Under what figure was the Christian church represented to the Apostle John?
Answer
"And there appeared a great wonder [margin, sign] in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon
under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars!' Rev. 12: 1.
NOTES - Frequently in the Scriptures a woman is used to represent the church. See Jer. 6:2; 2
Cor. 11: 2. The sun represents the light of the gospel with which the church was clothed at the first advent
(1 John 2: 8) ; the moon under her feet, the waning light of the former dispensation; and the twelve stars,
the twelve apostles.
"Woman in her innocence was attacked by 'that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan.' At the
end of that first crafty assault and speedy victory the dragon met with his rebuff, in words like these: 'The
seed of the woman shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise His heel.' . . . In the Revelation the scene is
changed from Eden to the heavens, and before you stand again the woman and the serpent, in the same
position of antagonism as before, the serpent still the assailant, only this time more openly so. . . . The
woman is no longer a simple, childlike personage, but a wonder; she walks not among the trees and
flowers, but amid the orbs of heaven. She is clothed with the sun, the moon is under her feet, and upon her
head is a coronet of twelve stars. In her you see the great cause of truth and righteousness embodied-she is,
in fact, the church of God in all ages, the woman whose Seed blesses all the nations of the earth."--C. H.
Spurgeon, in The Tabernacle Pulpit, March r5, 1896.
13. What three general divisions did Jesus recognize as including all the writings of the Old Testament?
9. What expressions in the prophecy of Joel seem to imply a double fulfilment of this outpouring of the Spirit?
How well acquainted is God with each individual's life?
Of what besides a knowledge of God as Creator, is the Sabbath a sign?
How have the rich defrauded the laborers?
What will this prophet do when he comes?
When expiring on the cross, what did Christ say?
Questions & Answers are from the book Bible Readings for the Home Circle