We are sitting at a major convergence of prophetic events—several peaks in the mountain range seem to merge into one…
John has prophesied about “general” judgments on the earth which usher in cataclysmic occurrences the like of which have never been seen before. War, famine, pestilence, wild beasts, murder, martyrdom, and earthquake. Hail, fire, and blood. One-third of the earth and one-third of the sea are destroyed—the land and the sea, burned and bloody. One-third of earth’s fresh water becomes poison to its inhabitants. Celestial darkness envelops one-third of day and night. And more woe is pronounced…
Locusts which torment their victims, but refuse any mercy of death, swarm the earth. An army which kills one-third of mankind marches across the planet. Two witnesses have stood in Jerusalem and have testified for God, despite attempts on their lives. Those who opposed them were killed by fire which came from the mouths of the witnesses. They have arbitrarily withheld rain, turned the waters of the earth into blood, and struck the earth with any and every kind of plague for 3 1/2 years. The previous 3 1/2 year period is the first half of Daniel’s 70th week (a seven year period).
All this (and more) has happened, and yet, more woe is still to come; things are going to change, and as far as the earth is concerned, it will be for the worse. The anti-christ (the beast, the man of lawlessness, the little horn, the prince who is to come) will be given authority to act and those in Judea (Jews) will flee to the wilderness for protection. And, at the same time, what has been a general discharge of judgment over the entire earth will now become a direct assault from the kingdom of heaven on the kingdom of this global tyrant! This next 3 1/2 year period is the last half of Daniel’s 70th week—the Great Tribulation. The seventh trumpet (third woe) is about to begin…
What is the catalyst of this change? The salvation, power and kingdom of God and His Christ come! This is when God will take up His throne and begin to rule! This major intersection is a “no-return” zone—there will be no turning back!
At this intersection in time, on this cluster of mountaintops, Michael and his angels defeat Satan and his angels, and the devil is thrown down from heaven to earth. He will be filled with wrath and purpose. The future of the earth will not be pleasant by any stretch of the imagination!
His purpose? He is determined to destroy the Jews. That is why the woman (the nation of Israel) will flee into the wilderness to a place God has prepared for her. That is why she will need to be nourished for 1,260 days—because “all hell” will go after Israel. The persecution will be horrific… but God has a plan… the nation of Israel will be purified…
And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. Revelation 12:13
When Satan, the dragon, is thrown down he does not try to go back to heaven; he does not challenge God’s authority over his exile. Instead, he goes after God’s people, Israel—the nation from which Jesus the Messiah came. He persecutes the Jews with all his might. The Greek word for “persecute” is dioko and means to put in rapid motion, to pursue with malevolence.
But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. Revelation 12:14
God is not finished with His people—He has plans for them. He will be with them when the dragon persecutes them. He will give “two wings of the great eagle” to the woman so that she can fly into the wilderness to the special place God has prepared for her. There He will nourish her away from the presence of the serpent. The Greek word for “nourish” is trepho and is practically the antithesis of persecution—it means to cherish, feed, support, and provide for.
The woman will be nourished by God in her place in the wilderness for a time and times and half a time. (A time equals one year. “Times” is plural and means two years. “Half a time” is one-half year. Put them together—one year plus two years plus one-half year—and we find that those who fly to the wilderness will be protected from the serpent for 3 1/2 years.)
Remember we are in the midst of a sign, a prophetic interlude. Although it is not uncommon for prophecy to sort of dart back and forth in time, we still need to let context rule over all interpretation. A previous verse, Revelation 12:6, told us that the woman flees into the wilderness and where she flees to—the place prepared by God. Our verse at hand, Revelation 12:14, tells us how she flees—with the two wings of the great eagle. It also tells us when she flees—when Satan is thrown down to earth. Finally, it tells us how long she will be there—the same 3 1/2 year period known as the Great Tribulation.
Most people have heard of the Great Tribulation, but very few have actually listened to all that the Word of God has to say about it… We are entering the portion of the book of Revelation in which He will teach us many things concerning this terrible time…May our understanding of the future come from God… in His Word… through His Spirit…
