“Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon
Satan’s rebellion began in prehistoric times when he decided to rebel against the will of God. In just about three and a half years he is going to get chained and placed in the abusso, so he is angry and upset. He has been defeated and he is going to take it out upon those that live upon the earth at that time.
Ezekiel tells us that Satan was at one time a beautiful cherubim (Ezekiel 28:12-15 NKJV) and Isaiah speaks of his rebellion (Isaiah 14:12-14 NKJV).
It is a battle of good versus evil; light versus darkness; God versus Satan. When man was created and placed on planet earth, the main battlefield was transferred to the earth. Man became the prize of the battle. The question was, given the freedom of choice will man choose to live in obedience to God and thus live in the kingdom of God, or will he join in Satan’s rebellion against God, and live in the kingdom of Satan.
Satan’s attempt to annihilate Israel is an overriding theme throughout both biblical and secular history. Whether it be through Cain or Pharaoh, Haman, Herod, or Hitler, Satan has been so relentless in his drive to destroy God’s people that at one point, only one son of the house of David was left alive.
Why have the Jews been perpetually persecuted? The only explanation must be the one we see here in Revelation 12: The dragon is determined to devour the child of the woman.
Consequently, the plan of the dragon is to keep Messiah from returning to Israel by annihilating the Jews. Satan is going to seek to persecute the woman which brought forth the man child.
The Woman Persecuted
Satan, through Antichrist, spews his hostility and anger upon the Jewish people, chasing them like a flood.
“But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:16-17
Join Pastor Jeff Christianson as we dive deeper into this discussion. Watch the full study in the video above!