Throughout the book of Revelation, the Lord uses images that affirm the reality we are experiencing – that of a beleaguered group under siege (see 11:2, 7-9), but God balances these pictures with others that remind us of who we are in God’s ultimate plan and purpose (see 11:6, 11-12).  We experience but a small part of God’s great work in history.  God keeps reminding us of what we really are in Christ.

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. (Revelation 12:1, NKJ)

The images of the church found in the book of Revelation draw on Old Testament symbols to give us a unique perspective of the church.  The visions of Revelation show us what the church looks like from the standpoint of heaven.  God’s view of the church is often significantly different from ours.  Our view of the church is heavily influenced by that of the world.  We often see ourselves as small, struggling, and under constant attack.  To us it can seem like the church is hopelessly ineffective in its efforts to impact our culture.  We see infighting, worldliness and halting faith.  From our experience in a fallen world that is at war with the church, there are many reasons for concern.  Revelation certainly captures this aspect of the church.  Revelation 12:17 says, “And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (NKJ).  Here the church is a woman in the wilderness under the constant attack of the devil (pictured as a great dragon in this chapter).

This description feels about right to us.  We look around at how our culture mocks biblical views on sexuality, marriage, and ethics; we see how any concept of absolute truth or a binding moral law is condemned as bigotry; and we feel like people who are living in the wilderness and being hunted by an enemy.

Throughout the book of Revelation, the Lord uses images that affirm the reality we are experiencing – that of a beleaguered group under siege (see 11:2, 7-9), but God balances these pictures with others that remind us of who we are in God’s ultimate plan and purpose (see 11:6, 11-12).  We experience but a small part of God’s great work in history.  God keeps reminding us of what we really are in Christ.

We see the same dynamic in Revelation 12.  The church is the woman on the run but she is also presented as a great and glorious mother.  The chapter begins with a new “sign” in heaven.  This sign is that of a woman “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars” (v. 1).  Here is a picture of the church that we really need to understand and appreciate.  This picture communicates several significant truths about the church.

First, the church is comprised of believers throughout history.  In Genesis 37:9 we are told that Joseph dreams that the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed down to him.  Here heavenly bodies represent the covenant community of Jacob and his family.  This fact was not lost on the rest of the family as Joseph’s father says, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” (v. 10).  The fact that the woman is pictured with twelve stars in the vision of Revelation 12 is significant.  The numbers in Revelation are symbolic and the number twelve refers to the people of God.  There were twelve tribes in Israel and twelve disciples in the New Testament.  Revelation 12 describes the church anticipating the arrival of the Messiah (v. 1-5) but also the church enduring persecution after Messiah comes (v. 6-17).  Thus, the vision gives us a picture of the people of God in all ages.  The continuity of the church reminds you that God is preserving and extending His kingdom in all ages.

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