I know it’s not Tuesday. I’m doin’ the best I can people.
A great Sign appeared in Heaven: a Woman dressed all in sunlight, standing on the moon, and crowned with Twelve Stars. She was giving birth to a Child and cried out in the pain of childbirth.
And then another Sign alongside the first: a huge and fiery Dragon! It had seven heads and ten horns, a crown on each of the seven heads. With one flick of its tail it knocked a third of the Stars from the sky and dumped them on earth. The Dragon crouched before the Woman in childbirth, poised to eat up the Child when it came.
The Woman gave birth to a Son who will shepherd all nations with an iron rod. Her Son was seized and placed safely before God on his Throne. The Woman herself escaped to the desert to a place of safety prepared by God, all comforts provided her for 1,260 days.
Revelation 12:1-6
Boy this passage is just chock full of everything, ain’t it? Let’s see what we can do with this.
Best I can tell, the woman here is a metaphor for the Jewish people. The dragon is Satan. The Son is Jesus.
There are a whole bunch of numbers here. Twelve stars. Seven heads. Ten horns. 1260 days. I’m sure I could get a bunch of people to argue about what the numbers mean but I don’t wanna. Just for me, when I see 12 in the Bible, I usually assume it means the 12 tribes of Israel. Sometimes it means the 12 disciples of Jesus. Go with the one that makes more sense in the context and you will probably be fine. Seven heads and ten horns has something to do with rulers and empires. I don’t mean to dismiss this as unimportant but I also don’t want to labor over something that God has veiled. Maybe I’m not supposed to know EXACTLY what these numbers mean? The 1260 days is 3 and 1/2 years. So it would appear that Israel will be sheltered some kind of way from Satan for 3 1/2 years. When is this gonna happen? I have no idea. Sometime during the tribulation. And, no, we don’t know when that is happening either.
War broke out in Heaven. Michael and his Angels fought the Dragon. The Dragon and his Angels fought back, but were no match for Michael. They were cleared out of Heaven, not a sign of them left. The great Dragon—ancient Serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, the one who led the whole earth astray—thrown out, and all his Angels thrown out with him, thrown down to earth. Then I heard a strong voice out of Heaven saying,
Salvation and power are established!
Kingdom of our God, authority of his Messiah!
The Accuser of our brothers and sisters thrown out,
who accused them day and night before God.
They defeated him through the blood of the Lamb
and the bold word of their witness.
They weren’t in love with themselves;
they were willing to die for Christ.
So rejoice, O Heavens, and all who live there,
but doom to earth and sea,
For the Devil’s come down on you with both feet;
he’s had a great fall;
He’s wild and raging with anger;
he hasn’t much time and he knows it.Revelation 12: 7-12
Now this is the kind of passage I can really love. First, can we talk about Michael? One of the things you will notice if you spend some time in the Bible is that almost every time an angel shows up, the first thing they say is “Fear Not.” This should cause you to reevaluate how you envision angels. I assure you, if a blond cherub in a white dress floats down playing a harp, my first reaction will not be fear. Real biblical angels are not cartoons. They are warriors or messengers. Sometimes they are both.
God gives Michael the authority to cast Satan and his angels out of heaven. This is a great example of the actual balance of power in heaven. The battle is not God versus Satan. It’s Satan versus Michael. Two angels. One of the biggest mistakes Christians make in their theology is assuming an equality between God and Satan. There isn’t one. Don’t be deceived.
When the Dragon saw he’d been thrown to earth, he went after the Woman who had given birth to the Man-Child. The Woman was given wings of a great eagle to fly to a place in the desert to be kept in safety and comfort for a time and times and half a time, safe and sound from the Serpent. The Serpent vomited a river of water to swamp and drown her, but earth came to her help, swallowing the water the Dragon spewed from its mouth. Helpless with rage, the Dragon raged at the Woman, then went off to make war with the rest of her children, the children who keep God’s commands and hold firm to the witness of Jesus.
Revelation 12: 13-17
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