The Woman and the Dragon

June 10, 2020 (Wednesday)

 

                Revelation 12 – 13 introduce what some have referred to as “the unholy Trinity.” The action begins with two signs that appeared in heaven. The first is a woman described as clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, a crown of 12 stars on her head, and being in labor. The second sign is a great fiery red Dragon. The Dragon is described as having seven heads, 10 horns, and seven crowns on his head.

                The Dragon, the first of the “unholy trinity” is clearly identified in verse nine as Satan. In verse four his tail sweeps down a third of heaven’s stars and throws them to the earth. This is generally thought to be Satan deceiving a third of the heavenly angels. Knowing the time of delivery, the Dragon is intense to devour the woman’s child.

                She gives birth to a son, who is ruler of all the nations, with an iron rod. Before the Dragon is able to devour the child, he is snatched up to God and his throne. The woman flees into the desert where God is preparing a place for her. She is taken care of for 1,260 days. This is the first “sign” in the book of Revelation. It is also the first appearance of a female.

                One way to understand this vision is that the woman is the church (“the bride of Christ”). The image of the sun, the moon, and the stars shows the universal power of the church. Another suggestion of the woman’s identity is Israel. The thought here is that Israel gave birth to the Messiah. The problem is that the book of Revelation does not distinguish between Israel and the Church. Some have also understood this scene to be the drama surrounding the birth of Jesus. They identify the woman as Mary; and the great fiery red Dragon represents Herod, who is a type of Satan. In verse 17 the Dragon goes to war with the rest of her children. These children are defined as those who keep God’s commandments and hold firmly to the witness of Jesus. Possibly the church.

                The word Dragon is found only in the book of Revelation. Early Greek writers speak of dragons. The Babylonians feared a seven-headed hydra. The Egyptians had stories of a dragon torturing one of their gods. Chinese as well as other cultures had some versions of dragons. In the Old Testament, a monster named Rahab (meaning “arrogant” credited with chaos) is the enemy of God (Isaiah 51:9, Job 26:12 – 13). Psalm 74 mentions sea monsters, better translated dragons. In Daniel 7 there is a great beast with seven heads, while in Daniel 8:10 another type of Satan casts stars down to earth.

                The Dragon is often seen as Rome because of its seven heads. Rome was built on seven hills, as is Moscow, Mecca, Tehran, Washington DC, and modern Jerusalem. The thought is that Rome would break up into 10 nations. For a long time people were excited when the European Union reached 10 nations (currently includes 28 members). Many believed that this was the resurrection of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the events unfolding in the book of Revelation. However, this could also refer to the first century B.C. when Augustus divided the Roman Empire into 10 administrative units.

                The two main explanations of the third of the stars feature angels or Christian ministers. Throughout history the “child” has been identified as Jesus, the church, or even Emperor Constantine. The theater of heaven has sometimes been identified as the church, since the church is the kingdom of heaven on earth.

                Personally, this chapter seems to best fit the birth of Jesus. However, this would be more in line with an Amillennial perspective. Problematically, it does not fit my desire to read Revelation as a futurist text. On the other hand, it is not out of the question for Revelation (or prophecy in general), much seen from heaven's perspective to use a past event (birth of Christ) as an explanation for future happenings (the Anti-Christ) in a single image.