I had heard that the teaching of the woman was Israel .. but after just rereading it .. could it be that she represents humanity? It says she is clothed with the sun .. and in a sense we are clothed with the sun because we need it to survive. (In heaven we will only be clothed in God's light) The 12 stars on her head could still represent the 12 tribes of Israel because they are still a part of humanity. If my understanding of the 144,000 is correct and they are indeed Jews that are set on fire and accept the Messiah .. then this could tie into that. The Dragon is clearly Satan. The stars his tail pulls down are the angels that follow him. This happened at the beginning of creation. Satan trying to devour the child makes me think of Satan trying to devour each and every human ever born. Even though people truly believe that the child represents Christ and have even capitalized the word child. Perhaps the battle that it describes could still be raging right now. Maybe Satan has truly not been cast down without access to heaven yet. We see in the book of Job that he goes before God to speak. Saying rejoice heaven and it's inhabitants and whoa to the inhabitants of the earth makes me think that the people who are still on earth are going to experience great trouble at this time. I have come to the conclusion that the amount of time the woman is persecuted (1260 days) is the same as a time times and have a time because of the Jewish interpretation of time. This number is also mentioned and Daniel. This is the point that I do not think we have reached yet. The only thing I cannot grasp is the flood from the serpents mouth! I just like admitting I am unsure of something in God's word.
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:
Israel,the twelve tribes of Israel.
Rev 12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
Jesus Christ coming through the tribe of Judah,who is part of Israel.
Rev 12:3 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.
Satan,7 heads-1.Egypt 2.Assyria 3.Babylon 4.Medo-Persia 5.Greece 6.Roman Empire 7.Ten horn kingdom,the world split in to ten sections with a leader in each section,which the Roman Empire does not have their dominion taken away until God puts them down,and cause all nations to come together,and they shall devour the whole earth in pieces,shall tread it down,and break it in pieces.The ten horns is the physical dominion,which means Satan in the spiritual realm deceiving people by way of those kingdoms.In Revelation 13,the crowns are on the ten horns,Satan in the physical realm deceiving people.
Rev 12:4 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.
The rebellion in heaven led by Lucifer,and Satan is the prince of the power of the air,but kicked out of the heaven where God dwells.Satan wanting to devour the child Christ Jesus as soon as he was born,but he has no power to do so.
Rev 12:5 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.
Jesus will rule the world some day in the millennial reign of Christ,and will rule with a rod of iron,and Jesus is God manifest in the flesh,which means God manifest all His attributes to the man Christ Jesus,and the Spirit in Christ is still connected to the omnipresent Spirit of God because God cannot be separated,and the visible manifestation of the invisible God,and there is one God,and one mediator between God and men,the man Christ Jesus,and God reconciled mankind to Himself in the person of Jesus Christ,God and man in harmony,for the man Christ Jesus is the invisible God's personal visible manifestation,and the man Christ Jesus ascended to heaven.
Rev 12:6 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.
God is giving the world 7 years to have their way,and cause all people that do not love Him to follow the beast kingdom,so He can end this sin business,and the plan to bring Israel as a nation to the truth that Jesus is their Messiah that cannot be thwarted.The first 3 and one half years,the ten horn kingdom operates,and the last 3 and one half years the man of sin,the beast rules,to deceive all people that do not love God.
Since God has a plan of bringing Israel as a nation to the truth,and restoring the kingdom on earth to her,Israel is protected for the first 3 and one half years of the 7 years period.
Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
This war has not happened yet,and is not the time when Lucifer got kicked out of the heaven where God and the angels dwell.
The 6 trumpets are 6 disasters that occur on earth,that the world knows about,as warning to the world to turn to God,but after the 6th trumpet they still will not repent of their evil ways,and turn to God,so He gives them the man of sin,the beast,to rule over them.
After the 6th trumpet,and they do not turn to God,war breaks out in heaven,and the fallen angels are cast to earth,where it becomes their holding cell,and Satan is no longer the prince of the power of the air,but confined to this world.
Rev 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
The Bible says that Babylon will never have physical dominion again,but this is Babylon in spirit,for she represents the kingdom of man,for her high revelation of God,but went against it,and the physical dominion is the Roman Empire,which is all nations together.
Rev 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Now is come salvation,for Satan by way of the man of sin,the beast,will deceive all who do not love God to follow the beast kingdom,which they make war against the saints,in which the saints will resurrected,and all saints receive their glorified body,in which God will come back with His saints,and put the world down,and the kingdom shall become Jesus and the saints kingdom.
Rev 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
Rev 12:13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
Rev 12:14 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.
Rev 12:15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
Rev 12:16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
God has a plan for Israel that cannot be thwarted,and Israel is protected for the last 3 and one half years of the 7 years period.
Rev 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Satan knows he will receive punishment,and has but a short time,so he goes forth with wrath to go against everybody that holds the testimony that Jesus is Lord and Savior.
When war breaks out in heaven,and the devils are cast to earth,they will deceive all people who do not love God,which is the strong delusion God will send to all people who do not love the truth,but have pleasure in unrighteousness,which when they take the mark of the beast,they will have the nature of a devil,and any human emotions of compassion,or care,will be gone,and they will go by the actions of the devil to go against all people who opposed the beast kingdom.
The man of sin is influenced by Satan more than any other person in the history of mankind,as it is only the devil's actions portrayed through the man of sin with no human emotions of his own,as the devil uses the man of sin to deceive all people who do not love God,and to pour out his wrath on all of humanity,even the ones that followed him.
Satan will try to doom everyone spiritually,and those he cannot doom spiritually,he will go against physically,which the man of sin destroys the mighty and holy people physically.All those that took the mark are spiritually lost,and they go against all who did not take the mark physically,and then the devils will take the people to the battle of Armageddon where they get punished physically.
The man of sin,and the people that took the mark of the beast,have no will of their own,but only go by the actions of the devil,for their gave up their human rights,and the ability to repent,and the devils will wreck havoc with all mankind,and everybody gets punished physically,and a lot are lost spiritually,for the man of sin is controlled by Satan with no will of his own,so he will nor care about anybody,not even those that follow him.