Previous Verse       Revelation Chapter 12 Verse 17 (NASB)       Next Verse

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17. And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
    And the DRAGON was enraged with the WOMAN,
As much as the DRAGON is enraged with the WOMAN, God still doesn't want to see the devil perish (2 Peter 3:8-13). If only the DRAGON would humble himself and repent. Present day boastings from Arab leaders and terrorists to "get the Jews" are but a precursor to the wrath the DRAGON shows at this mid-tribulation point.
    and went off to MAKE WAR with the REST OF HER OFFSPRING,
Some scholars believe this refers to the final battle of Har-Magedon (Armageddon). If the "river" in verse 15 was against Jerusalem, then the rest of her offspring could have fled elsewhere like the plains of Megiddo (2 Chronicles 35:20-27). Megiddo is somewhere between Egypt and the Euphrates River. Most maps place it west of the Jordan River and north of Jerusalem.
    who

    • keep the COMMANDMENTS OF GOD and
    • HOLD TO THE TESTIMONY of JESUS.
Note the interesting paradox here. The WOMAN (nation of Israel) in the previous verse is protected, while the OFFSPRING (Jews in other countries and/or all other believers) are at WAR with the DRAGON.

Likewise to those who ignore the Old Testament teachings because we are not under LAW but under the New Testament GRACE should understand the conjunction here is "and". The Old Testaments contains ten COMMANDMENTS not SUGGESTIONS. This makes KEEPING the COMMANDMENTS of GOD part of the TESTIMONY of JESUS. This just reinforces the "I AM" foreverness of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Exodus 3:13-14; Revelation 1:8; Revelation 4:8; and Revelation 21:6).

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 Used by permission."

References to the Revelation of Jesus Christ are in bold italics. All other references are in bold only