Revelation 12

KJV · Chapter 12/22

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.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

A symbolic vision shows a woman clothed with the sun about to give birth, pursued by a great red dragon that tries to devour her child. The child is taken up to God's throne, the dragon is cast out of heaven by Michael and his angels, and then pursues the woman and the rest of her offspring on earth.

Explanation

The woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars, is interpreted by many scholars as a symbolic representation of the people of God (Israel and later the church), from whom the Messiah is born, rather than an isolated individual historical figure. The seven-headed red dragon is explicitly identified in the text itself as 'that ancient serpent, called the Devil and Satan' (12:9), directly connecting this figure to the serpent of Eden in Genesis 3. The heavenly battle between Michael and the dragon, resulting in Satan's expulsion from heaven to earth, symbolically explains why, though already defeated spiritually, evil still causes intense suffering on earth for the 'short time' left to it. Today's application is that despite the visible and real persecution faced by God's people, the decisive spiritual victory has already been won in heaven.

Fun facts

The identification of the dragon as 'that ancient serpent' (12:9) is one of the most direct connections in the entire Bible between the book of Revelation and the account of Genesis 3, linking the beginning and end of the biblical narrative around the same spiritual antagonist.

Verse-by-verse explanation

Revelation 12:1The image of the sun, moon, and twelve stars recalls Joseph's dream about his family in Genesis 37. Christian traditions disagree about exactly who this woman represents - Israel, the church, or Mary - and the text does not settle that question here.
Revelation 12:2The woman described in the previous verse is pregnant and in labor, a scene that already announces the conflict of the rest of the chapter: the dragon will try to prevent this birth.
Revelation 12:3The book itself identifies this dragon, just a few verses later, as the old serpent, the Devil, and Satan. The same seven heads and ten horns will reappear on the beast of chapter 13, showing that it receives power directly from this dragon.
Revelation 12:4The dragon's tail sweeping away a third of the stars probably represents angels swept along in his rebellion (an idea developed further later in the same chapter); he positions himself before the woman with the clear intent to devour the child as soon as it was born.
Revelation 12:5The son, described with the same language from Psalm 2 about ruling the nations “with a rod of iron” (already used earlier in the letter to Thyatira, in chapter 2), escapes the dragon by being caught up directly to the throne of God - a reference understood as Christ's ascension.
Revelation 12:6The same broken number, three and a half years, used in chapter 11 returns here, marking another limited period - this time of the woman's protection in the wilderness, not of suffering.
Revelation 12:7Michael already appears in the book of Daniel as the protecting angel of Israel. This battle describes a spiritual conflict behind the visible events on earth.
Revelation 12:8The dragon and his allies lose this heavenly battle and are cast out for good, with no more place in heaven.
Revelation 12:9The text openly reveals who this dragon is: the same “old serpent” from the garden of Eden, now called by the names Devil and Satan, cast down to the earth together with his angels.
Revelation 12:10A heavenly voice celebrates the casting down of the “accuser,” a role associated with Satan in texts such as the book of Job, who kept accusing the people of God continually; now that role comes to an end.
Revelation 12:11This explains how the faithful overcame this accuser: not by their own strength, but by the sacrifice of the Lamb and by the very testimony of their faith, even in the face of possibly dying because of it.
Revelation 12:12The heavenly victory comes with a warning: cast out of heaven, the devil comes down to earth with redoubled rage, knowing that his time to act is running out.
Revelation 12:13No longer able to attack directly in heaven, the dragon turns his attention to the woman who bore the child, beginning a new persecution on earth.
Revelation 12:14Eagle's wings is an image used in Exodus to describe God carrying Israel out of Egypt. The phrase ‘a time, and times,’ that follows is a direct quotation from the book of Daniel for the same period of three and a half years that appears elsewhere in Revelation.
Revelation 12:15The serpent tries to drown the woman with a flood coming out of his own mouth, an image of a natural danger being used as a weapon.
Revelation 12:16In response, the earth “helps” the woman by swallowing up that flood, an intervention that sounds almost like a miracle of nature on her behalf.
Revelation 12:17Frustrated at not being able to strike the woman directly, the dragon changes targets, turning his fury against the rest of her offspring, described as those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus - a description pointing to the persecuted church.