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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 7:25 and Revelation 12:6

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Revelation’s vision of the woman in the wilderness uses a time span of 1,260 days, which may correspond with Daniel’s phrase “a time, times, and half a time.” Both use this symbolic period of time to mark a time of oppression before divine deliverance.

Passages

Daniel 7:25

Hebrew Bible
23 “This is what he told me: ‘The fourth beast means that there will be a fourth kingdom on earth that will differ from all the other kingdoms. It will devour all the earth and will trample and crush it. 24 The 10 horns mean that 10 kings will arise from that kingdom. Another king will arise after them, but he will be different from the earlier ones. He will humiliate three kings. 25 He will speak words against the Most High. He will harass the holy ones of the Most High continually. His intention will be to change times established by law. The holy ones will be delivered into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. 26 But the court will convene, and his ruling authority will be removed—destroyed and abolished forever! 27 Then the kingdom, authority, and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be delivered to the people of the holy ones of the Most High. His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; all authorities will serve him and obey him.’
200–101 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Daniel

Revelation 12:6

New Testament
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.
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 7:25 and Revelation 12:6

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