The first vision: The woman, the child, and the dragon

Sermon for Midweek of Trinity 3

Revelation 12:1-6

All right. Let’s review. Overall, there are seven sets of seven visions in the Book of Revelation. Each set essentially covers the whole time of the New Testament from different angles, focusing on different things. So far in the book of Revelation we’ve considered the first three sets: (1) the vision of the seven letters to the seven churches, (2) the vision of the seven seals, and (3) the vision of the seven trumpets. Three sets down, four to go.

The fourth set of seven visions can simply be called the “seven visions.” There are seven scenes that John sees in chapters 12-15. The first vision is covered in chapter 12, and it’s divided into three parts. We’ll cover just the first part tonight: the vision of the woman, the child, and the dragon.

It’s hard to go verse by verse here, because it takes all the verses together to understand who the woman, the child, and the dragon are. So let me read the whole section one more time:

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

The child and the dragon are easier to interpret than the woman, so let’s start with them.

The dragon is clearly identified a few verses later as Satan. He’s described here as a fiery red dragon, fiery red for the fires of hell. He’s described as having seven heads and ten horns, with seven diadems on his heads. Seven has been used throughout the book as a number of the perfection that comes from God. And Satan was created perfect in the beginning. But when he rebelled against God, he went from being a holy angel to being like a deadly dragon. Horns are symbols of strength and rule, and ten of them means he’s very powerful, or that he works through the full number of kings and rulers among men to fight against God. The diadems he’s wearing are a special kind of crown. At the time of John, the wearing of a diadem by a king meant that he considered himself to be a god and that he demanded to be worshiped as a god. A very fitting description for Satan, who isn’t God but desires to be worshiped as a god. Remember, he wanted Jesus to bow down to him and worship him during the temptations in the wilderness.

The dragon sweeps his tail across heaven and draws a third of the stars to the earth. That seems to be a reference to how the devil convinced many of the holy angels to abandon their place in heaven and to follow him in his rebellion in the beginning.

The dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth in order to devour her Child as soon as he was born. Well, the male Child who was born, persecuted by the dragon, who will rule all nations with an iron scepter, and who was taken up to God and His throne—there is no question that the Child represents Jesus. From the moment He was born the devil tried to snuff out His life. Think of the slaughter of the babies of Bethlehem. Or think of how Satan entered Judas Iscariot, using him to betray Jesus and get Him killed. But in the end the dragon was not successful, even in Jesus’ death on the cross, because Christ turned the tables on the devil, rose from the dead victorious, and ascended into heaven to reign on His Father’s throne.

So who is the woman who gave birth to this Child, the woman who was clothed with the sun, who had the moon under her feet?

Roman Catholics have tried to make her the Virgin Mary, but that is completely inconsistent with the rest of the vision. Yes, Mary gave birth to Jesus. But “clothed with the sun”? The moon beneath her feet? Wearing a crown (that is, the victor’s wreath) with twelve stars? None of that fits with the Virgin Mary, unless you have made her into the Queen of heaven, contrary to the rest of Scripture. But the last verse of this section makes it absolutely impossible to interpret this woman as Mary. We’re told that after the Child was caught up to heaven, she fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. That period of 1,260 days (which is the same as the 42 months or 3-1/2 years mentioned earlier) is the entire period of the New Testament. So this cannot possibly apply to the Virgin Mary.

What other “woman” could it be who was there before the coming of Christ, gave birth to Him, and then spends the rest of the New Testament period fleeing from the devil and being provided for by God? Only one “woman” fits the bill. It’s the Church herself.

God often refers to Old Testament Israel as His bride, or sometimes as His daughter. Those are just figures of speech, of course. But it’s the same way He speaks of His New Testament Church, sometimes as His bride, sometimes as His children. It was literally the Virgin Mary who gave birth to Jesus, but it was figuratively the Church who carried Him throughout the Old Testament period through the promises God gave to Israel over the centuries, as believers waited expectantly for the Child to be born. The Church is “clothed with the sun,” that is, made radiant by the God who chose her to be His bride and clothed her with Christ. She has the moon under her feet as she has been exalted by God over the creation. She wears a victor’s crown with twelve stars—twelve again being the symbol for the Church.

And most notably, after Christ ascended into heaven, the Church is left here below to be persecuted by Satan in this wilderness that is not our true home, provided for by God until the end of this New Testament period. We’ll hear more about that next week.

So this first part of the first of the seven visions is a very brief picture of the whole history of the world. The devil and his demons were there early on, demanding to be worshiped as gods, threatening God’s precious Church, which, throughout the Old Testament period, was like an expectant mother, waiting for the day when Isaiah’s prophecy would finally be fulfilled, “Unto us a Child is born. Unto us a Son is given.” And for as much as the devil tried to prevent Christ’s birth by leading Israel astray, and then tried to defeat Him after He was born, he couldn’t do it. God’s Word was fulfilled. And now, although Christ has ascended into heaven, His Church remains here below, fleeing from the devil, just as Peter said in Sunday’s Epistle, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are being brought upon your brothers in the world.

But see how God views His precious Church! As His glorious bride whom He preserved until the Christ was born. And just as God the Father protected His beloved Son from being wiped out by the devil, so He will continue to preserve His beloved Church until the end. The devil is a fierce dragon and a dangerous enemy, but the story is already written, as it were. The Child is safe, and so will be the woman who gave birth to Him. The dragon does not win. The Church wins, with God’s help. Amen.