Hear

God

 Speaks

 Introduction to Chapter  12

The Twelfth Chapter of Revelation is a continuation of the events taking place at the Midpoint of Daniel’s 70^th Week, but from a Heavenly viewpoint.  In Chapter 10, a “Mighty Angel” announced the completion of God’s prophetic plan at the sounding of the7^th trumpet.  In the first 13 verses of Chapter 11, we see the scene on Earth from the perspective of Jerusalem.  Revelation 11:15-19, John witnesses the sounding of the 7^th Trumpet, and the events which follow.   Chapter 12 continues the scenes from sounding of the 7^th trumpet, and the transition about to take place in Heaven.

In chapter 12, not only do we see the Heavenly perspective of the midpoint, but the conflict of the ages. John witnesses and records the events in Heaven at the middle of Daniel’s 70^th week.  He describes two great signs, unveiling the spiritual  conflicts in the physical and spiritual realms. The first sign is of a woman, she gives birth to a male-child, who will rule the nations, and he is “caught up” to the throne of God in Heaven. The second is of a great red dragon, which pursues the women, who gave birth to the child. 

Here in a picture is the conflict of the ages, between the descendents of Eve and Satan.  The conflict between the seed of the women, the Messiah, and the serpent, Satan, goes back to the fall of man (Genesis 3:15-16). Satan has tried to prevent Messiah’s birth and the completion of God’s plan of redemption, from the time Cain killed his brother Abel. Here John reveals the spiritual dimension of this age-old conflict which is about to enter the final act.

 John records the conclusion of events, which began in the Garden of Eden, at the fall of man.  Satan, who tempted Adam and Eve, and regained access to heaven, after man’s fall, is finally expelled.   Michael and his angels cast Satan and his fallen angels from their heavenly access. Satan’s freedom of movement is confined to the earth, and because he knows his time is short (3 ½ years), he confronts Israel in a last ditch effort to stop his confinement. 

Satan, assumes control the Antichrist’s kingdom at the mid-point of the Tribulation.  After Satan is expelled from Heaven, he incarnates the Antichrist who seemed to have a fatal wound (Revelation 13:3).  The resurrected Antichrist enters the rebuilt Third Temple in Jerusalem and declares himself God demanding Israel and the world worship him (2 Thes. 2:4).  Israel refuses to worship the Antichrist, who is now Satan incarnate. The Antichrist is enraged against Israel and all believers since he knows his time is short and he must act quickly.  Satan indwelling the Antichrist pursues Israel and attempts to exterminate the Jewish people, hoping to prevent the return of Christ, who promised to return when Israel acknowledged Him as their Messiah (Matthew 23:39).

At this point God intervenes on Israel’s behalf, almost two thousand years ago, Jesus warned Israel about this coming day of trial.  Jesus referring to the book of Daniel warned Israel, when they saw the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel to flee to the mountains (Matthew 24;15-21).  God literally opens the Mount of Olives, creating a valley, and providing a path of escape, for a remnant seed of Israel.  There in the wilderness of Judah east of Jerusalem, God will supernaturally preserve and nourish a select group of survivors for 1260-days or three and half years.  In the wilderness, surviving Israel will come to terms with their Messiah and finally understand, Jesus Christ is their only way to salvation.

The Woman Clothed with the Sun: Israel

 Revelation 12:1-2

1 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.

2 Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.

Verse 1-2 Women Clothed with the sun

Now a great sign appeared…. Following the opening of the Temple in Heaven after the sounding of the 7^th Trumpet, John sees a great sign in Heaven. (shmei'on Semeion the word means sign, miracle, token, wonder).  John is describing an event he sees, taking place in Heaven. Whether John is alone witnessing this event or all of Heaven sees the same drama unfold is not revealed.   John is watching this Heavenly drama unfold, and he records what he sees, so we can understand God’s prophetic plan. The word for appeared, ojptavnomai Optanomai  means to physically see, not to dream or speak metaphorically. John is writing about what he is seeing. Through this heavenly sign God unveils to John the conflict of the ages through a visible sign.

A woman….In this Heavenly drama John sees a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of 12 stars. ( Gr. Stephanos….victors crown).  The identity of the women has been the subject of much debate. The four major opinions are;

1. The woman represents the church with the 12 stars representing the 12 apostles.
2. The woman represents Mary with the 12 stars representing the 12 apostles.
3. The woman represents Israel and the 12 stars represent the 12 tribes of Israel.
4. The woman represents the redeemed and the 12 stars represent the apostles and tribes of Israel.

      Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy has claimed that she is the woman in Revelation 12 and the man-child is her church Christian Science.  Many cults use this chapter to justify their doctrines.  To identify the women we just need to look at her qualifiers. 

The Woman in this drama is clearly demonstrated to be Israel (the seed bearer of Messiah) thru whom the Messiah, Jesus Christ, (the child) entered the world. The drama of chapter 12 has the woman who gives birth to a male-child; the child is caught up to Heaven to rule the nations with an Iron scepter. A red dragon with seven heads and 10 crowns, pursues the woman.                   

The male child with the iron scepter is referring to the Messiah. In Psalm 2:9, Messiah the king is pictured ruling the Earth with a rod of Iron. The Messiah is also to rule over the nations. The Overcomers of the church of Thyatira are promised to reign with Christ with a rod of Iron. (Rev 2:27).  The picture of the dragon is a representation of Satan’s effort to prevent Messiah birth throughout history.   

The woman could not possibly be the church as some try to interpret her, since the church did not bring Christ into the world, but Christ brought the church.  Secondly, woman could be Mary, because after the birth, the women is pursued by the Dragon for 1260 days, this did not happen to Mary.

The crown of stars represent the 12 tribes of Jacob, this is mirrored in Joseph’s dream (Gen 37:9-10) where the son’s of Jacob are pictured as stars, and the moon and sun as Jacob and Rachel.

The first prophecy of the coming Messianic redemption involves Eve, her seed, the serpent and the serpent’s seed.  In this prophecy Eve is the prototype of Israel, who is pictured in this drama in the 12^th chapter of Revelation.  Through Eve, the woman, Israel comes into existence to bear the “Male seed” that redeems what Adam and Eve lost as a result of the Serpents deception. The serpent, an animal incarnated by Satan, deceived the woman to disobey God. 

¹⁵ And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed;

He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” ( Gen 3;15).

In this foreshadowing, we see hatred (enmity) between the woman (the seed bearer) and her seed (Messiah) and the serpent (Satan) and serpent’s seed (Antichrist). The Messiah would bruise (Heb. Shoof.. break, bruise, crush, cover) the head of Satan. However, Satan would bruise (Cause the Messiah to suffer) but would loose in the end.

     The woman who gives birth to the male child is then taken desert for 1260 days, 3.5 years to protect her from the dragon. (Rev 12:6).  The 1260-days involve Israel, the bearer of Messiah, and her struggle with Satan in 2^nd half of the 7 year tribulation period.

Being with child…. The identity of the child has also been debated with the two major opinions being; the child is the Messiah or the child is the church.  The description of child being caught up to Heaven to rule the nations with an iron scepter is without a doubt referring to Messiah. (Psalm 2:9)  The Messiah is the one to rule the nations of the earth (Daniel 7:14, Isaiah 9:7)

She cried out in labor and pain…. The process of the bringing the child (Messiah) into the world has been painful to the woman (Israel).  When we examine the context of the verses regarding the women, we see the women as Israel (The seed bearer) of the child (Messiah).  The pain of the women can be traced back throughout history.

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The Great Red Dragon: Satan

3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.

4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.

Revelation 12:3-4

Verse 3-4 The Red Dragon

Another sign appeared… The drama unfolds as dragon enters the Heavenly scene unfolding before John.

A great fiery red dragon… (Gr. Purrhos…flame red) a large flame colored dragon.  The same word is used to describe the red horse of the second seal that takes peace from the earth. (Rev 6:4).  This dragon will be the vehicle, which Satan will use to terrorize the Earth in the 2^nd half of the Tribulation.  As the Serpent in Gen 3:15 was a vehicle used by Satan to tempt Eve. The dragon, the kingdom, of the Antichrist will be the vehicle of Satan’s last stand.

Having seven heads and ten horns… This dragon represents the kingdom of the coming Antichrist who will be incarnated by Satan during the 2^nd half of the tribulation.  The book of Daniel chapter 7 sheds light on this dragon called a beast in Daniel.  The final kingdom of Antichrist will be a confederation of 10 nations making up a “Revived Roman Kingdom”.  This is the “Prince who shall come” of Daniel 9:26.  Who makes a 7-year agreement with Israel and at the Midpoint stops sacrifice and enters the rebuilt Jerusalem Temple and proclaims himself god.  He demands worship from the world.

The dragon pictured here has 7 heads and 10 horns, the details of these heads and horns are explained  in Revelation chapter 17,

10 "There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. 11 "And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition. 12 "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast.  Revelation 17:10-12

            This future kingdom is pictured in Daniel chapter 7, as the final kingdom, which is the vehicle used by the Antichrist in the first half of the tribulation, and then used by Satan in the last half of the tribulation.

⁷“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. ⁸I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.

¹⁹“Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; ²⁰and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.

²¹“I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, ²²until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.

²³“Thus he said:

                ‘The fourth beast shall be

                A fourth kingdom on earth,

                Which shall be different from all other kingdoms,

                And shall devour the whole earth,

                Trample it and break it in pieces.

²⁴             The ten horns are ten kings

                Who shall arise from this kingdom.

                And another shall rise after them;

                He shall be different from the first ones,

                And shall subdue three kings.

²⁵             He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,

                Shall persecute^£ the saints of the Most High,

                And shall intend to change times and law.

                Then the saints shall be given into his hand

                For a time and times and half a time.

Daniel 7:7-8,19-25

Seven diadems….  diavdhma Diadema means the kingly ornament for the head, the crown. These diadems portray the seven kingdoms which in the past had tried to attack the women who would bear the Messiah.

His tail drew a third of the stars….1/3 of the angels of Heaven joined in the Heavenly rebellion with Satan against the Lord Almighty. Ezekiel 28

The dragon stood before… Satan tried to destroy the Messiah during the time of birth when Herod killed all the male children in Bethlehem 2 years and younger. 

To devour her child…Mary and Joseph were warned and they fled to Egypt till Herod died.  Herod was under the authority of Rome.

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The Man-Child: Christ

5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.

6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

Revelation 12:5-6

She bore a male child…. The male child is Jesus.

⁶For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

      Isaiah 9:6-7

Who was to rule all nations…Messiah will rule the Earth clearly defines this man-child as the Messiah. (See Psalm 2, Daniel 7:14, Zechariah 9:10, Isaiah 9:7, Zechariah 14:16)

Her child was caught up…The ascension of Christ. Acts 1:9,

Woman fled….A portion of Israel will be protected from Satan for 1260 days. The last half of the 70^th week, Zechariah 13:8 informs us that 2/3 of Israel will be destroyed during this time but 1/3 will make it through, to the Millennium. The survivors of Israel will re-populate the earth, in the Millennium, where the Messiah, Jesus Christ, will rule over the Earth with His saints.

⁸   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

    The 14^th chapter of Zechariah reveals details of the coming invasion into Jerusalem by the armies of the Antichrist. The Mt. Olives will split in two from the East to the West making a passage of escape for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.  For the next 3.5-years they will be supernaturally protected from events taking place in the world.  However, the inhabitants left behind will face horrific consequences as Satan rages against the inhabitants. At the conclusion of the “Great tribulation” at Armageddon Christ will return with the armies of Heaven (Revelation 19:17-19), Zechariah 12:10 will be fulfilled when Israel emerges from their supernatural protection to behold Jesus the rejected Messiah.

1Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go forth And fight against those nations,

As He fights in the day of battle. 4. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,

Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south. 5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake  In the days of Uzziah king of Judah.  Thus the LORD my God will come, And all the saints with You.

Zechariah 14:1-5

Isaiah wrote about this future event 700 years before the birth of Messiah.  The second coming of Christ will result in the resurrection of the tribulation saints, after Israel hiding in the mountains.  Isaiah 26:21 speaks of coming of the Lord out of his place in Heaven paralleling Rev 19:11, Zech 12:10, Zech 14:3-4

¹⁹ Your dead shall live; Together with ^£my dead body they shall arise.    Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; For your dew is like the dew of herbs, And the earth shall cast out the dead. ² Come, my people, enter your chambers, And shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, Until the indignation is past.²¹ For behold, the LORD comes out of His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; The earth will also disclose her blood, And will no more cover her slain.  Isaiah 26:19-21

¹⁵“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’^£ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), ¹⁶“then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. ¹⁸And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. ¹⁹But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹For 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. ²²And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. Matthew 24:15-20

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War in Heaven: Satan is cast out

Revelation 12:7-9

7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,

8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.

9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

War…Heaven  From the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, Satan has had access to the throne of God, to accuse humanity.  We see the portrayed in the story of Job, Satan coming before the throne of God, to accuse Job, Satan’s calls his limitations against Job a “Hedge” (Job 1:10).  To this very day, Satan has access to the throne of God to accuse the saints.

Even when Christ was on the earth, Satan tempted Christ with the kingdoms of the earth and promised to turn them over if Jesus would just worship him.  

Luke 4:5-6

5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

6 And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

When were the kingdoms of the world turned over to Satan?  At the fall of Adam and Eve, the kingdoms on earth became subject to satanic power and influence. Paul in Ephesians describes the spiritual world as ruling over the physical, in spiritual realms, unseen to the human eye.  In these spiritual realms Satan and his angels operate, ruling over nations, governments, people and cities (Ephesians 6:12).

At the middle of the tribulation period, at this point in chapter 12, Satan’s power is confined to the earth as War breaks out in Heaven. Satan and his angels loose the position they had since the fall of man, and are cast too the earth.

Michael   The angel Michael is mentioned five times in the Bible (Daniel 10:13,21 12:1, Jude 1:9, Revelation 12:7).  He is a defender of the people of Israel according to Daniel 12:1.  He is called “arch” angel or chief angel in Jude.  The role Michael plays in Daniel 12:1 gives us additional light to the events taking place in the Revelation chapter 12. 

The scene in Daniel 12:1 corresponds to the Tribulation period, the time of Michael action corresponds to period in Israel’s history unequaled in the history of nations.

1 "At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book.  Daniel 12:1

Both, Jesus (Matthew 24:15), and the angel in Daniel 12:11, link this period, to the Abomination of Desolation, which occurs at the middle of Daniel’s 70^th week.  At the middle of the Tribulation, Michael’s angelic forces are finally allowed to expel Satan and his angels from their heavenly access.

Michael and Satan also known as Lucifer are old enemies, their conflict in the bible dates back to death of Moses, when Michael dared not rebuke Satan, but left the prerogative open to Lord.  Satan was a cherub who covered the throne of God (Ezekiel 28:16), while Michael was the archangel in charge of the angelic host (Jude1;9).

According to some, the reference in Revelation 12:4 indicates 1/3 of the angelic host followed Satan in his rebellion against God.  Finally, Michael and his angelic forces are allowed to oust Satan from heaven.

Dragon   Here John links the dragon of the in verses 3 and 4, with Satan and his host of fallen angels.  Only in the book of Revelation, in the New Testament, is Satan called a dragon.  Here he is presented as having seven heads and ten crowns, the meaning of these heads and crowns are explained more fully in Revelation chapter 17.  Satan is seen, as the dragon or serpent, the enemy of humanity going back to the fall of Adam and Eve.

His angels    One third of the angels, fell when Satan rebelled against God, according to verse 4. Throughout scripture the host of fallen angels are referred to as belonging to Satan.  Christ instructs us that Hell itself was created from the beginning for Satan and his angels (Matthew 25:41).

Satan and his angels know what follows their expulsion from Heaven, and they do not go peacefully.  A question is often raised, why does God need Michael and his angels to expel Satan from Heaven?  Didn’t God have the power and authority to do it?  Of course, God could have expelled Satan and his host with His word alone. Just like God could have evangelized all of humanity without a single missionary, bible or bible tract.  God chooses to use his people to do his work; God wants his people to reap the reward of their work.  In the same way, man participates in the Lord’s work, angels, and fellow servants of man, participate in the Lord’s work.

Up to this time, Michael and the angels of heaven, served God in obedience and patience tolerating Satan’s charges against God’s creation.  Now Michael and his angelic host are allowed to cast them from Heaven.

Great dragon  John wants the reader to understand the long spiritual history of what is happening in Heaven.   The dragon’s identity in both the Old and New Testaments, is linked here by John, so the reader knows they are the same person. The dragon pursuing the women is the same person involved in the fall of humanity at the start.

The dragon is his final role, in the end of days, but he is also known as Devil, Serpent and Satan. 

Deceives the earth  Satan causes the earth to be deceived. The word in Greek, planavw Planao, means to cause to stray, to lead astray.   From the fall of Adam and Eve to this day, Satan is the chief cause of deception on the earth.

Cast to earth   At this point Satan and his angels’ power is severely restricted.  They no longer are able to accuse the saints before God’s throne.  Their time is now limited to the final 3.5 years of the tribulation period.

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 Rejoicing in Heaven

10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

12 "Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time."

Revelation 12:10-12

Voice in heaven   With Satan now ejected from Heaven, a new day has dawned, in the same way Satan accused Job, before God’s throne, Satan accused all believers. 

Accuser   Satan who had access to Heaven from the fall in the Garden until the middle of the tribulation, he to this very day accuses the saved. He demands God judge the saved for their sins before the throne.  Jesus Christ, on the other had is called our Advocate or lawyer. He intercedes on our behalf before the throne of God.  Because, Jesus has paid for our sins, he has the right to “Advocate” our situation before God’s throne.  Satan to this day, day and night pleads for God’s judgment, while Christ intercedes on our behalf.

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

I John 2:1

Cast down  Satan and his angels at this point become earthbound and confined.  They no longer have access to the throne of God.

Overcame…   The Greek word here is nikavw Nikao, which means to conquer, to carry off the victory. The believer has victory over Satan our accuser, because of the work of Christ on the cross.  Satan has no power, because Christ has paid for all of our sins.The voice in heaven proclaims the three keys to a victorious Christian life,

1. The Blood of the Lamb, the first key is understanding our position in Heaven.  Christ is our “Passover” lamb, His blood has paid for our sins, Satan power is removed because of the blood of Christ.  This does not give us license to sin, but power to live in victory.

2. Word of their testimony, to live the life an overcomer, means to operate in God’s power. The saints who are victorious in the tribulation, will proclaim the Gospel to Satanic world. (2 Tim. 1:7-8)

3. Not Love their lives,   The third secret we learn for victorious Christian living, is to not fall in love with what this world offers.  This world is temporary and fleeting, the victorious saints live for the world to come.  Their focus is on eternity, not what they can have here.  In the tribulation, people will be given a choice of life in this world or the next.  The victorious brethren, choose death in this world and life with Christ.

This same principle applies to the believer today, those who struggle with their possessions have a difficult time living in the victory of the Lamb’s blood.

Woe   Satan who is now cast to the earth is furious, because he knows his judgment is coming.  Once confined to the earth, Satan begins to lash out at anything in his reach.  Satan, taking charge of earthly operations begins his last ditch effort to prevent his judgment.

Short time  Satan understands, he is about to be judged.  The second half of the tribulation, ends with the return of Christ and Satan’s binding. (Revelation 20:1-3) 

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The Persecution of Israel in the Great Tribulation

Revelation 12:13-16 

13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child.

14 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.

15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.

16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.

Dragon saw  Satan is confined to the earth in the second half of the tribulation begins to persecute Israel.  The  male child, is the Messiah who was caught up to Heaven to rule the nations from God’s throne.  Satan, understanding the promises of Christ made to Israel sees his last opportunity to prevent his judgment by destroying Israel.  

Christ, declared before His crucifixion he would not return until Israel acknowledged Him as their Messiah. 

37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

38 "See! Your house is left to you desolate;

39 "for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!' "

Matthew 23:37-39

 Because Satan understands God’s word, he understands if there is no Israel, they cannot as a nation turn and accept Jesus Christ as Messiah.   Satan, like in the past, attempts the final solution, to exterminate the Jewish race, and thereby prevent them from accepting Jesus Christ as Messiah. 

Persecuted the woman  This attempt is pictured by John, as the Dragon persecuting the women.  The dragon who has seven heads and ten crowns, is the final human kingdom, pictured as a dragon.  Satan following his fall from Heaven, takes the reigns of power at the middle of the tribulation to pursue Israel. 

The woman  At this point in Israel’s history God intervenes, the woman, Israel is supernaturally protected by God.  This reiterates the events described in verse 6.  God prepares a special place for Jewish remnant in the wilderness.  To this same group, Christ spoke in Matthew 24:15, regarding the coming “Abomination of Desolation”, to flee into the wilderness.

Two wings  Israel was faced with a similar extermination 3500 years ago, in the land of Egypt.  Then God intervened with Moses, and Israel was led out of Egypt with God’s protection.  This time Israel will again be supernaturally protected against Satan’s plan for their destruction.

4 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. 5 'Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.

6 'And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel."

Exodus 19:4-6

Wilderness  To the east of Israel, through the Mount of Olives, a surviving group will be led to place in the wilderness of Judah.  Some have speculated the location is Petra based on Daniel 11:41, which refers to Moab and Edom being spared at the middle of the tribulation. 

A surviving remnant will be placed out of the reach of Satan in the final half of Daniel’s 70^th week.  This surviving remnant will then be faced with the decision of just who is the Messiah?  Do they turn to Jesus Christ and ask for his help and go against all traditions and culture for the past two-thousand years?

nourished  During this period, God will supply all their needs.  Just like in the wilderness, when the sky rained Manna, God again will supply Israel’s food.  God will nourish Israel both physically and spiritually as they come to the realization Jesus Christ was the Messiah promised through the prophets years ago.

time, and times and half a time  The time Israel spends in the wilderness corresponds exactly with the last half of the Tribulation period, 1260-days.  This period is also described as time and times and half a time which is equal to 42 months, 1260 days or 3.5 years.  At the conclusion of this period, Israel will finally understand who their Messiah is and will call out to Him, and He will answer.

This period of decision is also part of Jewish tradition, Raphael Patai in his book, The Messiah Texts writes about this period of time according to Jewish tradition.  Though these text do not correspond exactly with scripture, the heart of Israel, is being made ready to accept their Messiah.

 At that time Michael the great (celestial ) prince will rise and blow the shofar three times…..and Messiah ben David and Elijah will be revealed.  And the two of them will go to Israel who will be [at that time] in the desert of the peoples, and Elijah will say to them: “This is the Messiah.” And he will return their heart [which will be faint] and will strengthen their hand

(T’fillat R. Shim’on ben Yohai, BhM 2;125)^[1] 

[After Israel has spent forty-five days in the desert] Elijah of blessed memory will sprout out for them, and King Messiah with him.  And from there he will announce and say to them: “What have you here, o Israel?” they say: “We are lost, we are annihilated, we are destroyed!”   He says to them: “Arise, for I am Elijah and [This is] King Messiah.”  And they will not believe him.  And he says to them a third time: “Do you wish that I perform signs for you as Moses did?”  And Israel says;  “Yes.” Elijah of blessed memory will perform for them seven miracles in that hour… …The seventh miracle:  he will reveal to them the secret as it is written,  “This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and their heart I will write it, and I will be their God and they shall be my People (Jer. 31:33) ^[2]

In the wilderness, Israel will finally understand the Messiah first needed to die for the sins of the World as foretold in Isaiah 53. And through His death we have salvation, this time of tribulation and decision is portrayed in the second chapter of Joel.

 Joel 2:16-17

16 Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room.

17 Let the priests, who minister to the Lord, Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, "Spare Your people, O Lord, And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?' " 

spewed water The torrent of water pictured here by John, has been interpreted several ways. 

1.  Satan literally uses a flood to attempt to destroy Israel, but the earth swallows the waters.

2.  Satan attempts an over empowering onslaught against Israel to destroy the nation, but the physical prevents the onslaught or flood from destroying Israel.

The second interpretation is more likely and corresponds to the events taking place.  In Zechariah 14:1-2 we read about the armies of the Antichrist as they pillage homes and rape the women of Jerusalem.  A remnant however is spared, and not cutoff from the city.    The Mount of Olives by splitting wide open and preparing a route of escape prevents Satan’s attack from being successful and Israel destruction is prevented.

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Persecution of the Godly Remnant

 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

 Dragon  The Dragon, which is pictured as the final world government, headed by the Antichrist who is now incarnated by Satan is enraged because it failed to destroy Israel.  Therefore the full fury of Satan is unleashed against all who are associated with the God of Israel.

In Revelation chapter 13, Satan puts together a plan to separate any who might have an allegiance to any but him.  He makes war with the rest of the women’s offspring, those who know Christ are to be hunted down.  All who refuse to acknowledge the Beast, Satan incarnate, will be killed if found.

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