Revelation 12
12
The Woman and the Dragon. 1#12:1–14:20] This central section of Revelation portrays the power of evil, represented by a dragon, in opposition to God and his people. First, the dragon pursues the woman about to give birth, but her son is saved and “caught up to God and his throne” (Rev 12:5). Then Michael and his angels cast the dragon and his angels out of heaven (Rev 12:7–9). After this, the dragon tries to attack the boy indirectly by attacking members of his church (Rev 12:13–17). A beast, symbolizing the Roman empire, then becomes the dragon’s agent, mortally wounded but restored to life and worshiped by all the world (Rev 13:1–10). A second beast arises from the land, symbolizing the antichrist, which leads people astray by its prodigies to idolize the first beast (Rev 13:11–18). This is followed by a vision of the Lamb and his faithful ones, and the proclamation of imminent judgment upon the world in terms of the wine of God’s wrath (Rev 14:1–20). A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman#The woman adorned with the sun, the moon, and the stars (images taken from Gn 37:9–10) symbolizes God’s people in the Old and the New Testament. The Israel of old gave birth to the Messiah (Rev 12:5) and then became the new Israel, the church, which suffers persecution by the dragon (Rev 12:6, 13–17); cf. Is 50:1; 66:7; Jer 50:12. This corresponds to a widespread myth throughout the ancient world that a goddess pregnant with a savior was pursued by a horrible monster; by miraculous intervention, she bore a son who then killed the monster. clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.#Gn 37:9. 2She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.#Because of Eve’s sin, the woman gives birth in distress and pain (Gn 3:16; cf. Is 66:7–14). 3Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon,#Huge red dragon: the Devil or Satan (cf. Rev 12:9; 20:2), symbol of the forces of evil, a mythical monster known also as Leviathan (Ps 74:13–14) or Rahab (Jb 26:12–13; Ps 89:11). Seven diadems: these are symbolic of the fullness of the dragon’s sovereignty over the kingdoms of this world; cf. Christ with many diadems (Rev 19:12). with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems.#Dn 7:7. 4Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth.#Dn 8:10. 5She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.#Rule…iron rod: fulfilled in Rev 19:15; cf. Ps 2:9. Was caught up to God: reference to Christ’s ascension. Her child was caught up to God and his throne.#Is 66:7 / Ps 2:9. 6The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God, that there she might be taken care of for twelve hundred and sixty days.#God protects the persecuted church in the desert, the traditional Old Testament place of refuge for the afflicted, according to the typology of the Exodus; see note on Rev 11:2.
7#Michael, mentioned only here in Revelation, wins a victory over the dragon. A hymn of praise follows. Then war broke out in heaven; Michael#Michael: the archangel, guardian and champion of Israel; cf. Dn 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9. In Hebrew, the name Michael means “Who can compare with God?”; cf. Rev 13:4. and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, 8but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9The huge dragon, the ancient serpent,#The ancient serpent: who seduced Eve (Gn 3:1–6), mother of the human race; cf. Rev 20:2; Eph 6:11–12. Was thrown down: allusion to the expulsion of Satan from heaven; cf. Lk 10:18. who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it.#Gn 3:1–4; Lk 10:18.
10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have salvation and power come,
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed.
For the accuser#The accuser: the meaning of the Hebrew word “Satan,” found in Rev 12:9; Jb 1–2; Zec 3:1; 1 Chr 21:1; he continues to accuse Christ’s disciples. of our brothers is cast out,
who accuses them before our God day and night.
11They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
love for life did not deter them from death.
12Therefore, rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them.
But woe to you, earth and sea,
for the Devil has come down to you in great fury,
for he knows he has but a short time.”
13When the dragon saw that it had been thrown down to the earth, it pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.#Gn 3:15. 14But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle,#Great eagle: symbol of the power and swiftness of divine help; cf. Ex 19:4; Dt 32:11; Is 40:31. so that she could fly to her place in the desert, where, far from the serpent, she was taken care of for a year, two years, and a half-year.#Ex 19:4; Dn 7:25; 12:7. 15The serpent,#The serpent is depicted as the sea monster; cf. Rev 13:1; Is 27:1; Ez 32:2; Ps 74:13–14. however, spewed a torrent of water out of his mouth after the woman to sweep her away with the current. 16But the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth and swallowed the flood that the dragon spewed out of its mouth. 17Then the dragon became angry with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus.#Although the church is protected by God’s special providence (Rev 12:16), the individual Christian is to expect persecution and suffering.#Gn 3:15. 18It took its position#It took its position: many later manuscripts and versions read “I took my position,” thus connecting the sentence to the following paragraph. on the sand of the sea.
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Revelation 12: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
The Revelation 12
12
Mother, Child, Dragon, and War
1A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
2She is pregnant—crying out in birth pains, in agony to give birth.
3Then another sign appeared in heaven: a great fiery red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads.
4His tail sweeps away a third of the stars of heaven—it hurled them to the earth. Now the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that whenever she gave birth he might devour her child.
5And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away to God and to His throne.
6Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God so they might take care of her for 1,260 days.
7And war broke out in heaven, Michael and his angels making war against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought,
8but they were not strong enough, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
9And the great dragon was thrown down—the ancient serpent, called the devil and satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Anointed One, for the accuser of our brothers and sisters—the one who accuses them before our God day and night—has been thrown out.
11They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives even in the face of death.
12Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you with great rage, knowing that his time is short.
13Now when the dragon saw that he had been thrown to the earth, he stalked the woman who had given birth to the male child.
14But the woman was given two wings of the great eagle, so that she might fly away from the presence of the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is taken care of—for a time, times, and half a time.
15And from out of his mouth, the serpent spewed water like a river after the woman, in order to sweep her away with a flood.
16But the earth came to the aid of the woman. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth.
17So the dragon became enraged at the woman and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring—those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Yeshua.
18And he stood on the shore of the sea.
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