SCRIPTURE: REVELATION 12
THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON (vs. 1-17)
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. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 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. 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. The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 10,260 days.
And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 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.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say” “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony’ they did not love their lives so much as to shrink to death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them. But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”
When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of this mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring – those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
THOUGHTS: By Warren W. Wiersbe
Satan is portrayed as:
- The Murderer – Satan is also called the dragon who attempted to kill Jesus after He was born because he wants to rule this world.
- The Deceiver – Satan was able to deceive one-third of the angels into following him. And now he is deceiving the world into worshiping him.
- The Accuser – Satan has access to God’s throne where he accuses God’s people. But the Lamb overcomes him because of His victory at Calvary and the power of His Word.
- The Persecutor – Satan is angry and wants to destroy the Jews. He would make war with anyone who trust the Lord. But God is able to shelter His people in spite of Satan’s attacks. But we need to wear the armor of God.
THOUGHTS: (From Life Application Study Bible)
The woman represents God’s faithful people who have been waiting for the Messiah. The crown of 12 stars represents the 12 tribes of Israel. God set apart the Jews for himself and that nation gave birth to the Messiah – Jesus born by a devout Jewish girl named Mary. The evil king Herod, motivated by Satan, tried to kill Jesus because he was a threat to his throne.
The large red dragon, Satan, has seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns, representing his power and the kingdoms of the world over which he rules. The stars that plunged to earth with him are considered to be the angels who fell with Satan and because of his demons. According to Hebrew tradition, one third of all the angels in heaven fell with Satan.
The wilderness represents a place of spiritual refuge and protection from Satan. Because God aided the woman’s escape into the wilderness, He offers security to all true believers. Although some believers will experience physical harm, all will be protected from spiritual harm. God will not allow Satan to take the souls of God’s true followers. With Christ’s resurrection, Satan’s ultimate defeat was assured. One day, Satan will be bound forever never again to do his evil work.
The Devil is not a symbol or legend. He is real. Satan was an angel of God, but through his own pride, he became corrupt.
He became God’s enemy and constantly tries to hinder God’s work. But he is limited by God’s power and can do only what he is permitted to do. The name Satan means “Accuser” who actively looks for people to attack. Satan likes to pursue believers who are vulnerable in their faith, who are spiritually weak, or who are isolated from other believers.
The Devil begins to step up his persecution because he knows that “he has little time”. We are living in the last days and Satan’s work has become more intense. Even though the Devil is very powerful, but he is always under God’s control. One of the reasons God allows Satan to work evil and bring temptation is so that those who pretend to be Christ’s followers will be weeded out from Christ’s true believers. Knowing that the last great confrontation with Jesus is near, Satan is desperately trying to recruit great enemy force for this final battle. Those who belong to God’s side, God has guaranteed them victory. We must make certain not to lose the battle for our own souls.