Revelation 12 explained: The Woman, the Child and the Dragon

A woman crowned with stars (vv. 1-2)

In Joseph's dream in Genesis 37, the sun, moon and eleven stars stood for his parents and brothers, so her twelve stars likely point to Israel's twelve tribes. Many read her as God's people bringing the Messiah into the world, and Catholic tradition especially also sees Mary, his mother.

A red dragon waits (vv. 3-4)

Verse 9 names the dragon as Satan, and its heads, horns and crowns echo the beasts of Daniel 7, which stand for cruel empires. The stars it sweeps down are often read as angels who joined its rebellion, and its wait to devour the newborn recalls Pharaoh and Herod, who both ordered baby boys killed.

Child saved, woman hidden (vv. 5-6)

The child is described in the words of Psalm 2 about God's chosen king, so he is widely taken as Jesus, his whole life summed up in one leap from birth to God's throne. The woman is kept safe in the wilderness, where God once fed Israel, for 1,260 days (about three and a half years), which many read as a limited time of trouble and some as a literal future period.

War in heaven (vv. 7-9)

Michael is the angel the book of Daniel names as protector of Israel's people, and here he and his angels drive the dragon out of heaven. Verse 9 ties the dragon to the serpent in the Garden of Eden and calls him the devil, Greek for slanderer, and Satan, Hebrew for adversary.

A song of victory (vv. 10-12)

In Job and Zechariah, Satan stands before God accusing people, and this song says that accuser has been thrown out, beaten by the Lamb's blood (meaning Jesus' death) and by followers who stayed faithful even when it cost their lives. It also warns that he now rages on earth like someone who knows his time is short.

The dragon hunts her children (vv. 13-17)

The eagle's wings echo Exodus 19:4, where God says he carried Israel out of Egypt that way, and 'a time, times and half a time' is Daniel's phrase for the same three and a half years. Interpreters are unsure what the flood stands for, but when the earth swallows it the dragon turns on her other children, those who hold to Jesus, which leads into the next chapter.

Key verse: Revelation 12:11

Where Christians differ

Christians differ over who the woman is: Catholic tradition especially sees Mary, the mother of Jesus, many Protestants read her as God's people (Israel and then the church), and many interpreters see more than one layer at once.

Something to think about

What do you think people gain, and what might they lose, by picturing their struggles as part of a bigger battle between good and evil?