And the serpent spewed water like a flooding river out of its mouth as it pursued the woman, in order that he might cause her to be swept away by the flood. And the earth helped the woman. It opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon spewed out of his mouth. Rev. 12:15, 16.
The story of the woman of Revelation 12 would have been familiar to many readers in the ancient Roman world. The ancient Greek writer Homer told the story of Leto, the bride of Zeus, king of all the Greek gods. Hera, queen of the Greek gods, was jealous and angry when she heard that Leto was soon to bear twins to Zeus. In her anger Hera forbade all the lands of the earth to give shelter to Leto, so Leto, heavy with twins, found herself forced to wander from place to place with nowhere to rest.
Python, a huge dragon that spat black venom, received a warning that Leto's son would one day destroy him. So Python chased after Leto as she wandered the earth, in the hopes of destroying her before the birth of the fateful child. Poseidon intervened, raising the island of Delos from the sea. Delos floated on top of the ocean, with only a single palm tree as its vegetation. Since Delos was free from the land, it was also free from Hera's bidding, so Leto could rest in the shade of the palm tree. When the dragon came seeking her there, Poseidon submerged the island temporarily to hide her from Python.
After Python left Delos, Hera was angry that Leto had found shelter. She ordered that Ilithyia, the goddess of childbirth, remain in Olympus and not allow Leto's twins to be born. As a result Leto suffered horribly in labor for nine days until Hera relented. Firstborn was Artemis, goddess of Asia Minor, and next came Apollo. Zeus blessed the twins with strong bows and magical arrows. Apollo came to the slopes of Mount Parnassus and slew Python with 1,000 golden arrows.
During the first century, coins reveal, some emperors linked themselves with Apollo. In Asia Minor Roman propaganda equated Leto with the goddess Roma. She became the mother goddess, and the Roman emperor was her child, the savior of the world.
In the vision of Revelation Jesus is the one who slays the dragon and its related beasts. Through the person of Herod, the dragon of Rome sought to destroy Jesus at His birth. Jesus' escape from Herod was a foretaste of His deliverance of the woman in this text and of the remnant in the text that follows. The vision takes over one of the great myths of the time to demonstrate the superiority of Jesus to all other claimants to divinity.
Lord, help me not to be distracted by modern claims to greatness and stardom. You are the true source of meaning for my life.
The story of the woman of Revelation 12 would have been familiar to many readers in the ancient Roman world. The ancient Greek writer Homer told the story of Leto, the bride of Zeus, king of all the Greek gods. Hera, queen of the Greek gods, was jealous and angry when she heard that Leto was soon to bear twins to Zeus. In her anger Hera forbade all the lands of the earth to give shelter to Leto, so Leto, heavy with twins, found herself forced to wander from place to place with nowhere to rest.
Python, a huge dragon that spat black venom, received a warning that Leto's son would one day destroy him. So Python chased after Leto as she wandered the earth, in the hopes of destroying her before the birth of the fateful child. Poseidon intervened, raising the island of Delos from the sea. Delos floated on top of the ocean, with only a single palm tree as its vegetation. Since Delos was free from the land, it was also free from Hera's bidding, so Leto could rest in the shade of the palm tree. When the dragon came seeking her there, Poseidon submerged the island temporarily to hide her from Python.
After Python left Delos, Hera was angry that Leto had found shelter. She ordered that Ilithyia, the goddess of childbirth, remain in Olympus and not allow Leto's twins to be born. As a result Leto suffered horribly in labor for nine days until Hera relented. Firstborn was Artemis, goddess of Asia Minor, and next came Apollo. Zeus blessed the twins with strong bows and magical arrows. Apollo came to the slopes of Mount Parnassus and slew Python with 1,000 golden arrows.
During the first century, coins reveal, some emperors linked themselves with Apollo. In Asia Minor Roman propaganda equated Leto with the goddess Roma. She became the mother goddess, and the Roman emperor was her child, the savior of the world.
In the vision of Revelation Jesus is the one who slays the dragon and its related beasts. Through the person of Herod, the dragon of Rome sought to destroy Jesus at His birth. Jesus' escape from Herod was a foretaste of His deliverance of the woman in this text and of the remnant in the text that follows. The vision takes over one of the great myths of the time to demonstrate the superiority of Jesus to all other claimants to divinity.
Lord, help me not to be distracted by modern claims to greatness and stardom. You are the true source of meaning for my life.
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