As soon as Satan realized that he was losing the struggle against Christ, he realized that he had only a small amount of time remaining. Consequently, he shifted his plans towards the early church with the intention of destroying them. There was a great deal of anger in the dragon since he had been thrown down to the ground at the cross. At the beginning of the gloomy time that lasted for 1260 years, the lady fled into the desert, where God provided for her (verse 6).
Revelation Chapter 12 Verse 13 to 16
13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
The devil controls the minds of ungodly people and uses them to attack true Christians.
- The first persecution came from within, from the Jews themselves. (Acts 4:3, 18; 5:17–18, 27–28, 40; 7:54–8:3; 9:1-2)
- Then we have the persecution from Pagan Rome as seen under the Church of Smyrna.
- From here followed the great persecution of the Dark Ages under the hand of the Papal Church, corresponding to the Church of Thyatira.
God led and fed the Israelites throughout their journey through the wilderness, much like an eagle watching over her young. In the same way, God carried the woman on an eagle's wings and provided for her.
Exodus 19:4 - "Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself."
Various verses in the Bible describe the enemy attacking like a flood.
Isaiah 59:19 - "So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him."
Psalm 32:6 - "For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him."
In Psalms 74:13 and Ezekiel 29:3, a dragon is identified as a water animal, so this could possibly symbolize water as a symbol of destruction.
The term is used to show the rising up or overflowing of the church's enemies with the intent to destroy her. Some crusades are as follows:
— Against the Celtic Christians in Britain.
— Against the non-Catholic Christians of Thrace in 538 A.D.
— Against the Ostrogoths in Italy in 538 A.D.
— Against the Waldenses in Northern Italy on many occasion.
— Against the Albigenses in south and western France.
— In Ireland by Henry II of England with the support of the Papacy.
— Against the Lollards in England, the followers of John Wycliff.
— Against Spanish Protestants at the time of the Spanish Inquisition.
— Against the Hussites, the followers of John Huss in Bohemia.
— Against German Protestants at the time of the reformation.
— Against Swiss Protestants by Catholic Authorities.
— Against Dutch Protestants by Phillip II of Spain.
— Against English Protestants by the Spanish Armada.
— Against French Protestants called Hugenots in the St. Bartholemew massacre etc.
All of which the Church of Rome (Roman Catholic Church) were involved.
How did the earth open up her mouth to swallow up the flood of persecution? God did employ the natural elements of the earth to help the fleeing saints: mountainous places, isolated valleys, secret caves, clouds and mist, wind and tempest, etc.
Hebrews 11:38 - "(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth."
Because the Roman Church and the King were intolerable to their religious beliefs, the Pilgrim Fathers left England in order to travel to America, where the Papal tentacles had no influence.
The faithful church fled from the apostate Roman church, which was persecuting them, to a secure region of the earth where she could worship her Lord without interference. In this particular passage, the Bible prophesied that Christian pilgrims would eventually settle in North America. This new land would provide the church with the opportunity to be "nourished," or spiritually fortified, in preparation for its worldwide mission of proselytizing. The United States of America would protect a "remnant" of the woman's offspring, often called a remnant church, from doctrinal deception and persecution. In addition, some Christians fled to other countries like South Africa and Australia to avoid the Roman Church's persecution.