Then a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
She
was pregnant, and she cried out in labor pains as she was about to give birth.
Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads seven crowns.
The dragon’s tail swept
away one third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. Then the
dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she
gave birth he might devour her child.
5 The woman gave birth to a son, a male child, who is destined to rule all
the nations with a rod of iron.[1617] Her child was caught up to God and to His
throne.
[1618] 6 The woman fled into the desert, where she has a place
prepared for her by God, so that she would be taken care of there for 1,260
days.
[1619]
7 Then there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought the dragon,
and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But the dragon and his angels
were not strong enough, so there was no longer a place for them in heaven. 9 So the huge dragon — the original serpent, the one called the Devil and
Satan, who is deceiving the whole world[1620] — was thrown down to the earth,
and his angels were thrown down with him.
[1621] 10 Then I heard a loud voice
in heaven saying, “The salvation, the power, the Kingdom of our God
and the ruling authority of His Messiah [1622] have now come, because the accuser
of our brothers and sisters, the one who accuses them day and night before
our God, has been thrown down. 11 But they overcame him by the blood of the
Lamb and by the word of their testimony. They did not love their lives even
when facing death.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and all who live in them.
But disaster to the earth and sea: the Devil has gone down to you in
great anger, because he knows that he has only a short time!” 13 When the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he
pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.
14 But two wings of
a huge eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the
desert to the place prepared for her, where she would be taken care of for a time, times,
and half a time,[1623] away from the presence of the serpent. 15 Then the serpent
spewed water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, trying to sweep
her away by a flood.
16 But the earth helped the woman by opening up and swallowing the river which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
17 So the dragon became enraged with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her children,[1624] those who keep God’s commandments and hold on to Jesus’ Gospel-testimony.
Commentary
Revelation
[1616]
This is precisely parallel to Luke 8:11-12 where the Gospel of the Kingdom (Mt. 13:19) is planted as a seed in a person’s understanding (cp. Isa. 53:11). Then “the Devil comes and snatches away the word [of the Kingdom] which has been sown in the heart so that he cannot believe it and be saved” (cp. Acts 8:12, where belief in the Gospel of the Kingdom is the essential requisite for intelligent faith before baptism in water). The seed-word of the Kingdom (Lk. 8:11) is the non-negotiable core truth of the NT Gospel of salvation. Satan obstructs this life-giving Gospel of the Kingdom and tries to remove it so that no new children of God can be born (again).
[1617]
Obviously a reference to Ps. 2, where the Messiah’s future victory is predicted.
[1618]
A reference to the ascension of Jesus, after his resurrection.
[1619]
The second half of the final period of seven years of Dan. 9:24-27, the period of the intense
Great Tribulation (Mt. 24:21; Mk. 13:19; Lk. 21:22, all based on Dan. 12:1). The woman represents the
“ideal Israel,” the true people of God, from whom the Messiah came.
[1620]
But in the millennium he will no longer be able to deceive the nations (20:3). This proves that
the millennium is not in progress now! Amillennialism is false to the Scripture.
[1621]
The reference is to a final effort of the Devil and his fallen angels. It lies in the future and
coincides with the time of the Great Tribulation. See v. 12, “a short time.”
[1622]
This is the phrase used by Luke 2:26 to define who Jesus is, the “Lord’s Messiah.” Jesus is of
course “the lord Messiah” (Lk. 2:11) who was born as the promised seed of David, in Bethlehem.
[1623]
The same period of time, based on the last half of the final “week” of years of Dan. 9:24-27. It
appears as 1260 days or 42 months. It is extended by a further 30 days in Dan. 12:11 and it ends with
the resurrection of the dead (Dan. 12:2) which is the climax of Daniel’s final vision. It was very
commonly agreed, and with excellent reason, among early classical premillennial church fathers that
the Antichrist’s dominion would last for a period of 3 1/2 years, based on Dan. 7:25; 8:14, 9:27; 12:7,
11-12.
[1624]
Some of the faithful are accounted worthy of escaping the time of intense trouble; the rest
remain to be persecuted by the Devil. “Because you have preserved the word of my perseverance [my
Gospel], I will preserve you from the hour of testing which is about to come upon the whole world, to
test those who live on the earth” (3:10). See also “the time of Jacob’s trouble” in Jer. 30 and 31.
Revelation