Great
Chapters in
Revelation
•So to summarize. It would be through
childbirth that God would ultimately conquer
the power of the devil on earth. But before
that there would be enmity. Ultimately who
was the one who crushed the serpent’s head?
•Much of the old testament is about childbirth.
The promise to Abraham....that he would be a
father of a great nation. The promise made by
The Woman and the Dragon
the prophets referring to a child who would be
born in the future who would save and
About
Within the book of Revelation,
there are some establish God’s kingdom. Childbirth was big!
wonderfully enlightening, images that help us to This explains why the Bible has so many
understand the big picture of God’s work in the world. genealogies. It tracks the progress of God’s
Today’s chapter is about the Woman And the Dragon
from Chapter 12 of Revelation: a theme that runs unfolding plan to crush the serpents head by
throughout scripture. Before we get into it though, we the offspring of a woman.
Matthew even
need to reflect back to where it began
begins his Gospel with one! If you really want
someone to read a book, it’s not usually a good
Genesis 3:14-15
idea to begin with a genealogy! But this just
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, shows you how deeply rooted the Bible is in
“Because you have done this, “Cursed are
the whole God’s going to save the world
you above all the livestock and all the wild
through the birth of a child. For a Jew,
animals! You will crawl on your belly and
Matthew’s Gospel could not have started in a
you will eat dust all the days of your life.
more exciting way!
15 And I will put enmity between you
and the woman, and between your offspring
and hers; he will crush your head, and you
will strike his heel.”
On To Revelation
The imagery of the woman and the dragon is
so far reaching and so broad in scope that at as
we read it, we must not seek to make it
smaller than it actually is.
Revelation is
•There would be enmity (that is strife) Symbolic language that is deeply connected to
between the offspring of the Serpent and the the rest of scripture.
The enemies of
offspring of the woman. The offspring of the Christians couldn’t understand Revelation, but
woman would do what? And what would the Christians who knew the scripture would
happen to him in the process?
quite readily understand what was being said.
So as we read this. We will scan our biblical
knowledge to fill in the gaps in the Symbols.
Revelation 12:1-2
1 A great and wondrous 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 cried out in pain as she was about to give
birth.
So let’s interpret the following images using
what we already know from scripture:
A woman clothed in Radiant Garments
Revelation 12:3-6
3 Then another sign appeared in heaven:
an enormous red dragon with seven heads
and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads.
4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the
sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon
stood in front of the woman who was about to
give birth, so that he might devour her child
the moment it was born. 5 She gave birth to a
son, a male child, who will rule all the
nations with an iron scepter. And her child
was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6
The woman fled into the desert to a place
prepared for her by God, where she might be
taken care of for 1,260 days.
Okay Let’s Interpret:
Why twelve stars in her crown?
Dragon
RED Dragon
She’s giving Birth
Seven Heads?
•Unlike The Risen Jesus of Chapter 1 of
Revelation who is his own source of Glory.
The woman here is clothed....she is not the
Lord, but is gloriously clothed.
Ten Horns and Seven Crowns?
He wants to Devour the child.
Relevant Scripture
Ephesians 5:25-27
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as She gives Birth to a child who will rule with
Christ loved the church and gave himself up
and “Iron Scepter”
for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by
the washing with water through the word,
Psalm 2
27 and to present her to himself as a radiant “You are my Son; today I have become your
church, without stain or wrinkle or any Father. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the
other blemish, but holy and blameless.
nations your inheritance, the ends of the
earth your possession. 9 You will rule them
•So who is this woman here depicted in
with an iron scepter; you will dash them to
Revelation?
pieces like pottery.”
10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be
warned, you rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the
LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you
be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can
flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who
take refuge in him.
Exodus 19:4
‘You yourselves have seen what I did to
Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’
wings and brought you to myself.
Child snatched up
Spewed torrent from the Serpent’s
Mouth
Time Times and half a Time
Woman fled into the Desert
The rest of her offspring
Revelation 12:13-17
13 When the dragon saw that he had been
hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman
who had given birth to the male child. 14 The
woman was given the two wings of a great
eagle, so that she might fly to the place
prepared for her in the desert, where she
would be taken care of for a time, times and
half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15
Then from his mouth the serpent spewed
water like a river, to overtake the woman and
sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the
earth helped the woman by opening its mouth
and swallowing the river that the dragon had
spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon
was enraged at the woman and went off to
make war against the rest of her offspring—
those who obey God’s commandments and
hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Interpret:
Pursued the Woman who had given birth
Eagles wings