The 144,000

They are Not
Defiled by Women

Key Seven

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit,
after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world,
and not after Christ.
Colossians 2:8

    As the Apostle John continues to reveal the vision regarding the 144,000, he records a curious statement. The angel tells John:

These are they which were not defiled with women (Revelation 14:4).

    With only a cursory reading, this perplexing verse can become one of the most misunderstood Scriptures in the Bible. What is actually meant by the angel’s words? Does God have a cynical view of women? Did He create them with qualities that defile? Is the Eternal issuing a warning that His awesome plan of salvation is only applicable to men?
    It must be understood that God does not have an unbalanced or warped view of women. The wife and mother described in Proverbs 31 is an incredibly beautiful picture. The stories of Deborah, Esther, and Ruth reveal women who were paragons of virtue. The women who assisted Christ in His ministry, and those who later helped the Apostle Paul, were invaluable to God’s work.

Comprehending the Symbolism in Revelation
    The Eternal reveals that He is not a respecter of persons—He does not value men over women (Acts 10:34). He explains that the marriage bed is “undefiled” (Hebrews 13:4). Further, in the following passage, the Apostle Paul declares that there is no spiritual difference between men and women. The Apostle writes:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

    It is clear that nothing inherent in women defiles, but then, what does God mean by the words “defiled with women”? While the Bible may sometimes appear difficult to understand, The confusion regarding the meaning of this particular passage need not exist! God tells us that He is not the author of confusion, and that He reveals the truth in His Word (I Corinthians 14:33; II Timothy 2:15).
    Perhaps it would be helpful to consider the Bible’s sixty-six books as being like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Each piece of the puzzle must be properly placed to create a clear picture. The various pieces in the puzzle can be either literal fact, historical narrative, figurative analogy, or prophetic symbolism.
    In this case, it is obvious that when John defined the 144,000 as “not defiled by women,” his words were meant to be understood symbolically. We can be absolutely certain that this part of John’s vision is symbolic for two reasons. First, the term “women” is obviously used figuratively in many other instances in the book of Revelation. Secondly, attempting to apply the verse literally puts it in direct conflict with God’s view of women found throughout the entirety of His Word.

The Term Woman in Symbol
    John’s use of the term “women” is meant to be understood as a symbol. When the Bible speaks of a woman in symbol, it is always to portray a church. For this reason, when referring to His people, God alludes to New Jerusalem, the future abode of His Church, as the “mother of us all.” The Song of Solomon is written in rich imagery, depicting Christ’s love for His Church. John the Baptist mentions Jesus as the “bridegroom,” foreshadowing His purpose to marry the Church (Galatians 4:24; Song of Solomon 6; John 3:29). Paul actually speaks of a woman in the marriage relationship, and likens her to the Church. He writes:

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 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. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it . . . For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:22-32).

    Paul speaks of the marriage relationship in this way because human matrimony pictures the marriage of Christ to the Church. John also writes:

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. 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 19:7-8).

    It is clear that God refers to His “called out” people, whether ancient Israel or the modern day Church, as a woman. It must also be understood, however, that while God’s Church is pictured as a woman in symbol, she is never portrayed as a woman that defiles.
    God’s Church is represented as a righteous woman in the traditional Biblical role. She is clean, wearing white, teaching the Father’s way to her children, and warning them of what will come should they disobey His commandments. She protects and guards the truth regarding the right way to live, as she nurtures, serves, and supports those who God places in her body for birth and life (Romans 1:4, 8:21-23; John 3:3-6).

The Woman that Defiles
    There can be no doubt that when God uses a symbol to represent a church in the Bible, He uses the image of a woman. By way of example, when the Apostle John records his vision, he makes use of this metaphor no less than eighteen times within Revelation’s twenty-two chapters.
    God’s true Church is portrayed in the book of Revelation seven times (the number seven pictures spiritual completeness) as a woman that is persecuted by Satan. John records that the earth helps this woman by hiding her, and she is given protection by God (Revelation 12:6-16).
    The Church is represented in one other case. This could be considered either the first or the eighth, and therefore, the number pictures either “unity” or a “new beginning.” Here, the apostle speaks of a woman in heaven (Revelation 12:1). This symbolism portrays Jerusalem above, the Christian’s spiritual mother, the ultimate destiny of the Church (Galatians 4:24).
    Finally, ten times in Revelation the Scriptures make reference to a great and powerful false church that defiles. God uses this number, to picture His perfect judgement that comes upon her. This church is so vile that the angel identifies her as a whore!

A Woman In Symbol
In the Book of Revelation

Who is the Whore?
    The Bible leaves little doubt as to the identity of this whore. The angel describes the woman that defiles as follows:

I will shew unto thee the judgement of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication (Revelation 17:1-2).

    The angel describes this church as a great whore who deserves judgement. She gives herself to others in exchange for money or power. She sits upon many waters, representing great numbers of people (Revelation 17:15). This powerful church spreads its influence over many nations, and has relations with their kings. At the same time, she corrupts most of the earth’s people with her intoxicating false doctrines (Matthew 24:4-6; Isaiah 29:9-13). The angel further describes her, saying:

I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns (Revelation 17:3).

    This woman sits on a beast, but what is this beast with seven heads and ten horns? The book of Daniel, chapters four and seven, reveal that beasts are various empires. The horns are symbolic of power, and represent kings ruling over nations. This woman rides atop, or controls, seven different governmental systems, and will ultimately rule over ten kings. She is a church that is political and powerful. By calling herself “holy” and “Christ’s church,” the whore blasphemes!
    Unlike Christ’s bride, this great, politically powerful church is not clothed in the white linen that pictures righteousness. Instead, God pictures this woman as influential and wealthy, but corrupt, unclean, and filthy. The angel describes the whore:

The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication (Revelation 17:4).

    John is describing the church that historically “defiled” Christianity. Her priests wear purple and red. Her religious artifacts are made of gold, pearls and precious jewels. Her church buildings are decked with gold and splendor.
    She is also the church that held the reigns of the beast power, controlling governments throughout various stages of the holy Roman Empire. She took on Christ’s name, adopted detestable doctrines of pagan origin, and has defiled millions throughout the ages. She deceived people by teaching that the only way to properly worship God is through her. Such worship is valueless, however, because it is based on human tradition instead of God’s commandments (Mark 7:7), and John’s next statement reveals exactly who this woman is! The apostle writes:

Upon her forehead was a name written MYSTERY BABYLON the great THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS and abominations of the earth (Revelation 17:5).

    Rather than having the Father’s name written in her forehead, she has the name “Mystery Babylon,” and “Mother of Harlots” emblazoned there. The title, “mother,” indicates that the whore has daughters.
    Her children also prostitute themselves. This means that today there exist thousands of churches that have adopted various twists on the doctrines of the whore. These churches defile people by mixing the Biblical truth of Jesus Christ with empty, false, pagan traditions.

Mystery Babylon
    The Apostle John identified the harlot as “Mystery Babylon.” This system of worship actually originated with Nimrod, the founder of Babylon who was the grandson of Ham, the son of Noah (Genesis 10:6-8,10). Instead of spreading out and replenishing the earth as God had commanded, Nimrod formed cities. One of his most noted accomplishments was the construction of the famous tower of Babel. Some believe that he built this great tower to make a name for himself by reaching into heaven similar to the act of Lucifer (Genesis 11:4; Isaiah 14:14).
    The Scriptures reveal that Nimrod was “a mighty hunter before the Lord” (Genesis 10:9). The word “before” could also be translated “against.” Nimrod is translated from the Hebrew word “marad,” which literally means “he rebelled.” Ancient tradition tells us that Nimrod rebelled against God, creating a vast apostasy in the world that then existed.
    According to tradition, Nimrod married his mother, Semiramis. After his death, Semiramis used her son’s name to maneuver herself into the position of Queen of Babylon, the home of the Chaldee Mysteries. She came to be regarded as the “Queen of Heaven” and “the mother of the divine son.” After generations of these idolatrous practices and traditions, Nimrod became known as the son of Baal, the sun god. He and his mother became the Madonna and Child, which has been carried over even to modern day worship.
    Various forms of the Babylonian mystery religion spread widely. In Egypt, Semiramis and Nimrod became known as Isis and Osiris. In Asia, they were Cybele and Deonius. In Rome, Fortuna and Jupiter were their names.
    Remnants of mother and child veneration, combined with a strange mixture of sun, tree, fertility, and season worship were long ago absorbed into modern religious beliefs and practices. Consequently, the Babylonian mystery religion is still very much alive and well today! It is this religion that defiles, but it now goes by another name. Shocking as it may sound, this very system of ancient Babylonian pagan worship now calls itself “Christian.”

The Woman’s Transformation Begins
    A transformation within God’s Church started soon after Christ’s resurrection. The process began with Gnostic corruption from within, and it continued as the church absorbed Roman paganism. It was finally made complete by the birth of many daughter churches, who now reflect their Roman mother.
    The doctrines instituted by Christ, and observed by the apostles, were first perverted by men influenced by Gnosticism, an esoteric religious system based on the acquisition of knowledge. False teachers, swayed by Gnostic heretics such as Simon Magus and Cerinthus, infiltrated God’s Church. While professing belief in Christ, these false teachers brought in damnable beliefs (II Corinthians 11:13-15; II Peter 2:1).
    At the core of the Gnostic system was a belief that anything physical took a person away from God. Those things that were intellectual, and therefore believed to be spiritual, brought one closer to the Deity. Consequently, only those things of the mind were valued by disciples of this false religion.
    In time, two sects emerged from this belief. An ascetic view was propagated which advocated that, since the physical led man away from God, individuals should avoid all pleasures in life in order to become more spiritual. The Apostle Paul described this branch of the movement when he spoke of those who taught “touch not (and) taste not” (Colossians 2:21).
    Another sect of this movement also developed, carrying the name Epicurean. These believers put an ironic twist on the teaching. They advocated that, since only thoughts of the mind mattered, a person should partake of every kind of physical pleasure in order to gain more knowledge. The perversion actually went so far as to teach that an individual could perform any depraved act. The belief was propagated that as long as a person had love in their heart and mind, it was not sin.
When addressing this part of the gnostic movement, Paul writes, “shall we sin that grace may abound? God forbid” (Romans 6:1). The Apostle John also combated this first century heresy, writing that whoever says that they do not sin deceives himself (I John 1:8).
    This gnostic movement continued to affect the church for two centuries. It caused the importance of following God's law to be minimized as false teachers propagated the belief that love for God in the heart was more important than actual obedience to His commands. Then, in the fourth century, a historic precedent catapulted the church into greater apostasy.

Emperor Constantine furthers the Transformation
    The Roman Emperor Constantine came to power in the early 300s when it was still a violation of Roman law to practice Christianity. During this time in history, those who professed the Christian religion were hated by the state and subjected to great persecution. This included torture, and even burning at the stake.
    The new Emperor took control of the Roman Empire at a period when it was beginning to crumble due to excess. At the same time, the now corrupt Christian religion was growing. Despite great persecution, these professing Christians seemed dedicated to their faith. They taught moral living and hard work, coupled with loyalty to the state. Constantine was so impressed that he decided to use this religion as the glue to hold his failing Empire together.
    Constantine issued “The Edict of Toleration” in 313 A.D., and later made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. State persecution of Christians stopped immediately with this edict, and believers throughout the empire rejoiced. They were convinced that God had saved them through this pagan dictator.
    Few could have anticipated what would occur next. Because Christianity was now the state religion, the church became political. The woman began to ride the beast described in Revelation, chapter seventeen, and professing Christianity was further metamorphosed. Jesse Hurlbut describes this, stating:

The establishment of Christianity as the state religion became a curse. Everybody sought membership in the church, and nearly everybody was received. Both good and bad, sincere seekers after God and hypocritical seekers after gain, rushed into the communion. Worldly, unscrupulous men sought office in the church for social and political influence . . . The services of worship increased in splendor, but were less spiritual and hearty than those of former times. The forms and ceremonies of paganism gradually crept into the worship. The old heathen feasts became church festivals with change of name and (a change in) worship (The Story of the Christian Church).

The Transformation becomes Complete
    Legalizing Christianity solved one problem for the church, but caused yet another. Millions of pagans were made “Christians” overnight, but they had no desire to give up their old ways. The priests tried to change the new converts from the paganism their culture had embraced, but could not! Finally, the church decided to accommodate the pagan practices. The church historian, Guignebert explains how this process occurred. He writes:

At the beginning of the fifth century, the ignorant and the semi-Christians thronged into the church in numbers. They had forgotten none of their pagan customs . . . The bishops of that period had to content themselves with redressing, as best they could and in experimental fashion, the shocking malformations of the Christian faith which they perceived around them. [To properly teach new converts] was out of the question; they had to be content with teaching them no more than the symbol of baptism and then baptizing them en masse, postponing until a later date the task of eradicating their superstitions, which they preserved intact . . . This “later date” never arrived, and the church adapted to herself, as well as she could, them and their customs and beliefs . . . [converts] were content to dress their paganism in a Christian cloak (The Early History of Christianity pp. 208-210).

    This so-called Christianity attempted to bring the pagan world under its control through a process of assimilation. But instead of converting the pagans to their beliefs, this practice actually fueled the spread of the false pagan worship, like a cancer from within. Ultimately, this attempt at mass conversion worked to further defile true religion. Will Durant writes:

Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it . . . From Egypt came the idea of a divine trinity . . . and the adoration of the Mother and Child. . . . From Phrygia came the worship of the Great Mother . . . The Mithraic ritual so closely resembled the Eucharistic sacrifice of the mass that Christian fathers charged the devil with inventing these similarities to mislead frail minds. [Modern day] Christianity was the last great creation of the ancient pagan world (The Story of Civilization, p. 595).

    Instead of being separate from the world, this form of “Christianity” was driven by a desire to increase their numbers. They invited the world inside.
    Believing they could “Christianize” the pagans, the church began accepting a wide range of Babylon’s beliefs, symbols, and practices. In so doing, it became more corrupt. Alexander Hislop writes:

This tendency on the part of Christians to meet paganism half way was very early developed (The Two Babylons, p. 93).

    This form of Christianity believed it could meet the pagans half way by accepting them, if they in turn would accept Christ. What occurred in actual practice was that the pagans so defiled this church that it was assimilated by them!
    The church remained in this state for more than a thousand years. As it grew more and more powerful, it was finally able to take control of the holy Roman Empire— fulfilling the prophecy, “the woman rode the Roman beast.” The formerly persecuted church became the persecutor. She lived deliciously—drunk on the blood of the true saints (Revelation 17:6).
    In the 1500s, the Protestant reformation was born. Millions believed they were now free from defilement by the woman. While free from Papal authority, their new freedom was actually a birth of the daughters of the whore who would bear her likeness in belief, tradition and symbol.

Many have been Defiled
    From Nimrod, to the Gnostics of Paul’s day, through the Spanish Inquisition, and for over five hundred years after the reformation, the whore and her daughters have influenced religion. As a result, millions have been defiled with seductive, deceptive and false doctrine (II Thessalonians 2:7). The spread of this false system has been absolutely phenomenal. Very little has remained untouched by its insidious poison.
    In the book of Revelation, the Apostle John records how pervasive this defiling system has become. The apostle states this shocking truth:

The great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world (Revelation 12:9).

    While many would agree that believers in religions such as Hinduism, Islam and Taoism are deceived, few would admit that believers in Christianity have been misled.
    But this is exactly how deception works. The deceived do not know they are deceived. What about you? Are you deceived? Consider the chart on page 149. It lists just a few of modern Christianity’s beliefs that conflict with the Bible.

The 144,000 have Not been Defiled with Women
    This list of false doctrines is limited to just a few of the most obvious ones, simply to fit on a single page. Shocking as it may sound, the number of beliefs and practices in the modern professing Christian church that differ from the Bible literally reaches into the hundreds!
False teachings regarding the nature of God, His purpose for man, the place of His law, and the authority of Scripture have polluted men’s minds with mistaken ideas. They have replaced God with idols, and worshiped Him with pagan holidays. These false beliefs have defiled people, blinding them so they cannot clearly see and properly understand the truth of God.
    False doctrine acts like a virus in a believer’s mind. It corrupts the way a person thinks, and therefore what he or she does. What a Christian does then molds what their character will ultimately be. For this reason, those who strive to be God’s true servants must resist the all too pervasive doctrines, and influence of the ancient mystery religion.

    The 144,000 are those who have resisted and overcome! They have come out of this false system—honestly and sincerely striving to weed out false belief and wrong practices in their lives. They have replaced error with God’s truth.
    The 144,000 absolutely must not be defiled because of who they are. They are the servants of God, spiritual Israel— those who will be in the first resurrection standing on Mount Zion singing praise to God! They are those who will assist Christ as He rules the earth for a thousand years. They are the bride that Christ marries. They are those who are destined to inhabit New Jerusalem, in which nothing that defiles will be allowed to enter (Revelation 21:27). The 144,000 are not defiled by the harlot or her daughters. Jesus Christ will not use defiled leaders to teach others in God’s Kingdom. He will not marry a defiled bride. Therefore, His true Church keeps itself pure and clean in order to be presented to Him as a chaste virgin.

Click here for the next chapter