The Baby
This
chapter is one of my favorite chapters because it is ripe for
interpretation. There are many things
spoken of here, and it all seems to rotate around this baby who was swept up
into heaven and who will rule with an iron scepter. So let’s take a look at this baby.
Psalm
2:9 indicates that God’s chosen ruler will rule the nations with an iron
scepter, and the presence of this description in reference to the baby
indicates that John desires us to see this baby as God’s chosen ruler. If this is true, then it is probable that the
baby is God’s Messiah, or Jesus Christ.
We see that the baby is swept up into heaven, which if the baby is
Christ then this passage immediately seems to speak about the post-resurrection
ascension. Again we can see John tapping
the Gospel story to speak words of hope to his contemporaries.
The Woman
If
the baby is to be seen as Christ, we can now turn to the woman. If the baby in the story is Christ, then the natural
conclusion is that this woman is Mary. The
problem with this interpretation is that it the woman seems far too
supernatural to be a simple human. However, if the woman can be understood as
Mary then it seems likely that the dragon is figuratively speaking of King
Herod, who wanted to kill Jesus and caused Joseph and Mary to flee to Egypt
(into the wilderness). The problem with
this is that the dragon is spoken of as Satan, and it is unlikely that John
would give the dragon the name of Satan if it is a reference to Herod.
Some
have come to identify the woman with the Christian Church. Those who take this opinion believe it
because of the persecution that happens to the woman once God’s Messiah ascends. We know the story of Acts, and we know the
persecution within it against God’s church.
In these respects this interpretation could make sense. However, this is highly unlikely because it
isn’t quite right to call the Church the mother of the Messiah.
Some
claim that the woman in the story is an analogy to the Hebrew people. Isaiah 54:5 does speak of Israel in the terms
of “Your Maker is your husband.” In this
sense they could be considered the mother of Christ. Additionally, the Hebrew people have often
been drawn out into the wilderness to escape danger. In fact, with as many subtle references to
Antiochus Epiphanes IV that have occurred in the last few chapters this could
actually be John tapping into that history once again. Remember that during the time of Antiochus
Epiphanes IV it was illegal to own the law or be circumcised. In those days, Jews who wanted to continue to
practice their faith lived out in the wilderness and began the Maccabean
revolt. This is a likely reference,
although I personally do not think it fits John’s context and purpose for
writing his apocalypse.
More
than likely the story of the woman and the dragon is a retelling of when Rome
sacked the temple in Jerusalem. This
would make Rome the agent of the devil, which is a common analogy found in
John’s Apocalypse. Furthermore, many of
the Christians and Jews in Jerusalem fled across the Jordan and into the desert
to escape the Roman forces. In this view
we see the woman as an analogy to God’s people (as suggested above) but with
the specific understanding that John is speaking about Rome as the ultimate
enemy of God.
The Dragon
With
that last statement, it might be thought that we’ve got this passage nailed
down. But, let’s take a little longer
look at the identity of the dragon. The
dragon might well be Rome, and thus the hand of Satan, but I think there is
more we can learn about this divine struggle than the simple identity of the
dragon.
As
mentioned in yesterday’s blog, the idea of the dragon as the antithesis of God
is an idea that spread throughout the ancient Middle East – getting its origins
largely from Babylon. [See Isaiah 51:9,
Psalm 74:12-14, and Job 40:15-24 for more details.] Specifically, this dragon has seven heads,
ten horns, and seven diadems (royal crowns).
The number seven implies completeness, and it is clear that the dragon’s
power is complete with respect to the earth.
The
fact that the dragon sweeps part of the stars out of heaven may well be a
retelling of Satan’s conflict and fall in heaven and his taking a third of the
angels in heaven with him as he falls. The
war in heaven is not recorded in many places in our Bible. Rather, it comes from 2 Enoch 29. The few places in scripture where it is briefly
referenced is Isaiah 14:12, 1 Timothy 3:6, and Luke 10:18.
Of
course, the inherent consequence of this divine war is a war against the
followers of God. John’s point in
including this passage in Revelation 12 is that when people wage war against
those whom God loves, they wage war directly against God. Take, for example, Acts 9:4 where Jesus says
to Paul, “Why do you persecute me?” Paul
was not actively persecuting Jesus, but he was persecuting those who follow
Jesus. Thus, Jesus took it
personally. Anyone who fights against
God or God’s people is acting like Satan, even well intentioned followers of
God (as Paul would have thought of himself before his conversion)! This point would bring great comfort to
John’s contemporaries who were under the persecution of Rome.
Wings
Miraculously,
the woman escapes the dragon’s attack by receiving the wings of an eagle in
order to fly into the wilderness. This teaching
parallels Exodus 19:4 where God says of his people, “You yourselves have seen
what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to
myself.” This passage also hints to
Isaiah 40:31 where those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength and
soar on wings like an eagle. John is
reminding his contemporaries that those who stay strong under persecution will
find respite in God.
Water
We
next move on to this massive volume of water brought forth by the dragon. Throughout the Old Testament, the idea of
tribulation and persecution is often thought of as great waves or troubled
water. The flood (Genesis 6) is one
example. Other examples are Psalm 32:6,
42:7, Isaiah 43:2. John’s point in
having the earth come to the defense of the woman is that even nature itself is
on God’s side, unable to be swayed into the schemes of Satan.
That’s
a really unique perspective on nature.
We know that nature groans for us – Paul tells us that much in
Romans. We know that nature is made
corrupt by our sinfulness. But only
humans are capable of sin. I think that’s
important to remember. Given that fact,
nature does often come to our rescue.
Rejoicing
Finally,
let me go back and pick up the song of rejoicing in heaven found in Revelation
12:10-12. At its most basic level, the
song represents the glorious cleansing and purification of heaven. At a deeper level, the song is a tribute to
martyrdom. To overcome Satan is to
overcome temptation. Only those who are
willing to be a martyr with respect to their greatest desires ever overcomes
temptation.
Even
more deeply is the recognition that the victory was done for the sake of the
blood of the lamb. This implies that
none of us are truly able to fully resist temptation and thus need Christ’s
blood.
Ultimately,
the song is also advice. It is eerily
reminiscent of Mark 10:39 where Jesus says, “You will drink the cup I drink and
be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with.” Additionally, it also parallels Luke 9:24
where Jesus says, “Those who wish to save their life will lose it, but those
who lose their life for my save will save it.”
In
the grand scheme of things, we have indeed remembered a good deal about God, humanity,
and our struggles today. Satan is indeed
a ruthless and ferocious predator against those who are with Christ. Anyone who fights against God’s people
ultimately fights against God Himself.
Only in the blood of Christ can true victory be found, because Christ is
the Lord who rules with an iron scepter.
That’s a pretty basic reminder of what we need to know in order to stand
firm under persecution as John’s contemporaries were called to do.
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