Tuesday, July 6, 2021

S. Michael Wilcox on the Identity of the "Man Child" in Revelation 12

  

SHE BROUGHT FORTH A MAN CHILD

 

The woman is with child and “travailing in birth . . . 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 his throne.” (Revelation 12:2-3, JST.) If the woman is the Church, then the child cannot be the Savior, for he occupied the role of husband in the analogy. Besides, the Church does not give birth to Christ. He is the parent, not the child. In verse 7, Joseph Smith reveals the identity of the “man child.” The Church is to bring “forth the kingdom of or God and his Christ.” The name of the child is Zion. It has been the purpose of the Church in every age to establish a Zion community on the earth. From the earliest beginnings of the Restoration, this was the guiding goal of Joseph Smith and his followers. Even a cursory reading of the Doctrine and Covenants teaches this.

 

Our knowledge of Lehi’s dream tells us that the rod if iron with which the man child will rule all nations is the word of God. Christ promised the righteous Saints of Thyatira that they would rule “over the nations . . . with a rod of iron,” which Joseph Smith changed to read “with the word of God.” (Revelation 2:26=27, JST.) Being caught up to God and his throne may refer to the final translation of the City of Enoch, but in the general context of Revelation, it more likely refers to the ultimate destiny of God’s kingdom at the end of the earth.

 

Isaiah concludes his prophetic mission by speaking of the future birth of the man child, emphasizing how quickly it will be established in the latter days: “Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.” (Isaiah 66:7-8.) This is followed by a description of her nourishment that will be found in the new nation. All her children will be “delighted with the abundance of her glory.” Her “peace” will be “extend[ed] . . . like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream” will augment her prosperity. (Isaiah 66:11-12.)

 

Brigham Young once spoke of the speed with which the Latter-day Saints would progress toward the perfection of a Zion people, comparing them with the City of Enoch: “I believe with all my heart that the people who gathered around Enoch, and lived with him and built up his city, when they had traveled the same length of time in their experience as this people have, were not as far advanced in the things of the kingdom of God. Make your own comparison between the two people, think of the tradition of the two. How many nations were there in the days of Enoch? The very men who were associated with him had been with Adam; they knew him and his children, and had the privilege of talking with God. Just think of it.” (Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. [London: Latter-day Saints’ Book Depot, 1854-86], 3:319) (S. Michael Wilcox, Who Shall Be Able to Stand? Finding Personal Meaning in the Book of Revelation [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2003], 162-64)