ISRAEL, THE WOMAN, THE SYMBOLIC MOTHER OF CHRIST (Rev 12:1-2)

In Rev 12:1-2 we see a symbolic presentation of Israel as the mother of Jesus the Christ. She is called “the woman,” and is presented as being clothed with the sun, moon and a crown of twelve stars. This could possibly be a reference to the constellation Virgo the Virgin, which represented the Virgin Mary in the original Jewish Mazzaroth. Since Virgo is in the Zodiac, the sun and moon both traverse her or clothe her, so to speak. The gospel story was given in prophecy through the Mazzaroth thousands of years before the birth of Christ. It was seriously perverted by the Babylonians and other emissaries of Satan down through the years. Today, astrology is simply a tool of Satan. The twelve stars on the woman’s head could have represented twelve actual stars. It is most likely that they represented the twelve sons of Israel, however. They are referred to as stars in Gen 37:5-9. .She was said to be pregnant and of course that refers to the supernatural birth of Jesus.

THE RED DRAGON, SATAN, SOUGHT TO DESTROY THE CHILD (Rev 12:3-6)

Verses 3-4 speak of Satan, called the red dragon, and the fact that he sought to destroy the child the moment that it was born. We know the story of Herod and his Satanically inspired scheme to kill the child.

Herod was an Idumean, meaning that he was a descendent of Esau, brother of Jacob (also called Israel, who fathered the twelve tribes of Israel). Esau was also called Edom and fathered the Edomites. Edom is a major target of God’s judgment of wrath and will be basically destroyed “in that day.” Joel 2:2-3 (also see Isa 13:3-5) says that an unprecedented large and mighty army turns the land into a desert using fire (nuclear weapons?). Edom was located in various areas at various times including Jordan and parts of Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Since Esau (Edom) married a daughter of Ishmael that means that many of the mid-eastern Muslims are descended from Esau. Arabs descend from either Esau or Ishmael and in Esau’s case it is from both at the same time. God’s proclamations of doom and destruction for Edom thus seem to be a proclamation against many Arabs.

We also see in verse 4 that one third of the angels in heaven were to be thrown from heaven to earth. This must be the angels who chose to follow Satan when he sinned. This verse says Satan’s tail swept them out of heaven and threw them down to earth. This must be referring to the sins that Satan committed which resulted in him being thrown out of God’s heavenly government, Isa 14, Ezek 28. It seems that Satan’s fall is in two phases. The first phase was when he sinned himself because of his great pride and enticed Adam and Eve to follow him in sin. It was at that time that he lost his position of authority in God’s government in heaven and his access to God became restricted. However as we will see later in this chapter, his complete exile from heaven to earth does not happen until the tribulation period. We saw that happening in the third trumpet judgment. The point is that Satan’s tail sweeping his angels out of heaven seems to refer to Satan’s angels following him into sin. Their actions were precipitated by Satan’s actions and the result eventually led to their fall from heaven to earth. We will see more detail regarding Satan’s fall, along with his angels, later in this chapter.

WAR IN HEAVEN BETWEEN GOD’S ANGELS AND SATAN’S ANGELS (Rev 12:7-12)

Verses 7-9 speak of war in heaven between God’s angels and Satan’s angels. Michael, the archangel who is the protector of Israel, led the army of God and they prevailed. This was prophesied in Dan 12:1. Satan and his angels were thrown out of heaven and down to earth. This is the second fall of Satan that is described in the Bible. The first fall is described in Ezek 28:11-19 (also in Isa 14:12-17). In fact this passage in Ezekiel describes the complete saga of Satan, from beginning to end. He was originally in Eden, the garden of God, but because of his pride he was thrown out of the government (mount) of God. That was his first fall; he was still in heaven and still had access to God, but only by request (see Job 1:12). He suffered another defeat and disgrace when Jesus won the victory over sin on the cross. However, Satan still has access to heaven today (Eph 6:12, as well as the verb tenses in Rev 12:9-10). It seems that he and his angels will be thrown completely out of the heavenly realms in the third judgment (Rev 8:10, 9:1, 12:4, 8-12). Rev 12:10 confirms the timeframe when it relates it to the time when the kingdom of heaven will be set up on the earth. We know this is at the Second Coming of Christ. Verse 12 further confirms this when it says that Satan is filled with fury since he knows that “his time is short.” Verses 13-14 further confirm it when we read that as soon as Satan was thrown down to earth he began to pursue the woman, who we know is Israel. We then read that God gave Israel supernatural protection out of Satan’s reach for the next three and one half years. It seems so very clear to me from all of these references that Satan still lives in heaven today, with limited access to God, but will be thrown completely out of heaven and limited to earth at some point in the tribulation period.

SATAN’S PURSUIT OF ISRAEL AND GOD’S SUPERNATURAL PROTECTION (Rev 12:13-17)

In Rev 12:14-17 we see a description of Satan’s pursuit of Israel after he is thrown down to earth and God’s supernatural protection of her.

Rev 12:14 says that Israel was given the 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 three and one half years out of Satan’s reach. Wow! What in the world could that mean? There certainly is a lot of symbology involved in that one statement. Let’s try to understand the symbols one at a time. We’ll start with the eagle.

An eagle might symbolize any or some combination of the following in the Bible:

• A great military power. The eagle was a symbol for the Roman Empire’s army.
• A bird of prey; they were considered unclean by the Jews. The Jews were forbidden to eat it by law.
• Sin or unclean living.
• A means to carry away the young and vulnerable to a place of safety. An eagle uses her wings to protect her young and may carry her young on her wings. Deut 32:10-11 describes God finding Israel in a desert, a barren and howling waste (Egypt), and then shielding and caring for them like an eagle that hovers over its young, that spreads out its wings to catch them and carry them to safety.
• The beast in Dan 7:4 (Babylon, current day Iraq), is said to have the wings of a great eagle. In Daniel’s vision it looks like a lion but has wings like an eagle. It morphs into something else that stands upright on two feet like a man and has the heart of a man.

Before we try to figure out exactly what the eagle is we will look at the symbology implied in the word desert or wilderness in the Bible.

• A deserted place; an uninhabited land. Deut 32:10-11 says that God found Israel in a desert, a barren and howling waste land.
• An uncultivated region which could be cultivated;
• A flock deserted by its shepherd;
• A woman neglected by her husband.

We will next take a look at some of the possibilities as to where the desert might be located. We will have to use our imaginations and clues that God gives us from place to place in the Bible when the end times are being discussed.

POSSIBILITY 1: The woman is protected right in her own land; the desert is in Israel

Again, Rev 12:14 says that Israel was taken on the wings of a great eagle to a place in the desert prepared for her by God. Here she would be taken care of for three and one half years. Deut 32:10-11 says that God found Israel in a desert, a barren and howling waste land. When Israel was given her land back in 1948 it was again basically like a desert. Could it be that God will supernaturally take care of Israel during the second half of the tribulation right in her own homeland? That seems to be what Zech 12:6-10 is telling us. We will next look at what that scripture says.

Zech 12:6-10 (6)"On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place. (7)"The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem's inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem. (10)"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

It certainly sounds like God will be shielding his people right in their own land. It does not sound like God has moved them anywhere since he mentions saving their dwellings and leaving Jerusalem intact in her place. However, apparently right at the end of the three and one half years God allows the nations to attack Israel and kill two thirds of the people (Zech 13:8-9). Jerusalem will be attacked and half of the people will go into exile (Zech 14:2). God uses this terrible experience to cause the Jews to finally recognize who their Messiah is and call on him, namely Jesus, to come and save them (Zech 13:9, 12:10, Hosea 5:14-6:3).

The two witnesses, including the 144,000, seem to be taken care of by God in a similar fashion. They were sealed. It seems that the two witnesses, who were all believers, were protected in the first half of the tribulation period while the woman, who may initially only include unbelievers, was protected in the second half of the tribulation period. In both cases, the protection is removed after three and one half years. In Ezek 20:32-39 God describes the re-gathering of Israel into a “desert of the nations.” This sounds like the land in which Israel currently resides. When they were given this land it was basically a desert. This passage in Ezek goes on to say that God will judge Israel in that desert and execute them with wrath. Is this also saying that God will supernaturally protect the redeemed of Israel in their own land, which he referred to as a desert? Does he do this by sealing them? This prophecy in Ezek 20 certainly seemed to apply to the Jews who had been exiled to Babylon and would be allowed to return, but it may also apply to the end time scenario. We cannot be sure. We will next look at another possibility.

POSSIBILITY 2: The woman is taken to Bozrah or Petra in Jordon for protection

Just after the midpoint of the tribulation period much of Israel seems to be taken to a place where God supernaturally protects her until near the end of the tribulation period when God removes the protection. Many prophecy scholars have come to the conclusion that this place is Bozrah, or Petra, in the current country of Jordon. In the Old Testament the countries of Edom, Moab and Ammon were all at one time located in the area where the current country of Jordon is located. If my memory is correct, Petra is an abandoned rock city 50 miles south of the Dead Sea on a 3000 ft high plateau. It is cut into a mountain pass with only one narrow entrance/exit. It is naturally protected by steep faced rock mountains on all sides. Dan 11:41 says that the antichrist will conquer the Middle East, but that present day Jordan will escape his conquest. That might make it more likely to be the place to which the Jews escape.

However, in Jer 49:7-22 God is giving a prophecy concerning how he will deal with Edom for her rejection of him and her dealings with his chosen people, Israel (also see Jer 48:24, Isa 34:5, 63:1-6, Ezek 25:12-14, Amos 1:12, 2:1-3, Joel 3:19, Mal 1:4-5, Micah 2:12). Jer 49:13-14 says that God will send the nations to destroy Edom. This prophecy seemed to have both near term and far term, in that day, implications. Verse 22 is speaking of the end times and says that an eagle will swoop down and spread its wings over Bozrah. This may be referring to the abandoned city of Petra, which at one time was part of Edom. An eagle uses her wings to protect her young and may carry her young on her wings. That is exactly what God is doing for Israel; he is carrying her on his wings. Deut 32:10-11 says that God found Israel in a desert, a barren and howling waste land. It further says that God protected her like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions. Rev 12:6, 14, Matt 24:15-21, Isa 33:13-16, 41:17-20 and Micah 2:12 all speak of the remnant of Israel being carried away to a place where God supernaturally protects them for a time in the tribulation.

Jer 49:13-14 is speaking of Bozrah during the tribulation as being an area or country with many towns. We see the “nations” attacked and destroyed Bozrah. Could this be because the remnant of Israel was being hidden there? We see in Amos 1:12 that the fortresses of Bozrah were destroyed by fire (nuclear weapons?). Isa 33:16 says that Israel’s refuge will be in a mountain fortress. In Matt 24:15-16 Jesus tells Israel to flee to the mountains when they see the antichrist in the temple declaring himself to be God. In Isa 34:5-10 we see God describing his future judgment of Edom and in verse 6 we see that God says that he has a sacrifice in Bozrah. Could this be the remnant of Israel that he is protecting there during the tribulation?

The thing that makes this possibility seem very unlikely to me is the huge logistics problem involving food, water, medical and other supplies. It would take miraculous intervention by God to solve this problem. Also I do not see how this would be out of the reach of the antichrist. He must certainly know that so many prophecy scholars say that Israel will be protected in Petra. Very unlikely, it seems to me. Maybe God will feed them manna again. Maybe the eagle swooping down over Bozra in Jer 49:22 is God dropping supplies to them in some way. Maybe he sends the great eagle, the U.S., to drop them supplies.

POSSIBILITY 3: The woman is sealed by God to protect her no matter where she is

In Rev 7:3-4 the servants of God and the 144,000 were said to be sealed during the first half of the tribulation period. If they had been believers before the tribulation period began I presume that they would have been raptured to heaven with the church. Since they were not raptured. that leads me to believe that they became believers right after the rapture and because of the rapture. This sealing provided supernatural protection for the 144,000 from the wrath.

Is it possible that the two witnesses, including the144,000, might represent the woman and that their protection is from being sealed? Being sealed implies that the person being sealed in a believer in Jesus. It appears from Rev 12:15-17 that the woman was being supernaturally protected but was not a believer. The fact that Satan could not harm the woman enraged Satan and verse 17 says that he then went off to make war against the woman’s offspring - those who are believers in Jesus. That certainly implies that the woman was not a believer. That means that she could not be the 144,000.

So, where is the woman taken to be protected? It seems we really only have two viable choices, either to Bozrah or else in her own land of Israel. There are good arguments for both. It seems that in the latter stages there are still Jews in Israel. My guess is that many Jews head for the hills when the antichrist proclaims himself to be God in the temple in the middle of the tribulation as Jesus warned them to do and many other Jews stay in their homeland. The hills could be either in Bozrah, in Israel or again maybe both. Zech 14:2 says that in the end times the nations of the world attack Jerusalem. Half go into exile and half remain.