The Bible warns that “pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling”- Prov. 16:18. the most notorious and tragic illustration of that principle, the one with the most far-reaching consequences, was satan’s prideful rebellion against GOD. by it Lucifer, having fallen from heaven like lightning (Luke 10:18), was cast down from his exalted position as the “anointed cherub who covers” (Exek. 28:14). He forfeited his place as the highest created being and became the supreme enemy of GOD. The opening campaign of satan’s war of the ages took place in heaven. When he rebelled (Isa. 14:12-15) one-third of the angels foolishly and wickedly cast their lots with him. When Adam and Eve plummeted into corruption by choosing to listen to satan’s lies and disobey GOD, the human race became embroiled in the cosmic war of the ages. The final battles of satan’s long war against GOD are yet to be fought. They will take place in the future, during the last half of the seven-year tribulation period. At that time satan, aided by the absence of the raptured church and the presence of increased demon hordes, will mount his most desperate assaults against GODs purposes and His people. The Lord Jesus Christ will effortlessly crush satan and his forces and send him to the abyss for the duration of the millennial kingdom. After leading a final rebellion at the close of the Millennium, satan will be consigned to eternal punishment in the lake of fire.
Ch 12:1-2 — The Woman : The literal approach to interpreting Scripture allows for normal use of symbolic language, but understands that it points to a literal reality. In this case, the description plainly shows that the woman John saw was not an actual woman. Also, the reference to “the rest of her children”, those “who keep the commandments of GOD and hold to the testimony of Jesus” shows that this woman is a symbolic mother. A reference to the ark of the covenant adds further support for identifying the woman as Israel.
That the woman was clothed with the sun reflects redeemed Israel’s unique glory, brilliance, and dignity because of her exalted status as GODs chosen nation. The reference to the moon under her feet may be a further description of Israel’s exalted status. It could also include the concept of GODs covenantal relationship with Israel, since the moon was part of the cycle of Israel’s required times of worship. The crown is associated with triumph in the midst of suffering and struggle. The twelve stars on the woman’s head refers to the twelve tribes of Israel.
John noted her condition; “she was with child”. That also is familiar Old Testament imagery describing Israel. That the woman is pregnant further confirms her identity as Israel; the church cannot be a mother since she is not yet married. And just as a pregnant woman in labor feels pain, so the nation of Israel was in pain, waiting for Messiah to come forth.
Ch 12:3-4 — The Dragon : with the second sign, a new character emerges on the scene. Verse 9 clearly identifies the great red dragon as satan. Satan, of course, is not an actual dragon but a malevolent spirit being, a fallen agnel. The symbolic language used to describe him pictures the reality of his person and character. On in Revelation is satan referred to as a dragon. The dragon is further described as having seven heads and ten horns , and on his heads were seven diadems. He is depicted as a seven-headed monster that rules the world. The seven heads with their seven diadems (crowns symbolizing power & authority) represent seven consecutive world empires running their course under satan’s dominion: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and Antichrist’s future empire. The final kingdom, ruled by Antichrist, will be a ten-nation confederacy; the ten horns represent the kings who will rule under Antichrist. The shifting of the diadems from the dragon’s heads to the beast’s horns reveals the shift in power from the seven consecutive world empires to the ten kings under the final Antichrist.
When satan fell, he swept away a third of the angelic host with him. along with their defeated leader, those evil angels were cast from heaven to the earth. It should be noted that although he was cast from his dwelling in heaven, satan, in this present age, has access to GODs presence; see Job 1 & 2. He will be permanently barred from heaven after his defeat by Michael and the holy angels during the Tribulation.
Throughout history, satan has bent all of his efforts toward persecuting the people of GOD. Having failed to wipe out the people of GOD and the messianic line, satan desperately attempted to murder the Messiah Himself before He could do His saving work. Satan attacked Jesus first through Herod, who attempted to kill the baby Jesus. At the outset of our Lord’s erthly ministry, satan tempted Him to mistrust GOD (Matt 4;1-11). But the devil’s efforts to get Jesus to abandon His mission did not succeed.
Ch 12:5-6 — The Male Child : In spite of all of satan’s relentless efforts to prevent it, the woman (Israel) gave birth to a son. The incarnation of the male child, the Lord Jesus Christ. , was the fulfillment of prophecy. Israel brought forth the Messiah. Satan will not be able to hinder Christ’s coronation: He will rule all the nations with a rod of iron during His earthly, millennial kingdom. Between Christ’s incarnation and His coronation came His exaltation, when he was caught up to GOD and to His throne at His ascension. Christ’s exaltation signifies the Father’s acceptance of His work of redemption.
Though he is a defeated foe, satan will not give up. Unable to stop Christ’s birth, ascension, or rule, satan still assaults His people. During the Tribulation, satan will increase his efforts to destroy the Jewish people, so that the nation cannot be saved as the Bible promises (Zech 12:10-13:1). And so that there will be none left alive to enter the millennial kingdom, he will seek to kill believing Jews.
Antichrist’s desecration of the temple will send the Jewish people fleeing into the wilderness. The exact location where GOD will hide them is not revealed, but it is probably somewhere east of the Jordan River and south of the Dead Sea, in the territory formerly occupied by Moab, Ammon, and Edom. Wherever their hiding place will be, they will be nourished and defended by GOD, just as their ancestors were during the forty years of wandering in the wilderness. The length of Israel’s stay in hiding will be 3 1/2 years and corresponds to the last half of the Tribulation, the period Jesus called the Great Tribulation (Matt 24:21). Those Jews who remain behind in Jerusalem will come under the influence of the two witnesses, and many in that city will be redeemed.
Satan is pleased when people hold any unbiblical view of him, whether they deny his existence or worship him. The devil always seeks to create confusion about his true nature and purposes. The bible exposes satan’s devious and deceitful nature as the “father of lies” (John8:44), cautioning that he “disguises himself as an angel of light” (2Cor 11:14) so that he can more easily deceive people. Satan is NOT in hell and he is not in charge of hell. He will not be sentenced to the lake of fire until after his final rebellion is crushed at the end of the Millennium. And when he does enter hell he will not be in charge. He will be the lowest inmate there, the one undergoing the most horrible punishment ever inflicted on any created being.
Satan currently divides his time between roaming the earth (1 Pet 5:8) and being in heaven, where he also engages in his doomed attempt to overthrow GODs Person, purposes, plans, and people. One way he seeks to do that is by constantly accusing believers before GODs throne. The unachievable goal of his accusations is to shatter the unbreakable bonds that inseparably link believers to the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29-39). Still, satan woks on earth to turn GODs children against Him and in heaven to turn GOD against His children. His theater of operations thus includes both the heavens and the earth, and the war of the ages is being fought at every conceivable level–moral, ideological, philosophical, theological, and supernatural.
Ch 12:7-8 — The Battle: There has been war in heaven since the fall of satan (Isa 14:12-14; Ezek 28:11-19) . Though at present he still has access to GODs presence in heaven (Job 1, 2), satan’s domain is the earth and the air around the earth. That is why the Bible describes him as the “god of this world” (2Cor 4:4) and “prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2) The war raging between supernatural beings in the heavenly sphere will reach its peak during the Tribulation. The Bible does NOT reveal how angels fight, nor does our limited knowledge of the heavenly realm permit us to speculate. What will cause this battle? Some believe it could be triggered by the Rapture of the church. Possibly, as the raptured believers pass through their realm, the prince of the power of the air and his demon hosts will try to hinder their passage. That may trigger the battle with Michael and the holy angels. Michael is always seen in Scripture as the defender of GODs people against satanic destruction.
Michael and the dragon satan have known each other since they were created, and the battle during the Tribulation will not be the first time they have opposed each other. The repetition of the phrase ‘waging war. . .waged war’ emphasizes the force and fury of the battle. This supernatural war will reach a crescendo as the time for Christ to establish His earthly and eternal kingdom draws near. Satan will suffer such a complete defeat that there will no longer be a place found for him and his demon hosts in heaven. Satan and all the rebellious fallen angels will be permanently cast out. They will no longer have access to GODs presence and satan will never again accuse believers before GODs throne. This defeat will also mark the end of satan’s reign as “the prince of the power of the air”.
Ch 12:9 — The Victory: As a result of his defeat, ‘the great dragon was thrown down’ from heaven to the earth. This describes satan’s second and permanent expulsion from heaven. (Isa 14;12; Luke 10:18). Satan, has duped the human race throughout its history. He is , Jesus said, “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). Satan lures people to their destruction by causing them to pay “attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons” (1Tim 4:1). His deception will dominate the world during the Tribulation, as he mounts his last, desperate assault against GOD. Through his agent the false prophet (the associate fo the Antichrist), satan will deceive ‘those who dwell on the earth’ (Rev. 13:14). Deceitful demons under satan’s control will gather the world’s armies for the Battle of Armageddon. Satan will also use Babylon, the great end-time commercial empire, to deceive the unbelieving world. At the end of the Tribulation, he will be thrown into the abyss for a thousand years.
The heavenly worshipers rejoice that the first step, satan’s defeat and final ejection from heaven, has already taken place. They know that, having been expelled from heaven to earth, he will shortly be cast from the earth into the abyss and then from the abyss into his ultimate destination–the lake of fire.
Ch 12:10-12 — The Celebration: The defeat of satan and his demon hosts and the cleansing of their foul presence from heaven forever will trigger an outburst of praise there. “Salvation” as used here is to be understood in its broadest sense. It encompasses not ony the redemption of individual believers, but also the deliverance of all creation from the ravages of sin’s curse and the power satan. “Power” speaks of GODs omnipotence, His triumphant, sovereign power that crushes all opposition and will establish His Kingdom.
The heavenly worshipers rejoice that the first step, satan’s defeat and final ejection from heaven, has already taken place. They know that, having been expelled from heaven to earth, he will shortly be cast from the earth into the abyss and then from the abyss into his ultimate destination–the lake of fire. They also offer praise because of events on earth, where their brethren ‘overcame’ satan.
Tribulation believers overcame satan first of all because of the blood of the Lamb. Like their martyred brethren already in heaven, they “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14). Satan’s rage is all the more violent because he knows that he has only a short time for his final assault on GODs people.
One of the darkest stains on the history of mankind has been the persistent specter of anti-Semitism. Over the centuries the Jews have faced more hatred and persecution than any other people. Much of that suffering was chastisement from GOD to trun the nation away from their sin and unbelief and back to him. GOD repeatedly warned Israel of the consequences of disobedience (Deut. 28:15-68) and punished them when they failed to obey. Within the paradigm of GODs sovereign purpose for His people, Israel also has suffered constantly and severely at the hands of satan, acting as GODs instrument. Unlike GOD, however, satan’s purpose in causing the Jewish people to suffer is not remedial, but destructive.
The Tribulation will be the worst of times for Israel for two reasons. During that seven-year period GOD will pour out His final fury on the unrepentant and unbelieving world (including the unrepentant rebels of Israel). At the same time, satan will make his last, desperate attempt to prevent the promised reign of the Lord Jesus Christ on Israel’s throne and thus negate the salvation and kingdom promised to Israel.
Ch 12:13-14 — Attack One: The reason is now given for Israel’s flight, which was first mentioned in ch 12:6. Following his defeat by Michael and the holy angels the dragon, satan, was thrown down to the earth. Frustrated and enraged by his ejection from heaven and desperate knowing that his time is short, the devil furiously persecuted the woman (Israel). The flight of the Jews from satan’s forces should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with our Lord’s Olivet discourse. In that sermon on the end times, Jesus warned the Jewish people of the desperate danger they will face, (Matt 24:15-22).
The Jews will be in desperate need of any assistance they can get and in GODs providence, there will be some people who will help them (Matt 25:31-40). Not only will GOD providentially use believing Gentiles to aid the Jewish people, but He will also intervene directly on their behalf. The location of the place to which the Jews will flee is not revealed. Some have suggested the fortress like city of Petra, carved into the rocky cliffs of Edom. In her place of safety and refuge, Israel will be supernaturally nourished by GOD. Cut off from the world system, and unable to in any case to buy and sell, the Jews will need outside help to survive. GOD will supernaturally supply them with food, just as He did by providing their ancestors with manna and quail in the wilderness. The duration of Israel’s hiding will be 3 1/2 years, the second half of the Tribulation. The period Jesus called the Great Tribulation (Matt 24:21)
Ch 12:15-16 — Attack Two: Thwarted in his initial attempt to massacre the Jewish people and unable to directly assault them in their hiding place, satan will resort to long-range tactics. The “serpent” is a symbolic representation of satan and the “water” he spews like a river is symbolic of an invading, destroying army . GOD defeated this second attack by opening the earth and swallowing the attacking army. Much like the destruction of Pharoah’s army. Whatever the symbolic language pictures, it marks the destruction of the attacking army and the end of satan’s second assault.
Ch 12:17 — Attack Three: by now thoroughly frustrated and enraged by his inability to destroy the woman (Israel), the dragon (satan) will turn his fury toward new targets. Some have identified “the rest of her children” with them as believing Gentile Tribulation saints. It seems best to take this as an all-inclusive phrase, referring to all those who name the name of Jesus Christ as Lord & Savior. Like his first two attacks this third attack will fail as well.
