I will offer a review of these verses before introducing the details of the verses. John envisions the unseen epic battle between God and the Devil. He sees the increase and multiplication of the Word of God in the presence of persecution. Christians flee Jerusalem (Acts 8:1-3) and “into the wilderness” (Rev. 12:6). Satan is angry and returns to Jerusalem to make war with the rest of her seed, i.e., those who have not fled. Luke’s Acts tells us that the apostles stay behind and James is killed, John is missing in action, and Peter is imprisoned (cf. Acts 12).
The Woman
The woman arrayed with the sun probably represents the 144,000 saints who are arrayed in celestial glory, the righteous remnant of Israel represented by the twelve stars on her crown. By contrast, the woman of chapter seventeen is dressed in purple and scarlet, decorated with gold, stones, and pearls sitting on a beast. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.
This woman arrayed with the sun and moon with the crown of twelve stars on her head is experiencing the birth pains of delivery. Isaiah 66:8 prophesies the birth of a man child but uses the language of Zion as the righteous remnant of Israel rather than the physical city of Jerusalem (cf. Is. 65:8-10). The verse reads in the NIV, “Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children.
In answering the question concerning the signs of His coming, Jesus gives some of them and explains that they are simply the beginning of birth pains (Matthew 24:8). Some will claim to be the Messiah, while they would hear of wars and rumors of wars. Nation will rise against nation. There will be famines and earthquakes. The end that is to come (Matthew 24:7) will be preceded by these birth pain signs. The context of Matthew 24 is concerned with the destruction of Jerusalem, the old city, and its temple. A new song will be sung of a New Jerusalem. The joy of this birth will cause the pain of travail to be forgotten (cf. Isa. 65:16). When Jesus prepares His disciples for His departure, He explains, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (ESV). Â
The Red Dragon
The Dragon is identified as the old serpent known as the Devil and Satan (12:9). The seven heads and ten horns are the same described in other texts as belonging to the beast (cf. 13:1; 17:3-12). Clearly, the beast gets his authority from Satan’s power. According to Rev. 13:2, Satan gives the beast his “power, throne, and great authority.”Â
While having access to the throne, Satan persuaded Angels in His rebellion (cf. Mat. 25:41; Jude 6, 2 Peter 2:4). The Devil has his angels (cf. Matt. 25:41, Rev. 12:9) and these were cast down to the earth. Both they and his angels are standing before the woman, waiting for her delivery so that he may destroy the child. The Messiah and the birth of His kingdom was the purpose of God, but Satan is all about thwarting His aims and plans. He tried to kill Jesus from His birth (Matthew 2:1-18).