Revelation 12

1-2 3-4 5-6 7-12 13-17

1-2

There are many who view chapters 12-14 as describing the tribulations and the events in chapters 6-11 but from Satan’s vantage point. These three chapters are an interlude between the sounding of the seventh trumpet last chapter and the pouring out of the seven bowl judgments in 15-16

Most agree that the woman in this great vision is the nation of Israel, except the Catholics who some see it as Mary and the historicist that see the woman as the true church and the child as all of the children of the church.

Most preterist, spiritualist and pre-mil writers see the woman as Israel, groaning with labor pains as they wait for the coming Messiah, His first coming.

Her description of being clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet with the crown of 12 starts is very similar to Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37 further pointing to this being the nation of Israel.

Just about everyone agrees that the descriptions in this chapter are symbolic to a great extent.

3-4

Again everyone agrees that the dragon described here is Satan and he is named as such later in verse 9.

The ten horns and seven diadems symbolize power and authority, Satan is the current ruler of this world. The seven heads could represent the kingdoms that have been led by Satan as antagonists to Israel, and Christianity. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the Antichrists future empire. This seems to make this depiction of the dragon as a combination of all four of Daniel’s beast in Daniel 7.

His tail sweeping down a third of the stars has a few interpretations, most agree that the stars are representative of angels but the disagreement is is this describing the fall of Satan and one-third of the angels that sided with him or is this a brief description of the battle described in more detail later in verse 7. I think that since it is described before the mention of the dragon standing before the woman to devour the child, the child being Christ, leads me to think that this is a retelling from Satan’s point of view and it is starting at the beginning when he and his angels first revolted and were cast down.

5-6

As I mentioned before the historicist see the male child as being all of the church.

The majority see the male child as Christ, His ruling all nations with an iron rod is first mentioned of Christ in Psalm 2:9 “You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”” Satan was after Christ but was not able to defeat him, as Christ was the one to defeat death and sin then ascended to Heaven.

The woman, Israel, or after Christ’s first coming and ascension could now be Christians, flee from Satan into the wilderness, scatter into the world protected by God. This can describe all of church history and present, and could also be referring to the tribulation period and Gods protection for his people from it. The 1260 days or 42 months, or 3 and 1/2 is mentioned again and could be symbolic of a long period of time, all of the church age, or might be the second half of the seven year tribulation period, the Great Tribulation.

7-12

This I believe is a second war between Satan, his demons, and Heaven. The timing of when this takes place is a bit less unclear though. MacArthur believes that this war is spurred on by the rapture when Satan see’s the believing church called up to Heaven he starts an offensive to stop what he knows is the beginning of the end of his time. While there are some preterist who interpret the named angel Michael as Jesus and this war is the reason that the woman, Israel, had to flee into the wilderness, most others believe that this is the angel Michael who is named in other books of the bible and as an archangel in Jude 9. He is the leader of the angels and he and the army of angels defeat this attack by Satan. Satan is thrown out of heaven, this time for good. When Satan and his followers were cast out of heaven the first time they still retained access to heaven, as he is often mentioned to be accusing the believers before God, and was talking, arguing, with God over Job. But this time they are cast out to earth and there is not longer a place for them in heaven. MacArthur then sees this battle as happening at the beginning of the tribulations but others think that this occurs at the mid point of the tribulations, and others see this as what is described at the fifth trumpet when the star fell from heaven and the opening of the pit of the abyss and the locust swarms.

After the defeat of Satan there is a loud cry of joy in heaven, this rejoicing is coming from the saints and not the angels, as they say that Satan was the accuser of their brothers, and although angels and men are both created beings we are not referred to as brothers in the bible, also Satan does not accuse the angels. The saints praise God and the glory of Jesus, then they pronounce woe to the earth as Satan knows now that his time is ending and he will be filled with great wrath.

13-17

The preterist see this as a continue of the fleeing of the woman from verse 6, and is the escape of the Judean Church during the Jewish War, escaping into the caves of the desert.

Or, the woman is the same, Israel, the Jews, as Satan is always trying to attack God’s chosen. The wings symbolize protection as Jesus longed to gather Jerusalem like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. They being the wings of an eagle show the strength and the speed of the protection. And again there is a reference to the “Time, Times, and half a time” or thee and one half years, or 42 month, or 1260 days. Satan also tries to attack the woman with a flood pouring from his mouth, which is probably symbolic of an army, his army of demons attacking like a flood, trying to surround and overwhelm. But God’s protection remains, the reference to the earth drinking Satan’s flood is reminiscent of Moses’ description of God’s destruction of Pharaoh's army in Exodus 15:12 “You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them.”

Being frustrated the he could not harm the Jews he then turns to the offspring of the Jews of the Christians, the Gentile Christians and the Jewish Christians.

The ESV has that Satan stood on the sand of the sea as the last sentence of chapter 12 and the KJV and others do not include it at all. But it is a leader into the chapter 13 about the beast rising from the sea.