Revelation 12

Revelation 12 is the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation. The preceding chapter ends with the sounding of the seventh trumpet and the appearance of the ark of the covenant in the heavenly temple. Chapter 12 opens a new vision with two "wonders" (signs) that appear in heaven. It is commonly read together with chapters 13 and 14 as a section depicting the conflict between God's people and the forces of evil.

Outline

• Verses 1–6: A woman clothed with the sun and wearing a crown of twelve stars is about to give birth. A great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns seeks to devour her child. The woman bears a son who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and the child is caught up to the throne of God. The woman flees into the wilderness, where she is nourished for 1,260 days.
• Verses 7–12: Michael and his angels fight against the dragon in heaven. The dragon, that old serpent called the Devil and Satan, is cast out into the earth. A loud voice in heaven proclaims that the brethren overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.
• Verses 13–17: The dragon persecutes the woman, but she is given two wings of a great eagle to fly into the wilderness, where she is nourished "for a time, and times, and half a time." The earth swallows the flood that the serpent casts out of his mouth. The dragon stands upon the sand of the sea to make war with the remnant of the woman's seed.

Key Verses

• Revelation 12:9, "that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan" — frequently cited as identifying the serpent of Genesis 3 with Satan.
• Revelation 12:11, "by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony" — sets forth the basis on which the saints overcome.

Figures and Places

• The woman clothed with the sun: Portrayed as the one who gives birth to the Messiah.
• The great red dragon: The text itself identifies him as the Devil, that is, Satan.
• The male child: Because of the connection with the "rod of iron" in Psalm 2, usually understood to be Jesus Christ.
• Michael: The angel who leads the war in heaven; he also appears in Daniel 10 and Jude.
• The wilderness: The place of refuge that God prepared for the woman.

Interpretive Considerations

The woman has been identified with Old Testament Israel on the basis of the twelve stars, with the church as the people of God, or with Mary, the mother of Jesus. Protestants generally read the woman as Israel or as the community of the church. The Catholic Church has a tradition of applying the passage to Mary as well as to the church.

The 1,260 days and "a time, and times, and half a time" are connected with the three-and-a-half-year period in Daniel 7 and Revelation 13. Views on this period differ: Dispensationalism regards it as the future period of the Great Tribulation, while other interpretations take it as symbolizing the entire church age.

The "remnant of her seed" in verse 17 is also cited by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in explaining its own identity as a community.

The scene of war in heaven is read alongside Luke 10, which speaks of "Satan as lightning fall from heaven."