Revelation 12:17

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. WROTH WITH - `at.' WENT - `away.' THE REMNANT OF HER SEED - distinct in some sense from the woman. Satan's first effort was to root out the Christian Church as a visible profession of Christianity. Foiled in this, he wars (; ) against the invisible Church, "those who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus" (A B C omit "Christ"). These are "the remnant," or rest of her seed, as distinguished from her seed, "the man-child" (), and from mere p...

12-17 The church and all her friends might well be called to praise God for deliverance from pagan persecution, though other troubles awaited her. The wilderness is a desolate place, and full of serpents and scorpions, uncomfortable and destitute of provisions; yet a place of safety, as well as where one might be alone. But being thus retired could not protect the woman. The flood of water is explained by many to mean the invasions of barbarians, by which the western empire was overwhelmed; for the heathen encouraged their attacks, in the hope of destroying Christianity. But ungodly men, for their worldly interests, protected the church amidst these tumults, and the overthrow of the empire did not help the cause of idolatry. Or, this may be meant of a flood of error, by which the church of God was in danger of being overwhelmed and carried away. The devil, defeated in his designs upon t...

NOTES ON CHAP. XII., BY J. E. C. Verse Revelation 12:17. _AND THE DRAGON WAS WROTH WITH THE WOMAN_] The heathen party, foiled in their subtle attempt to destroy Christianity, were greatly enraged, and endeavoured to excite the hatred of the multitude against the religion of Jesus. "They alleged that before the coming of Christ the world was blessed with peace and prosperity; but that since the progress of their religion everywhere, the gods, filled with indignation to see their worship neglected and their altars abandoned, had visited the earth with those plagues and desolations which increased every day." See Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, cent. V., part 1, and other works on this subject. _WENT TO MAKE WAR WITH THE REMNANT OF HER SEED_] The dragon απηλθε, departed, i.e., into the wilderness, whither the woman had f

AND THE DRAGON WAS WROTH WITH THE WOMAN - This wrath had been vented by his persecuting her Revelation 12:13; by his pursuing her; and by his pouring out the flood of water to sweep her away Revelation 12:15; and the same wrath was now vented against her children. As he could not reach and destroy the woman herself, he turned his indignation against all who were allied to her. Stripped of the imagery, the meaning is, that as he could not destroy the church as such, he vented his malice against all who were the friends of the church, and endeavored to destroy them. “The church, as such, he could not destroy; therefore he turned his wrath against individual Christians, to bring as many of them as possible to death” (DeWette)....

EXPOSITION This chapter commences another series of revelations. Again St. John returns to the beginning, and traces the spiritual history of the Church and the Christian in their warfare with Satan. But the visions which now follow are somewhat different in character from those already related, inasmuch as the conflict is now described rather as between the powers of heaven and hell than between the individual Christian and his oppressors. As with the other visions, so here, the recital seems calculated to support the suffering Christian in his trials, since the overthrow of the powers of darkness is foretold; and the whole series culminates in an account of the final abasement of the devil, and the exaltation of the Church and the bliss of heaven. The following analysis will help to make clear the relation of the several parts of the vision. I. THE ORIGIN OF THE...

AND THE DRAGON WAS WROTH WITH THE WOMAN,.... The devil was very angry with the church, because he could not destroy her by the Arian persecution he had raised; and because he could not carry her away with the flood, either of errors and heresies, or of the barbarous nations; and because he could not, by any means, come at her, and indeed did not well know where she was, a place being prepared for her of God in the wilderness, where she was taken care of: wherefore he took another method as follows, AND WENT TO MAKE WAR WITH THE REMNANT OF HER SEED; which refers to the war the beast, to whom he gave his power, seat, and authority, is said to make with the saints; and which was entered into and carried on by his instigation, of which there is an account in the following chapter: the persons with whom he went to make war are described as "her seed"; the seed of the church, her spiritual of...

Revelation 12:1. _And there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:_ This is that woman of whom the promise runs, «The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head.» John saw this in a vision in the heavenly places; he saw the Church of God, enthroned, made glorious, clothed with the sun, having the brightness of divine light about her, with all that is variable, changeable as «the moon under her feet, and upon her head the crown «that her Lord had given, her « twelve patriarchs, twelve prophets, twelve apostles, a complete number of glorious lights kindled from heaven. Revelation 12:2. _And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered._

REVELATION 12. THE VISION OF THE WOMAN, THE CHILD, AND THE DRAGON. This chapter has always presented difficulties to the student of Revelation. Two questions present themselves: (_a)_ What is the connexion of this chapter with the previous part of the book? (_b_) What interpretation did the writer intend his readers to put upon the vision? The first question has been answered in many ways. Some scholars regard this passage as a fresh interlude, and think that it is unconnected with the main movement of the drama. It is often explained as a fragment of a Jewish Apocalypse which the writer determined to utilise, though he failed altogether to weave it into the thread of the argument. The most probable explanation is as follows. The theme of the second part of the Apocalypse is the struggle against Antichrist, and this chapter forms the introduction. Antichrist is first introduced almost in...

John, in the same chapter, beholds another conflict. The defeated dragon changes the scene of combat. On earth he wages. war of "persecution" which results in the exile of the woman to the wilderness for. period of 1260 years, there in silence and obscurity to be nourished of God until the time appointed for her to come forth. We have pointed out the fulfilment of this portion of the vision in the establishment of the Papal power and in its persecution of the true worshipers;. persecution that results in the apparent disappearance of the true Church from the earth. Though not visible to the eye of the historian during this period, yet the true Church, fed of God, survives in the hearts of hidden and persecuted saints. The period of her exile began about 533, in the reign of Justinian, and ends about the beginning of the nineteenth century. Before the end of the period, the Divine measure...

THE WOMAN AND THE BEAST (Revelation 12:1-17) It is necessary to read this chapter as a whole before we examine it in detail. A great sign appeared in the sky--a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon beneath her feet, and with a crown of twelve stars on her head; and she was with child, and she cried aloud in her labour and in her agony to bear the child. And another sign appeared in heaven--lo! a great flame-coloured dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and with seven royal diadems upon its heads. Its tail swept a third part of the stars from the sky and cast them on to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to bear the child so that it might devour the child as soon as she bore him. She bore a man child who is destined to rule the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was snatched away to God, even to his throne....