1. The enemy's war against Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:4-5, 7-11).
2. The enemy's war against the woman (Revelation 12:6, 13-16).
3. The enemy's war against the remnant (Revelation 12:17).
Revelation Chapter 12 Verse 1 to 2
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:
2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
A woman represents a church.
2 Corinthians 11:2 - "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."
Jeremiah 6:2 - "I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman."
Jeremiah 31:32 - "Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord"
According to the Old Testament, God married Israel. In the New Testament, God the Father placed Jesus in Mary's womb through the Holy Spirit.
The heavenly bodies that God created to give light to the earth clothed this woman (Genesis 1:14–17).
The sun is the greater light, and the moon is the lesser light (Genesis 1:16).
Sun:
Clothed with the sun means they have put on Christ, the Sun of Righteousness. She is clothed with the garments of salvation (Revelation 1:16; Revelation 10:1; Matthew 17:2). The sun is the source of light and is therefore the symbol of Christ: “the Sun of righteousness, the day spring/sunrise from on high,” and “the light of the world” (Malachi 4:2; John 8:12; John 9:5).
Moon:
The moon: the lesser light is the Bible, which gives witness to Jesus (John 5:39, John 5:46–47).
The moon also symbolizes the Old Testament Jewish economy in the Law and the Prophets, which pointed forward to the Messiah. It refers to the types and shadows that pointed to Jesus.
Colossians 2:14, 17 - "14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.
17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."
A crown denotes rulership and organization.
The stars symbolize Jacob's twelve sons. They are the founders who later formed Israel's twelve tribes.
The twelve stars also represent the twelve apostles, who are the founders of the New Testament Church (Mark 3:14).
Stars represent the righteous, as well as those who spread the gospel message (Daniel 12:3; Revelation 1:20).
The Seed has not been born at this point, so the woman must represent the church of the Old Testament in verse 2. Therefore, in Verse 5, the woman first represents the Old Testament church, which expected the Messiah, and then, after the birth of the child, continues as the New Testament church.
Revelation Chapter 12 verse 3 to 4
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.
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.
The “great red dragon” who stood before the woman “to devour her child as soon as it was born” is “Satan,” according to verse 9.
But the Bible tells us that it was the Roman government, under the command of King Herod, that attempted to execute Christ soon after His birth (Matthew 2).
Therefore, while the dragon is ultimately a symbol of Satan himself, it also represents Rome as the human agency through which the devil worked to perform his wicked will.
Seven Heads: Notice that the crowns are upon the heads, thus showing that the heads are ruling at this period of time. But Revelation 17:9–10 shows that these heads are consecutive; therefore, we can see in Chapter 12 that one of the heads is Pagan Rome.
Not only does the scarlet-colored beast have seven heads, but the beast that John saw rising from the sea (Revelation 13:1) also had seven heads. Revelation 17:9–10 describes the heads as "seven mountains" and "seven kings." These are the names of the heads. It seems reasonable to conclude that the seven heads of the dragon represent government powers that have supported the dragon and allowed him to persecute.
- Ten Horns: We will discuss this more in Chapter 13. The beasts in chapters 13 and 17 also had ten horns each. Some hold the ten horns of the dragon to be identical with those of these two beasts, and the latter to be identical with the ten horns of the fourth beast of Daniel 7.
Isaiah 9:15 - "The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail."
The tail represents a liar.
The dragon is Satan, and there was war in heaven (verses 7-9), thus showing that the third of the stars and angels (the dragon and his angels, verse 7) of heaven fell to his deceptive powers and were cast out with him. (Jude 1:6; 2 Peter 2:4).
Revelation Chapter 12 Verse 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 woman's child, or seed, is Christ. (Galatians 3:15-16).
Nevertheless, we also witness the final devastation of His adversaries, which will take place at the second coming of Christ, who will rule over all nations with a rod of iron. According to Revelation 19:15 and Psalms 2:7-9, a shepherd's rod, which served a dual purpose, comes to mind. The crook on one end of the rod served to assist and direct the sheep, while the heavy ferrule on the other end, which was a metal cap or ring to strengthen the rod, made it so that it could also be used as a weapon of attack. The purpose of this action was to safeguard the flock from wild animals that could scatter and destroy it.
Jesus caught up to the Father and His throne forty days after His resurrection. Acts 1:9, John 16:10, 20:17, and Revelation 3:21 all record this event.
Revelation Chapter 12 Verse 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.
The Greek word eremos means "a forsaken, desert, empty place," or "an uninhabited place."
A place of seclusion or obscurity, an area or state in which the church would be in a position of obscurity, away from the gaze of the public, is most likely what the term "eremos" refers to in this context.
The Greek word trepho means "to grow," "to raise," "to rear," and "to nourish." Trepho is rendered “nourished” in verse 14. God cares for His people. Despite the church's persecution and exile, the Lord provides sustenance for it.
The books of Daniel and Revelation refer to this period of 1260 days seven times. It appears as 1260 days in Revelation 11:3 and 12:6, but as 42 months in Revelation 11:2 and 13:5, and as 3 1/2 times in Daniel 7:25, 12:7, and Revelation 12:14. This period is most commonly dated from A.D. 538 to A.D. 1798. During this period, God's hand was over the church, preserving it from extinction. Chapter 13 mentions the same time period, so we will examine this closer to the chapter's end.