Day 206

“12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea,for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.” (evidently, those in the heavenly realms are free of the devil’s influence) 13 When the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon[a] for a time, times, and half a time.” Rev.12:12-14. (NLT)

Since the devil could not defeat Christ, his next choice was to destroy the church. So out of his mouth, he cast a tsunami of persecution. Commentators usually understand the woman to represent the experience of the church during the long years between the time of Jesus and the End. The church’s experience will not be a picnic. There is much persecution that befalls those who take the name of Jesus. This suffering seems in startling contrast to the assertions of victory and power made in chapter 5.

It is even in contrast to verse 11 which talks about “overcoming through the blood of the Lamb.” Suffering in the context of the victory of God may seem to make no sense. While the enemy may “kill the body,” he cannot take away the eternal life that is ours through the victory that is ours in Christ.

While this may be little comfort to those in the throes of loss or suffering, nothing is ultimately wasted with God. In His infinite wisdom, even the greatest of tragedies can lay the foundation for healing and recovery. While hurt people often hurt people themselves, many victims of tragedy find resources in God to become healers instead of hurters.

This time period of a ‘Time, Times and half a time’ equates to the 3 ½ yrs or 1260 days which is mentioned 7 times in the books of Daniel and Revelation. If something gets a 7 time mention it must have some significance. This will be explained in Chapter 13.