One of the most difficult to interpret symbols in the book of Revelation is the woman of Revelation 12:
“And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.”
REVELATION 12:1–2
There are four primary interpretations of the woman: (1) Mary the mother of Jesus, (2) the nation Israel, (3) the Church, and (4) an astrological heavenly woman. I contend that all of these are incorrect and the picture of the woman throughout the entire chapter is more nuanced.
The woman of Revelation 12 represents the one people of God who span all of salvation history beginning with Abraham until the return of Jesus. The people of God gave birth to Jesus who became the people of God and gave birth to the church. God protects the one people of God from destruction by Satan who still attacks the members of the church.
The description of the woman begins the third interlude in the book of Revelation (Rev 12:1–14:20). Click HERE for my detailed outline of Revelation. The woman features prominently in chapter 12 and is absent from chapters 13 and 14. I will first summarise how the woman is described and then analyze each aspect of the description to determine the woman’s identity.
I. The Description of the Woman in Revelation 12
There are a number of unique features and functions of the Revelation 12 woman that will assist in determining her identity.
- She is clothed with (a) the sun, (b) the moon, and (c) twelve stars (Rev 12:1).
- She gives birth to a son (Rev 12:2, 5).
- The dragon attacks the woman who then flees from him into the wilderness as soon as the child is born for the purpose of being nourished for 1,260 days/a time, times, and half a time (Rev 12:6, 13–14).
- Unable to kill the woman, the dragon makes war on the rest of her offspring (Rev 12:17)
Now that I have categorized the description of the Revelation 12 woman, I will analyze each descriptor to help determine the woman’s identity.
II. The Woman’s Astral Clothing (Revelation 12:1)
The woman is described as being clothed with the sun, the moon, and twelve stars:
“And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”
REVELATION 12:1, emphasis added
There is only one other passage in the Bible that mentions the sun, moon, and stars together. That passage is Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37:9–10. In his dream, Joseph sees the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowing down to him. Joseph’s father, Jacob, correctly understands the dream to mean that Joseph’s father (the sun), Joseph’s mother (the moon), and Joseph’s eleven brothers (the eleven stars) will bow down to him sometime in the future:
“Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, ‘Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.’ But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, ‘What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?’”
GENESIS 37:9–10, emphasis added; see Gen 42:6–9 for the fulfilment of this dream
In Joseph’s dream, the sun, moon, and stars represent his family who would later become the nation of Israel, but at this point are simply the people of God. Jacob is the one God chose to carry on his covenant with Abraham to be God to him and his offspring and to bless all the families of the earth (Gen 25:22–23; 27:26–29; for God’s covenant with Abraham see Gen 12:1–7; 15:1–21; 17:1–14).
The reason that there are twelve stars in Revelation 12:1 and only eleven stars in Genesis 37:9 is twofold. First, Joseph was not counted as a star in Genesis 37:9; it is likely that Revelation 12:1 is including Joseph and so added a star for him. Second, the number twelve throughout Revelation refers to the fulness of God’s people (see my article on the 144,000).
What can we conclude based on the clothing of the woman and the clear allusion to Genesis 37:9–10? First, the astrological interpretation of the woman must be abandoned. The astral clothing of the woman is a pointer to Jacob and his children. Because none of the other descriptors support the astrological interpretation, I will not mention it again in this article. Second, the woman is not Mary. Mary is never described with the language of Revelation 12:1. Third, the woman is not the Church. The Church did not come into existence until Pentecost, which is well after the events of Genesis 37. Fourth, the woman is not the nation of Israel. The nation of Israel did not come into existence until hundreds of years after the events of Genesis 37. Genesis 37 precede the birth of both the nation of Israel and the Church.
Thus, at this stage, I conclude that it is best to say the allusion to Genesis 37:9–10 identifies the woman as the people of God broadly, not Israel or the Church specifically.
III. The Woman’s Birth of a Son (Revelation 12:2, 5)
After the woman’s clothing is described, the reader is told she gives birth to a son, a male child:
“She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth . . . . She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron [ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ], but her child was caught up to God and to his throne.”
REVELATION 12:2, 5
Identifying the child is key to identifying the woman. The child is clearly Jesus. The rod of iron (ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ), which is used of the child in Revelation 12:5, is also used of Jesus in 19:15: “he will them with a rod of iron [ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ].” Further, it is commonly accepted (although not universally) that the birth and ascension of the child in 12:5 is a summary of Jesus’ life from birth to ascension to the right hand of God (see my article on the fall of Satan HERE for support of this point).
If the child is Jesus, then there are only a limited number of possible identities for the woman. First, the woman cannot be the Church because the Church did not give birth to Jesus; Jesus gave birth to the Church. Second, the woman could be Mary since she physically gave birth to Jesus. Taken alone, this is a possibility, but the rest of the evidence does not support the woman as Mary. Third, the woman could be the nation of Israel because Jesus was an Israelite from the tribe of Judah and lineage of king David. Fourth, the woman could be the people of God in general because Jesus came from the people of God.
IV. The Dragon Attacks the Woman Who Flees from Him (Revelation 12:6, 13–14)
Along with the woman, the dragon is a main character of Revelation 12. One could say the woman is the protagonist and the dragon is the antagonist of the chapter. The dragon first attempts to destroy the woman’s child (Jesus) by eating him (Rev 12:3–4). However, the child is quickly whisked to the right hand of God before the dragon is able to kill him:
“And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne.”
REVELATION 12:3–5, emphasis added
Once Jesus ascended into heaven after his resurrection, the dragon is expelled from heaven and cast to earth where he immediately pursues/persecutes (διώκω) the woman (Rev 12:13). However, the woman is protected by God who sends her into the wilderness for the purpose of protecting her for “a time, times, and half a time” or “1,260 days” (12:6, 14–16; for my interpretation of Satan’s fall happening at Jesus’ ascension click HERE):
“and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days . . . . But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth.”
REVELATION 12:7, 14–16, emphasis added
The first question that must be answered is, ‘who is the dragon?’ Thankfully, Revelation 12:9 explicitly tells the reader that the dragon is Satan:
“And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”
REVELATION 12:9, emphasis added
The second question that must be answered is, ‘to what time period does the 1,260 days refer?’ I have covered this topic in detail in my article on the 1,260 days, which you can read HERE. Allow me to summarise it here. The 1,260 days and “the time, times, and half a time” both equal 3.5 years and both refer to the same time period. The 1,260 days/time, times, and half a time refers to the period between Jesus’ ascension and his return. Because the period is longer than a literal 3.5 years, it is obviously symbolic. Thus, the woman is nourished and protected from Satan for the entire period between Jesus’ ascension and his return.
The third question that must be answered is, ‘what does it mean for God to nourish the woman in the wilderness between the ascension and return of Jesus?’ The term “to nourish” in both Revelation 12:6 and 12:14 is τρέφω. When τρέφω is used of God in the Greek Old Testament (LXX), it refers to God feeding and protecting his people (Gen 48:15; Deut 32:18).[1]
Within the context of Revelation 12, τρέφω also refers to feeding and protecting. God protects the Revelation 12 woman from Satan’s attack, whisks her away into the wilderness where he protects her from Satan and feeds her, ensuring she will live throughout the 1,260 days (i.e., the time between Jesus’ ascension and return). In short, God keeps the woman alive, ensuring that Satan will not kill her.
The final question that must be answered pertains to the identity of the woman; ‘who is the woman in light of Satan’s attempt to destroy her?’ First, the woman cannot be Mary because Scripture never claims that Mary was attacked by Satan and she is not alive between Jesus’ ascension and return. Second, the woman could be the nation of Israel. The strength of this option is that God nourished Israel while they were in the wilderness for forty years after the exodus from Egypt; this is an allusion that seems likely. However, the nation Israel has by-and-large turned its back on Jesus showing that as a nation it is not God’s people, which begs the question as to why Satan would need to attack her? Further, the New Testament never states that Satan is intent on destroying the nation of Israel.
Third, the woman could be the Church. This option is quite strong because of the overwhelming amount of New Testament evidence that Satan is attacking the Church, but that God will protect her (see 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:10–11; Eph 4:26–27; 6:11–18; 2 Tim 2:24–26; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8; Rev 2:9, 10; 3:9). Fourth, it is possible that the woman is the people of God. This option is promising because it takes seriously the allusion to God’s protection of his people in the wilderness following the exodus, but also the reality of Satan’s attack on the Church. I’ll elaborate on this more below.
V. The Dragon’s War on the Woman’s Offspring (Revelation 12:17)
Following Satan’s (the dragon’s) inability to destroy the woman, he then wages war on the rest of her offspring:
“Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.”
REVELATION 12:17, emphasis added
Thankfully, Revelation clearly identifies the woman’s offspring as “those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (Rev 12:17). The woman’s children are Christians. Without a doubt, Christians are persecuted by Satan (1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:10–11; Eph 4:26–27; 6:11–18; 2 Tim 2:24–26; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8; Rev 2:9, 10; 3:9).
In light of the woman’s offspring being Christians, the woman cannot be Mary because she only birthed Jesus. The woman also cannot be the Church because it is nonsensical to say the Church birthed the Church. The woman also cannot be the nation of Israel because Israel did not birth the Church, Jesus did. Understanding the woman as the people of God seems unlikely as well at first glance, but as I will show in the next section, this is the most likely option because of Jesus’ relation to the people of God.
VI. The Woman as the People of God
The two most likely options as to the identity of the people of God are (a) the nation of Israel or (b) the people of God. It is doubtful that the woman is the nation of Israel because the woman’s clothing does not refer to nation of Israel and the nation of Israel did not birth the church. With that being said, depending on one’s theological system, it is possible to identify the woman with the nation of Israel. Personally, I think this is a stretch.
The more likely option is that the Revelation 12 woman is symbolic for the one people of God that spans all of salvation history. The people of God in the book of Revelation have the aspects of continuity and discontinuity. Revelation presents one people of God. Both the Old Testament saints and the New Testament saints are part of the one people of God (continuity). This is made clear in the description of the New Jerusalem where the names of “the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel” are inscribed on the gates and the names of “the twelve apostles of the Lamb” are inscribed on the foundations (Rev 21:12–13). See my article on the 144,000 that gives more evidence on the one people of God.
The apostle Paul also argues that there is and only ever will be one people of God that spans all of salvation history. Paul argues that whoever has the same faith of Abraham is part of the one people of God whether before or after Jesus’ death and resurrection (Rom 4) and that “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel” (Rom 9:6). Thus, there is continuity in the people of God from Abraham to Israel to the Church; all are part of the one people of God.
Revelation also notes the discontinuity in the people of God. Something happened when Jesus arrived, died, and rose from the dead. Jesus became the people of God, fulfilling everything God has ever asked of his people. As such, all who are part of the people of God must abide in Jesus by believing in him (John 15:1–11).
Revelation 12 is highlighting both the continuity and discontinuity of God’s people. The woman’s clothing alerts the reader that the woman is the people of God, but it does not directly identify the woman as the nation Israel or the Church. It is the people of God that gave birth to Jesus, the Messiah. In other words, Jesus comes from the line of faithful servants of God. The dragon attacking the woman is Satan attempting to completely destroy God’s people who after Jesus’ ascension is the Church. However, God will protect his people who are now called the Church from being completely destroyed. This does not mean Satan is not able to harass the Church, but that he cannot completely destroy them. Because Satan cannot destroy the Church, he wages war on its people, those who “hold to the testimony of Jesus.” Finally, because Jesus is the people of God (the vine) and the people of God are those who abide in Jesus (the branches), Revelation can say that the people of God gave birth to the Church because Jesus is the people of God and he gave birth to the Church. Thus, the woman of Revelation 12 is the one people of God that spans salvation history.
Allow me one more chance to explain the woman as simply as I can. The woman represents the one people of God who have the same faith as Abraham. Jesus came from this one people of God and Satan has attempted to utterly destroy this one people of God. However, God has protected the one people of God from being utterly destroyed. As a result, Satan wages war on members of the one people of God who are those who believe in Jesus.
VII. Concluding Thoughts
Determining the identity of the Revelation 12 woman is certainly difficult. As such, we should show grace to those who identify her differently than we do.
We must also remember that God gave this vision to John because it was the best way to explain the people of God, showing its continuity and discontinuity. There is a proverb that I grew up hearing a lot: ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ God is giving us a picture of the people of God, God’s protection of her, and Satan’s attack on her. The picture given in Revelation 12 is the best medium for God to communicate his message of the people of God to his people who are finite humans.
[1] The general idea of τρέφω is to feed, nourish, protect, or raise to maturity. Sometimes the use of τρέφω focuses on one aspect of this semantic range, while other uses incorporate more aspects of the semantic range. Context is key in determining the exact meaning. All passages in the Bible (LXX and NT) that include τρέφω are: Gen 6:19-20; 48:15; Num 6:5; Deut 32:18; 1 Kgs 18:13; Esth 4:8; Tob 2:10; 14:10; 1 Macc 3:33; 11:39; Odes 2:18; Prov 25:21; Wis 16:23, 26; Sol 5:9, 11; Isa 7:21; 33:18; Jer 26:21; Bar 4:11; Bel 1:31; Matt 6:26; 25:37; Luke 4:16; 12:24; 23:29; Acts 12:20; Jas 5:5; Rev 12:6, 14.