The Story of the Woman, Child, and Dragon
Revelation 12 is one chapter in the Bible that really grabs the attention. It is an apocalyptic vision of a woman, a child, and a dragon. Each is described with otherworldly features. The woman is clothed with the sun, rests her feet on the moon, and wears a crown of twelve stars. The dragon is colored red, has seven heads, ten horns, seven crowns, a tail that sweeps away stars, and water spewing from its mouth. The child is destined to rule nations with an iron rod. There are angels who battle against the dragon. The earth even helps the woman and child in their distress. This is really fantasy imagery, which sparks the imagination!
The vision story of the woman, child and dragon should never be taken in a wooden literal sense. Hank Hanegraaff notes, “The apostle John does not want us to believe that dragons are real, nor does he want us to believe that a dragon’s tail could sweep a third of the stars out of the sky. Instead, he wants to understand the reality of the devil’s ‘cunning wisdom (seven heads), great power (ten horns), and authority to influence others (seven diadems).’ ” [1] What the Apocalypse conveys through the vision of the woman, child, and dragon is hope for persecuted saints. Christ will vindicate the righteous who suffer under the Beast.
Revelation 12 tells of the war between the forces of Michael the Archangel and the dragon. The dragon is unambiguously identified with the names “the serpent of old,” “devil,” and “Satan” (v. 9). God’s angels are victorious and the dragon is cast to the earth. John then writes, “Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time” (Rev. 12:12). [2]
Satan’s knowledge about the shortness of the time remaining wherein he can wage war against God’s people is reason for the intensification of his attacks. However, it is also a reminder of the Lord’s sovereign control over all things. Craig Keener notes, “[Satan’s] authority was always delegated by God, permitted for only a particular length of time, to give him and his followers full opportunity to prove themselves wrong.” [3]
The time text in v. 12, i.e. Satan knowing his time is short, along with other time text in the Book of Revelation, such as “soon” (1:1; 22:6) and “near” (1:3), best accords with understanding the apocalyptic imagery points forward to the near future events of the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple in A.D. 70. The persecution of Christians from both pagans and Jews who rejected the Messiah, coupled with the Jewish revolt against Rome, formed the perfect storm for evil to extinguish the fledgling Christian community. David Chilton writes, “The Dragon has only a brief period left in which to bring about the ruin of the Church, while she is still connected to old Israel; he will seek to stir up Land [Israel] and Sea [heathen nations], the first in a demonic partnership against the Church, and then in a war against each other, in order to crush the Church between them. Like a deposed gangster on the run, the Dragon tries to consolidate his power for a last, desperate stand. But he knows he is doomed; time has almost run out.” [4]
Jesus Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension mark the decisive battle against the powers of darkness, and the final victory is inevitable. The Christian then lives with D-Day in hindsight, and they look forward to the V-Day, when the problem of sin and Satan will be fully and finally resolved. The Christian is assailed on every side with every sort of trial and tribulation, but they can never lose hope, and they can stand firm, for the decisive battle has already been won in their favor.
~ WGN
Notes:
The vision story of the woman, child and dragon should never be taken in a wooden literal sense. Hank Hanegraaff notes, “The apostle John does not want us to believe that dragons are real, nor does he want us to believe that a dragon’s tail could sweep a third of the stars out of the sky. Instead, he wants to understand the reality of the devil’s ‘cunning wisdom (seven heads), great power (ten horns), and authority to influence others (seven diadems).’ ” [1] What the Apocalypse conveys through the vision of the woman, child, and dragon is hope for persecuted saints. Christ will vindicate the righteous who suffer under the Beast.
Revelation 12 tells of the war between the forces of Michael the Archangel and the dragon. The dragon is unambiguously identified with the names “the serpent of old,” “devil,” and “Satan” (v. 9). God’s angels are victorious and the dragon is cast to the earth. John then writes, “Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time” (Rev. 12:12). [2]
Satan’s knowledge about the shortness of the time remaining wherein he can wage war against God’s people is reason for the intensification of his attacks. However, it is also a reminder of the Lord’s sovereign control over all things. Craig Keener notes, “[Satan’s] authority was always delegated by God, permitted for only a particular length of time, to give him and his followers full opportunity to prove themselves wrong.” [3]
The time text in v. 12, i.e. Satan knowing his time is short, along with other time text in the Book of Revelation, such as “soon” (1:1; 22:6) and “near” (1:3), best accords with understanding the apocalyptic imagery points forward to the near future events of the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple in A.D. 70. The persecution of Christians from both pagans and Jews who rejected the Messiah, coupled with the Jewish revolt against Rome, formed the perfect storm for evil to extinguish the fledgling Christian community. David Chilton writes, “The Dragon has only a brief period left in which to bring about the ruin of the Church, while she is still connected to old Israel; he will seek to stir up Land [Israel] and Sea [heathen nations], the first in a demonic partnership against the Church, and then in a war against each other, in order to crush the Church between them. Like a deposed gangster on the run, the Dragon tries to consolidate his power for a last, desperate stand. But he knows he is doomed; time has almost run out.” [4]
Jesus Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension mark the decisive battle against the powers of darkness, and the final victory is inevitable. The Christian then lives with D-Day in hindsight, and they look forward to the V-Day, when the problem of sin and Satan will be fully and finally resolved. The Christian is assailed on every side with every sort of trial and tribulation, but they can never lose hope, and they can stand firm, for the decisive battle has already been won in their favor.
~ WGN
Notes:
- Hank Hanegraaff, The Apocalypse Code: Find Out What the Bible Really Says About the End Times and Why it Matters Today (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2007), 34
- New American Standard Bible used throughout.
- Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Re 12:12.
- David Chilton, The Days of Vengeance: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation (Dominion Press, Tyler, TX: 1987), 318.
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