Welcome back to our series on Revelation chapter 12, where in the last four posts, we have identified the symbols in the scenario of the sun-clothed woman. Now in this next set of posts, we’re going to interpret the action in the scenario of the Dragon and the Sun-Clothed Woman. You won’t want to miss it, because it’s going to get interesting. So if you’re ready, let’s geta into this!
Revelation Chapter 12
Fifth in an Eleven-Part Series
By Karen Thompson
The Dragon’s Assault on the Sun-Clothed Woman
Rev. 12:1 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. 2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. 3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. 5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Interpreting the Action in the Scenario of the Sun-Clothed Woman
So far, we have identified the symbols in the scenario of the sun-clothed woman. The sun-clothed woman is Jerusalem and the lights of heaven—the sun, moon, and stars—are the children of Israel. The man child birthed by the woman is the 144,000 sealed servants from the 12 tribes of Israel. The dragon is Satan. The seven heads on the dragon are six empires that oppressed Israel in the past and one empire that will oppress Israel in the future. The ten horns are ten nations that will join together with the little horn (a.k.a. Antichrist) to form the last days’ kingdom, which we will learn later is more like a coalition.
First Action: The Dragon Casts Down One Third of the Stars
Now that we have identified the symbols, let’s interpret the meaning of the action in the scenario of the sun-clothed woman and the great red dragon. In verse four, we see the very first bit of action performed by the dragon: “And his [the dragon] tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth…” (v. 4). This scene of the dragon casting one third of the stars to the earth has been widely interpreted as Satan’s rebellion against God, resulting in one third of the angels following Satan in his rebellion. This is an erroneous interpretation. There is no objection to the doctrine that says some of the angels followed Satan in his rebellion. In fact, the Bible tells us they did. For instance, Matthew 25:41 talks about the everlasting fire prepared for judgment that has been reserved for “the Devil and his angels.” Jude 1:6 tells us that some of these rebellious angels are already locked up: “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” Also, 2nd Peter 2:4 also talks about the “angels that sinned” who were put into chains until the time of judgment. So there is no argument whatsoever regarding angels following Satan in his rebellion.
The objection is that this verse in Revelation has nothing to do with Satan’s rebellion and one third of the angels following after him. Unfortunately, this verse has been the foundation that Bible teachers have used to form the doctrine that one third of heaven’s angels joined Satan in his rebellion. This interpretation is firmly entrenched as Christian doctrine. It’s what I call a sacred cow, something that is considered to be immune from question or criticism. It’s been around for so long time that it has widespread acceptance. But just because it’s been around for a long time doesn’t give it credence.
Revelation Is About Daniel’s 70th Week
The best way to dislodge erroneous doctrine is twofold: show why it’s wrong scripturally and then provide the right interpretation. So let’s start with the first point. To eschatology students, it can’t be said too often—the events described after Revelation chapter four are about Daniel’s 70th week and what happens to the Jewish people during that time, a time in the future. All interpretations must be limited to events that will happen in that seven-year time period. Satan’s rebellion took place before the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden. There is simply no reason to place Satan’s rebellion in the middle of Daniel’s 70th week. It’s an interpretation that doesn’t harmonize with the rest of the action we read about in chapter 12; nor does it harmonize with the rest of Revelation. It’s utter nonsense to place an event that happened in the past (Satan’s rebellion) with prophecy about the future end times. Besides, the fact that the dragon has the end-time symbols of seven heads and ten horns places the scenario of the sun-clothed woman and the great red dragon in end times.
Angels Are Innumerable
Next, this may be a small point, but it’s a point that makes a statement about the importance of getting even the smallest of details correct. It’s about the meaning of the word “innumerable.” Let’s review this verse again: “And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth….” Let’s assume that the stars do, indeed, symbolize angels. Satan’s rebellion doctrine says the phrase “his tail drew the third part of the stars” means that one third of the angels joined Satan in his rebellion. However, Hebrews 12:22 says the angels are so many that they are innumerable. The word innumerable means something being so numerous that it’s impossible to count. So if the angels are innumerable, how can they be numbered into three parts? Innumerable means countless.
“Cast Down” Is a Violent Act
The third and most serious mistake is in the next phrase: “and did cast them to the earth.” With his tail, Satan supposedly took the angels and cast them down to the earth. First of all, this symbolism of casting the angels down to earth is incongruous with the doctrine that one third of the angels joined with Satan. The act of casting the stars to the earth is one of violence. It’s not an act of “joining.”
There are numerous examples in the Bible where the phrase “casting down” or “cast down” denotes violence, and it’s the kind of violence that is associated with war. Let’s look at our first example in Psalm chapter 17: “From the wicked who despoil and oppress me, my deadly adversaries who surround me. … They track us down in each step we take; now they surround us; they set their eyes to cast us to the ground, like a lion greedy and eager to tear his prey, and as a young lion lurking in hidden places. Arise, O Lord! Confront and forestall them, cast them down! Deliver my life from the wicked by Your sword…” (Ps. 17:9–13).
Notice the phrase, “they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.” It’s talking about how their enemy wanted to cast them to the ground. And then it compares the act of “casting down to the ground” to a lion eager to tear his prey. That’s an act of violence.
Then we see this same phraseology when the psalmist cries out for God to “confront and forestall them, cast them down! Deliver my life from the wicked by Your sword…” We see the psalmist wants the Lord to cast down his enemy with His sword. Again, we see this phrase of casting down as an act of violence. (See also 2 Chron. 25:8, Ps. 37:14, Rev. 12:10.)
All these verses show us the phrase “cast down” to be an act of violence that your enemy would do to you or that you would do to your enemy. So if we apply this understanding to the phrase “his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth,” it is impossible to interpret this verse as one third of the angels joining Satan in his rebellion against God. Symbolism for angels joining Satan in his rebellion against God would be something like “his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven and brought them to his side.” It would be something like, perhaps, the stars having a big group hug with the dragon, or slapping the dragon affectionately on his backside, or the stars “high fiving” the dragon, but it certainly wouldn’t be stars being cast down to earth.
Also, let’s talk about how the stars were cast down “to the earth.” Those angels that joined Satan in his rebellion against God rule the kingdom of man in a double-kingdom system. They help Satan rule in the unseen realm in the heavenlies over earth. Yes, there are demonic entities on the earth looking to inhabit those that will let them (Mark 5), but Ephesians tells us there are spiritual wickedness that rule in high places (Eph. 6:12). So the scenario of the dragon casting one third of the stars (angels) down to earth doesn’t harmonize with the idea of angels joining Satan in his rebellion.
The Right Interpretation of the Stars Cast Down
Now let’s look at the correct interpretation to this scenario. If the stars are not symbolic of angels, what do they symbolize? As discussed before, the star symbol is personally and intimately connected with the patriarch Jacob and his 12 sons. We saw that connection in Genesis 37:9–10 when Joseph, Jacob’s son, dreamed a dream in which the 12 stars symbolized his 11 brothers and himself.
In addition to that, we see in the Old Testament that stars are symbolic of the seed of Abraham. As noted before, God told Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens. There are eight verses of scripture that refer to the seed of Abraham being as numerous as the stars. For instance, Genesis 22:17 says, “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven…” (See also Gen. 15:5; 26:4; Deut. 1:10; 10:22; 28:62; 1 Chron. 27:23; Ne. 9:23) Symbolically, stars represent the seed of Abraham.
So what does it mean when the dragon casts one third of the stars to the earth? It’s easy to deduce when you consider who the dragon is, what the heads represent, and what the last six heads did to the woman, who is Jerusalem. The dragon is Satan who is in a battle with God. Satan’s intention is to destroy the chosen people and the chosen city. Six of the heads are kings/empires that have invaded and ruled over the children of Israel and Jerusalem in the past. So judging from the past action of the last six heads on the dragon, we can conclude that will be the action of the last head on the dragon as well. The mission of the seventh head, who is the end time Antichrist, will be to invade and rule over Jerusalem/Israel. The scenario of the sun-clothed woman and the great red dragon is symbolic of when Antichrist breaks the covenant in the middle of the week and invades Jerusalem.
With that understanding, let’s talk about the action of the dragon casting one third of the stars to the earth. Something that is cast to the earth is an act of violence. So what does it mean when the dragon casts down one-third of the stars? Tragically, it means Satan through the little horn will kill one third of the Jewish people. Whether it means one third of the Jews in Jerusalem or one third of the Jews in all of Israel is not readily apparent. What is apparent is that the stars are symbolic of the Jewish people, and they are being cast down in an act of violence.
The book of Daniel confirms that this is the right interpretation. Daniel prophesied the exact same thing in Daniel 8:10 where he says the little horn “cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground and stamped on them.” Not only do we see the words “cast down” but we also see “stamped on them.” Both these phrases convey an act of violence.
Let’s interpret what it means that the little horn will cast down “some of the host” and “stars.” The word “host” very often refers to the military—either God’s army of angels or armies of men on the earth. An angel gave Daniel the interpretation of this verse in Daniel 8:24; he said the little horn would “destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.” Antichrist would destroy the “mighty” and the “holy people.” The word “mighty” represents the military, or host, and the “holy people” represent the Jewish people, or stars. This is a confirmation that the stars being cast down by the dragon in Revelation chapter 12 are not angels, but rather the Jewish people. Simply put, when Daniel 8:10 says the little horn will cast down some of the “host” and the “stars,” it means he will kill those that belong to the military (host) as well as non-military Jewish people (stars).
Daniel and Revelation provide us with information about this invasion event that the other does not. From Daniel, we learn that Antichrist will kill many of the stars, specifically military and non-military Jewish people. From Revelation, we learn the specific number of stars the dragon kills will be one third.
Also, it’s important to note that in the scenario of the sun-clothed woman and the great red dragon, the first bit of action we see is the dragon casting down the stars. That means the dragon initiates the attack. From this, we can glean that the correct interpretation of the dragon casting down one third of the stars means Antichrist will break the covenant and invade Jerusalem in the middle of Daniel’s 70th week. In the process, he will kill one third of the Jewish people.
In the next post, we’ll talk about the next bit of action we see in the scenario of the dragon and the sun-clothed woman.
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