After the patriarchs, we have the children of Israel, symbolized by the moon, reflecting the sun (Christ) and shining collectively in the light of Christ. The children of Israel were in the night under the law. Although the law was good, it was not exalted. Rather, in this chapter it is pictured as the moon underneath the feet of the woman. According to this vision, the moon is not upon her head but underneath her feet. The moon is bright and shining, but it is underneath her. This means that the principle of the law is not exalted in the eyes of God.
This woman is clothed with the sun, with Christ. According to Luke 1:78 and 79, when Christ came, that was the sunrising. Matthew 4:13-16 says that Christ came as a great light to shine upon the people in darkness. This means that before Christ’s coming it was nighttime. The church composed of all the believers symbolized by the sun shines collectively in the day with the glory of God (Phil. 2:15; 2 Cor. 3:18). That the church is the major part of God’s people is indicated by the fact that the sun clothes the woman’s body. Since Christ has come, we live in the day. Although, in a sense, the age in which we live is the night and we shall have a greater day when the Lord comes back, this day that began at Christ’s first coming is at least a small day. The millennial kingdom will be a greater day because at that time the light of the sun will be seven times stronger than it is today (Isa. 30:26). We live in a small day expecting the coming of a greater day. We are in the onefold sunshine expecting a day with sevenfold sunshine. Some may argue with me, pointing out that Romans 13:12 says that the night is far advanced and that Revelation 22:16 says that Christ is the bright morning star. I am familiar with all these verses. Remember that the truths in the Bible have two aspects. We must take both aspects, both sides, into account. Since Christ has come, we are not in the night—we are in the day. What are we—a star or a part of the sun? On the one hand, we are the stars in the night (1:20); on the other hand, we are a part of the sun in the day.
How wonderful is this great sign! This is another proof that the Bible was inspired and written by God Himself. No one else could have had the wisdom to use the symbol of the woman to signify all of God’s people. Moses, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, etc. were all part of the moon. But praise the Lord that we, the New Testament believers, are part of the sun because we are a part of Christ. This is the vision of the universal bright woman.
The woman in this chapter is universal both in time and in space. She is universal in time, from the creation of Adam to eternity. She is also universal in space, on earth and in heaven. This is a strong proof that she is not Mary, but Mary is included in her, as we all are. How can people say that this universal bright woman is Mary? Mary is too small. She is not that bright and she certainly is not universal. Mary does not wear a crown of twelve stars. Neither is this woman merely the race of Israel, for Israel is represented by the moon. Look at this woman once again: on her head are twelve shining stars representing the patriarchs. Surely Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were all stars. The children of Israel are represented by the moon. No matter how evil and defeated they sometimes were, comparatively speaking, they were a people on the moon. Only the children of Israel, not the heathens or the pagans, were a people standing on the shining moon. Were the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, or Chinese people standing on the moon? Certainly not. They might have stood on a lump of coal, but not on the shining moon. All other races have been and still are standing on the dark things. Among the human race, only one people, the children of Israel, stand on the moon. However, they do not realize that the moon is a sign that the sun, Christ, will come. Praise the Lord that today we are the sun. Although there are some Jewish believers among us, they are no longer a part of the moon but a part of the sun. The church is the sun because Christ is the sun and we are a part of Christ. Christ is the head sun and we are the body sun. Praise the Lord that we are in the major part of this bright universal woman.