September 5: PREPARED BY GOD
Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. Revelation 12:6
The pure and faithful woman, representing the body of Christ (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:12), His bride (Isaiah 62:5, Revelation 22:17), is not welcome in this fallen world. After Jesus ascended into heaven (indicated by the word Then) it became necessary for the woman to flee for her life. Why did the followers of Jesus run into the wilderness? John’s choice of words here invokes to the Jewish mind Israel’s successful escape to the wilderness from the shackles of Egypt – which has become a symbol for sin – where she was nourished and cared for by God. The wilderness experience was one of divine provision and intimate fellowship. Being described as a place prepared by God reminds all of us that He knows very well ahead of time exactly what our needs will be. Notice carefully that the woman has (present tense) a place prepared by God. She will need it again…
When God’s faithful church ‘went underground,’ she fed upon His word and continued from a place of obscurity to share it as the door of opportunity was opened. The one thousand two hundred and sixty days point us back to the preaching and sharing of the two witnesses clothed in sackcloth (see 11:3). In 11:2, this same time period is also called forty-two months. Our ‘detective skills’ will take us directly to the beast of 13:5: And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.
Our opening verse is restated eight verses later. The same time period is referred to as a time and times and half a time (12:14). This wording is purposefully meant to point us to Daniel’s prophecy regarding the activities of the little horn: The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from [the fourth] kingdom (Rome). And another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings (they were plucked out by the roots in v.8). He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time. (Daniel 7:24-25)
We see the reason that the woman fled into the wilderness: persecution! And though pagan Rome had persecuted the church for entertainment in the coliseum, papal Rome hated her as Cain hated his brother Abel. Abel’s humble worship before God (Genesis 4:4) was a silent rebuke to Cain in his apostasy.
In Bible prophecy, a woman symbolizes a congregation. Prophetic Scripture also employs the day-for-a-year principle, as laid out in Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6. This symbolism is a reminder of God’s patient dealings with our sinfulness. For all of His patience, preparation, and provision, most still complain against Him (in their hearts) while justifying (in their minds) sinful ways. We must learn that true repentance is essential if we are to be saved. After Jesus laid out the condition of repentance for salvation, He also spoke of the day-for-a-year principle in regard to His own ministry in providing that salvation (see Luke 13:32-33). The one thousand two hundred and sixty days or forty-two months or time and times and half a time all refer to a period of 1260 years of tribulation for God’s true church. Historical events indicate that from AD538 to 1798 the papacy had an unfettered reign. The final tribulation to come will be more severe but short-lived. The tares are still present today, along with the wheat. Jesus said: “Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” (Matthew 13:30) To the “wheat” He says: “Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked.” (Psalm 91:8)