The
Two Women of Revelation
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We invite you to join us, as we pray:
Father,
Here on earth, there are so many denominations claiming to have the truth, to be the
Church of God. We therefore wish to get an answer to a crucial question: Where can we find
Your Church?
We know that Your Word won't remain silent on such an important subject as the identity of
Your Church. This is why we ask You to guide us as we open Your Holy Book.
May Your Spirit enlighten us and give us the courage to follow You. In Jesus' name we
pray.
Amen.
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Acts 2:47
The Lord added to the church daily those who were being
saved.
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The word «Church» comes from the Greek word
«ekklesia», which means «gathering».
The Bible confirms that God indeed has a Church, a congregation, gathering together those
who are saved.
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Matthew 16:18
[Jesus said,] «And I also say to you that you are Peter,
and on this rock I will build My church.»
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Furthermore, Jesus didn't speak of His Churches (plural), but rather of His
Church (singular): so, somewhere there is a Church which belongs to Him.
First, let's look at the foundation of the Church.
An erroneous interpretation of this verse leads many people to the conclusion that the
apostle Peter is the foundation of the Church. But what does the Word of God teach about
this?
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Ephesians 2:20
(...) having been built on the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.
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1 Corinthians 3:11
For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is
laid, which is Jesus Christ.
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The one and only foundation of the Church of God is Jesus Christ.
He is the only Rock on which the Church is built.
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Ephesians 5:23
Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the
body.
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Colossians 1:18
[Christ] is the head of the body, the church.
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Christ is the one and only leader of the Church.
He is the head of the Church, and the members are its body, all called to carry out
different functions within it.
God has never appointed anyone to represent Jesus on earth. Jesus has always been and will
always be the only head of the Church.
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John 10:16
[Jesus said,] «Other sheep I have which are not of this
fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and
one shepherd.»
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Ephesians 4:4,5
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called
in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
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Although hundreds of churches claim to be the true Church of God, the Word of
God is very clear: only one of them is really the Lord's Church.
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John 17:17
[Jesus said,] «Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is
truth.»
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1 Timothy 3:15
The house of God (...) is the church of the living God,
the pillar and ground of the truth.
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Since its doctrine rests entirely on the Word of God, the Church of God is
really «the pillar and ground of the truth».
Let's now try to discover the identity of this church.
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Isaiah 54:5,6
For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is His
name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole
earth.
For the Lord has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful
wife when you were refused.
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In the Bible, the people of God, His church, is often symbolized by a woman.
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2 Corinthians 11:2
For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have
betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
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Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the
church and gave Himself for it.
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When God's church is faithful to Him, it is portrayed as a pure woman, God's
bride.
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Jeremiah 3:6,20
«Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has
gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot.
(...)
As a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with Me,
O house of Israel,» says the Lord.
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On the other hand, when the church turns away from God and disobeys Him, it is
then symbolized by a woman unfaithful to her husband, a harlot.
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Revelation 17:1,4
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and
talked with me, saying to me,
«Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters.» (...)
The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and
pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her
fornication.
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The Word of God portrays such an unfaithful church, symbolized by a harlot
richly adorned.
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Revelation 17:1-3
I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits
on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication (...).
And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having
seven heads and ten horns.
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In our previous lessons, we have seen that a beast symbolizes a kingdom, a
political power.
Here, we see a harlot sitting on a beast. Therefore, this represents a power combining the
church (the woman) and the state (the beast), in other words, a religio-political power.
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Matthew 22:21
Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's,
and to God the things that are God's.
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However, Jesus has always commanded that the church and state be kept separate.
And He was absolutely right, since history reports that the union between religion and
politics has always resulted in horrible persecutions.
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Revelation 17:5,6
And on her forehead a name was written: Mystery, Babylon
the great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth.
And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and (...) of the martyrs of Jesus.
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This unfaithful Church gave birth to daughters, that is, other churches which
do not obey the teachings of God's Word, but rather the traditions of their «Mother
Church».
Moreover, during its reign, this Church has persecuted God's faithful people.
Now, if you have studied the lesson entitled «The
Beast of Revelation», you have certainly recognized this Church.
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Revelation 17:9,18
The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman
sits. (...)
The woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.
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The great harlot symbolizes the Papacy, the Church of Rome (in fact, Rome is
known as «the City of Seven Hills»).
This wealthy religio-political power persecuted millions of Christians during the Middle
Ages, and gave birth to several churches which, without being fully aware of it, follow
its traditions rather than the Word of God.
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Revelation 12:1
A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the
sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.
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The book of Revelation also portrays a second woman.
Unlike the first woman, this one is described as being pure.
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Revelation 12:6,13,14
The woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place
prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
(...)
Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who
gave birth to the male Child.
But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness
to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the
presence of the serpent.
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During the 1260 years of the Papacy's reign, this pure and faithful Church has
undergone attacks from Satan, symbolized by the dragon.
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Revelation 12:17
And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to
make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the
testimony of Jesus Christ.
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The Bible teaches us that, in the last days, the Church of God will subsist as
a remnant.
The rest of the woman's offspring, the remnant Church, has the following characteristics:
it keeps the commandments of God, and has the testimony of Jesus Christ.
We must now discover the identity of this remnant.
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Revelation 12:14,17
The woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she
might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times
and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. (...)
And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her
offspring.
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God's Church, symbolized by the rest of the woman's offspring, appeared after
the 1260-year reign of the Papacy, that is, after 1798.
For more details, we invite you to review the lesson entitled «The Beast of Revelation».
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Revelation 12:15,16
So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood
after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.
But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood
which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
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Revelation 17:15
The waters which you saw (...) are peoples, multitudes,
nations, and tongues.
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Persecuted in Europe, a populous place symbolized by the flood, the woman was
helped by the earth, that is, a land which was then sparsely populated: the New World.
So, the remnant Church appeared in America after 1798.
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Revelation 12:17
And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to
make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the
testimony of Jesus Christ.
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Revelation 14:12
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who
keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
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The remnant church believes in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus
Christ, and keeps all the commandments of God, including the fourth one which requires the
observance of the seventh day as day of rest.
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Isaiah 58:12-14
Those from among you shall build the old waste places;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the
Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and
call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not
doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you
shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the
earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
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Moreover, the Word of God foretold that the remnant church would rediscover the
Sabbath, which has its origins in Creation, thus raising up «the
foundations of many generations».
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Revelation 14:6
Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven,
having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth - to every nation,
tribe, tongue, and people.
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The remnant Church is a worldwide movement, proclaiming God's message
throughout the whole world.
And what is this message?
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Revelation 14:7-10
Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His
judgment has come (...).
Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of
the wine of the wrath of her fornication. (...)
If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on
his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God.
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The coming of God's judgment, the fall of Babylon, and the warning against
worshipping the beast and receiving his mark, is the triple message which the remnant
church must proclaim throughout the world.
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Revelation 12:17
And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to
make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the
testimony of Jesus Christ.
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Revelation 19:10
The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
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The remnant church also has the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is the spirit
of prophecy.
As we have seen in our lesson entitled «Modern
Prophets», God has given the gift of prophecy to His church, not only to predict the
future, but especially to uplift the members of His church, to improve them, to help them
grow in unity and knowledge.
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Luke 11:9
[Jesus said,] «Seek, and you will find.»
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A serious study of all Christian churches will reveal that only one presents
all the characteristics of the remnant Church: the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Founded in the United States in 1863, this Church has in the year 2000 more than 10
million members, in 205 countries out of 230, representing at least 725 languages and 1000
dialects.
It believes in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, keeps all the
commandments of God, and proclaims the triple message of Revelation 14.
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John 10:16
[Jesus said,] «Other sheep I have which are not of this
fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and
one shepherd.»
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The Seventh-day Adventist Church does not teach that only its members will be
saved, but rather that there are many sincere believers in every church, and that those
believers, when they discover the truth clearly revealed in the Word of God, will join
God's remnant Church.
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Genesis 19:12,13
Then the men said to Lot,
«Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have
in the city - take them out of this place! For we will destroy this place, because the
outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord.»
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Luke 17:28,30
Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot, (...) even so
will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
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God warned Lot before destroying Sodom.
He does likewise today.
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Revelation 18:2,4
Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a
habitation of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and
hated bird! (...)
Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her
plagues.
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Here is God's solemn call to each one of us today.
He urges us to come out of Babylon, that is, out of all the churches unfaithful to His
will, and to join His people, the remnant church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Will we respond to His call?
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Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father,
After having taught us all these truths, more valuable than pure gold, You have shown us
where we can find Your Church, which keeps all Your commandments and has the faith of
Jesus.
Please give us the courage we need to come out of Babylon, and join Your Church, while
there is still time to do so.
May we be efficient and humble instruments in Your hands, so that Your message of
salvation may be proclaimed throughout the whole world, and so that we may be one body and
one Church.
In the precious name of Jesus Christ our Savior we pray.
Amen.
The test of Lesson 40 is waiting for you!