Rev 12:1-6 Part 2, The Woman and The Manchild- The Heir With Christ

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Rev 12:1-6 Part 2, The Woman and The Manchild – The Heir With Christ

[Study Aired Dec 6, 2024]

We paused our last study after demonstrating that “the manchild” brought forth by the woman who fled into the wilderness from the face of the dragon is the same as the son of the freewoman of Galatians 4, who is also a “joint heir with Christ” in the coming kingdom of God which will bear rule over all the kingdoms of this world:

Gal 4:1  Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gal 4:2  But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3  Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

We continue with the goal of demonstrating that being an heir with Christ refers only to the inheritance of the kingdom during the thousand-year reign, with the subsequent added blessing of “judging angels” at the great white throne judgment which follows that inherited kingdom reign.

Our Savior is “the heir” of the throne of King David, the king of Israel, and in Him we, too, are “heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ of that kingdom rulershship, if we suffer with Him”.

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint- heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

It is this suffering with Him “that we may be glorified together” with Him, which this seventh trumpet is all about. It is dying with Christ daily, as God’s wrath is being poured out upon our sinful flesh, until the day that we give up on this life and are “crucified with him”.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christnevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Col 3:6  For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
Col 3:7  In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

1Pe 4:3  For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

None of which is meant to imply we have the fullness of the spirit while we are still in corruptible flesh and blood, but it all does imply that if we are suffering with Christ, we have “ceased from sin” in the sense “sin no longer has dominion over us”, and we are not now “abiding in wrath”.

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

Rom 6:12  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Rom 6:13  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Rom 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

The inference is that being ‘under the law’ signifies the fact that sin still dominates our lives, and we are not yet under grace.

Who is this “great red dragon”?

Rev 12:3  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.

This verse confirms Christ’s statement that we are all first “of our father the devil.” Here is who we are in the next chapter:

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

Truly we are first “of [our] father the devil, with our seven heads and our ten horns and the name of blasphemy upon those seven heads, even though we profess Christ:

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33  They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Joh 8:37  I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
Joh 8:38  I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

You Are of Your Father the Devil

Joh 8:39  They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
Joh 8:40  But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
Joh 8:41  Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
Joh 8:42  Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye [“Jews which believe on Me”, Vs 30] cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44  Ye [“Jews which believe on Me”, vs 30] are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

This “great read dragon” is none other than “that old serpent the devil, and Satan”, as we are told in this very chapter.

Rev 12:9  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.

As is the case throughout scripture, there are many symbols which all signify the same thing. “The dream is one” we are told about Pharaoh’s dreams of cows and corn, both of which were speaking of one thing, a period of abundance followed by an impending famine. Likewise this “great red dragon” is “that old serpent… our [first] father the devil.” He has always been on the same page with our first mother, the bondwoman.

Gen 3:1  Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

As blasphemous and evil as is this old serpent, the devil, he is an integral part of this revelation of Jesus Christ within us.

Why just a third part of the stars of heaven?

Rev 12:4  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.

“A third part of the stars of heaven” has nothing to do with the percentage of the stars of heaven. What it is telling us, as is always the case when we encounter the number ‘three’, is the process of judgment being carried out as we “keep the things written… in the words of this prophecy” (Rev 1:3, Rev 22:7).

We have covered the dragon “standing before the woman… to devour her child as soon as it was born” in our discussion of verse two. We saw the shadow of this in the story of Joseph, and we can also see its shadow in the story of Cain and Abel.

Gen 4:1  And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
Gen 4:2  And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Gen 4:3  And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
Gen 4:4  And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Gen 4:5  But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Gen 4:6  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee [shall be] his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Gen 4:8  And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
Gen 4:9  And the LORD said unto Cain, Where [is] Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: [Am] I my brother’s keeper?
Gen 4:10  And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
Gen 4:11  And now [art] thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;

Cain, as Adam’s first son, typifies our first Adam, as “a man from the Lord.” Being a tiller of the ground, his offering is “of the fruit of the ground” and not a blood offering “of the firstlings of the flock.” Thus Cain’s offering typifies our efforts to improve this doomed world apart from the blood of Christ. In killing his brother who was favored by the Lord, Cain demonstrates that he is truly “of his father the devil… a murderer from the beginning.”

Who “rules the nations”?

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.

It is generally understood that this manchild is the church and not Christ Himself. What is certainly not generally understood, is the degree to which Christ identifies with you and me as being He himself. We have already seen how He calls us by His own titles. He tells us that He is the light of the world and then He tells us ”ye are the light of the world.”

Joh 8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

We are told that Christ is the bread from heaven, and we are told that we are one loaf.

Joh 6:35  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

1Co 10:17  For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

As Christ suffered for the church, we, too, are expected to do the same.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

Young’s Literal Translation, has the article ‘the’ before the word ‘Christ’, as we see in the King James elsewhere, as the holy spirit refers to us as “the Christ.”

Col 1:24  I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and do fill up the things lacking of the tribulations of the Christ in my flesh for his body, which is the assembly, (YLT)

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

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.

Rev 12:10  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.

Here, in no uncertain terms, is this manchild who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron:

Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27 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.

That is this manchild. It is “he that overcomes and keeps Christ’s works unto the end.” That is no small task, but it is possible “through Christ.”

Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Christ considers this manchild to be “as He [Himself] is in this world”.

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

How are we “caught up to God and to His throne”?

If we really are this manchild, then we should be able to demonstrate that we, too, are “caught up to God and to His throne as soon as we are born” of Christ. Is there any such verse of scripture? As a matter of fact there is just such a verse of scripture, which, along with this verse here in Revelation 12, confirms the truth of this statement that the dragon is intent upon devouring this manchild “as soon as he is born.” Here is this truth as it is inspired to be revealed to us:

Eph 2:6 and He raised us up together and seated us together in the heavenlies [or heavenly realms] in Christ Jesus, (ALT)

Here is Rotherham’s version of this verse:

Eph 2:6 And raised us up together, and seated us together in the heavenlies, in Christ: (REV)

As is always the case, we are “in the wilderness” before we are “caught up to God and to His throne”.

What takes place while we are “in the wilderness”?

Rev 12:6  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.

Our “resurrection in newness of life” is our birth out of this woman, and it is at this point that the great red dragon stands poised to devour us. It is at this same point that we, in Christ, are “caught up to God and to His throne” while our mother goes into the wilderness to be nourished by God, just as rebellious Israel was nourished of God in the wilderness for forty years as she rebelled against him “ten times”.

Num 14:22  Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten timesand have not hearkened to my voice;

With what are we nourish while we are being tried in the wilderness? We are nourished with a “bread from heaven” which does not impart life and which is “not the true bread from heaven”.

Exo 16:4  Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

However, this “bread from heaven, even though it is from “the Lord”, is “not the true bread” which will give us life.

Joh 6:31  Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
Joh 6:32  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
Joh 6:33  For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
Joh 6:34  Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
Joh 6:35  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

While we are in the wilderness we think we are eating “bread from heaven”. After all, the Lord Himself said it was so. But it was “Not… the true bread from heaven”, and it could not give life.

Why does the dragon have seven crowns on seven heads while the beast has ten crowns on ten horns?

This is a detail we need to understand, so the first thing we need to do is to establish what the spiritual significance of the two words ‘horns’ and ’10’ are. What does the word ‘horns’ signify in scripture? What does the number ’10’ signify in scripture? To answer these questions we must, as always, remember that Christ is “the Word” of God (Joh 1:1), and “The words I speak to you are spirit” (Joh 6:63), meaning they are not seen or heard by anyone without the spirit of God.

Those who are given that spirit are given to see and hear “the things of the spirit”, which are foolishness to the natural man who cannot understand spiritual matters and who does not know that all scripture is spiritual in nature.

1Co 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
1Co 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
1Co 2:6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
1Co 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
1Co 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

So this entire book of Revelation is being taught us by the holy spirit which “teaches comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” It concerns “the things freely given us of God… which the natural man cannot receive or know because they are foolishness to him.”

What do ‘horns’ signify spiritually? Their positive spiritual meaning is the strength and power of the spirit of God. Notice how this relates to the Lamb Himself and to His elect:

Rev 5:6  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

We will pause here having demonstrated that both the beast and the Lamb are presented to us with “seven horns”, and we will resume our study by demonstrating the spiritual significance of the words ‘seven’ and ‘horns’.

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