<p>12:1 <em>And a great sign was seen in heaven- </em>We are dealing with symbols (1:1), of things to happen after John's time. There is no description here of any historical event in the garden of Eden or some rebellion in Heaven before that. The woman here is caught up to God (:5), so we are not talking about a woman in literal heaven, and the moon and stars which are her clothing show these things are symbols and not literal.</p><p><em>A woman arrayed with the sun and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars</em>- She was who the people of Israel were intended to be, and thus she becomes our representative. The sun is a symbol for the Lord Jesus, and she is clothed with Christ, with His righteousness. This idea is used at the end of Revelation about the believers. Peter Watkins in his excellent book <em>Exploring The Apocalypse</em> sees the woman of Revelation 12 as a symbol of the church expressed in terms of Mary- for it was her who gave birth to &ldquo;the man child&rdquo; Jesus, who is to subdue the nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 12:5 = 2:27; 19:15). The stars around her head would, if we let Scripture interpret Scripture, refer to Israel (Gen. 37). There are many links between Revelation and John&rsquo;s Gospel, and thus it may be significant that in Jn. 19:25-27 Jesus calls Mary &ldquo;Woman&rdquo; and then in Revelation, He uses the same title for the &ldquo;woman&rdquo; who bears the man child. Yet the point of Revelation 12 is surely to show us from Heaven&rsquo;s point of view the huge disruption in the universe caused by the birth of Jesus that night in Bethlehem. A baby&rsquo;s birth, brought about by the quiet faith and indefatigable ambition of a teenage girl, shattered the whole cosmos. This is really what happens when we perform acts of faith based on slowly developed spiritual understanding. We do things which have cosmic consequences. See on Lk. 1:28.</p><p>The significance of chapter 12 is that almost every student of Revelation's structure finds this chapter to be the very core of the book. Nils Lund's suggestion has been followed with minor amendments by most students (<em>Chiasmus in the New Testament: a Study in Gormgeschichte</em> (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press,1942)):</p><p>A Prologue (1:1-20)<br />B Seven Epistles (2:1-3:22)<br />C Seven Seals (4:1-8:1) <br />D 144,000 saints &amp; Seven Trumpets (7:1-11:19)<br />E The Two Witnesses (11:1-13) <br />F Woman clothed with the sun (12:1)<br />G Dragon in heaven (12:4)<br />H Woman flees to wilderness (12:6)<br />J Satan cast out (12:12)<br />H' Woman flees to wilderness (12:14)<br />G' Dragon persecutes woman (12:15)<br />F' Woman&rsquo;s seed keeps the commandments of God (12:17)<br />E' The Two Beasts (13:1-18)<br />D' 144,000 saints &amp; Seven Angels (14-1-15:4)<br />C' Seven Bowls (15:1,5-16:21)<br />B' Seven Angels: whore of Babylon vs. New Jerusalem (17:1-22:5)<br />A' Epilogue (22:6-21).</p><p>But Revelation is a kaleidoscope of images. In viewing a kaleidoscope, some images are more impressing or relevant for us than others. And thus the book of Revelation has been for those who have read it over the centuries. But in our last days, all the visions have their final application, culminating in the literal return of the Lord to establish the Kingdom on earth. The events spoken of here therefore have various historical applications, and one main application in the last day.</p>