Revelation 12:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.

NIV: Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.

NASB: So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

CSB: So the dragon was furious with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring —those who keep the commands of God and hold firmly to the testimony about Jesus. [18] The dragon stood on the sand of the sea.

NLT: And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children — all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus. [18]Then the dragon took his stand on the shore beside the sea.

KJV: And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

NKJV: 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.

Furious that his attack on Israel failed, the Devil turns his attention to the believing remnant. These devout believers obey God's Word and hold to the testimony of Jesus. These, collectively, are the fifth of seven important figures described in this part of Revelation.

This description of the rest of the woman's offspring clearly identifies believers in Jesus. They may be a group of Jews, and possibly also Gentiles, who welcomed the message of the 144,000 identified in chapter 7. The tribulation period certainly leaves no room for wishy-washing professors of Christ. The severe trials of the tribulation will demonstrate genuine faith. As the apostle Peter explained, faith that is tried proves its genuineness and results in "praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:7).

It is apparent that the shorter the Devil's time becomes the more furious his rage against God's people grows. Revelation 12:17 concludes with a glimpse of the dragon standing on the sand of the Mediterranean Sea. This is the region from which the first beast of the next chapter emerges.

Revelation 12:13–17 depicts the dragon pursuing Israel in an attempt to destroy her. He sends an army to devour her, but to no avail. God protects members of Israel who flee into the wilderness, where He sustains them for the second half of the tribulation. Then, the Devil focuses on the believing remnant of Israel. This passage of Scripture relates to Ezekiel and Joel's description of an invading army from the north that troubles Israel (Ezekiel 38; Joel 1—2). It also relates to Revelation 9 that describes an invading army of demonic inspired forces. Revelation 13 reveals the two evil figures the Devil uses to persecute the believing remnant of Israel.

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.

Preceding verses have brought us to the middle of the tribulation, after the seal judgments and very near the end of the trumpet judgments. Now, the focus shifts to symbolically introduce a series of important figures. These are mentioned in various eras, not as part of the earlier chronology of Revelation. This passage relates to Matthew 24:15–26 and Isaiah 16:1–4. Ezekiel 38 and Joel 1 describe an invasion into Israel from the north, and Revelation 9 identifies the invading army as demon inspired. Revelation 13 continues to describe major end-times figures, focusing on ''the beast,'' also known as the Antichrist, and the False Prophet.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''