The church of God. It may also, by allusion, be applied to Our Blessed Lady. The church is clothed with the sun, that is, with Christ: she has the moon, that is, the changeable things of the world, under her feet: and the twelve stars with which she is crowned, are the twelve apostles: she is in labor and pain, whilst she brings forth her children, and Christ in them, in the midst of afflictions and persecutions.
In bringing forth Christ and giving Him to the world, Mary also suffered greatly, as prophesied by Simeon....."and thy own soul a sword shall pierce..........".
Yes, I know that, but the imagery in Revelation 12 specifically says that pain accompanied the birth of the child. Now, it’s pretty straightforward here. Roman dogma says that Mary gave birth without pain. In fact they teach that there was no damage whatsoever to her birth canal, no tearing of her hymen, etc. If that’s all true, why then should be believe that Revelation 12 is about Mary who suffered no pain according to Romish mythology.