The Revelation 12 Man Child

Regarding discovering the identity of the “Man Child” in Revelation 12.

http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/july2017/davidw72.htm

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. Revelation 12:5

And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. Revelation 12:13

We are given hints to His identity in these verses. We know:

He will rule all nations with a rod of iron
He was caught up unto God and to His throne
The dragon persecuted the woman who brought forth the man child

The first thing to do with this or any other question we have regarding a term in the Bible is to look up every reference to that term in the Bible. This way we let the Bible interpret itself. There are various computerized Bible reference tools available which can make short work of this such as Bible+.

The first mention in the Bible is normally given more weight as it sets the tone to understand the meaning throughout the Bible.

This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. Genesis 17:10

This is very important. God made a covenant with Abraham and his seed. Who is the seed of Abraham? We are told the answer in Galatians.

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Galations 3:16

While every man child is to be circumcised, we are told that there is one particular man child, one seed of Abraham to which God made a covenant along with Abraham. That seed, that man child is Jesus Christ.

But we have another clue. The man child in Revelation 12 will rule all nations with a “rod of iron”. Let us look up this phrase in the Bible. It is found four times. Psalms 2:9, Revelation 2:27, Revelation 12:5, and Revelation 19:15. All of Psalms 2 is amazing in how it describes the only begotten Son of God, the son of man, Jesus Christ, the very word Christ meaning anointed, that it is copied below.

1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. 6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. 7 I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. 10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. Psalms 2

The next instance of “rod of iron” is Revelation 2:27, including 2:26 for context below:

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. Revelation 2:26-27

No one but Jesus Christ perfectly kept the works of the Father unto the end. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. This person described can be none other than Jesus Christ.

The last reference is Revelation 19:15. Starting with verse 13 and going through 16 there can be no doubt left that this is Jesus Christ.

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 goeth 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 and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Revelation 19:13-15

The second part of the question is what does it mean? In reference to Revelation 12 as a whole we are told starting off in verse one there will be a great wonder in Heaven. A constellational alignment in Virgo with the Sun and the moon and the wandering star, the King Planet Jupiter.

Plenty has been written on this site by others that without the aid of modern constellation software we may have not known in advance this wonder will occur in September 2017. Nor will we see this wonder in the night sky because it will be clothed with the brightness of the sun.

This wonder in the sky plays out the history and future of mankind, what I like to call the “Destiny of Nations”. In particular another wonder in the sky mentioned, the constellation Draco the Dragon which represents satan working through the empires of the earth. It is the Roman Empire, specifically Herod that is the instrument which tries to kill the man child Jesus Christ when He is born. The seven heads are heads of state or kings leading seven empires or crowns, being in order:

Egyptian
Assyrian
Babylonian
Medo-Persian
Grecian
Roman
Clay and Iron Statue Remains – Some may lump the Germanic “Holy Roman” Empire and lasted until 1798 with the Roman empire and have the 7^th empire exclusively the Byzantine Empire which began as the eastern leg of the Roman Empire and lasted longer till 1922.

The ten horns are land areas because the Grecian Empire only existed under Alexander the Great for a very short time before he died and the Grecian empire land areas were split among his four generals as prophesied in Daniel.

Now the Mother of Jesus Christ did indeed flee into the wilderness after the birth of Jesus Christ, making her way to Egypt, which must have been for 1260 days, long enough for those who wanted to kill the Man Child to have died.

13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word:for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. Matthew 2:13

There are also 1260 years that the woman as now representing the true believers in Jesus Christ by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone are protected in the wilderness from March of 538 AD to February of 1798 AD. This seems much more than a coincidence. From last year's post on Five Doves having in the title "Destiny of Nations".

“Consider that 42 months of years is 1260 years. Recognize that the old yoke was broken when the Western Roman Empire fell around 455 AD with the Vandals sacking Rome. Recognize that the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian decreed in 533 AD that the Bishop of Rome was to be the head of all Christian churches. However, since the Eastern Roman Empire did not control Italy this decree had no teeth. This changed when Justinian’s General Belisarius defeated the Vandals in 534 AD at the Battle of Tricamarum. Then Belisarius took Rome in 536 AD. The Ostrogoths then rallied and laid siege to Rome in 537 AD. This siege was broken in March of 538. This was the pivotal moment which allowed the planting of the little horn and the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome over the Church.”

“Let us count 1260 Roman years from March of 538. Those 1260 years would end in February of 1798. You ask me what pivotal event happened in February of 1798? I’ll tell you. Napoleon. His French Army took Rome, established a Republic, and dethroned the pope on February 15, 1798. That ended the reign of the sixth head, the little horn of Daniel.”

Shalom,

Ted Porter