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Doug
Cox
John
says in Revelation 12:6 the woman fled to the
wilderness where she had a place prepared by God.
But in
many commentaries, it is not clear what is meant by the wilderness.
Many
commentators mention that the prophecy alludes to the Exodus.
The eagle’s wings given to the woman in Revelation 12:14 allude
to the wings of eagles mentioned in Exodus 19:4: “Ye have seen what I did
unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto
myself.”
Eagles’
wings are also mentioned in Deuteronomy 32:9-12.
Also,
the prophet Elijah was fed by ravens in the wilderness, during part of the
three years and a half of drought in the days of Ahab. [1 Kings
17:2-6]
And,
the Lord spent 40 days in the wilderness after his baptism, and was tempted
there by the devil.
What is the wilderness?
The
meaning of the wilderness of Revelation 12:6 becomes clear, when the
significance of the great city in Revelation 11:8 is understood.
The
concept of the wilderness in Revelation 12:6, 14 contrasts with the great city
called Sodom and Egypt, which were both places from which the people of God
escaped.
Lot and
his daughters came out of Sodom, into a wilderness.
And the
people of Israel came out of Egypt, into a wilderness.
The
saints are separate from the worldly system in a spiritual sense.
The
woman fleeing to the wilderness does not mean that the church goes to a literal
desert, but the meaning is spiritual.
Paul
said the saints have been delivered from the power of darkness, and are translated into
Christ’s kingdom. No change in location is involved.
“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from
the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” - Colossians
1:12-14
Peter
said the saints have escaped the corruption that is in the world. - [2
Peter 1:4]
James said, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the
Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to
keep himself unspotted from the world.” - [James 1:27]
The
wilderness in Revelation 12:6 represents the spiritual place where believers
come when they depart from the great city, mystical Babylon, and enter into the
light of the gospel and Christ’s kingdom.
When Jesus prayed for his church he said, “I have given them
thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world,
even as I am not of the world.
“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but
that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” - John
17:14-16
Jesus
warned against following false teachers, who lead their followers to the
desert, or to secret places. [Matthew 24:26]
Why does she flee twice?
In verse
6, the woman flees to the wilderness after her male child was caught up to the
throne of God.
In the
wilderness there is a place for her that has been prepared by God.
“And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place
prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and
threescore days.” - Revelation 12:6
In John 14:2, Jesus said, “I go and prepare a place for you.”
In the
wilderness the woman is nourished. Her nourishment is spiritual, and this
refers to teachings from the word of God, corresponding to the manna that the
Israelites received in the wilderness.
Jesus said, “I am the living bread which came down from
heaven.” - [John 6:41, 51]
In Revelation
12:13, after the war in heaven, where Satan is cast to the earth, he persecutes
the woman.
In verse
14, the woman escapes to the wilderness a second time. In this case, she is
given two wings of an eagle, which enable her to fly to her place, which is
prepared by God.
“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that
she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a
time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” - Revelation
12:14
Some may infer from the woman escaping to the wilderness a
second time that that she had become entangled again with the world, and so
needed to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the
saints,” but another explanation is suggested by the two wings of an eagle
that she receives.
What do the wings of an eagle represent?
In
Daniel’s vision of the four beasts, the first beast was a lion with eagle’s
wings. - [Daniel 7:4]
This
beast represented Babylon, and in Daniel we are told that Nebuchadnezzar
received visions from God.
In
Daniel’s lifetime, the wings were plucked off.
The
lessons Nebuchadnezzar learned were forgotten by his successor. This is
consistent with the idea that the wings of eagles represent the gift of
prophetic insight.
The
third beast also possessed wings, which were not eagle’s wings, but the wings
of a fowl.
The
third beast, a leopard, had four heads, and it represents the hellenistic
kingdoms of the diadochi, the successors of Alexander the Great.
These
were characterized by superstition, and pagan philosophy, which is fitly
represented by the inferior wings of a fowl.
The
wings of a great eagle may represent the gift of prophetic insight. They allow
the woman to access high places in the wilderness, the lofty heights of mountains.
The
mountains represent promises and prophecies and revelations of God. This is
shown in the blessings Joseph received from his father.
Jacob said, “The blessings of thy father have prevailed above
the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting
hills.” - [Genesis 49:26]
His
blessings were high and lofty, because they were spiritual in nature. They were
also eternal, and so he referred to the “everlasting hills.”
The
land promised Jacob received had a spiritual significance.
The
eagle’s wings given to the woman in verses 14 imply that she is given a new
perspective, which is a divine point of view, which contrasts with the human
point of view.
The
serpent casts a flood out of his mouth after her, intending to cause her to be
carried away in the flood. But the earth opens its mouth, and swallows up the
flood.
“And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after
the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
“And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth,
and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.” - Revelation
12:15-16
In
Daniel 9:26 the desolation of the holy city is associated with a flood. This
seems to correspond to the flood from the serpent’s mouth in Revelation 12:15.
The
wilderness is church’s spiritual environment, not a literal wilderness.
In
Ephesians 2:5-6, the saints sit together in heavenly places.
The
promised land of the saints is a heavenly country. [Heb.
11:16]
Wings
are a clue that suggest that the woman’s place is at a high elevation.
In verse
15, the earth helps the woman and swallows up the serpent’s flood. The flood
consists of false interpretations, and arguments tending to unbelief.
The
promised land or the earth represents the knowledge of God, which is connected
with the word of God.
Wings
of eagles are associated with prophecy in Daniel 7; the wings of a fowl on the
third beast are inferior to the eagle’s wings, and they probably represent the
pagan philosophy, religion, and superstition, which characterized those
kingdoms.
Isaiah
referred to the enemy coming in like a flood, and when that occurs, the Spirit
will lift up a standard against him.
“So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his
glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood,
the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” Isaiah
59:19
When Jesus said, in Matthew 24:15-15, “When ye therefore
shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand
in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be
in Judaea flee into the mountains,” he was not referring to people saving
their own lives, as he also taught, “For whosoever will save his life shall
lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” - [Matthew
16:25]
The
mountains he meant we should flee to, I suggest, are not literal ones, but
the symbolic mountains which represent the promises of God,
and understanding prophecy is one of those promises.
The
land which opens its mouth, and swallows up the serpent’s flood, is the
wilderness place where the woman dwells, that is, her spiritual environment.
Eagle’s
wings empower her to reach high places. Isaiah said, “But they that wait
upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as
eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
- Isaiah 40:31
The
psalmist said, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh
my help.” - [Psalm 121:1]
Isaiah said, “O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up
into the high mountain.” [Isaiah 40:9]
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that
bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of
good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” [Isaiah
52:7]
Doug
Cox’s
blog on interpreting Bible prophecy.
For a
list of topics, see this Index.
Doug
passed away peacefully on April 4,
2015, surrounded by loved ones, after battling cancer with his
characteristic grace, strength, and good humour. He will be lovingly remembered
by family and friends.
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