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NASB | Revelation 12:5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Revelation 12:5 And she gave birth to a Son, a male Child, who is destined to rule (shepherd) all the nations with a rod of iron; and her Child was caught up to God and to His throne. [Ps 2:8, 9; 110:1, 2] |
Subject: who is the man child? |
Bible Note: Greetings Mommapbs, The apocalyptic language of Revelation is full of imagery and I appreciate the fact that you have taken it upon yourself to study the Scriptures very closely and in their original languages! It is honorable that you have humbly spoken of what you have presented as a bit of speculation, in wake of the forementioned evidence that led us to a conclusion in Rev. 12:5. However, there are a few things that we are presented with that may prove "challenging" to the idea of substituting the church for the child while retaining the imagery of the woman as meaning 'Israel'.. It is not the nation of Israel that gave birth to the church, but faith in Jesus Christ Himself. Also, when you speak of the church, are you speaking of only the elect? There are many who call themselves Christians even though they may not be truly saved. These are only a couple of the possible challenges or 'inconsistencies' when applying the 'church' imagery to the child in Revelation 12:5-6. In addition, it is hard to find any Scripture (outside of the rapture) that would support the church as being a suitable candidate for the imagery that is spoken of. In contrast, there is much Scripture that could be used to support Jesus as being the best 'candidate' for the direct object (child) of the vision! For instance: Micah 5:2, Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, and virtually every verse that chronicles the coming of the Messiah as God in the flesh could be "said" to lend support to the imagery of Christ as being the child spoken of in this verse. So, judging by the weight of the Scriptural support, the imagery of Christ as being the child is the overwhelming favorite! But I do not write this to discourage you in your studies, and I thank you for asking this question, since it challenges us to consider other alternatives, or to refresh our memories in reference to what was 'decided upon' in the past, and why that choice was made. Blessings to you, Makarios |