Daily Bread 2011 - Revelation 12
The Woman and the Dragon – Revelation 12
1 A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
What Does This Mean?
Chapter 12 starts the second half of the Revelation, and follows the two brief interludes in chapters 10 and 11. In this scene, a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet and a 12 crown stars on her head, gives birth to a son, a male child who will rule the nations with an iron scepter. This is language consistent with the birth of Jesus. (see Revelation 2 and Psalm 2). But another sign appeared as well, an enormous red dragon with seven heads and seven crowns. Notice he has power too, but not as much as the woman. The dragon attempted to devour the child the moment it was born but was unsuccessful.
Then there is a scene of a cosmic battle in heaven between the forces of evil led by the dragon and the Michael and his angels. With his defeat the dragon (then referred to as the ancient serpent – see Genesis 3 and/or the devil or Satan) was hurled out of heaven and his angels with him. After the dragon is hurled to the earth, he tries to pursue the woman and her offspring and yet is unsuccessful. It is then that we see her offspring defined as those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus (another reference to the early Christian martyrs who died for their faith).
What Does This Mean For Us?
Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 that our battle as believers is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers of this present darkness. We should not be surprised at some of the gross evil we see in the world. Though we can’t blame everything on Satan, as some of it is just some of the bad choices we have made guided by our own sinful nature; as the passage alludes to, Satan and his flock are still on the earth. And as it says in verse 12, “He is filled with fury because his time is short.”
Notice that Satan spends his time on those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. He isn’t going to waste his time on “lukewarm Christians”. Since his power and abilities are limited he will try to be strategic about who he battles. I don’t write this to make you scared or anxious, but to inform you of the reality we face as believers in the time in between Jesus first coming, in which he defeated Satan on the cross and in His resurrection and his final coming where Satan will defeated once and for all. Importantly as the passage says, “As believers we know have the power that comes from the salvation Jesus has purchased for us and authority as sons and daughters of God.” (see verse 10) As Paul instructs us in Ephesians 6, we fight spiritual battles with spiritual weapons. Importantly two of our biggest weapons are prayer and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. God’s Word has power and authority because it is the truth about God and the victory he has accomplished through the Son.
God we realize the battle before us has already been won on the cross, yet we know there is a time where we must still battle our enemy. Gird us with your weapons of truth and righteousness and the power of the Holy Spirit through Your Word, as we listen to it and obey it! Amen.
1 A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
What Does This Mean?
Chapter 12 starts the second half of the Revelation, and follows the two brief interludes in chapters 10 and 11. In this scene, a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet and a 12 crown stars on her head, gives birth to a son, a male child who will rule the nations with an iron scepter. This is language consistent with the birth of Jesus. (see Revelation 2 and Psalm 2). But another sign appeared as well, an enormous red dragon with seven heads and seven crowns. Notice he has power too, but not as much as the woman. The dragon attempted to devour the child the moment it was born but was unsuccessful.
Then there is a scene of a cosmic battle in heaven between the forces of evil led by the dragon and the Michael and his angels. With his defeat the dragon (then referred to as the ancient serpent – see Genesis 3 and/or the devil or Satan) was hurled out of heaven and his angels with him. After the dragon is hurled to the earth, he tries to pursue the woman and her offspring and yet is unsuccessful. It is then that we see her offspring defined as those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus (another reference to the early Christian martyrs who died for their faith).
What Does This Mean For Us?
Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 that our battle as believers is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers of this present darkness. We should not be surprised at some of the gross evil we see in the world. Though we can’t blame everything on Satan, as some of it is just some of the bad choices we have made guided by our own sinful nature; as the passage alludes to, Satan and his flock are still on the earth. And as it says in verse 12, “He is filled with fury because his time is short.”
Notice that Satan spends his time on those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. He isn’t going to waste his time on “lukewarm Christians”. Since his power and abilities are limited he will try to be strategic about who he battles. I don’t write this to make you scared or anxious, but to inform you of the reality we face as believers in the time in between Jesus first coming, in which he defeated Satan on the cross and in His resurrection and his final coming where Satan will defeated once and for all. Importantly as the passage says, “As believers we know have the power that comes from the salvation Jesus has purchased for us and authority as sons and daughters of God.” (see verse 10) As Paul instructs us in Ephesians 6, we fight spiritual battles with spiritual weapons. Importantly two of our biggest weapons are prayer and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. God’s Word has power and authority because it is the truth about God and the victory he has accomplished through the Son.
God we realize the battle before us has already been won on the cross, yet we know there is a time where we must still battle our enemy. Gird us with your weapons of truth and righteousness and the power of the Holy Spirit through Your Word, as we listen to it and obey it! Amen.
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