Revelation 12 Sign

The Revelation 12 Sign is an apocalyptic belief promoted by a number of Christian ministries and news organizations, which states that a literal fulfillment of the prophecy given in Revelation 12:1-2 will occur on September 23, 2017. This passage of Scripture in the Christian Bible describes "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." (NIV). Some Christians believe that an astronomical alignment involving the constellations Virgo and Leo, the sun, moon, and planets Mercury, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter occurring in September 2017 will fulfill this purported prophecy word-for-word. This astronomical alignment will come into position on September 23rd and by the next day will be gone.

Overview

There is some ambiguity in regards to when this alignment was first discovered, but on July 30, 2011, Scott Clarke from ERF Ministries posted a video on YouTube describing the alignment that some Christians have now come to believe is the Revelation 12 Sign. Then in 2012 Unsealed World News suggested that the purported sign might be connected to the rapture of the Church, though they have repeatedly stated that the exact date of the rapture is unknown and might happen sometime before or after September 23rd.

The purported prophecy from the Apocalypse of John describes "a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head." The proponents of the Revelation 12 Sign say that the woman represents the constellation Virgo and the crown of twelve stars represents the nine stars of the constellation Leo in conjunction with Mercury, Mars, and Venus. The moon appears to be under the "feet" of the constellation Virgo in September 2017 and the sun will be passing through the constellation, which they say is what is meant by the woman being "clothed with the sun".

The second verse of the twelfth chapter of John's Apocalypse goes on to say that the woman "was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth." Some Christians suggest this will be fulfilled because the planet Jupiter will be traversing the constellation after having Undergone apparent retrograde motion. After entering what they perceive to be Virgo's "womb", Jupiter exits the lower part of the "womb" 42 weeks later, which is the approximate length of a human gestation (normal gestation periods lasting from 37 to 42 weeks).

Two weeks after Jupiter exits the "womb" the complete astronomical alignment occurs on September 23, 2017. Shown below are the eight key elements involved in the Revelation 12 Sign:

Interpretations of Revelation 12 vary, but the general consensus of those groups suggesting that the September 2017 alignment is what was described in this passage of Scripture is that the woman represents the nation of Israel, which they believe is about to enter into a multi-year period of Tribulation and the male child represents the global Church, which might be raptured to Heaven before the Tribulation period begins according to Revelation 12:5. Proponents say that in order for people to escape before this impending judgment on the world and be "raptured" they must accept that the Christian Messiah Jesus Christ died for their sins, rose again, and is the only means of being reconciled to God. These views are shared by all of the major proponents of the Revelation 12 Sign.

It has also been pointed out by Revelation 12 Sign proponents that a number of eminent biblical scholars support their particular interpretation of Revelation 12, including John Nelson Darby, Harry Ironside, and more recently Dr. Michael Svigel.

The apocalyptic symbol of a woman in labor is found throughout Jewish and Christian Scriptures, which proponents suggest is evidence of the September 2017 alignment's importance in prophecy. These particular Scriptures include Isaiah 13:6-13, Isaiah 26:17-21, Isaiah 66:7-11, Jeremiah 30:4-11, Jeremiah 49:23-27, Micah 5:3, Matthew 24:8, Mark 13:8, and 1 Thessalonians 5:3.

Media attention and critics

The Revelation 12 Sign has received widespread media attention including from The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, LifeSite News, Shoebat, and The Catholic Astronomer, among others.

A number of critics have offered rebuttals of the purported sign arguing that the sign is not unique or is only astrology. Critics include Answers in Genesis author Dr. Danny Faulkner, famous Christian author Joel Richardson, and Jan Markell from Olive Tree Ministries. Unsealed World News has responded to these rebuttals on several occasions suggesting that the September 2017 alignment perfectly fits the description given in the biblical text and that this will be the only such occurrence in human history.