The devil's fall (Revelation 12, Genesis 37:9-11, Isaiah 16:1, Isaiah 53:6, 1 Corinthians 7:17)

One day we will be in Paradise
Jesus promised.
© Karen Kyle Ericson, all rights reserved.

This song is from Jeremy Camp, There will be a day (link).  

Need to remember God has assignments for all of us today: 

17 And don't be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there.
(1 Corinthians 7:17 Message)

There is a funny story about Michelangelo.  He was painting this part of the Bible on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, while laying on scaffolding, high in the air.  It took four years.  The Archbishop wanted to help out.  So he kept asking Michel questions, like, "are you sure God's face should be pink?"  This went on for years.  When it was time to paint Hell, he painted the Archbishop in it.  The Archbishop was so offended He told the Pope who responded, "I'm sure you deserved it." 

The book is called, "Do you think the ceiling's too religious?" by Paul Taylor, Price, Stern and Sloan Publishers, 1979.

So it's important to be nice to artists... We have paint brushes muahahaha.  More importantly though is that long ago artists painted the Bible because common people couldn't read.  Praising God we are able to read now.  Back to Revelation...

Revelation 12


The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon
1 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.  2 Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.
These are interesting verses.  Some believe that the woman is Mary, Jesus' mother.  But I don't believe that's right.  Mary was a wonderful beloved woman.  But her beauty was in her choice as a human to obey God and have His child.  Personally, I'm hoping I can sit and have tea with her in Heaven and listen to her story.  She was never given extraordinary power in the Bible.  She's the woman out of all women, God trusted at this time in history.  I believe the woman in Revelation represents the 12 tribes of Israel, each star symbolizes a tribe. Jesus was born a Jew, the Son of God.  Israel has been quiet for many years.  They have been attacked as a nation many times over.  In part it's because they missed the Messiah, "Jesus."  We love Israel.  

This also describes the dream Joseph had so many centuries ago, as Pastor Chuck Smith pointed out.  I have a t-shirt about Joseph that says, "What dream did God give you?"  Something we should all think about.

9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”
10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind. (Genesis 37:9-11 NKJV)

3 And another sign appeared in heaven:  behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. 5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
The serpent is the the devil.  Seven is God's holy number.  So the devil is flaunting his evil in the face of God.  He has seven crowns on his ugly head.  The devil wants to destroy Israel to bring God's wrath, "You made me this way!"  The man child could be the 144,000 that were taken in the tribulation.  The remnant of Israel.

Satan Thrown Out of Heaven
7 And war broke out in heaven:  Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
"Lucifer," was the devil's name in the beginning.  He was to be the most beautiful and strongest of God's angels.  Like us he had a choice and chose evil instead of faith.  It broke God's heart.  Yet, He never gives up.  Even when we break His heart, if we confess our sin and turn back to Him, He's waits to restore us with joy and hope. 


10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 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.”
Don't know about you but I'm not liking the part that says, "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." Yikes!  Believers should be gone at this time.

Michael is the Archangel, leader of the Angel army.  We call the devil's angels, "demons," today.  Gabriel is God's special messenger.  He is the angel who came to bring good news to earth when Jesus was born.  Gabriel could have been the one who spoke with the loud voice.

The Woman Persecuted

13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 


These verses describe what could be Isaiah's prophecies about the remnant of Israel during the tribulation.  In the Bible, God describes humans as sheep.  We are not always as smart as we should be.  We are easily distracted. The woman would be Israel.  Even Jews in Israel today wonder at why they have had to face so much tragedy.

1 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, From Sela to the wilderness,
To the mount of the daughter of Zion.
(Isaiah 16:1 NKJV)

6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
(Isaiah 53:6 NKJV)

The lamb of God is Jesus.  The final sacrifice for Israel's, and our sin.

15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 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. 17 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.
The woman here could be the remnant of Israel.  Jesus was born as God's son sent for the Hebrews.  We are also included as, "Gentiles."  After the Anti-Christ allows Israel to rebuild their temple, his true evil will be recognized.  Two wings of a great eagle could symbolize an airplane but I don't know that for sure.   Israel will get away from the serpent.  They will need to nourish themselves with God's Word.  The serpent tried to cause a great flood, but the rainbow is the symbol of God's covenant that He will never do this again.  So the flood failed.  Verse 17 sounds like the devil will try to attack any Christians still on the earth at this time.

Dear Heavenly Father,
I lift up Japan to You.  I pray You will send the angels to help those who have been hurt by the typhoon.  I pray You will protect them and give them courage.  Let Your awesome mercy and grace abound.  Father we are frightened by the Eboli virus.  I pray You will grant wisdom to all of our government leaders.  Help our country stand in the right ways that please You.  I pray for healing in Liberia. I pray You will guide our nation to elect a qualified, intelligent, President in the next elections.
In Jesus Name, Amen.