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John, the beloved apostle of Christ, was given revelations of Jesus in a prophetic forum, steeped in symbolism, but with a singular purpose … to see us redeemed, remade, and reconciled to God. Throughout the book of his revelations, we have seen our redemption in every message, every warning, and every interpretation. To find our salvation, is to find ourselves relying upon Jesus Christ. It is He alone who is able to save us from ourselves. It is He alone who offers us the gift of perfection, the gift that would transform who we are, into the creations He intends us to be, creations who love others and not themselves. These messages show the supremacy of Christ, and point out our NEED of a savior outside of ourselves, to save us from the chains of self-service that we have embraced. We are unable to free ourselves, we NEED someone to free us. We are the enemy that needs to be remade from scratch, reborn into a new way of thinking, a new way of loving that leads us into harmony with His laws and His goals.
It is our dependence, our submission, our humility in how we perceive ourselves that can lead us to look to Christ to find our salvation. While we think of ourselves as independent, without need, self-sufficient, that we avoid Christ and look for salvation in the mirror. John begins his next revelation with the imagery of a woman. Before we consider the details of this next revelation, consider why God might have revealed to us the imagery of a woman. In John’s day, women were NOT self-sufficient. Women depended on men, whether fathers, or husbands, or sons to own property, to be fed, to be protected and provided for. A woman in John’s day was NOT a warrior, a leader, a general, someone who would wage war and defeat enemies. A woman’s only weapon, and perhaps her greatest, was found in her ability to love, to support, to care for, to nurture her family, and those who she loved. It is this characteristic that made her indispensable. It did not matter that she was not the “breadwinner”. It did not matter that she would be ill equipped or trained to defend her estate from marauders or fierce some creatures. She was the prize, the pearls of greatest value that must at all costs be protected, defended, and provided for. Her love was the gift that was so important, it was valued more than a man’s own life, for without it, life was of little consequence.
In this context, John begins in chapter 12 of revelations in verse one saying … “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:” A woman is revealed here, she has imagery of the sun, the moon, and 12 stars. These images were revealed long ago, in a prophetic dream that Joseph had. His parents were the sun and moon, the 12 stars were he and his brothers. This dream is given only 3 generations into the lineage of Abraham, just after God has established his covenant promise with Jacob, now Israel, to have the special relationship with them of being their God, and they to be His people. The children of Israel would now represent His people, His followers, and in our modern vernacular, His church. This woman may well represent a dependent creature whose value is found in her choice to love. She is a follower, who is dependent on a higher power to be preserved. She does not lead, she follows. Her love and choice to love, is her greatest possession and gift she offers freely. The children of Israel had a special relationship with God because they chose it to be so. They were His chosen because they chose to follow Him, our only God. The first group of followers, His first church, was composed as it is today, by those who choose to follow Him.
John continues in verse 2 … “And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.” The woman seen by John is pregnant and in labor. The Messiah was to be born of this woman. The long awaited Desire of Ages was to come through this church, this group of followers who trace their choice to follow through the generations all the way back to Israel, and to Abraham. But there were others in this lineage of the chosen who did not share Abraham’s bloodline. Ruth was a Moabitess and grandmother of David. The prostitute in the wall of Jericho who was spared with her family for helping the spies of Joshua escape unharmed joined in this lineage as well. Even Uriah the Hittite’s wife Bathsheba was forgiven of her part in adultery and the murder of her innocent husband and became the mother of Solomon. Whether from Egypt (Joseph’s wife and lineage), or Moab through Ruth, or Canaan through the woman in the wall of Jericho, or a Hittite like Uriah, many others were part of the Woman revealed to John who now stood ready to give birth. Not all were of the bloodline of Christ, but all of them made the same choice to follow the one True God. And all looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, the Son of Man, to see the restoration of the world occur. The church of God has always been open to any who would choose it.
John continues in verse 3 … “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.” The second set of imagery begins with a dragon. A dragon has long been considered the top of the food chain in the animal kingdom. Even man takes his risk when confronting the mythical dragon; unarmed, man is no contest for him. A dragon is not a subservient creature. He does not bow to anyone. He is filled with pride, and one could consider it is rightfully so. What other creature has skin of armor, teeth like spears, an ability to fly, and breathes consuming fire upon anything in its path? A dragon kills and conquers by nature. Its enemies only find rest while it sleeps. And in this case, sleep is not on the agenda. This dragon has seven heads with seven crowns, as well as ten horns. The imagery could be applied to kingdoms united in one purpose. Given the evil imagery, the purpose would likely not be a good one, but an evil one, to follow the nature of the dragon.
John continues in verse 4 … “And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.” In case it was not clear already, the casting of one third of the stars of heaven down to earth had only one historical interpretation. It identifies this creature as Lucifer, now Satan. Satan’s war with God did not end with his first negative encounter with the power of God. He now waited to kill the Messiah and insure that the mission of our redemption never sees the light of day. He waits to kill the baby before it can become a man. So king Herod gives orders to slay every child under the age of two in Bethlehem in order to see the Messiah die at birth. Many die, but not the Christ. At every turn in His earthly ministry the work of the dragon is to see Him fail at our redemption. The nature of every temptation has a similar theme … “it does not have to be this hard, there is an easier way to see man redeemed”. All He need do is use His power selfishly, or simply make a gesture of humility to Satan’s ownership of the world. Or perhaps He might just not let Himself be killed, wounded might be enough. No reason to go all the way to death by choice, instead find an easier alternative. Satan’s temptations always look like the easier way. Since Satan missed killing Him at birth, he must find another way to defeat the Christ.
John continues in verse 5 … “And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.” The man child who was to rule all nations with rod of iron was the Messiah, the Christ. His destiny was to be our only true King. Only recently was John shown the vision of the seventh trumpet sounding where the declaration of Christ taking up the power He has to rule all nations is time to begin. The Messiah came. He was not killed at birth. He performed the mission of our redemption. He lived a life of pure unselfish love to serve others and never Himself. He showed us the model of the character of God, and the government of heaven. And He lived this way unto death, even the torture and death of the cross. Love knows no limitations. Love will go all the way to the grave to see us redeemed. Love will pay any price for us. And Love did pay our price. The price paid, the Messiah ascends to the Throne of God, to His Father’s side. Our judgment never in question, our verdict was always guilty, but now our punishment has been taken upon Himself, and we will not have to endure it. He already has. The dragon is frustrated again, his attempts at killing Christ or thwarting His mission has failed.
John continues in verse 6 … “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” 1260 days, 42 months, 3.5 years, a time – times – and a half, the same prophetic time period used already in this book is again enumerated specifically. These time periods all add up to 1260 days using the Jewish Calendar, and using the day for a year principle equal 1260 years. There is not a series of different time periods of this duration, so it is reasonable to assume the time period in question is the same one referenced in different ways throughout this book. In this context, the woman is forced to flee into the wilderness. A woman does not flee for no reason. The dragon remains none too happy with her and it is for this reason she is forced to flee. But she is NOT left unattended. She is led to a place in the wilderness where she will be preserved by God throughout the length of the dark ages. While the horseman of death rides, while the fourth seal is opened, while queen Jezebel attempts at restraining the word of God from the people, while the official Church is nearly dead, while the woes of the conflict between Islam and Catholicism bring blood to the world in the name of God – the woman or church or true followers of God are preserved. Small groups like the Waldensians who preserve the word of God for the coming of the printing press remain hidden and preserved. And the seeds of the reformation are sown.
John continues in verse 7 … “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, [verse 8] And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.” There is no interruption present in the thinking of John, or in the sequence of events he is revealing to us. The woman is forced into the wilderness. And THEN, there was a war in heaven. There is no indication here that this is flashback in time to before our world began. There is nothing to indicate this is a momentary pause in the story. In point of fact, Michael and his angels are said to be fighting “the dragon” and his angels. Lucifer is in dragon form and likeness. He has only recently sought to kill the man child as soon as it was born. He failed. The woman flees. And NOW there is seen a war in heaven.
Our great disappointment was in misperceiving the earth to be the sanctuary that would be cleansed at the end of this period of time. But perhaps what was truly cleansed was never our world, but the actual true sanctuary in heaven. It was cleansed from the presence and war of the dragon and his angels against Michael and his angels. This scripture says that “neither was their place found any more in heaven” from the end of this war forward. That may well represent a single final cleansing of the Sanctuary the scriptures foretold. Further evidence this was not a flashback is related in the story of Job, when a meeting (presumably in heaven) occurs where God asks … “Have you considered my servant Job”? If this war refers to the original war in heaven, why would Lucifer be permitted to be there to hear the question from God regarding the character and life of Job? But if this war occurs at the end of the 1260 years, it might make more sense that this final assault on heaven itself results in there being no more a place for the dragon or his angels in heaven ever again. Perhaps the simplicity of one final desperate attempt by the dragon to take over God’s city and temple that is thwarted by Michael and His angels, does in fact represent the cleansing of the Sanctuary foretold in scripture.
John continues in verse 9 … “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Again John reiterates, that Satan lost. He was not just defeated, but he was cast out. His entire army was cast out. Their destination was the only home left to them where sin was still present in the universe, our world, our earth. But the even greater message is told in verse 10 as John continues … “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” The accuser of our brethren is cast down. This is the result of the war. Up until now, he has accused us in front of God as this scripture relays both “day and night”. Satan has relentlessly accused us before God up until now, until this war is fought and lost. But now, he has been cast out. Again, if this war were prior to our creation, there would have been no opportunity to accuse us both day and night before God. But in this sequence of events, the dragon attempts an insurrection and is cast out of heaven. No more will he be able to accuse us.
The best news in all of this book so far (and that bar is constantly being raised) is the initial part of this declaration … “Now is come salvation”. Salvation and strength, and His kingdom are come. The power of His Christ is come. It is happening now. Our judgment, our trial, our court case, our prosecutor have all been put away. It is over, and what follows, is our Salvation. We are to be saved through His strength. We are to be members of His kingdom. By His power it is so. And there will be rest in heaven from the relentless accusations of Satan against the people of God. He has been defeated and cast out. All that remains now is our Salvation, by the power of His love. Judgment is done.
John continues to describe how this has occurred in verse 11 … “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” We overcame NOT of our own strength, or actions, or will, or even motives. We overcame by the blood of the Lamb. It is Jesus Christ who transforms us and gives us a testimony of real change, of real life, and of real love for others and not ourselves. It is Jesus Christ and the blood of the Lamb that has seen us become new creations. It is the transformation of Jesus Christ in our lives, that leads us to hate who we were and look forward only to what we are to become. We want our old lives to die, and our new ones to begin. In a spiritual sense, we wish to take up our cross, and follow Him. We wish our carnal nature to be put to death, and our loving nature to be created and reborn in us. This transformation is so complete in the life of one saved by Jesus Christ, that they are even willing to die physically to preserve it. The testimony of those saved by Jesus Christ, whether Martyrs of the dark ages, or converts of the present age rings true and the same for all time – Jesus Saves. Our new lives are the only ones worth living. The brevity of time we spend in this sin sick world is of little consequence, its only value is to share in the mission of pointing others to the same source of saving, redeeming, transforming love, that of Jesus Christ alone. The Blood of the Lamb truly does save us from ourselves and our slavery to serve self. And the declaration John hears begins with the beautiful word … “Now”!!
John continues in verse 12 … “Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” The devil being cast out of heaven now takes on an urgency he would not have felt 6000 years earlier. He knows our judgment is at an end. He knows our Salvation has arrived. He sees the power of Christ alive in those who choose to follow Him, in the woman who represents His church. Satan has been defeated in heaven and cast out. His time is nearly done. And his anger has reached a pinnacle. The “woe” we are warned about, is not to underestimate his hatred of God, and any who would be redeemed of God, and transformed by God. The only recourse Satan has to inflict pain upon God is through the torture of those who God loves, namely us. So in cruelest irony, Satan inspires man to kill man in the name of our loving God. He inspires fundamentalism and extremism in the same easy prey, and teaches them to kill those infidels who do not share their conviction and beliefs. Satan replaces love with hate in the heart of even those who call themselves Christians. Under the guise of “purity”, Satan would purge the church of Christ with the sword. Instead of healing those wounded by sin, Satan would inspire Christians to kill the wounded, cast them out, and show them only hate instead of unconditional love. Love would draw them to transformation, but hate will keep them away from it. So Satan unleashes his woes, not so much on the world of unbelievers, but on those who are in the process of choosing to be saved from themselves.
John continues in verse 13 … “And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. [verse 14] And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” Satan the dragon continues to pursue the true followers of Christ. He has not accepted defeat, but instead only escalated his attacks. But the woman is preserved for a time (one year, or 360 days), times (two years or 720 days) and a half a time (or 6months equal to 180 days) … adding up to 1260 days. Those who remained faithful to Christ, who comprised the woman Church who alone was led and preserved and protected by Christ, were at war with the dragon. He would have won without the preservation of God. This is point we modern Christians hate to acknowledge. In a contest of man against Satan, man loses. We do NOT win. We lose, every single time. It is for this truth, that we need not fight. It is for this truth, that our Christ never loses. When we let God fight the dragon, the dragon loses every single time. We are saved from ourselves by Christ, not the man in the mirror.
John continues in verse 15 … “And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. [verse 16] And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.” The best way to thwart the truth of Christ is to dilute it with other ideas. So the dragon sends a flood of people, ideas, and doctrines to carry away the woman from the source of the pure truth of Jesus Christ. We do not have one church now. We have “n” number of denominations all claiming to be the One church of Jesus Christ. If he could not constrain Christianity with the iron fist of Catholicism united with the power of the state, then he would dilute Christianity with an innumerable number of doctrines subtly yet distinctly different from one another, so as to lead one group of believers to despise another for their lack of clarity on a given point of scripture. The evidence that we are truly His followers, in that we “love one another” fades against our desire to preserve our pure doctrines against the false teachings of our contemporaries.
The earth opens her mouth and swallows up the flood, in that the people could not completely overwhelm the truth. Europe expanded its population and ideas to the Americas. Those seeking religious freedom found a new place to travel to where it would be harder to be oppressed. But the diluting effects of the flood remain in place for us today. In every faith, in every denomination who claims to follow Christianity, the same struggle remains. Do we look to find salvation by the works of our hands, or do we trust our invisible God to fulfill His promise to change us from the inside out should we let Him? Do we look to find truth in the person of Jesus Christ, or like our Pharisee forefathers, do we trust our own interpretations of the Word to be the only ones of merit? Do we show unconditional love to others, or do we abhor their presence in our midst for the knowledge of what sins they still cling to? The flood has not abated. The dragon has not resigned. The dilution of the pure truth of Jesus Christ can find its solace in well-meaning studies of the word. Those who use scripture as a weapon of condemnation will find themselves wholly on the side of the dragon. Those who love others to the throne of grace, by the transforming power of Jesus Christ alive in their lives, share the mission of the Lamb in the redemption of the world. Only when led by Christ, by love, by the goal of redemption, can scripture ever be rightly understood. Christ is more important than our interpretations of the word. Love is more important. For God is Love.
John continues in verse 17 … “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Note that the dragon remains angry with the church who follow God. His flood has not fully succeeded. Despite his best efforts, there are those who remain loyal to the idea that Jesus Christ can truly save us from ourselves. There remain those who recognize the goal of our salvation is to be remade in harmony with the law of God, not to disregard it. To keep the commandments of God in spirit and in truth, we must be transformed by the power of Jesus Christ to be made in harmony with the law. This is something we simply cannot do for ourselves. The vanity of our attempts at keeping the law absent our transformation is a tool the dragon uses to discourage and dishearten us as he points out our failures again and again. Those who attempt to keep the law without Christ know they fail repeatedly. It is our condition. It is our nature. It is what we must be reborn to see change.
But those who have been transformed by the power and love of Jesus Christ, those who have allowed Him to remake them, to kill their carnal nature and give rebirth to a spiritual one – these have a testimony that WILL NOT remain silent. These keep the law because they cannot imagine life any other way. These understand the law to be a basis of learning how to love others and to love God from which the love of others originates. These do more than give lip service to a list of do’s and don’ts scribbled in the book of Exodus, instead they embrace the law of love for others in how they live, how they speak, and what they do. They appear like magnets, drawing others to the foot of the cross, because the love within them is irresistible. It is these remnant, these few, these transformed souls in EVERY church, in EVERY walk of life, in EVERY nation, kindred, tongue and people who the dragon seeks to find and destroy. If allowed to live unmolested, just these remnant few would change the entire world in a very short order.
The power of a life transformed by Christ, carries such a heavy influence on every soul it touches. People are drawn to this kind of love. They cannot imagine it. They cannot understand it. They only know, they must have more of it. They WANT to find its source. They develop within themselves a reason and motive to change into people like they bear witness of. They too want what we have. They too want to live in a way that brings this kind of joy, this kind of love, this kind of unique method of living. In this transformational power of Jesus Christ is rooted the true and ONLY draw of Christianity. It is this simple truth the dragon sought to dilute with his flood. If he can keep us away from the transformation Christ offers us, he can win. But when we turn our hearts and minds over to Christ, when we are remade from the inside out, we become imbued with power of the Holy Spirit, and God will NOT be stopped. It is not our power, but His that shines to the world. It is not our love, but His that draws the hearts of mankind. It is not our miracles, but His power working through our broken tools that brings life to those in need. The outpouring of the latter rain becomes a phenomenon the world has yet to witness. It is this Salvation, John hears declared in the halls of heaven. And despite his war against it, the dragon is cast out. It is NOW when His strength is to see us remade by the Blood of the Lamb, and our Salvation from ourselves seen completed.
But two more beasts were yet to be named and more revelations were to come …
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