Rupert of Deutz on the Ark of Revelation 11 and the Woman of Revelation 12

Rupert of Deutz (aka Rupertus Tuitiensis) (d. 1129), in his Commentaria in Apocalypsin (found in Patrologia Latina, CLXIX, beginning at col. 827) provides an explanation of the ark of Revelation 11 and the woman of Revelation 12.

Book Seven Chapter XII "And the temple of the Lord was opened in heaven, and the ark of His testament was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, and voices, and an earthquake, and great hail. And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars, and being with child, she cried out, travailing and in pain to deliver." It must be remembered here of the earlier place, where seven angels standing before God were given seven trumpets, who also prepared themselves to sound the trumpet (Rev. viii), of which, through their individual blasts, what happened, what was done, this Scripture has so far ordered in sequence. For there, before it is said, "and the seven angels prepared themselves to sound," another angel is introduced, "who came and stood before the altar, having a golden censer, and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne" (ibid.). With the seven angels thus arranged, to whom the trumpets were given, and another angel who had the golden censer, what was done through the individual trumpet blasts has been arranged first, and the seven acts of vengeance for sins were written down. And now, resuming from the beginning, it is written what was done with the duty of the angel having the golden censer, and a great war and prolonged struggle of the angel, now called Michael, fighting with the great red dragon with seven heads, is narrated, and the notable victories of the martyrs are proclaimed, finally singing after the labors of battles, as if a new song. Here clearly the works of the spirit of fortitude are preached, which is found fourth in the order of the seven spirits, joined to the spirit of counsel, whose providence in the seven sounding trumpets we mentioned above. Therefore, he says: "And the temple of the Lord was opened in heaven." By this conjunction in which he says, "and it was opened," he brings us back to what was said above where he said: "And another angel came and stood before the altar," etc. For at the same time it happened that the temple of the Lord was opened, and the angel stood next to the altar. For then the temple of the Lord was opened when the holy men received the faith of the Lord, the promises of Christ in their hearts, and then the angel stood next to the altar when, because of the same faith, Michael was appointed prince to the nation of the righteous, as we more fully demonstrated in his place with the authority of the Scriptures. "Therefore, the 'temple of the Lord was opened in heaven,'" that is, they believed, and by believing in the coming Christ, the holy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, became the temple of the Lord. "And the ark of His testament was seen in His temple." That is, the incarnation of Christ, the Son of God, was foreseen and greeted from afar, which now in His temple, that is in His Church, with the purest gold, that is, shining with the great clarity of His divinity, is observed. Moreover, the incarnation of the Son of God is rightly understood by the ark of the testament, because, as a type of Him, by the command of the Lord, Moses made in the desert both the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat (Exod. xxxvi). For the ark signified the same Son of God to be incarnated, and the mercy seat signified the same to suffer for the sins of men. "And there were lightnings, and voices, and an earthquake, and great hail." It is implied where the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth (Rev. viii). For immediately after that, it continues: "And there were thunderings, and voices, and an earthquake." Although this is rightly understood concerning the Holy Spirit, whom the Lord sent upon His apostles, and sat upon them like fire (Acts 2), nonetheless, we also rightly said it can be understood concerning the law given to that people on Mount Sinai (Exod. xix) with the arrangement of angels, as Stephen the protomartyr says (Acts. vii). Indeed, the lightnings and voices that shone or were heard spiritually through the apostles were really present on Mount Sinai when the law was given, so that we may rightly understand both, that is, the movement of the law and the Gospel, in the Psalmist's words: "O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, the earth shook (Psalm LXIV)," etc. Therefore, returning to those times when the blessed lineage of saints conceived faith in the coming Christ through the promise, and the other nations were allowed to enter their paths, just as in the seven trumpets we observed the same notable acts of vengeance for sins, so now in what follows up to the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, we will see the wars and victories of the saints. It begins this way: "And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars, and being with child, she cried out, in labor and in pain to give birth." Truly, this was a great sign of a great matter. For that woman signified the holy Church, which we also find in many places in the scriptures of the prophets being called a woman to her husband, that is, united to and loved by God; but sometimes, on account of the transgressing part, accused as an adulteress serving the vices and sins of idolatry. This woman is rightly said to be "clothed with the sun," from which she received Christ, the true Sun of righteousness, in the promise.

LIBER SEPTIMUS CAP XII "Et apertum est templum Domini in cœlo, et visa est arca testamenti ejus in templo ejus. Et facta sunt fulgura, et voces, et terræ motus et grando magna. Et signum magnum apparuit in cœlo: Mulier amicta sole, et luna sub pedibus ejus et in capite ejus corona stellarum duodecim, et in utero habens, et clamabat parturiens, et cruciatur ut pariat." Meminisse hic oportet loci superioris, ubi septem angelis stantibus in conspectu Dei, datæ sunt septem tubæ, qui et paraverunt se, ut tuba canerent (Apoc. viii), quorum per cantus singulos quid acciderit, quid actum sit, Scriptura hæc per ordinem hactenus digessit. Nam illic antequam dicatur, "et septem angeli paraverunt se, ut tuba canerent," introductio fit alterius angeli, "qui venit, et stetit ante altare habens thuribulum aureum, et data sunt illi incensa multa, ut daret de orationibus sanctorum omnium super altare aureum quod est ante thronum" (ibid.). Ita dispositis hinc septem angelis, quibus tubæ datæ sunt, inde alio angelo qui habebat thuribulum aureum, prius digestum est quid actum sit per singulos cantus tubarum, et conscriptæ sunt septem vindicta peccatorum. Et nunc demum resumpto principio, scribitur quid actum sit cum officio angeli habentis thuribulum aureum, et narratur grande bellum certamenque prolixum angeli, qui et nunc Michael dicitur, præliantis cum dracone magno et rufo septem capitum, et insignes declamantur victoriæ martyrum, cantantium tandem post labores præliorum, quasi canticum novum. Hic manifeste spiritus fortitudinis opera prædicantur, qui in ordine septem spirituum quartus invenitur, spiritui consilii conjunctus, cujus in septen tubis canentibus providentiam supra memoravimus. Ait ergo: "Et apertum est templum Domini in cœlo." Conjunctione ista qua dicit, "et apertum est," nos ad superiora reducit ubi dixerat: "Et alius angelus venit et stetit ante altare," etc. Simul namque actum est, ut et templum Domini aperiretur, et juxta altare staret angelus. Tunc etenim templum Domini apertum est, quando fidem Domini, promissiones Christi in cordibus suis receperunt sancti homines, et tunc juxta altare stetit angelus, quando propter eamdem fidem genti justorum Michael est princeps deputatus, sicut in suo loco plenius cum Scripturarum auctoritate monstravimus. "Apertum est" ergo "templum Domini in cœlo," id est crediderunt, et credendo in Christum venturum, templum Domini facti sunt sancti patres, Abraham, Isaac, et Jacob. "Et visa est arca testamenti ejus in templo ejus." Id est prospecta, et a longe salutata est incarnatio Christi Filii Dei, quæ nunc in templo suo, id est in Ecclesia sua, auro mundissimo, id est, divinitatis suæ magna claritate radians conspicitur. Idcirco autem per arcam testamenti recte incarnatio intelligitur Filii Dei, quia videlicet in typum ejus, Domino jubente, fecit Moyses in eremo simul arcam fœderis simul et propitiatorium (Exod. xxxvi). Arca namque eumdem Dei Filium incarnandum, propitiatorium vero eumdem significabat pro peccatis hominum passurum. "Et facta sunt fulgura et voces, et terræ motus, et grando magna." Subauditur ubi accepit angelus thuribulum, et implevit illud de igne altaris, et misit in terram (Apoc. viii). Sic enim illic continuo subjunctum est: "Et facta sunt tonitrua, el voces, et terræ motus." Quod licet recte intelligatur de Spiritu sancto, quem Dominus in apostolos suos misit, qui et sedit super eos tanquam ignis (Act. 11), nihilominus tamen et de eo recte intelligi diximus quod genti illi lex data est in monte Sinai (Exod. xix) in dispositione angelorum, ut ait Stephanus protomartyr (Act. vii). Siquidem fulgura et voces quæ per apostolos spiritualiter micuerunt, vel auditæ sunt, realiter in monte Sinai, quando data est lex, non defuerunt, ut recte de utraque, scilicet legis et Evangelii commotione, intelligere liceat illud Psalmistae: "Deus, cum egredereris in conspectu populi tui, cum pertransires in deserto, terra mota est (Psal. LXIV)," etc. Itaque ad illa reducta tempora, quibus beata sanctorum progenies Christi venturi fidem in promissione concepit, et cæteræ gentes vias suas permissa sunt ingredi, sicut in septem tubis totidem notas et insignes spectavimus vindictas peccatorum, sic nunc jam in his quæ sequntur usque ad Agnum stantem supra montem Sion bella spectemus victoriasque sanctorum. Hoc ita incipit: "Et signum magnum apparuit in cœlo: Mulier amicta sole, et luna sub pedibus ejus, et in capite ejus corona stellarum duodecim, et in utero habens, et clamabat paturiens, et cruciatur ut pariat." Vere magnum et magnæ rei fuit hoc signum. Significabat namque mulier illa sanctam Ecclesiam, quam et in multis prophetarum locis Scripturarum invenimus appellari mulierem viro suo, id est, Deo conjunctam et dilectam imo et nonnunquam pro parte prævaricatorum, vitiis et peccatis idololatriæ servientium redargui velut adulteram. Haec mulier extunc recte dicitur "amicta sole," ex quo Christum verum justitiæ Solem accepit iu repromissione.