THE "DRAGON"

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part I

The "Dragon"
Verse 1
Does This Woman Represent
the Sarah Covenant?
Verse 2

 

Part II

Verse 3
Verse 4
Verse 5
Verse 6

 

Part III

Verse 7 
Verse 8 
Verse 9 
Verse 10
Verse 11
Verse 12

 

Part IV

Verse 13
Verse 14
Verse 15
Verse 16
Verse 17

 

Part V

Revelation 16:12,13
Last Look at This Unholy
Triumvirate

 

 

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Part II

 

Verse 3

"And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads."

     The "heaven" referred to cannot be God’s true heaven. Jesus in his pre-human existence said, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." (Luke 10:18)
     Satan has not been in God’s heaven since, nor will he ever be there again. In Job 1:7 we read of his confinement: "Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth...."
    Normally, we would expect the "dragon" to operate on the earth as civil authority is supposed to. However, in this vision the "dragon" appears in "heaven" or in the powers of spiritual control.
    Notice it does not have wings, but is endowed with "seven heads" and "ten horns." We understand the "seven heads" to be successive, that is, one "head" would control the "dragon" and then another and so on.
    These "seven heads" each wear a "crown," a "crown" for each "head." The "crown" would indicate authority to rule, or kingly authority. The "ten horns" or territorial divisions of the Roman Empire are not crowned. They are under the headship of each emperor or "head."

SYMBOL

REPRESENTS

7 Heads 7 Successive Rulers
10 Horns 10 Territorial Divisions of Roman Empire
Crown on Each Head Authority of King or Emperor to Rule over the 10 Territorial Divisions of Empire


    The "dragon" is shown with centralized authority throughout the successive reign of the "seven heads." We know who the power behind the successive thrones really was. We are not even left to guess. We are told it was "that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan." (Revelation 12:9)
    We normally would expect the "dragon" to rule the earth in civil matters. The Roman Empire was to be the last dominion before God’s kingdom. This "dragon" is not satisfied to just rule the earth, but wished to rule both the "heavens" (spiritual ruling authority) and the "earth" (civil ruling authority). If the "dragon" could rule both "heaven" and "earth" from one seat, it would please him well.
    However, as our story unfolds, the "dragon" loses this convenient control from one central authority, and must shuttle back and forth from civil rulership to religious rulership. This was not convenient for the "dragon" and certainly not his first choice.

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Verse 4

"And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born."

 

In Isaiah 9:15 we are told: "The prophet that teacheth lies is the tail."

The "dragon" was already in "heaven," or the spiritual realm, when its "tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven" to cast them "to the earth."

The lying "tail" needed to rid itself of the faithful to retain an appearance of unity.



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Revelation 12:4


    When Constantine entered the church it was not as a penitent seeking God’s grace. He entered as the "Pontifex Maximus," Chief Religious Ruler. The faithful bishops were divested of authority when they did not consent to what Constantine ultimately decided was correct or usable for the empire. Truth was not the criteria.
    What Constantine wanted was a united front for his new found state religion. He had plenty of division and divisiveness under the pagan rule with three thousand gods.
    He wanted a united front to parade before the nation and was ready to cast out from religious authority all that would not bow the knee to his decisions. Hence bishops such as Arius and his associates were put down and lost voice in the spiritual heavens as they were "cast" to "the earth."
   Who is the "third part"? We are schooled in fractions and in our schooling one-third denotes a proportional part of a whole. Scripture does not fit into that mold. In Zechariah 13:8, 9 we read:

"And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

"And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people."

    We may gather from this that the "third part" is the faithful part, the right-hearted, of whom God may say, "It is my people." It has no meaning of proportion or mathematical value. The part that God is pleased with is the "third part."

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The Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.

The "dragon," the civil authority of Rome, embodied in Constantine in that time, "stood before the woman."

Constantine invited all the "bishops" of the various Christian Churches to Nice.

He wished to enlist or appropriate under his leadership all those leaders who would be subordinate to his authority.


    The "dragon" planned to control both the religious and civil authority from one imperial seat. That was his first choice. When someone is looking to control, they seek subordination in those under them.
    Constantine "cast out" from the spiritual ruling "heavens" those who would not compromise biblical truth for political favor. It is not that Constantine did not highly regard some of those he ostracized. However, he needed consensus, unity and subordination of all those under his spiritual control. He often went out of his way to bring stubborn adherents to truth under his banner.
    Failing in this, they were inevitably "cast to the earth." Truth defenders may have lost their standing in the powers of spiritual control, but we know you can do nothing against the truth. It is of God and, therefore, "the eternal ages are its years." It will prevail, because God’s Word cannot be broken.
     Why did the "dragon" stand "before the woman?"
    Constantine wanted to subordinate the leaders of the church at the time the bishops emerged as a ruling class. He could thereby rule both the "heaven" (spiritual ruling power) and the "earth" (the civil ruling power) under one scepter.
    If he could succeed in this he would have maximum efficiency. Failing in this, the devil would have to revert to a second choice of wearing two hats to cover two thrones, which, in fact, he finally did. In Revelation 2:13 it is said of Christians: "Thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is."

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Verse 5

"And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne."

    This is not a literal "man-child" just as this is not a literal "woman" or a literal "dragon."
    This "man-child" could not be Jesus, as he was the forerunner of the church and not its child.
    If the "woman" is alleged to be the "Sarah Covenant" that brought forth Jesus, the "man-child," we are faced with another problem. Jesus was not caught up to heaven as a child. The child Jesus with his parents had to flee to Egypt. There was no throne for Jesus here on earth.
    The "dragon," represented in Pilate, succeeded in putting Jesus to death when he was thirty-three years old. Jesus never referred to himself as a "man-child." He often referred to himself as the "Son of man." Additionally, Sarah had only one child, Isaac.
    When Pharaoh and Abimelech wanted to take Sarah to wife, God moved mightily and with dispatch, plaguing "Pharaoh" and threatening Abimelech with death. (Genesis 12:17; 20:3) Sarah was the mother of only one child, Isaac. This "woman" has remnant of "seed" subsequently. (Revelation 12:17)
   
The "man-child" was not Jesus, but it was the "man of sin" child that emerged from within the early church. Those looking for a "man of sin" at the end of the age, are overlooking the real "man of sin" born early on.
    The "dragon" stood before the "woman" (the Christian Church) to appropriate her child. Constantine invited the powerful bishops to Nice to bring the bishops under his sovereign control. He gave them generous gifts and had a banquet for them at the end of their sessions. He wanted to walk away with this "man-child" in his pocket. Momentarily, this was so.
    However, at Constantine’s death his son Constantius succeeded him for a short time and died. Julian, a very noble pagan, then took the throne and intensely disliked the bishops. Julian did not wish to work with them.
    Here the "dragon" momentarily lost interest in this perverse "man-child." This pause by the Emperor Julian enabled the man-child to be "caught up unto God, and to his throne."
    With the death of Constantine and his son Constantius, the man-child lost its chief religious ruler
the Pontifex Maximus. This was Papacy's moment of fortune. They appointed their own Pontifex Maximus, first as the fancied bishop of bishops and finally as the pope. The "man-child" is described in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 in these words:

"Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God."

    The man-child was "caught up unto God and to his throne" in apostasy as the "man of sin" or the "son of perdition," having its own earthly head. The headship of Christ was rejected and also the headship of the Roman emperor. It would have its own religious Pontifex Maximus, the bishop of bishops or the pope.

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Verse 6

"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."

   We leave the story of the "man child" momentarily to focus on the poor "woman’s" plight after being delivered of this unwanted and unloved "child." She "fled into the wilderness" (of separation) where God would provide for her.
 

 

Oddly enough, this parallels Elijah’s three and one-half years (1260 days) in the wilderness during the great draught.

This "woman" was fed similarly "for a thousand two hundred and threescore days" (1260 dayseach day representing a year).

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Elijah at Brook Cherith

    Please notice the time setting here. While the "man child" is caught up to glory in this time frame, the "woman" languishes through the famine and survives only by the grace and power of God to sustain her. Clearly, the papal exaltation and glory from CE 539 to 1799 is in stark contrast to the "faithful Church’s" wilderness experience in harsh and difficult conditions, kept by the power of God.
    The time given us in this verse is easily identified and becomes critical to understanding this verse.
    Why the difference in gender between "Elijah" and the "woman?"  This difference is easy to explain.
    "Elijah" is God’s mouthpiece before nominal spiritual Israel. Hence the masculine gender is appropriate. The "woman" pictures the faithful "church" as persecuted and marked for destruction.
    True to Bible symbolism, a "woman" represents a "Church." She survives only by the grace of God. If this "man child" were the true Christ, why would the "Church" be in such dire straits? When Christ’s true mediatorial reign on earth takes place his true followers will be with him in glory, certainly not in the wilderness condition.

 

Click to go to the following:

         Topical Studies on:
The "Dragon" Part I - Part II - Part III - Part IV - Part V

Chapter Verse by Verse Studies:
Revelation 12

 

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