Translation
When the DRAGON saw that he had been thrown down
to the earth he pursued
the woman who had given birth to the male child.
Go to footnote numberParaphrase
When the
GREAT DECEIVER saw that he had been thrown down
to where men live, he pursued
the group of people connected with the arrival of the savior into the world.
Footnotes
1
It appears that the woman is representing more than just herself, for there has been a woe pronounced against all those living on the earth and some of what follows fits better with Satan’s treatment of God’s people (either Israel or the church, or both) than with Mary, the human mother of Jesus. We could say that she has become a metaphor for all of us. Therefore, I have repackaged it as the people that God used to bring the savior into the world. Once again this is a case of a double or triple meaning. First it refers to Mary, then to Israel, then to the true Church. The shift from the nation of Israel to the faithful followers of God is a natural one since the book of revelation makes no distinction between Israel and church (Yeatts, p. 219).