04/25/2008
1A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and a crown of 12 stars on her head. 2She was pregnant and cried out in labor and agony to give birth. 3Then another sign appeared in heaven: There was a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and 10 horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. 4His tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth he might devour her child. 5But she gave birth to a Son—a male who is going to shepherd all nations with an iron scepter—and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. 6The woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, to be fed there for 1,260 days.
The thing about prophecy is that it is not always crystal clear. When Nathan approached King David and told him a story about a rich man who stole a single sheep from a poor man, Nathan was speaking about David himself. Prophecies are given in this way so that we have to think about them, to digest them. Thereby, their meaning (or meanings) may become clearer and more pertinent to us.
In this particular passage, I believe the scene has two or possibly more interpretations. I believe that God, in his wisdom is able to interweave stories in prophecy in such a way that they can have many layers of meaning at the same time. So I do not believe that any one single interpretation of prophecy is necessarily the *only* interpretation. Yet, in the passage above, I believe that one interpretation is fairly clear.
The woman who appeared is Israel (having 12 crowns = the 12 tribes). We know that Israel would be the nation that would give birth to the Messiah. And we also know that Satan was waiting to destroy the Messiah. When Satan was cast from heaven, he took a third of the angles with him (a third of the stars swept from heaven).
The child is described as having an iron scepter to shepherd all nations; Jesus.
Satan attempted to destroy the infant when Herod ordered the murder of all infant males. We also know that Satan tried to tempt Jesus into sin. This would have destroyed Jesus’ ability to be our ultimate sacrifice. And further Satan believed that by killing Jesus, he had won the victory, yet Jesus’ resurrection proved that He had overcome (the child was caught up to God and His throne).
Since that time, Israel has been dispersed and despised by the nations of the earth. Satan has tried to destroy Israel in many ways and many times. Even now, Israel lives under the threat of Arab invasion.
The reference to the dragon having seven heads and ten horns I believe has more to do with end-time prophecy than with the account of Jesus life. The 1260 days (3 ˝ years) also appears to be an end-time prophetic reference that I will not engage at this time.
Really, the bottom line here is that God already knows what will take place. John was given the vision but was told that he could not reveal the details (Revelation chapter 11). Nonetheless, we may rest assured that God is in control and in His perfect timing He will bring about the events that He has designed. And in the end, God will reign. Jesus will sit on the throne as the king of all humanity, and those who have humbled themselves to Him in this life, will share in the paradise that He has establish for them.
Are you preparing for that day? Are you humbled before God now?
Jeff Justus
Cleff Publishing
www.cleffpublishing.com
©2008 Cleff Publishing, all rights reserved.
Terms of Usage: This devotional may be copied or forwarded for personal use without permission, but must include the author, publisher, web link, and copyright notice. Use in another published work must obtain permission first.