Woman , Man Child, dragon

[Pamelasv]

Wow.  I am newer to reading the bible,  and I thought the woman was simply Mary, the child Jesus, and the dragon  Herod sending to kill all male children two and under in the vicinity of Jerusalem.  Since Satan would have wanted nothing more than to kill Jesus, and it was explained in Matthew how her and the family took off thru the wilderness to settle in Egypt.  The place prepared for her. How long was Jesus in Egypt?  He was still a child when they returned to Isreal, since in Luke he stayed behind at 12 years of age during the passover. Maybe you are all over complicating it.

[WilliamL]

Rev. 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after these things [i.e., after the period of the letters to the 7 Churches].”

Everything after Rev. 4:1 takes place after the time John wrote the Revelation. Ergo, Rev. 12 cannot refer to the birth of Jesus. One cannot ignore the context of this or any biblical passage, without easily falling into a misinterpretation.

For those interested, I have explained this passage on my post of Nov. 9, 2014, page 1 of this string.                      

[Pamelasv]

Rev. 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after these things [i.e., after the period of the letters to the 7 Churches].”

Everything after Rev. 4:1 takes place after the time John wrote the Revelation. Ergo, Rev. 12 cannot refer to the birth of Jesus. One cannot ignore the context of this or any biblical passage, without easily falling into a misinterpretation.

For those interested, I have explained this passage on my post of Nov. 9, 2014, page 

Yes, the next section or so, not the entire rest of Revelation.   

Rev. 12:5  And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.  

That is quoted elsewhere in the bible referring to Jesus, that He will rule all the nations with a rod of iron.  Also, in your first explanation, your own version capitalized Manchild.  That is only done for God unless it is a proper name. 

[WilliamL]

Rev. 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after these things [i.e., after the period of the letters to the 7 Churches].”

Everything after Rev. 4:1 takes place after the time John wrote the Revelation. Ergo, Rev. 12 cannot refer to the birth of Jesus. One cannot ignore the context of this or any biblical passage, without easily falling into a misinterpretation.

For those interested, I have explained this passage on my post of Nov. 9, 2014, page 

Yes, the next section or so, not the entire rest of Revelation.   

Rev. 12:5  And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.  

That is quoted elsewhere in the bible referring to Jesus, that He will rule all the nations with a rod of iron.  Also, in your first explanation, your own version capitalized Manchild.  That is only done for God unless it is a proper name. 

Yes, the entire rest of Revelation unless otherwise stated, which it is not.

I also capitalized Woman, because it refers to a corporate body, the Church. The Manchild is a corporate body also. Jesus tells us who it is:

Rev. 2:26 “And the one overcoming [present participle] and keeping [present participle] My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—

27 ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron;
They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—
as I also have received from My Father..."

The Manchild is the collective body of overcomers who

Rev. 12:11 “... overcome him [Satan, causing him to be "cast down" from heaven, 12:9-10] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word [= rod] of their testimony...

Rev. 12:5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.

-- from which place they, along with Michael's angelic host, will wage war against Satan and his angelic host. The foreshadowing type in the Exodus took place when Moses lifted up his hands with the rod of God "to the throne of the LORD" (Ex. 17:8-16), causing the defeat of Amalek by means of heavenly power and authority.

                  

[Kan]

Many say that national Israel is the woman...not so fast.

Israel had been practically destroyed by Rome in 70 AD and John wrote this around 93 AD. 

Israel was the nation which persecuted the man child and killed Him. The woman did not do that, and her child went to heaven. She had to flee for her life because of persecution. Not Israel, which was a smoking pile of ashes. The only people who survived the destruction of Jerusalem were the true disciples of Christ - not Israel.

The child is not the disciples, they would not rule the nations with a rod of iron. A man child is not a church, a woman is. Revelation 19:7 & 8. But as someone pointed out, the woman is more than just a church, but the embodiment of the truth - she was clothed with the truth and righteousness of Christ, like the sun. It was the truth which was pained to give birth to the man child - the truth of God in the man Christ Jesus.

The woman also representing truth, was persecuted for 1260 years, the church of God fled the bloodthirsty Papacy, the Antichrist, the dragon's institution on earth, over its 1260 years of reign, from 538 AD to 1798 AD. Millions perished, millions.

Chapter 12 is an overview of the battle between Christ and Satan, which began in heaven, and ended up on earth with the nations, the influence of the Devil over the nations to find and kill the Messiah, the great persecution of the church of Christ by the Antichrist, and the war on the remnant of God's church at the very end of time.

The dragon has 7 heads which represent the seven empires by which he rules, from beginning until the end, as described in Daniel and Revelation. Not some future glitch of time, when everything rolls out. No, the vast majority of prophecies have been fulfilled and only a few remain. 

"The moon under her feet," the moon is the object which reflects the sun, just as God's people reflect the character of Jesus. See Revelation 12:11 - "they overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and loved not their lives unto death." That's not Israel, that's the disciples, that's the Spirit of Jesus. And it also represents the OT, which some here have already put forward, reflecting the glory of the future Messiah in its message. The twelve stars represent the twelve tribes of spiritual Israel, not national or racial, and it represents the 12 faithful disciples which Jesus had appointed before He left earth.

As already said by some, the city of God has the 12 names of the apostles and the 12 names of the tribes of Israel. Joseph's dream.

[Ezra]

There seem to be as many interpretation of Revelation 12 as there are interpreters.  There is no question that there is a great deal of symbolism in this chapter.  But what most people seem to forget is that this is a prophecy which pertains to Satan and all his evil angels being cast down to earth from the first and second heavens (since they were already cast out of the third Heaven long ago). This chapter immediately precedes chapter 13, which describes the reign of the Beast or the Antichrist.

In view of this, we need to understand that the woman represents redeemed Israel -- not Israel in unbelief. She is "clothed with the sun" and the sun is a metaphor for the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings (Christ). The 12 stars represent the 12 tribes of Israel. The man-child is clearly Christ Himself, since He is the only one who will rule the nations with a rod of iron.

We have here a picture of a believing remnant of Jews who will be sheltered from the wrath of Satan during the Tribulation for 1,260 days (3 1/2 years), the exact period when the Beast will take control of the whole world (Rev 13:5).

[Kan]

I would have thought that the redeemed Israel must also then mean Jews by faith, rather than nationality, genetics etc. In which case all who are of the faith of Abraham, are the spiritual Israel or Jews?

I cannot see how this prophecy has anything to do with literal Israel, but spiritual Israel, that is what Paul said those of faith are - which is all of the believers in Jesus today?

[Bible_Gazer]

Revelation 2:26-27
²⁶  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
²⁷  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

Saints who overcome and make it in the Bride will rule with a rod of Iron .

The man child represent the saints. Just like the Bride represent the church saints. Is there just one bride ?

The last verse in chapter 12 who is the remnant of her seed ?  Jesus's brother ?

Chapter 12 is two parts = one part is history and other part is now and future. The Early rain and latter rain saints  James 5:7

[Pamelasv]

Revelation 2:26-27
²⁶  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
²⁷  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

Saints who overcome and make it in the Bride will rule with a rod of Iron .

The man child represent the saints. Just like the Bride represent the church saints. Is there just one bride ?

The last verse in chapter 12 who is the remnant of her seed ?  Jesus's brother ?

Chapter 12 is two parts = one part is history and other part is now and future. The Early rain and latter rain saints  James 5:7

No the man child does not represet the saints because at the end itsays the dragon was enraged and went off to make war with the rest of her children, those who keep the comandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.  Rev 12:17.  THAT would be the saints.  My bible does start this section and headlines it 'The Woman, Isreal.'   Now that I went back and looked.  It also says 'The Male Child, Christ.'  

[missmuffet]

 

What is the meaning of Revelation chapter 12?

Revelation chapter 12 contains a description of a woman, who is clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars atop her head. The woman is pregnant and is about to give birth. She is being pursued by a great red dragon, whose tail has swept a third of the stars from heaven and cast them to earth. The dragon is standing by the woman to catch her child when she gives birth, in order to devour the child. But when she gives birth, her child is caught up to heaven to God and His throne and the woman flees to the wilderness and is nourished by God for 1,260 days (Revelation 12:1-6), or "a time, and times, and half a time" which signifies 3 ½ years (Revelation 12:14; Daniel 9:27). 

The woman in this vision represents Israel. Joseph's dream about his father, Jacob (Israel), and his mother and their children (whose names would later be assigned to the twelve tribes), is the first clue, as Joseph says that the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to him (Genesis 37:9-11). The twelve stars represent the twelve tribes of Israel. When Israel gives birth to the male child, who will "rule all the nations with a rod of iron" and who was "caught up to God and to his throne" (Revelation 12:5) we can be sure that the child in question is Jesus Christ. Jesus ascended to God's throne in Heaven (Acts 1:9-11); He will one day rule the nations of the earth with a rod of iron (Psalm 2:7-9), and Isaiah describes him as being the child born to us, the son that is given to us, the Prince of Peace and our Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6).

The dragon spoken of in Revelation 12 is clearly Satan, who desires to destroy Israel and her child, Jesus Christ. Biblical scholars agree that the third of the stars he swept from the sky represents the angels that he tempted to follow him in his rebellion against God (Revelation 12:3-9; Luke 10:18). The time the woman spends in the wilderness, the 1,260 days, refers to the second half of the Great Tribulation, when the Antichrist breaks his agreement of peace with Israel and persecutes them (Daniel 9:26-27; Daniel 7:25). 

http://www.compellingtruth.org/revelation-chapter-12.html

Edited September 10, 2015 by bopeep1909