The Woman, Her Male Child, the Dragon, and the Rest of Her Offspring: A Non-Supersessionist Reading of Revelation 12

It bears stating at the very beginning of this study that it reflects a non-supersessionist understanding of Revelation 12. Sadly, though the most natural way to take the imagery found in Rev 12 is in a non-supersessionist way, that is far too often not the case. We hope that the following treatment helps to level the (exegetical) playing field, so to speak, and demonstrate that the non-supersessionist view is not only exegetically viable, but actually the best understanding of Rev 12.

As the lengthy title for this article implies, there is a lot packed into the following pages. As a result, to cover the ground necessary to connect the textual dots, the paper will focus neither on the quite diverse history of interpretation of this difficult passage nor the wide variety of exegetical options or minor exegetical details that do not provide help in pulling the story together.1

To expedite the assembling of the puzzle pieces toward that conclusion, the paper is made up of three sections and a conclusion. The first section works through the structure of Rev 12:1–6, determining who the major characters are in that context, as well as orienting the important timing factors involved. The second section backtracks to details in Rev 10–11 in order to clarify where the “woman” in chapter 12 emerges from in the immediate structural flow of the book. The third section returns to the structure of 12:7–17 to take up the persecution of the woman by the dragon and also raising (and answering) the question of the identity of the woman’s “other offspring” (12:17). The paper ends with a brief restatement of the findings of the study, raising some practical implications for contemporary readers and offering some helpful wider biblical/theological perspective.

The Woman, Her Son, and the Dragon (Revelation 12:1–6)

The beginning of Chapter 12 is the most abrupt shift of topics in the entire structure of the Apocalypse. That sense of a lurching change in direction comes from the expectation of immediacy of the events set up by the wording in Rev 11:18–19:

The nations were angry,

but your wrath has come.

The time has come

for the dead to be judged

and to give the reward

to your servants the prophets,

to the saints, to those who fear your name,

both small and great,

and the time has come to destroy

those who destroy the earth.

Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant appeared in his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and severe hail.2

However, the next things obviously expected to take place from this wording in Rev 11:18–19 do not occur for another five chapters—in 16:18, 21: “There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder,” plus an earthquake of unprecedented severity and, finally, “enormous hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds.” Thus, the entire preface to the Bowl Judgments (Rev 12–15), as well as six of the seven bowls of wrath (16:1–16), intervene before the flow of the Apocalypse gets back to the pouring out of phenomena listed in 11:19 with the seventh bowl of wrath (16:17–21).3 So, what is going on at the outset, then through the flow of, Rev 12?

The Inverted Parallel Structure of Revelation 12:1–6

To begin to answer the various aspects of that question, it is helpful to consider the literary/rhetorical structure of 12:1–6, which follows:

a (12:1) The woman clothed with the sun, the moon under

her feet, and crown of twelve stars (see Gen 37:9)

b (12:2) The woman crying out in labor pain (see Gen 3:16)

c (12:3) The fiery red dragon having seven heads and

ten horns and on its heads were seven crowns

d (12:4a) [The dragon] swept one-third of the stars
(see Rev 1:20) of heaven to the earth

c’ (12:4b) The dragon’s desire to “devour” the newborn
“male child” (see Matt 2:1–18)

b’ (12:5) The woman giving birth to the Messianic Ruler (see Gen 3:15)

a’ (12:6) The woman fleeing and being “nourished” in the wilderness for 1260 days (see 11:3)

The mirroring interaction within this paragraph is quite clear. In the a/a’ layer, the woman is introduced in 12:1 and is fleeing in 12:6. In the b/b’ layer, the woman cries out in labor pain in 12:2, then bears her child in 12:5. In the c/c’ layer, the dragon is introduced (12:3), then positions himself to devour the newborn child (12:4b). The apparently head-scratching part of the structure is why 12:4a would be the spotlighted center of the chiasm: “[The dragon] swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth.”

As set forth in the structural diagram of Rev 12:1–6 just above, the wording about the “woman” in 12:1 echoes Gen 37:9, in which Joseph says: “the sun, moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” In that context, Joseph is speaking of his father (Jacob), stepmother (Leah), and his eleven brothers (whose names, along with Joseph’s sons, would be given to the tribes of Israel). The apparently Jewish woman depicted in Rev 12 is pregnant, about to give birth (12:2), and her labor pains echo Gen 3:16. She gives birth to a male child (12:5) who must be the Messiah, because of the echo of messianic prophecy in Psalm 2 (i.e., he will “rule the nations with an iron rod” [12:5]). The dragon is, in Rev 12:9, stated to be “the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan,” echoing Gen 3:1ff.4

The attempted violent action of the dragon against the “woman” and her son (that is, the singular “seed” [descendant] of the woman) echoes Gen 3:15. If this understanding is correct, Rev 12:1–5 backtracks almost to the beginning of the biblical record, to the initial prophecy in Scripture, then moves forward in God’s plan through the choosing of Abraham’s “seed” to play out the progressive fulfillment of Gen 3:15. The Jewish “woman” in Rev 12 thus appears to be both Miriam, the mother of the singular seed of the woman, Yeshua the Messiah, in one sense, and also the body of Jewish Yeshua-followers as the plural seed, at the same time, in this passage. In 12:1–5, Miriam is in view the woman, but from 12:6 forward, back in the flow of the end times events of the Apocalypse, it is corporate Israel who is the woman. The rapid-fire movement of events in 12:5—from Messiah’s birth to his ascension to and session in heaven—projects things forward quickly through Jesus’s life and ministry. Then, 12:6 telescopes the movement of the narrative all the way forward to where 11:1–13 had ended. The next section of the paper will demonstrate the connection of the latter events within the Second Interlude (that is, 10:1–11:13).

In the meantime, it is helpful to answer the puzzling question about Rev 12:4a above: What is meant by the Devil sweeping away one-third of the “stars”—which symbol was interpreted to be “angels” in Rev 1:20—from heaven to earth?

A common answer is that 12:4a describes the “fall” of an original proportion of God’s angels, who followed Satan and thus became “demons.” That view may be supported by the reference to “the dragon and his angels” in 12:7. However, the sequence of thought in 12:1–6 implies a different understanding. The impending birth of the Messiah (12:2) causes Satan to deploy the bulk of his forces to make the strongest attempt to stop God’s plan (12:3-4). But his strategy—which may well have included Herod trying to kill all the boy babies in Bethlehem (Matt 2)—is thwarted as the child is born and escapes to heaven (12:5). All that remains for Satan to do on earth to significantly derail the focus of God’s plan is to destroy the “woman,” Israel.

Chart One
Rev 12:1–6 and Genesis

12:1 A great sign in heaven: a “woman” described as in Gen 37:9 (i.e., mother of the tribes of Israel = Jacob’s sons)

12:2 The “woman” is pregnant, crying out in labor (Gen 3:16—increased pain for Eve and her female descendants), about to give birth

12:3 Another sign in heaven: “a great dragon” (= “the ancient serpent and the devil and Satan” [12:9]), echoing Gen 3:1ff.

12:4–5 The dragon sweeps a third of the angels from heaven to earth and attempts to destroy the “seed” (= male son) of the woman (singular fulfilment of Gen 3:15)—possibly also alluding to Matt 2, where Herod has the infant boys born in Bethlehem killed

12:5 The son born to the “woman” is the Messiah (partly fulfilling Gen 3:15 and Ps 2 [which was just alluded to in Rev 11:18a])

12:6 The “woman” (i.e., part of the plural “seed of the woman” in Gen 3:15) is protected by God for “1,260 days” (i.e., 3 ½ years)

Interpretative Summary: In the unfolding fulfilment of the proto-prophecy in Gen 3:15 (the first—and overarching—prophecy in the Bible), a specific “woman” (Miriam) gives birth to the singular “seed,” Messiah Yeshua. In the end times, a Jewish “woman” (symbolizing a portion of the plural “seed of the woman”) will be protected by God from Satan’s persecution.

The Contextual Identity of the Woman of Rev 12:1–6 in Rev 11

A telling question to ask at this point—if it can be answered with convincing evidence—is, “Where did this Jewish woman come from in the wider flow of the Book of Revelation?” The most obvious textual location to find such an answer is 11:1–13, the most recent narrative in the Apocalypse, prior to the sounding of the seventh trumpet (11:15–19). However, is there material there that might provide insight?

The answer is in two stages: The first stage is demonstrating that there are Jewish people in view in Rev 11:1–13, which is understood from the following two points: 1) those worshiping in the “sanctuary” (Gk naos) of God in Jerusalem (“the holy city” [11:2]; “where also their Lord was crucified” [11:8]); and 2) the presence of God’s “two witnesses,” whose Jewishness is demonstrated by their echoing of a number of major prophecies most naturally understood as expecting Jewish fulfilment (Zech 4; 2 Kgs 1; Mal 4:5; 1 Kgs 17–18; Mal 4:6).

The second stage is trickier, but clear enough to set up Rev 12:6 and the remainder of Chapter 12. The only inclusion of “gospel” (Gk euangelion) in the Apocalypse is in 14:6, in which “the eternal gospel” is announced “to every nation, tribe, language, and people.” In 14:7, the gospel message is defined as “fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship the one who made heaven and earth.”

Back to Chapter 11, in 11:13b, the “survivors” (Gk hoi loipoi), in the wake of a great earthquake in Jerusalem (“the city” [11:13a; see 11:8], are said to fear God and give him glory. In the theology of the Apocalypse, that wording means that the survivors do what the “eternal gospel” message required, and thus are saved.

But who are “the survivors” in Rev 11:13? Chart Two below goes a long way toward answering that question. The following summary of the chart provides a helpful orientation:

Chart Two
Groupings of Mankind in the Apocalypse

a (Rev 5:9) “Every tribe and language and people and nation” (for whom Messiah died)

b (Re 7:9) “Every nation, tribe, people, and language” (the innumerable multitude taken to heaven)

c (Rev 10:11) “Many peoples, nations, languages, and kings” (those who are the subjects of John’s bittersweet prophecy)

d (Rev 11:9) “Those from peoples, tribes, languages, and nations”
(who would soon be saved [11:13; see the “eternal gospel” in 14:6–7])

a’ (Rev 13:7) “Every tribe, people, language, and nation” (over whom the beast has been given authority)

b’ (Rev 14:6) “Every nation, tribe, language, and people” (those who hear the eternal
gospel [“fear God and glorify him” [14:7] = final preaching of the gospel [see Matt 24:14])

c’ (Rev 17:15) “Peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages” (those who are
dominated by the Prostitute/great city [17:18; “Babylon the Great” in Rev 18])5

Interpretative Summary of Chart Two: Seven passages in Rev list four “groupings of mankind.” Five of the seven passages (5:9; 7:9; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6) contain the same four terms—“tribe(s),” “language(s),” “people(s),” “nation(s)”—though none of the five have them in the exact same order. Two passages drop “tribes” and replace it with “kings” (10:11) and “multitudes” (17:15).

In accounting for these exclusions, it is significant that there are 21 total uses of “tribe(s)” (Gk phule) in the Apocalypse, and 15 of the other 16 besides the five seen in the chart above refer to “tribes” of ethnic Israel. Thus, the absence of “tribes” from 10:11 and 17:15 logically seems to mean Israel is not in view in either of those passages.

If the absence of “tribes” from Rev 10:11 implies that the tribes of Israel are not included in the bittersweet prophecy John was being prepared to deliver about “many peoples, nations, languages, and kings,” then it would be expected that the biblical text would provide additional evidence to make that point. Does that turn out to be the case?

Going back momentarily to 12:6, the woman “fled into the wilderness” (Gk ephugen eis ten eremon). Her period of protection from Satan being “1260 days” in 12:6 and “a time, times, and half a time” in 12:14—both figures equating to 3½ years—at least means her fleeing takes place in the end times. Reasonably similar wording to Rev 12:6 is found in Matt 24:16 (see also Mk 13:14; Luke 21:21) in the immediate context of the description of “the great tribulation” (Gk thlipsis megale) in the end times (Matt 24:21)6: “then those in Judea must flee to the hills” (Gk tote hoi en te Ioudaia phuegetosan eis ta ore). Since there are hills (Gk oros can mean “hill” or “mountain,”7 depending on the context) in the wilderness in Israel, both passages can easily be speaking of the same thing. If both indeed are speaking of the same “fleeing,” then those who flee are Judeans (that is, Jewish).

In Rev 11:9, “those from peoples, tribes, languages, and nations” (the inclusion of “tribes” here means some of this crowd in Jerusalem are Jewish) are clearly not Yeshua-followers, given the highly disrespectful way they treat the dead bodies of the two witnesses (that is, they would not “permit their bodies to be put into a tomb”). However, there is another group mentioned twice in 11:10, who are in a far worse spiritual condition: “those who dwell on the earth,” whom 13:8 describes as “everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered” (see also 17:8). The bottom line here is that “the earth-dwellers” cannot be saved, but “those from peoples, tribes, languages, and nations” can be saved, and, according to 14:6–7, they will hear “the eternal gospel.”

So, where is everything headed in Rev 11:9–13? To cut to the chase, to the fulfilment of Rom 11:25b–26a: “A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved.”

Admittedly, that is a major assertion, exegetically and theologically! However, it’s not like the wording about “the fullness of the gentiles” coming in (i.e., being converted) and “all Israel will be saved” aren’t effectively back-to-back in the biblical text. The phrases are linked by the Greek kai houtos. The kai appears to be a simple connector meaning “and.” The standard renderings of the adverb houtos are “in this manner,” “thus,” and “so.”8 But, how does this help in understanding Rom 11:25b–26a?

The typical evangelical understandings here are to either: 1) view “all Israel” being saved as just another name for the “fullness of the Gentiles” coming in, essentially making “Israel” a spiritual Israel (or the church the “new Israel”); or 2) translate houtos as “then,” claiming that the fullness of the gentiles comes in first, then (that is, at some later time) “all Israel” (ethnic Israel) will be saved.9 The problem with the first view is that the entirety of the prior context of Rom 11 is about ethnic Israel, so to see Israel being folded into the church spiritually is highly unlikely exegetically. The problem with the second view is that it simply is not convincing in terms of usage to take houtos as meaning “then.”

However, the understanding set forth here differs from both of these standard evangelical views. It takes Rom 11:25b–26a as describing side-by-side mass conversions: (the last part of) “the fulness of the Gentiles” will come in and in this manner (at least the part of) “all Israel” present in Jerusalem in Rev 11:9–13) will be saved.”

How does this play out in Rev 11? “Great fear” (11:11) comes upon those from “the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations” ([11:9] including both gentiles and Jews) because of the resurrection of the two witnesses (11:11). The viewing of the witnesses’ ascension to heaven by these onlookers (11:12) is followed immediately by a great earthquake, which kills 7000 people (11:13a). The reaction of the “survivors” (i.e., those from “the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations”—but not including “the earth-dwellers”) is what the eternal gospel in 14:6–7 calls for as a personal response: fearing and glorifying God (11:13b).

From what has been argued just above, these (now) believing “survivors” include both gentiles and Jews. The new Jewish Yeshua-followers are “the woman” of Rev 12:6ff. The newly converted gentile believers will be seen to be “the rest of [the woman’s] offspring” in 12:17.

The Woman, the Dragon and Her Other Offspring (Rev 12:7–17 [and 13:5–7])

Before leaping forward to the study of “the rest of her offspring” in Rev 12:17, two important questions should be posed about the section of 12:7–17. First, why is the material in 12:7–12 brought into play between the fleeing mentioned in 12:6 and the following persecution in 12:13ff.? Second, what is the relationship between the “time, times and half a time” in 12:14 to the “1260 days” in 12:6 (and the “42 months” in 13:5)?

In considering the elegant internal structure of Rev 12:7–17 (see below), the following textual features should be noted: a/a’ (12:7/17) clearly match “war in heaven” with “war on earth”; b/b’ (12:8–9/12:13–16) are also obvious matches, with the dragon being thrown down to earth, then following up after he is on earth; c/c’ (12:10/12:12) matches two aspects of stated “heavenly perspective” due to the devil’s exclusion from heaven and his wrath toward the earth because of that ban; and d (12:11) , the spotlighted center of the chiasm, makes a huge practical point: those martyred by the devil (and the Beast [see Rev 13]), who may look utterly defeated by death, actually “conquer/overcome” (Gk nikao10) the devil “by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony . . . to the point of death” (12:11).

The Inverted Parallel Structure of Rev 12:7–17

a (12:7) War in heaven: the dragon and his “angels” vs. Michael and his angels

b (12:8–9) Dragon defeated and thrown down to earth

c (12:10) Heavenly perspective (1): The accuser
of the brethren has been kicked out of heaven!

d (12:11) They conquered the Dragon by the
blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony
and their willingness to die as martyrs

c’ (12:12) Heavenly perspective (2): Rejoicing for heaven and the
heaven-dwellers and woe for the earth
because of the Devil’s wrath!

b’ (12:13–16) Dragon thrown down to earth thwarted
from persecuting the woman, who is protected by
God for “a time, times and half a time” (see Dan 7:25)

a’ (12:17) War on earth: the dragon vs. the rest of
the woman’s offspring (see John 10:16)

Answers to the Two Questions

Having considered these structural aspects of 12:7–17, the answer to the first question (about the reason for the inclusion of 12:7–12 between the woman fleeing in 12:6 and that theme being resumed in 12:13ff.) is fairly clear: 12:7–12 explains the “great fury” (Gk thumon megan) and desperate actions of Satan due to his brief opportunity (Gk oligon kairon)11 to somehow defeat God through persecuting his people.

Getting to the answer to the second question requires an initial exegetical detour to the prophecy of Dan 7:25, from which the phrase “time, times, and half a time” is echoed in Rev 12:16. In Dan 7:25, it is said that [the beast figure] “. . . will speak words against the Most High and oppress the holy ones (i.e., “the saints” [LXX tous hagious] of the Most High . . . and the holy ones of the Most High will be handed over to him for a time, times, and half a time.”

Back in Rev 12, verse 14 speaks of the period of the devil’s attempted—but completely unsuccessful—persecution of the woman as “a time, times, and half a time,” looking back to Dan 7:25. That both are referring to the same period of time seems clear.

However, how can the rest of Dan 7:25 and its context be reconciled to Rev 12:14 and its context? In other words, how can the oppression of “the saints” in Dan 7:25 take place during the same “time, times, and half a time” as the thwarted persecution of “the woman” in Rev 12:13–16?

The answer is in Rev 12:17 and 13:5–7 (as compared with Dan 7:25). Rev 13 will be considered first. Rev 13:5b, 7 states, “[The beast] was allowed to exercise authority for 42 months. It began to speak blasphemies against God. . . . And it was permitted to wage war (Gk poiesai polemon) against the saints (Gk ton hagion) and to conquer them.” In 12:17, the dragon, though absolutely “furious” (Gk orgizomai) with the woman, gives up that futile persecution and moves on to “wage war” (Gk poiesai polemon) with “the rest of (Gk ton loipon) her offspring.”

Now to assemble the following exegetical “puzzle pieces” to answer the question (and more): 1) In Dan 7:25, “the saints” are oppressed for a “time, times, and half a time” and in Rev 13:5b, 7, “the saints” are conquered for “42 months”—the same length of time “the saints” are oppressed in Dan 7:25; and 2) In Rev 12:17, the devil moves on from being unable to harm the woman with his attempted persecution to “wage war” against “the rest of [the woman’s] offspring” and in 13:7 the beast—the devil’s henchman—“wages war” against “the saints.” Logically, the conclusion here as to the identity of “the rest of [the woman’s] offspring” is that those additional “offspring” in 12:17 = “the saints” in 13:7 (and in Dan 7:25). Also, the description of the persecution/death of “the saints” in 13:7 meshes perfectly with 12:11 (“[Our brothers and sisters] conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not love their lives to the point of death”), which wording is partially echoed in 12:17 in regard to “the rest of the [the woman’s] offspring” (“those who keep the commands of God and hold firmly to the testimony of Jesus”).

The only remaining detail to be determined here has to do with the ethnicity of “the rest of her offspring.” Logically, if “the woman” in 12:6 and 12:13–16 is believing ethnic Israel, then “the rest of her offspring” (12:17) and “the saints” (13:7) would have to be believing gentiles. In addition, it is quite possible that the wording rendered “the rest of” (Gk ton loipon) in 12:17 is to be considered as having to do with the same broader group (that is, the Jews and gentiles) of “the survivors” (Gk hoi loipoi)12 who feared God and gave him glory and were saved in 11:13. One additional intertextual point to consider here is John 10:16: Yeshua’s statement “I have other sheep that are not from this sheep pen”—which has generally been understood by evangelicals as meaning gentiles.13

Conclusion

Simply put, the evidence presented in this paper argues that, by the end of Rev 12, there is sufficient exegetical warrant to conclude that “the woman” in that chapter was Mary, in partial fulfilment of the prophecy Gen 3:15,14 and will be redeemed ethnic Israel in the end times. The woman’s protection during the end times from Satan’s attempted persecution forces the devil to turn aside to “make war” with “the rest of her offspring”: saved gentiles (Rev 11:13), who will very likely be martyred by the beast (12:11; 13:7). This latter group also appears to be “the saints” of Dan 7:25, thus fulfilling that prophecy, also.

A further very helpful perspective that should be clarified before closing this paper has to do with keeping the big picture in mind. The wider playing out of the Exodus theme in the Apocalypse reveals that—with the exception of the dragon’s pursuit of the woman’s son, and then of her, and the reign of the beast in Rev 13—the Lord’s “plagues” upon the devil’s forces, whether the beast, the earth-dwellers, or Babylon the Great, are far more powerful. In the end, Satan’s attempt to defeat God is crushed far more than was Pharaoh and his forces in the Book of Exodus. In other words, no matter Satan’s ferocity, God is still in control and will emerge totally victorious.

Boyd Luter (Ph.D., Dallas Seminary) is Professor of Biblical Studies and Director of Biblical and Theological Studies at The King’s University in Southlake, TX. He has published articles in New Testament Studies, Bulletin for Biblical Research, Bibliotheca Sacra, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Filologia Neotestamentaria and the Trinity Journal, plus commentaries on Ruth, Songs of Songs, Galatians, Philippians and Revelation.

Sarah Sanders (MDiv., The King’s University) is Associate Director of Institutional Research and Adjunct Instructor of Biblical and Theological Studies at The King’s University, Southlake, TX. She also teaches at Christ For the Nations Institute, Dallas, as well as doing teaching and evangelistic ministry with churches in Hungary and Cuba.

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