Israel, the Remnant of the Seed of the Woman

With the mention of Satan’s wrath and his very short time, the scene moves back to earth and Satan’s final activities on earth before he is cast into the abyss (Revelation 20:1-3). It is important to note that the persecution of the woman who is Israel (Revelation 12:13-16), the persecution of the godly remnant of believers (Revelation 12:17), and the rise of the system of the beast (Revelation 13:1f) all proceed as a result of Satan’s expulsion from heaven and restriction to earth for the last half of the Tribulation.

Verse 13, shows us that it is when he realizes his time is short that Satan promotes his attack against Israel. His expulsion from heaven is proof of this. This is the motivating force behind many events that occur during the Tribulation, events that are all related in some way. For instance:

(1) It is probably at this point when the King of the North, which many believe is Russia or at least countries that lie in the southern portion of what used to be the Soviet Union, will move against Israel; this is one of the ways Satan tries to persecute the woman (Ezekiel 38:1-11; Daniel 9:27). This occurs when Israel is in peace and safety living in unwalled villages and trusting in the treaty with the Antichrist.

(2) God destroys the King of the North while evidently still on the mountains of Israel, before she and her allies ever get to Jerusalem (Ezekiel 38:16-23). Ezekiel 39:1f could refer to a second invasion at the end of the Tribulation after Russia has somewhat recovered from the first defeat.

(3) This creates a void in the power struggle of the world and the Antichrist now sees his chance for world dominion. This is where he makes his move as the beast under Satan’s direction, he will break his treaty with Israel, commit the abomination of desolation and begin to persecute the woman, Israel (Dan. 9:27; 11:36-41; Matthew 24:15-22). All of this is the beginning of the Great Tribulation.

Verse 14, we see the first provision of divine deliverance figuratively portrayed as “the two wings of a great eagle.” This is based on two Old Testament passages, Exodus 19:4 and Deuteronomy 32:11-12, where God’s protection and deliverance of Israel is likened to an eagle that carried her to safety from the clutches of Egypt. So likewise, God will work to deliver Israel from the clutches of Satan. Matthew 24:16 refers to this same flight where Christ exhorts those in Judea to flee to the mountains when they see the abomination of desolation take place in the city of Jerusalem.

Some writers try to find an historical counterpart by which many of these events may take place. The deliverance could refer to a massive airlift out of the country to some natural fortress like the ancient city of Petra, in the Jordanian wilderness south of the Dead Sea. Since the eagle is the national symbol of the United States, it is possible that the airlift will be made available by aircraft from the U.S. sixth fleet in the Mediterranean. Regardless of how God will accomplish this, the point of verse 14 is that there will be some kind of supernatural care and deliverance. However, Zechariah 13:8 reminds us of a sobering truth; two-thirds of the nation of Israel in the land will perish. Evidently, many will ignore the warning of Matthew 24:16 and refuse to flee. These will be put to death.

The length of this persecution and protection in the wilderness is described as “a time, and times, and half a time.” Again we have a reference to the last three and one-half years of the Tribulation (Daniel 7:25; 12:7).

Verse 15, the water poured out as a river to destroy the woman figuratively refers to Satan’s all out effort to destroy Israel in the greatest anti-Semitism the world has ever known.

Verse 16, declares that the earth helps the woman by swallowing the flood. This would again figuratively refer to the nature of the terrain of land. Since the place provided for the fleeing people will be an unpopulated, rocky, mountainous, and would provide for many places of refuge for fleeing people as with the city of Petra. In other words, in this way the earth would protect Israel and swallow up her persecutors.

Verse 17 - Some see this verse as pointing to a geographic contrast between the persecution of Israel in the land and Israel outside the land in other portions of the world. However, the contrast is more likely between the nation as a whole symbolized in the term “the woman” versus the godly and believing remnant, “the rest of her offspring who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 12:17). The godly remnant is believers in the Lord Jesus, those who during the Tribulation will turn to Christ. This verse serves to emphasize that the dragon will become totally frustrated and enraged over his inability to wipe out the woman, but he will become particularly angry at the believing remnant that have turned to Jesus Christ, believed the Word, and stand ready to die for their faith in the Savior.

In this twelfth chapter we are given a kind of panoramic view of the angelic conflict and of the supernatural forces of darkness that are ever at work in the world and have been since the fall of Satan when he drew with him a host of angels who chose to follow him rather than God. Here is a sure fact of human history. Though generally unseen with the physical eye, it is quite clear through the revelation of God and occasionally obvious in certain demonic activity seen in the world in the demon possessed. Even then, many reject the cause as demonic and attribute it to some other paranormal source. However, the Apostle Paul makes clear reference to this conflict in Ephesians 2:2 and again in 6:11-12. In Ephesians 6:11-12, Paul told the Ephesians, “Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

The great promise of the Bible is twofold: First, believers are victors through the victory of the Lord Jesus. Our need is to put on the full armor of God and to resist the devil in the victory of the Savior by always drawing near to the Lord. The second great promise is that Satan is a defeated foe whose days of freedom to create misery and pain and deception are numbered. Truly, may we rejoice with the heavens and those who dwell therein as they are told to do in Revelation 12:12, for “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”