The Time of Jacob's Trouble - Part 2 - Revelation 12:1-17
INTRODUCTION:
Last Sunday we began chapter 12 of Revelation and I told you that chapters 12-13 were parenthetical chapters in between the sounding of the seventh trumpet and the events associated with its judgments on the earth. These two chapters introduce us to some of the key characters of the Tribulation, and specifically to those of the Great Tribulation or the last 3½ years of the 7-year Tribulation, also called the Time of Jacob’s Trouble.
The events that we will be looking at this morning all took place just prior or leading up to the Great Tribulation and the results of these events coincide with the beginning of the Great Tribulation. This morning we will be introduced to an angel, we will hear the words of a loud voice and we will have the expanded version of the persecution of Israel that we just touched on in verse six last Sunday. Let’s pray and then get into God’s Word.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to Revelation 12, we are going to read the whole chapter again this morning, verses 1-17, but my message will be picking up where we left off last week in verse 7. Please stand if you are able in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
Revelation 12:1-17,
“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.’ And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” (Revelation 12:1–17, NASB95)[1]
THE ANGEL (Revelation 12:7-9)
John informs us in the beginning of verse 7 that war broke out in heaven, then he identifies the armies for us and he does so by first introducing us to another key character in the Great Tribulation, an angel, actually an archangel named Michael. We have met this angel before, most recently in our study of the book of Jude, but before that we learned about him in the book of Daniel, way back a few years ago.
Michael is first mentioned in the book of Daniel in chapter 10 when he came to help Gabriel break through the demonic defenses trying to keep him from getting to Daniel with a message from God. Gabriel in that passage calls Michael “one of the chief princes.” In the book of Jude, we read of a dispute between the devil and Michael, and Jude tells us that Michael is an archangel. The passage that most interests us this morning is in Daniel 12, because this passage directly parallels the passage we are looking at this morning in Revelation 12. Daniel 12:1 says, “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.” (Daniel 12:1, NASB95)[2] Remember that this message is being delivered to Daniel, an Israelite in exile in Babylon. So, the references to your people in this verse refers to the people of Israel. Here we are told that Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, we are told that Michael has a special role as the guardian of the people of Israel. John says in Revelation 12:7, “And there was war in heaven…” (Revelation 12:7a, NASB95)[3] This will be the time mentioned in Daniel when Michael will arise, he will go forth with his angels, the host under his command to wage war with the dragon. This war as it says in Daniel 12 will result in a time of distress such has never occurred since there was a nation until that time. This is speaking of the Great Tribulation but attached to this news of the Great Tribulation is the promise that the people of Israel who are found written in the book, will be rescued. We will be talking about this book more when we get further on in the book of Revelation, just know for now that those written in the book are those who have put their faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, believing that He is the only One capable of paying for their sins, and forgiving them.
Let’s turn back to Revelation 12. Michael and his angels wage war with the dragon, the dragon and his angels (that third of the stars that were swept out of heaven by the tail of the dragon, these are the dragon’s angels, they are demons). They waged war with Michael and his angels, but the dragon and his angels were not strong enough, they could not overpower Michael and his angels, instead Michael and his angels overpowered them, and the result of Michael and his angels overpowering the dragon and his angels is that there was no longer a place found for the dragon and his angels in heaven. Before this war the dragon and his angels had a place in heaven? Were they not cast out of heaven when Satan rebelled? They were cast out in that they lost their heavenly position, but Satan is a creature of God’s creation and must answer for his doings as we see him in Job 1 and 2, Satan presents himself before God with the rest of the angels. But now that privilege is ended, there is no place for him and his angels in heaven and they are thrown down to the earth.
As John speaks of the dragon’s failure and his being thrown down to the earth he uses this occasion to clearly show us who this dragon is by giving us all his names: The great dragon as we see him described here is the serpent of old referring to the beginning of his evil career on the earth as he deceived Eve with his poisonous deceit in the Garden of Eden, this name emphasizes his subtlety and treachery. This dragon, this serpent is called the devil, a name that means “slanderer” or “false accuser” a fitting name for Satan as he makes accusations about believers before God’s throne. Next John identifies the dragon as Satan. Satan is a Hebrew name that means “adversary” and a fitting name for the enemy of God and His people. Finally, the dragon is identified as the one who deceives the whole world. The use of the present tense in this phrase indicates that this is Satan’s habitual, continual activity. Satan seeks to deceive people concerning who God is and what God offers, he gets them to pay attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. He seduces people to believe him and not God, he is a master deceiver in casting doubt on God’s Word. Satan and his angels are cast from heaven down to the earth where they will remain for the rest of the Tribulation.
THE VOICE (Revelation 12:10-12)
This victory over the dragon and his angels causes a celebration to erupt in heaven, and John hears a loud voice. This loud voice that John hears in verse 10 is that of all the redeemed in heaven, this is shown in that they speak of their brethren in this verse and it is only the redeemed in heaven that would have brethren.
This loud voice proclaims the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come. This salvation spoken of here must be understood in its broadest sense. It not only includes the redemption of individuals, but also the deliverance of all creation from sin’s curse. Power is again a reference to God’s omnipotence by which He can accomplish all He wills. The kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come speaks of the soon to be millennial kingdom and the authority granted to Christ by the Father to rule forever. So sure is the establishing of the kingdom and the rule of Christ, that even though it is still in the future, it is spoken as if it is already come. The worshippers in heaven rejoice that this first step of establishing the kingdom has taken place, Satan’s defeat and ejection from heaven.
They go on to praise God that the accuser of the brethren, he who accuses the saints day and night before God has been thrown down. No longer can Satan stand before God with accusations against the saints, as if by our sins or failures as saints we are brought up again into God’s court. We have an advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous One and He is the One who died for us, paid the penalty for our sin. No true believer’s sins come up in judgment to endanger his eternal safety. All our sins were judged at Calvary and were marked as paid for in full forever. Satan’s accusations have never succeeded against any saint. But on this day, those accusations will come to an end, because the accuser will be cast down to the earth.
This loud voice goes on in its praise to God in how the saints overcame the accusations of Satan. They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb which forever paid for all their sin. Second, they overcame because of the word of their testimony, they remained faithful, despite Satan’s accusations, despite persecution, they remained faithful witnesses to Jesus Christ. They kept their eyes fixed on Jesus the author and perfecter of their faith. Finally, they overcame the accuser because they did not love their life even when faced with death. They were willing to die for their faith, they would rather die than deny the Savior, they knew that true life awaited them in heaven.
For this reason, the loud voice continued, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them, rejoice because of the defeat of Satan and the triumph of the saints. Then that joyous rejoicing is followed by a sobering warning to the earth and the sea. “Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.” (Revelation 12:12b, NASB95)[4] The Greek word used here for “wrath” refers to a “violent outburst of rage.” Satan is enraged because of his defeat, but even more so at the realization that his time is limited, that he has only a short time, three and a half years in which he empowers the Antichrist to rule the world, which he does immediately after being cast down from heaven. It is a short time because Jesus Christ is coming to establish His earthly millennial kingdom.
THE PERSECUTION (Revelation 12:13-17)
The dragon when he sees that he has been defeated and thrown out of heaven and down to the earth, he turns his wrath on the woman, who we saw last Sunday represents the Israel. The persecution of the nation of Israel is now before us – the “time of Jacob’s trouble.” William Newell writes: “Satan hates Israel: first, because they are God’s elect royal people; next, because of the nation is Christ who is to have the kingdom upon Satan’s over-throw; and finally because Israel is the perpetual proof before the eyes of men of the truth of the Scriptures and of the fact of Jehovah God.”[5]
The Greek verb translated “persecution” in verse 13 means “to pursue” or “to hunt.” It is used in the New Testament of pursuit with a hostile intent. Satan is described as pursuing and hunting down the Jews as they flee into the wilderness. Now understand that this is the real Israel, and not merely those who are of Israel. This is the remnant of those last days.
Here in these verses we also read of God’s protection and preservation of His covenant people. John writes that the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place. These are not actual wings of the great eagle, but speak of God’s protection in getting this remnant out of Israel and into that place of safety prepared by God in the wilderness, a place where Satan can not reach them. This imagery of the wings of the eagle comes from the book of Exodus when the children of Israel left Egypt. Exodus 19:4 is God speaking and He says, “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.” (Exodus 19:4, NASB95)[6] The imagery of wings in Scripture can symbolize strength, speed, but most often speak of protection. When they come to the place prepared for them by God as we saw last week in verse six, there they will be nourished for 1260 days, or as verse 14 says, “for a time, times, and half a time.” God will supernaturally provide food and water for the remnant that is hidden away in the wilderness. For forty years God supplied manna and water in the wilderness for the children of Israel, He will again supply His covenant people with food and water.
John borrows Daniel’s phraseology when he writes that the remnant will be nourished for a “time, times, and half a time.” This is how Daniel described the last 3½ years of the Tribulation, called the Great Tribulation or the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. “Time” refers to one year, “times” refers to two years and “half a time” refers to half of a year, so again, 3½ years.
Next, we are told that the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman as she fled hoping that she would be swept away with the flood. This is certainly symbolic and not an actual river of water. Most Biblical scholars believe that this is an army sent to pursue the woman and destroy her. God uses the earth to help the woman as she flees by causing the earth to open up and swallow whatever it is that the dragon spewed out of his mouth. We are not definitively told what this river symbolizes, it is something that is to overtake and destroy the remnant of Israel that is fleeing to the wilderness and the earth opens and engulfs whatever it is.
The dragon seeing that he cannot reach the woman and destroy her turns his rage from her and goes to make war with the rest of her children, who are described as those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. The rest of her children are both Jewish and Gentile believers who did not flee to the wilderness, possibly because they do not live in Israel, but in other parts of the world. It refers to all those during the Tribulation who have repented of their sin and believed that Jesus Christ died for them, paying the penalty for their sin, was buried and rose from the dead triumphant over Satan, sin, and death. These are now waiting for the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ to come. We are told that they hold to the commandments of God, this word translated “commandments” is a word the John uses frequently in his writings to refer to New Testament commands. They are also described as holding to the testimony of Jesus, this is not a testimony about Him, but the truths He taught that are revealed in the New Testament. These persecuted believers will give further evidence that their faith is real by their obedience to the Scriptures even when faced with death.
At first it will seem that the dragon is winning as many of these dear saints will enter eternity as martyrs for their faith in Jesus Christ, but in the end even this attack on God’s people will fail. All of Satan’s efforts to stop the millennial kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ from being established will fail. The Lord Jesus Christ will triumph over this usurper and He will reign as the King of kings!
CONCLUSION:
This morning we have seen as the dragon, who is Satan, was cast out of heaven, no longer able to accuse the saints before God’s throne. He was cast to the earth along with his angels, the demons that do his bidding. Satan knows at this time, when he is finally put out of heaven and thrown down to that earth that his time is short, that he will soon be imprisoned in the abyss and then thrown into the Lake of Fire prepared for the devil and his angels where he will be tormented forever. Because he knows this he viciously attacks Israel in hopes that by exterminating the Jewish people there will be no nation to enter into the millennial kingdom, the promises made to the nation will go unfulfilled and Satan will have changed the future. But God is faithful to His covenant people and He will protect them, preserve a remnant, and show favor to them as He aids their flight to the wilderness and hides them from the dragon and nourishes them during the final 3½ years that leads up to the return of Jesus Christ. At that time, Satan will be utterly defeated, and the enemies of Israel and God will be judged by being thrown into the Lake of Fire. Jesus Christ will then set up His earthly kingdom and reign on this earth for 1000 years and we shall reign with Him as His bride.
So how do we take this and relate it to ourselves today? Twice since I began this series I have given you a handout entitled Six Ways Studying Bible Prophecy Should Influence You. I have included this insert again today, because as we study Bible prophecy we should see it influencing us in these ways: (1) Studying Bible prophecy should influence us to consider our own salvation and thank God for saving us from the wrath to come. Knowing the rage of the dragon and his war on the saints should draw us to this first one. (2) Studying Bible prophecy should influence us to be concerned about the unsaved and to tell them the Good News of Jesus before it is too late. Knowing what is coming do you not want your unsaved family and friends to also escape the wrath that is coming? (3) Studying Bible prophecy should influence us to seek to live pure and holy lives in view of Christ’s imminent (anytime) return. Knowing that Christ is coming at anytime for the church, do you not want Him to find you living a pure and holy life for Him when He returns? (4) Studying Bible prophecy should influence us to be calm when our hearts want to be stirred up and unsettled because of circumstances around us because we know that God is in control. Is your heart at peace because God is sovereign? (5) Studying Bible prophecy should have a comforting influence on grief-stricken hearts because as believers we have the hope of seeing believing loved ones again. (6) Studying Bible prophecy should influence us to be diligently doing the Lord’s work until He returns for us or calls us home because that is what we are commanded to do. This morning’s message could bring any or all these influences into your life today.
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[5]Newell, William R., The Book of the Revelation. Chicago, IL : Moody Press, © 1935, Reprinted 1978
[6]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995