Chapter 12 is the beginning of one of the most difficult portions of
Revelation. Before this, not much of the conflict with the devil has be
recorded in Revelation or the rest of the Bible for that matter. We all
sense intuitively that this conflict is occurring even now in the
pre-uptaking period, but since it is of a spiritual nature, we have a
difficulty comprehending the conflict, its reasons, or even its
outcome. Some will never be understood until we get a chance to ask our
Savior about it.
The chapter discusses the demise of the first person of the Satanic
Trinity: the devil himself. The next
chapter
discusses the other two members of the Satanic Trinity: the sea beast
and the earth beast.
1. A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed
with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars
on her head.
A GREAT and WONDROUS SIGN appeared in HEAVEN:
Before chapter 12, not much about the conflict with the devil has been
recorded. There was a bit about evil angels (demons) in the fifth
trumpet (Revelation
9:1ff), but not about Satan's conflict with God. Now we will see
it.
The use of "GREAT SIGN" indicates that what John is describing is
symbolic and thus chronological ordering may not be inferred here. This
is the first of four "GREAT"s in this chapter.
The use of "GREAT" implies this is larger than individual activity; it
is more on the scale of a group/nation (even whole earth). What we are
seeing here in the first nine verses of chapter 12 is a history lesson
of the earth from God's spiritual perspective. It, obviously, is not
the whole perspective but a mere glimpse.
a WOMAN
The female comes out of male and is not original creation. Hence, this
WOMAN is not the original but out of someone else (Genesis
2:21-23)
the moon under her feet, and
The moon, a reflective passive body also shines light from some other
source. It, too, is submissive (under her feet).
a crown of twelve stars on her head.
She wears a crown of twelve stars. It is not clear of what the twelve
stars are symbolic. Perhaps they are the twelve tribes of Judah (Genesis
37:5-11, Revelation
7:4-8); or the twelve apostles (Acts
1:15-26); or even half of the 24 elders who also wore crowns on
their heads (Revelation 4:4).
and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.
This is a very unique earthly experience. That is, there will be no
pain or sorrow in heaven as Revelation 21:4
says. Thus, there seems to be a conflict with 'appeared in heaven' in
the previous verse and the 'pain' in this verse. While the sign was
(appeared) in heaven, the object of the symbol was on earth. We really
cannot understand the linkages between heaven and earth while we are
physically alive. When we get to heaven, then we will understand (if we
care to ... the praise session may be so overwhelming that we will not
care about this kind of semantics.). Check out the clues in verses 5 and 6.
The prophets in the Old Testament indicate that Jerusalem and the
Israelis will be compared to these birth pangs:
"Look at that", John says, "I have seen evil in my day, but seeing this
makes me realize evil is much larger and pervasive than really known."
Even John is taken by the "size of evil"; we just don't experience that
in our everyday activities. Nonetheless, evil of that magnitude is
around us all the time.
Red is the absence of peace (Revelation 6:4);
so all turmoil and conflict is embodied in this SIGN (symbol).
with seven heads and ten horns and
This is an ugly creature. Many scholars believe the seven heads refers
to past governments (Revelation 17:10)
periods and the ten horns to governments in the last times (Revelation 17:12). Daniel's dragon had
only one head and ten horns (Daniel
7:7; Daniel
7:23-28). Since Daniel's dream was about the end times, this would
make sense for Daniel's vision to only have the 10 horns.
seven crowns on his heads.
This denotes that the evil is actively working inside governments in
the end time. The devil (dragon - verse 9) openly
boasts that the world's kingdoms are his (Luke
4:5-6). While Jesus didn't refute it (why should He argue with the
devil?), He countered it by quoting scripture. This tells us that to
counter 'the ENORMOUS RED DRAGON', that we should quote scripture. Oh,
that we would spend more time in studying God's Word.
This also implies that instead of working for the people,
governments work for Satan (1
John 5:18-19-21). One wonders what the government's programs really
are meant to do! One only has to recall the Holocaust or abortion
rights or alcohol misuse; all "legal" in government terms but intent on
'killing' people in violation of one of God's ten commandments (Exodus
20:13).
4. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung
them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about
to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.
And
a. His tail swept a
third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.
The literal view is that the cosmic
response to the heaven and earth
conflict will be a multitude of asteroids or similar stellar shower.
Since most stars are many times larger than the earth and are
'burning', this would be the end of the physical earth as we know it.
Thus the symbolic view is preferred in this instance. However, don't
discount the physical phenomena from happening!
The symbolic view is that the WOMAN (verse 1)
is a collective view of Israel. That is, the 12 stars are the twelve
tribes of Judah. Then this part of this verse would be that a third of
Israelis will be killed, "flung to the earth" (Matthew
24:15-22-28). See how Daniel saw this verse in Daniel
8:9-14.
b. The dragon stood
in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might
devour her child the moment it was born.
From the DRAGON viewpoint, he has to
kill the child coming from the woman. According to 1
John 3:7-10,
this is the reason Jesus came to the earth: that He might destroy the
works of the devil. In a real sense, when Jesus said "unless one is
born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God (John
3:3), Satan is standing right in front of you waiting to DEVOUR you
as soon as you say "YES" to Jesus.
Even after you say yes, Satan is still trying to kill Christ who lives
in us. But since the devil is not successful (see the rest of this
chapter), we have our HOPE OF GLORY (Colossians
1:24-29)!
And her child was SNATCHED UP to God and to his THRONE.
With respect to the most obvious, Revelation
4 explains Christ being at the THRONE.
With respect to the less obvious, the overcomers according to 1
Thessalonians 4:16-17 are with Him; the Laodicean overcomers (Revelation 3:21) are granted the privilege
to sit on the throne even as Christ Himself is an overcomer. PRAISE
HIM!
Believers (overcomers) at regeneration time will sit on twelve
thrones judging Israel (chosen people -- not overcomers because of
unbelief) according to Matthew
19:27-28-30.
6. The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for
her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
The WOMAN fled into the DESERT to a PLACE
prepared for her by God,
While this verse says the WOMAN (Israel) fled into the desert,
Jesus uses a similar expression "flee to the mountains" in Matthew
24:15-28 and Luke
21:20-24. Some scholars believe this wilderness (mountains) is the
ancient city of Petra (today Sela). Cross-reference this passage with Daniel
11:40-41-45 and Isaiah
16:1-5.
Symbolically, the wilderness is a place of trial and much hardship
for humans; yet, it is the place of peace and confident rest for God
and His people. Recall this PLACE is prepared by God (John
14:1-11, Isaiah
33:13-16).
where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
Again, we are amazed by the precision of time down to the day from a
God who really knows no time and is eternal. Throughout the Revelation,
we see this precise timing....watch for it.
This time period is the GREAT TRIBULATION. If it lasted any longer,
all life may disappear (Matthew
24:15-22).
Note also that in the midst of "harsh conditions" in the desert,
there is nourishment. This was true for the bondwoman, Hagar, in Genesis
16:7-14 and Galatians
4:21-31.
Many scholars believe that during this time the two witnesses (Revelation 11:3-4)
speak out, and that this is the same 42 weeks that is given to "the
beast" to do his boasting (Revelation 13:5).
7. And there was war in heaven. Michael and
his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels
fought back.
And there was WAR in heaven.
Now this really goes against our preconceived idea of heaven being a
peaceful place filled with beautiful music and so on, but there is WAR
in heaven. This may well be a different kind of WAR than what we know
here on earth. Spiritual warfare is soul and spirit related; two areas
we are not but should be very familiar with.
This verse must be tied to the hymn in verse 10
and following. Thus the redemption by the Son's blood was fought over
in heaven long before/or even til the earthly conflicts we have. Christ
WINS THEM ALL!
Michael and his angels FOUGHT against the dragon,
Michael is found five times in the Bible, and he always is associated
with the protection of Israel:
From the reference to the 1,260 days in the previous verse, we know
that this WAR must take place during or at the end of the tribulation
period. The earthly saints have been translated into heaven and only
the woman/man-child problem for the dragon remains. Recall the 'great
sign' of the woman appeared IN HEAVEN.
and the dragon and his angels FOUGHT back.
This WAR was an all out conflict between 'stand ins': Michael (for
Christ) and his angels verses the dragon (for devil) and his angels.
There
was a direct one on one confrontation between Jesus and the devil
recorded in Matthew
4:1-11 and Luke
4:1-13. The quotation of scripture was how these 'temptations' were
overcome. This verse doesn't indicate if Michael and his angels use
scripture to fight this WAR at this 'opportune time'.
Also compare this with 1
Kings 22:13-23 where a spiritual conflict was between ONE prophet,
Micaiah verses many 'false prophets'. The conflict in this verse is
much larger.
8. But he was not strong enough, and they lost
their place in heaven.
But he was not STRONG ENOUGH,
There is no doubt that Satan and his army could wage a strong fight.
The archangel Michael had to come to fight the 'prince of the kingdom
of Persia' (Satan) in Daniel
10:13, after the angelic messenger sent to Daniel had struggled
with him 21 days. Now the messenger may have been a 'lower' angel (Daniel
10:21) but that shows, even in the heavenly realm, Satan is very
strong and powerful.
and they lost their place in HEAVEN.
Satan, at this time, still has access to heavenly places. He
continually is accusing the saints before God (Job
1:9-11, Zechariah
3:1). Even today, every time we make a request of God, Satan stands
there to say its a lie, or we won't keep our commitment, and so on.
Since we still have the privilege of making choices, Satan is the
'politician' trying to swing our vote his way. BUT, Satan is NOT STRONG
ENOUGH when we have made our commitment to
Christ!
Satan is released from the abyss after the 1000 year reign
for a short time and then forever cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone.
There was a brief moment at the 5th trumpet where Satan (Revelation 9:1, a star) was forced to come
down and open the bottomless pit. He was not required to stay in the
pit. There is a king over the residents there (Revelation
9:11) who probably is not Satan, but is under Satan's command.
Note the consequence of Satan losing this fight (Revelation
12:12): the tribulation period will be awful!
9. The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called
the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to
the earth, and his angels with him.
The GREAT DRAGON was HURLED DOWN --
The GREAT DRAGON is symbolically equal to evil. It is clear that evil
was defeated first in heaven and then on earth. Believers can take
comfort in this. No matter how bad things get on earth, the GREAT
DRAGON is already DEFEATED (Romans
8:31-37-39)!
that ancient serpent called the DEVIL, or SATAN,
No mistaking this dragon; he is the same as in Genesis
3:1-7. His works are evil and are destroyed by Christ (1
John 3:1-10). He is the same one who is prowling seeking believers
to devour (1
Peter 5:1-11).
who LEADS the WHOLE world astray.
Humanly, it is difficult to believe that one being would try to do
this. The deception starts in the minds of the unbelieving (2
Corinthians 4:1-4-6 and 2
Thessalonians 2:1-12).
Next, the deception moves into the church as "servants of
righteousness" (2
Corinthians 11:7-15) to try to divert the nominal believer. The
parable of the sower explained in Matthew
13:18-23 indicates this takes place where the seed is sown. Today,
"seed sowing" is done in or is left up to the church.
The deception goes all the way to humanism which says God is not the
ultimate reality, but that the universe, science, and knowledge are the
only lasting reality. When the absolutes of God and His Word are
denied, only a humanistic process is left. Humanists ought to look
closely at the results of the deception. The list is given in Revelation 21:8; if the GREAT DRAGON can
deceive you into being one on this list, he has accomplished his plan.
He was HURLED DOWN to the earth, and his angels with him.
If the devil believes he will become greater than God by mastering the
earth, then that is where he should be confined. Sad to say, the
devil believes that destroying the earth has an impact on the spiritual
life of the believer. And he does if the believer is laying up
treasures HERE ON EARTH (Matthew
6:19-21).
Note: the phrase "HURLED DOWN" is used twice in this verse.
There is no doubt this event will take place forceably by Michael and
his angels (verse 7).
10. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the
salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority
of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before
our God day and night, has been hurled down.
Then I heard a LOUD VOICE in HEAVEN say:
This may be a relative "sound level". If the last part of this verse
goes on continually, then heaven must have been/now is a very noisy
place. Consider how many people are continually being accused before
God (and Jesus). Silence in heaven is a very rare thing (see Revelation 8:1); if the saints aren't
praising, the devil and his followers are accusing.
But now that the devil and his cohorts are "HURLED DOWN" to the
earth, John hears the LOUD VOICE. This voice stands out above the rest
of the loud voices when the seventh trumpet is sounded (Revelation 11:15).
Now have come
the SALVATION and
Once again, time enters the picture. NOW the fullness of salvation is
realized. Here salvation is more than the act
which gives a person eternal life. It includes the purging of
heaven from evil for eternity. This is part of the John
14:1-11 "I am going there to prepare a place for you" Jesus talked
about.
the POWER and
This POWER is the gospel (Romans
1:16-17). Note also that as in the Lord's prayer (Matthew
6:5-15), POWER is tied to
the KINGDOM of OUR GOD, and
This is not the first appearing of the KINGDOM of our God. It has been
in existence forever. However, it is going through the "redemptive
process" even as discussed in Revelation 5:1,
point 7.
the AUTHORITY of HIS CHRIST.
This is the AUTHORITY totally in command in heaven. It is on earth,
too, as Jesus said in Matthew
28:18-20. But on earth while that AUTHORITY is superior, it still
is tolerating the presence of the devil (but not for long, verse12)
For the ACCUSER of OUR BROTHERS,
In action, Jesus Christ has just had enough. As High Priest (Hebrews
9:11-14), he stands at the right hand of God intercepting the
accusations against mankind being hurled toward God. By action, Jesus
indicates that because of HIS BLOOD (next verse),
God cannot hear the accusations of the devil. The devil and his
followers might as well reside on the earth and talk to the residents
there, verse 12.
The use of the pronoun, OUR, indicates this is a believer's view.
This is confirmed in the next verse.
who accuses them before OUR GOD day and night, has been HURLED
DOWN.
When a person repents of their sins, the
accusations become more intense. While the devil doesn't want anyone to
accept Christ as Savior and the one with AUTHORITY, the believers are
the ones he really would like to deceive and get back. So at this
point, the accusations become more mental than physical. This allows us
to understand what Paul meant when he says that Christ "cleanse our
consciences" in Hebrews
9:14.
11They
overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their
testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from
death.
This verse is the second stanza of the three-verse victory song. It
explains the cause of Satan's removal from heaven.
They (our brothers) OVERCAME him
(the accuser)
OVERCOMERS are a major theme in Revelation. The OVERCOMER's reward is
found in Revelation 2:10
by the BLOOD OF THE LAMB and
We, believers, have no concept how powerful the BLOOD of Christ is. It
is a cleansing agent (1
John 1:7,9) at the same time it is the victorious life (1
John 5:6-12).
they did not love their LIVES so much as to shrink from
DEATH.
Being "sold out" to Christ says my earthly life is not important
compared to my eternal life. Jesus talked about this in Matthew
10:34-39 and Mark
13:9-13.
Can you claim and speak these three things today? If you can't, why not?
12. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But
woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short."
Therefore,
The reason is the devil and his followers are removed FOREVER from
heaven.
REJOICE, you HEAVENS and you who dwell in them!
There always is joy in heaven; in the past it was over a repented
sinner (Luke
15:8-10). But this is different,. It is over the removal of the
devil and his followers from heaven. Angels don't have to do the
spiritual warfare in high places anymore. There is a new freedom in
heaven which is cause for REJOICING.
But WOE to the earth and the sea, because the DEVIL has
GONE
DOWN to you! He is filled with FURY, because he knows that his time is
short.
What a study in contrasts: WOE versus REJOICING. Any doubt that the
devil is mean, terrible, and wicked is removed by the use of the word
"WOE". However, he still is a great deceiver and master of disguise (verse 9 and 2
Corinthians 11:7-15).
The use of the phrase "and sea" is interesting in that it
implies that even evil spirits will experience the wrath of Satan.
Recall that water or the sea sometimes refers to the "container of
spirit beings". See Revelation
9:14 for
a discussion.
The FURY is prompted by the short time the devil has.
Verses 6 and 14 clearly explain
how much time this is. There are three things that are in the devil's
future:
In 3 and 1/2 years, he will cease to operate on the earth,
his "jail term" of a 1000 years will begin (Revelation 20:2)
and his ability to deceive ends at the judgment throne (Revelation 20:10).
13. When the dragon saw that he had been
hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the
male child.
John interrupted the vision of the woman (verses
1 - 6) to explain the casting out of the devil from heaven. Now he
picks up the rest of the vision of the woman and why she is persecuted.
When the DRAGON saw that he had been HURLED DOWN to the earth,
Being "THROWN DOWN" (verse 9) must have happened so
quickly that the devil couldn't believe his eyes.
he PURSUED the WOMAN who had given birth to the MALE CHILD.
Up to this point, the DRAGON (devil) has other fallen angels doing the
"dirty work" on earth. Now he himself realizes he has to take charge
and destroy Israel once and for all. He can't touch the MALE CHILD
anymore (verse 5) because he has no more access to
Him.
On earth, the two witnesses (Revelation
11:3) have been vocal in their testimony. They, the two witnesses,
are no longer in Israel, but their prophesies will haunt the DRAGON.
The two witnesses, too, are out of harms way (Revelation
11:12).
If the devil himself is going to take charge of events especially
against Israel, one cannot help but feel for our Jewish brothers. It
was prophetic of David to request that we "Pray for the peace of
Jerusalem" (Psalm
122:6). In this verse in Revelation, that peace will be gone and
the WOMAN is forced to flee (next verse).
14. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that
she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she
would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the
serpent's reach.
The WOMAN was given the two wings of the GREAT EAGLE,
In the covenant made with Israel upon leaving Egypt, the "wings of
eagles" (Exodus
19:3-6) is the expression used to describe how quickly the exit was
made. In this verse, during the tribulation the WOMAN (Israel as a
nation) is transported very quickly to the wilderness. Some biblical
scholars feel that the United States or other ally of Israel will
provide aircraft or helicopters to "fly" the people to the wilderness.
However, the use of "GREAT EAGLE" (fourth time in this
chapter - see verse 1) would indicate a supernatural departure
(like the way through the Red Sea). Jesus talked about how quickly this
must happen in Matthew
24:15-28.
so that she might FLY to THE PLACE for her in the desert,
The "desert" is where God holds court. Ezekiel explains in Ezekiel
20:32-39. And after the judgment, a bonding will take place with
His chosen people again (Hosea
2:14-23). The last part of the Hosea prophesy indicates that
Gentile believers will be considered part of "My people". Some scholars
use this to say that "the WOMAN" here refers not only to Israel as
God's chosen people but also to all born-again believers. See also Deuteronomy
32:4-18 and Isaiah
40:27-31.
where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a
time,
Even in the harshest of conditions, God still TAKES CARE OF US! This is
both
spiritually and physically.
Note the precision of the time period: time equals a year, times
equals two years, and total time is 3 1/2 years or 1260 days (verse 6).
out of the SERPENT'S reach.
How comforting to know that believers are protected from the devil when
they are "feeding on God's Word". We don't have to try to eat and watch
over our shoulders for an evil attack. This is a deep spiritual truth
that even David recognizes in Psalm
23:5.
There is a reference switch here from DRAGON to SERPENT. This shows
the equivalence of the two. The switch back to DRAGON is made in verse 16.
15. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to
overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent.
Then from his mouth the serpent spewed WATER like a river, to
overtake the WOMAN
This could have two meanings. Literally, there would be a river
diverted, perhaps the Euphrates where the four ugly angels were chained
(Revelation 9:14), to flood Jerusalem.
Recall that there has been much geologic activity in the previous
chapters of Revelation which could alter the terrain around Israel.
However, the symbolic meaning is the most likely due to the use of
'serpent' for the devil. It shows a great outpouring of demonic
activity against Israel. Since demons usually reside in people (~75%
water), this would imply that a flood of people will try to
"overtake"/kill the Jews in Israel.
That water is symbolic of evil spirits is given throughout
scripture. Egypt, a type of evil master, pursued Israel to the Red Sea.
God parts the WATERS and Israel, God's chosen people, crosses on DRY
LAND (Exodus
14:15-20). After the wilderness wanderings when Israel crosses the
Jordon River into the Promised Land, Israel crosses on DRY GROUND (Joshua
3:14-17) after the priests holding the Ark of the Covenant step
into the river (full and flowing swiftly). Jesus makes a curious
observation in Matthew
12:38-43-45 about demons needing WATER to survive.
So most likely, the Israeli nation will be pursued by a great
demonic onslaught; the Holocaust will appear minor (birth pains - Mark
13:1-8) compared to this outpouring!
and SWEEP HER AWAY with the TORRENT.
One must realize that the devil was the reason for the great flood in
Noah's day (Genesis
6:11-12). His reasoning probably goes something like this: if God
can
destroy all mankind (Nahum
1:8) except Noah and his family (Genesis
7:1-5) using water, I can use the same technique to destroy Israel.
The devil, as believers know, is not very "creative", but tends to copy
what God does (part of the deception process).
The Old Testament uses this expression for destruction by an enemy (Psalm
32:6; Psalm
69:1-2; and Psalm
124:2-5). But God in His supernatural way will not let this evil
onslaught approach or even touch His people (next verse).
16. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and
swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
But the EARTH helped the WOMAN
The earth originally was created pure and later became cursed because
of the sin (Genesis
3:17-19) of the first man, Adam. Besides end time events, this book
of Revelation is about the redemption of the earth from its sin curse.
So it is entirely appropriate that the earth should help the WOMAN.
It was clear to Moses that the Lord is Master over the earth (Exodus
9:29). David declares in Psalm
24:1-2 that the earth is "established upon the waters". David has
it correct in that the earth is superior to rivers. The devil, true to
his subversive ways, is trying to make the river superior to the earth.
The devil can't succeed.
by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the
DRAGON had SPEWED out of his mouth.
Physically, the African and Indian tectonic plates meet at the Jordan
River, Dead Sea, Gulf of Araba, and Red Sea. With all the natural
disasters, earthquakes, and stars falling from heaven to earth, it is
easy to imagine that the plates shift and "swallow up the river"
sending
it into the Indian Ocean.
Symbollically, the Lord uses the EARTH to keep the WOMAN high and
dry. That is, while the DRAGON (devil) tries to destroy God's Chosen
people, Israel, through an onslaught of demons (previous
verse), the Lord provides a supernatural detour to Sheol (the place
of departed spirits). The family of Korah due to exaltation or pride (Numbers
16:1-7) also took that detour (Numbers
16:25-35) straight into the grave(Sheol).
After the tribulation, Israel will not need to be protected anymore.
But it will be "healed" along with all the other nations on the NEW
EARTH by the leaves of the trees along the river of the water of life (Revelation 22:2). This is a GOOD river
straight from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Revelation 22:1)!
17. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make
war against the rest of her offspring--those who obey God's
commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Then the DRAGON was enraged at 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 against the REST OF HER OFFSPRING --
those
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
OBEY GOD'S COMMANDMENTS 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).