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.
“Man Child”??!! That’s a very strange terminology, isn’t it? That’s the way the KJV translates it. They very well knew words like “son”, “lad”, “boy” etc. But for some reason, they chose the words “man child”. Well, our focus is not on why they chose those words, but in this article, we will focus on trying to figure out who this “Man Child” is.
Many hold on to this... “who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron…” and this “...and to his throne:” ...parts of the verse and are convinced that the “Man Child” is Jesus Christ himself. There is certainly, scriptural support for this claim. As we read Psalms 2, we can see that God Himself set Jesus on the throne to rule with a rod of iron. We could have settled the matter with this conclusion and closed the case there. But, unfortunately, there are some factors that do not permit us to come to that conclusion.
Firstly, let’s consider these 2 verses:
Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass;
Rev 4:1 ...the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
The first verse clearly tells us that this book is intended to show the servants of Jesus Christ, the things that are going to happen shortly. The second verse confirms this, as the voice that calls out to John, tells him that he is going to be shown the future. Thus, the event about the birth of the “Man Child” is not something that has already taken place in the past, but something that is going to take place in the future. Since the birth of Jesus Christ had already taken place at the time John was shown the vision, it would not be right to conclude that the “Man Child” is Jesus Christ.
Secondly, for the “Man Child” to be Jesus Christ, the woman would have to be Mother Mary or as some claim - Israel. Again many things do not match up with this:
By the time John is seeing the vision of this woman, Mother Mary is already history. Adding to this, we saw that John is supposed to be seeing events of the future. Thus, there is no way this woman can be Mary or Israel.
Then there are many events listed in Rev 12 that took place in the life of the woman like the woman fled into the wilderness, she was fed for 1260 days, the dragon persecuted the woman, the woman was given wings, she flew away into the wilderness and so on. We can tell from the history we know, that none of these are in any manner connected to either Mary or Israel.
Even though we have seen arguments that allow us to conclude that the “Man Child” cannot be Jesus Christ, we still cannot come to that conclusion, if we unable to find someone else who fits this space. So is there anyone else who is given the authority to sit on God’s throne and rule with a rod of iron apart from Jesus Christ? It turns out that Revelation Chapter 2, has something to tell us about this matter.
Rev 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
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.
Let’s cross-reference it with Psalms to see where Jesus Christ “received it” from His Father.
Psa 2:7 ...Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Psa 2:9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
There is a group of people called “him that overcometh”. Those overcomers will be granted the authority to sit on the throne and to rule with a rod of iron. Thus, there is indeed someone who fits that space other than Jesus Christ. And so we could conclude that the “Man Child” refers to them. The event (man child being caught up to God’s throne as soon as it was born) is one where the overcomers are taken up in the rapture. [ ref: 1Co_15:52 , 1Th_4:17 ].
So now a section of the church who are known as the overcomers are taken up to share the throne with Jesus Christ and to share His glory. What about the rest of the church??
Rev 12:17 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.
his verse tells us that this group keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. But still they are on earth, left behind and have to make war with the dragon because failed as overcomers.
So the question is where would you want to be at that time? Would you want to be among them that are sharing the throne happily with our Lord or would you want to be here on earth battling in the war against the dragon?