Woman? (Jesus Christ, testimony, Earth, translation, myth)

[gnostic]

Who is the identity of the pregnant Woman in Revelation 12?

Originally Posted by Revelation 12:1-2

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: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

It would seem to me about Mary and the unborn child to be Jesus.

She seemed to have run to the desert where she was safe for over 3 years (1260 days), but the dragon, who I am assuming to be Satan/Devil, sent water rushing at this woman, but the earth opened up and swallowed the water.

The next section seem unlikely to be Mary, and thus not about Jesus, because in the last verse:

Originally Posted by Revelation 12:

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

It would seem like it is now the book is talking about Eve, not Mary. Did Mary have other descendants?

[Buttons*]

Originally Posted by gnostic

Who is the identity of the pregnant Woman in Revelation 12?


It would seem to me about Mary and the unborn child to be Jesus.

She seemed to have run to the desert where she was safe for over 3 years (1260 days), but the dragon, who I am assuming to be Satan/Devil, sent water rushing at this woman, but the earth opened up and swallowed the water.

The next section seem unlikely to be Mary, and thus not about Jesus, because in the last verse:


It would seem like it is now the book is talking about Eve, not Mary. Did Mary have other descendants?

all i can say is, that sounds pretty mythological to me

[Hope]

I confess most of Revelation is a mystery to me. I have no idea who that woman is supposed to represent.

[gnostic]

Originally Posted by buttons

all i can say is, that sounds pretty mythological to me

For me too....or an allegory of events that happened in the past and present for the author.

[nutshell]

Joseph Smith Translation: Rev. 12: 1-17

This link is to the LDS/Joseph Smith translation of these verses.

[gnostic]

Originally Posted by Hope

I confess most of Revelation is a mystery to me.

Likewise.

It is open to interpretation for anyone who may read it.

To me, I can interpret it as the woman being Mary, then the child is Jesus for the first part. If that's the case, then the dragon is not Satan, but Herod the Great. The woman fleeing to the desert could refer to Mary fleeing to Egypt with her husband and child, except there are no reference to her husband here.

However, the mention of woman's "remnant of her seeds", thus her descendants, would throw my theory out the window.

This part sounds more like Eve. If that's the case, then Seth is her child. Her seeds keeping the commandments would of course refer to the descendants that God had covenant, from at least Adam to David, but this being a Christian text, from Adam to Jesus.

In the Gnosticism, Eve and Seth plays far more important role. Then if that's the case, then the commandment is actually the gnosis.

Of course, I could be wrong about all this.

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by gnostic

Who is the identity of the pregnant Woman in Revelation 12?

Revelation 12:
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: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Why do you think the woman is literally a woman?

It seems to me that the verse is talking about Israel. A "crown of twelve stars," as in the twelve tribes of Israel. Israel being that which gave birth to Judaism and subsequently Christianity. The remnant of her seed being those who still keep covenant with God.

[Booko]

Originally Posted by gnostic

Who is the identity of the pregnant Woman in Revelation 12?

Originally Posted by Revelation 12:1-2
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: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

It would seem to me about Mary and the unborn child to be Jesus. [/quote]

The woman is a reference to Islam. Hm...symbol -- sun and moon, 12 stars/12 imams.

I can be more detailed about the symbolism if you like.

She seemed to have run to the desert where she was safe for over 3 years (1260 days), but the dragon, who I am assuming to be Satan/Devil, sent water rushing at this woman, but the earth opened up and swallowed the water.

Just for funzies, consider my faith began in 1260 A.H. That's the Muslim calendar.

Were you aware of the Zoroastrian prophecy looking for another prophet "1260 years after the Arab?" That was interesting to run across years ago.

There aren't too many figures in religious history that would be obvious fits for "the Arab" but I bet there's one that comes immediately to your mind, eh?

Stumbling across this stuff was what directed me to find the Baha'is. Once I figured out 1260 A.H. was 1844 in our calendar, it wasn't too long before I found there was actually a religion that began in that year, so I had a look to see what that was all about.

It would seem like it is now the book is talking about Eve, not Mary. Did Mary have other descendants?

Certainly. Jesus had siblings. Or half-siblings, as it were.

[Booko]

Originally Posted by gnostic

It is open to interpretation for anyone who may read it.

So true. Prophecy is fun that way.

To me, I can interpret it as the woman being Mary, then the child is Jesus for the first part. If that's the case, then the dragon is not Satan, but Herod the Great. The woman fleeing to the desert could refer to Mary fleeing to Egypt with her husband and child, except there are no reference to her husband here.

I'm curious. What would be the point of a vision of the future talking about events that have already happened?