Preterist View of Being Born Again
In the debate over the meaning of the Book of Revelation, futurists enjoy telling preterists that but their view takes the text literally. This is, of course, a misnomer since all literature is read literally. We read symbols to be literally symbols where the author clearly ways for the text to be taken symbolically. There is no denying that the Book of Revelation is full of symbolism. The author literally states this as he interprets many of the symbols for the reader. For case in Revelation 12:viii, John explains the obvious symbolism, "the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan."
The defoliation over Revelation has come because there are then many symbols that must exist interpreted by the reader. Revelation 12 is a skillful example of this, only it follows a adequately simple scheme.
Revelation chapter 12 has 4 elements that are clearly symbolic.
- The adult female clothed with the lord's day
- The kid who is later defenseless up to heaven
- The dragon (which John identifies as Satan)
- The remnant of the woman's seed
John clearly identifies the "smashing red dragon" every bit the devil. The main difficulty is identifying the adult female hither. If the child is Christ, we may say that the woman is either Mary or Israel. The remnant of the woman's seed is most likely the entire Church or those in Israel who have received the Expert News of Christ's archway into the earth.
If we consider these interpretive symbols every bit the central, then in that location are basically three schemes from a preterist perspective past which to interpret Revelation 12. I take named these three schemes.
- Preterist BC
- Preterist AD
- Preterist-Idealist
These are the iii strongest possibilities from a preterist perspective. The terms, BC, Advertizing and Idealist refer to when the prophecy was fulfilled.
Here I will briefly describe each view. Then I'll examine Revelation 12 verse by poesy. Finally, I will explain why the view that combines both BC and AD, which I call the Preterist-Idealist view is likely the intended meaning.
The Preterist BC View
The first possibility is straightforward. It has Mary and Joseph fleeing into the wilderness in 4 BC as told in Matthew 2, while Herod the Great, representing the satanic epitome of the dragon, pursues them. The story then leaps in time from Christ's Incarnation to His Ascension to the throne of heaven. And then the Church (the remnant of the woman's seed) does battle with the dragon throughout the New Attestation era. The dragon here symbolizes Satan warring against the Church building through both the Jewish religious/civil persecutions and Nero's persecution in the offset century.
If the remnant seed is the Church, then the woman can exist seen equally Quondam Covenant Israel who gave birth to the Christ. Information technology does not practise a great deal of damage to this scheme to meet the adult female as Mary because she was amid the final of Onetime Covenant saints – along with Joseph, Zechariah, Elizabeth, John the Baptist, Simeon and Anna (cf. Matthew 1,2; Luke one,2) to receive the Good News of Jesus Christ prior to His public announcement effectually AD 27 that "the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 3:1).
The Preterist AD View
The 2d possibility centers effectually Jesus' warning to His disciples to flee to the wilderness in Matthew 24, Marking 13 and Luke 21. In this scheme, the woman is indeed faithful Old Covenant Israel. The dragon is represented by the majestic armies of Rome under Nero. The dragon showtime appeared outside the holy metropolis, Jerusalem, for a short, failed campaign in the summer of AD 66. The diction of Luke warns Jesus' disciples to abscond to the loma country of Judea once they meet armies surrounding Jerusalem. Historically, this is known every bit the Flight to Pella, which was recorded by the 2d century Church historian Hegesippus and passed downward to us through Eusebius of Caesarea and Epiphanius of Republic of cyprus.
All the disciples had settled in Pella after their remove from Jerusalem — Christ having told them to carelessness Jerusalem and withdraw from it considering of the siege information technology was almost to undergo. And they settled in Perea for this reason and, as I said, lived their lives there (Epiphanius, Panarion 7.seven).
Eusebius describes information technology like this.
The whole torso, however, of the Church building at Jerusalem, having been commanded by a divine revelation, given to men of approved piety there before the war, removed from the city, and dwelt at a certain boondocks beyond the Hashemite kingdom of jordan, called Pella. Here those that believed in Christ, having removed from Jerusalem, as if holy men had entirely abased the regal city itself, and the whole land of Judea; the divine justice, for their crimes against Christ and his Apostles finally overtook them, totally destroying the whole generation of these evildoers from the globe (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.5).
This Flight to Pella could take taken place on 3 separate occasions, AD 66, 67 or 70. Each time, Roman troops arrived on the scene to surround Jerusalem. The starting time, AD 66, is the date I favor for the Flight to Pella. At this time, the Roman general Cestius Gallus attacked the gates of the Temple at Jerusalem, but was forced to withdraw. Although information technology was an inexplicable retreat, this seems to accept been a providential window – a lull in the onset of the Jewish War in the summertime of Advertizement 66. The fighting did not resume until Nero sent in Vespasian's troops who arrived in the Spring of Advertizing 67. This window of opportunity to flee Jerusalem would have been the fulfillment of Luke 21:21,22.
And when ye shall encounter Jerusalem compassed with armies, so know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea abscond to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of information technology depart out; and let non them that are in the countries enter thereinto.
It also explains a time indicator in the text – "1260 days" – (Revelation 12:6). This fourth dimension would be synonymous with other 3-and-a-half year time periods mentioned in both Revelation and Daniel. In brusk, during the 1260 day period when God is punishing covenant-breaking Israel who are trapped in the city of Jerusalem, the Christians flee to the wilderness and are cared for past the Holy Spirit. This flight can be likened to numerous other instances throughout biblical history of God protecting and preparing a remnant seed often in the wilderness or in captivity. God has a dual purpose in this. Equally He purifies a remnant, He judges the wicked.
The merely difficulty in this interpretation is identifying who are the remnant of the woman's seed. If the woman is the mother church (the church in Jerusalem), it could be inferred that the remnant seed refers to the church who literally fled into the wilderness and so to Pella in AD 66. Just it could also refer to the universal Church scattered throughout the nations that somewhen prevailed against Roman paganism in later centuries. This presents the states with the problem of having two symbols in the same passage both referring to the Church. I believe this conundrum is solved by the Preterist-Idealist View.
The Preterist-Idealist View
I call this view both preterist and idealist because Revelation 12 was fulfilled by commencement century events, merely the symbols also allude to a broader theme throughout the whole Bible. Notation that I place the term preterist showtime. Revelation 12'south fulfillment has a detail awarding to events in the first century, merely the total scope of theme occurs throughout Scripture. For instance, the epic story of the struggle between the serpent and the seed of the woman originates in Genesis 3:15.
And I will put enmity between thee and the adult female, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy caput, and one thousand shalt bruise his heel.
This struggle and so ensues through the sons of Seth who are assorted with the sons of Cain in Genesis iv-vi. It picks upward with Abraham and Lot's consternation with the men of Sodom. The seed of the woman, God's chosen people State of israel, clash with the seed of the snake, represented by God's pagan enemies – the Canaanites, Egyptians, Philistines, Assyrians, Babylonians and so on – each nation bearing a beastly, or snake-like marking through some biblical symbol. An instance of this is the young David, who slays the monster Philistine, Goliath, who is portrayed as wearing mail armor like a serpent.
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This culminates in the New Attestation when Herod the Great persecutes the Christ child, resulting in Herod's death. The Roman and Jewish authorities crucify Jesus, and later persecute the Church for preaching the risen, ascended Son of God. This resulted in the death in the grandson of Herod, King Agrippa, who was struck downwards by God for proclaiming his own divinity (Acts 12:23). The conflict is and so seen in Nero'south persecution of the Church and the sifting of the remnant people of God from the city of Jerusalem at the onset of Roman-Jewish War, which resulted in Nero's expiry.
Although the battle was already won by Jesus at the cantankerous, the Church continues in its state of war against a defeated foe, Satan. In short, the Preterist-Idealist view is an "all-of-the-above" estimation of a highly symbolic passage.
Revelation 12 Explained
In this section I will translate Revelation 12 verse-by-verse in preterist perspective. Revelation 12 can be understood equally having a parallel structure in iii parts.
Revelation 12:1-vi – Showtime, the symbols of the woman, the child and the dragon are presented. The war of the dragon against the Christ and Church and and so the state of war on the state of Judea is described as taking place simultaneously in both heaven and on earth.
Revelation 12:7-12a – Second, the same war is presented from a heavenly perspective.
Revelation 12:12b-17 – 3rd, the events of the war are recapitulated once over again from an earthly perspective.
The State of war Function i
Revelation 12:1 – And there appeared a nifty wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the dominicus, and the moon nether her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
A woman clothed with the sun … the moon … and … twelve stars – The woman here is Israel. She is depicted equally Mary by Roman Catholics and as the Church building by many Protestants. Both of these are at least partially right since Mary was part of Israel. Israel is the Old Covenant "Church" (Acts 8:37). The New Covenant Church is chosen the "Israel of God" (Galatians 6:sixteen). The symbols of the lord's day, the moon and the stars refer dorsum to Joseph's dream in Genesis 37:9.
"Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me."
The eleven stars here, of course, are Joseph'southward brothers. The sun and the moon could exist interpreted to be his father and mother. The symbol of being clothed with the heavenly bodies represents Israel's status every bit a nation of kings ruling in the globe taking dominion through Abraham's descendants that are as numerous as the stars. There are numerous references in the Old Testament to the "stars" as God's Covenant people (Genesis 15:v; 22:17; 26:four; 37:nine; Exodus 32:13; Deuteronomy 1:10; ten:22; 28:62; Judges v:20; ane Chronicles 27:23; Nehemiah ix:23; Daniel 8:ten; 12:3). In Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the Minor Prophets, we read frequent language nigh the dominicus beingness darkened, the moon turned to blood and the stars cast downwards. This speaks of God'southward judgment and the loss of authority for State of israel due to their incorrigible covenant breaking.
Revelation 12:2 – And she being with kid cried, travailing in nascency, and pained to be delivered.
In verse 1, the woman is radiant, that is, she is clothed with the lite of heaven. She is faithful Israel. But in verse 2, she is crying out and suffering in travail. Out of that travail comes the nativity of a child, whom nosotros shall run into is Christ the Lord.
Revelation 12:iii – And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great ruby dragon, having vii heads and 10 horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
A nifty red dragon – This is Satan. He is red because he is full of fury and viciously desires the blood of the saints. This is straightforward. What is disruptive are the seven heads and ten horns because this same image is seen in Revelation thirteen and 17.
Having seven heads and 10 horns, and seven crowns upon his heads – This monster has seven heads, ten horns and vii crowns on his heads. Another seven-headed, ten-horned monster – this time with 10 crowns on his horns – is repeated in Revelation 13 and 17. The x crowns show that this is a unlike monster, this time a sea beast, which appears at the beginning of the adjacent chapter, Revelation 13. We see another recapitulation of this same image in Revelation 17, and John says the brute gets his power from the dragon (17:10). The dragon is Satan. The sea brute is Rome. The heads and horns symbolize the line of Roman Emperors who began to act as Satan's proxy in persecuting the Church building in the time of Nero. This 6th king who "is" (Revelation thirteen:10) at the time of John'due south writing is Nero, who also began the war confronting Judea in Ad 66 that resulted eventually in the destruction of the Temple after Nero'southward decease in AD seventy.
In my book, In the Days of These Kings – The Book of Daniel in Preterist Perspective, I evidence that in Daniel 7, the four beasts that take seven heads among them symbolize Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. The ten horns of the fourth beast made of iron can be harmonized with the beast with seven heads and ten horns in Revelation 13 and 17. Although this is a blended epitome of the four beasts, this is for the purpose of allusion. This beast of Revelation 13 and 17 is Rome and the heads represent a line of seven kings, which marked the terminate of the three-and-one-half year tribulation at Nero's expiry in AD 68 and the ascension of the short-lived Galba. The ten horns stand for the line of ten kings that ended with Vespasian, who was at war with Judea in that same twelvemonth as a general and oversaw the devastation of the Temple equally the Roman emperor in Advert lxx.
Without digressing too much into the adjacent affiliate (Revelation 13), it is sufficient to know that the dragon uses the Roman civil powers to persecute the Church building. However, in chapter 12 the dragon is Satan, not Rome.
Revelation 12:4 – And his tail drew the third function of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the world: and the dragon stood before the woman which was gear up to be delivered, for to devour her child equally soon equally it was born.
The third role of the stars of heaven – It is generally supposed that the stars of sky are angels who fall to earth (cf. Revelation 12:ix) and become demons, or Satan's minions who do his bidding. From this one verse, a demonology has sprung up claiming that ane-third of the angels of heaven roughshod from grace shortly subsequently the Creation. I disagree with this estimation. It is not in keeping with the scheme of affiliate 12 or the rest of Revelation. Although Revelation 12 alludes to Genesis 3, information technology is not a description of what took place presently after the Creation.
Just a few sentences before, nosotros saw the woman was clothed in the dominicus, the moon and the stars, which symbolize the descendants of Abraham. It'south important to exist consequent seeing that the aforementioned symbol is used twice in the aforementioned passage. Throughout Revelation viii and nine, nosotros read that during the plagues that befell the inhabitants of the "globe" (Greek: GE, which preterists take to mean the "land" of Judea) "the third role of trees was burnt up, and all dark-green grass was burnt up…. the third function of the bounding main became blood; And the tertiary function of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed…. the 3rd part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made biting … the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and third part role of the stars; the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise" (Revelation eight:vii-12, accent mine).
And finally, "the third part of men killed" (Revelation 9:xv,17, emphasis mine).
And then in keeping with this one-third pattern, the dragon's tail – or Rome's legions – killed the third part of the inhabitants in the land of Judea. Josephus records that the total number of Jews killed in the Roman-Jewish State of war amounted to 1.1 meg. This is i-tertiary of about 3.iii million. Although estimates of the Jewish population of first century Palestine vary, scholars take placed this number anywhere between one to 5 million (Anthony Byatt, "Josephus and Population Numbers in First Century Palestine" in Palestine Exploration Quarterly 105, 1973, pp. 51–60).
Further, nosotros have to enquire, "When was Satan cast down?" In verses nine and 13, we volition see a repetition of the thought that Satan himself was cast down and this resulted in the casting down of the stars of heaven. A popular idea is that this refers to Satan's fall from grace either soon after the Cosmos between Genesis 2 and 3; or in Genesis 3:fourteen,15 when God curses the ophidian condemning him to crawl on the ground and eat dust and making him the enemy of the woman's seed. Certainly, there is an innuendo to Genesis 3 in the Revelation 12. The seed of the adult female is at war with the serpent. We tin can include this idea every bit part of a more than comprehensive and thematic Preterist-Idealist approach.
In another sense, Satan fell when Christ came into the earth. The New Attestation records that Satan savage from heaven (Luke ten:xviii); he was cast out of sky (John 12:31); he is beingness crushed nether our feet (Romans 16:xx); he was disarmed (Colossians ii:15); he was rendered powerless (Hebrews 2:14); his works were destroyed (1 John iii:8).
By the time Revelation was written, the idea that Satan was defeated and leap by the work of Christ was a strong theme of the teachings of the Apostles. Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Male parent subsequently His resurrection and ascension (Revelation 4:2). Christ is offset presented equally seated on a throne and is fifty-fifty now the ruler over the kings of the earth (Revelation ane:v). Further, through the preaching of the Gospel by Christian apostles and evangelists in all parts of the known world, the reign of Christ was taking root and was having an bear upon through all strata of society (Book of Acts).
Satan "drew" or "cast downward" one-3rd of the inhabitants of the land of Judea and the surrounding areas. This has an allusive parallel to Daniel viii:10 and the prophecy of the Fiddling Horn, which in this case is Antiochus Epiphanes from 168 to 165 BC. I cover this passage in detail in my book, In the Days of These Kings: The Book of Daniel in Preterist Perspective.
Daniel viii:ten – And it [the Picayune Horn] waxed great, fifty-fifty to the host of heaven; and it cast downwardly some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.
It bandage down some of the host and of the stars to the footing – Antiochus removed the sacred furniture from the Temple and "went back to his own country, having shed blood and uttered words of farthermost arrogance" (1 Maccabees 1:21-24 NJB). Antiochus besides killed numerous Judeans in several campaigns. This was a temper tantrum of sorts after he had failed to conquer Egypt. Antiochus had been rebuffed by some Roman emissaries. On his way back to his home in Syria, he fabricated war on the rebellious Judeans. Since Judea had tried to enter into an alliance with Egypt to wrest control of the country from Antiochus, this persecution was served up as a savage punishment.
In Revelation 12:4, the antagonist is not Antiochus Epiphanes, just Satan. Notwithstanding, the parallel to Daniel 8:ten fits. John's audience also understood that Satan was working among the civil powers to persecute the Church. This seems to point to the Roman emperor Nero (who is also depicted as a Piffling Horn in Daniel 7; and as the sixth head of the Beast who "is" in Revelation thirteen).
More often than not, the casting down of the stars from sky refers to both the persecution of the Church from AD 64 to 68 and the Roman-Jewish War from Ad 67 to seventy. Both of these attacks were due to Nero's rage against the God of heaven and no doubt inspired past Satan. The purpose here is to try to destroy the remnant, who were scattered throughout the Roman Empire, but also concentrated in Jerusalem and Judea. In killing the 1-third inhabitants of the state, equally we will run across, Satan succeeded in eliminating apostate Israel, who were under God'southward judgment, while the woman and the remnant of her seed were delivered to safety.
And then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years onetime and under, according to the time which he had adamant from the wise men (Matthew 2:16).
If we have the "Child" here to be Jesus Christ, this seems to be out of chronological society. It is non at all a predictive prophecy since from John's perspective, information technology takes place in the past. Even if information technology is descriptive prophecy rather than predictive, it seems to be a clumsy estimation to jump backwards in time to an upshot that occurred most lxx years prior to John'south writing. Even so, John is not making a predictive prophecy here. He is making an analogy past way of an innuendo to Matthew two:16. Satan, working through the Roman emperor Nero, persecuted the Church and trampled on the holy metropolis of Jerusalem killing one-third of the Jews in Judea over a three-and-a-half year period, but every bit Satan sought to utilize King Herod to kill the Christ child.
This is a providential parallel of history. When Herod heard that a king was to exist born in Bethlehem, he sought to kill the baby Jesus. He managed to massacre a grouping of children nether 3-years-sometime in the region near Bethlehem, while Joseph and Mary fled into the desert for protection. In the same style, Nero was angered by prophecies that a Messiah-King would arise from Jerusalem. After numerous false Messiah's began to announced, he sought to put down a Judean rebellion against Rome'southward dominion. Nero desired to motility his throne to Jerusalem and dominion there as rex of the world. However, the object of Satan'south wrath toward Jerusalem was the infant Church. In the same way that Joseph was warned in a dream to flee into the desert, a remnant of faithful believers in Jerusalem were able to escape to the wilderness later existence warned by Jesus' prophecy to "flee to the hill country of Judea."
Nero'southward obsession with Jewish prophecies about the Messiah who would arise in Jerusalem is a little known historical fact. His second wife, Poppaea, was a Jewish proselyte and Nero himself secured Jewish priests as "hostages" from Jerusalem to exist her teachers. Nero was familiar with the Jewish prophecies about the Messiah just equally he was assured by his own soothsayers that a king would ascend in the east. Some of his infidel soothsayers even said information technology would be Jerusalem, which was at the fourth dimension 1 of the largest cities of the empire. This is an obscure fact, but it is stated in the Roman histories of Suetonius and Tacitus. Josephus wrote that Vespasian, not Nero, was this prophesied Messiah-King who had come to punish the sins of the Jews.
This is important because people are often confused past this point of the preterist interpretation. How it can be said that the Creature (Nero or Rome) made state of war against the Lamb, when the Roman-Jewish War served to destroy the apostate Jews, who were also enemies of Christ and the Church? In the preterist view, Satan sought to destroy the Holy City because information technology was the seat of Jesus' Apostles. But God used Satan'south sifting to punish the apostate Jews and rescue His people out of the city – every bit gold, silvery and precious gems delivered out of the refiner'southward fire.
Around Advertisement 64, James the blood brother of Jesus, who was (in consequence) the first Bishop of Jerusalem, was killed by a mob of rioting Jews. Many historians believe that these riots were due to the inept rule of the Roman governor Gessius Florus, whose seizure of money from the Temple as a souvenir to Nero was the principal cause the Great Jewish Revolt. The Roman full general Cestius Gallus was called in to restore order, merely was repelled from the city in the summer of AD 66. Later in the year, the remaining Christians, having seen the encroaching Roman armies as prophesied by Jesus, made a successful escape.
In summary, John is here alluding to Matthew 2 by way of comparison. In the same way that Herod was tricked by the magi and Satan'due south plot to destroy the Christ child was thwarted, Satan's plan to destroy the Jerusalem Church was thwarted when Cestius Gallus was inexplicably forced to retreat from the city. When Roman armies withdrew for several months, this likely gave the Jerusalem Church the chance to abscond to Pella.
Revelation 12:5 – And she brought along a man kid, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught upward unto God, and to his throne.
A man kid, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron – This is an allusion to Psalm ii:9.
"I will declare the decree:
The LORD has said to Me,
'You are My Son,
Today I accept begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I volition give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the world for Your possession.
You shall intermission them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel'" (Psalm 2:7-9 NKJV, emphasis mine).
In fact, portions of Psalm 2:viii,ix are quoted 2 other times in Revelation.
"Now to you I say, and to the residual in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who accept not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. But agree fast what you take till I come up. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I volition give ability over the nations —
'He shall rule them with a rod of iron;
They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter'south vessels' —as I also accept received from My Father; and I will requite him the morning star" (Revelation two:24-28).
Revelation ii speaks of the reward of the faithful remnant Church. Jesus Christ presents the Church with the "Morning Star," which here symbolizes the mandate to rule and reign with Him. Although Psalm 2 is a messianic prophecy about the Son of God, Revelation two:24-28 appropriates the inheritance of Christ to the Church as well.
Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with information technology He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of fe (Revelation 19:15).
Her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne – The implications of this rule of Christ from sky over the nations cannot be overstated. The child hither is Christ. The extent of His rule is over all the nations. The location of His rule is from heaven. The time of His rule is at present. This dominion is not only to take identify in a future dispensation, but Jesus Christ is the before long reigning rex over all the nations of the world.
Revelation 12:6 – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a g two hundred and sixty days.
The woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God – This is where it becomes obvious that the woman is not the Virgin Mary specifically. Although Joseph and Mary fled into the wilderness, note that here the woman flees after the child is caught up to heaven. The context indicates that the woman must be the faithful Church. As described above, the Church did not go through the Bang-up Tribulation, just fled to the wilderness and hid all during the time when Jerusalem was under siege past Vespasian and Titus.
They should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days – This 1260 days refers to the three-and-a-half year flow when Jerusalem was under siege. A place was prepared past God ahead of time. "They" here is implied as office of the Greek verb, trephōsin, "they should feed." This is meant as a reverse parallelism to the "wilderness," which does not nourish. Some translations avoid the confusion over who "they" refers to by simply translating, "there she should be nourished 1260 days."
The War Function 2
Revelation 12:7 – And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
At that place was a war in heaven – Here begins a recapitulation of the first function of this passage (vv. 1-6). The focus is again the war. This time the vantage point is not the "earth," or the "land" of Judea, just the war from a heavenly vantage indicate.
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels – The Book of Daniel and the Epistle Jude are the only two other books of the Bible that mention Michael, whose proper name literally ways, "Who is like God?" Some commentators have noticed that Michael tin can be understood every bit a Christophany, or an appearance of Christ in the Old Testament.
In Daniel, Michael is portrayed as the guardian affections of Israel (Daniel 10:13,21; 12:ane).
In Jude, Michael is again portrayed as the defender of Israel who contends against the adversary Satan about the body of Moses (Jude ane:nine).
Here in Revelation 12:7, Michael again fights for the people of God. The fact that Michael appears after the child is caught up to heaven and the woman escapes to the wilderness shows that this speaks the persecution of the Church building under Nero and the Jewish War.
Revelation 12:viii – And prevailed not; neither was their place found whatever more in heaven.
Revelation 12:9 – And the great dragon was cast out, that one-time serpent, chosen the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole earth: he was cast out into the globe, and his angels were cast out with him.
He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were bandage out with him – Higher up I wrote that the "third part of the stars of heaven" that were cast downwards to earth by the dragon's tail were the Jews who were killed in the Great Tribulation. Here the text clearly says that Satan's angels were cast downwards to earth. Just, the first is the earthly perspective and the now we are seeing a recapitulation from a heavenly perspective. We see that the plagues on the Land of Judea in Function 2 were an event of the dragon being cast downwardly to the earth in Part 1.
This cosmic war had a dual purpose. First, God used the dragon's wrath with the Christian Church to separate out His elect faithful remnant from the nations and purify them through tribulation. Second, God used the dragon to requite Rome power to brand war on the Holy City every bit penalty for rejecting and crucifying the Son of God. At present that Christ is ruling from heaven, Satan and his angels are bandage downwardly to earth.
Revelation 12:ten – And I heard a loud vox saying in heaven, At present is come up salvation, and force, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is bandage down, which accused them earlier our God mean solar day and nighttime.
Revelation 12:11 – And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
They overcame him past the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved non their lives unto the death – John here uses a Trinitarian formula similar to that of i John v:6-viii.
This is He who came by water and blood — Jesus Christ; not only by water, but past water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For in that location are three that comport witness in heaven: the Father, the Give-and-take, and the Holy Spirit; and these iii are i. And there are three that evidence on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these 3 concur as one.
Although this is tangential to the discussion hither, this is good internal testify that the author of Revelation is the aforementioned person who wrote the Gospel of John and the iii Epistles of John. Bold Revelation was written first, nosotros can utilise the symbolism of 12:11 to interpret 1 John 5:6-8. Revelation sheds low-cal on what John may have expected his hearers, presumably too the churches of Asia Modest, to empathize these symbols to mean.
The blood is Christ's sacrifice for our sins.
The h2o is the Word of God.
The Spirit is the power to overcome all adversity in the mission to preach the Gospel to the whole world and make disciples of the nations.
It is also of import that this verse reveals when Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven (12:9). This was not rebellion of Satan after the Creation or the curse of Genesis 3. It is besides not an eschatological effect preceding a terminal tribulation period. No, Satan was cast out and overcome by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
The claret of the Lamb refers to Christ's sacrifice on the cross.
The word of their testimony relates to the witness of the early Church building in persecution who bore witness to the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
They loved not their lives unto the death is the identification with Christ's suffering for sin through their own martyrdom.
Notice that 12:7-12a is from the vantage point of heaven. It pictures the Michael and the angels of sky defeating the devil and his rebellious angels casting them out of heaven. The "overcomers" are the Church triumphant, the Church in heaven, those who have been martyred every bit witnesses for their organized religion in Jesus Christ.
The War Part iii
Revelation 12:12 – Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto yous, having great wrath, considering he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
Rejoice ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them – This judgement should be thought of as 12a. It is the turning point from a heavenly perspective to the vantage point of the people of the earth in 12b. For the balance of chapter 12, the same symbols and events are recapitulated from an earthly perspective.
Woe to the inhabiters of the globe and of the bounding main! – This sentence begins 12b and the "War Cycle" begins for a third time focusing now on the earth.
For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath only a short fourth dimension – Two things should be noted here that are different from preterist perspective than from other viewpoints.
First, the devil was bandage down in the get-go century in the time of Christ. As described above, the devil was robbed of his power and his kingdom plundered past Christ's death on the cantankerous. St. Augustine chosen the cross the "Devil's Mousetrap."
The devil was conquered past his ain trophy of victory. The devil jumped for joy, when he seduced the beginning homo and cast him down to decease. By seducing the first man, he slew him; by slaying the last man, he lost the beginning from his snare. The victory of our Lord Jesus Christ came when he rose, and ascended into sky; then was fulfilled what you have heard when the Apocalypse was beingness read, "The Lion of the tribe of Judah has won the day" [Rev. v:5]. . . . The devil jumped for joy when Christ died; and by the very death of Christ the devil was overcome: he took, equally it were, the bait in the mousetrap. He rejoiced at the death, thinking himself death's commander. Just that which acquired his joy dangled the bait earlier him. The Lord'south cross was the devil'due south mousetrap: the bait which caught him was the expiry of the Lord (Augustine, Sermon 263).
If Augustine's illustration is true and the devil experienced whatever momentary joy over the expiry of Christ, it was fleeting because he was immediately cast down to the earth. The second betoken follows from this.
Having smashing wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time – This is an awesome flick of a not bad red dragon, once proud of his ascent to usurp God's throne. His vii heads are said to be crowned with seven crowns (Revelation 12:3). Only at present he is enraged considering he has been cast down and he knows his doom is certain.
2d, John does not mean "a short time" in an eschatological sense. Rather, Satan'south stronghold confronting God's people was both infidel Rome and apostate Jerusalem. Since Nero was the 6th rex (Revelation 17:x), the power of Satan to wield persecution against the Church building was limited in scope to the time of Nero. This slap-up persecution ended with the 7th male monarch, Galba.
Revelation 12:13 – And when the dragon saw that he was bandage unto the globe, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the homo kid.
He was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman – The devil persecuted the woman precisely because he saw he was cast downward. As in the devil's mousetrap illustration to a higher place, Satan once again made the same key error. He persecuted the woman thinking he could go rid of Christ and the Church. Jerusalem, the city where the Lord was crucified, was also the bait. Many preterists run into Nero's war confronting the saints and the state of war against the Jews as having the same diabolical purpose. Satan, working through the insane emperor, Nero, hoped that by destroying the Church and acquisition Jerusalem, the original seat of Jesus' Apostles, he could install his own throne there as a seat of the royal cult. Equally a historical fact, Nero hoped to move his throne to Jerusalem where he would have been proclaimed the rex of the world. However in the cease, Nero's Christian persecution and Jewish State of war turned him toward a deeper homicidal madness. This was "Nero's mousetrap." He committed suicide on June 9, Advertizing 68, when he learned that he already had been tried in absentia and condemned to decease as a public enemy. As Suetoius wrote, "The race of the Caesars ended with Nero." This sparked a cursory period of civil wars known every bit the Year of the Four Emperors.
Revelation 12:14 – And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the ophidian.
To the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness – Merely every bit the infant Jesus escaped from Herod by fleeing into wilderness with his earthly parents, and the man Jesus was caught up to His heavenly throne after He defeated sin and death the cross, and so the Church building escaped the dragon'south wrath when Nero'south troops attacked Jerusalem.
Where she is nourished for a time, and times, and one-half a fourth dimension – This corroborates with the verbal time of the beginning of the Roman Jewish War in the bound of AD 67 to the final destruction of the Temple in September AD lxx. A time, times and half a time is 3-and-a-half years.
Revelation 12:15 – And the serpent bandage out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might crusade her to exist carried away of the alluvion.
This flood describes the bitter persecution of Christians throughout the Empire, but especially the Roman Jewish War. The Jerusalem Church, which had thrived in the great city "where our Lord was crucified" (Revelation 11:eight), was Satan's existent target. The flood was projected to sweep away God's Church, but instead only destroyed the backslider element among the Jews. The general persecution tested and refined the Church building elsewhere (Revelation 2,3). Thus Satan acted merely as an instrument of God's righteous judgment.
Revelation 12:sixteen – And the earth helped the woman, and the world opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his rima oris.
The "War Cycle" repeats the third fourth dimension with the vantage betoken being the "earth." Here the earth means specifically the wilderness where the woman flees to. The irony hither is that although the "world" or wilderness is supposedly hostile territory, information technology becomes a refuge from the flood.
Revelation 12:17 – And the dragon was wroth with the adult female, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which go along the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
This sentence is essentially a recapitulation of poesy 12b, except it is from the perspective of the militant Church, the Church on earth. The remnant of the adult female'southward seed is God's Church. She is faithful Israel who is contrasted with the backslider element of Israel in 12b, "Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the bounding main!"
Revelation 13:1 – And then I stood on the sand of the sea.
This "State of war Bicycle" actually ends with the brief judgement that opens Revelation thirteen:1, "Then I stood on the sand of the sea." This is the transitional verse that opens a recapitulation of the story of the war of the seed of the woman vs. the seed of the serpent.
In summary, Revelation 12 can be seen every bit the story of the deliverance of the Judean Church building from the encroaching Roman armies in response to the Lord's command for "those in Judea [to] flee to the mountains" (Matthew 24:16). Withal, one of the most prominent preterist writers, David Chilton, offers this caveat, "There is nothing incorrect with this view, every bit far every bit it goes, simply information technology does not go far enough. For St. John's allegory of the Woman is the story of the Church, not simply a particular branch of it" (Days of Vengeance 321).
In essence, the Preterist-Idealist view maximizes the role of biblical allusion in telling the whole story of the victory of Christ and the Church over Satan. Chapter 12 equally a whole can be seen as both the key to unlocking the symbolism of several of the prior chapters and the hinge that opens upward the second half of the book. The showtime half, specially the "judgments portion" of capacity 4-11, focuses on the militant Church in tribulation and the starting time of the Roman Jewish State of war. The first half ends with a vision of the triumphant Church in heaven and is punctuated with the mighty climax of the saints singing, "The kingdoms of this earth are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever!" (xi:xv). The vision of Revelation 12 is the introduction to the judgments of chapters 13-xix. These chapters restate Nero'south state of war on the saints, the end of the Roman-Jewish State of war and the concluding devastation of the Temple.
Source: https://www.forerunner.com/blog/revelation-12-in-preterist-perspective
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