But wait – didn’t Jesus return at the end of chapter 11? So, why does the Revelation continue for 11 more chapters? Remember, back in chapter 10, John was told to eat a scroll and to prophesy to the nations (10:11). Hundreds of years before, Ezekiel had been told to do the same thing with a similar scroll, which had contained words of “lamentation and mourning and woe” (Ezekiel 2:10-3:2).

Just so, before John heard the last trumpet, he said that two woes were past, but a third was yet to come (Revelation 11:14). It therefore seems that in chapters 12 through 14, John is continuing his account of the contents of the scroll he had eaten, a scroll that has much to say about the sorrowful times that will take place before Christ’s return.

So, why start the story of the scroll before the account of the trumpets is finished? Well, why did John mention the seven angels with the seven trumpets before describing the events revealed by the seventh seal (8:1-5)? The different parts of the Revelation are interlocked, with one episode beginning before the previous one has come to an end, in order to emphasize the unity of the whole vision. It therefore seems that the seven seals, the seven trumpets, the scroll of woe and the seven bowls all culminate in the same climactic event – the return of Christ.

And the story of woe, found in the scroll that John ate in 10:10, ranges over the entire span of human history, impacting believers and unbelievers alike. Verse 5 obviously refers to the birth and ascension of Jesus, but the focus of the story is on the hostility of the dragon, who personifies Satan (12:9), to the woman, an enmity that dates all the way back to the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15).

So, who is this woman the dragon is persecuting? Well, the sun and moon and 12 stars that surround her remind us of Joseph’s dream about his family, who at that time made up all the people of God (Genesis 37:9-10). The woman therefore likely represents the Church in both Old and New Testaments, the people who formed the community into which Jesus was born, and the people who will remain faithful to Him, regardless of the persecution Satan continues to unleash on us (12:6).

But the good news is that this persecution will be cut short – after all, 1,260 days make up 3 ½ years, half of the number indicating completion. Moreover, God promises to provide for us all during our time in the wilderness, our time of suffering (12:6). But the best news of all is that even though Jesus has ascended into heaven for a time, He will one day rule all the nations with a rod of iron (12:5). The promised Seed of the Woman will eventually crush the head of the serpent, destroying the power of Satan and all who follow him (see Genesis 3:15). Come, Lord Jesus!

Revelation 12:1-6 (ESV)

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.
3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.
4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.
5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,
6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.