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Revelation 12:17, Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.

The structure of Revelation changes drastically in this chapter.  Please keep in mind that the chapters of Revelation do not occur in linear time line.  Think of Revelation more like a kaleidoscope, in which images and themes appear in a circular manner, disappearing and reappearing.  Something to think about - what themes have we already seen in the first 11 chapters? 

In today’s chapter, we appear to be taken back to a time of cosmic conflict and the images and symbolism are rich.  These are probably symbols that the early listeners to Revelation would have understood.  Nineteen hundred years later, we don’t have the same understanding.  One thing to notice is how in the first line, it states a sign had appeared from heaven.  Typically, this means that God had completed some part of salvation history.  This should peak our interest.

The pregnant woman conjures up images of Mary about to give birth to the Savior of the world.  Biblical scholars have debated who this woman represents but Mary seems to be at the top of the list.  Afterall, the text says that her child will rule over the nations with an iron scepter and that God took him up into heaven.  Why else would the dragon, Satan, be so interested in capturing her child?  Satan is angry about what this young child will ultimately do for humanity.  He is angry that his own plan will be thwarted.

Then, there is a battle in heaven between the angel Michael and Satan.  Michael wins and the dragon, Satan, is hurled back to earth.  He pursues the woman but she is being protected.  As a result, our focus verse says that he decides to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who are believers in Jesus.  Think about the first hearers of this text.  They were being persecuted and oppressed for their faith.  This gives them a deeper understanding.  Yes, they were being pursued by the imperial soldiers, but the true source of the evil was Satan.  The soldiers, the Roman government, the persecutors around them are all pawns in the hand of the evil one.  There is something bigger going on that they can’t see.  You might hear echoes of Luke 23:34 in this text, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Let’s pray…Lord, Help us remember that there is always more going on than we can see or understand.  Help us be people of forgiveness even when it’s hard.  When we are mistreated, may we treat others with the same grace and love that you treated your oppressors and with which you treat us.  Thank you, Jesus.  More of you and less of me.  Amen.