Who Are the Woman, Child and Dragon in Revelation 12?

- [Narrator] Who is the woman, the child, and the dragon in Revelation 12? God revealed the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John to show his servants what must soon take place. John was the recipient of this revelation from God.

This book is filled with mysteries about things to come. The final warning is that the world will surely end and judgment will be inevitable. It reveals to us just a sliver of paradise and all the splendors in store for us there.

Revelation 12:1, Amplified Bible, "And a great sign warning of an ominous and frightening future event appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet and on her head a crown of 12 stars. " This is the first of seven signs that John reveals to us and it is one that is described as a big sign, mega semeion. In Revelation chapters 12, 13, and 14, the main figures of the great tribulation are described, and this great sign introduces the first of the seven.

We read, "A woman clothed with the sun," because John plainly said, "This is a great sign. " We don't expect this woman to appear literally on earth. God will use this sign to communicate something to John and to us.

We read, "A woman clothed with the sun. " This figure has been linked to a wide variety of different religious concepts throughout history. According to Joseph's dream, the woman who was clothed with the sun should be interpreted as representing Israel from a biblical perspective.

In the dream, Jacob was symbolized by the sun. Rachel, Joseph's mother, was shown by the moon and the 11 stars were interpreted to be the sons of Israel who bowed down to Joseph. Joseph is now included with the other Israelites tribes in this constellation made up of 12 stars.

Genesis 37:9, "But Joseph dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers as well. He said, 'See here I have again dreamed to dream, and lo, this time I saw 11 stars, and the sun and the moon bowed down in respect to me. '" In other passages of the Old Testament, Israel, Zion or Jerusalem are often depicted as a woman.

Hosea 2:19-20, "And I will betroth you, Israel, to me forever. Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in loving kindness and loyalty and in compassion. I will betroth you to me in stability and in faithfulness.

Then you will know, recognize, appreciate the Lord and respond with loving faithfulness. " The woman gives birth. Revelation 12:2.

"She was with child and she cried out being in labor and in pain to give birth. " We read being with child. Later in the video, we will reveal who this child really is.

Next, a fearful mighty dragon appears. Revelation 12:3. "Then another sign of warning was seen in heaven.

Behold a great fiery red dragon, Satan with seven heads and 10 horns, and on his heads were seven royal crowns, diadems. " We read, "Another sign appeared in heaven. " Once again, we are reminded that the creature mentioned in the text is a symbol.

It wasn't actually a great fiery red dragon, but rather a representation of the person's nature and character. The description of the dragon symbolically suggests his fierce power and murderous nature. A picture of the fullness of evil in all its hideous strength.

in Revelation 12, the next sign is a great red dragon with seven heads and 10 horns. The seven heads are adorned with seven diadems. While the horns symbolize power and the crowns represent authority.

The image of the seven heads and 10 horns is meant to convey a sense of immense power, authority, knowledge, and strength, and is therefore quite terrifying. It is important to note that the term diadems, which is a transliteration of the Greek word diadema, appears only in the book of Revelation and not in any other New Testament book. Furthermore, it is a distinct word from the crown, stefanos, mentioned in verse one.

The difference between the two terms is that the crown symbolizes a permanent victory, while the diadem represents ruling authority and power. This woman is very different from the other women in Revelation. We see other women in Revelation, for example, Jezebel.

Jezebel is associated with a religious system promoting false teaching. Revelation 2:20, Amplified Bible. "But I have this charge against you that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess claiming to be inspired, and she teaches and misleads my bond servants so that they commit acts of sexual immorality and eat food sacrificed to idols.

" We also meet another woman, the great harlot who is associated with false religion In Revelation 17:2. Revelation 17:2, Amplified Bible. "She with whom the kings of the earth have committed acts of morality and the inhabitants of the earth have become intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.

" We also meet the bride who is associated with the church. We read this in Revelation 19:7-8. "Let us rejoice and shout for joy.

Let us give him glory and honor for the marriage of the lamb has come at last and his bride, the redeemed, has prepared herself. She has been permitted to dress in fine linen, dazzling white and clean for the fine linen signifies the righteous acts of the saints, the ethical conduct, personal integrity, moral courage, and godly character of believers. " Now we see the dragon causing more disaster.

Revelation 12:4, "And his tail swept across the sky and dragged away a third of the stars of heaven and flung them to the earth and the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth so that when she gave birth, he might devour her child. " Verse nine of the chapter explicitly identifies the dragon as the ancient serpent who is commonly referred to as the devil and Satan. He is known to deceive the entire world.

Verse four further reveals that Satan is waiting for the birth of Christ with the intention to destroy him. God never created an evil being. Instead, he created angels, principalities, and powers who were capable of experiencing immense joy and achieving great distinctions in his glorious domain.

However, they were also given free will, which was implicit in the creation of moral beings. As a result, they could exercise this free will to either their eternal benefit or their destruction. Some have remained steadfast in their allegiance to God, such as Michael and his angels, but others have rebelled against the rule of heaven and have become unrelenting enemies of God and his kingdom.

We read, "A male child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. " This clearly refers to Jesus Christ the Messiah who rules the world with an iron rod. Revelation 19:15, "From his mouth comes a sharp sword, his word, with which he may strike down the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron and he will tread the wine press of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty in judgment of the rebellious world.

The endeavor to devour her child was initially fulfilled by Herod's attempt to kill Jesus as a child. It was also fulfilled during the entirety of Jesus' life when Satan attacked him. Matthew 2:16-18, Amplified Bible.

"Then Herod, when he realized that he had been tricked by the magi was extremely angry and he sent soldiers and put to death all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that area who were two years old according to the date which he had learned from the magi. Then what had been spoken throughout Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, a voice was heard in Rama, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children. She refused to be comforted because they were no more.

" The child. Jesus's ministry is described by its earthly beginning and end. "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. " It is clear that the figure depicted in the passage is Jesus. Therefore, the woman mentioned in Revelation 12:1 cannot symbolize the church as Jesus is the one who gives birth to the church, not the other way around.

Hence, the woman must represent either Mary or Israel, the only two entities who could have given birth to Jesus. Further analysis in Revelation 12 reveals that this woman is indeed Israel and not Mary. The dragon, Satan, is attempting to devour the child, Christ.

However, the Christ is born and caught up to God and to his throne. Satan attempts to kill the Christ, but Christ is raised from the dead and ascends to the Father. The vital image to identify this woman is in describing her labor pains.

This prophetic image is found in a few places in the Old Testament. Micah 4:9-10. "Now, why do you cry out loudly?

Is there no king among you? Has your counselor perished? For agony has gripped you like a woman in childbirth, writhe in pain and labor to give birth, oh daughter of Zion, like a woman in childbirth.

For now, you shall go out of the city, live in the field and go to Babylon. There you will be rescued. There the Lord shall redeem you from the hands of your enemies.

" Micah prophesized that Israel would be taken captive to Babylon, experiencing intense pain like that of a woman in labor. However, amidst their suffering, they would be rescued and redeemed by God. Micah continued to use this imagery a few verses later in his prophecy.

According to Micah, the nation's suffering will continue until the remnant brings about the birth of the Messiah. The prophecy was a message of hope as the Messiah will come and guide his followers with the strength of the Lord. The prediction of labor pain symbolizes the suffering of the physical nation of Israel, which would lead to the purification of its people.

Revelation 12:6-7, Amplified Bible. "Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God so that she would be nourished there for 1,260 days, 42 months, 3 1/2 years. And war broke out in heaven.

Michael, the archangel, and his angel's waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought. " The woman flees for protection in a place prepared by God, the spiritual nation, the true people of God, are preserved for 1,260 days.

This represents a specific period of time characterized by distress, persecution, and tribulation. Despite being under attack by Satan, the people of God are spiritually secure. It is commonly believed that Satan resides in hell.

However, currently he's not there although it is certain that he will end up there. The popular image of Satan as a red figure with horns, tail and a pitchfork is a far cry from the biblical portrayal. Surprisingly, Satan can even enter heaven as per Job 1.

He may visit the presence of God. A battle occurred in heaven where Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. The dragon was defeated and cast down to earth along with his angels.

Revelation 12 describes a cosmic spiritual conflict where the devil and his minions march on heaven. Despite their efforts, the dragon was not successful in his fight. The Archangel Michael served as God's champion and was the commanding general of God's forces.

This is revealed in Revelation 12:9. Daniel 12:1, "Now at that end time, Michael, the great angelic prince, who stands guard over the children of your people will arise and there will be a time of distress such has never occurred since there was a nation until that time. But at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the Book of Life, will be rescued.

Michael and his angels succeed in throwing Satan and his people from heaven to earth. The main way Satan attacks the people of God is blasphemy. He is the accuser of our brethren.

Revelation 12:10, "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, 'Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom dominion reign of our God and the authority of his Christ have come. For the accuser of our believing brothers and sisters has been thrown down at last. ' He who accuses them and keeps bringing charges of sinful behavior against them before our God day and night.

Satan will lose the conflict. " Revelation 12:9, "And the great dragon was thrown down, the age old serpent who is called the devil and Satan, he who continually deceives and seduces the entire inhabited world. " He was thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him.

John then offers a simple strategy believers through the ages have employed to overcome Satan's attacks. A threefold plan against the devil's assaults, covering, confession and courage. The effect of Christ's victory on the cross over Satan and sin is declared in verse 10, "Salvation has come, power has come.

" Revelation 12:10-12. "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, 'Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom, dominion, reign of our God and the authority of his Christ have come. For the accuser of our believing brothers and sisters has been thrown down at last.

' He who accuses them and keeps bringing charges of sinful behavior against them before our God day and night. And they overcame and conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, for they did not love their life and renounce their faith even when faced with death. Therefore, rejoice, oh heavens, and you who dwell in them in the presence of God.

Woe to the earth and the sea because the devil has come down to you in great wrath knowing that he has only a short time remaining. " The Accuser, Satan, has been defeated by Christ's power shown through his victory on the cross. Christ has exercised his authority and rule in his kingdom through his death and resurrection, bringing salvation to all.

We are no longer subject to Satan's accusations because of Christ's redeeming work on the cross. "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. " Romans 8:1.

The effects of this expulsion from heaven will be illustrated in Revelation verse 20. We needed Christ's redemptive work on the cross to defeat Satan. Moreover, we conquer by our testimony.

"But woe to the earth for Satan is enraged and knows his time is short. " However, Satan's time is running out. Because Satan's plan has been thwarted to destroy the Christ, Satan turns his attention to the woman.

Revelation 12:13-17, Amplified Bible, "And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, 3 1/2 years, away from the presence of the serpent, Satan. And the serpent hurled water like a river out of his mouth after the woman so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood, but the earth helped the woman and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river, which the dragon had hurled out of his mouth.

So the dragon was enraged with the woman and he went off to wage war on the rest of her children, seed, those who kept and obey the commandments of God and have testimony of Jesus, holding firmly to it and bearing witness to him. " We were previously told in verse six that the woman would flee to the wilderness for protection during the tribulation times. Verse 13 picks up on this idea after noting the effect of Christ's victory over Satan.

Satan looks to attack. However, the woman was given two wings of the great eagle to fly to wilderness for protection for a time, times and half a time. Being carried on eagle's wings reminds us how the Israelites were saved in the wilderness.

Exodus 19:4, Amplified Bible. "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. " Satan relentlessly attempts to destroy the true followers of God, but his efforts are in vain as indicated in verse 16.

However, his failure only fuels his anger and he shifts his focus to the other believers who kept the commandments of God and holds to the testimony of Jesus as mentioned in verse 17. This reveals Satan's hostile attitude towards those who believe in Jesus. The chapter provides us with a timeframe for these events.

The woman represents the remnant of Israel who remain faithful to the Lord and bring forth the Christ. Satan attacks the woman, but she is protected. All that is left is for Satan to take his attack.

He is going to make war with the rest of her offspring. In chapter 13, we will see how Satan plans to target the church in the future. Despite his attempts to defeat Christ, Satan was unsuccessful.

His next move is to attack the church, specifically those who keep God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. We can expect more.