17 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.
There are many wonderful details in Revelation chapter 12 that are worthy of deeper study.
But briefly, the chapter traces the history of Christians down through the age.
The woman described in verse 1 is the early church after the death of Jesus. The red dragon of verses 3 and 4 represents the Roman Empire that was determined to destroy Christianity. This corresponds to the time of emperors Diocletian and Nero who blamed Christians for all the ills of Rome.
As a result of their bitter persecution, verse 6 says the woman “fled into the wilderness.” This symbolically describes how Christians hid from their persecutors in the catacombs of Rome and other places. Christian meetings were held in secret, hidden from the authorities. This is the preceding context and ties into verse 14. “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.”
The phrase “times, times, and half a time” describes the period known as The Holy Roman Empire when Papacy essentially controlled the Empire. It established itself in power and once again sought to silence Christians who did not support her teachings and practices. From other prophecies it can be determined that this period was from 539 AD to 1799 AD, a period of 1,260 years (see Daniel 12:7 and Revelation 11:3, 13:5 for further study). This iron control was finally broken by Napoleon Bonaparte when he took the pope prisoner and shattered Papacy’s dominion over the empire. The pope died in prison on August 29, 1799.
The two wings of an eagle given to these persecuted Christians were the Old and New Testaments. Jesus said, “For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together” (Matthew 24:28). In other words, Christians who believed in the Bible as their source of truth would gather together, apart from the traditions and teachings of the main church system. The Scriptures were her source of strength and spiritual nourishment.
This is an important principle for every Christian to understand. The Scriptures are the only reliable source of truth and the nourishment provided by God for our development. Every Christian should hold the Bible as sacred and essential for spiritual growth.
Additional Resources:
PDF Booklet: "Revelation: How to Study & Have it Make Sense"
PDF Book: “The Keys to Revelation"
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