The Woman and the Dragon
The people of God, portrayed as a woman...
The people of God, portrayed as a woman who brings forth the Messiah, are under attack by the devil even though he has already been defeated (12:1–17). With his two minions, the beast and the false prophet, Satan attempts to continue controlling the world (13:1–18) before the final confrontation with the Lord (14:1–20).
Satan (pictured as a dragon) plots to challenge...
Satan (pictured as a dragon) plots to challenge God’s purposes but is thwarted. Having failed in direct confrontation with God and Christ, he attempts to attack God’s people. Three brief scenes present an overview of the story (12:1–6), followed by elaborations of the war in heaven (12:7–9) and the war on earth (12:13–17).
1And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2She was pregnant and crying out in the pain and agony of giving birth.
The large red dragon represents Satan (see 12:9)....
- The large red dragon represents Satan (see 12:9).
- seven heads and ten horns: The numbers represent a mixture of divine and created powers (see 17:7–14).
- The historic battle between evil and the people of God is staged in cosmic dimensions (see Gen 3:1–7, 14–15; Job 1:9–12).
- Herod’s desire to kill Jesus embodied Satan’s attempt to devour her baby after it was born (see Matt 2:7–8, 16).
3Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads. 4His tail swept a third of the stars from the sky, hurling them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, ready to devour her child as soon as she gave birth.
5And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.† And her child was caught up to God and to His throne. 6And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place for her to be nourished for 1,260 days.
The War in Heaven
This scene clarifies the dragon’s identity and power....
- This scene clarifies the dragon’s identity and power.
- God dispatches Michael, the warrior archangel (see Dan 12:1; Jude 1:9), to confront the dragon and his angels. God does not have to engage in the battle himself (see Matt 26:53), and Satan is defeated.
7Then a war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8But the dragon was not strong enough, and no longer was any place found in heaven for him and his angels. 9And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Satan’s defeat is encouraging for Christians who, like...
Satan’s defeat is encouraging for Christians who, like the recipients of Revelation, are not afraid to die (see John 12:24–26).
10And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying:
“Now have come the salvation and the powerand the kingdom of our God,and the authority of His Christ.For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down—he who accuses them day and night before our God.11They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamband by the word of their testimony.And they did not love their livesso as to shy away from death.12Therefore rejoice, O heavens,and you who dwell in them!But woe to the earth and the sea;with great fury the devil has come down to you,knowing he has only a short time.”The Woman Persecuted
13And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.
John pictures Satan as Leviathan (cp. Job 41:1)...
John pictures Satan as Leviathan (cp. Job 41:1) trying to destroy God’s people (the woman; see study note on Rev 12:1). The protective earth responds and the waters of chaos are contained, as at creation (cp. Gen 1:2, 6–7, 9–10).
15Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river to overtake the woman and sweep her away in the torrent. 16But the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth to swallow up the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17And the dragon was enraged at the woman and went to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.†