What are the "two wings" of Revelation 12:14?

[rcwitness]

I’m curious for non-Catholic faiths to share their opinion. Here is the passage:
And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had borne the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood.*But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon had poured from his mouth.Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
Is this a reference to political freedom by Constantine? The Roman army was signified by the eagle, and the Edict of Milan condemned the persecution of Christians.

 

[Todd977]

Opinions vary. From Haydock’s Bible commentary, 1859 edition:
Ver. 14. There were given to the woman two wings of a great eagle. By these two wings, some understand the love of God, and the fear of offending him; others, piety, prudence, &c. (Witham) — The Church, on account of the severe pressure of the persecution, obtained from the Almighty a special protection and assistance. (Pastorini) (source)

From A Commentary on the New Testament, published by the Catholic Biblical Association in 1942:
Two wings: the power God gives His Church to escape the threat of the evil one. (source)

 

[gazelam]

I’m curious for non-Catholic faiths to share their opinion. Here is the passage:
And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had borne the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood.*But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon had poured from his mouth.Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
Is this a reference to political freedom by Constantine? The Roman army was signified by the eagle, and the Edict of Milan condemned the persecution of Christians.

While I don’t know exactly what it refers to, that verse refers to the woman going to the wilderness for some sort of recovery. To me, it doesn’t seem like Constantine’s embrace of Christianity would be properly symbolized by a trip to the wilderness.

 

[Reuben_J]

My former priest, himself a scripture scholar, now an archbishop in another archdiocese, said that the Book of Revelation being an apocalyptical genre, its content cannot be treated with utter certainty but as such, symbolic, notwithstanding that the Catholic Church do traditionally has her own popular interpretation with regards to as who was the woman.

Revelation was his favorite biblical book as he did it as his thesis for his doctorate. He was nevertheless quite candid about its being symbolism and therefore can be interpreted in different tiers level. That much I can remember in one of his lectures and I sort of taking that stance ever since.