from Father Angel on Tumblr:
In Revelations 12:2 it describes The Woman in labor with pain. I was taught Mary had no labor pain, and giving birth to Christ was like giving birth to light. Can you explain this to me? What is the True teaching? Thank you ;)
Hello,
The book of Revelation is apocalyptic literature, which means it is filled with symbols and metaphor. Therefore, much of the message is cryptic and difficult to decipher.
The woman of Revelation 12 is a controversial figure. She is seen as a symbol of the Church which suffers and toils to bring Christ before the nations (“give Him birth”). Revelation itself is an account of the Church’s severe persecution under the oppression of the Roman imperial government, whose symbol is the Beast and the Antichrist.
Insofar as the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the Gospel of John, is seen as a new Eve, a new mother of “the living” (baptized) at the foot of the tree of life (Calvary), she is seen also as a symbol of the Church, or a prototype of what the Church will be—a perfect disciple who brings forth Christ.
That means that if we apply Johanine typology to Revelation, the Virgin Mary also suffered, and is presently in toil and labor (by her prayers and intercession), until the missionary efforts of the Church bring Christ to birth in the hearts of people. She also wails aloud in pain, symbolically, as she sees the disciples undergo trials for the sake of the Name of Jesus.
In other words, think of Revelation as a book of metaphors. Chapter 12 is not meant to be a literal story of the life of Mary and how she gave birth to Jesus. God bless and take care, Fr. Angel
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