Revelation 12 (Woman & Dragon)

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Introduction

The Woman and the Dragon

12 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. 5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

Satan Thrown Down to Earth

7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 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. 17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.

Well, we’re officially crossing a threshold in John’s Apocalypse, and moving into the second half of the book. Thus far, we’ve seen judgment brought upon Jerusalem for her apostasy and her treatment of God’s servants, martyrs who were crying out from beneath the alter in heaven that God would avenge their blood. And only Jesus is found worthy to execute those judgments in chapter 5, judgments that were written on the front and back of a scroll, sealed with seven seals. In chapter 6 those judgments were revealed and depicted by four horsemen, but first, in chapter 7, the servants of God in Judea are sealed, 144,000, set apart before Jerusalem is destroyed by Roman armies.
Then in chapters 8-9 seven trumpets are sounded, and judgment befalls Jerusalem. Many of the judgments that struck Egypt in the Exodus are described as befalling Jerusalem in 70 AD, such as darkness and water turning to blood. And at the sound of the 5th and 6th trumpets a great demonic horde was unleashed from the bottomless pit against Jerusalem to torture its inhabitants. Yet, despite these plagues those in Jerusalem still refused to repent.
In chapters 10-11 there’s another interruption in the judgment sequence to mark out the true worshipers of God before handing over Jerusalem and the Temple to the Gentiles who would trample the city for 42 months. Then, without any further delay, a mighty angel raised his hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever, that there would be no more delay, but that at the 7th trumpet the mystery of God would be fulfilled, that the old covenant would finally come to an end, and yield to the dawning of a new covenant, a covenant of grace, a covenant that would unite both Jew and Gentile alike by faith in Christ, just as it had been long foretold by the prophets.
And so when the seventh angel blew his trumpet there was a loud voice in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within the temple. While the earthly temple was being swept away God’s temple in heaven stood open. Just as the curtain of the temple was torn in two, when Jesus breathed his last on the cross, so God’s temple was opened in heaven, signaling that access to the holy of holies was no longer forbidden, but that we may enter in by the blood of Jesus.

Redemptive context

Now we come to chapters 12-13, where John interrupts this narrative to place these events in their broader redemptive context. You might say that John zooms out and rewinds the story to show us how these events fit into redemptive history, because he doesn’t want us to miss their significance. And as we’ll see in chapter 12, the first coming of Christ is the climax of redemptive history. While we look forward to the day when the kingdom of heaven will be established with finality at the second coming, and look forward to the resurrection of our bodies, the removal of sin and death, we must realize that all of those promises were procured at the cross, at Christ’s first coming. This is when the tide finally turned, when sin was finally dealt with, and the devil dealt a decisive blow.
Chapter 12 is also meant to explain the persecution of the church, to give the church spiritual insight into it’s earthly circumstances. That the conflict that rages on earth is rooted in a conflict that rages in heaven, that the conflict that started at creation had come to a climax at the coming of Christ. The church is meant to see the reason for the earthy conflict, and more than that, that while the conflict is severe at times, the devil’s time is short, and that Christ had dealt him a decisive blow at the cross, that the church will be protected from his wrath.

Woman

So, let’s begin there in verse 1,

12 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.

This woman is a composite portrait of the covenant community, she signifies true Israel. The sun, moon, and stars are meant to give their glory to her appearance, and the crown of 12 stars on her head clearly reminds us of the 12 tribes of Israel and Jesus’ 12 Apostles. She’s meant to signify believing Israel, from which Christ would come. This is why she’s described as pregnant and crying out in birth pains, she’s laboring to bring forth the Messiah.
You might say, she’s the eschatological Eve, from her line will come the savior who was promised to Eve in the Garden. The woman portrays and is the culmination of all the women in redemptive history who gave birth to deliverers. She embodies Eve, who is the mother of us all, Sara the mother of Isaac, Rebekah the mother of Jacob, Hannah the mother of Samuel, Ruth the great-grandmother of David, and Mary the mother of Jesus. She’s the eschatological Israel laboring to give birth to the seed of the woman, laboring to give birth to the one who would bruise the head of the serpent.
Application: If you’ve every doubted the significance of bearing children and raising godly children, look no further than women like these.
And anyone who’s read the OT knows that the path from Adam’s fall in Genesis to the birth of Christ was a long and arduous path, that there had been much labor and pain along the way, much persecution directed at the faithful and righteous, spanning from Abel to Christ.
This is the significance of prophecies like Isaiah 7:14, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.” That Christ would come from the seed of the woman. Isaiah 7:14 is just fundamentally a restatement of the promise given to Eve, and this is the significance behind the virgin birth, that finally, the seed of the the woman who would bruise the head of the serpent had come.

Dragon

Then we pickup again there in verse 3,

3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.

One of the reasons the road from Adam’s fall to the birth of Christ was so difficult, that so much persecution was directed at the faithful and the righteous, was because of the enmity that existed between the serpent and the woman, the enmity between his offspring and her offspring. The serpent, would always be at war with her and her offspring, seeking to corrupt and to destroy them. There would be constant enmity between her offspring and those who were children of the devil.
And right from the start, when Cain murdered his brother Abel, the devil was seeking to destroy the seed of the woman. Eve, however, bore another son who she named Seth, which means “appointed” or “compensation,” saying in Genesis 4:25, “God appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” Therefore, despite the devil’s attempts to destroy the seed of the woman, God replaced Abel with Seth.
However, just two chapters later, in Genesis 6:5 we read “that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” At first, it appeared that the serpent had corrupted all of mankind, but a few verses later we’re told that there was still hope, that a man named Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord, that he was a righteous man, who walked with God, a descendent of Seth. Therefore, despite the overwhelming corruption, and the flood that would come upon the whole earth, God preserved Noah and his sons. Instructing Noah to build an ark to save him and his family from the flood, that the line of Seth might continue.
Then, after the flood, and several generations later, God called a man named Abraham to himself (a descendent of Noah), and promised him a son despite his old age. However, until then, the devil continued his attempts to corrupt this godly line, Abraham’s wife was nearly raped twice, but through supernatural circumstances the Lord protected her, despite Abraham’s failure to do so, and eventually, gave Abraham a son, named Isaac.
Then, later in Genesis 26, Isaac, like his father Abraham, failed to protect his wife and handed her over to be raped by Abimelech, king of the Philistines, to save his own skin. However, again, by God’s hand of providence, he protected her like he did Sarah.
Then, many generations later, after the children of Abraham had multiplied, and while enslaved in Egypt, the devil tried to destroy the seed of the woman again by having Pharoah drown all of the male Hebrew children in the Nile River. However, despite Pharaoh's efforts, the baby Moses was preserved, and raised, ironically, in Pharaoh’s own court, used by God, later, to lead the Israelite’s out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and into the land promised to Abraham.
Then years later, the seed of the woman would be carried by a shepherd boy in Bethlehem, who was anointed to be the future king of Israel, but the devil leveraged king Saul against him. While demon possessed, Saul repeatedly attempted to murder David with javelins, and later unleashed Israel’s military might against him, but would ultimately fail, and David would rise to become king in Israel.

7 heads, 10 horns, 7 diadems

Throughout Israel’s history demonically inspired empires would continue to threaten Israel’s existence, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Medes and Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. All of which were fundamentally a spiritual attack against the seed of the woman, from whom the Messiah was expected to come. However, time and again, by God’s hand of providence and sometimes by supernatural intervention he preserved a remnant from which the Messiah would come.
This is why the dragon here in Revelation 12 is described as having seven heads, ten horns, and seven diadems. That he possessed the combined attributes of all four beasts in Daniel’s vision in Daniel chapter 7. Signalling that the dragon had been the primary actor animating these beasts, or empires. The Babylonian Empire, Medo-Persia, the Greeks, and the Roman Empire, all of which were the dragon’s attempts to establish his empire upon the earth and to exterminate the seed of the woman.

Male child

Even at the birth of Jesus, when Magi came from the east, King Herod sought to destroy him. We’re told that Joseph was warned in a dream, and instructed to flee to Egypt, when Herod heard that the Magi had tricked him he ordered the slaughter of all the male children in Bethlehem, just as Pharaoh had done in Egypt centuries before, yet Jesus’ life was preserved.

Caught up to God and his throne

And all of this finds its climax, of course, at Jesus’ crucifixion when the Jews handed Jesus over to Rome to be executed. The red dragon of chapter 12 standing before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour him, yet over and over again, the dragon failed to destroy the seed of the woman, even at Christ’s crucifixion when it appeared as though the dragon had been successful, we’re told there in verse 5 that when the woman gave birth to the male child that he was caught up to God and to his throne.
The execution of Jesus resulted not in his defeat, but in his victory, resulting in his ascension into heaven and to his throne, referring to Jesus’s ascension to his Father’s right hand. The devil’s attempts had been brought to nothing, resulting, ultimately, in his own demise.

Dragon defeated and thrown down (cast out)

This is why we read there skipping down to verse 7, that,

war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

Christ’s ministry resulted in the defeat of the dragon, being cast out of heaven, and being thrown down to the earth. Chapter 12 is not describing the second coming, it’s describing Christ’s first coming, and the result of his atoning sacrifice. Don’t forget what Jesus said to his 72 disciples in Luke 10:17-20, when,

17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.

Or what the Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 2:15, that God,

disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Or in Hebrews 2:14-15,

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

Or, lastly, what Jesus told his disciples in John 12:31-32,

31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself

War arose in heaven at the first advent of Christ, which resulted in Satan’s defeat, being cast out of heaven, and his being thrown down to the earth.
This also why John hears a voice in heaven there in verse 10 saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come.” Not will come in the future, but has come, “salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come,” which parallels what Jesus told his disciples immediately after his resurrection in Matthew 28:18, that “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore...” You see, the authority that has been given to Christ is the grounds for our commission to go, because all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, because the devil has been cast out, because Christ has bound the strong man, go therefore and make disciples of all nations.

Accuser silenced

You see, John goes on to say there in verse 10 that “the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before God,” because the blood of Christ stopped his mouth, it shut him up. This is why the Apostle Paul could write in Romans 8:33-34,

33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

The accuser was cast out, and thrown down as a result of the Christ’s atoning sacrifice. And we overcome Satan’s accusation by our appeal to the blood of Christ, and we take enemy territory by the word of our testimony, the proclamation of the Gospel, and our willingness to die rather than be intimidated by persecution. Listen to verse 11,

11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

Do want to engage in the fight? Do you want to take ground from the enemy? Well, proclaim the Gospel, make disciples of your children and your neighbors, be willing to die rather than be intimidated by persecution or the world!
I think many Christians mistakenly believe that Satan is the ruler of this world, and therefore shrink back as though their hands were tied and their efforts futile, and make no mistake, the devil still prowls around like a lion seeking someone to devour, he is the “god of this world”, he still influences men, but he’s been dealt a decisive blow, and as we’ll see later in chapter 20, he has been bound from deceiving the nations. In a very real sense the devil has been hog-tied, he’s been bound that the Gospel of the Kingdom might advance. Christ’s kingdom doesn’t begin when he comes again, it began at his first coming.

Dragon pursues the woman

Now, let’s continue there in verse 12,

12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them!

In other words, Christ’s exaltation and Satan’s demise is cause for celebration. However, John continues there in verse 12,

But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

This is why John said back in verse 6 that,

the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

While the dragon had been cast out and thrown down, and there’s cause for rejoicing, “woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you” and he’s spitting mad! While we know that he’ll be bound later in chapter 20, for now he intends to pursue the woman who had given birth to the male child. John says there in verse 11,

13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.

The devil intends to make one final, and desperate attempt to leverage the kingdoms of the world against Christ and his church by consolidating his power, kingdoms that appear later as two beasts in chapter 13, a beast that rises out to the sea (the Roman Empire) and a beast that rises out of the land (apostate Israel). These were the two beasts that persecuted the church in the first century, first at the hands of the Jews, and then at the hands of Nero and the Roman Empire.

Eagles wings

However, we’re also told that the woman has a place prepared for her by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days, or as John puts it again in verse 14, that,

the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.

Back in chapter 8 we saw an eagle portrayed as a scavenger bird, but here the eagle is meant to depict rescue and protection, just as the Book of Exodus described Israel’s exodus from Egypt, when God said,

4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

Tragically, though, the imagery also reinforces Jerusalem’s identification with Egypt, which we saw back in chapter 11, verse 8 when John described Jerusalem as “the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.” Just as the Israelites were rescued out of Egypt from bondage and slavery, so now believing Isreal, the church, is brought out of Jerusalem, which has become a spiritual Egypt. It’s an exodus of tragic irony.

1,260 days

The language of “1,260 days,” “42 months,” or “a time, and times, and half a time” all refer symbolically to a limited or imperfect amount of time, it’s half of the number 7, and is often associated with judgment or persecution in the OT. For example, Elijah spent 3 1/2 years in the wilderness during a drought, and was miraculously nourished by ravens in 1 Kings 17:3-6. While symbolic, this time-span often corresponds with historical timelines, like the story of Elijah. It’s also without coincidence that Nero’s persecution of the church and the Jewish-Roman War both lasted 42 months.

Nourished in the wilderness

Therefore, what’s portrayed here is the Judean church’s escape to the mountains during the siege against Jerusalem, the 144,000 who were sealed back in chapter 7, or the true worshippers at the temple in chapter 11 who are divided from those outside the temple that will be trampled for 42 months. Those whom God has marked out will be carried on eagles wings and nourished for 1,260 days, just as Elijah was preserved by ravens in the wilderness. While the devil means to destroy the church, God ensures her protection.
And so it is today, so often the wickedness of our generation overwhelms us, and it affects whether we advance or recoil in the affairs of life, in other words we’re prone to let our circumstances dictate our outlook and our actions. Whereas, we’re meant to always remember that the church is fundamentally indestructible, because she is founded upon the rock, who is Christ. Therefore, may we never shrink back, no matter the circumstances.

Eschatological Israel

Therefore, picking up in verse 15 we see the preservation of the church, and we read,

15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 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. 17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

Notice, not only the church’s preservation, but also verse 17, after the dragon’s efforts are foiled, Johns says that he “went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” The scope of the woman’s identity is not limited to OT ethnic Isreal, or even the Judean Christians who fled Jerusalem, but she’s described here as possessing other offspring.
John is likely referring to the rest of the church scattered abroad, throughout the Roman Empire. That the scope of the woman’s identity is not merely believing ethnic Israel, but also the church, both Jew and Gentile alike.
Much of popular eschatology today is dispensational in nature. In other words, much of the popular end times teaching today assumes a dispensational view of the Bible, that there is a fundamental difference between the church and Israel. That theses two groups are running on separate redemptive, eschatological tracks, that the prophecies given to Israel are distinct from those given to the church.
However, dispensationalism overlooks the continuity of redemptive history, or the continuity between the old and new covenants. And more specifically, that the church is the fulfillment of all the promises given to Israel, that the church is the eschatological Israel, that Israel and the church are a part of the same vine, united by a common faith, faith in Christ, a faith like Abraham’s. There is no such distinction in the woman here in Revelation 12, rather, she’s described as giving birth to Christ and the church. Christ and the church are described as her offspring, and the fulfillment of God’s redemptive purposes in the world.

Cause of persecution

Chapter 12 is intended to depict, in apocalyptic terms, the climax of the God’s redemptive story at the advent of Christ, a woman laboring to bring forth the Messiah, a promise that began with Eve, and that was brought to fulfillment at the birth of Jesus, despite the constant threat of a great red dragon, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. Jesus defied the dragon’s murderous attempts and was caught up to God and his throne, to cast the devil and his angels down to the earth, that he might establish the kingdom of God.
And while the church should expect severe conflict since the devil has been thrown down to the earth, the church is intended to know that God will preserve the woman and her offspring, and that the devil’s time is short. Therefore, they must remember that they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and to not love their lives even unto death.

Prayer

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