Study of the Revelation 12 woman
observations by Jen Shroder 12/2010
free to repost
"A woman."
Did you notice there are no virtuous descriptions as afforded the
Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus; or Sarah mother of Isaac; or Rebekah
mother of Jacob/Israel? Those women were given the distinctions of
"favored of God" or "almah" or as with "the incorruptible beauty of a
gentle and quiet spirit" or "holy women" but not so for the
Revelation 12 woman:
"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:
2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained
to be delivered.
3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great
red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon
his heads.
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did
cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which
was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was
born.
5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations
with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his
throne".
She is merely, "a woman."
And what is the great wonder in heaven? Is it that she is clothed
with the sun, the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars?
Jesus
provides us with robes of righteousness, we throw our
crowns in adoration at Christ’s feet. All glory and power are His.
Praise God. But the wonder is not the Revelation 12 woman or what she
is wearing. The wonder is Christ and what He does.
"A crown of twelve stars." Stars have also signified
angels, especially in Revelation. That twelve angels would gather to form a crown, is this
something that she deserved by great works or faith? If so, where are
the words of accolade? Why is God silent about her character? And why
is she here, in the middle of Revelation?
I believe the "wonder" is truly what angels desire to look into and
are not recorded as receiving themselves: grace. If a way of salvation
is given to the angels that fell, the Bible is silent about it. The
Good News that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life…WHOEVER believes. Would God pour such mercy and grace
even unto a woman of our modern times, so lost in the culture of these
United States that she is even unaware how great are her sins? Born
and raised in a culture where virginity is often despised, thrown away
to enter the 'sophisticated' arena of sex as a sport? As children we
are deluged with images of our favorite movie star hopping into bed
with her flavor of the month to live happily ever after and we
applaud, until her next movie premiere where she lands a different
husband in the same way.
We looked for love in all the wrong places, swilling wine and
daring each other to try whatever street drugs are popular at the
time, listening to the world tell us to
lie down and dismantle that inconvenient surprise of a child until
Prince Charming (who never comes) sweeps us off our feet…we just slept
with the wrong prince, somehow that rarely happens in a Julia Roberts
movie. Wait, mom, how did you meet dad again? When did June Cleaver
become Lady Gaga?
Meanwhile our public schools actually instruct our children to
participate in religious acts of worship to other gods. Our courts
rule this as acceptable because it is done in "demonstration" while
purposely giving children the impression that no god is any better
than any other god, to role them all up and throw them all away…it is
the wolf in "critical thinking." Somehow the academic elite decided to
empower children to reject their parent's discernment, give them trash
as information and tell them to think for themselves based on what
these credentialed atheists believe, to act like harlots born of apes
in a world without morals, just decide your own individual "values,"
oh and here's a condom...
And so our society has come to this and the Revelation 12 woman
represents this age. I submit to you that the Scriptures do not place
the Revelation 12 woman on a pedestal for a reason. Like Mary
Magdalene, like the woman at the well, there are no harsh labels of
judgment. Though wholly unworthy of the great sacrifice and gift of
Christ, these women put their trust in Him. I believe this Revelation
12 woman grew up lost in this decadent generation, yet cried out in
torment trapped in these times to her Lord and Savior and was
answered.
And as the Lord patiently waits as our generation rushes down this
road of destruction, watching young men and women drowning in lies
about who they are, of right and wrong, of goodness and evil, defiling
their own purity as trash, deceived in a culture turned upside down,
trained to blaspheme their only hope…God sees and knows and calls us
to Himself out of our desperate situation, like the Good Shepherd that
leaves His flock and goes after the one.
I believe the wonder in heaven of Revelation 12 is that Christ came
even for us. That as the time of the Gentiles comes to a close, as the
perversions and decadence reaches a shrill peak of crescendos…God sent
His Son even for us. His light cuts through the darkness and His power
and glory reaches the lost, even today. Even in a nation that is seen
by the world as a "Christian" nation, yet has fallen so far and so
fast that we’ve begun funding abortion mills worldwide... O most
unholy of nations, to represent Jesus Christ while spreading our filth
and shame under the guise of freedom, infecting it like a cancer,
dancing a dance of adultery, pornography, pedophilia, fornication,
perversion, rape, murder, our nation is going under, and yet, God will
hear a single cry and answer our call.
Some will argue that the woman is the virgin Mary because her man
child is to rule the nations with a rod of iron. But in Revelation 2
it says:
These things says the Son of God…and he who overcomes, and
keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the
nations—
‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron;
They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—
as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the
morning star. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches."’
Jesus Christ ultimately rules with a rod of iron, but right here
it shows His intention to delegate some of the work.
Therefore I believe the Revelation 12 woman literally exists,
that this particular wonder is a wonder in heaven
because of the great lengths His mercy extends. Few of us
appreciate that mankind are not the only ones watching. There is a
spiritual realm that we do not know yet but will.
"for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to
angels and to men."(1 Cor 4)
Everyone wonders why America is not named in the Bible, I’m
starting to wonder if we are "the time of the Gentiles," because what
nation has been like ours?
"And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of
the Gentiles are fulfilled" (Luke 21)
We began as a Christian nation, a light to
the world, we’ve sent out so many missionaries faithfully carrying the
Good News of Christ Jesus. The world still sees us as a "Christian"
nation, that’s why President Obama tries to deny it. It’s also why,
when we spread the most unholy practices throughout the world, and are
seen as representatives of Christ, it just cannot continue, and
judgment begins with the house of the Lord.
It’s coming.
The Revelation 12 woman. I believe she is a modern American woman
representative of our culture and the despair that engulfs her.
Desolation. There are no words of beauty or holiness for this woman
because she threw her purity away with both hands, unaware of her loss
or condition yet cried out to the Lord in her desperation and sorrow,
trapped in this ungodly time. The wonder is not the woman. The wonder
is that Christ reached past all the depravity and perversion willing
to save generations of lost and dying children who call out to Him
still.
But then, that’s the wonder, the amazing wonder of it all…that
Christ would offer such amazing salvation to us,
even to the least
among us, because of what He did. That even while we were sinners,
Christ loved us. Came for us. Died for us. And rose again. And because
of such mercy and grace, that for those who receive Him, He picks us
up, washes us off, dresses us in fine linen and even a crown! He gives
us so much that we don’t deserve.
Praise God for His mercy and grace!
"Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the
angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15)
God knows your struggles, He sees how we are assaulted by confusion
each day. He calls to you now, receive Him while there is still time, because time is running out.
Receive Him and live.
***
Are you willing to turn your
life completely over to Him? If you are, pray this prayer
“Dear Father, I know I have sinned. I believe Jesus died for me. I
ask for Your forgiveness right now. I choose to turn from my
rebellion against You. Jesus, please come into my heart and take over
my life. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me to serve You. In
Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer,
welcome! Life begins with just such a heart. But it's important to
read what He wrote you, I believe starting with the book of John is a
good place to start. And find fellowship. Pray and ask the Lord to
guide you. Contact us and we'll pray for you too. God bless you.
See also
Revelation 12 Series
(it has taken me a long time to get here)
