The woman’ s pain--12:2 1. And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered--verse 2. A similar figure was used by the prophet Isaiah (chapter 66:7-8) of Israel in exile. Israel in the Old Testament was said to bring forth children. The church, in Romans 7:4, was said to be in spiritual conjugal relation with Christ resulting in bearing fruit unto God. John mentions “ her children” (2 John 1:1) in symbolizing the church as the “ elect lady.” The woman here symbolized was the church in trial and persecution. 2. Travailing in birth. In this period of tribulation, the church would produce children in sorrow for martyrdom. 3. And pained to be delivered. During the period of greatest tribulation the church did not cease to bear her fruit; she continued to bring forth children, but in pain and persecution and martyrdom. The following verses will develop further the application of these verses to the part of the woman’ s seed that was martyred--the “ child that was caught up unto God” --and the part of her seed, called “ the remnant,” or rest of her seed, that remained on the earth to suffer, but not to die. (3) The summary of the symbols. The context of chapter twelve yields three major points which must be classified and discriminated in order: First, the woman was a symbol of the Jerusalem church --represented as “ the new Jerusalem,” in chapter 21:2 at the close of the Revelation, and stands for the whole church. Second, the man child referred to the martyred souls as “ the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb.” (Chapters 6:10- 11; 14:4; 20:4) The woman’ s seed “ caught up unto God and to his throne,” who thereby entered into a state of victory over the dragon and his wrath in a distinctive sense. (Chapter 12:5) Third, the remnant or rest of the woman’ s seed were distinguished from the man child, as being that part of the woman’ s seed who suffered the trials of the great tribulation but were not slain or beheaded as were the martyrs. (Chapters 6:9-11 and 20:4) The woman of this chapter, therefore, must be considered as the organic body of the church--the totality of its members; distinguished from her seed, or children--the constituent members of it, in the two classes mentioned. The text and context will sustain this analysis, and these viewpoints can be maintained.