Revelation 12

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 12:6

And the woman fled into the wilderness ,.... Not as soon as she was delivered of her child, which is not reasonable to suppose, and would have been improper if not impracticable; nor indeed was this flight until after the war was over, mentioned in Revelation 12:13 ; nor until the dragon and his angels were conquered and cast out; nor until a fresh persecution was raised by the dragon against the woman, as appears from Revelation 12:14 ; where this account stands in its proper place, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 12:7

And there was war in heaven ,.... Not in the third heaven, the habitation of God, the seat of the angels and glorified saints, there is no discord, jars, and contentions there, nothing but peace, love, and joy; but in the church below, which is militant, and has in it as it were a company of two armies; or rather in the Roman empire, which was the heaven of Satan, the god of this world, and of his angels; and this war refers not to the dispute between Michael the archangel and the devil... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 12:8

And prevailed not ,.... That is, the dragon, or the devil, and his angels, prevailed not against Michael and his angels; but, on the other hand, were conquered by them, as the above tyrants were by Constantine and Theodosius: some copies read in the singular number, "and he prevailed not", as the Alexandrian copy, the Complutensian edition the Arabic and Ethiopic versions; and other copies in the plural number, "they prevailed not": and as the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions: neither... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 12:9

And the great dragon was cast out ,.... From heaven, or from power and authority in the Roman empire, namely, the devil, where he had long presided; it is observable that Constantine himself speaks of "the dragon" being removed from the government of the commonwealth by the providence of God, and by the ministry, or means of him F13 Euseb. de Vita Constantini, l. 2. c. 46. ; and he had his own effigies on a table placed before the porch of his palace, with the cross over his head, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 12:10

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven ,.... Which was a song of praise on account of the victory obtained by Michael and his angels over the dragon and his, or for the overthrow and downfall of Paganism in the Roman empire; for by "heaven" is meant the empire, now become Christian, or the Christian church state in it; and the "loud voice" heard in it by John shows that there was a great number in it, who rejoiced on this occasion, and that they were full of affection and fervency, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 12:11

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb ,.... The Lord Jesus Christ, by whose blood they were redeemed and ransomed out of the hands of Satan, that was stronger than they; and by which they were justified from all sin, and so all charges and condemnation were of no avail against them, whether of Satan or the world; and by which they were cleansed from all pollution, both internal and external; and by which even their conversation garments were washed and made white; by this they also,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 12:12

Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them ,.... So in the prophetic language, at times, and upon occasions of rejoicing, the heavens are called upon to join, and bear a part therein, Psalm 96:10 ; and by these may be meant here the angels of heaven, who rejoice at every advance of Christ's kingdom and interest; they rejoiced at his incarnation, and so they do at the conversion of every single sinner; and much more may they be thought to do so at such a time as this, when... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 12:13

And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth ,.... When the devil perceived he had not the power in the Roman empire he formerly had; and that his influence was only over the common and meaner sort of people, or over the earthly part of the church, and the barbarous nations in the world: he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child : he was enraged at the church, and pursued her with great wrath, who had brought forth a Christian emperor, by whom the kingdom of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 12:14

And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle ,.... By which are meant, not the two testaments, by which she was supported under afflictions, trials, and persecutions, and against Satan and all his efforts; nor the two graces of faith and hope, by which she rose, and dwelt on high, in the view of invisible things, and with contempt of the world, its frowns or flatteries; nor, as others think, prayer and good works, by the former of which she flew to God for supplies of grace and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 12:15

And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood ,.... Which cannot design any persecution before the fall of Paganism, either of the Jews, or of the Romans; nor indeed the Arian persecution, since the casting out of this flood is distinguished from the above persecution, and was after the church began to flee upon that persecution; though it is not unusual for wicked persecutors, and violent persecutions, to be expressed by waters, and they are called proud waters, Psalm 124:1 ; and... read more

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