The Woman Clothed with the Sun: War in Heaven

John the seer, exiled on the island of Patmos, sees a great sign appear in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She is pregnant and crying out in the pain of labor.

Then another sign: a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems on his heads. His tail sweeps a third of the stars from heaven and throws them to the earth. He stands before the woman who is about to give birth, ready to devour her child the moment it is born.

She gives birth to a son, a male child who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron — language drawn from Psalm 2, applied consistently in Revelation to the Messiah. The child is caught up to God and his throne. The woman flees into the wilderness to a place prepared by God.

War breaks out in heaven. Michael and his angels fight against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fight back and lose — there is no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon is thrown down — that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world — thrown down to the earth, with his angels.

A voice in heaven announces the victory: the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down, who accused them day and night before God. They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.

The dragon, furious, pursues the woman, who is given wings of a great eagle to fly to her place in the wilderness. The dragon pours water like a river from his mouth to sweep her away. The earth opens and swallows the flood. The dragon turns his fury against the rest of her children — those who keep God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

Interpreters have identified the woman as Israel, the church, Mary, or a cosmic symbol combining all three. The dragon is identified explicitly as Satan. The child is universally read as Christ. The vision synthesizes cosmological battle, prophetic symbolism, and pastoral encouragement for a persecuted community into an image of staggering power.