In Revelation 12 we learn more specifics about how to preach the gospel
to self and each other. But to understand how this is so, we need first to see
how this chapter fits into its surrounding context.
Revelation 6-20 continually cycles through pictures or visions of the
age that we now live in, between the first and second comings of Christ. Each
recapitulation of this era reveals progressively more about how we follow
Christ in this world—facing the hostile cultures we do. We see why things are
happening the way they are and the resources we have in Christ.
Revelation 12:1-15:4 forms the third cycle. In addition to the seven
seals and the seven trumpets, we now see in this cycle seven symbolic histories
that depict in more detail than in previous chapters the spiritual conflict in
which the church is involved. The Reformation
Study Bible
(2005 ed.), page 1860, succinctly explains:
This third cycle of visions consists primarily of
histories of key symbolic characters: the dragon, the woman, the beast, the
false prophet, the 144,000, angelic announcers, and the Son of Man…. Like the
preceding cycles, they lead to a vision of the Second Coming (14:14–20). The
two preceding cycles focused on the judgments[, discipline, and trials] issuing
from God’s throne. This cycle depicts in depth the nature of the spiritual
conflict. Characters appear in symbolic form to represent the forces on the two
sides of a cosmic spiritual war.
[And so, here are the two sides.] God Himself has already
been revealed in chs. 4-5. Opposing God are Satan (the dragon) and his agents,
the beast (13:1–10) and the false prophet (13:11–18; 16:13). On God’s side are
His people, portrayed as a light-bearing woman (12:1–6, 13–17) and as a chaste,
numbered, and protected multitude (14:1–5). These two complementary pictures
show the saints in their capacity as witnesses of God’s light and as separated
from the corruptions of the world. Thus the saints are exhorted to remain
faithful to Christ in response to the persecution by the beast, and to remain
pure by resisting the seduction by the harlot…. The symbolic pictures show the
two sides stripped of all inconsistency and confusion to clearly express the
nature of spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:10–20). The present conflicts will be
followed by the peace of 21:1–22:5 when the fulfillment of God’s plans takes
effect.
These seventeen verses provide the first of those seven histories in
this cycle. What we see here is that, as a result of the victory of Christ over
the Devil, this arch-enemy of God is enraged and seeks to destroy the people of
God. What this means, then, is that we see how God protects his bride from this
dragon. In fact, Revelation 12 appears to be a summary of the main message of
the book of Revelation. It is divided into three sub-sections, with the first
(12:1-6) and third (12:13-17) focusing upon God’s protection of his people and
the second (12:7-12) zeroing in on the core reason God can protect his people,
namely because of the saving work of Jesus Christ.
In the remainder of this post we will explain the first of these three
sub-sections.
1. God Protects Christ And The
Messianic Community Against Satanic Harm. 12:1-6
As we have previously seen, the use of 3.5 years, forty-two months, or
1,260 days is a figurative depiction of the current age in which we live that
is full of trials and tribulation. We are reminded, then, since this history
uses that same figure (12:6, 14), that what we are reading is a cycling back to
the beginning of this age and giving us a picture of what is happening from the
first coming of Christ to his second coming.
The Symbolic
Depiction Of A Woman. 1
What we see first is a symbolic sign of a woman in verse 1: “And a
great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon
under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” There are four aspects of this sign we need
to notice in this verse.
To begin, the “and” is used in a similar way that the Hebrew prefix
sometimes translated “and” is used in Hebrew narrative. What this means is that
even though here we have a new vision and a new section of the book, John is making
the point that the overall message is continuing. This is what he saw next. It
might even suggest in a remote way that John is continuing to portray the
inter-advent age, i.e. what is happening with the new Covenant Church now.
Additionally, we read of a “great sign.” This suggests what is seen is
a symbolic depiction of truth and not to be taken literally. This phrase
appears for the first time here in the book. In fact, it is the first
appearance of the word translated “sign,” even though we have seen the verb
form (“signify”) in 1:1. The phrase appears two more times in this section. In
13:3 it speaks of another sign in heaven that marks a division of this section,
and in 15:1 we see the same thing only there we find slightly different
wording: “another sign in heaven, great and marvelous.” The other uses of
“sign” from here on out (13:13, 14; 16:14; 19:20) refer to signs or miracles
performed by evil beings—mimicking the works of God. This sign is not only
great in size, but also great in that it is heralding the inauguration of great
events—namely the present kingdom of God and the events involved in it.
What is more, we see that the sign “appeared in heaven.” The way this
is worded, it is intended that God (or we could say more specifically the Son,
Jesus Christ) caused this great sign to appear to John. The word “heaven” in
Revelation refers to the place of God’s more realized dwelling, his presence,
and so the dwelling of the people of God who have died, and also that of God’s
angels (3:12; 11:12, 13; 13:6)—the dwelling of those who worship and praise God
(11:15; 19:1). It is also the place from which and in which we see ultimate
reality behind the reality we experience on earth (11:19; 12:7; 15:5) and made
known to John only in the spirit (cf. 1:10; 4:2). In other words, only by way of vision, can man on earth see what
is happening there (cf. 12:1; 15:1)—the battles, victories, the accomplishments
of redemption, and applications of redemption—happenings that stand behind what is taking place on
earth. The curtain, as it were, is being pulled back so earth dwellers can see
behind it into heaven, that we can understand God’s saving and providential
plan that includes Satan and evil spirits who stand behind the pain and
persecution and suffering of the church on earth. So, for John to see a “great
sign” in heaven, what we have is a very important symbolic depiction of what is
taking place within God’s saving, judging providential plan.
Something else we notice is that this woman is “clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” This
identification is based on the Old Testament, where sun, moon, and eleven stars
metaphorically represent Jacob, his wife, and eleven of the tribes of Israel
(Gen. 37:9), who bow down to Joseph, representing the twelfth tribe. In Song of
Solomon 6:10 we see a reference to one who looks down like the dawn, beautiful
as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners,” a reference
thought of in later Jewish literature to describe Israel, as well as restored
Israel, in terms of the sun, the moon, and the stars. Additionally, restored
Israel, the true and purified people of God, is described similarly in Isaiah 60:19-20.
In fact, in Isaiah a woman often represents the picture of restored Israel
(e.g. 52:2; 54:1-6; 61:10; 62:1-5). Additionally, Isaiah 62:3, 5 prophesies
that restored Israel will be like a bride wearing a crown. These pictures stand
behind Revelation’s picture of the people of God as a bride (see Rev. 21:1ff.).
What appears to be the case, as will become clearer in the rest of Revelation
12, is that this woman represents both the Old Covenant and New Covenant people
of God. The crown is best thought to represent the saints’ share in Christ’s
kingship and the reward which the true people of God throughout the ages
receive for their victory over opposition to their faith (i.e., over
persecution, temptations to compromise, and deception; so 2:10; 3:11; 4:4, 10;
cf. 14:14).
In verse 2 we see a further description of this woman.
The Further
Description Of This Woman. 2
Here we read: “She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and
the agony of giving birth.”
Based upon what verse 1 says of the woman, as well as the description
of her other offspring in v. 17 (“…the rest of her offspring…those who keep the
commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”), the woman who is
with child and having birth pains is the believing community—here especially
focusing upon that people just prior to and during the time of the birth of
Jesus Christ. It may be that this woman is intended by John to be contrasted to
the harlot in Revelation 17, who is the unbelieving, unrighteous community.
The woman’s pains from birth refer to the persecution of this believing
community during Old Testament times and especially the intertestamental period
just before Christ’s birth. The idea of persecution is also expressed in the
phrase “and the agony” (literally “being tormented”), since the term is used in
the New Testament of the suffering of punishment, trial, and persecution (Mt.
8:29; Mk. 5:7; 6:48; Lk. 8:28; 2 Pt. 2:8). The point seems to be that the woman
is being tormented and suffering as she attempts to give birth, which fits with
a picture of the faithful Jewish community during that era. It was a trial to
continue to wait for the great deliverance which the Christ would finally bring
when he comes (cf. Lk. 2:25-38). It is also instructive in John 16:19-22 that
Jesus himself compares the grief of his disciples over his imminent death to a
woman about to give birth and who “has sorrow.”
Yet, John also sees another symbolic sign in verses 3-6.
John Sees Another
Symbolic Sign That Deals With Satan, Evil Spirits, Their Pursuit of God’s
People, And God’s Protection Of His People. 3-6
To start, in verse 3, we see Satan appearing as a Red Dragon, a great
sea monster: “And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon,
with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.” We know from
Rev. 12:9 the dragon is “that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and
Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.”
Yet, why is he referred to as a “dragon”? The word translated “dragon”
is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament to translate “sea
monster” or “Leviathan” (e.g. Is. 27:1).
In the Old Testament this monster of the deep formed a standard symbol
for all that opposes God and so can represent God-opposing Egypt in connection
to the exodus (Psalm 74), to Assyria and Babylon (Isaiah 27), and even to the
Egyptian Pharaoh (Ezek. 29). Satan, then, is appropriately depicted with this
picture since his character is to oppose God and his will (Mt. 16:23).
Additionally, as will be made clear in the following text, for him to be viewed
as a monster also fits with how he seeks to destroy and devour the people of
God.
To be viewed as red is to draw a connection to his propensity to shed
the blood of the church (see Rev. 17:3-6) and so reminds us Satan has been a
“murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44).
New Testament scholar Simon Kistemaker (Revelation, in the Baker New Testament Commentary) helpfully
explains the significance behind the seven heads and ten horns:
The
seven heads and ten horns refer to completeness in conquering the world, which
is evident in the appellation applied to Satan, prince of this world (John
12:31; 14:30; 16:11). After the fall into sin, Adam no longer ruled in God’s
creation, but Satan ruled by usurping that power (Luke 4:6). The dragon
dominates the world by governing global empires, principal authorities,
political movements, and philosophical ideas. An angel interprets for John the
significance of the seven heads and ten horns by saying, “The seven heads are
seven hills on which the woman sits. And they are seven kings” (17:9–10). These
heads give leadership in their respective kingdoms, that is, the number seven
signifies complete control, as John explains in the next chapter (see 13:1–9).
The expression ten horns appears in Daniel 7:7 and 24, where it portrays a
beast that terrifies humanity and personifies ten kings. Last, the term seven
crowns (also translated “diadems”; see 13:1; 19:12) symbolizes his complete
control in respect to royal supremacy and majestic sovereignty. Satan’s crowns,
however, represent nothing but pretended royalty.
The reality that the dragon represents evil kingdoms or government
authorities that persecute the Church on the one hand, but on the other hand,
represents Satan as the ultimate evil or authority behind the authorities,
gives us a helpful reminder regarding the multiple causality of events in the
world, including especially evil and persecution.
Now that we know who this monster is, it is important to see what
he does. To begin, we read in verse 4: “His tail swept down a third of the
stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the
woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might
devour it.”
The language of casting down stars comes from Daniel 8:9-10, where
the vision is of the killing of God’s people by a great type of Satan,
Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Perhaps stars are used to suggest the disarray in God’s
creation when so many of his crowning glory, humans, who are created in his
image and redeemed to have that image restored, are struck down.
It has not only been the practice of Satan to destroy so many of
God’s people, but we also see he particularly targets the special child who is
born out of this messianic, covenant community. Don Carson (Scandalous, 84) rightfully explains what
is behind this part of the vision:
What
is Satan trying to do? The scene is grotesque. The dragon stands in front of
the woman. She is lying there in labor. Her feet are in the stirrups, writhing
as she pushes to give birth, and this disgusting dragon is waiting to grab the
baby as it comes out of the birth canal and eat it…. The scene is meant to be
grotesque: it reflects the implacable rage of Satan against the arriving
Messiah. …[the historical events include: the killing of baby and infant boys
in Bethlehem by Herod (Mt. 2), Jesus’ temptations by Satan in the wilderness
(Mt. 4), and then a later attempt to stone Jesus (John 8:59; 10:31) and push
him over a cliff (Lk. 4:29)]…. Behind all these attempts to destroy Jesus is
the red dragon, and behind the red dragon is God himself, bringing to pass his
purposes even in the death of his Son to bring about our redemption.
In verse 5 we learn who the child is, that he was born, and what
he did: “She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations
with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne.” The
clause “one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron,” comes from
Psalm 2:9, a statement that is repeatedly applied in the New Testament to Jesus
Christ and the inauguration of the kingdom of God (cf. Acts 4:25-26 [on Ps.
2:1]; Rom. 1:4; Acts 13;33; Heb. 1:5; 5:5 [all on Ps. 2:7]; Rev. 2:27; 12:5;
19:15 [all on Ps. 2:9]). Elsewhere in Revelation, this specific clause is
applied to Jesus Christ (cf. Rev. 2:27; 19:15).
Verse 5 says nothing of the substitutionary atoning death of Jesus
Christ, which has already been affirmed (see especially Rev. 5), but it does
give a snapshot of his life. He was born and then at the end of his life he was
caught up to God and the heavenly throne (a reference to his resurrection,
ascension, and exaltation, all of which presuppose his atoning death). Part of
the point here is that Satan was not able to destroy the Messiah, the Son, when
he came into the world and accomplished salvation in the place of the people of
God. This also sets the pattern for what will happen to all those united to
Christ, the people of God, whom Satan also tries unsuccessfully to destroy.
One final thing we should note about verse 5: Jesus the Christ is
specifically referred to as a male child. This is most likely highlighted since
he has, for all eternity, been in the relationship to the Father as Son to
Father. Additionally, as the firstborn son, he deserves the inheritance of God
and so united to him we also have this inheritance. What is more, as the
conquering King, the one who has conquered sin, death, and Satan, he has been
enthroned as the risen, conquering Son (a title applied to God’s king in the
Old Testament), the King (Acts 13:33), who now has authority to apply his
salvation to the people of God, those who will believe in him.
Because the Son has come and accomplished salvation, thus defeating
the Devil, this enemy turns his wrath upon the offspring of the King, that is,
the believing community, and so they need to be protected. This is what we see
depicted in verse 6: “and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a
place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.” Here is
a promise that God will preserve his people during this age and in the face of
tribulation so that they are not destroyed in the ultimate sense. In other
words, they will not fall short of their eternal reward.[1]
As we said above, the third sub-section of Revelation 17 (verses 13-17)
focuses also upon God’s protection of his people. Yet, before we look at that,
we will examine the second sub-section (12:7-12), that one that shows why God
is able to protect his people. We will look at it in our next post.
Joyfully Resting In God’s Protection With You,
Tom
[1]
Based upon the wilderness wanderings in the Old Testament, the background to
the picture here, the wilderness is a place of trial, testing, and tribulation.
However, it also was a place where God watched over and provided for his
people. That the community of the Christ, is in the wilderness during this age,
shows not only that we have not come into the Promised Land (our ultimate
reward) yet, but also that we both face great trials and tribulation in this
age and are promised God’s ultimate protection. He will spiritually nourish his
people, as he did physically with the manna in the Old Testament.
There is also strong evidence behind he word
translated “place” that it refers to a sanctuary, a place where God meets his
people. As seen elsewhere in Revelation, the church is the end-times temple of
God, those who find their purpose and protection in the presence of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment