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That is, "Herod watched to destroy Christ as soon as he was born, Mat_2:1-12 so while the church was endeavouring to propagate Christianity and make converts to Christ, the dragon watched, intending to devour them." The devil's great design is to crush every good thing in the beginning, to nip grace in the bud, to kill the infant church in the cradle; he is therefore said to stand before the woman, to prevent all possibility of her child's escape. Behold his bloody cruelty! but though he stood before her, he had no power to hurt or touch either, mother or child: behold his powerful restraint!
Observe farther, The child's birth, preservation, and preferment.
1. Its birth, she brought forth a child, not children: to show the paucity of the church's members, and also their unity, they are all but one man child, make up all but one body, and the dragon's purpose was to devour all in one, and all at once.
2.Its preservation, the child is caught up to God, and to his throne; that is, heaven took it immediately into its care and protection, out of the dragon's reach, to his shameful disappointment.
3. Its preferment, it was to rule all nation's with a rod of iron; that is, with such severity, mixed with lenity, as was needful; the church shall prevail against all opposers.
Observe lastly, After the woman's delivery, her flight into the wilderness is set down, and her continuance for a long time, together with God's protection over her; a plain allusion to Elijah's flying into the wilderness from the rage of idolatrous and bloody Jezebel, and God's feeding him extraordinarily at the brook of Cherith.
From the woman's that is, the church's flying into the wilderness for a while, we learn, That the visibility of the church is not always conspicuous, to her enemies especially.
2. That it is sometimes lawful to fly in time of hot and bitter persecution: the woman fled into the wilderness.
3. In that the woman had a place, and food prepared for her, we learn God's provident care for his church in the day and hour of her greatest extremities; when she lurks and hides herself in obscurity. During the time of antichrist's reign, God will take care that some shall feed her with wholesome food, the doctrine of the gospel, that sincere milk of the word, to the intent that she may grow thereby.