Who Is The Male Child Of Revelation 12?
Aug 22, 2017 12:44:52 GMT -6
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Post by Gary on Aug 22, 2017 12:44:52 GMT -6
Original article is here.
Who is the male child of Revelation 12? This question becomes increasingly pertinent as we near the day on which the Revelation 12 Sign may be fulfilled. Historically the predominant assumption was that the male child of Revelation 12:5 was Christ, but this interpretation appears to have some significant faults. In retrospect it looks like the popular view regarding the male child was held for two reasons: first, because Augustinian allegorism has held sway over the Church since the 5th century and second, because significant scholarly studies on Revelation 12 have been almost entirely avoided until relatively recently.
When we dissect the narrative in Revelation 12 we discover that the identity of the male child must meet eight criteria in keeping with a literal hermeneutic:
1. A singular male child. Jesus was clearly a singular male child, but what people frequently fail to notice is that the Church is at least three times figuratively called a singular man, as well (Ephesians 2:15, 4:13, Galatians 3:29). Furthermore, the Church is compared to Christ's mystical, corporate "body" more often than it is compared to other metaphors like a "bride" or "temple". See here.
2. The child is called teknon.The raptured child in Revelation 12:5 is called both teknon (informal child) and huios (son of honor), which is strange considering that Jesus is exclusively called huios in the Scriptures, except on a single occasion by his mother (Luke 2:48). In addition, the Apostle John uses teknon to refer to the Church as the children of God in his first epistle (1 John 3:1-2, 10, 5:2), and uses huios exclusively to refer to Christ in his gospel and first epistle (John 1:49, 59, 3:13, 16, 5:19, 14:13, 1 John 3:8, 4:15, 5:5, 5:20). To assume John is suddenly changing course in Revelation 12 would be contrary to all evidence.
3. The child is born before the woman goes into labor. Revelation 12:5 is connected directly to Isaiah 66:7, which says this corporate baby is born before Israel goes into labor. In other words, a pre-tribulational delivery. You can read more about this here. The Church has debated whether or not Mary had labor pains since earliest times, but Scripture seems to be silent on the subject. Luke 2:6 does indicate that the time for the baby to be born had come. This might indicate contractions and birth pains. In any case, with nothing definitely saying she did not have labor pains, the preponderance of evidence would seem to indicate Mary was not free from the same curse that has been on all women since Genesis 3:16.
4. The prophecy in Revelation 12 is yet future. Revelation 1:1 clearly lays out the purpose of the book, which is to tell the saints what will happen in the future. Revelation 4:1 drives this point home even further, indicating that everything from Revelation 4:1-on is yet to occur.
5. The child will rule with a rod of iron. Revelation 12:5 says that the male child "will rule all the nations with a rod of iron." It is obvious enough that Jesus will rule the nations with a rod of iron (Psalm 2:7-9, Revelation 19:15), but Revelation 2:26-27 informs us that the Church is afforded this honor, as well.
6. The child is conceived in and born out of Israel. Jesus was conceived in Nazareth and born in Bethlehem. Both are towns in Israel. The Church was conceived (or some might say "born") in Jerusalem on Pentecost around AD 33. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. The corporate birth of the Church occurs from "heavenly Jerusalem" (Galatians 4:26-27).
7. The child is in imminent danger from satan's world system. This criterion presents a significant challenge to those who believe Revelation 12 is speaking about Christ. Christ was in no danger from satan before His ascension and neither was He in danger before His death (Matthew 26:53, John 2:19, 5:26, 10:18, Philippians 2:8).
8. The child is raptured to God's throne.The male child is raptured in Revelation 12:5. The Greek word used is harpazo, which means "caught up" or "snatched up" and it is the word used for the rapture of the Church in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Every single mention of Jesus' ascension is described using the words epairo or anabaino, both of which indicate a gradual rising (like climbing a mountain), not a quick and violent snatching away (harpazo). Revelation 12:5 is clearly connected to the rapture event.
Sometimes it helps to lay it out in a grid just to see the evidence all at once:
Here are some additional resources if you are interested in studying this subject further:
Major Discovery Concerning Revelation 12
A Defense Of The Revelation 12 Sign And Its Connection To The Rapture
The Celestial C-Section
Who is the male child of Revelation 12? This question becomes increasingly pertinent as we near the day on which the Revelation 12 Sign may be fulfilled. Historically the predominant assumption was that the male child of Revelation 12:5 was Christ, but this interpretation appears to have some significant faults. In retrospect it looks like the popular view regarding the male child was held for two reasons: first, because Augustinian allegorism has held sway over the Church since the 5th century and second, because significant scholarly studies on Revelation 12 have been almost entirely avoided until relatively recently.
When we dissect the narrative in Revelation 12 we discover that the identity of the male child must meet eight criteria in keeping with a literal hermeneutic:
1. A singular male child. Jesus was clearly a singular male child, but what people frequently fail to notice is that the Church is at least three times figuratively called a singular man, as well (Ephesians 2:15, 4:13, Galatians 3:29). Furthermore, the Church is compared to Christ's mystical, corporate "body" more often than it is compared to other metaphors like a "bride" or "temple". See here.
2. The child is called teknon.The raptured child in Revelation 12:5 is called both teknon (informal child) and huios (son of honor), which is strange considering that Jesus is exclusively called huios in the Scriptures, except on a single occasion by his mother (Luke 2:48). In addition, the Apostle John uses teknon to refer to the Church as the children of God in his first epistle (1 John 3:1-2, 10, 5:2), and uses huios exclusively to refer to Christ in his gospel and first epistle (John 1:49, 59, 3:13, 16, 5:19, 14:13, 1 John 3:8, 4:15, 5:5, 5:20). To assume John is suddenly changing course in Revelation 12 would be contrary to all evidence.
3. The child is born before the woman goes into labor. Revelation 12:5 is connected directly to Isaiah 66:7, which says this corporate baby is born before Israel goes into labor. In other words, a pre-tribulational delivery. You can read more about this here. The Church has debated whether or not Mary had labor pains since earliest times, but Scripture seems to be silent on the subject. Luke 2:6 does indicate that the time for the baby to be born had come. This might indicate contractions and birth pains. In any case, with nothing definitely saying she did not have labor pains, the preponderance of evidence would seem to indicate Mary was not free from the same curse that has been on all women since Genesis 3:16.
4. The prophecy in Revelation 12 is yet future. Revelation 1:1 clearly lays out the purpose of the book, which is to tell the saints what will happen in the future. Revelation 4:1 drives this point home even further, indicating that everything from Revelation 4:1-on is yet to occur.
5. The child will rule with a rod of iron. Revelation 12:5 says that the male child "will rule all the nations with a rod of iron." It is obvious enough that Jesus will rule the nations with a rod of iron (Psalm 2:7-9, Revelation 19:15), but Revelation 2:26-27 informs us that the Church is afforded this honor, as well.
6. The child is conceived in and born out of Israel. Jesus was conceived in Nazareth and born in Bethlehem. Both are towns in Israel. The Church was conceived (or some might say "born") in Jerusalem on Pentecost around AD 33. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. The corporate birth of the Church occurs from "heavenly Jerusalem" (Galatians 4:26-27).
7. The child is in imminent danger from satan's world system. This criterion presents a significant challenge to those who believe Revelation 12 is speaking about Christ. Christ was in no danger from satan before His ascension and neither was He in danger before His death (Matthew 26:53, John 2:19, 5:26, 10:18, Philippians 2:8).
8. The child is raptured to God's throne.The male child is raptured in Revelation 12:5. The Greek word used is harpazo, which means "caught up" or "snatched up" and it is the word used for the rapture of the Church in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Every single mention of Jesus' ascension is described using the words epairo or anabaino, both of which indicate a gradual rising (like climbing a mountain), not a quick and violent snatching away (harpazo). Revelation 12:5 is clearly connected to the rapture event.
Sometimes it helps to lay it out in a grid just to see the evidence all at once:
Here are some additional resources if you are interested in studying this subject further:
Major Discovery Concerning Revelation 12
A Defense Of The Revelation 12 Sign And Its Connection To The Rapture
The Celestial C-Section