Home / NT / Revelation / Chapter 12
THE REVELATION
OF ST JOHN THE DIVINE
CHAPTER 12
John sees the imminent apostasy of the Church—He also sees the war in heaven in the beginning when Satan was cast out—He sees the continuation of that war on earth.

[ The Joseph Smith translation provides additional clarity as the verse are rearranged. Chapter 12 generally explains the conflict between agents of good an evil in heaven and earth. This may well have come from John asking the question "Why is there so much evil, death and destruction in th elast days?" Or "Why does the dragon persuade the woman and the child?" When John is seeing this vision he is seeing a multi-dimensional panorama of things all at the same time(all things are present to God, as such in visions like Joseph Smiths first vision he could see all of the leaves on all of the trees in the grove, he heard the voice of every bird in the woods, the sound of every cricket and everything all together at once) and with all of that data John trys to explain it all in words, but part of the idea is as he is telling us what he see's he has to also make sure that we understand where evil comes from and how it came to be. And more particularly the character of "the beast" which we hear a great deal about in subsequent chapters. The beast is an extension of Satan's power (cf. 9:1,11:7), and he uses the beast to continue the former heavenly struggle (v. 1-6) in an attempt to accomplish the same ends on the earth (v. 12d-17). Satan will take the gold and silver of the world, to buy leaders, and preachers, armies, and navies, in order to influence the governmental, and economical powers (chapters 13, and 17) and control the lifestyles and cultures of humanity. Satan knows that the ‘culture’ itself, always becomes the greatest threat to the gospel and the righteousness of the saints. Satan, the devil, the dragon, the beast, and the anti-Christ(his servant) have two goals: (1st.) Destroy the true nature of God. If Satan can convince mankind that God does not have a physical body, then there can be no exaltation. Without a body the Father cannot have a Son. Without a body, God cannot come to earth ‘incarnate’ to explain scripture and the doctrine as the Son of God. He has done this in some extend with the popular or ‘historical’ concept of the trinity. (2nd.) Destroy the necessity of the Atonement. Without the atonement there is no need for repentance, ordinance, or the exercise of faith. All one must do is believe to be saved, then Satan ‘carefully leadeth them down to hell’ and mankind will remain filthy still. If successful in these two goals, Satan will find it easy to convince the offspring of God that God does not exist. Thus, there will be no need for a Father in Heaven, no need of a Savior or Son of God, which will leave mankind without religious-based morals, and without a purpose and potential for life on earth. Then false doctrines and teachings such as evolution, or even the nonexistence of God can easily be propagated. Life, then, ‘ is the survival of the fittest or richest, and Satan then can easily convince mankind of his first article of faith that, ‘you can have anything in this world for money,’ the fundamental and governing rule of Babylon, or this world in which we live. The ‘War in Heaven,’ a concept and doctrine that can found in many ancient texts, is best described in the “Discourse on the Abbaton” by Timothy of Alexandria. ]

1 AND [ See the JST as these verses are rearranged therein. ] there appeared a great wonder in heaven; in the likeness of things on the earth: [ So John sees something in heaven that is like something that will be on the earth. A type or shadow of what will happen. Could it be Virgo sign. The interesting thing about this sign in the heavens it appeared on September 22nd and 23rd 1827 the night that Joseph Smith received that plates from the angel Moroni and then according to Jospeh Smith the Kingdom of Gos was finally established o the earth with the council of 50 in 1844 - 17 years later. It also appeared in 2017 - 17 years from the start of the new millenium. ] a woman [ The church ( ) covenant Israel - The early saints believed that this revelation was about them specifically and related to the period when they were forced out of Nauvoo, Illinois, in the winter of 1846. D&C 33:5. ] clothed with the sun, [ The woman in other words is bathed in brilliant celestial light, as heavenly beings are commonly described in the Scriptures. Having the moon under her feet indicates she is above the moon, the lesser light. And we would assume the twelve stars represent the twelve tribes of Israel and therefore the Abrahamic covenant, or also the 12 apostles of the church since the woman is the church. ] and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: [ This is really strong temple context as we see this depicted often on Temples including Nauvoo and Salt Lake temples - it is a reverse order of the kingdoms of God which would be Sun , Moon and then stars - there fore it is a direct reference for us. So the Temple then is the woman or at least a part of the woman, or the church. They 12 stars are the 12 apostles according to LDS.org. It is interesting to note that the symbols on the Nauvoo temple are arranged so that the the Sunstone (the sun) was under the 12 stars that wrap the facade. From the journal of Wandle Mace, a foreman on framework of the temple. He was very close to Truman Angel and William Weeks main architects. All three men worked closely with the prophet JS and BY to see it to completion. "The architecture of the temple was purely original and unlike anything in existence, being a representation of the church, the bride, the lamb's wife." And he refers to this passage in Revelation 12 and goes on, "The Nauvoo Temple beautifully shows this at the bottom of the structure." Remember the woman is standing on the moon, so the moonstone is at the bottom, not like in the Salt Lake Temple, but the bottom in the Nauvoo temple. And then there are pillars and the pillars have a sun on top of them, so cloved in the sun and then the stars are on the very top. Specifically, some people have pointed out that the top of the Nauvoo Temple has a crown structure, made as part and 12 stars are right there. Here is a symbol of the Church and out of the Church, the Temple gives birth to the Kingdom of God. All of these are temple symbols. The temple is what's going to bring forth the millennium on earth, is Joseph or the Father's message through the building of the Nauvoo Temple. It's powerful. This is a really powerful idea. So much more in Nauvoo begins to be a conversation about how to bring together the millennium. We are fortunate that the Joseph Smith papers, that has brought more of these documents to life, but one of the things that's occurring in Nauvoo is Joseph builds up a group, the Council of Fifty, which he calls the Kingdom of God. The Church just five years ago about, released a set of hundreds of pages of documents of conversations between Joseph and this group of 50 men who are asked to imagine what the millennial government will look like. Joseph is so eager to help bring this about. This is how he concludes the Nauvoo period of his life. “Farewell Nauvoo the Beautiful, The City of Joseph! The home of so much joy and happy contentment, and also of the most exquisite sorrow and anguish; here I enjoyed the association of our beloved Prophet, and Patriarch, whose blood has been shed by a mob, while under the pledge of the governor of Illinois that they should be protected. I have listened to the words of inspiration as they fell from the lips of the Prophet of God, in public and in private in his house and in my own house, also addressing the Legion as Lieutenant General of the Nauvoo Legion. I have known him under all circumstances, and do know no purer, braver, better, or more patriotic man never lived. This I can truly say of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. The Prophet and Patriarch who was murdered in cold blood in Carthage Jail, Illinois. They sealed their testimony with their blood; they died for their friends, and for the cause of Christ Jesus; "Greater love hath no man than that he lay down his life for his friends." "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." This is portrayed in the beautifully cut stone of this grand temple which cost about two million dollars. The cost was so great, it was said by some that the state of Illinois could not have built such a costly building without bankrupting the state. Yet this was built by the energy, tithes and offerings of an honest, although a poor, persecuted people.” ]

2 And she being with child cried, [ She - the Woman is pregnant. Who is the father? Jesus Christ. The church as a group was still being formed, it was in its infancy - inside the womb so as to speak. She is trying to give birth to Zion, the kingdom of God in all of its glory. Individually it is Christ trying to give renewal or new birth through the covenants as such we become the children of Christ. See Mosiah 5:7. When we were born we came through a veil into life - it was our mothers womb. When we are baptized we come up out of the water; the veil to which we are born again in Christ. In the temple we once again come through the veil and back into the presence of God. ] travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, [ In this context the significance of the dragon’s color is heightened. It is fiery red, the color of that which engulfs and consumes. The color seems to suggest the despiteful, violent, and murderous means by which Satan, the dragon, brings about his ends. ] having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. [ The crowns are not those of a victor, as the woman wears, but man made badges of royality, symbols of political domination. The scriptures never depict Satan wearing laurels because he wins no permanent victories He does, however, have temporary power over certain kingdoms and institutions represented by the heads. The numbers are significant. The seven crowned heads suggest the universality of his rule as the king of chaos. They represent Satan’s pseudo-claim to royalty, which John describes as wearing many diadems (see Revelation 19:12–16), set against that of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. The horns denote the dragon’s all-pervasive and false sovereignty. Horns symbolize power. Ten represents the part of a whole, but not the whole itself. Thus, the dragon has great power, but John shows that he does not have all power; some portion is lacking. This is not true of the Lamb whom John depicts with seven horns, the symbol of fullness (5:6). Thus, John’s metaphors subtly show that the dragon is indeed powerful, but the Lamb is more so and therefore will take down the dragon. The dragon is the archangel(Arch means chief) who was thrown out of heaven. He’s depicted with a lot of horns and crowns, and horns generally represent power, and crowns generally represent royalty and dominion. So, we’re supposed to have this image convey to us that this archangel was extremely powerful, royal, and had been given extensive dominion. ] [ The Lord is not expecting us to arrange the horns on the head but rather to interpret them. The Heads all represent Satan's kingdom on the earth, symbolized by the seven hill of Rome (See17:9) and the Joseph Smith Translation states that the beast represents "the kingdoms of the earth" JST 13:1. The horns symbolize those powers and the crowns those governments that are supported by the beast. The ten horns then suggest that the beasts power, just like the dragon's power it is limited. Regarding the description of the dragon, the _Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible_ (1871) by Jamiesen, Fausset, and Brown (JFB) states: the color of the dragon implies his fiery rage as a murderer from the beginning. His representative, the beast, corresponds, having seven heads and ten horns (the number of horns on the fourth beast of Dan. 7:7; Rev. 13:1). But there, ten crowns are on the ten horns (for before the end, the fourth empire is divided into ten kingdoms); here, seven crowns (rather, "diadems," Greek, "diademata," not stephanoi, "wreaths") are upon his seven heads. In Dan. 7:4-7 the Antichristian powers up to Christ's second coming are represented by four beasts, which have among them seven heads, that is, the first, second, and fourth beasts having one head each, the third, four heads. His universal dominion as prince /Library/WebServer/scriptureNotes/3_ne/3_Ne.summary.html:53:
THIRD NEPHI
of this fallen world is implied by the seven diadems (contrast the "many diadems on Christ's head," Rev. 19:12, when coming to destroy him and his), the caricature of the seven Spirits of God. His worldly instruments of power are marked by the ten horns, ten being the number of the world. It marks his self-contradictions that he and the beast bear both the number seven (the divine number) and ten (the world number). ]
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, [ Stars generally represent glorious beings, which indicates that a third part of the heavenly beings followed after this archangel who fell. So if 1/3 of the hosts of heaven were cast out does that imply that those who were to come to this earth were numbered at the time of the great council. Meaning that there were not more created after that council - else it would be 1/3 of the eternal hosts. The new members would not have been given a chance to choose - which would go against the plan of agency. So from there we might suggest that God would do the same thing for other world as he progresses eternally. Satan and his followers who were cast out of heaven - at the end of the war in heaven. "In regard to the battle in heaven, that Brother Truman O. Angell referred to, how much of a battle it was I have forgotten . I cannot relate the principal circumstances, it is so long since it happened ; but I do not think it lasted very long; for when Lucifer, the son of the Morning, claimed the privilege of having the control of the earth, and redeeming it, a contention arose; but I do not think it took long to cast down one-third of the hosts of heaven, as it is written in the Bible. But let me tell you that it was one-third part of the spirits who were prepared to take tabernacles upon this earth, and who rebelled against the other two-thirds of the heavenly host ; and they were cast down to this world. It is written that they were cast down to the earth . They were cast down to the terra firma that you and I walk upon, and whose atmosphere we breathe. One-third part of the spirits that were prepared for this earth rebelled against Jesus Christ, and were cast down to the earth, and they have been opposed to him from that day to this, with Lucifer at their head. He is their general-- Lucifer, the son of the Morning. He was once a brilliant and influential character in heaven, and we will know more about him hereafter." (JD vol 5:54-55) In a recent discussion I heard the one third part defined this way there were 3 groups. Group 1 followed the fathers plan, group 2 were lets say fence sitters, and group 3 followed satan. So the third part is not a numberical representation as to amount but just a part - those that chose to follow satan. It is true that the phrase, “a third part” could mean one of three parts without regard to quantity. It could be like one tearing a piece of paper into three pieces, give the first part to one, the second to another, and the third part, a very small piece, to yet another. Such that this phrase does not relate to quantity, but to number. In searching the scriptures I could find no place where the phrase refers specifically to the number of parts rather than to the one-third quantity of the whole. Here are a few examples— The first ones are from John himself who I assume would be consistent in his usage. The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. (Revelation 8:7-9) In each of those there is only one earth, so a third part of one would need to represent a quantity rather than to the number of pieces. One can’t imagine in the above scripture that the third part referred to an indeterminate fraction of trees that burned up, with two other fractions left over; or that an indeterminate fraction of the sea became blood, while two other indeterminate fractions did not. How about in Nehemiah 10:32— Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God. Certainly the third part of a shekel could only mean one third of a shekel. The same concept can be the only interpretation of the following examples— Or for a ram, thou shalt prepare for a meat offering two tenth deals of flour mingled with the third part of an hin of oil (Numbers 15:6). And thou shalt prepare a meat offering for it every morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of an hin of oil, to temper with the fine flour; a meat offering continually by a perpetual ordinance unto the LORD (Ezekiel 46:14) Referring to the third part of the hosts of heaven that followed Satan, the prophet Brigham Young states unequivocally that the spirits followed Satan were one-third of the hosts of heaven. That statement identifies a specific quantity rather than one of three groups. “I do not think it took long to cast down one-third of the hosts of heaven, as it is written in the Bible. But let me tell you that it was one-third part of the spirits who were prepared to take tabernacles upon this earth, and who rebelled against the other two-thirds of the heavenly host (Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, selected and arranged by John A. Widtsoe, p.54-55). The Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley further tells us; “That war, so bitter, so intense, has never ceased. It is the war between truth and error, between agency and compulsion, between the followers of Christ and those who have denied Him.” He goes on further to say; “In this work there must be commitment. There must be devotion. We are engaged in a great eternal struggle that concerns the very souls of the sons and daughters of God. We are not losing. We are winning. We will continue to win if we will be faithful and true.” (June 2007 Liahona) To me this is an indication that there was not three divisions or groups, like Group 1 those who followed the Fathers plan, group 2 were lets say fence sitters - those who where neutral, and group 3 followed satan. I think that President Hinckley suggests what I feel that there cannot be any fence sitters in the Fathers plan. I believe that we had to choose either satan's plan or the Fathers plan(it is really that way on the earth today, we can choose Gods plans accept Christ or not. If we do not choose Christ there is no atonement for us - it is that simple. If we choose Christ then the atonement is applied according to the character that we develop), those where the only choices, because we had to exercise our agency to bind ourself to the actions of Adam(we were bound by what he did, we would suffer the consequences his choices, that is how it had to be as he was our representative) and as President Hinckley says in the Fathers plan there must be commitment. ] and did cast them to the earth: [ Those followers of Satan that were cast out are here on the earth to do the work and promote the ideas of satan. If we see some of the evil people that are walking around today; and look at some of the things they do; can you even comprehend how wicked those that are part of that 1/3 are? There in one other interesting thing we are taught here that we rarely discuss. That fact that the Father (God) did judge them, There was a punishment for their disobedience to his commandment. So one could ask; if there was a judgement applied to those in the spirit world why would there not follow some sort of judgement after this life to those who came to earth. If we were judged how well we kept Gods command before this life then we can rest assured that he will hold us accountable in this life to obedience to his command. It will not be well enough to say I was a good person and receive all of the blessings. ] and the dragon stood [ An act of defiance; one that is trying to show power and strength. Their rebellion against light and truth and their refusal to subscribe to the terms and condition laid down by the Father whereby salvation might be gained is called by John the war in heaven .] before the woman [ The church. ] which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. [ These who were cast out of heaven were sent to the earth, knowing the plan they would be waiting for the birth of the man child, or the restored church, and when it were to happen they would be ready to destroy it as soon as it was born. ]
5 And she brought forth a man child, [ The Kingdom of God on the earth which includes the 144,000 and those charged with building the new Jerusalem (LDS.org). So everything having to do with the next phase of preparation for the second coming that we are moving into. ] , who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: [ The gospel see 1 Ne 11:25. Ruling with word of God is a typical messianic attribute, cf. Isa. 11:4. Suggesting that the 144,000 and those who are in the New Jerusalem will communicate directly with God. ] and her child was caught up unto God, [ Does this suggest that these are translated to Terrestial beings? ] and to his throne.
6 And the woman [ The church. The woman is separated from the dragon prior to the worst of the Times of Tribulation (3.5 years or 1/2 of 7 years - which means perfection, the time of the creation... So he is saying that he will still complete his work but that he has stopped short for a period symbolically.), presumably for her own protection. The 1260 days adds up to roughly 3.5 years, the same number used under similar, albeit earthly, circumstances in v. 14. As 3.5 is half of 7, the divine number, one would assume the symbolic message is that the dragon's success in forcing the woman to flee is imperfect and transient and therefore doomed to come to an end. The IV/JST changes the "days" to "years", and I don't know why. ] fled into the wilderness, [ This may be a physical place or it may mean that because this group has wings they are just protected where they stand, because they have been translated. ] where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. [ Or 3.5 years or about the same amount of time as the first part of the tribulations known as the time of trouble. The second 3.5 years are later referenced in Rev 12:17 concerning the remnant of the church that were not translated. While they were not translated per se they appear to have been protected during the day of Jehovah or the Great Tribulations.There is also another way to look at this. There is always the question of the 1,260 years, the ‘forty and two months’ or even the ‘time, times and half times.’ A prophetic day is one year, or about 354 days. The 1,260 years should be subtracted from the time of the restoration of the Church, in the year 1830. As one contemplates these dates, it must be remembered that there were Nephite dispensations as well as the major dispensations. Who knows at what date the gospel was officially taken off the earth, if at all, or when the 1,260 years began, or really ended. 2 Thessalonians 2:3 "3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;" ]
7 And there was war in heaven: [ A battle was fought, a full-on war waged in heaven before the world was created, between the armies of God and the armies of this fallen archangel(the devil verse 9). These details here about Satan or Lucifer, this battle with the fallen angels don't appear clearly in the Old Testament. Joseph Smith has a vision of this exact scene which is found in section 76, where he sees Lucifer fall, an angel in authority, a similar thing was shown the prophet Lehi in Nephi 2 as well. What was the battle over? Satan wanted to do away with the agency of mn, the ability for man to think and grow, to learn to become like God. ] Michael and his angels [ Who were Michaels angels? You and I. ] fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8  And prevailed not; [ Satan was not the victor there nor will he be in the end. However; he will wage a very fierce battle. He lost last time and he knows it so how much more divisive will he be this go round? ] neither was their place found any more in heaven. [ Satan and his legions loose and they are ejected from heaven. Isaiah 14:12-15; Luke 10:17-18; 2 Ne 2:16-18; 2 Ne.9:8; D&C 29:36-39; D&C 76:25-28; Moses 4:3-4; Abraham 3:26-28; Jude 6:6; Ezekiel 28:1-19 ]
9 And the great dragon [ Satan. ] was cast out, that old serpent, [ Interesting that he is referred to here as a serpent. Snakes, they lurk in dark places and hide in rocks. Their motions are subtle, and sly, and stealthy. And a lot of them, their skins match their environment, so they can camouflage kind of who they really are inside. And if you’re not alert or watching all the time, you’re at risk of being stung by their venomous bite. And just the word slither itself kind of gives me the creeps. Their motions are subtle and smooth, but, in an instant, they can strike with unmatched speed and punch their fangs into your skin. And, in my humble opinion, they’re kind of hideous. They’re ugly and scaly. There’s (to me) there’s no natural beauty to them. Snakes are cunning with their motions and their behaviors. Sometimes it’s really difficult to decipher if this is a friendly snake or a deadly snake and their behaviors can deceive us. And their venomous bite can be extremely harmful, even lead to death. Because of that harm, then there’s also this great fear attached to them. This is one of the reasons why they’re using snakes to convey this demonic entity that exists down in the bottom depths of the primordial ocean. ] called the Devil, and Satan, [ Or as Isaiah(Isaiah 14:12) puts it Lucifer, which means “light bringer”. And the son of the morning refers to the morning star, or Venus, right? Which has a level of glory to it. So, both of these seem to hearken back to Satan’s former glory as an archangel. ] which deceiveth the whole world: [ Is he not the father of lies. ] he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. [ Where did the get ejected too? The earth to become the adversaries of mankind. The large and spacious building, they are the gatekeepers there. ]
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, [ The manifestations of God - revelation. ] Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: [ Under the direction and power of Jesus Christ (priesthood power). ] for the accuser [ The Hebrew word שטן (satan) means “accuser” or “opponent.” So therefore the word "accuser" also meanst "satan". The title “accuser” (Revelation 12:10) reflects Satan’s efforts as the adversary of the human family, charging people with sin. He will point out every little thing that we do that is wrong, every failure to keep every commandment, every shortcoming in an effort to have us just give up. He does it in front of God to humiliate us even further. Satan wants to define us by our worst moments. On the other hand, Jesus Christ is our advocate, pleading to God on behalf of those who believe in Him (see D&C 45:3–5). New Testament Student Manual Chapter 55: Rev 12-16 Satan wants us to think that when we have sinned we have gone past a ‘point of no return’—that it is too late to change our course” (“Point of Safe Return,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2007, 99). ] of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God [ This is a hint of what was going on in that war in heaven. It was a battle of words and accusations. ] day and night. [ He just never let's up, constant and continual. ]
11 And they [ Who? You and I. Michael and his angels. ] overcame [ The purpose of this life is to learn to overcome the trials of this life. John 16:33; We learn to overcome as well when we find peace in life and during our trials because we have a firm conviction in the power tha the Savior has overcome the world and that we might thereby overcome as well. (see John 16:33). ] him by the blood of the Lamb, [ How were they able to overcome? By applying the atonement in their lives. ] and by the word of their testimony; [ Through the power of their testimony of God. They were able to "hear him" as a result they were not lead astray. ] and they loved not their lives unto the death. [ The saints were committed to bring his work forward even at the peril of the own lives. Joseph and Hyrum had just been murdered in cold blood in Carthage Jail, Illinois. They sealed their testimony with their blood; they died for their friends, and for the cause of Christ Jesus; "Greater love hath no man than that he lay down his life for his friends. From the journal of Wandle Mace. ]
12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, [ The heavens are very happy because Satan has been cast out of the heavens to the earth. ] and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth [ What is good news for the heavens is not as good of news for the earth. A warning to those spirits who were able to come to earth and gain a body. Those who are to come to earth will be on the same planet in which Satan will be. ] and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, [ You are going to have to be careful as you contend with the devil. He is real, he is mad and he wants to destroy you. ] because he knoweth [ Satan does understand at least part of the plan; after all remember that it was the Fathers plan that was put forth. Satan rejected the plan of our Father in Heaven and proposed his own, so from the beginning he understood the plan and was or wanted to be in direct contrast to that plan; ] that he hath but a short time. [ There is both a period of time that we will be here as mortals as well as the fact that there is a limited period of time for thearth itself - 7,000 years, and satan knows that as well. ]
13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, [ During the war in heaven Satan was cast down. However there was no earth at the time as it was still being discussed. So he was cast out of heaven, in a downward direction the same direction to which the earth was created. Abraham 3:28 ] he persecuted the woman [ The House of Israel. Or the church of God, the saints of God. Satan knows that the Son of God will come through the loins of the house of Israel so there is no wonder why Satan would focus so much on the house of Israel to try to destroy it. ] which brought forth the man child. [ Jesus Christ was brought forth through the House of Israel. The man represents power here so we can conclude that most likely we are speaking of the power from God or the Priesthood. ]
14 And to the woman [ The church, the righteous of the righteous. The Ten virgins so to speak. OR is the woman the entire house of Israel? ] were given two wings of a great eagle, [ Symbolically an eagle is one that can fly high up above it's enemies, out of their reach, or having power over them, cp. Isa. 46:11, Jer. 48:40. As the serpent is low down on the ground, it cannot harm the eagle flying high overhead. Does the two wings symbolize that the church will be driven to the wilderness 2 time? The first time is the early saints the second time is just prior to the second coming. ] that she might fly into the wilderness, [ When the saints were driven to the rocky mountains they were a wilderness - a place that no one really knew about. ] into her place, [ A place that was prepared for the saints to go, a place of refuge. ] where she is nourished for , [ A place and period where the church can flourish under the protection of God. During this period she will grow in strength, both by size and spiritually. ] a time, and times, and half a time, [ "a time, and times, and half a time" i.e., 3.5 years, cp. Dan. 12:7. ] from the face of the serpent. [ So they are taken to a place where Satan cannot get to them. Does this mean that they are taken from the earth, as Satan is bound to this earth? Are they taken up into heaven for a period, or is it that as a result of the return of the ten tribes that there is a portion of the earth that is protected? Either way it will be interesting. ]
15 And the serpent [ Satan. So we know who is doing the speaking, or formulating the words here. It is Satan - The father of lies. (John 8:44) ] cast out of his mouth [ Who's mouth? So what is the devil going to preach? Well not the things of God. Coming from his mouth so Satan is the source, and we know that Satan is the source of lies, he is the great deceiver. ] water as a flood [ So his intent is to flood the earth with is lies. ] after the woman, [ The church of God. The entire house of Israel. So who is he going to attack most directly? The woman - his church. As well as the entire house of Israel. How is he going to do that by flooding her with lies? What are some of the greatest lies that satan uses to deceive us right now? What are the greatest lies Satan can use to destroy the church? One; by attacking the family, Two he is attacking the world with the unfounded belief that there is no real identity either male or female such that there is a great deal of confusion about gender. Without gender roles the family structure is completely undermined. There comes about an uncertainty about the role or what a family is in regard to the world. This is why the Lord gave the command to girt up your loins - the organs of the body that affect the family and self gender identification. he need us to understand truth here. See D&C 27:15-16. ] that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. [ Satan is relentless in his pursuit. He is continually trying to destroy the woman who is the Church; the entire house of Israel. ]
16 And the earth helped the woman, [ Satan's activities on the earth do not go unchecked. He serves his purpose as adversary, but he is not permitted to harm the woman as the earth (maybe natural influences) come to the rescue of the woman. ] and the earth opened her mouth, a [ One of the ways that the earth opened her mouth is with the coming forth of the Book Of Mormon. ] and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. [ How has the Book of Mormon been able to swallow up the flood that is coming forth out of the mouth of Satan? The Book of Mormon declares the truths that will protect us from his lies. We understand That God created Male and Female, we understand the purpose of our families, that they are to exist in Gods plan as units for eternity. With this understanding, this truth we can overcome the lies taught by culture, inept science and those who would deceive us.
17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, [ Once again as Satan and his efforts are foiled he become mad. The only real expression that he has it seems. Without the gospel as brought forth by the Book Of Mormon, as restored through the prophet Joseph Smith the lies would eventually have flooded the earth/ ] and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, [ If the woman is the entire house of Israel, then the remnant would no doubt be those tribes that were not lead away by the Lord, or the tribes of Judah and Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) What is meant by “her seed”? Those who “keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/new-testament-teacher-manual/the-revelation-of-st-john-the-divine/lesson-55-revelation-12-16?lang=eng How is it a benefit to know Satan’s intentions toward you? so if one group of the church is spared then Satan will move on to those that he can next affect. To those that are good people, that believe in Jesus and are just trying to do what is right. We might think of these as the 5 un-wise virgins as the wise virgins have been translated, as such they are out of the reaches of Satan. ] which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.