14 Two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
two wings of the great eagle – the most powerful bird, and most rapid in flight, see also Exod 19:4, where eagle’s wings are used to describe the flight of the Israelites from Egypt. “The Great Eagle” is the Griffon Vulture-Eagle. It has a wingspan up to 3 M.. It is a “majestic bird, most abundant, and never out of sight, whether on the mountains or the plains of Palestine. Everywhere it is a feature in the sky, as it circles higher and higher, till lost to all but the keenest sight, and then rapidly swoops down again.”(Smith’s Dict. of the Bible, ed. 2, i. 815.) King Nebuchadnezzar, as “the beast” was given these two wings of the great eagle (Dan 4:33) until seven times passed over him, a time, times and half a time, and then he was given the heart of a man. The saints receive same the wings of the great eagle, to fly into the wilderness for a time, times and half a time.
fly into the wilderness to her place – compare to “the place” of mystery Babylon, to which the women with wings of a stork carry the woman of sin, in Zech 5:9-11.
for time, times and half a time away from the presence of the serpent – the saints are now known only to God, as the evidence of the spirit of truth has been taken away. The true believers nurture their faith “in the wilderness,” away from the corrupted Church, away from the serpent.