Comments on Revelation 12 Chapter 12 is an interlude which generally explains the conflict between agents of good an evil in heaven and earth. But, more particularly, the context is set for this character "the beast" which we hear a great deal about in subsequent chapters. The beast is an extension of Satan's power (cf. 9:1, 11:7), and he uses the beast to continue the former heavenly struggle (v. 1-6) in an attempt to accomplish the same ends on the earth (v. 12d-17). Poetical Structure The chapter is structured in four blocks, with each block sharing a common theme of conflict between the righteous and adversary. The text is arranged in a vision-interpretation, interpretation-vision pattern, with the first vision (A) being a vision of the War in Heaven and the second vision (B) being a vision of the continuation of that conflict on earth: Vision A (v. 1-9): The adversary lies in wait (v. 3-4) to destroy the woman's child (v. 1-2, 5), but is thwarted as God takes her away and sustains her (v. 6). This causes war to break out in heaven with Michael and his angels fighting the adversary and his angels (v. 7). The adversary gets thrown out of heaven (v. 8) down to earth (v. 9). Interpretation A (v. 10-12c): Heaven rejoices (v. 12a- c) because now salvation is accomplished (v. 10) for the righteous who overcome by the blood of the Lamb and who love God more than their own lives (v. 11). Interpretation B (v. 12d-l): Woe to the inhabitants of the earth because the adversary is there. Vision B (v. 13-17): The adversary is repeating the persecution of the woman here on earth (v. 13-15, but he is again thwarted (v. 16). The persecution continues (v. 17). The two visions (v. 1-9, 13-17) are quite similar in content and language and parallel one another as follows (sections i and ii have close rhetorical parallels and so they are staggered to display this, sections iii and iv are parallels of subject and so they are simply stacked): Vision A Vision B -------- -------- i. Dragon persecutes woman 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. 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 13 And when the dragon saw before the woman that he was cast which was ready unto the earth, to be delivered, he persecuted the woman for to devour her child which brought forth as soon as it was born. the man child. ii. Woman delivered from Dragon by God 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. 6 And the woman fled 14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into the wilderness, where she hath a place into her place, prepared of God, that they should feed her there where she is nourished a thousand two hundred for a time, and times, and threescore days. and half a time, from the face of the serpent. iii. Dragon thwarted by heavens and earth 7 And there was war 15 And the serpent in heaven: cast out of his mouth Michael and his angels water as a flood fought against the dragon; after the woman, and the dragon fought that he might cause her and his angels, to be carried away 8 And prevailed not; of the flood. neither was their place 16 And the earth found any more in heaven. helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. iv. Dragon cast to earth/Dragon makes war on earth 9 And the great dragon 17 And the dragon was wroth was cast out, with the woman, that old serpent, and went to make war called the Devil, with the remnant of her seed, and Satan, which keep which deceiveth the commandments of God, the whole world: and have the testimony he was cast out of Jesus Christ. into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Note the parallel in section iv is not as clear as those of sections i, ii, and iii. Verse 9 has a conclusive ending with Satan being cast out, while v. 17 is open ended. Why? Because the rest of the story and the conclusive ending are given in the subsequent chapters. We see war on earth (cf. ch. 13-14), with the adversary and his minions ultimately being cast down yet again (cf. ch. 20). Thus, the visions as recounted in this chapter show us the past (v. 1-9) and bring them us up to the present (v. 13-17), but the future material is dealt with in later chapters in greater detail. However, from the pattern given, we already know that what happened in v. 9 foreshadows what will happen in the future, just as v. 1-8 foreshadowed what would happen in v. 13-15. Another interesting difference between the two visions merits some discussion. In the first vision we have the man child being born, but in the second vision there is no birth and the man child is not present, he is only referenced indirectly in identifying the woman. The man child was caught up to God's throne in v. 5, and so is absent from the second vision. This makes it clear the two visions are in fact chronological, the second is not simply a retelling of the first for emphasis. The Inspired Version The IV/JST makes substantial changes to the KJV in this chapter: KJV IV --- -- 1 And there appeared 1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a great sign in heaven, in the likeness of things on the earth; a woman clothed with the sun, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: a crown of twelve stars. 2 And she being with child 2 And the woman being with child, cried, travailing in birth, cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. and pained to be delivered. 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. 5 And she brought forth 3 And she brought forth a man child, a man child, who was to rule all nations who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: with a rod of iron; and her child was and her child was caught up unto God, caught up unto God and to his throne. and his throne. 4 And there appeared another sign in heaven; and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 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 delivered, ready to devour her child after it was born. 6 And the woman fled 5 And the woman fled into the wilderness, into the wilderness, where she hath a place where she had a place prepared of God, prepared of God, that they should that they should feed her there feed her there a thousand two hundred a thousand two hundred and threescore days. and threescore years. 7 And there was war 6 And there was war in heaven: in heaven; Michael and his angels Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and the dragon and his angels, and his angels fought against Michael; 8 And prevailed not; 7 And the dragon prevailed not against Michael, neither the child, nor the woman which was the church of God, who had been delivered of her pains, and brought forth the kingdom of our God and his Christ. neither was their place 8 Neither was there place found any more in heaven. found in heaven 9 And the great dragon for the great dragon, was cast out, who was cast out; that old serpent, that old serpent called the Devil, called the devil, and Satan, and also called Satan, which deceiveth which deceiveth the whole world: the whole world; he was cast out he was cast out into the earth, into the earth; and his angels and his angels were cast out with him. were cast out with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice 9 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, Now is come salvation, and strength, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: and the power of his Christ; for the accuser 10 For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, of our brethren is cast down, which accused them which accused them before our God day and night. before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him 11 For they have overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word and by the word of their testimony; of their testimony; and they loved not for they loved not their lives their own lives, but kept the testimony unto the death. even unto death. 12 Therefore rejoice, Therefore, rejoice ye heavens, O heavens, and ye that dwell in them. and ye that dwell in them. 12 And after these things I heard another voice saying, Woe to the inhabiters Woe to the inhabiters of the earth of the earth, yea, and they who dwell and of the sea! upon the islands of the sea! for the devil is come down for the devil is come down unto you, unto you, having great wrath, having great wrath, because he knoweth because he knoweth that he hath that he hath but a short time. but a short time. 13 And when the dragon saw 13 For when the dragon saw that he was cast that he was cast unto the earth, unto the earth, he persecuted the woman he persecuted the woman which brought forth which brought forth the man child. the man-child. 14 And to the woman 14 Therefore, to the woman were given two wings were given two wings of a great eagle, of a great eagle, that she might fly that she might flee into the wilderness, into the wilderness, into her place, into her place, where she is nourished where she is nourished for a time, and times, for a time, and times, and half a time, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. from the face of the serpent. 15 And the serpent 15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth casteth out of his mouth water as a flood water as a flood after the woman, after the woman, that he might cause her that he might cause her to be carried away to be carried away of the flood. of the flood. 16 And the earth 16 And the earth helped the woman, helpeth the woman, and the earth and the earth opened her mouth, openeth her mouth, and swallowed up the flood and swalloweth up the flood which the dragon which the dragon cast out of his mouth. casteth out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was wroth 17 Therefore, the dragon was wroth with the woman, with the woman, and went to make war and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, with the remnant of her seed, which keep which keep the commandments of God, the commandments of God, and have the testimony and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. of Jesus Christ. The most significant changes are the additions of new text which interpret the otherwise obscure symbols of the woman and man child, and also make it plain the woes in v. 12 are a second interpretive statement. Specific Comments v1-6 In these verses we have a woman, a man child, and a dragon. The dragon is easily identified with the adversary, but the woman and man child are not easily identified in the KJV. However, the IV/JST emends the text significantly and states: And the dragon prevailed not against Michael, neither the child, nor the woman which was the church of God, who had been delivered of her pains, and brought forth the kingdom of our God and his Christ. (v. 7 of IV) The woman is the "church of God", and in the Greek the "church" is the "ecclesia" or the "out-called" of God, meaning the people of the church and not the church building or bureaucracy. The symbolic figure of the woman is probably drawn from Gen. 3:16. The ecclesia brings forth the man child, which is "the kingdom of our God and his Christ". When we read this sentence it is ambiguous as to whether it is saying: The ecclesia brings forth the kingdom which is of both God and Christ, or The ecclesia brings forth the kingdom of God and it also brings forth Christ. Fortunately, v. 10 interprets what is meant here and indicates it is the latter because it is the "kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ" that is come in, so it isn't the kingdom of both God and Christ. But how could the ecclesia bring forth the kingdom of God and the power of His Messiah? When we put it into the context of the War in Heaven, which is the context of v. 1-9, it is more plain to see what is being referred to here. Jesus Christ is the Antemortal Lord of Hosts, Lord of what Hosts? The Hosts of Heaven, which sustained him as their Savior. So, in the War in Heaven those people called of God, the ecclesia, sustained God's plan which then appointed the Lord to be the Messiah and established the kingdom of God in earth and heaven. The symbols employed here are derived from preceding scripture: for the woman see Gen. 3:16, for the man child as the kingdom of God see Dan. 12:1-12, Isa. 66:7, Matt. 25:1, John 16:21, D&C 5:14, D&C 86:3; and the man child as Messiah see Isa. 11:1-4, Isa. 26:17-18, Micah 5:3. v1 The woman is characterized as clothed with the sun, or in other words being bathed in brilliant celestial light, as heavenly beings are commonly described in the Scriptures. Having the moon under her feet indicates she is above the moon, the lesser light. And we would assume the twelve stars represent the twelve tribes of Israel and therefore the Abrahamic covenant. v2 Pre-mortal spirits were eager to come down to earth, cf. Job 38:4-7, also cp. D&C 138:56, Abr. 3:22-25. v3 Regarding the description of the dragon, the _Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible_ (1871) by Jamiesen, Fausset, and Brown (JFB) states: the color of the dragon implies his fiery rage as a murderer from the beginning. His representative, the beast, corresponds, having seven heads and ten horns (the number of horns on the fourth beast of Dan. 7:7; Rev. 13:1). But there, ten crowns are on the ten horns (for before the end, the fourth empire is divided into ten kingdoms); here, seven crowns (rather, "diadems," Greek, "diademata," not stephanoi, "wreaths") are upon his seven heads. In Dan. 7:4-7 the Antichristian powers up to Christ's second coming are represented by four beasts, which have among them seven heads, that is, the first, second, and fourth beasts having one head each, the third, four heads. His universal dominion as prince of this fallen world is implied by the seven diadems (contrast the "many diadems on Christ's head," Rev. 19:12, when coming to destroy him and his), the caricature of the seven Spirits of God. His worldly instruments of power are marked by the ten horns, ten being the number of the world. It marks his self-contradictions that he and the beast bear both the number seven (the divine number) and ten (the world number). Determining the meaning of the numbers and symbols is problematic. The explanation above is as good as any. v5 "with a rod of iron", Nephi equates the iron rod with the word of God in 1 Ne. 11:25. Ruling with word of God is a typical messianic attribute, cf. Isa. 11:4, Ps. 2:9. v6 The woman is separated from the dragon prior to the War in Heaven, launched by Michael in the subsequent verse, presumably for her own protection. The 1260 days adds up to roughly 3.5 years, the same number used under similar, albeit earthly, circumstances in v. 14. As 3.5 is half of 7, the divine number, one would assume the symbolic message is that the dragon's success in forcing the woman to flee is imperfect and transient and therefore doomed to come to an end. The IV/JST changes the "days" to "years", and I don't know why. As this vision is pertaining to the War in Heaven it seems that earthly units of time would be largely meaningless. Regardless of how long the woman was forced to flee, the dragon's "success" was fleeting and insubstantial, and he was summarily ejected from heaven. v7-9 The hostility necessitating the woman's flight precipitates retaliation against the dragon and his angels, and so war breaks out (v. 7). The dragon and his angels lose, and so they are ejected from heaven (v. 8), cast down to earth to become the adversaries of mankind (v. 9). Just as an aside, Milton in _Paradise Lost_ has a fabulous War in Heaven scene wherein a literal war takes place with arms and siege engines. It might make interesting reading in class. v10 The praise given by the loud voice forms a nice couplet: Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ. v14 "two wings of a great eagle...from the face of the serpent", the symbolism associated with an eagle is that of being high up above your enemies, out of their reach, or having power over them, cp. Isa. 46:11, Jer. 48:40. As the serpent is low down on the ground, it cannot harm the eagle flying high overhead. I would assume this is speaking with respect to the Church of the Firstborn, the righteous dead who inherit celestial glory, as opposed to any kind of earthly Church. The earthly Church has come and gone over time with apostasy and so Satan has some degree of power over that if he can undermine all of the individuals within the Church. What Satan no longer has influence over is that which is in heaven. "a time, and times, and half a time", i.e., 3.5 years, cp. Dan. 12:7 where this is the amount of time of the abomination of desolation, also cp. Dan. 12:11. Unlike v. 6, in this case we are dealing with an earthly setting, so we would be more prone to read this literally. But, if this vision is dealing with all of the 6000 years of the earth's existence prior to the Millennium wherein Satan can run amok, it doesn't seem likely that it would be commenting on only 3.5 out of those 6000 years. Rather, I would read this similarly to v. 6 and assume it is symbolic of the adversary having success on earth to the point where he forces the woman to once again flee to a safe place, but the success is transient. We know from the Scriptures that it is only rarely that Zion is established on the earth, rather Satan typically holds great sway over the masses of men and thus the Church is often an unpopular minority. v15-16 The dragon is thwarted again, this time by the earth. Symbolically speaking, in v. 7-9 we see the heavens rejecting Satan, now the earth rejects him as well. His actions cause all of God's creations to turn against him. This also shows that Satan's activities on the earth do not go unchecked. He serves his purpose as adversary, but he is not permitted to harm the woman. For a more literal approach, the flood imagery is might be derivative of Isaiah as he compares the invading Assyrian armies to the image of a flooding river, cf. Isa. 8:6-8, Isa. 28:15-17. Subsequent chapters describe huge armies besieging Jerusalem (i.e., the flood) in a very literal fashion, and those armies being struck by plagues and natural disasters (i.e., swallowed by the earth). But, again, as noted in the comments on v. 14 above, if we forward such a literal reading then we are assuming the second vision is addressing a very narrow time frame. v17 As the woman has been delivered from the dragon by being put out of his reach in v. 14, he instead turns his efforts to the "remnant of her seed". As the woman represents the ecclesia, a body of believers, I would assume that if the ecclesia is put out of the dragon's reach, then what this means is that he shifts his focus to targeting faithful individuals who keep the commandments and have a testimony of Christ. Copyright © 2001 by S. Kurt Neumiller . All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form or by any means for commercial gain without the express written consent of the author. Digital or printed copies may be freely made and distributed for personal and public non-commercial use.