The Woman, the Male Child and the Dragon
Revelation 12:1-6 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.
The prophecy of the woman and the dragon has captured my attention ever since I had a dream in 2017 of this biblical passage. In my dream, I was the woman with the child and was running away from the dragon into the wilderness. However, in my dream the dragon was represented by a panther that fell from heaven. I remember vividly the claws and teeth of the prowling black panther as it tried to devour the child that I was holding.
I believe that God allowed me to have that dream in order to draw my attention to this prophecy and study it. AsI did, I discovered that God’s prophetic word is alive and complex, layered with fulfillment within fulfillments.
The woman that gives birth to a Son and is persecuted is a prophecy that was fulfilled in the past through Mary; but is also a prophecy that is currently being fulfilled through the church; and is a prophecy that will find its final fulfillment at the End of Times through Israel.This is a word that was, is and is to come.
Let's see how this prophecy is alive and finds fulfillment through Mary, the church and Israel. And let’s discover a physical phenomenon that we are currently experiencing as a nation that is a pure reflection of some spiritual realities found in this passage.
As we take a look at this continual warfare between the offspring of the woman and the dragon that was prophesied from the very beginning in Genesis 3:15, we begin to understand the reason why the devil hates life, especially the life-giving power of a woman’s womb.
Genesis 3:15-16 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”16 To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor, you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
Looking closely at this passage, we understand why before there is a promise delivered to be born there is always infanticide. You will also understand why Jews and Christians - God’s carriers of his promise - have been antagonized by the devil throughout history and why they will be harshly persecuted by the dragon in the future. The battle and the warfare have always been against the woman because of the powerful promise she carries in her womb. God’s spiritual DNA is precious and it must be carried, developed, and delivered through the womb of a woman. Whether it is Mary, the church, or Israel; these are the “wombs” the Lord has chosen to “deliver” his savior into the world.
As we understand the enmity between the serpent’s offspring and the woman’s offspring we can better discern that today’s battle against life is spiritual in nature. The fight against the unborn is a clear physical manifestation of the conflict between the dragon and the woman’s offspring. And the attack on her womb is a manifestation of Satan’s rage against God’s people and God’s Son. But we must know that even if the battle against life is fierce, God protects his seed and life wins in the end. We must also be able to understand that the nature of this battle is spiritual and that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but spiritual. And we must engage in the conflict as God’s warriors trusting that the God of life is on our side!
The issue of life will begin with separation. The issue of life is an issue that determines lordship. The issue of life will bring persecution
MARY, THE VIRGIN WHO GIVES BIRTH TO THE SON OF GOD
This prophecy in Revelation 12:1-5 was initially fulfilled when Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb through the Holy Spirit. This was a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. God the Father implanted his seed in Mary through the Holy Spirit and she became pregnant with God’s Son.
Matthew 1:18” This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.”
Matthew 1:22 “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”).
Parallel in Revelation 12:1-2 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.
Herod's Infanticide and the Persecution of the Mary and her Baby Boy
After she gave birth an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt for Herod was going to search for the child to kill him. Here we see how just as in the prophecy of Revelation 12, Mary experiences persecution therefore she has to flee to Egypt. We supposed that there the Lord had a place prepared for her and for her baby boy.
Matthew 2:13-18 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
Parallel to Revelation 12:4 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.
Once Joseph is warned that the life of Jesus is in danger he flees to Egypt with Mary and the child until Herod dies. However, great infanticide occurs in Bethlehem. Herod is filled with rage and orders that all the boys two years and younger be killed. Right here we see the pattern of infanticide that occurred as well when Moses was born. Right here we see that Satan, the ancient serpent and the evil dragon, hates the offspring of the woman and wants to kill it. However, the child God’s offspring is protected by the Father.
Matthew 2:16-18 When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi. 17Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
In the same manner, we see that in Revelation 12 the child is snatched up to God’s throne and the woman flees into the wilderness. There she is taken care of for 1260 days, or 42 months.
Revelation 12:5-6 And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 5 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.
THE PRESENT FULFILLMENT OF REVELATION 12:1-5 IN THE CHURCH
Revelation 12:1-5 is also presently being fulfilled through the church as Jesus is conceived in the hearts of people through the Holy Spirit; and as the church goes through the birth pains of maturity.
We know that the church is compared to a virgin or a bride. We also know that the only one that can convict people of sin and the only one that can make Jesus become alive in our hearts is the Holy Spirit. When we first hear and receive the gospel, the Holy Spirit makes Jesus come alive inside of us. That seed is supernaturally placed inside of us by the Holy Spirit. In a way, we can say that we become pregnant with the Son of God through the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. That life of Jesus that is implanted in us then begins to grow until Jesus is fully formed in us. The apostle Paul compares this process of growing into spiritual maturity to the process of giving birth to new life.
Galatians 4:19” My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you”
The church is like a pregnant woman that is about to give birth to the fullness of Jesus. Also, the pain of childbirth is compared to the many trials and tests we have to go through until we become mature spiritually. There is a travailing that needs to take place in order to deliver the life of Christ.
The process of giving birth to the Hyios Son is very similar to the process of childbirth. Note that the son that is snatched to heaven in Revelation 12:5 is not a little “teknon” baby but a “hyios” son (hyiós ("son") emphasizes the likeness of the believer to the heavenly Father, resembling His character more and more by living in faith ("God's inwrought persuasions," ). The child that is snathed up is a grown and mature son, not a baby. The hyios son is the Christ in us that has grown to full maturity. The one that is ready to rule with Christ in his throne.
THE FULFILLMENT OF REVELATION 12:1-5 IN ISRAEL
Revelation 12:1-5 will have its final fulfillment in Israel as Jesus is supernaturally conceived in her spiritual womb and she goes through the birth pains of the tribulation in order to give birth to his return.
1 Thessalonians 5:3: While people are saying, 'Peace and safety,' destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
Israel is the woman that in the end accepts Jesus as her Messiah through the birth pains of the tribulation finally giving birth to his return. She is the one that as her Maker’s bride delivers the return of his Son.
Isaiah 54:5 For your Creator will be your husband; the LORD of Heaven’s Armies is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth.
He will return when she conceives him and when she names Jesus as Immanuel, God with us.
Isaiah 7:14 All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us).
Micah 5:3 Therefore He will give them up until the time When she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren Will return to the sons of Israel.
And here we see the same pattern of deliverance that Israel experienced during the Passover story. In the Passover story, we also see deliverance by the blood of the lamb, persecution by the pharaoh, and an escape to the desert that takes 42 camps until reaching the promised land. This is the process in which Israel shall be saved.