Revelation · chapter 12 of 22
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Revelation 12 relates a great sign in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun who gives birth to a male child while a huge red dragon waits to devour him. The child is caught up to God and the woman flees to the wilderness, where she is protected for 1,260 days. Michael and his angels defeat the dragon, identified as the ancient serpent, the devil and Satan, who is thrown down to the earth and pursues the woman and the rest of her offspring.
This chapter begins a new section of the book, centered on the underlying conflict between God and evil. Instead of a sequence of judgments, John sees a series of signs that summarize the story of salvation from the birth of Christ to the persecution of the church. The images are symbolic, and their central meaning is that the dragon is already defeated and the faithful conquer through the Lamb.
A great sign appears in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She is pregnant and cries out in birth pains. Another sign appears: a great red dragon with seven heads, ten horns and seven diadems, whose tail sweeps down a third of the stars of heaven and throws them to the earth. The dragon stands before the woman so that he may devour her child as soon as it is born (vv. 1-4).
She gives birth to a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. The child is caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman flees into the wilderness, where God has prepared a place for her to be nourished for 1,260 days (vv. 5-6).
War breaks out in heaven: Michael and his angels fight against the dragon and his angels. The dragon is defeated and thrown down to the earth with his angels; he is the ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. A loud voice proclaims that now the salvation, the power and the kingdom of God have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down. They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives even unto death. The heavens rejoice, but woe to the earth, for the devil has come down in great wrath, knowing that his time is short (vv. 7-12).
When the dragon sees that he has been thrown down to the earth, he pursues the woman. She is given the two wings of the great eagle to fly to the wilderness, where she is nourished for a time, times and half a time. The serpent pours water like a river after her, but the earth opens its mouth and swallows the river. Enraged, the dragon goes off to make war on the rest of her offspring, those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus (vv. 13-17).
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The woman bears a male child who is to rule the nations with a rod of iron and is caught up to God. Christians have understood him as Christ, whose birth, death, resurrection and ascension sum up the defeat of the dragon.
The dragon is the ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world, and he is thrown down to the earth. The text joins the enemy of Genesis with the enemy of all history and presents him as already defeated.
Believers conquered the accuser by the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony and by not loving their lives even unto death. Victory comes from Christ's work and is lived out in faithfulness even at the cost of life.
The enraged dragon makes war on the rest of the woman's offspring, those who keep God's commandments and hold the testimony of Jesus. It shows why believers suffer: they are at the center of a cosmic conflict.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. — Revelation 12:1
Answer: Red, with seven heads, ten horns and seven diadems. — Revelation 12:3
Answer: He is caught up to God and to his throne. — Revelation 12:5
Answer: Michael and his angels. — Revelation 12:7
Answer: By the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, not loving their lives even unto death. — Revelation 12:11
Answer: The earth opens its mouth and swallows the river. — Revelation 12:15-16
Revelation 12 explains why the Christian life can feel like a battle: there is a real adversary, but he is already defeated. A group can talk about how to recognize the forms of accusation and discouragement that try to weaken faith, and how to respond with the truth of the gospel, that is, with the work of Christ.
Verse 11 offers a pattern of victory: trusting the blood of the Lamb, bearing witness with words and life, and being willing not to cling to our comfort. The woman protected in the wilderness reminds us that God sustains his people in hard times.
Revelation 12 ends with the dragon standing on the shore of the sea, ready to make war. In chapter 13 two beasts appear, one from the sea and one from the earth, acting in the service of the dragon.
There are several readings. Many see her as the people of God, Israel and the church, from whom the Messiah is born; some relate her to Mary as the mother of Jesus, though the text presents her as a symbolic figure; others see the persecuted church. These approaches can complement one another.
The text gives no date. Some place it before creation or at the original fall; others, in Christ's work on the cross and in the resurrection, when the accuser loses his place; and others, in a future event. What the text emphasizes is its result: Satan is defeated.
It is an expression taken from Daniel that equals three and a half years, like the 1,260 days and the forty-two months. It is understood literally or symbolically as the limited period of the trial of God's people, under his care.