We are looking at the central chapter of the book of Revelation today. You will remember that we looked at the chiasm of the book of Revelation at the very beginning in our introduction.

What is a chiasm? Parallel thoughts in a chapter or even in a book and the central thought is in the middle.

• The whole book of Revelation is a chiasm.
• Revelation is that center of the chiasm.
• And even Revelation 12 is a chiasm itself.

Slides on the chiasm of Revelation 12.

Revelation 12:10-12
10 And I heard a loud voice 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. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

This whole conflict is between Christ and the devil. And you’re going to see that what is taking place behind the scenes in unseen worlds, it is also affecting us here on earth today as well.

Yes it may seem that we are caught in between all of this and we didn’t ask for it, but that’s how life is.

• Example:
  • Children that are caught in between fighting parents that don’t see eye to eye. They didn’t ask for it. They are just caught in the situation.

I want to read through with you Revelation 12 and you will see that there is this interchanging between what is taking place in heaven and what is taking place on earth. It keeps going back and forth.

Revelation 12:1
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

There is a woman in heaven. A heavenly view.

Revelation 12:2
And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

She is about to give birth. We will see shortly that this is referring to the birth of Christ. This is on earth.

Revelation 12:3
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

A dragon appears – up in heaven.

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.

Tail draws a third part of the stars and throws them down to the earth.

The dragon stands before the woman and is ready to devour the child as soon as it is born. That’s on earth.

Revelation 12:5
And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

The child is caught up to God – up in heaven.

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.

We’re back to earth again. The 1260 year persecution. The dark ages.

Revelation 12:7-8
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

War in heaven between Michael and the dragon.

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.

The dragon loses and is cast to the earth.

Revelation 12:10
And I heard a loud voice 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.

The death of Christ on the earth.

Revelation 12:11
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Saints overcoming on the earth.

Revelation 12:12
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

12A The heavens rejoice because the devil is cast down. Heavenly view.

12B Woe to those on the earth because the devil has come down with great wrath. Earthly view.

Revelation 12:13
And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

Then from verse 13 all the way to the end is an earthly view. Persecution of the saints by the devil.

Revelation 12:14
And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

Revelation 12:15
And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

Revelation 12:16
And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

Revelation 12:17
And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

What is taking place on earth is because of the war that all started in heaven.

 

There are three sections in Revelation 12.

• V1-6 – The woman and the child.
• V7-12 – Michael vs Satan.
• V13-17 – Persecution of the woman by the dragon.

 

Remember in Revelation 11, we ended with the picture of the Most Holy Place in heaven. Jesus is now at the Ark of the Covenant.

• Revelation 11:19
  And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
• Revelation gives us timing and we know that this is now 1844 and beyond.
• Most of what we are studying is after 1844.
• So why does it begin in Revelation 12 by going all the way back to the birth of Christ and also war in heaven which is even longer before that, even before the creation of the world?
• The focus is really about the remnant at the end of the chapter which we will see by the end of the chapter.
• Revelation 12:17
  And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
• Maybe the remnant of the woman seems to be too far removed from the cross of Christ that we need to be reminded that we are in the very midst of a crisis.

 

Let’s step through this chapter shall we?

Revelation 12:1
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

The woman is mentioned at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the chapter. It is clear that the focus is on the woman.

Interestingly enough, the dragon is also mentioned throughout this whole chapter. The start, the middle and also the end.

There is this constant struggle between the woman and the dragon.

What does woman represent in the Bible?

• Ephesians 5:25
  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.
  • It represents the church.
• Jeremiah 6:2
  I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.
  • Zion is a comely and delicate woman.
  • Who is Zion?
  • Isaiah 51:16
    And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
  • Zion is God’s people.
  • After the death of Christ, God’s people were found in the church.
  • Before His death in the Old Testament, God’s people was Israel.
• So the woman represents God’s people throughout time.
• How do we know?
• Let’s look at the details of the woman.

She is clothed with the sun, standing on the moon and has a crown of 12 stars.

The Sun

What does the sun represent?

• Malachi 4:2
  But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings…
  • It represents righteousness.
• What is righteous?
  • 1 John 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.
  • Jesus is righteous.
• What else is righteous?
  • Psalms 119:172
    My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.
  • It also represents the commandments of God.
• Who is righteous?
  • 1 John 3:7
    Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
  • Those that do righteousness are righteous.
  • However, you cannot be righteous by keeping the commandments. We need to ask for the righteousness of Christ and then He is the One that will give us the strength to apply righteousness in our actions.
• At the end of the chapter we will see the remnant keep the commandments of God.
• So this woman (the church, God’s people) are clothed with the righteousness of Christ.

The Moon

How about the moon? What does the moon represent?

• Psalms 89:37
  It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.
• The moon is a faithful witness in heaven.
• However, it is referring to something else being established like the moon. What is it?
• Psalms 89:34-35
  34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. 35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.
• What is being compared to the moon?
  • That which has gone out of the lips of God. His word. His covenant.
  • The promise that God has given to His people will stand as a faithful witness.
  • It is the word of God.
• The church is standing on the word of God.
• The word “witness” means to testify. What is a faithful testimony?
  • John 5:39
    Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
  • It is the scriptures that testify of Christ.
• And interestingly, the remnant at the end in Revelation 12 they keep the commandments of God and they have the testimony of Jesus.
  • The righteousness of Christ and also word of God.
• So the moon represents the word of God. And this is a fitting symbol.
• You must remember that the moon has no light of its own. All it does is simply reflect the light from the sun.
• Who is it that wrote the scriptures? They were the prophets.
• The prophets had no light of their own. Everything they wrote down was given to them by Jesus. They are just reflectors of God’s thoughts.

The Stars

What does the stars represent?

• Revelation 1:20
  The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
• They represent angels.
• But in this case it is not 12 literal angels. What does the word angel mean?
  • It means a messenger, a pastor.
  • Religious leaders.
• And we have seen religious leaders throughout the scriptures.
• In the Old Testament – the 12 tribes of Israel.
• In the New Testament – the 12 disciples and the 12 apostles.
• So God’s people always have had leaders to guide them.

So this woman represents God’s people throughout all time. Both in the New Testament and also the Old Testament.

• However, we are given context in the following verses that we will see who it is talking about more specifically.

Let’s continue.

Revelation 12:2
And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

We’ve gone from a figurative, spiritual application of the woman representing God’s people and God’s church down to a literal woman who is about to give birth.

In verse 1 it’s spiritual – there is no way that there is any woman who is clothed with the sun and standing on the moon and wearing a crown of 12 stars.

But here in verse 2, it cannot be figurative. It has to be literal.

• This woman represents Mary who is about to give birth to baby

How do we know? Let’s keep reading.

Revelation 12:3
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

This dragon of course is a spiritual meaning. Who is this dragon?

• Revelation 12:9
  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan…
• It is the devil.

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.

The dragon’s tail drew a third part of the stars and cast them to the earth.

• What does stars represent? It represents angels.
• This time it is referring to the angels in heaven.

What does the tail represent?

• Isaiah 9:15
  The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
• The tail is related to lies. And it is lies that Satan used to deceive a third of the heavenly host.
• The devil deceived a third of the angels and cause them to leave with him when he was cast out of heaven.

How do we know that this child is Jesus being born? Let’s read the next verse. We’ll come back to verse 4 in a minute.

Revelation 12:5
And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

This child is caught up to God and to His throne.

And moreover, this child would rule all nations with a rod of iron.

• Revelation 19:15
  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
• In Revelation 19 it is clearly referring to Jesus. He is the One that will rule all nations with a rod of iron.
• He would be caught up to heaven after His resurrection. We read about that in Acts 1.

So the dragon standing before the woman ready to devour her child when it is born is referring to the birth of Christ.

• But it wasn’t literally the devil standing there wanting to destroy Jesus when He was born.
• Who was it?
• It was the Roman empire. It was king Herod who wanted to kill Jesus because of his envy and jealousy upon hearing that wise men came to worship a king, and it was not him.
• Matthew 2:13
  And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
• Satan would work through human instruments to try and destroy Christ, but his plan failed.

Because of his failed plan in destroying Christ, and being out of reach – caught up to heaven, what does the devil do?

He does what he can to destroy then God’s people.

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.

We are familiar with this time prophecy already. 538 to 1798. The dark ages. Great persecution.

But notice, what the devil could not accomplish through the Roman empire to destroy Christ, we would use Papal Rome to try and destroy God’s people.

But God would preserve His people in the wilderness.

• They would have to go into hiding in the mountains, in caves, in dens, in desolate places.
• But He would feed her there. Not feeding of physical food, but the feeding of the spiritual food.
• In the wilderness, God’s people would preserve the truth in hiding for 1260 years.

When you think of wilderness in the Bible and being fed, what stories come to mind?

• The feeding of the Israelites in the wilderness with manna.
• The feeding of Elijah in the wilderness when there was no rain.
• God would feed His people with the hidden manna that we have studied about in the seven churches, when it talks about Jezebel. That is the church of Thyatira.

So you see this picture going back and forth from being spiritual then literal then to spiritual again.

But there is one thing that is evident:

• When the devil cannot touch Christ, and Christ is victorious, the devil does the next best thing – try and destroy the lives of those that are Christ’s followers.
• And that is no different today.
• If you are a true follower of Christ today, you are the focus of Satan’s wrath. He hates you. He desires nothing more than to destroy you. There is nothing in between.
• Anything nice he tries to show you is just to deceive you from a greater purpose of his.
• So don’t be surprised when bad things happen.
• 1 Peter 4:12
  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.
• Don’t be surprised. Don’t be wondering why.
• The devil is like a roaring lion, going about to devour everyone.
• The lion is not always on the attack. It seems during the day that it is resting, and the animals seem to think they are safe.
• But when the night falls, when the lion has a better advantage, then he comes out to hunt.

Revelation is drawing back the curtain to the unseen world.

• We are seeing the tactics of Satan and how he just wants to destroy anything that is of Christ.
• He can’t touch Christ now. So he’s coming for Christ’s followers.
• Be awake.
• Be ready!
• Be watchful and vigilant lest the devil catches us unawares.

We’re going to see in the next chapter, Revelation 13, Satan’s ultimate attack on God’s people in the last days.