The Ancient War in Heaven Text: Revelation 12:1-6
Introduction: The Unseen Conflict
The book of Revelation pulls back the curtain of history. We tend to view our lives, our politics, and our cultural battles as if they were taking place on a flat, two-dimensional stage. We see the politicians, the talking heads, the protesters, and the various factions, and we analyze them as though they were the primary actors. But John, in this apocalypse, shows us the conflict behind the conflict. He reveals the spiritual drama that animates all of human history. What we see on earth is merely the shadow cast by a far greater war in the heavenly places.
This is why our modern, materialistic approaches to everything from politics to personal piety are so impotent. We are trying to fight dragons with spreadsheets. We are trying to confront principalities and powers with get-out-the-vote campaigns. Those things have their place, but they are not the main thing. Unless we understand the cosmic conflict described here in Revelation 12, we will fundamentally misunderstand the nature of the world we live in. We will be fighting the wrong enemy, with the wrong weapons, for the wrong prize.
This chapter is the central pivot of the entire book of Revelation. It lays bare the foundational antagonism of all history, an antagonism that began in Eden and will continue until the final consummation. It is the story of the Serpent and the seed of the woman. It is the story of a dragon who hates God, and so directs his fury against the woman who bears the Son of God, and then against all her subsequent offspring. This is not just a vision of first-century events, though it is certainly that. It is a timeless picture of the nature of the age we live in. We are all participants in this war, whether we know it or not. The only question is which side we are on.
In these first six verses, John introduces us to the three main characters in this cosmic drama: a glorious woman, a monstrous dragon, and a royal child. Understanding who they are and what they represent is the key to unlocking not just this chapter, but the entire biblical narrative of redemption.
The Text
And 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.
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.
And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.
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.
Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for 1,260 days.
(Revelation 12:1-6 LSB)
The Covenant Mother (v. 1-2)
We begin with the first great sign that appears in the heavenly political theater.
"And 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." (Revelation 12:1-2)
John sees a "sign," a semeion. This is not a literal woman floating in space. This is symbolic language, and the Bible itself provides the dictionary. Who is this woman? Some have tried to identify her as Mary, and while Mary is certainly a daughter of this woman, the description is far too grand for any single individual. The key is in the celestial imagery: sun, moon, and twelve stars. This is a direct and unmistakable allusion to Joseph's dream in Genesis 37, where the sun represented his father Jacob, the moon his mother, and the eleven stars his brothers. Add Joseph, and you have the twelve patriarchs, the foundation of the nation of Israel.
This woman, then, is the covenant people of God. She is faithful, Old Testament Israel, the chosen vessel through whom God would bring His Messiah into the world. She is clothed with the sun, representing the glory of God's favor. The moon is under her feet, indicating her rule over the old, shadowy order of the Mosaic covenant, which reflected light but did not generate it. And the crown of twelve stars signifies her royal status as the mother of the twelve tribes, and by extension, the twelve apostles who would form the foundation of the New Covenant church.
But she is in agony. She is in labor, pained to give birth. This speaks of all the centuries of suffering, persecution, and longing that Israel endured while waiting for the promised Messiah. Isaiah prophesied of this travail: "Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD" (Isaiah 26:17). The birth of the Messiah was not easy; it came through centuries of pain and faithfulness from a remnant kept by God.
The Ancient Enemy (v. 3-4)
Just as the moment of birth approaches, a second sign appears, this one monstrous and hostile.
"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. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child." (Revelation 12:3-4 LSB)
Lest there be any doubt, verse 9 will explicitly identify this dragon as "that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan." He is great, signifying his power. He is red, the color of bloodshed and violence. His description, seven heads and ten horns, is a composite image of Israel's historic enemies, drawn from the book of Daniel. It represents the fullness of worldly, political power that Satan wields in his opposition to God. The seven heads are seven mountains, which is a clear reference to Rome, the city on seven hills, the current beast-empire persecuting the church when John wrote. The diadems on his heads indicate his claim to royal authority in this fallen world.
His tail sweeps a third of the stars from heaven. This is a picture of the primordial fall, when Satan, in his rebellion, drew a vast number of angelic beings with him into ruin. He is not a lone operator; he is the general of a demonic horde.
And his central purpose is revealed with chilling clarity: he stands before the laboring woman, waiting to devour her child the moment He is born. This is the story of the Bible in one image. From the moment God promised that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent's head (Gen. 3:15), Satan has been on a murderous rampage to destroy that seed. We see it in Cain killing Abel. We see it in Pharaoh's decree to kill the Hebrew infants. We see it in Haman's plot to annihilate the Jews. And we see its ultimate expression in Herod's slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem, a direct attempt by Satan, working through the Roman state, to devour the Christ child.
The Victorious King (v. 5)
Despite the dragon's malice, God's plan cannot be thwarted. The birth happens, and the child's destiny is declared.
"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." (Genesis 12:5 LSB)
The woman gives birth to a "son, a male child," emphasizing His identity as the promised seed. His destiny is to "rule all the nations with a rod of iron." This is a direct quotation from Psalm 2, a Messianic psalm that speaks of the Son's absolute authority over all the kings of the earth. This is Jesus Christ, the King of kings.
Notice the breathtaking compression of the narrative. In one sentence, we leap from the birth of Christ to His ascension. "Her child was caught up to God and to His throne." The entire earthly ministry of Jesus, His life, death, and resurrection, is summarized in this one triumphant act. Why? Because from the perspective of this heavenly war, the ascension is the decisive victory. When Christ ascended and was seated at the right hand of the Father, it was the ultimate declaration that the dragon had failed. He could not devour the child. The child had conquered sin, death, and the devil, and had taken His rightful place as the ruler of the cosmos. The war on earth will continue, but the ultimate outcome has been secured. Satan is a defeated foe.
The Protected People (v. 6)
With the King enthroned, the scene shifts back to the woman. Her role has changed, and so has her location.
"Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for 1,260 days." (Revelation 12:6 LSB)
After the ascension of Christ, the woman, the covenant people, flees into the wilderness. This woman is now the Church, the new Israel, composed of both Jews and Gentiles who have faith in the Messiah she bore. The wilderness is a classic biblical theme. It is a place of testing and trial, but also a place of divine protection and provision. Israel was sustained in the wilderness for forty years. Elijah was fed by ravens in the wilderness. Here, the Church is protected from the full fury of the dragon for a specific period.
She is nourished there for "1,260 days." This number, which also appears as 42 months or "a time, times, and half a time," is a symbolic period of persecution. In the immediate context of John's readers, this pointed directly to the Neronian persecution which lasted from November of 64 A.D. to June of 68 A.D., a period of exactly 42 months. It was a time of intense, dragon-inspired fury against the fledgling church. But more broadly, it represents the entire church age, this period between the ascension of Christ and His final return. It is an age of tribulation, an age where we live in the wilderness of this world. But it is also an age where God has prepared a place for us. He nourishes us with His Word and Sacraments, and He protects us from the Serpent's ultimate designs. The dragon can harass, but he cannot destroy the Church of Jesus Christ.
The War We Are In
This vision is not just a history lesson. It is our reality. The dragon, having failed to destroy Christ, has turned his fury on "the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus" (Rev. 12:17). That is us. The hatred of the world for the church is not random. It is not ultimately about politics or social issues. It is the ancient, seething hatred of the dragon for the woman and her seed.
But we do not fight a losing battle. Our King has already ascended. He has already been given all authority in heaven and on earth. The dragon has been cast down. Our task is not to win the war, but to fight faithfully in a war that has already been won. We fight, not for victory, but from victory.
How do we fight? The subsequent verses tell us: "they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death" (Rev. 12:11). We conquer by pleading the blood, proclaiming the truth, and refusing to compromise, even when the dragon threatens to devour us. We are the children of the woman, the brothers of the King, and the enemies of the dragon. This is the story. This is the fight. And the victory is certain.