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Revelation 12

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The Woman, the Dragon, and the Man-Child 1–6

1
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: ​
2
And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
3
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. ​
4
And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. ​
5
And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. ​
6
And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. ​

Satan Thrown Down to Earth 7–12

7
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, ​
8
And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. ​
10
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. ​
11
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. ​
12
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. ​

The Dragon Persecutes the Remnant 13–17

13
And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
14
And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. ​
15
And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. ​
16
And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
17
And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Revelation 12

Verse 1

a woman clothed with the sun — ‘Wonder’ is semeion, ‘sign’, the word used again of the dragon in v.3 and of the seven angels in 15:1. The sun, moon and stars recall Joseph’s dream of ‘the sun and the moon and the eleven stars’ (Gen 37:9), here with twelve stars. Isa 66:7 likewise has Zion bringing forth ‘a man child’.

Verse 3

a great red dragon — Drakon; v.9 names him ‘that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan’. ‘Crowns’ is diadema, the royal diadem, found only here, in 13:1 and in 19:12, where Christ wears ‘many crowns’. The ten horns recall the fourth beast of Dan 7:7 and the ten kings of Rev 17:12.

Verse 4

the third part of the stars — Dan 8:10 says of the little horn that ‘it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground’. Verse 9 speaks of ‘his angels’, and many take the stars to be those who followed him. The dragon waiting ‘to devour her child’ is the enmity of Gen 3:15, which some also see in Herod’s slaughter at Bethlehem (Matt 2:16).

Verse 5

a rod of iron — The words come from Ps 2:9, ‘Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron’, and Christ promises the same rule to the overcomer (Rev 2:27). ‘Rule’ is poimaino, to shepherd, as in 19:15. ‘Caught up’ is harpazo, the verb of Acts 8:39; the verse passes from the birth straight to ‘God, and to his throne’.

Verse 6

a thousand two hundred and threescore days — The same span is given to the two witnesses in 11:3 and, as ‘forty and two months’, to the beast in 13:5. Verse 14 states it as ‘a time, and times, and half a time’, from Dan 7:25. The ‘place prepared of God’ is where she is fed (trepho, to nourish).

Verse 7

Michael and his angels — Michael is named in Dan 10:13, 21 and 12:1, where he is ‘the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people’, in Jude 9, where he is ‘the archangel’, and here. In Jude he will not bring ‘a railing accusation’ against the devil but says ‘The Lord rebuke thee’; here he fights.

Verse 9

that old serpent — Ophis archaios, the serpent of Gen 3. ‘Devil’ is diabolos, slanderer, and ‘Satan’ is the Hebrew word for adversary. All four names are repeated when he is bound (20:2). ‘Deceiveth’ (planao) ‘the whole world’ (oikoumene, the inhabited earth). Christ had said, ‘I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven’ (Luke 10:18).

Verse 10

the accuser of our brethren — The office is seen in Job 1:9–11, where Satan charges Job with serving God ‘for nought’, and in Zech 3:1, where he stands ‘to resist’ Joshua the high priest. ‘The kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ’ answers 11:15, ‘The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ’.

Verse 11

by the blood of the Lamb — Arnion, the word for Christ as the Lamb throughout Revelation (5:6). ‘Testimony’ is martyria, the root of ‘martyr’. ‘Loved not their lives unto the death’ follows Christ’s word, ‘he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal’ (John 12:25).

Verse 12

a short time — Oligon kairon, a little season; the adjective is also used of the seventh king, who ‘must continue a short space’ (17:10). ‘Dwell in them’ is skenoo, to pitch a tent, the verb of 13:6 and 21:3. The woe for ‘the inhabiters of the earth’ is the one announced in 8:13, ‘Woe, woe, woe’.

Verse 14

two wings of a great eagle — The LORD’s words at Sinai, ‘I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself’ (Ex 19:4). ‘Nourished’ is the verb of v.6. ‘A time, and times, and half a time’ is the phrase of Dan 7:25 and 12:7, and equals the 1,260 days of v.6. She is kept ‘from the face of the serpent’.

Verse 15

water as a flood — ‘Carried away of the flood’ is one Greek word, potamophoretos, found only here. The enemy’s flood has its answer in Isa 59:19, ‘When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him’; in v.16 the earth opens its mouth and swallows it.

Verse 17

the remnant of her seed — The dragon had fought the woman and her child (vv.4–5); now he turns to ‘the rest’ (loipoi) of her offspring, the ‘seed’ of Gen 3:15 set against his. They ‘keep the commandments of God’, as the saints do in 14:12, where the second mark is ‘the faith of Jesus’. ‘Wroth’ is orgizo.