Revelation 12:1

Introduction

As Ray Summers observes, “Many times it appears that the enemy has the upper hand and will win, but all the time we know that victory is ours because we have seen the headline announcing victory. John used this method many times in Revelation - always very effectively.” (2, 167)

Chapter 12 begins the second part of the book. Some have thought this begins a second vision. I do not believe there is a second vision. The seals lead to the trumpets. The trumpets end with the little book that tells about judgment of men. John is told that there are many things that he will need to prophesy after eating the book. With chapter 12 begins the message that John was to deliver.

In the second half of Revelation, the characters are the same. The war between Satan and the church is the same. The outcome will be the same. The action will intensify in speed. The actions will be more dramatic. And the book will end with the complete victory for the church and complete defeat for Satan.

1 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.

A. John begins now to describe what he saw after he had eaten the little book.

B. A woman - John sees a radiant woman, clothed with the sun. She has 12 stars on her head.

C. There are a couple of theories about whom this woman represents.

1. Mary - It is thought by some that this is a description of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mostly Roman Catholic commentators, seeking to elevate the worship and veneration of Mary, hold this view.

2. Jewish System - Woodruff believes that the woman represents the “Jewish system of religion.” Christ was brought to the world through the Jewish lineage. God intended the Law of Moses to bring us to Christ. Woodruff argues that the 12 stars symbolize the 12 tribes of Israel.

3. Church - The church is, in the rest of the New Testament, seen as the bride of Christ. In Romans 7:4, the church is married to Christ. In 21:9 the church is referred to as the bride of Christ. Christ is the bridegroom and the church is the bride. This view holds that the 12 stars symbolize the 12 apostles. Rather than thinking in the past to Mary literally bringing Jesus into the world, or the Jewish system supplying the bloodline for Christ; we need to think of the church as the woman who, through evangelism and preaching, is presenting Jesus to the world.

D. The church is pictured as a bright and radiant woman in contrast to the “great harlot” of immorality in chapter 17.

E. The woman represents the true church, and those who are faithful to Christ.