Revelation 12

   This chapter may be seen as a link between the more historical part of Revelation (with 7 churches, 7 seals, and 7 trumpet calls) and the rest (chapters 12 to 22) which tends to focus on the end time. It reveals Satan as the ultimate enemy of Christ. See the literary structure below:

 Who is the woman? Text of ch.  Resurrection; Jude  The symbolic meaning of "day"
 A crown of 12 stars  Eviction  Fallen church? Paul agrees
 Moon under her feet  Who is the woman now?  Escape from the flood
 Expectant mother  Talking animals  Help from the earth
 Is the baby really Jesus?  Background check on Satan
 17a
 The mad dragon, setting
 Where are woman and dragon?  Fallen again?  The remnant survive
 A look at the dragon  Falling down, down, down  What are the remnant doing?
 Symbols to the real picture  Who calls us brothers?  The testimony of Jesus?
 Stars swept down  Overcoming by their testimony  God tells His secrets
 Ready to devour the child !  They would rather die  True prophets in our time? 
 Rule with a rod of iron  Rejoicing; Devil comes down  Prophet, true or false?
 The woman flees? Ch. structure  Who is being persecuted?  Remnant and patient saints
 War in heaven  Escape from food poisoning  Chapters 12, 13, and 14, Table
 Who is MIchael ?  The period of the "times"  Journey to Canaan, Table
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Chapter 12, literary structure

A  Woman with child – dragon casts one third of stars to the earth
    B  Dragon waits to devour the man child the woman brings forth
        C  Woman flees to the wilderness for three and a half prophetic years
            D  War in heaven
                E  Dragon cast out – deceives the world
                    F  Now is come salvation, the kingdom of God, and the power of Christ
                E  Woe to the earth – the devil is come down
            D  (War on earth) dragon persecutes the woman that brings forth the man
        C  Woman flies to the wilderness for three and a half seasons
    B  Serpent casts water out of his mouth to destroy the woman
A  Dragon wroth with the woman – war on the remnant

From Robert Houser, The Logic of Prophecy.