Verses 1-17 speak of the time when God shall:
manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks
The prophecy then paints a stark contrast between two paths, two types of people, and two churches.
I've created a side-by-side summary of what is said in these verses in an effort to highlight the differences between the two paths.
The document includes names given to each church, qualities of its members, and promises and outcomes detailed in the prophecy.
| Names | | Qualities | | Promises/Outcomes |
| Verse | Lamb of God | Devil | | Lamb of God | Devil | | Lamb of God | Devil |
| 1 | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | | | | | | | they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded. | |
| 3 | | great and abominable church | | | founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hell | | | that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction (not the destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell which hath no end) |
| 4 | | | | | | | | this is according to the captivity of the devil, and also according to the justice of God, upon all those who will work wickedness and abomination before him |
| 5 | | | | | | | Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent it shall be well with them | thou also hast heard that whoso repenteth not must perish |
| 6 | | | | | | | wo be unto the Gentiles if it so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God. | |
| 7 | | | | convincing of them unto peace and life eternal | deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil | | | |
| 8 | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | | behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations | | | founder is the devil | | | |
| 10 | church of the Lamb of God | church of the devil; mother of abominations; the whore of all the earth | | | whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church | | | |
| 11 | | the whore of all the earth | | | she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people | | | |
| 12 | church of the Lamb of God; church of the Lamb; the saints of God | the great whore | | were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore | | | | |
| 13 | | the great mother of abominations | | | the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God | | | |
| 14 | saints of the church of the Lamb; the covenant people of the Lord | | | | | | the power of the Lamb of God...descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory. | |
| 15 | | great and abominable church | | | | | | the wrath of God was poured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nationsand kindreds of the earth. |
| 16 | | the mother of harlots | | | | | | the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots |
| 17 | his people who are of the house of Israel | mother of harlots; the great and abominable church of all the earth | | | founder is the devil | | the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel. | |
An interesting connection I noticed was that just as Jesus Christ is the bridegroom and we as his covenant people strive to be part of his metaphorical bride (as in, the parable of the ten virgins), Satan is the founder of the great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth.