Revelation 12:1-2, Israel as a Woman in Labor, Part I of II

A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.

//Who is this mysterious woman in heaven? In my book about Revelation, I wrote the following:

“Some have prematurely compared the woman to Mary, the mother of Jesus. But Mary’s status within the Christian story grew over time; at the writing of Revelation, she played a part nowhere...