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Revelation 12:16

in Revelation 12

But the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth to swallow up the river that had poured from the dragon’s mouth.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

KJV

And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

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This verse in Revelation 12

Commentary

12 notes on this verse
"And the earth helped the woman, and opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth." That the earth opened her month and swallowed up the waters, sets forth the vengeance for the present troubles.

This site's exposition

spewed water like a river

on Revelation 12:15-16

Then from the mouth of the serpent spewed water like a river, but the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth to swallow it. Elsewhere in the book the earth suffers judgment; here it acts for her, as the Red Sea and the Jordan once did for Israel.

This site's exposition

the earth helped the woman

The earth opened its mouth once before, to swallow Korah and his company in Numbers 16:32. There it judged rebels, and here it shelters the woman. Victorinus reads the swallowed river as vengeance for her troubles, while Adam Clarke follows Bishop Newton into the barbarian invasions of the Roman empire.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Primasius of Hadrumetum

COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 12:16 · Written before 560.

proposed

It is possible to interpret the "earth" here to refer to the church, as in the psalm, "He who set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be shaken." That is, he [set the earth] on the saints whose prayers and teachings …

A commentator

Oecumenius

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 550.

proposed

But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the Dragon had spewed out of his mouth against the woman. The earth swallowing the river signifies that the temptation was accepted within her, that is, the Lord was put …

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Andreas of Caesarea

COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 12:15-16 · Written before 614.

proposed

When the church fled to inaccessible places where the deceiver makes his approach, out of his mouth, that is, clearly by his command, came water like a river after her. That is, he sent out against her a host of godless people and evil demons …

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 735.

proposed

And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood. This earth is the holy flesh of the Lord, which, swallowing the death that temporarily prevailed over it, taught us also to swallow it. It can also be understood as the Church, whose admonitions …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

proposed

"The half time" is from 1725 to 1836. In the beginning of this period the Turks began to meddle with the affairs of Persia: wherein they have so entangled themselves, as to be the less able to prevail against the two remaining Christian empires.
4 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And the earth helped the woman,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Their fidelity to God and Christ, in doctrine, worship, and practice, was that which exposed them to the rage of Satan and his instruments; and such fidelity will expose men still, less or more, to the end of the world, when the last enemy shall be destroyed.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

The earth helped the woman - “Nothing, and indeed,” as Bishop Newton excellently observes, “was more likely to produce the ruin and utter subversion of the Christian Church than the irruptions of so many barbarous nations into the Roman empire.
And the earth helped the woman - The earth seemed to sympathize with the woman in her persecutions, and to interpose to save her. The meaning is, that a state of things would exist in regard to the church thus driven into obscurity, which would be well represented by what is here said to occur. It was cut off from human aid. It was still in danger; still persecuted. In this state it was nourished from some unseen source. It was enabled to avoid the direct attacks of the enemy, and when he attacked it in a new form, a new mode of intervention in its behalf was granted, as if the earth should open and swallow up a flood of water. We are not, therefore, to look for any literal fulfillment of this, as if the earth interposed in some marvelous way to aid the church. The sense is, that, in that state of obscurity and solitude, the divine interposition was manifested, in an unexpected manner, as if, when an impetuous stream was rolling along that threatened to sweep everything away, a chasm should suddenly open in the earth and absorb it. During the dark ages many such interventions occurred, saving the church from utter destruction. Overflowing waters are often in the Scriptures an emblem of mighty enemies. Psa 124:2-5, “if it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us; then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: then the proud waters had gone over our soul.” Psa 18:16, “he sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.” Jer 47:2, “behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land,” etc. Compare Jer 46:7-8, and notes on Isa 8:7-8. And the earth opened her mouth - A chasm was made sufficient to absorb the waters. […]

The words behind it

25 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

10 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Numbers 16:32and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions.4 worksGenesis 4:11Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.3 works1 Kings 17:6The ravens would bring him bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he would drink from the brook.2 worksEzra 6:4with three layers of cut stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid from the royal treasury.2 works1 Samuel 23:27Then a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly, for the Philistines have raided the land!”2 worksJeremiah 26:24Nevertheless, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.2 works
The other 4 cross-references, with their words ▾
Ezra 8:36They also delivered the king’s edicts to the royal satraps and governors of the region west of the Euphrates, who proceeded to assist the people and the house of God.2 worksActs 18:16And he drove them away from the judgment seat.2 worksExodus 12:35–36Furthermore, the Israelites acted on Moses’ word and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold, and for clothing.1 works2 Kings 8:9So Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift of forty camel loads of every good thing from Damascus. And he went in and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”-1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    1 Kings 17:6

    The ravens would bring him bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he would drink from the brook.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 78:23–24

      Yet He commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of the heavens.

    • Matthew 6:31–33

      Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

    • Psalms 78:15–16

      He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as abundant as the seas.

    • Jeremiah 37:21

      So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread daily from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in…

    • Matthew 14:19–21

      And He directed the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He spoke a blessing. Then He broke the loaves and…

  • Through

    2 Kings 8:9

    So Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift of forty camel loads of every good thing from Damascus. And he went in and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-hadad…

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 5:5

      “Go now,” said the king of Aram, “and I will send you with a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman departed, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of…

    • 1 Kings 19:15

      Then the LORD said to him, “Go back by the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram.

    • 2 Kings 6:21

      And when the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”

Where this verse is studied

About Revelation

The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, Jan and Hubert van Eyck, about 1430 to 1432. Public domain.
The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, Jan and Hubert van Eyck, about 1430 to 1432. Public domain.
Revelation: the study guide →Read Revelation 12 →
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Andreas of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 12:15-16; Bede, Commentary on Revelation; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Revelation; Primasius of Hadrumetum, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 12:16 and Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John.

Read on in Revelation 12 →