The Seven Great Persons of the End Times (chapters 12–15)
Though the seventh trumpet was recorded in 11:15 as having already sounded, the details of what will come out of the seventh trumpet are not revealed until chapter 16. Accordingly, chapters 12–15 view the prophecies of the end times from another perspective and introduce the great personages who are involved in the second half of the seven-year period.
Here are the seven persons who appear in chapters 12–13: (1) a woman clothed with the sun, representing Israel (12:1–2); (2) the red dragon with seven heads and 10 horns, representing Satan (12:3–4); (3) the male Child, representing Christ (12:5–6); (4) the archangel Michael, casting Satan out of heaven (12:7–12); (5) the offspring of the woman, persecuted by the dragon (12:13–17); (6) the beast out of the sea, the future world dictator (13:2–10); (7) the beast out of the earth, the false prophet (13:11–18).
These chapters do not advance the narrative chronologically, but present events and situations that are concurrent with the soundings of the trumpets. Chronological progress of events begins again in chapter 16.
The First Great Wonder: The Woman Clothed with the Sun (12:1–2).
v.1, “And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; 2 and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth”:
· This is the first of a series of events called “signs” or “miracles” (12:3; 13:13–14; 15:1; 16:14; 19:20):
o As signs, they were symbols of something that God was about to reveal and usually contains an element of prophetic warning.
o Though this sign was seen in heaven, the events, which followed, actually occur on the earth.
· The first of the seven persons to be introduced in this section of Revelation is described as a “great wonder” in heaven, or, better translated, a “great sign” (Greek = semeion). Though what John beholds excites his wonder, he does not use the Greek word for wonder (teras), a word, which does not occur in Revelation:
o The main point is that it is a sign or symbol of important truth rather than merely a wonder. This sign, in verse 1, is distinguished by being called ”great.”
o Though the sign is seen in heaven, it apparently portrays a reality on the earth, for later, the woman pictured is persecuted by Satan in the Great Tribulation.
o The woman is described as clothed with the sun, having the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. Also, she is with child, awaiting the imminent birth of her son.
· Many explanations have been offered for the identity of this woman. The woman does not represent Christ, or the Church in general, but rather the nation of Israel as the setting from which Christ came.
· Other representative women are mentioned in the Apocalypse such as:
o Jezebel (2:20) the representative of false religion as a system.
o The harlot (17:1-7, 15-18) as the apostate church of the future.
o The Bride, the Lamb’s wife, is the Church joined to Christ in glory.
o The Church of Jesus Christ is pictured as the virgin bride in 2 Cor. 11:2 and the Lamb’s wife in Rev. 19:7.
· In the Old Testament, Israel is frequently portrayed as the wife of Jehovah, with her character being that of an unfaithful wife to her husband. Here is the godly remnant of Israel is standing true and faithful to God during the time of the Great Tribulation.
· The description of the woman as clothed with the sun and the moon is an allusion to Genesis 37:9-11, where these heavenly bodies represent Jacob and Rachel, thereby identifying the woman with the fulfillment of the Abraham Covenant:
o In the same context, the 12 stars seem to refer to the 12 tribes, the patriarchs, which are sons of Jacob (Israel).
o The evidence from this chapter supports this identification of the woman as Israel.
o Israel is obviously the source from which many of the blessings of God have come including: the Bible, Jesus Christ, and the apostles to name only a few.
o The persecution of the woman also corresponds with the persecution of Israel.
· The woman, as the nation of Israel, is seen here as travailing in childbirth and waiting for the delivery of her child:
o Frequently in Scripture, the nation of Israel is pictured as going through great trial and affliction.
o This woman was said to be pregnant and about to give birth (12:2). While in some sense this may be fulfilled in the birth of Christ to the Virgin Mary, the context seems to refer to the emerging nation of Israel in its suffering just prior to the second coming of Christ, at the end of the Great Tribulation.
o Though historically, the nation gave birth to Christ through the Virgin Mary, the implication of verse 2 is that the references are to the sufferings of Israel as a nation, rather than the previous human birth of Christ.
The Second Person: The Red Dragon, Satan
v.3, “And another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. 4 And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven, and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child”:
· The second sign appearing in heaven is described as “a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns upon his head”:
o From the similar description given in 13:1 and the parallel reference in Daniel 7:7-8, 24, it is clear that the revived Roman Empire is in view here.
· Satan is also called “the Dragon” in 12:9, and it’s clear that the dragon is both the empire and the representation of satanic power:
o The color red may indicate his murderous characteristics.
· The 7 heads and 10 horns referred to the original 10 kingdoms of which three were subdued by the little horn of Daniel 7:8, who is to be identified with the world ruler of the Great Tribulation, who reins over the revived the Roman Empire.
· The tail of the dragon is said to sweep away “a third part of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth”:
o This seems to refer to the gathering, under his power, of those who oppose him politically and spiritually involving his temporary conquest of a large portion of the earth.
· The dragon is seen awaiting the birth of the child with the intent to destroy it as soon as it’s born:
o The allusion, here, is unmistakably to the circumstances surrounding the birth of Christ in Bethlehem (the dragon is referring to the Roman empire at that time as dominated by Satan) and the attempts of Herod to destroy the baby Jesus.
o It is significant that Herod, as an Edomite, was a descendant of Esau and of the people who were the traditional enemies of Jacob (Israel) and his descendants.
o Whether motivated by his family hostility to the Jews or by political consideration because he did not want competition in his office as King, Herod nevertheless fulfilled, historically, this reference to the destruction of children in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16-18).
o Satanic opposition to the nation of Israel, and especially to the Messianic line, is clear in the Old and New Testaments.
The Third Person: The Male Child, Christ
v.5, “And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she might be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days”:
· The woman identified as Israel in verses 1 and 2, is said in verse 5, to bring forth the man child who is destined to rule all the nations, but who, for the time being, is caught up to God, to the throne.
· Though expositors have somewhat agreed that the woman is Israel, there has been considerable differences of opinion on the identity of the man-child:
o Some have argued that this is the New Testament Church destined to reign with Christ and that the act of being “caught up to God” is the Rapture.
· Though the woman with child is identified with Israel collectively, rather than with the Virgin Mary specifically, the interpretation that the man-child is Christ himself is by far the preferred interpretation.
· The Greek words for “male child,” with the emphasis upon his gender (hyion arsen means “son male”), favors identification of the child as Christ, rather than as the Church, which would be a feminine Greek word (ekklesia):
o Alford concludes, “The man-child is the Lord Jesus Christ, and none other. He is described as destined to rule all nations with the rod of iron. This is an allusion to Psalm 2:9, ‘Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potters vessel.’ A similar expression is found Revelation 19:15, where it is stated of Christ, “He shall rule them with a rod of iron.”
o His rule over all nations with the rod of iron is to be distinguished from His rule over Israel, which is more benevolent in character.
· The catching up of the man-child to God and to His throne seems to be a portrayal of the ascension of Christ:
o Alford interprets this as meaning that “after a conflict with the prince of this world [Satan], who came and tried him, but found nothing in Him, the Son of the woman was taken up to heaven and sat on the right hand of God. Words can hardly be plainer than these.”
· An alternative view is that the “was caught up” refers to the flight to Egypt:
o Shortly after the birth of Christ, Joseph was instructed to flee to Egypt in order to escape the wrath of Herod. Later, Joseph and his family were directed to return to Nazareth.
o Some have objected to the idea that a child caught up to God pictures the ascension of Christ on the ground that “was caught up” connotes being delivered from danger, which was not the case at the ascension of Christ, but was true in the flight to Egypt.
· The Greek word here (harpazo), is sometimes used to means “to seize” or ”to catch up,” or to “snatch away” as a wild beast would its prey, as in John 10:12 where the wolf “catches, seizes” them and scatters the sheep.
· However, the same word is used for the Rapture of the Church in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 where the Church is “caught up” or “snatched away” to heaven:
o The same word is used of Paul being “caught up” to paradise (2 Corinthians 12:2, 4) and of the Spirit of God “catching up” Philip (Acts 8:39).
o In addition, the Rapture of the Church would not constitute a deliverance of the man-child from Satan.
· If the identification of the 24 elders is rightly understood as the Church in heaven, it would seem to mix metaphors to have the Church represented as a male child, especially when the Church is regarded in chapter 19 as the wife and bride.
· There is no good reason for not identifying the man-child as Christ and interpreting verse 5 as the panorama of His birth, life, and ascension:
o The fact that He is caught up, not only to God, but also to “His throne,” is another indication that Christ is intended.
· Next, we see John’s attention directed to the mother of the child, again represented by Israel:
o Here, she is seen in the time of Great Tribulation as fleeing into the wilderness to a place prepared by God.
o The deliverance takes place when the woman flees into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, and she is preserved for 1,260 days, which is three and one-half years, or 42 months of 30 days each.
o Matthew (24:16) referred to the flight of Israel at the beginning of the Great Tribulation. References to both the desert and the mountains is not a contradiction as both are wilderness areas in the land of Israel.
o It is in her desert hideout that Israel will be cared for, perhaps as miraculously as Israel was in her wilderness journey from Egypt to the Promised Land.
o The time period of 1,260 days, is later described as “a time, times, and half a time” (Rev. 12:14).
· There is obviously a large time lapse between verses 5 and 6, but this is not an uncommon occurrence in prophecy:
o The first and second coming of Christ are frequently spoken of in the same sentence.
· And as much as Israel is in comparative tranquility and safety in the first 3 ½ years of Daniels 70th the week (Daniel 9:27), the reference must be to the preservation of a portion of the nation Israel through the Great Tribulation to await the second coming of Christ.
Whew! There’s a lot here to digest. Reading it several times may be helpful.
May the Lord continue to bless you as you grow in your knowledge of His Word.
By His Grace,
Gary T. Dromi, Ph.D., D.Min.
