Revelation CHAPTER 12

At the end of 11, the Kingdom of Christ was proclaimed.  So Jesus is now taking over, and the days of the old heaven and old earth are about to pass away.  Jesus is no longer waiting but is about to actively and visibly assume Kingship over all that is.  This will, of course, enrage Satan.  He is not just going to step aside.  There will be a fierce contest for the Kingdom as Satan tries to hold on to the last little bit of territory he has left.

Turning to the text, as Chapter 12 opens we get something very different from the narrated chronology of Chapters 6 through 11.  We are told specifically that John sees “a great sign” in heaven.  He sees a woman in labor, crying out with the pain of that labor.

This sign is seen in heaven, not on earth.  The crown of twelve stars tells us clearly that she represents the 12 tribes of Israel. Clothed with the sun tells us that she is favored by God, who’s light clothes her, and her feet rest on the moon.  Day and night are there to represent eternity.  I think we should think of this sign as pure vision, pure symbolism.  The sign is in heaven, so this is a spiritual occurrence.  The baby she carries is a descendant of the nation of Israel, and a product of all twelve tribes.  Perhaps we are seeing how miraculous it is that this child, the Son of God, who was in heaven, is now being made flesh - part of the realm of the sun and moon. 

Then a second sign appears.  This vision is of a "Great Red Dragon".  I capitalize it because there is only one such.  We will be told later in the chapter that this dragon is Satan.  As a vision, he has seven heads, ten horns, seven diadems.  There is only one crown per head but ten horns. 

Relying once again on our previous interpretation, I think the seven heads are the seven dominions into which the earth is divided.  We saw this also in that there were seven lampstands.  The spiritual realm is divided into seven dominions, and both Christ and Satan battle over these seven.  The angelic hierarchy puts one angel in “command” of each dominion.  There is also one demonic "ruler" of each dominion represented in this vision by the seven diadems.  The horns represent the corresponding kingdoms of earth.  A horn is an earthly king or prime minister or president.  According to this vision, six of the demonic angels each rule over one "kingdom" on earth.  The seventh demon rules over three earthly kingdoms.  We will need to remember this interpretation because it will show up again later.  I do not know why the nations of earth are divided differently by Satan than by Christ – or indeed if they really are.  Perhaps Satan sees some strategic advantage in that. 

Next we see that the Dragon sweeps down a third of the stars.  This is Satan’s rebellion against God before the creation of man.  We know it was that long ago because the child has not yet been born with the stars are swept down.  These stars represent the angels that backed Satan in his bid to be worshiped as God.  Note that it is the Dragon that casts those angels down to earth, and who directs them to cause as much havoc and heartache as they can manage.  We see their activity right out in the open during Jesus time on earth, during the NT, which has so very many stories of the activity of demons in tormenting mankind.  They have been on earth since before man was created.  And then, AFTER the initial rebellion of Satan and his angels, the Dragon positions himself to kill the child as soon as he is born.

I believe we ought to think of these two visions as icons portraying the history of the physical world.  These visions are not part of the chronological narration of the end times.  In John’s day, most people didn’t read.  They certainly didn’t have a lot of time to study.  Even the few who could read couldn’t afford one of the recently circulating scrolls containing what would become the New Testament books.  So these visions are essentially painting an easy to remember picture – a stained glass window if you will – representing the current state of things.  I would also note that we are going to see seven total visions like this, beginning with these two and continuing through the next chapters.  We will keep this way of interpreting those visions in mind, and I think that will be very helpful and important. 

Now let’s think about how to interpret these signs.  We have already noted that the woman is Israel.  We know the child to be born is Jesus.  Jesus, as God made flesh, will be born into a physical world where Satan pretty much has free reign and has had it since Adam’s sin.  The vision is telling us that Satan has been aware that the Messiah is coming since time began.  We see this in that the Dragon is waiting for the birth.  Again, this vision is not about an event that happens during the 70th Week but is an iconic picture of what the world is about.  Note the position of the Dragon, waiting to devour the child.  This speaks to the antagonism between them.  Christ and Satan are eternal enemies at the most fundamental level.  This vision is an unmistakable representation of the battle between good and evil that has characterized the whole history of man since the fall.  Through this vision we can almost feel the intensity of Satan’s hatred.  What level of animosity has to be present for one to devour – to kill and eat - a newborn child in order to preclude the purpose for which that child was born?

With the birth of Jesus, Satan’s authority over the earth will be challenged.  His long running dominion will be contested.  His ultimate fate, his punishment for his rebellion and all the lies he has told and the pain he has caused, grows much nearer if the Messiah is allowed to be born.  We are told explicitly that this child, when born, is a male and is destined to rule the nations of earth with a rod of iron.  Satan recognizes that for the child to rule the earth, he must be removed.  In the vision, when the child is born, God intervenes and the Dragon fails to devour him.  Instead, the child is caught up to God and to God’s throne.  Because of this, the establishment of God’s earthly kingdom, with Christ as King, is delayed. 

Next, we see that the woman flees into the wilderness.  Staying with our idea that this is a vision of “history” rather than of an event, this would mean that Israel is forced to flee from the power of the Dragon.  Isn’t this Israel’s history?  After the crucifixion, it was only a few years until 70 AD when Rome essentially levelled Jerusalem, burned down the temple, and scattered the Jews in every direction.  Not too long after that the city of Jerusalem was renamed and it became a capital crime for a Jew to get close enough to the city to even look at it.  Israel was outcast, conquered, and powerless as a nation, as a people.  How many nations through history were conquered by a foreign nation and just ceased to exist?  The Philistines come to mind.  They have no nation, no people, no “survivors”.  They no longer exist.  But God had a place, a way, a plan for Israel even after Rome scattered them.  Even after Hitler tried to wipe them from the face of the earth in a modern-day Jewish genocide.  All this persecution of the Jews is happening because he failed to kill the child, the promised Messiah, in the first century.  He was furious at his own failure and that of his angel followers to kill that child.  So he turned instead to the Jews in general, trying to wipe them out every one and so prevent that promise of a King who would rule the earth with a rod of iron. 

Then I think the last line of verse 6 returns us from the two visions and back to the chronology.  The key to that is John’s use of one of our timestamps, in this case “one thousand two hundred and sixty days”.  This is a real unit of time telling us how long the woman will be hidden in the wilderness.  This phrase returns us from the vision of history to time immediately following the 7th Trumpet.  A direct battle between Jesus and the Dragon is imminent with the announcement that the kingdoms have changed hands.  God protected Israel during the time of the Witnesses just as He has throughout history.  But that 1260 days ended with the sounding of the 7th Trumpet.  So this vision of the woman and the dragon is complete at the end of verse 6, and we now return to unfolding events in the 70th week.

In verse 7, we see the first shots fired in this battle.  It starts in heaven.  Michael – the commandeer of the armies of God – begins hostilities by excluding Satan and those loyal to him from heaven.  Once the announcement was made that the kingdoms belong to God, Michael immediately starts a war to take possession of the new territory.  We know from Job that Satan could go back and forth from earth to heaven.  There are other passages where we see that Satan also had supporters in heaven (find those and insert the references here.)  It makes strategic sense when starting a battle to exclude the enemy from your own base of operations.  Exclude the enemy and then secure the border so that they cannot come back, cannot counterattack. Take the high ground and force the enemy into an inherently inferior position.  This is what is happening in vss 7-8, Satan and his angels lose their “strongholds” in heaven, and are thrown down to earth.  They are excluded from the spiritual realm and confined to the physical.  Their possibilities are thus severely restricted.  This victory in heaven is so significant that it is announced beginning in vs 10.  Satan is out!  The accuser is thrown down!  The new ruler, Christ, has achieved a major victory, as expected from the declaration of the 7th Trumpet.  This victory has turned the tide.

We are even told what weapons were used to overcome the Dragon and his forces.  First, the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony, and self-sacrifice even to death.  This seems clearly to be a reference to the church.  The church – Jesus spiritual kingdom on earth, his “fortification” in the enemy’s territory - begins shortly after the ascension.  It spreads over the whole world through the missionaries and members testifying to anyone who will listen that they are saved by the blood of the Lamb.  The Dragon persecuted them any way he could – think of Christians fed to the lions, burned as lamps, made scapegoats for any failures.  Imagine how many martyrs there have been from Pentecost to now!  Faith even in the face of death.  Loyalty to God and to his plan instead of self-serving, self-preservation, and self-prioritizing.  This is what all that NT stuff that is so upside down is about!  We love our enemies, our neighbors, those who persecute us…We do the opposite of what the world says to do at every turn.  We are the single source of light in a world that is darkness.  And in so doing, we get the world to that great day when the kingdoms of the world become the kingdoms of God and His Christ!  It is the church that keeps faith alive for Millennia, even on pain of death.  THAT is what this means!

AND ONE MORE THING!  The rapture took place not so very long ago.  The spirits of the saved are now in heaven with the angels.  The “numbers” have shifted.  Michael now has a LOT more soldiers on his home ground with which to wage a battle.  Satan’s forces were already smaller, but apparently very powerful, able to remain in heaven.  But the arrival of the church – the arrival of those covered in the blood of the Lamb, who testified of Jesus, and who would rather die than deny him, multiplied Michael’s forces to the point of overwhelming the forces of Satan and driving them out of heaven.

We see celebration in heaven when Satan and his angels are thrown down, but look what is coming now on earth.  Satan knows his end is near, that justice is about to come down on him for all he has done in opposition to God.  His selfish narcissistic response to losing that heavenly battle is entirely predictable.  He is going to take his frustrations in the only place he still has power.  He realizes that the only possible way for him to delay his fate will be the genocide of the Jewish people.  All descendants of Abraham must be killed.  Only in this way can the historic promises of God to those descendants be prevented.  If there are no Jews to rule the earth, then the rest of the promises cannot proceed. 

Next verse, 13, starts with “And when…”.  This surely tells us that we are chronological at this time.  We were told in vs 12 that Satan knows his time is short and the earth is warned.  Then in vs 13, we are specifically informed of Satan’s first desperate actions.  He persecutes the woman.  Based on our interpretation of the vision earlier, we understand this as persecution of Israel.

Verse 14 gives us insight into how the woman will escape from Satan’s genocidal persecution.  She is given THE two wings of THE great eagle.  This appears to be vision again – a representation of something else.  This is certainly not about a whole nation being given actual bird wings but is a depiction of God’s providential protection.  In the MSB, John MacArthur agrees that this is a representation.  He mentions several verses that speak of the protective nature of wings in support of his position that this is about providential protection.  For example, 11 Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions, [Deu 32:11 ESV], and this: 4 He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. [Psa 91:4 ESV]; and of course this very often quoted verse: 31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. [Isa 40:31 ESV]. 

The first reference speaks about a mother eagle teaching her chicks to fly.  That hardly seems to fit with a nation going into hiding in the wilderness.  The second reference is closer to what MSB says in that it is about refuge, protection, and defense.  This one does seem to fit at first, but in Revelation they aren’t protected by wings, they are GIVEN wings with which to fly away to a place of refuge.  The last reference is about rejuvenation.  It looks like victory.  Not really the sense we get from a nation pursued and helpless on their own trying to reach a place where they can hide for an extended time.  I therefore disagree with this metaphor is about providential protection and suggest that it is about something more earthly.

Here are two verses from Ezekiel, the only place besides Revelation where the phrase “great eagle” is used:  3 say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar. ... 7 "And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from the bed where it was planted, that he might water it. [Eze 17:3, 7 ESV].  So two different “great eagles”.  These two references are part of a parable that Ezekiel tells.  It symbolizes events that occur in Israel during the time of the Babylonian captivity.  In the parable a great eagle plants a vine, in good soil near water.  The vine is thus well provided for.  But another eagle comes, as the vine is thriving, and the vine reaches for this new eagle, disdaining the good ground and water provided at the outset by the first eagle.  The question is posed:  10 Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it--wither away on the bed where it sprouted?" [Eze 17:10 ESV].  Then the parable is explained.  The first eagle is Babylon, the second is Egypt.  The covenant was made with the first eagle when Babylon took the King of Judah captive and left his heir in charge as a vassal.  The vassal king made a covenant with Babylon.  Then he broke it and sought help and protection from the second eagle - Egypt.  Can one who breaks such a covenant expect to escape?  God says no.  The covenant breaker will in fact die in Babylon.  Zedekiah's fate foretold.

Based on this, I believe the two wings of the great eagle in Revelation 12 refer to a very powerful King or nation that will be extant at that time.  The two wings are perhaps significant resources that this great king will donate to the Jews to support them as they flee from persecution by Satan during these last 3 ½ years.  As resources, think foodstuffs, non-perishables, water, clothing and most important of all, rapid transport to a place where they will be safe.  Perhaps this is how God will provide for them.  It is tempting to note that the symbol of the US is an eagle.  We might like to think that maybe, just maybe, the US does show up in the book of Revelation and that we will still be around – and still supportive of the Jews – when this all happens.  However, at the time Ezekiel related his parable the animal symbol of Babylon was the lion, and of Egypt the falcon and the cobra. But even though we cannot really say what nation will come to Israel’s aid, I think the eagle wings as a metaphor for physical help at that time is a more fitting interpretation. 

This time in hiding, being protected and provided for by God through the benevolence of some great King or nation, will last for a time, times, and half a time.  We don’t see this particular time stamp used very often: “time, times and half a time”.  We see it here in Rev 12:14, and also here:  7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished. [Dan 12:7 ESV].  I think the phrase “all these things would be finished” tells us that this is about the last 3 ½ years of the 70th.  This makes sense in that it is hard to consider a nation helpless and hiding in the desert as anything other than “shattered”.  And we know that at the end of the 70th, Israel will be restored and rule with Christ during the Millennial.  So we have another pretty good indicator that we are being given another look at the last 3 ½ years, overall, as we were given with the Two Witnesses and with Satan being thrown down to earth.  They all match up as happening concurrently and during the last 3 ½ years, during the last two Trumpet judgments and all the Bowl judgments.

But it just keeps going.  In verses 15 and 16 we have yet another “picture” or representation of the kind of campaign Satan will undertake to try and slaughter all the Jews.  Satan pours water out of his mouth.  MSB suggests that this is metaphor for troops, armies - a massive military campaign of some sort that plunges into the desert, into the wilderness where the woman has fled.  We get some corroboration of this, again, from Daniel: 10 "His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming and overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress. [Dan 11:10 ESV].  This seems like a stretch until we look at some other translations such as 10 However, the sons of the king of the north will assemble a mighty army that will advance like a flood and carry the battle as far as the enemy's fortress. [Dan 11:10 NLT], and this: 10 "His sons will mobilize for war and assemble a large number of armed forces. They will advance, sweeping through like a flood, and will again wage war as far as his fortress. [Dan 11:10 CSB].  This is the chapter before our previous reference to Daniel as an explanation of the eagle.  In Daniel 12, an angel explaining to Daniel what the previous chapter meant.  And here is another:  19 They will fear the name of the LORD in the west and his glory in the east; for he will come like a rushing stream driven by the wind of the LORD. [Isa 59:19 CSB].  Here, it is the LORD’s army that advances like a flood, but it is still an advancing force.  So we see this metaphor of massive advancing armies used repeatedly, and significantly in the prophecies of the last days found in Daniel.

This makes verse 16 a little easier.  The earth helps the woman by “absorbing” the advancing flood.  An army advancing through a desert wilderness is likely to have serious logistical problems transporting the food and water they need to continue their advance, great physical difficulty in trying to move attack and support vehicles through trackless sand, and difficulty navigating in a land with so few landmarks.  Like Napolean and Hitler attacking Russia, only to be defeated less by the Russian army and more by the Russian winter, perhaps this army Satan sends after the Jews will also be defeated by the wilderness environment in which the woman is hiding.

Once this campaign in the desert fails, Satan will give up on rooting out the hiding place of the woman, and turn his attention instead to the rest of her children.  Perhaps rather than exclusively attacking the descendants of Jacob – the 12 tribes themselves – he will attempt something much more difficult and try to wipe out the descendants of Abraham, both those descended by blood and those who are his offspring by faith – the Gentiles.  He will try to kill all the saved who remain on earth.  This is exactly the kind of irrational reaction you would expect from a desperate ruler who is soundly defeated in his attempt to regain his power.  Wouldn’t the whole “mark of the beast” scenario which is coming up in the next few chapters make sense as a grand strategy to identify both the physical and spiritual descendants of Abraham in order to eliminate them all?

So Chapter 12 ends somewhere off into the last half of the 70th with a sort of state sponsored persecution of all believers proceeding at an intensity never before seen.  It is obvious that Satan is losing ground.  This will be the only consolation to those trying to escape from him during this time.  This will be a horrendous time for believers – those who were not raptured but have converted during these horrible times, seeking God as their only source of respite.  Many will be added to the martyrs during these last days.

Many important, and relatively long-lived events have been shown to us in Chapters 8-12.  This is a good place to take a break from the narration and put together a sort of guiding overview of what we know at this point.  We have three things to guide us:  First, we have been able to accurately “fix” the duration of a number of events, each of which we know will last for 3 ½ years.  Second, we have determined that all of these 3 ½ year-long events happen during the same 3 ½ years, and third, we have shown convincingly that they occur during the same 3 ½ years, and that is in the last half of the 70th week.  Our overview will start at the “point” in time where all these concurrent events begin, back Revelation 8.  Let’s revisit these events and lay them out one by one.

We turn first to this verse:  13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, "Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!" [Rev 8:13 ESV].  This sets up a one to one tie between the three woes prophesied in Chapter 8 and the three remaining Trumpets – that is, the First Woe will be during the 5th Trumpet, the Second Woe during the 6th, and the Third Woe during the 7th.  Let’s take a more detailed look at each Woe.

The First Woe occurs during the Fifth Trumpet, which sounds in Rev. 9:1  I believe the First Woe is a reference to the locusts and their king, Abaddon, being freed from the bottomless pit in Rev. 9:2.  We are notified in Rev. 9:12 that the First Woe is ended, and that two more are coming.

The second woe, according to our interpretation of Rev 8:13, begins with the 6th Trumpet, which sounds in Rev. 9:13..  Remember that the Sixth Trumpet, like the Sixth Seal, is described in great detail.  At the Sixth, the four angels at the Euphrates are released to kill a third of mankind.  This happens in Rev. 9:14.  I believe the deaths of fully 1/3 of the planet’s population qualifies as the second woe.  This defines the Woe, but that Woe is not all that occurs during the Sixth Trumpet.  The Trumpet events also include John being told to eat the little book and to prophecy again.  Then we have the measuring of the Temple.  Next we have the arrival of the Two Witnesses in Rev 11:3 to begin 1260 days of prophecy, their deaths in Rev 11:7, their resurrection in 11:11, and their ascension in 11:12. All this in the Sixth Trumpet.

The Second Woe is declared ended after the earthquake that follows the ascension of the Witnesses.  We see that here: “The second woe is past; behold the third woe is coming quickly” in Rev. 11:14. So this Second Woe began at the sounding of the Sixth Trumpet and does not end until after the earthquake in Jerusalem.  This tells us that those four Death Angels from the Euphrates will be active for the entire 3 ½ year duration of the Sixth Trumpet. 

What about the Third Woe?  It should correspond with the Seventh Trumpet, which is sounded in Rev. 11:15.  At the Seventh, the kingdoms of the world become the Kingdom’s of God and His Christ.  This is clearly NOT a Woe.  What else happens during the Seventh?  We get this:  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. [Rev 12:9 ESV].  This is certainly the Third Woe, as John verifies here: 12 …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!" [Rev 12:12b ESV]. 

We have shown previously that Satan is thrown down near the midpoint of the 70th Week.  We know this because AFTER he pursues the women into the desert in Rev. 12:13, SHE is nourished for time, times and half a time.  We therefore conclude that the Second and Third Woes must overlap in great measure.  This is so because the Death Angels of the Sixth are active for 3 ½ years, and Satan is thrown down in the Seventh and pursues the woman for 3 ½ years.  The only way to resolve both things lasting for 3 ½ years is to make them essentially concurrent.   

In summary, based on the arguments above, we can say that we know these three things overlap: the Witnesses 1260 days of prophecy, the woman’s hiding in the wilderness, for time, times, and half a time, and the Dragon’s persecution first of the woman and then of all believers as he is exiled to earth for 3 ½ years.