BIBLE STUDY MANUALS: REV 12

REVELATION CHAPTER 12
EXCERPT FROM REVELATION CHAPTER ELEVEN BELOW

OR GO TO REV CHAPTER TWELVE

I) [Excerpt Of Biblestudymanuals Commentary On Rev 11:15-19]:

(Rev 11:15 NASB) Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever."

(Rev 11:16 NASB) And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God,

(Rev 11:17 NASB) saying, "We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.

(Rev 11:18 NASB) "And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth."

(Rev 11:19 NASB) And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm."

R) [Expositor's Bible Commentary On Rev 11:15-19]:

(Rev 11:16 NASB) And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God,

(Rev 11:17 NASB) saying, "We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.

"4. Sounding of the seventh trumpet (11:15-19)

15 The seventh trumpet sounds, and in heaven loud voices proclaim the final triumph of God and Christ over the world. The theme is the kingdom of God and of Christ—a dual kingdom eternal in its duration. The kingdom is certainly a main theme of the entire Book of Revelation (1:6, 9; 5:10; 11:17; 12:10; 19:6; 20:4; 22:5). This kingdom involves the millennial kingdom and its blending into the eternal kingdom (chs. 20-22). The image suggests the transference of the world empire, once dominated by a usurping power, that has now at length passed into the hands of its true owner and king (Swete). The present rulers are Satan, the beast, and the false prophet. The announcement of the reign of the king occurs here, but the final breaking of the enemies' hold over the world does not occur till the return of Christ (19:11ff.).

Verses 15-18 are reminiscent of Psalm 2. The opening portion of this psalm describes the pagan nations and kings set in opposition to God and his Messiah (Anointed One). Then there follows the establishment of the Son in Zion as the Sovereign of the world and an appeal to the world rulers to put their trust in the Son before his wrath burns. John does not distinguish between the millennial kingdom of Christ and the eternal kingdom of the Father (but cf. 3:21) as Paul does (1Cor 15:24-28). This should be viewed as a difference merely of detail and emphasis, not of basic theology. Furthermore, in John's view this world becomes the arena for the manifestation of God's kingdom. While at this point the emphasis is on the future visible establishment of God's kingdom, in John's mind that same kingdom is in some real sense now present; and he is participating in it (1:9).

16-17 As the other features in these verses are anticipatory, so the expression "have begun to reign" looks forward to the millennial reign depicted in chapter 20. Significantly, the title of God found earlier in the book, `who is, and who was, and who is to come" (1:8; 4:8), now is "who is and who was." He has now come! God has taken over the power of the world from Satan (Luke 4:6).

18 This passage contains a synopsis of the remaining chapters of Revelation. The nations opposed to God and incited by the fury of the dragon (12:12) have brought wrath on God's people (Ps 2:1-3). For this, God has brought his wrath upon the nations (14:7; 16:1ff.; 18:20; 19:19b; 20:11-15). The time (kairos, "season") has now come for three further events: the judgment of the dead (20:11-15); the final rewarding of the righteous (21:1-4; 22:3-5); and the final destruction of the destroyers of the earth (Babylon, the beast, the false prophet, and the dragon) (19:2, 11; 20:10).

In Revelation there are three groups of persons who receive rewards: (1) God's "servants the prophets" (cf. 18:20; 22:9); (2) the "saints" (perhaps the martyrs; cf. 5:8; 8:3-4; 13:7, 10; 16:6; 18:20, 24; or simply believers in every age, cf. 19:8; 20:9); and (3) "those who reverence [God's] name" (cf. 14:7; 15:4). In whatever way these groups are denoted, it is important to note that in Revelation the prophets are specially singled out (16:6; 18:20, 24; 22:6, 9).

19 In the heavenly temple John sees the ark of God's covenant. In the OT the ark of the covenant was the chest that God directed Moses to have made and placed within the holiest room of the tabernacle sanctuary (Exod 25:10-22). He was directed to put in the ark the two tables of the Decalogue—the documentary basis of God's redemptive covenant with Israel (Exod 34:28-29). It is presumed that the ark was destroyed when Nebuchadnezzar burned the temple in 586 B.C. There was no ark in the second temple Jos. War V, 219 [v.5]).

A Jewish legend reported in 2Macc 2:4-8 indicates that Jeremiah hid the ark in a cave on Mount Sinai until the final restoration of Israel. There is no reason, however, to believe that John is alluding in v. 19 to this Jewish tradition, since he is clearly referring to a heavenly temple and ark, which is symbolic of the new covenant established by the death of Christ. As the way into the holiest was barred under the old covenant to all except the high priest, now full and immediate access for all, as well as a perfect redemption, has been secured by Christ's death (Heb 9:11-12; 10:19-22).

In v. 19 the kingdom of God is seen retrospectively as having fully come. Yet its coming will be elaborated in chapters 20 to 22. Prospectively, this sight of the ark of the covenant also prepares us for the following chapters, which concern the faithfulness of God to his covenant people. As the ark of the covenant was the sign to Israel of God's loyal love throughout their wilderness journeys and battles, so this sign of the new covenant will assure the followers of Christ of his loyal love through their severe trial and the attack by the beast. "Flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder" call our attention to God's presence and vindication of his people (cf. comments on 6:12; and on 8:5).

Notes

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15-19 Elisabeth S. Fiorenza has argued that the author of Revelation does not seek to comfort the persecuted Christian community with reference to past and future history (as in the Jewish apocalyptic literature) but with reference to the eschatological reality of God's kingdom. She sees this main theme briefly but precisely expressed in the hymn in 11:15-19 and presents an outline for structuring the whole book around this concept ("The Eschatology and Composition of the Apocalypse," CBQ, 30 [1968], 537-69)."

S) [Bible Knowledge Commentary On Rev 11:15-19]:

(Rev 11:16 NASB) And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God,

(Rev 11:17 NASB) saying, "We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.

"H. The sounding of the seventh trumpet (11:15-19)

11:15. Though the full results from the sounding of the seventh... trumpet are only introduced here and not brought to finality (as they will be in chap. 16), the introduction of the seventh trumpet itself is dramatic. As the trumpet sounded, voices were heard in heaven: The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever. (Cf. predictions of the earthly kingdom of Christ in Ezek. 21:26-27; Dan. 2:35, 44; 4:3; 6:26; 7:14, 26-27; Zech. 14:9.) The fact that this will be fulfilled at the Second Coming makes it clear that the period of the seventh trumpet chronologically reaches to Christ's return. Therefore the seventh trumpet introduces and includes the seven bowl judgments of the wrath of God revealed in chapter 16. In contrast with previous trumpets where a single voice was heard, here a mighty chorus from heaven joined in the proclamation.

11:16-18. After this announcement, the 24 elders, who appear frequently (4:4, 10; 5:5-6, 8, 11, 14; 7:11, 13; 11:16; 14:3; 19:4) and who were seated on their thrones before God, were seen by John as falling on their faces to worship God. Their song of praise indicates that the time had come for God to judge the nations, to judge the dead, and to reward God's servants.

God was described as the Almighty (pantokratōr; also used in 1:8; 4:8; 15:3; 16:7, 14; 19:6, 15; 21:22), eternal (who is and who was; cf. 1:8; 4:8), and possessing power (dynamin) (11:17). In general their hymn of praise anticipates the second coming of Christ and the establishment of His rule on earth.

11:19. The chapter closes with another dramatic incident. John wrote, Then God's temple in heaven was opened. At the same time John was able to look into the temple where he saw the ark of His covenant. This refers to the heavenly temple rather than to a temple on earth. The corresponding results in the earth, however, included lightning... thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm (cf. 8:5).

The dramatic introduction of the events relating to the seventh trumpet concluded here and will be resumed in chapter 16. Chronologically the time was close to Christ's second coming."

II) [Biblestudymanuals Commentary On Rev 12]:

Blueletter Bible Commentary

A) [Revelation 12:1-17 (NASB)

(Rev 12:1 NASB) "A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;

(Rev 12:2 NAB) and she was with child; and she *cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.

(Rev 12:3 NASB) Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.

(Rev 12:4 NASB) And his tail *swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.

(Rev 12:5 NASB) And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.

(Rev 12:6 NASB) Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she *had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

(Rev 12:7 NASB) And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war,

(Rev 12:8 NASB) and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.

(Rev 12:9 NASB) And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

(Rev 12:10 NASB) Then 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 brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.

(Rev 12:11 NASB "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.

(Rev 12:12 NASB) "For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time."

(Rev 12:13 NASB) And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.

(Rev 12:14 NASB) But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she *was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.

(Rev 12:15 NASB) And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.

(Rev 12:16 NASB) But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.

(Rev 12:17) So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus."

B) [EXPOSITOR’S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:1]:

(Rev 12:1 NASB) "A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;"

"1 John sees a dazzling sight—a pregnant woman, "clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet," and wearing a victor's crown (stephanos, cf. 2:10; 3:11; 4:4-10; 6:2; 9:7; 14:14) of twelve stars. John calls the sight a "great sign" (mega semeion). This shows that the woman is more than a mere woman. She signifies something. Generally John uses semeion ("sign") to refer to a miraculous sign that points to some deeper spiritual significance in connection with the event or object (John 2:11, 18, et al.; Rev 12:1, 3; 13:13-14; 15:1; 16:14; 19:20). In classical Greek, the word referred especially to the constellations as signs or omens (LSJ, p. 1593).

The basic plot of the story was familiar in the ancient world. A usurper doomed to be killed by a yet unborn prince plots to succeed to the throne by killing the royal seed at birth. The prince is miraculously snatched from his clutches and hidden away, until he is old enough to kill the usurper and claim his kingdom. In the Greek myth of the birth of Apollo, when the child's mother, the goddess Leto, reached the time of her delivery, she was pursued by the dragon Python who sought to kill both her and her unborn child. Only the tiny island of Delos welcomed the mother, where she gave birth to the god Apollo. Four days after his birth, Apollo found Python at Parnassus and killed him in his Delphic cave. In Egypt it is Set the red dragon who pursues Isis, the pregnant mother of Horus. When the child is grown, he too kills the dragon. These stories were living myths in the first century and were probably known to both John and his Asian readers.

While it is easy to point to parallels between these earlier myths and Revelation 12, the differences are striking enough to eliminate the possibility that John merely borrowed pagan myths. As Mounce points out, "Would a writer who elsewhere in the book displays such a definite antagonism toward paganism draw extensively at this point upon its mythology? As always, John is a creative apocalyptist who, although gathering his imagery from many sources, nevertheless constructs a scenario distinctly his own" (Revelation, p. 235). To this argument could be added also the evidence of the patristic testimony of the first eight centuries. Not a single voice was raised in favor of interpreting the woman as the embodiment of a mythological figure (Bernard J. LeFrois, The Woman Clothed With the Sun [Roma: Orbis Catholicus, 1954], p. 210). Did he, then, draw more directly on OT parallels? Some cite Genesis 37:9-11, where the heavenly bodies of sun, moon, and eleven stars are associated together in Joseph's vision. Joseph's father, Jacob, and his mother, Rachel (the sun and the moon), together with his eleven brothers (the stars), bow down before Joseph. Yet while the sun, moon, and twelve stars are parallel in both accounts, the other details are quite different. For example, the woman and the child who are central to John's account are totally absent from the Joseph dream. It thus seems highly unlikely that John intended his readers to interpret this chapter from the Genesis material.

Others see a more conscious parallelism between the story and the activities of the emperor Domitian around 83 A.D. After the death of his ten-year-old son, Domitian immediately proclaimed the boy a god and his mother, the mother of god. Coinage of this period shows the mother Domitia as the mother of the gods (Cerea, Demeter, Cybele) or enthroned on the divine throne or standing with the scepter and diadem of the queen of heaven with the inscription "Mother of the Divine Caesar." Another coin shows the mother with the child before her. In his left hand is the scepter of world dominions, and with his right hand he is blessing the world. Still another coin shows the dead child sitting on the globe of heaven, playing with seven stars, which represent the seven planets, symbolic of his heavenly dominion over the world. A recently discovered coin of the same period shows on the obverse, like the others, the head of Domitia; but instead of the child on the reverse, it has the moon and the other six planets, emblematic of the golden age. Stauffer interprets this coin's imagery as representing the imperial Zeus child, who has been exalted to be lord of the stars, who will usher in the age of universal salvation that is to come (Ethelbert Stauffer Christ and the Caesars [London: SCM, 1965], pp. 151-52).

Whereas the coinage of Domitian glorifies the son of Domitia as the lord of heaven and savior of the world, Revelation 12 presents Jesus Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth, as he who will rule all nations with a rod of iron (v. 5). Tenney says, "The parallel imagery seems almost too similar to be accidental" (Merrill F. Tenney, New Testament Times [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955], p. 337). From this viewpoint, what John does is to demythologize the contemporary Domitian myth by presenting Christ as the true and ascended Lord of heaven, the coming Ruler and Savior of the world.

Another approach to the source problem in this chapter is to compare the chapter with a passage in the DSS. The Hymn scroll contains this disputed passage:

She who is big with the Man of distress is in her pains. For she shall give birth to a man-child in the billows of Death, and in the bonds of Sheol there shall spring from the crucible of the pregnant one a Marvellous Counsellor with his might; and he shall deliver every man from the billows because of Her who is big with him (1QH E.3:9-10).

In notes explaining the above translation, Dupont-Sommer indicates that not only is the man-child (also called Marvelous Counselor and firstborn) a reference to Messiah based on Isaiah 9:5-6 but that the "crucible" refers to the suffering of the Messiah. The woman symbolizes the "congregation of the just, the Church of the Saints, victim of the persecution of the wicked," and is also associated with the redeeming work of the Messiah. Dupont-Sommer also notices that in the verses of the hymn that immediately follow, there is a reference to another pregnant woman who represents the community of the wicked. She gives birth to the "Asp" or serpent (from Gen 3), which refers to Satan (The Essene Writings from Qumran, tr. G. Vermes [Cleveland: World, 1962], p. 208, nn. 1-5).

Other OT references to the birth of the Messiah through the messianic community (Isa 9:6-7; Mic 5:2) and to the travailing messianic community (Isa 26:17; 66:7) should also be noted. In the OT, the image of a woman is frequently associated with Israel, Zion, or Jerusalem (Isa 54:1-6; Jer 3:20; Ezek 16:8-14; Hos 2:19-20). If the main thrust of Dupont-Sommer's interpretation can be accepted (see Notes, v. 1), this background seems to provide a much closer link to the intended significance of chapter 12 than the other proposed parallels. In any case, there seems to be in chapter 12 a blending of elements from OT concepts, Jewish materials, ancient mythical stories, and possibly the Domitian child myth. Regardless of the sources or allusions, John reinterprets the older stories and presents a distinctively Christian view of history in the imagery of the woman and her children.

Who then is the woman? While it is not impossible that she is an actual woman, such as Mary, the evidence clearly shows that she, like the woman in chapter 17, has symbolic significance. At the center of chapter 12 is the persecution of the woman by the dragon, who is definitely identified as Satan (v. 9). This central theme, as well as the reference to the persecution of the "rest of her offspring" (v. 17), renders it virtually certain that the woman could not refer to a single individual. Thus, even some recent Roman Catholic interpreters have departed from this view (Ford, p. 207; Heidt, p. 85; but for a strong case for Mary as the woman, see LeFrois, Woman Clothed With the Sun, esp. pp. 211-35).

Some identify the woman exclusively with the Jewish people, the nation of Israel (Walvoord, p. 188). This view seems to be supported by the reference to the woman giving birth to the Messiah or "male child" (v. 5); the twelve stars would refer to the twelve tribes (Gen 37:9-11). The twelve signs of the zodiac were thought by the Jews to represent the twelve tribes; their tribal standards corresponded to the zodiacal names (Berakoth 32; cf. Ford, p. 343). (On the floor of the ancient sixth-century synagogue of Beth Alpha [near Gilboa in Israel] lies a mosaic with the crescent moon and the sun and the twelve signs of the zodiac with twenty-three stars scattered around a figure representing the sun god.) While these factors must be taken seriously, there are internal problems with this view. The dragon's persecution of the woman after the Messiah's birth could hardly refer to the devil's attack on the nation as a whole but could apply only to the believing part of the people. The whole intent of the passage is to explain the persecution of the believing community, not the persecution of the nation of Israel as a whole.

Since the context indicates that the woman under attack represents a continuous entity from the birth of Christ until at least John's day or later, her identity in the author's mind must be the believing covenant-messianic community. This group would include the early messianic community, which under John the Baptist's ministry was separated from the larger Jewish community to be the people prepared for the Lord (Mark 1:2-3). Later this group merged into the new community of Christ's disciples called the church, or less appropriately, the new Israel, composed of both Jews and Gentiles. John does not at this point seem to distinguish between the earlier almost totally Jewish community and the one present in his day. Their continuity in identity is so strong that whatever ethnic or other differences they have does not affect his single image representing one entity.

The woman's dazzling appearance like the sun relates her to the glory and brilliance of her Lord (Rev 1:16) as well as to her own light-bearing quality (1:20). With the moon under her feet signifying her permanence (Pss 72:5; 89:37; cf. Matt 16:18) and a crown of twelve stars on her head indicating her elect identity (cf. comments at 7:4ff.), she appears in her true heavenly and glorious character despite her seemingly fragile and uncertain earthly history (vv. 13-16). A possible allusion to her priestly nature may be suggested by the cosmic imagery of stars, sun, and moon, figures that Josephus uses in describing the high priestly vestments (Antiq. III, 179-87 [vii. 7]; cf. Rev 1:6; 5:10; see Ford, p. 197). Peter likewise refers to the priestly function of the church (1 Peter 2:5, 9). The church viewed as a woman is found elsewhere in the NT as well as in early Christian literature (2Cor 11:2; Eph 5:25-27, 32; 2 John 1, 5, with 3 John 9; Hermas 5.1.i-ii).

C) [EXPOSITOR’S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:2]:

(Rev 12:1 NASB) "A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;

(Rev 12:2 NAB) "and she was with child; and she *cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.

"2 The woman is in the throes of childbirth. The emphasis is on her pain and suffering, both physical and spiritual. The meaning of her anguish is that the faithful messianic community has been suffering as a prelude to the coming of the Messiah himself and the new age (Isa 26:17; 66:7-8; Mic 4:10; 5:3). The "birth" (tikto) itself does not necessarily refer to the actual physical birth of Christ but denotes the travail of the community from which the Messiah has arisen (see same word in Heb 6:7 and James 1:15)."

D) BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:1-2]:

(Rev 12:1 NASB) "A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;

(Rev 12:2 NAB) and she was with child; and she *cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth."

"I. The seven great personages of the end times (chaps. 12-15)

Though the seventh trumpet was recorded in 11:15 as sounding, the details of what will come out of the seventh trumpet are not revealed until chapter 16. Accordingly chapters 12-15 view the prophecies of the end time from another perspective and introduce the great personages who are involved in the second half of the seven-year period.

Many have pointed out that seven personages appear in chapters 12-13: (1) a woman clothed with the sun, representing Israel (12:1-2); (2) the red dragon with seven heads and 10 horns, representing Satan (12:3-4); (3) the male Child, representing Christ (12:5-6); (4) the archangel Michael, casting Satan out of heaven (12:7-12); (5) the offspring of the woman, persecuted by the dragon (12:13-17); (6) the beast out of the sea, the future world dictator (13:2-10); (7) the beast out of the earth, the false prophet (13:11-18). These chapters do not advance the narrative chronologically, but present events and situations that are concurrent with the soundings of the trumpets. Chronological progress of events resumes in chapter 16.

1. The First Personage: A Woman Clothed With The Sun (12:1-2)

12:1-2. The first great personage to appear was a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head. She was called a great and wondrous sign (sēmeion mega, lit., "a great sign"; cf. 13:13). Undoubtedly the sign provoked wonder, as indicated in the kjv and niv, but the translation "a great sign" (nasb) is more accurate, since John did not use the Greek word for wonder (teras). This was the first of a series of events called "signs" or "miracles" (12:3; 13:13-14; 15:1; 16:14; 19:20). As signs they were symbols of something that God was about to reveal and usually contained an element of prophetic warning. Though this sign was seen in heaven, the events which followed obviously occurred on earth.

The woman symbolized Israel, as indicated by Genesis 37:9-11, where the sun and the moon referred to Jacob and Rachel, Joseph's parents. The stars in the woman's crown clearly related to the 12 sons of Jacob and identified the woman as Israel fulfilling the Abrahamic Covenant. J.B. Smith cites Isaiah 60:1-3, 20 as proof that the sun refers to Israel's future glory (A Revelation of Jesus Christ, p. 182).

Many commentaries are so intent on attempting to identify Israel as the church that they ignore these plain indications that the woman is Israel. Robert H. Mounce, for instance, makes the woman "the messianic community, the ideal Israel... the church (Rev. 12:17). The people of God are one throughout all redemptive history" (The Book of Revelation, p. 236). While there is a unity of the people of God, this does not wipe out dispensational and racial distinctions.

The symbolism, while not referring specifically to Mary, the mother of Christ, points to Israel as the source of Jesus Christ. Thus it does not refer to the church. Wicked women are sometimes used to represent false religions, as in the case of Jezebel (2:20), the apostate church of the end time as a prostitute (17:1-7, 15, 18), and Israel as the unfaithful wife of Yahweh (Hosea 2:2-13). The church by contrast is pictured as the virgin bride (2 Cor. 11:2), the Lamb's wife (Rev. 19:7).

The woman was said to be pregnant and about to give birth (12:2). While in some sense this may be fulfilled in the birth of Christ to the Virgin Mary, the context seems to refer to the emerging nation of Israel in its suffering prior to the second coming of Christ. This is further supported by the verses which follow."

D) BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:1-2]:

(Rev 12:1 NASB) "A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;

(Rev 12:2 NAB) and she was with child; and she *cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth."

"I. The seven great personages of the end times (chaps. 12-15)

1. The First Personage: A Woman Clothed With The Sun (12:1-2)

The symbolism, while not referring specifically to Mary, the mother of Christ, points to Israel as the source of Jesus Christ. Thus it does not refer to the church. Wickedthe verses women are sometimes used to represent false religions, as in the case of Jezebel (2:20), the apostate church of the end time as a prostitute (17:1-7, 15, 18), and Israel as the unfaithful wife of Yahweh (Hosea 2:2-13). The church by contrast is pictured as the virgin bride (2 Cor. 11:2), the Lamb's wife (Rev. 19:7).

E) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:3]:

(Rev 12:3 NASB) "Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems."

"3 The second "sign" now appears. It likewise is a heavenly sign and introduces us to the second character, the ultimate antagonist of the woman. The dragon is clearly identified with the "ancient serpent called the devil or Satan" (v. 9; cf. 20:2-3). The description of him as an "enormous red dragon" symbolically suggests his fierce power and murderous nature. He is further described as having "seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads." Except for the exchange of the crowns from the heads to the horns, the same description is used for the beast from the sea in chapter 13 and the beast of chapter 17. There is no way of understanding how the horns fit on the heads. While some have tried to find specific meaning for each of the heads and horns, John probably intends to give no more than a symbolic sense of the whole impression rather than of its parts. It is a picture of the fullness of evil in all its hideous strength. (Compare here the OT references to Rahab and Leviathan: Ps 74:13-14; Isa 27:1; 51:9-10; Dan 7:7; 8:10.) There is more than a coincidental similarity in these descriptions and John's image. The diadem crowns on the heads may indicate fullness of royal power (13:1; 19:12)."

F) BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:4]:

(Rev 12:4 NASB) "And his tail *swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child."

"4 So great is the dragon's power that his tail can even sweep away a large number of the stars and cast them down to the ground (for "a third," see comments on 8:7). This should probably be understood simply as a figure to represent the dragon's power and not as a reference to Satan's victory over some of the angels. In any event, the stars cast down would, after the analogy of Daniel 8:10, 24, refer to the saints of God who were trampled by Satan and not to fallen angels. Satan has placed himself before the woman, thus expecting certain victory over the messianic child. As Lilje (in loc.) notes, it is through this figure that the church shows her awareness that Satan is always threatening the purposes of God within history. Although the attack of Herod against the children of Bethlehem and many incidents during the life of Jesus — such as the attempt of the crowd at Nazareth to throw him over the cliff (Luke 4:28-39)-must also be included, the greatest attempt to devour the child must certainly be the Crucifixion."

G) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:5]:

(Rev 12:5 NASB) "And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne."

"5 This verse records the last element of the story. The messianic child comes, finishes his mission, is delivered from the dragon, and is enthroned in heaven. John again refers to the destiny of the child in once more alluding to Psalm 2:9: "Who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter" (Rev 2:27; 19:15). It is not clear whether John also intends a collective identity in the birth of the male child. Daniel 7:13-14, 27 seems to fuse the individual son of man with the people of God. Likewise in Revelation John seems to alternate between the rule of Christ (1:5; 11:15) and the rule of the saints (1:6; 2:26-27). It is, however, difficult to see how the child as well as the woman could be a group of believers. Nevertheless, many early interpreters such as Tyconius (d. 390), Pseudo-Augustine (d. 542), Primasius (d. 552), Quodvultdeus (d. 453), and others understood the male child to be simultaneously Christ and the members of Christ; and even a few (Methodius [d.312]; Venerable Bede [d.735]) saw the child as a reference only to the church (LeFrois, Woman Clothed With the Sun, pp. 58-61). Through Christ's resurrection and ascension, the dragon's attempt to destroy God's purposes through the Messiah has been decisively defeated."

H) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:6]:

(Rev 12:6 NASB) "Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she *had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days."

"6 What is this flight into the desert? Is it a symbolic or an actual historic event? Among those who take it literally, some have understood the reference as the escape of the early Jerusalem Christians to Pella (modern Tabaqat Fahil, about twenty miles south of the Sea of Galilee) in A.D. 66 to escape the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. Pella continued to be an important Christian center even after a large portion of the community returned to Jerusalem in 135. Others refer the event to the future, when a portion of the Jewish people will be preserved through the Tribulation period to await the return of Christ (Walvoord). Other approaches view the desert as a symbol for the hiddenness of the church in the world because of persecution (Swete) or as a symbol of its pure condition (Lilje).

Most commentators, however, understand the wilderness to mean the place of safety, discipline, and testing (Caird, Farrar, Ford). This view is preferable because of the highly symbolic nature of the whole chapter, the symbolic use of "desert" in 17:3 (q.v.), and the parallelism to the Exodus where the children of Israel fled from Pharaoh. All are agreed that the reference here to the flight of the woman is anticipatory of vv. 13ff. The intervening verses show why the dragon is persecuting the woman (vv. 7-12).

For a discussion of the 1,260 days, see comments at 11:2."

I) [BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:5-6]:

(Rev 12:5 NASB) "And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.

(Rev 12:6 NASB) Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she *had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days."

"3. The Third Personage: The Male-Child, Christ (12:5-6)

12:5-6. When the Child—described as a Son, a male Child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter—was born, He was snatched up to God and to His throne. The Child obviously is Jesus Christ (Ps. 2:9; Rev. 19:15). Alford states that "the Man-Child is the Lord Jesus Christ, and none other" (The Greek Testament, 4:668). The catching up of the Child referred to the Ascension, not to the later Rapture of the church though the same word for "snatched up" is used of the Rapture (1 Thes. 4:17; cf. Acts 8:39; 2 Cor. 12:2-4). The Rapture of the church would not constitute a deliverance of the Man-Child from Satan.

The deliverance itself took place when the woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, and she was preserved for 1,260 days, which was three and one-half years or 42 months of 30 days each. Matthew (24:16) referred to the flight of Israel at the beginning of the Great Tribulation (cf. Mark 13:14). References to both desert and mountains are not a contradiction as both were wilderness areas. In her desert hideout Israel was cared for perhaps as miraculously as Israel was in her wilderness journey from Egypt to the Promised Land.

The time period was 1,260 days, later described as "a time, times, and half a time" (cf. comments on Rev. 12:14). This action (vv. 5-6) followed what is described in verse 7 as a "war in heaven."

J) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:7]:

(Rev 12:7 NASB) "And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war,"

"7 All agree that the section beginning with this verse, which describes the battle in heaven between Michael and the dragon (vv. 7-12), provides the explanation as to why the dragon has turned on the woman and caused her to flee into the desert for protection (vv. 6, 13ff.). The account is in two parts: (1) the battle in heaven between Michael and his angels and the dragon and his angels, which results in the ejection of Satan from heaven to the earth (vv. 7-9), and (2) the heavenly hymn of victory (vv. 10-12).

As elsewhere in the book, the narrative material can be interpreted only in the light of the hymns. This principle is especially important in vv. 7-9, where the victory takes place in heaven as the result of Michael's defeat of the dragon. Were this the only thing told us about the "war in heaven," it might be concluded that the dragon's defeat was unrelated to Jesus Christ. But the interpretative hymn (vv. 10-12) says that it was in fact the blood of Christ that dealt the actual death blow to the dragon and enabled the saints to triumph (v. 8; cf. 5:9). Does this not suggest that the redeeming work of Christ is here depicted by the cosmic battle of Michael and the dragon as it is elsewhere seen as a loosing from sin (1:5), as a washing of our garments (7:14), and as a purchasing to God (5:9)'? The time of the dragon's defeat and ejection from heaven must therefore be connected with the incarnation, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus (v. 13: Luke 10:18; John 12:31). Christ has appeared in order that he may destroy the works of the devil (Matt 12:28-29; Acts 10:38; 2Tim 1:10; 1 John 3:8).

Early Jewish belief held the view that Michael would cast Satan from heaven as the first of the last-time struggles to establish the kingdom of God on earth. John, in contrast, sees this event as already having taken place through Jesus Christ's appearance and work. Only the final, permanent blow of Satan's ejection from earth remains (Rev 20:10; cf. Charles, Commentary on Revelation, 1:324). The fact that the battle first takes place in heaven between Michael, the guardian of God's people (Dan 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9), and the dragon shows that evil is cosmic in dimension (not limited merely to this world) and also that events on earth are first decided in heaven. By way of contrast, in the DSS the decisive final battle takes place on earth, not in heaven (1QM 9.16; 17.6-7). The single intent of the passage is to assure those who meet satanic evil on earth that it is really a defeated power, however contrary it might seem to human experience (Ladd, Commentary on Revelation, p. 171)."

K) [BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:7]:

(Rev 12:7 NASB) "And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war,"

"4. The Fourth Personage: Satan Cast Out Of Heaven (12:7-12)

12:7. Michael the archangel (cf. Jude 9) and his angels fought Satan and his angels, that is, demons. The time of this war in heaven was not indicated but the context refers to the end time. The efforts of some expositors to make this coincidental with the first coming of Christ, linking it with Luke 10:18, are not justified by the context in Revelation 12. Also Satan is most obviously active throughout the period of the Church Age (cf. Acts 5:3; 1 Cor. 5:5; 7:5; 2 Cor. 2:11; 11:14; 12:7; 1 Tim. 1:20; 1 Peter 5:8).

The concept that Satan is inactive in the present Age is a false conclusion based on an attempt to place the binding of Satan at the first coming of Christ (Rev. 20:1-3). However, the binding of Satan is still a future event that relates to the millennial kingdom."

L) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:8-9]:
(Rev 12:7 NASB) "And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war,
(Rev 12:8 NASB) and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.
(Rev 12:9 NASB) And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him."

"8-9 The triumph of the archangel results in the ejection of the dragon and his angels from heaven to earth. Apparently, prior to this event Satan had access to the heavens and continually assailed the loyalty of the saints (Job 1:9-11; Zech 3:1), but now, together with his angels, he has been cast out (cf. Luke 10:18). Whatever appears to be the earthly situation for God's people now, the victory has already been won. When the battle grows fiercer and darker for the church, it is but the sign of the last futile attempt of the dragon to exercise his power before the kingdom of Christ comes (v. 12). The "ancient serpent" who tempted Eve with lies about God (Gen 3:1ff.) is in John's mind the same individual as the "devil" and "Satan." As Farrer says, "It is precisely when Satan has lost the battle for the souls of the saints in heaven that he begins the fruitless persecution of their bodies" (Austin Farrer, A Rebirth of Images: the Making of St. John's Apocalypse [London: Darce, 1949], p. 142). Satan is also the one who "leads the whole world astray." His power lies in deception, and by his lies the whole world is deceived about God (2:20; 13:14; 18:23; 19:20; 20:3, 8, 10; 2 John 7; cf. Rom 1:25)."

M) [BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:8-9]:

(Rev 12:7 NASB) "And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war,

(Rev 12:8 NASB) "and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.

"12:8-9. The outcome of the war was that Satan was hurled to the earth, and his character was clearly revealed in the various titles ascribed to him: the great dragon... that ancient serpent... the devil or Satan. With him went the fallen angels of the demon world.

While the concept of Satan in heaven is difficult to comprehend, it is clear that he is now the accuser of saints (cf. Job 1:6; Rev. 12:10). Though Satan was defeated at the first coming of Christ (John 16:11), his execution was delayed and is in stages. Here (Rev. 12:8-9) he will be cast out of heaven in the middle of the Tribulation. Later he will be bound for the duration of the millennial kingdom (20:1-3). The devil will finally be thrown into the lake of burning sulfur (20:10) where the world ruler (Antichrist) and the false prophet will have been cast a thousand years earlier.

Satan and his activities in heaven and earth opposed Christ as Priest in heaven, as King in Satan's world rule in the Great Tribulation, and as the true Prophet by advancing the beast out of the earth (13:11), who was the false prophet (20:10). Satan was identified as that ancient serpent, alias the devil or Satan, and was declared to be the one who led the whole world astray. When he will be cast into the earth, all the fallen angels or demons will be cast down with him."

N) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:10]:

(Rev 12:10 NASB) "Then 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 brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night."

"10 This anonymous hymn, which interprets the great battle of the preceding verses, has three stanzas: the first (v. 10) focuses on the victorious inauguration of God's kingdom and Christ's kingly authority; the second (v. 11) calls attention to the earthly victory of the saints as they confirm the victory of Christ by their own identification with Jesus in his witness and death; the third (v. 12) announces the martyrs' victory and the final woe to the earth because of the devil's ejection and impending demise.

In the first stanza (v. 10), the triumph of Christ is described as the arrival of three divine realities in history: God's "salvation" or victory (7:10; 19:1), God's "power," and God's "kingdom." This latter reality is further identified as Christ's assumption of his "authority." The historic event of Christ's life, death, and resurrection has challenged the dominion of Satan and provoked the crisis of history. At the time of Christ's death on earth, Satan was being defeated in heaven by Michael. As Caird has said, "Michael... is not the field officer who does the actual fighting, but the staff officer in the heavenly room, who is able to remove Satan's flag from the heavenly map because the real victory has been won on Calvary" (p. 154).

In times past, Satan's chief role as adversary was directed toward accusing God's people of disobedience to God. The justice of these accusations was recognized by God, and therefore Satan's presence in heaven was tolerated. But now the presence of the crucified Savior in God's presence provides the required satisfaction of God's justice with reference to our sins (1 John 2:1-2; 4:10). Therefore, Satan's accusations are no longer valid and he is cast out. What strong consolation this provides for God's faltering people!"

O) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:11]:

(Rev 12:11 NASB "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death."

"11 This stanza is both a statement and an appeal. It announces that the followers of the Lamb also become victors over the dragon because they participate in the "blood of the Lamb," the weapon that defeated Satan, and because they have confirmed their loyalty to the Lamb by their witness even to death. The blood of the martyrs, rather than signaling the triumph of Satan, shows instead that they have gained the victory over the dragon by their acceptance of Jesus' Cross and their obedient suffering with him. This is one of John's chief themes (1:9; 6:9; 14:12; 20:4)."

P) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:12]:

"12 Satan has failed. Therefore, the heavens and all who are in them should be glad. But Satan does not accept defeat without a bitter struggle. His final death throes are directed exclusively toward "the earth and the sea." Therefore their inhabitants will mourn, for the devil will now redouble his wrathful effort in one last futile attempt to make the most of an opportunity he knows will be brief (three and one-half years; cf. vv. 6, 14)."

Q) [BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:10-12]:

(Rev 12:11 NASB "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.

"12:10-12. John then heard a hymn of praise uttered by a loud voice in heaven. Announcement was made of the coming demonstration of divine salvation and power with the advent of the millennial kingdom. Satan was characterized as the one who accuses believers before our God day and night. The principle by which he was overcome and cast out of heaven was the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Not only did Christ provide the victory, but also those who were martyred took part in that victory. Those in the heavens were called on to rejoice because of Satan's defeat, but the earth was warned that the devil was filled with fury, because he knew that his time was short. The devil knew that his time was limited to 1,260 days, the period of the Great Tribulation. By no stretch of the imagination can these prophecies be spread to cover the whole Interadvent Age as some attempt to do."

R) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:13-14]:

(Rev 12:13 NASB) And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.

"13-14 The narrative is resumed after the flight of the woman into the wilderness (v. 6). Why? Because she is under attack from the defeated but still vicious dragon (vv. 7-12). No longer able to attack the male child who is in heaven or to accuse the saints because of the victory of Jesus on the Cross, and banned from heaven, the devil now pursues the woman, who flees into the desert. The word "pursue" was no doubt carefully chosen by John because it is also the NT word for "persecute" (dioko, Matt 5:10 et al.). Since the woman has already given birth to the child, the time of the pursuit by the dragon follows the earthly career of Jesus."

S) [BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY ON REV 13-14]:

(Rev 12:13 NASB) And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.

(Rev 12:14 NASB) But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her."

"5. The Fifth Personage: The Offspring Of The Woman Persecuted By The Dragon (12:13-17)

12:13-14. The woman introduced in verse 1 became the special object of Satan's persecution. She was given supernatural help symbolized by the two wings of a great eagle which enabled her to fly to the place prepared for her in the desert.

This hiding place was not clearly identified. Some suggest that it might be Petra, fortress capital of the Nabateans in Edom, south of the Dead Sea. This city has a narrow access which could easily be blocked but which opens up into a large canyon capable of caring for many thousands of people. Though Scripture is not specific, some believe the 144,000 of chapter 7 are to be preserved here. The Scriptures themselves speak of God's seal of protection on them.

The two wings probably do not refer to modern airplanes but rather to God's delivering power, and are a figure of speech taken from such Old Testament passages as Exodus 19:4 and Deuteronomy 32:11-12. The flight of Israel to a place of safety was also indicated in Matthew 24:16; Mark 13:14; and Luke 21:21.

Though Revelation 12:6, 14 referred to the refuge as a desert and the Synoptic passages referred to mountains, this is no contradiction as both desert and mountains are in a wilderness area. The length of time of her preservation was said to be a time, times, and half a time. This refers to the three and one-half years of the Great Tribulation with "a time" equaling one year, "times" equaling two years, and "half a time" indicating 6 months (cf. Dan. 7:25; 12:7 with the 42 months referred to in Rev. 11:2; 13:5). References to these specific time periods show that the Great Tribulation is not the entire present Age but the three and one-half years preceding the second coming of Christ."

T) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:15-16]:

(Rev 12:15 NASB) "And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.

(Rev 12:16 NASB) But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth."

"15-16 The serpent spews a floodlike river of water out of his mouth to engulf and drown the woman. The water imagery seems clear enough. It symbolizes destruction by an enemy (Pss 32:6; 69:1-2; 124:2-5; Nah 1:8) or calamity (Ps 18:4). As the desert earth absorbs the torrent, so the covenant people will be helped by God and preserved from utter destruction (Isa 26:20; 42:15; 43:2; 50:2). The dragon-inspired Egyptians of old were swallowed by the earth: "You stretched out your right hand and the earth swallowed them" (Exod 15:12). In similar fashion, the messianic community will be delivered by God's power. Whatever specific events were happening to Christians in Asia in John's day would not exhaust the continuing significance of the passage."

U) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:17]:

(Rev 12:17) "So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus."

"17 This attack of Satan against "the rest" of the woman's offspring seems to involve the final attempt to destroy the messianic people of God. Having failed in previous attempts to eliminate them as a whole, the dragon now strikes at individuals who "obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus." To "make war" (poiesai polemon) is the identical expression used of the beast's attack on the two witnesses in 11:7 and on the saints in 13:7. Could this possibly correlate the three groups and indicate their common identity under different figures?

Those attacked are called "the rest of her [the woman's] offspring." Some identify this group as Gentile Christians in distinction from the Jewish mother church (Glasson). Others who identify the mother as the nation of Israel see the "rest" as the believing remnant in the Jewish nation who turn to Christ (Walvoord)-view that depends on the prior identification of the woman with the whole nation of Israel. Others have suggested that the woman represents the believing community as a whole, the universal or ideal church composed of both Jews and Gentiles, whereas the "offspring" of the woman represent individuals of the community (Jews and Gentiles) who suffer persecution and martyrdom from the dragon in the pattern of Christ (Swete, Caird, Kiddle). The close identification of the seed of the woman as first of all Jesus and then also those who have become his brethren through faith agrees with other NT teaching (Matt 25:40; Heb 2:11-12). While Satan cannot prevail against the Christian community itself, he can wage war on certain of its members who are called on to witness to their Lord by obedience even unto death, i.e., "those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus" (Matt 16:18; Rev 11:7; 13:7, 15). The church, then, is paradoxically both invulnerable (the woman) and vulnerable (her children) (cf. Luke 21:16-18)."

V) [BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:15-17]:
(Rev 12:15 NASB) "And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.

(Rev 12:16 NASB) But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.

(Rev 12:17) So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus."

"12:15-17. Pursuing the woman, the devil as the serpent originated a flood to sweep her away with the torrent, but the earth swallowed up the water. Some have taken this as a literal flood, but since Israel could flee in every direction the contour of the Holy Land does not lend itself to such a flood. Probably the flood represents Satan's effort to exterminate Israel. This is thwarted by the rough terrain which provides hiding places. In some way God assists the Israelites so that they are not completely destroyed, though Zechariah 13:8 indicates that "two-thirds will be struck down and perish."

Though only one-third of Israel in the land is thus preserved (of which the 144,000 of Rev. 7 are a portion), Satan the dragon continues to war against the rest.

Revelation 12 introduces four important persons and one group of people living at the end time: Israel, Satan, Christ, the archangel, and the remnant of Israel. In Revelation 13 two important persons complete the scene."

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6 What is this flight into the desert? Is it a symbolic or an actual historic event? Among those who take it literally, some have understood the reference as the escape of the early Jerusalem Christians to Pella (modern Tabaqat Fahil, about twenty miles south of the Sea of Galilee) in A.D. 66 to escape the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. Pella continued to be an important Christian center even after a large portion of the community returned to Jerusalem in 135. Others refer the event to the future, when a portion of the Jewish people will be preserved through the Tribulation period to await the return of Christ (Walvoord). Other approaches view the desert as a symbol for the hiddenness of the church in the world because of persecution (Swete) or as a symbol of its pure condition (Lilje).

For a discussion of the 1,260 days, see comments at 11:2.

7 All agree that the section beginning with this verse, which describes the battle in heaven between Michael and the dragon (vv. 7-12), provides the explanation as to why the dragon has turned on the woman and caused her to flee into the desert for protection (vv. 6, 13ff.). The account is in two parts: (1) the battle in heaven between Michael and his angels and the dragon and his angels, which results in the ejection of Satan from heaven to the earth (vv. 7-9), and (2) the heavenly hymn of victory (vv. 10-12).

8-9 The triumph of the archangel results in the ejection of the dragon and his angels from heaven to earth. Apparently, prior to this event Satan had access to the heavens and continually assailed the loyalty of the saints (Job 1:9-11; Zech 3:1), but now, together with his angels, he has been cast out (cf. Luke 10:18). Whatever appears to be the earthly situation for God's people now, the victory has already been won. When the battle grows fiercer and darker for the church, it is but the sign of the last futile attempt of the dragon to exercise his power before the kingdom of Christ comes (v. 12). The "ancient serpent" who tempted Eve with lies about God (Gen 3:1ff.) is in John's mind the same individual as the "devil" and "Satan." As Farrer says, "It is precisely when Satan has lost the battle for the souls of the saints in heaven that he begins the fruitless persecution of their bodies" (Austin Farrer, A Rebirth of Images: the Making of St. John's Apocalypse [London: Darce, 1949], p. 142). Satan is also the one who "leads the whole world astray." His power lies in deception, and by his lies the whole world is deceived about God (2:20; 13:14; 18:23; 19:20; 20:3, 8, 10; 2 John 7; cf. Rom 1:25).

10 This anonymous hymn, which interprets the great battle of the preceding verses, has three stanzas: the first (v. 10) focuses on the victorious inauguration of God's kingdom and Christ's kingly authority; the second (v. 11) calls attention to the earthly victory of the saints as they confirm the victory of Christ by their own identification with Jesus in his witness and death; the third (v. 12) announces the martyrs' victory and the final woe to the earth because of the devil's ejection and impending demise.

11 This stanza is both a statement and an appeal. It announces that the followers of the Lamb also become victors over the dragon because they participate in the "blood of the Lamb," the weapon that defeated Satan, and because they have confirmed their loyalty to the Lamb by their witness even to death. The blood of the martyrs, rather than signaling the triumph of Satan, shows instead that they have gained the victory over the dragon by their acceptance of Jesus' Cross and their obedient suffering with him. This is one of John's chief themes (1:9; 6:9; 14:12; 20:4).

Verses 12 and 17 lead to the conclusion that only a portion of the martyrs are in view (cf. 6:11). Thus this hymn of victory also becomes an appeal to the rest of the saints to do likewise and confirm their testimony to Christ even if doing so means death. This seems to suggest that in some mysterious sense the sufferings of the people of God are linked to the sufferings of Jesus in his triumph over Satan and evil (John 12:31; Rom 16:20; Col 1:24). Since the martyrs have gotten the victory over the dragon because of the Cross of Jesus (i.e., they can no longer be accused of damning sin, since Jesus has paid sin's penalty [1:5b]), they are now free even to give up their lives in loyalty to their Redeemer (John 12:25; Rev 15:2).

12 Satan has failed. Therefore, the heavens and all who are in them should be glad. But Satan does not accept defeat without a bitter struggle. His final death throes are directed exclusively toward "the earth and the sea." Therefore their inhabitants will mourn, for the devil will now redouble his wrathful effort in one last futile attempt to make the most of an opportunity he knows will be brief (three and one-half years; cf. vv. 6, 14).

13-14 The narrative is resumed after the flight of the woman into the wilderness (v. 6). Why? Because she is under attack from the defeated but still vicious dragon (vv. 7-12). No longer able to attack the male child who is in heaven or to accuse the saints because of the victory of Jesus on the Cross, and banned from heaven, the devil now pursues the woman, who flees into the desert. The word "pursue" was no doubt carefully chosen by John because it is also the NT word for "persecute" (dioko, Matt 5:10 et al.). Since the woman has already given birth to the child, the time of the pursuit by the dragon follows the earthly career of Jesus.

The reference to eagle's wings once again introduces imagery borrowed from the Exodus account where Israel was pursued by the dragon in the person of Pharaoh: "You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself" (Exod 19:4). As God's people were delivered from the enemy by their journey into the Sinai desert, so God's present people will be preserved miraculously from destruction (cf. Deut 32:10-12; Isa 40:31).

15-16 The serpent spews a floodlike river of water out of his mouth to engulf and drown the woman. The water imagery seems clear enough. It symbolizes destruction by an enemy (Pss 32:6; 69:1-2; 124:2-5; Nah 1:8) or calamity (Ps 18:4). As the desert earth absorbs the torrent, so the covenant people will be helped by God and preserved from utter destruction (Isa 26:20; 42:15; 43:2; 50:2). The dragon-inspired Egyptians of old were swallowed by the earth: "You stretched out your right hand and the earth swallowed them" (Exod 15:12). In similar fashion, the messianic community will be delivered by God's power. Whatever specific events were happening to Christians in Asia in John's day would not exhaust the continuing significance of the passage.

17 This attack of Satan against "the rest" of the woman's offspring seems to involve the final attempt to destroy the messianic people of God. Having failed in previous attempts to eliminate them as a whole, the dragon now strikes at individuals who "obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus." To "make war" (poiesai polemon) is the identical expression used of the beast's attack on the two witnesses in 11:7 and on the saints in 13:7. Could this possibly correlate the three groups and indicate their common identity under different figures?

Notes

1 On whether the Qumran Hymn (1QH, III) bears a direct relation to John's image of the woman as the Christian community, see pro Dupont-Sommer, Writings from Qumran, pp. 207-8, nn. 1-5; Ford, pp. 204-5; contra William LaSor, The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972), pp. 208-9.

6 The third person plural τρέφωσιν (trephosin) may be a Semitism for the simple singular passive, meaning, "she might be taken care of." No plural antecedent fits, and the sense is passive. Such occurrences are found in the OT and possibly also in Rev 11:2, "they will trample," meaning, "the holy city shall be trampled." For this idiom, see Ronald J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax: An Outline (Toronto: University of Toronto, 1967), p. 32, par. 160.

7 The infinitive construction τοῦ πολεμῆσαι (tou polemesai; NIV, "fought") has been discussed by Charles (Commentary on Revelation, 1:322) and G. Mussies (The Morphology of Koine Greek as Used in the Apocalypse of St. John [Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1971], p. 96), who both conclude that this is a pure Semitism and should be translated as "Michael and his angels had to fight with the Dragon." Almost all translations fail to catch this nuance, so illuminating to the context.

On the dragon myths of the ancient world, see Bruce Waltke's "The Creation Account in Genesis 1:1-3," BS, 132 (January-March 1975), pp. 32ff.

11 NIV does not translate the connective particle καί (kai, normally "and") that begins this verse in the Gr. text. The particle could be translated "for" and would, if so rendered, give an additional connection between the defeat of Satan and the death of the martyrs.

Expositor's Bible Commentary, The - Volume 12: Hebrews through Revelation.

D) BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY ON REV 12:1-2]:

(Rev 12:1 NASB) "A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;

(Rev 12:2 NASB) and she was with child; and she *cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth."

"I. The seven great personages of the end times (chaps. 12-15)

1. The First Personage: A Woman Clothed With The Sun (12:1-2)

2. The Second Personage: The Red Dragon With The 7 Heads And 10 Horns (12:3-4)

12:3-4. The second wonder (semeion, "sign"; cf. v. 1) appeared in heaven, though it actually related to scenes on earth. It was a great red dragon, having 7 heads and 10 horns, and 7 crowns on his heads. From similar descriptions in Daniel 7:7-8, 24 and Revelation 13:1, this beast represented Satan's control over world empires in the Great Tribulation. Revelation 12:9 identifies the dragon as Satan. The color red might indicate the bloodshed related to this period. The 10 horns presented symbolically the 10 kings (see Dan. 7:24) who reigned simultaneously with the coming world ruler and who were mentioned both in Daniel 7:7 and Revelation 13:1.

The casting down of a third of the stars out of the sky seemed to imply satanic power which extended to the heavens and the earth. Satan was seen here to extend his power over those who opposed him spiritually or politically. The dragon's attempt to devour the newborn Child (12:4) seemed to point to Satan's attempts to destroy the Infant Jesus. Satanic opposition to Israel and especially to the messianic line is clear in both Testaments.

3. The Third Personage: The Male-Child, Christ (12:5-6)

The time period was 1,260 days, later described as "a time, times, and half a time" (cf. comments on Rev. 12:14). This action (vv. 5-6) followed what is described in verse 7 as a "war in heaven."

4. The Fourth Personage: Satan Cast Out Of Heaven (12:7-12)

12:8-9. The outcome of the war was that Satan was hurled to the earth, and his character was clearly revealed in the various titles ascribed to him: the great dragon... that ancient serpent... the devil or Satan. With him went the fallen angels of the demon world.

12:10-12. John then heard a hymn of praise uttered by a loud voice in heaven. Announcement was made of the coming demonstration of divine salvation and power with the advent of the millennial kingdom. Satan was characterized as the one who accuses believers before our God day and night. The principle by which he was overcome and cast out of heaven was the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Not only did Christ provide the victory, but also those who were martyred took part in that victory. Those in the heavens were called on to rejoice because of Satan's defeat, but the earth was warned that the devil was filled with fury, because he knew that his time was short. The devil knew that his time was limited to 1,260 days, the period of the Great Tribulation. By no stretch of the imagination can these prophecies be spread to cover the whole Interadvent Age as some attempt to do.

5. The Fifth Personage: The Offspring Of The Woman Persecuted By The Dragon (12:13-17)

12:15-17. Pursuing the woman, the devil as the serpent originated a flood to sweep her away with the torrent, but the earth swallowed up the water. Some have taken this as a literal flood, but since Israel could flee in every direction the contour of the Holy Land does not lend itself to such a flood. Probably the flood represents Satan's effort to exterminate Israel. This is thwarted by the rough terrain which provides hiding places. In some way God assists the Israelites so that they are not completely destroyed, though Zechariah 13:8 indicates that "two-thirds will be struck down and perish."

Though only one-third of Israel in the land is thus preserved (of which the 144,000 of Rev. 7 are a portion), Satan the dragon continues to war against the rest.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.