Revelation 12:1-17
Expanded Bible
The Woman and the Dragon
12 And then a great ·wonder [sign; portent; C symbolic descriptions of heavenly/spiritual realities] appeared in heaven: A woman was clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet [C indicating authority or victory; Gen. 37:9], and a crown [C a reward of victory] of twelve stars was on her head [C representing the twelve tribes of Israel; the woman is a symbol of the persecuted people of God]. 2 She was ·pregnant [L in the womb] and cried out with [L labor] pain, because she was about to give birth [C to the Messiah]. 3 Then another ·wonder [sign; portent; 12:1] appeared in heaven: There was a giant red dragon with seven heads [C reminiscent of the many-headed Leviathan representing evil and chaos, here representing Satan; Ps. 74:14; Is. 27:1; Dan. 7:1–9] and seven ·crowns [diadems; royal crowns] on each head. He [or It; C the Greek masculine pronoun can refer to a person or thing] also had ten horns [C symbols of strength and power; Dan. 7:7–8, 20, 24]. 4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of ·the sky [or heaven] and ·threw [cast; hurled; Dan. 8:10] them down to the earth [C representing an early victory against God’s people; 12:1]. He stood in front of the woman who was ready to give birth so he could ·eat [devour] her ·baby [child; C Jesus the Messiah] as soon as it was born. 5 Then the woman gave birth to ·a son [L a son, a male child,] who will ·rule [or shepherd] all the nations with an iron ·rod [sceptre; 19:15; Ps. 2:9]. And her child was ·taken up [or snatched away; C probably a symbolic reference to the resurrection, where Satan’s victory was thwarted] to God and to his throne. 6 The woman ·ran away [fled] into the ·desert [wilderness] to a place God prepared for her where she would ·be taken care of [nourished; fed] for one thousand two hundred sixty days [C equal to three and one-half years; see 11:3].
7 Then there was a war in heaven. Michael [C an archangel and protector of God’s people; Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9] and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But the dragon was not strong enough, and he and his angels lost their place in heaven. 9 The ·giant [great] dragon was ·thrown down [cast; hurled] out of heaven. (He is that ·old snake [ancient serpent] called the devil or Satan [Gen. 3:1, 15], who ·tricks [deceives; leads astray] the whole world.) The dragon with his angels was ·thrown down [cast; hurled] to the earth.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying:
“The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God
and the ·authority [power] of his ·Christ [Messiah; Anointed One] have now come [Dan. 7:14].
[L For] The accuser [C the name Satan means “Accuser” in Hebrew; Job 1:6–12; 2:1–6; Zech. 3:1–2] of our brothers and sisters,
who accused them day and night before our God,
has been ·thrown [cast; hurled] down.
11 And our brothers and sisters ·defeated [conquered] him
by the blood of the ·Lamb’s death [L Lamb; C by means of Christ’s sacrificial death]
and by the ·message they preached [L word of their witness/testimony].
[L And] They did not love their lives so much
that they ·were afraid of [avoided] death.
12 So rejoice, you heavens
and all who live there!
But ·it will be terrible for [L woe to] the earth and the sea,
because the devil has come down to you!
He is filled with ·anger [wrath],
because he knows he ·does not have much time [L has little time].”
13 When the dragon saw he had been ·thrown [cast; hurled] down to the earth, he ·hunted for [pursued; or persecuted] the woman who had given birth to the ·son [boy; L male]. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of a great ·eagle [or vulture; Ex. 19:4; Deut. 32:10–11; Is. 40:31] so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the ·desert [wilderness]. There she would be ·taken care of [nourished; fed] for ·three and one-half years [L a time, times, and half a time; 11:2, 3; 13:5; Dan. 7:25; 12:7], away from the ·snake [serpent; C God will spiritually nourish his people though they are persecuted]. 15 Then the ·snake [serpent] ·poured [spewed; L threw] water out of its mouth like a river ·toward [after] the woman so the flood would ·carry [sweep] her away [C overwhelming water signifies overwhelming trouble; Ps. 18:4; 69:2]. 16 But the earth ·helped [rescued] the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that ·came [spewed; L was thrown] from the mouth of the dragon. 17 Then the dragon was ·very angry [furious; full of wrath] at the woman, and he went off to make war against ·all her other children [L the rest of her seed/offspring]—those who obey God’s commands and who ·have the message Jesus taught [or hold fast to their testimony about Jesus].
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Revelation 12
Amplified Bible
The Woman, Israel
12 And a great sign [warning of an ominous and frightening future event] appeared in heaven: a [a]woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was with child (the Messiah) and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.(A)
The Red Dragon, Satan
3 Then another sign [of warning] was seen in heaven: behold, a great fiery red dragon (Satan) with [b]seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven royal crowns (diadems).(B) 4 And his tail swept [across the sky] and dragged away a third of the stars of heaven and flung them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.(C)
The Male Child, Christ
5 And she gave birth to a Son, a male Child, who is destined to rule (shepherd) all the nations with a rod of iron; and her Child was [c]caught up to God and to His throne.(D) 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that she would be nourished there for a thousand two hundred and sixty days (forty-two months; three and one-half years).
The Angel, Michael
7 And war broke out in heaven, Michael [the archangel] and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they were not strong enough and did not prevail, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.(E) 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the age-old serpent who is called the [d]devil and Satan, he who continually deceives and seduces the entire inhabited world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.(F) 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,
“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom (dominion, reign) of our God, and the authority of His Christ have come; for the [e]accuser of our [believing] brothers and sisters has been thrown down [at last], he who accuses them and keeps bringing charges [of sinful behavior] against them before our God day and night.(G) 11 And they overcame and conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, for they did not love their life and renounce their faith even when faced with death.(H) 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them [in the presence of God]. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you in great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time [remaining]!”(I)
13 And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who had given birth to the male Child. 14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time (three and one-half years), away from the presence of the serpent (Satan).(J) 15 And the serpent hurled water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon had hurled out of his mouth.(K) 17 So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went off to wage war on the rest of her children (seed), those who keep and obey the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus [holding firmly to it and bearing witness to Him].
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Revelation 12:1 The woman represents the nation of Israel. The sun refers to Jacob (also called Israel, the name divinely bestowed on Jacob at Peniel Gen 32:28), and the moon to Rachel, while the twelve stars refer to the twelve tribes of Israel, originating with the sons of Jacob and Rachel (Gen 37:9-11).
- Revelation 12:3 The seven heads and ten horns correspond to the heads and horns of the beast in 17:3 ff, and to those of the beast in Dan 7:7 ff as well. Daniel’s description reveals that the ten horns are ten kings who temporarily reign with the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation (cf 17:12).
- Revelation 12:5 This refers to the ascension of Christ to heaven following His death and resurrection.
- Revelation 12:9 The Greek for devil is diabolos, which is actually a translation of Satan, a Hebrew word meaning “adversary” or “accuser.” The Greek word additionally carries with it the concept of “slanderer.” See note v 10.
- Revelation 12:10 This is the activity of Satan from which he has earned his name (see note v 9). The activity is most clearly seen in Job 1-2 and in Zech 3.
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