1. An Emphatic Silence in Revelation 12.5

In the middle of the book of Revelation there is a curious appearance of Christ. In 12.5, in the story of the conflict between the woman clothed in the sun, perceived usually as the symbol of God's people, and the dragon, equated in 12.9 with Satan, the woman gives birth to a male child, who ‘will rule all the nations with a rod of iron’ and who ‘is caught up to God and to his throne’. In the history of interpretation this last point has been identified most often as the ascension of Christ. This connection seems correct in view of the reference to the Second Psalm, an important messianic psalm, in the previous clause, and of the frequent association of God's throne with the glorious Christ in Revelation (e.g. 3.21; 5.6; 6.16; 7.9; 22.1). This explanation admitted, Rev 12.5 mentions the birth, the future heavenly rule and the ascension of Christ; but in contrast with the majority of early Christian creeds this brief summary is silent about his humiliation, his suffering and his death.Footnote ¹ Most interpreters of the Apocalypse detect this strange description and offer various explanations for this absence.Footnote ²

One of the popular solutions comes from source-critical investigations. Adela Yarbro Collins, following R. H. Charles, identifies two non-Christian (Jewish) sources behind the story of Revelation 12 and she relates the curious formulation to the careless editing of the original text:

But Yarbro Collins' cumulative argument in support of her hypothetical sources is not very convincing. She dismisses the view identifying the woman clothed with the sun with ‘the Church’ because the Christian community can hardly be described as the mother of Christ. But she overlooks the fact that early Christianity often identified itself with the OT people of God (e.g. Matt 8.10–12; Gal 3.7–9), and we find clear signs of the same association in Revelation (e.g. 7.1–10; 21.10–14). Thus, this interpretation does not fragment ‘the image of the woman into two’ since the author probably considered these two realities distinguished in Yarbro Collins' exegesis as only one.Footnote ⁴ Moreover, she finds the presence of the woman first in heaven (v. 1), then, without any transition, on the earth (v. 13) contradictory.Footnote ⁵ However, the unmarked switch from the heavenly scene to the earth is not exceptional in the Apocalypse (e.g. 10.1, cf. the indication of the setting for chs. 4–9 in 4.1)Footnote ⁶ and if the woman refers to the people of God, in the context of the book being in part in heaven and at the same time on earth, there is not any extraordinary feature in this change. The main problem of Yarbro Collins' view is its incongruity. In the second chapter of her thesis, she detects the basic characters and movements of a widespread ancient Mediterranean combat myth. She identifies nine typical traits of this story in Revelation 12.Footnote ⁷ Then, in the third chapter, she divides the story of the woman and the dragon between two distinct sources and several redactional additions. However, only five of the previously listed basic features belong to her first source, two to the second and the other two to the redactor.Footnote ⁸ Thus, she weakens her argument as she hypothesizes an entire mythic story edited from two different, unrelated but complementary sources of the same story by a Christian redactor. Since the story is built up of many OT allusions, supposedly used by a Christian author as well, and since it is woven into and developed in the plot of the following chapters,Footnote ⁹ it seems more probable that John himself rewrote (or at least alluded to) the well-known combat myth to serve his own purposes.Footnote ¹⁰

However, disregarding the number of hypothetical sources included in the narrative, the writer (or final editor) of the Apocalypse seems like a very thorough author. For example, he not only composed seven blessings in his work in accordance with his preference for symbolic numbers: he used the name of Jesus fourteen times, the titles ‘Christ’, ‘the one who sits on the throne’ or ‘the Alpha and the Omega’ seven times and the designation ‘Lamb’ of Jesus twenty-eight times!Footnote ¹¹ Is it likely that the lack of mention of Jesus' death, so important elsewhere in the book, escaped his attention? Not really. Then, if one argues for a non-Christian source for this chapter, one must also explain why John left the story as it is.

Other scholars argue that the text implies the death of Christ. Here, I consider only the proposal of Gregory K. Beale:

It is right that the larger context mentions the blood of the Lamb; however, this observation does not answer our question, only changes it: why does the author delay this allusion until v. 11? And though the use of ἁρπάζω is indeed to be explained, nevertheless, as in the closer context nothing else seems to refer to Jesus' death and to the momentary devouring of the child by the devil, this interpretation seems to lack sufficient basis.

Perhaps the most convincing suggestion is that of André Feuillet. He does not argue for the implication of Jesus' death and resurrection in the ‘catching up’ of the child; rather, he connects it to his ‘birth’ and chiefly to the pains leading to it, alluding to a Johannine analogy, the imagery of giving birth in John 16.19–22.Footnote ¹³ Some critics attack this sort of solution on the basis that the birth in Rev 12.5 would establish Christ's divine sonship in this case, similarly to the Second Psalm cited here by the author (cf. Ps 2.7); however, he is born here rather as the human child of the woman.Footnote ¹⁴ In spite of the force of this argument in view of other instances mentioned by Feuillet,Footnote ¹⁵ John 16.20–22 looks like a proper parallel to the examined verse in that both link the picture of the birth pangs to the grief of the earthly messianic community. The only uncertainty with this view concerns the acquaintance of the first readers of Revelation with this passage of the fourth Gospel: whether it was known to them and whether it was so important in their sight that they associated it with the story of the woman giving birth to the male child.

Several interpreters cite a remark of Joachim Jeremias about a characteristic Semitic literary device presenting a story with the allusion to both its beginning and its end and they suggest that the absence occurring in Revelation 12 can be explicated on the basis of this phenomenon.Footnote ¹⁶ Nevertheless, the presentation of Jesus' life in the NT rather focuses on his crucifixion and his resurrection. Only one of the four canonical Gospels relates his ascension and two his birth, while all centre around his death. Richard Longenecker, probably correctly, ascribes the proposed summary function rather to the latter detail: ‘So prominent, in fact, was the theme of Christ's redemptive death on a cross in the consciousness of the early Christians that at many places in the NT the terms “death” and “cross” appear in metonymous fashion for all the work of Christ in accomplishing human redemption’.Footnote ¹⁷ G. K. Beale enumerates more verses of the Apocalypse (1.5, 17–18; 2.8) offering ‘[t]he same kind of abbreviation…with a focus on Christ's death and resurrection’.Footnote ¹⁸

In the light of this significance given to the crucifixion among the first Christians it is likely that the lack of mention of Jesus' death is not accidental. Moreover, as John himself also stresses the importance of Christ's death elsewhere in his book, it seems reasonable to suggest that the silence about this significant fact is also emphatic. In general, every conclusion based on silence is very tentative, since various plausible reasons can be given for this absence. Nevertheless I think that closer consideration can detect a characteristic literary pattern in Revelation on the one hand, and an important relational aspect of the action described in v. 5 on the other: both can explicate the interesting formulation, the first from the viewpoint of literary structure, the second from that of Christological content.

2. The Seven Glorious Appearances of Christ

A useful observation concerning the literary structure of the book can help us understand the silence about Jesus' death in Rev 12.5. In the whole book, there are seven personal appearances of the glorious Christ which are undisputed by the great majority of the scholars: 1.7, 13; 5.6; 7.9; 12.5; 14.1; and 19.11. In the six cases other than 12.5 the description of Jesus or the connected hymns make a clear reference (or at least a more direct allusion) to his death or to his blood.

Each of the seven instances occupies a significant position in the narrative structure of Revelation: they are parts of the introduction of new, important sections. In six cases, the presentation of Christ clearly occurs in two steps. First, we are informed of his honour and his sovereignty. Then, in the second step, his glory is related to the mention of his death or of his blood. Let us survey the six sections.

Revelation 1.1–8 is the overture of the whole book. First, 1.1–3 introduces the work as ἀποκάλυψις. Here, John shows Jesus, the glorious Revealer who is able to mediate the divine will to God's servants. In vv. 4–8, we find the introduction of the book as a letter. The Christ of this section is no less majestic, he is the faithful witness and the ruler of the kings of the earth. However, the picture is completed: he is simultaneously the firstborn of the dead and he has freed us by his blood. The passage reaches its crescendo in v. 7, at Jesus' appearance when every eye will see him, even those who pierced him.

The second section is 1.9–20, the introduction of the seven letters to the churches of Asia Minor. Verses 10–16 present the Son of Man in his divine majesty, using the attributes of God according to the visions of Ezekiel 1–3 and of Daniel 7. Afterwards, John falls to his feet and the Lord encourages the seer by introducing himself as the living one who was dead, and who has control over the keys of death and of Hades (1.17–18).

Chapters 4 and 5 constitute the introduction to the breaking of the seven seals. The appearance of Christ is to be found in 5.5–14. In a first step, we hear the announcement of the victorious Lion of Judah, the Root of David who is able to open the scroll (v. 5). Then, in vv. 6–14, we witness the appearance and the due celebration of the Lamb who is like one put to death (v. 6; cf. v. 12), and who is praised for he was slain and he purchased (his people) by his blood from every language and every nation (v. 9).

Revelation 7.9–17 introduces the series of the seven trumpets. First, we are present again at the worship of the Lamb by the great multitude clothed in white robes (7.9–12). Subsequently, the conversation of the author with one of the elders identifies the assembly: these are the ones who washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (7.13–17).

Revelation 14.1–5, the introduction of the last series of judgmentsFootnote ¹⁹ is the only other appearance of the Lamb in the book, besides 12.5, that does not contain any explicit reference to the death of Christ; but in vv. 3–5, the formulation strongly implies it. In its first half, the vision shows us the Lamb with his entourage, the one hundred and forty-four thousand (14.1–3a). The second half of the section presents these followers as the ones who had been purchased from the earth and who were purchased from the people (14.3–4). This is a clear allusion to the hymn of the heavenly choir in 5.9 where they adore the Lamb who purchased his people by his blood.Footnote ²⁰ The characterization of these worshippers as the ones who ‘follow the Lamb wherever he goes’ and the imagery of ‘firstfruits’ reinforce the sacrificial tenor of the description, with reference to the Lamb.Footnote ²¹ The merely implicit reference to Jesus Christ's death in these verses is presumably in connection with the exclusiveness of the redeemed ones' song (14.3). Only they know its glorious content: they—only they—can present it with their voices and with their holy lives.

The last appearance, in 19.1–16, introduces the finale of the chef-d'oeuvre. Long hymns and the warning of a ‘fellow servant’ (an angel, in all probability) prepare us for the great event (19.1–10). The Lamb is celebrated since his wedding has come; and we are informed that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (19.6–10). Then, he appears in person. His description ends with his robe dipped in blood. The majority of interpreters recognize here an allusion to the divine Warrior of Isa 63.1–3, and therefore, to the realization of the final judgment of God's enemies. But they exclude the possibility of the identification of this blood with that of Christ perhaps too quickly: they find it incompatible with the Isaianic reference.Footnote ²² The remark of Beale and McDonough concerning the use of the OT in Revelation is accurate: ‘even though John handles these OT figures with creative freedom, almost always these pictures broadly retain an essential OT association and convey principles of continuity between the OT and the NT’.Footnote ²³ However, it is important to notice that John often deepens, enriches or modifies the emphases of the same allusions by the context in his book, usually thus Christianizing them. With the juxtaposition of the Lion of Judah and the Lamb looking like one slaughtered, he presents the victorious Messiah, in accordance with the Christian interpretation, as the required sacrifice to God (5.5–6). As he connects the grateful song of Moses celebrating the Exodus to the song of the Lamb, he reinforces and at the same time redefines the central salvation event of Israel's history (15.3). When the description of the new Jerusalem relates the names of the twelve tribes of Israel to the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, he recasts the OT reference to the people of God in an obvious Christian sense (21.12, 14). With regard to the robe of the rider in Rev 19.13, the blood in the Apocalypse is never explicitly related to the blood of the enemies, although in 14.30 it refers in all probability to it. But we have one clear reference to the blood of Christ (1.5), and three more to that of the Lamb (5.9; 7.14; 12.11). The last of these declares that his blood is the means of victory. Moreover, the expression used for dipping in blood of the divine Warrior's robe (βάπτω, the translation of Hebrew טבל‎) is one of the technical terms in the LXX version of the Pentateuch for sacrificial cleansing, often employing blood (e.g. the purification of the priests: Lev 4.6, 17; 9.9; cf. the instructions concerning the Passover in Exod 12.22 as well). In Revelation, the sacrificial blood of cleansing is always that of the Lamb. So it seems likely that the first readers understood the word blood in 19.13 as the blood of victory (similar to the OT imagery of the divine Warrior): but this blood of victory is related to the death of Christ (in agreement with the Christological orientation of Revelation). This reference can be understood in the light of Longenecker's appropriate comment about the book (in relation to Rev 5.6):

There are at least three more appearances of heavenly beings often associated with Christ: the vision of the rider on the white horse in 6.2, that of the ‘mighty angel’ in 10.1 and the figure ‘like a son of man’ in 14.14.Footnote ²⁵ They all have several attributes used elsewhere in connection with the glorious Jesus or with God: the white horse (6.2; cf. 19.11); the cloud (10.1; 14.14; cf. 1.7); the rainbow (10.1; cf. 4.3); the face like the sun (10.1; cf. 1.16); and the title ‘one like a son of man’ (14.14; cf. 1.13). However, other attributes relate them to other personages in Revelation as well, e.g. the mention of the crown (6.2; στέφανος) is connected to the faithful (2.10); to the locusts (9.7); to the woman clothed with the sun (12.1); but never to Jesus in the book.Footnote ²⁶ Moreover, the golden crown (14.14) is assigned elsewhere to the twenty-four elders of the heavenly throne room (4.4; and cf. also 9.7). Therefore, it seems impossible to decide the identity of these figures with certainty, but the context perhaps suggests that they are angelic beings representing the glorious Christ in the process of the judgment.Footnote ²⁷ The rider appears in a scene where the Lamb is present as well: he opens the first seal (6.1).Footnote ²⁸ The heavenly being in 10.1 is called ‘another mighty angel’: this would be a peculiar title for the protagonist of the book.Footnote ²⁹ The person ‘like a son of man’ acts in accordance with the order of an ‘other angel’—and his task is described in complete parallelism with a new ‘other angel’ (14.14–16; cf. 14.17–19).Footnote ³⁰ But even if we accept the view that Christ in person is present in these figures, their function and their presentation strongly differ from the other appearances where Jesus is worshipped as the glorious Messiah: in these cases, he only announces, launches or completes the judgment of God.

The male child's birth in 12.5 rather fits into the sequence of Christ's glorious appearances. This event marks the introduction of God's enemies and their intrigues in the book. He is characterized with the words of the Second Psalm. According to this messianic psalm, very popular among the early Christians, he will rule the nations with a rod of iron.Footnote ³¹ In addition he is taken to God and to his throne. But where is the second step, the mention of his death?

The story continues: his mother must flee to the desert where she finds protection and rest prepared by God—and suddenly, the scene is changed, and we are right in the middle of the heavenly battle between Michael and his angels on the one hand, and the dragon on the other (12.7–8). Only after the dragon's defeat, in his definitive absence resounds the loud voice in heaven, celebrating God and his Christ and announcing the victory accomplished by our brothers and sisters over their accuser by means of the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony (12.10–11)!

Hence, the delay in mentioning Christ's death fits well into the recognized literary pattern present in the book of Revelation. The appearance of the Son introduces a new section in the book; first, he is presented as the child participating in the authority of God; second, his power is related to his victorious blood. But the timing perhaps is not only the result of a rigid organization of the material. The influence of a Christological consideration could also contribute to the unusual description.

3. The Non-combat Myth

I previously argued that the silence about the death of the Messiah in Rev 12.5 seems conscious and emphatic. How can it contribute to the theological message of the book?

The prime importance of the plot of ch. 12 does not lie in the characterization of the three personages in themselves but rather in the presentation of their relations. Verse 4b prepares us for the relation of the dragon and the child as it exists in the purposes and desires of the former. Verse 5 relates the total failure of his intentions in this relationship. He is unable to come close to his future conqueror; he cannot even hurt the woman's son. Every contact between them is broken. So, mentioning Christ's death in this context would be misleading. The dragon has nothing to do with the crucifixion of Jesus. The emphatic absence of the latter underlines this theological message.Footnote ³²

In Revelation, the significance of the main events often exceeds the point when they actually took place. Likewise, the death of the Messiah also has a perpetual importance after its completion.Footnote ³³ In this respect, the representation of the principal temporal developments in the book resembles John's characteristic treatment of space in chs. 2–3: there, we read concrete letters to concrete churches addressing their concrete situations—but the seven churches of Asia Minor, in the context of the Apocalypse, represent the whole Christian church; thus, these messages simultaneously present the Lord to every Christian everywhere. Similarly, the crucifixion of Jesus at a particular point of history carries a universal meaning at every point of history. This event describes the wonderful character of Christ—even in his glory in the presence of God (5.6–14). It creates the content of every relationship between the believers and their Lord. There is only one relation within which the death of Jesus is unintelligible: that of Christ and the dragon. Revelation 12.11 affirms that the crucifixion precedes this latter relationship: only the consequences of this sacrifice are important in that they define the perspective of the church about the dragon. The blood of the Lamb is the means of victory for his people in the war waged against the devil.

The silence about Jesus' death in Rev 12.5 constitutes the same reminder as the one declared explicitly in John 14.30. There, preparing his disciples for his crucifixion, Jesus announces the coming of ‘the prince of this world’ (i.e. the devil); but he immediately adds that the prince of the world has no hold on him.Footnote ³⁴ The devil is powerless against Christ.

Two facts seem to reinforce our proposition. First, the use of the verb ἁρπάζω. If it refers to the ascension in itself, the usage of the more common ἀναλαμβάνω (Acts 1.2, 11, 22; 1 Tim 3.16) or ὑψόω (Acts 2.33; 5.31; cf. Phil 2.9 and perhaps John 12.32) would have been more comprehensible, even if the realization of Christian hope, i.e. the resurrection and the catching up of the believers at the parousia of Christ in relation of which ἁρπάζω is applied in 1 Thess 4.17, is sometimes connected in the NT to the resurrected Lord's being taken up and reigning in glory (John 14.2–3; 17.24; 2 Tim 2.12; Heb 6.19–20). With the force and violence inherent in ἁρπάζω, and with the association of the cognate nouns ἁρπαγμός and ἁρπαγή with robbery,Footnote ³⁵ the use of this verb is most intelligible in the context if it points here to the powerful breaking of all contact between the child and the dragon.Footnote ³⁶ The dreadful enemy is definitively robbed of the possibility of devouring the Messiah. The irresistible force of the divine action is directed against his obvious intentions.

The other observation is connected to the sequel of the story. In the context of the Apocalypse, the desire of the dragon aiming at personal contact with the Messiah will never be realized. He and his armies can launch attacks only on the saints (e.g. 13.7). The only verse in Revelation that describes the Lamb as personally included in an actual battle is Rev 17.14 where the mention of the future war of the ten kings allied against him is immediately joined to the announcement of his victory over them.Footnote ³⁷ There are in fact two further notes showing him in connection with fighting: first, Rev 19.11 reports the Rider on the white horse as one who judges and makes war with justice; however, it is more a characterization of his pure divine personality than the record of a concrete battle. Secondly, Rev 2.9 is only a strong warning ironically against Jesus' own church which is ready to accept the false prophets' teachings. The possibility of this latter combat remains open for his people, and not against his enemies. In summary, we can assume that the Christ of the Apocalypse does not participate personally in the wars waged by the evil one.Footnote ³⁸ This fact does not indicate that he is outside the struggle of the ecclesia militans. He is over this struggle.

In the light of the conceited ambitions of the dragon, reality is completely humiliating for the latter. He cannot face his conqueror even at the moments of his judgment. As a tiny lizard, he is seized and thrown down by angels of the Messiah twice in the Apocalypse (12.7–9; 20.1–3).Footnote ³⁹ He seems terrible—but in reality, he is nothing in the presence of the Lamb.

Now, it is useful to return to the widespread and probable hypothesis about the presence of some characteristic features of a well-known Mediterranean combat myth in ch. 12 of Revelation. This story relates how a dragon-like figure threatened by the approaching birth of his future conqueror—usually a god like Apollo or Horus—attempts to destroy the pregnant mother or the newborn baby; and how he himself will be killed subsequently by the protagonist's hand.Footnote ⁴⁰ The fundamental counter-argument to the identification of this myth in the Apocalypse is vigorously formulated by Leon Morris as follows:

Morris' judgment concerning John's opposition in respect of all sorts of paganism seems correct, yet the possibility that the author refers consciously to the myth familiar to his readers remains perhaps also tenable.Footnote ⁴² The three personages, the dragon, the woman and the son, awaken associations too direct to be incidental. But the obvious reorganization of the story and the use of OT imagery in the description suggest that the writer utilized the components of the narrative freely.Footnote ⁴³ This can mean that his purposes were basically polemical.Footnote ⁴⁴ The key to this affirmation is the recognized absence of every contact between the Messiah and the dragon in Rev 12.5 (and in the whole book). The battle of the woman's son (or sometimes her husband) and of the dragon-like figure is at the centre of the story in every known version of the myth, and it leads to the catharsis, the climactic victory of the hero. In some versions, the latter dies as well, and it is only by the persistent efforts of his mother (or his wife) that he can return to life and triumph over his enemy.Footnote ⁴⁵ Thus, the dragon and the hero are equal partners in the battle which is the central element of the narrative as the broadly accepted ‘combat myth’ term suggests it. But the narrative in the Apocalypse, the reworking of the myth, denies the possibility of any warfare between Christ and the dragon. John greatly diminishes the importance of the combat when he alters the opponent of the evil one and asserts that the angelic army vanquishes him with ease. It is no more a combat myth. From the diabolic point of view, it is a pure ‘defeat myth’. Christologically, it is a ‘non-combat myth’.

As John does not seem to paraphrase any concrete version of the widespread myth, but freely reworks it applying the symbolical language of the OT, the force of the polemics can be directed to the cult of the deity ApolloFootnote ⁴⁶ as well as to that of Isis and Horus.Footnote ⁴⁷ In both forms of the myth, the mother is constrained to rescue her child from the pursuit of his foe. In some versions, she must look for security before the birth; in other forms, she takes flight with the little boy. In Revelation 12, the Messiah is born in the presence of the dragon—and the frightening enemy is totally unable to injure him. Jesus is above the mortal attempts of the dragon. And in the same way, he is above every deity occurring in the popular combat myths, even above the emperor proclaiming himself the incarnation of Apollo:Footnote ⁴⁸ Christ does not need to fight with the source of every chaos, he is the Lord of every creature, he is the only Lord even above the dragon.

John's first readers undoubtedly recognized the emphatic change in the well-known action. Jesus who is the Lord of the Christian community, living in the uncertain situation of an often misunderstood religious minority and facing recurrent persecutions, is the incontestable Victor of the past, the present and the future. His people do not have to worry about the moves of their enemy. Under the protection of Christ, they will triumph, and they will rule the nations with a rod of iron (2.27) received from the son caught up to the throne of God. The devil cannot change the decisions of the majestic Jesus. He is miserably defeated in a ‘non-combat’.