Revelation 12:13-17·~1 min

The Woman Persecuted

After being thrown down, the dragon pursues the woman, but she is given eagle's wings to flee to her wilderness place, where she is nourished for the appointed period. The serpent then pours out a river to sweep her away, yet the earth itself helps her by swallowing the flood. Furious at this repeated frustration, the dragon turns to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those defined by obedience to God and the testimony of Jesus. The chapter ends by locating the church within an ongoing conflict under God's preserving hand.

A¹³nd when the dragon saw that he had been thrown to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. ¹⁴But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. ¹⁵Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river to overtake the woman and sweep her away in the torrent. ¹⁶But the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth to swallow up the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. ¹⁷And the dragon was enraged at the woman and went to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

Section summaryOnce cast down, the dragon turns his hostility toward the woman who gave birth to the male child. Yet the woman is given eagle's wings to flee into the wilderness, where she is nourished for a time, times, and half a time away from the serpent. The serpent tries to overwhelm her with a river from his mouth, but the earth helps the woman by swallowing the flood. Enraged at this failure, the dragon goes off to make war on the rest of her offspring, identified as those who keep God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. The conflict therefore widens from the woman to the faithful people associated with her.

Role in the chapterThis closing section shows the dragon's frustration and the continued preservation of God's people even as he wages war against their faithful witness.