The Woman and The Dragon

Revelation 12

Immanuel – 5/22/22

Today we come to a new section of Revelation, a new vision. But though it is a new vision, John is not being shown something different. He is being shown the same events with a second apocalyptic vision. He is given another perspective, highlighting different elements, bringing emphasis to other points.

Couplets of visions, or dreams, is a common feature of prophetic revelations throughout Scripture.

Think of Joseph’s two dreams, one of sheaves of wheat bowing down to him and another of the sun, moon, and stars bowing to him; both regard the same thing (Genesis 37:1-11). Pharaoh had two dreams of a coming famine in Egypt (Genesis 41). Think of the dreams in Daniel, one of a four-layered statue and one of four beasts: both concerning the same four empires (Daniel 2,7). Couplets of visions appear in the prophecies of Zechariah and Joel.

Just as these prophets received more than one vision of the same thing, so does John. In part 2 and Part 3 of Revelation John is recording different visions of the same things; just from different perspectives and emphasizing different points.

Part 2 emphasized the victory of Christ in establishing the New Covenant.

Part 3 emphasizes the victory of the Church through her union with Christ.

But all of this happens through the same series of events. All of these things are accomplished in the Last Days, or the End Times. As I said last week, this was the time between Christ’s life and the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. John’s various visions, as recorded in Revelation, are of this time period: the last days of the Old Covenant and the birthing of the New Covenant.

And because John’s visions are prophecies about the same events, there are many elements found in both visions: 144,000 elect, the beast, judgements of seven, accursed Jerusalem, the abyss, a victorious Christ, and so on. All these will play a role in part 3 of Revelation.

Purpose

Open the symbolism of chapter 12.

Satan is defeated and Christ is victorious.

The church shares in Christ’s victory.

Read Revelation 12

The introduction to a new vision – or really, a new set of visions – is signaled by some very clear language. John sees a great sign. Sign is nearly synonymous with symbol. John could just as well be saying, “A great symbol appeared in heaven.”

Several commentators think John is making a distinction of the symbolic: as if we are just now getting into overtly symbolic territory, and the preceding chapters were not so symbolic. But that misses the point of John’s words.

John is drawing attention to the fact that a new vision has begun, and it is a very great vision – it’s important, massively significant. Pay attention to this vision! Think carefully about it! That in no way minimizes the symbols that came before. Rather, calling it a great sign, is like putting the exclamation point at the beginning of the sentence.

This is a great sign!

And the symbol he first sees is a glorious woman.

Read vs 1-2

The Woman

As we have seen in Revelation already,12 is the Biblical number for the people of God. The woman John sees wears a crown of 12 stars. She is a symbol of the faithful people of God, which God had arrayed in 12 tribes. She is not all of Israel; she is the remnant, the elect within the chosen people, the faithful.

And she is clothed with the sun and stands upon the moon: symbols of how glorious is this woman, how beautiful. This woman is married, and she is adorned in garments from her husband.

“I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness…I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. I clothed you also…I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. And I adorned you with ornaments…You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord.” -Ezekiel 16:8,9,10-11,13-14

“For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of Hosts is His name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, for the God of the whole earth He is called.”

-Isaiah 54:5

Again and again the Old Testament picks up the symbolic picture of God being married to Israel. Israel wandered, and cheated, and practiced abominable things; she was an adulterer. (That theme will be picked up later in Revelation.) But even as the majority of Israel was unfaithful, there was always the faithful remnant. The woman of Revelation 12 symbolizes the faithful people of God, beautiful, and dressed in heavenly garments.

And it was she, and her husband, that brought forth a child.

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” -Isaiah 7:14

The woman of Revelation 12 is pregnant with no ordinary child, but with Immanuel: God in human form. And as Isaiah will say two chapters later, this child will rule the world.

Israel’s history was long and troubled, with times of peace and times of pain. And at the end of all these agonizing contractions was the promised child. Ultimately, God chose Israel to bring forth this child, this King, this God become man.

(Parenthesis)

All throughout Revelation there is layered symbolism, and many reflections of creation and the constellations and stars. I have only mentioned it a few times in this series. But we come to another powerful one today. Revelation 12 is filled with images from the night sky, though I will only briefly mention one of them.

The woman is one of the 12 zodiac constellations: Virgo, the virgin. Verse 1 says she is clothed with the sun and the moon is at her feet. And this virgin, so adorned, gives birth to the Promised Son.

Do you know that once a year the sun passes through Virgo? And in 3 AD, for almost two hours, the moon was at Virgo’s feet. If Revelation is hinting at when Jesus was born, like many scholars think, then we can know the date and time He arrived: and it is not in December.

According to these heavenly signs, Jesus could well have been born between 6:15 and 7:45 the evening of September 11, 3 AD.

Do you know what else was on September 11, 3 AD? The Day of Trumpets, Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah anticipates the day when God would finally reveal Himself, establish His kingdom, and birth a new creation.

A passage commonly read on the Day of Trumpets comes from Zechariah.

Then the Lord will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning; the Lord God will sound the trumpet and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south…On that day the Lord their God will save them, as the flock of His people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on His land. For how great is His goodness, and how great His beauty! -Zechariah 9:14,16-17

On the Day of Trumpets in 3 AD, judgement and salvation entered the world when a virgin gave birth to a baby boy.

(Close Parenthesis)

The significance of all these things was not lost upon the present ruler of the world, who was about to be overthrown.

Read vs 3-4

The Dragon

The star that had fallen from heaven and opened the bottomless pit, back in Revelation 9, is cast in a new symbol: a great red dragon. Verse 9, of chapter 12, gives us his name: that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. And Satan was able to deceive the whole world because, in the old age, he was the ruler of the world.

That’s what Jesus called Satan just before He was arrested and crucified.

“I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me.” -John 14:30

The dragon is Satan: the ruler of the world. And he was all too aware that the Messiah was coming to overthrow him, conquer him, and establish a new kingdom. Like a demonic midwife, the dragon positions himself to receive the newborn child, ravenous for His blood.

Israel’s history reverberates in these lines. How many times has Satan tried to snuff out the seed of the woman? Pharaoh ordered the sons of Israel to be killed. David and his lineage were threatened countless times. The Persian ruler Haman almost succeeded in his genocidal destruction of Israel. These are but a few examples.

Every time, the dragon was trying to devour the seed of the woman. It was a war that began in Eden. Adam and Eve, the parents of us all, had traded away their kingdom for a chance a becoming like God. Satan had sold them a lie, and from them he bought the earth. But God delivered a crushing curse.

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.” -Genesis 3:15 (NIV)

Satan knew that the seed of the woman would take his kingdom and spell his doom; so always he was trying to abort the child.

In that day the Lord with His hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and He will slay the dragon that is in the sea. -Isaiah 27:1

Finally, shortly after Jesus was born, Satan tried again. Like Pharaoh, he possessed Herod to order the death of every male child in Bethlehem.

The dragon, always, through the ages, was trying to devour that Promised Seed.

Next week we’ll get into why the dragon has seven heads and ten horns. This week it is important to note that the dragon was the ruler of the world, which the seven heads and 10 horns helps us understand. Daniel had a vision of four terrible beasts, each one representing four empires. Put together, these four beasts had a total of seven heads. Together, they also had 10 horns.

The dragon is a mash-up of the four beasts of Daniel. Satan is the power behind all beastly kingdoms. Satan controlled all these empires, every time trying to weaponize them against the woman’s seed.

Even still, the dragon fears the power of child, the Promised King. So he sets himself up to perform a post-birth abortion.

Read vs 5

The virgin gave birth to the promised child despite all the wrathful efforts of the dragon. Because Jesus arrived like no one had expected, not even the dragon.

“Before she was in labor she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she delivered a son. Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her children.” -Isaiah 66:7-8

Indeed, when Jesus was born, so was born a nation. He is the seed from which a kingdom grows. He is the seed of a new creation: a new Promised Land in a moment. The devil cannot not stop the sovereign and creative power of God! The Son of God had come to reclaim what Adam had lost!

And in another expected move, the child is born and ascends immediately to the throne. Yes, the incarnation and crucifixion and resurrection were all key elements; but the whole point was for Christ to sit on the throne as the rightful King of kings and Lord of lords.

For this was the ancient purpose.

I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.” -Psalm 2:5-7

The kingdoms controlled by the dragon would be dashes to pieces by the Son; and in their place He shall establish an everlasting dominion. He does this from His throne. So the symbols of Revelation 12 show the Son going from manger to throne; and the devil has no power to stop it.

Read vs 6

In a similar way that God provided for Elijah during a 3.5-year drought, God provides for His people during their travails. He demonstrated this even as the dragon prepared to devour the woman’s seed. When Herod came to execute Bethlehem’s sons, Mary and Joseph, informed through a prophetic dream, fled with the Promised Son into Egypt.

But more importantly than an exact number; 1,260 days, 42 months, 3.5 years, symbolizes a time when the enemies of God appear victorious. But it is only for a short time; after which God reveals His victory. We saw the same thing back in Revelation 11.

And while God’s enemies appear victorious, in hidden ways, God cares for his people, not letting them fail. The woman is safely in exile for 3.5 years, but victory over the dragon is soon coming.

Read vs 7-11

Christ Victorious

John backtracks a little bit to give us some context – to show us why the woman had to hide in the wilderness, even after her Son was safely delivered. Verses 7-12 give us this context; showing us why the woman had to flee. When we come to verse 13, we return to the woman and her flight from the dragon.

In verse 7, Michael and His angels suddenly appear. They fight Satan, the dragon, and defeat Him. He and all his demonic forces are forever cast out of heaven and are thrown down to earth.

I want to argue that Michael and the angels are a symbol, like the rest of this chapter. Michael symbolizes Jesus; and the angels symbolize Christ’s faithful followers.

For no one defeats Satan but Jesus Himself, because Satan was defeated at the cross! The same moment the serpent struck the heel of the Christ, Jesus crushed the head of the dragon!

“Now is the judgement of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.”

-John 12:31-32

The cross initiates a new age. Yes, the Old Covenant is replaced with a New Covenant; but also, the demonic ruler of the world is cast down by the new and righteous King who reigns forevermore.

Jesus defeated Satan at the cross. And when Christ ascended into heaven, to sit upon His glorious throne, down He cast the devil. Where Satan once ruled, and accused the saints; now Christ reigns, and redeems His saints!

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with [Christ], having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in [Christ]. -Colossians 2:13-15

Satan had a right to accuse the elect, because they are all sinners. But Christ cleanses us from our sins and washes us clean. To receive such a washing, all we need to do is repent and believe in Him. And once we do, the enemies accusations fall on deaf ears. He is disarmed. He is bound. He is shamed.

You are freed from Satan’s chains. No fear in death and no shame in life. For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. May your ears be deaf to the enemies lies!

Now the redeemed can approach the throne of grace with confidence. And not only do we have access to God – through Jesus – but we all fight with Jesus; destroying the strongholds of the enemy. Satan’s capitol city has fallen; but many of his fortresses and outposts still need to be conquered.

How? As it says in verse 11, the Church conquers the dragon through her reliance on the blood of Christ, her obedient proclamation of the gospel, and her self-sacrificial living.

The Church Victorious

That is for us too, brothers and sisters. Let us constantly remember the price that was paid for our redemption. Have any of us deserved such a priceless gift? Shall we go on sinning, living like the blood of Christ is cheap? Thinking God hands out forgiveness like it means nothing?

Never! Let the blood of Christ cleanse you, and stir you to holiness and faithfulness. Live your life in a manner worthy of Christ’s spilled blood – not because you have to, but because you love Him so greatly for what He has done!

When you love Christ so much that you want to honor Him and please Him, rather than seek honor and pleasure for yourself, Satan is bound and defeated.

Then, tell everyone about what Christ has done. He didn’t die for you alone, but for the whole world. The nations must know about the new King, and so must the Mohawk Valley, and your neighbors. Judgement is coming. Tell them how to be reconciled to God through Christ before it is too late.

And when the gospel is proclaimed, and people bow their knee before the Lord Jesus, Satan is bound and defeated.

Remember when Jesus sent out the 72 disciples? He sent them out to preach the gospel and defeat the enemy. After they completed their mission, they returned to Jesus amazed at the effect of their ministry. Jesus responds with,

“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” -Luke 10:18-20

Jesus gives His disciples power to break the strongholds of the enemy. So we go, like those 72, and proclaim the kingdom of God. All the demonic forces of hell cannot stop the advancement of the gospel. Satan is truly bound, and the glories of the gospel are the cords that bind Him!

Michael and the angels, in Revelation 12, are symbols of Christ and His church. For not even the gates of hell will prevail against Christ and His church. The promise given to the woman’s seed is now the promise given to the church!

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. -Romans 16:20

We are the church militant, and we have been called to stamp out the spiritual forces of darkness! This is, indeed, a new age. The ruler of this world is cast out! He is bound, awaiting the final crushing weight of the Body of Christ. This is Eden being restored through an advancing, ever-increasing, kingdom of God!

For as we see in verse 10, when the enemy is cast out, the kingdom of God has arrived. John heard Jesus say similar words:

“If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” -Matthew 12:28

Back in the first century, Satan was furious. He had been cast down to the earth. He knows that his time is short if he wants to stamp out this brand-new kingdom. And as we will see in Revelation’s coming chapters, the dragon rages against Israel and against the Church.

The context has been given. We know why the woman must flee to the wilderness. The seed of the woman, Jesus, ascended into heaven, cast down the dragon, and now the woman must run!

Read vs 13-14

Symbols

The woman flees the dragon. Remember what the woman symbolizes? The faithful people of God. Now – through Christ, through the establishment of a New Covenant, through the coming of the kingdom of heaven – the faithful people of God are no longer called Israel, but the Church.

The faithful remnant of Israel and the faithful people of the Church are always the same: the elect. But through Christ Israel has faded from view, and the Church has come into powerful focus. The same pattern will follow in the coming pages of Revelation.

From 66-70 AD, for about 3.5 years, Rome laid waste to Judea. As we have seen, Satan was the demonic force behind Rome’s war with the Jews. If he couldn’t destroy the Seed, perhaps he could destroy the woman.

But Satan didn’t realize that the woman no longer resided in Jerusalem. She was transformed, and she had fled, heeding the words of her Lord.

“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, for these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.” -Luke 21:21-22

The words were like eagles’ wings, carrying the people of God out of harms way to be nourished in the wilderness.

Eusebius, writing in the 3rd century, said that “the whole body of the church in Jerusalem, commanded by a divine revelation,” fled to Pella. Pella was a safe city in the mountains across the Jordan – in what was traditionally considered the wilderness. There, Christians safely weathered the storms of war and destruction: a war that lasted about 3.5 years – 1,260 days.

The woman has become a symbol for the Jerusalem church; for these lovers of the Messiah were the last of the true remnant of Israel.

Read vs 15-16

The Old Testament often uses a flooding river as a menacing symbol of invading armies.

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; then over us would have gone the raging waters. -Psalm 124:2-5

John is picking up this symbolic language. Satan, the dragon, tries to destroy the Jerusalem Church. He is like an overwhelming flood, threatening to swallow up the center of the kingdom of God.

In these symbols we again see echoes of Israel’s history. The Egyptian army tried to swallow the fleeing Israelites; but in a turn of events, the Egyptians were swallowed by the Red Sea. Or, when Korah led a rebellion against Moses, the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the rebellious flood. In both cases, the people of God were saved by God’s provision.

That’s what the symbolism is here. God provides for His people, and He saves them though the flood of the wicked may seem overwhelming.

Read vs 17

After the dragon is defeated by Christ, and thwarted in his attempt to swallow the Jerusalem Church, he hunts for the church abroad. This too will be seen in Revelation’s coming chapters. Gentile Christians were terribly persecuted by the dragon, and the beast he controlled.

And chapter 12 ends with the dragon standing on the shoreline, looking out over the ocean. Chapter 13 will begin with a beast rising out of that same water. Just as the dragon use the beast to destroy Jerusalem, so he will use the beast to try to kill the church.

But here we are, thousands of years later, not killed. The Church has not only survived, but thrived!

Even so, doesn’t the dragon’s flood of wickedness seem like it will swallow us today? People have lost reason. People think their internal, subjective, perception is more certain than physical, empirical realities. Children are indoctrinated into these delusions. Those without voices are slaughtered because they are inconvenient. Believers in other parts of the world are persecuted and killed for the sake of the gospel.

In all these things, the truth of God is suppressed for a lie. People do not want to be accountable to God. People want to be their own god. It was the lie of the garden, the poison of the serpent.

It seems like the dragon is anything but defeated.

Ah, but he is! He is ruined! Satan is bound and cast down. And if God is for you, who can be against you!

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in [spiritual] places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God. -Ephesians 6:10-13

Satan, and his demonic army, should be powerful enough to overwhelm you. But when you are clothed in Christ, protected by the armor of God, what can he do?

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

-James 4:7

All you need to do is stand firm, and like a defeated foe, the devil will run. Christ, the seed of the woman, is on the throne. He is the victor, and He gives you the victory. Do no marvel that the devil would flee from you. Rather, marvel that your name is written in heaven!

Remember the price that was paid. Live worthy of Christ’s spilled blood. Faithfully proclaim the good new of the gospel of Jesus.

Let us follow the example of the first church who conquered by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death (Revelation 12:11).