it is a Spirit/Breath of life and it is holy /pure
Rev 12:17 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.
The scripture quoted above identifies the woman with the church. However, there has been some controversy about this. If it is the church which is meant, in verse 13 she is persecuted by the dragon, and in verse 15 she is pictured as threatened by "a flood from the mouth of the serpent." And in verse 14, she is given two wings of a great eagle, that enable her to escape to the wilderness. What are the two eagle's wings?
I suggest, they represent an understanding of prophecy.
There are several reasons this may be so. In Daniel's vision of the four beasts, in Dan. 7, the first beast, which represented Babylon, had eagles' wings, but they were plucked off. And Nebuchadnezzar was a remarkable king, as he was given revelations from God. His dream of a great image is the subject of Daniel 2, and his account of another dream is contained in chapter 4. His insight, I suggest, is represented by the "eagles' wings" in Daniel 7:4, that were plucked.
Interestingly enough, Nebuchadnezzar's period of insanity is described by comparing his hair to eagles' feathers, and his nails to bird's claws.
Daniel 4:33
The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.
In the prophecy of Ezekiel 17, Nebuchadnezzar is represented as a great eagle:
Ezekiel 17:3-5
A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:
He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.
He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree.
This is interpreted beginning in verse 12:
"Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon; And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land:"
Thus, eagles' wings were a symbol of something that was associated with Nebuchadnezzar, who was taught an important lesson:
Daniel 4:34-37
And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:
And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.
Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
Perhaps this understanding, given to Nebuchadnezzar, is pictured by "eagles' wings."
Let's see how those eagles' wings contrast with the wings given to the third beast in Daniel's vision in chapter 7.
Daniel 7:6
After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it
The third beast represented the four Hellenistic kingdoms, which arose after the conquests of Alexander, that history shows were noted for superstition, and the proliferation of pagan religions. This is probably what is pictured by the inferior "four wings of a fowl." Perhaps they represent the false prophets, and spiritual ignorance of that age.
The "wings" of eagles, in Revelation 12:14, may represent an understanding of prophecy, that is to be given to the church. An eagle soars at a great height, and looks down on the earth from above, so pictures the divine viewpoint, as opposed to the human one. And its wings are far more powerful than those of most other birds, and of the inferior fowl, which are hardly capable of flying at all.
Doug
