Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

“And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. And the two wings of a great eagle were given to the woman, in order that she could fly into the wilderness, to her place where she is fed there for a time, and times, and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. And from his mouth the serpent spouted water like a river after the woman, in order that he could make her swept away by a river. And the earth came to the aid of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spouted out of his mouth. And the dragon was angry at the woman, and went away to fight against the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and who hold to the testimony about Jesus.” (Revelation 12:13-17)

Chapter ten is the start of an interlude of the trumpets that are being sounded. An angel with a scroll comes and John is told to eat the scroll which tastes like honey in his mouth, but sours his stomach. The angel proclaims that the seventh trumpet is imminent and the mystery of God about to be fulfilled. He tells John that John has more prophesying to do.

Chapter eleven is all about the two witnesses – a subject of much debate as to their identity. We’re not told who they are. But they appear on the earth and proclaim God’s kingdom and call for repentance – they are NOT loved by the world. They prophesy and have the power of God to perform signs and wonders in a significant way – like Moses and the plagues of Egypt. Then they are killed and their bodies left to rot in the street. But three and a half days later they come back to life as a witness of God’s glory and visibly ascend to Heaven. Then the seventh trumpet is blown and among other things, the temple in heaven is seen and the ark of His covenant is in the temple.

Chapter twelve (like much of Revelation) is not necessarily in chronological order. It is all about a woman, a Child, and a dragon. It does seem to be showing us the spiritual world regarding Jesus’ coming, birth, persecution, and triumph. One of the things this chapter shows is the devil and his angels fighting in heaven but they are unable to keep their place. They weren’t fighting to take over, just fighting to stay there – and they STILL couldn’t do it. The enemy really has NO POWER against God at all. It isn’t even a contest. Don’t believe modern media that presents them as these powerful forces that have a chance to win. They don’t. At every turn, the dragon is thwarted and defeated. This chapter is the start of the battle that the Lamb wages, pushing evil back and back. It runs through chapter sixteen.

Chapter thirteen is about the two beasts. The devil, ever eager to emulate God, needs his own trinity and so he manipulates until he gets one. He uses the power and authority mankind have given him (Genesis 3) to perform signs and wonders. The world will be fooled. The world will buy in. They will have great control over commerce.

Chapter fourteen shows that at the same time the devil and his beasts are throwing their weight around, the Lamb and his faithful are standing on Mount Zion marked for God. They are singing a song to the Father on the throne. And they are without fault before God. Warnings are given to the Earth about worshipping the beasts. Babylon is declared fallen. Humanity is encouraged to worship the One True God and to give Him glory. And then the harvest that God has spoken of again and again throughout scripture begins. Angels are sent out to harvest the earth. A great thing for God’s faithful. Not so great for those who chose the beasts or rejected God.

Summary

Key Players: God, Jesus, John

Key Verse(s): Revelation 10:8-11; 11:3-6; 12:10-13; 13:5-10; 14:1-5