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Revelation 12:4
ESV His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.
NIV Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.
NASB And his tail *swept away a third of the stars of heaven and hurled them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her Child.
CSB Its tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth it might devour her child.
NLT His tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky, and he threw them to the earth. 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.
KJV And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
NKJV 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.

What does Revelation 12:4 mean?

Currently, the Devil has access to heaven. He does not reside there, but often he appears before God to accuse believers (Revelation 12:10). Job 1:6–12 pictures Satan at the throne of God with the accusation that Job reverenced God only because God prospered him.

In the middle of the tribulation, Satan will lose his access to heaven. Scholars differ on whether this specific reference to "a third of the stars of heaven" is a reference to Satan's work in corrupting one third of the angels of heaven, or a point about his immense earthly power at this time. Either way, Satan and all rebelling demons will be cast down and barred from their normal communication with God.

Revelation 12:4 depicts Satan standing before the woman so he might destroy the woman's child. Satan's opposition to God's plan to redeem fallen mankind is apparent from the dawn of human history and is abundantly clear in Herod's attempt to kill baby Jesus, whom he saw as a threat to his kingship (Matthew 2:7–13). Satan has always tried to destroy Israel, too, as is apparent in the longstanding evil of antisemitism. His hatred of Israel will reach an all-time high in the second half of the tribulation.
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