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Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 12:1-17

The foes of God and of his Church. "That old serpent." In previous chapters of this book there have been hints of sundry evil forces which would at divers times harass the Church of God. Who they would be, or what, or how they would work, has not yet been shown to us. This is done, however, in chapters which we have yet to consider. Of them there are several. Of each one we have a representation in the form of allegory or parable. In this chapter the first of them is shown us. We can... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 12:2

And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. The present, "crieth," κρὰζει , is found in א , A, P, Coptic, Andreas in a et bav., etc.; the imperfect, ἐκράζεν , is read in C, Vulgate, 7, 8, 31, etc., Andreas in c et p , Primasius; the aorist, ἐκράζεν , in B, twelve cursives (cf. the words of our Lord in John 16:21 , John 16:22 ). A similar image occurs in Isaiah 26:17 ; Isaiah 66:7 , Isaiah 66:8 ; Micah 4:10 . The... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Revelation 12:1

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven - In that heavenly world thus disclosed, in the very presence of God, he saw the impressive and remarkable symbol which he proceeds to describe. The word “wonder” - σημεῖον sēmeion - properly means something extraordinary, or miraculous, and is commonly rendered “sign.” See Matthew 12:38-39; Matthew 16:1, Matthew 16:3-4; Matthew 24:3, Matthew 24:24, Matthew 24:30; Matthew 26:48; Mark 8:11-12; Mark 13:4, Mark 13:22; Mark 16:17, Mark 16:20; in all... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Revelation 12:2

And she being with child cried, travailing in birth ... - That is, there would be something which would be properly represented by a woman in such circumstances.The question now is, what is referred to by this woman? And here it need hardly be said that there has been, as in regard to almost every other part of the Book of Revelation, a great variety of interpretations. It would be endless to undertake to examine them, and would not be profitable if it could be done; and it is better,... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Revelation 12:1-5

Revelation 12:1-5. And there appeared a woman clothed with the sun “It was a well-known custom,” says Lowman, “at the time of this prophecy, to represent the several virtues, and public societies, by the figure of a woman in some peculiar dress, many of which are to be seen in the Roman coins; in particular, Salus, the emblem of security and protection, is represented as a woman standing upon a globe, to represent the safety and security of the world under the emperor’s care. The... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Revelation 12:1-17

12:1-14:20 PICTURES OF CONFLICT AND TRIUMPHThe woman, the child and the dragon (12:1-17)In this vision the woman who gives birth to a son seems to symbolize Israel who produced the Messiah, Jesus. But it is the true Israel, the true people of God, who are pictured here. The faithful of old Israel were those who began the Christian church, and in the church there is no distinction on the basis of nationality. All Christians are now God’s people (12:1-2).Then appears a dragon (identified in verse... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Revelation 12:1

And . . . heaven = And a great sign was seen in heaven. appeared = was seen. App-133 . wonder. App-176 . What follows is a sign. heaven. See Revelation 3:12 . woman. i.e. Israel. See John 16:21 . twelve stars. Probably the zodiacal signs, representing the Israel nation in embryo. See App-12 . read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Revelation 12:2

cried = crieth out. travailing, &c. Greek. odino. Only here and Galatians 1:4 , Galatians 1:19 , Gal 1:27 . See Micah 5:3 . pained. Literally tormented. See Revelation 9:5 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Revelation 12:1

SECTION III(Revelation 12:12 through Revelation 14)REV:12Here begins the second and final great division of Revelation. "In it we traverse the same ground once more."[1] Beginning with the Incarnation, we have the efforts of Satan to destroy Christ while he is on earth, and failing in this, to destroy the church, and failing in this, to wage war against the saints. The outline of the chapter is:The drama of the woman and the dragon (Revelation 12:1-6). A retrospective parenthesis to explain... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Revelation 12:2

and she was with child; and she crieth out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered.And she was with child ... This verse is not merely incidental. The hatred and opposition from Satan to both the woman and her child already existed before the child was born. Therefore, the satanic hatred could not have been the result of the Christ (the child) at some later date winning a victory over Satan. This is important to understanding later verses in the chapter.Travailing in birth ... This is... read more

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