THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST TO HIS SERVANT JOHN
The Unveiling of the Kingdom on Earth and in Heaven
Lesson 15
Sanctions of the Covenant Treaty Lawsuit Continued
Chapter 12
The Woman, the Son, and the Dragon
Creator and Eternal Father,
You chose the Israelites to
be Your covenant people and gave them the destiny to bring forth the promised
Redeemer-Messiah to save humanity from the ravages of sin and the curse of
death. From the moment of Your first promise of His coming, You chose a
daughter of Israel as the new Eve to become the mother of the Messiah of all
who believed and receive eternal life through Him. Thank you for giving us the
Virgin Mary. She is "the woman" promised from the time of our first parents'
fall from grace and Jesus' gift to humanity from the altar of the Cross. Please
send Your Holy Spirit to guide us in our lesson. We pray in the name of God
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
+ + +
Yahweh to the serpent in Eden: "I shall put enmity
between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; she-he-it (indefinite
pronoun) will crush ( or bruise) your head, and you will strike its (her-his-its/
indefinite pronoun) heel."
Genesis 3:15
Catholic Church affirms Mary's role as the daughter of
Zion (Old Covenant Church), who became the Ark of the New Covenant.: "Mary, in
whom the Lord himself has just made his dwelling, is the daughter of Zion in
person, the Ark of the Covenant, the place where the glory of the Lord dwells.
She is the dwelling of God ...with men."
CCC 2676; also see Rev 11:19-12:1-5; 21:3
We have been using a five-part Covenant Treaty format in the outline of Revelation because the book naturally falls into the divisions of the Covenant Treaty format used by ancient Mesopotamian states. The only exception is part six, the witnessing of the treaty by the pagan gods of the nations making the treaty. The covenant treaty format reflects the purpose of the book, which is to nullify the old Sinai Covenant by issuing a covenant lawsuit for violating Israel's covenant obligations and establishing the New Covenant in Christ Jesus. But it is also possible, as mentioned in the introduction, to divide the book into two major sections:
In the second half of the book, John's revelations are the "Apocalypse" as the word was used in the first century AD in the unveiling of the Bride by her Bridegroom. In this second half of John's visions, what will be unveiled and revealed will cover much of the same revelation as the first part of the book but from a different perspective:
In Chapter 8, the eagle-angel announced three coming disasters or "woes." Each "woe" unfolds in the fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpets: In my vision, I heard an eagle, calling aloud as it flew high overhead, "Disaster, disaster, disaster, on all the people on earth [the land] at the sound of the other three trumpets which the three angels have yet to blow!" (Rev 8:13). The blowing of the fifth trumpet heralded the first "woe" judgment (Rev 9:1-12), and the sixth trumpet announced the second (Rev 9:13-11:14). Both the second and third "woes" consisted of horrible demonic torments for those who did not receive the protection of the seal of God (Rev 7:3), with the warning in 11:14 that the third was coming quickly after it.
The blowing of the seventh trumpet brought about the third "woe judgment" (Rev 11:15-18), announcing the end of the Sinai Covenant as heavenly voices proclaimed the beginning of the Kingdom of our Lord and his Christ (His Anointed), who will reign forever and ever (Rev 11:15). Following the blowing of the seventh trumpet, John had a vision of the Ark of the Covenant in the heavenly Sanctuary (Rev 11:19), accompanied by flashes of lightning, peals of thunder and an earthquake and violent hail, events which usually announce a theophany.
Comparisons with the Book of Ezekiel won't be renewed until Revelation Chapter 14. In these next two chapters, the Old Testament references will be to the visions and prophecies of the Prophet Daniel in Chapters 2, 7, 8, and 12.
Revelation 12:1-6 ~ The Sign of the Woman and the Dragon
1 Now a great
sign appeared in heaven: a woman, robed with the sun, standing on the moon, and
on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant, and in labor, crying aloud in the
pangs of childbirth. 3 Then a second sign appeared in the sky: there was a
huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and each of the seven heads
crowned with a coronet. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars from the sky and
hurled them to the ground, and the dragon stopped in front of the woman as she
was at the point of giving birth, so that he could eat the child as soon as it
was born. 5 The woman was delivered of a boy, the son who was to
rule all the nations with an iron scepter, and the child was taken straight up
to God and to his throne, 6 while the woman escaped into the desert, where God had
prepared a place for her to be looked after for twelve hundred and sixty days.
This point in the prophecy is something like a new beginning, and now John, after seeing Mary, the Mother of God, as the Ark of the New Covenant (Rev 11:19-12:1) goes back to the beginning, to Mary as the symbol of the Old Covenant Church, laboring down through salvation history to give birth to the Redeemer Messiah, Jesus, and His kingdom of the Church. He will also recall Satan's unsuccessful attempts to destroy Jesus and the Woman and her precious "seed" promised since the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve. This second part of the book will end with Christ's victorious ascent into Heaven and the victory of the Church over Satan and his "seed."
12:1 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, robed with
the sun, standing on the moon, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She
was pregnant and in labor, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth."
Initially, there were no
chapter or verse designations in the Bible. The Chapter divisions were
introduced in the Middle Ages, probably by the Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton (d. 1228), with verse separations added several centuries
later. The critical point here is that there is no separation between 11:19
and 12:1 in the earlier manuscripts; therefore, we should read these two verses
as 11:19 Then the sanctuary of God in heaven opened, and the
Ark of the Covenant could be seen inside it. Then came flashes of lightning,
peals of thunder, and an earthquake and violent hail. 12:1 Now a
great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, robed with the sun, standing on the
moon, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
In the Chapter 1 lesson, we discussed the phrase, He sent His angel to make it known to His servant John (Rev 1:1, underlining added for emphasis). In the English translation, "to make it known" uses the Greek verb semaino from the root sema and means sign or mark. A more literal translation would, therefore, be: He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John. Jesus tells John from the very beginning of his visionary experiences that this is going to be a Book of SIGNS of events that are to take place very soon (verse 1) and again in verse 3, Jesus warns John: the Time is near. In the second half of the Book of Revelation, John will use the word sign seven times in Chapters 12-19 (Greek text*), revealing three signs in Heaven (12:1, 3; 15:1), and four on earth (13:13, 14; 16:14; 19:20):
In Revelation 12:1, John commands our attention immediately by announcing that the sign of "a Woman" is a GREAT sign! The words "a great sign" will only appear again in Chapter 15 when the seven angels bring the seven plagues. The "great sign," pointing to the woman as an important symbol, is central to understanding the message of the vision as a whole. John's message to us is that we must think carefully about the Biblical meaning of this "great sign." In this case, the Greek noun is semeion = sign, and the central sign or symbol is the "Woman." The word "woman" or "women" appears 17 times in the Book of Revelation (2:20; 12:1, 4, 6, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17; 9:8; 14:4; 17:3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 18), making it almost as important a symbol as that of the "Lamb," (arnion), used 29 times (Rev 5:6, 8, 12, 13; 6:1, 16; 7:9, 10, 14, 17; 12:11; 13:8, 11; 14:1, 4 twice, 10; 15:3; 17:14 twice; 19:7, 9; 21:9, 14, 27; 22:22; 21:23; 22:1; 23:3).
Question: What three astronomical signs describe the woman?
Answer: The signs of the sun, moon, and twelve stars.
Some commentators refer to Joseph's vision in Genesis 37:9-11 when he saw his father Jacob as the sun, his stepmother Leah as the moon, and his brothers as eleven stars bowing down to him (the twelfth star). However, other scholars disagree and do not think this is the image John wants us to connect with the vision. Instead, some scholars suggest these are genuine celestial images. The constellation Virgo appears in the heavens crowned in twelve stars. They are Pi, Nu, Beta, Sigma, Chi, Iota (these six stars form the Southern Hemisphere around the head of Virgo). Then there are Theta, Star 60, Delta, Star 93, Beta the second magnitude star, and Omicron (these last six stars form the Northern Hemisphere around the head of Virgo). All these stars are visible ones that can be seen with the naked eye now and in the 1st-century AD. Other scholars dismiss the connection to the constellation Virgo and insist that the twelve stars stand for the twelve tribes of Israel, but it is also interesting that the only time the constellation Virgo is "clothed" with the sun and has the moon "under her feet" is in the month that is the sign of Virgo which corresponds with the Feast of Trumpets in September (late August-mid Sept)! As you may remember, the 7th Trumpet has just sounded (Rev 11:15-19), and we discussed the connection with that sacred feast day in the last lesson!
Question: How is "a woman" as symbolic imagery most often used Biblically?
See Isaiah 26:17-18, 40:1-2, Chapter 50; 66:6-11, Jeremiah Chapter 3, Lamentations
Chapter 1, Ezekiel Chapter 16, Hosea Chapter 1-4, and Micah Chapter 4.
Answer: In the Old Covenant, "a woman" is a familiar
Biblical image for the Old Covenant Church, the people of God and the Bride of
Yahweh.
Most Protestant commentaries want to dismiss the Virgin Mary as the "great sign" and only recognize the "Woman" as a sign of the Church. But the sign of the woman that John sees is more than a symbol for the Church because he identifies her as the mother of Christ in verse 5: The woman was delivered of a boy, the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron scepter. It is the same description Christ gave of Himself in Revelation 2:27 when He said, "I myself have been given by my Father, to rule them with an iron scepter and shatter them like so many pots." Revelation 2:27 and 12:5 are references to the kingship of the Messiah from Psalms 2:9; With an iron scepter, you will break them, shatter them like so many pots.
The Catholic Church has
always identified the woman clothed in the sun and standing on the moon as
Mary, the mother of Jesus. This interpretation was confirmed as correct by the
vision of St. Juan Diego when the Virgin Mary appeared to him at Tepiac hill in
Mexico in December 1531. He saw her "clothed in the sun and standing on the
moon," and the vision of Mary appeared miraculously on Juan Diego's cloak.
Question: Does this particular vision help us to understand when
John received his revelation?
Answer: It has to be after Mary's assumption into heaven.
The Ark of the Covenant placed
in the Holy of Holies in the desert Tabernacle and later the Jerusalem Temple was
only a shadow of the Ark that God showed Moses in the heavenly sanctuary (Ex 25:8). In Jeremiah 3:15, Jeremiah gave the prophecy that the Ark of the
Covenant, the most sacred object of the Covenant people, would one day come to
have no function, would not be missed, and not sought. Who was the genuine Ark
of the Covenant? Keeping in mind that when John first recorded his vision,
there were no chapters or verse divisions.
Question: First, John sees the Ark of the Covenant (11:19), and
then what does he see?
Answer: He sees a woman clothed with the sun and standing on
the moon.
Question: What four images does John see in 12:1-9?
Answer:
We will come to understand that the woman's son is Christ, the serpent is the devil, and the angel is Michael, prince of angels. Three of these figures are real beings, not just symbols. But what about the woman? She indeed represents the Church; however, if each of the other images is more than symbolic, shouldn't the "woman" be more than symbolic as well?
Question: Who is the promised "Woman" of Genesis 3:15 whose
"seed" will produce the Redeemer-Messiah (in human reproduction, the "seed"
comes from a human male but not in this case)? She is the one Jesus always
addressed by her title'; the one prophesied in the Genesis 3:15 passage. Who
is it that Jesus addressed by this title, identifying her as "the Woman" of
Genesis 3:15? See John 2:1-4 and 19:25-27.
Answer: She is the Blessed Virgin Mary as St. Juan Diego saw
her on a hill near Mexico City in 1531, and as John describes her in Revelation 12:1.
Question: When the sanctuary opened, and the thunder and lightning
ceased, John saw the Holy Ark; how did it appear to John, and what was the
connection to the prophecy in Genesis 3:15? Read Revelation 12:1.
Answer: John saw a woman who is the woman of Genesis 3:15 whose
"seed" would defeat the devil.
God's judgment on the serpent in Genesis 3:15 is the first promise of a Redeemer who will defeat the serpent and bring salvation. Therefore, the verse is known by the Greek term the Protoevangelium, "the first good-news," referring to the first announcement of the "good news" of salvation. This verse in Hebrew uses an indefinite pronoun translated as she, he, or it. The Greek Septuagint (the first translation of the Hebrew Bible into a foreign language in the 3rd century BC, and the translation used during the life of Jesus) uses a masculine pronoun in this verse (he, not it, will bruise or crush). The Septuagint, using the pronoun "he," therefore, ascribed the victory not to the woman's descendants in general, but to one son in particular and, therefore, giving the Fathers of the Church the basis for the Messianic interpretation. However, St. Jerome's Latin Vulgate translation used a feminine pronoun (she will bruise/crush), and since in the text "the seed" and His mother appear together, the Church has understood this verse to refer to the Virgin Mary, whom our Lord addressed by the title "Woman":
Catechism of the Catholic Church #410-411: "After his fall, man was not abandoned by God. On the contrary, God calls him and in a mysterious way heralds the coming victory over evil and his restoration from his fall. This passage in Genesis is called the Protoevangelium ("first gospel"): the first announcement of the Messiah and Redeemer, of a battle between the serpent and the Woman, and of the final victory of a descendant of hers. (411) The Christian tradition sees in this passage an announcement of the "New Adam" who, because he became obedient unto death, even death on a cross,' makes amends superabundantly for the disobedience of Adam. Furthermore, many Fathers and Doctors of the Church have seen the woman announced in the Protoevangelium as Mary, the mother of Christ, the new Eve.' Mary benefited first of all and uniquely from Christ's victory over sin: she was preserved from all stain of original sin and by a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life."
The Virgin Mary's title is "Woman" because she is the promised "woman" of Genesis 3:15, and "woman" is her title. She is also the "new Eve." Just as the original Eve cooperated in humanity's fall from grace, so too does Mary, as the "new Eve," assist in humanity's redemption. The first Eve's name means "mother of all living." Christ gave His Mother to the Church as the second Eve and the mother of all Christians when Jesus, nailed on the Cross, told John the beloved disciple as representative of all beloved disciples, "Behold your mother." It is by the gift of His mother to His Bride, the Church, that the Virgin Mary becomes the mother of all those who are spiritually alive in Christ (Rev 12:17). St. Irenaeus wrote before his martyrdom in AD 202, "Thus, the knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. What the virgin Eve had bound in unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosed through faith" (Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3,22,4, quoted from The Faith of the Early Fathers, vol.1, page 222).
Question: What is the connection between "the woman" of 3:15 and
the way Jesus addressed His mother? It cannot be disrespect because the fourth
commandment of the Ten Commandments and the Law commanded honoring one's
parents (Ex 20:12; Lev 19:3;
Dt 5:16).
Answer: She is the promised "woman" of Genesis 3:15; she is
the new Eve who, unlike the first Eve, was obedient to God, and through her
obedience, she helped to bring about the redemption of humankind.
Question: What is Mary's connection to the Ark of the Covenant?
What were the three sacred items placed in the earthly Ark, according to
Hebrews 9:3-4? How do those three items relate to Jesus?
See Jn 6:51; Num 17:16-26;
Is 11:1;
Jer 23:5; 33:15-16;
Jn 1:1-5. What was Jesus inside Mary's womb?
Answer: The Letter to the Hebrews records that the Ark
contained a jar of manna (the heavenly bread), the branch or staff of the high priest
Aaron which miraculously came back to life and budded as a sign of his
authority, and the tablets of the Covenant (the word of God). Jesus is the
Living Bread come down from Heaven, He is the Davidic heir, the "branch"
(Messianic title) that died and came to life again, and He is the Living Word
of God.
Mary, the Mother of God, is that sacred vessel the Ark of the New Covenant prefigured! See Appendix I.
2 She was pregnant, and in labor, crying aloud in the
pangs of childbirth.
Since Mary was without sin
and did not inherit the condition of original sin, she felt no pain when delivering
Jesus. It has always been a tradition of the Church that Jesus' birth was like
light passing through glass, as St. Thomas Aquinas described the Virgin birth. Mary's
virginity remained intact, and there was no pain. In verse 2, the woman is crying
aloud in the pangs of childbirth, words that echo Isaiah's description of
the Old Covenant Church's struggle to secure eternal salvation for believers: As
a pregnant woman near her time of delivery writhes and cries out in her pangs, so
have we been, Yahweh, in your eyes: we have been pregnant, we have writhed, but
we have given birth only to wind: we have not given salvation to the earth (Is 26:17). Throughout her existence, Israel, as the Old Covenant
Church, was waiting for the Messiah. From the Covenant with Abraham when a
holy couple was selected the be the family from which the "holy seed"/Messiah would
come, to slavery in Egypt, through the Exodus experience and the establishment
of the Church at Sinai, to the Kingdom of David, the Exile in Babylon and the
return, to the suffering under the Greeks and Romans, Israel was laboring to bring
forth the Messiah, a birth that would yield salvation for the entire world!
Mary, a daughter of the Old Covenant Church, is the symbol of Israel laboring
to give birth to Messiah-Jesus throughout the centuries, and she continues as
the symbol of Mother Church who "labors" to give birth to New Covenant
believers (see Rev 12:17).
And in that struggle, the "woman" is "crying aloud." The verb krazo, used in the present tense, indicates prolonged suffering. This verb has special significance in Scripture where it is generally used for oath swearing, or the solemn proclamation of God's divine revelation, or for God's servants speaking out against opposition to God's plan (see Mt 27:50; Mk 3:11; 5:7; 9:24; 10:48; 15:13; Jn 1:15; 7:28; 12:13, 44; Acts 19:28, 32, 34; Rom 9:27; Gal 4:6; Jam 5:4; and Rev 6:10; 7:2, 10; 10:3; 14:15; 18:2, 18-19; 19:17). This time the crying aloud is prophetic. It is the essence of all prophetic revelation: to bear witness to the Messiah, Jesus Christ (Jn 5:39, 45-46; Lk 24:25-27; Acts 3:24; 13:27) and the Church's official declaration of the Word of God, the prophecy she cried out as she labored down through the centuries to give birth.
3 Then a second sign appeared in the sky: there was a
huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and each of the seven heads
crowned with a coronet. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars from the sky and
hurled them to the ground, and the dragon stopped in front of the woman as she
was at the point of giving birth, so that he could eat the child as soon as it
was born.
In verse 9, we learn that the huge red dragon is Satan, "the
primeval serpent," the same deceiver of Eve and the enemy of God's people. He
had victory over the first Eve, but he will not have victory over the Second
Eve.
Question: Who is the Second Eve? See CCC #411
Answer: the Virgin Mary, the Woman of Genesis 3:15.
The concept of Mary as the "new Eve" goes back to the earliest years of the Church: St. Irenaeus, martyred in AD 202 wrote: "Consequently then, Mary the Virgin is found to be obedient, saying: Behold, O Lord, your handmaid; be it done to me according to your word.' Eve, however, was disobedient; and when yet a virgin, she did not obey. Just as she, who was then still a virgin although she had Adam for a husband,--for in Paradise they were both naked but were not ashamed; for, having been created only short time, they had no understanding of the procreation of children and it was necessary that they first come to maturity before beginning to multiply, having become disobedient, was made the cause of death for herself and for the whole human race; so also Mary, betrothed to a man but nevertheless still a virgin, being obedient, was made the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race ... Thus, the knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. What the virgin Eve had bound in unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosed through faith" (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3.22.4; quoted from The Faith of the Early Fathers vol. 1, page 222).
Who does the dragon intend to destroy? There are two answers:
Do not miss the connection between Mary and the Church. Both are at the same time ever-virgin and fruitful mother. The Church is the virgin Bride of Christ and, at the same time, the fruitful mother of generations of believers.
In Revelation 12:4, "The dragon stopped in front of the woman" is perhaps better translated "took his stand before the woman." The Greek word is hesteken, which means "to stand." Satan knows this is the showdown. And continuing in verse 4, the phrase "eat the child" is more meaningfully translated "to swallow up the child." In Hebrew, the phrase "swallowing up" means to kill or to do away with and is used frequently to express Satan's seed bring suffering and destruction to God's people like Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon who tried to "swallow up" Jerusalem (Jer 51:34) With the imagery in this passage, John reveals the red Dragon as the power behind the imperial thrones (he wears a royal crown) of the ancient world that has persecuted God's holy covenant people. The ten horns identify the dragon with Daniel's beast vision (Dan 7:23-27), but we will set aside the symbolism of the ten horns and seven crowned heads until Chapter 13.
4 Its tail swept a third of the stars from the sky and hurled
them to the ground
John has associated stars
with angels, which, as we have already discussed, is a familiar Biblical
connection (see Lesson 2, Rev 1:20). Now John symbolically describes the fall
of the angel Dawnstar-Lucifer (Is 14:12-15) and the angels who followed him
into rebellion against God. John gives us more clarification in verse 9: the
great Dragon, the primeval serpent, known as the devil or Satan, who had led
all the world astray, was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled
down with him. St. Peter mentions this same event in his second letter to
the Church, and so does St. Jude in verses 5-13, which has relevance for our
interpretation of the judgment of God on unbelieving Israel:
We do not know that a literal third of the heavenly host fell with Satan (Rev 12:4). The third is probably symbolic of an incomplete number and recalls the thirds in the Trumpet judgments (see 8:7-12; 9:15, 18). Then too, there may be a connection to Jesus Christ as the "Firstborn" or re'shiyt in Hebrew (see Col 1:15, 18b). The "firstborn" son in an Israelite/Jewish family was a title and not necessarily a birth order. He was entitled to the two-thirds portion of the inheritance (see Dt 21:17). One-third of the heavenly host fell with Satan, and a two-thirds part remained for Jesus, the Firstborn, and His Kingdom. Another interesting point in this passage is the courtroom language John uses. The Biblical principle of the "two witnesses" may also be involved, since for every false witness (angel) of Satan who stands against the covenant faithful, God has two angles on His side to support the righteous covenant member.
This two-thirds/one-third imagery also appears in the Book of Zechariah, the post-exile prophet: 7 Awake sword against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me, declares Yahweh Sabaoth! Strike the shepherd, scatter the sheep! And I shall turn my hand against the young! 8 So it will be, throughout the country, declares Yahweh Sabaoth, two-thirds in it will be cut off and the other third will be left. 9 I shall pass this third through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, test them as gold is tested. He will call on my name and I shall answer him; I shall say, "He is my people," and he will say, "Yahweh is my God!" (Zec 13:7-9). Jesus will quote Zechariah 13:7 after His Last Supper discourse on the way to the Mount of Olives (Mt 26:31). The one-third that is faithful but tested by fire is the "faithful remnant" of Israel that embraces the Messiah. These faithful are also "the seed of the Woman" collectively through Mary as Mother of the Church upon whom Satan will declare war (see Rev 12:17).
Question: What is the Dragon/Satan's ultimate goal,
quote the verse?
Answer: The Dragon/Satan's goal is to abort the
work of the Messiah and to kill Him, so the Dragon stopped in front of the
woman as she was at the point of giving birth so that he could eat the child as
soon as it was born (Rev 12:4b). Satan planned to kill Jesus before the "birth"
of Jesus' New Covenant Kingdom.
The war between the Messiah and Satan was announced in Genesis 3:15. It is the war between the two seeds, the Seed of the Woman and the seed of the Serpent. From Genesis to Revelation, from the first book to the last book of the Bible, this is the war of human history. Throughout history, Satan was either trying to (1) keep Jesus from being born, or to (2) kill Him as soon as He was born.
Question: What are some examples of Satan's warfare
down through salvation history? Start with Genesis.
Answer: A few examples:
Between the Israelites slavery in Egypt and Jesus, there were, of course, many other examples, including King Saul's attempts to kill David to whom God gave the promise that the Messiah would come from his "seed." The Dragon, of course, didn't give up on his attempts to kill Jesus and abort God's plan for humanity. In Satan's temptation of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels, he became sure of Jesus' identity. He subjected Jesus to human and demonic oppression through His entire ministry, and in the end, Satan even managed to possess one of the Apostles, Judas Iscariot, convincing him to betray Jesus (Jn 13:2, 27).
Finally, Satan used one of his "seed"/one he could influence to his purpose, the High Priest Joseph Caiaphas, to orchestrate Jesus' death by manipulating the Roman governor to condemn Jesus to crucifixion as a common criminal and one accursed by God (Dt 21:22-23). It is a fact that anyone who is opposed to God is the "seed of the serpent"; there is no middle ground in this war! But the Cross was God's plan of tricking Satan to fulfill His divine plan. It was God's wisdom, "the hidden wisdom" as St. Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians ~ It is of the mysterious wisdom of God that we talk, the wisdom that was hidden, which God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began. None of the rulers of the age recognized it, for if they had recognized it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor 2:7-8). In attempting to wound the heel of the promised seed, Jesus, the Seed, crushed the Serpent's head! (see Gen 3:15).
5 The woman was
delivered of a boy, the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron
scepter, and the child was taken straight up to God and to His throne, 6 while the woman escaped into the desert, where
God had prepared a place for her to be looked after for twelve hundred and
sixty days."
It is this verse that identifies Mary as the "woman" in
addition to the symbolic representation of the "woman" as the Church. The reference
to the Messianic passage from Psalms 2:9 identifies "the boy" as Jesus the
Messiah, beginning with verse 7: I will proclaim the decree of Yahweh: He
said to me, "You are my son, today have I fathered you. Ask of me, and I shall
give you the nations as your birthright, the whole wide world as your possession.
With an iron scepter, you will break them, shatter them like so many pots" (bold
added for emphasis).
Did you notice the similarity between the imagery in verse 5 with the birth of Jesus and His enthronement and the Psalms passage John quotes? The Psalmist, like John, makes the Messiah's birth one event with His enthronement. It is the Ascension that was the goal of Christ's birth/Advent. In other words, the moment God "fathers" Jesus, He reigns! In spite of everything Satan has tried to do, "the Seed" is caught up to the Throne in Heaven and takes His place as the ruler of all nations "with an iron scepter" just as if He had gone from the Incarnation straight to the Throne. Satan has no power to stop Him.
6 while the woman
escaped into the desert, where God had prepared a place for her to be looked
after for twelve hundred and sixty days.
Now the symbolism moves from the "Woman," Mary, and her "seed,"
Jesus, to the imagery of the "Woman" as the Church and her "seed," the believers.
The Woman's flight into the desert is a picture of the escape of the New
Covenant Church of Judean Christians from the destruction of Jerusalem by
fleeing into the desert of Perea across the Jordan River. While she is in the desert,
"the Woman/the Church," is nourished for 1,260 days. It is a period equivalent
to the "time, two times and half a time (3 ½ years ) of verse 14 and symbolically
linked to the 42 months/1,260 days of Revelation 11:2-3 and later to Revelation 13:5. Therefore, during the time that Satan's wrath is turned on apostate Jerusalem (see Chapter 9), God protects the Church. The "Woman's" flight does not signify
God's abandonment of her but His loving provision. Christ's faithful Bride (the
New Covenant Church) is safe because God had prepared a place for her to be
looked after (verse 6, also see 2 Sam 7:10; 1 Chron 17:9; Jn 14:2-3).
Question: John also probably wants us to think of
two other occasions when the "Woman" as an individual and the "Woman" as the Old
Covenant Church fled for protected from danger. What were these two other
occasions?
Answer: 1. Israel's flight into the wilderness after
their liberation from slavery in Egypt (Ex 12:37-15) and 2. the flight of the Holy
Family into Egypt to escape King Herod (Mt 2:13-18).
Revelation 12:7-12 ~ War in Heaven!
7 Now war broke
out in heaven when Michael with his angels attacked the dragon. The dragon
fought back with his angels, 8 but
they were defeated and driven out of heaven. 9 The great dragon, the primeval serpent, known as the devil or Satan,
who had led all the world astray, was hurled down to the earth and his angels
were hurled down with him. 10 Then
I heard a voice shout from heaven, "Salvation and power and empire for ever
have been won by our God, and all authority for his Christ, now that the
accuser, who accused our brothers day and night before our God, has been
brought down. 11 They have
triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word to which they bore witness,
because even in the face of death, they did not cling to life. 12 So let the heavens rejoice and all who live
there; but for you, earth [land] and sea, disaster is coming because the devil
has gone down to you in a rage, knowing that he has little time left."
This passage is an abrupt scene change. It is not a sequel to the preceding vision but a prequel. John unveils this scene to answer the question of why the "Woman," as Mother-Church, had to flee into the wilderness. Once he has explained Satan's rebellion in verses 7-12, John will return to the theme of the flight of the Woman.
To help with the symbolism and imagery in this chapter, keep in mind the major players:
| The Sign | Identity of the Sign | Identifying Verse |
| The Woman | Mary (Spouse of the Holy Spirit)- The Church | verse 5 |
| The Dragon | Satan | verse 9 |
| The Son | Jesus the Messiah | verse 5 |
| The Angel | Michael | verse 7 |
Protestant Commentators only want to identify the Woman as The Church, but it doesn't make sense for the other signs to represent a specific individual or entity without the "Woman" also being a particular person as well. Their refusal to recognize Mary as the "Woman" is anti-Mary prejudice.
Question: Who initiates the Holy War?
Answer: Revelation 12:7 = Michael, the archangel
and protector of the Church and His angles. Scripture names the angel Michael:
But he may also be the unnamed Captain of God's heavenly army (Joshua 5:13-17), who appears in several books of the Old Testament. The Book of Daniel is, however, portrays Michael as "the great prince" who stands as the special protector of the people of God. War breaks out in heaven between the faithful and evil angels. Even Gabriel is unable to overcome them until Michael comes to lead the battle and defeat the enemy (see Dan 10:12-13, 20-21).
Question: What is the result of the holy war in
Revelation 12:7-13?
Answer: Satan and his angels are defeated and
thrown out of heaven.
It is important to note that the Dragon and his angels wage a defensive war. The aggressors are Michael and his legions of faithful angelic beings. We should not picture the Church as a city under siege by the forces of evil but rather the Church as a great army vigorously attacking the evil forces of the enemy. It is what Jesus promised us in Matthew 16:18 when He said, "and the gates of the underworld can never overpower it (the Church)." The Church is victorious, and Satan is going down to defeat! The victory is ours, and we are just involved in the "cleaning-up" operations because even though the devil failed, he is still present to do damage and wreak havoc wherever he can muster his forces = those who fall into sin and avoid repentance and restoration.
10 Then
I heard a voice shout from heaven, Salvation and power and empire for ever
have been won by our God, and all authority for his Christ, now that accuser,
who accused our brothers day and night before our God, has been brought down. 11 They have triumphed over him by the blood of
the Lamb and by the word to which they bore witness, because even in the face
of death they did not cling to life. 12 So
let the heavens rejoice and all who live there; but for you, earth and sea,
disaster is coming because the devil has gone down to you in a rage, knowing
that he has little time left."
The explanation of Michael's victory comes, as it often
has in John's visions, from a loud voice calling the heavenly assembly to praise
God for His marvelous works brought through the Blood of the Lamb. It is a reminder
that the entire setting of John's vision is liturgical.
The result of Michael's victory over Satan is fourfold (remember four is the number of the earth):
Question: What is Christ's fourfold victory? See verse 10.
Answer: 1) Salvation: for the human race, 2)
power over Satan, 3) empire: the establishment of Christ's Kingdom,
4) all authority belongs to Christ, the King of the Kingdom of heaven on
earth = the universal Catholic Church.
Question: Who shares in Christ's victory over
Satan?
Answer: The martyrs who spent their lives in the
service of the Lamb.
They did not die or suffer in vain but are partakers in the victory because they conquered the Dragon by the blood of the Lamb. The phrase even in the face of death they did not cling to life recalls John 12:25, anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Question: When did Satan fall from heaven?
See Luke 10:17-20.
Answer: He fell, definitively, during the ministry
of Jesus Christ and His disciples.
The climax of Satan's fall was in the atoning death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus the Messiah to His heavenly throne. You can see the stages of this Holy War throughout the four Gospels. Have you noticed the frequency of demons mentioned in the Gospels? The activity of demons seems relatively rare in the Old Testament, but the New Testament records numerous accounts of demonism. There are at least 60 references to demons or demon possession in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John but only two in the Old Testament! Why is that? What made the difference? The difference was the presence of Jesus Christ. He entered history to do battle with Satan, the great Dragon/Serpent, and immediately Satan counterattacked, fighting back with all his might.
When we see Jesus attacking the devil, we also see Him leading an angelic host (Mt 4:11; 26:53; Lk 22:43). The Archangel Michael, commanding the army of angels, led the attack in heaven as Jesus led His Apostles and disciples in the war against the devil with the weapon of the Gospel message here on earth. Satan lost his place of power and fell to earth.
Re-read Luke 10:17-20 in light of understanding the impact of Satan's fall. Did you notice the "courtroom" language of Revelation 12:10-12? You have the accuser (Satan) and the witnesses (the Saints), the Judge (God), and the verdict: Victory for Christ and His Saints! The Greek word in verse 11 is nikao, which means "conqueror." A more literal translation is and they conquered him by the blood of the Lamb. This passage carries the connotation not only of a military victory but of a legal one as well in the winning of a favorable verdict in the court of Heaven.
Satan, the great accuser, accused humanity before the throne of God day and night, but Christ's atonement for the sins of His people by offering Himself as the sin sacrifice has resulted in their sentence of justification: right standing in heaven's hall of justice. Their accuser has been thrown out of court; his false testimony invalidated. The very language of the Gospels supports this. The standard term for Jesus' "casting out" of the demons throughout His ministry is, as we have discussed, ekballo (i.e., Mt 8:16, 31; 9:33-34; 10:1, 8; 12:24, 26-28). The word ekballo is an intensive form of the term used repeatedly in Revelation Chapter 12 for the "throwing down" of the Dragon = ballo! Jesus told the Pharisees, "If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you" (Mt 12:28 NAB).
In Jesus' ministry, by the saving work of His death and resurrection, Christ triumphed over Satan and his demons (Col 2:14-15). Satan has been rendered powerless (Heb 2:14-15), and Paul was able to assure New Covenant believers in his letter to the Romans: the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet (Rom 16:20). And the crowds in John's Gospel experienced the assurance of this victory when A voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will again glorify it." The crowd standing by, who heard this, said it was a clap of thunder; others said, "It was an angel speaking to Him." Jesus answered, "It was not for my sake that this voice came, but for yours. Now the sentence is being passed on this world; now the prince of this world is to be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all people to myself" (Jn 12:28-31).
12 So let the
heavens rejoice and all who live there; but for you, earth [land] and sea,
disaster [woe] is coming because the devil has gone down to you in a rage,
knowing that he has little time left.
Question: Verse 12 ends with what warning?
Answer: Lookout there is more to come; the devil
may have suffered defeat, but his rage will be unleashed because he knows he
has little time.
Question: What does the reference to "land and
sea" refer to in Scripture?
Answer: and the sea (the Gentile nation or nations).
Question: What is the significance of the use of
the word "disaster" or "woe?" See Revelation 8:13.
Answer: This is the conclusion of the third
disaster that began with the blowing of the Seventh Trumpet. The warning in
Revelation 8:13 was: In my vision, I heard an eagle calling aloud as it flew
high overhead, Disaster, disaster, disaster, on all the people on earth (lit.
= people of the land) at the sound of the other three trumpets which the
three angels have yet to blow!
The Seventh Trumpet has sounded (Rev 11:15), and the third disaster has arrived. Satan was cast out/excommunicated from Heaven following the Ascension of Christ, having lost the heavenly Eden surrendered to him by Adam. Now his domain is the Land and the Sea, and so, in Chapter 13, John will see two great Beasts in the Dragon's image coming up out of the Land and the Sea. The Sea in John's imagery represents the pagan Gentile nations, and the Land, as we have seen repeatedly, is Israel. The Voice from heaven is warning that both Israel and the Roman Empire will become demonized in Satan's attempt to hang on, since he only has a brief period left: knowing that he has little time left (end of verse 12) to bring about the destruction of Jesus' Kingdom of the New Israel Church while she is still connected to Old Israel Church. He will seek to unite Old Israel and pagan Rome against the Church.
Futurists interpret the Holy War between Michael and the Dragon as a portrayal of the final battle of human history at the end of the world as we know it. But the passage cannot be describing the events that will take place at the Second Coming. The victory over Satan, according to John, does not take place by a world-shattering event at the end of history, but by the world-shattering event that took place to change all of human history: the sacrifice of the Lamb on the altar of the Cross for the sins of the world! John states this in Revelation 12:11. The language John uses to describe the defeat of the Dragon/Satan has nothing to do with the Second Coming, but it has everything to do with the First Coming in His Incarnation and mission. The cosmic victory of Christ comes through the blood of the Lamb and the fearless proclamation of the Gospel.
Revelation 12:13-17 ~ The Dragon Attacks the Church
13 As soon as the
dragon found himself hurled down to the earth, he sprang in pursuit of the woman,
the mother of the male child, 14 but
she was given a pair of the great eagle's wings to fly away from the serpent
into the desert, to the place where she was to be looked after for a time, two
times and half a time. 15 So the
serpent vomited water from his mouth, like a river, after the woman, to sweep
her away in the current, 16 but the
earth came to her rescue; it opened its mouth and swallowed the river spewed
from the dragon's mouth. 17 Then
the dragon was enraged with the woman and went away to make war on the rest of
her children, who obey God's commandments and have in themselves the witness of
Jesus.
In this passage, John returns to the theme begun in verse 6: the Woman's flight from Satan (the Dragon) when the Woman escaped into the desert, where God had prepared a place for her to be looked after for 1,260 days. John's point is that Satan's attack upon the Woman is a direct result of the defeat of Satan and his fallen angels at the hands of Michael and his angelic army: As soon as the dragon found himself hurled down to the earth, he sprang in pursuit of the woman (Rev 12:13). For John, this is one of the most crucial points of the entire chapter: that Satan persecutes the Church because Christ defeated him!
13 As soon
as the dragon found himself hurled down to the earth he sprang in pursuit of
the woman, the mother of the male child, 14
but she was given a pair of the great eagle's wings to fly away from the
serpent into the desert, to the place where she was to be looked after for a
time, two times and half a time."
Once again, John gives us a link to the 42 months, the
1,260 days, the 3 ½ short duration that is a time of suffering and judgment.
It is during this time that the "Woman" is safe.
Question: How is the Woman saved? Read Exodus 19:4-6, Dt 32:10-11, and 1 Pt 2:9-10.
Answer: John uses imagery from the Exodus in which
the Glory-Cloud, the glory of God clothed with angels, is described as "eagles'
wings" by which God brought the children of Israel to Himself in the wilderness
to form them into a holy nation, a personal possession and a kingdom of priest:
You have seen for yourselves what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried
you away on eagles' wings and brought you to me. So now, if you are really
prepared to obey me and keep my covenant, you, out of all peoples, shall be my
personal possession, for the whole world is mine. For me you shall be a kingdom
of priests, a holy nation (Ex 19:4-5). And in 1 Peter 2:9 as Peter,
addressing the New Covenant Church, wrote: "But you are a chosen race, a
kingdom of priests, a holy nation, a people to be a personal possession to sing
the praises of God who called you out of the darkness into His wonderful
light."
Question: Can you think of another time when the
"Woman," either individually as Mary or collectively as Mother Church, was
hidden and nourished by God in the desert?
Answer: In Matthew 2:13-15 Mary, Joseph, and Jesus
were protected from Satan's seed, King Herod, in the escape through the desert
to Egypt, and in AD 67, the New Covenant Church, obedient to Jesus' commands in
Matthew 24:15-28 and led by Simon, Bishop of Jerusalem, escaped across the
Jordan River into Perea, living in caves in the desert, and saved from the destruction
of the Roman invasion of Judea to put down the Jewish Revolt.
Preterist commentators have always seen this passage as a literal, historical fulfillment to the escape of the New Covenant Church from the Roman invasion of Judea. But the Church's experience is representative and illustrative of the deliverance of the universal New Covenant Church as a whole in this period of great Tribulation when the Lord prepared a table for her in the presence of her enemies (Ps 23:5). United in the Eucharist, they withstood and persevered the destructive wrath of Satan and continue to be victorious!
15 So the
serpent vomited water from his mouth, like a river, after the woman, to sweep
her away in the current, 16 but the
earth came to her rescue; it opened its mouth and swallowed the river spewed
from the dragon's mouth. 17 Then
the dragon was enraged with the woman and went away to make war on the rest of
her children, who obey God's commandments and have in themselves the witness of
Jesus."
There seems to be a play on the words "mouth" in the serpent
vomiting water from his mouth and the land opening its mouth and swallowing the
water. Water in Scripture often symbolizes deadly perils.
These verses recall Exodus imagery. The serpent's torrent of water/wrath should remind us of Satan's wrath in pursuit of:
Water is a familiar Biblical image for both death and life. It was the means of both death and salvation in the Flood narrative, renewed life in St. John the Baptist's immersion of repentance, and Jesus' spiritual baptism of new life. In this case, it is an image of peril as a deadly river of Satan's wrath threatening to overwhelm God's people. Water as threat imagery recalls:
Question: How is the "Woman" saved? See verse 16,
which in the Greek text reads the land.
Answer: The Land came to her rescue because the
land opened its mouth and swallowed the river of destruction that came
from Satan.
"The Land" always symbolically represents Israel in Scripture. The wrath of Satan turned on to Israel (Judea). The New Covenant Church escaped Satan's power while his instruments, the Romans and their allies, spend their violence on Judea. The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 left the New Covenant Church unharmed because the "Woman," the Bride of Christ and the Mother of New Covenant believers, remained safe under the shadow of the wings of Almighty God.
17 Then the dragon
was enraged with the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her
children.
After Satan's defeat in his plan to destroy both the
Mother and her Seed, he turned in rage against the rest of her seed, the
firstborn children and their siblings in future generations.
Questions for reflection or group discussion:
Question: Who was the first of the New Covenant
children of God? See Acts 1:12-15; 2:40-41; 4:4.
Answer: They were the Jews and Israelites who accepted
Jesus as the Messiah: the 120 in the Upper Room praying with Mary after Jesus'
Ascension (including the Apostles and disciples, the women who followed Jesus
and their families (all Jews and Israelites). Then came the 3,000 Jews saved after
Peter's first homily on Pentecost, which later grew to 5,000. The rest of her
"seed" became the predominantly Gentile Christian Church throughout the Roman
Empire founded by men like St. Paul.
Question: How does John identify these other children
in Revelation 12:17 and 1 John 2:3-4?
Answer: They keep the commandments of God and hold
to the testimony of Jesus the Messiah. In 1 John 2:3-4, he writes: In
this way, we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
Whoever says, "I know Him" without keeping His commandments, is a liar, and
truth has no place in Him. But anyone who does keep His word, in such a one God's
love truly reaches its perfection.
Obedience to the teachings of the Word of God does not mean interpreting Scripture according to secular society!! To corrupt the Word of God in that way is to give in to Satan's plan, not God's plan. Satan is fighting a losing battle. Ever since Christ's ascension, he has been going down in defeat. He still rages and struggles, but as long the Church Militant is the Church Obedient, the Universal Church will be the Church Triumphant!
APPENDIX 1:
THE VIRGIN MARY AS THE ARK OF THE NEW COVENANT
"Mary, in whom the Lord himself has just made his dwelling,
is the daughter of Zion in person, the Ark of the Covenant, the place where the
glory of God dwells. She is the dwelling of God [...] with men.'" CCC#2676
| Ark of the Old Covenant | Ark of the New Covenant |
| God the Holy Spirit overshadowed and then indwelled the Ark. The Ark became the dwelling place of the presence of God. Exodus 40:34-35 | the Holy Spirit overshadowed and then indwelled Mary. At that time, Mary's womb became the dwelling place of the presence of God. Luke 1:35 |
| The Ark contained the 10 Commandments [the words of God in stone], a pot of manna, and Aaron's rod that came back to life. Deuteronomy 10:3-5; Hebrews 9:4 | The womb of the Virgin contained Jesus: the living Word of God enfleshed, the living bread from heaven, "the Branch" (Messianic title) who would die but come back to life. Luke 1:35 |
| The Ark traveled to the hill country of Judah to rest in the house of Obed-edom. 2 Samuel 6:1-11 | Mary traveled to the hill country of Judah (Judea) to the home of Elizabeth. Luke 1:39 |
| Dressed in a priestly ephod, King David approached the Ark and danced and leaped for joy. 2 Samuel 6:14 | John the Baptist, son of a priest who would himself become a priest, leaped for joy in Elizabeth's womb at the approach of Mary. Luke 1:43 |
| David shouted for joy in the presence of God and the holy Ark. 2 Samuel 6:15 | Elizabeth exclaimed with a cry of joy in the presence of God within Mary. Luke 1:42 |
| David asked, "How is it that the Ark of the Lord comes to me?" 2 Samuel 6:9 | Elizabeth asks, "Why is this granted unto me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Luke 1:43 |
| The Ark remained in the house of Obed-edom for three months. 2 Samuel 6:11 | Mary remained in the house of her cousin Elizabeth for three months. Luke 1:56 |
| God blessed the house of Obed-edom by the presence of the Ark. 2 Samuel 6:11 | The word "blessed" appears three times in Luke 1:39-45 concerning Mary at Elizabeth's house. |
| The Ark returned to the Sanctuary and eventually came to the newly built Jerusalem Temple. 2 Samuel 6:12; 1 Kings 8:9-11 | Mary returned home after visiting Elizabeth and eventually came to Jerusalem, where she presented God the Son at the Temple. Luke 1:56; 2:21-22 |
| God made Aaron's rod return to life and bud to prove he was the legitimate High Priest. Later it was kept in the Holy of Holies and then in the Ark. Numbers 17:8 | God would resurrect His Son, who had become enfleshed in Mary's womb and born to bring salvation to all humankind, to prove He is the eternal High Priest. Hebrews 4:14 |
| The Ark was covered with a blue veil when it was outside the Holy of Holies. Numbers 4:4-6 | In Mary's appearances outside of Heaven, visionaries testify that she wears a blue veil. |
| In Revelation 11:19, John saw the Ark of the Covenant in Heaven in the last verse of Chapter 11. | In Revelation 12:1, John saw Mary in Heaven. It is the same vision Juan Diego saw of Mary in 1531: a Woman clothed with the sun and standing on the moon. |
Yahweh to the serpent: "I shall put enmity between
you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; she-he-it (indefinite
pronoun) will crush (or bruise) your head, and you will strike its (her-his-its
= indefinite pronoun) heel."
Genesis 3:15.
Endnotes:
1. Jesus called His mother Gunai in Greek, which is
better translated "little woman."
2. For more information on the subject of the Isaiah 7:14 translation controversy, see the document The Septuagint Old Testament Translation Verses the Jamnian and Massoretic Old Testament Translations: Septuagint vs Jamnian Old Testament.
3. It is a curious fact that Herod was a descendant ("seed") Esau brother of Isaac, the ancestor of the Edomites/Idumeans; Edom means "red," and the dragon in Rev 12:3 is a Red Dragon.
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2000, revised 2020 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.
Catechism references for this lesson (*indicates Scripture is quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
Rev 12 (CCC 1138*); 12:9 (CCC 391*, 2852); 12:11 (CCC 2853*); 12:13-16 (CCC 2853); 12:17 (CCC 501*, 757*, 2853)