Now that we’ve discussed the protagonist (the pregnant woman and more importantly, her child) and the antagonist (The Dragon, Satan) in our story, let’s look at the story itself in Revelation 12. Today the focus will be on the story itself and the power of the child she gives birth to. Her male son, His name is Jesus and He is the promised Messiah.
Before we get started, let’s review the four main characters!
- The Dragon
- The Pregnant Woman about to give birth
- Her Male Son
- The archangel Michael (with his army of angels)
Recapping our last couple of posts
As a recap, the pregnant woman about to give birth is widely recognized as Israel; the one who carries the male son who is the Messiah -Jesus. The Dragon who is introduced as the second sign is Satan. Michael and his angel army battle the dragon in heaven at one point because the dragon believes that he is greater than God. The Dragon also known as the Serpent, or Satan, hates God and he hates people who God loves and who love God.
Read The Room
It is important, as we read through this chapter, to watch the interactions between the main characters (“read the room” as it were) because doing so tells us a lot about their relationships and how they feel about each other. As we watch the Dragon, (serpent, Satan), we see how the Dragon fights against God, all who God loves and those who love Him.
This is true of Satan today as well but much more sedate compared to what we see in Revelation 12. Satan, as the dragon, becomes much more bold and aggressive against God and His people. He’s no longer subtle and hiding his agenda of hate, fear and destruction. We may often feel fear, but we have no reason to fear, because we have a strong God who will fight for us just as we see in our story as the chapter develops.
The Story Line
Scene One – The Baby is Born
As our story progresses, the pregnant woman (Israel) gives birth to her male child (Jesus). John says that He will “rule all nations with an iron scepter”. Before the dragon can devour the child, He is quickly taken up to God and to His throne effectively taking the child out of the reach of the dragon.
| What Happened | Characters Involved |
| Our story opens with a sign from heaven | – The very pregnant woman (our first protagonist |
| The first sign is followed by a second sign | – The cosmic dragon arrives to kill the child so that he will not be able to rule the nations with an iron scepter |
| God snatched the child up into heaven to protect him | – God – Keeps the child at His throne – The Child – is born and then protected |
| After the child is taken to heaven by God, the woman flees to the wilderness to hide | – Woman – child’s mother – God – prepares a place to take care of her for 1260 days |
Scene Two – War in Heaven
Once the child and the woman are safe, the angels go to war. The archangel, Michael, leads the angel army for God. Satan leads the angels who chose to follow him instead of God!
| What Happened | Characters Involved |
| War breaks out in heaven | – Michael and the armies of Heaven – The Dragon with his own army |
| The Dragon loses the War | – Michael and the armies of Heaven – The Dragon with his own army |
| The Dragon is ejected from Heaven | – The Dragon (Satan) – The angels who followed Satan |
Victory Over The Enemy
Next, John heard a voice from heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power
Revelation 12:10-12
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
11 They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.”
While the Dragon is a formidable enemy who wants to destroy us as believers and will use every tool in this world and beyond it to bring us ruin; even in the midst of his greatest moment, the gospel is clearly seen. We don’t gain victory through our own power, but through the blood of the Lamb, who is Christ (remember back in chapter 4)!
Scene Three – The Hunt!
As we pick back up on the story in Revelation 12, the Dragon pursues the woman again after she has already given birth and after he (Satan, the Dragon) was kicked out of heaven and thrown to the earth. She takes two wings that she was given and uses them to fly to a place that was set aside for her where she will be taken care of in the wilderness. The passage says she will be taken care of “for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpents (or Dragon’s) reach.”
| What Happened | Characters Involved |
| The Dragon goes hunting, seeking to destroy the woman | – The Dragon (Satan) – The Woman who gave birth to the child (Israel) |
| The woman is given wings with which to escape to a place prepared for her by God out of Satan’s reach | – The Woman who gave birth to the child (Israel) |
| The Dragon/Serpent (Satan) spits a river from his mouth hoping to drown her | – The Dragon (Satan) – The Woman who gave birth to the child (Israel) |
| The Dragon is enraged that he can’t kill the woman, so he goes off to find the rest of her offspring (The Church) to kill | – The Dragon (Satan) |
Soaring on Wings Like Eagles
I thought of what Isaiah 40:31 says when I read the part about the woman and her escape with the wings. I’m not sure if these wings that the pregnant woman is given relate to this verse but I find it interesting that the woman would hope in the Lord as we should.
Isaiah 40:31 says that the people who hope in the Lord will have their strength refreshed. They will also:
- Soar on wings like eagles
- Run and not grow weary
- Walk and not be faint
When we soar on wings like eagles, we will run and not grow weary, walk and not faint. Our hope in the Lord, much like hers, gives us strength and endurance for the very things that He has given us to do and to endure. The woman did not give up in this passage; but instead, relied on the Hope of her Lord.
The Dragon Is Persistent!
We see a lot of personification coming up next as the serpent, or Dragon, spits out water like a river. Scripture assigns an intent to the water saying that it’s trying to take her out, to knock her over and eliminate her. Then the earth helps her and consumes the water that the serpent spit out. She was not destroyed.
Of course, the dragon becomes furious at the woman and, because he can’t destroy her, he starts a war against her descendants, those who follow God’s commands and live their life as a great testimony of and for Jesus. Notice, that it’s about their testimony and faithfulness to Jesus. The Son to whom she gave birth! The ones who have been given that testimony are the Church. That’s us!
Important Lessons In Chapter 12
Satan’s Pattern
In this passage, we see a consistent and predictable pattern in Satan’s attacks.
- Satan seeks to take from God what he wants and attempts to defeat God
- When he is unable to defeat God, he is enraged by his failure and he goes after God’s Son – Jesus
- Satan is enraged because he knows he can’t hurt God or Jesus, so he goes after God’s precious, chosen creation – the Woman
- When he can’t destroy the woman, he is enraged and goes after her offspring
It is so important that we, as believers, understand this pattern because Satan still uses the same pattern today.
- He seeks our destruction
- When he can’t destroy us because we are protected by the indwelling Holy Spirit, he’s enraged
- In his rage, Satan seeks to destroy the ones God (and we) love instead
We must rely on God’s faithful protection while we fight against Satan’s attack and fight back his advances. It’s important that we remember the ones who we love and love us (and more importantly, God). While the warning in Deuteronomy was given to us as parents, it applies to others as well:
5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Deuteronomy 6:5-7
It is important that we don’t leave our loved ones vulnerable to Satan’s attack because if he can’t get us, he’ll go after our families.
Personal Application Of Satan’s Accusation
Satan accuses us before God day and night. I have experienced this recently. I tend to feel guilty if I can’t help someone. Satan fights constantly to tell me how bad a person I am and how ‘uncaring” I am if I don’t do certain things to help someone. Certain situations call for us to help someone and some situations call for us not to help. I have an illness, a “thorn in the flesh” as Paul put it, where I can’t always do what I would like to do to help. Listening to God’s voice is imperative when He tells me “No, not this time.” Grief and guilt enter my mind and I don’t focus on God and His will and His Word.
The angels triumphed over Satan (the dragon), by the blood of the Lamb (He gave us His life in complete sacrifice). And so do we. The testimony of the early church proved the power of God in their life. Fear did not overcome the church. Loving their own life was not as important as their testimony and fighting their enemy. Believers were not afraid to die for their faith.
You Better Watch Out, He Is Close By
Satan went down to the earth and is around us. He is referred to as “the prince of the power of the air” casting down thoughts, everything that exalts itself against righteousness. Satan even puts thoughts in our minds that fight what God has told us. We read in Ephesians 6:10-17 to “put on the full armor of God.”
Satan knows that his time is short, but he does all he can to ruin us. Anger and fury overtake him. God threw him out of heaven because of his pride. His motivation was to be greater than God Himself. Our pride will hurt us as well, it will ruin us. We think sometimes that we are so great and what we want is greater than having and doing what God wants. God wants what is good for us, not to destroy us. “nothing shall separate us from the love of God.” Romans 8:35-39
Satan tries to destroy us constantly. He will tempt us and distract us away from doing what God wants us to do. But faithfulness to God overcomes Satan and his evil intent.
The God Of Angel Armies Will Crush The Enemy Because He Loves His People
Satan is not going to be successful. He can still tempt us and we will sin because we are sinners.
To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
Jude 24-25
God is still able to keep us from falling! Just as He protected the baby and He also protected the pregnant woman, He is able to protect us today.
He who started a good work in you, will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6
God will continue what He started in you! He isn’t going to give up on you.
We are new when we start a relationship with Jesus Christ. Everything in the past is old and passed away. We need to live life in that same power of God that is able to deliver and protect us from Satan.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!”
2 Corinthians 5:17
This Time In History
Look at the hate in the world right now, how is Satan working? He is destroying lives, deceiving people, and telling people lies. People hate just like Satan does. Satan is working like mad, literally! We can see the hurt easily when we watch the news and read reports. How these people in Ukraine are hurting as a result of a very angry President Putin. Consider, how is God working in us, using us to impact the world to share the Good News of a relationship with Jesus Christ. Don’t let the Dragon win! We will be tempted for sure to do wrong, to be angry and prideful. Remember that this temptation is common but…
“No temptation[a] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted[b] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,[c] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13
Conclusion
God gave us freedom from sin by accepting the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ who died, was buried and rose again on the third day to pay for our sin and the sin of the whole world. This is the power of Jesus and how our story finds power in the blood of the Lamb. Our sin has no hold over us any longer when we believe and apply His payment, accepting His gift personally. His Resurrection has given us power and victory over sin. Do you know Him personally? Please write me if you would like more information about a relationship with Christ. He loves you and wants the whole world to come to Him. Don’t let the enemy (Satan, the Serpent, the Dragon in Revelation 12) tell you otherwise!
The important thing to remember is that, while Satan rages now; in the end, God wins!
More To Read From Heartshare…
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2012&version=NIV
https://heartshare.blog/2022/03/02/the-seventh-angel-blows-his-trumpet/
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=Chris+Tomlin+Resurrection+Power+song+lyrics
https://bible.org/seriespage/3-satan-s-part-god-s-perfect-plan
https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/revelation/revelation-12/
God Bless!
Thank you! God bless You as well!
Probably one of the vaguest sections of Scripture and difficult to understand in history, allegory, symbolism, flashback, etc., your lessons that you draw from Revelation 12 are well balanced and sensible. The temptation is great to get into setting down ‘definitions’ that the Bible does not provide, and you have skillfully avoided that trap.
This is great encouragement for those of us just wanting to live for Jesus. We don’t have to have all the answers to our questions yet.
A very dear friend of mine who expects the return of Jesus sometime after the middle of the Great Tribulation (but before the judgements) noted as we discussed end times, “Well, if the angel shows up before I expect, I won’t argue with him.” And I responded, “If he shows up later than I expect, I’ll keep my opinions to myself as well.” 😊
❤️&🙏, c.a.
The main purpose of “future” prophecy (any spokesperson for God is prophesying even if the subject is past or immediate) is stated by our Lord in John 14:29: “And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.”
I.e., not so we could predict the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war in present time, or the headlines of next week’s news report, but so that we would understand Father’s plan AS IT UNFOLDS.
❤️&🙏, c.a.
It is important to be careful about what we take in our minds through “news.” We don’t know the full story of what is going on in the world only God does. The best thing we can do right now is turn off the TV and open the Bible.
Matthew 10:16
Great article, Becky!! I find it interesting that we are covering Revelation 12 in our afternoon service. We all were talking about the Ukrainian President is Jewish, has the whole world on his side. Very well spoken. Could he be???
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