Three Reasons for Confidence before a Raging Devil – Revelation 12:1-17
12 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. (2) She was pregnant; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain as she was about to give birth. (3) Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. (4) His tail swept a third of the stars out of heaven, and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she delivered her child he might devour him. (5) She gave birth to a son, a male child, who is destined to rule all the nations with an iron scepter. Her child was carried away to God and to his throne.
(6) The woman fled into the wilderness, where there is a place for her prepared by God, so that they may take care of her there for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. (7) And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels waged war against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. (8) But they could not prevail, and so they lost their place in heaven. (9) The enormous dragon was flung down—the ancient serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was flung down to the earth, and his angels were flung down with him.
(10) Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ; for the accuser of our brethren, he who accuses them before our God day and night, has been flung down! (11) They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the confession of their faith; and they did not love their life even when faced with death. (12) Therefore, rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and to the sea, because the devil has come down to you. He is filled with fury, because he knows that he has only a short time.”
(13) When the dragon saw that he had been flung down to the earth, he persecuted 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 to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she is protected from the face of the serpent for a time, and times, and half a time. (15) The serpent spit water like a river out of his mouth at the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the torrent. (16) But the earth helped the woman; the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spit out of his mouth. (17) The dragon was enraged against the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep the commandments of God and maintain their profession of faith in Jesus.*
*Literally, “and hold the testimony of Jesus.”
Now proceed to the next section of this study, entitled, Exploring the Passage.
