As a child, I found the Book of Revelation to be completely riveting! Its apocalyptic references to fire and beasts, Heaven and Hell captured my imagination. It’s the first book of the Bible that I recall reading on my own, and while I didn’t fully understand it, I could sense that some serious eternal truths were being unveiled in those symbols.
Like most of Revelation, Chapter 12 is also both intriguing and confusing. So many questions: who is the Woman? Is she Israel, the Church, or Mary? What does the “third of the stars” represent? Why did the Lord provide for the woman for 1260 days (a strangely specific number!)?
The more I try to make sense of the details of this passage, the more bewildered my human mind becomes.
~ Leah Jacobson (Lesson Eight Reflection)
Question 2 got me thinking about the desert. It seems like a desolate place for the woman. If I was to be sent somewhere, I would rather be sent to a lush garden, or a lakeside retreat. But I think the desert is apt in this case. The woman (an I) needed to be sheltered from the onslaught of the devil’s work. I need to avoid the noises of the distractions of life and the craziness of our culture. Like Jesus, who went to the desert to pray, I too should go to the desert to pray, to remove myself from whatever is distracting me from God.