"The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth."
(Revelation 12:15-16)
The swallowing of the flood by the earth is a further allusion to the Exodus and Israel's wilderness experience. The flood swallowed Pharaoh and his armies (Exod. 15:12). And later the earth swallowed the families of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, who were in rebellion against Moses (Num. 16:31-32). In both OT instances, God caused the earth to open and swallow that which opposed the establishment and welfare of His people. Interestingly, both Isaiah and the Psalms say that God defeated the evil dragon when He divided the Red Sea to allow Israel through, but closed it again over Egypt (Ps. 74:13-14 [where Leviathan represents Pharaoh]; Isa. 51:9-10), and Ezekiel. 29:3 and 32:2-3 identify Pharaoh with the sea-dragon. And so here, the allusion to the exodus deliverance once again connotes God's preservation and deliverance of His people and defeat of the serpent. The purpose of the protection as it was in Exodus, is to guide the church in the wilderness to the "place" prepared by God for her, which is a sanctuary of protection.
(G.K. Beale)
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