Revelation 12:7-18

Satan Thrown Down from Heaven to Earth

7 And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels {fought against} the dragon, and the dragon and his angels {fought back}.
8 And they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them [any] longer in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the ancient serpent, who is 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.
10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, the one who accuses them before our God day and night.
11 And they conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives until death.
12 Because of this, rejoice, you heavens, and those who live in them! Woe [to] the earth and [to] the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great anger, [because he] knows that he has little time!"
13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male [child].
14 And the two wings of a great eagle were given to the woman, in order that she could fly into the wilderness, to her place where she is fed there [for] a time, and times, and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.
15 And from his mouth the serpent spouted water like a river after the woman, in order that he could make her swept away by a river.
16 And the earth came to the aid of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spouted out of his mouth.
17 And the dragon was angry at the woman, and went away to {fight against} the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and who hold to the testimony about Jesus.
18 And he stood on the sand of the sea.

Revelation 12:7-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO REVALATION 12

This chapter contains a vision of two wonders or signs seen in heaven, a woman and a dragon, and an account of what followed thereon, war both in heaven and earth. The vision of the woman is in Re 12:1,2, who is described by her being clothed with the sun; by her having the moon under her feet; by a crown of twelve stars on her head; and by her pregnancy, travail, pains, and cry. The vision of the dragon is in Re 12:3,4, who is described by his size, a great one; by his colour, red; by the number of his heads and horns, and the crowns on the former; by the force and strength of his tail, drawing and casting: down to the earth the third part of the stars of heaven; and by his position, standing before the woman, in order to devour her child when born. Next follows an account of the birth of her child, and what became of that and her: the child is said to be a man child, is described as a monarch, and as advanced to great honour and dignity; but she flies into the wilderness, where a place is prepared for her of God, and where she is hid for the space of 1260 days, Re 12:5,6; upon this ensues a war in heaven; the combatants on one side were Michael and his angels, and on the other the dragon and his; the issue of which was, that the latter were conquered, and cast out into the earth, Re 12:7-9, on account of which victory a triumphant song is sung by the inhabitants of heaven, because of salvation and strength that were come to them; and because of the kingdom and power of Christ, which now took place; and because of the ejection of Satan, the accuser of their brethren; in which song also notice is taken of the manner in which Satan was overcome by those he accused, by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and by their death; and it is concluded with an apostrophe to those that dwell in heaven, calling on them to rejoice, and to the inhabitants of the earth denouncing woe to them, because the devil was among them, whose wrath was great, his time being short, Re 12:10-12. Next follow the dragon's persecution of the woman, and her flight into the wilderness, and the care took of her there, as before described, Re 12:13,14; then the method the serpent took to annoy her, the help she received from the earth, and the wrath of the dragon upon that; which put him upon making war with the remnant of her seed, who kept the commandments of God, and had the testimony of Jesus, Re 12:15-17.

Footnotes 4

  • [a]. Literally "made war with"
  • [b]. Literally "made war"
  • [c]. *Here "[because]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("knows") which is understood as causal
  • [d]. Literally "to make war with"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.