End Times: Back to the Future

Lesson 15 w/AnswersRevelation Chapter 12

End Times

Our End Times study now moves into Revelation Chapter 12, in which Christ introduces John to several key figures, or symbols, that will be pivotal participants in the events of the last days of the Tribulation Period leading up to Christ’s actual return. Between this chapter and Chapter 13, we will be introduced to several figures: the sun-clad woman, the great red dragon, the man child, the "seed" of the woman, the first beast, and the second beast.

Read Revelation Chapter 12 and respond to the following questions:

  1. In Revelation 12:1-2, a "great sign" appears in heaven. Now read Genesis 37:9 and Isaiah 9:6. Between what we are told in verses in Revelation and these two Old Testament references, can you discern what this sign is?
  2. What do we see in Revelation 12:3-4 that would indicate that the great red dragon referenced in that passage symbolizes Satan? Also read John 8:44, Revelation 12:9, and Revelation 20:2.
  3. What is being described in Revelation 12:5-6? What happened to the child, and to the woman?
  4. Now, re-read Revelation 12:6-14. List beside each verse referenced below the specific activity described in that verse.
    1. Revelation 12:6
    2. Revelation 12:7
    3. Revelation 12:8
    4. Revelation 12:9
    5. Revelation 12:10
    6. Revelation 12:11
    7. Revelation 12:12
    8. Revelation 12:13
    9. Revelation 12:14
  5. In the passages pertinent to the previous question, how do we know that this means Satan is still not cast down to earth, and that he still has access to heaven? And if it means that he is not cast down until the second half of the Tribulation Period, called the Great Tribulation (or the "Great and Terrible Day of the Lord"), what words might indicate this in Revelation 12:8-10?
  6. When do the events described in Revelation 12:13 occur within the overall seven-year period of the tribulation period? (see also Matthew 24:9-27)
  7. Examining Revelation 12:15, what does the phrase "water like a flood (or river)" represent?
  8. Given your interpretation of Revelation 12:15 above, how do verses 16 and 17 relate? What do they indicate to us about the earth, and "the woman" during this time?
  9. In Revelation 12:17, what group of people is being referred to as "her offspring"?

So, in this chapter of Revelation, we have observed Satan’s real agenda firsthand: the destruction of Israel, the killing of the son of God, and the killing of all who follow God. Truly, Satan is revealed in this chapter as the murderer that John told us about. Satan’s intent is to completely terminate God’s plan and to set himself up as God. We will see how he plans to do that in our next lesson, in which we study Chapter 13.

In Christ,

Wes

[2011]

[PDF Version]

Answers