KJV Revelation 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.

John sees this woman giving birth to the man child. This child is to rule the nations with a rod of iron. That phrase alone is one of the key reasons people believe this refers to Christ Jesus. So let's look at a key verb in the Greek. The KJV says "who WAS to rule all nations with a rod of iron". But the Greek is written in the present tense, indicative mood.. The verb is "mellei ' and is a special verb form which denotes something is about to happen soon, not in the distant future. It would be approximately 2000 years from the ascension of Christ Jesus till the 2nd Coming, when he "rules the nations with a rod of iron, (Rev 19:15) , whereas it is just a matter of a few years from the birth of this child to its reign with Christ on earth, (Rev 2:27). The verb "mellei " comes from the word "mello " and means : "to be on the point of doing, about to do, a certain expectation, about to happen, sense of imminence ". This "man-child" is about to rule the nations, presently, not in the distant future. And the verb form "mellei " is used 15 times in the Word, and contextually it carries the sense of "close proximity of time or events". So we might interpret the verse : " she brought forth a man child who is about to rule..... " or "who will imminently rule", etc. Now, in addition to the reasons stated in the preface of the study of Rev 12, we have an additional key, a grammatical key, to show that this "man-child" refers to some "one" else other than Christ Jesus. He is "delivered" during the "7th world gov't empire", which is yet to come, and when he is delivered, he will rule shortly thereafter with Christ.

She gives birth to a man child "who is about to rule ". The word translated "rule" is " poimainein " and is the verb form meaning "to shepherd"; or, in other words, to "guide, to feed, to care for and look after with emphasis on the judgmental aspects of ruling, governing, etc". Notice the "emphasis on the judgmental aspects of ruling, governing, etc". This man child company shepherds and rules with a rod of iron. KJV Revelation 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power (authority) over the nations: 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. Christ and his saints rule with a rod of iron -- their word is the final word. The word "rod" comes from the Greed "robda", and means scepter, the same word in Heb 1:8 where Christ is said to rule with a Scepter of righteousness.

"Iron" speaks of authority, firmness, not brutality. Their word is the final word. Rebellion will be dealt with accordingly. Remember, man's heart is hardened all through the tribulation. Peace does not come automatic after the battle of Armageddon. Consider now what Enoch prophesied, as recorded in : Jude : 14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. 16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.

It is this type of people that the saints of God come back to earth with Christ to rule. It is not that the "sceptre of iron" is without mercy so much as it deals justly when justice is due. Christ Jesus returns with literally myriads of saints, and those saints will span the globe in His name to restore righteousness and justice with a scepter of iron tempered with mercy when mercy is due. And I affirm that the saints spoken of here are of the man child company.

Rulership of the saints is seen in the gospels. For example, In Matt 25 we read of the parable of the ten talents in which certain men are given rulership over 2, 5, & 10 cities for their faithful stewardship. And Paul tells us that we shall even judge angels, (messengers, not heavenly angels) . Joseph being set over Egypt and Daniel over Babylon are "types and shadows" of saints in the Millennium ruling and reigning with Christ. The firstborn being given the right to do business in the marketplace and running the family estate typifies the saints ruling their Father's "estate". Paul says that we are "heirs of God and joint-heirs of Christ". And in Matthew 16:27 Jesus says he will give to every man the reward according to his works, and from the parables, we know that entails rulership. All this in addition to the several passages in Revelation that say we are kings and priests unto our God.

This is not going to be given to the unbelieving, the doubting, the lukewarm, undisciplined, sin-filled "Christian" who has no time to love his God, no love for the lost, no time for prevailing prayer. This is not for the faithless, ( those without faith, and the unfaithful), but for those who are a "man after God's own heart". Eli lost his priesthood because he was not faithful, and it was given to Samuel. Saul lost his kingdom, and it was given to David. Esau lost his birthright, it was given to Jacob. And remember, he found no repentance of his father though he sought it with tears. As Rev 2:26-27 says, this is for all who "overcome (sin) and endure his word to the end" -- they are those who will rule the nations with Christ. Let's encourage one another to become "overcomers" that we might be "joint-heirs of Christ" and be faithful kings, priests unto our God.


The answer is "No", because they have simply been taken into the heavenlies in the same spiritual dimension that Christ Jesus lives in. We are one in the spirit, the only thing seperating us is the physical veil. Heaven is not a zillion miles away. You don't have to shout for God to hear you, and Jesus said that where two or three are gathered in his name, he is in the midst. Paul says in Hebrews 12 we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. And in another place he says that we are to welcome strangers, for we may be entertaining angels unawares,--angels clothed or manifesting in a human form. Therefore, the only thing that seperates us is the veil of flesh, the physical realm.

So even at the rapture, Christ is not divided. We are still one in spirit, still the body of Christ, spiritually speaking. The perfected man has put on the incorruptible body, as will the woman and the remnant of her seed, which are seen standing before the throne in Rev 7:14, & 15:2

Look again at verse 5 and we will focus on who rules with a rod of iron :

KJV Revelation 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. As we discussed in Part 1, this "man child" is collectively a body of saints seen as one man (John 17:11, 21-23, Phil 2:2) , and now we see that it is this man who is to rule with a rod of iron. How do we know this is not referring to Christ, but to the company of saints ? : KJV Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 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. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. (Rev 12:5)

This is Christ Jesus talking to his churches and saying to them that only "he who overcomes and keeps my works unto the end, to him will I give power (authority) over the nations, and he ( all who overcome) shall rule them with a rod of iron..." Now consider the following verses : KJV Revelation 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. KJV Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years ( Ex 19:6; 1Pe 2:5,9; Isa 61:6; )

In Rev 1:6 the Greek literally reads "made us kings, priests unto God"; which agrees better with Rev 20:6 : "priests unto God and of Christ, and shall reign WITH HIM a thousand years.

Preists who reign as kings. Who does that remind you of but Melchezedec of Salem ( Jerusalem). Who is after the order of Melchezedec ? Christ Jesus. Who is "in Christ"? The saints who overcome and keep his word to the end.

Let's look at two verses which more specifically point to Christ Jesus : KJV 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. KJV Psalm 2:9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. ( This is a prophetic Messianic psalm)

Christ and the saints rule together with a rod of iron, but he alone is the King of kings, and Lord of lords. But Rev 12:5 is set in the "end time" 7th head world gov't, and Jesus is already on the throne when this event happens. The man-child is caught up to "God and His throne", and Jesus is already there. This is a book of prophecy of future events, not past events. John only saw what was to come in the future, not of the past. This man child is the firstfruits of those who rule and reign with Christ in the millinium, both Israeli and Gentile saints -- those who are in Christ, for he is the only way to the Father, he is the only door.

KJV Revelation 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.

In English, we have the "past, present, perfect and future" tense. In Greek, they have what is called the "aorist tense", for which we have no English equivalent. The "aorist" is most commonly translated in the "past tense" in English. Because there is no direct English equivalent, there are many times when we lose a lot in the translation, especially time keys...... ie, the time in which an action takes place.

There are certain variations of the "aorist tense", but for the most part, it is "punctiliar" in nature. That is to say, it has no reference to time, it is a simple statement of fact. "The concept of the verb is written without reference to past, present or future time". In Rev 12:5, this is very significant, because the phrase "she brought forth a child" is in the aorist tense, "who was to rule..." is in the present tense, indicative mood, and " the child was caught up to God ..." is in the aorist tense. In English, it appears to be a sequence of events happening one after another. But if that were the case, God would have used the past, present, or perfect tenses. But he didn't. He used the aorist tense .... without reference to time - past present or future. It is just a statement of fact that at some point in time ( not necessarily immediately ) the "child" was caught up to God.

Why is that significant? Because this "perfect man, made in the stature of Christ" ( Eph 4:12-13 ) is not "born" just to be snatched away. He has a mission, and I believe that mission is two-fold : a. To complete the "week" of the Messiah, who was cut off in the midst of his week, ( Dan 9:25-26 ) b. Two deal the death blow to the "7th head" antichrist gov't' which is healed and becomes the 8th. ( Rev 13:1-4; Rev 17:10-11 )

Daniel prophesied that the Messiah's week was to be 7 years, but was cut off in the midst of it. We know that he ministered for 3.5 years, ( 1/2 of 7 ). It stands to reason that the "man-child" ( the man of Eph 4:12-13) would minister for 3.5 years in the same anointing of Christ. Who else but God's "Anointed One" could deal a death wound to such a powerful world gov't system? What is going to administer that death wound but the "sword of the spirit" .... which is the rhema, the spoken word of God ( Eph 6:17-18, Grk literal ). That wound will not be dealt in a day, but in a season of time. It speaks of revival, healing, miracles, the preaching of the word with signs following. Jesus said "greater works shall you do because I go to my father ( John 15:12), and in that day, their "meat" shall be to do the works of their Father. And I believe that work is a 3.5 year ministry of power and anointing that "crushes Satan's head under-foot" --Ro 16:20 It will deal the death blow to the very life blood of Satan's regime. Then "he that letteth (restrains evil ) willl be suddenly taken away ( 2Thes 2:7). What could crush Satan's head underfoot more than a great world revival by means of the Word of God ( Ro 16:20, Eph 6:17-18, Heb 4:12, 1Cor 14:25 ). The point of this addendum is to show cause and purpose for a space in time between the birth of the man-child company, and its rapture. Again, I believe it is the 3.5 years, the latter half of Christ's "week" in which this company ministers in the power and spirit of "The Anointed One".

It is after the rapture of this man-child army of God that the devil persues the woman and makes war with the remnant of her seed. This marks the beginning of the seven year tribulation from a different perspective than what was seen in Chapters 4-11.




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