What did John
see in heaven?
John now beholds a woman, and upon
her head is a crown of twelve stars. This woman represents the Church of Jesus
Christ, as signified by the twelve stars. These stars denote the twelve
apostles who are the foundation of the Church. The woman is also pregnant with
child and is ready to deliver. The child represents the Kingdom of Heaven,
which is God’s earthly system of government. “And he said unto them. When ye
pray say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.”
1 And there appeared a great
wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet,
and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be
delivered.
Who was the
red dragon?
In the heavenly vision, John
observes a red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns upon
the heads. The red dragon is Satan. The identification of the seven heads, ten
horns, and seven crowns upon their heads shall be given later in chapter 13.
3 And there appeared another
wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten
horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Who are the
stars of heaven?
The stars of heaven are the spirit
children of God. What John sees is Satan being cast out of heaven to earth
thereby drawing a third part of the spirit children of God along with him (6).
Satan now stans ready to devour the child as soon as it is born.
4 And his tail drew the third part
of the stars of heaven, and did not cast them to the earth: and the dragon
stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child
as soon as it was born.
What happened
to the man child?
As previously explained, the man
child represents the Kingdom of Heaven, which is God’s earthly system of government.
Eventually, the child is caught up unto God. This occurred when Jesus Christ
and His apostles were martyred, and the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven were
taken from the earth.
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.
Why did the
woman flee into the wilderness?
The angel explains to John that
the woman (Church) shall flee into the wilderness (place of protection) until the
time is right when she can be restored to the world. According to the Greek Dictionary
of the New Testament the word days, as shown below, can be interpreted
as years.
6 And the woman fled into the
wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her
there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
(Larry Moench Davis, Reconciling the Book of Revelation with Mormon Prophecies:
A Guide to Overcoming the Hour of Temptation That Shall Come Upon All The World
[New York: Legends Library, 2013], 76-78)
