Revelation 12:4

‘And the monster stood before the woman who was about to be delivered so that when she was delivered he might devour her child. And she was delivered of a son, a male child who is to rule (act as shepherd to) all the nations with a rod of iron, and her child was caught up to God and to his throne.’

This vivid picture of Satan waiting to devour the woman’s son, brings out his fear of the woman and her seed. Though great in power he is not permitted to destroy the woman. He must therefore destroy her seed.

The fact that the monster cannot devour the woman is another example of God’s preserving power. God says, ‘thus far you may go and no further’. We can compare the restrictions God put on Satan with regard to Job (Job 1:12), and how for three and a half years He preserved the two witnesses (chapter 11).

The picture that follows does not pretend to be a detailed explanation of the life of Jesus, but to illustrate the important fact of His triumph in as few words as possible so as not to divert attention away from the woman, and to centre attention on the battle in the heavens. (John knew his book would be read to people who would never have the chance to read it for themselves. In the reading he did not want their attention to be turned aside from the main point, the woman’s career).

‘That -- he might devour her child’. As soon as Jesus was born Satan did make his first attempt to ‘devour’ Him, for Herod sought the young child to kill Him (Matthew 2:16). But he failed. That attempt is looked on as summarising all Satan’s later activities, his constant attempts to destroy Jesus, which ended in the cross. There he thought he had finally succeeded, but his total failure is clearly summed up in the fact that Jesus was carried up to His Father’s throne, a proof of His triumph and of the fact that He now reigns in Heaven.

But who was the son, the male child of whom Israel cried to be delivered? (Revelation 12:2). There can only be one answer, the promised seed. The primary one who is to be born of faithful Israel is the Messiah, the seed of the woman who would break the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15); the lion of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:9-10); the star of Jacob and Sceptre of Israel (Numbers 24:17); the son (male child) born of a woman who will be called ‘God is with us’ (Isaiah 7:14); the male child to be born and the son to be ‘given’ on whose shoulders will rest governing power, who will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, whose kingdom would know no end (Isaiah 9:6-7); the shoot from the stock of Jesse who would be endued with the Spirit of the Lord (Isaiah 11:1); the one who will come forth from Bethlehem to be ruler of Israel whose going out has been from everlasting (Micah 5:2). He is the one who ‘will judge the nations with a rod of iron’ (Revelation 19:15; Psalms 2:9). Most of all he is the one who is caught up to God and to His throne, and no one shares the Father’s throne except the Son (Revelation 3:21).

Some have questioned this identification on the grounds that the description of the male child’s career is expressed too briefly and does not outline the facts of Jesus’ life and end. But the concentration at this point is not on the male child but on the woman’s fate. We are not dealing here with theological niceties but with vivid symbolism, dealt with as succintly as possible. The monster waiting to devour the man-child did finally fail in his purpose. He thought he would succeed, but he was wrong. At the very moment when he thought he had achieved his aim he was made aware of his mistake. The Son was taken up to the throne of His Father. So did Jesus in His manhood escape from his evil purposes to His final triumph.

Furthermore it is Jesus Christ who is depicted as the One ‘Who will break the nations with a rod of iron’. In Psalms 2:0 this idea is expressed of the Messiah and there in the context of ‘yet have I set my king on my holy hill of Zion’. This latter was fulfilled when Jesus was caught up into heaven and to His Father’s throne in the heavenly Jerusalem. Thus this is what John depicts. This last in itself confirms that He had defeated the power of evil and made a show of them, for His place on the throne demonstrated that He had taken authority and had begun to reign over all things. It also demonstrates that in the first analysis only He could be the male child.

But the early church and the epistles saw a further glorious truth. When Christ died, His people died with Him, when Christ rose, His people rose with Him, when Christ ascended into Heaven, His people ascended with Him. When Christ was seated on His throne far above all, His people sat with Him (Ephesians 1:19 to Ephesians 2:7 compare Colossians 3:1; Colossians 2:12-13). This important teaching must not be overlooked. To the early church it was part of their experience and belief. (Compare on Revelation 20:3 onwards). So in this passage we see the triumph of the people of God already made certain in Christ. Because of this they are untouchable.

Thus the man child is also secondarily the people of God, for the overcomer is promised that he too will rule the nations with a rod of iron (Revelation 2:27). This compares with the Servant of the Lord (Isaiah 42:0; Isaiah 45:0; Isaiah 50:0; Isaiah 53:0) who is primarily Christ, as Luke especially makes clear, but is secondarily also His church (Acts 13:47). Satan will seek to destroy the church as well (Revelation 12:17), but he cannot for they are safe in Christ. The church too will later be caught up to God at the rapture when Christ comes. But that is simply the final fulfilment of God’s purposes in physical form. In a real sense this has already taken place for they were caught up when Christ was caught up. They were raised with Him far above all and share His triumph (Ephesians 2:6).

An attempt is sometimes made to relate the male child directly to the church and not to Christ at all. But no overcomer is to be borne up to God’s throne directly. Rather he shares Christ’s throne with Him and the difference in the two is made crystal clear elsewhere in Revelation (Revelation 3:21). The overcomer has this promise to ‘rule’ the nations precisely because he is in Christ and shares His throne, and not by any intrinsic right of his own. His authority is secondary. It is Jesus Christ who has the primary authority because He shares His Father’s throne. The promise in Revelation 2:27 is an assurance that the overcomer will be set above those who have previously persecuted him, but it does not make him the primary ruler of the nations. That is only true of Jesus Christ.

But why does John not fill out the picture a little more? Almost certainly, because he does not want to take the readers attention away from the woman. It is her career that is his interest at this point. Thus he puts as succintly as possible the triumph of Jesus. The atonement has already been sufficiently presented (Revelation 5:6; Revelation 7:14). The Lamb and what He has accomplished has been clearly revealed there. He therefore limits his description to the final fact that the man-child, who will rule the nations with a rod of iron, has been raised to God’s throne for this very purpose. His readers automatically know that this One Who is borne up to God has been depicted as the slain Lamb.

The picture is very vivid. The monster waiting to devour the child, making his attempts knowing that all depends on it, and failing, for the child is taken from his empty grasp before his eyes and ascends to the throne, followed by his determination to destroy the woman and prevent the fulfilment of God’s purposes. Thwarted and defeated by the cross and the resurrection he determines to cause as much damage as possible.

‘Was caught up’. The verb can mean simply ‘borne away unresistingly’. Thus it is used in Acts 8:39 of Philip being taken away by the Spirit having spoken with the Ethiopian eunuch and in 2 Corinthians 12:2 of Paul being taken up to the third heaven. It carries no special significance of urgency. It simply describes what happens as being the action of God from the throne.