Revelation 12

1. And then a great sign appeared in heaven: There was a woman who was clothed with the sun. The moon was under her feet. She had a crown of twelve stars on her head.

Israel is a sign for the rest of the world to watch as they see the history of the Jews. The nation of Israel was to bring Jesus the Messiah into the world. The twelve stars are the tribes of Israel. See Genesis 37:9

2. The woman was pregnant. She cried out with pain because she was about to give birth.

The devil knew that the Messiah would come from the Jews. All through history the devil has been hurting the Jews. When you hear about someone who is against the Jews, you can know that this is a type of demon spirit.

3. Then another wonder appeared in heaven: There was a giant red dragon. He had seven heads with seven crowns on each head. He also had ten horns.

In the Bible, rulers are shown as horns. There will be ten countries working with the devil. The antichrist will come from one of these ten countries. Daniel 7:8 – 24

4. The dragon’s tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and threw them down to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was ready to give birth to a baby. He wanted to destroy the woman’s baby as soon as it was born.

A third of the angels followed the double and were thrown out of heaven. Luke 10:18
The devil tried to kill Jesus as soon as He was born. Matthew 2:16

5. The woman gave birth to a son. He will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. But her child was taken up to God and to His throne.

When Jesus returns to the earth He will sit on His throne in Jerusalem for a thousand years. Psalm 2:9

6. The woman ran away into the desert to a place God prepared for her. There she would be taken care of for three and one half years.

The antichrist will not keep his promises to the Jews, and he will try to kill them. God will protect them in the land of Moab. Most teachers believe they will hide in the city of Petra. See Matthew 24:15–16.

Let My outcasts stay with you, O Moab; be a shelter to them from the face of the enemy. Isaiah 16:4

7 – 9

Then there was a war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back. But the dragon was not strong enough. He and his angels lost their place in heaven.

He was thrown down out of heaven. (The giant dragon is that old snake called the devil or Satan. He leads the whole world the wrong way.) The dragon with his angels was thrown down to the earth.

The devil had been coming before God’s throne to accuse God’s people. Now he is not allowed to enter heaven and wants to take out his anger on God’s people. Job 2:1

10. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have now come. They have come because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown out. He accused our brothers day and night before our God.

Accusing thoughts are not from God. The devil does not accuse unbelievers because he does not want to wake up their consciences. He accuses believers because he hates us. What has he been accusing you of? See 2 Corinthians 10:5.

11. And our brothers defeated him by the blood of the Lamb’s death and by [telling others what God has done for them]. They did not love their lives so much that they were afraid of death.

When we stand against the devil he runs from us (James 4:7). He cannot stand against us because we are covered by the blood of Jesus. When we tell others the Words of the Gospel, and tell what God has done for us, the devil is defeated.

12 – 13

So be happy, you heavens and all who live there! But it will be terrible for the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you! He is filled with anger. He knows that he does not have much time.
The dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth. So he hunted down the woman who had given birth to the son.

The devil reads the Bible also, and when he sees that his time is coming to an end he becomes more and more angry.

14. But the woman was given the two wings of a great eagle. Then she could fly to the place that was prepared for her in the desert. There she would be taken care of for three and a half years. There she would be away from the snake.

John saw an airplane taking the Jews to safety. He did not know what to call it so he called it an eagle. Jesus showed that if the Jews would read the Bible, they would know when this time comes. Matthew 24:15

15 – 16

Then the snake poured water out of its mouth like a river. He poured the water toward the woman, so that the flood would carry her away. But the earth helped her. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that came from the mouth of the dragon.

This flood is an army that the devil sends against the Jews. There will be an earthquake and this army will be destroyed.

17 – 18

Then the dragon was very angry at the woman. He went off to make war against all her other children. Her children are those who obey God’s commands and have the truth that Jesus taught. And the dragon stood on the seashore.

These Jews should have stayed with the other Jews in Petra.