Then a great sign was seen in heaven: A woman was arrayed with the sun, and the moon was beneath her feet, and on her head was a crown of 12 stars, 2 and she was pregnant. And she was crying out in her pains and in her agony to give birth. 3 Another sign was seen in heaven. Look! A great fiery-colored dragon, with seven heads and ten horns and on its heads seven diadems; 4 and its tail drags a third of the stars of heaven, and it hurled them down to the earth. And the dragon kept standing before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth, it might devour her child. 5 And she gave birth to a son, a male, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away to God and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God and where they would feed her for 1,260 days. (Revelation 12:1-6)
One of the most amazing things to me when I first began a study of the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses was hearing the explanation of the first prophecy uttered by God in Genesis chapter 3:
Then Jehovah God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are the cursed one out of all the domestic animals and out of all the wild animals of the field. On your belly you will go, and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. He will crush your head, and you will strike him in the heel.” (Genesis 3:14, 15)
Regarding this prophecy the book “You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth states:
“Let us look carefully at this statement and we will see. The scripture says that there was to be enmity, or hatred, between Satan and “the woman.” Additionally, there was to be hatred between Satan’s “seed,” or children, and the woman’s “seed,” or children. First of all, we need to find out who “the woman” is.
12 She is not an earthly woman. Satan has not had any special hatred toward any human female. Rather, this is a symbolic woman. That is, she stands for something else. This is shown in the Bible’s last book, Revelation, where more information is given about her. There “the woman” is described as being “adorned with the sun, standing on the moon, and with the twelve stars on her head.” To help us to find out who this “woman” represents, note what Revelation goes on to say about her child: “The woman brought a male child into the world, the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre, and the child was taken straight up to God and to his throne.”—Revelation 12:1-5, The Jerusalem Bible.
13 Learning who or what the “male child” is will help us to find out whom or what “the woman” represents. The child is not a literal person, just as the woman is not a real human female. The scripture shows that this “male child” is “to rule all the nations.” So the “child” represents God’s government with Jesus Christ ruling as King. “The woman,” therefore, represents God’s organization of faithful heavenly creatures. Just as the “male child” came forth from “the woman,” so the King, Jesus Christ, came forth from the heavenly organization, the body of loyal spirit creatures in heaven that work together to carry out God’s purpose. Galatians 4:26 calls this organization “the Jerusalem above.” So, then, when Adam and Eve first rebelled against God’s rulership, Jehovah made arrangements for a Kingdom government that would serve as a hope for lovers of righteousness. (You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth pgs. 116-117 pars. 11-13)
To learn that the four characters in this prophecy recorded in the first book of the Bible remained a mystery until finally revealed in the last book, provides impressive evidence that the scriptures are not the work of men but inspired of God. (1 Thess. 2:13)
But who do the symbols represent? The Live Forever book says they are:
- The Woman – God’s organization of faithful heavenly creatures
- The Woman’s Seed – God’s government with Jesus as king
- The Serpent – Satan the Devil
- The Serpent’s Seed – Followers of Satan
However, can we verify this from scripture?
The Serpent
John leaves us in no doubt about the identity of the dragon. Later on in the chapter he is explicit in tying his identity to the original serpent, Satan the Devil:
So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. (Revelation 12:9)
The Woman
The Watchtower society teaches that the woman represents God’s organization of faithful heavenly creatures. However, no scripture in the Bible describes God’s angels as being like a wife to him. Although we could imagine Satan being at odds with the faithful angels in heaven, there is no scripture that describes that enmity. Furthermore, if the woman were indeed God’s angels, then the events portrayed in Revelation 12:13-16 raise serious questions as it describes the Devil, after being cast down to earth, as being able to persecute the woman, whereas John says that he hears a loud proclamation of joy for those dwelling in heaven after the Devil’s downfall. (Rev. 12:12) The woman then has to be provided for in the wilderness and saved by the earth from being drowned by a river disgorged from the mouth of the dragon. Strange indeed! Additionally, if the woman is represented by her seed, this interpretation is difficult to harmonize with what is stated in verse 17:
So the dragon became enraged at the woman and went off to wage war with the remaining ones of her offspring, who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness concerning Jesus. (Revelation 12:17)
According to this we would have to understand that Satan left off fighting the woman’s representatives and went off to wage war with her representatives.
On the other hand, numerous statements are made in the Hebrew scriptures describing the nation of Israel as God’s wife.
On the “woman” in Revelation 12, here are some thoughts from Constable’s Notes:
In view of Old Testament imagery (cf. Isa. 54:1-6; Jer. 3:20; Ezek. 16:8-14; Hos. 2:19-20) and the following reasons, the “woman” seems to symbolize the nation of Israel.[422] She wears a crown (Gr. stephanos) with the sun, moon, and stars, as God pictured Israel in one of the nation’s early symbolic representations (Gen. 37:9-11; cf. Isa. 26:17-18; 60:1-3, 20). There are many figurative references to Israel as a travailing woman in the Old Testament (Is. 26:17-18; 66:7-9; Jer. 4:31; 13:21; Mic. 4:10; 5:3). She eventually gave birth to Christ (v. 5). In Genesis 37:9-10, the sun corresponds to Jacob, the moon to Rachel, and the 12 stars to Israel’s 12 sons (cf. 7:5-8; 21:12).
Regarding the woman, a note on Revelation 12:1 in the Complete Jewish Study Bible states:
“This is not Miryam (Mary), Yeshua’s mother, but a figurative reference to Israel as seen in Isa. 66:7-10 (cf. Isa. 26:17; Mic. 4:10). Although Israel is on earth, Yochanan sees her in heaven, symbolizing the fact that God protects and preserves the Jews; this is made more explicit in vv. 6, 13-16. Moreover, Mikhael (Michael) is Israel’s angelic protector (v. 7). There is an obvious resemblance between the woman and “Yerushalayim above” (Gal. 4:26; Heb. 12:22-24). (The Complete Jewish Study Bible)
In a note on verses 13-16, this Bible also comments that after the dragon was hurled down to the earth he tried to completely destroy Israel. “He persecuted the Jewish people in general and perhaps the Messianic Jews in particular.”
I find this interpretation particularly interesting. However, considering Paul’s words to the Galatians, I would define this Jerusalem above as being God’s congregation of faithful persons on earth throughout history, known by God even prior to the making of the Mosaic Law covenant at Sinai. (Heb. 12:22)
Tell me, you who want to be under law, Do you not hear the Law? 22 For example, it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the servant girl and one by the free woman; 23 but the one by the servant girl was actually born through natural descent and the other by the free woman through a promise. 24 These things may be taken as a symbolic drama; for these women mean two covenants, the one from Mount Siʹnai, which bears children for slavery and which is Haʹgar. 25 Now Haʹgar means Siʹnai, a mountain in Arabia, and she corresponds with the Jerusalem today, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written: “Be glad, you barren woman who does not give birth; break into joyful shouting, you woman who does not have birth pains; for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous than those of her who has the husband.” 28 Now you, brothers, are children of the promise the same as Isaac was. 29 But just as then the one born through natural descent began persecuting the one born through spirit, so also now. 30 Nevertheless, what does the scripture say? “Drive out the servant girl and her son, for the son of the servant girl will by no means be an heir with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are children, not of a servant girl, but of the free woman. (Galatians 4:21-31)
Even after the creation of the Law Covenant, God knew who belonged to him because of their desire for not merely keeping the law but for having a spiritual relationship with him. Having the law in their heart. This I believe is God’s Woman. She is heavenly, not because she dwells in heaven, but because she has God’s approval. After the Law Covenant was made, the promised seed was to come, not just from Israel, but from a carefully selected line of faithful Jews outlined in the genealogies of both Matthew and Luke.
In God’s due time a new covenant would be made with these ones:
“Look! The days are coming,” declares Jehovah, “when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant. 32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their forefathers on the day I took hold of their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, ‘my covenant that they broke, although I was their true master,’ declares Jehovah.” 33 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Jehovah. “I will put my law within them, and in their heart I will write it. And I will become their God, and they will become my people.” (Jeremiah 31:31-33)
They are considered Jews not due to keeping the Law but because of what they are on the inside:
For he is not a Jew who is one on the outside, nor is circumcision something on the outside, on the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one on the inside, and his circumcision is that of the heart by spirit and not by a written code. That person’s praise comes from God, not from people. (Romans 2:28, 29)
In a note on Revelation 12:1,2 the NKJV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible describes this woman as righteous Israel:
A woman…with child. The prophets portrayed righteous Israel as the mother of the restored future remnant of Israel (Is. 26:18-19; 54:1; 66:7-10; Mic. 4:9-10; 5:3), and also as the mother of the leader who embodied Israel’s restoration (Is. 9:6; cf. Mic. 5:2-3). The Dead Sea Scrolls also depict a period of great tribulation as childbirth, possible to bring forth the righteous remnant. The “sun, with the moon…and…a garland of twelve stars” confirm this vision as symbolizing Israel or its faithful remnant (Gen 37:9). If she symbolizes Israel’s righteous remnant before Christ’s exaltation (12:1-5) – righteous Israelites and Gentile converts-she may also represent God’s true followers after Christ’s exaltation (12:6-17), although this interpretation is debated. (NKJV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)
The Child
The Watchtower society teaches that this child is God’s Kingdom with Christ as its king. Since the scriptures depict the holy ones as ruling along with the Son of Man and the Apostle Paul does say that Jerusalem above is the mother of all the members of the kingdom this would make sense. (Dan. 7:27; Gal. 4:26) According to Revelation 12:5, after his birth, the male child was caught away to God and to his throne. When did this happen? It would seem reasonable to conclude that the birth of a spiritual kingdom would take place at the time of Jesus’ resurrection. (Acts 13:33; Col. 1:13)
Revelation indicates that soon after Jesus ascension, war broke out in heaven:
And war broke out in heaven: Miʹcha·el and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them any longer in heaven. 9 So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. (Revelation 12:7-9)
John states that this was a victory not only for the Son but also those of his followers were said to have conquered him by means of his blood:
I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God! 11 And they conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witnessing, and they did not love their souls even in the face of death. (Revelation 12:10, 11)
‘I know where you are dwelling, that is, where the throne of Satan is; and yet you keep holding fast to my name, and you did not deny your faith in me even in the days of Anʹti·pas, my faithful witness, who was killed by your side, where Satan is dwelling. (Revelation 2:13)
We are told twice in Revelation that the woman had to flee into the wilderness to escape persecution from the Devil:
And she gave birth to a son, a male, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away to God and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God and where they would feed her for 1,260 days. (Revelation 12:5, 6)
Now when the dragon saw that it had been hurled down to the earth, it persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is to be fed for a time and times and half a time away from the face of the serpent. (Revelation 12:13, 14)
It appears that these refer to two separate occasions, one right after her child was born but prior to the Devil being cast out of heaven and the other one after. The book of Acts tells us of a great persecution that took place after the murder of Stephen, during which time all except the apostles were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. (Acts 8:1) The second occasion could be a reference to the attack of Romans upon Jerusalem in 70 C.E. Referring to the prophecy of Daniel, Jesus warned his followers to flee Jerusalem when they saw the appearance of the “disgusting thing causing desolation”. (Matt. 24:15) Luke tells us in his gospel that this was a reference to Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies. (Luke 21:20,21) At that time the Christians were to flee to the mountains. This fits historically with what happened just prior to the destruction of Jerusalem.
In 66 C.E. the Roman procurator of Judea, Gessius Florus, seized funds from the sacred temple treasury. Enraged, the Jews swarmed into Jerusalem, slaughtered the local Roman garrison, and declared their independence from Rome.
About three months later, over 30,000 Roman troops, led by Cestius Gallus, advanced on Jerusalem to crush the rebellion. The Romans quickly penetrated the city and undermined the outer wall of the temple area. Then, for no apparent reason, they retreated. The Jewish rebels rejoiced and promptly gave chase. With the warring parties away, the Christians, heeding Jesus’ warning, fled from Jerusalem to the mountains beyond the Jordan River.—Matthew 24:15, 16.
In June 70 C.E., Titus ordered his soldiers to strip the Judean countryside of trees, which were used in building a wall of pointed stakes around Jerusalem. By September, the Romans had plundered and burned the city and its temple and had torn them apart stone by stone, just as Jesus had earlier foretold. (Luke 19:43, 44) During that time the Christians were safe in Pella.
Due to its obstinate clinging to the year 1914 as the establishment of God’s Kingdom, the Watchtower society obscures these important truths.