Revelation 12:7, cf. verse 9, states that “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels battled with the dragon [Satan], … he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him…”.
The New Jerusalem “gave birth” to a son who will “shepherd all the nations with an iron rod” and who will be brought to God and his throne (Rev. 12:5). He is brought forth by the city of Jerusalem during the 1,000-year kingdom. The logical order would then be that Jesus first comes to earth, and then is installed as king in the New Jerusalem on earth.
To understand Revelation chapter 12, you must read it in the context of chapter 20. These chapters complement each other. If you just read chapter 12, you might get the impression that Satan is thrown down to earth in connection with Jesus’ starting as king in 1,000-year rule. That is not true. Revelation 20:1, 2 say that “an angel … seized … the Devil and Satan, and bound him for 1,000 years.” 20:7 says that “Now as soon as the 1,000 years have ended, Satan will be released from his prison.” When Jesus starts to rule over earth, Satan will not be hurled down to earth, because Revelation 20:3 says that Satan at this time is hurled “into the abyss1” .
Revelation 12:12 says that Satan “having great anger, knowing that he has a short period of time.” and 20:3 says that Satan “was released for a little while.” This is the same short little while after the 1,000 years ended until the removal of Satan (Revelation 20:10).
Revelation 12:13, cf. 17, say “Now when the dragon saw that it had been hurled down to the earth, it persecuted the woman …”. the woman is the New Jerusalem2 . Revelation 20:7 says that during this short period of time, Satan will “mislead the nations” and gather them to war. Gog of Magog surrounds “the beloved city”, that has served as the capital for 1,000 years. Revelation 12:9 also says that Satan “misleads all the inhabited earth.”
- Read the article about Jehovah’s witnesses 1914-doctrine to understand why Jesus did not start his rulership at that time ↩︎
- When the woman in Revelation 12:5 is understood in light of Galatians 4:26, where it says that “the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother,” the picture fits Genesis 3:15, where the woman’s offspring is foretold to crush the serpent’s head. Revelation follows the same line: the woman “gave birth to a son, a male” (Revelation 12:5), the dragon wages war against “the remaining ones of her offspring” (Revelation 12:17), and in the end “the Devil … was hurled into the lake of fire and sulfur” (Revelation 20:10). ↩︎
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