“She gave birth to a son who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away from the dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place to care for her for 1,260 days.” Revelation 12:5-6
This verse makes it very clear that the man child is Jesus Christ and He will rule from the throne of God. When Jesus was born the children of Israel were greatly disappointed and rejected his leadership. The dragon was unsuccessful at destroying Jesus, so he began to persecute the woman (Israel) instead. These 144,000 of the house of Israel are going to be taken into the wilderness in order that they might come to faith, out of desperation, because of the time of Jacob’s trouble.
John used literary devices and techniques so that we would have a better ability to discern what God is revealing in this book. 1,260 days repeats itself in the Scripture. It is always in regard to the latter half of Daniel’s 70th week and is the time also referred to as ‘The Time of Jacob’s trouble’. (Daniel 12:7, Jeremiah 30:7, Daniel 12:1) At the end, God is going to allow the toughest most difficult time for the Jewish people (satanic persecution) – but this tribulation is going to bring them to dependence on God and cause them to act in faith. Sometimes faith comes out of desperation. God is going to move to deliver Israel, because she is key in bringing about the establishment of the Kingdom.
At the midpoint of the Tribulation, the Antichrist breaks his covenant with Israel, puts a stop to temple worship, sets up the abomination of desolation (Dan. 9:27; Matt. 24:15), and devastates Jerusalem (11:2). At that time, many Jews flee for their lives (Matt. 24:16–22). God will preserve them during the last 1,260 days (forty-two months; three-and-one-half-years) constituting the Great Tribulation. God will protect Israel from Satan by hiding her in the wilderness, perhaps in the region of Moab, Ammon, and Edom, east of Palestine. Interestingly, those countries will be specifically spared from the Antichrist’s attack against the Holy Land (Daniel 11:41).