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2022-09-18

Revelation: A Woman & a Dragon

(Revelation 12:1a…3a, NIV)

“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun…

Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon...”

I.  Introduction

     After John recorded his vision of the sounding of the trumpet of the seventh angel (Revelation 11:1-14, NIV), he recorded his vision of two ‘signs’ that appeared in heaven—‘a woman clothed with the sun’ and ‘an enormous red dragon.’ He wrote, “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun…Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon…” (Revelation 12:1a…3a, NIV).

     These two ‘signs’ depict an ongoing, centuries-old persecution of the nation of Israel by Satan.  The Devil hates Israel because God chose the Israeli nation to be the nation through which He would bring His Son into the world to purchase the gift of eternal life for fallen humanity! Jesus said, “…God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV).

     God said to Abraham—the father of the Israeli nation—“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3, NIV). ‘All peoples on earth’ are ‘blessed through’ Abraham because Jesus was a descendent of Abraham—which means that Jesus was an Israeli!

     So let’s look at the two ‘signs’—‘a woman…and a dragon.’   

II.  A Woman & a Dragon

     John wrote, “A great sign appeared in heaven [The Greek word translated ‘sign’ refers to either an object or an event designed to attract attention and give information. The ‘sign’ John saw was…]: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.” (Revelation 12:1-2, NIV).

     The ‘woman’ depicts the nation of Israel.  To understand the meaning of the ‘woman’ being ‘clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head’ we need to review a dream Joseph had when he was a youngster.  He said, “…‘I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.’ When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, ‘What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” (Genesis 37:9b-10, NIV).

     Joseph’s father, Jacob, understood the imagery in his son’s dream to mean that he was ‘the sun,’ his wife Rachel was ‘the moon,’ and his brothers were the ‘stars.’  The ‘woman’ being ‘clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head’ is a reminder that the nation of Israel are descendants of Jacob (Israel), his wife Rachel, and his twelve sons.

     The fact that “She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth” (Revelation 12:2, NIV) indicates that John’s vision extends back from 96 AD to the beginning of the first century when the nation was about to give birth to Jesus—the Messiah!  Later in the vision, it become abundantly clear that the child the woman is carrying in Jesus—the Messiah.  John wrote, “She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter… [This is a reference to Jesus’ 1,000-year-reign over His global kingdom on Earth]” (Revelation 12:5a, NIV).

     Then another ‘sign’ appeared in heaven. John wrote, “Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads.” (Revelation 12:3, NIV).  John clearly identified this ‘dragon’ later in this vision and in a subsequent Revelation vision.  He wrote, “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray…” (Revelation 12:9a, NIV).  He also wrote, “He [an angel] seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:2, NIV).

     The reference to a ‘head’ in Scripture indicates authority.  That’s what Paul was referring to when he wrote, “…the head of the woman is man…” (I Corinthians 11:3b, NIV). The ‘dragon’ has ‘seven heads.’ In the study of Bible numerics, the number ‘seven’ represents the whole or total of anything.  During the final 3 ½ years of the ‘Tribulation Period,’ Satan will be given complete authority over planet Earth.

     The reference to a ‘horn’ in Scripture indicates strength.  The ‘dragon’ has ‘ten horns.’  The number ‘ten’ in the study of Bible numerics emphasizes ‘law.’  That’s why God based His Old Testament Law on ‘Ten Commandments.’  During the final 3 ½ years of the ‘Tribulation Period,’ the ‘dragon’ will have the ‘strength’ to impose his ‘laws’ on the entire Christ-rejecting, post-rapture population of planet Earth.   

     John further identified the ‘dragon’ when he wrote, “Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth…” (Revelation 12:4a, NIV). In this statement, John reminds of Satan’s rebellion against God in the ‘pre-Adamic age’ when he left his assigned position of authority as caretaker of God’s original creation and led the angels who served under his authority to rebel against God. Jude described the fate of those rebellious angels when he wrote, “…the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.” (Jude 6, NIV).

     John then began to expose the primary agenda of the ‘dragon.’  He wrote, “…The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.” (Revelation 12:4b, NIV).  The woman’s ‘child’ was Jesus.  The agenda of the ‘dragon’ was to destroy Jesus ‘the moment he was born.’

     The dragon’s attempt ‘to devour her child’ was recorded by Matthew when he wrote, “When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and [under the influence of the ‘dragon’] he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under…” (Matthew 2:16a, NIV).

     The dragon’s attempt to destroy Jesus failed, and ultimately, He will rule a global kingdom for 1,000 years.  John wrote, “She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations [a global kingdom] with an iron scepter… [unchallenged royal authority]” (Revelation 12:5a, NIV).

     John then referenced the ascension of Jesus.  He wrote, “…her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.” (Revelation 12:5b, NIV).  Luke graphically described this event when he wrote, “He [Jesus] said to them… [eleven of His disciples—Judas has already committed suicide by this time]…‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’” (Acts 1:7a…8-11, NIV).

     Since the ‘dragon’ failed in his attempt to destroy the woman’s ‘child,’ he turned his focus toward destroying the Israeli nation through which the ‘child’ was born.  This fact explains the relentless persecution that has been waged against the Israelis from the time of Abraham till today—and why the persecution intensified during the first century and beyond.  It explains ‘The Holocaust’ of World War II, and it explains the ongoing Israeli/Palestinian Conflict in the Middle East.

     The dragon’s hatred of Israel will continue during the last 3 ½ years of the ‘Tribulation Period.’ However, God will take care of His chosen nation even when the Anti-Christ is in control of his global government.  John wrote, “The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. [3 ½ years]” (Revelation 12:6, NIV).

     The story of how God takes care of the Israeli nation is remarkable. The Anti-Christ will gain complete control of his global kingdom and begin his onslaught of destruction against the Israelis. However, Jesus has already warned them to ‘flee to the mountains.’ He said, “…when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea [Israelis] flee to the mountains.” (Matthew 24:15-16, NIV).

     As the Israelis ‘flee to the mountains,’ just after the midpoint of the ‘Tribulation Period,’ Jesus will return and touch-down on the Mount of Olives. Then something incredible happens.  Zechariah wrote, “On that day his feet [Jesus’ feet] will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel…” (Zechariah 14:4-5a, NIV).  Jesus will prepare a secret ‘mountain valley’ where He will take care of Israel, His chosen nation, during the final half of the ‘Tribulation Period.’

III. Conclusion

     The only way to escape the horrible judgment that will be inflicted on the population of planet Earth during the final 3 ½ years of the ‘Tribulation Period’ is to believe ‘The Jesus Story’ and receive the gift of eternal life before Jesus returns! He said, “…God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV).



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