Revelation 12

by | Aug 22, 2016 | Pastoral Notes | 0 comments

Verse 1

  • Rev 12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

A Woman is a symbol of a church: Eph 5:25 & 2 cor 11:2.

Why was the woman was clothed with the sun? Who is the Sun?

  • Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

Note: The Sun of Righteousness is Jesus Christ. This woman was clothed with the righteousness of Christ. See also Rev 19:8.

Why did she have a crown of twelve stars?

  • Twelve in the Bible is a symbol of the Organization of God’s church.
  • 12 Apostles Mat 10:2
  • 12 tribes of Israel gen 49:28
  • 12 gates of heaven Rev 21:21
  • 12 foundations of New Jerusalem Rev 21:14
  • Rev 12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

Note: The ancient people of God were longing for the prophesied Messiah to come.

  • Rev 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

Great red Dragon = Satan Rev 12:9

  • Rev 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
  • Isa 9:15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

Tail = lies of the Devil Isa 9:15

  • Rev 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Stars of heaven = angels Rev 1:20 Job 38:7

  • Mat 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
  • Mat 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
  • Mat 2:13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
  • Mat 2:16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

Devour her child as soon as it was born = Herod killed all male newborns 2 years & under

  • Zec 13:9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
  • Rev 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
  • Mat 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
  • Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God ( Joh 1:1-3 Joh 1:14 ) .
  • Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
  • Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
  • Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
  • Mar 16:19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
  • Heb 8:1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
  • Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

The line of prophecy in which these symbols are found begins with Revelation 12, with the dragon that sought to destroy Christ at His birth . The dragon is said to be Satan (Revelation 12:9); he it was that moved upon Herod to put the Saviour to death . But the chief agent of Satan in making war upon Christ and His people during the first centuries of the Christian Era was the Roman Empire , in which paganism was the prevailing religion. Thus while the dragon, primarily, represents Satan, it is, in a secondary sense, a symbol of pagan Rome. GC 438.2}

  • Rev 12:6 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.

1260 years of papal persecution

…And now began the 1260 years of papal oppression foretold in the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation. Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:5-7. (See Appendix.) Christians were forced to choose either to yield their integrity and accept the papal ceremonies and worship, or to wear away their lives in dungeons or suffer death by the rack, the fagot, or the headsman’s ax. Now were fulfilled the words of Jesus: “Ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake.” Luke 21:16, 17. Persecution opened upon the faithful with greater fury than ever before , and the world became a vast battlefield. For hundreds of years the church of Christ found refuge in seclusion and obscurity. Thus says the prophet: “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 three-score days.” Revelation 12:6. GC 54.2}

Wilderness = seclusion and obscurity

  • Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
  • Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
  • Isa 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
  • Isa 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
  • Eze 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
  • Eze 28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
  • Eze 28:15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
  • Eze 28:16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
  • Eze 28:17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
  • Rev 12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
  • Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
  • Job 1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

Satan and his angels lost the war when Jesus Christ was crucified. Before this, Satan was still allowed the option of entering into heaven (job), but after the crucifixion he was to be forever stripped of this privilege.

  • Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
  • Rev 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

The kingdom of grace commenced at the death of Christ. Satan was not allowed the option any more to presenting himself before God with the other angels to accuse God’s people. He is bound to planet earth, and his death is imminent.

  • Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
  • Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
  • Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.