CHRIST AND THE DRAGON. CHAPTER S 12-14. (Genesis 3:15) _This is the fourth parallel section, and we again return to the First Coming of Christ._ "And I will place hostility between you and the woman and between your children [IDARO] and her children [IDARO]; he will crush your head, and you will st... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN A GREAT MYSTERIOUS SIGHT APPEARED IN THE SKY. _In the vision,_ the woman is symbolic of God's people in both the Old and New testaments. At the right time, Jesus is born of a human mother and lived under the Jewish Law (Galatians 4:4). There is a continuity between the Jewish church and the chu... [ Continue Reading ]
ANOTHER MYSTERIOUS SIGHT APPEARED IN THE SKY. In the vision, the huge red dragon is Satan. The seven heads, ten horns, and the crowns are a lot like those of the beast in _Revelation 17._ [Compare notes there. These can be understood as symbolic of the Roman Empire, but Satan uses all the government... [ Continue Reading ]
WITH HIS TALL. Symbolic of the great power this dragon has! [See Ephesians 2:1-3; Ephesians 6:10-13.] IN ORDER TO EAT HER CHILD. _Matthew 2_ helps us understand this. Satan, acting through Herod, has the male children of the Bethlehem area, two years old and under, _killed._ But Christ lives on, in... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN THE WOMAN GAVE BIRTH. The whole earthly life of Jesus. WHO WILL RULE. Compare Luke 19:27. BUT THE CHILD WAS SNATCHED AWAY. Christ being taken up to heaven to sit on his throne. See Revelation 5:7; Philippians 2:9.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WOMAN FLED TO THE DESERT. Symbolic of the fact that Satan cannot destroy God's people 1,260 DAYS. See note on Revelation 11:2.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN WAR BROKE OUT IN HEAVEN. The central idea of Revelation 12:7-12 is that Christ's atonement [God's act in Christ to set men free] frustrates the Devil. Note that Michael and his angels do the attacking. The dragon is defeated and expelled from heaven. See notes on Revelation 20:1-3.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN I HEARD A LOUD VOICE IN HEAVEN SAYING. The picture John has seen in Revelation 12:7-9 is now explained by what he hears. Satan has been "thrown out of heaven" in the sense that he has lost his place as the "accuser of our brothers." Compare Romans 8:33-34. NOW GOD'S SALVATION HAS COME! This is... [ Continue Reading ]
OUR BROTHERS WON THE VICTORY! This is the second effect. The blood of the Lamb, and the Truth of the Good News, permit escape from the "law of sin and death" (Romans 8:1-4).... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THE DEVIL HAS COME DOWN. This is the third effect. Satan is filled with rage because time is running out and he has already lost the fight! He wants to do as much harm as he can, before he is thrown into the "lake of fire" (Revelation 20:10).... [ Continue Reading ]
HE BEGAN TO PURSUE THE WOMAN. Revelation 12:13-17 form the third "picture." The central idea is that the Devil will now direct his fury against the messianic community.... [ Continue Reading ]
TO FLY TO HER PLACE IN THE DESERT. Symbolic of divine protection. That is, the Lord gives his people such strength that they can be faithful even to the point of death! THREE AND A HALF YEARS. See note on Revelation 11:2.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SERPENT POURED OUT A FLOOD OF WATER. Symbolic of words and language. Here it means: Lies, false doctrines, false ideologies. These are all things which hinder the spread of the Good News.... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THE EARTH HELPED THE WOMAN. Symbolic of the great masses of people. Even though Satan is able to use them against the church, they also _defeat_ Satan's purpose by "swallowing up" the "water" from his mouth.... [ Continue Reading ]
AGAINST THE REST OF HER DESCENDANTS. Satan makes his attack against individual Christians, hoping to "pick them off one by one." See note on Acts 6:13-14. Christians are to know that during this Gospel Age which stretches from Pentecost until the Second Coming, both good and bad will come to God's p... [ Continue Reading ]