Revelation 12 (NIV)

Summary:

The Woman and the Dragon
Verses 1-17

John saw a wondrous sign appear in heaven.  A woman appeared, clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and with a crown of 12 stars on her head.  She was pregnant and cried out in pain, as if about to give birth.  An enormous red dragon, with 7 heads, 10 horns, and 7 crowns on its heads appeared.  Its tail swept 1/3 of the stars from the sky and flung them to earth.  The dragon stood in front of the woman to devour her child as soon as He was born.  She gave birth to a son, who will rule the nations with an iron scepter.  The child was snatched up to God and to His throne.  The woman fled to the desert, to the place prepared for her, by God, where she will be cared for 1,260 days.

There was war in heaven.  Michael and His angels vs. the dragon and his angels.  "But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.  The great dragon was hurled down - that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.  He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him."  (Verses 8-9)

John heard a loud voice in heaven anounce: salvation, power, the kingdom of our God, and the authority of Christ have now come.  "For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down."  (Verse 10b)  "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death."  (Verse 11)  Therefore, those who dwell in heaven should rejoice, but woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil is down there.  He is furious because he knows his time is short.

The dragon, once on earth, pursued the woman.  The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she could fly to her haven in the desert, being cared for a time, times, and half a time.  She will be out of the serpent's reach.  The serpent will spew out if his mouth water like a river to sweep her away.  The earth will help her by opening its mouth and swallowing the river.  The dragon was enraged at the woman and left to make war against the rest of her offspring.  Her offspring are those that obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

Lori's Thoughts:

The woman is Mary, mother of Jesus Christ.  The devil tried to kill Jesus through King Herod, but God sent a message to Joseph, Jesus' adopted father, to warn him of Herod's plot to kill this future king.  The dragon took 1/3 of the stars out when thrown out of heaven.  The dragon is the devil and the stars are angels.  The devil deceived 1/3 of God's angels, so you better believe he is capable of deceiving humans.  Since he failed to get Jesus, he turned on the vessel that brought Him to earth.  He failed to get her as well, so he turned on the rest of her children.  That is, symbolic children - those who share with what Christ taught.

God gave us the tools to overcome deception.  We are covered, symbolically, by Christ's blood.  Christ paid our entrance fee to heaven.  The devil doesn't want us to know this.  And he goes to heaven to try and deceive God by telling Him that we're sinners and, by default, cannot go to heaven.  We can only enter if we accept that only Christ is worthy and He wants to share eternity with us.  God provided a way for Mary to escape the jaws of the devil.  Not only escape, but receive everything she needed.  You can be sure He'll do the same for her offspring (that is, you).

God wants us to obey His commandments:
1) Love God
2) Love All Others
*see Matthew 22:37-38
And, He wants us to accept Christ's sacrifice for us.  It's simple.

Remember, the devil was not strong enough to defeat Christ.  If you're on His side, the devil is not strong enough to beat you either, because Christ has got you covered.  :)