THE ONGOING DRAMA OF REVELATION CHAPTER TWELVE

‘AND THEY OVERCAME HIM BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB AND BY THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY, AND THEY DID NOT LOVE THEIR LIVES TO THE DEATH.’ REVELATION 12:11

‘AND THE DRAGON WAS ENRAGED WITH THE WOMAN, AND HE WENT TO MAKE WAR WITH THE REST OF HER OFFSPRING, WHO KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD AND HAVE THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS.’ REVELATION 12:17

How one reads the Book of Revelation changes the Christian’s view on just about everything he reads in the Bible. As one looks at Revelation, he is faced with two possible interpretive grids by which the book may be understood. This choice is as determinative of one’s view on life as a man who stands at the fork of two pathways which travel in two completely opposite directions. How one sees the book of Revelation determines his view of the entire biblical narrative. As we come now to the book of Revelation we must decide quickly which of these two pathways we shall take. The disputed territory lies in chapters four through nineteen (no one disputes chapters 1-3). The basic debate is whether those chapters serve as a description of the end times which are still yet to happen (usually called the Great Tribulation) or as a description of the current church age that we are all currently experiencing (see 1 Timothy 4:1 and 1 John 2:18). The first path leads to a view that the events of the end times will be qualitatively more destructive than anything we see in the world today. Often this leads to a speculative mindset that is always looking for clues as to when these unique end times events will begin. Some hold the view that the world will be so bad that the church will be taken out of the world so as not to suffer the outpouring of God’s wrath. This is probably the viewpoint most popular today in evangelicalism. Often it looks more to the church’s release from suffering rather than honing in on the necessity for the church to learn to suffer and endure in her present distress. Those who opt for the interpretation that chapters four through nineteen are written for the present day church are more apt to see the Christian church as an military force ready to take up arms and fight the forces of wickedness. The Christian life is more than waiting for God’s redemption; it is about the ongoing struggle. In this view the book of Revelation is more about preparing and fighting than waiting and speculating. The twelfth chapter of Revelation, which is the focus of this article, is one of those chapters where one’s viewpoint makes all the difference in how one interprets the drama described. In this article we will argue that this twelfth chapter argues convincingly for the view that we have here a summary of the church age beginning with the birth of Jesus and moving on through the age that consummates with the Second Coming. So we ask the following questions. What exactly is going on here and when will these events occur? To answer that let us first introduce all the characters in this divine drama. First, there is God the Ruler and Creator of all who lurks behind every passage in Revelation. Then there are the spiritual forces of evil, which are Satan —the dragon—and his minions. Then we have the spiritual forces of good, Michael and all the good angels (12:7). After that we have the woman who bore the male child (more on that later) and the male child Himself (ditto; see verses 4-5). We also have reference to the martyrs who had paid the ultimate price for their faith (vs 11). And finally we have the inhabitants of the earth (the world) who shall receive the wrath of the Satan because he knows his time is short (vs 12). It should become obvious to the reader that all these players are part of the current church drama. That is, this chapter does not depict unique events that hone in on one specific point of history at the very end of time. The point is that if we understand all these events being part of the ongoing drama of spiritual warfare in history, then that frames our understanding of what is going on here in this twelfth chapter. So let the reader determine if this chapter describes what is going on today. Let us dig in. The chapter begins with two signs, a beautifully adorned woman and the dragon, who is clearly Satan. The woman gives birth to a male who is described as One to “rule all nations with a rod of iron.” This is clearly a reference to Psalm 2:9 and speaks of the Messiah. Thus the woman who gives birth to the Messiah can only be one of two entities. Some understand the woman to be Mary. But this seems a stretch since the entire book of Revelation is not about Mary but rather is dedicated to the spiritual battle between the forces of good and evil. And since the church is often referred to in the feminine (the bride of Christ, etc.) it seems right to say that this woman is the church who gives birth to the Messiah. Specifically this refers to the people of the God in the Old Testament who brought the Messiah into the world. Since in the New Covenant the people of God is the church, the woman must speak of the church (remember the book is written to seven churches). Next we see the dragon desiring to kill the child as he stands near the woman in labor (vs 4). Clearly this is a reference to devil’s attempt to murder the Messiah before he grows up, a fact seen in Herod’s efforts to slay the innocents. Next we read that the woman flees to the wilderness for one thousand two hundred and sixty days (3 1/2 years, 42 months). This span of time is repeated throughout Revelation and can only be taken figuratively as the entire church age. This is supported by the prophecy of Daniel which seems to identify the second half of the 70th week of Daniel as the church age (see Daniel 9:27) and is further designated in that book by the formula “time (1), times (2) and half a time (1/2)” (see Daniel 7::25). Next we learn that the woman, knowing she is under siege by the forces of evil, flees into the wilderness. In that wilderness she is supported by God Himself (vs 6). Again this highlights the fact that the church was, is, and always will be a group of strangers and foreigners living in a hostile world whose true citizenship is in heaven and whose Protector is the living God. While all this is happening on earth the scene shifts to heaven (vss 7-12). Here we witness a war between the forces of good and evil that ends in Satan’s expulsion from from heaven (vs 9; also see Jesus’ analysis in Luke 16:18). Previous to this, Satan seems to have had access to God’s throne room (see Job 1:6). This expulsion from heaven coincides with the ascension of the Messiah after His death and who has led captivity captive and has assumed his rightful place at the right hand of the Father. Now that Satan has been kicked out of heaven his domain is now limited to the earth which he targets with malice, especially the woman. This fact causes heaven to rejoice and earth to mourn (vs 12). This highlights the fact that throughout her history the church, being the seed of the woman, will always be the central target of the seed of Satan (see Gen 3:15). Looking at this chapter as the church’s ongoing struggle against the forces of evil helps us to understand what is happening to the church at this present hour. The entire world is ruled by Satan at the present. He is called “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). It should not surprise us that every sector of human society is under his sway, whether that be entertainment, education, politics, the judicial system, false religion, the arts and most platforms of communication. The only place where Satan does not reign supreme is the church, which is an outpost of heaven. This teaches us as Christians that the battle is epic and constant and that our foe is not material things but the spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12). Every day Satan literally tries to destroy the church which alone is “the pillar and ground of the truth.” And every day the church wakes up to a new attack. This is indicated by the serpent spewing water out of his mouth in order to wash the church away (vs 15). But as we said before, God, who employs the created order, always comes to the aid of the true church (vs 16). As Satan rages, God protects. His beloved bride cannot be ultimately destroyed for the gates of hell shall not prevail against her (vs 16). But this fight is not to be engaged passively. The church fights and overcomes the forces of evil by the blood of the Lamb (i.e. the message of the cross; see vs 11). This only further enrages Satan who continues his onslaught with a venom that never ends. And so we see that fierce combat will be the lot of the church until the end comes when Satan will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:10). But until then the church must watch and fight for Satan and his minions never sleep. By looking at Revelation as the church age, the reader has now brought himself into the story and is able to prepare his heart and mind. Two things come from this view of Revelation. First, the church must always be about fighting the devil and every form of error until time is no more. And second, the church errs greatly to think that she will conquer evil completely so that she may rest from her labors. The fighting, so Revelation teaches us, shall never stop ‘till Christ comes back. Evil shall always be with us until the end. But then someday, as Revelation tells us, the church militant will become the church triumphant as she witnesses the glorious coming of her Lord. As for beast, the false prophet, Satan, and all that fight against God, there will be but one destiny, the lake of fire. But the church will end in glory… and that without fail. This, by the way, is exactly how the book of Revelation ends. Amen.