The establishment of the government of Zion/ Birth of the man child: Rev 12:5, 13; Isaiah 66:7

We need to set this stage with who the child represents. Let's start out by addressing what He is not.

A woman ("the church of God"!) gives birth to a man child ("the kingdom of our God and his Christ" which shall hold sway during the Millennial Era, the kingdom John has just seen in vision!). See Rev. 11:14-19. Such is the Prophet's inspired interpretation. Among Biblical scholars of the world, the man child is presumed to be Christ, a speculative conclusion which, though seemingly persuasive, is refuted by the obvious fact that the Church did not bring forth Christ; he is the Creator of the Church. Among Latter-day Saint scriptural exegetes, it is not uncommon to say that the man child is the priesthood, a seemingly persuasive speculation, which again however must be rejected by the same line of reasoning. The Church did not bring forth the priesthood, but the priesthood is the power that brought the Church into being." (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Vol.3, p.517)

According to the Joseph Smith translation the child represents the Kingdom of God or more specifically according to Richard D. Draper, quoting Brigham Young,  the child represents the political kingdom of God whose laws will come forth from Zion.

"The Church of Jesus Christ will produce this government and cause it to grow and spread, and it will shield round about the church." (page 130, Opening the seven seals, Richard D. Draper)

When does this happen? According to Monte S. Nyman and Robert L. Millet, the first few verses in Rev 12 are talking about the original church and the taking up of the child after his birth represent the period of apostasy.

"Now the imagery is consistent and logical. Eventually there will be a political kingdom led by Jesus Christ which will rule all nations with the word of God. That political kingdom will grow out of, and is made possible by (that is, is given birth by) the Church of Jesus Christ. And since the creation of the political kingdom of Christ signals the end to the kingdoms of the world, it is little wonder that Satan seeks to destroy the man child. During the meridian of time, the Church was not able to bring forth that political kingdom, but itself was taken into the wilderness, or went into apostasy (see JST Revelation 12:14; D&C 86:3). The man child, or the political kingdom was thus taken to heaven to await the day of the Restoration." (Monte S. Nyman and Robert L. Millet, The Joseph Smith Translation, p.267)

Orson Hyde looking at this revelation also saw a latter-day application.

"The woman spoken of by John the Revelator as being driven or fleeing into the wilderness, after having brought forth the man-child, is said to be the Church by our wise orthodox commentators upon holy writ.  Be it so.  The Latter-Day Saints fled from the face of the serpent monster into this vast wilderness and desert, and it appears the serpent cast out a flood of water from his mouth to destroy the woman.  This is highly figurative language; yet is there any one present who can favour us with a better solution of the matter than the waters or troops which the United States are now sending here to destroy us?  God grant that the earth and the heavens also may help the woman!" (Journal of Discourses, Vol.5, p.140, Orson Hyde)

Possibly both apply, so let's look at the return of the child. It would seem obvious that if the time in the wilderness represent the dark ages then the return of the child could come with the restoration of the priesthood, but with a full understanding that the child represent the theocratic form of government, I would guess that we are still waiting for His return. Just a note here on the time frame in the wilderness the JST changes 1260 days to 1260 years. My research shows both applications being used however the dark age application is the most prevalent.

We need to take a closer look at the event, the establishment of a theocratic form of National/Global Government. The question is where will it be installed? Will it be installed in the US?  To help understand this concept let's look at a portion of an article by Andrew F. Ehat.  In this article a review of Daniel 2:44-45 shows the stone that is cut out without hands rolling forth until it consumes all nations its work initiated by God. The Kingdom talked about in Daniel was further explained to Joseph Smith in April 1842 with its full title and keys being revealed.  The article then goes on to talk about the differences between man’s government and that of the Lord.  He then goes on to point out the major difference as stated by Joseph Smith.:

"The government was a theocracy; they had God to make their laws, and men chosen by Him to administer them.. . . [They were led] in both civil and ecclesiastical affairs.. . . So will it be when the purposes of God shall be accomplished: when "The Lord shall be King over the whole earth" and "Jerusalem His throne." …..This is a preciously limited description of Joseph Smith's precise ideas of the nature of the Kingdom and he knew it, for he said a month later: "I have the whole plan of the Kingdom before me, and no other person has."  (Andrew F. Ehat. It Seems Like Heaven Began on Earth. BYU Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3, p.254-255)

It's clear that Joseph smith saw the time when the governments of man, having fallen short, would be replaced. I think it is also clear that the vision that the prophet had not only included the United States but was also centered on it.  John Taylor further clarifies this idea with the following statement:

"…That the nations, having lost the Spirit of God, will assemble to fight against the Lord's people, being full of the spirit of unrighteousness, and opposed to the rule and government of God."  (John Taylor, The Gospel Kingdom.  p.215)

With the previous event I speculated about the United Order being set up to deal with the new society.  My concern was with the ability to buy, sale and trade but could the world reach a point where the whole World has adopted a corrupt government?  Will the establishment of this form of Government be installed to deal with the period envisioned by Brother McConkie?  let's take a look at His definition:

"…. in due course the Lord will make a full end of all nations. (D. & C. 87:6.) Then civil government as found in all the kingdoms of this present world will cease, and the theocratic millennial administration will begin in which the government of God will be both spiritual and temporal."  (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p.145)

We can assume that this form of government will be in place for the time when others who will not take the mark of the beast flee to Zion to take part in the new government for safety reasons not religion.  Our task is to identify when in this list of events that begins. It is my understanding that Rev 12 is not contiguous as far as the sequence of events goes with chapter 11, rather John starts anew with the latter-day vision and provides more detail on the events that are to happen. (See page 126, Opening the seven seals, Richard D. Draper) We open chapter 12 up with a view of the Church, the birth of the new theocratic government and the dragon in opposition to it. Where in the timeline this happens is not clear to me. This event may need to be included as an event in the Great and Marvelous work and might also belong in the seventh seal.