- The terrible trio (chap. 12-13)
- The war (chap.12)
In the 2nd half i.e. (the great tribulation period), Satan tries to launch an all-out desperate attempt to fight against God’s purposes and His people. Satan is aided by the absence of the raptured church and with increased demon hordes will mount their assault against God. But despite Satan’s full fury, the Lord Jesus Christ will effortlessly crush Satan and his foes (19:11-21) and send them to abyss for the duration of the millennial kingdom (20:1-2). After this a final rebellion by Satan takes place at the close of the millennium. The Lord will defeat them and send them to eternal punishment in the lake of fire (2):3, 7-10). In describing the final war, the apostle John introduces 3-people.
- The woman (Israel)
- The dragon ( Satan)
- The Male child (Jesus Christ).
The woman: (Israel): In (chap.12), John sees a great “sign” which points to a reality. The description John saw was not an actual woman but a symbolic mother. The woman here is the 2nd of 4-symbolic women found in the book of Revelation. They are:
- An actual woman with a symbolic name of Jezebel (2:20) representing paganism.
- A symbolic Woman representing Israel and her children (12:1).
- A harlot representing the apostate church (7:1-7).
- The woman is the bride of the Lamb representing the true church (19:7-8).
The Old Testament also pictures Israel as a woman (Jer. 3:1, 20; Eze. 16:32-35; Hos. 2:2). John saw that the woman was clothed with the sun and had the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12-stars. This also reflects the description of Joseph’s dream (Gen. 37:9-11). The woman clothed with the sun and moon under her feet would reflect redeemed Israel’s unique glory and exalted status as God’s chosen nation. Moon was also a part of the cycle of Israel’s required times of worship (Num. 29:5-6). The crown of 12 stars on the woman’s head refers to the 12-tribes of Israel.