The pure woman of chapter 12, then, represents the apostolic church in all its beauty and glory.  She is represented as clothed with the sun, a striking emblem of the light of the glorious gospel of Christ which shone forth from the early church.  The moon under her feet is generally understood to designate the typical worship of the Jewish age, which was a shadow of things to come but which now stands eclipsed in the superior light and glory of the new and better dispensation.  The moon is the lesser light and derives its illumination from the sun; so also the Mosaic period was the moonlight age of the church and reflected a part of the gospel which, at a later time, was to be revealed in all its glory with the rise of the “Sun of righteousness.”

The crown of twelve stars adorning the diadem of the church is a fit representation of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, they being in one important sense permanent fixtures in the church.  According to chapter 1:20, stars are sometimes used to represent Christian ministers, the analogy as light-givers being obvious.  “They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever” (Dan. 12:3).

The prominent position occupied by this woman and the light which shone forth from the sun with which she was clothed stand out in marked contrast with the later description given of her flight into and seclusion in the wilderness.  The latter stage of her experience I shall describe further on, but a brief allusion to it will make her first appearance more impressive.  The wilderness describes the apostasy which was to envelop the woman and thus obscure her light.  Therefore her first appearance as in the planetary heavens presents a sublime description of her dignity and excellence in the morning time of the gospel era.  Her light shone upon all and her glory could be seen by all.  She presents that fundamentally distinct characteristic of the true church of God—­universality; not a mere isolated star shedding its feeble rays in competition with the other orbs of night; but a cluster of bright, shining stars and the very sun itself.  The light of the apostolic church was, therefore, all-inclusive in the sense of reflecting all the truth.  It is essential to our proper understanding of the symbols that follow that we comprehend the true character of the church of God—­the bride of Christ.

[Sidenote:  The man child]

The next object to claim our attention in the vision under consideration is that of the man child to whom the woman is said to give birth.  A variety of interpretations of this man child have been given.  Some say that it refers to Jesus Christ, but this application is objectionable for different reasons.  First, Jesus is everywhere represented as the founder of the church, not as its child.  Second, true analogy is lacking:  there is nothing about a mere child to proclaim divinity.  Others have identified