XXXIII - 5(95) Excerpt
“Watchman,
what of the night?”
"The hour has come, the hour is
striking and striking at you,
the hour and the end!" Eze. 7:6 (Moffatt)
EXEGESIS OF
REVELATION
The Woman, The Dragon,
The Man-Child,
and the Remnant of Her Seed
(Part 1)
An
individual can approach the study of the Bible from two different viewpoints.
One can either let the text speak for itself, or one can read into the text
traditional concepts which he has been taught, or preconceived ideas of what
the text is saying from his own personal biases and prejudices. By letting the
text speak to him, the Holy Spirit can open to his mind new vistas of truth
each time he studies which he has not previously seen. There may remain unaswered questions which he will not be able to answer
until fuller light is revealed to him. This is especially true in the study of
Bible prophecy.
In the book
of Revelation, there are some key chapters which cast light on our present time
which need to be carefully re-studied by just letting the text speak to us.
These chapters are the heart of the last section of the book - chapters 12
through 19. Since the book is a whole book, there will be a
"knitting" back into the first section of similar concepts and
key phrases. For example, the "forty and two months" of Revelaiton 13:5, is also to be found in 11:2. It will be
our objective over the next several months to take an exegetical look at these
chapters and see just what they are saying. Questions may remain unanswered,
but we will be left with the facts of what is written so that as we seek to
understand more fully through continued study, the groundwork will have been
laid.
Revelation 12
This chapter
focuses on two visions - "wonders," significant apparitions - seen by
John. One is a woman with child (v. 1-2), and the second is "a great red
dragon" (v. 3). The interrelationship between these two symbols is
continued to the time of "the war with the remnant of her seed." (v.
17) The "fiery red (Gr. purros)
dragon" is defined "as that old serpent, called the Devil, and
Satan." (v. 9) The "child" is called
"a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron." (v. 5)
He is also "the seed" of the woman, since the "remnant" are referred to as a "seed." The woman is not
defined, but the very elements of the two visions
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a serpent,
a seed, and a woman - bring to mind the first gospel promise in Genesis 3:15,
where the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's head. The role of the
"Man child" is described further as "Michael" (v. 7), the
"Christ" or Messiah (v. 10), and the "Lamb" (v. 11).
Verse 7
brings us to our first judgment call. Are we going to read into this verse, our
perceptions, or are we going to let the text speak for itself? "There was
war in heaven." Is the word, "heaven," to be understood
the same as the word is used in verses 1 and 3? Or are we to interpret it as
meaning, the dwelling place of God? If the latter, our traditional perceptions
place this war prior to the creation of man. The text indicates that as a
result of this "war," Satan "was cast out into the earth."
This then would mean that this "earth" existed some time before the
creation of man, and further that God created man and placed him where Satan
was confined. If on the other hand, we read this word "heaven" as it
is used of the other two visions" - the stage where the symbolic drama was
being enacted - the "war in heaven" then becomes the battle of the
Man-Child, the incarnate Michael with the dragon, and the resultant victory of
the Cross, where the blood of the Lamb was spilt. This would harmonize with the
next pronouncement John hears from the heavens - "Now is come
salvation." (v. 10).
Following
through on the fact that the Devil "was cast out into the earth" (v.
9), "is cast down" (v. 10), the action of the prophecy turns to
activity on the earth and the sea. John hears a command - "Rejoice, ye
heavens (plural), and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth
and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you,
having great wrath." (v. 12) The use of the
plural for "heavens," and the reference to the "inhabitants that
dwell in them," removes the use of the term as the place of the vision, to
the reality where God dwells. But why the use of terms
"earth" and "sea" to refer to the inhabitants upon whom
Satan manifests his wrath? He was merely "cast out into the
earth." We must leave this an open question in the light of what follows -
the two "beasts" of Chapter 13, one of which would "rise out of
the sea" (v. 1), and the second which would come "up out of the
earth" (v. 11).
The first
activity of the devil, after his defeat, was to manifest his wrath against the
woman "which brought forth the man child." (12:13) The
"woman" flees into the "wilderness." (We meet this term
again in Chapter 17, where another "woman" is pictured as being in a
"wilderness" See 17:3.) The woman of Revelation 12 is in the
wilderness for a given period - A thousand two hundred and threescore
days" (v. 6), and "for a time, and times, and half a time" (v.
14). Why two different time descriptions for the same period? First, the
designation of verse 14 is the same as Daniel 7:25, thus linking the prophecies
of the two books. The language of verse 6, - 1260 days - is also the time that
"the two witnesses" prophesy "clothed in sackcloth." (Rev.
11:3) This links the "two witnesses" closely with the
"woman." The emphasis on the woman in the wilderness is that there
she will be fed, and "nourished." Is she nourished by "the two
witnesses"? The text says - "They should feed her."
(12:6) The only antecedent to "they"
connected with the same prophetic time element are "the two
witnesses."
In contrast
to the nourishment received, the "wrath" of the devil is symbolized
as casting "out of his mouth water" in such quantity so as to become
a flood to overwhelm the woman. We have read into this term, "water,"
persecution. Are we justified? John in his gospel defines "water"
differently. He quotes Jesus as saying - "He that believeth on me, as the
scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."
Then John explains what this means - "This spake He of the Spirit which
they that believe on Him should receive." (John 7:38-39) If this concept
is applied to "water" in Revelation 12, does it therefore represent
the "doctrines of devils" which sought to overwhelm the true
Then we face
another judgment call. The 16th verse states that "the earth (not the sea)
helped the woman" opening its mouth to swallow the flood so that she might
be preserved. Is this "earth" to mean the place from whence the
second beast of Revelation 13 arises? To accept the term, "earth," in
a prophetic sense, and to apply it to the data that follows Revelation 12 leads
to some interesting observations.
The second
beast of Rev. 13 speaks "to them that dwell on the earth" (v. 14).
The First Angel's Message heralds the everlasting gospel first "unto them
that dwell on the earth," and then "to every nation, and kindred, and
tongue and people." (14:6) Is the objective of
the "everlasting gospel" to unmask the enemy, and preserve the purity
of the woman?
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There is a
final confrontation. It reads:
And
the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of
her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of
Jesus." (12:17)
Each of
these clauses is pregnant with concept. 1)
The "wrath" of the enemy continues against the "woman." 2) A new symbol is introduced,
"the remnant of [the woman's] seed." And 3) This remnant "keeps" (not
professes to, nor tries to keep) the commandments of God, and they
"have" the testimony of Jesus Christ.
In this
chapter, the word, "war" (polemos) is used twice,
both times in connection with "the seed of the woman" - the Original
Seed, and now the "remnant." (vs. 7, 17) The "war" concept
is carried through this final section:
a) The first beast of Revelation 13 makes
"war with the saints." (v. 7) b) "The spirits of devils ... go
forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world to gather them to the
war (polemos)
of that great day of God Almighty." (16:14) And c) "These shall make war with
the Lamb." [The verb form of "war" is used] (17:14) Those with the Lamb are "called, and chosen, and
faithful."
This
presents another question to be pursued in the study of the book of Revelation
as introduced by verse 17. What is the relationship between the Seed of the Promise,
(The "Man-Child," "Michael," "His Christ," and
"the Lamb") and the "remnant seed"? Here is the data:
1) The victors of the
last of the seven churches -
2) The 144,000
"follow the Lamb withersoever He goeth." (14:4) These
"have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb." (7:14)
3) The marriage of the
Lamb "is come" because "His wife hath made herself ready. And to
her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for
the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." (19:7-8)
The
"remnant of [the woman's] seed "have the testimony
of Jesus." The text does not say, "the woman
has the testimony of Jesus," only "the remnant." This phrase is
used in several different places in the book of Revelation. The word
translated, "testimony" is marturia. In John's
writings - his Gospel, Epistles, and the Revelation - he uses the word 30x, and
it is translated, "record" and "witness" as well as
"testimony." John also uses the verb form, martureo, 47x, and the
word, martus,
from which we derive our English word, "martyr," 5x.
How then are we to understand,
the phrase, "testimony of Jesus" in Rev. 12:17.
By eisegetical interpretation, we have read this to
mean, "the Spirit of Prophecy" by making a
comparison with Revelation 19:10. How is this phrase used in Revelation, apart
from 12:17? Note the following verses:
"John, who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of
Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw." (1:2)
"John
... was in the isle that is called
"I
am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have
the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit
of prophecy." (19:10)
"I
beheld the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness (marturia) of Jesus, and for the word of
God." (20:4)
What
deductions can be drawn? 1) The
"word of God" and "the testimony of Jesus" are associated
together. 2) Gabriel, "His
angel" (1:1), has this testimony, as well as the (apostolic?) "brethren" of John. 3) The "remnant of her seed" also have
it. Is this to be understood singularly, one person, or collectively, the
group?
There is an
overall picture conveyed by Revelation 12. In each period, whether in regard to
"the Man-Child", or the period of the woman in the wilderness, or in
the war against the "remnant," it is the "dragon"
operating. This dragon or serpent is specifically called "the Devil, and
Satan." In the following chapters, other symbols are used designating
powers under the control and authority of the dragon doing the work which the
12th Chapter attributes to the dragon. This chapter is the outline which the
following chapters detail and enlarge.
A closer
look at some of the symbolisms provides meaningful insights into a correct
interpretation of past history. The dragon or serpent is described as a
"fiery serpent" (drakon purros), better translated as "serpent of
fire." Hislop in his Two Babylons
notes, that "along with the sun, as the great fire-god, and in due time,
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identified
with him, was the serpent worshipped. 'In the mythology of the primitive
world,' says Owen, 'the serpent is universally the symbol of the sun.' In
[For further study on this association between the serpent, the
sun-god, and Sunday observance, see Robert Leo Odom, Sunday in Roman
Paganism,
Consideration
needs to be given to the designation of Jesus in the incarnation as the
"Man-Child" (huios, arsen). This reads literally "a son, a
male." In the Greek, there are two words used to designate man - anthrōpos,
a human being - from which we derive the English word, anthropology, the study
of man. The second is - aner, a male person of full age in contrast to a
child, or a husband. Then there is this adjective - arsen - which emphasizes
the male sex. Jesus did not come into humanity as a eunuch, bereft of the
forces which drive men, but was in all points tempted even as we, yet He sinned
not.
His victory
over the Devil and Satan is hailed by a loud voice proclaiming - "Now is
come salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His
Christ (Messiah)." (v. 10) The word,
"power" is exousia,
authority. With the victory of Jesus, the dominion lost by Adam is returned to
the new head of humanity, the Second Adam. No longer could the Devil accuse
mankind before the Throne of God, for "caught up unto God, and to His
throne" (v. 5), was One who was to ever live to make intercession for us.
(Heb. 7:25)
After noting
the salvation and strength provided in the redemption accomplished by Michael
in His warfare with the dragon, a three-fold agenda is given for victory over
the dragon by each child of humanity. (v. 11)
1) "They overcame
him by the blood of the Lamb." The only provision for our sins, is the sacrifice of
2) "And by the
word of their testimony." This reads in the Greek - dia ton logon tes marturias autōn
- "on account of the word of the witness of them." While we
cannot contribute to the salvation and strength provided in "the blood of
the Lamb," we can bear witness in our lives to the power of the Word, and
testify with our mouths to the Truth revealed by that Word when made flesh,
"full of grace and truth." (John 1:14) These are the only
"works" for which reward will be given. We need to pray with Paul -
"that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel," that "I may speak boldly, as I ought to
speak." (Eph. 6:19-20)
3) "They loved not
their lives unto death." There is a price to pay for speaking forthrightly
the truth. He who was "the Truth" (John 14:6) paid that price, and He
said to all who would follow Him - "As my Father hath sent Me, even so
send I you." (John 20:21) It is at this point, that for too many, the
victory is lost. We are not willing to accept the cost imposed by truth. It may
not be a physical death that we will be asked to endure. Once inflicted it is
over; but professional assassination brings with it a death in life, and when
confronted with this prospect men buckle. The agony of Calvary, in which Christ
experienced the "second death," will never be known by the redeemed,
but the death in life experienced by the Son of man when "He came unto His
own, and His own received Him not" (John 1:11), will be the experience of
those who follow the Lamb withersoever He goeth.
+++++
"When the books of Daniel and
Revelation are better understood, believers will have an entirely different
religious experience. They will be given such glimpses of the open gates of
heaven that heart and mind will be impressed with the character that all must
develop in order to realize the blessedness which is to be the reward of the
pure in heart...
"One thing will certainly be understood from
the study of Revelation, -- that the connection between God and His people is
close and decided."
Testimonies to Ministers, p.
114