Revelation 12 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Revelation 12

The Woman and the Dragon

12:1 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 rule¹ 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 brothers² 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 stood³ on the sand of the sea.

Footnotes

[1] 12:5 Greek shepherd
[2] 12:10 Or brothers and sisters
[3] 12:17 Some manuscripts And I stood, connecting the sentence with 13:1

Commentary

v1-3: The emphasis in chapters 12 to 14 is the characters, rather than the events.

John introduces the woman, reminiscent of Joseph's dreams (Gen 37).

v4: The dragon, Satan, ready to devour, such is his character. In Jam 4.1-2 Christians who shared this attitude are criticised, see also Gal 5.15.

v5: See Ps 2.8-9; the child is Christ, for He will rule the nations with the rod of iron.

v6: The woman is snatched away, safe in the desert, see also v14. The desert is seen as the place where God comforts and provides for His people, Jer 31.2, Ezek 20.35-36.

v7-8: The battle in the heavens. In Is 14.12-15, the devil was cast out of Heaven long before. Yet here we see a battle with the prince of the power of the air.

v9: The dragon is identified with Satan, the devil. He is cast down to the earth, to deceive.

v10: Satan is also the accuser of the brethren, for example, of Job. The victory here is important, since the kingdom of Christ has been proclaimed, and Satan can have no place.

We must understand that the enemy is the accuser of the brothers and sisters. In Christ, we are born again, a new creation, accepted in Christ, secure, not condemned. Yet the enemy will try to destroy our confidence in those truths. He does so by accusing us.

v11: Victory for the brethren, for Christ has won the ultimate victory over the enemy. Even here the devil does not prevail, for we can enjoy victory on the earth. Note that victory comes at real cost, as the brethren did not shrink from death.

v12: His work on earth is for a short time only, and he has great wrath. The idea of 'time' is that God has put boundaries on all time and, in particular, on the time granted to the enemy to deceive and destroy.

v13-16: The dragon, having no place in the heavens, walked the earth, seeking to devour the woman. She was first given wings to fly to safety in the desert; next the earth helped here by swallowing the flood sent to destroy her. The time of exile is 1260 days (v6), or 3½ years; a definite time, limited by the power and grace of God. In contrast, there is eternity.

v17: The rest of her offspring, a reference to believing Jews. Like Christ Himself, they are persecuted by Satan. Satan is always set on opposing God and His Christ, on the woman and her offspring. This is spiritual conflict, some taking place in the heavens, and some on the earth.

There is a period of 3½ years of safety for the woman, whilst her offspring suffer severe trial.