Revelation 12:8

And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. PREVAILED NOT. So 'Aleph (') B C, Vulgate; but A, Coptic, read, 'He prevailed not.' NEITHER. 'Aleph (') A B C read, 'not even' [ oude (G3761)]: a climax. Not only did they not prevail, but not even their place was found anymore in heaven. There are four gradations in Satan's ever deeper downfall: (1) He is deprived of his heavenly excellency, though having still access to heaven as man's accuser, up to Christ's ascension. As heaven was not fully yet opened to man (John 3:13), so it was not yet shut against Satan. The old dispensation could not overcome him. (2) From Christ to the millennium, he is judicially cast out as accuser of the el...

7-11 The attempts of the dragon proved unsuccessful against the church, and fatal to his own interests. The seat of this war was in heaven; in the church of Christ, the kingdom of heaven on earth. The parties were Christ, the great Angel of the covenant, and his faithful followers; and Satan and his instruments. The strength of the church is in having the Lord Jesus for the Captain of their salvation. Pagan idolatry, which was the worship of devils, was cast out of the empire by the spreading of Christianity. The salvation and strength of the church, are only to be ascribed to the King and Head of the church. The conquered enemy hates the presence of God, yet he is willing to appear there, to accuse the people of God. Let us take heed that we give him no cause to accuse us; and that, when we have sinned, we go before the Lord, condemn ourselves, and commit our cause to Christ as our Adv...

NOTES ON CHAP. XII., BY J. E. C. Verse Revelation 12:8. _AND PREVAILED NOT_] Against the cause of Christianity. _NEITHER WAS THEIR PLACE FOUND ANY MORE IN HEAVEN._] The advocates of the heathen idolatry were prevented from having any farther share in the government of the empire. The wonderful success of Constantine over all his enemies, and his final triumph over Licinius, correspond exactly to the symbolical language in this verse....

AND PREVAILED NOT - Satan and his angels failed in their purpose. NEITHER WAS THEIR PLACE FOUND ANY MORE IN HEAVEN - They were cast out, and were seen there no more. The idea is, that they were defeated and driven away, though for a time they were suffered to carry on the warfare elsewhere....

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 PREVAILED NOT,.... That is, the dragon, or the devil, and his angels, prevailed not against Michael and his angels; but, on the other hand, were conquered by them, as the above tyrants were by Constantine and Theodosius: some copies read in the singular number, "and he prevailed not", as the Alexandrian copy, the Complutensian edition the Arabic and Ethiopic versions; and other copies in the plural number, "they prevailed not": and as the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions: NEITHER WAS THEIR PLACE FOUND ANY MORE IN HEAVEN; in the Roman empire; or "his place", as some copies and versions: this was the time of the judgment of the world, or of the empire as Pagan; Satan the prince of the world, who had long governed in it, was now cast out of all power and authority in it, and all the idol gods in whom he was worshipped, with all the idolatrous priests; nor were there any more any Heath...

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...

WAR IN HEAVEN. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she bath. place prepared of God, that they should feed her there. thousand two hundred and three score days. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."--12:6-9. The flight of the woman into the wilderness. will consider in connection with verse 14 which refers to the same event. In the order of time this flight occurs after the events related in verses 7-14. These verses describe. conflict which John saw in heaven, the overthrow of the dragon and the song of victory sung in heaven. If we will remember th...

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....