The Woman (Revelation 12)

Let’s begin to understand the mystery of the woman who gave birth to a child and was persecuted by the dragon.

The Woman

Revelation 12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

At first glance, this appears to be speaking of Israel and Mary, but as we shall see by the end of the chapter, it has a deeper meaning, because there are others who are included as children of this woman who is in heaven. This is our mother, New Jerusalem (Revelation 12:2, 9-12). Israel is both a mother who gave birth to Jesus (Micah 4:10; 5:3; Song of Solomon 6:10), and a Bride (Isaiah 54:5; 61:10; 62:5).

Revelation 12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

The Jewish church gave birth to the Savior and His Bride the Christian Church.

Revelation 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

The dragon is symbolic of the evil one.

Revelation 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

This is commonly understood as describing a third of the angels turning bad and becoming demons.

Revelation 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

This is obviously Jesus.

Revelation 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

1260 days equals 42 months and 3 1/2 years.

Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

The timing of this appears to be around the birth of Christ and seems to refer to the spiritual battle that necessitated Christ’s parents fleeing to Egypt for a time. However, it also seems to be looking back at a previous time in distant antiquity when the devil was cast out of heaven (Luke 10:18). It also pictures the spiritual battle faced by the church.

Revelation 12:8-9 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

This is how they ended up in the abyss or prison (2 Peter 2:4) often translated as hell, but is the only scripture where a word loaned from Greek mythology, tartaroo is used, picturing an abyss or dungeon of torment.

Revelation 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused [accuses] them before our God day and night.

The word “accused” is “accuses” in Greek, revealing an ongoing false accusation from the devil. Michael the archangel did not return accusation for accusation against the devil, but instead said, “The Lord rebuke you.” (Jude 9). King David was inspired to write Psalm 109 as a prayer against his accusers.

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

How do we overcome the devil? All accusations, true and false, are covered by faith in the blood of the Lamb. If our testimony is to be true, it must be based on the Word of God (John 17:17). Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.” (John 8:31) The paradox of Christianity is that if we love our lives, we are in danger of losing them (John 12:25). Not every Christian will become a martyr, as many still are in countries where persecution exists, but are we willing to live self-sacrificially (Romans 12:1)?

Revelation 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

This is literally “woe to the earth and the sea.” This describes the suffering of everything that exists on planet earth and its primary cause, the devil.

Revelation 12:13-14 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

Two wings of an eagle are used in the Exodus (Exodus 19:4). David and Elijah fled into the wilderness to escape persecution (1 Samuel 23:14-15; 1 Kings 19:4). Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt (Matthew 2:13–23). Persecutions against the New Testament church have been many and varied, from the earliest persecutions by Jews and Romans, then Persian and Islamic persecutions, then Christian to Christian persecutions, Nazi and Communist persecutions, and contemporary persecution across North Africa and Asia. 1260 days adds up to 42 months and three and a half years, a time, times and half a time.

Revelation 12:15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

The flood can symbolize an invading army (Jeremiah 46:7-8; Jeremiah 47:2; Isaiah 8:7-8), ungodliness (2 Samuel 22:5, Psalm 18:4), and a flood of wickedness and evil things (1 Peter 4:4; Proverbs 15:28).

Revelation 12:16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

This occurred where Moses’ persecutors Korah, Dathan and Abiram, were swallowed up by the earth (Numbers 16:30-32). The earth is perhaps also symbolic of an earthly power which may be quite corrupt in other ways but helps the church, such as Constantine legalizing the southern European church, various civil rulers protecting the Waldensians in the European Alps, and Frederick the Wise protecting Luther.

Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Here we see that others are also children of this woman. They are those who keep God’s commandments and have the testimony of Christ, obviously referring to the church, mother Zion (Isaiah 66:5-11) and Jerusalem above (Galatians 4:26).

For Christians, keeping God’s commandments is in the spirit and not the letter as Jesus explained in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and Paul taught (2 Corinthians 3:6) and as Jesus testified, the spiritual keeping of God’s commandments is summarized by the word love (Matthew 22:36-40). The testimony of Jesus is central to Christianity, trumping the twin heresies of traditionalist legalism and modernist liberalism.

Mothers in the Bible

The Bible contains the experiences of many mothers down through human history. Let’s look at a few of them.

Eve: The first mother was Eve. “the man called his wife’s name Eve [life], because she was the mother of all the living.” (Genesis 3:20) Eve was the first woman without a mother. Imagine her life, no human mother’s example to follow. She was also the first woman to bury her child.

Sarah: Genesis 15:4 “one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” God promised an heir. 15 long years later reminding them of this promise. 25 years later before fulfilling the promise. Sarah got impatient and gave her housekeeper to her husband as a surrogate. But this was not God’s will. Sarah laughed and gave her son his name, Isaac, meaning laughter. Sarah’s late start to motherhood reminds us that good things often wait.

Hagar: Genesis 21:17-18 “What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” Hagar suffered as Abraham’s second wife, being forced to leave to keep the family peace. God blessed her and her son Ishmael. Hagar reminds us that God can turn our suffering into joy.

Rebekah: Genesis 25:35 “Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.” Rebekah wanted to play favorites with her children, contrary to her husband’s wishes and cultural norms. She plotted deception, which caused a family rift for generations to come.

Four Mothers: Genesis 30 Rachel, Leah, Zilpah and Bilhah each bore children to Jacob. The competition was fierce and affected the children, twelve sons and a daughter. God worked with them despite the imperfect situation and the family rivalry. Our situations are also not so perfect, but God can still bless us.

Samson’s Mother: Judges 13:3-5 Then the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son. Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” Samson’s mother is unnamed, but her obedience is legendary. God’s angelic messenger told her not to cut his hair as he would be a Nazirite. He was probably bullied growing up, but his mother obeyed God. The bullying probably toughened Samson up for the task to which God had called him. His mother’s faithfulness set the stage for Samson to rescue Israel.

Naomi: Ruth 1:16-17 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.” Ruth was a Moabite, people God had banned Israel from marrying, not because of race, but because of their opposition and idolatry. Yet, following her mother-in-law’s example, Ruth became a worshiper of the true God, and became the great grandmother of David. Yes, women sometimes can get along fabulously with their mothers-in-law.

Elizabeth: Luke 1:41-42 Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” introduces us to Elizabeth, wife of the priest Zechariah. They both had prayed for a child but she believed the angel who said they would have a child, John the Baptist and Zechariah doubted. It is Elizabeth who was given divine insight to utter the famous saying to Mary, blessed are you among women.

Mary: Although she witnessed her son beaten and murdered, Mary is most blessed because her son is the Son of God. Her son came to save the whole world. She cooked for Jesus, washed his clothes and do all the things that moms do for their children. She looked frantically for him after a festival, to be told He was just doing his father’s business. At a wedding in Cana, she tells servants He will do something. After the crucifixion disciples scattered, but she stayed.

Jerusalem Above: Our spiritual mother is either Babylon below or Jerusalem above. Some choose “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” (Revelation 17:5) Some choose “the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother.” (Galatians 4:26)

Mary, Israel, the Church: Mary symbolizes Israel and the Church. “I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head… the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child… 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… And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 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… 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.” (Revelation 12:1, 4, 6, 13-14, 17)

The mothers in the Bible are not painted with unrealistic fantasy, but are real women with real world experiences. They disappoint us, and inspire us. They reveal God’s mercy in working His perfect plan through imperfect people like you and me.

New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation