Ch 12: The woman and the dragon
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The woman and the dragon (12:1)
12:1 A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.
12:3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron sceptre. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
This is the first of a number of visions which form an interlude between the seven trumpets and the seven bowls. They reveal more details of the struggle between good and evil in heaven and the consequent effects on God's people on earth. The devil is here revealed as the ancient enemy of God's people followed by his two henchmen who do his bidding on earth, the beast out of the sea and the beast out of the earth. John sees a number of signs in heaven; the first sign is a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head, she represents the old testament church. She was about to give birth to a male child, the Christ. Then another sign appeared in heaven, an enormous red dragon who is the devil. He tried to kill Christ as he was born, but Jesus ascended to heaven and to God and his throne. The church was then taken care of by God during the gospel age. Eph 6:12 tells us 'that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms' therefore it is appropriate that before our earthly enemies are introduced, namely the beast out of the sea, the beast out of the earth and the whore, that Satan should be introduced and described.
This is the first time in Revelation we find the Greek word semeion (sign) it is used here in 12:1 and 12:3, in all it is found seven times in Revelation (13:13,.13:14, 15:1 16:14, 19:20) This is related to the Greek word semaino (signified) used in Rev 1:1.
| 12:1 A great and wondrous sign (semeion) appeared in heaven: : a woman clothed with the sun, |
| 12:3 Then another sign (semeion) appeared in heaven, an enormous red dragon |
| 13:13 And he performed great and miraculous signs (semeion), even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. |
| 13:14 Because of the signs (semeion) he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honour of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. |
| 15:1 I saw in heaven another great and marvellous sign (semeion): seven angels with the seven last plagues |
| 16:14 They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs (semeion), and they go out to the kings of the whole world, |
| 19:20 But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs (semeion) on his behalf. |
v1 - A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head - This sign in heaven announces a new section. This should be connected to the opening of God's temple in heaven in the previous verse, Rev 11:19. The 'woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head' is a clear reference to Joseph's dream (Gen 37:9) and therefore the woman represents the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph's dream depicts the sun and moon and eleven stars bowing down to him, this is realised when he became the second to Pharaoh and his brothers bowed down to him (Gen 43:26-29). The woman is the elect and in particular here she is the OT elect, who gives birth to the Christ (v5) and later she gives birth to the NT elect (v17). John sees a continuum between the OT and NT elect (see 21:12-14). Wilson says 'In scripture no sharp dividing line is drawn between the true Israel and the new Israel, because the people of the promise are one people, whether they lived before or after the coming of Christ'. But here she represents the OT elect, one of the few references in Revelation to the OT elect alone. Compare the heavenly glory of this woman, who represents the elect (the Bride Eph 5:22), with the earthly glitter of the whore who represents the world, Rev 17:4. This woman stands in contrast to the whore and also to the Queen of heaven.
Johnson points out that others see a more conscious parallelism between the story and the activities of the emperor Domitian around 83 AD. After the death of his ten-year-old son, Domitian immediately proclaimed the boy a god and his mother, the mother of god. Some coins of this period show the mother Domitia as the mother of the gods standing with the sceptre and diadem of the queen of heaven. Another coin shows the mother with the child before her. In his left hand is the sceptre of world dominions, and with his right hand he is blessing the world. Still another coin shows the dead child sitting on the globe of heaven, playing with seven stars, which represent the seven planets, symbolic of his heavenly dominion over the world. On a fourth coin he represents the imperial Zeus child, who has been exalted to be Lord of the stars and who will usher in the age of universal salvation. Such parallel imagery is hardly accidental. But whereas the coinage of Domitian glorifies the son of Domitia as the lord of heaven and saviour of the world, Rev 12 presents Jesus Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth, as the One who will rule all nations with a rod of iron (v 5). John, as it were, demythologizes the Domitian myth by presenting Christ as the true and ascended Lord of heaven, the coming Ruler and Saviour of the world. Johnson also points out that the woman's dazzling appearance like the sun relates her to the glory and brilliance of the Lord (1:16) as well as to her own light-bearing quality (1:20). With the moon under her feet signifying her permanence (Ps 72:5, 89:37, cf. Mat 16:18) and a crown of twelve stars on her head indicating her elect identity, she appears in her true heavenly and glorious character despite her seemingly fragile earthly history (v. 13-16). See also the description of the glory of the new Jerusalem 21:11 ff.
v2 - She was pregnant and cried out as she was about to give birth - She cried out with her birth pangs, (cf. Isa 26:17, 66:7-8, Micah 4:10) these probably represent the various attempts to kill the child, who is Christ, before she gave birth. See Gen 3:15, in which there is enmity between humankind and the serpent, and there is a promised offspring who will crush the serpent's head. In verse 4 the Dragon personally acts as the midwife to destroy the child at birth. Satan then tries to destroy the promised seed, various events are recorded in the OT in which there are attempts to destroy the line from which the Christ will be born.
- Cain slays Abel, but Seth is raised, Gen 4.
- Pharaoh orders the Israelite male babies to be killed, Ex 1:15.
- Saul tries to kill David, 1 Sam 18:11.
- When Athaliah proceeded to destroy the whole royal family, 2 Ki 11:1.
- Haman tries to kill all the Jews but Esther intervenes, Esth 3:6, 7:3.
- There are also various other points in the OT where the line leading to the Messiah could be broken (Hendriksen).
- When God destroys the people of the earth but saves Noah.
- Sarah is unable to conceive, but the miracle child Isaac is born.
- The Lord orders Isaac to be sacrificed but then provides a substitute
- Rebekah, Isaac's wife was barren, but she conceives
- Esau threatens to kill Jacob for robbing him of his birthright, but in the end does not.
- The Lord wants to kill the children of Israel but Moses intervenes as an intercessor.
v3 - Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. - Another 'sign' appeared in heaven, just as he saw the 'sign' of the woman, now he sees the sign of the dragon, this emphasises the symbolic nature of what he saw. This is the first appearance of the red dragon, who is the serpent from Gen 3:1. This is the introduction to one of the two external enemies of the Church, Satan and the World, the internal enemy is the flesh, but that is not what this book is about. He is red because of the blood he has shed, for he was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). The dragon is clearly identified three times in verse 9; as 'that ancient serpent, called the devil, or Satan'. The ten horns indicate strength and seven crowns signify his authority, the crowns are royal crowns (diadema) as opposed to the victory crowns (stephanos) that the woman wears. The royal crowns are only worn by the dragon here and by the beast in 13:1 and Christ in 19:12. His seven heads (seven meaning completeness) probably indicates his intelligence, or it could indicate his various forms, compare with the seven heads of the beast, 13:1. Compare him also with the Lamb, 5:6, who had seven horns but only one head. Note; Pharaoh was called a dragon, Ezek 29:3.
v4 - His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth - 'His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky', probably indicates the fallen angels, that is, the demons. When Satan was thrown out of heaven he took his demons with him, Rev 12:7, Dan 8:10.
v4 - The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born - This refers to king Herod who tried to kill Jesus when he was born, Mat 2:16, Herod is a type of the antichrist. This recalls a similar incident when Pharaoh tries to destroy all the male offspring (Exo 1:15-16). Satan is trying to prevent the birth of the one who will crush his head (Gen 3:15). The high priests tried to kill the Christ while he was alive but could only do so when his time came, this parallels the two witnesses who are inviolate until they have finished their testimony.
v5 - She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron sceptre. - However the Dragon did not succeed in destroying the male child. In case we have any doubt who the child is, he is a male child, 'who will rule all the nations with an iron sceptre', which is a reference from the messianic psalm 2:9, the male child is Jesus. This messianic psalm is used also in Rev 2:27 and Rev 19:15 where Jesus is also clearly the subject. The word 'rule' actually means shepherd but in the context of 19:15 this passage means that he will strike down the nations when he returns. Mounce gives the following explanation: 'To rule with a rod of iron means to destroy rather than to govern in a stern fashion. The shepherd not only leads his flock to pasture but defends the sheep from marauding beasts. His rod is a weapon of retaliation. The Messiah's rod is a rod of iron; that is, it is strong and unyielding in its mission of judgement.'
v5 - And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. - This indicates the ascension of our Lord, Mark 16:19. The throne of Jesus also appears in 3:21, 5:6, 7:17 and 22:3 among other places, see also Heb 8:1, 12:2. Notice the parallelism with the two witnesses who after three and a half days go up to heaven. This verse also encapsulates the resurrection through which Satan is defeated.
v6 - The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. - The NASB uses the word 'nourished' rather than 'taken care of' which is a more accurate translation and reminds us of the manna and the miraculous food of Elijah. The corresponding verse for the NT church is in Rev 12:14, when she flies to a place in the desert where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, this period is synchronous with the 1,260 days (see 11:2 for discussion of this time period). The woman, that is the elect, fled to the desert, which here represents a place of safety and nourishment, consider the flight of the Israelites from Egypt and the Pharaoh, Deu 32:10, where she was nourished by God for forty years on the manna (the bread of angels, Psa 78:25), the supernatural water from the rock and their clothes did not wear out, Neh 9:20-21. Consider also Elijah's flight to the desert where for three and a half years he was nourished by ravens and the widow's flour and oil, which miraculously did not run out (1 Kings 17:1-14), and by angels on another occasion (1 Kings 19:1-8). Note that when he was nourished by the Ravens and the widow it was during the drought that lasted three and a half years (Jam 5:17), hence we get 1,260 days (3.5 years * 12 months * 30 days). We should also note that while Elijah was nourished by God the rest of the population suffered drought and affliction. The drought was brought about by the nation's descent into idolatry.
There is also the picture of Mary and Joseph with Jesus going to Egypt to escape from Herod. The 1260 days is the period between the ascension (see v3) and the second coming during which it is also the time of the churches' witnesses to the world (see Rev 11:3, the two witnesses who prophecy for 1260 days). It is also the time that the church is persecuted by the beast (13:5-7), but here it emphasises her (supernatural) care and providence by God, this is emphasised by the fact that God has prepared a place for her, the desert is her natural home in this life. The church does not have a permanent resting place such as a city while she is on the earth, her home is the New Jerusalem, Heb 11:13-16.
The important question is what is the difference between the woman fleeing into the desert here and that depicted in 12:14, see comments on 12:14. Is it describing the same event or two different events? The second question is whether this event signifies God's supernatural preservation of the Jewish people rather than the church?
War in Heaven (12:7)
12:7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
"Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short."
This section depicts the eviction of Satan, in his role as accuser, from heaven as a result of the death and resurrection of Jesus. His basis for accusing mankind before God has gone because Christ fulfilled God's legal requirement on behalf of man. Having been evicted from heaven he continues his war against God and his people, and all people on the earth.
v7 - And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. - Note this occurs after the ascension. Michael the archangel is mentioned in Dan 10:13, 20, 21, 12:1 where he is described as 'the great prince who protects your people' and Jude 1:9 in which he disputes with the devil about the body of Moses. There are two possible explanations for this, firstly when Satan sinned he was cast out of heaven to the earth together with his angels, Isa 14:12-15, Ezek 28:16-17. But verses 10-12 imply alternatively that after the resurrection Satan was defeated and the basis of his accusation is now void, once Jesus was ransomed for men, and cast down to earth. The basis of his accusation was that man sinned but now Jesus as a man and as mans representative lived a sinless life and paid the penalty for mans sin. Therefore Satan's legal right to be in heaven and to accuse men has gone, see also Job 1:6, Zec 3:1. After the resurrection Christ was placed far above all power and dominion, including the devil, Rom 8:38, Eph 1:21. Passages such as John 12:31 imply that Satan was driven out of heaven when Christ was crucified, see also John 16:11. When the disciples reported to Jesus that even the demons submitted to them in Christ's name Jesus said "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you..." (Luke 10:17-19).
v8 - But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. - This implies that once the devil and his angels had a place in heaven, see Job 1:6 when he presented himself to God and Zec 3:1 when Satan accuses Joshua the high priest of sin. Not only is God stronger than Satan so is the archangel Michael, Luke 11:22. We are reminded here of the words of 1 John 4:4 'the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.' In John 12:31, just before his crucifixion, Jesus says 'now the prince of this world will be driven out' and in John 16:11 he says ' the prince of this world now stands condemned'. We see here the first part of Satan's defeat, first he is hurled out of heaven to the earth, later he loses his place on the earth and eventually will be thrown into the lake of fire (20:10).
v9 - The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. - Here the dragon is clearly identified in case we have failed to identify him already. Satan is similarly referred to as 'the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan' in 20:2. Gen 3:1 and 3:13 are clearly indicated by the reference to the ancient Serpent who deceived Eve. Satan means accuser, see Job 1:6 ff., Zech 3:1. The devil in Greek is Diabolos which means slanderer, cf. the false Jews who slander the saints like their father Satan 2:9, and Satan's henchman who slanders God's name and his dwelling place and those who live there (13:6). This three-fold title or description of the dragon shows him as the deceiver, the slanderer and the accuser, after he was cast out of heaven his right to accuse men before God was gone but we see him still active in Revelation as the deceiver and slanderer through the false prophet (13:14, 19:20), the beast (13:6) and the false Jews (2:9). As long as men sinned Satan had a legal basis for being in heaven in order to accuse men of sinning before God. Following the death and resurrection of Christ, in which he as mans' representative, both lived a sinless life and paid sins penalty by his death, Satan now has no legal basis for accusation since the sins of men are now forgiven, he has lost his legal case and therefore his legal right to be in heaven. Satan and his angels are thrown out of heaven and hurled to the earth.
v10 - Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. - There is now an interlude of rejoicing in heaven. The loud voice is from the saints or elders, who rejoice about Satan, the accuser of our brothers, being cast out of heaven (12:9). The classic descriptions of Satan as the accuser are given in Job (1:6 and 2:1) when Satan accuses Job for loving God only for what God gives Job, and in Zech 3:1 in which Satan accuses Joshua the high priest because of his sins. When Christ died as mans' representative the price for mans' sins was paid and therefore the legal basis for Satan's accusations in the law court of heaven was lost and so Satan's right to be there as mans' accuser was lost so he is cast down from heaven. As Romans 8:33 says 'who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies' against this Satan has no answer. Satan is hurled out of heaven and down to the earth, and in Luke 10:18 Jesus sees Satan fall like lightening from heaven; Jesus gives his followers authority over Satan and his demons, Luke 10:19. In John 12:31 Jesus says that 'now the prince of this world will be driven out'. Once Jesus died this message of the kingdom was to be preached to all people and they would come out of Satan's kingdom and be transferred to the kingdom of God (Acts 26:17-18, Col 1:13), those who believe are free from accusation (Col 1:22), all authority was given to Christ and therefore the disciples were to proclaim the gospel to the world (Mat 28:18-20), the disciples were given power to proclaim the gospel at Pentecost (Acts 1:8). In one sense Satan lost his power over mankind when Jesus refused Satan's temptations, unlike the first Adam (Luke 4:1-13).
v11 - They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. - They overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb, they are freed of their sins by the blood of Jesus (1:5), therefore the basis of his accusation has gone because the penalty has been paid by the blood of Jesus, so when he accuses them they point him to the blood. Hence Paul can write 'Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies' (Rom 8:33. They overcome Satan's lies in the world through the words of their testimony to Jesus. They overcome Satan because in the end they are prepared to die for their faith. When Christ died on the cross the saints were technically in Christ and therefore share in his victory, Rom 6:5-14. The results of this victory can be seen in James admonition to resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7). It is seen by the spiritual warfare of Eph 6:11-18, in which the shield of faith is used to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Col 2:15 tells us that by the cross Christ has disarmed the powers and authorities and triumphed over them.
Just as Jesus overcame Satan by his death on the cross so Christ's followers must follow His example. The basis of his accusations has become null and void because they have been freed from their sins by the blood of the Lamb (Rev 1:5, 7:14, Col 1:22, Rom 8:33, 1 John 1:7), they testify that Jesus is the Christ (resulting in their salvation Rom 10:9-10) and prove the genuineness of their faith by being faithful unto death and thereby gained their life (Rev 2:10, 2:13, 6:9, 11:7, Luke 14:26, 21:16). Even death does not defeat them (Rev 6:9), just as Jesus achieved victory over Satan through death, the saints do likewise. Once more a reference to those who are martyred, a recurrent theme of the book. Later in 13:7 we find the beast waging war against the saints and defeating them but in 15:2 we also find those who are victorious over the beast in heaven singing the song of Moses and of the Lamb.
v12 - Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short." - The heavens can rejoice because Satan has been cast out, but to the earth and sea it means (yet another) woe because he will have his domain there and he is furious having lost his position in heaven. We should note that it is out of the earth and the sea that the two beasts come out, they come out of the sea and the earth because that is where Satan is now. He will try to make as much trouble for the people of the world as he can until his defeat. The trouble he causes through these two beasts is clear, especially for the church: the beast out of the sea wages war against the saints (13:7), the beast out of the earth deceives the world through miracles (13:14), he sets up an image of the first beast and kills those who refuse to worship it (13:15), he forces everyone to receive a mark without which no one can buy or sell (13:16). The devil is unceremoniously hurled to the earth together with his angels to lead the whole earth astray, verse 9. His fate was sealed at the resurrection and he was cast out of heaven and he knows it is only a short time before Christ returns to the earth to claim his rightful possession of it. His short time is the gospel age (see v14), until the second coming, when he will be punished. He knows he is defeated (Mat 8:29) and that his time until he is judged and punished in the lake of fire is relatively short (Rev 20:10, 1 Cor 7:29).
The dragon pursues the Woman (12:13)
Rev 12:13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring--those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. 13:1 And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.
The woman's offspring has bruised the serpents head (Gen 3:15 c.f. 13:3). The serpent, having pursued the woman to no effect, turns against the rest of her offspring to bruise its heal (Sweet). 'Israel, the mother of the Messiah, now appears as God's Israel, the church, mother of the 'many brethren' of whom he is 'the first-born' (Rom 8:29, Gal 6:16)' (Sweet).
One key question about this passage is whether the time, times and half a time of v14 is an identical event described by the 1,260 days of verse 6. One possible interpretation is that the first episode refers to the preservation of God's ancient people the Jews despite Satan's attacks on them while the second episode described here refers to the supernatural protection of the church.
v13 - When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. - He pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child, that is the people of God, in order to persecute it, once more there is a reference to the exodus with Pharaoh in pursuit (Ex 14:8). Having failed to kill the Son, he tries to hurt the Son through his people, just as Saul's persecution of the church persecuted Christ, Acts 9:4, see also Mat 25:45. He cannot hurt the saints who are in heaven.
v14 - The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert - The two wings of a great eagle is a reference to Exodus 19:4 in which God carried the Israelites out of Egypt on eagles wings. The desert represents a place of safety, away from Pharaoh and the influence of the world. We are reminded that God's people are wanderers on the earth, we are nomads with no permanent dwelling place in this world. This verse refers to the NT elect and corresponds to verse 6 which refers to the OT elect. We therefore see that the woman represents both OT and NT elect.
v14 - where she would be taken care of - The Israelites spent forty years in the wilderness and were nourished on the heavenly manna, i.e. the word of God, which had to be gathered daily otherwise it went stale, Deu 8:3. They were guided by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, they received manna and water, their cloths did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen, Neh 9:19-21. It also speaks of the supernatural care Elijah experienced during the drought that lasted three and a half years during which he was fed by Ravens (1 Kings 17:4-7) and then supernaturally by the widow who had a jar of flour which did not get used up and a jug of oil that did not run dry until it rained (1 King 17:14). Note that the period that Elijah was looked after supernaturally was three and a half years which is also 1260 days, Jam 5:17.
v14 - where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach. - This is the same period as that she is cared for in verse 6 (1,260 days), that is three and a half years or 42 months or 1260 days. If this verse and verse 6 refer to the same event then it also serves to synchronise the 'time, times and half a time' with the 1,260 days of verse 6. This is also the time of Daniel's prediction of the desecration of the temple by Antiochus Epiphanes (note the name Epiphanes=Epiphany or appearing) who is a type of the antichrist (2 Thess 2:4), see also Rev 11:2, and 13:5 for similar time periods. It is also the time of the persecution of God's people, Dan 7:25, 12:7. It is also the period of the churches witness to the world (Rev 11:3) and her persecution by the beast (Rev 13:5). Thus this time period indicates the time that she is supernaturally cared for by God, the time of her witness and the time of her persecution. She is out of the reach of the devil, so that is he cannot directly harm her, 'neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord', Rom 8:38-39. In 1 Pet 5:8-9 we are told to resist the devil and he will flee, he has no real power over the saints. In 1 John 5:18 we are told that Satan cannot harm God's children because Jesus keeps them safe. Jesus stated '...I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it' (Mat 16:18).
She is taken care of by God, see comments on verse 6.
v15 - Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. - Having seen that the church is out of his reach he tries another tactic to destroy her. What comes out of the Devil's mouth? He is the father of lies: 'when he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies', John 8:44, cf. the evil spirits that come out of the mouth of the dragon, beast and false prophet (16:13). The water is the doctrine of demons or false doctrine by which he tries to destroy the church, remember the false prophet or false christ's, Mat 7:15, 24:24, 2 Pet 2:1. If he cannot destroy the church through persecution he will try to destroy her through heresy and false doctrine, let the saints beware of Satan's devices. We also saw this in the slander of the Jews who are a synagogue of Satan in the letter to the church in Smyrna (2:9) and in Philadelphia (3:9). We see it next in the slander of the beast who slanders God's name and his dwelling place and those in heaven (13:6). We have also already seen the false teaching of the woman Jezebel, the Balaamites and the Nicolaitans (2:14-15, 20, 24). Slander from without and false teachers within (Caird) are his weapons against the church. The next section shows how he does this through the false prophet, the beast out of the earth who resembles a lamb but speaks the words of Satan. It also shows the beast out of the sea waging war against the saints by persecution. We have already seen that fire comes out of the mouth of the two witnesses (11:5), it is appropriate therefore that the dragon should fight this with water; he fights the truth of the gospel with lies.
v16 - But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth - A reference to the Song of Moses, sang after the Egyptians died in the sea, 'You stretched out your right hand and the earth swallowed them' (Exo 15:12). The sea prevented the Israelites escaping from the pursuing Egyptians until it became dry land, when they were safely over, the sea destroyed the pursuing Egyptians. Even nature is on the side of the man who is faithful to Christ. It could also be a reference to the earth swallowing up Korah and his men but it does nothing to shed light on the passage, (Num 16:30).
v17 - Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring--those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. 13:1 And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. - Satan is powerless against the elect as a whole i.e. the woman, so he makes war against her offspring that is individuals instead. Her offspring are clearly identifies as 'those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus' who are to be compared with those who worship the beast in 14:11-12. The woman had succeeded in bringing forth the Christ, who is the first born of many brothers (Rom 8:29 cf. Col 1:18, Heb 12:23, Rev 1:5). The rest of her offspring therefore is the NT church, which the dragon persecutes. 'The woman, like the temple, is the inward church and invulnerable; but the outward church, the rest of her offspring, is given over to the dragon's minions, like the court outside, 11:1' (Sweet).
This verse introduces and prepares us for the persecution of God's people by the Devil's henchmen the beast coming out of the sea and the beast out of the earth in the next section. The dragon stands on the shore of the sea as his partner, the beast, comes out of the sea. The dragon went off to make war against the rest of her offspring, the dragon uses the beast to make war against the saints (Rev 13:7). He also uses the more subtle approach, the beast out of the sea, who looks like a lamb but is in fact the false prophets who spreads false doctrine and performs miraculous signs. Johnson points out that the expression 'make war' (Gk polemos) is the identical expression used of the beast's attack on the two witnesses in 11:7 and on the saints in 13:7. There is good reason to correlate the three groups and to indicate their common identity under different figures. Notice that this section indicates that the dragon is still very active in this period in waging war against the saints and deceiving the nations v9. The beast is later shown to be the antichrist, however many antichrists have come before the final antichrist. In Ch. 13 we see the two tools of Satan, who tries to destroy the church through political power (persecution: this calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints) and false doctrine, even performing false signs and wonders to deceive the elect if that were possible. Let the saints beware.