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Revelation
Chapter Twelve
I.
Content of the Chapter
A Woman and A Great
Fiery Red Dragon
I. A woman travailed in birth (v.1-2)
II. A great
fiery red dragon attempted to devour the
child born by the woman (v.3-4)
III. The male child was caught up to heaven (v.5)
IV. The woman fled into the wilderness (v.6)
V. War
broke out in heaven (v.7-9)
VI. The declaration of victory in heaven (v.10-12)
VII. The dragon persecuted the woman (v.13-16)
VIII. The dragon went to make war with the rest of the
woman’s offspring (v.17)
II.
Verse by Verse commentary
Rev. 12:1 “Now a great sign appeared
in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun
with the moon under her feet
and on
her head a garland of twelve stars.”
YLT: “And a great sign
was seen in the heaven
a woman arrayed with the sun
and the moon under her
feet
and upon her head a crown of twelve stars
”
Meaning of Words: “sign”: omen
mark
token; “appear”: show self
be seen; “clothed”: array
put on.
Spiritual Meaning: “Now a great sign appeared
in heaven:” it means that a
scene (or a sign) was shown in heaven to John
that he can foreknow the reasons
for things happened on the earth and he can prophesy about many peoples
nations
tongues
and
kings (See 10:11). And therefore the things recorded from this place to the end
of this book can be the detailed contents of the little book (See 10:10).
“A
woman” This woman
symbolizes the total amount of God’s people
including believers in the
generation of grace
the people of
“Clothed
with the sun
with the moon under her feet
and on her head a garland of twelve
stars” This sentence
shows the status of the woman: 1) clothed with the sun. Christ is the sun who brings us the day-spring
(See Luke. 1:78-79). 2) With
the moon under her feet. The law is the
moon which transforms and leads us to believe in Christ (See Gal. 3:24). 3) And on her head a garland of
twelve stars. The twelve stars
are the ancestors of the people of
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) How glorious is the status of God’s people on
the earth----they are the light of the world (sun
moon and stars) and shine
for God in the dark world.
2) God’s people is the center of all things
happened between the earth and the heaven. Not only the will of God but also
the target of the devil’s attack is upon this group of people.
Rev. 12:2 “Then being with child
she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.”
YLT: “and being with
child she doth cry out
travailing and pained to bring forth.”
Meaning of Words: “being with child”:
having in womb; “labor”: being in labor pains; “pain”: be distressed
torture.
Spiritual Meaning: “Then being with child
” “she” is the total amount of all God’s
people (See v.1). “Being with child” refers to having an embryo in the womb and
it symbolizes that a group of special ones among God’s people are specially
hated by the enemy of God (See v.4).
“She
cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.” “In labor” symbolizes that one travailed in birth
for the purpose of letting a group of people among God’s people be transformed
into the image of Christ (See Gal. 4:19). “Cried out…in pain” symbolizes
prayers which God’s people had paid the price to make.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Believers are those who have Christ in them and
we must let Christ grow up in our hearts until we are transformed to the image
of Christ (See Rom. 8:29).
2) Travailing in birth is the only way for the
growth of believers. It is impossible for Christians who are covetous of ease
and comfort to make progress in the spiritual life.
Rev. 12:3 “And another sign appeared
in heaven: behold
a great
fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns
and seven diadems on his heads.”
YLT: “And there was seen
another sign in the heaven
and
lo
a great red dragon
having seven heads and
ten horns
and upon his head seven diadems
”
Meaning of Words: “fiery red”:
purplish-red; “dragon”: serpent
tempting viper.
Spiritual Meaning: “And another sign appeared
in heaven:” the word “another”
refers to the heavenly scene seen from another point of view.
“Behold
a great
fiery red dragon” “dragon”
symbolizes Satan (See v.9). “Great” is in contrast with serpent and the small
serpent refers to its aspect of tempting men with quirkiness (See 2Cor. 11:3)
and the great dragon refers to its aspect of devouring men fiercely (See v.4;
1Pet. 5:8). “Fiery red” is color of blood and it symbolizes that it was a
murderer from the beginning (See John. 8:44).
“Having
seven heads and ten horns” “heads” and
“horns” all symbolize the worldly influence and power (See 17:10-12). The power
of the seven heads is much greater and that of the ten horns is smaller.
“And
seven diadems on his heads” “diadems”
symbolizes the glory of reign.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) “A great
fiery red dragon” is the symbol of
Satan and it is the enemy of Christians. Some Chinese Christians hold that the
Chinese dragon is not the dragon in the Bible and therefore they have
decorations of dragon in their houses
however
those who love the Lord from
their pure hearts would rather do away with the evil completely than give place
to the devil (See Eph. 4:27).
2) The features of Satan are its nature of cruelty
and its great potential of power. We should never regard it as ordinary.
Rev. 12:4 “His tail drew a third of
the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before
the woman who was ready to give birth
to devour her Child as soon as it was
born.”
YLT: “and his tail doth
draw the third of the stars of the heaven
and he did cast them to the earth;
and the dragon did stand before the woman who is about to bring forth
that
when she may bring forth
her child he may devour;”
Meaning of Words: “throw”: cast aside
cast off; “Child”: daughter
son.
Spiritual Meaning: “His tail drew a third of
the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth.” “His tail drew” refers to the followers that
followed after it. “A
third of the stars of heaven” symbolizes that a
third of angels (See Job. 38:7) followed Satan and betrayed God (See Is. 14:12)
and became the fallen angels. “Threw them to the earth” indicates that they
shall be thrown to the earth with Satan (See v.9).
“And
the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth” it symbolizes that Satan is always an
opponent of the people of God and withstands them from ages and generations
(See Gen. 3:15).
“To
devour her Child as soon as it was born.” It symbolizes that the main aim of Satan is to
eliminate a group of people who have great achievements in the spiritual life
among the people of God (See the note in v.2).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Satan has a third of the spiritual power and
they can also make the supernatural tokens and miracles. Believers should never
believe any tokens and miracles easily
lest we be deceived.
2) To the weak believers
the devil always uses the
means of deceit and to believers who are spiritually strong
it changes to deal
with them directly with its ferocious appearance.
Rev. 12:5 “She bore a male Child who
was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God
and His throne.”
YLT: “and she brought
forth a male child
who is about to rule all the nations with a rod of iron
and caught away was her child unto God and His throne
”
Meaning of Words: “male”: masculine;
“Child”: son; “rule”: shepherd
feed; “caught”: take
seize.
Spiritual Meaning: “She bore a male Child” “a male Child” symbolizes a group of
people whose spiritual life is much stronger and they are from the people of
God.
“Who
was to rule all nations with a rod of iron” it typifies that they are overcomers (See
2:26-27) and they shall reign with Christ a thousand years in the generation of
kingdom (See 20:4
6).
“And
her Child was caught up to God and His throne” it symbolizes that the overcomers were caught up
to God and His throne (See 7:9-10
14-17) instead of the air (See 1Thess.
4:16).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Believers should seek to be strong and become
overcomers because only overcomers shall be caught up before the great
tribulation. The rest shall be left and be tormented by the devil and they
shall unavoidably experience the great tribulation personally (See v.17; 3:10)
2) The reward of overcomers is great and they shall
be directly caught up to God and His throne and they shall reign with the Lord.
Rev. 12:6 “Then the woman fled into
the wilderness
where she has a place prepared by God
that they should feed
her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.”
YLT: “and the woman did
flee to the wilderness
where she hath a place made ready from God
that there
they may nourish her -- days a thousand
two hundred
sixty.”
Meaning of Words: “flee”: escape
run
away; “prepare”: make ready
provide; “feed”: nourish
bring up.
Spiritual Meaning: “Then the woman fled into
the wilderness
” it symbolizes that
since the overcomers have been caught up
the spiritual conditions of the whole
God’s people fall into the state of desolation.
“Where
she has a place prepared by God
”
it symbolizes that God does not want His people to be wiped out and He has
prepared various circumstances for different ones
that in general they shall
keep alive continually (please note that “a place” should not refer to a
certain district on the earth because all the people of God cannot dwell in one
place).
“That
they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days” it symbolizes that the time that the most
of God’s people were kept was three and a half years. It implies that they were
kept during the period of the great tribulation and the group of overcomers had
been caught up to God and His throne before the period of the great
tribulation.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) God cares for men of Him and has made
preparation for them----He shall deliver them from evil at any rate (See Matt.
6:13).
2) The circumstances arranged by God and the
difficulties permitted by Him all have the certain time limit. Only he that
shall endure unto the end shall be saved (See Matt. 24:13).
Rev. 12:7 “And war broke out in
heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his
angels fought
”
YLT: “And there came war
in the heaven; Michael and his messengers did war against the dragon
and the
dragon did war
and his messengers
”
Meaning of Words: “fight”: be engaged
in warfare
make war; “Michael”: who is like God; “angels”: servants.
Literal Meaning: “And war broke out in heaven:” it refers to the spiritual war in heaven.
“Michael
and his angels fought with the dragon;”
“Michael” is the archangel (See Jude. 8). “His angels” refers to all the good
angels led by Michael the archangel. “Fought with the dragon” refers to
fighting with Satan and its angels.
“And
the dragon and his angels fought”
“the dragon” refers to Satan (See v.9). “His angels” refers to the evil angels
that betrayed God with Satan and the total of them reaches a third of all the
angels (See the note in v.4). “Fought” refers to fighting with Michael and the
good angels.
Rev. 12:8 “but they did not prevail
nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.”
YLT: “and they did not
prevail
nor was their place found any more in the heaven;”
Meaning of Words: “prevail”: have
force
can do
might
could; “place”: room
location
position.
Literal Meaning: “but they did not prevail
” it indicates that Satan and its angels were
defeated.
“Nor
was a place found for them in heaven any longer.” It indicates that there is no room for them in
heaven.
Rev. 12:9 “So the great dragon was
cast out
that serpent of old
called the Devil and Satan
who deceives the
whole world; he was cast to the earth
and his angels were cast out with him.”
YLT: “and the great
dragon was cast forth -- the old serpent
who is called `Devil
' and `the
Adversary
' who is leading astray the whole world -- he was cast forth to the
earth
and his messengers were cast forth with him.”
Meaning
of Words: “old”: long ago
primeval; “the Devil’: the traducer
the accuser
the slander; “Satan”: the
opponent
resister; “deceive”: trick
seduce; “the whole world”: the entire
world
the whole land.
Literal
Meaning: “the
great dragon
that serpent of old”
“that serpent of old” indicates that the serpent which deceived Eve into
sinning in the beginning (See Gen. 3:13) was Satan and it was old now.
“Called
the Devil and Satan” the word “Devil”
means “accuser” and “slanderer” in the original. The Devil likes accusing men
of God before God (See v.10) and slandering us before men (See 2:9). The
original meaning of “Satan” is “the opponent”. It desired to exalt itself and
be like God (See Is. 14:14). Not only it is against God and opposes God but
also it is against men of God (See 1Pet. 5:8).
“Who
deceives the whole world” The main works of
the devil is deceiving men in the whole world. It deceives the world that they
may worship false gods and idols and it also deceives believers that their
minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ (See 2Cor. 11:3).
“He
was cast to the earth
and his angels were cast out with him.” They were the spiritual wickedness in high
places (See Eph. 6:12) and now there isn’t room for them in heaven any more.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The Devil has two faces: one is as ferocious as
the dragon and the other is as cunning as the serpent. To the former
we should
resist the devil
and it will flee from us (See James 4:7); to the latter
we
should be prudent
lest we be deceived by it.
2) The Devil also has two names: one is the Devil
that specially accuses us to weaken our conscience and the other is Satan that
specially opposes us and tries its best to sift us as wheat (See Luke. 22:31).
Rev. 12:10 “Then I heard a loud voice
saying in heaven
"Now salvation
and strength
and the kingdom of our
God
and the power of His Christ have come
for the accuser of our brethren
who accused them before our God day and night
has been cast down.”
YLT: “And I heard a great
voice saying in the heaven
`Now did come the salvation
and the power
and the
reign
of our God
and the authority of His Christ
because cast down was the
accuser of our brethren
who is accusing them before our God day and night;”
Meaning of Words: “accuse”: complaint
impeach; “day”: daytime; “night”: nighttime.
Literal Meaning: “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven” it is the heavenly declaration of victory.
“‘Now
salvation
and strength
and the kingdom of our God
and the power of His
Christ have come” “salvation
and
strength and the kingdom…and the power” men of God originally have partaken in
these
however
we haven’t fully enjoyed and experienced them. “Have come” means
that now they fully come and be realized and become our full enjoyment and
experiences.
“For
the accuser of our brethren
who accused them before our God day and night
has
been cast down.” “Accused them…day
and night” refers to accusing unceasingly and it also implies that we have
faults that can be taken advantage of by it
otherwise it cannot have the
position to accuse us. “Our brethren” refers to all believers----we are those
who do the will of God on the earth (See Matt. 12:50).
Rev. 12:11 “And they overcame him by
the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony
and they did not love
their lives to the death.”
YLT: “and they did
overcome him because of the blood of the Lamb
and because of the word of their
testimony
and they did not love their life -- unto death;”
Meaning of Words: “to”: till
until;
“love”: like
admire; “lives”: breathing
breath
the life of soul.
Literal Meaning: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb” “the blood of the Lamb” refers to the
blood of the Lord Jesus shed on the cross. We are saved through the blood (See
Eph. 1:7; 1Pet. 1:19) and overcome through it because this blood enables us to
overcome all the accusations of the devil (See Rom. 8:33).
“And
by the word of their testimony” refers to the
words that believers testified to and opened their mouth to declare before all
the people and the spiritual realm----declaring that the devil had been
defeated and we have been cleansed by the precious blood and our conscience is
good.
“And
they did not love their lives to the death.” “To the death” refers to being martyred for the
Lord. “Did not love their lives” refers to losing the life of soul for the Lord
willingly (See Matt. 16:25).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The precious blood of the Lord is absolutely
effective. Whatever sin we have sinned
as long as we are willing to confess
our sins and repent
He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness (See 1John. 1:7-9).
2) The sharp weapons in the spiritual war are not
only the word of God (See Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12) but also the word of our
testimony. The more we experience the word of God
the more word of our
testimony we will have.
3) The one that had the power of death is the devil
and it utilizes men’s fear of death to enslave us (See Heb. 2:14-15). When
believers have the determination to not fear death
even the devil is powerless
towards us. The only request the Lord has made to the afflicted is that they
should be faithful until death (See 2:10).
Rev. 12:12 “Therefore rejoice
O
heavens
and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the
sea! For the devil has come down to you
having great wrath
because he knows
that he has a short time."”
YLT: “because of this be
glad
ye heavens
and those in them who do tabernacle; wo to those inhabiting
the land and the sea
because the Devil did go down unto you
having great
wrath
having known that he hath little time.'”
Meaning of Words: “heavens”: the sky
(the plural word); “great wrath”: great indignation
great anger; “time”: day
season.
Literal Meaning: “Therefore rejoice
O heavens
and you who dwell
in them!” “Heavens” refers
to the air
the outer space and the third heaven. “Dwell in them” the main
targets are the overcomers who were caught up to heaven and all the angels.
“Woe
to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea!” “The earth” symbolizes the Jews. “The sea”
symbolizes the Gentiles (See the note in v.18).
“Because
he knows that he has a short time.”
“A short time” refers to the three and a half years of the great tribulation
(See v.14; 11:2; 13:5).
“For
the devil has come down to you
having great wrath
” “great wrath” refers to the wrath of the devil
and it also shows that the great tribulation is due to not only the wrath of
God and the Lamb (See 6:16-17) but also the factor of the devil’s wrath.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) We should set our mind on things above
not on
things on the earth (See Col. 3:2). In this way
we live on the earth as if we
were in heaven. Though the devil comes down to the earth with great wrath
it
is powerless to those who live in the heavenly realm.
2) The devil knows that it has a short time and we
who are of God should know that a short time is left more. Yet a little while
and He who is coming will come and will not tarry (See Heb. 10:37). And
therefore we should prepare ourselves as early as possible in order to meet the
second coming of the Lord.
Rev. 12:13 “Now when the dragon saw
that he had been cast to the earth
he persecuted the woman who gave birth to
the male Child.”
YLT: “And when the dragon
saw that he was cast forth to the earth
he pursued the woman who did bring
forth the male
”
Meaning of Words: “persecute”: press
forward
pursue.
Spiritual Meaning: “the woman who gave birth to
the male Child” refers to the
total people of God
including believers who were left on the earth and the
people of
Rev. 12:14 “But the woman was given
two wings of a great eagle
that she might fly into the wilderness to her
place
where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time
from the
presence of the serpent.”
YLT: “and there were
given to the woman two wings of the great eagle
that she may fly to the
wilderness
to her place
where she is nourished a time
and times
and half a
time
from the face of the serpent;”
Meaning of Words: “place”: wilderness
position
location; “time”: day
date
opportunity; “from”: away
off.
Spiritual Meaning: “But the woman was given two wings of a great
eagle
” “two wings of a
great eagle” symbolizes the power of God’s preservation and salvation (See
Exod. 19:4; Deut. 32:11-12).
“That
she might fly into the wilderness to her place” (please see the note in v.6).
“From
the presence of the serpent” please note “the
dragon” was replaced by “the serpent” here and probably it implies that it had
changed its tactic and used the way of deceit to deal with the weak people of
God.
“Where
she is nourished for a time and times and half a time” “a time and times and half a time” corresponds with “the half of the week” (See Dan.
9:27). And therefore it is interpreted as three and a half years and it is the
time of the great tribulation.
Rev. 12:15 “So the serpent spewed
water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman
that he might cause her to
be carried away by the flood.”
YLT: “and the serpent did
cast forth after the woman
out of his mouth
water as a river
that he may
cause her to be carried away by the river
”
Meaning of Words: “after”: behind
back; “spew”: cast
throw; “carry away”: carry off
wash away.
Spiritual Meaning: “water”
symbolizes various invisible powers from Satan such as: the trend of the world
(See Ps. 124:4)
heretical teachings and other cunning craftiness.
Some Bible exegetes held that “water”
symbolizes the forces of Satan
however
such interpretation cannot be applied
to the spiritual meaning of “the woman” because since she is the total name of
God’s people
they cannot gather together and dwell in some immovable places.
Rev. 12:16 “But the earth helped the
woman
and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the
dragon had spewed out of his mouth.”
YLT: “and the land did
help the woman
and the land did open its mouth and did swallow up the river
that the dragon did cast forth out of his mouth;”
Meaning of Words: “help”: rescue;
“open”: open up
unfold.
Spiritual Meaning: please note that
since the things in this chapter all have the symbolic meanings
“the earth” in
this verse cannot be interpreted literally that the ground cleaved and devoured
the forces of Satan (See Num. 16:31-33). Here “the earth” also has the symbolic
meaning and it symbolizes the hearts of men (See Mark 4:26-28). “The earth
opened its mouth” symbolizes that the minds of God’s people were opened (See
Luke. 24:45) to see through all the craftiness of Satan. “The flood which the dragon
had spewed out of his mouth” the flood in this
verse is “the river” in the original and it “water” in v.15 have the same
symbolic meaning.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The devil utilizes the trend of the world and
the wind of heresies to wash us away and therefore we should grow up quickly
and no longer be children
tossed to and fro
by the trickery of it
in the
cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting (See Eph. 4:14).
2) May the Lord open our understanding
that we
might understand the scriptures (See Luke. 24:45)
and by reason of use have
our senses exercised to discern both good and evil (See Heb. 5:14).
Rev. 12:17 “And the dragon was
enraged with the woman
and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring
who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
YLT: “and the dragon was
angry against the woman
and went away to make war with the rest of her seed
those keeping the commands of God
and having the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
Meaning of Words: “enraged”: be angry
provoke; “keep”: preserve
watch
hold fast; “commandment”: injunction
command.
Spiritual Meaning: “And the dragon was enraged with the woman
and
he went to make war with the rest of her offspring” “the rest of her offspring” refers the other
children besides the male Child (See v.5)
i.e. those who had not been caught
up and were left (See Matt. 24:40).
“Who
keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” “Who keep the commandments of God”
symbolizes those who fear God among the Jews. “Have the testimony of Jesus
Christ” symbolizes those who were left among Christians but repented in the
great tribulation and was willing to hold fast to the testimony.
III.
Outlines of the Spiritual Lessons
The Heavenly Signs and Wars
I. The heavenly signs (v.1-6)
A. the woman who was travailing in birth (v.1-2)----the total of God’s
people travailed in birth
B. a great
fiery red dragon wanted to devour the Child born by the
woman (v.3-4)----Satan wanted to devour overcomers
C. the male Child was caught up as soon as he was born
(v.5)----overcomes were raptured
D. the woman was fed in the wilderness one thousand two hundred and
sixty days (v.6)----the most part of God’s people were kept by God
II. The heavenly war (v.7-12)
A. the devil and its angels were cast to the earth (v.7-9)----there
isn’t their room in heaven any more
B. the declaration of victory (v.10-11)----the three factors in
overcoming the devil
C. the warning to the earth and the sea (v.12)----the devil wanted to
deal with the earthly people of God with great wrath
III. The earthly war (v.13-17)
A. the dragon persecuted the woman (v.13-16)----God’s people were kept
by God
1. two wings of a great eagle----the power
of God’s preservation and salvation
2. the earth opened its mouth and swallowed
up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth----God opened the
minds of His people that they won’t be deceived
B. the dragon went to make war with the rest of her offspring
(v.17)----the Jews and the Gentile believers
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Sharon Ren