Revelation 12:1-6,13-17
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. 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.
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. (NIV)
- Who does the woman represent?
- HINT: The sun is the source of light.
- HINT: She gave birth to a son.
- HINT: "12" stars
- Who is the child?
- HINT: Satan tried to kill him immediately after birth. (Matthew 2:16-18, Revelation 12:4)
- HINT: The child will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. (Psalm 2:1-12; Revelation 2:27, 19:11-16)
- Who does the woman represent - Part II?
- NOTE: We see the woman herself escaping in Revelation 12:6 and Revelation 12:14, but we also see more of her offspring in verse 17; who are they that are subject to the attack of the Beast?
- HINT: Revelation 12:17
- Who are the rest of her offspring?
- HINT: Daniel 11:33-35 "refined, purified and made spotless"
- What is the difference between the woman and the rest of her
offspring?
- HINT: Read Revelation 7:1-8
- HINT: Read Revelation 14:1-5
- Question: Do these 144,000 Israelites need to be refined?
- What is the purpose of the seal?
- HINT: Revelation 9:4
- Who receives the identifying seal?
- HINT: Revelation 7:4-8
- Who is not given the identifying seal?
- HINT: Revelation 12:17
- HINT: Revelation 16:2
- NOTE: The 144,000 Israelites are blameless in God's sight. They are a body of Israelites who are faithful to God in all that they do. They are the Woman depicted here and the rest of her offspring are the Israelites that acknowledge God, but not fully, they will be tried and tested during the 3 1/2 years of testing that will come upon the whole earth.
- Who does the dragon represent?
- HINT: Revelation 12:9
- Who do the stars represent?
- HINT: Revelation 1:20
- HINT: Daniel 8:10
- HINT Revelation 12:9 & Revelation 12:4
- In Revelation 12:15 what does the river represent?
- HINT: Isaiah 8:5-8
- HINT: Jeremiah 47:2-4
- HINT: Daniel 11:31
- When does the woman flee?
- HINT: Revelation 13:5 The Beast starts his 42 month reign.
- HINT: Revelation 19:20 The Beast's 42 month reign ends.
- HINT: The end time of testing lasts for a total of seven years. This is broken down into two halves. The second half, known as the day of the Lord, or the great tribulation, among other names, is the period that the Beast and his false prophet reign. More on this later.
- CLUE: Think Backward
- Notice that the twelfth chapter of Revelation starts out talking about the woman, then about Satan being cast down, then about the Lord's kingdom has come, then again the woman fleeing. When the devil is cast down he is filled with fury and tries to kill the remaining faithful on the earth, but God protects them--especially the woman. This protection extends for 3 1/2 years, or during the time that the Beast is given authority.
