Naravist

The Revelation · New Testament

Revelation 12

Revelation 12: the woman, the man child and the dragon cast out

General context

A great wonder appears in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars, in labour and crying out. A second wonder appears, a great red dragon with seven heads, ten horns and seven crowns, whose tail sweeps a third of the stars to the earth and who waits to devour the child as soon as it is born. The woman bears a man child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and the child is caught up to God and to his throne while she flees to a place prepared for her in the wilderness. War follows in heaven, where Michael and his angels fight the dragon and his angels; the dragon does not prevail and is cast out to the earth with his angels. A loud voice in heaven declares that the accuser is cast down and says that those on the ground overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. The dragon then pursues the woman, who is given eagle's wings and nourished in the wilderness; when he casts a flood after her the earth swallows it, and he turns to make war on the rest of her seed.

Cited passages: Revelation 12:1, Revelation 12:2, Revelation 12:3, Revelation 12:4, Revelation 12:5, Revelation 12:6, Revelation 12:7, Revelation 12:8, Revelation 12:9, Revelation 12:10, Revelation 12:11, Revelation 12:12, Revelation 12:13, Revelation 12:14, Revelation 12:15, Revelation 12:16, Revelation 12:17

Revelation 12 (KJV)

1And 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:

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

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

4And 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.

5And 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.

6And 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.

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

8And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

9And 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.

10And 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 them before our God day and night.

11And 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.

12Therefore 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.

13And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

14And 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.

15And 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.

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

17And 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.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The chapter names the dragon and stacks four names in one verse: "the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world". That is the text's own identification and it is the only one offered here. Michael is named and the text says only that he and his angels fought. The woman is not named, not located and not explained; she is described by what she wears, what she bears and where she goes. The man child is described by what he was to do, "to rule all nations with a rod of iron", and by being caught up, and is not named. Two spans are given, "a thousand two hundred and threescore days" and "a time, and times, and half a time", and the text does not say they are the same. The final verse defines who the dragon attacks next, "which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ", without naming any person or place.

Cited passages: Revelation 12:5, Revelation 12:6, Revelation 12:7, Revelation 12:9, Revelation 12:14, Revelation 12:17

Literary context

Two things are said to appear in heaven and both are called a wonder, so the chapter announces its images as things seen rather than things explained. Its shape is pursuit: a dragon waiting at a birth, a war, a fall, then a chase across the earth. The woman is preserved three separate times, by a place prepared for her, by wings given to her, and by the earth opening to swallow the flood, which makes rescue the chapter's repeated action. The hymn at the centre stops the narrative and states in plain terms what the fall meant to those speaking, that "the accuser of our brethren is cast down". The dragon's markings here, "seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads", are repeated with the crowns moved in the next chapter, where the beast has "upon his horns ten crowns". The chapter ends without resolution, with the dragon going off to make war.

Cited passages: Revelation 12:1, Revelation 12:3, Revelation 12:4, Revelation 12:6, Revelation 12:10, Revelation 12:14, Revelation 12:16, Revelation 12:17, Revelation 13:1

Key moments

  1. A woman clothed with the sun (Revelation 12:1). A woman appears in heaven with the moon under her feet and twelve stars on her head.
  2. The dragon waits (Revelation 12:4). His tail casts a third of the stars down and he stands ready to devour the child.
  3. The child caught up (Revelation 12:5). The man child is taken up to God and to his throne.
  4. War in heaven (Revelation 12:7). Michael and his angels fight the dragon and his angels.
  5. The dragon named (Revelation 12:9). The text calls him that old serpent, the Devil, and Satan.
  6. Wings for the woman (Revelation 12:14). She is given eagle's wings and nourished in the wilderness.
  7. War with the remnant (Revelation 12:17). The dragon turns to make war with the rest of her seed.

For reflection

The chapter gives the dragon four names in a single line and gives the woman none at all. What follows from a text that identifies one figure that precisely and leaves the other open?

People in this chapter

Also indexed here: