This document provides an overview and analysis of key passages from Revelation chapter 12. It summarizes that the chapter describes a heavenly vision of a woman representing God's church giving birth to the messiah, and being persecuted by a dragon representing Satan. It then discusses symbols such as the sun, moon, and stars as representing different aspects of God's true church and leadership. The document analyzes the time periods of persecution of the church and its flight to remote places for protection.

1. Rev. 12:1-12 Father in Heaven, we pray for knowledge and understanding as we embark into Your Words, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

2. Revelation 12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven A Heavenly Vision

3. Revelation 12:1 “The Woman” In the town of Nazareth, noted for its wickedness, lived a young woman. Gabriel came from the presence of God, and made known to Mary that she, a virgin in Israel, should become the mother of the Son of God. In Bible language, the woman is also called “ The Church”. Jeremiah 6:2

4. Revelation 12:1 “The Sun and The Moon” Sun=N.T. Church Moon=O.T. Church

5. Revelation 12:1 “The Sun and The Moon” The natural light of God's creation. Jesus told the church, "Ye are the light of the world." Matthew 5:14. The sun represents the light of Jesus (Psalms 84:11; Malachi 4:2). The moon under her feet represents the types and shadows of the Old Testament sacrificial system. As the moon reflects the light of the sun, so the sacrificial system was helpful because it reflected the light of the Messiah to come (Colossians 2:16, 17; Hebrews 10:1).

6. Revelation 12:1 “A Crown Of Twelve Stars” The 12 stars above her head symbolize the leadership of the church- 12 tribes in the Old Testament and 12 apostles in the New Testament. The one who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron is Jesus Psalms 2:7-9; Revelation 19:13-16

7. Revelation 12:2 - And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. God’s church, via Mary, gave birth to Jesus.

8. Revelation 12:3 Another Heavenly vision Satan in the form of dragon 7 Heads and Crowns is 7 earthly kingdoms from Babylon until the 2 nd coming 10 horns are the 10 nations of Western Europe(476-1798)

9. Revelation 12:4 Pre Earth area: Revolt and war in Heaven Rev. 12:7-9 The dragon is Satan, who at the time of Jesus' birth was working through the pagan Roman Empire. Satan influenced Herod, a ruler under Rome, to try to murder baby Jesus by killing all the infants in Bethlehem Matthew 2:16-18: Jeremiah 31:15-16

10. Revelation 12:5 Man child means Christ was born a human His government can not be broken He was risen after death After His resurrection, Jesus ascended up to heaven and to God's throne where He was beyond the reach of Satan. Acts 1:9-11

11. Revelation 12:6,11,& 14 God’s true church was on the run from persecution where He, God, personally took care of her for 1260 years. (538-1798) The woman (God's church) fled into the wilderness (the remote places of earth) to hide from her enemies. It is a well-known historical fact that during the Dark Ages, God's people fled to the caves and solitary places of earth, including the shores of America, to seek religious freedom and protection from papal persecution. The 1,260 days (also described in the Bible as 42 months or as three and a half years) refers to the terrible 1,260-year period of persecution during which millions died for their faith. During this time period, God's church was alive but was not identifiable as an official, visible organization.

12. Revelation 12:7-9 Lucifer’s rebellion in Heaven and ultimate expulsion

13. Revelation 12:10 The death of Christ When the dying Son of man exclaimed, "It is finished", a shout of victory rang through heaven. Christ's “ear caught the distant music and the shouts of victory in the heavenly courts. He knew that the death bell of Satan's empire had sounded, and the name of Christ would be heralded from world to world throughout the universe” The life of Christ as a man, formed the strongest bonds between angels and human beings, so that in heaven, men are spoken of as "our brethren."

14. Revelation 12:11 They-God’s people This was a dark hour for the disciples, who stood blinded by grief, beside a sealed sepulcher; But angels, who knew the power of eternal life, witnessing the exaltation of the Son of God and the final casting out of Satan, sang halleluiahs.

15. Revelation 12:12 Two parts to this verse This was at the time of the resurrection of Christ And while joy rang through heaven, and the strains echoed and re-echoed again at His ascension, The world was not yet free from the wiles of the devil. Having been cast to the earth, he put forth redoubled efforts to overthrow the truth.

16. Revelation 12:13 This verse goes along with verse 4 Should point us to Gen. 3:15 When Satan could no longer vent his hatred on Jesus, he decided to hurt Jesus by turning his fury against the church. Through the various governments he had worked, only to meet with defeat in the end. Subtlety took the place of opposition. Paganism melted away before the increasing light of the Gospel; but pagan principles were accepted by Christians, and clothed in the garb of Christianity.

17. Revelation 12:14 This verse goes along with verses 6 and 11 went God take care of His church for a period of 1260 years 538-1798 Papal Rome Era

18. Revelation 12:15 Water represents people From the mouth of the "dragon" was cast out a flood of iniquity, of false doctrines, of false teachings, of persecutions, in the hope of forever drowning the truth.

19. Revelation 12:16 The earth helped the woman by giving her a sanctuary to freely worship via America 1798- 2 nd Coming

20. Revelation 12:17 Final Battle Future God’s True Church or People God's remnant church, into which He is calling all His people, will keep God's Ten Commandments (including the Sabbath). It will also have the testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit, or gift, of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). God calls His end-time church "the remnant," because it is identical in doctrine and characteristics to the apostolic church. A "remnant" is the last remaining portion of a bolt of cloth. It is exactly like the first piece from the same bolt.

21. Revelation 14:6-12 God’s ultimatum to the people of earth These three angelic statements represent the three urgent messages that God's church will preach before Jesus returns. God's end-time church will preach this great three-point message to every nation on earth.

22. God’s True Church 1. It will appear and do its visible work after it emerges from the wilderness in 1798 (Revelation 12:6, 13-17). 2. It will teach the same truths the apostles taught, and all of its teachings will agree with the Bible (Revelation 12:17). 3. It will keep the Ten Commandments, including the Bible Sabbath (Revelation 12:17). 4. It will have the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 12:17; 19:10). 5. It will proclaim God's three end-time messages with a loud voice (Revelation 14:6-14). 6. It will be a worldwide movement (Revelation 14:6). 7. It will teach the everlasting gospel, which is salvation through Jesus Christ alone (Revelation 14:6). Many lovely Christians are members of churches that do not meet the above seven specifications. However, no such church can be God's remnant which He is calling all His sincere children into , because His end-time church must meet all seven specifications.