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Revelation

About this book
Chapter 12

1 Then a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars.⁠ 2 She was pregnant and was screaming in labor pains, struggling to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns.⁠ 4 Now the dragon’s tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth.⁠ Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. 5 So the woman gave birth to a son, a male child, who is going to rule over all the nations with an iron rod.⁠ Her child was suddenly caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and she fled into the wilderness where a place had been prepared for her by God, so she could be taken care of for 1,260 days.⁠ 7 Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.⁠ 8 But the dragon was not strong enough to prevail, so there was no longer any place left in heaven for him and his angels. 9 So that huge dragon—the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world—was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the ruling authority of his Christ, have now come, because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, the one who accuses them day and night before our God, has been thrown down. 11 But they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.⁠ 12 Therefore you heavens rejoice, and all who reside in them! But woe to the earth and the sea because the devil has come down to you! He is filled with terrible anger, for he knows that he only has a little time!” 13 Now when the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of a giant eagle so that she could fly out into the wilderness, to the place God prepared for her, where she is taken care of—away from the presence of the serpent—for a time, times, and half a time.⁠ 15 Then the serpent spouted water like a river out of his mouth after the woman in an attempt to sweep her away by a flood, 16 but the earth came to her rescue; the ground opened up and swallowed the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 17 So the dragon became enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children, those who keep God’s commandments and hold to the testimony about Jesus. (12:18) And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore.

Texts in conversation

Compare Daniel 12:7 and Revelation 12:14

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Daniel describes a heavenly figure swearing that a period of suffering will last for a time, times, and half a time. Revelation repeats this phrase when it says the woman in the wilderness is protected for the same unclear span of time.

Passages

Daniel 12:7

Hebrew Bible
5 I, Daniel, watched as two others stood there, one on each side of the river. 6 One said to the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river, “When will the end of these wondrous events occur?” 7 Then I heard the man clothed in linen who was over the waters of the river as he raised both his right and left hands to the sky and made an oath by the one who lives forever: “It is for a time, times, and half a time. Then, when the power of the one who shatters the holy people has been exhausted, all these things will be finished.” 8 I heard, but I did not understand. So I said, “Sir, what will happen after these things?” 9 He said, “Go, Daniel. For these matters are closed and sealed until the time of the end.
200–101 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Daniel

Revelation 12:14

New Testament
12 Therefore you heavens rejoice, and all who reside in them! But woe to the earth and the sea because the devil has come down to you! He is filled with terrible anger, for he knows that he only has a little time!” 13 Now when the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of a giant eagle so that she could fly out into the wilderness, to the place God prepared for her, where she is taken care of—away from the presence of the serpent—for a time, times, and half a time. 15 Then the serpent spouted water like a river out of his mouth after the woman in an attempt to sweep her away by a flood, 16 but the earth came to her rescue; the ground opened up and swallowed the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth.
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

"... Somewhat surprisingly, this section is dominated by verbs in the past tense, as if it were a narrative of a past sequence of events. The statement that the two prophets were lying dead in the public square for three and one-half days suggests a partial parallel to the three-day period between the death and resurrection of Jesus, while three and one-half days is also reminiscent of the Danielic phrase “time, times, and half a time,” or “year, two years, and half a year” (Daniel 7:25; 12:7; compare Revelation 12:14), which are variants of the forty-two months of Rev 11:2 (and Rev 13:5) and the 1,260 days of Rev 11:3 (and Rev 12:6). Three striking events follow in quick succession. First, the resurrection of the two prophets results in great fear on the part of those who had rejoiced over their deaths (a stereotypical reaction). Second, the summons of the heavenly voice, followed by the ascension of the two prophets to heaven, produces astonishment in their enemies (another stereotypical reaction) ..."
David Aune, Word Biblical Commentary: Revelation 6-16 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017), 520.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Daniel 12:7 and Revelation 12:14

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