Revelation 12

Written on 05/10/2024

Verses 1-6

  • There is a historical picture painted here. 

    • As a woman in labor, the Jewish people, through much suffering in their history, brought Jesus into the world (Romans 9:5). 

    • Satan, the dragon, tried to destroy Jesus as soon as He was born (Matthew 2:13-18). 

    • But Jesus lived, finished His works, and then ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9-11). 

    • Afterwards, the Gentiles were grafted in with the people of God to become the church (Romans 11:17, Ephesians 2:13-18); and since the ascension of Jesus the church has been working and has been persecuted. 

  • And it seems that, during the end, the church will be fleeing in the wilderness and will be, to an extent, protected by God.

 

Verses 7-11

  • During the end, a war will be fought between Michael and Satan (both archangels), resulting in a defeat of Satan that will cause him to be permanently cast out of heaven.

  • Right now, any angelic being, including fallen ones like Satan, can, although outsiders, appear in heaven before God to accuse us (verse 12) (also see Job 1:6-12, 1 Kings 22:20-23).

    • Satan appears in heaven to seek permission from God to tempt and try us (Job 1:11-12), but God limits him (1 Corinthians 10:13). 

  • During the end, also, believers will rebel against the devil and overcome him through the power of Christ. They will be so obedient to God that they will yield themselves to death and yet remain obedient.

    • Even today, this is how we overcome the enemy. Keep your trust in Jesus and be obedient to the Word no matter how uncomfortable it is. This beats the devil every time. 

    • Don't cherish earthly comforts and riches, nor deny obedience to God in order to keep some part of your earthly life (Luke 14:26).

 

Verses 12-17

  • At a point during the end, persecution of believers will greatly intensify, and the enemy will hunt us down to destroy us. We will suffer oppression and abuse; in this way the enemy will overcome or conquer us (Revelation 13:7, Daniel 7:21,25), but the enemy will not be able to destroy our faith nor fully exterminate us. In this way, we will overcome him in the end. 

    • However, at the same time, we will also experience great protection from many threats to our lives (verses 14-16).

  • Do not fear the devil nor the end. Remember that the dragon will not prevail against the church (Matthew 16:18).