Revelation 12:14

The Israelites will receive divine assistance in fleeing from the dragon (passive "were given"). God bore the Israelites "on eagles wings" when He enabled them to escape from Pharaoh (Exodus 19:4; Deuteronomy 32:11; cf. Isaiah 40:31). Therefore we should probably understand the eagle to be metaphorical describing the way God will save them, namely, with strength and safety. Another possibility is that the eagle represents angelic assistance (cf. Revelation 8:13). The comparison between an eagle that can fly overhead and an earth-bound serpent implies the superior protection of God.

Evidently many Israelites will flee from Jerusalem into desolate places to escape Satan’s persecution (cf. Zechariah 14:1-8; Matthew 24:16; Mark 13:14). Some commentators have felt that mountainous Petra in Edom (modern Jordan) is a place where all that God predicted here could take place (cf. Matthew 24:16). However the Jews could flee to any mountainous region for safety. God will nourish these Israelites in their place of refuge, possibly as He fed the Israelites in the wilderness and Elijah by the brook Cherith.

The reference to a time, times, and half a time identifies this activity as taking place during the Great Tribulation (Daniel 7:25; Daniel 12:7; cf. Revelation 11:2; Revelation 12:6; Revelation 13:5). "Times" refers to years as is clear from the Hebrew of Daniel 11:13 that reads "at the end of times, even years." The various references in Revelation to a time, times, and half a time, three and one-half years, and 1,260 days all refer to the same period: the Great Tribulation. No one will be able to buy or sell during the Great Tribulation without the mark of the beast (Revelation 13:17), so perhaps God’s provisions will again be miraculous.

The "serpent" is another name for the dragon (Revelation 12:9). Even though this period will be a time of intense persecution of Jews, God will preserve many of them, as He explained here (cf. Revelation 7:3-8; Zechariah 13:8-9).