~~~ Spiritual Israel Under Attack ~~~
The Woman and the Dragon: (Revelation Ch. 12)

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. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Revelation 12:1-3

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. 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. Revelation 12:4-5

  1. The woman is symbolic of spiritual Israel, the literal nation of Israel, and all God's faithful throughout the ages.
    • Joseph, son of Jacob whom God renamed Israel, has a dream in which the sun and moon and eleven stars bowed down to him. Genesis 37:9-10
    • Upon hearing this Jacob asked, "Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?"
    • Jacob is identifying the symbols of the sun, moon, and crown of twelve stars with himself, Rachel his wife, and his 12 sons.
    • This establishes the existence of a spiritual Israel that predates the nation of Israel and, some say, was established before the creation of the world.
  2. The seven heads and ten horns on the dragon represent all the powers on earth that Satan has used and will continue to use symbolized in his attack on the woman.
    • The seven crowned heads are symbolic of all the nations that were the historical enemies of Israel.
    • The ten horns are symbolic of the future end-time powers that unite with the beast prior to Jesus' second coming. Revelation 17:12-14
  3. The dragon's obvious objective is to destroy the child as soon as it is born. What the woman gives birth to is not Jesus but the promise of a savior in fulfillment of Scripture (Genesis 3:15).
  4. This promise is delivered through the calling of Abraham from whose line would come the Messiah. As further proof, the child that was "snatched up to God" cannot be applied to the infant Jesus.
  5. The dragon's motive for this attack is because he knows the Messiah would bring about the end of his dominion forever.

    6. 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... When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. Revelation 12:9,13

  6. The red dragon then attempts to prevent the coming of the promised Messiah by seeking to destroy the mother of the promise, but she is given aid and refuge from his attacks.
  7. This can be applied to the nation of Israel whcih, throughout its history, became the target of many foreign powers who sought to destroy her.

    8. 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. Revelation 12:17

  8. Eventually, having failed to prevent the promised Messiah's coming, he redirects his attacks on Christ's followers right up to the end of time.