A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who "will rule all the nations with an iron scepter." And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

"Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down."

When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
_{Revelation 12:1-10, 13-17} (all scripture from the NIV unless otherwise noted)

Descriptions of the Woman:

1. The woman is clothed with the sun.
2. She is standing on the moon.
3. She wears a crown of twelve stars.
4. She is given two wings of a great eagle.
5. She is with child and in labor.
6. She gives birth to a son who is destined to rule all nations.
7. Her child is caught up to heaven, saved from the dragon's wrath.
8. She flees to a place of refuge and remains there for 1260 days (equated later as time, times and half a time).

The woman depicted here represents the true people of God, Spiritual Israel. She is monotheistic and her God is the Creator. She has existed from before the creation _{Ephesians 1:4}, and throughout human history though not always by the same name.

Interpreting the Vision of the Woman:
Let the Bible be our guide to understand the meaning of prophetic symbols.

1. The sun, moon and stars are all light giving heavenly objects.
2. The woman clothed with the sun has a dual interpretation:
   • She is clothed in righteousness. _{Proverbs 4:18}
   • She is a light giver (i.e truth teller)._{Psalm 15:2}
3. Stars, like the sun, emit light. The moon reflects light.
4. Light is knowledge and life-giving whether it is radiated or reflected.
   _{Psalm 19:8, Psalm 36:9, Proverbs 6:23, John 8:12}
5. The crown on her head signifies authority, righteousness and victory.
   _{Psalm 149:4, 2 Timothy 4:8}
6. The twelve stars symbolize the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles.
   _{Exodus 24:4, Revelation 21:14}
7. The number twelve also figures prominently in the description of the New Jerusalem. _{Revelation 21:9-14}
8. The male child destined to rule all nations is clearly Messianic.
   _{Isaiah 7:14, Revelation 12:1-10}
9. The wings given her symbolize divine assistance to flee from the dragon.
   _{Psalm 55:6, Ezekiel 17:3}

Satan has always hated and desired to destroy her. He has used forces from the spiritual and material realms toward that goal. Why? Because he is jealous and desires all living things should worship and bow down to him.

1. The dragon has seven heads.
2. It has ten horns and seven crowns on its heads.
3. Its tail swept away a third of the stars from heaven.
4. It sends forth a torrent of water after the woman.
5. The dragon prepares to devour the woman's new-born child.
6. Failing that, the dragon and his angels engage in a war in heaven.
7. The dragon and his angels are defeated and exiled to earth.
8. It pursues the woman, the mother of the male child.
9. It issues a river of water from its mouth to destroy her.
10. The earth saves her by swallowing the flood.
11. Failing again, the dragon wages war on her faithful offspring.

So, who or what is represented by the red dragon? "The great dragon was hurled down - that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan..." _{Revelation 12:9} However, the symbolism of the seven heads and ten horns on the dragon suggest multiple entities, but Satan is behind them all. The prophet Daniel was given a dream in which he sees four beasts coming out of the sea. Taken all together they form a composite image with the same number of heads and horns as that on the dragon. These four beasts have traditionally been identified as the four world empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome.

1. Seven, the number of heads, signifies completion or fullness. _{Genesis 41:26 & 27}
2. Multiple heads symbolize chronological incarnations of the dragon power. _{Revelation 17:10 & 11}
3. Each head bears a crown. Crowns symbolize authoritarian power such as a king. _{2 Samuel 12:30, 2 Kings 11:12}
4. Horns symbolize strength or power to act.
   _{Psalm 18:2, Psalm 89:17}
5. The ten horns are ten authoritarian powers that coexist at the same time. _{Revelation 17:12}
6. No crowns on the horns signify that these powers appear at some future time.
7. The stars symbolize those angels who joined in Satan's rebellion. _{Isaiah 14:12 KJV, Revelation 12:9}
8. The torrent of water symbolizes waves of persecution directed at the woman. _{Psalm 124:4, Jeremiah 47:1}
9. The woman's offspring are those who follow Christ, a movement that sprang from Judaism. _{Acts 11:25 & 26}

This follows Daniels timeline as he was a Hebrew captive of Babylon and king Nebuchadnezzar. Prior to this time Israel had also been subject to the Egyptian and Assyrian empires. All these and more can be included in the symbolic image of the red dragon. What constitutes a "beast" power? According to the prophets, it is a persecuting power directed at the people of God. _{Exodus 6:7}