Many preachers and commentators confidently state that Satan drew a third of the angels with him in rebellion against God.  The Scripture they cite is Revelation 12:3-4.

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

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

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

Rev 20:2  He laid hold of the dragon [drakon], 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 Revelation 1:20.

Rev 1:20  The mystery of the seven stars [aster] which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars [aster] 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 [purrhos] dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems [diadema] on his heads”.  Satan is never described as having seven heads and ten horns, except perhaps in this verse we are looking at here.  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.

This beast of Revelation 13 has seven heads and ten horns, just like the beast of Revelation 12:3.  Also, they both have crowns (diadema).  However, the beasts don’t quite match as the number of crowns is different.

The second place where a beast is described with seven heads and ten horns is the beast of 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.

This beast of Revelation 17 has seven heads and ten horns, just like the beast of Revelation 12:3.  Although there is no mention of crowns, the colour of the beasts is the same.  One is described as “fiery red” (purrhos) and the other scarlet (kokkinos) — 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 about his family in which 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, such as in Daniel 12:2-3 which 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 which describes God’s people as stars.  It’s found in Daniel 8, which is the vision of the ram and the goat.  In this vision the male goat with one large horn attacks and tramples the ram.  The goat’s large horn was broken and replaced by four other horns.  Out of one of the four horns a little horn grew which then grew up to the host of heaven and cast down some of the stars.

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 the 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 Daniel 8:9-12 is given in Daniel 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 Revelation 12:3-4 does.  His tail casts stars of heaven to the ground. 

Discussion

We are now in a position to evaluate the possible interpretations of Revelation 12 3-4.

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

Interpretation: the dragon is Satan

One possible interpretation is that the dragon is Satan and the stars of heaven are angels.  With this interpretation Satan threw a third of the angels to the earth which is understood to mean that one third of the angels rebelled against God with Satan.

Pros

There are Scriptures which describe Satan as a dragon (Revelation 12:9, 20:2) and stars as angels (Revelation 1:20).

Cons

Satan is never described as having seven heads and ten horns; nor is he ever described as having crowns.  There are no other Scriptures which corroborate this interpretation.

Interpretation: the dragon is the beast of Revelation 17

Another possible interpretation is that the dragon is the beast of Revelation 17 and the stars of heaven are God’s people.  With this interpretation the beast threw a third of the God’s people to earth which is understood to mean that the beast martyrs one third of God’s people.

Pros

The description of the dragon matches the beast of Revelation 17 with regard to the number of its heads and horns and its colour.  There are Scriptures which describe stars as God’s people (Genesis 37:9, Daniel 12:3, Daniel 8:10, 24).  There are also many Scriptures which describe persecution of God’s people and thus corroborate this interpretation.

Cons

None, other than it goes against “conventional wisdom”.

Conclusion

Scriptures can be dual, so it’s possible that both interpretations are valid.  However, the interpretation that the beast martyrs one third of God’s people has more Scriptural support.