Structure of Revelation 12:7-17, part 1: the Fall of the woman
Study:
"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 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. 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 you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. 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 serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Revelation 12:7-17
Partial Structure (?):
Making a few adjustments and refinements...
Structure:
Layer 2: The Fall of the Woman!
Recall Daniel 2's transformation of potter's clay into miry clay symbolizing the fall of the church:
potter's clay + iron => iron mixed with miry clay
Recall its implicit parallel in Daniel 7, the transformation of eyes of a man and a mouth speaking for God into eyes of a man and a mouth speaking against God:
horn(s)
+
a mouth speaking
for God
=>
with
a mouth speaking
against God
So why bring this up? Because this woman (of Rev. 12), which we have seen, symbolizes the church,... she falls! Where does it indicate this? How do we know this?
Recall one of the proof texts, that indicates a woman is a church:
"For I am jealous over you [the church at Corinth] with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." 2 Corinthians 11:2,3
Now notice Revelation 12:7-17:
"And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood." Revelation 12:15
Notice it parallels Genesis 3:
"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? ... And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat,..." Genesis 3:1-6
So both Revelation 12:15 and Genesis 3:1-6 have a serpent "speaking" with a woman with the intention of causing her to fall or "be carried away." Lest you still doubt the connection between these two texts, notice the following additional connection.
"And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Revelation 12:17
"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Genesis 3:15
But there is more evidence of the fall of the woman of Revelation 12. Notice our structure.
Our understanding of verses 13-16 is enhanced or enlightened by its parallel, verse 9!
When after the casting out of Satan from heaven, did "that old serpent ... deceive the whole world"? In Genesis 3, when he deceived Adam and Eve and thus brought sin and death into the world and upon the human race.
"And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Genesis 2:16,17
"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. ... And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. ... And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." Genesis 3:4-6,17-19,22-24
So man's fall... specifically, the fall of the first woman, Eve... is a shadow of the fall of the woman of Revelation 12, the church. As we noted previously, this is not surprising. Daniel 2 already prophesied this fall!
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