Consistency is a good principle to follow when interpreting symbolic stories in the Bible. In Jesus’s Parable of the Sower, the “seed” is the “message of the kingdom” even when the results differ (Matt. 13:1–23). In Ezekiel’s allegory of an abandoned baby, the girl (later woman) is Jerusalem or Judah no matter her age, circumstances, or actions (Ezekiel 16).

Similarly, it’s probably best to consistently identify each of the individual characters in Revelation 12 in collective terms (vv. 1–6). Most interpreters agree that the woman is Israel, the symbolism is similar to Joseph’s dreams in Genesis 37, and the twelve stars represent the twelve tribes. Her child is often identified as Christ, given the Messianic reference to Psalm 2:9. But if we’re consistent, the child should also be a group and is better interpreted as the body of Christ in union with Him. That accounts for both the Messianic reference and for the “snatching up” to heaven, that is, the Rapture of the church (1 Thess. 4:17). The dragon is similarly to be interpreted not individually as Satan, but collectively as Satan and his demonic allies and all enemies of God.

These events are followed by war in heaven (vv. 7–9). Michael, seen in Scripture as a special protector of Israel (Dan. 12:1), leads the heavenly angels against the fallen ones and defeats them. The kingdom of God has now arrived in force (vv. 10–12), as previously announced (Rev. 11:15). The dragon, confined to earth and knowing that his time is short, is enraged and makes war against Israel, but Israel is divinely protected, just as it was during the Exodus (vv. 13–17). The forces of evil then attack the “rest of her offspring,” possibly meaning Jews worldwide or new Christian believers.

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