Revelation 12:7-17
7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
Let's start with this, this is in part the story of Satan losing his battle in heaven and being cast down to earth with his angels.
When does this happen in time?
7-9 ~ Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
If we look at the book of Genesis chapter 1 it say man was created on the 6th day. When we get to chapter 3 we have the introduction of Satan. So we can conclude that Satan was cast down relatively soon after the earth was created. We don't know if it was before God created man or after.
It's possible in whole or in part that God created earth as a place to put Satan and the fallen angels. You may ask why would God do this?
What if God had cast Satan down before Adam and Eve was created and didn't want to leave it as a place of sin and rather wanted to do something good there as well?
10-11 ~ And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come ( time of Christ), for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
Who are the accused here? This could be the disciples at the time of Christ or a reference to the church as a whole.
12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
The Devil isn't a very happy guy is he? He knows he can never go back to heaven after losing his battle there, he knows he lost again at the cross, and all he has is bitterness and anger.
But the Devil has us to torment as much as God allows him to. Or maybe as much as we allow him to.
We are indwelt by God's Spirit. We can fall into this trap at times of fearing what Satan can do to us more than having faith in the indwelt Holy Spirit and how that power then protects us from any fear of him. If we don't fear Satan then Satan has lost much or all of his power over you.
Even though Satan has lost two great battle do not let him win any battles against you. You are his last hope at winning. Don't be the reason for him getting a win.
13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth.
We need to remember not to take everything literally here but take it more metaphorically. Meaning it say the woman was given two wings, how about two angels for protection? Her going to the wilderness and nourished for a time may just mean she is in a place of being protected. And everything that Satan tried to do to get at her, she was always being protected.
I think verse 13 and the pursued woman and child is Mary and Jesus, that is my conclusion.
17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea. (Christians)
