Jesus and the Church in Revelation 12

At the beginning of the 1st2. In the chapter of Revelation, John tells of his vision of a pregnant woman about to give birth. He sees her shining brightly - dressed in the sun and the moon under her feet. On her head is a wreath or crown of twelve stars. To whom do the woman and the child relate?

Im 1. In the Book of Moses we find the story of the biblical patriarch Joseph, who had a dream in which a similar scene was revealed to him. He later told his brothers that he saw the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowing to him (1. Moses 37,9).

The portraits in Josef's dream clearly related to his family members. They were Joseph's father Israel (sun), his mother Rachel (moon) and his eleven brothers (stars, see 1. Moses 37,10). In this case, Joseph was the twelfth brother or “star”. Israel's twelve sons became populous tribes and grew into the nation that became God's chosen people4,2).

Revelation 12 radically changes the elements of Joseph's dream. He reinterprets it with reference to spiritual Israel - the church or the assembly of God's people (Galatians 6,16).

In Revelation, the twelve tribes do not refer to ancient Israel, but symbolize the whole church (7,1-8th). The woman clothed in the sun could represent the Church as the radiant bride of Christ (2. Corinthians 11,2). The moon under the woman's feet and the crown on her head could symbolize her victory through Christ.

According to this symbolism, the “woman” of Revelation 12 represents God's pure church. The Bible scholar M. Eugene Boring says: “She is the cosmic woman, clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and crowned with twelve stars, which represent the Messiah brings forth ”(Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching,“ Revelation, ”p. 152).

In the New Testament the church is known as spiritual Israel, Zion and "the mother" (Galatians 4,26; 6,16; Ephesians 5,23-24; 30-32; Hebrews 12,22). Zion-Jerusalem was the idealized mother of the people of Israel (Isaiah 54,1). The metaphor was carried over to the New Testament and applied to the Church (Galatians 4,26).

Some commentators see the symbol of the woman of Revelation 12,1-3 has a broad meaning. The picture, they say, is a reinterpretation of Jewish conceptions of the Messiah and pagan redeeming myths with reference to the experience of Christ. M. Eugene Boring says: “Woman is neither Mary, nor Israel, nor the Church, but less and more than all of these. The images that John used bring several elements together: the image of the pagan myth of the Queen of Heaven; from the story about Eve, the mother of all living, from the first book of Moses, whose "seed" trampled the head of the primeval serpent (1. Mose 3,1-6); of Israel, who escaped the dragon / pharaoh on eagle wings into the desert (2. Moses 19,4; psalm 74,12-15); and Zion, the 'mother' of God's people in all ages, Israel and the Church ”(p. 152).

With this in mind, some biblical commentators in this section see references to various pagan myths as well as to the story of Joseph's dream in the Old Testament. In Greek mythology, the pregnant goddess Leto is persecuted by the dragon Python. She escapes to an island where she gives birth to Apollo, who later kills the dragon. Almost every Mediterranean culture had some version of this mythical battle in which the monster attacks the champion.

The image of the revelation of the cosmic woman brands all these myths as false. It says that none of these stories understands that Jesus is the Savior and that the Church is the people of God. Christ is the son who slays the dragon, not Apollo. The church is the mother of and for whom the Messiah comes; Leto is not the mother. The Goddess Roma - the personification of the Roman Empire - is actually a type of international spiritual prostitute, Babylon the Great. The true queen of heaven is Zion, which is the church or people of God.

Thus the revelation in the story of women exposes old political and religious beliefs. British Bible scholar GR Beasley-Murray says John's use of the Apollo myth "is an amazing example of communicating the Christian faith through an internationally recognized symbol" (The New Century Bible Commentary, "Revelation," p. 192 ).

Revelation also portrays Jesus as the Church's Savior - the long-awaited Messiah. With this, the book reinterprets the meaning of the Old Testament symbols in a definitive way. BR Beasley-Murray explains: “By using this means of expression, John asserted in one fell swoop the fulfillment of pagan hope and the promise of the Old Testament in the Christ of the Gospel. There is no other Savior but Jesus ”(p. 196).

Revelation 12 also exposes the main antagonist of the church. He is the fearsome red dragon with seven heads, ten horns and seven crowns on his head. Revelation clearly identifies the dragon or the monster - it is "the old serpent, called the devil or Satan, who seduces the whole world" (Gen.2,9 and 20,2).

Satan's earthly agent [representative] - the beast from the sea - also has seven heads and ten horns, and it is also scarlet in color3,1 and 17,3). Satan's character is reflected in his earthly representatives. The dragon personifies evil. Since ancient mythology had many references to dragons, John's listeners would have known that the dragon from Revelation 13 was a cosmic enemy.

What the seven heads of the dragon represent is not immediately clear. However, since John uses the number seven as a symbol of completeness, this may indicate the universal nature of Satan's power, and that he is fully embodied in all evil. The dragon also has seven tiaras, or royal crowns, on its heads. They could represent Satan's unjustified claim against Christ. As Lord of Lords, Jesus owns all the crowns of authority. He is the one who will be crowned with many crowns9,12.16).

We learn that the dragon "swept away the third part of the stars of heaven and threw them to earth" (Gen.2,4). This fraction is used several times in the Book of Revelation. Perhaps we should understand this term as a significant minority.

We also get a short biography of the woman's “boy”, a reference to Jesus (Gen.2,5). Revelation here tells the story of the Christ event and references Satan's unsuccessful attempt to thwart God's plan.

The dragon tried to kill or "eat" the woman's child at the time of its birth. This is an indication of a historical situation. When Herod heard that the Jewish Messiah had been born in Bethlehem, he killed all the infants in the city, which would have led to the death of the Baby Jesus (Matthew 2,16). Of course, Jesus escaped to Egypt with his parents. Revelation tells us that Satan was indeed behind the attempt to murder Jesus - to "eat" him.

Some commentators believe that Satan's attempt to "eat" the woman's child was also his temptation to Jesus (Matthew 4,1-11), his obscuration of the gospel message (Matthew 13,39) and inciting Christ to be crucified (John 13,2). In killing Jesus on the crucifixion, the devil may have assumed that he had won a victory over the Messiah. Indeed, it was Jesus' own death that saved the world and sealed the devil's fate2,31; 14,30; 16,11; Colossians 2,15; Hebrews 2,14).

Through his death and resurrection, Jesus, the child of women, was "caught up to God and his throne" (Gen.2,5). That is, he was raised to immortality. God elevated the glorified Christ to a position of universal authority (Philippians 2,9-11). It is intended to “pasture all peoples with an iron rod” (12,5). He will feed the peoples with loving but absolute authority. These words - "rule all peoples" - clearly identify who the child's symbol is referring to. He is God's anointed Messiah, chosen to rule over all earth in God's kingdom (Psalm 2,9; rev 19,15).


pdfJesus and the Church in Revelation 12