The Last Days
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Lesson 47 | 11/23/25
Revelation 12:1-4 | The Woman, the Dragon, and the Child
We have come to Revelation chapter 12 in our study which could possibly be one of the most complicated chapters to understand in this book. This chapter is full of dramatic imagery as it tells the story of Redemption through three characters, the Woman, the Dragon, and the Child. Chapter 12 will take us all the way back to the fall of Satan, through the cross and up to the middle of the Tribulation week, with Israel as the main focus. We won’t get through this whole chapter today, but it’s important to see this chapter as a whole. Let’s begin by reading this chapter, Revelation 12.
Here in these 17 verses, the plan of redemption is laid out before us. God’s plan of Redemption has always and still includes the nation of Israel. And the better grasp we have of God’s plan through Israel, the better we will understand this chapter. Chapter 12 starts with a great sign in heaven saying, “Now a great sign appeared in heaven...” But this word “now” is really καί, which means “and in connection with...” This chapter is continuing from the chapter 11 when God pulled back the windows of heaven as a result of the sounding of the 7th Trumpet. So let’s read Revelation 12:1 in connection with Revelation 11:19...
11:19-12:1) 19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen (ὤφθη) in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail. 1 Now (καί- and in connection) a great sign appeared (ὤφθη- same as 11:19...was seen) in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.
This great sign is in connection with the temple of God being opened. Remember, heaven is being revealed not just to John, but to the earth-dwellers below and God revealing His plan of redemption to the world, summarizing the last 6,000 of redemptive history and the deception of the enemy. This chapter brings to light the spiritual warfare behind the scenes of Redemption and God is making this known to the world. Notice what the loud voice in heaven says in verse 12... Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time. Notice they are speaking directly to the inhabitants of the earth, not about them, but to them. That tells me the inhabitants of the earth are included in seeing this vision.
Israel is the focus of chapter 12, just as Israel is the focus of much of Revelation, specifically chapters 6-18
12:2) Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.
The Child that the woman is pregnant with is defined in verse 5
12:3-4) 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.
We’ll focus on this last phrase of verse 4 first, and then we’ll circle back up to verse 3.
The dragon is clearly Satan. This is defined for us in Revelation 12:9- So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world...
The woman Israel is ready to give birth to the Messiah
12:3) And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.
Satan is depicted as having seven heads and ten horns. The diadems on the seven heads depict a ruling crown of authority. Satan is the god of this world system, 2 Cor 4:4; John 12:31. He usurped the authority from Adam and has been deceiving and using men for 6000 years to do his work.
To understand the meaning of these 7 heads and 10 horns, we can just look forward in book of Revelation. The next chapter 13 we see a description of the antichrist, who is the beast. And he will be given the power, dominion, and authority of Satan, the dragon. The beast has a very similar description to the dragon, Revelation 13:1-2. This is defined in chapter 17... Revelation 17:3-13.
12:4) His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth...
This verse takes us all the way back to the very beginning of time when Satan fell from heaven. Even before the fall of Adam.
Revelation 12:11- And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,
and they did not love their lives to the death.
Next week we will look at the Child born and His victory...
PREVIOUS LESSON 46 ← GO TO → NEXT LESSON 48
Here in these 17 verses, the plan of redemption is laid out before us. God’s plan of Redemption has always and still includes the nation of Israel. And the better grasp we have of God’s plan through Israel, the better we will understand this chapter. Chapter 12 starts with a great sign in heaven saying, “Now a great sign appeared in heaven...” But this word “now” is really καί, which means “and in connection with...” This chapter is continuing from the chapter 11 when God pulled back the windows of heaven as a result of the sounding of the 7th Trumpet. So let’s read Revelation 12:1 in connection with Revelation 11:19...
11:19-12:1) 19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen (ὤφθη) in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail. 1 Now (καί- and in connection) a great sign appeared (ὤφθη- same as 11:19...was seen) in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.
This great sign is in connection with the temple of God being opened. Remember, heaven is being revealed not just to John, but to the earth-dwellers below and God revealing His plan of redemption to the world, summarizing the last 6,000 of redemptive history and the deception of the enemy. This chapter brings to light the spiritual warfare behind the scenes of Redemption and God is making this known to the world. Notice what the loud voice in heaven says in verse 12... Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time. Notice they are speaking directly to the inhabitants of the earth, not about them, but to them. That tells me the inhabitants of the earth are included in seeing this vision.
Israel is the focus of chapter 12, just as Israel is the focus of much of Revelation, specifically chapters 6-18
- As we have discussed, one of the names for the Tribulation is “the Time of Jacob’s Trouble,” Jeremiah 30:7-9.
- The Church is not the subject of this chapter. The Church is in this chapter, but only as a result of God’s plan through Israel, v.11, 17.
- Christian Science says it symbolizes their founder Mary Baker Eddy because she claims to be the one who is bringing forth the truth of Christian healing.
- Catholics say this is Mary (close, but not exactly)
- Many Protestants claim this to be the Church (the woman is pregnant. If the Church is pregnant she is in big trouble! because we are supposed to be the virgin Bride of Christ)
- Many times, Israel is referred to as a woman, even the wife of God, Is 54:5; Jer 3:20; Hosea 2:2
12:2) Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.
The Child that the woman is pregnant with is defined in verse 5
- the One who will rule all the nations with a rod of iron.
- This is none other than Jesus Christ, Psalm 2:9; Rev 19:15.
- The Jews, depicted as this woman, were elected for this service of bringing forth the Messiah, Romans 3:1; 9:4-5.
- Jesus said to the woman at the well in John 4, “Salvation is out from Israel,” John 4:22.
- Our Messiah, Jesus Christ was born a Jew in the flesh physically from the tribe of Judah, from the the Seed of David, the Seed of Abraham, Romans 1:3; Matthew 1:1.
- Many familiar prophecies relating to this, Micah 5:2; Isaiah 9:6
- There is another prophecy in Isaiah 26 speaking of Israel being pregnant, but this in is a little odd because it speaks of a barren woman being in birth pain, Isaiah 26:15-21.
- All through Scripture, the Promised Seed has association with the barren woman
- Sarah → Isaac
- Rebekah → Jacob
- Rachel → Joseph
- Hannah → Samuel
- Elizabeth → John the Baptist
- Through these barren women, the Promised Seed would come, either by physical lineage or as prophets to bring forth Jesus → the New Covenant → the Church, Isaiah 54:1; Gal 4:21-31.
- Ever since the prophecy of the Seed in the garden, Genesis 3:15, Israel had been crying out in labor and in pain to give birth for 4,000 years and the whole time Satan was right there trying to thwart the plan of God.
12:3-4) 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.
We’ll focus on this last phrase of verse 4 first, and then we’ll circle back up to verse 3.
The dragon is clearly Satan. This is defined for us in Revelation 12:9- So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world...
The woman Israel is ready to give birth to the Messiah
- God is preparing Israel to bring forth the Promised Seed.
- At the same time, Satan is standing over the woman Israel to devour this promised Child.
- As prophecy continues, God narrows the focus of the Seed.
- He is doing this by calling His own special people into this service
- But the whole time, Satan is standing there to devour this Promised Seed
- Cain kills Abel
- Abomination of the human seed in Genesis 6
- Pharaoh decrees to kill all the Hebrew babies
- Saul and many others try to kill David,
- Hamon’s manipulation to kill all the Jews
- Herod orders all baby boys to be killed in Jerusalem
- Antisemitism is from the devil. It is one of his schemes to thwart the plan of God
- Many churches preach replacement theology that the Church has replaced Israel
- This is calling God a liar because His promises cannot be fulfilled if Israel doesn’t exist
- God has a specific purpose for the Jews. This is the purpose of the Tribulation, the Time of Jacob’s Trouble to bring the Jews back to Himself, Ezekiel 22:17-22; 24:13; Zech 13:7-9; Micah 2:12-13; Amos 9:8-14; Isaiah 1:25-26; Hosea 3:4-5; 5:15.
- Paul writes extensively about this in Romans chapters 9-11, Romans 11:1, 11-12, 25-26.
- Satan knows these prophecies so he is doing everything he can to thwart the plan of God
- But God, in His wisdom, is using Satan’s devious plans to ultimately fulfill His plan of Redemption
- This is why Paul ends Romans 11 saying, Romans 11:33- Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
- But God, in His wisdom, is using Satan’s devious plans to ultimately fulfill His plan of Redemption
12:3) And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.
Satan is depicted as having seven heads and ten horns. The diadems on the seven heads depict a ruling crown of authority. Satan is the god of this world system, 2 Cor 4:4; John 12:31. He usurped the authority from Adam and has been deceiving and using men for 6000 years to do his work.
To understand the meaning of these 7 heads and 10 horns, we can just look forward in book of Revelation. The next chapter 13 we see a description of the antichrist, who is the beast. And he will be given the power, dominion, and authority of Satan, the dragon. The beast has a very similar description to the dragon, Revelation 13:1-2. This is defined in chapter 17... Revelation 17:3-13.
- The seven heads are seven kingdoms that Satan has controlled through the ages using the same demonic spirits of Babel that started in Nimrod’s time.
- The 7 kingdoms throughout the ages are:
- (1) Egypt (before the flood )
- (2) Assyria (1300 – 605) many kings including the most famous being Sennacherib
- (3) Babylon (605 – 537) Nebuchadnezzar
- (4) Persia (537 – 331) Cyrus→ several kings including Xerxes (Esther)→ Artaxerxes (Nehemiah)
- (5) Greece (331 – 146) Alexander the Great → 4 Generals→ Antiochus Epiphanes
- (6) Rome (146 – Current) Caesars → the residue of Roman culture is stamped on the whole world
- (7) One World Order
- The antichrist will rise out from this 7th One World Order kingdom as an 8th but is of the 7th, Rev 17:11.
- The Ten horns are Ten future Kings that will also arise out from this One World Order, 7th kingdom as well, Rev 17:12; Daniel 2:36-45; 7:7-8; 17-27
- These are the kingdoms of the ages that the god of this world, the dragon, is using to manipulate and deceive for one purpose... to over throw God and His plan of redemption.
12:4) His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth...
This verse takes us all the way back to the very beginning of time when Satan fell from heaven. Even before the fall of Adam.
- Satan wanted to be like God and he became prideful and rebellious.
- There are two key passages that talk about the fall of Satan, Isaiah 14:12-16; Ezek 28:12-19.
- I believe this iniquity was found in him when God give Adam dominion of this world. Satan saw the authority God gave man and he became jealous, Heb 2:6-8
- Along with Satan, who is a fallen angel, Satan deceived a third of the angels and they fell with him.
- Satan is a deceiver, and he even deceived a third of the angels into following him in his rebellion against God.
- Notice the way John describes this... His tail drew (σύρω- to drag, as in to drag a net of fish, John 21:8) a third of the stars and threw (ἔβαλεν- 3rd person singular... he threw) them to the earth...
- Paul speaks of those being caught in the snare of the devil, 2 Tim 2:26
- Here is an allusion to even the fallen angels being deceived into his trap as he drew them to sin. Enticing them the same way he did Adam and Eve... you can be just like God.
- And indeed, they became gods and rulers of this world, Ephesians 6:12.
- Paul speaks of those being caught in the snare of the devil, 2 Tim 2:26
- There is supernatural warfare going on around us all the time. For one purpose... to thwart the plan of God,
- But praise God, I have good news... we have a victorious King. His plan will not be thwarted
- We have a King who has defeated death and He is coming again to pulverize all the kingdoms of this world.
- His Name is King Jesus
- And all who believe in Him are overcomers just like He is
Revelation 12:11- And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,
and they did not love their lives to the death.
Next week we will look at the Child born and His victory...
PREVIOUS LESSON 46 ← GO TO → NEXT LESSON 48