The Book of Revelation | The Woman & the Dragon

1 A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs, in the agony of giving birth. 3 Then another portent appeared in heaven: a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to deliver a child, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. 5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule[a] all the nations with a scepter of iron. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, so that there she can be nourished for one thousand two hundred sixty days.

Revelation 12:1-6 (NRSVUE)

The scene John describes in Revelation 12 reads like something out of an epic fantasy novel—there's a woman clothed with the sun, a seven-headed dragon, and a cosmic battle. But this isn't John's attempt at creating another Lord of the Rings. Instead, John's using powerful symbolic language to describe a very real spiritual conflict.

The woman represents God's people throughout history. The imagery of her being clothed with the sun, standing on the moon, and crowned with twelve stars draws from Old Testament symbolism where Israel is often portrayed as a woman. The twelve stars likely represent the twelve tribes of Israel, connecting this vision to God's covenant people.

The dragon, with its seven heads and ten horns, represents the ultimate source of evil—Satan himself. The description emphasizes the dragon's power and malevolence. This creature is so massive that its tail can sweep away a third of the stars from heaven. The image is meant to be terrifying because the spiritual forces arrayed against God's people are genuinely formidable.

But we have to remember that this isn't just some epic cosmological battle. The conflict between God's people and the forces of evil happens in our world every day. Every generation of believers has faced their own version of the dragon. For John's first readers, it was the Roman Empire demanding emperor worship. For believers in other times and places, it has been different forms of injustice, persecution and opposition.

The dragon's strategy hasn't changed—it still seeks to devour and destroy God's people. But God's response hasn't changed either. Just as the woman was protected and her child was rescued in John's vision, God continues to protect and preserve his people today.

When you feel overwhelmed and like you're being attached by some massive dragon, remember this image. The dragon may be fierce, but it is not ultimately in control. God has already written the end of this story.

Prayer: Lord, when I feel threatened by forces that seem too powerful to overcome, remind me that you are my protector and that your purposes will prevail.