Rev. 12.1-2 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.

In Genesis 1 God said the “lights in the expanse" (vs. 14) would separate the day from the night and be for “signs and for seasons, and for days and years." When God called Moses to lead his covenant people out of their Egyptian slavery, he did so by signs of his power and authority. “And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes" (Deut. 6.22). He had told Moses, “And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs." One of those signs was the darkening of the Egyptian kingdom, hiding it from the sun. (Ex. 10.21,22). It is of special interest to see how God uses this event and repeats those signs in the last days, in the Apocalypse, to reveal more of his power and glory (see ch. 16 for similarities to the plagues of Egypt).

The heavenly bodies, unlike the selfish will of man, have always obeyed their maker. Creation, though touched by sin and death, ever serves her Creator. At Calvary, the sun refused to shine for three hours as Christ hung between heaven and earth. And when he cried, “It is finished", the earth trembled and shook at the sound of his voice. The signs in the heavens reveal God to men on earth, that they might seek, find, and live with the Lord of their salvation .

Signs given to humanity, to one or to all, are revelations of God’s authority, power, and glory. During his earthly ministry Jesus himself was a sign from heaven, God incarnate in human flesh. “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." (Luke 2.12). “ For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation." (Luke 11.30). The Jews, Jesus said, were always seeking signs, as if the word of God through Moses and the prophets were not enough (John 5.46,47). He said this distrust, their lack of child-like faith, this demand for proof that God was speaking, was the mark of “an evil and adulterous generation" (Matt. 12.39). Professing to be wise, they had become fools.

However, God does provide signs of his work among us. He encourages his faithful disciples that “God with us", the covenant-keeping God, is present with us and One we can confidently trust. He sends signs to warn the unbelieving world of his judgment on sin and to reveal salvation’s hope of better things to come in Jesus Christ. In Matthew 24 Jesus gave prophetic voice to signs of Jerusalem’s destruction and in a parallel application, the end of the world. As a fig tree gives signs it’s fruit is ready for harvest, so there will be signs in the heavens for the second coming of the Son of Man. He says, “Look up", your redemption is drawing near. He promised so then and from his seat at the right hand of God as our High Priest “of good things to come" he continues to speak with a “loud voice" (12.10) to “every tribe, nation, tongue, and people" (5.9; 7.9; 14.6), to warn all those “who dwell on the earth" (8.13)

The Book of Revelation is the “testimony of Jesus" (1.2) given as signs or symbols, as visions, as communications from heaven above to the earth below. When we read “a great sign" appeared in heaven we understand it is a revelation carrying the authority of God on his throne.

We are given the sign with the expectation of reading, understanding, being blessed, and acting on the revelation (1.3).

The signs are not an end in themselves, but as all signs do, they point to a reality greater than themselves. We look first at the sign and then turn our gaze to the reality. Markers along the way, they give direction to our eyes and heart, a way to go for our feet as we “follow the Lamb wherever he goes".

The signs from heaven are guidepost on our journey to the promised Canaan land beyond the Jordan, where blessings of fruitfulness multiply, a land "flowing with milk and honey", the place of our purpose from the beginning, the place where faith becomes sight in our eternal home: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." (21.3,4)

[The is an introduction to Rev. 12. More is to come on verses 12.1-2 and the rest of the chapter as we interpret the signs of life given by God.}