Revelation 12:5-11
Last week we began Chapter 12, and in verse 1 we saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and with a crown of twelve stars on her head. In verse 2, we saw that she was with child, and in verses 3-4, a great red dragon appeared and stood before the woman waiting to devour her child as soon as he was born.

The woman depicts the faithful people of God under the old covenant, from whom the Messiah (the child) came in the flesh. The dragon is Satan, or more particularly, Satan using the Roman Empire as a weapon against the church.

In verse 5, the child will be born. Who will win? Does a newborn baby stand any chance at all against a great red dragon? Most would say no - but things are not what they seem!

Revelation 12:5-6
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.
We find in these verses conclusive evidence that this child is Jesus. Verse 5 says that this child was to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. Recall Psalm 2.

Psalm 2:9 - Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
Also, recall Revelation 2.

Revelation 2:26-27 - 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.
Later in Revelation 19, we will read:

Revelation 19:15 - 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: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
We already knew that this child is Jesus, but now in verse 5 we really know it! There is no doubt at all in verse 5.

Before the dragon can devour him, the child is caught up to God and to his throne. Here we see the ascension of Christ back to his father's throne in heaven as recorded in Acts 1:9. The ascension in Act 1 was prophesied in Daniel 7.

Daniel 7:13-14 - I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
That ascension is what we are seeing here in verse 5. Notice in Daniel 7 that the Son of man came to the Ancient of days, and "there was given him" a kingdom. That sequence of events in Daniel 7:13-14 is the same sequence of events we see in Acts 1-2: the ascension in Acts 1 followed by the establishment of the eternal kingdom in Acts 2.

On this earth, Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. On this earth, Jesus was tempted by Satan, yet without sin. On this earth, Jesus was put to death by wicked Roman hands. But Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus defeated Satan, and Jesus ascended back to heaven, forever out of Satan's grasp. Do you think that's a message the first century church needed to hear? I do.

Satan failed to defeat Jesus when Jesus was the most vulnerable, while he was made in the likeness of men and found in fashion as a man (Philippians 2:7-8). Satan certainly won't fair any better after Jesus has ascended to rule the universe from the right hand of God the father in heaven!

Before we read any further, we know what God's message to the church is going to be! Just as these Christians had followed the example of Christ in their suffering, they would also follow the example of Christ in ascending to heaven. They, too, would escape the clutches of this great red dragon.

One last point about verse 5 - when we the see the ascension of Jesus in verse 5, we know that we have now moved from the old covenant to the new covenant. That transition occurred at the cross, and the cross occurred prior to the ascension. What that tells us is that the woman who depicted God's faithful people under the old covenant in verse 1 now depicts God's faithful people under the new covenant. This woman now depicts the church!

What happens next? Verse 6 tells us that the woman flees into the wilderness to a place prepared by God. We are reminded of Moses fleeing from Pharaoh into the wilderness. We are reminded of the Israelites fleeing from Egypt into the wilderness. We are reminded of Elijah fleeing from Ahab and Jezebel into the wilderness. We are reminded of Mary and Joseph fleeing from King Herod into the wilderness. Here we see the church fleeing into the wilderness.