In talking about Satan’s rebellion against God, many preachers and commentators confidently state that Satan drew a third of the angels with him in rebellion against God.  The Scripture cited is Revelation 12:3-4.

Rev 12:3  And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red [purrhos] dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems [diadema] on his heads.
Rev 12:4  His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth.

Certainly, the word “dragon” can refer to Satan, such as in Rev 12:9 and Rev 20:2.

Rev 12:9  So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, …

Rev 20:2  He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

And certainly “stars” can represent angels, such as in Rev 1:20.

Rev 1:20  The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.

But is Revelation 12:4 really saying that Satan drew a third of the angels with him in rebellion against God?  There are no other Scriptures given to support the idea, just this one verse.  A dogma based on only one verse, in which that one verse is full of symbolism, is surely speculation.

Let’s take a closer look at Revelation 12:3-4.  The dragon whose tail drew a third of the stars in heaven is described as a “fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads”.  Satan is never described as having seven heads and ten horns, except perhaps this verse we are looking at in Rev 12:3.  But there are a couple of places where a beast is described with seven heads and ten horns.

The first, is the beast in Revelation 13. 

Rev 13:1  Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns [diadema], and on his heads a blasphemous name.

It has seven heads and ten horns and ten crowns (diadems).  It doesn’t quite fit because the dragon of Rev 12:3 has seven crowns (diadems).

The second place where a beast is described with seven heads and then horns, is the beast in Revelation 17.

Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet [kokkinos] beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

It has seven heads and ten horns with no mention of crowns.  Moreover, the colour of the beast is scarlet.  The Greek word for scarlet is different to the Greek word for fiery red, nevertheless, scarlet is a fiery red.

So, the beast of Revelation 17 is actually a very good match for the dragon of Revelation 12:3.

But what about the stars of heaven which the dragon’s tail drew to earth?  What else can stars represent other than angels?  Stars can refer to people, such as in Joseph’s dream, Gen 37:9-10.  In Joseph’s dream the eleven stars represented his eleven brothers.

Gen 37:9  Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”
Gen 37:10  So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?”

Stars can also represent the resurrected saints.  Dan 12:2-3 says that the wise will be resurrected and shine like stars.

Dan 12:2  And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Dan 12:3  Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.

There is another verse in which describes God’s people as stars.  It’s found in Daniel 8, which is the vision of the ram and the goat.  The male goat attacks the ram and tramples on him.  The male goat had a large horn which was broken and replaced by four other horns.  Out of one of the four horns a little horn grew.

Dan 8:9  And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land.
Dan 8:10  And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them.
Dan 8:11  He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.
Dan 8:12  Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.

The meaning of the ram and goat is given in the latter part of the same chapter of Daniel.  The ram represents the kings of Media and Persia, and the goat kingdom of Greece.

Dan 8:20  The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia.
Dan 8:21  And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king.

The four horns replacing the broken horn of the goat represent four kingdoms arising out of the kingdom of Greece.

Dan 8:22  As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.

The meaning of the little horn described in Dan 8:9-12 is given in Dan 8:23-25.

Dan 8:23  “And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce features, Who understands sinister schemes.
Dan 8:24  His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall destroy fearfully, And shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.
Dan 8:25  “Through his cunning He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; And he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; But he shall be broken without human means.

There is a lot of information in these verses, but focusing on verses 10 and 24 we see that the action of the little horn (an evil king or ruler) killing some of the holy people (God’s people) is pictured by stars being cast to the ground.  This is exactly what the tail of the dragon in Rev 12:3-4 does.  His tail casts stars of heaven to the ground. 

Using the principal of Scripture interpreting Scripture, we see that the fiery red dragon with seven heads and ten horns of Rev 12:3-4 is the beast of Rev 17 and that his tail drawing a third of the stars of heaven to earth describes martyrdom of a third of God’s people.

Scriptures can be dual, so it is possible that an additional meaning of Rev 12:3-4 is that a third of the angels rebelled with Satan against God.