In the prophecy of the woman clothed with the sun in Revelation 12, what is the reason she flees to the wilderness twice?
In Rev. 12:6, the woman flees to the wilderness, where she has a place prepared of God, and they feed her there for 1,260 days. Who "they" are is not stated. Then we read of the great war in heaven. It is a spiritual war, and it is fought between the various angels of the dragon, and Michael and his angels. Michael is victorious, and the dragon and his angels are cast out. After Satan is cast out, the woman is persecuted by the dragon. And she is given two wings of a great eagle, by which she flees to the wilderness again. Both times, she is fed.
The period for which she is in the wilderness is given as 1,260 days in verse 6, and as "a time, times, and a half" in verse 14. These expressions represent the same period of time, in alternate ways.
These prophecies about the great red dragon in heaven, and woman's flight to the wilderness imply that many in the establishment churches and denominations are deceived. To discover the truth, one must carefully study the prophecies of scripture. This is also shown in the words of Jesus:
Mat. 7:13-14
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the
way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in
thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which
leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Most people follow the teaching of the denomination in which they were raised, but Jesus showed that if we are to follow him, even family unity may be threatened:
Mat. 10:35-37
For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the
daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother
in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that
loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that
loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
To discover the truth, one may have to abandon some cherished family traditions. At least, we should be prepared for it. This is what the symbol of "fleeing to the wilderness" implies.
In the Olivet discourse, Jesus warned that if some one comes, trying to lure you into the desert, or to some secret place, to discover the truth, and learn of God, don't go after them.
Mat. 24:26-28
Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go
not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the
west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered
together.
There are false teachers who take "wilderness" literally. The "carcase" Jesus refers to evidently represents his people, and the truth of the gospel, which will become a topic of much controversy. The wilderness he said we should flee to is not a literal one.
These words of Jesus also teach us that becoming involved in some obscure sect is not how to follow Christ. The light of the gospel will shine from the east to the west; it will be seen all over the world.
The first flight to the wilderness by Israel was the exodus from Egypt. They remained in the wilderness for 40 years under Moses.
John the Baptist came when the magnificent temple in Jerusalem was nearing completion, and he preached, not in the temple, but in the wilderness. To hear his message, the Jews went out to the wilderness. This represents a second "flight" to the wilderness by Israel. Those people were Jews who were already occupying their "promised land," yet still needed to learn about God. The reason they went out to the wilderness was so they could learn of God. John's ministry shewed that the established religious leaders of the Jews did not know God.
The prophecy of Revelation 12 obviously invokes symbolic language, but false teachers insist that one particular element of the prophecy should be taken literally. Rev. Herman Hoeksema gives an example of this, quoted below from this site, exposing a mistake made by preterists who attempt to interpret this prophecy. He wrote:
There is no one who takes this woman for a real woman. Nor are there any interpreters who understand the dragon as a real animal, or the stream which he casts out of his mouth as a real stream, or the wings which the woman receives as real wings. In so far there is no difficulty.
But in spite of this, it is necessary that we remind you of the fact
that here we have no literal presentation of facts, but rather an
allegory, which does not allow of literal interpretation. For although
all agree that this is not a real woman with real eagle's wings, and
that the dragon mentioned here is not a real dragon, and that the
stream of water he casts out after the woman is not a real stream of
water, yet there are interpreters who make the mistake of singling out
that wilderness and of maintaining that it, at all events, must be
taken in a literal sense of the word. The woman, so they say, is at
this time evidently in Jerusalem, the Old Testament holy city. And as
she is attacked by the enemy, she flees into a literal wilderness
somewhere in the vicinity, where she is hidden twelve hundred sixty
days, even as at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem the disciples
fled to Pella. Now this is violating one of the most fundamental rules
of interpretation, and especially of the interpretation of the
Apocalypse. And we must guard against it. There is no right to single
out one element in an allegorical representation of things and to take
it in the literal sense.
Just as the woman in the prophecy is symbolic, and the sun is symbolic, and the dragon is symbolic, and the wilderness is symbolic, so is the time for which she remains in the wilderness. The 1,260 days and the "time, times and a half" are clearly symbolic also. To claim otherwise, and to say these refer to a literal 1,260 days, is to single out one element in an obviously allegorical representation. This mistake is commonly made by dispensationalists.
The woman in Revelation 12 pictures the church. She is clothed with the sun, which represents the gospel, as Christ is the true spiritual light of all mankind. John said, "That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." [John 1:9] John showed that every human is to be enlightened by the gospel. Those who believe in Christ are pictured by the woman in heaven. In this prophecy, she flees to the wilderness, [Rev. 12:6] for 1,260 days, and also for "a time, times, and a half." [Rev. 12:14] These time periods are symbolic of the entire church age, when the gospel goes to the world.
Because the woman flees to the wilderness, the church (which is represented by the woman) can not be identified with a great denomination, that is visible to the world, with its head in Rome, or some other city on the earth. The image of a woman fleeing to the wilderness suggests that the church at times has been hidden from the world, and its light has become very dim. No great denomination has fled to the wilderness literally.
Puritan scholar William Fulke discussed this, in his "Praelections vpon the sacred and holy Reuelation of S. Iohn," written in latine by William Fulke Doctor of Diuinitie, and translated into English by George Gyffard, 1573. [Spelling updated for readability]
Ver. 6. And the woman fled into the wilderness where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a 1000, 200 & threescore days.
After that he had declared how that the son of the woman was taken up into a place of safety, now he teaches how provision is made also for that woman her self. God could at his will bind and restrain the devil that he should not hurt the Church at all. But this is the most wise dispensation of his holy will, that when she hath been proved, and tried by sundry afflictions in the world, he will at length, take her to himself into heaven: yet in the mean time he doth not fail her even in the most desperate matters, but sends aid from heaven in due season. Therefore he opens a way for the woman to fly, that she might for a time eschew the violence of the Dragon. Christ himself also permitted this manner of avoiding danger to his Apostles, Matt. 10. But when and who ought to fly when persecution approach it is not so easy to express in words as there the holy Ghost shall inwardly instruct every one when time shall be. But that we should not think, that the woman should perish in the desert, where there is the scarcity of all things, S. John doth express, that there was also in the desert a seat prepared for her of God, where she might safely for a time appointed by God, breathe and refresh herself from the persecution of the Dragon. And lest we might suppose that she would in the meantime want any thing, he shews that she shall be nourished and fed there for a thousand, two hundred and sixty days, that is, by the space of two and forty months, which make three years and a half, which that time, when as it is the half of a prophetical week, is said to be granted to Satan and and Antichrist, that they cannot any longer oppress or afflict the Church. Moreover this place doth plainly shew, that the church shall not always be visible to the world, which thing the papists do urge most of all, for it should be always in the sight of all men, how may she be saved to fly into that wilderness; Yea it is certain by this place, that the church of Rome is not signified by this woman, which was never banished and driven into the wilderness, from the eyes of men. And lastly we are here also taught how we must answer to our adversaries which ask us where our church was before these two or three hundred years. Clearly if we know that the true worship of God, was to be found in no region of Europe or Asia, it is enough that it was in the desert, that is in places not commonly known, that it lay hid by the decree of God, even unto the time by him appointed for that number of the elect, which is the church that shall never fail but God doth preserve and keep to himself seven thousand men, which have neither bowed the knee to Baal nor kissed his image with the mouth, and that, when as Elias believed that he remained alone in the people of Israel. How much more is it like that there remained many elect of God, throughout the large regions of Asia, and Europe, and also some parts of Africa, in which the name of Christ is spoken of, which although they were unknown to Antichrist and his adherents, yet they offered and yielded to God his due honour. The papists therefore to their own hurt do boast of their visible Church, and rashly do condemn ours, because it was some time invisible to the Romanists. For in this it is more like to the true church, that it sometime lay hidden: and their synagogue always visible, doth sufficiently bewray itself not to be this woman, which fled into the desert.
Fulke's exposition of the entire chapter can be found here.
John said, the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. [Rev. 19:10] The wings of an eagle represent the gift of prophecy. In her second flight to the wilderness, equipped with the powerful wings of an eagle, the woman goes into her place, and is nourished there. This flight to the wilderness follows the victory of the saints over the serpent. An eagle is a predator which feeds on serpents! When the scriptures became widely available, and were translated into the languages of the people, there was much opposition from the established churches and clergy, yet the church was given spiritual nourishment from the scriptures. Many denominations arose, because of varying interpretations. The word itself was translated and distributed around the world. When she flees to the wilderness the second time the woman possesses the wings of eagles, which represent the divine point of view, so the word may be properly interpreted and understood.