New Testament · Prophecy

Revelation 12

The Woman and the Dragon

A woman clothed with the sun gives birth while a great red dragon waits to devour her child. War breaks out in heaven, and the dragon is cast down.

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1And 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:

2And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

3And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

4And 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.

5And 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.

6And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

7And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

8And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

10And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

12Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

13And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

14And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

15And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

16And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

17And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Understand This

Revelation 12, explained

What Revelation 12 is saying

A cosmic sign appears: a woman clothed with the sun, crowned with twelve stars, in labor, while a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns seeks to devour her child. The child—who will rule the nations with an iron rod—is caught up to God's throne, and the woman flees into the wilderness for 1,260 days. War erupts in heaven as Michael and his angels cast the dragon (identified as 'the ancient serpent, the devil, Satan') to earth, where he pursues the woman and makes war on her remaining offspring—those who keep God's commandments and hold the testimony of Jesus.

The background behind it

The woman has been interpreted as Israel, the church, or Mary—most likely she is a composite symbol representing God's covenant people who produce the Messiah. The dragon's seven heads and ten horns echo Daniel 7's beast imagery, now identified explicitly with Satan. The cosmic combat motif draws on ancient Near Eastern creation mythology (the chaos dragon) but radically reinterprets it through Christological victory.

Themes running underneath

The chapter provides the theological backstory to the earthly persecution the churches face: behind imperial oppression stands a cosmic adversary. Yet the dragon is already defeated—'cast down'—and the saints overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. The paradox is that the dragon's greatest rage coincides with his defeat.

Why it still matters

Understanding that spiritual opposition intensifies precisely when the enemy has already lost transforms the believer's experience of resistance. The chapter recasts every struggle against evil as a mopping-up operation rather than a battle whose outcome is uncertain.

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Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.