Lesson 29
Revelation 12 and 13 |
Verse 6 reads:“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 know that this woman to symbolize Israel. Why does she flee and why was a place prepared for her? In addition, when is this to take place?
Which Israel does this woman symbolize? Is it Israel before the tribulation or is it Israel during the first part of the tribulation? The answer to these questions can be found in the same verse. She is symbolizing Israel in the first part of the tribulation, because it says that she was fed for 1260 days or 3 ½ years. Do not rush past that very important point! Remember, there are some who think that God is punishing the world for rejecting His Son, Jesus Christ. If this is the case, then why is God allowing some to be saved? Now that we know that the woman is Israel we also need to know that this woman is not symbolizing all of Israel. Israel here is referring to them that come to accept Jesus as their Saviour and Lord.
We have a break in time in verse 6, because we know that Jesus was called home to God the Father 40 days after his resurrection. Also, in Revelation 7:2 – 8 we are told about the 144,000, which will come out of Israel (the woman). If we were to put these verses in order then it would be 5, 7 -13. Then 6 would be part of verse 14; we will see why a little later.
We need to put these next pieces together so that we may get a clearer view of what God is saying through John.“…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.” Fled” (escaped) means that she left a place in which she felt comfortable. Let us read Matthew 24:16 – 28. We have Jesus warning about not returning to things when the time is come. These are those who are leaving Judaism for the truth. Think about this for a moment as someone is Israel who has come to know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. All that you thought and believed has just been turned upside down. Moreover, you have to seek and learn this truth without the Holy Spirit’s presence and guidance. These new believers also have to be very careful who they ask about the truth. Remember, everybody knows what is going on in the world (Revelation 6:15 – 16,11:8 – 13).
Next, we have the word “wilderness” that can mean the desert, desolate, or solitary. God has John to write that this place is prepared by God for the woman. In this place, the woman has to lean on God to meet her needs. If you think about it, this is what many Christians have to learn to do now. Many of us are too busy these days to hear God or to depend on Him. For this very reason, we are so easily misled into things we know we should not do or should not be around. We do not need to hide. We are to be in the world, but not of the world. In this way, we can show the world a different way to live. This woman is going to have to learn a new way of life. There are some who think that she will learn to trust and to live with the Gentile believers. The Gentile believers believe that God has put them in a place to minister to the Jewish believers.
Before we move into verses 7 -12, we need to go back and read Isaiah 24. In this chapter we are being told by Isaiah of the events we are about to study. Revelation 12: 7 – 12 is a summary relating to what is to come in the rest of Revelation. In this summary, there are some very important things we need to understand. One thing is that God KNOWS ALL THINGS, because we sometimes think that events catch God off-guard. I know some of you are thinking you know this, then why is it that we get upset when events rock us? Do we think that God does not know what is happening? Do we understand that He is in charge of all things?
We have ended the first part of the tribulation and we are about to enter the great tribulation. So have you ever wondered why we call the second half of the tribulation the great tribulation? You are about to learn why and in the process I pray that it will cause you to examine your relationship with God through Jesus Christ His only Son?
To answer the question about the great tribulation look at verse 12. In this, verse there a couple of important words to define:
- 1. woe = exclamation
- 2. demon = Devil, the accuser
- 3. wrath = hot anger that comes from a great agitated condition of feelings, which is exposed outwardly.
In this part of Revelation 12, let us see what God is saying to us through John. In verses 7 & 8, we are told that the dragon and his angels fought in heaven against Michael and his angels. Please notice that John does not say the dragon fought against ALL of heaven, but only against Michael and is angels. Why is this important? To answer that question we first need to know who Michael is. Michael is first spoken of and described in Daniel 10:13 as “…one of the chief princes…”. Therefore, we know from this description that he is a leader and the word “prince” is closely related to a military commander. If the great dragon and his angels could not beat Michael and his angels how can he believe that he can beat God. In verse 8, we are told that the great dragon is no more found in heaven. This heaven is not the eternal dwelling place of God, but the air or the dwelling place of Satan. Therefore, he is kicked out of his dwelling place.
Oh! That is not all! In verse 9, we find this: “…that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan…” Look at the names given to him here. They are names that have deeply impacted our relationship with God. The first name is the “old serpent” which sends us back to Genesis 3, where the serpent causes us to break our relationship with God and His plan for us. Then he is called the “Devil” that means accuser, slanderer and we find this in Job 1:6 – 11. Finally, yet importantly, “Satan”, which means adversary and he takes this role very seriously. In this role, he has attacked the Jews and now Christians. In this role, he has used many folks to attack those who have made a commitment to follow God. His reason for doing this has always been to stop God’s plan for mankind. In these attacks, we need to know that God has always put a limit on him. In addition, the children of God need to know that there is a limit on what he can do to us (1 Corinthians 10:13). So with this in mind let us finish this verse. He is cast (thrown) to the earth and knows that his time is short. So now that he knows his time is short, his attacks will become more intensive on those who are following God’s word and those who are seeking the truth.
We also learn that in verses 10 through 13 that heaven rejoices because the accuser/devil is kicked out of heaven. Not just any heaven, but his dwelling place. So his old home becomes a place where they praise God with these words:
- “…Now is come salvation (the spiritual & eternal deliverance granted immediately
by God to those who accept His conditions of repentance and faith in the Lord
Jesus, in whom alone it is to be obtained), and strength (ability, power), and the
kingdom of our God, and the power (unrestricted authority) of his Christ …”.
”And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives to the death.” .
Can you tell what or who is missing from this list? The Spirit of God is not included in this list. Yet we have the Spirit and still we allow God’s adversary to beat us and rob us of the peace, and joy we are to have. These tribulation believers are willing to die, because they know they will live forever in and with God. This is more important than the temporary condition they are in now. Wow! Could we learn something from them! In fact, that is the lesson that the end times is meant to teach.
As we move to the last part of this chapter, go to and read Exodus 19:1 – 5. As you read it you see the eagle’s wings symbolizing God and how He takes care of Israel. So in Revelation 12:14, we have God being true to who He is. There is more to this in that the woman flies into the wilderness, a place of emptiness - or we think it is empty. God will make sure that she has what she needs to live. Some of us need to hear this because we complain about we think we need to live on. God has ALWAYS supplied to His people what they need. Just look at how he took care of Israel after they came out of Egypt. So get your eyes off what things look like and start thanking God for sustaining you for his work.
The serpent is thrown out of his home, but he has the ability to cast water out of his mouth to make it flood to cause the woman to be removed from that spot God has provided for her. He still thinks he can stop God’s plan and become god. Again, God steps in to have the earth drink that flood which came out of the serpent mouth which only makes him more enraged. Satan knows his time is short and he cannot get to the one he wants. Therefore, he turns his rage on everyone who follows Christ, all believers.
|
 |