Yep!!! That’s Israel. Mary is still dead.
The Ark only represents Israel, or the Church, in a secondary sense. Obviously, Mary gave birth to Jesus, the child who would rule with an iron rod, in the primary sense.
And Mary fulfills the typology of the Ark of the Covenant. She is the Ark that appeared in Heaven (Rev 11:19). Remember that chapters were added to the Bible by the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1207-1228, and verses in the fifteenth century. This is why the Ark verse appears right before "the woman" in Revelation.
The Ark contained:
--Aaron's staff, representing the priesthood.
--Manna, the bread from heaven.
--The Decalogue or Divine Law or Word of God.
Mary contained Jesus within her womb, Who is:
--The eternal high priest
--The Bread of Life that came down from heaven to bring eternal life.
--The Word of God made flesh.
The Holy Spirit overshadowed the Ark, and the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary.
WOW...so they raised a woman to be symbolic of the country of Israel....amazing, I thought that they were sort of patriarchial in nature.