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.
Revelation 12:1-6 (ESV)
The twelfth chapter of Revelation seems to begin a new section. A section that shows us our place in the great cosmic struggle. Like all of Revelation, chapters twelve and thirteen are filled with images subject to many interpretations. But there are clues that can guide us in our understanding.
The passage quoted above introduces three characters. There is a woman, her child, and a great red dragon. Who are these?
The woman’s child is the easiest to identify. He will rule the nations with a rod of iron. This is a reference to Psalm 2:7-9, referring to one who is God’s Son. The woman’s child is Jesus. Who is now with God on his throne.
The great red dragon is described in Revelation 12:10 as “the accuser of our brothers,” and in Revelation 20:2 as “that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan.” This dragon will play a role in much of what is to come in Revelation. The dragon is Satan. And the stars he sweeps from heaven may be the angels who side with him in the great heavenly battle described in Revelation 12:7-9.
And that leaves the woman. The sun, moon, and stars are all mentioned in her description. In Genesis 37:9, the sun, moon, and stars are seen in one of Joseph’s dreams. They represented his father, mother, and brothers. So, we can easily understand that the woman is Israel—the one who gives birth to the Messiah.
But probably not all of ethnic Israel. Rather, the faithful remnant throughout history. It is through them that God brought forth his Son. And God will continue to preserve the remnant of faithful Israel in the wilderness. A wilderness that points back to Israel’s wandering in the wilderness before entering the promised land.
