INTRODUCTION
THE DRAGON AND SERPENT
A Chinese news weekly comments, "Nowadays the dragon is regarded
as representative of the ancient Chinese nation and traditional
culture, and the Chinese are seen as the dragon's descendants.
The image of the dragon can be traced back to remote antiquity.
Opinions on its origins are many and varied. According to some
people, it may have originated from totem patterns or witchcraft.
Some think it expresses the ancient people's belief in nature.
What is certain is that it is the pet of the Chinese. It symbolizes
their spirit.
In the second century BC,
Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, was born to a poor family.
He made up a story in which he claimed that he was the offspring
of his mother and a dragon.
The concept of the emperor
as the descendant of the dragon or the Son of Heaven was handed
down from that time on. The emperor was looked upon as a representative
of the dragon, and his face called the dragon's face" (Beijing
Review, Feb 15-28, 1988, pp 32-33).
Francis Huxley, in his book The Dragon, makes it very evident
that "the dragon has haunted the childhood of the human race
from time immemorial in its serpent form" (N.Y.: Collier,
1979; p 5).
The ancient Mesopotamian civilizations (Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian,
Assyrian) also the Hittite, Canaanite, Ugaritic and Phoenician
have their various myths of the serpent-dragon. The Theological
Dictionary of the Old Testament, Vol VII, pp 504-509 bears
this out. It says, for example, that "the biblical Leviathan
is borrowed from Canaanite mythology, in which the seven-headed
serpent is vanquished by the young warrior Ba'al or his consort
'Anat who describes the victory herself: I have slain the twisting
serpent, the tyrant with seven heads (p 506). See also the
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol V, pp
566-582, drakon.
Whether Mayan, Aztec, American Indian, Australian Aborigine, Maori,
Melanesian, Javanese, Japanese, African, Arabic, Egyptian, Indian,
Iranian, Scandinavian, German, Slavic, etc., their myths speak
of the dragon, serpent, monster of the deep, a universal symbolic
figure found in primitive, oriental, and classical cultures. These
ancient symbols form a beginning for their cultural heritages,
including values, literature, art, music. What happens to a people,
an ethnic group, a nation and culture, an organization, if it
finds that the basis for its culture is false? The disintegration
of communism in Russia is a very graphic modern example of a people
confused, humiliated, weakened, struggling to find strong values
and healthy national pride. Symbols and ideologies govern our
beliefs and behaviours. Ancient symbols form some of the crucial
background to the Bible. Let's see how they apply.
"As Re, the solar disc [representing the Egyptian sun god,
who is the son of Hathor or Isis, the mother of the gods], set
beneath the horizon each evening and came up triumphantly on the
other side of the world each morning, it was thought he had to
cross the skies below during the course of the night. That
journey was fraught with danger, because the dragon of darkness
and chaos, Apophis, waited in the underworld to capture and destroy
him. The repulsing of Apophis (ophis in NT Gk means snake
or serpent) and the victorious rising of Re each day is
the subject of this myth" (Primal Myths, B C Sproul,
London: Rider, 1979, p 87). The translated myth includes these
lines: He is fallen to the flame, Apophis with a knife on his
head. He cannot see, and his name is no more in the land (p
89).
The Bible begins with the revelation that the ruin of mankind
is the purpose of the Serpent (Gen 3:1), the Dragon, the deceiver
of the whole world (Rev 12:9). Isa 14 and Ezek 28 give the origin
of this lord of the demons and the gods of this world, just as
so many of the most ancient myths do with their variations on
a theme (see 1Cor 8:5; Dt 32:16-18). The shamans, adepts, magi,
mystics and witch-doctors of today and of various cultures seek
trance-like altered-mind states in which they see demonic monsters
and/or entities of lightfor Satan and his demons manifest
themselves as angels and messengers of light; 2Cor 11:14-15. These
angelic entities are described in ancient myths. So many
seek religious experiences by rituals, seances or
'channeling', or by using hallucinogenic drugs: magic mushrooms,
mescaline, peyote, LSD, 'angel dust', etc. All shall know that
their delusional searches for non-biblical gods and anti-biblical
mystical experiences, their living with perverse myths and false
cultural beliefs are the devilish inspiration and ruinous
efforts of Satan and his demons in bringing people and nations
to spiritual and material destruction (Ezek 28:18; Isa 14:12;
Rev 12:9 Satan and his angels deceive the whole world).
THE SYMBOLS OF REVELATION 12
The great sign or portent in Heaven of the Woman, Child, and Dragon
"is an adaptation of the myth of Apollo's birth [Apollo being
the ancient Greek sun god and god of light]."
The woman clothed with the sun represents "a cosmic queen
(described much like Isis [the Egyptian mother of the gods and
wife of the Egyptian saviour god, Osiris]), [is] used as a symbol
for both the Israel from whom the Messiah came [born of Judah,
one of the 12 tribes] and the church [vv 6,14,17]." The 12
stars might allude to the Zodiac but represent "the twelve
tribes of Israel," also the 12 patriarchs of Israel, sons
of Jacob, and the 12 apostles whose names in the foundations of
the walls of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:14) symbolize entry into
the Kingdom in terms of
"The Greek translation of the OT [the Septuagint, or LXX]
uses the same term [Dragon] for Leviathan, the enemy of God (Job
41:1; Ps 74:14; Isa 27:1). A dragon with seven heads (see
13.1; 17.3) [is] a figure in Ugaritic mythology [Ugarit or Ras
Shamra was an ancient coastal city north of modern Latakia in
Syria], symbolizes seven successive rulers (17.10); the ten
horns (see Dan 7.7,20,24) represent ten subordinate kingdoms
(17.12)."
In carefully considering how the symbolswoman, male child, sun,
moon, starsshould be interpreted and what cultural background
would be helpful to enrich understanding, I looked at numerous
books and files. Opinions vary and the explanations offered are
sometimes extremely difficult. Hindu mythology, some of which
might be applicable, for it has Persian and Greek elements, would
seem to be the most complex and intolerably perverse. Is the God
of Scripture speaking only to His people or is He speaking to
all mankind? If God is speaking to all mankind, how does He speak
so that all false beliefs are challenged, are shown to be wrong
and evil, and which must be overthrown to be replaced with pure
truth? As illustrated in the symbols of Serpent and Dragon, are
these other Rev 12 symbols used in many cultures? If so, what
is the Bible's purpose in doing this? Is it a means by which to
confound the mighty with their myths (1Cor 2:27-28)?
Wilfrid Harrington's Catholic commentary, Revelation, gives
this interpretation. My comments [are (bracketed)]:
Perhaps we're reminded of the parabolic and prophetic dreams of
Joseph in Gen 37 that provoked his being sold to slave traders,
eventually becoming second in Egypt, then the means of saving
his parents and brothers from famine. The sheaves of harvest of
the sons of Jacob gathered together to bow before the sheaf representative
of Joseph. The second dream is recorded in vv 9-11:
The Virgin of Israel (Jer 31:21), the entire nation, Judah and
Israel, would become one under the New Covenant (vv 31-33; also
Ezek 37:15-22). Joseph became instrumental in having all Israel
gathered in Egypt so that years later they would all come out
together and exodus to the promised land. We bow to whatever
is the Will of God. We give credit to whomever God is usingaccording
to the Word of God (Lk 10:16; Jn 13:20; Isa 8:20; 2Jn 10). We
seek to understand God's Way of doing things. Jacob's response
to Joseph's dream indicated that he needed to further contemplate
God's intent in the symbols. When Israel left Egypt, her redeemer,
Osiris, and his wife, Isis, (identified by the Greeks as Demeter
[goddess of harvests]), Hera [wife of Zeus], Selene [the moon
goddess, 'the bright one'; Selene is the Greek word for
moon in the NT; neomenia is new month/moon;
men is month]all the gods of Egyptwould be utterly disgraced,
as would be all their priests, magi, diviners, astrologers and
sorcerers (Ex 12:12).
THE "WOMAN" OF REV 12
On the other hand, the restored and redeemed Woman is described
in Isaiah 54:
Christians are to walk as Christ has shown us, and continues to
show us, how to walk (1Jn 2:6; 1Pet 2:21). We are to wear the
God-given fine, white linen, which is the righteousness of the
saints (Rev 19:8; 3:5; 2Cor 5:2).
THE "CROWN OF TWELVE STARS"
It is an imperishable crown (1Cor 9:25); the crown of righteousness
(2Tim 4:8); the crown of glory which only the true God gives (1Pet
5:4).
The crown the Woman wears is adorned with 12 stars. We may conclude
that the stars represent angels, as Rev 1:16,20 tell us that the
seven stars are the seven angels of the seven churches. Job 38:7
says that all the stars of Heaven sang at the unfolding of the
creation of the universe. Stars, therefore, symbolize the angelic
host. Isa 14:13 tells us that Satan wanted to and still wants
tobe placed above the stars of Heaven, i.e., Satan wants lordship
over the entire angelic host and the saints rather than accept
that this position is Christ's, the One who threw the Adversary
out, as Ezek 28:14-16, in the RSV, reveals. Dan 8:10 (see also
Rev 12:7-9) says that the little horn, like a lamb and
speaking as a dragon (Rev 13:11-17), cast some of the stars of
Heaven to the ground. Dan 12:3 informs us that those who turn
many to righteousness are like the stars forever and everwhich
reminds us of the promise to Abraham that his spiritual descendants
would be numerous as the stars of the heavens (Gen 15:5; 22:17;
Jer 33:22; Heb 11:12). We also know that the Son who rules
this worldthe Devilwants to destroy the stars, the
multitude of saints, whom God is creating.
The 12 stars in the crown of the Woman we should recognize as
symbolic of the 12 tribes, as in Rev 7:1-8; 14:1-5. The twelve
apostles (see Mt 19:28; Lk 22:30) are also implied. They sit on
12 thrones judging the 12 tribes. The apostles overthrow
Satan's court in Mt Olympus (ruled by the 12 gods that form the
Council: Zeus, Poseidon, Hephaestus, Hermes, Ares, Apollo,
Hera, Athena, Artemis, Hestia, Aphrodite, Demeter) and any other
cosmic mountain found in the myths of old, the place where
the gods gather, and a counterfeit to Mt Zion, the Holy Mountain
where the Court of the Mighty God and His Christ is (Rev 3:21).
Though we may have long known that the 12 apostles would judge
the 12 tribes in the Kingdom of God, do we begin to see that the
simplicity of knowing this is greatly enriched by understanding
the all-encompassing uses of biblical symbols? These symbols deal
with the whole world, the systems of the world, which are under
the rule and judgment, at present, of the God of this worldSatan.
The Evil One will be overthrown and all his stars with him!
THE "MOON UNDER HER FEET"
Gen 1:14 tells us that the sun and moon are for "signs and
for seasons (mo'ed, time(s); season(s); festival(s);
assembly), and for days and years." That is, right from creation,
even before creation, God foresaw that the moon would be a determinant
to much of man's life, including his religious life. Paganism
has perverted and distorted the meanings and suppressed the true
meanings. We know the moon affects tides, therefore it affects
oceanic currents, therefore winds are affected. Many farmers down
through history have regulated planting and harvesting according
to moon cycles and seasons.
Ps 104:19 supports Gen 1:14 with the remarkable statement
that God appointed the moon for seasons (festivals), which are
agriculturally-based and which typify spiritual harvests, in that
the first full moon and the seventh full moon of the sacred year
are intimately connected with the harvests in God's Plan of salvation
(1Cor 15:20,23,24). Yes, Pentecost is a harvest festival not directly
connected to the moon cycles. So that seems to throw the pattern
out. Christ's death on Wednesday, 5 April, in 30 AD
was on 14 Nisan, with the full moon the following day. There seem
to be intimations that the Day of Trumpets, the day of the seventh
new moon, typifies the Return of Jesus Christ as King of kings
and Lord of lords.
The encyclopedia comments:
We know that under God's feet is the throne floor, as seen in
Ex 24:10 and Rev 4:6. David, in his wonderful prayer recorded
in 2Sam 22 and in Ps 18, refers to his LORD coming with darkness
under His feet (Ps 18:9) and his enemies fallen under his
feet (v 38). Ps 47:3 speaks of the King bringing all nations
under the feet of the saints. The apostle Paul tells the
Church that Satan will be crushed under the feet of the saints
(Rom 16:20). And the wicked are to be ashes under the feet of
the Sun of Righteousness (Mal 4:3). Paul, in the resurrection
chapter, 1Cor 15, says that all enemies will be under the feet
of Jesus Christ (vv 25,27), as does Eph 1:22 and Heb 2:8. The
moon reflects the glory of the sun and the Church is to reflect
the glory of the Sun of Righteousness. So the Church, in whom
and over whom is the Light of the world, will have all the false
goddesses, those who reflect the falsehoods of the father of lies
and darkness, under her feet.
The Bible, though a relatively small book, smaller than many pagan
tests, presents to the reader and hearer awe-inspiring purposes,
incredible claims and extraordinary literary qualities. The apostle
Paul in his last epistle, probably written early 68 AD,
says of the Scriptures in
2Tim 3:16-17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be
complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (which is what
every Christian strives for).
With never-ending scholarly arguments about what is authentic
Scripture, what is true and what is tampered with, how are we
able to knowingly imbibe and not blindly accept what the apostle
Paul meant as being the inspired Word of God? The last epistle
of the apostle Peterwritten in 68, for both apostles were martyred
in Rome in Nero's last year (see Lactantius, Of the Manner
in Which the Persecuted Died, 2; ANF, Vol VII, p 302,
Eerdmans, 1985; Epistle of Clement, V, ANF, Vol
I, p 6 & fn; Eusebius, HE, II.25.5)offers the following
in
2Pet 1:19-21 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed,
which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place,
until the day dawns and the Morning Star (Christ in you:
Col 1:27) rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no
prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for
prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke
as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Though this is speaking of prophecy we should recognize that the
principle applies. We know from Rev 22:18-19 that God curses any
who add, delete from or tamper with the prophecies of Revelation.
Again, the principle applies to the whole Word of God, as Dt 4:2
states: You shall not add to the word which I command you,
nor take anything from it (similarly, Dt 12:32 and Prov 30:5-6).
We come to know what the true Word and Will of God are by the
calling of God, graphically stated by Christ in Jn 6:44-45,63b,65,
and by revelation of God's Spirit, as 1Cor 2:6-16 and Eph 3:3-7
make clearby revelation, by the Holy Spirit, God makes known
the mysteries of Christ. Furthermore, we come to know better
and better that:
God is Almighty and omniscient, i.e., all-knowing. Nothing can
escape His knowledge and Will (Ps 139:1-7). Therefore, when He
speaks prophetically in apocalyptic language (see Is 44:6-7; 45:11,19,21;
Rev 1:1-3), He uses symbols that are universal and which
are understood in most, if not in all the world's cultures. A
powerful example of this is evident in the biblical symbols used
for Satan the Devil (Rev 12:9). He is called the old Serpent,
the Dragon, Rahab, Leviathan; also the Deceiver, Adversary, Enemy,
the Evil One (see e.g., Gen 3:1; Ps 74:14-16; 89:10; Is 27:1;
51:9; 1Jn 5:19, etc). Some examples will illustrate this.
The flag and motto of the Prince of Wales, added to the British
Royal Standard in 1953, the red dragon on a green background,
has in Welsh Y Ddraig Goch Ddyry Cychwyn, i.e., The
Red Dragon Leads the Way. Many biblical verses might spring
to mind in view of such a motto with its ancient symbolic image
(e.g., Gen 3:1; 2Cor 4:4; Eph 2:2).
It is not my intention to go through the 17 verses of Rev 12 fairly
comprehensively, for it is a vast subject requiring at least several
hours of exposition. I offer an overview followed by development
of the theme of who the Woman is, with explanation of the
symbolism of sun, stars and the moon. Rev 12:1-17 describes John's
vision of some fundamental world and church history expressed
in ancient symbols. Footnotes from the NRSV Study Bible (A
New Annotated Edition by the Society of Biblical Literature)
are included. A number of study Bibles have helpful footnotes
in this chapter (e.g., JB, NEB).
Eph 2:19-22 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers
and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members
of the Household of God, 20 having been built on the Foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief
Cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being joined together,
grows into a Holy Temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are
being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Let's now look at Rev 12.
Rev 12:1-3 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a Woman
(Gyne) clothed with the Sun (Helios), with the Moon
(Selene) under her feet, and on her head a crown of Twelve
Stars (Asteras). 2 Then being with child, she cried out
in labour and in pain to give birth. 3 And another sign appeared
in heaven: behold, a great, fiery Red Dragon having seven heads
and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.
With at least ten symbols in three verses (woman, sun, moon, stars,
crown, male child, dragon, heads, horns, diadems), we are presented
with a huge panorama of events.
The closest parallel, however, to the narrative of the woman and
the dragon is a Graeco-Roman version of the legend of Apollo's
birth [Apollo: a sun god, god of light, a god of
prophecy and shepherding; Helios was god of the sun; another
name for Apollo]. Leto had become pregnant by Zeus [father
of the gods]. The dragon Python foresaw that this child, a
son, would replace him as ruler over the oracle at Delphi [i.e.,
the prophet of the gods would replace Python]. He sought to kill
the child at birth. Zeus commissioned the North wind and the sea-god
Poseidon to aid Leto. She gave birth to Apollo and Artemis [Artemis's
attributes are shifted also to Ishtar, Diana, Isis, who are sexual
companions to Tammuz (the Assyro-Babylonian messiah), Adonis
(Greek), and Osiris, who is the Egyptian messiah of mankind];
Apollo slew the dragon Python. John [may have been aware of this
kind of ancient mythology and] adapted the story to describe the
birth of the Messiah. But this is not the only source. He glances
back at the ancient myth of the perennial threat of chaos, as
well as to a current reading of Gen 3.
The symbols of sun, moon, stars are addressed in this way (p 128):
"John's background is complex. The mother goddess, queen
of heaven [the Queen of Heaven was major source of delusion to
the remnant who survived the destruction of Jerusalem and the
temple in 587 BC; Jer 44:17-28], was worshiped
in the cities of Asia. John may be suggesting that the Woman here
is the true Queen of Heaven." Many other scholars attest,
some more extensively, to the essence of the comments quoted from
Harrington (e.g., James Moffatt, The Expositor's Bible,
Revelation; Hans Licht, Sexual Life in Ancient Greece;
Geoffrey Ashe, The Virgin; The Interpreter's Bible,
Vol XII, Revelation, Abingdon Press, 1957).
The woman, though first seen in a setting of splendor, is with
child and close to delivery. Her birth-pangs may be those of Eve
(Gen 3:16); they are, more immediately, the birth-pangs of travailing
Israel. See Mic 4:10, "Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion,
like a woman in travail." In rabbinical literature "birth-pangs
of the Messiah" is a familiar phrase.
In stark contrast to the woman stands another sign: a great red
dragon. Much earlier than the Python image is that of a dragon
or sea-serpent as a mythic symbol of chaos. Babylonian and Canaanite
texts mention a serpentine monster with seven heads (Sacra Pagina,
Liturgical Press, 1993, pp 129-130).
Gen 37:9-11 Then Joseph dreamed still another dream and
told it to his brothers, and said, "Look, I have dreamed
another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven
stars bowed down to me." 10 So he told it to his father and
his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What
is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and
your brothers come to bow down to the earth before you?"
11 His brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in
mind (wondering what all this meant in view of his own God-revealed
hopes and experiences; see Gen 28:10-17; 32:22-31; Heb 11:21-22).
Jacob, of course, spoken of so highly and prophetically elsewhere
in the Scriptures, would not be "bowing" to Joseph.
So what does the dream mean? The family understood that the sun
represented Jacob and the moon Joseph's mother, Rachel. She is
spoken of prophetically in Jer 31:15, Rachel weeping for her
children (which were Benjamin and Joseph; Gen 35:24). Matt
2:18 cites this verse as applicable to the horrific attempt to
murder the new-born Jesus with the result that many innocent childrenamong
the lost sheep of the house of Israel [Mt 15:24]died at
the hands of Satan's agent, Herod. Jer 31 is a stunning chapter
that declares God's love for Israel (v 3); God declares Fatherhood
over Israel and Ephraim as the firstborn of Israel (v 9), which
he wasn't (so there is symbolic meaning in choosing Ephraim),
and furthermore, his mother was an Egyptian whose father was high
priest in Heliopolis, City of the Sun (Gen 41:45).
is in total contrast to the Whore of Rev 17, the Mother of Harlots
(v 5), with whom the kings of the earth fornicate (v 2).
The woman of Rev 17 is drunk with the blood and murder of the
saints (v 6). The Beast on which she rides across the face of
the earth has 7 heads and ten horns (vv 3,7). So the end-time
religious system seems to have religious symbols attributed to
it that are alluding to the feminine side of the ancient gods.
Admittedly, the Beasts of Rev 13 have no biblical feminine symbols
attributed to them. John sees in his vision the Harlot in the
wilderness (v 3); she is dressed in purple, scarlet, gold, jewels,
and pearls, and holds a golden cup of abominations (v 4).
The Virgin of Ezek 16, before becoming exceedingly adulterous,
is described prophetically as dressed in gold, silver, silk, fine
linen, embroidery, jewelry, very beautiful in appearance and internationally
famous (vv 12-14). It seems evident that the Mother of Harlots
is a parody of the Woman of Ezek 16. The Whore, the City that
rules over the hearts and minds of the kings of the whole earth
(Rev 17:18), is destroyed (Rev 17:16 The 10 horns will hate
the Harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn
her with fire)all amazing parodies of the way the ancient
gods behavein large-scale destruction. The Great Whore
is also a woman and a city which, as Rev 18:16 says, is clothed
in fine linen (righteousness), purple (royalty and nobility),
scarlet (redemption and life), adorned with gold (purity and richness),
precious stones and pearls (high priesthood and truths). Quite
obviously, these symbols, taken on by Babylon, are counterfeits
and parodies of the Holy City and those whose citizenship is in
Heaven.
Isa 54:1-8 "Sing, O barren, you who have not given
birth! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not
laboured with child! For more are the children of the desolate
than the children of the married woman," says the LORD (a
counter-parallel to Hagar; see Gal 4:22-31). "Enlarge the
place of your Tent (the faithful who are sojourners and pilgrims
who tabernacle now but who look, like Abraham, to the City of
God), and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes.
3 For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your
descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities
inhabited. 4 Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither
be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget
the shame of your youth, and will not remember the reproach of
your widowhood (as Sarah felt reproached) anymore. 5 For your
Maker is your Husband, the LORD of hosts is His Name; and your
Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the
whole earth. 6 For the LORD has called you like a woman forsaken
and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused,"
says your God. 7 "For a mere moment I have forsaken you,
but with great mercies I will gather you. 8 With a little wrath
I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness
I will have mercy on you," says the LORD, your Redeemerthe
Husband of the Church [Eph 5:32; Hos 2:16-20].
Jeremiah 4 picks up on the false and true comparisons:
Jer 4:30-31 "When you are plundered, what will you
do? Though you clothe yourself with crimson, though you adorn
yourself with ornaments of gold, though you enlarge your eyes
with paint, in vain you will make yourself fair; your lovers will
despise you; they will seek your life. 31 For I have heard a voice
as of a woman in labour, the anguish as of her who brings forth
her first child (for Christ, as described in birth in Rev 12,
is also the firstborn of His God and Father; Jn 1:14; Col 1:15,18;
Rev 3:14; 1Cor 15:20; Rom 8:29), the voice of the Daughter of
Zion bewailing herself (She is named the Virgin of Israel,
Jer 18:13; Virgin Daughter of Judah, Lam 1:15; Virgin
Daughter of Zion, Lam 2:13) she spreads her hands, saying,
'Woe is me now, for my soul is weary because of murderers!'"
Micah expresses similar words:
Mic 4:8,11-13 And you, O tower of the flock, the stronghold
of the Daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, even the former
dominion shall come, the Kingdom of the Daughter of Jerusalem."
Zechariah speaks of victory for the Daughter of Jerusalem, Zion,
the Church (Heb 12:22-23).
11 Now also many nations have gathered against you, who say, "Let
her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion." 12 But they
do not know the thoughts of the LORD, nor do they understand His
counsel; for He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing
floor. 13 "Arise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion; for I will
make your horn iron, and I will make your hooves bronze; you shall
beat in pieces many peoples; I will consecrate their gain to the
LORD, and their substance to the Lord of the whole earth."
Zech 2:7,10 "Up, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with
the Daughter of Babylon.
We are confronted with complex symbolism referring to the Bride
of Christ in the Song of Songs.
10 Sing and rejoice, O Daughter of Zion!
For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,"
says the LORD.
Song 6:9-10 (NIV, a translation agreeing with the LXX)
but my Dove, my perfect one, is unique, the only daughter of her
mother, the favorite of the one who bore her. The maidens saw
her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines praised
her. 10 Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon
(i.e., selene in Gk), bright as the sun (helios
in Gk), majestic as the stars in procession?
"CLOTHED WITH THE SUN"
The Woman, who gave birth to the Son (Huios) of God, is
clothed with the Sun (Helios). The Woman, as the rest of
the chapter makes clear, is the Church. The Dragon is enraged
with her and makes war on her offspring (Rev 12:17). Mal 4:2
is the one verse in the Bible that calls the Son of God the Sun
of Righteousness, who arises with healing on His wings.
The imagery of the wings representing the sun's life-giving rays
appears as a winged sun disc on many Middle Eastern monuments.
It is generally seen in the middle of symbols of the sun and moon.
It is the biblical Sun of Righteousness who gives Life, Light,
Healing, who is the conqueror over all other gods, who is the
true Son of the only God and Father of all. And it is this Son
who is the Redeemer, Lord of lords, King of kings, and bringer,
through His Father, of all that is true and good. His Bride and
Wife is the Church. And yet the Church, the Woman, is symbolized
as giving birth to Him. The symbolism in Rev 12 encompasses a
poetical expression of rejection of the false and is designed
to reveal the overthrow of the symbols and cultures of all that
opposes the Truth.
The crown (stephanos in Gk) the Woman wears has a number
of wonderful meanings:
It is the crown of life (Rev 2:10; Jas 1:25). It is the crown
of kingship that Christ wears (Rev 14:14); and we know that the
saints are being made into a Kingdom of priests, co-heirs
in His rule and government, as many Scriptures show (Rom 8:17;
Gal 3:29; Eph 3:6; Heb 6:17; 11:9-10; Jas 2:5).
It would be easy to spend at least an hour explaining the meaning
of the Moon under Her feet.
The ancient myths make it clear that the moon is a symbol of the
ancient goddesses, wives of the messianic gods in the heathen
cultures. I'd like to quote and make additional comment on material
from The Encyclopedia of Religion, edited by the famous
historian of comparative religion, Mircea Eliade.
An early recognition of a connection with menstruation gave
rise to the conception of the moon as the guardian of the female
cycle and of birth or, alternatively, as a male god who monthly
defiles women. In connection with dew, rain, tides, the moon may
promote the growth of vegetation or bring disastrous floods.
CONCLUSION
The moon has been a measure of time from early times, especially
for hunting societies
As a male god the moon appears as
the Strong Bull of Heaven who cares for the cows, the stars; or
as the sacrificed god, the son or lover of the mother goddess
[Do we not recognize, for example, the error of Israel in the
wilderness with the golden calf?]. The waxing and waning
of the moon led to the idea that it dies and is reborn, and thus
the moon became a part of the funeral ceremonies and rites of
the resurrection.
The phases of the moon seem to echo the life cycles of women
and therefore connect the moon with the Triple Goddess who presided
over birth, initiation, and death. The Moon [Selene] became
part of a triad with Hekate, goddess of the underworld, and with
Artemis, the divine huntress, whose hounds were the stars. [Can
a dog be a god?] Sometimes even the Egyptian Isis joined the grouping.
In this connection the qualities of the moon are fertility, moisture,
change, darkness, magic
Usually the waxing moon is a fortunate omen and the waning
moon a dangerous one
.
Aside from night and day, the moon is the most obvious natural
measure of time. The Indo-European root is the same for the moon,
month, and measure. There exist what may be notations
of the moon's phases in Paleolithic caves in Spain from 7000 BCE.
Stonehenge in Great Britain (c. 3000 BCE) may have been used to
measure the movements of the moon as well as those of the sun.
There are still primitive peoples who use only the moon to measure
time. Before the arrival of Europeans, American Indians counted
the lunations as "war month," "month of flowers,"
and so forth. The dark of the moon was the "naked time";
its first appearance, the "coming to life."
The trio of Moon, Sun, and Evening Star are often found together
on royal stelae down through Babylonian times.
The Semitic-speaking peoples who succeeded the SumeriansAkkadians,
Assyrians, and Babylonianstook over most of their inventions
and adopted the Sumerian pantheon, giving the gods Semitic names.
Nanna became Sin; Utu, Shamash; and Inanna, Ishtar.
The Assyrians, who took over from the Sumerians the worship
of the moon under the name of Sin, built another moon city, Haran,
on the Euphrates. The Assyrian kings came to Haran to "take
the hand" of Sin after they had been confirmed by their own
god, Ashur.
Throughout Anatolia there are depictions of and inscriptions
to the Anatolian moon god, called Men, from the Indo-European
root for moon and measure
Later Men became
confused with the "dying and rising god" Attis, the
castrated follower, son, or lover of the Great Mother of Phyrgia,
Cybele, as well as with Dionysos and Sabazios of Thrace, two other
dying and rising gods.
Iranians dedicated the right eye of very sacrificed animal
to the Moon. They believed that when all things were put in motion
by Angra Mainyu, or Evil, the Moon created time, which will run
until Angra Mainyu is overthrown (pp 84-87).
We know that the Woman of Rev 12 is the Church, the Bride of the
true Messiah, so do we have the Woman represented twiceas the
Woman and as the moon? For the answer we need to see what "under
her feet means."
Rev 21:22 But I saw no temple in the Holy city, for the
Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its Temple.
John 17:20-24 I do not pray for these alone, but also for
those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they
all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that
they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You
sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them,
that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You
in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world
may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have
loved Me. 24 Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me
may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which
You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the
world.
Rev 21:23-26 The City had no need of the sun or of the
moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The
Lamb is its Light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall
walk in its Light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory
and honour into it. 25 Its Gates (Babylon means gates of the
gods, or gates to the gods) shall not be shut at all
by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And they shall bring
the glory and the honour of the nations into it, i.e., there shall
no longer be any false worship where the truly Divine is worshipped
by physical representation or in symbols of the creation.