Hatred For Christ and Israel

December 24th, 2024
by Dr. D. Lance Waldie

Revelation 12:3-6 Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. 4 And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. 5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for 1260 days.

The next sign appearing in heaven is “a great red dragon,” interpreted in 12:9 as “the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan.” Throughout the Bible Satan is always near God’s most influential people—from Adam to Jesus to Paul to Peter. In 12:3 he is depicted as having “seven heads and ten horns; …on his head were seven diadems.” Seven heads refers to past and present kingdoms oppressing God’s people, kingdoms that are sovereign as indicated by the “diadems” on each head. The ten horns will depict a final form of the seventh head, a kingdom that will briefly rule the world during the latter part of the Tribulation. The same depiction of heads and horns is given for the beast (Antichrist) in 13:1 and 17:3, yet there the dragon gives the beast his authority. Daniel saw a similar vision (7:7-8, 23-24), a revelation of both the Antichrist and his future revived kingdom. Thus it appears evident that a final, world-dominating empire is in view along with a satanically inspired ruler. The dragon being “red” likely denotes blood (cf. 6:4).

The dragon’s tail in v. 4 is said to sweep a third of the stars of heaven to the earth. This appears to denote Satan’s drawing away a third of the angels out of heaven to follow him in his rebellion against the woman and her child and everything else that opposes him. John then sees him standing before the woman who is about to give birth so that he can “devour her child.” This can only refer to the events surrounding the birth of Jesus of Nazareth in Bethlehem. Fearing a king that might replace him, Herod the Great, acting for the satanic Roman Empire, sought unsuccessfully to destroy the Christ, murdering every child under two in Bethlehem (Matt. 2).

In spite of Satan’s best efforts, the Christ-child was born, fully protected by the will of God to implement God’s plan of salvation for sinful mankind. This Christ will one day “rule all the nations with a rod of iron” (cf. 11:15)—yet future. Prior to this, the woman’s “child was caught up to God and to His throne.” John thus saw 1800 years of history in his vision—from Israel (the woman) in the days of Jacob to her birthing the Messiah and His eventual ascension into heaven (Acts 1:9; cf. Heb. 1:1-3)—a summary of everything recorded in the four Gospels up to Acts 2.

Now between vv. 5 and 6 there is a huge passing of time. If this were a movie, a caption would appear at the bottom of the screen, saying, Thousands of years later. In so doing, the entire history of the Church is absent! But this fits since Revelation was not written for that present time; it was written to reveal what will happen to Israel during the final seven years of her 490 year divine chastisement (cf. Dan. 9:20-27). And what will occur to the remnant of Israel during the Tribulation? Under the symbol of the woman, God reveals that He will take special care of Israel during the Tribulation’s final three and a half years (1260 days), providing a location of protection for her in the wilderness during the harshest days of God’s wrath (v. 6).

Food for Thought

All the signs in Revelation point to the timeless conflict between good and evil. This is so applicable to our day, for that conflict appears more intense than ever! Hatred for Jews and a lack of hatred for sins like adultery, abortion, etc. are so rampant today. Which side we’re on will be determined not only in what we profess to believe but in how we live and love.