10. Who are the two different women
of Revelation 12 and
17?
A woman in Scripture signifies a church (Ephesians 5:22-32).
In Revelation 21, the true church is pictured as a Bride, who will
rule as a "city" in God's Kingdom on earth (Rev. 21:1-4).
On the other hand, in Revelation 17 is a woman who is a "harlot"
who has ruled the earth as "Babylon," as a false Kingdom of God. She wears
no blue or white clothing for faithfulness or purity.
In Revelation 12, the woman who is "clothed with the [gospel] sun...and
upon her head a crown of twelve stars [the 12 apostles]," is the early church.
But even in the early church the apostasy was already developing— the "mystery
of iniquity doth already work" Paul said (2 Thessalonians 2:7).
The Pagan Rome "dragon" was waiting in the ecclesiastical "heaven"
to devour this growing apostasy to its advantage. Instead, the "dragon" was
thrown back down to the "earth" (civil authority), and the papacy exalted
itself "to rule all nations with a rod of iron."
Yes, this "man of sin...exalteth himself above all that is called God...so that he
as God sitteth in the temple of God showing himself that he is God" (2 Thessalonians
2:3,4).
As a result, the "woman" (the true church) had to flee on the
"two wings of a great eagle" (the Old and New Testaments) to the
"wilderness"—isolated in spirit from the great harlot system for 1260
years. (See the #3.)
At the conclusion of this time, Satan tried to destroy the "woman" with the
great "flood" of truth of the French Revolution. But his plan backfired. Society
("earth") absorbed these truths of human and civil rights—and the church
actually benefited too.
Still, Satan will aggressively go after the last members of the church until
the end of the age.
The apostate "woman" of Revelation 17 sits at different times either on a
"scarlet beast" or "many waters" (Revelation 17:1, 3). How is
this possible?
At some times the Papacy is carried and
supported by a type of government—"beast." At other times, she sits on
people!
"The waters which thou sawest where the
whore sitteth are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (Revelation
17:15).
Since a "beast" is a government, this
"beast" would be some form of peoples' government which will for awhile
support the papacy—then destroy it. This has not happened—yet.
