1A great sign was seen in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2She was with child. She cried out in pain, laboring to give birth.
3Another sign was seen in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns. 4His tail drew one third of the stars of the sky, and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. 5She gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. Her child was caught up to God and to his throne. 6The woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that there they may nourish her one thousand two hundred sixty days.
7There was war in the sky. Michael and his angels made war on the dragon. The dragon and his angels made war. 8They didn’t prevail. No place was found for them any more in heaven. 9The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
10I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, the power, and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ has come; for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night. 11They overcame him because of the Lamb’s blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn’t love their life, even to death. 12Therefore rejoice, heavens, and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and to the sea, because the devil has gone down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time.”
13When the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 14Two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, so that she might be nourished for a time, times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. 15The serpent spewed water out of his mouth after the woman like a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the stream. 16The earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon spewed out of his mouth. 17The dragon grew angry with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep God’s commandments and hold Jesus’ testimony.
This book is a complete revelation of Jesus Christ in all of His essence. It will put His character on full display. He was indeed the Lamb of God that humbled Himself even unto death on the cross. He will return as King of Kings and Lord of all Lords. He was the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, but He will return as a lion in all of His power and glory. It is addressed to each and every one of us who is a “servant” of God. That’s you and me! It is a revelation that is given for our benefit, and it will tell us of things that are “shortly to take place.” That means that, as John wrote it, there was an immediacy to it. It could happen at any time after it was written. The passage tells us that it was “signed and sealed” and delivered to John for all of us.
John had “born witness” to the Word of God. He had been there. He had seen Jesus. He had held Him. This is the same disciple whom Jesus loved so much. He was there at the foot of the cross when Jesus put His own earthly mother in John’s care. He had heard the testimony of Jesus Christ and He had been an eyewitness to the things that Jesus did during His ministry. It is important to remember that John’s Gospel is an eyewitness account that repeatedly assures the reader that Jesus is God incarnate, yet He was fully man. We are told that we will be blessed if we read and hear the words of this prophecy. I don’t know about you, but anytime the Bible tells me that something is a blessing, I’m ready to get in on it.
In verse four, John addresses the letter to “the seven churches that are in Asia.” We will learn shortly which churches these are. I believe John was addressing instructions to all Churches at all times throughout their history. Churches go through stages and phases, and perhaps there is a word for your own church as you listen to the words given to each church. There is then a wish for grace and peace from Him who is, who was, and who is to come. That, of course, is Jesus. It then mentions seven spirits, and we’re not given an explanation of who or what those spirits are.
Some think it’s the Holy Spirit. Perhaps seven is because it is God’s holy, perfect number. The apocryphal books of 1 Enoch (20:2-8) and Tobit (12:15) name seven angels who supposedly stand before God: Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Saraqael (Sariel), Gabriel, and Remiel. Pastor Warren Wiersbe says, “Seven” is the number of completion and stands for the fullness of the Spirit. I think a better approach is to say we aren’t exactly sure who or what they are because John doesn’t tell us. We do know that “Seven” is the number of completion, and it is linked with the Spirit. Although much of this book is difficult to understand, read it and listen. Reader, in doing so, you will be blessed.