Day 200

“Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for 1,260 days.” Revelation 12:6. (NASB)

Bible scholars generally agree that the woman of Revelation 12 represents the church suffering at the hands of satan, particularly after the resurrection of Jesus.

Revelation 12 depicts the transition from Israel to the church: she is clothed with the sun – the gospel which is shinning forth in all its glory and purity. The moon under her feet stands for the Old testament times and ceremonial laws that were shadows of the cross and foreshadowed things to come. These things disappeared when the full light of the sun had risen through Jesus Christ. The crown of 12 stars is representative of the 12 tribes and 12 apostles.

Persecution, of course, can come in many forms, and this began with pagan Rome and then continued for 1260 years with Papal Rome. I remember a Christmas dinner at my Grand Parents house when I was 20 (many years ago). For some unknown reason, one of my cousins decided to raise the “question” of my new found faith. My grand-father had already told me that if I joined “that church,” he would dis-inherit me. It was one of those moments when I felt more at home with Revelation than I did with my own family. Out of an extended family of 8 aunts and uncles and what seems like myriads of Cousins, I am the only one who professes faith in the saving work of Jesus.

John seems to understand my struggles with the world. He understands the forbidden attractions, the sense of being different, even weird. As I studied Revelation, I found he portrayed the kind of world I was living in. When I read about the woman in the desert, I felt she represented me. The Roman world as understood by Bible scholars was a lot like my world. Christians in Asia Minor, even if they weren’t persecuted, struggled with how to live as Christians in a pagan world.

Revelation has outlined the war that is going on between the forces of good. As we will find, in the chapters ahead of us; the devil wars against everything God stands for. He wars against His character, His truth, His church, and the individuals in the church. Lo- and-behold we find that the war is even going on inside us.

May God train you and I in the relatively easy times, to be faithful in the hard times that Revelation tells us are coming.