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Art used by permission Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992 When we grasp the revelation of the mystery of Christ living in us and among us (Colossians 1:27), then the Apostle John's vision of the woman in the Book of the Revelation chapter twelve unfolds and becomes a vision of the accomplishment and fulfillment of the plan of redemption for mankind, the fulfillment of the purpose for the Church, and an indication of the consummation of the age! To whom God was pleased to make known how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ within and among you, the Hope of [realizing the] glory. Colossians 1:27 Amplified Bible

1AND A great sign (wonder)--[warning of future events of ominous significance] appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and with a crownlike garland (tiara) of twelve stars on her head. 2She was pregnant and she cried out in her birth pangs, in the anguish of her delivery. 3Then another ominous sign (wonder) was seen in heaven: Behold, a huge, fiery-red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven kingly crowns (diadems) upon his heads. 4His tail swept [across the sky] and dragged down a third of the stars and flung them to the earth. And the dragon stationed himself in front of the woman who was about to be delivered, so that he might devour her child as soon as she brought it forth. 5And she brought forth a male Child, One Who is destined to shepherd (rule) all the nations with an iron staff (scepter), and her Child was caught up to God and to His throne. 6And the woman [herself] fled into the desert (wilderness), where she has a retreat prepared [for her] by God, in which she is to be fed and kept safe for 1,260 days (42 months; three and one-half years). 7Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels went forth to battle with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought. 8But they were defeated, and there was no room found for them in heaven any longer. 9And the huge dragon was cast down and out--that age-old serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, he who is the seducer (deceiver) of all humanity the world over; he was forced out and down to the earth, and his angels were flung out along with him. 10Then I heard a strong (loud) voice in heaven, saying, Now it has come--the salvation and the power and the kingdom (the dominion, the reign) of our God, and the power (the sovereignty, the authority) of His Christ (the Messiah); for the accuser of our brethren, he who keeps bringing before our God charges against them day and night, has been cast out! 11And they have overcome (conquered) him by means of the blood of the Lamb and by the utterance of their testimony, for they did not love and cling to life even when faced with death [holding their lives cheap till they had to die for their witnessing]. 12Therefore be glad (exult), O heavens and you that dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in fierce anger (fury), because he knows that he has [only] a short time [left]! 13And when the dragon saw that he was cast down to the earth, he went in pursuit of the woman who had given birth to the male Child. 14But the woman was supplied with the two wings of a giant eagle, so that she might fly from the presence of the serpent into the desert (wilderness), to the retreat where she is to be kept safe and fed for a time, and times, and half a time (three and one-half years, or 1,260 days). 15Then out of his mouth the serpent spouted forth water like a flood after the woman, that she might be carried off with the torrent. 16But the earth came to the rescue of the woman, and the ground opened its mouth and swallowed up the stream of water which the dragon had spouted from his mouth. 17So then the dragon was furious (enraged) at the woman, and he went away to wage war on the remainder of her descendants--[on those] who obey God's commandments and who have the testimony of Jesus Christ [and adhere to it and bear witness to Him].

So who is the woman, and what does She represent? In light of the mystery of Christ within us and among us, the mystery kept secret for ages and generations but made known to the Gentiles, we can understand this event that takes place in the heavens. In short, the vision that the Apostle John is being shown by the Lord Jesus Christ, is a double-ended prophetic vision that illustrates a dividing line between two time periods in the overall plan of God; the first illustration is the event of the woman giving birth to the male Child, which is a vision of the completion of the overall plan of redemption for man and is the conclusion of the age of grace and the Church as we know it; it is a vision of the consummation of the age. The second illustration is the event that marks the beginning of the Great Tribulation period; this is where we see that the woman is supplied with the two wings of a giant eagle. The dividing line between the two ages is the event of the woman actually giving birth to the image of Christ that is within Her, and the casting out of Satan and his angels from the realm where they reside to the earth.

To begin with we'll overview these events of the woman that appears in the heavens with broad strokes, so that you can get the picture of what is taking place, and then we'll break it down with a more detailed approach to support it. As mentioned, in this vision we see two main instances of the woman; the first is, She appears and gives birth to the male Child, and the second is after She gives birth and is given the wings of a great eagle. So, let's read the first instance,

1AND A great sign (wonder)--[warning of future events of ominous significance] appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and with a crownlike garland (tiara) of twelve stars on her head. 2She was pregnant and she cried out in her birth pangs, in the anguish of her delivery. 3Then another ominous sign (wonder) was seen in heaven: Behold, a huge, fiery-red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven kingly crowns (diadems) upon his heads. 4His tail swept [across the sky] and dragged down a third of the stars and flung them to the earth. And the dragon stationed himself in front of the woman who was about to be delivered, so that he might devour her child as soon as she brought it forth. 5And she brought forth a male Child, One Who is destined to shepherd (rule) all the nations with an iron staff (scepter), and her Child was caught up to God and to His throne.

The woman is the Bride of Christ that comes forth from within the "Church"; She is pregnant with the full stature of the one man Jesus Christ,

11And His gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us] some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers. 12His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), [that they should do] the work of ministering toward building up Christ's body (the church), 13[That it might develop] until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the [full and accurate] knowledge of the Son of God, that [we might arrive] at really mature manhood (the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ's own perfection), the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him.

She is pregnant with, "the comprehension of the full and accurate knowledge of the Son of God, arriving at really mature manhood (the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ's own perfection), the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him." She became pregnant with the full and accurate knowledge of the mystery of Christ within us and among us and She bore the image of Christ that had developed to maturity and came to full term!

27To whom God was pleased to make known how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ within and among you, the Hope of [realizing the] glory.

She brought forth a male child, in other words, She brought forth the image of Christ that was within Her!

49And just as we have borne the image [of the man] of dust, so shall we and so let us also bear the image [of the Man] of heaven.

In this first instance where She is pregnant and delivers, She is representative of the five wise virgins, from the parable of the ten virgins.

1"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' 7"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' 9" 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' 10"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. 11"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' 12"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' 13"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

In the second instance, after She gives birth to the male Child, She is given the wings of a great eagle and She becomes representative of God's provision for those that fall into the group of people that are representative of the five foolish virgins, for those that are left behind after the rapture, and She is also representative of the provision of God for anyone who remains on earth to still have the opportunity to call upon the Name of the Lord; however, they are destined to go through the Great Tribulation of three and a half years. Let's read the portion of Scripture from the Book of Revelation of this second instance where the woman is mentioned, remembering that this takes place after the birth of the male Child (and after those that are in the group of the five wise virgins and have gone in to meet the Bridegroom).

6And the woman [herself] fled into the desert (wilderness), where she has a retreat prepared [for her] by God, in which she is to be fed and kept safe for 1,260 days (42 months; three and one-half years). 7Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels went forth to battle with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought. 8But they were defeated, and there was no room found for them in heaven any longer. 9And the huge dragon was cast down and out--that age-old serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, he who is the seducer (deceiver) of all humanity the world over; he was forced out and down to the earth, and his angels were flung out along with him. 10Then I heard a strong (loud) voice in heaven, saying, Now it has come--the salvation and the power and the kingdom (the dominion, the reign) of our God, and the power (the sovereignty, the authority) of His Christ (the Messiah); for the accuser of our brethren, he who keeps bringing before our God charges against them day and night, has been cast out! 11And they have overcome (conquered) him by means of the blood of the Lamb and by the utterance of their testimony, for they did not love and cling to life even when faced with death [holding their lives cheap till they had to die for their witnessing]. 12Therefore be glad (exult), O heavens and you that dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in fierce anger (fury), because he knows that he has [only] a short time [left]! 13And when the dragon saw that he was cast down to the earth, he went in pursuit of the woman who had given birth to the male Child. 14But the woman was supplied with the two wings of a giant eagle, so that she might fly from the presence of the serpent into the desert (wilderness), to the retreat where she is to be kept safe and fed for a time, and times, and half a time (three and one-half years, or 1,260 days). 15Then out of his mouth the serpent spouted forth water like a flood after the woman, that she might be carried off with the torrent. 16But the earth came to the rescue of the woman, and the ground opened its mouth and swallowed up the stream of water which the dragon had spouted from his mouth. 17So then the dragon was furious (enraged) at the woman, and he went away to wage war on the remainder of her descendants--[on those] who obey God's commandments and who have the testimony of Jesus Christ [and adhere to it and bear witness to Him].

When we return to Jesus' parable of the ten virgins, the key phrase here is, "At that time…"

1"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.