Revelation 12 Commentary
“I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” Genesis 37 verse 9b.
Chapter 12 commences by talking about a woman “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.”
We can immediately guess the identity of this woman. But we shouldn’t be fooled. This character has different roles and takes on different identities. Yes, Revelation is about the future. But it is also about the past, both the immediate and distant past.
How else can you talk about the Jesus who was, who is, and who is to come!
THIS JESUS IS ACTIVE IN ALL THESE TENSES!
The “beginning” also talks about the seed (Seed) of the woman: This child “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” Verse 5. Jesus is the subject of this chapter. But there is a detail about the dragon that falls neatly within the common understanding of the rest of the prophetic material. Both Isaiah (Chapter 14) and Ezekiel (Chapter 28) detail satan’s fall after disobedience.
But the dragon (serpent) fails to devour the male child – the son born to us. God takes Him up to Heaven (probably in the resurrection). The woman, now with a different identity (the Church, the Body of Christ) must be taken care of by Heaven for 1,260 days. Leave your calculator alone! These are symbolic figures!
Verse 9 identifies the dragon as satan – the same character present in the Garden of Peace and Tranquility. He misled Adam but importantly, he also “leads the whole world astray”.
Never mind the sequence of events. Time is a rule for humanity. Divinity is outside time and space.
The accuser of the brethren – it’s a present situation. Remember the story of Job and how satan accused Job of “fake” love? Job’s suffering has the objective of proving the dragon wrong. Persecution may be in the same line as Job’s suffering. But that’s for the Book of Job to unearth.
Regardless and right against the dragon’s aggression, the saint overcomes “by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony”.
Now we know why the Lamb was slaughtered (killed – Calvary). The saint needed this Blood to overcome the dragon!
But this victory is interesting: “They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” Don’t let the world define victory for you! Don’t let the world define wealth for you. Don’t let the dragon mislead you. Don’t let deception have your heart. The word of the testimony could read: “The Word of their testimony”. Let Jesus define every aspect of your life.
See how verse 14 describes the 1,260 days, “a time, times and half a time” – a period of care for the woman. Then you know you don’t need calculators for this exam!
Remember the 1260 days, then the 3 days, and finally the half day of chapter 11. These figures are symbolic and convey a perception rather than raw time.
The woman takes on a different identity in verse 17 (and a few verses preceding verse 17). The woman becomes an institution – the church, the grouping of people who obey God’s commands. The offspring of this institution would be the believers.
Not every line in this chapter concerns physical things for our human senses. Other activities are clearly spiritual and beyond our human mental faculties. Michael’s battles with the dragon would be a good example.
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