Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Revelation 12:17

"And the dragon waxed wroth with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, that keep the commandments of God, and hold the testimony of Jesus:" — Revelation 12:17 (ASV)

This attack of Satan against “the rest” of the woman’s offspring seems to involve the final attempt to destroy the messianic people of God. Having failed in previous attempts to eliminate them as a whole, the dragon now strikes at individuals who “obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” To “make war” is the identical expression used of the beast’s attack on the two witnesses in 11:7 and on the saints in 13:7. There is good reason to correlate the three groups and to indicate their common identity under different figures. Those attacked are called “the rest of her [the woman’s] offspring.” Some identify this group as Gentile Christians in distinction from the Jewish mother church. Others identify the mother as the nation of Israel and see the “rest” as the believing remnant in the Jewish nation who turn to Christ. Still others have suggested that the woman represents the believing community as the universal church composed of both Jews and Gentiles, whereas the “offspring” of the woman represents individuals of the community (Jews and Gentiles) who suffer persecution and martyrdom from the dragon. The close identification of the seed of the woman as first of all Jesus and then also those who have become his brothers and sisters through faith agrees with other NT teaching (Matthew 25:40; Hebrews 2:11–12). While Satan cannot prevail against the Christian community itself, he can wage war on certain of its members who are called on to witness to their Lord by obedience even unto death (cf. Matthew 16:18; Revelation 11:7; 13:7, 15). The church, then, is paradoxically both invulnerable (the woman) and vulnerable (her children; cf. Lk 21:16-18).