Simple Keys to Understanding the Book of Revelation — Part 10
In Revelation 12:2, we find out that the sun-clothed woman, the Church, is pregnant.
“And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.” (KJV)
Jesus gave us clues about who this child is in the first two chapters of Revelation. Do you remember how the letters to the seven churches were written in Revelation 2 and 3? Each letter was written to an entire church, and within each church, there was an individual that Jesus addressed as the overcomer. Here again, we have the church, pictured as a sun-clothed woman, and there is an individual within her. Can you guess who this individual might be? The identity of this child will become clear as we see how he is described.
Next we see a new character, a dragon, appear on the scene.
*“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.”—Revelation 12:3 (KJV) *
We are told in verse 9 that this dragon is Satan. At this time, Satan is not focused on the Church, but is instead focused on the child. As soon as this child appears, Satan is determined to destroy him.
*“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.”—Revelation 12:4 (KJV) *
However, as soon as this child comes forth, he is caught up to Heaven, and Satan has no chance to harm him.
*“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 (KJV) *
The identity of this child begins to become clear as we see how he is described. Verse 5 tells us that he “was to rule all nations with a rod of iron.” Where have we read that phrase before? It appears in Revelation 2:26-27 to describe the overcomer.
“And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—‘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”—Revelation 2:26-27 (NKJV)
We discover from this verse, and from other verses that refer to this man child, that he represents, not a single individual, but a group of Overcomers who are described in the letters to the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3.
Where did they go?
As soon as this group of Overcomers came forth, we are told that they were “caught up unto God, and to his throne.”
Does this group represent the Firstfruits, the Main Harvest, or the Gleanings of the end-time harvest?
We don’t see them again until Revelation 14. It is in this chapter that we are told which part of the harvest they represent.
“Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 [men] who had His name and His Father’s name inscribed on their foreheads.”—Revelation 14:1*** ***(AMPC)
It is by this description that we recognize that these are the Overcomers because they match the description given by Jesus in Revelation 3:12 (NKJV):
“He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more***.**** I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. *And I will write on him My new name.”
Don’t get tripped up by the number 144,000. That is not a literal number. The word “thousand” in that verse is actually plural. The same word is used in Revelation 5:11 to say “thousands of thousands.” This is the perfect number to describe this group of Overcomers because 144 = 12 x 12, with 12 representing governmental authority. Since these Overcomers will “rule all nations with a rod of iron,” we could say that these are thousands of the 144 who will rule with Kingdom authority.
Verse 4 of chapter 14 tells us that this group of Overcomers is the Firstfruits of the end-time Harvest:
***” ***… These are they who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These are they who have been ransomed (purchased, redeemed) from among men as the firstfruits for God and the Lamb.” (AMPC)
Following the pattern of the harvest given throughout Scripture, these Overcomers, who come to maturity before the rest of the harvest, are caught up to God and to His throne, just like the firstfruits harvest was taken directly to the Temple of God during harvest time. (Exodus 23:19; Exodus 34:26; Nehemiah 10:35,37)
Jesus speaks of this group in Luke 21. After his description of the difficult times coming at the end of this age, Jesus gave us hope that we could qualify to be counted worthy to be a part of this group of believers who would escape the Tribulation and be caught up to stand before Jesus in Heaven.
“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”—Luke 21:36 (NKJV)
The emergence of this group of Overcomers represented by the man child in Revelation 12 has been eagerly awaited, not only by God and His angels, but all of creation has been groaning for these mature sons and daughters of God to come forth!
“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.*** For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. ***And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”—Romans 8:19-23 (ESV)
Jesus may have been prophesying the birth of this man child when He said this in John 16:21 (KJV):
*“A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a ****man ***is born into the world.”
This is not the end of the story for these Overcomers. We will see later in Revelation chapter 12 that when this man child company of believers is caught up to the throne of God, that will trigger events that will cause Satan to finally lose access to the heavenly realms. He will no longer be the Prince of the Power of the Air. And we will discover the very special assignment that this man child group is given to care for the sun-clothed woman during the time of Great Tribulation.
For a more detailed explanation of the events in the book of Revelation, I highly recommend this free book about the end-time harvest (PDF download), as well as this free book about the Daniel’s prophecy (PDF download), and this free book about Revelation prophecies (PDF download). These were all written by my friend and former pastor.