Revelation 12:1–6

12:1 The passage has a mythological quality; this doesn’t mean it is false but that it draws on mythology to make a point. Myths of gods and goddesses battling with serpents or a dragon are found in Egypt, Ugarit, Mesopotamia, the Greco-Roman world, etc. John is not reproducing these myths, but they were in the air, and John adapts what was common in the culture for his own purposes and sets it into the storyline of biblical (OT) revelation. Such an observation does not stand in opposition to the visionary nature of John’s experience; the literary and the visionary come together in the book. As signs of the heavens fascinated ancient people, so a great sign appears in heaven in John’s vision. The sign is a woman, beautiful and exalted, clothed with the radiance of the sun. The moon is under her feet, and on her head is a crown of twelve stars (cf. Gen. 37:9). We see in this the rule of the woman, exercising her influence in the world. The identity of this woman is contested. At first glance a reference to Mary might seem fitting, since she gives birth to Christ (Rev. 12:2, 5) and flees into the wilderness of Egypt. However, it seems better to consider this a symbolic reference to the people of God. The notion of God’s people as his bride is amply attested elsewhere in Scripture (e.g., Isa. 54:5; Jer. 3:8–9; Ezekiel 16; 23; Hos. 2:16, 19–20; Rev. 19:7–9; 21:2, 9). God has made his people rulers (Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 20:6; cf. Isa. 62:3) to mediate his priestly blessing to the world.

12:2 The woman is pregnant and suffers birth pangs. Here we have further evidence the woman is the people of God, for in the OT Israel suffers labor pains of messianic woe before salvation is accomplished (Isa. 26:17–18; 66:7–10; Mic. 4:10). Here the birth pangs bring forth a child, the son of David, the Messiah, the one who will bring in the salvation promised in the OT (Gen. 3:15; 2 Sam. 7:14; Ps. 89:26–27; Isa. 7:14; 9:6–7; Mic. 5:2–4; cf. also Luke 1:32–33; Heb. 1:5). The rule promised to Israel, the kingdom to be theirs through the covenant with Abraham and David, would be realized through a descendant of David.

12:3 Heaven isn’t free from conflict, for another sign appears in the heavens—a mythological monster, a fiery red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven diadems on his head. This parodies Jesus Christ, who also is portrayed in Revelation as having horns and diadems (5:6; 19:12). The seven diadems on the dragon stand for his ruling authority, and the ten horns signify his strength (cf. 13:2). In Daniel the ten horns are ten kings belonging to the fourth beast (Dan. 7:7, 24; cf. Rev. 17:12–14). The link between the numbers of the dragon and the number of human rulers suggests the dragon manifests himself in and through human rulers and authorities. His rule is not limited to one kingdom or time period; he continues to exert influence in age after age. Here we see that the opponent of the people of God is a terrifying monster (Rev. 12:4, 7, 9, 13, 16, 17; 13:2, 4, 11; 16:13; 20:2). The image goes back to the OT, where Isaiah prophesies that Yahweh “will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea” (Isa. 27:1; cf. Isa. 51:9; Ezek. 29:3; 32:2).

12:4 The power and destructiveness of the dragon is evident, for with his tail he sweeps a third of the stars of heaven to the earth. This could possibly refer to angels (cf. Job 38:7), and some see here the moment in history where some of the angels followed Satan and became his angels (Matt. 25:41). In Daniel 8:10, however, the stars Antiochus IV Epiphanes throws to the ground and tramples are Israelites. This probably refers to the persecution of Israel by Antiochus; in alluding to this text, John likely makes the same point. The dragon’s hostility toward the people of God leads him to oppress them. Such a reading ties the two parts of the verse together: just as the dragon persecuted the people of God, so now is he ready to pounce on the woman as she is about to give birth—the dragon seeks to devour and destroy the Christ. We see such a demonic intent, for instance, in Matthew, where Herod attempts to slay Jesus in his infancy (Matt. 2:1–18).

12:5 The woman gives birth to a son (cf. Isa. 66:7), the son of David (2 Sam. 7:14), the one who was appointed, according to Psalm 2, to rule the nations with a rod of iron (Ps. 2:9; cf. also Rev. 2:27). Psalm 2 is a messianic psalm, in which the Davidic king is appointed as God’s son (Ps. 2:6–7). The nations and the ends of the earth are his inheritance. In other words, the blessing promised to Abraham for the nations will become a reality through the Davidic king (Gen. 12:3). The dragon fiercely desired to slay this son, knowing this child spelled his demise. Remarkably, John skips Jesus’ ministry and death! Instead, he moves the story to Jesus’ exaltation, when he was snatched up to God and his throne. John transports us to the end of the story, showing his audience Jesus’ triumph over the dragon. The audience is not in the dark about Jesus’ life and ministry; they know he died, but here they are reminded that he conquered the dragon when he rose from the dead and ascended to take his seat at God’s right hand.

12:6 The woman, representing the people of God (though now in the story the focus is on the church of Jesus Christ after the birth and exaltation of the Messiah) flees to the wilderness, running from the persecution of Satan. The wilderness represents life in the present evil age. Just as God nurtured and preserved Israel during the forty years it wandered in the wilderness (cf. Hos. 2:14), so he provides for the church for 1,260 days, i.e., the time between Jesus’ resurrection and return (cf. comments on Rev. 11:1–2). Even though the dragon wages war against the church and puts some believers to death, God is watching over and protecting his own from apostasy, giving them spiritual strength to endure the onslaughts of Satan.