Simple Keys to Understanding the Book of Revelation — Part 12
During the Great Tribulation period, the Church—the Sun-Clothed woman of Revelation 12—flees for her life into the wilderness. The “wilderness” is probably not a literal wilderness area but is most likely symbolic of many places where believers will be supernaturally protected from danger and find provision during this difficult time. Christians all over the world may be directed by God to their own individual “wilderness” of protection and supernatural provision.
“And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”—Revelation 12:6 (KJV)
In this verse, we are told that “they” will feed the Christians who are part of the Sun-Clothed Woman group.
Who are “they”?
If we look back at previous verses to try to discover who “they” might be referring to, there are only two choices. “They” is either the man child or the dragon. We can eliminate the dragon because Satan is certainly not going to nourish the Church! We are told in John 10:10 that this thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. That leaves only the man child to fill the role of “they” who will feed the Sun-Clothed Woman group during the Great Tribulation.
The man child is a group of Overcomers. These are the Firstfruits who have come to maturity before the rest of the church and have been caught up to the throne of God (Revelation 12:5). Now the extraordinary end-time purpose of this man child group begins to become clear. They are not just caught up to Heaven to sit on clouds and play harps with the angels. They are caught up to be commissioned and sent back to care for the true Church during the time of Great Tribulation.
The mission of the Overcomers during the Tribulation is foreshadowed by the life of Joseph in the book of Genesis who was taken before his brothers in order to prepare a way for them to be fed during a time of extreme difficulties that impacted the whole world.
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present outcome, that many people would be kept alive [as they are this day]. So now, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and support you and your little ones.” So he comforted them [giving them encouragement and hope] and spoke [with kindness] to their hearts.”—Genesis 50:20-21 (AMP)
These Overcomers are the ones, like Joseph, who go before their brothers and sisters, to be positioned to supernaturally provide food for them. These are the ones who come to maturity early. They have cooperated with God’s dealings, like Joseph, and are the firstfruits harvest that ripens before the main harvest.
Moses was also a forerunner of these end-time Overcomers. Moses was used by God to supernaturally provide nourishment for God’s people in the wilderness in the forms of manna, quail, and water. Supernatural provision was given to God’s people at that time in many other forms as well. Their clothes and shoes did not wear out (Deuteronomy 29:5), and it was through Moses that God’s people also received supernatural guidance in the forms of the pillars of cloud and fire, and as long as they obeyed the Lord, they were victorious in battles.
The Great Tribulation will be a time of greater supernatural provision than the time of Moses as believers all over the world will receive provision through this man-child group of Overcomers.
The Final War in Heaven
The catching up of the man-child group to the throne of God is also the trigger that sets in motion the final war in the heavenlies.
“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.”—Revelation 12:7-11 (KJV)
When Lucifer first rebelled against God, before man was created, he lost his exalted position in the Kingdom of God, but he did not lose all access to the heavenly realm. We see this in the book of Job.
“Now there was a day when the sons of God (angels) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (adversary, accuser) also came among them.”—Job 1:6 (AMP)
Since his rebellion and fall, Satan (originally named Lucifer) has continued to have limited access to Heaven. He has used this access to accuse the believers. He did this to Job, and he has victimized many believers in this way.
This will all come to an end, once and for all, when the man child is finally birthed and caught up to God’s throne. This event will launch a war in Heaven that will result in Satan losing all access to the heavenly realm. Not only that, but all of his angels*—the principalities and powers that have been ruling over cities and regions—*will be cast down to Earth with him. Satan will no longer be the Prince of the Power of the Air. He will be bound to the Earth. That will be a great victory for the Kingdom of Heaven, but it will also cause more problems for people on Earth since Satan and all of those fallen angels will be bound to the Earth with them!
We are told in verse 11 that “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.” Who does “they” refer to in this verse? It could not be referring to the angels who fought with Michael because angels are not redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Only human believers can appropriate the blood of the Lamb. Angles also do not have testimonies. When they cooperate with us to fulfill God’s purposes, then they can become partakers of our testimonies, but they have no testimonies of their own. They are not partakers of the salvation that Jesus paid for us with His blood. Also, angels cannot love their lives unto the death because angels do not die.
So who was it that overcame Satan? It certainly wasn’t the group represented by the Sun-Clothed Woman. They are on Earth fleeing for their lives. And they’ve got a bigger problem now because Satan and all of his angels, the former principalities and powers over cities and regions, are now bound to the Earth with them!
So who was it that overcame Satan?
It was the man-child group! In coming to maturity before the rest of the Church, this Firstfruits harvest was deemed worthy to be caught up to the throne of God, which triggered the final war in heaven, resulting in Satan losing all access to the heavenly realm. This man-child group completely overcame Satan “by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
Jesus saw a prophetic vision of this in Luke 10:18 (NKJV):
”And He said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.’”
Jesus said this immediately after the seventy returned and reported to Him that “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” When these seventy reported to Jesus that they had overcome the wicked one, Jesus saw Satan fall from his place in heaven.
Jesus’ vision was partly fulfilled in the mission of the seventy when they overcame the authority of Satan. His vision finds its complete fulfillment here in Revelation 12 with the birth of an entire company of thousands of Overcomers!
The Main Target of Worldwide Abortion
Let’s think about something. At the beginning of this chapter, in Revelation 12:4, we are told that “the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”
Satan was not focused on the Sun-Clothed Woman at first. He was intent on destroying the baby—the man-child company of Overcomers.
Many years earlier, when Moses was born to deliver God’s people, what did Satan try to do to prevent that? The government approved the killing of Hebrew babies, but only the males—the man-child group of that time (Exodus 1).
Years later, when Jesus was born to be the Savior of mankind, what did Satan try to do to prevent that from happening? The government again approved the killing of babies, and again, the focus was upon the males—the man-child group.
“Herod saw that the wise men had fooled him, and he was very angry. So he gave an order to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and the whole area around Bethlehem. Herod had learned from the wise men the time the baby was born. It was now two years from that time. So he said to kill all the boys who were two years old and younger.”—Matthew 2:16 (ERV)
Think about the worldwide governmental approval today for abortion. Who do you think Satan is targeting this time? Again, his focus is on the man-child deliverer, as the Bible clearly tells us in Revelation 12:4. These Overcomers will be responsible for him finally losing all access to Heaven, and they will care for the church in the wilderness during the Tribulation as Moses cared for God’s people in his time. These Overcomers are God’s anointed deliverers, just as Moses was in His day. And today, both male and female babies are being targeted because in Christ, “there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28 NKJV).