Revelation 12
Chapter 12 is another description of the Great Tribulation, a prophecy that folds over another prophecy in order to bring in more detail. Revelation is not chronologically written, or we would be moving forward from the end of the tribulation we read about in chapter 11.
In verse 6, John refers to the 3 ½ years when the Jews flee from the Antichrist. This is the second half of the 70th week of Daniel, the last 7 years before the rapture and the Day of the Lord.
THE WOMAN: Israel
John describes Israel as a woman in chapter 12. She is described as having a garland of 12 stars, which are her twelve tribes. This chapter tells of the prophetic focus on the Jews and when God brings an end to the rule of all nations, placing His Christ in authority on the earth for the Millennium.
THE CHILD: Jesus
She had a child. That child is Christ, the promised Messiah who had to be born as a human to become our sacrifice, and Abraham’s bloodline was chosen to be the family through whom the Messiah would come.
He is born, He has an earthly ministry, He dies and takes the authority of sin and death away from Satan, God raises Him from the dead, and God brings Christ back to Heaven where Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to the Church.
THE DRAGON: Satan
Satan is figuratively pictured as having seven heads and ten horns. He has seven diadems on his heads. From other prophecy, we know there will be ten horns, or leaders, that will have power in the end times. From Revelation 17:9 we see that seven heads are seven hills. We know that Rome is built on seven hills, a reference to the city or the previous kingdom where Satan has operated from.
Part of the description of Satan is taking one-third of the stars with him. Satan used to be Lucifer, an angel who once worshipped the Lord. He rebelled against God, and God through Him out of Heaven quickly and with force, as lightening from heaven. When he went, he took one-third of the angels with him. We see those fallen angels as the demons, or evil spirits, that work against God and His church.
It was Satan who tried to kill Jesus as a toddler through King Herod the Great. When the king heard a Jewish king had been born, his objective was to do away with the child before the child grew into a man. Satan was behind King Herod’s edict to kill all Hebrew boys under the ages of two.
Satan was thrown out of Heaven. He gained entrance into the Earth through Adam’s sin. Satan will again get thrown out, but this time from Earth. Before Christ comes to bring an end to Satan’s kingdom, Satan will go after the Jew, and not only the Jew, but her offspring, the Church, who are present during the Great Tribulation, the last 3 ½ years.
We overcome, but how do we overcome Satan during the Great Tribulation? Verse 11 says we overcame Satan by the blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony, and because we don’t love their life unto death. Time is short, and Satan knows it. He is going to do all He can in those 42 months. God knows it, and God allows it. This is why God has shared prophecy foretelling it. He doesn’t want us to be caught unaware.
Micah 6-7
Through the prophet Micah, God calls on His people to debate Him, to plead their case. God makes His case, going back to Moses and the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt. He mentions Aaron and Miriam, part of Moses’ team. God also brings us the prophet Balaam, saying, “that you may know the righteousness of the Lord.”
In chapter 6:6-7 is an answer of man, “What can we do to please God? How much sacrifice will it take?”
Then Micah answers with one of my favorite Scriptures, in verse 8 he says, “… what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”
As a New Testament believer, we know our salvation comes from our humble surrender to God through Jesus Christ. We get a new heart, and we uphold what is right. The only way we receive forgiveness of our sins is through God’s mercy. Under the Old Testament, the way to know God will still through receiving mercy, humbly surrendering to the Law, and upholding what is right.
In Chapter 7, Micah goes looking for evidences of faithfulness to God, but finds none. Micah expresses his sorrow for Israel’s sin. Then we see God’s forgiveness and right standing. He gives a legal illustration of being pardoned, ending this book with another favorite Scripture of mine found in verse 18 “HE DELIGHTS IN MERCY.” It says He will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea, a place so deep thy are completely UNRECOVERABLE. HALLELUJAH!
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