Revelation 12 Devotional
by Pastor Lawrence
Chapter twelve begins the fourth in a series of seven visions. It also serves as a key to understanding much of the rest of the book. Although it still has much imagery, most of it is somewhat obvious. There are four main figures that appear in this chapter. The woman and the dragon are both referred to as signs that are not to be interpreted literally, and the male child and the angel Michael, who are both literal figures.
Throughout the Old Testament, the great persecutors of Israel were often depicted as dragons (see Psalm 74:13; Isaiah 51:9; Ezekiel 29:3), but here it is the devil himself that is characterized as the evil force behind all these enemies of Israel. In v.9 the dragon is revealed to be “that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.” Here, he is described as a red dragon, perhaps because he is drunk with the blood of the saints. He has seven heads, ten horns and seven diadems on his heads. Later on in Revelation 17.9-14 we find that the crowned heads and the horns refer to kings who are in league with the devil to make war against the Son of God. Then, in addition to these human conspirators, the devil also has a myriad of fallen angels at his disposal, for in v.4 we find that his tail has swept down a third of the stars of heaven casting them down to earth (see Job 38:7 for angels referred to as stars). So we see here a true axis of evil that stands against the Lord and his anointed.
We also see a woman, in v.1, “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” who gives birth to a male child who is to “rule all the nations with a rod of iron,” who is caught up to God and his throne. The child clearly refers to Jesus (see Psalm 2:7-9; Rev. 19:15-16), but who is this woman? It isn’t Mary, as the Catholics have supposed, especially since she has other offspring, which they deny. Nor is it Eve as has often been suggested, although this chapter is a clear depiction of Genesis 3:15 of the animosity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. Here we are told that this woman is a sign that points to something else. It is not a literal woman but, rather, the Church of the Old and New Testaments, which is regularly described as a woman in Scripture (see Jer. 4:31; Isa. 52:2; Gal. 4.26-27; and 2 Jn 1). In Genesis 37:9-11 Joseph shares a vision he had depicting the family of Israel, his father, mother and brothers as the sun, moon and stars, the same language that is used here to describe the woman.
Thus, it is out of the covenant community of the Old Testament that Christ comes forth from “the woman.” And the dragon stands before this woman who is about to give birth to the Christ child in order that he might devour it, but he does not succeed for the child is caught up to God and to his throne, a clear reference to His ascension into heaven and seating at the right hand of God. Meanwhile, according to v.6, the woman “has fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1260 days.” This is a reference, again, to the covenant community, or Church of God here on earth that is both protected and provided for by God’s Holy Spirit through His Word in the absence of Christ.
1260 days is equal to 42 months, or 3.5 years, or a time, times and a half of time, all of which are used throughout the book of Revelation to refer to the same period of time here on earth between the time of Christ’s first and second coming. But why this number in particular? If you remember from out study of Elijah, the prophet had prayed that it would not rain and it did not rain for 3.5 years. This was a time in which the wicked King Ahab and his diabolical wife reigned in Israel. It was a time of drought and a time of persecution, but it was also a time in which God had preserved seven thousand in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal, a time in which God’s people were even fed by the ravens in the wilderness. So, it seems that this entire dispensation of time in which we are now living, is more like the time of King Ahab than the time of King David. We are still looking for that great king to come, but in the mean time we still suffer under the reign of ungodly men and women. Nevertheless God sustains and nourishes us with His Word. This is the history of the world until the return of Christ.
Then, in vv.7-12 we see history from heaven’s perspective. There was a war in heaven between the devil and his angels and Michael and his angels. Some think that the name, Michael, here, is another name for Jesus, but I don’t think that is the case. It appears that Michael is an archangel who serves under Christ’s command. He is first mentioned in the book of Daniel as one of the chief princes of the Lord, in charge of Israel (see Daniel 10:13,21; 12:1). Michael and his angels gain the victory in the battle and as a result, the devil and his angels are all cast down to earth. Again, this isn’t literal language. It means, among other things, that Satan lost his authority as a prince over many of the nations of this world to stop their ears from hearing the gospel. He also lost his privilege of going before the throne of God to accuse God’s people of sin, which leads to the note of praise in vv. 10-12 exclaiming salvation, power, kingdom and authority to God and Christ who now has all authority in heaven and earth to send for his disciples into all nations proclaiming the gospel today. It also is a note of encouragement to all those who are now enjoying their rest in heaven, for they all have conquered (a key theme in this book: see Rev. 2:7,11,17,26; 3:5,12, and especially 3:21) the dragon by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Now, they all are rejoicing in heaven, but then in v.12 a warning is given to those here on earth.
“Woe to you, on earth and sea, the voice says, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows his time is short.” Now we revert back to the affairs of earth again to see the devil going after the woman. John sees this woman sprouting wings and flying away into the wilderness being protected by God (see Ex 19.4; Isa. 40.31 as examples of this imagery in the OT). Again, we see the serpent, who is the devil, seeking to destroy her with a flood of waters coming out of his mouth (think of the walls of the Red sea ready to crash down) but the earth opens its mouth swallowing the river (Romans 8:19).
The devil now furious with anger goes off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. This is the current state of things. We are in the midst of a war with a ruthless adversary who desires to devour us, who has already caused the fall of many and who even now is planning our downfall. Therefore, let us be vigilant, putting on the full armor of God and take our stand, for even now, the devil is standing on the sand of the sea, making his way inland.