Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child.
But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. Revelation 12:13-14 (NKJV)
Over the past six weeks, we have studied in Revelation 12, and this week we wrap up our study in the last four verses, 13 through 17. We have seen how the Woman (Israel) has been pursued by the Dragon (Satan) and tried to kill both the Woman and her Child (Jesus Christ).
Further, we saw a great war in heaven between the Michael the archangel and the holy angels of God and Satan and his demonic, fallen angels. The result of that war was that Satan and the fallen angels were cast down from heaven and the atmosphere and onto the earth and the seas. Last week, we saw that there was great rejoicing in Heaven because Satan was cast out permanently, would no longer appear to accuse God's people day and night and that great woe would come upon those on Planet Earth, on both land and sea, bringing us up to verse 13.
The Greatest Persecution
Perhaps you have heard the term "anti-Semitism", and thought that it was just a dislike of Jewish people. We live in a day and age where the "race card" has been played in the political arena, in the workforce and even in the pews of some churches. However, anti-Semitism has its roots from the very Garden of Eden, but is more specific to the time of the generation that followed Noah onward. The term "Semite", refers to Jews and those of the nation of Israel; the term comes from the name Shem, one of the three sons of Noah. Shem was the one son from which the nation of Israel can trace back to Noah.
Throughout the ages, Satan has sought to kill the decedents of Shem, more specifically the nation of Israel. Satan has influenced Pharaoh in Egypt to kill the male infants in Exodus, but God preserved Moses to bring Israel out of that country. In the book of Esther, Haman sought to kill all the Jews but God used Esther to preserve the country. The Philistines were often at war with Israel.
During the Crusades, many Jews were persecuted and died at the hands of the Crusaders; Fox's Book of Martyrs records the murder of many Jews by the Catholic church in the middle ages. However, the looming example from more modern times was the attempt of Hitler's Nazi Germany to exterminate the Jewish Race entirely. Although the Nazis murdered an horrific six million Jews Hitler did not succeed, and only three years after the end of World War II Israel became a country once more. Yet, the greatest persecution of Israel is yet to come, as we will see this week in Revelation 12:13-17.
On Eagles Wings
The Tribulation period as a whole will be the most horrifying time on earth, for two reasons. First, God will expend his fury upon unrepentant mankind, including unrepentant Jews as we have seen in chapters prior. But, secondly, Satan will make his last stand, a futile but persistent attempt to thwart the coming reign of Jesus Christ.
During the Great Tribulation (the last half, 3 ½ years), The Dragon, whom we identified as Satan, is filled with fury and rage like never before. He had lost his place as the "prince of the power of the air" (Eph 2:2) and now his theater of war was limited solely to the land and the seas. His goal now was to persecute the Woman (the nation of Israel). The Greek verb translated persecuted (dioko) means "to pursue," "to chase," or "to hunt." (John MacArthur); in other words, Satan and his demonic horde make it their purpose to hunt down and kill every Jew that they can find. Torture, yes; but the key intent is, as it had been in the past, to kill every Jew and wipe the nation of Israel off of Planet Earth...to kill God's chosen people.
However, we see in verse 13 that "the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place". These two particular word pictures have been described in many ways. Let's take a look at both, and look at the different views concerning both starting today with the word picture of "two wings of a great eagle".
First, what is the meaning of "two wings of a great eagle"? There are all sorts of thoughts about this. Some think that the eagle represents the United States, but that is most likely not the case because at least twenty seven other countries of the world have the eagle as their symbol (including Russia, Mexico, Albania, Germany and the Czech Republic). There are also some that seem to think that this is a reference to aircraft, but that is not likely for two reasons; no single aircraft is large enough to transport that many at a single time and also, as J. Vernon McGee noted, where would you land everyone? In short, there will likely be millions of saved Jews at that time.
How will this happen, and where will they go? It's important to note that two thirds of Israel will die during the Tribulation period:
And it shall come to pass in all the land," Says the LORD, "That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one-third shall be left in it: I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, 'This is My people'; And each one will say, 'The LORD is my God.' " Zechariah 13:8-9 (NKJV).
To be honest, we really cannot be completely certain as to the meaning of "two wings of a great eagle". However, it would seem that this would be symbolic of three particular qualities as mentioned in the Old Testament: Strength, Speed and Security.
Strength: But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV) There are times when you and I feel that we just cannot deal with a certain situation, but God can provide the strength that we need no matter what that situation might be. Many countries, as mentioned yesterday, use the eagle as their national symbol as a sign of strength.
Speed:
And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind.... He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind. (Psalm 18:10; 104:3).
This would be part of the meaning applied here, as the nation of Israel will travel quickly to escape the pursuit of Antichrist:
"Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.
And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.
But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. Matthew 24:15-21 (NKJV)
There is a sense of great urgency in this excerpt from the Olivet Discourse, spoken by Jesus Himself. We can see that the timing of this event, then, is at the midpoint of the Tribulation Period, and how the Jews will see Antichrist for whom he really is. Many Jews will see Jesus to be exactly whom He said He is, the promised Messiah, and they will "flee to the mountains." The word for flee in Greek means RUN. As we can see in the Olivet Discourse passage above, there will be no time even to grab up clothes or even go back in the house. Wings, then, also denote speed of travel.
The Psalms are a great source of comfort to the believer, and also contain such great promises upon which to build one's faith. Here are some instances from the Psalms were wings are used as a metaphor for protection:
How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
In the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge Until destruction passes by.
Let me dwell in Your tent forever; Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.
For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.
He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge. (Psalm 36:7;57:1; 61:4; 63:7; 91:4)
One of the greatest needs in the life of a believer is the need to know of the protection of God. While we will still experience difficulties in our lives, we also know that nothing happens that God does not allow. We may not understand why something is happening to us, but we also know that God is as much at the end of the trial than He is with us at that moment. However, this is a direct intervention against physical harm and attack by Antichrist.
John MacArthur notes in his Revelation commentary: "Eagle translates aetos, which can also refer to the griffon, or vulture (cf. Matt. 24:28; Luke 17:37). These large birds with enormous wingspans serve as a fitting symbol for God's protection and sheltering of Israel. This is not, of course, a reference to an actual eagle with literal wings; rather, it is picturesque language depicting God's miraculous assistance of the woman, so that she could fly swiftly into the wilderness to her place of shelter and safety."
God, through His strength and protection, will protect those Jews that call upon the name of Jesus. He will help them escape the persecution of Antichrist, and will keep them safe. But where, and how?
Flight
So far, we have seen that those Jews that have accepted Jesus as their Savior will flee with great speed from the persecution of Antichrist. God will give them strength, speed in travel and protection. But where are they going?
It is unlikely that the "flight" of Israel will be by aircraft, as previously noted. There simply would not be enough aircraft to transport these people, and also the question comes up: "Where would they land?" What we see here is a similarity to the story from Exodus when Moses led the nation of Israel out of Egypt:
'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself.' Exodus 19:4 (NKJV)
We really do not know how the Jewish saints will get to "her place". However, we do know a few things that are of important note. First, the Woman will be going to "into the wilderness to her place". We know from the passage from Matthew 24, the Olivet Discourse, that her place would be the mountains. Dr. H. L. Willmington of Liberty University notes in Willmington's Guide to the Bible:
"While it is not actually specified in Scripture, many Bible students believe that this place will be Petra. This is based on the following three passages:
Zechariah 14:5: "And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal; yea, ye shall flee... and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee."
(The "Azal" mentioned here is thought to be connected with Petra.)
Isaiah 63:1: "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?"
The first few verses of Isaiah 63 deal with the Second Coming of Christ. He comes to Edom (of which Petra is capital) and Bozrah (a city in Edom) for some reason, many believe to receive his Hebrew remnant who are hiding there.
Daniel 11:41: "He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom."
Thus for some reason the land of Edom will not be allowed to fall into the hands of the antichrist. It is assumed by some that the reason is to protect the remnant."
We will discuss the potential--and it is significant--of Petra being "her place" in "the wilderness" next week. However, let's look at two other parts of verse 14. God will provide for these people, perhaps like He did with the Jews in the wilderness (again a parallel with the Exodus story) nourishment, and that for " a time and times and half a time"--a "time" being a year, "times" being two years, and half a time being six months. In other words, 3 1/2 years.
