Four characters of good and evil
June 4, 2022
Commentary
Chapter 12 is made up of symbolism. It opens with the symbol of a woman and describes four characters of both good and evil during the end times:
1. The Woman, Israel (vv. 1-2) – This woman who is clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head represents Israel who gave Christ to the world (v. 5) and who will be persecuted severely during the Tribulation (v. 13).
2. The Reg Dragon, Satan (vv. 3-4) – Satan is described as a dragon having seven heads, ten horns and seven crowns. The number “Ten” represents universality. Satan’s goal is world domination. The seven crowns may indicate Satan’s objective to reign over all men at any cost. The stars that plunged to earth with him are usually considered to be the angels who fell with Satan and became his demons.
3. The Male Child, Christ (vv. 5-6) – This child is described as a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. This child obviously is Jesus Christ. Israel flees into the desert during the first half of the Tribulation and is cared for as miraculously as she was in her wilderness journey from Egypt to the promised land (v. 6).
4. The Angel, Michael (vv. 7-9) – Michael the archangel is given the power to challenge Satan in a war in heaven during this end time. He is a high-ranking angel. The Scripture is clear that Satan is not a symbol. He is very real. Even though God permits him to do his work in this world, God is still in control.
Application
Satan is working hard to defeat me as a Christian because he knows that his time is running out. Do I have complete dependence in Christ or are there some areas I am trying to take care of?
Revelation 12:1– 9 (NET)
1 Then a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was screaming in labor pains, struggling to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns. 4 Now the dragon’s tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. 5 So the woman gave birth to a son, a male child, who is going to rule over all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was suddenly caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and she fled into the wilderness where a place had been prepared for her by God, so she could be taken care of for 1,260 days.
7 Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But the dragon was not strong enough to prevail, so there was no longer any place left in heaven for him and his angels. 9 So that huge dragon—the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world—was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him.
Illustration: Statue of Christ between Argentina and Chile
Argentina and Chile had been at war with each other for many years. Then they saw the light. Melting down the cannons, they used the metal to erect a colossal statue of Christ on the mountain boundary between the two countries. Underneath was placed the inscription: “Sooner shall these mountains crumble into dust than the peoples of Argentina and Chile break the peace, which at the feet of Christ, the Redeemer, they have sworn to maintain.” And so on the lonely peaks in the Andes, the huge statue of Christ still stands. (Encyclopedia of Illustrations #9146).