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Verse 5 The baby boy was born to the woman. That boy was Jesus. He was born to Mary who belonged to the nation called *Israel. But the woman whom John saw was not Mary. The woman in Johns *prophecy meant the *Jews who believed in the *Lord. The *Lord Jesus Christ will rule on earth as the king over all the nations. He will be a strong ruler. All people will have to obey him. He will be strict with any who do not obey him. God sent Jesus with his parents to Egypt. So, Herod failed to kill him. Later Jesus died but God raised him from death. Then, after Jesus rose from death, he went up in a cloud into heaven. He went up to God and to his *throne. The evil plan of *Satan failed. Jesus defeated *Satan. And Jesus went up to Gods *throne in heaven. Verse 6 During the last three and a half years, *Satan will try to kill all the *Jews. But God will protect those *Jews who believe in him. He has prepared for them a place of safety.
Verse 10 John saw *Satan and his *angels fall from heaven. Then John heard a loud voice in heaven. The voice said that now God would rescue his people. God will use his power and his *kingdom will come. Jesus Christ will soon rule the earth. He will rule on this earth for a thousand years (chapter 20). Now *Satan could not go to God in heaven. From the start, he had been there day and night. All the time he accused Gods people of *sin. But now the *Lord threw him out of heaven. Verse 11 The defeat of *Satan was not merely the work of *angels. Jesus died and he rose again from death. This is how Jesus defeated *Satan. Those who believed in Jesus Christ overcame *Satan. The blood of the *Lamb had removed all their *sins. So, *Satan had no reason to continue to accuse them. They spoke the truth about God and *Satan had no answer to it. They were willing to die if necessary and they were not afraid of death. Those who believe in Jesus Christ share in his success. What Jesus achieved, he did for Gods people. This is the defeat of *Satan. Verse 12 The war in heaven has ended. *Satan has failed. The *Lord has sent *Satan away. Those who live in heaven can be happy. The *Lord threw the devil down onto the earth. The devil will know that his end is near. He will have a short time when he will continue to work on the earth. He will be angry, fierce and cruel. During this short time, it will be terrible for those who live on the earth. This short time means the same three and a half years as in verse 6. At the end of that time, Christ will arrest *Satan. Chains will bind *Satan and he will remain in the great hole for a thousand (1000) years.
The *Lord had prepared a place for the woman. It was in the desert. She flew there and she was safe. The *Lord protected her for three and a half years. The *dragon had just three and a half years before Christ would arrest him. The woman was safe for the whole of that period. This means that the *Lord protects his own people. So, the *Lord will protect until the end the *Jews who trust in him. The *dragon tried to reach the woman. But he was not able to hurt her. Verses 15-16 As the woman flew to the desert, the *dragon opened his mouth. He sent a great flood of water after her. If the water had reached her, she would have drowned. But the earth opened up and it swallowed the water. So, the water could not reach the woman. She was safe from the flood. The devil will pour out all his evil deeds against the *Jews. He will do all that he can to kill all of them. But God will not allow him to succeed. God has promised to rescue his people (called *Israel) in the last days. And God will do the things that he promised to do. God will save *Israel. Verse 17 The *dragon was angry because he could not reach the woman. So, he went to fight her other children. Christ came from the *Jews. He, the Son of God, was by birth a *Jew. Those who believed in him did not become *Jews. The children of the woman were both *Jews and those who were not *Jews. The *dragon could not hurt the *Jews. So, he attacked Gods people who were not *Jews. Gods people will suffer terrible problems for those three and a half years. T hose who believe in Jesus will suffer much. Many of them will die because they believe in Jesus. It will be a terrible time. Verse 18 The *dragon stood by the sea. He would call up another *beast from the sea. On behalf of the *dragon, this new *beast would lead the fight against Gods people.