seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Revelation 12:1 A great 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. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its 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 it might devour her child the moment he was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.”[a] And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 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.
10 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 Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
11 They triumphed over 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 from death.
12 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.”
13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
a, Revelation 12:5 Psalm 2:9
I knew I was going to use the easy English as soon as I saw the title of this chapter.
The events that follow the seventh (7th) trumpet include the 7 last troubles. These are in chapters 15 and 16. In chapters 12 to 14, John wrote about events that happen before those troubles.
John saw a great sign in the sky. In other words, he saw a series of strange pictures. And these pictures had a meaning.
The action was in the sky and on the earth. It was not in heaven where God lives. John saw a woman who was ready to give birth to a son. John described her in a strange way. He wrote that her dress was the sun. The moon was beneath her feet. She wore a crown. And there were 12 stars in her crown.
Joseph had a dream (Genesis 37:9-11). In that dream, he saw the sun, the moon and 11 stars. The sun meant Jacob who was also called Israel. The moon meant Jacob’s wife. The stars meant Joseph’s brothers. The 12 tribes of Israel came from Joseph and his brothers. So, the woman whom John saw meant the nation called Israel.
The woman cried out because of the pains of birth. The Christ would be born into the nation called Israel.
The next sign that John saw was a great red dragon. The dragon had 7 heads and 10 horns. Each head had a crown on it. This is a description of the last great world government. It will be a kingdom that unites 10 separate kingdoms (Daniel 7:7-8; Daniel 7:24). At the same time, the dragon means someone in particular. The person who gives power to that kingdom is Satan. So, the great red dragon means Satan.
John saw the tail of the dragon sweep the sky. A third of the stars seemed to fall out of the sky. These stars seem to mean angels. When Satan became God’s enemy, many angels supported Satan. These evil angels had to leave heaven.
The dragon waited to kill the child as soon as it was born. When Jesus was born, Herod tried to kill him. This dragon also failed.
The baby boy was born to the woman. That boy was Jesus. He was born to Mary who belonged to the nation called Israel. But the woman whom John saw was not Mary. The woman in John’s prophecy meant the Jews who believed in the Lord.
The Lord Jesus Christ will rule on earth as the king over all the nations. He will be a strong ruler. All people will have to obey him. He will be strict with any who do not obey him.
The evil plan of Satan failed. Jesus defeated Satan. And Jesus went up to God’s throne in heaven.
During the last three and a half years, Satan will try to kill all the Jews. But God will protect those Jews who believe in him. He has prepared for them a place of safety.
There was a war in heaven. Satan (the dragon) and his angels were on the one side. Michael and his angels were on the other side.
Satan used to be an angel. He had tried to be equal with God. But Satan failed and so he had to leave heaven. He took with him those angels who had supported him. But, *Satan was still able to go in and out of heaven. So, this event is his final battle in heaven.
Michael is one of the chief angels of God. Michael fought against Satan and defeated him. Satan and his forces failed in the fight. They could not stay in heaven and they had to leave.
The dragon means Satan. He is the devil. He was also the snake that caused people to sin (Genesis 3:1-7).
Michael threw Satan and his angels out of heaven. He threw them down to the earth.
John saw Satan and his angels fall from heaven. Then John heard a loud voice in heaven. The voice said that now God would rescue his people. God will use his power and his kingdom will come. Jesus Christ will soon rule the earth. He will rule on this earth for a thousand years (chapter 20).
Now Satan could not go to God in heaven. From the start, he had been there day and night.
All the time he accused God’s people of sin. But now the Lord threw him out of heaven.
The war in heaven has ended. Satan has failed. The Lord has sent Satan away. Those who live in heaven can be happy.
The Lord threw the devil down onto the earth. The devil will know that his end is near. He will have a short time when he will continue to work on the earth. He will be angry, fierce and cruel. During this short time, it will be terrible for those who live on the earth.
This short time means the same three and a half years as in verse 6. At the end of that time, Christ will arrest Satan. Chains will bind Satan and he will remain in the great hole for a thousand (1000) years.
The dragon could not kill the child. God threw the dragon (Satan) out of heaven. So, the dragon turned his attention to the woman. He tried to kill her.
The woman means the true Jews. They are the Jews who trust in God. Satan will oppose them. But God will protect them.
God gave to the woman a pair of wings. They were like the wings of a great eagle. The eagle is a very powerful bird. With these wings, the woman escaped from the dragon.
The Lord had prepared a place for the woman. It was in the desert. She flew there and she was safe. The Lord protected her for three and a half years. The dragon had just three and a half years before Christ would arrest him. The woman was safe for the whole of that period.
As the woman flew to the desert, the dragon opened his mouth. He sent a great flood of water after her. If the water had reached her, she would have drowned. But the earth opened up and it swallowed the water. So, the water could not reach the woman. She was safe from the flood.
The devil will pour out all his evil deeds against the Jews. He will do all that he can to kill all of them. But God will not allow him to succeed. God has promised to rescue his people (called Israel) in the last days. And God will do the things that he promised to do. God will save Israel.
The dragon was angry because he could not reach the woman. So, he went to fight her other children.
Christ came from the Jews. He, the Son of God, was by birth a Jew. Those who believed in him did not become Jews. The children of the woman were both Jews and those who were not Jews.
The dragon could not hurt the Jews. So, he attacked God’s people who were not Jews.
God’s people will suffer terrible problems for those three and a half years. Those who believe in Jesus will suffer much. Many of them will die because they believe in Jesus. It will be a terrible time.
The dragon stood by the sea. He would call up another beast from the sea. On behalf of the dragon, this new beast would lead the fight against God’s people.
There are a lot of things online about this chapter. I say "things" instead of commentary... because some of them are just weird. So when doing a search.... I would try to keep a couple things in mind. The woman is not Mary.... the Dragon is Satan. The wings of an eagle does not mean that the US will save her. The wings are just rescue.... God rescued her. Michael is not Jesus. Michael is an Angel... he's got a fancy title like Gabriel.... but Michael is an Angel.
Now my mind is still on the seven thunders that John said was a "secret". Could the seven thunders be the sons of God? I mean Jesus, Gabriel, Michael and four others. What if Jesus was the oldest and the one chosen to become human.... it's a farfetched idea... I admit that... by no weirder than Mary coming back to life and hiding in NYC for three and a half years. That's an example of the kind of stuff I've found doing Revelation these days.
At this point I have to put all the garbage I just read aside... and look at the chapter itself.
John says a sign appeared in Heaven. John was actually on the deserted island, Patmos. He had a vision.... that started with Jesus glowing like He did when He met with Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration. John saw Michael trying to open the instructions for the demise of humans who refused to Believe that Jesus is the Messiah. It wouldn't open for Michael.. but Jesus took it... and it opened for Him. I figure it would open for Jesus because He had been to earth and He knew what it's like to be a tempted human dealing with Satan's buddies.
Jesus has opened six of the seven seals on the instructions. There was also a smaller event written on a smaller scroll... that John could devour.... John, however, doesn't explain what's on that scroll... because it's a secret
Six Seals have been broken..... there were instructions to have angels blow seven trumpets.... each trumpet blast would cause something to happen on earth. It was reported that the last three trumpet sounds would cause horrible things.... weird creatures have already shown up... some people were begging to die but couldn't because of one type of sting... others were dropping like flies from another kind of sting. There is one trumpet left to sound.... one seal left to open... and now... John has a vision... in the Heavens.
I love to watch the clouds. Out in Arizona... the clouds are particularly vivid. I see all kinds of animals and events in the clouds. As a kid.... a lot of us use to lay in the cool grass and watch the clouds.... exercising our imagination. John was probably just doing that and a vision evolved. Satan chasing the Jews of Israel. Wouldn't that be like trying to devour all he had just seen.
I find it interesting that all through the Bible... women are in a class below a slave.... and now a woman is the main character of this chapter. Yes... I admit... it was a woman who first fell for Satan's guff.... but an uneducated, baby factory without rights might just fall for anything.... once or twice. Male slaves could be Elder in the Christian Church in the days of John.... but a woman could not. Woman, historically and biblically, have no voice. In the US, women have only had the vote for 70 years [interesting amount of time] and there are women all over the earth today who still have no voice.... who are not even allowed to be seen in public.... let alone direct the government.
I find it interesting that God isn't married.... or is He? Is that the big secret John has devoured but can't tell us about? Is there a Mrs. God who Satan tried to schmooze?
At this point in the book... there are three types of humans in Heaven. There are the martyrs who were slaughtered because they Believe... like Stephen the disciple who was beaten to death while Paul held the coats of his murderers before Paul's conversion..... they are under the altar asking "how much longer before we get our revenge". Then there are 144,000 Jews... hand picked.... to represent 12,000 from each of 12 tribes. My bet is they are Messianic... they Believe Jesus is the Messiah... and they are Jewish... and apparently they have been chosen to do something.... but I don't know what yet. Then there are the multitudes of Believers... Messianic Jew and Gentile combined..... who have been rescued from the horrible things that are going on down on earth. All the humans in Heaven are Christian. They all Believe.
If all the Believers are in Heaven..... then Satan must have been making up all kinds of tales on the humans... whispering in God's ear.... "throw them out.. they don't really believe in you... they only think they do because of Jesus". I figure Satan was picking out sins on those people that Jesus had forgiven.... and God fired Satan over it... and threw Satan out of Heaven. I bet at that point.... Satan used women as the excuse for everything he did.... saying "she ate it... she ate the apple... not me... it's not up to me to keep her from being human.....". John may not have been capable of reporting that because until 70 years ago.... who would question a woman being at the root of ignorance and evil.... they were, after all, a class lower than a slave, biblically.
The last verse says Satan [the red dragon] is standing beside the sea..... and he's about to call out a beast from the sea.... this should be interesting.
So in this chapter... I see a third class citizen being blamed for everything that happened on earth by an angel who has been fired.... physically thrown out of Heaven by Michael... another angel. Needless to say... that fired angel is angry... and apparently he's blaming women for it.
Last edited: