Will you please turn to the book of Revelation? Revelation Chapter 12. We will begin with the first verse.
And a great sign was seen in heaven:
a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet,
and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.
And she being with child cried out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered.
And there was seen another sign in heaven:
and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns,
and upon his heads seven diadems.
And his tail draweth the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth:
and the dragon standeth before the woman that is about to bring forth,
that when she is delivered, he may devour her child.
And she brought forth a man child, who is to shepherd all the nations with a rod of iron:
and her child was caught up unto God, and unto His throne.
And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God,
that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels going forth to war with the dragon;
and the dragon warred and his angels; and they prevailed not,
neither was their place found any more in heaven.
And the great dragon was cast out, the old serpent,
he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world;
he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power,
and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ:
for the accuser of our brethren is cast down,
who accuseth them before our God day and night.
And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb,
and because of the word of their testimony;
and they loved not their life even unto death.
Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and ye that dwell in them.
Woe for the earth and for the sea: because the devil is gone down unto you,
having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time.
And when the dragon saw that he was cast down to the earth,
he persecuted the woman that brought forth the man child.
And there were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle,
that she might fly into the wilderness unto her place,
where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
And the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman water as a river,
that he might cause her to be carried away by the stream.
And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth,
and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
And the dragon waxed wroth with the woman,
and went away to make war with the rest of her seed,
that keep the commandments of God, and hold the testimony of Jesus.
Dear Lord, our hearts do bow before Thee. We worship Thee. We thank Thee for that amazing love that Thou hast poured forth upon us. Who are we, that Thou shouldst love us so much as to give Thyself so freely and wholly to us? Lord, we are grateful.
As we continue in Thy presence, we pray that Thou wilt open Thy Word to us. Lord, as Thou didst open Thy Word to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, we ask that Thou wilt open our understanding. We pray that our eyes may be opened, that we may see Thee in a way that we have never seen Thee before.
And Lord, we want to give all that to Thee. We worship Thee. We commit this time into the hands of Thy Spirit. In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.
The apostle John was exiled to the island of Patmos for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus. And on the Lord’s Day, he was in the Spirit, and he was given the revelation of Jesus Christ.
The whole book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ that God the Father has given to Him, and He gave it to the apostle, and through the apostle. In the book of Revelation, you find there are a series of visions, and all these visions are the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Among those visions, there is one in Revelation Chapter 12 that we have just read. John saw a great sign in heaven.
In the book of Revelation, I think this is the only time when we are told that he saw a great sign. There are a number of signs, but this is a great sign. And we know a sign points to something that is very important. A sign points to a spiritual reality. So through this great sign, the Lord intends to show us a great reality.
He saw the sign in heaven of a woman. This woman is clothed with the sun, the moon is at her feet, and she was crowned with a crown of twelve stars. This woman was in pain; she was in travail because she had a baby in her womb, and she cried in pain.
Now, who is this woman? People may have different interpretations, but so far as I am concerned, I personally am convinced that this is the woman of the ages.
Why? Because you find she has the twelve stars as the crown of her head, and that reminds us of the twelve patriarchs, the twelve sons of Israel. So, in other words, this woman represents the patriarchal age.
But at the same time, you have the moon under her feet. The moon speaks of the age of the law. It is a reflection of God. And then she is clothed with the sun. That speaks of the age of grace. So you find this woman is a woman of the ages.
The Scripture often uses woman when it is going to speak of experience. Usually, the Scripture uses man to represent objective truth, but the woman signifies subjective experience. So far as subjective experience is concerned, you find she is the representation.
When you look at the age of the patriarchs, there she is. When you look at the age of the law, there she is. And when you look at the age of grace, again you find she is there. She is the woman of the ages. And if you want to understand this woman, you have to look at her according to the dispensation, the age that she represents.
Now we know that this great sign that was shown to John at that time is a sign that relates to the end time. It relates to the coming of our Lord Jesus, the Parousia of our Lord Jesus. So this whole vision is concerned with the end time, with the coming of the Lord.
And because of this, we feel it is most important to us. This is a sign that relates very much to us. It is a sign that we must understand because it is concerned with our time.
And you find this woman has a child in her womb, and she was in pain, in travail. Now, brothers and sisters, we know there is the universal law of travail.
Why should there be travail in birth on this earth? You have to go back even to the book of Genesis. You find that because man sinned, therefore, in Genesis 3:16, God told the woman that she should have much travail and many pregnancies, and only in pain would she bring forth.
Without travail, there can be no birth. This is a universal law.
And also you will find in Matthew Chapter 24, when our Lord Jesus told His disciples there would be false Christs coming up, there would be wars and rumors of wars, there would be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes all around, the Lord said, “When you see these things, this is not the end. These are the beginning of birth pangs.”
You know, so far as the world is concerned, when you think of wars and rumors of wars, pestilences, famines, and earthquakes, these are terrible things. These are things that we are afraid of, and these are the results of the sin of this world. These are the works of the enemy.
And yet, our Lord said, “Can you see these things? These are the signs of travail.” In other words, out of all these evil things, God is going to bring forth something that will answer to His heart.
When you read Romans Chapter 8, you find all creation is groaning. Why? Because it is put under corruption and vanity. The creation is not happy with that situation. It is the sin of man that put all creation into such a situation.
So if you have spiritual ears, you can hear the whole creation is groaning, waiting to be emancipated, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. And not only is the whole creation in travail, going to bring forth something that is precious, but Paul said even we, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we too are groaning, waiting for the redemption of our body, our sonship.
So, dear brothers and sisters, you find that there is groaning everywhere. And here you find this woman is groaning. She is in travail. She is in pain.
Brothers and sisters, this woman represents the church at the end time. When you look at the church at the end time, you find the church is in pain. Persecutions are everywhere.
Even in the first century, when you read the seven letters to the seven churches, you find there is groaning there. There are birth pains there. There is the crying out for the overcomers of the church.
And through all the centuries, even to our time, brothers and sisters, as you look at the church today, you find persecutions everywhere.
Maybe we who live in this country do not feel it. But when you look at the world today, you look at Africa, Sudan—how many Christians were sold into slavery, even in our time. You look in Asia: persecution everywhere.
The church is in pain. And then, if you look into the church itself, you find how the church has left her first love, how she has degenerated, fallen. And the Bible says there will be a general apostasy, a falling away, coming to the church. And we can see it everywhere.
These are bad things: persecutions, degeneration, declension—spiritually, morally, everything. And yet, God is trying to bring forth something which is positive, precious, and answers to His heart. Thank God for that.
You know, you remember when Joseph’s brothers sold him. They did a great evil to their brother. But Joseph told his brothers, “You meant it evil, but God made it good, to preserve a great nation. He sent me beforehand to Egypt.”
So, dear brothers and sisters, when we look at the situation that has happened to the church today, we have to acknowledge that the church is in pain. But thank God, because there is a child in her. Through all these things, something that will glorify God and answer God’s heart is being produced. So that is what you find in that woman.
Then you see another sign: a sign of a great red dragon. This great red dragon has seven heads and ten horns, and there are seven diadems upon the heads. The dragon’s tail drew down one-third of the stars of heaven, and this dragon was standing before that woman, waiting to devour the child that was to be born.
Now, brothers and sisters, I think we all know who this great dragon is, because the Bible tells us later on that this dragon is the old serpent. And the old serpent reminds you of Genesis Chapter 3.
You remember how the serpent slipped into the garden of Eden and enticed, cheated, deceived Eve, and that was the beginning of the fall of man. The old serpent has not changed. He is still that tricky, deceiving one.
He is not only the dragon, the terrible one; he is the old serpent. He is also Satan, the adversary of God; the devil, the wicked one; and he is the accuser of the brethren. How he accuses God’s people day and night before God.
Seven heads, ten horns—probably, when you read this, it reminds you of the book of Daniel. And also, if you go to Revelation Chapter 13, you find a beast with seven heads and ten horns. So, in other words, you find this great red dragon is closely related with the kingdoms of this earth.
In other words, he is the god of this world, prince of this age. How he brought the whole world under his dominion. He is behind all the kingdoms of men.
And his tail brought down one-third of the stars of heaven. It means that when he rebelled against God, he brought one-third of the angelic host with him in rebellion. So you find the tremendous power of this dragon.
And here the dragon was standing before that woman. Now you would think he should swallow that woman, because the woman represents the church. And what is the church? The church is the body of Christ, the fullness of Him who filleth all in all.
What is the church? The church is an instrument in God’s hand to overthrow the kingdom of Satan. Now, if the church is what it should be, it should be the target of the dragon.
You remember in the book of Job how he goes up and down, east and west, throughout the whole earth, trying to devour. He notices everything. He tries to devour that which is of God.
So, in a very real sense, if the church is what it should be as the vessel of the testimony of Jesus, it should be the target of the dragon. But strangely, you find the dragon just stands before her.
He does not consider that woman as important to him. But he knows the man child that the woman is going to bring forth. Now, that is important to him, because the man child, when he is born, will mark the beginning of his destruction.
Brothers and sisters, is it not sad when you think that the devil knows exactly what condition the church is in? He can afford to let the church exist because it does not affect his kingdom. He is not going to devour that woman.
What a tragedy it is. And yet we have to acknowledge that this is the condition of the church today.
And yet, thank God, in spite of the failure of the church, God is going to bring forth something that will answer to His original thought about the church. And that is the man child.
Now, who is this man child? Again, you find there are different interpretations. Some people think the man child is Christ.
But if you look very carefully, you find it cannot be. Why? Because Christ does not come out of the church; the church comes out of Christ. And also, you find when the man child is born, he is immediately caught up to God and to the throne. But when Christ was born, He lived on earth for thirty-three and a half years. He cannot be Christ.
But who is this man child that is so important in the eyes of the dragon? The Bible says when this man child is born, he is to shepherd all the nations.
Now, this you find three times in the book of Revelation. In Revelation 2:27, God’s promise to the overcomers in the church in Thyatira is that if you keep My commandments to the end, He will give him authority over all the nations. He will shepherd the nations with an iron rod.
And then again, you find here in Revelation 12:5, this man child is to shepherd the nations with an iron rod. And then again, in Revelation 19:15, you find the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the Word of God. He shall come on a white horse, and out of His mouth, with that sword, He will smite the nations, and He will shepherd the nations with an iron rod.
So, in other words, you find this expression is used three times in the book of Revelation. Of course, in Revelation Chapter 19 that refers to Christ; it is very clear. In Revelation Chapter 2, it refers to the overcomers of the church. And who does it refer to in Revelation Chapter 12? If it is not Christ, then it has to be the overcomers of the church, the overcomers looked at as a whole.
One day the man child will be born. And when the man child is born, he will be caught up to the throne and to God—not to be caught up to the air, but caught up to the throne.
Why is it that he shall shepherd the nations with an iron rod? What time does it refer to? When will be the time when our Lord Jesus will rule the nations with an iron rod? When will be the time when the overcomers will rule and reign with Christ over the nations with an iron rod? Why is it with an iron rod?
If you read the Scripture carefully, you find it refers to the kingdom age, because the kingdom age is the age of righteousness. Righteousness will rule over the whole earth, and that is the time when our Lord Jesus with His overcomers will reign over all the nations with an iron rod.
In other words, it is righteousness. Today is grace. God is patient. Punishment does not come quickly, and because of that, people think they can sin. But at the kingdom age, whenever there is sin, immediately judgment follows, because He will reign with an iron rod. And those who overcome today will reign with Him in the kingdom age.
Thank God, He is working out His purpose. Brothers and sisters, do not be disappointed. Do not be discouraged when you see the things that happen on this earth. You wonder when you think of things in the church today. You may be discouraged.
Will God ever work out His salvation? Will God ever get what He wants? Thank God, He is working. The man child is growing in the womb of the woman, and one day there will be birth.
And when that man child is born, you know what happens? Satan waits in vain. He thinks that when the man child is born, he will swallow him up, and by swallowing him up, then his days will be prolonged.
But to his surprise, he waited in vain, because the man child is caught up to the throne and to God.
When this happens, then the Bible says there will be war in heaven. Michael and his angels will fight against Satan and his angels, and there will be no more place in the air for Satan. He and his angels will be cast down upon the earth.
Brothers and sisters, we know that Satan is called the wicked one in the air. In other words, the air is his headquarters. He is no longer in the third heaven, because when he rebelled against God, he was cast out of the garden of God in heaven. So he is no longer in heaven, and he made his headquarters in the air that surrounds the earth.
But think of that. When the man child is caught up, he has to go through the air to the throne. That means overcoming. Because they have overcome in their lives on earth, therefore they can thrust through the headquarters of the enemy and reach the throne.
They are the welcoming party to the return of Christ. Do you want to be there?
And because of this victory, there will be war in heaven. Michael and his angels, that represent God’s side, will fight against Satan and his angels, and Satan and his angels will be thrown down from the air to the earth. The air is cleared.
Why should the air be cleared? Because the Lord is coming from the throne to the air with His saints. So you find how important this man child is, because it marks the beginning of the end of Satan.
And there will be rejoicing in heaven and among those that dwell in heaven. Woe to the earth! Why? Because Satan has come down upon this earth. You know, if Satan should stay on this earth and make the earth his headquarters, what kind of condition will the earth be in?
Now, when the dragon saw that he could not swallow the man child, then he turned his hatred to the woman. And God preserved that woman one thousand two hundred and sixty days—a time, and times, and half a time—that is, three and a half years. In other words, the great tribulation.
When Satan is upon the earth, when the beast has come forth, when the false prophet has appeared, the trio of evil is on earth. What can you expect but the great tribulation?
And what happens during the great tribulation time? You find Satan pours forth his hatred upon the rest of the seed of the woman. The man child is already caught up, but the woman has other children: those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus.
Those who keep the commandments of God may refer to the Jews. Those Jews, those pious Jews, worship God alone. So during the great tribulation, they have Jacob’s trouble. They will not bow to the beast, and they will be persecuted.
And those who keep the testimony of Jesus refer to those in the church who remain on earth. They will be greatly persecuted.
So, brothers and sisters, when you read the whole chapter, I think it puts you in the right timing. You see, the timing is the coming of the Lord, and that marks the beginning of His Parousia.
Now, we mentioned last time, “As the days of Noah were, so shall be the days of the coming of the Son of Man.” And the coming is Parousia. In other words, it is a period of time that covers a series of events. It has a beginning and it has an end.
And the beginning is this: two are in bed; one is taken, one is left. Two are working in the field; one is taken, one is left. Two are grinding meal; one is taken, one is left. Watch, because you know not when the Lord shall come. He will come as a thief. He will steal away that which is precious to Him.
And here you find the same story. The one that is taken is represented by the man child. We who are living at the time of the coming of the Lord—some will be in that man child, and they will be taken.
Now, brothers and sisters, why? Why is it that they are taken? And then you find it is said here in Revelation 12:11: they overcome the accuser of the brethren. They overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their life even unto death. That explains it.
How do they overcome the accuser of the brethren? Dear brothers and sisters, do you realize that Satan is the accuser of the brethren? Do you realize that he is accusing you before God day and night?
Do you know that he is watching you? He is going through the whole earth, up and down, east and west, noticing everyone, especially those who are the Lord’s. And he tries to accuse us before God.
You remember the story of Job, how he watched Job and accused Job before God—false accusation. God said, “Do you notice My servant Job? Just, perfect, God-fearing.” Satan falsely accused Job, saying, “You have an ulterior motive, because You bless him.”
And again, he accused Job before God: “Because You keep him alive. If You touch his body, what will happen? He will curse You.”
Ah, brothers and sisters, our enemy is watching. He is accusing every one of us day and night before God. Unfortunately, sometimes the accusation is true, but most of the time it is false.
And because of that, our conscience is spotted. We live under a guilty conscience. We cannot lift up our heads. We become weak spiritually. We dare not even pray. We are useless in spiritual warfare. We are paralyzed under accusation day and night.
No one is perfect. Those who overcome do not overcome because they are perfect. They have their weaknesses, they have their failures, they have their faults. Their feet slip sometimes; their tongues slip sometimes.
But, dear brothers and sisters, there is the blood of the Lamb. Do not think that because you have believed in the Lord Jesus for so many years, you do not need the blood of the Lamb anymore.
You need the blood of the Lamb when you are saved, because you realize the heaviness, terribleness, and sinfulness of your sin, and how you treasure the blood of the Lamb. Now you are saved; you are all right; you do not need the blood of the Lamb? Brothers and sisters, you are wrong.
The closer you live to God, the more you need the blood of the Lamb, for two reasons. One reason is: the closer you live to the light, the more you realize how much darkness is in you. You need to confess and ask the blood of the Lamb to cleanse you. Even the tears of our repentance need to be cleansed with the blood of the Lamb.
Number two: you need the blood of the Lamb because the enemy is accusing you day and night. True or false, whether it is true or whether it is false, the blood of the Lamb will shut his mouth.
You remember the story of Martin Luther? How one day he saw Satan come to him and show him a scroll. The scroll said, “The sins of Martin Luther,” and it was written inside and outside, full of accusations.
And Satan said, “Dare you do the work of reformation?” And thank God, Martin Luther took up a pen and wrote over it, “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin.” And Satan disappeared.
Brothers and sisters, we need the blood of the Lamb every moment of the day to shut the mouth of the enemy.
You know, the blood of the Lamb works three sides:
Brothers and sisters, if we want to overcome, we have to claim the blood of the Lamb continuously. We treasure the precious blood.
And they overcome the enemy because of the word of their testimony. In other words, they have a testimony. God had entrusted His own testimony to the church. Our Lord Jesus has committed Himself, His name, to the church.
And He is our testimony. His name is our testimony. We declare the name of the Lord. We proclaim that Jesus is Lord. That is our testimony.
But here it says they overcome the enemy by the word of their testimony. In other words, it is not just a testimony, but that testimony is spoken out. It is expressed.
When we say, “Jesus is Lord,” does it express a reality in our life? If it does not express a reality in our life, it is a false testimony. It has no power over the enemy.
You remember Acts Chapter 19, how the Lord worked marvellously through Paul. In the name of the Lord Jesus, Satan and the devils were cast out.
And then you find the seven sons of the Jewish high priest, Sceva. They were exorcists, and they saw how marvellously the name of Jesus worked. So when they tried to cast out demons, they said, “In the name of Jesus that Paul preaches, I cast you out.”
And the demon said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I am acquainted with; but who are you?” And they jumped upon those sons of the Jewish high priest and hurt them, and they fled naked.
You know, in the spiritual world, it is so real. There is no pretension. When you mention the name of the Lord Jesus, is it backed up with your life?
Is Jesus really Lord of your life, Lord of everything? Or do you still have your own mind? Do you still have your own will, your own opinion? Or is your will surrendered?
You take the will of God as your will, the mind of Jesus as your mind, His feeling as your feeling. He is really Lord of your life. Then, when you speak the word, there is power behind it. They overcome the enemy because of the word of their mouth.
And thirdly, they loved not their lives even unto death. The life there is soul life.
You remember our Lord Jesus said, “Unless you love Me more than this and that and yourself, you cannot be My disciple.” If you love your life, you will lose it. If you are willing to lose your life for My sake, for the gospel’s sake, you will gain it unto eternity. Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me.
Brothers and sisters, these are the people who deny themselves. They love not their lives even unto death. They have a martyr’s spirit.
They live a life of a martyr. They may not die as a martyr, but they live a martyr’s life. Is that true with us today? Do we love our life?
Even Peter, when he told the Lord, “I am willing to die with You,” before a little maid he denied the Lord. Why? He loved his own life. But thank God, when he realized he was weak, then he was strong, and he was martyred for the Lord.
So, brothers and sisters, these are the reasons why they constitute, compose, the man child. The man child is a collective term, because the Bible says, “They overcame him.” Those who dwell in the heavens.
So this man child is a collective term. It refers to all those who overcome—not by themselves. They overcome by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony. They are real, and they love not their lives even unto death.
So may the Lord help us.
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee that, in spite of all the things that we can see, we know Thou art working quietly, silently, invisibly, hiddenly. But Thou art working out Thy purpose.
How we praise and thank Thee that out of the turmoil all around us, Thou art bringing forth that man child, the one that will prepare Thy way.
O Lord, have mercy upon us. By Thy grace, may we be among them. Teach us how to treasure Thy blood. Enable us to be real.
And help us to deny ourselves, all that is of ourselves, and just follow Thee. O Lord, we ask for Thy mercy and for Thy grace. In Thy precious name, amen.