Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation.  Tonight is study #14 of Revelation, chapter 12, and we are going to be reading Revelation 12:13:

And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

The dragon is a reference to Satan.  It is another one of his names.  The Greek word translated as “saw” is a word that can be translated as “know.”   It is the same word that was at the end of the previous verse: “… for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”  The word “knoweth” is a translation of the same Greek word that is translated as “saw” in our verse: “And when the dragon saw” or “And when the dragon knew.”  So Satan knew that something had drastically changed at the time when the Lord Jesus went to the cross.  It was the time of Satan’s binding, when he was bound for “a thousand years.”  Previously, he had had access to God in heaven, and he had previously made his accusations against the brethren, but no longer.  He began to understand that something had changed from how it used to be. 

Then it goes on to say, “And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.   Again, that “woman” is a picture of the body of believers.  The woman had a place prepared for her of God for the figurative “1,260 days,” which represented the entire church age period.  That is where she fled and where she would be nourished and fed by God. 

Then it says the dragon “persecuted the woman.”  This word translated as “persecuted” is Strong’s #1377 and it is a very interesting word.  It is translated as “persecute” or “persecuted” several times.  For instance, it says in John 15:20:

Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

This is a true statement.  Jesus is saying, “If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”  Actually, we see that worked out in Revelation, chapter 12.  First, the dragon attempted to destroy the Christ child.  He stirred up King Herod and Herod wanted to slay the child and in his desire, he had all the male children, two years old and under, killed.  When that failed and when Christ ascended back to heaven, then Satan turned his attention to the woman that brought forth the man child.  It is following exactly what Jesus said here: “If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”  Satan persecuted Christ when He was upon the earth and once that was no longer possible, he goes after the body of Christ, the true believers, who identify with Jesus through His Word.  They hold onto the Word and they uphold the Word of God and Christ is the “Word made flesh.”  Due to that identification, Satan can “spot them” and he knows who they are.  The Muslims or the Buddhists or the Hindu do not uphold the Word of Christ and they do not relate to the Bible, but the Christian upholds the Word of Christ. 

However, among those that profess to be Christians, there are many that are careless with the Word of God, the Bible.  They do not mind if the Bible is “added to” or “subtracted from,” or if the Gospel becomes another kind of gospel; they just wear the name of “Christian.”  So Satan is not all that concerned with them; he knows they do not have the truth.  They are not upholding the Word of God.  In order to uphold the Word, you have to be faithful to the Word, so that narrows Satan’s focus down to a select group – certain ones.  During the church age these individuals would have been in the churches, so Satan assaulted the congregations.  He came against them through his emissaries, to pervert the Word of God and turn them from a true and faithful congregation to another kind of gospel.  In doing so, this would bring persecution against the “woman.”

We also find the word translated as “persecute” in the Beatitudes, in Matthew 5:10:

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Christ is “righteousness,” so we could understand this to say, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for Christ’s sake.”  Actually, references to “for Christ’s sake” or “the Word’s sake” or “for righteousness’ sake” are all synonymous statements.  So blessed are they (God’s people) that are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.  We should be clear that the devil is not persecuting us for our sakes – it is not because of who we are – and we should realize this because when we lived as the world, we did not experience persecution at that time; there was no one persecuting us because of the persons we were.  We thought we were “good people” and the world loved us then and Satan had no problem with us at that point because we were in unison with the world.  But once God brought His Word to us and drew us out of the world and closer to Himself through the ministry of His Word to the point that we identified with the Word of God, then persecution began, not because of us, but “for righteousness’ sake” or  “for the Word’s sake,” or “for Christ’s sake.”

Let us continue in Matthew 5:11-12:

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

So we can see that this word is often translated as “persecute.”  And what does that mean?  Well, we will attempt to answer that question in a little while, but we do know that it is a negative thing; it is not a good thing.  If the people of the world are persecuting us or if the dragon is persecuting the woman, it is not a good thing.

But, first, let us go to another place in 2Timothy 3:10-11:

But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

This sums it up pretty well – there are no exceptions: “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”  It is to be expected.  It is the common “true Christian” experience.  As long as we are experiencing persecution for righteousness’ sake, it is the typical experience of the child of God.  Of course, we always want to be careful that we are not suffering persecution for anything related to our “self,” like our own personal difficulties.  It is those that identify with the Word of God that Satan comes against to persecute.

But, again, what is persecution?  We probably have some idea of what it is because, more than likely, each one of us has had some experience with this persecution as we have identified with the Bible, perhaps in our home, or at work, or maybe out on the streets.  It is very possible that we have experienced some sort of persecution, but what is the Biblical definition?

The Bible helps us to understand this word through the way it can be translated.  I think we are going to be surprise at how this word commonly translated as “persecute” can also be translated.  It says in Romans 9:30-31:

What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.

The Greek word that was translated as “persecute” in Revelation 12 and the other verses we read is also found in Romans 9, verses 30 and 31.  It is the word “followed after” in verse 31; it is “negated” in verse 30 when it says “followed not after.”  It says in verse 31, “But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness,” and this means that Israel went after the law in order to try to get right with God.  This is the identical Greek word translated as “persecute,” when we are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.  How does this make sense?  If we substitute the word “persecute” here in this verse, it does not make sense to say, “But Israel, which ‘persecuted’ the law.” 

But what if we substitute the word “persecute” for “followed after”?  For instance, in Galatians, chapter 4, it is translated as “persecute.”  It says in Galatians 4:28-29:

Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

So, let us substitute the word “followed after” for the word “persecuted.”  It would read: “But as then he that was born after the flesh ‘followed after’ him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.”  And we find that this is not an isolated instance of translating this Greek word as “follow after.”  It says in Romans 14:19:

Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

So, it is to “follow after the things which make for peace,” and this is a very positive statement.

Then it says in 1Corinthians 14:1:

Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.

Charity is love.  You would “follow after” love.  (You would not say “persecute” love.)  To “follow after love” is what you and I should do.  Remember, the previous chapter ended with the statement, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”  Therefore, it goes on to say in chapter 14, “Follow after charity,” or pursue charity.

So God is defining this word “persecute.”  It means to have a focus on something or someone and to pursue it.  It says in Hebrews 12:14:

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

It is to “pursue” peace.  It says basically the same thing in 1Peter 3:11, except instead of saying “follow,” it says, “Let him seek peace, and ensue it.”  There, “ensue” is that same word.

Let us go to Philippians, chapter 3, where we will find this word three times in just a few verses and it is translated three different ways.  It says in Philippians 3:6:

Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

Here, it is translated as “persecuting,” and this is the Apostle Paul and he is recalling when he was Saul of Tarsus and how he had demonstrated his zeal for the Jewish faith in “persecuting the church.”  In one place, Paul said he “persecuted from city to city.”  Substitute that word with “follow after,” and it would say that he “followed after” the church from city to city.   He was on his way to Damascus to find those of “that way,” the Christian way, and to hail men and women to prison and to compel them to blaspheme.  All of this was part of the persecution, but a major aspect was the “pursuit.”  He would “follow after” them and it was not enough to condemn the Christians in their own city, but they got on their horses and they traveled to distant cities in pursuit of these Christians – they followed after them.

Also, it says in Philippians 3:12:

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

This is the same word and used in the same chapter.  It was translated as “persecuting” in verse 6, and, here, it is translated as “follow after.”  It is translated as a third different word in Philippians 3:14:

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

It is translated as “press toward” here and this adds a slightly different element.  It denotes “pressing toward” a mark; you have established a target or mark.  In this case, it is the glorious mark of the “high calling of God in Christ Jesus,” and this would be eternal life.

 But if you are unsaved individual and if you are of the kingdom of darkness and if Satan is the one you are serving, the dragon “persecuted the woman” and he “followed after” her into the wilderness to the place God had prepared for her, the church.  The dragon came in pursuit of her.  Satan came after her and his “mark” or “target” was the woman that identified with the Word of God and he “pressed toward” that mark and his emissaries follow his lead; they also “press toward” the mark in pursuing the Word of God in association with the people of God – the people that uphold the Word, the people that do not shrink back or bow the knee to Baal and serve Satan.  They do not serve “other gods,” but they serve the true God by maintaining steadfast faithfulness to the Word of God, the Bible.  Satan comes after them.

You know, it is very interesting (and this happens occasionally) that you will find a Greek word, like the word translated as “persecute,” and it will also be translated as “follow after.”  Then you will find that the Hebrew word translated as “persecute” can also be translated as “follow after.”  Even though it is a different language, there is a similar idea behind the original word used.  For instance, it says in Psalm 109:15-16:

Let them be before JEHOVAH continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth. Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.

So, here again, is the typical man of the world in pursuit of the child of God who is identified as the “poor and needy” and “broken in heart.”  Remember, it is a “broken and contrite heart he will not despise.”  It is the heart He imparts to each one He saves.  That is the individual that is persecuted and followed after by the wicked.  This same Hebrew word, Strong’s #7291, that was just translated as “persecuted” is also the word used in Psalm 23:6:

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of JEHOVAH for ever.

The word “follow after” is the same Hebrew word.  This same word is translated as “pursued,” when King Saul was pursuing David.  We read in 1Samuel 23:25:

Saul also and his men went to seek him, And they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.

Here, we have King Saul pursuing after David in the wilderness and, in Revelation 12, we have the devil pursuing the “woman” in the wilderness.  Of course, King Saul was an unsaved man and was, therefore, a figure of an emissary of Satan, someone that would be identified with the corporate body (Israel of Old in the Old Testament or the church in the New Testament).  He was a pawn of Satan and he was in constant pursuit of David.  Why?  It was because David identified with the truth.  David was a true child of God and it was obvious that the Lord was with David.  Saul, in his jealousy, was afraid of David and, therefore, he was constantly following after him, seeking to slay him, but David kept escaping the forces of Saul and Saul was never able to destroy him.

Let us look in one other place in the Old Testament.  We read in Exodus 14:8-9:

And JEHOVAH hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.

Pharaoh and the Egyptians pursued Israel after they had let them go from Egypt into the wilderness.  They pursued them to the Red Sea and, more than that, it says in Exodus 14:23:

And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

We know what happened next.  God closed the sea around them and they drowned in the Red Sea.  But they pursued them “to the death.”  There is never any end of this persecution by Satan and his emissaries, all those that are unsaved.  They continually come after the people of God and they do not stop pursuing them until they themselves are dead in the “sea.”  That is a picture of the wrath of God and the final destruction of the wicked.

It says in Exodus 15:9-10:

The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.

God used the enemy’s evil intent in their pursuit of His people to bring about their final destruction.  Of course, God knows exactly what Satan and his mindset are and He knows the mindset of unsaved people, as those in the flesh persecute those that are in the spirit and they pursue after them all their lives.  And so it is today; there is no change.  It has been going on throughout time and it went on during the Great Tribulation period.  You have those that are in the flesh that are “following after.”  They closely listen and they have the “ear to the wall,” trying to hear everything the true believers are involved with and the doctrines coming forth through the Bible. 

But why are they listening?  It is in order to be critical.  Why are they following after these things?  It is in order to pronounce their edicts of heresy and proclaim them as cults, and so forth. They persecute and follow after them with the intent to find fault, to criticize, to revile and to harm in some way.  This is the persecution.  It is a word that means to “follow after” and “pursue.”  But the purpose or intent for which one follows after something makes all the difference; and Satan and the unsaved have no good intent when they are following after the children of God.