Welcome back to our series on Revelation chapter 12, where we have just begin studying and interpreting the action displayed in the scenario of the great red dragon and the sun-clothed woman. In this post, we’re going to examine the second, third, and fourth actions taking place in the scenario. Are you ready to dig into this?

Revelation Chapter 12

Sixth in an Eleven-Part Series
By Karen Thompson

The Dragon’s Assault on the Sun-Clothed Woman

Rev. 12:1 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. 2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Second Action: The Dragon Attempts to Devour the Man Child When He Is Born

After we see the dragon cast one third of the stars to the ground, the next thing he does is focus his attention on the man child the woman is about to birth: “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” (Rev. 12:4–5). As noted earlier, the man child symbolizes the 144,000 servants who are from the 12 tribes of Israel. Revelation chapter 14 tells us they are Christian converts.

After the Antichrist kills one third of the Jewish people, he will then focus his attention on the 144,000 Christian converts, or Christians in general. The dragon’s intention is to devour, or kill, the man child as soon as it is born. The woman’s pregnancy will come to full term when the very last one of the full 144,000 has become born again and thereby is sealed with the seal of God. That is when the dragon will try to kill the man child. What this tells us is that the little horn Antichrist will be hell bent on killing both Jewish and Christian people.

Verse five tells us the man child is very important: it says the man child will “rule all nations with a rod of iron.” The 144,000 servants will have an important role in helping Messiah rule over the nations during His millennial reign. The reference to ruling the nations with a rod of iron is a reference to Jesus’ millennial reign. The Word says Jesus will rule with a “rod of iron.” Revelation chapter 19 gives us a picture of Jesus the Messiah returning to earth with His army to defeat Antichrist. Verse 15 says, “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….” Jesus ruling the nations with a rod of iron, means He will rule with might and strength. Psalm 2:9 speaks about Jesus’ millennial reign over the nations as well: “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron….”

We see the phrase “rod of iron” is also connected to one of the overcomer’s rewards: “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 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” (Rev. 2:26–27). The man child, the 144,000 servants, will rule and reign with Jesus as He reigns over the nations with a rod of iron.

Third Action: The Man Child Is Caught Up to God

The action in the scenario continued: when the dragon showed his intent to devour the man child, the child was caught up to God before His throne. This means the man child, the 144,000, is caught up to heaven before the Antichrist can kill him. This scenario of the man child being raptured up to God as soon as it is birthed harmonizes perfectly with what we read about the 144,000 servants in chapter seven. 

To refresh your memory, we first read about the 144,000 servants right after the violent earthquake that took place after the sixth seal was opened. After the earthquake, an angel ascended from the east having the seal of God. He cried out to four angels whose task it was to “hurt the earth and the sea” saying, “Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads” (Rev. 7:3). So the angels stood at the four corners of the earth holding back the winds from blowing on the earth. (Rev. 7:1) They held back the winds until every one of the 144,000 was sealed. (Holding the winds back from blowing on the earth means the angels were restraining the nations from fighting, so that peace could be maintained until all 144,000 were sealed.) Right after that, the apostle John recorded the list of those that were sealed from the 12 tribes of Israel, 12,000 from each tribe (vv. 4–8). That’s the last thing he said about the 144,000. Immediately after that, John wrote that he saw a multitude in heaven. This juxtaposition of the scene of the 144,000 being sealed placed back to back with seeing a multitude in heaven confirms that a rapture event takes place immediately after the 144,000 are all sealed, which is symbolized by the sun-clothed woman giving birth to the man child. 

What we read about the 144,000 servants in chapter seven matches with what we read about the man child in chapter 12. In chapter seven, as soon as all of the 144,000 are sealed, the next verse indicates they were immediately caught up to God in heaven. In chapter 12, as soon as the man child is birthed, he is caught up to God in heaven. This is another confirmation that the 144,000 servants are, indeed, the man child birthed by the sun-clothed woman.

From the action by the dragon, casting a third of the stars to the earth and attempting to kill the man child when it is born, we can deduce his intent will be to kill both Jewish people and Christians. This is another confirmation that this time of war is about religion, and it’s plain to see that Judaism and Christianity are not on the “approved” list.

Fourth Action: The Woman Flees into the Wilderness

Verse six shows us the next action that takes place in the scenario of the sun-clothed woman: “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.”

The woman flees into the wilderness. Immediately, one has to wonder, If the woman is Jerusalem, how can a city flee into the wilderness? As noted earlier, the city can be defined as the Jewish people and the Jewish people can be defined as the city. They are one in the same. The symbolism of the woman fleeing into the wilderness is interpreted to mean the Jewish people fleeing from the attack of the little horn to a place that is not a city, an uninhabited place—a wilderness. This is usually the case when a nation is invaded; the inhabitants (usually the women and children, the old and infirmed) will seek to escape the nation and flee to a safe place.

In the next post, we’ll give a summary of all the four elements of action.

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