Who's the woman clothed with the sun and the twelve stars over her head in Rev 12?

Question

Who's the woman clothed with the sun and the twelve stars over her head in Rev 12?

Answer 1

"A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head."



I'm reading my NIV Bible and it says,

"the woman clothed with the sun" is probably a symbolic reference to the believing Messianic community (check verse 5), and

" twelve stars" are the 12 tribes of Israel.

Answer 2

The woman clothed with the sun, raised above the moon, and crowned with twelve stars is without doubt the Virgin Mother of Christ.

Answer 3

The woman symbolizes God's heavenly organization, out of which comes his son, whom he enthrones as the king of his heavenly kingdom . . .



"In the inspired prophecies, women at times represent organizations 'married' to outstanding personalities. In the Hebrew Scriptures, Israel was spoken of as a wife of Jehovah God. (Jeremiah 3:14) In the Greek Scriptures, the congregation of anointed Christians is spoken of as Christ’s bride. (Revelation 21:9-14) The woman John here sees is also married to someone, and she is about to give birth. Who is her husband? Well, later her child is “caught away to God and to his throne.” (Revelation 12:5) Jehovah thus claims the child as his own. Therefore, the woman that John sees must be Jehovah’s symbolic wife." *



"John sees a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and wearing a crown of twelve stars, as she gives birth to a man child who is to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Thereafter war takes place in heaven: Michael and his angels battle with the dragon and his angels; Michael is victorious and the dragon, Satan, the Devil, the original serpent, is cast down to the earth along with his cohorts. This results in great woe to the earth because the Devil knows that his days are numbered.—Rev. 12:1-17." **



"Who Is Michael the Archangel?"

- Archangel & Army Leader http://watchtower.org/e/bh/appendix_11.htm

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Answer 4

The apostle Paul quotes this prophecy of Isaiah chapter 54 and applies it to “the Jerusalem above [which] is free, and she is our mother.” (Ga 4:26, 27) This evidently provides the key for understanding the vision recorded at Revelation 12:1-5, in which a pregnant heavenly “woman” gives birth to “a son, a male, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod.” The shepherding of the nations with an iron rod is directly connected with the Messianic Kingdom of God, and hence the vision must relate to the producing of that Kingdom, so that, following the defeat of Satan’s attack on the newborn “child,” the ensuing cry goes forth: “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ.” (Re 12:10) The anguish of the pregnant heavenly “woman” preceding the birth calls to mind Paul’s expression at Galatians 4:19, “childbirth pains” there apparently representing stirring interest and fervent desire to see full development of matters reached (in Paul’s case, the full development of the Galatian believers as Christians).

Answer 5

It's an allusion to Genesis 37. It represents the Jewish people.



edit: Just a reminder, Revelation isn't a prophesy, it's a description of the political situation with some encouragement for the persecuted Christians of the time. The massive amounts of apocalyptic symbolism is because if they wrote directly, "Boy, that Roman Empire, they suck, and I hope they die," they'd get arrested and/or killed.

Answer 6

The 12 tribes of the nation Israel.

Answer 7

Your guess is as good as anybody else's.



In the Book of Revelation, John was writing in an elaborate code to the Christians of the 1st century. Most of his symbology is now lost. Theologians and Bible scholars can made educated guesses, but who knows for sure?



One interpretation I read was that the 12 stars were the 12 tribes of Israel and the woman was wisdom incarnate. Sounds as good as the next one.

Answer 8

it is israel look up josephs dream he saw the sun moon and 11 stars bowing to him...they understood this to mean jacob and his brothers and this now represents the nation of israel..

Answer 9

our mother Mary. the new Eve. the new ark of the covenant.

Catholics also view Mary as the New Testament Ark of the Covenant. The Old Testament Ark of the Covenant contained three items – The Word of God in the form of stone tablets (the 10 Commandments), manna (bread) from Heaven, and the rod of Aaron that resprouted and came back to life (Hebrews 9:4). Just so, the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary contained Jesus Christ – The living Word of God (John 1:1), the bread of life (John 6:48), and the ruler with a rod of iron who also came back to life (Rev.12:5). At the Annunciation of Mary, Gabriel told her that the power of the most high would “overshadow” her (Luke 1:35). The term “overshadow” is significant, because it was also used to refer to the cherubim “overshadowing” the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant (Hebrews 9:5). The Ark was made with pure gold (Exodus 4ff), and was very holy, which parallels the Catholic teaching that Mary is also pure and holy. The Ark of the Covenant was so holy, that no ordinary person could even touch it. Uzzah reached out to steady it, and was instantly struck dead (2 Samuel 6:7). There are many parallels between the mention of the Ark in 2 Samuel 6 and Mary in Luke 1:



David heads to the hills of Judah in 2 Samuel 6:2-3; Mary heads to the hills of Judah in Luke 1:39.

David dances for joy in front of the Ark (2 Samuel 6:14); the unborn fetus John the Baptist leaps for joy in Elizabeth’s womb at the sound of Mary’s voice (1 Luke 44).

David says “How can the Ark come to me”? (2 Samuel 6:9); Elizabeth says, “How is this that the Mother of my Lord has come to me”? (1 Luke 43).

David and the Ark stayed for 3 months (2 Samuel 6:11); Mary stayed for 3 months (1 Luke 56).





So if Jesus is “The Word Made Flesh”, then Mary is “The Ark Made Flesh”. All of these parallels between the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament and the Blessed Virgin Mary in the New Testament is a branch of scripture study known as “typology”. In other words, events and people in the New Testament are prefigured by events and people in the Old Testament.







One such typology revolves around Revelation 12 and Genesis 37:9. In Genesis, Joseph says,



"Behold, I have dreamed another dream; and behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me."



In Revelation 12:1, the scripture reads,



“And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”



The obvious parallel is that the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars in David’s dream represent his 11 brothers and all of Israel, while THE WOMAN in Revelation is adorned with these symbols of Israel. So who is the “WOMAN”? The first clue is the term “a great portent”. In Isaiah 7:14 in the Old Testament, it says,



“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel.”



The great portent of Revelation and the sign of Isaiah are one and the same – A Virgin who will give birth to the leader of Israel, Jesus Christ. That woman is the Blessed Virgin Mary. The writer of the book of Revelation, St. John the Apostle, was given by Jesus on the cross to Mary as her son, and Mary was given to John as his Mother, in John 19:26-27. This means that John knew Mary better than anyone, except for Jesus, and he is trying to tell us all something about her status in heaven. In the preceding verse, Revelation 11:19, John tells us that he sees the Ark of the Covenant. In the next verse, Revelation 12:1, he describes the Ark for us as “A woman clothed with the sun”, a term that could only mean the immaculately conceived Virgin Mary. The rest of Revelation 12 talks about the enmity prefigured in Genesis 3:15 between the devil and THE WOMAN, and how satan can’t get to her. In Revelation 12:17, it says that we are her children if we follow the commandments and bear testimony to Jesus.



Mary is also seen as the new Eve. Whereas Eve listened to the devil Lucifer and obeyed him, bringing sin and damnation into the world, Mary listened to the angel Gabriel and obeyed him, thus bringing grace and salvation into the world in the form of Jesus Christ. Mary and Jesus are forever linked together, just as Adam and Eve are. Eve came forth from the side of Adam; Jesus came forth from the womb of Mary. Eve was created immaculately and sinned; Mary was created immaculately and stayed sinless. Thus Mary and her obedience to God overcame Eve’s disobedience to God.

Answer 10

Judy Garland

Answer 11

Mary is the Woman Crowned with 12 stars (Crown), the New Ark of the Covenant in Rev 11:18-12:17.

The Ark of the Old Covenant carried the Word of God made stone while the Ark of the New Covenant carried the Word of God mad flesh when Mary was pregnant with Jesus.

The old Ark of the Covenant disappears in Jer 3:16. The new Ark of the Covenant resurfaces in Revelation 11:19 as the woman with a crown of 12 stars around her head.

The Ark of the Covenant has been restored to the temple, which is now heaven (See also Heb 9:1-12)

A woman with a crown is there - the new Ark

The woman in Revelation gave birth to the King of the Israelites (Jesus) - who will rule the nations and is on God's throne

The devil is very interested in destroying her but she is safe

Her children are all faithful Christians who "follow the lamb" (Rev 12:17)

God was quite clear about who the crowned woman was in the passage.

It is not because of any power that she gets on her own, but by the power she is given by Jesus her Son.

Just like the Israelites carrying the Ark of the Covenant into battle. Both the old Ark and the new Ark gain their merits because of the "Word of God" made stone in the Old Covenant and made flesh in the New Covenant. A chart comparing the Old Covenant Ark and the New Covenant Ark is here.



A parallel between Genesis 3 and Revelation 12

Gen. 3:15



4) he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.



Rev. 12:5, 11



The seed of the woman, who happens to be Jesus, ascends into heaven, and the Devil is defeated, and it is by his blood (called the blood of the Lamb) through which he crushes the dragon.



The parallel is obvious. First, the devil is spoken of in both Revelation and Genesis. The devil is intricately involved in both of these passages at war with both the Son and woman.

The devil is at war both with the woman of Genesis 3:15, and the woman in Revelation 12, who bore a Son, who will be victorious in both passages. The devil will be defeated as both prophesied in Genesis 3, and fulfilled in Revelation 12. In this victory, The ‘woman’ is at the center of both passages. This woman in both instances are mothers.



Since Genesis 3 and Revelation 12 is undoubtedly linked, and the person of the woman, is a central figure in both passages, the identity of the woman of Genesis 3 is absolutely important.



Now, since Christians identify the seed of the ‘woman’ in Genesis 3:15 as Jesus, it is important to see who this woman is.



It is obvious that if this (Genesis 3:15) is a prophecy about Jesus, and this is called the ‘protoevangelium’, the one whose seed Jesus came from was his Mother Mary. If that is the case, the ‘woman’ spoken of who will be at war with the Devil, would be Mary. This fits again the Revelation 12 where the woman is at war with the devil. However, how do the opponents of the Marian interpretation of Revelation 12 deal with this fact?

In their analysis of Genesis 3 and Revelation 12, they ignore this obvious parallel. In both of their books analysis of Revelation 12, both told us that the ‘woman’ was Israel. Now they ignore the obvious relationship between Genesis 3 and Revelation 12.



God Bless

Answer 12

If you really want to know the answer tol this, go to www.ebiblefellowship and ask them the question. They have a sunday forum also. You can also call 1-800-322-5385. It's family radio's open forum. The time starts from 8:30 pm-10:00 pm eastern time. Keep trying to get in. Call early and just hang on. ok?

Answer 13

prophecies are all bunk. I've heard that the chances of a prophet being correct is the same as marking one of a trillion silver dollars and having a blind man pick that one. In actuality it's like having a 100 billion silver dollars (roughly the population of the world throughout history) and having a blind man pick them up at his leisure. You need to realize that a prophet has unlimited time for a prophecy to come into fruition. That means anyone can be a successful prophet as long as some of their prophecies develop before they are all forgotten.

Answer 14

The nation of Israel.

Answer 15

The constellation Virgo in late summer.

Answer 16

THE VIRGIN MARY off course.

Answer 17

Worshipping the sun is to deny the God of heaven.



Job 31:26 Have I looked at the sun shining in the skies, or the moon walking down its silver pathway, 27 and been secretly enticed in my heart to worship them? 28 If so, I should be punished by the judges, for it would mean I had denied the God of heaven.



The sun and moon will be ashamed and confounded when God judges them -- verse 21 calls them the host of high ones, kings of the earth. Are these not church leaders?



Isaiah 24:23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.



When Jesus Christ lights the city then the sun and moon will not light it.



Revelation 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb [is] the light thereof.



When Jesus Christ is our light, our former sun and moon will not be our light.



Isaiah 60:19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.



Jesus Christ will then be both our "sun & moon" and He will not "go down" as our former sun & moon did.



Isaiah 60:20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.



The woman (harlot church) is clothed with (wears the doctrine of) the sun & moon and stars. So they all share the same doctrine.



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



The stars shepard the flock. The sun & moon give birth to the twelve stars. One of the stars is and chosen and the other eleven stars and sun and moon bow down to him. So they are of the synogogue of Satan. How can the Light of Christ bow down to the elect?



Genesis 37:9 And 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. 10 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.



Jesus Christ is the "sun of righteousness" because He replaces our former "sun, moon & stars" as our source of light (see above Rev 21:23, Isaiah 60:19).



Malachi 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

Answer 18

The Statue of Liberty

Answer 19

Basically, the nation Israel.

Answer 20

You mean the one who gives birth to the Savior??? That one? Who do you think fits that description?

Answer 21

Israel.

Answer 22

Jesus ~ He is a total tranny! =O Don't tell his father!!!