Epaggelia

“another Angel…great authority” v1, The defeat of Rome coming from God is repeated and initially announced in 14:8, here it is reiterated as in the past tense. “Nations…kings…merchants” v3 shows that the world may take no notice of Rome’s disintegration, because they are confident from it’s past, the wealth of her sensuality became her ruin. There is nothing in the Bible which prohibits God’s wrath from being shown before the day of Judgment when Jesus returns. God’s wrath was displayed in the absence of Christ against Rome, and Christ’s second coming and judgment was not brought about. So what will stop God’s wrath from being displayed again against any other nation that attempts to mimic Rome?

“Come Out of Her” v4, This is what God warned the captive Jews in Babylon, Jer. 51:5-10, 45. Jesus warned his followers in Jerusalem, Mat. 24:15-22 “to flee”, and now John warns the new church. Is there a lesson here for us? Persecution has always been a good advertisement for God’s Kingdom and results in growth. If we decide to grow silent and be a closet disciple when pressure mounts against the church, get ready to be swept away and suffer with the world in God’s judgment. It’s better to suffer as a Christian and reap a reward, than suffer as a coward and reap God’s judgment, Rev. 21:8. We are called to suffer for righteousness, therefore do not lie about your identity, your name is written in the Lambs book of Life, 1^st Peter 3:9-17, 4:13-19.

“Pay Her Back” v6, Vengeance is mine says the Lord, and Rome’s death will be torturous, her burial will cause the world to weep and the saints will rejoice, this stark contrast in reactions throughout the civilized world may be one reason why God describes Rome’s destruction as swift, yet actually carries it out slowly. The Goths put the first scar on Rome in 269AD, and it’s final sack was in 410AD. The greatest Empire the world had ever known had it’s capitol destroyed in less than 140 years.

“In One Day”, v8, This anticipates complete change in the opposite direction. How could the richest ruling city in the world be turned into the poorest? The most painful way to do it, was the way God did it, slow & agonizing through the years, to this date, the glory of Rome is remembered but only it’s ruins are seen.

“The Fear of Her Torment”, v10-15, Merchants & Kings didn’t really love her, they cried and lamented as they left her because they just lost their ticket to riches. The hub of their power and access to an ally which led to money in the bank, was being ravaged and they started distancing themselves. The same kind of language used toward Tyre in their prosperity for themselves, instead of crediting God for their success, leads to ruin, see Ezekiel 27:1-13, 33-36, 28:1-19. Is the USA making the mistake of accrediting our self and our allies in making us rich and strong, or do we credit God for helping us? What is the real source of our riches? Remember our roots & resources!

“Will not be heard in you any longer” v21-24, The world governing city of Rome will not enjoy the Empire’s benefits from this day any longer. Their glory faded, the historian Gibbons writes concerning 253AD, “The Romans were irritated to a still higher degree when they learnt they had not secured a rest from attacks, even at the expense of their honor in losing over 70,000 soldiers to the Sassanids in Barbalissos of Armenia within the province of Mesopotamia. The dangerous secret of their wealth and weakness of the Empire had been revealed to the world, while new swarms of barbarians encouraged by their success kept attacking and not conceiving themselves (Romans) bound by the obligation of their allies, spread devastation through the provinces and terror as far as the gates of Rome itself”, Vol. 1, page 196. This chapter shouts at Christians today, “PATIENCE”!  Christians then and now can not afford to be short-sighted. Peter condemns it, 2^nd Peter 1:8-9. Christians must be long-sighted, making our calling sure by holy living and receiving the Spirit’s patience and self-control, Gal. 5:22-23. The words, “ONE HOUR” are like a reference to time in other passages of the Revelation, noting a big change in events, not a 30 minute section of time (Rev. 8:1) Rome itself was turned into a burning warning to all nations and at all times, LEAVE MY PEOPLE ALONE OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES!

“The Great Harlot” v1, Both Jerusalem, Tyre & Nineveh are all referred to as ‘whores’, 2^nd Chron. 21:11-13, Isa. 23:13-18 & Nah. 3:4. Because they made financial alliances for power. In Jerusalem it is an alliance for earthly power, rejecting God’s power. But for other nations, it is making money via slavery & bribes for earthly power. Rome was guilty of this on the grandest scale, the rich ruling city on earth in John’s day was Rome, the center for ruthless commercial power, it was built on seven hills. The description of the “Mother of Harlots” v5, describes Rome because in every province, large cities would copy Rome’s tax policies and form of local government in promoting commercial enterprises. To strengthen their own ruling forces which in God’s time would turn on Rome itself. God saw the end of Rome, as lots of “kings” (little daughter prostitutes) eating their mother up. That is exactly how the Roman Empire fell, from within.

“Cup of Gold…Impurities of her Lewdness…Drunken with the Blood of the Saints” v4-6. This is first mentioned in Jeremiah 51:7 in reference to Babylon. But Rome and her provincial cities boasted in two things. Riches and Supreme Power which were credited to the Deity of Roman Emperor’s over any other god, which meant persecuting Christians to death because neither Christians nor Jews would bow to the Lordship of Roman Emperors, and the city of Rome’s population supported and propagated the rich economy from which they drew their strength. This kind of victory over the Christian martyr’s blood, was to God, like watching insanity. The City’s economy (harlot) on 7 hills controlled the beast with 7 heads and 10 horns. Remember Daniels vision where three horns were plucked up. In John’s vision the horns are heads,  One analogy might be as follows:

1-Galba, 2-Otho, 3-Vitellus, 4-Vespasian, 5-Titus ) FIVE FALLEN, v10

6-Domitian “IS”

7-Nerva “OTHER TO COME”

8-Trajan “THE EIGHTH” v11, (Executed Bishop in Jerusalem & Bishop in Antioch)

2^nd Century writers, Tertullian & Eusebius imply that Domitian was the second to persecute Christians, If John was writing during Domitian’s reign, the Beast is poised to persecute at this time, and the worst is to come.

“Ten Kings who have Received No Kingdom as of yet”, v10, The Roman provincial client kingship. Modern historians Perowne and Unger believe Herod was a client king of Judea and it was not a new institution in Rome’s expanding government, existing two centuries before Christ. There were many client-kingships which were in servitude to the Emperor’s, if imperial favor was offended, the client king could be dethroned at will.

“For He is Lord of lords” v14, The present tense in this is deliberate. To let the Christians know that before any of this happens, Jesus is in charge! This victory doesn’t constitute Jesus as Lord, this victory is because Jesus is Lord, Colossians 1:13. As far as God is concerned, the Church defeats Rome and the Lord will destroy the Beast, God chose us (choice) and made us faithful (disciples).

“Shall Eat Her Flesh” v16, The historian Edward Gibbons lists four reasons why the Empire fell.

1. External Invasion (Client Kings allied with Foreign Forces)
2. Inner Decadence (Legions dictated authority and imperial favor was corrupt financially & morally)
3. Inner Strife (Morals were very loose in entertainment and the family unit decayed)
4. The Seat of Government was Divided rather than Removed.

Notice three of the reasons are from within. The little prostitutes had a meal on their mother. The picture of flesh being eaten is common in apocalyptic literature, Ezekiel 39:17ff.

“God Did Put It Into Their Hearts” v17, He gets the glory for the victory because He purposed it and motivates us to follow him, even when it hurts. Because the victory is always written in the present tense, it’s as good as done, even though they must endure pain & even martyrdom, see Isaiah 10:5.

God’s fierce anger is connected in thought with the Trumpets from Chapter 8-11, and in Chapter 14:8 we have the statement that “Babylon” or Rome has Fallen, not falling.

1^st Trumpet (Fire) = 1^st Bowl (Blistering Sores)

2^nd Trumpet (Seas) = 2^nd Bowl (Seas)

3^rd Trumpet (Rivers/Springs) = 3^rd Bowl (Rivers/Springs)

4^th Trumpet (Sun) = 4^th Bowl (Sun)

5^th Trumpet (Pit & Locusts) = 5^th Bowl (Beasts Throne & Sores)

6^th Trumpet (Euphrates) = 6^th Bowl (Euphrates)

7^th Trumpet (Voices) = 7^th Bowl (Voice)

Note the “hail” from the 1^st Trumpet is shown in the 7^th Bowl, the clear message is this: Total Annihilation against every facet of the Roman Empire, remember, what the Trumpets were warning against. 1-Agriculture, internal commerce. 2-International trade. 3-Worship of Emperors. 4-Emperors Edicts Themselves. 5-Cultural morals/ethics. 6-Military. The 7^th trumpet warned the church of the enemy in the ultimate victory and recognition of Christ. The total annihilation of God’s enemy is stated in literal terms using symbols, but this is an example of how symbols don’t mean exactly what they literally say. Zechariah and Isaiah both used symbolic language to prophesy total annihilation, but did the enemy literally get total annihilation, yes, but not in the way that the symbol was used. God spoke of coming doom on Judah in Zec. 1:2-4, but after you read the details, his language pointed to total destruction, but didn’t mean literal total annihilation. We might ask, “If God doesn’t mean total annihilation, why does He use that kind of language? The answer: He’s promoting horror, symbolic and apocalyptic language is truly emotional, this is a visual description of the horror the enemy would feel. Read Isaiah 13:17 concerning Babylon, falling to the Medes and it did. The Medo-Persian King Cyrus took Babylon down and it hasn’t come back up to this day. The description of this fall is in Isaiah 13:10-13, 17-22, and none of it LITERALLY happened because Babylon fell with out a single shot being fired, the gates were opened by her own priests to let Cyrus’ troops in after some had sneaked in by a river bed, and had slain Belshazzar. Babylon was not destroyed by the Greeks either, Alexander the Great made it his headquarters, and died there. In fact, people live in and around ancient Babylon today, so has it really fallen? Yes! It remains weak, torn and will never rise to it’s former glorious power, size or influence to this day.

“Euphrates” v12, This river has always symbolized military might forthcoming, Assyria came from this river to pounce on Israel. Babylon came from this river to pounce on Judah. In the advance of armies, it is said to rush or overflow, Isa. 8:7-8 & 17:12. Now it’s drying up, why? Because Roman armies must retreat and will be defeated, when God angrily uses our prayers and his tools to exercise his justified wrath. The drying up of water has always been a way of escape or deliverance for God’s people, remember the Red Sea and twice on the Jordan, Ex. 14:21-22, Josh. 3:15-17 & 2^nd Kings 2:7-14.

“Har-Magedon” v16, See Joshua 17:11 where Meggido is an area which had 3 towns and a large valley, hills and towns around it are what the Hebrew language refers to. Judges 4-5 (Jud. 5:19) show Israel thrashing Jabin into oblivion and where Sisera was blistered and stars in their courses fought against God’s enemies. The consistent message from Meggido is this: If you are obeying God’s word you are on God’s side and win a victory that LASTS. Even Pharoah Necho who had a message from Jehovah descended upon the Judean King Josiah in Meggido, defeating him and leaving Judah never to laugh at Egypt again, 2^nd Chron. 35:20-27. To the Jews of Johns day, the very place-name reminded them of this: whoever was on God’s side, wins forever, they have the last word.

“Accomplished” v17-21, Rome and her allies are as good as buried. Some elements of the bowls have yet to be developed, such as Rome’s burial in Rev. 17 & 18 and the battle of Armageddon in Rev. 19 and the Devil himself defeated “in the air”, and it is fully described in Revelation 20. The three divisions of Rome may be pointing to the permanent disunity of Economy, Religion & Military power, which Rome once had united.

“Like a Son of Man…Sharp Sickle in His Hand” v14, The last time we saw a weapon in the hand of anyone that could represent Christ is when the Lamb opened the seal and the Horse-rider came with a bow & arrows, 6:2. Here God is announcing the final judgment will be enacted when the Roman Empire finally does fall, in violence. Those who die without Christ face the harvest into condemnation. Angels have a role in the final judgment everyone experiences, 2^nd Thes. 1:6-8 & Mat. 16:27. The Harvester (Christ) wears a “stephanos” crown which is GOLD, this is an obvious reference to the Messiah in Daniel 7:13 and Luke’s reference to Christ in Acts 7:56.

into the Earth and gathered” v19-20 The end of the matter God’s judgment is conclusive with a unique number symbolizing the last Judgment on the final Day of the Lord. 1600 stadia is a strange number and represents an unheard of amount of loss of life. As the Roman Empire falls, there will never be another Kingdom to overwhelm Christ’s Kingdom, it is victorious to this day and growing larger in heaven and on earth. Of course there are earthly empires since, but none of them are successful without recognizing Christ as Lord. Peter instructs them and us to honor the King, no matter who that is, Caesar or President, 1^st Peter 2:17, and likewise every Government should acknowledge The Lord for who He is, Romans 13:1-2 & Proverbs 3:5-10.

“7 Angels with 7 Plagues” 15:1-3, There is nothing incidental about God’s judgment, it planned, prophesied and executed with precision, Angels are plenteous in the Revelation, consider this list:

An Angel for the Revelation Itself, 1:1

Seven Angels for each of the Churches, Rev. 2-3

An Angel for the mission to find someone worthy to open the seals, 5:2

Angels for the announcement of Judgments, 7:1-11

Seven Angels for the protection of the Saints through the Judgments, Rev. 8-9

An Angel for John’s responsibility in the Prophecy to make it’s deliverance, Rev. 10

Angels for the climatic battle between Jesus & Satan, 12:7

Angels for the certain consequential judgment of God against Rome itself, 14:6-20

Moses and the Hebrews had this in common with 1^st century Christians. The last plague upon Egypt heralded the same anticipation and importance for everyone in the land. God struck dead the firstborn in Egypt and the Angel of the lord initiated Moses’s work in the burning bush where God spoke, so we can see here the similarity of God using angels when He Himself issues execution of Judgment, Ex. 3:2 & 11:1-4. The Christians caught in the crossfire get great comfort from the words, “IN THEM IS FINISHED THE WRATH OF GOD”. Today, if we Christians can face enemies, we should remember martyrdom brings THE end, just as when Ezekiel saw it, Ezekiel 7:1-6, Remember the words of Jesus in Mat. 5:10-12.

“Who Will Not Fear You O Lord” v4, Global salvation is not the Lord’s purpose in this passage, Fearing God is only part of humanities responsibility, but to act in faith upon that fear is what counts towards God dispensing grace to save us, Galatians 5:6. The Canaanites were frightened half to death upon getting news of the Israelites arriving, but see what happened when they did, Ex. 15:14-16, bringing God’s glory via a pagan government but it won’t move God to save the government.

“Angels…Arrayed…With…Golden Girdles” v6, The priestly dress of angels for the deliverance of God’s judgment are performing a holy duty of sacrifice. THIS JUDGMENT WAS A SACRIFICE FOR THE PERSERVATION OF THE CHURCH. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was for personal salvation, but without suffering we can not enter the Kingdom, and enlarge it’s establishment on earth,  likewise without sacrificial judgment God can not maintain and preserve the Kingdom, Acts 14:22.

“Seven Gold bowls” v7, Cherubim give bowls representing the creatures from the Throne scene of 4:6-8, we aren’t dealing with cultural upheaval, but rather outright rebellion against God’s. When David confronted Goliath he never viewed the conflict as anything other than an insult against God!

“Temple filled with Smoke” v8, The solemnity of the this event is noted in Ex. 40:34ff, 1^st Kings 8:10-11 & 2^nd Chron. 5:13-14. It ensures the seclusion of God’s eternal holiness being exalted, which Rome threatened.

“Another Beast coming up out of the Land” v11, The insidious nature of this beast is in it’s lamb-like horns but speaking with a dragon’s voice, there is no other description of the Land Beast, it may have resembled more of a lamb than a lion, or it could have been a mix. The Land Beast motivates worldly people to worship the Sea Beast (Roman Empire) Which is best identified as the Beast that survived it’s mortal wound (v3 & 12) to one of it’s heads, (possibly) representing the year of the 4 Emperors (69AD), or Nero, who promoted a law for persecution of any one who didn’t praise Emperors to be gods, so the Sea Beast could represent the Imperial Emperor Worship as a religion. Nero acted like he thought he was a god, but he was never officially deified, however there is no evidence of the persecution of Christians by the Roman State prior to Nero, who according to the Roman historian & Senator Tacitus, Nero blamed Christians for the Great Fire of Rome which destroyed portions of the city and economically hurt the Roman population. Tacitus records (Annals 15.44) that Nero was rumored to have ordered the fire himself, and in order to dispel the accusations, he accused and punished the already-detested Christians. Tertullian mentions the “Institutum Neronianum” which describes anti-Christian activities. Later on under Domitian is the execution of Flavius Clemens, a Roman consul and cousin of Domitian, and the banishment of his wife, Flavia Domitilla, to the island of Pandateria, which is indicative of the power of the Empire’s Religion. Eusebius wrote that Flavia Domitilla was banished because she was a Christian. However, in Cassius Dio’s account (67.14.1-2), he only reports that she, along with many others, was guilty of sympathy for Judaism. When the provincial governor Pliny had written to the emperor Trajan in 112AD, he said he required suspected Christians to curse Christ, this was the first recorded time that Christians throughout the Empire had been forced by imperial edict to choose between their religion and their lives. You can see several “anti-Christs” arising through the decades against the Church in secular history, 1^st John 2:18-19.

“666” v18, The number representing humanity purporting itself to be deity. “Arithmos Gar Anthropos” = “the number for man”. The mark, worldly people are given is the Beast’s identity or sign of loyalty shown as 666. From God’s perspective, whenever we put a person over and above our worship of Jesus, we identify ourself with the Enemy. Do you see the significance of being measured & sealed, with your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? See Php. 4:3 & Eph. 1:13.

14:1, “Lamb Standing on The Mount”, He rules because he became “dead” and then triumphantly walks off with the gates of the city of Death! Martyrs get great strength following this kind of victor. They are “FOR” him on the Mount. Psalm 2:6 prophesies the King to be set on the holy hill of Zion and Paul applies this to the resurrected Jesus, Acts 13:32-37. “144000 has His Father’s Name”, ref. Rev. 3:12 Remember Peter writes that the Lord commands, “Be Holy for I am Holy”, 1^st Pt. 1:16, This name holds enduring power, Acts 4:12 and everyone will eventually bow to this name, Php. 2:9-11. The exact name is what? Isaiah 9:6 describes it as he tells of the 7-fold explanation of the Lord’s Spirit in Isaiah 11:2, Lord, Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Might, Knowledge & Awe.

“Harpists playing…They sang” v2-3, This is a NEW song sung by the church for their secure deliverance. Prophesied in Isaiah 43:16-19 is a NEW creation coming, and his Praise is new as well, Isaiah 42:8-9. Heavenly Harps is a wonderful portrayal of eternal praise to envision for the future, but for here & now Christ desires the “Plucking” of our heart strings of graciousness and gratitude in song, Eph. 5:19 & Col. 3:16. Do we sing because the songwriter wrote it, or because it is well with our soul and understood with our mind?

“They That Are Not Defiled” v4, A God given goal for the church is purity, and Christ’s blood creates purity. Setting your sights in this vision of purity, will help motivate us to live pure lives. Research by curators in the British Museum proved an interesting fact that ANYONE who spent a full minute gazing at the Grecian Idol of Apollo, actually exited the exhibit walking more upright in posture than the usual slouch of a walk when entering the exhibit. We are affected by what we set our sights on. Do you believe this is a description of the 1st century church with all it’s faults? 2^nd Cor. 11:2-3 & Php. 1:10.

“Fallen” v8, Even though Jews in 136AD still challenged Rome, it was as good as dead in God’s eyes. Remember the faith of Abraham & Paul, Romans 4:17, and so the Roman Empire would fall with the same certainty, eventually it’s demise was foretold and as good as done. “Blessed” v13, The 3^rd Angel pronounces the 2^nd of seven Beatitudes in Revelation, (1:3, 14:13,  16:15, 19:19, 20:6, 22:7 & 14) Happiness abounds in the heart of a Christian that believes every effort is rewarded and our labors follow us into Heaven!

Trying to understand what the Dragon (Satan) on the beach gives authority to, v4, is impossible without Daniel 7, and Revelation 17. They both compliment what is revealed in Rev. 13. Every scholar both catholic & protestant always interprets Daniel’s fourth beast to be the Roman Empire, which for John’s vision is coming out of the Sea, v1. A list of Caesars are 1-Julius, 2-Augustus, 3-Tiberius, 4-Caligula, 5-Claudius, 6-Nero, (7,8,9 Galba, Otho, Vitellius) 10-Vespasian, 11-Titus, 12-Domitian. The Sea Beast has 10 horns, which have another definition akin but different to the Beast, AND ends up hating the Prostitute which represents the City riding the Beast in 17:12-16. Note John’s Sea Beast has 7 heads (kings) & 10 horns (kings), Rev. 17:9-12, which possibly represents the following: The Heads may represent Emperors which promoted their own deity. The Horns could represent the Provincial Kings of the Empire which rose up against the city of Rome itself. There were at one time (117AD) at least 33 provinces in the Empire, but not all of them had kings that rose up against Rome. Here are 7 Caesars which accepted worship as a god, promoted themselves as a god or were deified post-humously. Which the 7 heads might represent:

1. Julius
2. Augustus
3. Claudius
4. Nero (Ruler of rulers)
5. Vespasian
6. Titus
7. Domitian

The Historians Suetonius and Cassius Dio allege that Domitian officially gave himself the title of Dominus et Deus (“Lord and God”). However, not only did he reject the title of Dominus later during his reign, but since he issued no official documentation or coinage to this effect, historians such as Brian Jones contend that such phrases were addressed to Domitian by flatterers who wished to earn favors from the Emperor. To foster the worship of the imperial family, he erected a mausoleum on the site of Vespasian’s former house and completed the Temple of Vespasian and Titus, a shrine dedicated to the worship of his deified father and brother. To memorialize the military triumphs of the Flavian family, he ordered the construction of two Temples and completed the Arch of Titus. There are at least 10 Provinces which had Kings or Generals that would lead rebellions & attacks on Rome or the Empire itself. These might represent the 10 horns.

1. Jews & Galileans from Caesarea to Masada & Beth Horon 66-73AD, Jerusalem fell 70AD, at great expense of Roman life, losing over 10,000 soldiers.
2. During the years succeeding the rule of Antoninus Pius, the Roman Empire began to be attacked on all sides. A war with Parthia lasted from 161 to 166 (under the joint rule of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus) and, although it ended successfully, its unforeseen consequences for the Empire were great. The returning troops brought with them a plague (the so-called Antonine Plague), which would eventually kill a conservative estimate of 5 million people, severely weakening the Empire.
3. The Syrian Pescennius Niger, proclaimed himself Emperor with support from Arabians in 193AD.
4. Goths battle at Thermopylae against Romans & Greeks towards Thessalonica, 250AD
5. Bar Kokhba revolt in Judea, over 80,000 Romans killed, defeating Jews, 132-136AD
6. The Burgundians led by King Gunther, 411AD
7. King Alaric &  the Visigoths sacking Rome, 410-411AD
8. Gaiseric & the Vandals 435-455
9. In 451, Attila the Hun invaded Gaul, and the Franks joined the Romans and the Visigoths to resist the invasion. Attila’s conquest was halted at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, present-day France, and he retreated from Gaul. The Franks continued to provide military support to Rome to fight against imperial enemies, including the Visigoths in 463 and the Saxons at Angiers in 469AD.
10. Odoacer was a soldier who in 476 became the first King of Italy (476–493). His reign is commonly seen as marking the end of the Western Roman Empire. Though the real power in Italy was in his hands, he represented himself as the client of the Emperor in Constantinople.

God wants only his Son, in Jesus Christ worshiped as God, no one else on earth deserves our allegiance of life and love, without our life being in Christ, we are without hope. We will become the enemy and lose if we do not make Jesus the only rightful Lord of our life, 1^st Timothy 6:14-15 & Deuteronomy 10:17.

“A Woman Clothed with the Sun” v1, The faithful children of God are symbolized as the young bride in the prime of her life, she is giving birth to the future success of God’s Kingdom, Jesus Christ. Later on in Revelation as the pictures develop, the Woman actually represents the churches as a whole. The Old Testament is clear about how God views his people as a wife, read Isaiah 50:1, 54:1 & Micah 4:9ff.

“The Twelve Stars” represent  God’s continual crowning authority and victory for his faithful children, the 12 tribal leaders of Israel were previously pictured as Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph & Benjamin, (Rev. 7:6-8), but as the Woman’s meaning changes into the church, she doesn’t lose her stars, which represent the 12 apostles, read Matthew 10:2-4. Stars are compared to God’s children through Abraham & Sarah, Genesis 15:5 and our ancestry sheds light on the world in darkness and having the moon under our ancestry’s feet would signify any other light other than our clothing in Christ being of lesser significance. The labor pain is indicative of the fact that we have a common struggle with the nation of Israel going through pain in order to bring the Messiah to the world. Today we find in our work of evangelizing that if there is no pain, there is no gain! Paul taught Timothy, to do the WORK of an evangelist, see 2^nd Timothy 4:5

“A Great Red Dragon” v3, remember that Satan has grown from the beginning of time as a subtle snake into a monstrous dragon, this is the nature of evil, it’s deception and destruction grow way out of our control but God’s victory overcomes our enemy in the end. The Pharaohs of Egypt are described as dragons in the O.T., see Psalm 74:13, Isaiah 51:9 & Ezekiel 29:3. It’s 7 diadems the dragon wears is actually reflecting how totally inferior his rule is, in comparison to the victory crown (garland) the Woman wears, she is the winner in the end, the dragon loses his temporary reign.

“Stands Before The Woman” v4, illustrated twice, once in Pharaoh’s slaughter of the baby boys, Exodus 1:15-19 and also prophesied in Jeremiah 51:34 through Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon, being fulfilled in Herod’s slaughter after the birth of Jesus. John alludes to the analogy in Revelation 11:8. “She Bore a Man-Child”, Jesus is the reason God rules perfectly in this life, ministry and sacrifice, shows his heart is enthroned with the Father’s rule, while the mother was being chased in the wilderness, she was nourished by God, this is happening in the spiritual heavenly places, Ephesians 1:3, now, the nourishment is given to her for 1260 days, again, emphasizing the temporary limited suffering of the new churches, this young mother now represents. Daniel foresaw this painful struggle in Daniel 7:25-27 & 12:5-7. The “ruling rod of iron”, it is interesting to note that Hugh J. Schonefield in his book, “The Incredible Christians” describes middle-eastern shepherds as carrying staffs which are covered or shielded with iron and/or lead to hit wolves with!

War Broke Out in Heaven…He was Cast Down to Earth” v7-9, Michael represents the front-line of battle which God orchestrates, see Daniel 12:1, so here in Revelation we shouldn’t think Michael has won the battle, but rather we should see Michael representing the fight Jesus initiated on earth, but actually won in Heaven after the resurrection and ascension. Our own spiritual battles are initiated here on earth but ultimately won in heavenly places, see Ephesians 6:10-17. “Now…have come”, v10, this is past tense for us, the victory for Jesus is already done as in His resurrection, but for us his victory is in his blood, v11. The blood has no effect if we do not express a testimony and are willing to suffer for Him who paid the price, read 1^st Peter 2;21 & Acts 14:22.

“Two Wings of a Great Eagle” v14, The woman has not changed into an eagle but was given wings of one, this is clearly showing God’s powerful care to rescue, nourish and deliver her out of harms way, see Deut. 32:11, Psa. 36:7, Isa. 40:31. “The Serpent Spewed Water out of His Mouth” v15, Satan here tries to ape God’s action during Noah’s flood, but the effect is reversed by the earth. This may be an analogy of Satan’s spiritual work in false religion from Rome’s Emperor worship and later on in the false religion of Rome’s secular seal of approval on Christianity, which did not bless the woman’s latter offspring, the new church gave birth to other children which struggled with false doctrine and persecution by so-called christian leaders. Notice the war is ongoing but we experience the war’s reality if our testimony is true and we are using the Spirit’s Sword which is the word of God, Ephesians 6:17.