War in Heaven

If I only had one chapter of Revelation to represent the theme of the whole book, I would probably pick chapter 12. It depicts a war in heaven with far-reaching implications. The ultimate point of the chapter, like Revelation as a whole, is that Jesus attains the ultimate victory. The combatants in the war are a radiant woman (the servants of God), a great red dragon (Satan), and a male child (Jesus). How will the war play out?

The radiant woman (12:1-2). A “great sign” appears in heaven—something that stands out to John as especially noteworthy and glorious. There is a resplendent woman wrapped in the glow of celestial bodies who wears a crown of twelve stars and is crying out in birth pains. Putting these symbols together, she represents purity, righteousness, and victory, and can be associated with the remnant of God’s people who are faithful to Him.  

 

The great red dragon (12:3-4). Standing against the radiant woman is a fearsome red dragon who is described in several ways to highlight his brutality and power. He has seven heads and ten horns. The heads represent intelligence and craftiness while the horns are a common symbol of strength. The dragon also wears sevens diadems, but these crowns are distinct from the one the woman wears and the others seen throughout the book of Revelation. Most of the crowns in Revelation are crowns of victory (stephanos)—the sort of crowns or garlands that Olympic athletes were given when they won their event. The dragon’s diademata were crowns in the sense that we are more familiar with—monarchical crowns to represent the power of a ruler with a vast army at his disposal.

 

The dragon is so powerful that when his tail sweeps through the heavens, it knocks down a third of the stars of the sky. This is devastating power and is not even the fullness of his capability. What if he used the teeth of his seven heads or his ten horns? Truly he is a fearsome enemy who stands against the woman. Specifically, the dragon is waiting for the woman’s child to be born so that he can devour him immediately.

 

The dragon is Satan, the great accuser and enemy of man. His opposition to the woman and her child shows how he has not been sitting back and letting God proceed with His plan of redemption unopposed. He has used every tool at his disposal to destroy God’s people and prevent Jesus from redeeming sinners. Think of all the times Satan assaulted Israel, or when he worked through Herod to commit mass murder to try to kill Jesus as a baby, or when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness to taint the only perfect sacrifice, or when he turned the hearts of the people against Jesus through sin and worldliness. Satan wanted nothing more than to shipwreck God’s plan of salvation for man.

 

The child (12:5-6). Even with Satan’s opposition, the child was still born. Jesus’ incarnation is the expression of God’s love for sinful man. His purpose was to rule the nations with absolute authority. However, the emphasis in this vision is not on the life or death of Jesus, as important as those are. It skips right to the ascension of Jesus into heaven where He sits on His throne. Satan could not stop Jesus, but he can certainly continue his assault on the woman, who is forced to endure his attacks in the wilderness for 1,260 days (3½ years, or half of seven, meaning a finite amount of time that will be cut short).

 

The war (12:7-9). Satan fights against the forces of heaven with all his might. This war is not like the wars on earth. It is not fought with swords and spears of guns and bombs and so it cannot be connected to either of the world wars or conflict in the Middle East or any other war that we have witnessed among the nations of the earth. This is a war that took place while Jesus was on the earth. It was Satan’s desperate attempt to stop God from completing His work of redemption. But the most important revelation from this section is that Satan failed. He was defeated and God’s plan continued on. As fearsome as Satan is, he is no match for God.

 

Victory and rage (12:10-17). God’s people enjoy victory due to the outcome of this war. Satan can no longer come before God and accuse us of all of our past failings because they have been wiped away. By the power of the blood of Jesus we are able to serve the Lamb and wait to be with God forever.

 

Though the war is over, Satan is not finished. He is like the dying animal who thrashes about in his last moments. His eternal death is inevitable, but he is still dangerous until the end. The dragon pursues the woman and tries to sweep her away with a flood. He makes war with her and his offspring and overflows with rage. He will try to do every bit of damage he can, but God will protect His people in their 3½ years in the wilderness.

 

Conclusion. We are in our time in the wilderness as Satan wages war against us, but we must not forget that Satan’s end is already guaranteed. He lost the war in heaven because of the power of the blood of Jesus. We should not be afraid of the dragon nor should we give in to Him. Our victory is assured if we will simply be faithful to our God.