Apocalyptic Women

"And there appeared a great wonder (sign or symbol) in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder (sign) in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. 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...And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. 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. 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. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Revelation 12: 1-6, 13-17 KJV)

"And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and (the mystery) of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns...And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues...And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." (Revelation 17: 1-7, 15, 18 KJV)

It is a very noticeable and striking feature of the glorious Apocalypse, or book of the "Revelation of Jesus Christ," how there are two central and leading women in it, as seen by the above words.

There are references to lessor woman, in the Apocalypse, such as "Jezebel," who was a corrupt spiritual leader in the apostate church at Thyatira (See Revelation 2: 20), and whose "children" the Lord promised to "kill with death." (vs. 23) But, as will be seen, Jezebel, was but a daughter herself, a child of a greater woman, of "Mystery Babylon."

Who are these two great Apocalyptic women? Who do they represent? What do we know of their history and destiny?

The first of these two women, the celestial woman, is none other than "Jerusalem which is above," and who is the "mother of us (Christians) all." (Galatians 4: 26 KJV) She is also the mother of the "man child" who is destined to rule over all, and the second woman, "Mystery Babylon," may be said to be the "mother" of all non-Christians. Let us note both the contrasts and the comparisons made between these two Apocalyptic women.

Comparisons

1. Both are women.

2. Both are mothers, the first the mother of the "man child" (Christ and all believers, possessors of "pure religion") while the second is the mother of "harlots and abominations" (the mother of every unbeliever in Jesus, of every false religionist, of all spiritual harlotry).

3. Both have notable offspring.

4. Both are Queens, the church (body of believers in Jesus) being married to Christ and having him as her King, is signified by the first woman, while the latter is married to the beast and to the wicked kings of the earth.

5. Both are known by their attractive attire.

6. Both women are ultimately connected with a literal city on earth, the first in the "New Jerusalem," to come down from heaven, and the latter in restored "Babylon," that "great city which reigns over the kings of the earth," in modern day Iraq.

7. Both women have long histories and fascinating careers.

Contrasts

1. One is the mother of Christ, the other the mother of Anti-Christ.

2. One is the mother of every believer, the other the mother of every unbeliever.

3. One is married to the Christ, and the other is married to the Dragon.

4. One is clothed with heavenly garments, with celestial attire, while the other is clothed with earthly garments of a harlot.

5. One is a virgin, the other is a whore.

Religiously, every person is associated and identified with one of these two women. All have their "spiritual roots" in one of these two women, being the offspring of one or the other. All believers are children of the heavenly Jerusalem (Galatians 4: 26) while all unbelievers are children of mystic Babylon.

"Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father, and (look) unto Sarah that bare you (your mother): for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him." (Isaiah 51: 1, 2 KJV)

Being believers in the true God, the believer in Jesus looks to his spiritual father and mother, to Abraham and to Sarah, to Zion and to Jerusalem, to the word that God revealed to the Hebrew prophets. Yet, before one is made a child of Abraham and Sarah, spiritually, he is first a child of Babylon, of heathenism, of false religion and idolatry. The believer in Jesus has been made an unbeliever as regards his former idolatries.

"Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite...Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter...Thou art thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite." (Ezekiel 16: 2, 3, 44, 45 KJV)

Before Abraham and Sarah, and the other fathers of the Hebrew nation, became servants of Lord God, they were idolators just like their surrounding neighbors. As such, they were the children of Mystery Babylon, the mother of all religious harlotries.

So too are Christians they who "have turned from idols (the religion of the whore of Babylon) to serve the true and living God" ( I Thessalonians 1: 9 KJV).

"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." (Revelation 18: 4 KJV)

This is what the Lord yet says to men through the gospel. "Come out of Babylon"! Come out of your false religion and become part of the one true religion, the religion of Christ.