Satan's attack on the woman is described in Chapter 12 of The Book of Revelation.
Four key players are mentioned in John's vision:
- Michael:
Michael is an archangel (Jude 1:9), a powerful leader of the army of angels.
He is a great prince in charge of the the Jews (Dan 10:13, 21b, 12:1a).
He defeats Satan and his fallen angels in a war in Heaven (Rev 12:7–9). - The Great Dragon:
The Great Dragon is a picture of Satan, the deceiver of the whole world
(Rev 12:3, 9). - The Male Child:
This person will rule all nations with a rod of iron, and he was taken up to God to his throne (Rev 12:5, 2:27–28, Psalm 2:7–9, Acts 13:33, Heb 1:5), see God's Throne in Heaven. It's Jesus Christ (Messiah). - The Woman:
She is persecuted by Satan. She is an image and symbol of the nation of Israel
(Rev 12:1, Gen (1 Mos) 37:9–11). Jesus came from the Jews (Rev 12:2, 5).
Explanation:
Satan had seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns
(Rev 12:3). Horns in the Bible always refers to strength, power, and authority. The seven heads are seven empires, see What is Babylon in the Book of Revelation?
The ten horns point to ten leaders who will arise at the beginning of the Great Tribulation (the last 3.5 years of the Tribulation period) (Dan 7:24). Seven in the Bible always refers to perfection and completeness. Satan was perfect in knowledge and wisdom in the way he was created as a cherub, before he fell and became corrupt (Eze 28:12–17, Isaiah 14:12–14). This may have occurred at the beginning of time; at the beginning of creation. He was a murderer from the beginning of mankind, a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). The Greek word for crown is diadema (diadem), which stands for Satan who rules the Earth by right (John 14:30, Luke 4:5–7). Adam and Eve were given dominion in the Garden of Eden (Gen (1 Mos) 1:28). They were given a position of authority to rule the Earth. When they sinned, see The Biblical Creation and the Fall of Man, they surrendered their dominion to Satan, even if it was temporary. Satan's power was broken through the death of Jesus who bore our sin on the cross (John 12:31–33), see The Crucifixion of Jesus, for those who receive him, see Salvation.
When Satan rebelled, he influenced a third of the angels in Heaven to follow him
(Rev 12:4a), see time 38:56–40:16 in September 2024 Bible Q&A. He wanted the throne of God, to be like God. At that time the fallen angels who followed Satan became demonic spirits, see time 8:39–12:25 in Bible Q&A with Pastor Paul │February 2024. Satan can still deceive us, and he accuses us day and night before the Lord (Rev 12:10b, Zechariah 3:1–2, Job 1:6–12, 2:1–7), see The Book of Job. See also Ahab of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah in Elijah the Prophet.
This means that Satan and his fallen angels still have access to
God's Throne in Heaven, see time 30:21–31:26 in Bible Q&A With Pastor Paul │ September 2023. But if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father;
Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1–2), see The Book of John.
Satan tried to kill Jesus at birth by using Herod the Great, who sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and throughout the region who were two years old or younger (Rev 12:4b, Mat 2:16–18, Jer 31:15). Jesus, who is God, was protected from the time of his birth and throughout his ministry (John 14:30). One reason was that he didn't have a sinful nature like us. Our sinful nature gives Satan a hold over
our lives. We shouldn't give it to him (Eph 4:27), see Sanctification. We need to put on the full armor of God (Eph 6:11–18), see last part of The Book of Ephesians.
There will be a war in Heaven, where Michael and his angels will fight against Satan and his fallen angels, who will then be defeated and cast down to Earth
without further access to the throne of God. This will occur at the beginning of the Great Tribulation. Satan will then understand that his time is short.
(Rev 12:7–12).
Satan then attacks Israel (Rev 12:13, 15–16) and God's people (Rev 12:17). Satan seeks revenge on God by doing so. The Christians can be seen as an offspring of Israel. We are their descendants in the spiritual sense of the word.
Jesus Christ (Messiah) came from Israel. We are blessed through Abraham,
that is, through Israel (Gen (1 Mos) 22:18). As born again Christians,
see The Book of Peter, we are connected to Israel.
Israel is protected during the Great Tribulation until its end (Rev 12:6, 14).
At the end of the Great Tribulation, Antichrist attacks Israel and then Jesus returns.
There is a time gap between the male child being caught up to God and his throne (which is a picture of Jesus' ascension) (Rev 12:5b), and the statement about Israel (the picture of the woman being protected in the wilderness for about 3.5 years)
(Rev 12:6, 14). So far, almost 2000 years have passed between these two statements. This type of time gaps are not uncommon in Scripture and are given especially in the prophetic books, see 5) The 69 Weeks in the Book of Daniel and The 70th Week in When Did Jesus Die and When Was He Born?
See also The Book of Revelation.
