Introduction: Three days ago I wrote this ‘Introduction: I have quoted the whole of chapter 12 but printed it in three colours because I believe that we have three different, although related, thoughts highlighted!’ Today we are looking at the third portion which I summarized as ‘c) The devil, now earth based, acts out his evil character.‘
13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
Comment: There are things which I find not clear in this passage. Sometimes I think that God doesn’t want us to understand all the details until the time comes for this part of prophecy to be acted out into real time. The dragon is evil personified in the fallen Lucifer, the devil, Satan; The woman until Jesus was born was obviously Israel. Now since for followers of Jesus, i.e. the true church, has the church replaced Israel in this picture? Or, more likely I think, has the church been added into the concept of the woman? Paul uses the illustration of the church being grafted into the trunk grown from the root – Jesse, David etc? The woman’s security is in heaven, because of the spiritual truth (often represented as Eagle’s wings) that believers’ citizenship is in heaven! Why is it here called ‘a wilderness’? Possibly because heaven isn’t appreciated at the moment as it will be later on! Does the water poured out by the serpent represent the evil temptations which the devil has allowed to flow over the whole world? Is ‘earth’ here used in the sense of ‘carnal/anti-God’? People who do not follow God and particularly the Male Child (Jesus) Who now resides in Heaven rejoice in the temptations. Do they become ever more under Satan’s power and God’s Judgement? In fact Jews often used ‘the sea’ to represent ‘the Gentile world.’ But as we all experience being a Christian doesn’t make one impervious to temptation!
There are more explanations for these happenings but I can only ask God to open my eyes to His Truth! We walk by faith and not with total sight!
Romans 11: 17&18 – ,,,you,,,, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.
Prayer: I would understand Your Word much better than I do now, Father God.