, and the strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ. This is like a doxology that is cried out before God to announce something that is about to happen: the end of satan’s attacks upon God’s people.
The ongoing battle throughout the years has included both Israel and the Church; yet here we seem to go back to just Israel and this time of tribulation. The dragon, satan, the enemy, has opposed and accused God’s people for a long time, but in particular it is God’s people, Israel, who are the recipients of this continual accusing (day and night) before God. That is, satan has tried his hardest to ensure that God is made aware of every single sin that His people should dare to commit, and God has continued to oppose satan’s accusations and opposition of His people.
We have an Advocate who stands with and for us when so accused.
1 John 2:1-2 – 1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world.
Likewise Zechariah shows a similar advocacy by God for Joshua the high priest.
Zechariah 3:1-2 – 1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 2 And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: [is] not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
It is poor logic to teach that satan does what he does by
God’s will. Calvinist Erwin Lutzer says The devil is also a being
filled with only hatred and deceit. He is a rebellious liar and malicious
sadist. He desires to see humans suffer for suffering’s sake. Thus he always stands in opposition to God even when he does
what God ordains. (The
Doctrines that Divide) That is, God has ordained that satan stand in
opposition to Him! And Charles Hodge, that great calvinist “hero of the faith” says The Scriptures teach that sinful
acts, as well as such as are holy, are foreordained. ….. It is therefore beyond
all doubt the doctrine of the Bible that sin is foreordained. (Systematic Theology Part 1) Did God really foreordain that sin
should exist? Does the devil really oppose God by the will of God? Did God
really ordain that satan should accuse the brethren day and night? Oppose God’s
people? What pathetic reasoning! What a travesty of the truth of God’s word!
What blasphemy against the holiness of holy God!
Hoppers Crossing
Christian Church homepage