The seven trumpets followed immediately upon the opening of the seventh seal and we might expect that the seven plagues would follow the sounding of the seventh trumpet but this is not the case. In between the sounding of the seventh trumpet and the beginning of the seven plagues comes another series of visions.
These visions ,as we shall see, are connected with the troubles the church will be facing prior to Christ’s return. This section of Revelation is especially designed to encourage persecuted believers. It stresses the important truth that God has decisively defeated Satan, the ruler of this world.
In view of the victory that has already been won by Christ through His death and resurrection the believer needs to take heart that the gates of hell will not (cannot) prevail against the church.
These visions will at times seem clear as to their meaning and at other times seem very vague. While we may speak with some confidence of the main thrust of the visions, the significance some of the details will be unclear. Where there is not a clear picture of what John is communicating we will leave it alone and move on.
THE VISION OF THE WOMAN, THE DRAGON, THE MAN CHILD 12:1-6
THE WOMAN WITH CHILD 12:1-2
The woman John speaks of here must have reference to Israel of Old, the chosen people of God, through whom the Messiah would come.
The twelve stars would have reference to the twelve patriarchs or the twelve tribes of Israel. The figure of Israel as a woman in the pain of labor is seen in Isaiah 26:17-18
Israel could not bring salvation to this world. That was accomplished only by the Son of God. John writes with certainty that it has been accomplished.
It was Israel (the Jews, through the virgin Mary) that gave birth to the Messiah, though they (with the exception of a remnant) did not recognize Him as such: He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him.
For the early Christians there was an important connection between the old Israel and the church, the true Israel. Here the woman is undoubtedly old Israel who gives birth to the Messiah. But in the latter part of the chapter the woman is the church who is persecuted for her faith in Christ.
THE GREAT RED DRAGON, SATAN 12:3-4
The great red dragon is unquestionably a symbol of Satan. It is not clear why the dragon’s color is red, but it is interesting to note that the beast on whom the great whore sits is scarlet (17:3), as is her clothing (17:4).
The red dragon is a hideous creature, with seven head and ten horns. The horn is a symbol of strength, so that ten horns points to the mighty power of the dragon. Evil’s influence is powerful.
Symbolically this can be seen as unrelenting opposition to the church on the part of the powers of evil. No sooner is it defeated in one place than it breaks out somewhere else.
We should not overlook the fact that the beast, Satan’s chief commander of the evil forces of darkness, also has seven heads and ten horns (13:1; 17:3), and is scarlet in color (17:3).
We should understand that the evil we see on earth is made in the image of Satan himself.
The crowns which are on the dragon’s seven heads, are crowns (diadems) of royalty. John pictures Satan as immensely powerful and as exercising sovereignty (to the degree God lets him).
The dragon hurling a third of the stars of heaven to earth most likely represents Satan bringing myriads of angels with him to earth. These are the angels who rose up with him in rebellion against God.
The goal of Satan and the fallen angels (demons) has been from the beginning of history to kill the seed of the woman who at His coming would crush the head of Satan (Genesis 3:15).
Satan sought to destroy the Jews and keep the promised seed from coming into the world but he was unsuccessful. When he failed to accomplish that he sought to destroy the Christ child, from the moment of His birth, but again was unsuccessful.
Satan thought he had succeeded when he incited the Jews to have Jesus put to death, but God raised Him from the dead, crushing the head of Satan and insuring his eternal dwelling in the lake of fire with all those, both angels and men, who belong to him.
Not able to destroy the seed of the woman, Jesus Christ, Satan now seeks to kill, steal, and destroy Christ’s followers and will continue until Christ returns and destroys Satan forever.
THE WOMAN GIVES BIRTH TO THE MALE CHILD 12:5
The child, Jesus Christ, after accomplishing redemption (through His death and resurrection) for those He came to save, left this world to rule with His Father at His right hand. 1 Cor. 15; Eph. 1.
All those who rebel against Christ’s rule will perish with Satan and the fallen angels in the lake of fire.
So take heart Church, our Lord reigns!
THE WOMAN FLEES INTO THE WILDERNESS 12:6
The woman here represents Christ’s church (the true Israel of God) on earth whose members flee to a place that God has prepared for them: the desert.
Three factors emerge from spending time in a desert: a person is completely dependent on God to provide the material and spiritual necessities of life; the desert is always a temporary place; and last, the desert is a place where God trains his people spiritually and prepares them for service.
Just as Israel’s time in the desert of Sinai was temporary, while the Israelites longed for permanence in the Promised Land, so the church today, waiting on earth, longs to be with Christ forever in the eternal Promise Land, the New Heavens and New Earth.
God prepares a place of protection and nourishment for the church for 1,260 days. Even though her members suffer oppression and persecution, God never allows the annihilation of the church.
The number 1,260 applies to the two witnesses who received power to prophesy for that length of time (11:3). Thus, the reference to the woman in the desert harmonizes with the prophesying of the two witnesses, which means that the witnesses and the woman represent the church.
The beast of the earth has been given a mouth to blaspheme God’s name and to exercise authority for a period of forty-two months (1,260 days). The devil, therefore, has been given exactly the same length of time the church on earth has received.
