Mary, Woman of Revelation 12

Mary, Woman of Revelation 12

Who is the Woman of Revelation chapter 12? Patristic authors such as Hippolytus,[1] Methodius,[2] Victorinus,[3] and Bede,[4] interpret the woman as a figure for the church. However, Alcuin of New York[5] takes a unique approach insofar as he adopts a multilayered interpretation of the text. He takes the woman as a figure of Mary, who in turn serves as the archetype of the church. I favor Alcuin’s approach because he combines all of the elements of Revelation 12, without isolating any of the passages from each other. If we were to isolate the passages, we might assume the woman was a figure of Mary, the church, Israel, or even as a reference to Eve. However, when we combine all of these elements, we begin to realize that only Mary perfectly fulfills these roles, which is also consistent with the Gospel of John’s depiction of Mary.

There are several reasons to adopt a Marian interpretation of Revelation chapter 12. In the first place, in Revelation 11:19, there is an explicit reference to the Ark of the Covenant. The Gospel of Luke is well known for depicting Mary as the Ark of the Covenant. For example, Luke uses the same Greek term episkiazo to describe the Holy Spirit overshadowing Mary (Lk 1:35), just as the Septuagint uses it to describe God's presence over the Ark of the Covenant (Ex 40:34-35). St. Elizabeth is also said to have asked “how is it that the mother of my Lord should come to me” (Lk 1:43), which is reminiscent of David’s remark, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” (2 Sam 6:9). Another example would be David “leaping” before the ark with joy (2 Sam 6:16), just as John the Baptist “leaped” for joy in Elizabeth’s womb (Lk 1:41). Similarly, the Virgin Mary is said to have stayed three months in Elizabeth’s home (Lk 1:56), much in the same that the Ark remained for three months in Obedeom’s home (2 Sam 6:10-11).

Revelation 12:1 also says that the ‘woman’ is a sign who gives birth to the messianic king (Rev 12:5; cf. Ps 2:9). The only other instance where a woman is said to be a ‘sign’ is in the book of Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Both the gospels of Matthew (1:23) and Luke (1:31) apply this passage to Mary.

The Apocalypse also utilizes the theme of ‘signs,’ much in the same way that the Gospel of John does. Whereas John’s gospel enumerates seven signs, the Apocalypse lists only three. Interestingly, the first sign in John’s gospel also contains a reference to Mary, who is referred to as ‘woman’ by her son (Jn 2:4). Although Jesus could have addressed Mary as his mother, he chose instead to use the feminine noun ‘woman’.  This is unsurprising given the edenic backdrop of the Cana narrative, which shares several textual parallels with the Crucifixion narrative. It is my contention that the first two Chapters of John are a Christocentric re-presentation of the Mosaic creation week. This is evident from the initial declaratory statement of John 1:1, the transitional phrase ‘the next day’ used in John 1:29, 35, and 42, and the culmination of the sixth day with a marriage feast, paralleling the Mosaic nuptial account (Genesis 2:20-25).

During the wedding at Cana, Jesus fulfills the role of the bridegroom (Jn 2:9-10). However, the identification of Jesus as the bridegroom is only explicitly made by John the Baptist in John 3:29. Jesus’ role as the bridegroom should be understood in light of Old Testament spousal imagery, which depicts Yahweh as the bridegroom and Israel as the bride (Jer 3:1, 8, 14; 31:31-33; Hos 2:2, 7, 19-20). The gospel author combines nuptial and edenic motifs to provide a deeper theological reflection of not only Christ’s identity, but also Mary’s.

The edenic motif extends beyond the Cana narrative to the Crucifixion itself. In my article, “The Heptadic Chiastic Pattern of the Johannine Signs,”[6] I argue that not only does the crucifixion narrative (specifically the flux of water and blood) constitute the seventh Johannine sign, but that the signs themselves are structured chiastically, implying that the signs are both textually and structurally related.  It is within this framework that Christ’s twofold reference to Mary as “Woman” (2:4; 19:26-27) highlights her role as the New Eve (cf. Gen 3:12), contrasting Christ’s role as the New Adam. The crucifixion narrative depicts Jesus symbolically as sleeping Adam (19:30; cf. Gen 2:21), whose side is pierced (19:34, cf. Gen 2:21-24). The water and blood, therefore, symbolically represent the birth of the bride or church. Given the edenic-nuptial backdrop, Jesus’ final words to his mother (Jn 19:26-27) develop nuptial-ecclesial overtones. In other words, Mary is not only depicted as the New Eve or Israel, but also as the archetype of the church (Eph 5:31-32).

It is interesting to note that the ‘woman’ of Revelation 12 also fulfills the three roles of the bride in John’s Gospel (including Eve, Israel, and the church). It is important to note that Old Testament never depicts the marriage covenant between Yahweh and Israel in edenic terms. This only occurs in the Gospel of John and the Apocalypse. And in both cases, Mary is clearly in view. Mary is depicted with a crown of twelve stars (Rev 12:1), alluding to the twelve tribes of Israel (Gen 37:9). She fights against the serpent (Rev 12:9) and gives birth to the male child who rules the nations with a rod of iron (Rev 12:5), which is an allusion to both the protoevangelium (Gen 3:14-16) and the prophecy of the future Davidic Messianic King in Psalm 2:9. Her children are said to continue the battle against Satan (Rev 12:11, 17), suggesting an ecclesial dimension.

Mary is the only person besides Christ whom the authors of the New Testament attempt to build a theology around. The authors of the NT depict her as the Ark of the Covenant, Bride, Eve, Israel, and the church. To suggest that these symbolic depictions of Mary do not have doctrinal implications would be like saying Christ’s role as the New Adam or Bridegroom doesn’t have Christological implications.

Here, I would like to unpack some of the doctrinal implications of Mary’s threefold designation as Eve, Israel, and the Church. In John 19:34, the piercing of Christ’s side mirrors the nuptial account of Genesis 2:20-25. The water and blood represent the two great sacraments of the church. So in reality, the birth of the church is in view. Given that Mary serves as an archetype of the church, and that the church proceeds from the immaculate side of Christ, it only goes to reason that Mary must have been immaculately conceived. To suggest otherwise would be to imply that Christ had a sinful nature. 

In addition, if one accepts the mediatorial role of the Church in dispensing God’s graces through the sacraments, then Mary’s role as the archetype of the Church reaffirms Her status as the Mediatrix of graces. Her designation as Mother in John 19:27 also emphasizes her Queenship (1 Kgs 2:19-20), given the backdrop theme of Christ’s kingship (Jn 19:20-22). Mary co-reigns with Christ (Rev 12:5), but always in a subordinate position. This, in turn, has implications for the church itself. If Mary co-reigns with Christ as Queen, then the Church must also have coercive power of her subjects, with regard to her right to define doctrine, institute laws of her own making, as well as the authority to punish malefactors.

John 1-2	Genesis 1-3
1.1a: In the beginning was the Word… 1:3a: Through Him all things were made	1.1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth
1.4-5: In him was light… and the darkness could not overcome it	1.3: And God said, “Let there be light” 1.4: and God separated the light from the darkness.
1.29 The translational phrase “Next Day” implies that John 1:1-28 constituted the first day.	1.5: And there was evening, and there was morning—day one (yom-'ehad).
1.32: “I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him”	1.6-7: “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters…”
1.35: Now the Third Day	1.8: Second Day
1.42: “You shall be called Cephas”	1.9: “Let the dry land appear”
1.43: Fourth Day	1.13: Third day
1.51: “Amen, Amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” [n.b. angels are referred to as stars in the book of Revelation (cf.  Rev 1:16, 20; 8:10, 12; 9:1; 12:14)]	1.14 “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens…”
2.1: On the Third Day	1.31: Sixth Day
2:1: On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee 2.10: “Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.”	2.23: “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh’ she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
2.4: “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”	3.15:  And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Textual Parallels
Wedding at Cana (2:1-11)	Crucifixion (19:17-37)
2.1: On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee	19:31: Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. (Crucifixion took place on the sixth day of the week.)
2.9: When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine	19.34:  But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.
2.4: And Jesus said to her, “O woman, what have you to do with me?	19.26:  “Woman, behold, your son!”
2.11: and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him	19.35: his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth—that you also may believe
2.11 This, the beginning of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee	19.30: “It is finished”

Theme	Text
	Wedding at Cana	Crucifixion
Allusion to the Holy Spirit through the signs of water, wine and blood. The water and wine allude to baptism and the Holy Spirit (Jn 3:5; 4:10; Mk 2:21-22). The wine and blood also allude to the Eucharist (Jn 6:53).	2.10: “Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” 4.10: “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”	19.28-30: After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the scripture), “I thirst.” A bowl full of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished”; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 19.34:  But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 19.26: “Woman, behold, your son!” (Divine Adoption; cf. Jn 1:12).
The steward of the wedding implicitly alludes to Jesus as the Bridegroom of the wedding, although this is made more explicit when the Baptist proclaims Jesus the Bridegroom of Israel (3:28-29). The piercing of Christ’s side alludes to the creation of Eve from Adam’s side, and their subsequent marriage.	2.9-10: When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.”	19.34: But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.

John 19	Genesis 2-3
19.26: “Woman, behold, your son!”	2.23: “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” 3.15: I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
19.30: “It is finished”	2.3: And on the seventh day God finished his work
19.30: and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.	2.21: So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh
19.34: But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.	2.21: while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh;
19.19: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”	1.28: have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air
19.23: But the tunic was without seam, woven from top to bottom	2.15: The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. (cf. Num. 3:7-8; 8:25-26; 18:5-6; 1 Chr. 23:32; Ezek. 44:14)

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[1] Hippolytus, On Christ and the Antichrist, 61.

[2] Methodius, The Banquet of the Ten Virgins, chapter 5.

[3] Victorinus, Commentary on the Apocalypse, 12:1.

[4] Bede, Commentary on the Apocalypse, 12:1.

[5] Alcuin of New York, Commentary on the Apocalypse, 12:1.

[6] http://holycatholicreligion.blogspot.com/2019/12/chiastic-structure-of-johannine-signs.html