Notes on Revelation

Chapters 12-13

by Jeff Smelser




12:1-2 A woman is seen with a crown of 12 stars. She is travailing in birth. Read Micah 4:9-10. Who was travailing to give birth there? And the one to be born was whom?



12:3 Who is the great red dragon? (Cf. 12:9)



12:4 What was the dragon's intention?



In fact, how did Satan attempt to accomplish this?



12:5 Who is the man child? Cf. 12:5 with Ps. 2:9



Is he the same as the one of whom Micah prophesied? (Micah 5:2)



How was the dragon's intent thwarted?



How, in fact, was this accomplished? (Acts 2:31-33, Eph. 4:8, Col. 2:15)



12:6-14 How long was the woman nourished in the wilderness after the man child was caught up to God?



Is this the same time period as that mentioned in 12:13-14?





Parallel Descriptions

12:5 child was caught up unto God 12:7-13 dragon saw that he was cast down
12:6a woman fled into the wilderness 12:14a she might fly into the wilderness
12:6b that there they may nourish her 12:14b where she is nourished
12:6c 1260 days 12:14c time, and times, and a half a time





Then did the casting down of the dragon (12:7-13) take place before or after the events of verse 6?



Then are we to associate the casting down of the dragon with the ascension and resurrection of Jesus Christ? (Cf. Heb. 2:14-15)



12:15-17 After all of this, what did the dragon proceed to do, and who is the "rest of her seed"?



13:1 Who stood upon the sand of the sea?



What came up out of the sea?



Is there reason to suppose that chapter 13 is a description of the dragon's war upon the "rest of her seed"?



13:2 Read Daniel 7:1-8. What similarity is there between Dan. 7:1-8 and Rev. 13:2?







Daniel 7 & Revelation 13

Daniel 7

Revelation 13

Where did the 4 beasts come from?   Where did the beast come from?  
How many horns did the 4th beast have?   How many horns did the beast have?  
What did the 4th beast speak? (7:8, 11, 20, 25)   What did the beast speak? (13:5-6)  
What did the 4th beast do to the saints? (7:25)   What did the beast do to the saints? (13:7)  
How long did the 4th beast's persecution last (7:25)   How long did the beast's persecution last? (13:5)  





Why would the order of the beasts be reversed in Rev. 13:2?



Why would all four beasts of Dan. 7 be combined into one in Rev. 13:2? (Cf. Dan. 7:12, 2:34-35)



Are the 4th beast of Daniel 7 and the beast of Revelation 13:1-10 to be understood as representing the same thing?



13:11-12 What is the appearance and function of the 2nd beast in Rev. 13?



13:13-14 How did the second beast deceive men? (Cf. 2 Thess. 2:9-12, Ac. 8:9-10, 19:19)



13:15 What was the penalty for refusing to worship the image of the first beast?



13:16-17 What was put on men's hands and foreheads?



Is this to be understood literally or figuratively? (Cf. Rev. 7:3, 14:1)



What could not be done without the mark?



Number the letters of the alphabet, 1 through 26, so that "A" is number 1, "B" is number 2, etc. Then using the number of each letter instead of the letter itself, spell WEALTH. Find the sum of the six numbers you used. Now do the same for TAXES. You'll see what all this is about in class.