The Greater Struggle Between Christ and Satan.
Up until now we have seen the struggle between the saints (the church) and anti-Christian forces (Rome). From here on Revelation will still continue to follow this theme but we will now see with greater clarity that the struggle between the church and Rome is really an inner struggle of a war between Christ and Satan.
Rev 12 - Understanding Chapter 12
A proper understanding of Revelation chapter 12 is not only the key to the correct interpretation of the whole book of Revelation, but also the key to understanding of the entire Bible as well. This chapter reveals to us the great conflict of the past and of the future which has been going on through the ages. This is the conflict between God and Satan which is the foundation behind much of Christian theology.
Some interpreters have entitled Revelation 12 by the one word “War.” This involves war on Earth, war in Heaven, and war on Earth again. Others divide Revelation 12 as: “The conflict of the woman with the dragon in the past; the conflict of the woman with the dragon in heaven; the conflict of the woman with the dragon in the future.
Practical Studies in Revelation by Theodore Epp. Pg 164.
Perhaps a better way of viewing chapter 12 would be to see this chapter as three views of the conflict between God and Satan. First Satan tries to prevent Christ from following His Fathers plans. Secondly Satan comes in direct conflict with God as he is cast out of heaven. Thirdly having been defeated in Heaven and on the Earth, Satan turns upon the only people he can still touch, God’s people still on the Earth, the church.
Rev 12:1-6 Delivering the Child.
1) Who is the woman?
a) Not the virgin Mary.
Although Mary gave birth to Jesus it is not Mary here because the context doesn’t fit. Remember that in a apocalyptic book like Revelation the obvious literal meaning is not necessarily the correct one.
See verse 1 “Clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet.”
b) Not the nation of Israel.
This is not Israel because in verse 17 the dragon makes war on the remnant of her seed, ‘the saints.’ The saints are members of the church but never were part of the Old Testament Israel.
c) Not the Church.
The Church seems to fit verse 17 but there are objections to the fact that this woman gave birth to Jesus where in fact it was the other way around with Jesus establishing, or giving birth to the church.
d) What do the scriptures tell us?
i) Isa 50:1-3 “Where is the certificate of divorce?”
Isa 54:4-8 “For your husband is your Maker.”
These two passages from Isaiah contain the idea of God being a husband. It is interesting to note that here in Isaiah, God chose the close relationship of a husband and wife to symbolise His relationship with the people of Israel rather than the more formal relationship of “I will be your God and you will be my people” that He uses in other parts of the Bible.
ii) Hosea 2:2-7 “For she is not my wife and I am not her husband.”
Micah 4:9-13 “Daughter of Zion, like a woman in child birth.”
These two further passages that point to Israel being the wife of God and being like a woman ready to give birth. Particularly in the passage from Micah there is a very close parallel with the image we are considering in Revelation.
iii) Not physical Israel.
Rev 12:1 talks as if this is a physical person, a woman ready to give birth. We could easily take this to mean the fleshly, physically nation of Israel.
-17 Later in the chapter we see this woman in a very much more spiritual sense. Some scholars have attempted to explain this by saying the woman of Rev 12:1-6 is different to the woman of -17. No where in this chapter is this difference stated so we must consider this to be two different views the same woman.
iv) Israel of God – The Church.
Phil 3:3; “for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God.”
Gal 6:16. “peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God.”
When we come to the New Testament we find passages describing the church being the Israel of God or the spiritual Israel.
e) So who is this woman?
Because we have rejected the idea of this woman being Mary, this woman must represent God’s people of some form. But as we then saw, because of contextual evidence neither the church nor Israel made an exact fit. We then looked at Old Testament passages that pointed to God being the husband and Israel being the wife. These were followed by passages from the New Testament that talked of the church being the Israel of God or the spiritual Israel.
Put these two ideas together and we have the answer. The woman we see here giving birth is clearly God’s people but neither from the Old or the New Testament but instead from both. The woman is ‘God’s covenant related people’, God’s people from both the old and the new covenants.
It is often said that the blood of Christ flows in two directions. Back into the past giving salvation to all who were righteous and worthy from the Old Testament nation of Israel, and forward into the future giving salvation to all who are righteous and worthy in the church.
“A woman;” undoubtedly a symbol of God's church. “Clothed with the sun” with the glory of Christ's presence, and the graces of his Spirit. “The moon”; according to some, a symbol of all sublunary things; others, with more reason, regard it as a symbol of the less glory of the Mosaic economy. “A crown of twelve stars;” the twelve apostles of the New Testament, answering to the twelve tribes of the Old. Twelve is the symbol of God's people. Compare chapter ,14, where the twelve angels of the twelve gates represent the twelve tribes of Israel; and the twelve foundations the twelve apostles. We can in this world but faintly conceive the glories with which saints in heaven are crowned, and to which, after their days of trial, all true believers will be for ever exalted.
Family New Testament Notes – Online Bible.
2) Who is the child? Rev 12:5
John is writing for a persecuted
church, and these chapters are full of encouragement to take heart. The woman
stands for God’s chosen people, from whom first the Messiah Rev 12:5 and through him
the church Rev 12:17 was born. The dragon bent on destruction is Satan himself Rev 12:9.
Verses 7-12 are a reminder that the struggle Christians are caught up in is
part of a much greater conflict. see Eph 6:11-12
The Lion Handbook to the Bible. By David and Pat Alexander. Pg 653
a) A son – a male-child.
b) A ruler. “who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron”
; Ps 2:6-9; Heb 1:5; -16.
c) Our conclusion.
Our only conclusion can be that this is Jesus Christ. In the note from The Family New Testament Notes below, this baby is also said to be representative of the followers of Jesus, see verse 17, “went to make war with the rest of her offspring.” While this is also a possibility, but the most important point we need to understand here is that although we are looking at a very spiritual and symbolic vision here, there can be no doubt that this baby is Jesus Christ.
“A man-child;” this man-child is Christ, the seed of the mystic woman, considered as the head and representative of all his disciples. It includes, therefore, not only him, but also all who are through faith united to him. “Caught up unto God, and to his throne;” representing the exaltation of Christ, and through him the protection of his people and their victory over their enemies.
Family New Testament Notes – Online Bible.
It is interesting how this note from The Family New Testament uses the term ‘man-child’ instead of the term ‘male-child.’ This brings out the idea of the divinity and the humanity of Christ both wrapped up in one person.
Heb 1:4-5 tell us of Christ being superior over all of creation except God the Father. In John we read of His humanity. John 4:6 He was weary from His journey. John 4:7 He was thirsty. John 11:35 He felt compassion, He wept.
3) Who is the dragon?
a) Seven Heads.
Perfect authority, indicating a very powerful person, world dominion.
b) Ten horns.
Complete power, indicating a destructive power.
c) Seven crowns.
“seven” Perfect or complete.
“a crown” A ruling crown not a victory crown.
See Rev 13:1;
Greek (Strongs Concordance, Greek Dictionary of the New Testament.)
Rev 19:12 – Diadema – a royal crown, a ruling crown.
(Strongs - Greek Page 22, word 1238)
Rev 6:2 – Stephanos – victor’s crown, a prize in the public games or a symbol of honour.
(Strongs – Greek Page 67, word 4735)
d) The serpent.
“the serpent of old, called the Devil or Satan.”
See Re 12:9
Mighty, angry and full of wrath, ready to make war with the saints.
4) What happened?
a) The woman.
A Woman with child gave birth to a son, a male-child. We saw this to be God’s covenant related people giving birth to Jesus Christ.
b) The dragon.
The Dragon, whom we saw as Satan, tried to devour the child as it was born. At this most dangerous point in God’s great plan; Satan tried to overcome Jesus when he was at His weakest and most vulnerable.
c) The child.
The Child was caught up to God and His throne. Jesus overcame Satan on the cross and He ascended into heaven.
d) Our Conclusion.
In a very symbolic form here is God’s great plan for the salvation of mankind. While Christ was on the earth Satan tried to overcome him. Satan failed and Christ, after completing His purpose on Earth was taken back up into heaven.
Note:- Here are several examples from the Bible of Satan’s struggle with God. In each of these events it may seem as if Satan has won but in all of then the seed, the line that would lead to Christ was always saved.
i) Cain and Abel. Gen 4:25.
Although Cain killed Abel God saved the seed through Seth.
ii) Seth to the Flood. Gen 6:7-8.
After Seth, mankind quickly went astray but God saved the seed through Noah whom He brought through the flood.
iii) Abraham and Isaac. Gen 22:12
The offering of Isaac was a Picture-Prophecy of the death of Christ. The example is a father offering his own son. The son dead for three days (in Abraham’s mind see Gen 22:4) then is raised again. It happened on Mt Moriah, the very same place where 2000 years later God’s own son was offered up. Gen 22:2; 2 Chron 3:1
iv) Joseph Gen 37:18-28
His brothers planned to kill him but at the last moment they sold him to traders instead.
v) Saul and David. 1 Sam 19:1
Saul set out to kill David but with God’s help David managed to avoid him.
vi) Athaliah 11 Kings 11:1-2
Athaliah, Queen of Judah was the daughter of Jezebel. Fanatically devoted to Baalism, she set about murdering her own grandchildren. God saved the seed through Joash who was stolen away and hidden in the Temple.
vii) Esther. Est ; .
When the King of Persia planned to kill all the Jews, Queen Esther also a Jewess, went into the King and interceded on behalf of the people.
viii) Jesus
Satan bruised Jesus’ heel on the cross but Jesus bruised Satan’s head. Satan tried to prevent God’s plan but on the cross, what appeared to be God’s greatest defeat was really God’s greatest victory.
So we can see this struggle between God and Satan raging backward and forwards as event after event unfolded. In every case where Satan appears to win God is the real winner as His great plan for the salvation of mankind is protected.
After keeping the seed line of Christ intact throughout history, when the time was right, God sent His son down to earth to be born as a man and live on earth. During this time Satan tried his best to overcome Him, attacking again and again, but was finally defeated when Christ died on the cross and was raised three days later.
5) “The woman fled into the wilderness.”
Perhaps this is the scattering of the church in Acts 8:4.
a) God protected her.
The church continued to grow and preach the message of Jesus Christ.
b) 1260 days.
Sign of the Victory of the Church over Rome and God over Satan.
See Appendix C – Symbolism of Numbers.
There is an interesting parallel between this vision and the two witnesses in chapter eleven. Both cases carry the idea of Christ establishing the church, then the idea of the gospel message being preached with Satan trying to prevent it. In both cases the outcome is the same with Satan is defeated.
Rev 12:7-12 The War in Heaven.
1) The Forces of Good & Evil. - Two armies lead by two generals.
a) Michael and his angels.
This army, the army fighting for God, was led by Michael the archangel. The only other place in the New Testament where Michael is found is in Jude 9. Here Jude identifies Michael as the archangel.
“the archangel” the word archangel means a chief angel, or ruler of angels.
Family New Testament Notes – Online Bible.
Other commentaries link this verse with Dan 10:13-21 to a Michael identified as a prince. The idea is that Michael is the Prince of Peace or Christ. The problem with this is that the Michael of Daniel appears to be a prince, or a messenger sent by God. The more likely view of Michael here is the same as the New Testament Michael, an extra powerful angel, or a leader of angels. Some would say an archangel.
There are two such angels mentioned in the Bible. Gabriel, mentioned in Daniel (Dan 8:15-16; Dan 9:21; and a possible appearance Dan 10:18) and in the Gospel of Luke where Gabriel is seen preparing the way for the birth of Jesus (Luke 1:11-20 to Zechariah; Luke 1:26-38 to Mary; likely to the shepherds Luke 1:9-12, in command of a host of other angels.
The other angel is Michael whom we see here in Rev 12:7-12. Michael also appears in the book of Daniel where he is mentioned Dan 10:5-6; Dan 10:13; Dan 10:21. Michael appears twice in the New Testament: - In Jude 9 where it is said that Michael the archangel recognised the power of Satan. Of course, Revelation 12 where Michael is leading the army of angels that caste Satan out of Heaven.
There are a possible two other angels of higher ranking mentioned in the Apocrypha, Raphael and Uriel but since they do not appear in the biblical canon I don't think we can do more than just mention them as possible archangels.
There are two such angels mentioned in the Bible. Gabriel, mentioned in Daniel (Dan 8:15-16; Dan 9:21; and a possible appearance Dan 10:18) and in the Gospel of Luke where Gabriel is seen preparing the way for the birth of Jesus (Luke 1:11-20 to Zechariah; Luke 1:26-38 to Mary; likely to the shepherds Luke 1:9-12, in command of a host of other angels.
The other angel is Michael whom we see here in Rev 12:7-12. Michael also appears in the book of Daniel where he is mentioned Dan 10:5-6; Dan 10:13; Dan 10:21. Michael appears twice in the New Testament: - In Jude 9 where it is said that Michael the archangel recognised the power of Satan. Of course, Revelation 12 where Michael is leading the army of angels that caste Satan out of Heaven.
There are a possible two other angels of higher ranking mentioned in the Apocrypha, Raphael and Uriel but since they do not appear in the biblical canon I don't think we can do more than just mention them as possible archangels.
b) The Devil and his angels.
The second army is led by the red dragon that tried to devour the child. Verse 9 tells us that this is the devil or Satan. Satan is leading an army made up of angels who have turned to evil and are now his followers. Other writers have pictured these followers of Satan as being demons. Whoever they are they are clearly following Satan and against God.
We should not discount the power of Satan here. Michael is even said in Jude 9 to show respect for Satan in that he would not slander him, rather referring the matter to a higher power, God. Leading an army of his followers, he would have been a force to recon with as is said here, "Then war broke out in heaven;" "There was a war in heaven."
We should not discount the power of Satan here. Michael is even said in Jude 9 to show respect for Satan in that he would not slander him, rather referring the matter to a higher power, God. Leading an army of his followers, he would have been a force to recon with as is said here, "Then war broke out in heaven;" "There was a war in heaven."
As I've just mentioned above Revelation 12 is not the first time that Michael
came face to face with the devil. In Jude 9 we read “But even the archangel,
Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not
dare to bring slanderous accusation
against him, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’”
I believe that Jude was talking about
the time before Satan was driven out of heaven when he was disputing with
Michael over God’s people. This scripture is important for two reasons:-
First – It is used here as an example
to us not to slander any of God’s creation, even Satan. My understanding is
that the devil was once an angel. It appears that he might have been an angel
of greater power or authority, possibly of the same order as Michael. As one of
God’s creation Michael would not slander him but rather he refers the matter to
a higher authority, God. It is not for
us to question why God allows Satan to remain but rather we should except that
God is in control and he will deal with Satan when the time is right.
Second – It is interesting that Michael
and the devil were speaking to one another. It is also interesting that Michael
later led the battle to cast Satan and his angels out of heaven.
2) The War.
a) Michael overcomes the Devil.
Not much is told about this war except that it was between Michael and Satan and it took place in Heaven. Although it would be interesting to view this war in greater detail God has chosen to give us only the briefest of accounts in only a few verses. While we know nothing of what this war was like, when it was fought, or how it was fought, but what we do know is the outcome.
Michael was clearly the winner. Verse 8 says Satan and his angels weren’t strong enough.
b) The Devil is cast out of heaven.
The outcome of this war was that Satan and his angels were driven out of heaven and thrown down to the earth. It appears that Satan either had access to heaven and to God, as is hinted at in Job, or he had invaded heaven with the purpose of overcoming God. Either way the final result is that now Satan no longer has access to heaven, no longer has access to God. See Rev 12:9 & .
3) Rejoicing in Heaven.
While there are not many details about the war itself, there is an account of the rejoicing afterwards.
a) The Song
We are not told who was singing this song. It could have been an angel chosen for this role, or possibly one of the twenty-four elders. Another idea is that it was some other heavenly being that could sympathise with the human saints suffering such as the martyrs under the altar.
The Song is divided into four parts:-
i) Glory to God and Christ.
ii) Satan the accuser has been thrown down.
iii) “Because of the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony and they did not love their life even to death.”
iv) A warning of the great misery and destruction about to come upon those on the earth.
b) The accuser is cast out.
It seems like Satan had access to God by the fact that in the verses below he could come face to face with God and speak with God. After this war with Michael, Satan was cast out of heaven so he was no longer able to come before God and talk with Him. At this point there appears to be a change in the relationship between God and Satan.
Job 1:9-11; Job 2:4-5; Zec 3:1-2; Luke 22:31.
“The accuser of our brethren” Satan, who, so long as he retained his place of power, persecuted and destroyed Christ's servants by false accusations. In the name here given to Satan, there seems to be an allusion to the manifestation made of his character in the case of Job, Job 1:9-11; 2:4,5; and which was again made in the calumnies which he raised against Christians in the primitive ages.
Family New Testament Notes – Online Bible.
c) Satan was overcome by:-
i. “The blood of the lamb.”
When Jesus died on the cross and three days later rose again Satan suffered a major defeat. From this point on Satan’s fate is sealed. No longer is Satan able to influence events in heaven. See the end of this chapter where Satan, who is no longer able to attack Christ directly, now turns his attentions upon those who follow Christ.
ii. “The word of testimony.”
The second weapon used to defeat Satan was faith, a faith and belief in Jesus that was strong enough to be a testimony to His truth. Eph 6:13-17. In the armour of a Christian, the most important is the shield of faith. It is our faith that protects us from Satan’s attacks. It is our faith in Christ that defeats Satan.
iii. “Faithful, even unto death.”
Even when faced with death they would not renounce the truth to save their own lives. Those who were martyrs for the cause of Christ hold a special place in the Kingdom of God
There is another way this fall by Satan can be looked at. In Luke 10:18 Jesus says "I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven." This verse is most often taken as meaning the work of Satan and the Dominion of Satan are being overcome by the Gospel of Christ. This fits in well with the reasons given for the fall in Rev 12:10-12. Christ did overcome Satan and will continue to do so until the end of time when Satan will be cast into the lake of fire and his power destroyed.
There is another way this fall by Satan can be looked at. In Luke 10:18 Jesus says "I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven." This verse is most often taken as meaning the work of Satan and the Dominion of Satan are being overcome by the Gospel of Christ. This fits in well with the reasons given for the fall in Rev 12:10-12. Christ did overcome Satan and will continue to do so until the end of time when Satan will be cast into the lake of fire and his power destroyed.
d) Woe for the earth and the sea.
i. Great wrath.
When the devil was defeated in heaven he turned his rage upon the church and individual people within the church.
ii. Only for a short time.
Satan’s rage was even greater because he now realises that his time to persecute the saints has been limited.
Michael and his angels may, even now, be fighting our battles, here on earth, in a more real sense than we know. Our struggle is not entirely against flesh and blood (See Eph ). The outcome may depend, far more than we realise, on the armies of the invisible world.
Halley’s Bible Handbook, Henry Halley. pg 721.
-17 The War on Earth.
1) Persecution of the church.
His weapon – pouring out water like a river. This seems a rather strange weapon to use but there are other similar examples.
Used by Satan.
a) Ps 18:4 Symbolic of ungodliness.
b) Ps 124:4-5 Symbolic of destruction by godless men.
c) Isa 8:5-8 Symbolic of destruction by Assyria .
d) Isa 57:19-20 Symbolic of wickedness.
Used by God.
a) Hos:10 “My wrath like water.”
b) Isa 59:19 “like a rushing stream.”
2) Protection by God.
a) The Wings of a great eagle.
Ex 19:4-6; Isa 40:31;
The strength of God.
b) Wilderness.
i. A place of protection. Rev 17:3-6
ii. A place of nourishment. Rev 18:1
A safe place away from the rage of the Dragon.
c) Time, times and half a time..
A short limited time – perhaps three and one half years.
d) Earth helped the woman.
The earth helped the woman by opening up and swallowing the river of water from the dragon.
It is interesting to see how God uses the forces of nature to achieve His purpose. This is not the only time He has done this too. Remember the crossing of the Red sea where a wind was used to part the waters.
3) Satan turns on her offspring.
Who are her offspring?
a) Those who keep the commandments of God.
b) Those who have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
These are the Christians who make up the church. As we have seen the Devil can never destroy the church as a whole so now he turns his attention to individual Christians.
This is very much how we find the church today. Satan knows he can’t destroy the church directly with a frontal attack so instead he targets individual members. Over time this has proven to be a very effective strategy.
The result of Satan’s work is that people lose sight of Christ and begin to focus on emotional side issues. As different views appear the members of the church become more and more divided as the church descends into fighting and bitterness.
The final out come of all this is that often churches are divided and split and individual souls are lost, exactly as Satan wants.
So when we see people falling away, division within the church, people with a desire for sin instead of righteousness, we can be sure that Satan is behind it. He is always there, always working to weaken the church by breaking its unity and dividing it. Of course so often we fall for his schemes and do exactly what he wants by fighting among ourselves and dividing the church.
The methods Satan uses today are a lot more subtle than in past times because he has found that this can be more effective in achieving his goals. No longer does he use persecution as he did in the 1st century but this does not make the situation any less dangerous for our souls. In fact it could be more dangerous because now we are subtly being lead astray without even realising that we are losing our souls until it is too late.
Eph 6:11-18
Eph 6:11 "Put on the full armour of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."
Put on the full armour of God. The meaning here is we are involved in this struggle between God and Satan. Even today Christians are called upon to fight. Notice we are instructed to put on the armour of God, not our armour but God's.
The scripture then goes on to describe who our struggle is against, how powerful he is and how evil his schemes are. But not to leave us without hope items of armour are described for us. If you will read this passage you will notice that all but one of the things list here are defensive in nature. A point which must help us realise just how dangerous the devil can be. The last item listed here is a sword, the word of God. This is our weapon which we must use against the evil one. (See my notes Rev 1:16)
Eph 6:11-18
Eph 6:11 "Put on the full armour of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."
Put on the full armour of God. The meaning here is we are involved in this struggle between God and Satan. Even today Christians are called upon to fight. Notice we are instructed to put on the armour of God, not our armour but God's.
The scripture then goes on to describe who our struggle is against, how powerful he is and how evil his schemes are. But not to leave us without hope items of armour are described for us. If you will read this passage you will notice that all but one of the things list here are defensive in nature. A point which must help us realise just how dangerous the devil can be. The last item listed here is a sword, the word of God. This is our weapon which we must use against the evil one. (See my notes Rev 1:16)
Overview:- The Story so Far.
Chapter Twelve is one of the hardest chapters to understand in the book of Revelation. At first the three images appear easy to understand but as we look closer trying to get as much meaning as we can from the text, the more and more confused we become. The reason for this is that chapter twelve deals with those issues that are the very foundation of our faith. But more about this later, first let’s lay out the overall context of where we are in the Revelation story.
In our study so far, first we found ‘The Seven Churches of Asia’ an introduction that covered the first three chapters of the book. This introduction included John’s opening statements and the letters to the seven churches.
Next we came to the ‘Vision of the Seven Seals’ or as some people call ‘The Throne Scene.’ This section began in chapter four and went through to chapter eleven.
Now the next section of our study could be called ‘The Struggle between God and Satan.’ This section will take us from chapter twelve through to chapter twenty. But for now we have been looking at chapter twelve which can be further divided into three parts:-
Delivering the Child.
The War in Heaven.
The War on Earth.
The major theme behind these three pictures is God overcoming Satan through His son Jesus Christ. We saw Satan’s last great desperate attempt to prevent Jesus from carrying out His part of God’s great plan for the redemption of mankind. The dragon failing to capture the woman’s child was Satan failing to stop Christ from making His one time sacrifice for the sins of all men.
The next image showed us a war in heaven between the forces of God lead by Michael and the forces of evil lead by Satan himself. We cannot be sure when this battle took place although there is a strong argument for the period just after Jesus returned to His father in Heaven. We can not be sure what this battle was like but we do know that it changed the relationship Satan had with God in that Satan was cast out of Heaven and so no longer able to have direct access with God.
In our third picture we see the dragon Satan has been cast out of heaven and his powers have been limited. In his rage at not being able to touch God or Christ, the dragon turns his attention upon the church. Again he is unsuccessful as God foils his plans so finally Satan turns his attention upon individual members of the church seeking to lead them away from righteousness into sin. Seeking to cause division within the church by creating arguments and strife among its members.
We now move on into chapter thirteen where we pick up that major theme of Revelation, the struggle between the church and Rome. First let’s meet the new champions that Satan rises to assist him in the battle. Then in chapter fourteen we’ll see the forces that God has lined up against Satan.
