Season 1 - Episode 17

Who is the Sun Clothed Woman in Revelation 12?

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: 2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

Misconceptions:

· The Woman is the Virgin Mary

· The woman is the Church and her child is the true Church who are to be raptured out.

· “If this be true, and the Child is not caught out until the middle of the week then the Church will have to go halfway through the Tribulation.” – Clarence Larkin

Answer:

Re-read the verse:

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: 2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

Genesis 37:9 9And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

The Woman represents the nation Israel

1. Revelation is to be interpreted literally

· This verse was clearly prophesied way back in Genesis 37. Joseph is clearly the 12thstar.

· The woman is not a literal woman, but a symbol, say-mi'-on (a sign, mark, token)

2. Compare Scripture with Scripture

· Israel is compared constantly to a woman in the Old Testament (Married, Divorced, Widowed, Adulterous Wife. The Church is NOT. The Church is the Virgin Bride of Christ)

Supporting Scripture:

Isaiah 54:1;47:7-9;Luke 18:1-8; Jeremiah 3:1-25

· The Woman is described as being “with child” and “travailing to bring forth” what scripture does support this being the Church? (None) This is Israel

· It was prophesied that Christ would come from Israel

· Romans 9:4-5 4Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

· These verses align with Israel’s history

o Revelation 12:2 2And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

“The activity of the woman from time of Abraham to the birth of Christ is described in verse 2. The present tense of the verses provides a dramatic setting. The woman is continuously with child. She is continually crying… in the pain of travail. She is continuously experiencing labor to be delivered…Herein, then, are pictured the experiences of Israel as a nation from the moment she was brought into existence with the call of Abraham until the day Christ was born in Bethlehem The entire message of the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi describes what is here set forth in one verse.” Dr. Herman A. Hoyt