---
title: "Revelation 12 - Study King James Bible with commentary critical and explanatory on the whole bible"
description: "Read Revelation 12 with commentary critical and explanatory on the whole bible commentary. 1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: 2 And"
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url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/revelation/12"
---

[ Read](/kjv/revelation/12)[ Commentary](/study/revelation/12)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/revelation/12) Audio

 1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

 2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

 3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

 4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

 5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and *to* his throne.

 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred *and* threescore days.

 7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

 9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

 10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

 12 Therefore rejoice, *ye* heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

 13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man *child*.

 14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

 15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

 16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

 17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
 
[Revelation 11](/study/revelation/11) [Revelation 13](/study/revelation/13)

## Commentary

 To verse 1
 
**1.** This episode ( :-) describes *in detail* the persecution of Israel
and the elect Church by the beast, which had been *summarily*
noticed, [Revelation 11:7-10](/kjv/revelation/11/7-10),
and the triumph of the faithful, and torment of the unfaithful. So
also the sixteenth through twentieth chapters are the description in
detail of the judgment on the beast, c., summarily noticed in [Revelation 11:13](/kjv/revelation/11/13)
[Revelation 11:18](/kjv/revelation/11/18). The beast in [Revelation 11:18](/kjv/revelation/11/18)- :, c., is shown not to be alone, but to be the instrument in
the hand of a greater power of darkness, Satan. That this is so,
appears from the time of the eleventh chapter being the period also
in which the events of the twelfth and thirteenth chapters take
place, namely, 1260 days ([Revelation 12:6](/kjv/revelation/12/6)
[Revelation 12:14](/kjv/revelation/12/14); [Revelation 13:5](/kjv/revelation/13/5);
compare [Revelation 11:2](/kjv/revelation/11/2); [Revelation 11:3](/kjv/revelation/11/3)). 

**great**—in size and
significance. 

**wonder**—*Greek,*
"sign": significant of momentous truths. 

**in heaven**—not merely
the sky, but the *heaven* beyond just mentioned, [Revelation 11:3](/kjv/revelation/11/3)- :; compare [Revelation 11:3](/kjv/revelation/11/3)- :. 

**woman clothed with the sun .
. . moon under her feet**—the Church, Israel first, and then the
Gentile Church; clothed with Christ, "the Sun of righteousness."
"Fair as the moon, clear as the sun." Clothed with the Sun,
the Church is the bearer of divine supernatural light in the world.
So the seven churches (that is, the Church universal, the woman) are
represented as light-bearing *candlesticks* ([Revelation 1:12](/kjv/revelation/1/12);
[Revelation 1:20](/kjv/revelation/1/20)). On the other hand, the
*moon,* though standing above the sea and earth, is altogether
connected with them and is an earthly light: *sea, earth,* and
*moon* represent the worldly element, in opposition to the
kingdom of God—heaven, the sun. The moon cannot disperse the
darkness and change it into-day: thus she represents the world
religion (heathenism) in relation to the supernatural world. The
Church has the moon, therefore, under her feet; but the stars, as
heavenly lights, on her head. The devil directs his efforts against
the stars, the angels of the churches, about hereafter to shine for
ever. The twelve stars, the crown around her head, are the twelve
tribes of Israel [AUBERLEN].
The allusions to *Israel* before accord with this: compare [Revelation 1:20](/kjv/revelation/1/20)- :, "the temple of God"; "the ark of His
testament." The ark lost at the Babylonian captivity, and never
since found, is seen in the "temple of God opened in heaven,"
signifying that God now enters again into covenant with His ancient
people. The woman cannot mean, literally, the virgin mother of Jesus,
for she did not flee into the wilderness and stay there for 1260
days, while the dragon persecuted the remnant of her seed ([Revelation 1:20](/kjv/revelation/1/20)- :) [DE BURGH].
The *sun, moon,* and *twelve stars,* are emblematical of
Jacob, Leah, or else Rachel, and the twelve patriarchs, that is, the
Jewish Church: secondarily, the Church universal, having *under her
feet,* in due subordination, the ever changing moon, which shines
with a borrowed light, emblem of *the Jewish dispensation,*
which is now in a position of inferiority, though supporting the
woman, and also of the changeful things of this world, and having on
her head the crown of twelve stars, the twelve apostles, who,
however, are related closely to Israel's twelve tribes. The Church,
in passing over into the Gentile world, is (1) persecuted; (2) then
seduced, as heathenism begins to react on her. This is the key to the
meaning of the symbolic woman, beast, harlot, and false prophet.
*Woman* and *beast* form the same contrast as *the Son of
man* and the *beasts* in Daniel. As the Son of man comes *from
heaven,* so the woman is seen *in heaven* ([Revelation 1:20](/kjv/revelation/1/20)- :). The two beasts arise respectively *out of the sea*
(compare [Daniel 7:3](/kjv/daniel/7/3)) and *the
earth* ([Revelation 13:1](/kjv/revelation/13/1); [Revelation 13:11](/kjv/revelation/13/11)):
their origin is not of heaven, but of earth earthy. Daniel beholds
the heavenly Bridegroom coming visibly to reign. John sees the woman,
the Bride, whose calling is heavenly, in the world, before the Lord's
coming again. The characteristic of woman, in contradistinction to
man, is her being subject, the surrendering of herself, her being
receptive. This similarly is man's relation to God, to be subject to,
and receive from, God. All autonomy of the human spirit reverses
man's relation to God. Woman-like receptivity towards God constitutes
*faith.* By it the *individual* becomes a child of God; the
children *collectively* are viewed as "the woman."
Humanity, in so far as it belongs to God, is the *woman.*
Christ, the Son of the woman, is in [Revelation 13:11](/kjv/revelation/13/11)- : emphatically called "the MAN-child"
(*Greek,* "*huios arrheen,*" "male-child").
Though born of a woman, and under the law for man's sake, He is also
the Son of God, and so the HUSBAND
of the Church. As Son of the woman, He is "'Son of man"; as
*male-child,* He is Son of God, and Husband of the Church. All
who imagine to have life in themselves are severed from Him, the
Source of life, and, standing in their own strength, sink to the
level of senseless *beasts.* Thus, the woman designates
universally the kingdom of God; the beast, the kingdom of the world.
The woman of whom Jesus was born represents *the Old Testament
congregation of God.* The woman's travail-pains ([Revelation 13:11](/kjv/revelation/13/11)- :) represent the Old Testament believers' ardent longings for
the promised Redeemer. Compare the joy at His birth ([Revelation 13:11](/kjv/revelation/13/11)- :). As new Jerusalem (called also "the woman," or
"wife," [Revelation 21:2](/kjv/revelation/21/2);
[Revelation 21:9-12](/kjv/revelation/21/9-12)), with its
twelve gates, is the exalted and transfigured Church, so the woman
with the twelve stars is the Church militant.

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