ACC ~ Revelation 12 v17

THE DRAGON PERSECUTES THE FAITHFUL. OECUMENIUS: And since the dragon had failed also in his second plot [i.e., to kill the male child], what further is there for him to do? He has persecuted those called sons and brothers of the Lord, that is, the faithful—for it says that these are the offspring of the woman, since the faithful are the sons and brothers of the Lord, as it is written, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers,” and again, “Behold, I and the children which God has given to me.”Therefore, they are relatives of his mother—and [the dragon] made war with them, persecuting them and plotting against them and killing them through the tyrants and powers of the earth, since they were giving witness that the one born of the Virgin was God. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 12.13-17.

BY OBEDIENCE THE FAITHFUL FIGHT THE DEVIL. BEDE: The [dragon] saw that he could no longer continue the persecutions since they were stopped by the mouth of the holy earth [i.e., Christ], and so he armed himself all the more with the mystery of wickedness, so that he might be able to continue his plotting. “Who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus.” To keep the commandments of God by faith in Jesus Christ is to fight against the devil and to provoke him to war. But thanks be to God who has brought to naught all that the evil dragon has begun! For, behold, although he tried to kill the Lord incarnate, he was frustrated in this by the Lord’s resurrection. And afterward, he worked to take from the apostles the confidence of their teaching, and this was as though he had given himself the task of taking the woman, that is, the whole church, from human affairs. But since he has failed to accomplish this, he fights against the faithful in every age. “And he stood on the sand of the sea.” This means that he stood upon the multitude of the people, “which the wind drives away from the face of the earth.” For when he wishes to excite plots and wars, he stands upon that multitude that is in the habit of adopting his plans. EXPLANATION OF THE APOCALYPSE 12.17-18.