Revelation 12

1. Introduction

The woman, the child, and the devil of Revelation 12 serve as a cornerstone for understanding the other chapters of Revelation. Some interpretations stem from a false premise that, at the time of writing, the book of Revelation only looks into the distant future. However, the correct interpretation is simple, much like the gospel. It does not require complex theological gymnastics as some theology demands. Furthermore, this chapter also reveals the true meaning of seven years of peace for Israel—not in the future, but two thousand years ago, through the Prince of Peace, Jesus.

2. The Child

A. Trying to Kill the Child

The child is clearly Jesus Christ and is first mentioned in:

His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.

Revelation 12:4

The Greek word refers to a male child of immature age. In Greek, the word is:- τέκνον teknon;

This picture in Revelation 12 is precisely what happened with Jesus’ birth. When Jesus was about to be born, Herod tried to kill Jesus, just as Revelation said:

Then Herod, when he saw that the wise men deceived him, was exceedingly angry, and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.

Matthew 2:16

B. The Ruling Son

The following verse shows that the child will govern the nations.

She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.

Revelation 12:5

This time, the word used for a child is a different Greek term. Huio refers to a mature firstborn son who has the full authority of the Father to carry out the Father’s will. There is no doubt that this is Jesus because it directly responds to the prophetic word in the Messianic Psalm, where He is identified as the Son of God.

“I will declare the decree:
The LORD has said to Me, You are My Son,
Today, I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”

Psalms 2:7-9

Along with this, the prophet Isaiah also confirms the same.

For unto us a Child (יֶלֶד yeleḏ;) is born,
Unto us a Son (בֵּן ḇên) is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

We see the same terminology in this scripture as in Revelation. First an immature child, then a first-born Son with authority. And He is given government on His shoulders, just as Revelation said He would have.

C. Enthroned Son

In Revelation, we also see that this male child becomes the only begotten firstborn Son with full authority to oversee the Father’s affairs. Then Jesus will be caught up to heaven and onto a throne. 

She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her First-Born Son was caught up to God and His throne.

Revelation 12:5

And, of course, this is exactly what happened with Jesus. Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father in the heavenly realms.

Which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

Ephesians 1:20-21

So, we’ve identified the child.

3. The Woman

Since Jesus is the Son and God is the Father, it’s not too hard to figure out who the woman is. 

A. The Wife of God

God describes Israel as His wife in the book of Hosea.

“I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In lovingkindness and mercy;
I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,
And you shall know the LORD.

Hosea 2:19-20

B. Twelve Tribes

We then observe that she is clothed with the sun and the moon, adorned with a garland of twelve stars.

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and a garland of twelve stars on her head.

Revelation 12:1

This directly refers to Joseph’s dream, where the stars represent the tribes of Israel. The sun and moon symbolise the father and mother of Israel.

Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”
So he told it to his father and his brothers; his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?”

Genesis 37:9-10

So, we have identified Jesus as the child who became a son with full authority to complete the Father’s business, and we see that the woman is the nation of Israel.

C. House of Israel

We must remember that the House of Israel became all those who partake of the New Covenant:

Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD. For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Hebrews 8:8-10

Adding to this, there is no longer Jew nor Gentile. 

Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

Colossians 3:11

Therefore, when God speaks of the house of Israel in relation to the New Covenant, He is referring to the worldwide Church of God. 

D. The Bride for Jesus

The nation of Israel was not pleasing to God, because they were repeatedly unfaithful to Him and committed spiritual adultery by turning to other gods.

The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 

Ezekiel 39:23

This is why God permitted the Romans to destroy Jerusalem. We must recognise that the nation of Israel today is no closer to Him than it was then. The good news is that more and more Jews are turning to Christ, becoming part of the bride of Christ.

Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Revelation 21:2

4. War in Heaven

A. Satan Loses Access to Heaven

Until this time, Satan could enter heaven at any moment to make accusations against humankind, as he did with Job.

Now, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.

Job 1:6

Until Jesus ascended, the devil could accuse people just as he did with Job.

… and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

Revelation 12:10

B. War Breaks Out

Before Jesus ascends into heaven to take His blood inside His resurrected body to cleanse heaven of Satan’s influence, Satan loses his access to God’s throne room.

And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought,

Revelation 12:7

It is important to understand that God does not need to go to war with the devil. The devil is merely a created being, so God sends Michael and his angels to fight against him. Jesus does not enter heaven to defeat the devil; He comes in after the devil is no longer present.

C. Jesus Visits Hades

Before He ascends into heaven, He must first descend into Hades.

Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?

Ephesians 4:9

He descended into Hades to take the keys of death and Hades from the devil.

I am He who lives and was dead; behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

Revelation 1:18

While there, He preaches to everyone in Hades. 

by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,

1 Peter 3:19

He also did this so everyone in Hades could hear the gospel.

For this reason, the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh but live according to God in the spirit.

1 Peter 4:6

This is the reason why so many people were resurrected at the time of Jesus’ death.

The graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

Matthew 27:52-53

This verse shows His descent into Hades at His death. That is why Jesus told the thief on the cross, ‘Today you will be with me in Paradise’.

And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Luke 23:43

D. Satan is Cast to Earth

Before Jesus can enter heaven, the devil must be cast out so heaven can be cleansed of the sin and defilement of Satan and his demons, who rebelled against God.

But they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Revelation 12:8-9

E. Satan is God’s Footstool

The devil has been cast to earth, which is God’s footstool.

Thus says the LORD:
“Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.

Isaiah 66:1

God intended that Jesus would make His enemies His footstool.

The Lord (Yahweh) said to my Lord (Adonai)
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”?

Psalm 110:1

Jesus’ enemies are our enemies. Since we are in Christ, His enemies are also defeated beneath our feet.

even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Ephesians 2:5-6

Hearing God talking to the devil in Genesis, we see that God’s original plan was always for the devil to be under our feet.

And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”

Genesis 3:15

In these verses, the woman (blue highlights) will defeat the devil and his demons (red highlights). 

F. Body of Christ

It’s worth noting that Jesus is the head, and we are the body.

And He put all things under His feet and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Ephesians 1:22-23

Therefore, since Jesus is the head and we are His body, the devil is under our feet, and we hold dominion over him.

5. The Firstborn Only-Begotten Son Enters Heaven

A. Jesus Enters Heaven

When did Jesus enter heaven? We know it must have been much later than His death and resurrection for two reasons. It did not occur at His resurrection because of what Jesus told Mary after His resurrection:

Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, I am ascending to My Father and your Father and to My God and your God.’”

John 20:17

Jesus had not yet been with the Father on the day of His resurrection. On that same day, Jesus breathed on the disciples, and they were born again and filled with the Holy Spirit.

And when He said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.

John 20:22

B. Captivity Led Captive

Once Michael and his angels cast the devil to earth and under Jesus’ feet, the resurrected Jesus enters heaven.

But to each of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore, He says:
“When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.”

Ephesians 4:7-8

“He led captivity captive” is a phrase that depicts what a conquering army does. The conqueror returns to their capital city with a procession of captives following behind.

Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows he has a short time.”

Revelation 12:12

Revelation states that the devil has limited freedom before being bound, which we will examine shortly. 
The devil was the one who had kept everyone hostage, but how did he keep them captive?  

C. Bondage of the Law

Colossians provides the key to understanding that the law held humanity captive.

Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Colossians 2:15

The words, “He made a public spectacle of them”, evoke a similar image to the conqueror bringing captives into the capital city to display them as defeated. The context of this scripture relates to the law, as seen in the preceding verse.

Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that were against us, contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

Colossians 2:14

And the following verse:

So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,

Colossians 2:16

For Gentiles, it’s easy to forget how much bondage was in the law. As Paul says:

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.

1 Corinthians 15:56

This bondage to the law brought fear. 

But now, because of the New Covenant, a covenant of love, we are in a loving relationship with Father God. We are beloved sons and daughters crying, “Abba, Father”.

Furthermore, we are the bride of Christ and loved by Him.

You did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Romans 8:15

The principalities and powers gained their authority from the law. Those principalities and powers were disarmed when the law was nailed to the cross, and the devil was cast from heaven so he could no longer accuse the believers of God.

Once Jesus disarmed principalities and powers, God nailed the law to the cross, allowing grace to come to earth bringing gifts (graces):

Therefore, He says:
“When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive
And gave gifts to men.”

Ephesians 4:8

D. Jesus, the High Priest.

Now, this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.

Hebrews 8:1-2

And the High Priest offers sacrifices in the temple of God:

But into the second part, the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance;

Hebrews 9:7

Jesus came from a priestly lineage of Melchizedek, the High Priest of Jerusalem on earth.

Where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 6:20

E. Jesus Cleanses Heaven

The High Priest of the Old Covenant would sprinkle blood around the Tabernacle. However, Jesus, the High Priest of the New Covenant, did not sprinkle His blood in the heavenly Tabernacle. Instead, He brought His living blood to heaven inside His resurrected body.

Then likewise, he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And according to the law, almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood, there is no remission.
Therefore, it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;

Hebrews 9:21-24

He cleansed heaven because the devil had defiled it and has now been cast down to earth. Contrary to some teachings, the devil can no longer enter heaven, or the blood of Jesus would have no effect.

F.Jesus, the King

As we learned in Revelation 11, two anointings of the resurrected Jesus bear His witness. The first was the priestly anointing, and the second was the royal anointing. 

We learned above that Jesus was the High Priest of the order of Melchizedek.  However, Jesus, like Melchizedek, was not only a High Priest, He was also king:

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,”

Hebrews 7:1-2

G. Jesus, the Keyholder

Jesus takes the keys from the devil.

I am He who lives and was dead and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

Revelation 1:18

6. Jesus’ Enthronement

A. Jesus Ascends on the Clouds of Heaven

This enthronement occurred after Satan was cast to earth.

“I watched till thrones were put in place,
And the Ancient of Days was seated;
… And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom, the one
Which shall not be destroyed.

Daniel 7:9,13-14

So God enthroned Jesus as King and High Priest. When did this occur? It happened once Jesus ascended into heaven forty days after His death and resurrection.

Now, when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

Acts 1:9

B. Pentecost Power and Authority

Now that Satan has arrived on earth, and the Kingdom of God has also come:

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

Revelation 12:10

When was this accomplished? Ten days after Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit descended on the day of Pentecost. How do we know that Revelation 12:10 indicates the timing of this? 

The Greek word for strength is dynamis, while the Greek for power is authority. When the Holy Spirit arrived, He came with power and authority for the church.

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Acts 1:8

C. Pentecost Salvation

Remembering that Revelation 12 situates the surrounding chapters in the time of Jesus, not in the future, we see this confirmed by the word “salvation.”

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

Revelation 12:10

It was on the day of Pentecost that salvation was revealed:

Then, those who gladly received his word were baptised, and that day, about three thousand souls were added to them.

Acts 2:41

7. Hebrew Calendar

When Daniel prophesied, he was not using the Roman calendar, as it did not yet exist. Daniel was prophesying in Hebrew in Chapters 1-2:4a and 8-12, and was using the Hebrew Calendar. The Hebrew calendar differs from our modern Gregorian calendar.

There is an excellent resource from Utrecht University for anyone wanting to look at the Jewish festivals and dates for a particular year. I will summarise with reasonable detail, and there may be some who want to double-check my mathematics for the seven years of peace; for this reason, I have included it later, along with a spreadsheet.

The Hebrew calendar follows a nineteen-year lunisolar cycle starting in September. This nineteen-year cycle includes seven leap years in the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, and 17th years of the cycle. During a leap year, an extra month is added, usually in March. Here is how it looked during the Jewish-Roman War, which is the timeframe of the Great Tribulation. Each non-lunar year is calculated to be between 353 and 355 days, according to this calendar, and each lunar year is between 383 and 385 days.

8. Three and a Half Years

To properly understand the seven years of the New Covenant being imparted in peace, we need to look at the Biblical time frame of three and a half years.

A. Three and a Half Years

In Daniel, Luke, and Revelation, multiple terms are used to describe a period of three and a half years.

1. Three and a half years,
2. A time, times and half a time.
3. Forty-Two months
4. One thousand two hundred and sixty days

The forty-two months are not relevant to this lesson and are covered in our lesson on the Great Tribulation.

The anomalies in the dates are due to the Gregorian calendar, whereas the Jews use a different calendar, as we saw in Section 13 above. If you want the spreadsheet calculations for the above dates, they are available here.

9. The Nourished Woman

The woman who bore the child represents the natural Israel. Revelation teaches that the tribes of Israel are nourished for three and a half years.

Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

Revelation 12:6

When did these three and a half years happen? According to the previous verse, it was sometime after Satan was cast out of heaven.

When the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the serpent’s presence.

Revelation 12:13-14

A. Gospel to the Jews

After Satan was cast to earth in 30 CE, there were three and a half years during which the Jewish people were nourished.  The gospel is nourishment, and this going forth to the Jews happened from 30 CE to November 8, 33 CE.  

It starts on the day of Pentecost (May 26, 30 CE) with Peter preaching to the Jews of Judea:

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.

Acts 2:14

It continues despite the Jewish leaders trying to stop them:

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:

Acts 4:8

With the apostles preaching daily in the temple and houses of Jerusalem:

And daily in the temple and every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

Acts 5:42

Resulting in many coming to Christ, even the Jewish religious leaders:

Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

Acts 6:7

This nourishing of the Jews occurs for three and a half years.  However, this is not the only three and a half years that God has nourished Israel. It is on purpose that Jesus refers to three and a half years. This is because Jewish believers will immediately remember the prophecy of Daniel.

10. Seven Years of Peace for the Jews

Unfortunately, the Futurist teaching of a future seven-year peace treaty with Israel is unknowingly a heresy teaching that Jesus is the Antichrist.

A. The First Three and a Half Years

We have seen that there were three and a half years after Jesus’ death and Satan’s removal from heaven. These three and a half years were the Holy Spirit nourishing the Jews through the apostles.  But there were also three and a half years of Jesus’ ministry to the Jews from October 6, 26 CE to April 6, 30 CE.

But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Matthew 15:24

B. The Second Three and a Half Years

Daniel has prophesied about a week, defined as seven years earlier in the book.

Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.

Daniel 9:27

It is a part of a prophecy regarding Jesus ministry:

“Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make a reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.”

Daniel 9:24

It is not hard to see that this whole prophecy relates to Jesus. He finished transgression, ended sin, reconciled, and brought everlasting righteousness. But due to tardy hermeneutics, Futurists have decided that verse 27 refers to the Antichrist making a peace treaty with Israel for seven years. Yet He is the Messiah, not the Antichrist, because verse 25 tells us so!

C.Jesus, the Prince of Peace

Until Messiah the Prince,

Daniel 9:25

Jesus is who Daniel is referring to, not the Antichrist.

And we find that Jesus did precisely what v 27 said He would do. He confirmed the New Covenant for three and a half years of ministry, followed by three and a half years of the Holy Spirit doing the same through the apostles. These seven years were a time of nourishment for the Jewish people. In the middle of those seven years, Jesus ended sacrifice and offering under the Old Covenant by becoming the High Priest, who made a sacrifice once and for all through his death and resurrection.

D. Woman in the Wilderness

John is very clear that the woman is sent into the wilderness. The wilderness was where the Old Covenant was given. Now the New Covenant is being given to the Jews by the apostles.

Under the Old Covenant, they were to receive the law and enter the promised land.

The spiritual wilderness the Jews were experiencing was where the New Covenant was revealed to them by the apostles. Their eyes were being opened, and many Jews were accepting Jesus Christ as the Messiah. They were being nourished by the Word nd the Holy Spirit.

11. The Persecuted Woman

After Michael casts Satan down to earth, the devil chases the woman.

When the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child.

Revelation 12:13

When we hear the word persecuted, we might picture someone being beheaded. However, this is not always the case. The Greek word for persecuted is διώκω diōkō, which means to pursue. It originates from two words:

διώκω diōkō – which means faithless and fearful and
διάκονος diakonos – to run errands, to be a deacon, minister or servant

Faithless and fearful ministers of the Old Covenant provide a clear picture of what the Jews were like after Jesus’ death and resurrection. The veil was torn in two; all priests should have died when the Holy of Holies was opened, but they did not. The graves were opened, and many people were resurrected from the dead. Mega-earthquakes were happening. So, indeed, people were in great fear.

So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Matthew 27:54

12. The Devil Rages Against the Church

A. With the Rest of Her Offspring

Once the remaining three and a half years are over, Satan attacks the followers of Jesus Christ. 

And the dragon … and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 12:17

So, around 8 November 33 CE, the persecution of the believers truly began with Stephen.

And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law;

Acts 6:12-13

And they stoned Stephen to death.

Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord, and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Acts 7:57-58

The Jew’s stoning of Stephen was only the start, resulting in the church being scattered across Judea and Samaria.

Now Saul was consenting to his death.
At that time, a great persecution arose against the church, which was in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and greatly lamented him. As for Saul, he wreaked havoc on the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

Acts 8:1-3

This persecution of believers reached its peak during the Great Tribulation, which began under Nero on December 21, 66 CE, following their defeat by the Jews four weeks earlier. It ended 2300 days later under Vespasian at Passover, April 6, 73 CE, with the massacre at Masada.

B. With the Woman

The devil’s actions against the Jews do not cease when he shifts his focus to the believers. This scripture shows that the devil continues to rage against the woman.

And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 12:17

History demonstrates this to be true. The Jewish wars against the Romans began in 41 CE and concluded in 73 CE, resulting in the deaths of 1.3 million Jews.

13. False Teaching: Antichrist Seven-Year Peace Treaty

Futurists interpret this as the Antichrist coming to establish a peace treaty halfway through the seven years.

A. People of the Prince Destroy the City

Some say this because they don’t understand history. In the next verse, they see that the people of the prince will destroy the city. The people of the prince are the Jews.

“And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.

Daniel 9:26

They believe it must be another prince who destroys the city. They say that this prince is the Antichrist.

B. Infighting in Jerusalem

However, it does not say that the prince destroys the city; rather, it shows that the people of the Messiah, identified in the previous verse as Jesus, will destroy the city. This is exactly what took place.

The Jews repeatedly attacked the Romans, ultimately causing the Romans to destroy the city.

Infighting among the Jews, with raping, murdering, and desecrating the Temple, had become so severe within Jerusalem in 68 CE that the Edomite army, which had ransacked Jerusalem, left in disgust at the Jews! Even the Roman garrison in Jerusalem begged Vespasian to come and stop the bloodshed, to which Vespasian replied:

that they were greatly mistaken in what they thought fit to be done…. But if they stay a while, they shall have fewer enemies, because they will be consumed in this sedition:..that God acts as a general of the Romans better than he can do, and to sit still as spectators of the dangers they run into, rather than to fight hand to hand with men that love murdering, and are mad one against another

Josephus “War of the Jews” Chapter 6 section 2

Not only that, Josephus tells us that the Jews themselves destroyed much of the city because three different clans were fighting each other. Titus himself did not want to destroy the city. His army was so angry at the Jews, who had been harassing them for three and a half years, that they decided to rampage through the city, burning it to the ground and killing around 1.1 million Jews. 

14. Summary of Revelation 12

• The woman is the nation of Israel
• The child is Jesus
• The child turns into a mature first-born son
• Michael and his angels evict Satan and his demons from the throneroom of God.
• Satan comes to earth
• Jesus descended into Hades to preach the gospel
• Jesus enters heaven, taking His blood in His resurrected body and cleansing heaven.
• Jesus sits at the Father’s right hand as High Priest and King.
• Jesus nourishes Israel and confirms the New Covenant for three and a half years and then three and a half years by the Holy Spirit.
• There is no future seven-year peace deal with Israel, nor is Jesus the Antichrist.
• The devil began his attacks on believers in 33 CE after seven years of peace, until the Great Tribulation, which started in December 66 CE.
• The devil restarted his attacks on the Jews in 41 CE, culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.

© Use by Permission Awakening Impact Ministries / Dr Neville Westerbeek van Eerten DMiss BVSc 2026