God gives means to his Church to escape the fury of Satan

From :
The 1560 -1599 A.D.
Geneva Bible New Testament ;

The Revelation
Of Saint John The Apostle
& Evangelist With the Annotations
Of Francis Junius & Chapter 12 :

1 A woman
2 appeareth traveling with child,
4 whose child the dragon would devour,

7 but Michael overcometh him,
9 and casteth him out,

13 and the more he is cast down
and vanquished, the most fiercely
he exercised his subtilities.

1 And (1) there appeared a great
wonder in heaven: (2) A (*) woman
clothed with the sun, and the () moon
was under her feet, and upon her head
a (()) crown of twelve stars.

(1) Hitherto hath been the general
prophecy comprehended in two parts,
as I shewed upon Revelation 11:1-19 .

Now shall be declared the
first part of this prophecy, in
this and the next chapter, and
the latter part in the fourteenth,
fifteenth and sixteenth chapters.

Unto the first part, which is of
the conflicting or militant Church
belong two things.

The beginning and the progress of the
same in conflicts and Christian combats.

Of which two,
the beginning or upspring
of the Church is described
in this Chapter, and the progress
thereof in the Chapter following.

The beginning
of the Christian Church
we define to be from the first
moment of the conception of
Christ, until the time wherein this
Church was as it were weaned and
taken away from the breast or milk of
her mother; which is the time when the
Church of the Jews with their city and
Temple was overthrown by the
judgment of God.

So we have in this chapter
the story of 60 years and upwards.

The parts to this chapter are three.

The first is, the history
of the conception and bearing in
the womb, in Revelation 12:1-4 .

The second, a history of the
birth from Revelation 12:5-12 .

The third is, about the woman
who had brought forth, unto
the end of the chapter.

And these several parts
have every one their conflicts.

Therefore in the first part
are two things contained, one,
the conception and bearing in the
womb in two verses, and another
of the lying in wait of the Dragon
against what should be brought
forth, in the next two verses.

In the first point
are these things, the description
of the mother, Revelation 12:1,
and the dolors of childbirth in
Revelation 12:2, all shewed
unto John from heaven.

(2) A type of the true
and holy Church, which then
was in the nation of the Jews.

This Church
(as is the state of the Church)
did in itself shine with glory given of
God, trodden under foot, immutable
and unchangeable, and possessed the
kingdom of heaven as the heir thereof.

(*) In this third vision is declared how the
Church which is compassed about with
Jesus Christ the Son of righteousness,
is persecuted of Antichrist.

() The Church treadeth under foot
whatsoever is mutable, and inconstant,
with all corrupt affections and such like.

(()) Which signify God and his word.

2 And (3) she was with child, and
(*) cried travailing in birth, and was
pained ready to be delivered.

(3) For this is
that barren woman
that brought not forth, of which;
Isaiah 54:1; Galatians 4:27, she
crieth out for good cause, and was
tormented at that time, when in the
judgment of all she seemed near unto
death, and in means ready to give up
the ghost by reason of her
weakness and poverty.

(*) The Church ever
with a most fervent desire
longed that Christ should be
born, and that the faithful might
be regenerate by his power.

3 And there appeared
another wonder in heaven:
(4) for behold, a great (*) red
dragon having (5) () seven heads,
and ten (6) horns, and seven crowns
upon his heads;

(4) That is the devil or Satan
(as is declared in Revelation 12:9) ,
mighty, angry and full of wrath.

(*) The devil, and all his power
which burneth with fury and is red
with the blood of the faithful.

(5) Thereby to withstand
and those seven Churches
spoken of, that is, the Catholic
Church, and that with kingly furniture
and tyrannical magnificence; signified
by the crowns set upon his heads, and if
the same without controversy belongeth
unto him by the proper right, as also he
boasted unto Christ; Matthew 4:9;
Revelation 13:1 .

() For he is prince of this world and
almost hath the universal government.

(6) More than are the horns of the Lamb,
or than the Churches are; so well furnished
doth the tyrant brag himself to be, to do
all manner of mischief.

4 (7) And his tail drew
the (*) third part of the stars
of heaven, and cast them to the
earth. And the dragon (8) stood
before the woman, which was ready
to be delivered, (9) to devour her child,
when she had brought it forth.

(7) After the description
of Satan followeth this action,
that is, his battle offered unto the
Church partly to that which is visible,
wherein the wheat is mingled with the
chaff, and the good fish with that which
is evil; a good part thereof, though in
appearance it shined as the Stars shine
in heaven, he is said to thrust down out
of heaven, and to pervert; for if it were
possible he would pervert even the elect,
Matthew 24:24, and partly to the elect
members of the holy catholic church in
the second part of this verse.

Many therefore of the members
of this visible Church (saith John) he
overthrew and triumphed upon them.

(*) By his flatteries and promises
he gaineth many of the excellent ministers
and honorable persons, and bringeth them
to destruction.

(8) He withstood that elect Church
of the Jews which was now ready to
bring forth the Christian Church, and
watched for what she should bring forth.

For the whole Church, and whole body
is compared unto a woman; and a part of
the Church unto that which is brought forth,
as we have noted at large upon in,
Song of Solomon 7:6 .

(9) Christ mystical
(as they call him) that is,
the whole Church, consisting
of the person of Christ as the head,
and of the body united thereunto by
the Spirit, so is the name of Christ
taken, 1 Corinthians 12:12 .

5 (10) (*) So she brought forth a man
(11) child, which should rule all nations
with a () rod of iron; and her child was
taken up unto God and to his throne.

(10) The second history of this
Church delivered of child; in which
first the consideration of the child born,
and of the Mother, is described in two
verses, Revelation 12:6; secondly the battle
of the Dragon against the young child, and the
victory obtained against him in the three verses
following, Revelation 12:7-9; last of all is sung
a song of victory, unto Revelation 12:10-12 .

Now John in consideration
of the child born, noteth two things:
for he describeth him, and his station
or place in this verse.

(*) Which is Jesus Christ the first born
amongst many brethren, who was born
of the virgin Mary as a special member
of the Church.

(11) That is, Christ
the head of the Church
(the beginning, root and foundation
whereof is the same Christ) endowed with
kingly power, and taken up into heaven out
of the jaws of Satan (who as a serpent did
bite him upon the cross) that sitting upon the
celestial throne, he might reign over all.

() Psalm 2:9 .

6 (12) And the woman fled
into (*) wilderness, where she
hath a place prepared of God,
that (13) they should feed her
there a thousand, two hundred
and threescore days.

(12) The Church of Christ
which was of the Jews, after
his ascension into heaven, hid itself
in the world as in a wilderness, trusting
in the only defence of God, as witnesseth
Luke in the Acts of the Apostles.

(*) The Church was removed
from among the Jews to the Gentiles,
which were as a barren wilderness,
and so it is persecuted to and fro.

(13) Namely the Apostles,
and servants of God ordained to
feed with the word of life, the Church
collected both of the Jews and Gentiles,
unless that any man will take the word,
alerent, impersonally after the use of the
Hebrews, instead of, aleretur, but I like
the first better.

For he hath respect unto those two
Prophets of whom Revelation 11:3
speaketh.

As for the meaning of the 1290 days,
look the same place, Revelation 11:3 .

7 And there was a battle in heaven,
Michael and his Angels fought against
the dragon, and the dragon fought and
his Angels.

8 (15) But they prevailed not,
neither was their (a) place found
anymore (*) in heaven.

(15) The description of the victory,
by the denying of the thing in this verse,
and by affirming the contrary
in Revelation 12:9 .

As that Satan gained nothing
in heaven, but was by the power
of God thrown down into the world,
whereof he is the prince, Christ himself
and his elect members standing still by
the throne of God.

(a) They were cast out, so that they
were never seen any more in heaven.

(*) For the dragon was deprived
of all his dignity and had no more
place in the Church.

9 And the great dragon,
that old serpent, called the
devil and Satan, was cast out,
which deceiveth all the world; he
was even cast into the earth, and
his Angels were cast out with him.

10 Then I heard
a loud voice in heaven,
saying, (16) Now is salvation,
and strength, and the kingdom
of our God, and the power of his
Christ, for the accuser of our brethren
is cast down, which accused them before
our God day and night.

(16) The song of victory
or triumph containing first,
a proposition of the glory of
God and of Christ shewed in
that victory; secondly, it containeth
a reason for the same proposition taken from
the effects, as that the enemy is overcome in
battle, in this verse, and the godly are made
conquerors (and more than conquerors
Romans 8:37 .) Revelation 12:11; Thirdly,
a conclusion wherein is an exhortation unto
the Angels, and the Saints, and unto the world,
a prophecy of great misery, and of destruction
procured by the devil against mankind, lest
himself should be miserable alone,
Revelation 12:12 .

11 But they overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb, and
by the word of their testimony,
and they (b) (*) loved not their
lives unto the death.

(b) He is said in the Hebrew tongue,
to love his life that esteemeth nothing
more precious than his life; and on the
other side, he is said not to love his life,
who doubteth not to hazard it,
wheresoever need requireth.

(*) They put their lives in danger
so oft as need required.

12 Therefore rejoice,
ye heavens, and ye that
dwell in them. Woe to the
(*) inhabitants of the earth,
and of the sea, for the devil is
come down unto you, which hath
great wrath, knowing that he hath
but a short time.

(*) Meaning, them that are given
to the world and fleshly lusts.

13 And when (17) the dragon
saw that he was (*) cast unto the earth,
he persecuted the woman which had
brought forth the man child.

(17) The third part:
a history of the woman
delivered, consisting of two
members, the second battle
of Satan against the Christian
Church of the Jewish nation, in
Revelation 12:13-16; and the battle
intended against the seed thereof, that
is, against the Church of the Gentiles,
which is called holy, by reason of the
Gospel of Christ in Revelation 12:17 .

(*) And was overcome of Christ,
then he fought against his members.

14 (18) But to the woman were
given two wings of a great Eagle,
that she might fly into the wilderness,
into her (c) place, where she is nourished
for a (19) time, and times, and half a time,
from the presence of the serpent.

(18) That is,
being strengthened
with divine power, and
taught by oracle, she fled
swiftly from the assault of
the devil, and from the common
destruction of Jerusalem and went
into a solitary City beyond Jordan
called Pella, as Eusebius telleth in
the first Chapter of the third book
of his Ecclesiastical history, which
place God had commanded her
by Revelation.

(c) Into that place
where God had appointed her.

(19) That is, for three years and a half;
so the same speech is taken, Daniel 7:25 .

This space of time is reckoned in manner
from that last and most grievous rebellion
of the Jews, unto the destruction of the city
and Temple, for their destruction or falling
away, began in the twelfth year of Nero,
before the beginning whereof many foresigns
and predictions were shewed from heaven,
as Josephus writeth, library 7, chapter 12,
and Hegesippus library 5, chapter 44, amongst
which this is very memorable, that in the feast
of Pentecost, not only a great sound and noise
was heard in the Temple, but also a voice was
heard of many out of the Sanctuary which cried
out unto all, Let us depart hence.

Now three and a half years after this
defection was begun of the Jews, and
those wonders happened, the City was
taken by force, the Temple overthrown,
and the place forsaken of God; and this
length of time John noted in this place.

15 (20) And the (*) serpent
cast out of his mouth water after
the woman, like a flood, that he might
cause her to be carried away of the flood.

(20) That is, he inflamed the Romans
and the nations, that they persecuting
the Jewish people with cruel arms might
by the same occasion invade the Church
of Christ, now departed from Jerusalem
and out of Judea.

For it is a usual thing in Scripture,
that the raging tumults of the nations,
should be compared unto waters.

(*) God giveth means to his Church
to escape the fury of Satan making his
creatures to serve to the support thereof.

16 (21) But the earth
helped the woman, and the earth
opened her mouth, and swallowed
up the flood, which the dragon had
cast out of his mouth.

(21) That is,
there was offered
in their place other Jews,
unto the Romans and nations
raging against that people; and it
came to pass thereby that the Church
of God was saved whole from that violence,
that most raging flood of persecution which the
Dragon vomited out being altogether spent in the
destruction of those other Jews.

17 (22) Then the dragon was wroth
with the woman, and went and made
war with the (*) remnant of her seed,
which keep the commandments of God,
and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

(22) Being set on fire by this means,
he began to be more mad, and because
he perceived that his purpose against the
Christian Church of the Jewish remnant
was come to nought, he resolved to
fall upon her seed, that is, the Church
gathered also by God of the Gentiles,
and the holy members of the same.

And this is that other branch,
as is said upon Revelation 12:13,
in which the purpose of Satan is
shewed, in Revelation 12:17, and
his attempt, in Revelation 12:18 .

(*) Satan was not able to destroy
the head nor the body, and therefore
sheweth his rage against the members.

18 (23) And I stood on the sea sand.

(23) That is, a most mighty tempest,
that he rushed upon the whole world
(whose prince he is) to raise the floods
and provoke the nations, that they might
with their furious bellows toss up and down,
drive here and there, and finally destroy the
Church of Christ with its holy members
of the same.

But the providence of God
resisted his attempt, that he might
favor the Church of the Gentiles,
yet tender and as it were green.

The rest of the story of the Dragon
is excellently prosecuted by the Apostle
John hereafter in Revelation 20:1-15 .

For here the Dragon endeavoring to do
mischief, was by God cast into prison.

If Needed :
Refresh or Pause
For Pages To Open
and Scroll Each Page
To Find Articles ;

The 1560-1599
Geneva Bible With Footnotes
http://www.genevabible.org/Geneva.html

Calvin
http://www.reformed.org/books/institutes/entire.html

1599 Geneva Bible Buy 1 Here
http://www.tollelegepress.com/

The Geneva Bible Forum
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Geneva_Bible/messages?o=1

Battle Cry
http://www.chick.com/bc/

Blueprint For America
http://www.chick.com/reading/books/153/153_11.asp

The Prophet
http://www.chick.com/reading/comics/0117/theprophetindex.asp

The Godfathers
http://www.chick.com/reading/comics/0114/godfathersindex.asp

The Story of a Jesuit Priest
http://www.chick.com/reading/comics/0112/albertoindex.asp

Smokescreens
http://www.chick.com/reading/books/153/153cont.asp

Online Reading for Protestant Minds
http://www.chick.com/reading/?wpc=reading/default.asp

Online Graphic Reading for Protestant Minds
http://www.chick.com/catalog/comiclist.asp#crusaders

Eric Jon Phelps
http://www.vaticanassassins.org/?cat=1

Eric Jon Phelps Page 2
http://www.vaticanassassinsarchive.com/

Shattering Denial
Here's A Pdf Free Download Library
http://www.shatteringdenial.com/library.html

Unhived Minds
http://z10.invisionfree.com/The_Unhived_Mind_II/index.php?act=Search&CODE=getactive

A Sacred
and Profane History of the World
http://www.tollelegepress.com/

Protestant Patriots Forum
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProtestantPatriots/messages?o=1

sovereignty's realms
http://sovereigntysrealms.blogspot.com/

The Free Enterpriser
http://thefreeenterpriser.blogspot.com/