Woman of the Apocalypse
The Woman of the Apocalypse (or woman clothed with the sun, Greek: γυνὴ περιβεβλημένη τὸν ἥλιον, romanized: gynē peribeblēmenē ton hēlion; Mulier amicta sole) is a figure described in Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation (written c. AD 95). The woman gives birth to a male child who is threatened by a dragon, identified as the Devil and Satan, who intends to devour the child as soon as he is born. When the child is taken to heaven, the woman flees on eagle’s wings into the wilderness at "palace prepared" for 1,260 days. This leads to a "War in Heaven" in which the angels cast out the dragon. The dragon attacks the woman, but the woman escapes on her wings for "a time, times and a time and a half" i.e. 1,260 days (the duration of each of three periods). The dragon then attacks her again with a flood of water from his mouth, which is subsequently swallowed by earth. Frustrated, the dragon initiates war on "the remnant of her seed", identified as the righteous followers of Christ. The Woman of the Apocalypse is widely identified as the Virgin Mary. This interpretation is held by some commentators of the ancient Church as well as in the medieval and modern Catholic Church. This view does not negate the alternative interpretation of the Woman representing the Church, as in Catholic teaching, Mary is both the Mother of God and the Mother of the Church. Some Catholic commentaries, such as Thomas Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary (1859), allow for.
figure described in Rev. 12; gives birth to a son, who is taken to heaven; afterwards the woman flees into the wilderness, is attacked by the Dragon, and sprouts wings to escape it; traditionally interpreted as Mary or the Church
biblical character