| THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON |
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| 1 A great sign was seen in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was with child. She cried out, laboring and in pain, giving birth. |
| Rev 12:1 A Woman – this is the same woman mentioned in 2 John 1:1, “the elect lady and her children.” This woman is the Bride of Christ, New Jerusalem, the holy City, who is aided by God, Christ, and the Angels. She gave birth to the “male child,” the firstborn from the dead (Rev 1:5), as we shall see in verse 5 below. There are two women in the Book of Revelation; the other woman is the Great Harlot, the kingdom of the beast (Rev 16:10), the great City. clothed with the sun – God and the glory of God. From Isa 60:1-2, “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.” This describes the coming kingdom of heaven and God as the rising sun. The Spirit of Christ, the body of Christ, being the Kingdom of heaven, has a face “shining as the sun” in Revelation 1:16 (see also Mat 17:2); Paul called this “the glory of God in the face of Christ,” (2 Cor 4:6), “the radiance of the glory of God” (Heb 1:3). In Rev 16:8-9, the kingdom of the beast is scorched by the sun, by the spirit of God (described as a river of fire in Dan 7:10.) The light of the natural “sun” in New Jerusalem is replaced by the illumination of “God” (Rev 21:23). and the moon under her feet – the only comparison to the moon is Christ. The light of the moon in New Jerusalem is replaced by the lamp of Christ (Rev 21:23). Christ is the “moon” who reflects the light and glory of God onto the world; in Rev 18:1, the earth was “illuminated with His glory.” He is in subjection to God in the New Jerusalem (1 Cor 15:28), as being under the sun. and on her head a crown of twelve stars – stars represent angels in the Book of Revelation, see Rev 1:16; Rev 1:20; Rev 8:11; Rev 9:1; Rev 12:4; and Rev 22:16. Twelve Angels surround New Jerusalem, the holy City (Rev 21:12). The end time Church is described as “the brightness of the heavens” (NIV) in Dan 12:3. Jesus called the kingdom of heaven “the light of the world” (Matt 5:14). The sun, moon and stars represent all the light that shines on the world. Jesus’ statement “the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall” (Matt 24:29) refers to the dimming of the kingdom of heaven, and the final deception of Satan that is allowed by God, see Rev 20:7 . The stars, that will fall, are likely angels, see Rev 12:4; Rev 8:10; and Rev 9:1. Rev 12:2 she was with Child – the kingdom of heaven began with the baptism of Christ, but Christ was not yet born as the “Male Child” as we shall discover in verse 5. being in labor and in pain – Jesus described His crucifixion as the pain of a woman in labor, in John 16:21, and this is the meaning expression of “in labor and in pain” in this passage. The prophecy of Revelation follows the Book of Daniel. In Dan 9:26, we were told that the Latins, “the people of the ruler to come” (Dan 9:26), would cut off the Messiah, “in the middle of the week” (Dan 9:27), and “put an end to sacrifice and grain offering.” The offering for sin under the Old Covenant came to an end with Christ’s death. Christ died so that many might have eternal life. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven, was like a Woman in labor, waiting to bring life – to many. |
| 3 Another sign was seen in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns. |
| Rev 12:3 a great red dragon – the four beasts of Daniel were described as four Kings (Dan 7:17) and four kingdoms (Dan 7:23). From Daniel Chapter 8, we know that the fourth King is Satan, the little horn that became “exceedingly great.” He is King of the Latins, who were called “the people of the ruler to come” (Dan 9:26). of seven heads and ten horns – the dragon of seven heads and ten horns represents the fourth beast as a King; and the beast of seven heads and ten horns in Rev 13 and Rev 17 represents the fourth beast of Daniel as a “kingdom” which is identitied by the number 666, the name of the name “Latienos” in Rev 13:18. The identity of the seven heads is described in Rev 17:9-10. These are the seven kingdoms that held the saints in captivity: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and the Ten Kings of Europe which are called “a kingdom.” on his heads seven crowns – the position of the crowns will signifiy the time period. In Rev 13:2, the crown move to the ten horns signifying the relationship of the bishop of Rome with the ten states of Europe that came out of the Roman Empire. |
| 4 His tail drew one third of the stars of the sky, and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. |
| Rev 12:4 a third of the stars – from Dan 8:10, the Dragon (Satan) caused some of the stars to fall to the earth. Here, we see that a third of the angels followed the lawless one. These were cast out of heaven in verse 9. the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth – most immediately think of Herod’s attempt to kill the Christ Child. But the birth we are actually speaking of is described in verse 5. |
| 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. Her child was caught up to God, and to his throne. |
| Rev 12:5 who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron – this is the birth described in Psa 2:7-9, “today I have begotten You…You shall break them with a rod of iron.” and her child was caught up to God and to His throne– the explanation of this is in Acts 13:33-34. “He raised up Jesus, as written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son; today I have begotten You’” (Psa 2:7-9). Christ became the firstborn of New Jerusalem, when He resurrected. See also Rom 1:4. |
