The next few chapters give us a peek at the story behind the scenes.
Everything happening on earth is the outcome of a war in the spiritual realm.
God's response to Satan's rebellion is the grand plan of creating and redeeming
mankind. But Satan did not lay down his weapons. He will fight to the bitter
end. How bitter that end will be! The grand plan involves Israel, the
Incarnation, the church, and the climatic, cataclysmic battle that now unfolds.
The
vision begins not with Satan but with the sign of the woman who represents
Israel, who is pregnant with the crown prince.
She is confronted by a dragon, Satan. She is about to give birth to
Christ, to bring into being action the grand plan of redemption. Satan hates the
woman and all she stands for, and especially hates the idea that God will,
through this plan, rescue mankind from His trap. He stands ready to destroy
Christ as an infant, as is recorded in Matthew 2:13-18.
The
order of events seems a bit jumbled. Satan has caused a third of the angels to be
thrown to the earth, but he is not cast out of heaven until later. As he seeks
to destroy the woman, her child is taken up into God's presence, and she is
carried into the wilderness for protection, for 1,260 days. The repetition of
this duration in verses 11:2, 11:3, 12:6, 12:14, and 13:5 suggests concurrency
of the events. Does this make sense?
• Rev 11:2 The nations will trod the
court outside the temple underfoot for 42 months
• Rev 11:3 The two witnesses will
prophesy for 1,260 days
• Rev 12:6 The woman is nourished in
the wilderness for 1,260 days
• Rev 12:14 The woman is nourished in
the wilderness for time, times, and a half time
• Rev 13:5 The beast will speak
arrogant words and blasphemies for 42 months
We might
compare this to similar intervals in the rest of Scripture.
• Daniel 7:25 refers to a 3 1/2 year
period during which the eleventh king of the forth beast will be allowed to
rule on earth,
• Daniel 12:7 refers to a period often
thought to be 3 1/2 years to the completion of the wonders shown to Daniel in
prophecy.
• A key element in placing periods of 3
1/2 years in context is Daniel 9:27. In this revelation to Daniel of the entire
future history of the people of Israel, the final week, interpreted as years,
is split in half. In the middle of this seven year period, the prince who is to
come will put a stop to sacrifice and offering, an abomination will occur
involving one who makes desolate and then is completely destroyed.
The items
identified in Revelation 11:2-3, 12:6&14, & 13:5 are all consistent
with the prince who is to come stopping the regular sacrifice and then
committing an abomination of desolation (based on Daniel). It seems likely that
these four passages all refer to events that will occur in the second half of
Daniel's seventieth week, to finish transgression, to make an end of sin, to
make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up
vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place. (Daniel 9:24)
Discussion
of the symbolism of the sun, moon, crown, stars, seven heads, ten horns, seven
diadems are left as an exercise for the reader.
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