Part 2 From: Revelation 12:1-18 "Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ; because the accuser of our brethren is cast down..." Revelation 12:10 Chapter twelve begins with the fourth vision. It covers the End of the Days, beginning with Christ’s birth; we begin to go deeper into the plan and purposes of God. The woman is the Old Testament church through which the royal seed was preserved until the appointed time. (Consider, this was a great sign that was seen in the heaven! Cf Luke 21:11, “there will be great earthquakes, there will be epidemics and famines in various places, and there will be fearful sights and great signs from Heaven.”) She was clothed with the sun (of righteousness: imputed righteousness) and the moon was under her feet (representing limited and delegated authority on the earth). She had twelve stars in her crown: these were the twelve patriarchs (government/legitimate power to rule). The child was the Christ/Messiah (cf vs. 5, below). The great red dragon was Satan (, a second great sign that was seen in the heaven!). He had seven heads (indicative of his world-dominion), ten horns (indicative of his destructive power), and ten diadems [-- not crowns of victory (indicative of his arrogated authority)]. Moreover, world powers manifested his characteristics (cf 13:1 & 17:8-13). Also, with his tail, he drew one-third of the stars (angels) from heaven and cast them to the Land (cf vs. 7-9, below). He stood before the woman, waiting for the birth of the child (Isaiah 66:7-9) that he might devour it, i.e., Satan attempted to destroy, repeatedly, the seed of the Messiah Who was to rule the nations. The child was caught away up into heaven to God and His throne. Thus, we have Christ’s birth, atonement, and ascension or coronation (vs. 5,6). We see a divine, panoramic snapshot of the life of Christ. The woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared for her by God. (The Old Covenant system endured for a short period of time longer). She fled into the wilderness, a condition of tribulation; however, she was preserved by God’s mercy. The duration of time was -- 1,260 days or 42 months (see: chapter eleven). There was a war in heaven (when? Luke 9:28-35); Satan, who misled the inhabitable world, was cast down into the Land in his defeat; and, (one-third) of the angels were cast out with him (vs. 7-9). A great voice in heaven followed, declaring, ‘“Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ; because the accuser of our brethren is cast down…”’(promised in Genesis 3:15). Moreover, God’s people overcame Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony: their martyrdom. Satan’s defeat was a cause for the residents of heaven to rejoice; but, it brought dread to the Land, because of Satan’s fury and the short time that he had left (cf 9:1-12). Affirmation of the afore account: vs. 13-17. The dragon was cast into to the Land. The woman (now the New Testament church, which continued to exist after the fact of the birth) was carried into the wilderness or empowered with the Holy Spirit (wings), where she was nourished for 1260 days or a time, and times, and half a time or three and one-half years. The dragon persecuted (, i.e., a deluge proceeded out of his mouth) the woman; the woman was protected from the dragon’s persecution; moreover, the remnant of her seed [“those who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus” (vs. 18)] was persecuted from the dragon.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 02:56:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015