The Woman, The Child, and the Dragon - The Return of the King

Revelation 12

By Rodney Holloman , August 25, 2024

The Woman, The Child, and the Dragon

Revelation 12

Why Should We Care?

Application

  1. You must be ready to confront the world’s hostility. Comfort is the goal of society. Serving God must be greater than our comfort.

  2. The greatest rebellion is always against the Lordship of Christ.

  3. Our goal is not to escape suffering or death, but to announce that Jesus is Lord!

  4. We are involved in cosmic spiritual warfare.

  5. Our witness is worth our lives.

1. The Woman, Male Child, and the Dragon (12:1-6)

2. The War in Heaven (12:7-12)

3. The War on Earth (12:13-17)

The Rise of the Anti-Christ and the Unholy Trinity

Revelation 12:1-2 A great sign appeared in heaven: A woman (12:1): The woman represents Israel, the wife of God (Isaiah 54:5-6; Jeremiah 3:6-8; 31:32; Ezekiel 16:32; Hosea 2:16). The moon alludes to God’s covenant relationship with Israel. New moons are associated with covenant worship (1 Chronicles 23:31; 2 Chronicles 2:4; 8:13). The 12 stars represent the 12 tribes of Israel. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains (12:2): This likely refers to the harsh experience of the Jewish nation throughout the centuries as it awaits the eventual “birth” (or appearance) of its Messiah.

Revelation 12:3-6 Behold, a great red dragon (12:3): This is Satan. Red may imply bloodshed, for Satan has always been a murderer (John 8:44). Seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems (12:3): From similar descriptions in Daniel 7:7-8,24 and Revelation 13:1, we infer that this points to Satan’s control over world empires during the tribulation period, apparently through the antichrist. The ten horns apparently represent the ten kings of Daniel 7:7 and Revelation 13:1, over whom the antichrist—empowered by Satan—will gain authority. The ten countries headed by the ten kings will form the nucleus of the world empire that the antichrist (and thus Satan) will control. The seven heads and seven crowns apparently refer to the principal rulers of the empire. Satan, the dragon, is also called a serpent (Genesis 3:1; Revelation 12:9). The serpent is characterized by treachery, deceitfulness, venom, and murder. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven (12:4): The first five verses of Revelation 12 appear to contain a minihistory of Satan. Verse 4 refers to the fall of the angels who followed Satan. (The word “stars” is sometimes used of angels in the Bible—Job 38:7.) Lucifer apparently convinced a third of the angelic realm to join him in his rebellion against God. So that…he might devour it (12:4): Satan desired to kill the promised Messiah at birth. Under the providence of God, Satan was unsuccessful. Some expositors believe the mention of the dragon seeking to devour the child alludes to Herod’s massacre of male children—an attempt to kill Jesus Christ as a child (Matthew 2:13-18). The image of Satan devouring people reminds us of 1 Peter 5:8. She gave birth to a male child (12:5): The male child is Jesus, born as a Jew (Matthew 1:1; 2 Timothy 2:8; see also Romans 1:3; 9:4-5). Caught up to God and to his throne (12:5): Jesus ascended to heaven following His resurrection (Acts 1:9; 2:33; Hebrews 1:1-3; 12:2). The woman fled into the wilderness (12:6): In the middle of the tribulation, the antichrist will break his covenant with Israel and exalt himself as deity, even putting an image of himself in the Jewish temple (2 Thessalonians 2:4). Christ, in His Olivet Discourse, warns of how quickly the Jews will have to flee for their lives (Matthew 24:16-31). Many will apparently flee to the deserts and mountains, perhaps in the area of Bozrah or Petra, about 80 miles south of Jerusalem. Others suggest Moab, Ammon, and Edom to the east. The Lord will take care of this remnant of Jews in the wilderness for 1260 days, or three and a half years. This is the last half of the tribulation period.

Revelation 12:7-9 War arose in heaven (12:7): War now erupts in heaven between God’s holy angels and the evil angels. Michael the archangel leads God’s angels, and Satan leads the fallen angels. Michael the archangel is called a chief prince (Daniel 10:13) and “the great prince” (Daniel 12:1). He appears to be specially related to Israel as its guardian. His name means “Who is like God?” It speaks of his unwavering devotedness to God, in stark contrast to Satan, who wanted to take God’s place (see Isaiah 14:14). He was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven (12:8): Satan and his fallen angels are no match for God’s heavenly hosts, under the leadership of the archangel Michael. Though Satan previously had access to heaven (as in the book of Job), that access now permanently ends. The great dragon was thrown down (12:9): The great dragon is “that ancient serpent” that tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1). He is called the devil (Matthew 4:1), a title meaning “adversary” or “slanderer.” The name Satan also carries the idea of “adversary.” Satan is “the deceiver of the whole world.” He is the “father of lies” (John 8:44) and blinds people to the truth (2 Corinthians 4:4). He spreads deception through false prophets (Matthew 24:11) and especially through the antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11).

Revelation 12:10-12 I heard a loud voice in heaven (12:10): The loud voice may be a burst of praise from all the tribulation martyrs in heaven. They exult in God’s salvation and His exercise of authority in overcoming Satan. “The accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night” (12:10): Accusing God’s people is Satan’s continuous, ongoing work. He does this in two ways. First, he accuses believers before the throne of God (Job 1:6; 2:1; Zechariah 3:1; Romans 8:33). Second, he accuses believers to their own consciences, causing excessive guilt in order to bring depression and defeat. “They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb” (12:11): No accusation of Satan against believers in Jesus can stand. Their sins have been forgiven because of the shed blood of the Lamb (Romans 8:33-39). “The word of their testimony” (12:11): These individuals openly witnessed about Jesus during the tribulation period. They did not back down from witnessing in the face of death threats. They would rather give up their lives than deny Jesus. “Therefore, rejoice, O heavens…But woe to you, O earth” (12:12): Notice the contrast between the rejoicing and the woe in this verse. Satan’s access to heaven is removed, and he will no longer be able to stand before the throne of God and accuse Christians. For this there is rejoicing in heaven. On earth, however, Satan is filled with fury because he knows his time is short. Only half of the tribulation period is now left, so Satan knows his time is limited to a mere 1260 days, the last three and a half years of the tribulation period. This brings woe to the earth.

Revelation 12:13-17 The dragon…pursued the woman (12:13): Once Satan is ousted from heaven and is thrown down to the earth, he seeks to persecute the Jews, from whose lineage the Messiah was born. Part of this persecution will no doubt be carried out through the antichrist (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:4). Scripture reveals that Jesus will not return until the Jewish people are endangered at Armageddon and the Jewish leaders cry out for deliverance from Him, their divine Messiah (see Zechariah 12:10). In his perverted thinking, Satan may reason that if he can destroy the Jews, he can prevent the second coming of Christ and save himself from defeat. The woman was given the two wings of the great eagle (12:14): Wings often represent protection and deliverance in the Bible (see Psalm 91:4; Isaiah 40:31). For example, after God delivered the Jews from Egyptian bondage, He affirmed, “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself” (Exodus 19:4). Therefore, the “two wings” in this verse point to God’s supernatural delivering power (see Matthew 24:16; Mark 13:14; Luke 21:21). God will preserve a remnant of Jews through this persecution, but this should not be taken to mean that all Jews will survive. Zechariah prophesies, “In the whole land, declares the LORD, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive” (13:8). Many will die, but a remnant will survive the onslaught. She is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time (12:14): God preserves the Jews throughout the last three and a half years of the tribulation period (see Daniel 7:25; 12:7). The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth (12:15): Some Bible expositors take this to mean that Satan will cause a flood in an attempt to dislodge and destroy the Jews. Others take the flood metaphorically, suggesting that a satanically driven army will rapidly advance against the Jews like a flood. It may also refer more broadly to an outpouring of hatred and anti-Semitism. The earth came to the help of the woman (12:16): Whichever of the above interpretations is correct, the earth comes to the aid of the Jews, under God’s providence. If the flood is literal water, perhaps God causes the earth to open up and swallow the water. If the flood is a rapidly advancing army (or militant anti-Semitics), perhaps such people will be destroyed by an earthquake that causes the ground to open up (see Matthew 24:7; Revelation 6:12; 8:5; 11:13,19; 16:18). Recall that God promised the Jews in Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed.” Not even water, literal or metaphorical. The dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring (12:17): In view of his failure to destroy the Jews, an infuriated Satan now resorts to war against a related group—believers in Jesus Christ. These are the spiritual offspring of the woman, or Israel (see Galatians 3:29). Satan wars against the saints.

Ron Rhodes, 40 Days through Revelation: Uncovering the Mystery of the End Times (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2013).

Satan Is Expelled from Heaven and Attacks Earth with Vengeance (12:1–17)

Revelation 12 explains so much. It describes the cosmic spiritual conflict of the ages and gives us the background for how we got to this point. This chapter can be overwhelming, but I think we can demystify it by analyzing it carefully but simply. As I said earlier, we should take the Bible literally whenever possible, but much of Revelation is presented as symbols, which stand for literal items. These figures of speech are often clearly defined for us, as we’ll see. Verses 1–2 describe the historic nation of Israel as a woman, whose chosen descendants of Abraham God has set apart to provide a program of redemption for the earth: A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. The sun and moon speak of her splendor as God’s chosen nation; the twelve stars point to the twelve tribes that composed the nation. This description of the woman is reminiscent of Joseph’s vision in Genesis 37. The baby she bore was the Messiah—Jesus Christ. In his gospel—the fourth book of the New Testament—the apostle John did not give us a nativity story. He didn’t deal with the events in Bethlehem the way Matthew and Luke did. But in writing Revelation, John added that information in his own unique way, telling us that in addition to the holy family, the shepherds, and the magi, there was someone else on the scene. The devil was there, too, determined to kill the child. This evil personage called Satan was originally an archangel who mounted a rebellion against God and led a third of the angelic hosts in an insurrection. That’s the essence of verses 3–4: Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. This dragon is Satan, as we see in verse 9. He tried to kill the Messiah from the very beginning of Christ’s life. Remember how Herod the Great sought to destroy the Christ Child, forcing Joseph and Mary to flee to Egypt? Later, on Good Friday, Satan thought he had finally succeeded in halting God’s plan of redemption by slaying Jesus on the cross. Verse 5 is a one-verse summary of the earthly ministry of Christ. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. He was born as Israel’s Messiah, lived, died, rose again, and ascended back to heaven in victory to resume His place on God’s throne. That didn’t stop the devil’s attacks on Israel. Just as the nation of Israel was instrumental in the Lord’s first coming to earth, so His return will be within the context of unfolding Jewish drama in the last days. That brings us to verse 6, which jumps back to the midpoint of the tribulation and says that in those desperate days, a portion of the Jewish people will flee to a place of safety where they’ll weather the great tribulation: The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. In other words, in the past the nation of Israel produced the Messiah, who the devil tried to destroy at His first coming. Now as the great tribulation begins, the devil is still coming after the nation of Israel, seeking to disrupt Christ’s second coming. But God has prepared a place where a remnant of Jewish people will be protected during these 1,260 days of great tribulation.

Robert J. Morgan, The 50 Final Events in World History: The Bible’s Last Words on Earth’s Final Days (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2022), 84–86.