In this Minister’s Commentary I am going to explain the meaning of the “two women’” portrayed in the Book of Revelation. The chapters I will focus on are chapters 12 and 17. In chapter 12 John outlined the history of the true church from the time of John’s writing forward. In verse 1 the woman represents God’s True Church, the spiritual Israel (see Gal. 6:15-16 and Heb. 12: 22-23). The Church is the spiritual mother of God’s people (Gal. 4:26). But the verse also refers to the Old Testament Church, the nation of Israel. The reference to the woman and the twelve stars is referring back to Joseph’s dream described in Genesis 37:9. The sun and the moon were the parents of the twelve sons of Jacob – Joseph and his eleven brothers. This reference is to the foundation of the Old Testament nation of Israel, which was the church in the wilderness (Acts 7:38).
These verses reflect the continuity between the physical nation of Israel today and the spiritual nation of Israel, which is founded on the corner stone, Christ, and the twelve apostles who will rule in the Kingdom of God.
Verse 3 of Revelation 12 describes another parallel of the Old and New Testament. This woman, both physical and spiritual Israel, has always been under attack by the adversary, the serpent called the Devil and Satan (vs. 9). Verses 4-5 of chapter 12 describe Satan’s attempt to abort God’s plan of salvation for mankind, which includes Christ’s victory in the resurrection and his ascending to the throne of the Father.
Because it was not time for Christ to establish his throne on earth, Satan continues to rule the earth. His relentless attack on the church continues throughout the New Testament and on down to this day. Satan’s persecution of the church drove the church into the outer regions of civilization during the middle ages (Rev. 12:6-13). At the end of verse 12 of Chapter 12 it is made clear that this persecution culminates in the end time just before Christ’s return “because he (Satan) knows that he hath but a short time” before Christ’s return. The persecution described in verse 13 is the fifth seal described in Revelation, Chapter 6, verses 9-11. Satan’s full fury known as the tribulation is yet to come upon this earth.
The fifth seal of Revelation 6:9-11 is a prophecy of this Great Tribulation to come. Revelation 12, verses 6-12, describes the history of Satan’s persecution of the New Testament Church beginning from Christ’s ascension to the Father’s throne. Christ fulfilled his mission of starting the spirit-led church. The persecution by Satan is not only directed at the woman, the New Testament Church, it is meant to take over all peoples of the earth; but it concentrates on the church and the descendants of Jacob, the Old Testament Church of God. Jeremiah 30:7 states, “Alas — for that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.”
Revelation 12 ends with the woman, the true Christian church, being split into two groups: those virgins who have made themselves ready for Christ’s return and are taken to a place of safety, and the unprotected remnant of the Church that is not ready and must face the tribulation of Satan’s wrath in order to prepare them for the Kingdom of God.
Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation focuses on the woman who is symbolic of the people of God throughout history and their battle with their adversary Satan the Devil. But there is also a second woman who is symbolic of another church. This woman is portrayed in Chapter 17.
This woman is called the “Great Harlot”. This harlot church is intimately involved with “many waters” interpreted as the governments and nations of this world. Through these involvements this church becomes known as the Universal Church. She deceives the people of the world with her false religion to the point they have no understanding of the truth of God (“Rev. 17:1-2). This church is wealthy with the wealth of the nations, and seduces the nations with her “spiritually provocative” pagan religion. This woman is called “Mystery Babylon” because she hides her true origins and suppresses the teaching of the truth of the Bible, typing it as a “mystery”. She gives birth to her daughter harlots that come out of her. These daughter churches maintain many of the mother harlot’s ways, but rebel and protest against her form of government (Rev. 17:1-5).
This harlot church is not content to just deceive the peoples of this world. This harlot church is obsessed with persecuting God’s saints. It sees God’s pure church as its enemy and is bent on killing or corrupting the followers of Christ. There was a period in history between 1200 A.D. to as late as the 1800’s that the harlot church carried out a murderous reign of terror against those who would not conform to her pagan doctrines. This sanctioned program of persecution, torture and terror was known as the inquisition. Thousands, and by some accounts millions, suffered because they refused the authority of this church.
In this modern age it is difficult to see how this harlot church could carry out such persecution. However, it is prophesied to happen again. The history of the inquisition explains the church’s willingness to use brutal, inexplicable tactics to gain its ends:
In Europe during the Middle Ages the Universal Church had tremendous influence over the kings and rulers of Europe. They had authority to convene what would be known as Ecclesiastic Courts. These courts were in essence church courts separate from government courts. These courts could try people for crimes against the faith of the Universal Church. Once convicted in these church courts the “guilty” were turned over to the civil or government authorities to be tortured then burned at the stake, beheaded, or hung and quartered under the supervision of the bishops of the Universal Church. The harlot church prosecuted all those who were perceived as threats to their authority. This included some of God’s people.
Today God promises his faithful people protection during the coming tribulation brought on by this Harlot Church to those who persevere and keep his commandments (Rev. 3:7-12). These are those who refuse to drink from her “golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication” (verse 4 of chapter 17).
Christ is vivid in his description of the two women of the book of Revelation. One has its origins in God’s chosen nation Israel and is founded on Christ. The other is intimately involved with the economy, politics, and leaders of this world, teaching the false doctrines of demons and all unholy traditions.
God’s people must follow Christ’s admonition to “come out of her my people”.
In a recent sermon I started by saying, “You do not have enough of God’s spirit to face what is before us, nobody does.” Christ tells us why no one can be really prepared for what is ahead: “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.” (Matt. 24:21)
These are Christ’s own words. In the years ahead the world will be facing a time so dangerous mankind will be helpless against the powers that are to be unleashed. We do not know when the events of the Tribulation will overtake the earth; but we can know and watch the trends in the world that culminate in the Tribulation. These trends reflect the troubles that have plagued mankind throughout history. They are, by and large, a result of mankind’s sin – his utter refusal to keep God’s laws. These constant evils traced throughout history are never defeated; and only at times, held at bay so as not to destroy mankind.
In Matthew 24 Christ lists these mostly man-caused evils for all to see. They are described in Matthew 24:4-7as religious deception – that is teaching a false religion but using Christ’s name – wars and kingdoms fighting kingdoms, famines, pestilences, and even what we call natural disasters – earthquakes. Christ makes it clear that he was describing only the beginning of mankind’s troubles, and he was not describing the end to man’s rule or sorrows at that time. (Matt. 24:8)
Christ also makes it clear, as quoted in verse 21, that in this prophecy he is describing a time when these cataclysmic events will culminate in the Tribulation. In Matthew 24 the Tribulation is only given a brief description. Christ, through the apostles’ writings, fills in some of the picture of mankind’s unsolvable ills. However, before the death of the last apostle, Christ revealed these prophecies with much greater detail in the Book of Revelation. In the Book of Revelation Christ interpreted the prophecies of Matthew 24 and the parallel prophecies in Luke 21 and Mark 13.
However, before giving the greater detail, Christ said these prophecies will “shortly take place” (Rev. 1:1). As people of our modern age, we tend to think this statement gives a measure of time, but this is wrong. It is not a measure of time in the sense of days or months. It is a description of the suddenness of destruction that will come because the prophesied end time events will have built such a huge momentum they will suddenly overpower the earth and bring on the most destructive “tsunami” to ever hit the globe.
“And unless those days be shortened, no flesh would be saved” (Matt. 24:22). This scripture goes on to state that the elect will be saved during this time of worldwide upheaval. To be one of the elect it is necessary to be preserved by keeping God’s commandments during this time of unprecedented disaster. These times will “test all those that dwell on the earth” (Rev.3:10).
What Christ warned about in Revelation will also test the Church. To persevere in keeping God’s ways and to live by every word of God, we must be led by the spirit of God. Nothing but God’s spirit can give us the powerful and unwavering Faith we will need to see us through the terrible times ahead. Therefore, we must use the weapons and tools God gives us NOW as we watch the world race toward the Tribulation. Through Bible study, prayer, fasting, sermons, and fellowship we can grow in His spirit. With His spirit powerfully working in our minds, we can overcome the time of testing that will bring the world to its knees. Right now we must be asking God for the help of His spirit to be prepared. If we are doing what we need to be doing, God will pour out more of His spirit to us as those days draw near.
We all need to keep in mind the very simple statement that Christ said, “See, I have told you beforehand” (Matt 24:25).
Recently I gave a sermon and discussed the prophecies of Matthew 24 and how they are explained by the seals of Revelation 6. I have set the following scriptures in a chart that reflects those connections.
In Luke 18:8 Christ asks the rhetorical question, “Nevertheless, when the son of man comes, will he really find faith on the earth.” The answer to Christ’s question is “yes”, because Christ says elsewhere that there will be an “elect” on the earth when he returns. Christ asks this rhetorical question in the context of teaching his disciples about persistence in prayer (see Luke 17:22).
This account of Christ’s teaching is not just about persistence. It ties the parable about persistence in prayer to the faith of the one who is praying. It teaches us that we should have the faith that God will always answer our prayers, and therefore we should “always pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). Being human though we ask ourselves, does God always hear and answer our prayers?
The whole point of the parable in Luke 18 is that God always answers the prayers of a Christian, his own elect (vs. 7). As God’s own elect we need to understand and recognize God’s answers to prayer. God only answers our prayers in a way that increases our faith, and for this to happen, we must understand His answers.
In answering our prayers God uses three basic approaches. The first is the one humans would choose for God to use every time. It is the immediate “yes”. In this situation we pray for God to deliver us from a trial and he does it speedily, in a moment. In a moment, that very day, the financial crisis fades away; or the car battery immediately returns to life so we can get home. Humanly, that is how we like prayers to be answered. As humans we like things settled, wrapped up in a nice neat package with God’s obvious “yes”; however, we know that will not always be the case.
To be realistic, we know that immediate answers seldom come, and we know in our hearts why. If God answered every prayer with an immediate “yes”, there would be no need for faith. One of the most basic purposes of prayer is to build faith, lasting faith, and that means being resolute in prayer. The parable of the persistent woman in Luke 18 teaches that if our prayer is not answered quickly, we must exercise faith by continuing to seek God’s answer. This scenario describes God’s second approach.
God’s second approach to answering is “when the time is right for you.” God doesn’t have preprogrammed or boilerplate answers to prayer. God has specific answers to our specific prayers that are perfectly prepared for us as individuals. God knows our strengths, our weaknesses, our needs, and our hearts. And there are no two individuals exactly alike. God’s answer to an individual’s prayer is perfectly crafted for that person alone. Only God has that wisdom. He knows the right answer and timing that will build faith and develop righteous character. Therefore, comparing ourselves and the answers we receive to answers our fellow Christians receive is wrong. While hearing about a fellow Christian’s answered prayer is inspiring and it can teach us lessons about God’s blessings, it does not necessarily apply to our situation or to us.
If we are not ready to receive God’s perfect answer to our prayer, isn’t it God’s wisdom to delay the answer until we are ready. God knows when and where the answer will have the desired effect of strengthening our faith. That may mean that God will continue to work with us to prepare us for the answer. Preparing for the answer equates to God working with us through more prayer and experience until one day we realize we have come to the answer of the original prayer. Such a situation will increase faith if we stop to consider the perfect path God has brought us down in answering the prayer.
There is a third basic answer to prayer that we need to recognize. That answer is “no”. The “no” may be immediate and clear. Or it may not come until you and God have explored the entire subject over a period of time through prayer. That means God hears and listens to your reasoning concerning the matter during the time that you persist in prayer. It is not wrong to try to convince God that your view on the matter is correct.
“Put me in remembrance; let us contend together; state your case, that you may be acquitted.” (Isaiah 43:26)
But when the final decision is made, we need to recognize and accept the answer, even when it is “no”. Paul discusses his own experience with such a situation in 2nd Corinthians 12:7.
God always hears and answers the prayers of His people. We should never doubt that He will answer, and therefore we must always continue in prayer. However, as Christians and His children, we need to build faith by recognizing God’s answers to our prayers; and that His answers are specifically and perfectly crafted for us.