The End Time Bible Commentary

Following the completion of the seventh trumpet in chapter 11, the chronology is again put on 'pause'. In chapters 12 to 14 it is as though we zoom out to be given additional overview of what is going on during the end-time timeframe. The chronology continues with the seven bowls in chapters 15 and 16.

Two Signs in Heaven (v1-6)
Verses 1 to 2 say, "Then a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was screaming in labor pains, struggling to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns. 4 Now the dragon’s tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. 5 So the woman gave birth to a son, a male child, who is going to rule over all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was suddenly caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and she fled into the wilderness where a place had been prepared for her by God, so she could be taken care of for 1,260 days".

It is important to know that 'heaven' is a translation of the Greek word 'ouranos' which can mean either 'sky' or 'heaven'. In this chapter it is clear from John's description of the sun, moon and stars that these signs appear in the 'sky' rather than in 'heaven', but they represent events occurring in both the heavenly realm and on Earth. In Luke 21 verses 11 & 25, Jesus included 'great signs from heaven' and 'signs in the sun and moon and stars' in his list of pre-tribulation signs that point to the nearness of his coming.

The Great Sign - the pregnant woman gives birth
If we understand this sign from an astronomical perspective, the woman is surely the constellation Virgo. Virgo is one of the twelve constellations of the Zodiac that lie along the ecliptic, the path that the Sun follows throughout the year as seen from Earth. Virgo is 'clothed with the sun' in September/October and if 'the moon is under her feet' it is near the beginning of the lunar month of Tishri, or of Heshvan in the Jewish calendar. The crown of twelve stars on her head could be understood in one of two ways. One possibility is that it is a ring of faint stars, shown below, that are always present. These are only bright enough to be visible to the naked eye if you are viewing the night sky from a dark-sky area without light pollution. Of course, this was normal for ancient observers.

Another possibility is that the crown of twelve stars refers to a combination of the constellation Leo, which has 9 bright stars, joined by three planets, which the ancients thought of as moving stars. This seems more in keeping with this being a great sign. The woman is pregnant and struggling in labor (v2). This would refer to something unusual happening within the region of her womb. Such a combination of astronomical events occurred on September 23, 2017, as shown below:

For the first nine months of 2017, the planet Jupiter was present within Virgo's abdominal region and moved back and forth under retrograde motion as observed from earth. On September 23rd, Jupiter had exited her womb and was moving towards her feet. This combination of events had never happened before in the last 6,000 years, and fits well as a fulfilment of what John described as a 'great sign'. Being a 'sign' of Christ's second coming, it is revealed ahead of the second coming actually taking place. If we affirm that it was fulfilled in 2017, it suggests that the Tribulation and Christ's coming are incredibly close. See the article by Stephanie Dawn for a detailed analysis of this event.

In verse 5 she gives birth to a male child who will rule over all nations with an iron rod. This is clearly Jesus, the promised Messiah as prophesied in Psalm 2:9, and it is natural that our first impression is that this heavenly sign portrays Christ's literal birth about 2,000 years ago. From that perspective, the woman represents Mary, and the Dragon represents Herod, who, as Satan's agent, sought to destroy Jesus as soon as he was born (Matthew 2:1-20).

Based on this vision, some scholars have sought to identify the actual historical date of Christ's birth. According to various theories, Jesus was born some time between 6 BC and 1 BC. If the woman being 'clothed with the sun' implies that the sun should be aligned with Virgo's upper body, and the moon being 'under her feet' implies that the moon should be aligned longitudinally with Virgo's feet approximately, then the best fit, astronomically, for the years 6 to 1 BC is September 11, 3 BC, as shown below:

However, interpreting this sign only as, or primarily as, a portrayal of Christ's literal birth is a recipe for confusion, leading to the preterist idea that Revelation is representative of past events, rather than future. When Herod tried to destroy Jesus at his birth, Jesus was not caught up to heaven. Rather, Joseph and Mary took Jesus with them and fled to Egypt (not to the desert). So while this vision reminds us of Christ's literal birth, it is only a partial fit. It is better to interpret this vision as a portrayal of Christ's second coming as a kind of metaphorical rebirth.

The Birth and Labour Metaphor
From a second-coming perspective, the woman represents Israel and Jerusalem. In Micah 4:9-11 and 5:3, Jerusalem is likened to a woman screaming in the agonies of labour when she falls to the Antichrist in the end times. Micah 4:10 says, "Twist and strain, Daughter Zion, as if you were in labor! For you will leave the city and live in the open field. You will go to Babylon, but there you will be rescued. There the Lord will deliver you from the power of your enemies". A woman is delivered from the agonies of labor by the arrival of her baby. Similarly, Jerusalem will be delivered from the agonies of invasion when Jesus arrives as her Messiah and sets his feet on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4). So this sign in Revelation 12, rather than pointing back to Christ's literal birth, points forward to his metaphorical birth and arrival in Jerusalem at the first stage of his second coming. According to Zechariah 14, when Jesus sets his feet on the Mount of Olives he will split the mountain and create an escape route by which the Jewish refugees can flee. This escape is also described here in Revelation 12:6, "…and she fled into the wilderness where a place had been prepared for her by God, so she could be taken care of for 1,260 days". 'She' in this verse refers to the Jewish refugees from Israel, not to Mary. At the end of those 1,260 days, Jesus will rescue the Jews from their place of refuge, which Micah figuratively calls 'Bozrah' (Micah 2:12) and 'Babylon' (Micah 4:10). Together with passages such as Isaiah 21, Isaiah 63:1-6, and Habakkuk 3:1-15, these point to a location in Edom which was part of Arabia. The 'birth and labor' metaphor is also used in relation to Messiah's coming in Isaiah 26:17-21, and precedes the revelation of Leviathan, the beast out of the sea, in Isaiah 27:1. Isaiah 66:7-13 also portrays Israel's national restoration, which was fulfilled on 14 May 1948, as a kind of national rebirth. In Matthew 24:8, Jesus picks up this Old Testament 'birth metaphor', describing the first pre-tribulation signs as 'the beginning of birth pains'. The beginning of birth pains during pregnancy are known today as Braxton-Hicks contractions. Some women experience these 'practice contractions' in the second half of pregnancy. Jesus describes them as such because they point to the coming fall of Jerusalem which is like Israel in full-blown labor (Micah 4:9-10), and to his second coming which is a metaphorical rebirth.

Jesus is caught up to God's throne
According to verses 5 & 6, after the woman gives birth to her male child, he is caught up to God and his throne, while the woman flees into the wilderness. This is the view we see of Jesus after his second coming at the sixth seal, where people on earth, great and small, can look up at the sky and see God's throne and the Lamb, and they try to hide from them because the day of their wrath has come (Revelation 6:15-17).

Some Christians, with expectations of a pre-trib rapture, have understood this to be a picture of the rapture of the Church, that as the body of Christ on earth, Jesus being caught up to God's throne is a picture of the Church being caught up to God's throne. Consequently, as September 23rd 2017 approached, some Christians thought the rapture was about to happen.

My understanding is that when Jesus returns at the sixth seal, he remains on earth only briefly, to facilitate the escape of Jerusalem's Jews (Zechariah 14:4-5), and is then caught up. The Church is then also raptured, as per Matthew 24:29-31 where the rapture comes after the second coming, not before it. We see the raptured Church standing before God's throne and the Lamb in Revelation 7:9-17 after the sixth seal.

Another Sign - The Dragon (v3-4)
Verses 3 to 4 say, "Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns. Now the dragon’s tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born".

Astronomically, if we zoom out, it would appear that the dragon, also called 'the Ancient Serpent' in verse 9, corresponds to the constellation known as 'Serpens' (see below). The head (Serpens Caput) is composed of seven bright stars, which seem to correspond with the seven heads of the Dragon, and is positioned near the feet of Virgo in the night sky. Above Serpens Caput is Corona Borealis which is composed of another seven bright stars that seem to correspond with the seven diadem crowns of the Dragon. These are all fixed stars, so in order for Serpens to qualify as a fulfilment of the statement, "Then another sign appeared in heaven…", it would seem that something dynamic must happen as an apparent fulfilment of the statement, "Now the dragon’s tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth." When this sign occurs, I imagine that we should expect to see a dramatic meteor shower in the region of the night sky corresponding to Serpens Cauda (Serpens' tail). This would fulfil what Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24:29, "Immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken." Similarly, Isaiah 34:4 prophesied, "All the stars in the sky will fade away, the sky will roll up like a scroll; all its stars will wither, like a leaf withers and falls from a vine or a fig withers and falls from a tree." And in Revelation 6:13, immediately before Christ's visible appearance at the sixth seal, we are told, "…and the stars in the sky fell to the earth like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when shaken by a fierce wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll being rolled up…" In reality, this apparent meteor shower will be the visible manifestation of Satan's angelic forces, the principalities and powers and spiritual forces of evil in the heavens that Paul describes in Ephesians 6:12, being cast down out of the heavenly realm and onto the earth.

Whereas the first great sign, which was likely fulfilled in 2017, ahead of the events it depicts actually taking place, this second sign, with stars appearing to fall from the sky, is fulfilled immediately before Christ's coming at the sixth seal.

The statement in verse 4, "Now the dragon’s tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth", is often understood to mean that when Satan sinned and rebelled against God (Genesis 3:1-15, Isaiah 14:4-16, Ezekiel 28:11-19), one third of the heavenly angels fell with him, leaving two-thirds who remain loyal to God. That may be true, but there is a difference between these angels falling from grace (which happened before the creation of the world) and them being cast down to the earth (which is a future event that occurs during the Great Tribulation). Currently, scripture portrays Satan as still having access to heaven (Job 1:6-12). From his heavenly vantage-point Satan can resist our prayers being answered (Daniel 10:12-14), and accuses us before God (Revelation 12:10). His angelic forces in the heavenly realm (Ephesians 6:12) resist God's will being done on earth as in heaven, such that we must stand our ground and resist him.

The Dragon waits to devour the child
Verse 4b says, "Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born". Given that the book of Revelation was written in Greek and sent to seven churches in Asia Minor which was a very Greek part of the world, it is important to note that this picture of the dragon waiting for the woman to give birth so that he might devour her child as soon as it is born, was very recognisable. It would almost certainly have reminded them of Kronos in Greek mythology.

If you are unfamiliar with Greek mythology, the picture likely passes over your head. Let me give a brief introduction to Greek mythology, to explain where Kronos fits in. Let me summarise the opening chapters from 'Mythos' by Stephen Fry, an excellent modern retelling of Greek mythology:

In the beginning, there was formless Chaos. Out of Chaos sprang Erebus (the darkness) and Nyx (the night). Erebus and Nyx coupled to produce Hemera (the day) and Aether (light). Out of Chaos also sprang Gaia (the Earth) and Tartarus (the depths and caves beneath the earth). Gaia then spontaneously gave birth to Pontus (the Sea) and Ouranos (the Sky). Together, Darkness, Night, Day, Light, Earth, Tartarus, the Sea and the Sky were the primordial deities, the first order of creation. Gaia and Ouranos (Earth and Sky) then reproduced, giving birth to the twelve children known as the Titans, including Kronos (Time). With the birth of Kronos, time began, stories developed, and the gods developed personalities. Gaia and Ouranos also gave birth to the three Cyclopes and the three Hecatoncheires. These and the twelve Titans represent the second order of creation. When the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires were born, Ouranos took an instant dislike to them and forced them back into Gaia's womb, causing her terrible pain. In time, Gaia sought relief and revenge. She convinced her son Kronos that he should kill his father Ouranos, and gave him a scythe with which to do so. In his sweep of the scythe, Kronos failed to kill Ouranos, but castrated him and defeated him. Having overthrown Ouranos, Kronos now wrested dominion from each of his siblings to become overall ruler of the universe. With another sweep of his scythe he cut open Gaia's side and delivered her of the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires. He then confined Ouranos to Tartarus and assigned the Hecatoncheires as the guardians of its gates. First however, Ouranos cursed Kronos saying, "May your children destroy you as you have destroyed me".

In time, Kronos married his sister Rhea and they gave birth to children. Afraid of his father's curse, Kronos swallowed each of them whole the moment they were born. Wise to this, before their sixth child Zeus was born, Rhea wrapped a smooth stone in swaddling cloths like a baby and tricked Kronos into thinking she had given birth. Kronos swallowed the stone whole, none the wiser. Rhea then secretly gave birth to Zeus, who survived and grew to adulthood. Later, Rhea gave Kronos a potion that made him vomit up all the children he had swallowed, and they were effectively reborn. In time, Zeus and his siblings rose up against their father, starting a ten-year war known as the Titanomachy. Eventually, with help from the Hecatoncheires whom he brought up from Tartarus, Zeus overthrew Kronos and defeated the Titans. Establishing his seat of power on Mount Olympus, Zeus became the new ruler of the universe.

How this relates to Revelation 12:4 is that just as Kronos was afraid of the prophecy of his father Ouranos, so also Satan is afraid of the prophecy of Genesis 3:15. Jesus is the seed of Eve whose heal Satan struck with a fatal blow when Jesus was crucified. But Christ triumphed over death through his resurrection, and at his second coming, portrayed metaphorically as a new birth, Jesus will crush the head of Satan and his seed.

War in heaven
Verses 7 to 9 say, "Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But the dragon was not strong enough to prevail, so there was no longer any place left in heaven for him and his angels. So that huge dragon – the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world – was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him."

Astronomically, the constellation of Ophiochus, a Greek name meaning 'Serpent Bearer', seems to prophetically depict Michael the Archangel who wrestles and defeats Satan in this heavenly end-time war.

If it is correct that only one third of the angels fell from grace along with Satan when he sinned, then the righteous angels outnumber the fallen angels 2-1. This would explain why the dragon was not strong enough to prevail against Michael and his angels. In any case, Satan and his principalities and powers are defeated in this battle in the heavenly realm, and cast down upon the earth.

In order for Jesus to overthrow the kingdoms of this world and fully establish his sovereign rule over the nations, it is necessary that he first achieve victory in the heavenly realm. After that, he can continue his battle on the earth, as prophesied in Isaiah 34:5-6, ""Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers. Look, it now descends on Edom, on the people I will annihilate in judgment". The Lord’s sword is dripping with blood, it is covered with fat; it drips with the blood of young rams and goats and is covered with the fat of rams’ kidneys. For the Lord is holding a sacrifice in Bozrah, a bloody slaughter in the land of Edom".

Following this heavenly victory, in verse 10 John hears a loud voice in heaven proclaim, "The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the ruling authority of his Christ, have now come, because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, the one who accuses them day and night before our God, has been thrown down". This is a reaffirmation of what heavenly voices proclaimed in Revelation 11:15 at the seventh trumpet, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever".

Verse 11 continues, "But they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die". This indicates that there is more to the victory than what Michael and his angels achieve by battling Satan and his angels in the heavenly realm. The faithfulness of Christians on earth, especially during the fifth seal when many Christians are martyred, plays an important part in achieving victory. Michael's air force plays its part, but so does the Church on the ground.

Verse 12 tells us that Satan's expulsion from heaven is cause for those in heaven to rejoice. But woe is proclaimed to the earth and the sea because the devil has come down to them. He is filled with terrible anger, for he knows that he only has a little time!

War on Earth against Jews and Christians (v13-18)
Verse 13 tells us that when Satan is thrown down, he will pursue the woman who gave birth to the male child. In other words, Antichrist will pursue Israel. At that point in time, the Jewish refugees will be fleeing to their refuge as described in verse 6. Verse 14 tells us that Israel will be given the two wings of a giant eagle so she can fly out into the wilderness. This is Exodus-type language as in Exodus 19:4, "You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I lifted you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself". As such, it is likely that the giant eagle represents God, and verse 14 describes God's supernatural help to Israel as they escape. Another less-likely possibility is that the giant eagle represents America, whose national symbol is the Bald Eagle. As such, it is possible that America provides support to airlift Jewish refugees to the closest place of safety. This might be to its ally, Saudi Arabia. According to Micah 4:10 they go to 'Babylon'. Saudi Arabia is identified with Babylon in Isaiah 21, and is arguably 'Mystery Babylon' in Revelation 17-18. Verse 14b reaffirms how long Israel will have to stay in her place of safety, away from the presence of the serpent (Satan). It will be for time, times and half a time (three and a half years), equivalent to the 1,260 days already mentioned in verse 6.

Verse 15 tells us that Satan will somehow attempt to drown the refugees by flooding them with water. Zechariah 14:5 tells us they will flee through a mountain valley that Jesus creates when he divides the Mount of Olives. Is it possible that Antichrist attempts to divert the River Jordan so that it floods this valley? Or is this flood to be understood metaphorically? Whatever method Antichrist uses in this attempted genocide, verse 16 tells us the earth will come to Israel's rescue. The ground will open and swallow the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth.

Enraged that the Jews manage to escape his attempted genocide, the dragon then goes away to make war against Christians, those who keep God's commandments and hold to the testimony about Jesus (v17). Does this indicate that there is some delay between Christ's second coming and the rapture, such that Christians are still on earth at this point while the Jewish refugees are fleeing? Or are these people who put their faith in Jesus after the second coming and rapture, what we might describe as post-rapture Christians? Daniel 7:21 also prophesies that the Antichrist will make war against the saints.

In verse 18, the dragon stands on the sand of the seashore. In doing so, Satan anticipates the arrival of the beast who will come out of the sea at the beginning of the next chapter.