What does Revelation 12:2 mean?
John records that the woman who appeared in the sign in heaven was crying out in pain. She was experiencing the trauma of giving birth. We learn from verse 5 that the child is appointed to rule the nations. This statement is a clear reference to Jesus Christ. Isaiah prophesied the birth of Christ in Isaiah 7:14: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [God with us]."Isaiah 66:7 predicts that the woman would deliver a son before her pain came upon her. This prediction seems to refer to the fact that Israel would bring forth Christ before the painful tribulation period. Israel's refusal to accept Christ, the Messiah, will bring the nation unprecedented pain in the tribulation. First Thessalonians 5:3 alludes to the painful tribulation by noting: "While people are saying, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."
Revelation 12:1–6 opens a long stretch of Revelation which ''pauses'' the narrative of the end times. These events are highly symbolic and refer to varying times throughout both history and the future. This section points back to the fall of Satan and to the birth and ascension of Jesus. The passage concludes with an event in the middle of the tribulation period. Revelation 13 will describe the situation prompting the woman of Revelation 12:1–6 to flee into the wilderness.
This chapter relates several highly symbolic visions, which introduce figures critical to the end times. First is a woman, representative of Israel. Second is a red dragon, identified with Satan. Third is a male child, who is Jesus Christ. The red dragon seeks to devour the woman's male child, but God caught the child to His throne, referring to the ascension of Jesus after His resurrection. The passage then continues to describe a war in heaven between Michael and Satan—here Satan becomes the fourth key figure—which results in Satan's complete and total eviction from heaven. Satan attempts to destroy Israel, most likely through an armed invasion, which is supernaturally defeated by God through an earthquake. The fifth main figure is the collective ''offspring'' of the woman. These events are given further details in passages such as Ezekiel chapter 38.
