10Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last—salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth—the one who accuses them before our God day and night. 11And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. 12Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.”
13When the dragon realised that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time, times, and half a time. 15Then the dragon tried to drown the woman with a flood of water that flowed from his mouth. 16But the earth helped her by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that gushed out from the mouth of the dragon. 17 And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children – all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus. 18Then the dragon took his stand on the shore beside the sea.
Revelation 12:10-18
The leading questions are:-
- 1. Is the dragon like a dog or like a cat?
- 2. Have you noticed the missing verse in this passage?
I think you will need some help on the first question, but you are on your own for the second question.
One person has already asked me: why is there a verse missing or have you made a mistake Ian?
Your hint for the first question concerns cats and dogs and the significance of wagging their tails.
Once again, I will ask my first leading question – Is the dragon like a dog or like a cat?
There is an anomaly in this passage related to the verse numbering. See if you can spot it and solve it. Those of you who are Deeper Bible graduates ought to be able to spot it and sort it. Let’s see how many of you respond to my challenge before we move on to Revelation 13. There will be two more Gems I need to write before we can move on: A response to each of the leading questions.
The ball is now in your court 🎾. The challenge for you is to send the ball back to me. We have just made it over the midpoint of Revelation. There are 22 chapters in the Letter of Revelation so Chapter 11 is the end of one half and Chapter 12 marks the beginning of the second portion. But it is also fair to say that Revelation 11 and 12 are combined in a unique way. In one sense these two chapters are fused together on either side of the divide.
They tried to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds.
Mexican Proverb
Life is short. You have no clue when this ride will end. Stay present and live fearlessly.
Rick Godwin
Don’t tell me the sky’s the limit when there are footprints on the moon, go past the limit.
Ian
It’s not that God wants to just give you a promise but rather to include you in the answer.
Ian