# 02 2022 Dev. Rev.12:3. Protection from a Real Dragon! Read all of Rev.12 first. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.
Rev 12:3 “Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.” This sign indicates a powerful being and we should not underestimate the power of evil in our world, but the one who is with us (Jesus) is stronger than the one who is in the world.
Intro. This vision that John sees is put into the words of men so that those who believe will understand by the power of the Holy Spirit. What is being described here is from eternity to eternity. God, who is outside of time, operates in the eternal present, represents to us what is about to happen in time, as long as time lasts.
Rev.12 begins again from the beginning of time but what John sees is a vision, describing God protecting His own from the attacks of Satan. To put this chapter in perspective, we go back to the very beginning; “so the Lord said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring[a] and hers; he will crush[b] your head, and you will strike his heel.”(Gen.3).
Vs.1-6 Two signs appear in heaven, one great sign represents all that is good and one that represents all that is evil. There is middle ground here. Who or what is the woman decked out with all the great lights of creation and is pregnant? Could she represent Mary? Yes, definitely! Could she represent the church? Yes, definitely! The sign also represents the great multitude sealed in Rev. 7:9-17.
The second sign, a hideous dragon in red, he is dangerous, has 7 heads, 7horns and 7crowns, represents the complete powers and principalities (agents) of evil from Satan in the garden (Gen.3) and every evil up to the end of time including Herod the Great trying to kill the Christ Child (Matt. 2). God intervened, using divine and natural means to save the women, the child, the church, and all those who God has called and sealed.
Vs.7-9 “Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.” The dragon is here identified; “that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.” They lost the battle, “he was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” They are very much with us today.
Vs.10-12 There is rejoicing; “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah.” It was and still is a spiritual battle; “They triumphed over 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 battle is now going on all over the world. Is this battle going on in your life?
Vs.13-17-point back to all that went on before in this chapter. When the effort to kill the woman and her child failed, the church has survived and is on the rise, and the innumerable multitude that are sealed is safe at the throne of God, “The dragon is enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against her offspring- those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.” Followers of Jesus, let it be known and you should not be surprised that we are in a spiritual battle as long as this present earth will last. We do not fear for “now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah.” Praise be to God!
© cgvanwyk, all rights reserved
Heavenhigh 