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 The two beasts arise respectively out of the sea compare Daniel and the earth Revelation Revelation : 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. Christ, the Son of the woman, is in Revelation emphatically called "the MAN-child" Greek, " huios arrheen, " "male-child".
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 represent the Old Testament believers' ardent longings for the promised Redeemer. Compare the joy at His birth Isaiah As new Jerusalem called also "the woman," or "wife," Revelation Revelation , with its twelve gates, is the exalted and transfigured Church, so the woman with the twelve stars is the Church militant.
But B, C, and Coptic read, "of fire. His representative, the beast, corresponds, having seven heads and ten horns the number of horns on the fourth beast of Daniel , Revelation But there, ten crowns are on the ten horns for before the end, the fourth empire is divided into ten kingdoms ; here, seven crowns rather, "diadems," Greek, " diademata, " not stephanoi, "wreaths" are upon his seven heads. In Daniel the Antichristian powers up to Christ's second coming are represented by four beasts, which have among them seven heads, that is, the first, second, and fourth beasts having one head each, the third, four heads.
His universal dominion as prince of this fallen world is implied by the seven diadems contrast the "many diadems on Christ's head," Revelation , when coming to destroy him and his , the caricature of the seven Spirits of God. His worldly instruments of power are marked by the ten horns, ten being the number of the world. It marks his self-contradictions that he and the beast bear both the number seven the divine number and ten the world number.
Antitypically the true Israel, Jesus, when born, was sought for destruction by Herod, who slew all the males in and around Bethlehem.
Any interpretation which ignores this must be wrong. The male son's birth cannot be the origin of the Christian state Christianity triumphing over heathenism under Constantine , which was not a divine child of the woman, but had many impure worldly elements. In a secondary sense, the ascending of the witnesses up to heaven answers to Christ's own ascension, "caught up unto God, and unto His throne": as also His ruling the nations with a rod of iron is to be shared in by believers Revelation What took place primarily in the case of the divine Son of the woman, shall take place also in the case of those who are one with Him, the sealed of Israel Revelation , and the elect of all nations, about to be translated and to reign with Him over the earth at His appearing.
But A and B add "there. Here, as in Daniel , and elsewhere, the third person plural refers to the heavenly powers who minister from God nourishment to the Church. As Israel had its time of first bridal love, on its first going out of Egypt into the wilderness, so the Christian Church's wilderness -time of first love was the apostolic age, when it was separate from the Egypt of this world, having no city here, but seeking one to come; having only a place in the wilderness prepared of God Revelation Revelation The harlot takes the world city as her own, even as Cain was the first builder of a city, whereas the believing patriarchs lived in tents.
King James Version 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. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her Child. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they did not prevail, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.
Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you with great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time. New Living Translation 1 Then I witnessed in heaven an event of great significance. I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads. He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born.
And her child was snatched away from the dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth--the one who accuses them before our God day and night. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.
And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.
There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time, times, and half a time. This is the longest and perhaps the most difficult interlude to understand. When John hears that the kingdoms of the world are to become the kingdoms of Christ see , it is as though the Lord stops to teach more about these two different classes of kingdoms. In Revelation —2, 5, 7 , John saw in vision a woman who gave birth to a child.
Elder Bruce R. They are under, beneath and lower than the true Church. The highest eternal reward they can offer is the terrestrial kingdom, whose glory is like the moon. These verses in Revelation 12 are a parenthetical reference to the War in Heaven. The same kind that prevails on earth; the only kind Satan and spirit beings can wage—a war of words, a tumult of opinions, a conflict of ideologies; a war between truth and error, between light and darkness. President Boyd K. Packer — of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles elaborated on how we can find protection during this spiritual war:.
Elder Dieter F. Even at the foundation of the world, it was a certainty that Jesus Christ would perform the Atonement; thus, the effects of the Atonement began in the premortal world. In mortality we continue to overcome Satan in the same manner—by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ and by the word of our testimonies.
Elder Richard G. Scott — of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles described the power of testimony:. It generates the conviction that as the teachings of the Savior are consistently obeyed, life will be beautiful, the future secure, and there will be capacity to overcome the challenges that cross our path. A testimony grows from understanding truth, distilled from prayer and the pondering of scriptural doctrine.
It is nurtured by living those truths in faith and the secure confidence that the promised results will be obtained. There are multiple references in the book of Revelation to individuals who were tested and tried in the war against evil, even unto death see Revelation , 13 ; —11 ; ; ; ; The Joseph Smith Translation then adds these further insights:.
Satan wages his fiercest battles against the Saints of the true and living Church. After seeing that Satan went to make war against the remnant of the seed of the woman, John saw a beast rise out of the sea see Revelation Rather than attempting to specify an exact identity of the beast, it may be more profitable to note the following general characteristics about the beast: It had power over many nations see Revelation , 7 ; it opposed God and blasphemed against Him see verses 5—6 ; the power it wielded was like the power that predatory animals have over their prey see verse 2 ; Satan gave it power see verses 2, 4 ; people of the world worshipped or followed the beast see verse 4 ; and it was able to overpower many, including the Saints see verse 7.
It could be said that any kingdom or government that exhibits these characteristics manifests the spirit of the beast. Revelation —12 contains additional information about the beast, including its ultimate destruction. But being thus retired could not protect the woman.
The flood of water is explained by many to mean the invasions of barbarians, by which the western empire was overwhelmed; for the heathen encouraged their attacks, in the hope of destroying Christianity. But ungodly men, for their worldly interests, protected the church amidst these tumults, and the overthrow of the empire did not help the cause of idolatry.
Or, this may be meant of a flood of error, by which the church of God was in danger of being overwhelmed and carried away.
The devil, defeated in his designs upon the church, turns his rage against persons and places. Being faithful to God and Christ, in doctrine, worship, and practice, exposes to the rage of Satan; and will do so till the last enemy shall be destroyed. Complete Concise Chapter Contents A description of the church of Christ and of Satan, under the figures of a woman and of a great red dragon.
Commentary on Revelation Read Revelation The attempts of the dragon proved unsuccessful against the church, and fatal to his own interests. Commentary on Revelation Read Revelation The church and all her friends might well be called to praise God for deliverance from pagan persecution, though other troubles awaited her.
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