John witnesses a great struggle between a woman and a red dragon, which, on paper, would be a mismatch by any standards. However, this struggle originates from the very first pages of the Bible when another encounter between a woman and a dragon resulted in the fall of mankind. Though once in alliance, the woman and serpent will forever be at war because of their respective punishments handed out to them by God.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
Genesis 3:15 (NIV)
The woman in John’s vision was clothed by the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. The imagery used to describe the woman has elements borrowed from Joseph’s dream. In his dream, he saw the stars as his brothers who later became the heads of the tribes of Israel, thus leading many to believe that this woman has authority over the twelve tribes of Israel. There are a few who equate the woman in John’s dream to Jesus’s mother, as He was the Son that satan wanted to devour.
However, the woman might simply represent the Church of Jesus Christ, clothed in the warm embrace of the Father represented by the sun. The moon reflects the sun’s brightness, just as the people of God reflect His glory and form the foundation of the Church. In this book, the stars are often a representation of the angels or heavenly beings. The seven churches whom John is addressing in this letter, all had a star assigned to them which was later revealed by Jesus as angels.
She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.
Revelation 12:2 (NIV)
After the fall of mankind and their subsequent eviction from the Lord’s presence, childbirth has been a painful experience. Perhaps the people’s sin is compared to the pain during birth as deliverance from the pain. In the same context, giving birth to the people of God and having birthing pains could also be seen as Jesus on the cross, about to die, with satan trying to stop Him from His mission.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Romans 8:22 (NIV)
Along Came the dragon
Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.
Revelation 12:3-4 (NIV)
John later reveals the identity of the red dragon as the ancient serpent, the deceiver of the world, satan. The dragon bore a striking resemblance to the slain Lamb but had ten horns instead of seven on his head. He was the pretender to the throne, who spearheaded a rebellion in trying to usurp the Ancient of Days and with him brought down the other fallen angels. Unlike the wagging of the tail of an animal can cause unintended destruction, the dragon left a trail of destruction in pursuit of its own agenda.
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. 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.
Revelation 12:4-5 (NIV)
The scene of a woman about to give birth to the one who rules with the iron sceptre (Psalms 2:7-9) could be a callback to Jesus’ birth when satan used Herod to commit a massacre in an attempt to disrupt God’s redemption plan. However, the scene that best justifies this analogy is the temptation that Jesus faced before beginning His ministry. In the wilderness when He was without food for forty days, satan tried his best to derail Him from fulfilling God’s plan for our deliverance. In today’s context, this scene could represent anyone trying to hinder someone from receiving their deliverance.
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.
Revelation 12:6 (NIV)
When Hagar was left to fend for herself in the desert, God prepared a place for her as she found protection under His wing. Her son was blessed into a nation as they prospered in the ways of the world at a far greater pace than Abraham’s descendants. Mary found a similar refuge in the desert of Egypt when she was on the run from the jurisdiction of Herod. Likewise, after the deliverance that Jesus gave us on the cross, satan activated his demonic forces to torment the children of God but they found uncomparable protection under His wings.
The Holy War
Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 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.
Revelation 12:7-9 (NIV)
This battle could be taking place as a backdrop to Jesus’ death for our sins on the cross. After we had received our salvation, the dragon and the other stars lost their place in heaven. The accuser could not ask for our blood as God had paid our debts. It could also be that this war took place before the creation of man when the fallen angels rebelled against God.
The dragon was hurled down to the earth that God created, where he sought to regain his place back in heaven by plotting the fall of mankind. Now that the accuser cannot indict us as we have triumphed over him by the Blood of the Lamb. While the gospel of this world is to live life to the fullest, the message of the Bloof of Christ gives us everlasting life.
When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.
Revelation 12:13 (NIV)
Filled with rage and a thirst for revenge, the dragon chases after the woman who gave birth to the deliverance of God’s people. He had lost the battle against Michael and his angels and wanted to take out his frustrations on the Church of Jesus Christ. Thus, the eternal enmity between the woman and the serpent continues even today through us. Fueled by our desire for the things of this world, the dragon drives a wedge between us and God.
Nevertheless, God has not left us to fend for ourselves as the woman is given the wings of the great eagle that ferried her to a secluded place prepared for her in the wild. Just like the Israelites were brought out of Egypt into God’s care (Exodus 19:4), her every need would be fulfilled till the time of the tribulations, as she was kept away from the dragon’s reach.
Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
Revelation 12:15-16 (NIV)
The dragon tries his best to overtake the woman by opening the floodgates of hell. However, just like God protected the Israelites when they crossed the Red Sea, He opened up the earth and drained out the rivers that the dragon had spewed out. Similarly, satan has called for an all-out war on the people of God after the Lamb had shed His blood for their sins. He has released the demonic forces of the sea (hell) to detour the path of God’s people.
For he will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the LORD drives along.
Isaiah 59:19 (NIV)
God is ever ready and willing to help us drain the floodwaters from our lives. Even when we keep failing Him at every turn, He devises new ways to bring us back to Him. Do we accept His invitation and take protection under His wings or do we arrogantly try swimming against the current during the storms of our lives?
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.
Revelation 12:17 (NIV)
Discussion Questions
- Who is the woman clothed by the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head?
- Why does the red dragon desire to devour the child the woman birthed?
- Why is the dragon chasing after the woman even after she has given birth to the one who will rule with an iron sceptre?
- When is this battle in heaven between Michael and the dragon taking place?
- What do the flood waters that the dragon spewed from its mouth represent?
- How can Earth protect the women from the dragon’s waves of rushing waters?
The Jordan Valley 
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