“And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon
under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was
crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in
heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads
seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the
earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that
when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is
to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his
throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by
God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the
dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any
place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent,
who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down
to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven,
saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of
his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses
them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore,
rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil
has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

Rev. 12: 1-12

The opening of chapter 12 signals the beginning of the second half of the book. In the first half, we saw the outward forces the Church has to deal with between the First and Second Comings. She is hated in the world and is persecuted. In other words, we saw the outward manifestation of the struggle the Church has in the world. In the second group of visions (chapters 12-22), we see the background behind the trouble. The conflict between the world and the Church is the outward manifestation of the war between Christ and Satan.

In this chapter, two visions present the same battle from different perspectives. In the first sign, John sees a woman clothed with the sun, which speaks of her clothed in glory. The moon under her feet speaks of dominion. She wears a crown on her head with twelve stars representing governmental authority. This should remind us of Joseph’s dream. The fact that there are twelve stars is a dead giveaway of who this woman is—it is Israel whom God created to bring forth the Messiah. The main thing is that the woman is pregnant and she is in labor, about to deliver.

Suddenly, John sees another sign: a great red dragon with seven crowned heads, which represents world dominion. The dragon was often the term used in the Old Testament to describe a monster that persecuted Israel. It was used specifically of Egypt in its persecution of Israel. This is a total replay of the Exodus (except now it is Rome pursuing the Israel of God). He has ten horns indicating his power, and on his head seven diadems. This is drawn entirely from Daniel 7 and Daniel’s description of the fourth kingdom. There is no doubt who this is; it is the devil and Satan, the head of all evil kingdoms. Why is the woman pregnant? Israel in the Old Testament existed for one reason—to give birth to a seed. The human race fell because of a woman, and it was to be redeemed through a woman giving birth to a Child.

Now, a complementary vision shows the same conflict from a different perspective. Michael is the angel always contending with the devil. Satan is now cast out of heaven so that he is no longer the accuser of the brethren. This is a clear reference to the book of Job, where Satan accused Job before God, as well as Joshua in the book of Zechariah. No longer can Satan accuse God’s people, for the Lamb has used his blood so that the people of God can overcome him. This war in heaven occurred when Jesus died on a cross outside Jerusalem and rose from the dead.

This corresponds with John 12:31: “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out.” The cross was the death blow to Satan and his hordes. Colossians says, “He disarmed principalities and powers.” When he ascended on high, he led captive a host of captives. The kingdom couldn’t come until the Lamb took the throne and cast the devil out. Now he is powerless to harm the saints. They now have the power to overcome him (by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony).