12:5
“Who will rule all the nations with an iron sceptre” comes from Psalm 2:9, and is clearly a reference to Jesus. The male child was snatched up to God. Now we do need to remember that this is a vision, so we are not going to get a nice neat historical record! Jesus ascended to heaven, and to the throne of God. We can think of “gentle Jesus meek and mild”, and the gentleness of Jesus is clearly important. But He is also the one who will rule with an iron sceptre. We need a complete view of Jesus. So how can it be talking of Jesus coming out of the church (or, rather true Israel)? Well Jesus came out of Israel, He was descended from David, and was born of Mary.
12:6
So Jesus is on the throne, but what about the church? The woman fled to the wilderness, a place prepared for her by God. The time of 1260 days matches the time that the two witnesses were operating. The church is protected during the time of her witness. When Israel came out of Egypt she was led through the wilderness for forty years, and God provided for her during that period.
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