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1 A great sign was seen in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was with child. She cried out in pain, laboring to give birth.
moon under her feet
Once have I sworn by my holiness, I will not lie to David. His seed will endure forever, his throne like the sun before me. It will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky. (Psalms 89:35-37)
God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. (Genesis 1:16)
Here is something we need to seriously contemplate. If God's kingdom is not based on hierarchy, what does it mean to have someone or something under your feet? It would not involve forced subjugation of anyone, but willing and honest submission out of appreciation and awakened love.
God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." God created man in his own image. In God's image he created him; male and female he created them.
God blessed them. God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (Genesis 1:26-28)
The symbol of something under the feet is heaven's symbol for dominion. But we must be alert to the nature of true dominion according to heaven's definition and not be confused by the counterfeit ideas of dominion that are along the lines of domination and even denominations as we find today. This requires a correct appreciation of how God exercises authority and designs that we exercise it in reflection of how the Godhead relates to everyone else in love alone.
Thus says Yahweh, heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: what manner of house will you build to me? and what place shall be my rest? (Isaiah 66:1)
Yahweh says to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet." (Psalms 110:1)
And the God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. (Romans 16:20)
Satan's original name was Lucifer or light-bearer. He was created to reflect the most light of God's glory to the rest of the angels and intelligent beings, but he chose a life of selfishness and self-exaltation as he invented an entire counterfeit system to God's original design that is reflected in the way all the governments of this world operate. Lucifer craves worship, and the whole world is drawn to admire his system and follow his ways as the best way to achieve order and control. Lucifer turned Satan can be viewed as the lesser light of this world, for just as the moon has no source of light but can only reflect light, so too Satan has no real light of his own but must rely on the origin of all light by means of counterfeiting the light of heaven. From this perspective it makes sense to see the woman who represents those who are chosen by God as His reflectors on earth, to be seen as having Satan under her feet as Paul writes here in Romans.
I am coming to see that this phrase under her feet could also refer to living as an overcomer, a major theme throughout this book. This would perfectly fit this metaphor. Overcoming also means coming over or getting on top of something. What might this look like?
The question that needs to be clarified at least somewhat is this: What kind of overcoming would fit the symbol of the Sunlight that clothes this woman? There are useful clues that might fit well here. Look at a few of them to see how they might help explain this more.
"Most certainly I tell you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. A woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow, because her time has come. But when she has delivered the child, she doesn't remember the anguish any more, for the joy that a human being is born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
In that day you will ask me no questions. Most certainly I tell you, whatever you may ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full. I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. But the time is coming when I will no more speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name; and I don't say to you, that I will pray to the Father for you, for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came forth from God. I came out from the Father, and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world, and go to the Father."
His disciples said to him, "Behold, now you speak plainly, and speak no figures of speech. Now we know that you know all things, and don't need for anyone to question you. By this we believe that you came forth from God."
Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? Behold, the time is coming, yes, and has now come, that you will be scattered, everyone to his own place, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have oppression; but cheer up! I have overcome the world." (John 16:20-33)
When I view this along with Paul's statement about God putting Satan under our feet as well as Jesus using the illustration of a woman giving birth that resonates directly with the symbol we are looking at here, I find much to extrapolate in these words of Jesus about things we are to overcome and keep firmly underfoot. Mainly it is our perspective and our own negative feelings that distort reality and prevent us from seeing God through the lens of Jesus. It is our penchant toward unbelief that must be overcome and put underfoot by believing and acting on these words of Jesus that could bring us into a boldness we have hitherto never experienced. Jesus instructs us to ask the Father in His name. This refers to both viewing the Father's disposition as being identical to that of Christ as well as embracing the mind and disposition of Christ ourselves as we are told in Philippians 2.
The disciples thought that they now believed and were hearing Jesus plainly, when in fact they were still oblivious to the far greater perspective and much higher view of God's goodness, kindness and humility than they had ever attempted to imagine. I suspect the same is true for most all of us today. The levels of distrust of God's heart run far deeper into our psyche than we can see, but God is both patient and yet urgent that we wake up to the real issues at stake. This woman represents what we claim to be – honest followers and reflectors of God's design for His children on earth. What needs to be put under our feet is anything and everything that disrupts, disturbs and distorts our perspective and disposition that causes us to reflect any other spirit than what the Lamb displayed in every circumstance. There is one more passage I want to include before moving to the next item.
For if I would desire to boast, I will not be foolish; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, so that no man may think more of me than that which he sees in me, or hears from me. By reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted excessively, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, that I should not be exalted excessively. Concerning this thing, I begged the Lord three times that it might depart from me. He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me. Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong. (2 Corinthians 12:6-10)
I find here a close parallel to the great sign of a woman with the moon firmly under her feet even while being simultaneously clothed with the sun. Paul's description here was not meant to impress anyone but was an honest recounting of his own struggle to deal with the temptation of pride and reliance on worth and identity from any source other than what God thought of him. What he learned through this interchange with Jesus was a foundational truth that we need to embrace as did Paul, the reality that God's power is most eloquently experienced and released in weakness rather than through what we term strength. God worked hard to get Elijah to learn this lesson but with less success. But the lesson remains for us to believe and embrace in our own lives if we would become qualified to participate in the special forces accompanying the Lamb wherever He goes.
on her head a crown of twelve stars
The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she obtained favor and kindness in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. (Esther 2:17)
For man is not from woman, but woman from man; for neither was man created for the woman, but woman for the man. For this cause the woman ought to have authority on her head, because of the angels. (1 Corinthians 11:8-10)
What is the meaning of a crown? Be careful of the conclusions drawn from this passage. If they involve hierarchy or domination over others, there are serious flaws in our underlying presumptions. We must ever be mindful of the way God relates to authority in contrast with how we think of it.
You shall also be a crown of beauty in the hand of Yahweh, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. (Isaiah 62:3)
This verse actually has within it nuances related to the meanings of two different kinds of crowns. What is missed in translation is that the word in Greek for crown here means something very different from the word for crowns used two verses later related to the nemesis of this woman, the great dragon. Keep in mind that we are talking about a war here, and the war is not about who is more powerful but rather about the very nature of power itself and where authority comes from and the right way to hold people together in a cohesive society organized to avoid chaos and anarchy.
During the ancient Olympic Games, athletes who emerged victorious were awarded olive wreaths, which were considered a sacred prize in Greece, representing the highest honor. The crown mentioned here on this woman comes from the Greek word stephanos and means a twined wreath, a symbol of royalty and honor, something displayed publicly that is conspicuous. It is the same word Jesus uses in His promises to those who overcome found in chapters two and three. Significantly it is also the word used to describe the the crown plated out of thorns that was placed on the head of Jesus as part of the abuse intended to strip Him of honor during His trial and crucifixion process. Yet it actually was used by God to draw attention to the true purpose Jesus came to this earth – to demonstrate through willing weakness the true nature and power of God's passionate love for sinners.
So Pilate then took Jesus, and flogged him. The soldiers twisted thorns into a crown, and put it on his head, and dressed him in a purple garment. They kept saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and they kept slapping him. Then Pilate went out again, and said to them, "Behold, I bring him out to you, that you may know that I find no basis for a charge against him." Jesus therefore came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment. Pilate said to them, "Behold, the man!" When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they shouted, saying, "Crucify! Crucify!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves, and crucify him, for I find no basis for a charge against him." The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God." (John 19:1-7)
The system of Satan counterfeits the true design principles of creation by twisting them into perverse meanings and purposes misrepresent the nature of love. The trial of Jesus was actually a microcosm of the trial going on where God is being judged by everyone that He created for His glory. What we see in the way Jesus responded under provocation and abuse is a revelation of what God is like, for Jesus is God's Son who represents Him fully and more accurately than any other being anywhere. Thus it was no accident that a stephanos crown was placed on Jesus, for unintentionally what was intended as a symbol of shame to highlight the weakness of God's Messiah turned out to display better than ever the true nature of God's power of love Jesus came to make plain.
This pivotal scene from the exposé of the character of God reflected in Christ includes key evidence we must not miss if we are to become aware of the major issues of the trial involving God. Pilate explicitly made it unavoidably clear that there was no legitimate cause for condemning Jesus. He stated this publicly more than once, but the spirit of Satan was in control of nearly everyone that day so that the standards and desires of the flesh reigned and suppressed the light of truth blazing clearly right in front of everyone. Pilate declares boldly, “Behold the Man!” Yet in spite of all evidence exonerating Jesus, he religious experts and leaders of God's chosen people on earth joined themselves with their father the devil to accuse Jesus of making Himself out to be the Son of God, while in reality it was God who had several times affirmed the authenticity of Christ's identity. In joining their father the devil, the chief accuser of God and all His children, of Jesus being just like Lucifer as described in Isaiah 14, they locked their hearts and minds into the great delusion of the enemy of souls and destroyed their own capacity to recover from this desperate condition of darkness and lies.
You said in your heart, "I will ascend into heaven! I will exalt my throne above the stars of God! I will sit on the mountain of assembly, in the far north! I will ascend above the heights of the clouds! I will make myself like the Most High!" (Isaiah 14:13-14)
Pay attention to the basis upon which the religious leaders so zealously defended their views of how God should look and act. Jesus had gone too far in their estimation to blaspheme their opinions about God, and they felt fully justified in carrying out the enforcement of law so that God's name would be honored. "We have a law, and by our law he ought to die.”
They had a law all right, but what spin was put on that law and where did much of that system of law originate? Their version of God's law was hopelessly infected with the mindset absorbed by their ancestors while spending 70+ plus years in the pagan atmosphere of Babylon. It was the Babylonian version of law and justice that guided and controlled the thinking of religious leaders both in Jesus' day as well as continuing all the way down to our day. The law of artificial reward and punishment originated in the mind of the master deceiver who lodged in the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and infused his version of justice and law into the thinking of humanity. It was this distorted and dark view of God and His government and design that Jesus came to expose, and He accomplished this by demonstrating the willingness of God to appear weak while retaining all power at His disposal.
But Jesus is not the only one whom God will use to reveal the true nature of His character of selfless love that appears weak according to our false system of assessing power. All who are drawn to follow the Lamb wherever He leads them will find themselves on the same path of channeling the true power of God through willing weakness, for what Jesus demonstrated during those hours of cruel abuse and shame is the same power that is released most eloquently and convincingly by anyone willing to reflect that same glory in their own lives.
Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)
By reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted excessively, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, that I should not be exalted excessively. Concerning this thing, I begged the Lord three times that it might depart from me. He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me.
(2 Corinthians 12:7-9)
Those who are willing to be identified with the heart of God as expressed most vividly through the response to abuse by the Lamb of God will reflect the same disposition as was displayed by God's Son Jesus His Christ. This is part of the identity we received when Christ absorbed all humanity into Himself through this very process. Jesus redefines what it means to be human reflectors of God's heart, and He also redefines the true meaning of power and authority that is radically different and opposite to how the counterfeit versions define them. The counterfeit kind of crown is found in the meaning and use of the Greek word diadema translated as the kind of crowns found on the heads of the great red dragon. We will study that a little later, but for now we will look more into the nature of this crown of glory that is a signal of victory rather than subjugating power.
Yahweh their God will save them in that day as the flock of his people; for they are like the jewels of a crown, lifted on high over his land. (Zechariah 9:16)
What are things that stars might symbolize? In this next passage stars were symbols of the twelve sons of Jacob. Later in this present chapter stars are symbols of angels swept out of heaven by the deceptive slander of Satan. In Daniel we read that the righteous will shine like the stars.
He dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, "Behold, I have dreamed yet another dream: and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me." (Genesis 37:9)
Interestingly the description of this woman involves the sun, the moon and 12 stars. When we view this in the context of Joseph's dream of the sun, moon and stars bowing down to worship him, we see that these symbols can be referring to the family model for social cohesion. This is God's design for all relationships because it is reflective of how the Godhead has related to each other for all eternity. This is God's organizational design in which true love can exist and thrive. The family model for society is counterfeited by nations and kingdoms which rely on other means of binding people together that is foreign to God's design.
This is why God was grieved when His people demanded to have a king, for a king represents hierarchy which is a denial of the equality of all humans who were created to reflect the image of God collectively. In choosing to throw aside the family model in favor of the system of rulership and power like the surrounding nations, they were following the suggestions of Satan. In doing this they abandoned God's plan to embrace a counterfeit, imagining they could improve their situation when in reality they were rejecting God's love and guidance as effective to deal with their problems. The same challenge remains for us today, for we are still tempted to trust in the ways of this world to resolve our problems rather than believing that the ways of the Lamb are the only effective means of defeating evil and that can restore us to our original design as glimpsed briefly in Eden.
This great sign seen in heaven reminds us that God's design for us to live as family is still the only viable option if we desire to be restored back into harmony with heaven. The true Light that comes into the world must be what surrounds us entirely, not just our head as some artists portray this woman. God's children are to put on Christ, the origin of all light for us, which means to be immersed in His ways, to be motivated with His desires and to reflect His disposition as we live continuously motivated by His Spirit of love, gentleness, kindness, compassion and all the other fruit of the Spirit.
Satan's counterfeit light must also be kept firmly under foot by means of the overcoming power of Jesus Christ who has already exposed and defeated the counterfeit systems of this world. As we rest in Christ and abide in His love for us, infuse our hearts with joy by choosing praise, gratitude and thanksgiving in every situation despite our feelings or circumstances, the power of Christ can be experienced and released in our weakness, and we too may overcome the world in the power of Christ's love as it is released through us because we are resting in Him.
She was with child
While this next verse may initially seem irrelevant, contemplate it from this perspective. We looked at this earlier in our study, but I want to view it from a slightly different perspective. To be pregnant with a child involves much of your insides being filled up by someone else. From that perspective, think of the implications of this verse taking into account that God Himself is the only source of real justice as well as of all righteousness.
How the faithful city has become a prostitute! She was full of justice; righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers. (Isaiah 1:21)
In Revelation 17 we will discover that this woman later is discovered in the wilderness in a very different condition than how she is viewed here, to the point of being called the mother of all prostitutes. Yet in her earlier days she was just the opposite.
A voice of tumult from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of Yahweh that renders recompense to his enemies. Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a boy. (Isaiah 66:6-7)
The angel said to her, "Don't be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and will call his name 'Jesus.'
The angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:30-31,35)
cried out in pain, laboring to give birth
Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who nurse infants in those days! For there will be great distress in the land, and wrath to this people. (Luke 21:23)
You have increased the nation, O Yahweh. You have increased the nation! You are glorified! You have enlarged all the borders of the land. Yahweh, in trouble they have visited you. They poured out a prayer when your chastening was on them. Like as a woman with child, who draws near the time of her delivery, is in pain and cries out in her pangs; so we have been before you, Yahweh. We have been with child. We have been in pain. We gave birth, it seems, only to wind. We have not worked any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. (Isaiah 26:15-18)
For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, the anguish as of her who brings forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, who gasps for breath, who spreads her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul faints before the murderers. (Jeremiah 4:31)
Now why do you cry out aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished, that pains have taken hold of you as of a woman in travail? (Micah 4:9)
A woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow, because her time has come. But when she has delivered the child, she doesn't remember the anguish any more, for the joy that a human being is born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. (John 16:21-22)
