Revelation chapter 12, the center of the book, is a break in the action. It takes a step back to give the reader an overview of all of Biblical history. The long awaited Savior is born, Satan is overthrown by the blood of the Lamb, who has been granted all authority.
Revelation 12:1 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.
11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”
13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring— those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
“To show the conflict between Satan and the Church, John goes back to the beginning, to the birth of Christ, and to Satan’s unsuccessful attempts to destroy Him, ending with Christ’s victorious ascent into heaven. This sets the stage for, and reveals the origin and meaning of Satan’s persecution of the Christian Church throughout the world. The struggle will be fierce and bloody; but Satan is already doomed, for Christ is reigning from His heavenly throne, and His people are destined for complete victory on the basis of His work and through their own faithful and fearless proclamation of the Gospel.” David Chilton, “Days of Vengeance”
Revelation 12:1 A great sign appeared in heaven:
Isaiah had prophesied of this great sign; the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14
Revelation 12:1 a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
King Solomon had written of the bride in a prophesy about Christ and his Church; My Bride, as lovely as Jerusalem, as majestic as troops with banners… Looks forth like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, resplendent as the sun, majestic as stars in procession. Song of Songs 6:4-10
Israel is symbolized by 12 stars. Genesis 37:9
Revelation 12:2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.
As a woman with child and about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain… Isaiah 26:17
Through woman, the Redeemer, the one destined to crush the dragon, the one to deliver His people, would come. Genesis 3:15
The virgin Mary clearly understood the cosmic implications of the Promise that God had made to Israel. Listen to “The song of Mary”, Luke 1:51-55;
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”
The Promise made throughout history, the Promise made to Abraham and his descendants will finally be fulfilled when the virgin gives birth to the Promised Messiah.
Revelation 12:3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.
The prophesy in Daniel 7 tells of 4 kingdoms, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome, that Satan would try to use to establish world domination. As John explains in verse 9, the dragon is Satan himself. In other words, John understands that Satan is the driving force behind the imperial thrones in the ancient world that constantly persecuted the Church.
And Satan is not alone in his attempt to overthrow the Church. A third of the angels joined Satan in his rebellion against God. These angels accompanied him. 2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6
Revelation 12:5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.
Just as the ancient prophesy had foreseen: You are my son… I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery. Psalm 2:7-9 Christ is born to destroy the works of Satan and to set those captive to Satan free.
Revelation 12:6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
The 1,260 days coincides with Herod’s death 3.5 years after the birth of Christ. You may recall that Mary and Joseph were instructed the angel to “get up and go” to Egypt until Herod’s death. Matthew 2:13-21
However, having been warned by Christ, When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies… flee… Luke 21:20-24, believers fled from Jerusalem and Judea. By the time Rome attacks and destroys Judea, the Church, in obedience to Christ’s warning, is long gone. And instead of destroying the Church, the apostate Jews, the generation that crucified Christ, face the full wrath of Rome, as directed by the dragon, Satan.
The people of the church at Jerusalem, in accordance with a certain oracle…had been commanded to depart from the city before the war. Eusebius, “A New Eusebius: Documents Illustrating the History of the Church”
Revelation 12:7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down— that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
The ancient serpent, the devil, had, throughout all of history, been on the offensive, trying to steal, kill, and destroy all of those made in God’s image; mankind. John 10:10 However, here, with the resurrection of Christ and the defeat of death, we see the hosts of heaven attack Satan and his followers, throwing them out of heaven. The rebels, embedded in heaven, are rooted out.
Revelation 12;10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.
11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.“
Prior to his expulsion from heaven, Satan had stood before God pointing out our sins and accusing us of unfaithfulness, however Christ has taken those accusations of Satan, our sins, upon himself. So now The gates of hell can not prevail against his Church. Matthew 16:18 Satan and his forces have been hurled down. The decisive battle has been lost. We often imagine that the Church is under siege and about to be crushed by the forces of evil but that is not how Christ and John see it. The Church is actually a mighty army besieging Satan’s headquarters. Hells gates cannot stop the Church’s assault. Those who were at one time captive to Satan are being liberated and brought into Christ’s Kingdom. We have triumphed over (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 12:11
Revelation 12:13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring— those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
Having been defeated by Christ’s resurrection, Satan now turns his wrath against the Church. A great persecution broke out against the Church in Jerusalem. Acts 8 Enraged by this turn of events the dragon then sets his sights on destroying the Church in exile and the Gentile converts. But…
“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”
“When principles that run against your deepest convictions begin to win the day, then battle is your calling, and peace has become sin; you must, at the price of dearest peace, lay your convictions bare before friend and enemy, with all the fire of your faith.” Abraham Kuyper, “Abraham Kuyper: A Centennial Reader”