Revelation 12:5 The third character in the great tribulation is Yeshua who was born of a woman and sent by the Father to rule the world. He came to bring godliness and righteousness to earth, to use a rod of iron or judgment in order to get rid of sin and ungodliness in the world. He did this by the cross where He made it possible for men to be forgiven their sins and to stand before God free of sin by bearing the sins of men on Himself when He died on the cross.
Jesus judged sin, and condemned it upon the cross when He rose from the dead he took away the power of Satan which was in death (Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8). Jesus will also use the rod of iron against the nations of the world in the end time by exerting all the authority and discipline of God needed and in this way He shall bring the kingdom of God to earth. (Psalm 2:9; Revelation 2:27; 19:15). When Jesus ascended and was exalted to the throne of God He proved that that He shall rule and reign and bring righteousness to the earth. (Isaiah 9:6-7; Luke 22:69; Romans 1:4; Ephesians 1:20; 1 Peter 3:22).
In spite of all of Satan’s efforts to prevent it, the woman (Israel) gave birth to a son, the Lord Jesus, “who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3; Romans 9:5), was the fulfillment of prophecy, born of a woman (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Micah 5:2; Galatians 4:4).
Israel brought forth the Messiah. The Bible emphasizes that Jesus was of Jewish lineage. He was a son of Abraham (Matthew 1:1), a member of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10; Micah 5:2; Revelation 5:5), and a descendant of David (Matthew 1:1; cf. 2 Samuel 7:12–16). Nor will Satan be able to hinder Christ’s coronation; He will rule all the nations with a rod of iron during His earthly, millennial kingdom (Revelation 1:10; 2:26-27; 11:15; 19:15). Psalm 2:7-9 indicates that His rule is a work of judgment. The Messiah will come and disarm and subject His rule over all the nations (Revelation 19:11-21). An iron rod is also one that cannot be broken.
Just as all of Satan’s past efforts to hinder Christ have failed, so also will his future efforts fail (Revelation 11:15). The phrase rod of iron speaks of the resoluteness of Christ’s rule; He will swiftly and immediately judge all sin and put down any rebellion. Between Christ’s incarnation and His coronation came His exaltation, when He was caught up to God and to His throne at His ascension. Christ’s exaltation signifies the Father’s acceptance of His work of redemption (Hebrews 1:3). Satan could not stop Christ from accomplishing redemption and therefore being exalted to the right hand of the Father as a perfect Savior.
Revelation 12:6 In his attempt to thwart the redemptive plan of God, Satan pursues the woman who gave birth to the child, Jesus. The woman is described as fleeing for her life. This is the picture of the terrible holocaust of the end time. We know this because of the one thousand two hundred and sixty days (three-and-one-half years) mentioned. This is the second half of the great tribulation. The woman, Israel, is going to be severely persecuted by the Antichrist at this time. The Jewish people will take flight to the wilderness of the mountains. The exact location where God will hide them is not revealed, but it is probably somewhere east of the Jordan River and south of the Dead Sea, in the territory formerly occupied by Moab, Ammon, and Edom (Daniel 11:40-41).
Wherever their hiding place will be, they will be nourished and defended by God just as their ancestors were during the forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Those Jews who remain behind in Jerusalem will come under the influence of the two witnesses, and many in that city will be redeemed (Revelation 11:13). Eventually, in spite of Satan’s efforts, “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26).
It is important for us to note the promise: God has a place for His people to hide. God is going to save a remnant of believers. He is going to use this persecution to turn even more Jewish people to His Son, the true Messiah, even the Lord Jesus (Psalm 57:1; 121:4; Isaiah 43:1-2; Romans 11:2, 23-26).
Revelation 12:7-9 The war over Israel and God’s people is to be fought in heaven. The struggle for the souls of men occurs in the spiritual realm. Israel and the believers have to flee for their lives from the worst holocaust the world has ever seen launched by the Antichrist. These verses show us what lies behind this terrible attack against Israel and the believers.
The forces of the spiritual struggle are Michael and his angels and Satan and his fallen angels. In his classic book The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis wrote, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.
Scripture teaches that God has assigned angels to look after and to minister to believers (Hebrews 1:14). Scripture teaches there are ranks and orders of angels, that there are various levels of authority among angels. They rule as principalities and powers over the spiritual world. This is true among both good and evil angels (Romans 8:38-39; Ephesians 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Colossians 1:16; 2:10, 15). Michael is one of the archangels who in Scripture is presented above all the other angels. He seems to be the prime administrator of God (Daniel 10:21; 12:1, 7-12; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Jude 9) He is also pictured as the guardian angel of Israel. He struggles against the fallen angels who seek control over the nations and people of the earth (Daniel 10:13, 21; Daniel 12:1).
A spiritual war will be fought in the end time between the spiritual forces of good and evil. Satan and his angels will attempt to do what they have always tried to do: stamp out Israel and the followers of Christ. Revelation 12:12 tells us that Satan “knows that he has but a short time” and so he will try to wipe out every Jewish person and believer. Why? Because every one who is killed will never be able to accept Messiah or lead anyone else to faith in Him. Satan and his fallen angels will be defeated and cast out of heaven once for all. Satan will never again have access into heaven and will never again accuse a believer before God. Right now Satan is said to presently have access to heavenly places and to God (Luke 10:18; Ephesians 6:12; Job 1:6f).
