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 that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Rev. 12:15, 16.
The book of Revelation uses the symbol of water in three different ways: it can represent (1) nourishment; (2) cleansing; and (3) flooding, or destructive power. The image of a great flood of water swallowed by the earth is not unknown in geography. This very thing occurs in the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa. It is a huge place called the Okavango Delta. There a large river pours into one of the driest deserts in the world. The water splits up into a delta full of plants and animal life, but the land is so dry that as the water continues flowing it disappears into the desert. Beyond the delta the land remains as dry as a bone.
The mouth of the serpent seems to be an allusion to the serpent's lying words in the Garden of Eden. If that is the case, the flooding waters here may mean powerfully deceptive errors as much as persecuting force. The flooding waters contain both deception and threat.
Satan has two main methods of leading people away from God: (1) deception and persuasion on the one hand, and (2) force, threats, and persecution on the other.
Flooding rivers and winged dragons are actually parallel images in the ancient world. From above, most rivers look a lot like snakes, meandering back and forth across the countryside. Now imagine that the river has overflowed its banks. From a vantage point looking down, that same river might now resemble a snake with wings. This is probably the root concept behind the ancient idea of a dragon. In that case, ancient readers or listeners would see the flood of waters as a natural way for the dragon to attack the woman in this story.
Many students of the Bible believe that this scene anticipate the situation of Europe in the Middle Ages. Faithful followers of God, such as the Waldenses in northern Italy and southern France, copied and studied the Scriptures. They often faced threats and destruction from armies sent out by the dominant Christian church. Their spread of the Scriptures posed too great a threat to the prevailing belief system.
In the final days of earth's history prayer will be a vital protection when God's people find themselves in distress. "Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance" (Ps. 32:6, 7, NIV).
Lord, I know that I haven't persevered in prayer the way I need to. Energize my heart and soul to reach out to You more frequently than ever.
The book of Revelation uses the symbol of water in three different ways: it can represent (1) nourishment; (2) cleansing; and (3) flooding, or destructive power. The image of a great flood of water swallowed by the earth is not unknown in geography. This very thing occurs in the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa. It is a huge place called the Okavango Delta. There a large river pours into one of the driest deserts in the world. The water splits up into a delta full of plants and animal life, but the land is so dry that as the water continues flowing it disappears into the desert. Beyond the delta the land remains as dry as a bone.
The mouth of the serpent seems to be an allusion to the serpent's lying words in the Garden of Eden. If that is the case, the flooding waters here may mean powerfully deceptive errors as much as persecuting force. The flooding waters contain both deception and threat.
Satan has two main methods of leading people away from God: (1) deception and persuasion on the one hand, and (2) force, threats, and persecution on the other.
Flooding rivers and winged dragons are actually parallel images in the ancient world. From above, most rivers look a lot like snakes, meandering back and forth across the countryside. Now imagine that the river has overflowed its banks. From a vantage point looking down, that same river might now resemble a snake with wings. This is probably the root concept behind the ancient idea of a dragon. In that case, ancient readers or listeners would see the flood of waters as a natural way for the dragon to attack the woman in this story.
Many students of the Bible believe that this scene anticipate the situation of Europe in the Middle Ages. Faithful followers of God, such as the Waldenses in northern Italy and southern France, copied and studied the Scriptures. They often faced threats and destruction from armies sent out by the dominant Christian church. Their spread of the Scriptures posed too great a threat to the prevailing belief system.
In the final days of earth's history prayer will be a vital protection when God's people find themselves in distress. "Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance" (Ps. 32:6, 7, NIV).
Lord, I know that I haven't persevered in prayer the way I need to. Energize my heart and soul to reach out to You more frequently than ever.
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