May 11, 2024
The 3rd and final section of Revelation opens with the 4th introductory Sanctuary Scene of the book:
Revelation 11:19 - Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm (representative of divine presence – Ex. 19:16-19; 20:18).
• In the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant was a symbol of God’s throne and his abiding presence with his people. It is a reminder to John that God’s sovereignty and presence remains with his people until the end of time and is something to be trusted – especially in the face of what’s to come.
• The opening of the Most Holy Place, coming at the beginning of this section also tells us that what follows should be placed within the context of the new phase of Christ’s ministry in Heaven, which is represented by the High Priest’s work on the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16 ---- This event was introduced in Revelation 11:1-2 and takes place during the time the Gospel goes into all the world.
• Finally, the revealing of the Ark of the Covenant at this point in Revelation is important because it is the place where the Law of God is kept. God’s Law will play a significant role in end-time events.
That brings us to the “eschatological” portion of Revelation and the events leading up to the 2nd Coming of Jesus.
Revelation 12 provides context for those events:
• Satan attempts to destroy Christ on earth (v. 1-6).
• Satan and his angels are forever kicked-out of heaven (v. 7-12).
• Satan turns his attention to God’s people (v. 13-17).
The Woman and the Dragon (v. 1-6)
A great sign now appears in Heaven. John sees a woman “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head.” She is heavily pregnant and about to give birth. This woman is symbolic.
In Scripture, a woman is often a representation of God’s people – both faithful:
Jeremiah 2:1-3a - The word of the LORD came to me: "Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown. Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest…..”
And unfaithful:
2 Chronicles 21:11 - He had also built high places on the hills of Judah and had caused the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves and had led Judah astray.
Jeremiah 2:20-21 - Long ago you broke off your yoke and tore off your bonds; you said, 'I will not serve you!' Indeed, on every high hill and under every spreading tree you lay down as a prostitute. I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine?
Jeremiah 3:20 - But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel," declares the LORD.
Ezekiel 16:30-32 - How weak-willed you are, declares the Sovereign LORD, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute! When you built your mounds at the head of every street and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were unlike a prostitute, because you scorned payment. You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband!
Hosea 3:1 - The LORD said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes."
In Revelation 12, this woman is pure – She represents God’s faithful people – both in the Old Testament and the New.
In verses 1-5, she is Israel bringing the Messiah into the world.
Before she gives birth, John sees another sign in Heaven - “an enormous red dragon with 7 heads and 10 horns and 7 crowns on his heads.” With his tail the dragon swept a 1/3 of the stars of heaven out of the sky and hurled them to earth. (We will not address the 7 heads and 10 horns at this time, but will refer back to them in a subsequent study)
Who is this Dragon? We don’t have to travel far to get our answer (v. 9), “The great dragon was hurled down -- that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.”
The Dragon stands before the woman, ready to devour her child the moment it is born.
How long has Satan been waiting for this moment? Since God announced, in the garden, that One would be born who would crush the serpents head (Gen 3:15).
The woman has a son, “a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” Who is this child?
Psalm 2:7-9 - I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery."
Revelation 19:11-16 - I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Jesus.
At this point, something interesting happens…… before the Dragon (Satan) can destroy the Child (Jesus), the Child is taken to heaven and into the presence of God.
John’s focus in Revelation is on Christ AFTER his return to heaven. He does not address Christ’s earthly life. That is the case here. John witnessing the Child being taken into the presence of God points us back to Christ’s enthronement in Revelation 5:
Revelation 5:12-14 - In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped. (see also Ephesians 1:17-23)
Christ’s enthronement serves as the backdrop for vs. 7-12.
War in Heaven (v. 7-12)
At the beginning of the Great Controversy, Satan wanted the throne of heaven and desired to be like God. He was in open revolt against God but was defeated and cast down to earth.
Isaiah 14:13-15 - You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.
By deceiving Adam, Satan took the rule and dominion of earth and became its legal representative:
Luke 4:5-6 - The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.
John 12:31-33 – “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
John 16:7-11 - But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
Despite his expulsion, Satan still had access to heaven BECAUSE he was earth’s legal representative:
Job 1:6-7 - One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
Job 2:1-2 - On another day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. And the LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
Zechariah 3:1 - Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him.
At Christ’s enthronement a transfer of authority took place. What Adam lost through disobedience – Christ regained through obedience! However, even though Satan is no longer “the ruler of this world,” he isn’t going to give it up without a fight and war erupts in heaven.
Michael and his angels fight against Satan and his angels. Satan loses and is permanently expelled from heaven.
When did this war take place? Let’s look at the clues:
• “Now the salvation and power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come.”
It is not until after his death that the kingdom of God and authority of Christ is established.
• “For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”
At the beginning of the Great Controversy, earth did not yet exist. When earth was created, there were only 2 people and they were perfect and animal sacrifice had yet been introduced.
All the clues point to this event taking place after Jesus’ death on the cross and his ascension to heaven in AD 31.
Ellen White (DA 493): “The casting down of Satan as an accuser of the brethren in heaven was accomplished by the great work of Christ in giving up his life.”
Satan has now lost everything. He is no longer earth’s legal representative and he has been permanently expelled from heaven. However, his claim of lordship over the earth continues, which is why Heaven warns “the earth and the sea.” Satan is mad and his expulsion from heaven will affect the entire earth.
War on Earth (v. 13-17)
Back in vs. 6, the Woman (now God’s New Testament people/church) flees into the desert, where she finds divine protection for a period of 1,260 days.
His access to heaven gone, the Dragon (Satan) now pours his wrath out on those to whom he does have access – God’s faithful people on earth - but “she” is given the wings of a great eagle and she flies to the place prepared for her. There she is taken care of for “time, times and ½ a time,” out of reach of the serpent.
The language used here comes from the Exodus event:
Exodus 19:3-4 - Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
• This is the same time-period during which the 2 Witnesses bore testimony – Revelation 11:3
and the antichrist power persecuted God’s faithful people – Revelation 13:5.
In an effort to destroy her, the Dragon (Satan) spews water from his mouth, hoping to sweep her away.
In the Old Testament, overflowing water is often used as a symbol of the enemies of God’s people attacking and overwhelming them:
Psalm 69:1-4 - Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God. Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me.
Psalm 124:2-5 - if the LORD had not been on our side when men attacked us, when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away.
Isaiah 8:6-9 - Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoices over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, therefore the Lord is about to bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the River {the Euphrates} -- the king of Assyria with all his pomp. It will overflow all its channels, run over all its banks and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it, passing through it and reaching up to the neck. Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land, O Immanuel! Raise the war cry…..
Jeremiah 47:2-3 - This is what the LORD says: "See how the waters are rising in the north; they will become an overflowing torrent. They will overflow the land and everything in it, the towns and those who live in them. The people will cry out; all who dwell in the land will wail at the sound of the hoofs of galloping steeds, at the noise of enemy chariots and the rumble of their wheels. Fathers will not turn to help their children; their hands will hang limp.
• The established church in Western Europe persecuted those who chose to follow the Bible rather than human tradition. It is estimated that 50 million Christians were martyred for their faithfulness to the gospel. During this time, God’s people found refuge in isolated places (The Waldenses and Huguenots, etc.) to escape persecution and the corrupting influences of the institutional church. It was through these groups and others that a knowledge of the Bible was preserved.
The Earth, however, swallows the water, saving her.
The “Earth” is a new entity, not seen before in Revelation. She is friendly toward God’s people. This new entity represents a territory that will provide a safe haven for those experiencing persecution in Europe at the close of the 1260 years (538-1798). However, this same territory will later become an agent of Satan in the final crisis. We will learn the identity of “the Earth” in Revelation 13.
Even though Satan is not successful in his efforts to destroy the church, he does not give up.
In an interesting turn of events, he turns his attention and fury away from the woman and to her children – “to those who obey God’s commands and hold to the Testimony of Jesus.” Why? Because the church is no longer pure. She will compromise with the world and trade the Word of God for the traditions of men. She will turn from her faithfulness to God to apostasy. We will explore this further in Revelation 17.
Revelation 12:17 announces that at the end of time, in the midst of global apostacy, there will be a people who remain faithful to God. In the last days it is this group that Satan will seek to overcome, but remember, HE IS A LOSER!!!
Those who obey the commands of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus can walk confidently through every storm because the One they serve sits on the throne of the universe.
Up to this point, the book of Revelation has discussed prophecies that were fulfilled in the past. Now we will begin to deal with prophecies yet to be fulfilled. These prophecies do not tell us exactly HOW the final events of earth’s history will take place. It is important not to speculate or make stuff up to fit our own narrative. A full understanding of end-time prophecies will be possible only as they are fulfilled.
John 13:19 - I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He.
