The Dragon Attacks
Revelation 12:1-6, 13-17
February 18, 2007 

“Alright, alright; so there will be days of opposition to the church by the world but God’s enemies will eventually face His judgment. I’ve got that by now! But they are merely men and merely worldly powers. My biggest concern is with the devil. How will the church be protected from such a powerful and vicious foe?”

I’m glad that you asked! Revelation answers that spiritual dilemma with such vividness that the triumph of Christ is stamped on our minds. The first eleven chapters, though representing different pictures of our God and His people, essentially show the triumph of Christ over the world. It portrays the church’s conflict with the system of humanity opposed to God, and how the Lord protects the church even in the midst of suffering and persecution. Satan is identified especially in the seven letters (chaps. 2-3) but he is used more as an object of a preposition, e.g. “synagogue of Satan,” “the throne of Satan,” “the dwelling place of Satan,” and “the deep things of Satan” (2:9, 11, 13, 24; 3:9). The devil is said to have thrown some believers at Smyrna into prison (2:10). He is called “the angel of the abyss…Abaddon…and…Apollyon” in the description of the fifth trumpet’s woe (9:11). He lurks in the first half of the book but is by no means prominent as the antagonist. That place belongs to the unbelieving world united against Christ, the gospel, and the church.

But chapters 12-22 are different. The book shifts from the fruit of the fall to the root of the fall. The cosmic conflict that stretches from the Garden to the seventh seal, seventh trumpet, and the seventh bowl of wrath, ultimately reveals the triumph of Christ over Satan.

Here’s where the practicality of Revelation strikes our present need. As those afflicted by the devil’s assaults, we do not want mere theory of triumph in the face of temptation and evil. We want to understand Satan’s defeat by Christ and how that triumph affects the way that we confront each day’s new assaults. How do we live as Christians when we have such a powerful foe opposing us? We must cling to the provisions of our Lord against our great foe. Nothing short of Christ’s provisions will do.

Chapter 12 is divided into three parts. The first, in vv. 1-6 and the third, in vv. 13-17, go together, which is evidenced by the common focal point of the “woman” as the subject of both sections. Verses 7-12 take us back to the cross, and how we are to live by the application of the gospel in light of Christ’s triumph over Satan. That will be next week’s exposition. At present we turn to the first and third parts of this chapter.

I. Three characters
I know that you are surprised by this but chapter 12 has lots of differing interpretations! By now, I think we’re accustomed to multiple interpretive ideas with each new chapter. Perhaps most controversial is the timeframe. For those that treat Revelation as a linear timeline, this section presents a tribulation period only for Jewish converts. The message consequently has no application to present day believers. It’s just interesting information for those holding such a position. Another view posits this passage as applying only to first century believers who are part of the Roman Empire. Again, this limits application to our own need as well as the breadth of this book. Rather, as G.E. Ladd wrote, “It is not meant to be a foretelling of history but a representation of the struggle in the spiritual world which lies behind history” [A Commentary on the Revelation, 166].

While it is obvious that John spoke to his present-day need, the triumphant tone of the whole book as well as the cosmic scope of its message insists that we lay aside preconceived agendas to consider how the book speaks to the church in every generation. It is a book for the ages; and we’re part of the ages! So, with that in mind, what do we make of the central characters in this chapter?

1. The woman
John sees a sign in heaven. He does not mean for us to take this literally but to consider again the symbolic language’s ability to heighten our senses and sharpen our thoughts. “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.” The dragon stands before the woman to devour her child when He is born. The woman gives birth to the child then flees “into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.” The same woman faces persecution by the dragon and is then given “two wings of the great eagle…so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.”

First, is the woman in verses 1-2 the same woman of verse 6 and 13-17? There’s nothing that indicates we should interpret this as two or three different people or peoples. Yet the span that the woman covers indicates a broad range; at least from before the birth of the child to a long period afterwards when pursued by the devil. Nor should we interpret this as a literal woman, Mary the mother of Jesus, as some in the Roman tradition do.

Second, the descriptive language, “a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars,” sets the woman apart. She stands in contrast with the great harlot of 17:1-7 that rides a scarlet beast full of blasphemous names, and seven heads and ten horns. She is clothed in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls, and carries in her hand a cup full of abominations representing her immoralities. She was drunk with the blood of the saints. But the woman of chapter 12 is regal. “Clothed with the sun,” shows that “she is glorious and exalted,” having been lavished by heaven with such glory; “the moon under her feet,” implies that “she exercises dominion” [Wm. Hendriksen, More than Conquerors, 136]. The victor’s crown ( or stephanos) adorning her head with twelve stars “represents God’s people exemplified in the twelve patriarchs of the old covenant era and in the twelve apostles of new covenant times. The number twelve is a description of God’s people” [Simon Kistemaker, NTC: Revelation, 354].

Third, since John goes to great lengths in Revelation to demonstrate the unity of God’s people in every age under the banner of the cross, it seems inappropriate to interpret the woman as Israel and only Israel. I think the balance of the chapter bears this out sufficiently. The woman includes the redeemed of Israel but more; she represents God’s people through the ages under old covenant and new covenant facing the dragon’s rage. The point driven home is God’s provision for His people facing Satan’s attacks. Ladd comments, “Therefore, it is easier to understand the woman in a somewhat broader sense as the ideal Zion, the heavenly representative of the people of God (Isa. 54:1; 66:7-9)” [167].

Fourth, the woman “was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.” Though John doesn’t offer a birth narrative in his Gospel, he does give some indication of it here. It’s an emphasis upon the Incarnation as well as the long process by which the Messiah came from Adam through Seth’s lineage, through Abraham, through David until “a child will be born to us,” plural, God’s people. Dennis Johnson adds, “From the expulsion from Eden, God’s people have been an expectant mother, awaiting the birth of the Seed who would champion their cause against Satan the liar, accuser, and murderer” [Triumph of the Lamb, 181]. After the child’s birth, the woman flees to the wilderness to the place God prepared for her. She is obviously a people under attack by the dragon (vv. 6, 13-17).

Fifth, John’s vision doesn’t parse every picture to fit into a neat category. The woman births the child, then flees, then faces the onslaught of the dragon, but is protected by the Lord during the season of her persecution. The woman represents God’s people in every age beginning with those under the old covenant and continuing to all under the new covenant in Christ.

2. The dragon
John makes clear the identity of the dragon in verse 9: “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.” His description helps us to sense the intensity of the Church’s enemy. “Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.” The use of “dragon” to represent the devil probably originated from the Old Testament’s use of Leviathan, Behemoth and Rahab as creaturely embodiments of evil [cf. Ladd, 168]. It also, just like our day, gave the original audience a mental image of one who is vicious, intent on harm, and who cannot be trusted. Tolkien captures some of this in the Hobbit as he describes the powerful dragon Smaug, that ruined life for the men below his domain, keeping them in fear and dread. The red color reminds us of the second horseman representing war (6:4), and rightly so, because he “went off to make war with the” saints (12:17). The distorted “seven heads and ten horns…and…seven diadems,” indicates the devil’s completeness in conquering the world after usurping the authority given to man in the Garden. “The dragon dominates the world by governing global empires, principal authorities, political movements, and philosophical ideas” [cf. Kistemaker, 356]. We see the evidence of his corrupt, deceitful domination throughout the globe, showing up in not only despotic rulers but weak and unethical politicians, immoral media figures, greedy businessmen, and a host of others. With the background of Daniel chapter seven’s devouring beast with ten horns, the dragon opposes everything that is from God.

“His tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth,” indicates his power and strength. This is not meant to be taken literally, because the earth could not contain a third of the stars of heaven! It likely is reference to the angels that fell with Satan now making up the demonic hoard intent on attacking everything godly and good.

The dragon’s ambition can be seen in verse 4. He waited for the woman to give birth so that “he might devour her child.” As we will see, the child refers to Christ. Throughout the history of the world, Satan has sought to subvert and destroy the godly seed through which Christ would come. The background is Genesis 3:15. “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” Satan’s goal was to destroy the line through which Christ would come. So often the promised lineage of the Messiah faced extinction: at the flood, in Abraham having no heir, in Jacob facing Esau in the wilderness, in David being hunted down by Saul, in the wicked Queen Athaliah killing all heirs to the throne except Joash, in Haman’s plans to destroy all the Jews, in Herod’s attempt to kill all the baby boys around Bethlehem [cf. Hendriksen, 137-140]. But God preserved our Savior so that He might go to the cross on our behalf and deliver us from the dominion of Satan! Now Satan’s rage is transferred to the Church.

3. The Child
The woman was in labor. “And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.” The theme of Christ’s rule is threaded throughout the book of Revelation, leaving no doubt the identity of the Child. John doesn’t hesitate to mix the symbolism. As Kistemaker points out, “We must see the woman as the church that bore the Son; and in time, we must see the Son redeeming the church, which then becomes his bride (19:7; 21:2, 9; 22:17)[358]. The language comes straight out of Psalm 2 concerning the Lord’s Anointed: “Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, you shall shatter them like earthenware.” Another reading for “break” is “rule,” which the Septuagint translators picked up on and John uses here.

John capsules Christ’s birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, exaltation, and coronation in one verse! Here he incorporates the life, death, and resurrection by using ascension and coronation language. He expands upon the triumph of Christ over Satan in the next section, vv. 7-12, but here “telescopes Jesus’ earthly life” [Kistemaker, 358]. So, as John explains how the Christian deals with Satan’s opposition and attacks, he does so by focusing on the triumph of Jesus Christ. We find the centrality of the gospel, not hocus pocus or clever formulas or twelve steps, in resisting the adversary’s assaults.

II. One malicious aim
This passage helps us to understand the devil’s constant intention. There’s never a moment of truce; there’s no bartering for peace. He is our adversary.

1. Target
Verse 13 identifies the target as “the woman who gave birth to the male child.” Some scholars explain two dimensions in the pictures of the woman, as first, the ideal people of God; thus clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, crowned with victory, and successful in every venture [cf. Ladd, 173]. Since Satan could not destroy or defeat Christ, he attempts to defeat the Church. John’s portrait demonstrates the ultimate triumph of the church because of Christ.

But verse 17 speaks of “the rest of her children,” adding the second dimension of this picture as the actual people of God; those under siege by the devil. In this case, the devil “went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” The reality is that the church, characterized by obedience to God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, lives in spiritual war. Paul speaks of the warfare in which believers are regularly engaged (e.g. Eph. 6, 2 Cor. 10). Here John amplifies an important truth. The real enemy of our souls is the “dragon,” the devil. We live in a spiritual conflict with the enemy of our souls having declared war against us. Peter warned us, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world” (1 Pet. 5:8-9). It’s the common lot of Christians until the last enemy is put under Christ’s feet!

2. Strategy
How does the devil assault Christians? He has a large arsenal to draw from. John identifies four aspects of Satan’s strategy. First, he seeks to intimidate us, to cause us to be fearful and unbelieving. Notice in verse 4 that he stood before the woman licking his chops to show readiness to devour the child. Through the centuries, Satan has used this tactic to cause Christians to cower in the face of unbelievers. Fear God not Satan.

Second, he persecutes Christians. The word “persecuted” in verse 13 means to hunt after or to pursue. It is pursuit with intent to destroy or harm. God’s people are regularly persecuted throughout the world. We need not be surprised by this for “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” wrote Paul to Timothy (2 Tim. 3:12). We are to see the means that God has given to walk through such times.

Third, he deceives the world, including Christians, if we let down our guard. “And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.” The great deceiver twists, distorts, maligns, and confuses the truth in order to deceive. Dennis Johnson points out, “In Revelation what proceeds from the mouth symbolizes words and their power” [185]. We see this in the sharp sword coming out of Christ’s mouth referring to His powerful word (1:16; 2:12, 16; 19:11, 13, 15, 21). The two witnesses in chapter 11 respond to those seeking to harm them with fire flowing out of their mouths, testifying to the power of the gospel (11:5). John gives a grotesque picture in chapter 16 of frogs coming out the mouths of the dragon, beast, and false prophet in order to deceive the world. This is why there’s such strong emphasis in the New Testament upon doctrine and warnings against false doctrine. Most of the epistles address doctrinal errors where the church faced being swept away and destroyed by deceptive teaching [cf. Johnson, 185].

Fourth, the devil uses conflict to attack us. He has made “war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” It may run the gamut from personal grudges and resentment to church squabbles to issues that pit the church against the state to outright assault by governing powers. For the devil, there are no rules of engagement or Geneva Convention. “If Satan can set us at odds with a brother,” wrote William Gurnall, “he gives a deep wound to our godliness and to the whole cause of Christ. He knows we will hardly join hands in a duty if we cannot join hearts in love” [The Christian in Complete Armour, vol. 1, 73].

III. Three truths
I believe that our text offers at least three truths that we must cling to in the conflict with our adversary.

1. Place of refuge
“Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.” God prepared the place of refuge, and there the woman found care and nourishment throughout the days of her conflict (represented by the 1260 days). Paul told the Colossian church, “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (3:3). The death implied is the believer’s identification with Christ in His death. We find refuge in the crucified Christ. “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb” (12:11). God hides us with Him and secures us. Meditate much on Christ’s death for you for that repels the darts of doubt, despair, unbelief, hatred, and a host of other devilish assaults. Gurnall writes, “It is not the man decked out in morality or philosophical virtues who will repel a full charge of temptation sent from Satan’s cannon; it is the man suited up in armour—that is, in Christ” [60].

2. Means to the refuge
But sometime we find ourselves so weak and afflicted we cannot make our way to our refuge in Christ crucified. “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, from the presence of the serpent.” The imagery comes right out of Exodus 19 where the Lord told Israel, “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself” (19:4). God initiates the way for deliverance to the refuge in Christ. The image of the wilderness is a place that without God’s provision, one cannot survive its barrenness, heat, and exposure. But here the picture is of God as not only the Christian’s provider in the refuge but the One who aids our escape from Satan’s assault through giving the means to come to Him (evident by the divine passive, “were given”). Those eagle’s wings may come in a multitude of ways; the proof is that God’s provision always leads us to resting in Christ. Look for the wings, my dear brethren, that, God surely provides when we are too weak to flee the devil’s attacks.

The “time and times and half a time” is another way of stating 1260 days or 3 ½ years. It’s the time of our sojourning in this life bearing testimony to the gospel (11:3), facing the assaults of Satan, and being nourished and cared for by the Lord throughout the time (14b). It’s temporary, so we are to make the most of it by trusting in Christ.

3. Omnipotent provision
The woman fled but “the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.” How would she escape? “But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.” Does the earth literally have a mouth? Is it capable of understanding? The point John makes through such imagery is that our God is all powerful. Satan has great power, much greater than that of men. But our God has far, far greater power! Powerful displays of omnipotence, eclipses Satan’s attacks. Gurnall expressed it so wisely. “Once you realize that God omnipotent is in charge of your life, you will quit worrying about how to fight your enemies. No assault is strong enough to overpower Him, and nothing can penetrate your front lines without His permission” [50].

Conclusion
    The dragon still assaults the church. That’s what John shows us. Yet he shows even more. God has given the church a place of refuge in Christ crucified and risen from the dead, the means to flee to that refuge, and the exercise of His omnipotence on our behalf. Let us not fear the battle with the Captain of our Salvation at our head!

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