The history of the Christian Church is one long story of conflict between satan and God's people. 

        And now that it is time for Jesus to return, and satan's power and rule over the earth will end and he will be bound for a 1000 years, he is filled with wrath and will oppose the return of Jesus with His armies, there will be war in Heaven.

And when Satan finally succeeded in having Jesus crucified, he thought he had conquered, but to be doubly sure he took good care to have the burial place sealed and guarded.

            When Jesus arose from the dead Satan's rage knew no bounds. Satan and his angels likely fought Jesus' Ascension.

As soon as Satan had caused the Fall of Adam and Eve, he found himself under the curse of God and was told that the Seed of the Woman should bruise his head.

        This made him mad and he was determined to prevent the birth of the promised seed or destroy it after being born.

John tells us that the Dragon stood before the Sun Clothed Woman ready to devour her child as soon as it was born.

        It's interesting to trace through the Bible how Satan tried to prevent the birth of the Man-Child, Christ and then after His birth to destroy Him before He could get to the Cross and purchase man's redemption.

The Stars of  Heaven that were attached to Satan's tail reveals the fact that he will take with him a third of the Angels from Heaven, because the Angels are spoken of as Stars in the Old Testament.

         These Angels will be cast onto the earth with him. They will not be seen visibly but will secretly sow seeds of rebellion and will be cast into the Lake of Fire with Satan.

                  We are not told that Satan's Angels are bound with him when cast into the Bottomless Pit, but the inference is that they are during the Millennium [1000 reign of Jesus] because they do not seem to the present on earth.

Even though the Antichrist exists from the beginning of the Week, he doesn't become The Beast until in the middle of the Week.

          Satan is cast out of Heaven and indwells the Antichrist.  Then the Antichrist breaks his Covenant with Israel, desecrates the Temple and become the Satanic Person that rules during the last half of the Week [the last 7 years of the Great Tribulation].

There is some relation between the Dragon and the Beast. The Beast is an earthly embodiment of the incarnation of the Dragon. The Beast doesn't appear on the earth until after the Dragon is cast out of Heaven.

In the middle of the 'week' two wonders will appear in Heaven,  John is back again in heaven. Some versions call them 'signs'. They are symbols of something and must be interpreted.

           The first will be a Sun Clothed Woman.  She is Israel. Israel is again and again compared to a woman, a married woman, in the Old Testament.  The Sun Clothed Woman is described as being with Child and travailing to bring forth. Israel has been prophesied as being a Mother. Christ was to come from Israel. She went through many afflictions and judgment to bring the promised Child.

           The second is the Great Dragon having seven head and ten horns and seven crowns upon his heads.  His tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. The Dragon stood before the Woman which was ready to deliver so to devour her Child as soon as it was born. There is no doubt this is Satan.

The Middle of the Week
The Seven Personages
1. The Sun Clothed Woman
Revelation 12:1-2

"And there appeared a  Great Wonder in Heaven; a Woman clothed with the Sun, and the Moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of Twelve Stars: and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered."

The Third Woe includes the Vials and all other judgments down to Revelation chapter 20:3.

                  The time limit of the Seventh Trumpet is in chapter 10:7 and is said to be the Days of the Voice of the Seventh Angel when he shall begin to sound; implying that the blast or blasts of the Seventh Trumpet shall be long continued over the whole last half of the Week.

The scene is in Heaven where John hears the Trumpet sound and sees the Temple of God opened and hears the voices and thunderings that came along with the devastation of the earth by an earthquake and hail.

         This announcement is the starting of the great events that are to follow, which will be the most remarkable and momentous to have ever happened on this earth.

The sounding of the Seventh Trumpet includes all that happens down to Revelation 20:3.

         When it sounded John heard Great Voices in Heaven saying The Kingdoms of this World are become the Kingdoms of Our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.

                   This is the announcement that the time had come for Christ to take The Kingdom though it doesn't fully come into His possession for 3 1/2 years.

The Seventh Trumpet
Third Woe
Covers the rest of the week
Revelation 11:15-19

"And the seventh angel sounded: and there were great voices in Heaven, saying, The Kingdoms of this World are become the Kingdoms of Our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.
And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshiped God, saying, We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned.
And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants and prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy Name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
And the Temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in His Temple the Ark of His Testament: and there were lightnings and voices and thunderings and an earthquack and great hail."

The Second Woe is past: and behold, the Third Woe cometh quickly.

About the same time that the Two Witnesses ascend up to Heaven, there will be a Great Earthquake that will destroy a tenth part of the city of Jerusalem and 7,000 people; and the rest  will turn to God out of fear.

           But this repentance won't last long.

The people's rejoicing over the dead witnesses won't last long because at the end of the 3 1/2 days the Spirit of Life will re-enter their bodies and they will stand up.

         A great fear will be upon their enemies and a voice from Heaven will be heard say "come up hither" and they will ascend up to Heaven in a cloud just as Jesus did and their enemies will witness it.

These Two Witnesses are going to prophecy for 3 1/2 years and during that time they will be safe from death.

         If anyone tries to hurt them, fire will proceed out of their mouths and devour the enemy.

                 When they have finished their testimony, they will be overcome by the Beast/Antichrist, who will make war against them and will kill them and their bodies will lay in the street of Jerusalem, which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt at that time, because those living there will resemble those of Sodom in the days of Lot and the conduct of Israel in Egypt for those 3 1/2 days and the people of all nationalities will not want their bodies to be buried but they will rejoice over them; even giving gifts to one another because the two witnesses who had tormented them by their testimony and plagues are dead.