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| The Woman and the Dragon |
Revelation 12:13-17 “And when the dragon saw that he was cast onto the earth, he pursued the woman who bore the male.”
“One of the darkest stains of the history of mankind has been the persistent specter of anti-Semitism. Over the centuries the Jews have faced more hatred and persecution than any other people.” - John MacArthur
“But the darkest hour in the long history of anti-Semitism was yet to come. In the early 1930’s the Nazi party came to power in Germany and their insane racial theories became public policy. Unlike others who had persecuted the Jewish people, the Nazis and their maniacal leader, Adolf Hitler, did not merely seek to persecute the Jews, but to eliminate them.”
“It is the fervent hope of the Jewish people that the horrors of the Holocaust will never again be repeated. The Bible warns that a time of suffering lies ahead for Israel that will be worse than anything the nation has endured in the past. Jeremiah called that time ‘the time of Jacob’s distress’ (Jer. 30:7). Jesus described it as ‘a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will’ (Matt. 24:21).”
During the days of the Tribulation Satan will make his last, desperate attempt to eliminate the Israel of God.
“Following his defeat by Michael and the holy angels the dragon (Satan) was thrown down to the earth. Frustrated and enraged by his ejection from heaven and desperate, ‘knowing that he has only a short time’ left to oppose God’s plans before he is incarcerated in the abyss, the devil furiously persecuted the woman, who gave birth to the male child. The Greek verb translated persecuted means ‘to pursue,’ ‘to chase,’ or ‘to hunt’.” -John MacArthur
Verse 14 “And were given to the woman two wings of the great eagle (symbolizing strength and speed), that she may fly into the wilderness, (an uninhabited, uncultivated track of land) to the place of her, where she is nourished (provided provisions, perhaps taught by God) there a time, and times, and half a time, from (the) face (aims and objectives, the purpose of mind) of the serpent (turning all his energies against the Israel of God).”
Holman Commentary – “Sky-drama has turned into earth-drama. The dragon’s angels have faded away; the woman who had given birth to the male child reappears. There is a great contest between the two. If the dragon cannot prevail against Michael, perhaps he can destroy the woman.”
Verse 15 “And the serpent cast water out of his mouth like a river after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried off by the river (seeking to ruin, consume and destroy her by that which comes out of his mouth – evil teachings - attributing to himself the attributes of God, so as God to sit). And the earth helped the woman, and opened the earth the mouth of it and swallowed the river (of religious debauchery) which the dragon cast out of the mouth of him.”
John MacArthur- “But just as He sheltered Israel from Satan’s initial onslaught, so also will God defeat this second assault. In dramatic fashion, the earth helped the woman; it opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. The imagery is reminiscent of Moses’ description of God’s destruction of Pharaoh’s army in Exodus 15:12: ‘You stretched out Your right hand, the earth swallowed them.” Another Old Testament parallel is the dramatic story of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, whose rebellion against Moses was crushed by God in a shocking, dramatic fashion:
Moses said, ‘By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not my doing. If these men die the death of all men or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the Lord.’
Then it came about as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground that was under them split open; and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. So they and all that belonged to them wend down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. (Num. 16:28-33)” -John MacArthur
Verse 17 “And the dragon was enraged over the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of the seed of her, those keeping the commandments of God and having the witness of Jesus Christ.”
