I was asked this question –
WHO IS THE WOMAN AND MANCHILD OF REVELATION 12?
I always
thought the woman of Revelation 12 was Israel and the man-child was
the 144,000, what do you believe?
Rev. 12:1-17
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman
clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown
of twelve stars:
And she
being with child cried,
travailing in birth, and pained to be
delivered.
And
there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon,
having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
And
his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to
the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman
which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was
born.
And
she
brought forth a man child,
who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was
caught up unto God, and to his throne.
And
the woman
fled into the wilderness, where she
hath a place prepared of God, that they
should feed her there a thousand two
hundred and threescore days.
And
there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels
fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
And prevailed not; neither was their place found
any more in heaven.
And
the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he
was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
And
I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is
come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power
of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast
down, which accused them before our God day and night.
And
they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony;
and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Therefore
rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters
of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come
down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth
that he hath but a short time.
And
when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman
which brought forth the man child.
And
to the woman were given two wings
of a great eagle, that she might
fly into the wilderness, into her
place, where she is nourished for a time,
and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
And
the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman,
that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
And
the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened
her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
And
the dragon was wroth with the woman, and
went to make war with the remnant of her
seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The Woman
is ISRAEL...
You have that answer already...
The man child (Greek) "male
son" - is the Lord
Jesus.
When we look at this chapter we must stand back
and look at the woman
from history past and future.
It is out of Israel that Jesus was birthed, and it is at mid trib that
the woman comes
to understand Jesus Christ as her Messiah - Yeshua haMachiach
- of whom Israel as a nation rejected
at His first coming.
At mid-trib the woman is travailing as a pregnant
woman to be delivered
- her pains are unbearable; she must have her Messiah
to be delivered
from the travail that is the worse distress (Jacob’s trouble) that has ever come upon the woman.
Israel
is at last humbled to receive her
Messiah. It is at this time that the Lord Jesus is received as her
Messiah - she is delivered.
The Word says ...and her
child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
When Israel
is humbled and repents, she is delivered - her blindness falls off; she understands what the Scripture prophesied about the Lord Jesus. She sees and understands that Jesus
was born of a virgin out of Israel, and that He came to deliver Israel at His first coming to them. The
woman will
see it all - how Yeshua was rejected as the suffering Messiah because Israel wanted a King. The
woman will see how Yeshua suffered and died
according to Scripture. And she will see that Yeshua haMachiach was caught
up to God after His resurrection. Once the woman sees and repents, she is immediately delivered…
We can see the grace and mercy
of God for His estranged
harlot wife:
God has a place prepared for her
beforehand in the wilderness for such a time when she
turns from her
adultery and returns unto Him… God’s heart has always been toward
her
and He knew that a remnant
would return to Him with repentant hearts. Therefore He has a certain place
just for His remnant,
a place, where He may protect her
for the remainder of the tribulation. She
will be nourished in the wilderness the last 1260 days of the tribulation
through God’s provision.
The male son:
The passage goes on to tell us that the male
son will rule all nations
with a rod of iron.
Yeshua will rule (Greek) "tend as a shepherd" with a rod of iron i.e. a
royal scepter, a staff - which
brings forth the severest, most rigorous rule which brings those ruled
to complete and utter submission.
Picture the Great Shepherd with a staff that He
uses to bring His sheep into subjection. Not because He is a tyrant but
because He loves them and understands that outside His rule is danger and
death. Yeshua will begin to rule when He takes His great power and begins
to reign at mid-trib - at the sounding of the 7th trumpet. But He will rule
on earth, all nations - with perfect justice
– from Jerusalem, with a rod of iron during the 1000 year kingdom age.
Clinchers:
Psalm
2
9 Thou
shalt break them with a rod of iron;
thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's
vessel.
Rev.
2
27 and he
shall rule them with a rod of iron,
as the vessels of the potter are broken to shivers; as I also have received
of my Father:
Rev.
11
15 And
the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying,
The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our
Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever
and ever.
16 And
the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon
their faces, and worshipped God,
17
Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast
reigned.
Rev.
12
5 And
she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations
with a rod of iron :
and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
10
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of
our God, and the power of his Christ:
for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before
our God day and night.
Rev.
19
11
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon
him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness
he doth judge and make war.
12 His
eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had
a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13 And
he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood:
and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And
the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed
in fine linen, white and clean.
15 And
out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that
with it he should smite the nations: and he
shall rule them with
a rod of iron: and he treadeth
the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty.
16 And
he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS,
AND LORD OF LORDS.
The 144,000:
Rev. 14
4 These are they that were not defiled with women;
for they are virgins.
These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.
These were purchased from among men, to be the firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb.
5 And
in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of
God.
The 144,000 are
virgin men whom God seals before the 7th seal is opened. The Scripture
does not tell us that the 144,000 preach during any part of the tribulation
as some teach in error. In
fact the Scripture bears little witness about them, and there
is certainly nothing about them preaching the kingdom gospel or any other
gospel during the tribulation. From
what I read - God puts His seal in their forehead and then some of them,
if not all of them along with others from all nations, are martyred for
their faith – because the very next passage - immediately after they
are sealed reads:
Rev. 7
9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude,
which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds,
and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed
with white robes, and palms in their hands;
10 And
cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
11 And
all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the
four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
12 Saying,
Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and
ever. Amen.
13 And
one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed
in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And
I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said
to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation,
and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Therefore
are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple:
and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell
among them.
16 They
shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light
on them, nor any heat.
17 For
the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall
lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes.
Further, the 144,000 are singled out of all the redeemed of
the earth:
Rev 14
1 And
I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand,
having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.
2 And
I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice
of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their
harps:
3 And
they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts,
and the elders: and no man could learn
that song but the hundred and forty
and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
4 These
are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These
are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.
These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
5 And
in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the
throne of God..
The 144,000 are not the male
child of Revelation 12 as some
teach, nor are they a bunch of Christians who are going to bring the world
into submission in order to bring Jesus back to earth. What incredible folly
in teachings and beliefs are out there – “far
out” there.
The
144,000 will never rule all nations with a rod of iron: only the Lord Jesus is given this honor.
In conclusion:
The woman is Israel
The male child is Yeshua
The 144,000 are the Firstfruits
of Israel from out of the 12 tribes of Israel
The 144,000 were predetermined
beforehand in the prophetic mind of God to be the Firstfruits
from out of the seven year tribulation.
Just as every born from above believer was predestined before the foundations
of the earth to be a new creation in Christ Jesus, so too, the 144,000
were predestined to be sealed before they met their fate in order that they
would stand before the Lord of glory. It
is they who are singing a new song that they only were enabled to sing.
What wonder, what marvel, what amazing grace –
God is so faithful…
Friday, October 14, 2005
Shabbat Shalom,
De~