November 17, 2023 | Be On Mission
The Pregnant Woman & the Red Dragon
Scripture: Revelation 12(NIV)
1 A great 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 its heads. 4 Its 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 it might devour her child the moment he 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 wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
11 They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.”
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 wilderness, 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 wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
Devotional
Chapters 12-14 in Revelation depict a massive conflict between God and Satan, carried out both in heaven and on earth. The male child is a clear reference to Christ. But the woman appears to be more than simply Mary. She represents the faithful followers of God, perhaps from the Old Testament, maybe from the New, or possibly from both.
The dragon is also called the ancient serpent, an allusion to the snake who tempted Adam and Eve in the first pages of the Bible. Sin had been unleashed in the world. Just before Adam and Eve’s son Cain killed his brother Abel, the Lord said to him, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it” (Genesis 4:6-7).
Here in Revelation 12 at the end of the Bible, the devil is depicted still at work in his effort to lead the world astray. Satan delighted when Jesus was crucified, but was distraught when He was “snatched up to God and to his throne.” In an effort to overthrow God Himself, the devil was hurled out of heaven in a cosmic battle. Jesus Himself had said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18).
This demonic dragon never gives up. Even today he wages war against those who boldly proclaim the name of Jesus. But don’t be dismayed. This slimy serpent has no authority over your life. Those who were reading this for the first time were suffering mightily under Roman persecution. They knew that they could be tormented, persecuted, and even killed. But nobody, not even Satan himself, could snatch them away from God’s grip of grace.
Satan is our accuser, but he has been hurled from heaven. His goal is to steal, kill and destroy, but he has been triumphed over by the blood of Jesus and the testimony of His followers. The dragon is flaming mad, but his time is short.
Read the end of the book.
Jesus wins!
Poem
Do Not Fear, Little Children
Do not fear, Little Children,
When you take to your bed
Attend to my story—
Though it’s filled with great dread—
A dragon of fire
Will come threat’ning and red
Do not fear, Little Children,
For when all has been said
A mother so gentle
Will birth a sweet child
Though born into pain,
He is gentle and mild
There’ll be fears all around you—
The demons, the wild--
Do not fear, Little Children,
You will not be defiled
This Child, He will save you
By rod and by arm
Bold Michael and angels,
This dragon disarm
For know while you’re sleeping
You’re protected from harm
Do not fear, Little Children,
Don’t let evil alarm
Do not fear, Little Children,
Find God’s rest in “Today”
For there will be a dawning
The birth of new day
The trumpet will sound
And from sleep you’ll awake
The Child will loud call you
“Come forth from the grave!”
On that day, great rejoicing
No dragon you’ll see
His minions and angels
Cast into deep sea
Do not fear, Little Children,
Instead listen to me
Your safety is promised
By God’s firm decree
