And the LORD said to Moses: 'Behold you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured... Deut. 31:16-17

There is essentially an exact parallel of two women/cities in Galatians 4 that deserves careful consideration. In Galatians 4:21-31 we are told of two women who are two wives (Hagar and Sarah) who correspond to two cities (physical Jerusalem and heavenly Jerusalem). We are told that these two women/cities are symbolic of two communities of people, those under the old covenant and those under the new covenant.

Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewomen. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh and he of the freewoman through promise, which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar- for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children- but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all…But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. Galatians 4:21-31 NKJV emphasis added

Revelation is talking about the exact same subject as Galatians; both books are contrasting two “cities” (physical Jerusalem and heavenly Jerusalem in Galatians, Mystery Babylon and the New or heavenly Jerusalem in Revelation) that are two “wives” (Hagar and Sarah in Galatians, the widowed harlot and the bride in Revelation). The two women of Galatians and Revelation represent two communities, those of the old and new covenants. Notice that while the city of Jerusalem is mentioned in Galatians, it is representing all those under the old covenant not just the city of Jerusalem (just as I have argued that Babylon the Great doesn’t just represent 1st century Jerusalem but all those of the old covenant who were rejecting Jesus).

In the book of Revelation, as in Galatians (4:29), one women persecutes the other (i.e. the harlot persecutes the bride, Rev. 17:6 cf. Rev. 18:24, Matt. 23:29-37). Similarly in Revelation, as in Galatians, one of the two women is cast out (the harlot is destroyed Rev. 18:21) while the other woman receives her inheritance (the Lord takes the bride as His wife). This explains why the very next subject after Babylon is destroyed is the wedding of the bride (Rev. 19:1-10; cf. Matthew 21:33-45). God has the beast dispose of His unfaithful old covenant wife (who irrevocably broke her covenant of marriage with God and became a widow when she had Jesus killed) and then marries his faithful new covenant bride. Again, the subject of Revelation is exactly the same as Galatians 4:21-31. Both are talking about two women who are two wives and two cities; these things represent the two covenants and those who are part of them (“which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants” Gal. 4:24).

OK now you can do something most of those with advanced degrees in theology probably can’t do. You can give a simple yet elegant summary of the subject of Revelation. Now who’s the dummy! For those who would like to do more study on the harlot motif and God’s unfaithful old covenant people here are some references.

Duncan