RSV ~ Revelation 12 Notes
Rev 12:1-14 | ISB Notes
A narrative interlude between the judgment of the seven trumpets (8:6-11:19) and the judgment of the seven bowls (15:1-16:21). This central section may be seen as developing around seven spiritual figures (woman, 12:1; dragon, 12:3; male child, 12:5; Michael, 12:7; sea beast, 13:1; land beast, 13:11; the Lamb, 14:1).
Rev 12:1-6 | ISB Notes
The woman of Revelation 12 is both an individual person and a collective symbol. She is Mary, the Mother of the Messiah and the spiritual mother of his disciples (Jn 19:26-27). But she also represents the faithful of Israel, crying out for the Messiah (Rev 12:2), as well as the Church, attacked by the devil for witnessing to Jesus (12:17) (CCC 501, 507, 1138).
• The depiction of the woman is rich in biblical symbolism. (1) Antagonism between the woman and the dragon, the “ancient serpent” (12:9), recalls Gen 3:15, the first prophecy in Scripture to foretell the demise of the devil through the offspring (Messiah) of a woman (a new Eve). (2) Images of the sun, moon, and stars call to mind Gen 37:9-10, where they symbolize the family of Israel, namely, Jacob, his wife, and his twelve sons. (3) The pangs and anguish of childbirth recall Isaiah’s description of Daughter Zion, a maternal figure that represents the holy remnant of Israel groaning for redemption (Is 26:17; Mic 4:9-10). (4) Because the woman is a queen who wears a crown and a mother who bears a royal male child, she is also the Queen Mother of the Davidic kingdom reestablished by Jesus, the Davidic male child (1 Kings 2:19-20; Jer 13:18) (CCC 489). See essay: Queen Mother at 1 Kings 2.
• The woman is clearly the Church, endowed with the Word of the Father, whose brightness outshines the sun. Like the moon she is adorned with heavenly glory, and her crown of twelve stars points to the twelve apostles who founded the Church (St. Hippolytus, On the Antichrist 61). The vision speaks of the Mother of our Savior, depicting her in heaven, not on earth, as pure in body and soul, as equal to an angel, as one of heaven’s citizens, as one who brought about the Incarnation of God. She has nothing in common with this world and its evils but is exalted and worthy of heaven, despite her descent from our mortal nature (Oecumenius, Commentary on the Apocalypse 6, 19).
Rev 12:1 | ISB Notes
the moon: Can symbolize both maternal dignity (Gen 37:9-10) and feminine beauty (Song 6:10).
twelve stars: Represent both the twelve tribes of Israel (21:12) and the twelve apostles of Jesus (21:14).
Rev 12:2 | ISB Notes
pangs of birth: This is probably related to the Passion of Jesus, which pierced the heart of his Mother (Lk 2:35) and seized his disciples with the distress of a woman in labor (Jn 16:20-22).
Rev 12:3 | ISB Notes
red dragon: Represents Satan, the murderous arch enemy of God (Jn 8:44). His horns are symbols of his strength (Dan 7:7), and his diadems (crowns) are symbols of his ruling power over the fallen world (Jn 12:31). He is doomed to burn forever in the lake of fire (Rev 20:10).
• The draconic serpent was a mythological symbol of evil in the ancient Near East. Called Leviathan (Is 27:1) or Rahab (Job 26:12-13), he was pictured as a sea monster with multiple heads (Ps 74:14).
Rev 12:4 | ISB Notes
a third of the stars: A flashback to the fall of the angels at the dawn of creation (2 Pet 2:4). The imagery hints at how Satan led the rebellion, dragging a host of demons down with him (CCC 391-92). In the Bible, stars often represent angels (Rev 1:20; 9:1; Judg 5:20; Job 38:7).
Rev 12:5 | ISB Notes
male child: His coming forth symbolizes both the birth and rebirth (Resurrection) of Jesus as the Davidic Messiah.
• The rod of iron alludes to Ps 2:9, a coronation psalm that celebrates the enthronement and royal adoption (i.e., divine birth) of the Davidic kings of Israel. It is ultimately fulfilled in Christ, who rose to an immortal life of kingship (Acts 13:33) when he ascended into glory (Heb 1:5-8).
caught up to God: Refers to the Ascension, which culminated with the heavenly enthronement of Christ next to the Father (3:21; Mk 16:19).
Rev 12:6 | ISB Notes
fled into the wilderness: Many interpret this as the safe escape of Jewish Christians from Jerusalem when they fled to a place called Pella. See note on Rev 11:2.
Rev 12:7 | ISB Notes
Michael: The heavenly warrior and archangel (Jude 9) who protects the People of God (Dan 12:1). Here he leads the heavenly army in the attack against Satan and his hoards.
Rev 12:9 | ISB Notes
that ancient serpent: Satan, who took the form of a reptile when he instigated the fall of man in Gen 3:1-13. His name in Greek is the Devil, meaning “slanderer”, and his name in Hebrew is Satan, meaning “adversary”.
the deceiver: Satan is the father of every lie and falsehood (Jn 8:44).
Rev 12:10 | ISB Notes
Now the salvation: Heaven celebrates the expulsion of the devil and his angels. This is not the fall of the angels at the dawn of time (12:4), but the defeat of evil at the turning point of salvation history, when Christ mounted the Cross and cast out the ruler of this world (Jn 12:31-32; Col 2:15).
the kingdom: See note on Rev 11:15-19.
accuser of our brethren: The devil is a prosecuting attorney who makes damning accusations against the saints (Job 1:6-11; Zech 3:1).
Rev 12:11 | ISB Notes
conquered . . .unto death: The martyrs appear defeated by death but are actually victorious. They, most of all, have shown the greater love (Jn 15:13) that makes them like Christ, even in his death (Phil 3:10).
Rev 12:13-17 | ISB Notes
Slammed down to earth, the devil storms off after the woman, but God protects her from his evil intentions.
• The imagery recalls how Yahweh was said to have rescued Israel from Egypt on eagle’s wings (12:14; Ex 19:4). Other allusions include the salvation of Noah’s family from the flood (12:15; Gen 6-8) and the destruction of Korah and his rebel supporters when the earth opened its mouth to swallow them alive (12:16; Num 16:1-34).
Rev 12:17 | ISB Notes
the woman … her offspring: An allusion to Gen 3:15, which stands as a backdrop for the entire chapter. Here the woman’s offspring is not only the Messiah (individual, 12:5), but also his disciples (collective, Rom 16:20). See note on Rev 12:1-6.