The Woman, the Child, and the True Church: Revelation 12 Exposed

For years, Christians have been fed a lie through the lens of Dispensationalism — the idea that Israel and the Church are two separate peoples of God, with two separate destinies. This false teaching has created massive confusion, especially when it comes to understanding prophecy.

One of the clearest places where this distortion shows up is Revelation 12. Many teachers say the “woman” is national Israel, while her “offspring” are the Church. But this makes no sense biblically, because it divides what God has made one.

Let’s look closely at Revelation 12 and see what the Bible actually says.

The Woman Clothed with the Sun (Revelation 12:1–2)

John writes:

 “And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.

This imagery is not random. It echoes Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37:9–11, where the sun, moon, and twelve stars represented Jacob, Rachel, and the twelve tribes of Israel.

So who is this woman? She represents the covenant people of God. First, faithful Israel through whom the Messiah came, and now, fulfilled in the Church — the true Israel of God (Galatians 6:16). She is not just “ethnic Israel” or just “the Church.” She is the one covenant community of God across time.

The Male Child Who Rules the Nations (Revelation 12:5)

“She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne.”

This is unmistakably Jesus Christ, the Messiah (Psalm 2:9). He was born out of the covenant people, and after His resurrection, He ascended to the throne of God.

The Offspring of the Woman (Revelation 12:17)

 “Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”

This is where Dispensationalism collapses. How could the woman be “Israel,” and her children be “the Church,” if the Bible tells us her children are those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus? That’s not unbelieving national Israel. That’s us — the saints, the true Church.

How Can the Woman Be the Church and Her Children Be the Church?

This is where people get tripped up. It sounds contradictory — but it isn’t.

Think of it like this:

The woman = the corporate people of God (the covenant community as a whole).

The offspring = the individual believers who live out that identity in history.

The Bible often uses this layered imagery:

Zion is called “the mother of us all” (Galatians 4:26), yet we are also her children.

The Church is the Bride of Christ, but individual believers are also called the Bride (Revelation 19:7).

Israel is the vine (Isaiah 5), but we are also the branches (John 15).

So it’s not a contradiction — it’s a symbol of both the whole (the woman) and her children (the saints).

One People of God, Not Two

This is where Dispensationalism poisons the well. It insists on two separate plans — one for Israel, and one for the Church. But the New Testament shatters that idea:

“For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel… it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise.” (Romans 9:6–8)

“You [Gentiles]… were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root.” (Romans 11:17)

“For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier… His purpose was to create in Himself one new humanity out of the two.” (Ephesians 2:14–15)

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession.” (1 Peter 2:9) — Peter applies Israel’s titles directly to the Church.

The truth is simple: there is one Bride, one Body, one Olive Tree, one people of God.

The Comfort of Revelation 12

Revelation 12 isn’t about dividing God’s people — it’s about showing us the war we’re in. The dragon hates the woman. He hates her child. And he hates the rest of her offspring — the saints who bear the testimony of Jesus.

But here’s the good news:

The male child (Jesus) is on the throne.

The woman (God’s people) is nourished in the wilderness.

The dragon rages, but he cannot win.

Revelation 12 is not about fear. It’s about victory. The saints may be persecuted, but they overcome “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” (Revelation 12:11)

Dispensationalism has lied to us by tearing apart what Christ has united. Revelation 12, rightly understood, gives us strength: we are the offspring of the woman, the true Israel of God, called to endure in faith until

 the end.

The dragon may rage, but the Lamb reigns. Stay faithful. Stay ready. The victory is already written.