The long-standing rebellion against God s righteous kingdom will not last forever. Satan s incessant efforts to elevate himself on a par with God and rule the human race will fail. Although the Lord of heaven is redeeming sinners through the sacrifice of Christ, the time for men and women to repent and pledge loyalty to Him is rapidly coming to a close. The enemy s limited dominion will soon begin to crumble, and every frantic effort he makes to withstand the reign of Christ will be frustrated. No, this is not a reference to a fantasy movie, in which the theme is some generic struggle between good and evil with epic clashes between unrealistic creatures. This is the very real war between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of darkness. It is the ultimate battle between Almighty God and rebels from the angelic and human realms. And it is the sole purpose for human history. Revelation 12-14 provides the background for this battle. It contains pertinent information on the horrific three and one-half years of the Great Tribulation in which the war s final campaign is waged. This last half of the seven year s of divine judgment preceding Christ s return is marked by Satan s final push to resist God s sovereignty over the creation. As this war of all wars rages, the treachery of the rebellion will be fully exposed, and God s wrath against sin will be fully expressed in a historical context. Yet nothing Satan and his forces can do will prevent Christ from establishing His throne and thus bringing a redeemed humanity into the kingdom.! 1
Chapter 12 began by defining God s strategy for redemption. His eternal plan has always been to establish the nation of Israel as the human agency through which Christ would enter the race and bring the eternal spiritual blessings of heaven s kingdom (12:1-2; cf. Gen. 3:15; 12:1-3; Rom. 9:4-5). Satan s strategy has always been to destroy Israel, Christ and the redeemed of every nation. Most notably, he has sought to undermine the believer s faith and disprove its effectiveness to justify sinners before God (12:3-12; cf. Job 1-2). But as Christ s return to earth draws near, the devil s long-established tactics and strongholds begin to fail. That is, he will no longer have access to heaven to bring accusations against the redeemed; his realm will ultimately be confined to the earth. And, as we will see in the passage before us, even his command of demonic and rebellious human forces will be insufficient to destroy believers and defeat Christ. Revelation 12:13-17 gives us more information of just how the satanic rebellion begins to crumble in the last days. Here is described the enemy s most intense persecution of Israel, God s supernatural preservation of the redeemed nation, and Satan s preoccupation with persecuting believers that extends to the Gentile nations.! 2
The Rebellion Crumbles - Part II (12:13-17) Israel s Persecution (v. 13) The apostle John s vision has found him on earth looking up at the heavens (cf. 10:1ff). The future events he sees are depicted by large symbolic figures evidently appearing to him as though they are projected across the sky (12:1, 3). Israel is portrayed by a pregnant woman ready to give birth to a male Child (i.e. Christ). She is clothed with the sun (i.e. glory), the moon is under her feet (i.e. she is established by covenant with God), and a garland of 12 stars is on her head (i.e. the victory of her 12 tribes to have a place in heaven s kingdom by God s grace). Similarly, Satan is portrayed by a fiery read dragon with seven heads, ten horns and seven diadems (i.e. a destructive and murderous enemy who has sought to dominate the human realm throughout earth s history). His initial act of treachery also drew one-third of the angelic host into the rebellion under his command (v. 4). John has witnessed the woman at the point of delivery and the dragon prepared to devour the Child as soon as He is born. However, Christ is caught up to God to receive His kingdom, and it is foretold that He will rule the nations with a rod of iron (i.e. with absolute authority). These events carried us from the beginning of the rebellion in eternity past, through the millennia of human history, and back to the beginning of the Great Tribulation.! 3
Unable to stop Christ s redemptive work and then prevent the rapture of the Church, the dragon s forces will eventually fight the holy angels to maintain access to heaven. Somewhere toward the beginning of the Great Tribulation the devil will be permanently cast down from heaven and confined to the earth. As his rebellion begins to crumble, the dragon furiously wreaks havoc on the world and stirs the nations to gather for the final confrontation at Armageddon (cf. 16:12-16). All the while he moves Antichrist to persecute Israel and the redeemed of every nation, and many are martyred in the first half of the Tribulation. However, all of God s elect among the Jews and Gentiles are preserved in the wilderness for the final 42 months/1,260 days of the seven-year period (cf. 11:2; 12:6). Verse 13 describes Satan s intent and attempt to destroy Israel first and foremost. For when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. Knowing that all of God s stated purpose for the kingdom involving Israel will be coming to pass, he will realize that prophecies proclaiming his own eternal torment are at hand. His wrath will reach a fever pitch as he knows that he has a short time (v. 12). It is a final act of rebellion before Christ appears in glory to establish His throne and has the dragon temporarily bound for the thousand years of the Millennial Kingdom. He will be permitted one last act of rebellion at the end of that time, and then he will be cast into the eternal lake of fire with all rebels (Rev. 20:1-15).! 4
Israel s Preservation (vv. 14-16) The real focus of this passage, however, is the preservation of Israel as a key entity in God s redemptive plan. For if Satan can still destroy what is left of Israel, then God s promise to establish them in the kingdom on earth will have been unrealized. Of course, this is an impossibility, because the election and calling of God for the redeemed of Israel and all nations are irrevocable being rooted in the unchanging nature of God expressed in the eternal covenants He has made (Rom. 11:28-29). So as the horrors of the Great Tribulation come, God preserves the believing remnant of Israel (cf. Rev. 11:1-14). Many unbelieving Jews and Gentiles will experience the wrath of Satan and his Antichrist, but the elect among them are shielded by God in order to enter the Millennial Kingdom alive. Here 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 (v. 14). The symbolism is that of God s providential care of Israel from Satan s attacks during the Great Tribulation. The picture of wings is often found in Scripture to signify His protection (cf. Deut. 32:11; Ps. 91:4; Is. 40:31; Matt. 23:37). The actual means by which the Lord secures these redeemed Jews will take various forms such as help from sympathetic Gentiles and acts of God in nature.! 5
For instance, the wilderness (cf. v. 6) region of Palestine would be the ancient territories of Moab, Ammon and Edom to the South and East of Jerusalem. The prophet Daniel reveals that these people will be specifically spared from Antichrist s attacks (Dan. 11:41). Although Israel s one-time enemies, the descendants of these nations will give aid to this future generation of Jews. They will be among the Gentiles who do good to these harshly persecuted Jewish brethren of Christ (cf. Matt. 25:31-46). Interestingly, Daniel s prophecy also uses the terminology of a time and times and half a time as a designation for the three and one-half years of the Great Tribulation (Dan. 7:25; 12:7). Also, the Lord will providentially use the cataclysmic judgments such as earthquakes to separate His people from Satan s attacks through Antichrist. Verse 15 generalizes the enemy s aggression with more symbolic language by saying that he spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away (cf. Jer. 46:8; 47:2 which use similar language to describe invading armies). In other words, he commands his demonic forces to drive Antichrist and his human armies to pursue Israel. These forces are sweeping and forceful like a flood, and they would certainly annihilate the Jews unless God intervenes.! 6
And indeed the Lord does just that as verse 16 explains: the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. This likely describes a giant chasm created by one of the many massive earthquakes that occur during this time (cf. 6:12; 8:5; 11:13, 19; 16:18; Matt. 24:7). As Jesus explained to the apostles in Matthew 24:21-22, the intensity of this time of tribulation would certainly destroy all on the earth unless He shortened the days. But for the sake of preserving His elect among the Jews and Gentiles, they will be shortened. Satan s Preoccupation (v. 17) At this point, Satan becomes even more enraged with Israel because his efforts to destroy God s chosen nation are utterly frustrated. And so he furiously turns to make war with the rest of her offspring. However, this does not describe the remaining Jews who are unbelievers. Rather, his preoccupation with preventing God s kingdom plans from coming to pass leads him to ratchet up the persecution on believing Gentiles.! 7
These are also the offspring of Abraham in a spiritual sense. The apostle Paul says in Galatians 3:8-9: the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, In you all the nations shall be blessed. So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. That is to say, those among the Gentiles who believe the Gospel of Christ are also God s elect children by faith just as Abraham and his believing physical descendants through Isaac and Jacob (cf. Rom. 9:22-24; 11:11-32). This is why verse 17 concludes by saying that those being identified are those, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Scripture is clear that the true believer is marked by a love for Christ and His Word. Our love for Him is demonstrated in our desire to keep His commandments and by a discernible pattern of obedience in our lives. To profess Christ and to disobey His Word without repentance or even remorse betrays a heart that never really turned to Him in the first place. Such a person is still in rebellion toward God dead in trespasses and sins (e.g. Jn. 14:23-24; Eph. 2:1ff; Col. 3:16; 1 Jn. 2:24; 3:1-24; Rev. 3:20, etc.). While the persecution of Gentile believers will increase, the Lord will also preserve a portion of these alive to enter the Millennial Kingdom (Matt. 25:31-34).! 8
So Satan s preoccupation is an arrogant attempt to prove that God s redemptive power and plan are nothing. However, from beginning to end, he is powerless to stop Christ from bringing God s kingdom to earth. The Lord s promise to bring salvation blessing to the nations through Christ via Israel cannot be prevented. The worst that the enemy can do is wholly insufficient as demonstrated by these end-time events. For now, Satan s pride motivates him to continue clinging to his rebellious plan. But his rebellion against the righteousness of God s kingdom will begin to crumble at the appointed time. And when it does, Israel will be saved and preserved even though they are severely persecuted. As we have noted in earlier studies, knowing these things helps the Lord s Church to keep His kingdom plans in perspective. And that helps us hold the line in the ultimate battle as good soldiers by standing firm in God s truth. We can also fulfill our obligation as His ambassadors with the Gospel of our Lord and Savior calling sinners to repentance and faith before He returns to judge the rebellion. Do you understand Israel s purpose in God s plans for His kingdom? Are you praying for the salvation of the Jewish people and their preservation as a nation? God is glorified as He fulfills His plans in response to our prayers that begin with an understanding of His Word.! 9