Revelation 12 Sign

The Great Sign of Revelation 12 is an extremely rare astronomical alignment which seems to be a literal fulfillment of the prophecy written in Revelation 12:1-2.  This sign was popularized about 7 years ago by Scott Clarke, but since 2015 knowledge about and understanding of this sign has expanded greatly.  Below is my personal outline about the sign, however this is just the basics.  Unsealed.org did an excellent overview of the sign which can be found here:

click to enlarge

Rev 12 Outline | Last updated 6-6-17
A Little Background

1. God said He made the stars for signs (Gen 1:14) and Jesus said there would be signs in the stars (Luke 21:25), so we should not be surprised by this. The Revelation 12:1-2 Sign is called a GREAT sign, so it must be extra special in some way. God doesn’t waste words… so the word “great” means something.

2. God created the stars and mentions them often in scripture (Psalm 19:1-5, Job 38:31-33, etc) so we should not be deterred from watching them as long as we steer clear from astrology, horoscopes, etc.

3. With all of the other prophetic signs around us, not the least of which is what is happening in Israel, this sign is far from the only thing pointing to the fact that it is extremely probable that we are living in the last part of the end times.


Revelation 12:1-2

1. This alignment is extremely precise, with the actual alignment only landing on this 1 day for thousands of years, if ever before … Sept 23, 2017. The closest match I have seen is around the time of Adam and Eve, but this one is even more precise I believe.  Either way, extremely rare.

2. The most unique piece of the sign is the path of Jupiter in Virgo’s womb…and how the length of time it stays in the womb matches a human pregnancy. It actually goes around in a circle due to retrograde motion in the womb just like a baby! Amazing precision by God, and also ties in many other end times verses which talk about a woman in labor (Isaiah 26:17-21, Micah 5:2-5, 1 Thes 5:3, Matt 24:8, Isaiah 66:7, etc)

3. This alignment falls either directly on the Feast of Trumpets, or just before it, depending on who you talk to… very intriguing as well, especially because this is the feast known as the feast where “no one knows the day nor hour”.

4. As you probably know, Jesus fulfilled a series of feast days with His first coming, so many naturally expect Him to fulfill the remaining feasts during His second coming. Trumpets is up next, and as you probably know many people see strong connections to that particular feast and the text describing the rapture (1 Cor 15:52, 1 Thes 4:16).

5. The Greek word Harpotzo translated “caught up” is used in Rev 12:5, further connects the above verses to this sign. Incidentally, for hundreds of years many prominent scholars have pointed to Rev 12:5 as key evidence of a Pre-Trib rapture. Dr Michael Svigel from Dallas Theological Seminary has published much work on this showing that Rev 12:5 was the key biblical evidence showing the timing of a pre-trib rapture by brilliant scholars such as John Nelson Darby.

Let me just say this before continuing….I do not know when the rapture will be….but I would not be shocked if it happened in 2017... simply because God gave us signs to watch for, and those signs are all active.   It seems to me it is likely we are in that season and that gives me great excitement and urgency to share the Gospel with those around me. I am also very cautious not to set dates or give clear expectations of specific events, especially to those without a solid biblical faith as I don’t want to cause a stumbling block for them if things don’t play out as expected.  At the same time, I believe it would be wrong to dampen down someone's sincere hope for one of the greatest events in the history of the world!


  Identifying the Woman and Child

1. Many teachers only see Jesus as the Child, and Mary as the woman in Rev 12. While I believe it is definitely a shadow fulfillment, Jesus clearly tells us in Rev 1:19 that these are future events. Rev 1:1 says the things in the book are about the future, not the past.

2. Believers in Christ are promised by Jesus himself, to rule with a rod of iron as described in Rev 12:5 in Rev 2:26 just like He does, so the Man Child could represent us, The Church.

3. There are differences between the Transfiguration and the Harpotzo (translated "caught up") in most modern translations. Primarily that the Harpotzo is a quick snatching... like a bird of prey (raptor).  Often times it is out of harm’s way as it is in Rev 12:5. That isn’t what happened at the ascension.

4. The players in the Rev 12 sign are corporate identities: Woman = Israel. Dragon = World System controlled by Satan. Male Child = Body of Christ.  This amplifies the earlier players of Mary, Herod and Jesus alone.

5. As the Body of Christ, (Christ is the Head of the Church), it makes sense that we should be fully connected to Him when he comes to rule and reign (us with Him) after we pass through the birth canal of this world to be with Him where he is forever by His side in heaven. (Romans 8:19, John 14:1-2)

6. Leviticus 12 lays out the procedures for a woman who gives birth to a male child and we see that she is to remain unclean for a period of 7 (days).  It is easy to see the connection here to the 7 year tribulation in which Israel (represented by the woman in Rev 12) is enduring the time of Jacobs Trouble.

7. So for those reasons, I think there is more going on than what most teachers assumed… and it is reasonable to interpret the Child in this sign as the body of Christ, and the woman as representing Israel… with the Harpotzo event possibly happening sometime around the sign. This is the exact same view many early church leaders had, as uncovered by Dr Michael Svigel. We will see in time if that is correct, but there is definitely enough smoke here that it should grab a believer’s attention.

click to enlarge

The Wise Men

We have so much more information than they did, yet they were watching and they saw the sign, and they ACTED on it. The took a risk and traveled on camels for a chance to honor of The King, without knowing for sure if they would ever find Him. Can’t we take a risk and share this message with others, even though we don’t know exactly what will happen? 

The Eclipse

An article titled “The Big One is Coming” caught my eye. It didn’t take long to realize that this event could have prophetic implications. When you read Mark 13:27, or other similar passages, it seems that it could easily be talking about a Solar Eclipse.  The eclipse is 33 days prior to 9-23-17 and if there are some forms of trouble this summer (which could easily happen with the direction the world is heading) then these passages would all fit amazingly well.

Closing Thought

This site has only been in existence for a few short months and was created to be a hub of information on this Great Sign.  If you are new to this info please browse the archive page to catch up on past articles.  Recently we did a post about 23 articles you can't miss, so that would also be a good place to start catching up as well.

To many of us this sign is clearly from God. After all, He is the one who inspired the Bible and created the stars... He is the only one who could set their paths in motion to bring this about.  It is something to take seriously and should at the very least cause you to examine your life before God as it is another indicator that time could be short and Christ could be returning soon.  If you didn’t have enough reasons already, this sign should be a wakeup call to increase our urgency in our evangelism efforts, prayer time, Christlikeness and turn away from worldly things.  It should be a huge (yet loving) slap in the face telling us to focus more on our Blessed Hope, the coming of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ ( Titus 2:13).  Praise God that He loves us so much and has not left us in the dark.

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;” (Ps 103:11)

If you are new, here is key link that will help you catch up:
23 Articles You Can't Miss

One last link for Strong Christians who are skeptical of the sign... 
Read here for a very balanced, measured, and biblical perspective on this event:
http://www.alittlestrength.com/articles/2017/1703-sky-dont-lie.htm

Thank you for reading.  If you are not sure if you are saved, click here.  If you don't know what that means then click here!