“The Revelation of Jesus Christ” is a book of prophesy. Remember that in Bible Interpretation no prophesy of scripture is of any private interpretation, the Bible interprets itself {2nd Peter 1:20-21}. So in the Bible we find that a woman represents the church. Also in the Bible a harlot and a whore represents an apostate church: {Ezekiel 23:37} & {Isaiah 57:3-5}.
Jeremiah 6:2 I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.
Isaiah 51:16 And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
Matthew 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
2nd Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
Revelation 19:7-8
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Revelation 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Here are ten Bible verses, and there are several more, which clearly show that in Bible prophesy the true Church is portrayed as a chaste virgin or woman which is betrothed to Christ the bridegroom. This article will not attempt to explain all of these eight verses, but for the ones it does will do so in the context of {Isaiah 28: 9-10}. So as Bible Interpretation is clearly defined by Isaiah we will take line upon line and precept upon precept in order to establish that in Bible prophesy a woman represents the Church.
Now we will place several scriptures line upon line and demonstrate how each one will present one or more precepts. A precept is a rule or law.
1st Kings 8:1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.
Kings 8:1 presents a precept which says that Zion is both Jerusalem and the city of David.
Psalm 48 1-2 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.
2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
Psalm 48: 1-2 presents the precept that Zion is both the city of our God and the city of the Great King.
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 Reveals that Jesus is Almighty God.
1st Timothy 14-15 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:
15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
1st Timothy 14-15 presents the precept that Jesus is the King of Kings or “The Great King”
Revelation 21:2-3 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Finally Revelation 21:2 says that Jerusalem, the city of God, is prepared as a bride for her husband which is obviously Christ.
But is it talking about the city itself? Is it talking about the real estate?. Is it talking about the buildings of the city? Is it talking about the infrastructure which provides for all the needs of the city? Of course not. God did not make stones so He could have fellowship with the stones of the city of the New Jerusalem. The stones are not the bride of Christ! It’s talking about the people of God, His Church. Even more specifically it’s talking about a Kingdom.
Isaiah 9:6 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Jerusalem is inhabited with the people of God and as Revelation 21:3 says, “Behold the tabernacle of God is with men,” and “God Himself shall be with them.” And just like man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made so that men could have fellowship with God, {Mark 2:27} so also the people were not made for the city, but the city was made for the people and for God to dwell with them.
No man or individual can define the Bible except through the inspiration of God and then any new light or understanding of the Bible is subject to the prophets of old {1st Corinthians 14:32} {2nd Peter 1:20-21}. Only the Bible can interpret itself. As clearly stated in Isaiah 51:16 (above) Zion are God’s people and in Jeremiah 6:2 (above) the Lord has likened His Zion to a comely and delicate woman. So once again, when the Bible speaks of Zion and Jerusalem, it’s not speaking about the city itself or the buildings in it, but the people of the city.
So regardless of whether you are a Jew or a Gentile, you are one of the members of God’s people if you are a believer, follower and servant of Jesus Christ and therefore a member of the Church which prophesy represents as a woman.
Notice also that in Jeremiah 6:2 (above) the Bible says that God has likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman. Who is the daughter of Zion? First of all, Zion is not a person, but it is a people. Likewise the daughter of Zion is a people also, but who are these people? Obviously the daughter of Zion is the offspring of Zion. So which people became the offspring of Zion. Originally it was all the cities and peoples that sprang forth from the nations of Israel and Judah. After Jesus ascended into heaven it became the Church. Some would say the Churches (plural) and they would probly be correct, but the Church was supposed to be united as one. The fact that the Church is divided is a result of sin and don’t forget that the whore is a woman and it represents an apostate church. So these also were the daughter of Zion but they apostatized.
Finally, in Matthew 25:1 (above) we know that Jesus is speaking about His return and He is referring to His Church as virgins who were preparing for the coming of the bridegroom (Jesus). In addition, there are many other places in the Bible where God’s people are represented as a woman. And so we have established that when used as symbol in prophecy a woman represents the church. Even in some cases where a woman is mentioned in a literal Bible story that woman may represent the Church such as is the case in the story of Ruth.