18 Oct 2013
Revelation 12:1-2
Revelation 12:1: “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:”
This is a really interesting chapter! I think this woman represents Israel. If you’ll notice, this vision is quite similar to the one that Joseph had in Genesis 37. In Joseph’s vision the stars represented his brothers (from whom the tribes of Israel came), and the sun and moon represented his parents.
This interpretation becomes much more likely when we read the next few verses:
Revelation 12:2: “And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
…
5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.”
I skipped verses 3 and 4 so that we could immediately identify who the child was. Based on verse 5 we can see that this child is Jesus, the Messiah. He is the one who will “rule all nations with a rod of iron”. He is the one that was “caught up unto God” after His resurrection and ascension. This also makes sense in the context of the passage: Jesus came out of the nation of Israel.
So it all fits together. The woman is Israel and the child is Jesus.