Rev 12:1-6
There was a great sign in heaven, a woman "clothed with the sun, and
the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars".
There are two main commentaries on this passage,
(1) that the woman refers to Israel, the man Child to Jesus and the twelve stars refer to the twelve tribes of Israel OR
(2) that the woman refers to the true bride of Christ and the twelve stars to the twelve apostles who preached the Gospel at first.
Let us look at both interpretations together.
We find here a struggle between God and the devil.
Satan opposes God with all his energy. He is also consistently an accuser of God's children. He even accuses God.
Mary was determined to live for the Lord. The Lord saw her and Jesus Christ was born through her.
Even at His birth the devil was there to destroy Him. Herod tried to kill Him and murdered all the babies 2 years and younger. However, God protected the Child. He warned Joseph in a dream to flee to Egypt in the desert where Herod could not get at Him.
As noted above, another interpretation is that this woman is the true bride of Christ. Are you married to Jesus or satan?
She was clothed with the sun. In Ephesians it is written that husbands should love their wives as Christ the church. We are told to be clothed with the Lord Jesus Christ. This is of major importance and not a small matter.
Those who say God is not interested in how we dress but only in the innerman are not clothed with Christ but with the evil one.
When you are clothed with Christ, your life will testify to the fact in the way that you dress, speak, act, work etc. That the shine of God be on your face and even in private you live a godly life.
The moon has no brightness of its own; it reflects the light from the sun.
Now we read that the moon was under her feet. It signifies that the world must be under our feel. We must not conform to the world.
His light must shine in your home, dispelling the darkness. His light must shine in your life that even your wife can testify that you are clothed with Christ.
When you are in Him it is impossible to get angry and irritated when things do not go your way.
The sun shines consistently. It doesn't stop at night.
If you realise that God's light hadn't been shining through you, you need to sort out your life, make restitution and walk in the light that you might shine.
The seven heads shows the deceitfulness of satan, pretending to be one person and then another. His tail swept stars to the earth even as he desires to harm God.
God has His hiding place for you where satan cannot touch you (Ps 91). Jesus commands us to abide in Him (John 15).
Flee from sin and be hidden in Christ. If you have a drinking problem, do not be close to a bar. Flee from youthful lusts. You cannot be in tempting company and not be affected.
Abide in Christ as He has shown you. Stay there where God wants you to be.
Remember satan has borders which are set by God. Remember how satan had to ask permission before he could harm Job.
Abide in Christ, confess your sin thoroughly so that satan has no hold over you. Give the devil no room or power in your life.
Remember how the saints overcame the devil: through the Blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony and they loved not their lives till death (Rev 12:11).
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Erlo Stegen (1935 - Present)
Used of God in the Zulu revival in South Africa. He helped found the Kwasizabantu Mission where a few thousand live on the mission doing work for the Lord. He shares a powerful burden for the purity of the Church and revival in the Church.Many ministers have preached in their large conventions through the years namely David Wilkerson who enjoyed greatly the mission's work. They have established over 30 other missions around the work as a work of the Spirit of God.