Revelation 17

“Ecclesiastical orSpiritual Babylon”

Chapter 17

Revelation

By: Michael Fronczak

Bible Study Resource Center

564 Schaeffer Drive

Coldwater, Michigan 49036

mikefronczak@gmail.com

Copyright © 2005, 2007

Revelation 17

Van Impe: Chapters 17 and 18 form another parenthesis. They are expositions of two verses previously discussed. Chapter 17 explains Revelation 14:8 and chapter 18 expounds Revelation 16:19. In Revelation 14:8 we read, And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

Likewise, in chapter 16, just concluded, we learned that great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath (verse 19). As we have already discussed, the Babylon of chapter 14 is a religious system, whereas the Babylon of chapter 16 is political. The chapter before us, then, is the story of the rise and fall of the ecumenical world church, while chapter 18 describes the destruction of a political system. Let's begin our investigation of chapter 17 and discuss its prophetic implications, historically.

John again sees a vision whose major elements are interpreted within the text. A “great prostitute” is a city seated on seven hills, who rides the Antichrist to power and then is destroyed by him. John first describes “the great prostitute” (17:1-6) and goes on to interpret the vision (vv. 7-18), identifying the beast, his drive toward power, and his subsequent turning on the “prostitute” when absolute power is his.

This is the 8th parenthetical passage. It breaks the message about the fact of the destruction of literal Babylon (Rev. 17:17-21) and the description of this destruction (Rev. 18:1-24), both of which are under the 7th vial. The parenthetical portion is inserted between these two passages to show the contrast between mystical and literal Babylons. It is an alien passage in subject matter and must be recognized as parenthetical in that it explains the mystery of the great whore and the beast that carries her (Rev. 17:1-18). The time of the fulfillment may be after the middle of Daniel's 70th week, as is clear from the fact that the 10 kings give their power to the beast at this time and they turn on the great whore to destroy her so that the beast worship of Rev. 13 may be established (Rev. 17:8-17).

[world] Jesus did not pray for the world, he prayed for His own within the world. The Word “world” came from the word Cosmos which means to bring order out of chaos. We get our word cosmetics from this root word.

(John 17:9) I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine

The Woman is a harlot; depicts unfaithfulness to God; don’t confuse woman with the beast she rides; Mother of prostitutes; has spiritual offspring; persecutor of Christians;

Babylon is to be rebuilt (Isa 13:19, 20; Jer 50:39-40). Debates should be impacted by the reality that Saddam Hussein had begun rebuilding of Babylon!

Babylon (beginning Ezek 28:2, 6-10); Harlot (is there any worse label than that?) in control, at first; new (comprehensive) religion; one political beast in evidence (Dan 7:8, 20, 25; 11:36; Isa 14:14; 2 Thess 2:4).

The Babylonian woman has a double identity: she is a mother, and a city. This is one of the keys to understanding Chapters 17 and 18 – recognizing that Babylon the Great is both a woman and a city at the same time. During the Tribulation Period, Babylon will be filled with adulterous kings. She will open her doors to one-world government, one-world religion, and global trade.

For a better understanding of Babylon read in one setting. Isa 13 & 14; Jer 50 & 51; Rev 17 & 18; The idioms overlap in all 6 chapters, while talking about Babylon.

Is America “Babylon”?

There are some who regard “Mystery Babylon” as a symbolic allusion to the United States. Relying heavily on the Greco-Roman aesthetic traditions in Washington architecture, Columbia as a woman figure, Masonic influences on early heraldry, etc., there are some that believe that America is in view here.

I have reviewed these notions and find them provocative and interesting, but don’t share this view. That doesn’t mean it isn’t valid.

Revelation 17 and 18 are two of the most intriguing chapters of the Bible, yet two of the most difficult and disputed. Both of these chapters deal with the subject of Babylon and form a unit of prophetic doctrine, namely, the destruction of Babylon. However, these are two of the most difficult chapters of Revelation to interpret and expositors vary widely in their understanding of this section of the book. Walvoord writes:

Any interpretation of Revelation 17 and 18 is difficult because expositors have not agreed as to the detail of their interpretations. In general, however, it is helpful to consider chapter 17 as dealing with Babylon as an ecclesiastical or spiritual entity and chapter 18 as dealing with Babylon as a political entity.

There are those who believe the Church will go through the Tribulation. In a way, they are right. There is a church that will (Rev 2:22), Thyatira was promised that it will go through the tribulation with Jezebel. This woman receives more attention than any other symbol in the book. She is surrounded by more identifying clues than any other symbol in the book.

Two Women: conspicuous antitheses of one another:

Chapter 12

Chapter 17

Israel

Dragon Lady

Where

in Heaven

in wilderness

Mother

of Son

of Harlots

Clothed

with Sun

Purple, scarlet, gold

Influence

Sun, moon, stars

kings of earth

Enemy

Dragon

10 kings, ultimately

Nature

pure

harlot

Relationship

hated by powers of earth caressed by them

Sustained by

wings of heaven

dragon

Headdress

crown of 12 stars

forehead

Final location New Jerusalem

habitation of demons

Many good scholars have differing views concerning the “dragon lady” of Chapter 17. Arguments over the identity of “Babylon” include Rome, Iraq, USA, NY, et al.

Ten Clues to Identification

1. A prostitute. Ultimate in promiscuous, unfaithful behavior; depicts unfaithfulness to God on the part of someone who claims to honor God.

2. Has universal influence, all over the world.

3. She is seated upon (steers, dominates) takes advantage of the beast.

4. Purple, Scarlet, Gold, and Jewels. She is conspicuously wealthy and expensively adorned, outwardly attractive.

5. Golden cup: precious, shining, pleasant to behold; ostensibly, a utensil in God’s service; yet a counterfeit, filled with abominable things.

6. Mystery, Babylon the Great. A mystery, linked with Babylon of Nimrod. Cf. Rev 11:8, as an idiom.

7. Mother of Prostitutes: has spiritual offspring. Not alone.

8. Persecutor of Christians (true believers). In fact, revels (is drunk) in their blood. (Cf. Dave Hunt.)

9. Seven Hills. Rome built on seven hills: Aventine, Caelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal, and Viminal.

10. The Great City that rules over the kings of the earth. In John’s day, could only be Rome, however in the future it is most likely literal Babylon.

The Relevance of Babylon:

First mentioned in Genesis 2:14; mentioned over 300X in the Bible; alluded to three times in Christ’s genealogy; presently 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Baghdad.

The Origin of Babylon: The first world dictator: Nimrod (“Rebel”). The classical translation of Genesis 10:9 is misleading: “a mighty hunter in defiance of the Lord.”

“Mystery Babylon”

All forms of occultic practices have had their origins in the original city of Babylon. Isaiah Chapter 47 brings this out clearly.

Tammuz, the son of Nimrod and his queen, Semiramis, was identified with the Babylonian Sun God, and worshipped following the winter solstice, about December 22-23. As Babylon was conquered by subsequent empires, this entire religious system was transplanted, first to Pergamos, (Rev 2:12-17.) and then to Rome.

When Constantine established Christianity as the official state religion of Rome, many of the religious traditions and practices of the earlier pagan worship were adapted and incorporated into the resulting system. As the Babylonian religious system was integrated with Christian ceremonial observances, many of our traditions surrounding Christmas emerge.

The Babylonian worship of Ishtar, the Golden Egg of Astarte, and the fertility rites of spring give us Easter (“Ishtar,” the mother goddess of Babylon).

The calendar year-end on October 31, and its associated occultic rituals, gave us our Halloween: Bone Fires, which became bonfires, etc. Many ancient cultures (Celts, Druids, et al.) observed October 31, the Eve of Samhain, as their year-end.

Chuck Smith Introduction: In chapter seventeen, we now have the specific judgment of God upon the false religious system that has damned the souls of so many men through deception. Jesus warned us to "beware of false prophets who will come looking like sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Matthew 7:15). And the false religious system, which traps the souls of men and its judgment, is coming. Chapter seventeen tells us of this judgment.

Babylon is used in the scripture as a symbol of confusion, because it was in Babylon where man, in rebellion against the living God, decided to build a tower whereby they could communicate with the universe. Ancient man was not as primitive and ignorant as we think him to be. They had tremendous means of communication. Perhaps even superior to ours, because there are indications that they had developed methods whereby they could communicate with other beings outside of the earth.

It is interesting Stonehenge in England, one of the communication centers, it was set up to match with the zodiac. But all through North America the Indians also had miniature Stonehenges, where it was just a miniature of what was that large finding in England where they would sit in the middle and communicate with the spirits. They were set exactly in alignment as is Stonehenge with the zodiac.

The large stones set on top of silicate, we know that to make a little receiver what you do is take a crystal, and by just through the crystal you can actually—Have you ever had a crystal set where you have tuned in and listened to the radio on a crystal set? When we were kids we used to always be making crystal sets and it was always exciting to hear the radio with the crystal. And with just moving the crystal a bit you could get different stations. We know that there is that communicating power within the crystal. We also know that energy is produced by the compression of crystal or silicate, and thus, these large stones were set upon crystal, compressing it and creating an energy force. Then the ability to transmit and to hear and communicate. It is also thought that that could be the purpose of the great pyramids, which again are in alignment with the zodiac.

So, in Babylon, they were going to build this tower to communicate with heaven, and because they had advanced and developed so in their science and in their capacities, God said, "Look what man is seeking to do now. If we don't stop him he is going to be delving into areas where he has no business being." And God brought the confusion of tongues, and thus, the word Babylon has become synonymous with the word "babble", it is unintelligible sounds. He is babbling. What did he say? I don't know he is babbling. So Babylon has become synonymous with unintelligible sounds. And God brought the confusion of languages as suddenly. They were not able to communicate with each other anymore. And this confusion that resulted as their whole language patterns were changed, they began to get into groups and migrate away from that area into their language groups.

Now, we find that languages are based in groupings, but in many languages there is really no relation in the languages at all, as far as sounds are concerned. With many languages they are sort of basic. You have your romance languages where you have basic variations. You have languages that have been made up out of other language groups. But God brought that confusion in Babylon and thus it is always scripturally a symbol of a confused state.

Now, there is a tremendously confused religious state, as man has sought to take over and to establish a religious system for man. And I then study in the religious order and I become a religious man. And I become a go-between, because I am more righteous than you and I am more religious than you and I have a greater contact with God than you. I then become a priest and I help you to get to God: not so in reality. In truth, I am not more righteous than you. I do not have an in with God that you don't have. In reality God looks at all of us the same. He doesn't look at one as more righteous or holy than another. He sees us all the same. He sees us all who believe in Christ. He sees us all as righteous in Christ because of our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And we are all equal in the eyes of God, and there is no ranking as far as God is concerned. We are one together in Christ Jesus. And He is the only mediator between God and man.

Now, God can set up a perfect order. All you need is man to make confusion out of it. And God set up in the church a perfect order, but man confused it before the church was twenty years old. There were those who began to vie for authority, power, position and lording and ruling over others, though that was specifically prohibited by Jesus. He said, "You are not to be as the gentiles who love to lord over one another. If you want to be chief than learn to be the servant of all"(Mark 10:42,44). And He rebuked the church of Pergamus because they had brought in a priest system, the priest over the laity. The Nicolaitanes ruling over the laity. And Jesus said, "I hate that." Why? Because He died to abolish it. He died to open the door so that every one of us can come to God freely through the grace that is now ours in and through Jesus Christ.

So, man brought confusion, and that has developed through the years as the organization and structure has become so great and powerful. It began to rule over nations and kings, but God is going to bring it into special judgment and that judgment is declared here in the seventeenth chapter of Revelation.

McGee Introduction: In chapters 17–18 we see the judgment of the two Babylons. We will first see the apostate church in the Great Tribulation in chapter 17, and then we will see not only religious Babylon but also commercial Babylon in chapter 18.

So many great issues are brought to a crisis in the Great Tribulation that it is difficult to keep them separated, and many fine expositors disagree on details. We have already noted this as we have gone through this Book of Revelation. Although we agree with the system of interpretation, we do disagree on details.

This fact should not be disturbing to believers, as many details will not be clarified until the world enters the Great Tribulation Period and actually faces the climax to each crisis.

This is especially evident relative to the two Babylons in chapters 17–18. The questions are: “Are there two Babylons, and are they in two different geographical locations? Are they representative of two systems? Are they two literal cities, or are they the same?” The answers to these questions will become more apparent as our redemption draws near. It appears at the present time, in my judgment, that two distinct cities are in view.

Here in chapter 17 it is mystery Babylon, the cosmic church, the apostate church. The church of Thyatira, described in chapter 2, verses 18–29, which permitted Jezebel to teach, will become the apostate church of the Great Tribulation. It will attain the goal of the present-day apostates of all the great systems of the world: Romanism, Protestantism, pagan religions, cults and “isms.” Even in our so-called independent Bible churches there will be those who are not believers, and during the Tribulation they will join this great organization that may call itself a church but is not. The Bible calls it a harlot. There couldn’t be a worse label than that! This is ecumenical ecclesiasticism of the one-world church. The location of this system could be in Rome. Rome, the city built on seven hills, is probably the city in mind here. However, Geneva, where the World Council of Churches has its headquarters, is also included, and other places, such as Los Angeles—if I know Los Angeles, and I think I do—can also make a healthy contribution to it!

It is called mystery Babylon because of its origin. At the Tower of Babel man attempted to rally against God. Under Nimrod, Babylon became the origin of all false religion. Now the dream of Nimrod will be realized in the first half of the Great Tribulation Period, for the cosmic church dominates the wild Beast. The church that should have been the bride of Christ is a harlot here. This church is guilty of spiritual fornication, selling herself to the world for hire. This is the church that says, “I am rich and increased with goods, and I have need of nothing.”

Looking back at the study of the seven churches, in chapters 3–4 of the Book of Revelation, I pointed out that the church in Philadelphia represented the church that would be raptured before the time of the Tribulation Period. He said to that church, “I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation” (Rev. 3:10). That “hour” is the Great Tribulation, and we have been in that “hour” a long time in our study of this Book of Revelation.

The true church will not go through the Great Tribulation; it will be raptured before the Tribulation begins. Let’s be specific: who will be raptured? Not certain denominations and not just individual churches, but His church, a collective term meaning all true believers, those who are in Christ. That is the group that will be taken out at the Rapture, and the rest of the church members will be left here on this earth to go through the Great Tribulation. As Dr. George Gill used to say, some churches will meet the Sunday after the Rapture and will not miss a member. But let’s clearly understand that they are not true believers. They are not part of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. He never calls them His church; He calls it a harlot! It is a pseudo-religious system, which controls the wild Beast during the first half of the Great Tribulation, yet it is hated by him. During the last half of the Tribulation, the Beast destroys the harlot in order to set up his own religion. J. Dwight Pentecost in his book, Things To Come, (p. 368) gives this comment concerning the harlot system:

The Beast, who was dominated by the harlot system (Rev. 17:3), rises against her and destroys her and her system completely. Without doubt the harlot system was in competition with the religious worship of the Beast, promoted by the False Prophet, and her destruction is brought about so that the Beast may be the sole object of false worship as he claims to be God.

Babylon is to be rebuilt, as we have seen in Isaiah and Jeremiah, and here in chapters 17–18 we see it destroyed. Ecclesiastical Babylon will be destroyed by the wild Beast.

Ecclesiastical Babylon is destroyed by the wild Beast.

Commercial Babylon is destroyed by the return of Christ.

Ecclesiastical Babylon is hated by the Beast.

Commercial Babylon is loved by the world.

Ecclesiastical Babylon is destroyed at the beginning of the last three and one-half years of the Great Tribulation.

Commercial Babylon is destroyed at the end of the last three and one-half years of the Great Tribulation—that is, at the very end. Zechariah 5:5–11 also has something interesting to say in this connection.

Revelation 17:1

And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

[Whore] Harlotry = false devotion, flatteries (Jer 3:6, 8, 9; Ezek 16:32; Hos 1:2; Rev 2:22); feigned love, pretended affection, false intimacy for favors.

Called a “harlot” four times in this chapter. Called a great “city” eight times in 17 & 18.

Also, Jerusalem was called a harlot (Isa 1:21); Tyre was a harlot (Isa 23:16-17); as was Nineveh (Nah 3:4).

(Isa 1:21) How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

(Isa 23:15-17) 15And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. 16Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered. 17And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.

(Nah 3:4-7) 4Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts. 5Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame. 6And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock. 7And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?

[Waters] see v.15. “are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”

“That sits on many waters” refers to world‑wide unification and control. “Waters” refers to the “nations” and the many people of those nations. “Sits on” suggests the concept of control as well as unification. The nations are religiously united and politically affiliated with each other through the power and control of this religious system and its head. When the church is raptured, the apostate system which will already have spread its tentacles all over the world, will quickly unite and become the one-world church.

One of the things we should be watching for are tendencies and movements among the religious groups of the world toward a united world church, and we have been seeing this for years.

One of the seven angels (in chap. 16) who had one of the seven bowls invited John to witness the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. This evil woman symbolizes the religious system and the City of Babylon, and the waters symbolize “peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages” (v. 15).

Chuck Smith: Now, John just saw these seven angels as they poured out their plagues. One of them came to John, and as you remember in the one plague, the sixth plague, Babylon was brought into judgment and so forth. It was the fifth vial, the throne of the beast and the kingdom was full of darkness and so forth. Then in the nineteenth verse, in the seventh plague Babylon was brought into remembrance before God and judged. So, no doubt the seventh angel, which specifically dealt with judgment on the city of Babylon and came to Daniel to give him further explanation on the destruction of that religious system of man that ensnared men's souls.

And spiritually this would be a false religious system leading men to a trust in something other than Jesus Christ for their relationship with God, trusting in their works, their goodness or something other than Jesus.

In the Bible, in a spiritual sense, adultery is the worship of another god. And so God said the nation of Israel in the worshipping of Baal, Mammon and Molech and so forth were committing adultery. They had gone out in their whoredoms. So, false worship of God or the worship of other gods is spiritual harlotry. So the great whore that has lead so many people into a false hope because they are not worshipping God in spirit and in truth according to the word of God.

Van Impe: Here we see one of the seven angels who administered one of the seven judgments speaking to the disciple, John, inviting him to view the judgment of the great harlot who sitteth upon many waters. This phrase, many waters, speaks of religious control over humanity, internationally. Proof? Verse 15: The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

John is called to come and see the judgment of Babylon, but in the process he also gets a description of the woman (Babylon). The subject of this section is the judgment of religious Babylon. The judgment describes her condemnation, sentence, and penalty passed. The emphasis is the particular character and nature of the penalty that God has in store for Babylon.

Babylon’s description as “the great harlot” refers to the spiritual prostitution and fornication that categorizes the apostate church of the Tribulation which is unfaithful and rejects the Lord Jesus Christ as her husband (2 Pet. 2:1‑2). “Great” refers to the harlot system which will reach its zenith after the removal of the true church (genuine believers) by way of the rapture. The prostitute exists today in many forms (Roman Catholicism, liberal Protestantism, the cults, etc.), but after the church is gone, or perhaps even before it is gone, they will unite and become one great ecumenical religious system.

The whore is the apostate Church, just as "the woman" (Rev. 12:1-6) is the Church while faithful. Satan having failed by violence, tries too successfully to seduce her by the allurements of the world; unlike her Lord, she was overcome by this temptation; hence she is seen sitting on the scarlet-colored beast, no longer the wife, but the harlot; no longer Jerusalem, but spiritually Sodom (Rev. 11:8).

Revelation 17:2

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.

[drunk with wine] Lenin was correct: “religion is the opiate of the people”.

[wine of her fornication] is a reference to demon possession. This wicked woman will cause people to be led astray by deceiving spirits.

The control of the state by “religion” is one of the most dangerous trends in view. The enforced paganism in our government and our schools is frightening—and just the beginning. The harlot religious system will commit adultery with the kings of the earth. She will conspire with world leaders to produce a merger of religion and government. Here it finally is! A religious system united with a political system to manipulate the people of the earth into a false government-approved religion.

The angel informed John that the kings of the earth had committed adultery with the woman; in other words, they had become a part of the religious system, which she symbolized (cf. 14:8).

“They have been made drunk with the wine of her immorality.” The wine refers to the demonic doctrines, ideologies and concepts produced by this religious/political alliance. In ancient Babylon it involved the mysteries of the mother‑child cult and the one-world order of Nimrod and later Nebuchadnezzar. In our day the worship of the queen of heaven is still present (a new face for an old concept) namely, one-world order through social reform and the mysticism of the New Age movement. One idea that has been promoted by liberal Protestantism is we are all God’s children and can come to God in various ways; another is the delusion Satan has promoted from the beginning that we can be like God (Gen. 3:5). This has nothing to do with becoming like the children of God through Christ, but becoming like gods through New Age mysticism. So all racial distinctions, religious distinctions, and social distinctions must be removed. Everyone must learn to get along. Social reform and unification will be promoted as the greatest need of man thereby setting aside the real spiritual needs of men as they are found only in Christ who alone provides the basis for true unity and capacity to love one another.

Van Impe: Here we discover that this worldwide religious system holds both earth's leaders and people within its grasp. The fornication committed is between these worldly leaders and the church. Remember that fornication, spiritually speaking, has to do with idolatry, including all its evil connotations and associations.

Spiritual fornication also has to do with Christianity embracing the world-leaping out of Christ's arms into those of another lover. God's Word instructs true Christians to be separated from the world (see Romans 12:2), specifically cautioning them not to fall in love with the world or anything that it contains (see 1 John 2:15). Those who disregard these commands are spiritual adulterers or fornicators. That's why James 4:4 declares, Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Harlotry and whoredom, then, speak of idolatry and worldliness.

During the Tribulation hour, a vast international religious system (the great whore of verse 1) creates impure alignments with kings, rulers, and presidents in an unprecedented way. Her control is so overwhelming that humanity becomes mentally stupefied or hypnotically drugged as they are made drunk with the intoxicating brew of these religious/political alliances.

McGee: “The great harlot” is that part of the church that will remain after the true church has been raptured. It will be composed of those who have never trusted Christ as Savior; they have never been in the body of Christ. This is the group that enters the Great Tribulation.

We are told certain things about her. She “sitteth upon many waters.” According to verse 15, which we will see later, the “waters” refer to great masses of people and nations. The harlot will pretty much control the world.

“The kings of the earth committed fornication,” show that there is an unholy alliance between church and state during that period.

My friend, the movement in our day of bringing all religions together certainly falls into the pattern of this false church which is to appear—and Scripture doesn’t even dignify it by the name of church, although I am sure it will call itself that. I believe that this movement is more dangerous to our own country than is any foreign political system and that it is more dangerous than the so-called new morality. I believe that it is more dangerous than any other movement. It will become a powerbloc that will dazzle the unthinking mob. It will bring the world under the influence of the wild Beast out of the sea and the wild Beast out of the earth. They will use the apostate church to control the masses, and the church will yield to this arrangement for political preferment and power.

You see, when you reject the genuine, you are wide open for the spurious. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians that when someone rejects the love of the truth that they might be saved, they will believe the big lie.

“The judgment of the great harlot.” God’s cup of judgment will be pressed to the lips of the harlot. And who is going to destroy her? The Beast himself will destroy her. You see, the Antichrist and the False Prophet will not want her around after she has served their purpose. Antichrist wants to be worshiped, and he doesn’t want any competition from the church.

Revelation 17:3

So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

[carried me away] (detachment necessary): “wilderness?” (Isa 47,48). Carried away three times John into Heaven (Rev 4:2); onto high mountain, (21:10). In verse 3 we are told John was taken to a “wilderness.” Obviously, this refers to a desolate, desert‑kind of place, but it is designed to picture the world which the woman and beast will rule. It will be full of cities and peoples, but it will be a spiritual desert. There will be no true spiritual food or water from this empty religious system. The world will be starving and dying. This is what religion does for man, it leaves him in the desert.

[wilderness] eremos, (Gr2048) er'-ay-mos; of uncertain affinity; lonesome, i.e. (by implication) waste (usually as a noun, Greek 5561 (chora) being implied) :- desert, desolate, solitary, wilderness.

This does not sound like it could be Rome as many say Babylon represents.

[scarlet coloured beast] The beast had 7 heads and 10 horns. The beast is an obvious reference to the antichrist and his world government (13:1). The 10 horns are later defined (17:12) as 10 kings who had “not yet received a kingdom.” Woman is sitting on the Beast. . “The scarlet beast” refers to the Antichrist. He is scarlet because he is blood‑thirsty and will at the right time kill the woman (the religious system). As seen earlier (Rev. 13) he is “filled with names of blasphemy,” which refers to his anti‑god character and to the blasphemous claims he will later make (2 Thess. 2:4).

The color scarlet, it is remarkable, is that reserved for popes and cardinals. Paul II made it penal for anyone but cardinals to wear hats of scarlet; compare Roman Ceremonial [3.5.5]. This book was compiled several centuries ago by Marcellus, a Romish archbishop, and dedicated to Leo X. In it are enumerated five different articles of dress of scarlet color. A vest is mentioned studded with pearls. The Pope's miter is of gold and precious stones. These are the very characteristics outwardly which Revelation thrice assigns to the harlot or Babylon. So Joachim an abbot from Calabria, about a.d. 1200, when asked by Richard of England, who had summoned him to Palestine, concerning Antichrist, replied that "he was born long ago at Rome, and is now exalting himself above all that is called God." Roger Hoveden [Annals, 1.2], and elsewhere, wrote, "The harlot arrayed in gold is the Church of Rome." Whenever and wherever (not in Rome alone) the Church, instead of being "clothed (as at first, Rev. 12:1) with the sun" of heaven, is arrayed in earthly meretricious gauds, compromising the truth of God through fear, or flattery, of the world's power, science, or wealth, she becomes the harlot seated on the beast, and doomed in righteous retribution to be judged by the beast (Rev. 17:16). Soon, like Rome, and like the Jews of Christ's and the apostles' time leagued with the heathen Rome, she will then become the persecutor of the saints (Rev. 17:6). Instead of drinking her Lord's "cup" of suffering, she has "a cup full of abominations and filthinesses." Rome, in her medals, represents herself holding a cup with the self-condemning inscription, "Sedet super universum." Meanwhile the world power gives up its hostility and accepts Christianity externally; the beast gives up its God-opposed character, the woman gives up her divine one. They meet halfway by mutual concessions; Christianity becomes worldly, the world becomes Christianized. The gainer is the world; the loser is the Church. The beast for a time receives a deadly wound (Rev. 13:3), but is not really transfigured; he will return worse than ever (Rev. 17:11-14). The Lord alone by His coming can make the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ. The "purple" is the badge of empire; even as in mockery it was put on our Lord.

Van Impe: At this point John, guided by the Holy Spirit. observes the woman (or world church) sitting upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. We first saw this beast in chapter 13, verse 1: I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns. We immediately recognize him to be the Antichrist, who came to power through a confederation of western nations pictured by the ten horns and ten toes discussed previously.

The only difference between the present text and verse 1 of chapter 13 is that the beast is now described as being scarlet coloured. Most commentators believe this reflects his bloody assault upon the world as he rises to power. He begins his reign with a fake peace pact (see Daniel 9:27) which he later breaks! As a result, millions are slaughtered during his rule. Now he bears the blood-red color of an executioner.

McGee: “He carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness.” Remember that John was on the Isle of Patmos in the Spirit for the vision of the glorified Christ and His message to the churches. At that time John was caught up to heaven. From then on the scene shifts from heaven to earth. However, here we are told again that John was in the Spirit. Did he need a fresh anointing of the Spirit for this vision? I rather think so. Is the wilderness literal? Remember that this chapter is a vision where symbols are used. Around both Babylon and Rome there is a literal wilderness. This is a matter of recorded history. Babylon was to become a wilderness, and in this connection read Isaiah 47–48 and Jeremiah 50–51. Outside of Rome the wilderness is called the campagna. I believe that the wilderness mentioned in this verse is literal but also that it is a sign of the chaotic condition of the world brought about by the religious confusion of Babylon.

John saw a woman “sitting upon a scarlet-colored wild beast.” This is a frightful and frightening scene. The wild Beast has previously been identified as the Antichrist ruling over the restored Roman Empire. The woman is identified for us in verse 18: “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” The woman is a city, and the city is Rome, the religious capital of the world. She is religious Rome, which at that time will have inherited all the religions of the world. You see, all true believers will have left the world scene at the time of the Rapture. This includes all true believers, and I have discovered that there are many true believers in Romanism and in liberal churches and even in some very weird religious systems. All genuine believers, regardless of where they have gone to church, will be raptured. This will leave a church on earth that is totally apostate. Rather than being “the bride of Christ,” God calls it a harlot.

The city is further identified in verse 9: “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.” Rome was the city set on seven hills and was known as such to both pagan and Christian writers. Horace wrote, “The gods, who look with favour on the seven hills….” Ovid added, “But Rome looks around on the whole globe from her seven mountains, the seat of empire and abode of the gods.” Augustine wrote, “Babylon is a former Rome, and Rome is a later Babylon.” In these verses the city of Rome is assuredly in view. The woman, the harlot represents a religious system that will be revealed during the first part of the Great Tribulation Period after the true church has been removed from the earth. And this religious system, as the symbol given to us indicates, dominates and rides the Roman Empire at the beginning of the Great Tribulation Period.

“Full of names of blasphemy” reveals how far religion will have departed from the living Christ.

Revelation 17:4

And 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:

[And the woman was arrayed in purple] Purple was the predominant color of Roman imperialism; every senator and consul wore a purple stripe as a badge of his position; the emperor’s robes were purple.

Scarlet is the color adopted by Roman Catholicism.

[Golden cup] (cf. Jer 51:7). Religious intoxication of the anti-church (not antichrist), pseudoreligions counterfeit. “Having a golden cup” refers to her enticing manner of alluring men and nations. She invites men to drink of her deadly and stupefying wine by offering it in a golden cup, while arrayed in all her splendor.

JNTC: Gold cup. Jeremiah 51:7: “Babylon was a gold cup in the hand of Adonai that made all the earth drunk; the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.”

Cup filled with obscene and filthy things. At 18:6 this cup becomes the cup of God’s raging fury, as at 14:10, 16:19.

[Abominations] = idolatry (Isa 44:19);occur in high places (2 Kgs 23:13); Mt. of Olives = “Mt. of Corruption”; one of 7 mountains? of desolation (Dan 12:11; 9:27). “Abominations and unclean things” may refer to the various forms of idolatry involved in the worship of God through images, statues, and medals, etc. “Unclean things” refers not only to the nature of the doctrines taught, but what they lead to in the life, immorality and impurity. Man’s religion offers no solution to the flesh. It’s the flesh seeking to overcome the flesh and it profits nothing (John 6:63; Col. 2:20-23).

The Church went after and seeks power, however was not meant to rule until her rejected Lord returns in power.

Blasphemy includes any doctrine that attempts to add to or modify what God has completed: Salvation by works denies God’s glory and is blasphemy.

Her adornment is similar to that of religious trappings of ritualistic churches today. While purple, scarlet, gold, precious stones, and pearls can all represent beauty and glory in relation to the true faith; here they reveal a false religion that prostitutes the truth.

The color scarlet, is reserved for popes and cardinals. Paul II made it penal for anyone but cardinals to wear hats of scarlet; compare Roman Ceremonial [3.5.5].

Van Impe: As this world church on earth is described, please keep in mind that the true Church-the bride of Christ-is in heaven (chapter 4, verse 1). Her members were raptured from all nations and from many denominations. In fact, their song was recorded in chapter 5, verse 9: Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. The lyrics clearly prove that they trusted in the precious blood of Jesus for salvation. There is no other way (see 1 Peter 1:18,19). Cain rejected the blood and tried to appease God with a vegetable offering (see Genesis 4:3), but God said, It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul (Leviticus 17:11). One cannot get to heaven by following the commandments of men (Matthew 15:9), observing tradition (see Mark 7:9), or as a result of works (see Titus 3:5). Thus, those who believed and obeyed God's teachings concerning the blood of the Lamb are in heaven when the false church, the great whore that sitteth upon many waters, holds sway over the earth.

This false religious system of the Tribulation hour is a complete union of the church and the world. Its members are the leftovers from all denominations. They were either doctrinally or morally wrong. One is as bad as the other. The doctrinally wrong are described in 2 Peter 2:1 and 3: But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction...whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

The morally wrong are pictured in Jude, verses 8-21. Now we understand why theology and morality are so important! When God says, All have sinned (Romans 3:23), He means all. When He declares, The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), He means punishment. When He declares, The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin (1 John 1:7), He means just that! There are no two ways about it! God says what He means-and means what He says. If one rejects God's Word, he will end up among this Tribulation crowd of self-indoctrinated religionists in a world church destined for destruction.

Secondly, if one says he is a Christian but continues to live in sin, the result will be the same-even though his doctrinal theories may coincide with the true teachings of the Word. Yes, disobedience to revealed truth, as well as incorrect doctrine, keeps one from the presence of God for all eternity. This is why Titus 1:16 states: They profess that they know God [lip service]; but in works [daily living] they deny [God], being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate [counterfeit]. Therefore, the members of both groups remain on earth when Jesus calls His genuine children home in the twinkling of an eye. Then these leftovers from all denominations become members of the only religious body still in existence—the world church under the false prophet.

Looking at verse 4 once again, we notice that the woman or mother of the united world church is clothed in materials of purple and scarlet-colour. This signifies rulership, for imperial Rome bedecked its leaders in such fashionable elegance. Strange, is it not, that ecclesiastical rulers have always desired temporal authority? They have sought to control the world as well as their parishioners.

Constantine, who became Emperor of Rome in 312 A.D. and eventually head of the church, is a perfect example of this power struggle which has continued to the present hour. Shades of Nicolaitanism! Remember the church of Ephesus in chapter 2.

Question: Is such a goal scriptural? No! Jesus taught His disciples to pray, Thy kingdom come (Matthew 6:10). When that great event takes place in chapter 19, verse 16, then and only then, is a theocracy-the government of God-established upon earth. This position of leadership is reserved for the Lord Jesus Christ, and no mortal has any business taking His place. The throne belongs exclusively to the King of kings and Lord of lords.

The colors and jewels of verse 4 picture a church composed of prelates or leaders elegantly dressed in purple and scarlet (the colors of the emperors from the time of Constantine). They are also decked with gold and precious stones and pearls (a picture of wealth) and use idols in worship (pictured by the golden cup in the woman's hand). The cup is full of (1) abominations and (2) filthiness.

Revelation 17:5

And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

musterion = secret revealed. Mystery Babylon in contrast to the Mystery of the “True Church” (Eph 3:1-9).

[Babylon the Great] is the secret name. It is telling us that Babylon the Great refers not only to the city of chapter 18, but to a religious system, the Babylonianism of ancient time, which will reach its peak in the Tribulation.

[Mother of harlots] (note the plural: a brothel!) Thus, also, Mother of protestants? Ecclesiasticism leads to idolatry (Rev 18:7) “am no widow”?

The Bible is full of information about Babylon as the source of false religion, the record beginning with the building of the tower of Babel (Gen. 10-11). The name “Babel” suggests “confusion” (Gen. 11:9). Later the name was applied to the city of Babylon which itself has a long history dating back to as early as 3,000 years before Christ. One of its famous rulers was Hammurabi (1728-1686 b.c.). After a period of decline Babylon again rose to great heights under Nebuchadnezzar about 600 years before Christ. Nebuchadnezzar’s reign (605-562 b.c.) and the subsequent history of Babylon is the background of the Book of Daniel.

Babylon was important not only politically but also religiously. Nimrod, who founded Babylon (Gen. 10:8-12), had a wife known as Semiramis who founded the secret religious rites of the Babylonian mysteries, according to accounts outside the Bible. Semiramis had a son with an alleged miraculous conception who was given the name Tammuz and in effect was a false fulfillment of the promise of the seed of the woman given to Eve (Gen. 3:15).

Various religious practices were observed in connection with this false Babylonian religion, including recognition of the mother and child as God and of creating an order of virgins who became religious prostitutes. Tammuz, according to the tradition, was killed by a wild animal and then restored to life, a satanic anticipation and counterfeit of Christ’s resurrection. Scripture condemns this false religion repeatedly (Jer. 7:18; 44:17-19, 25; Ezek. 8:14). The worship of Baal is related to the worship of Tammuz.

Van Impe: Here we discover that the mother church has daughters. Her offspring are groups who either rejected the true teachings of the founder of Christendom or who had a counterfeit experience with the Son of God. They went through the motions but were never truly converted. Among them are cultists, apostates, and unconverted professors of religion-including Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, and those who were members of a host of denominations. They never really knew the Lord (see Matthew 7:21-23). The fruit of daily living was spoiled. Now they are all united in one homogenized ecumenical monstrosity-the counterfeit church under the leadership of the false prophet. However, the true believers from many denominations are already on the glory side and were evacuated at the Rapture (see Revelation 4:1).

Friend, at the Judgment Day, no church-not even your church-will be the final standard of truth. Neither will tradition hold sway at the judgment bar of God. The only and absolute authority of truth, faith, and religious practice is God's Holy Word (see 2 Timothy 3:16)! This is why the Lord Jesus himself said in Mark 7:7 and 13, Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered.

McGee: “Clothed in purple and scarlet.” Purple was the predominant color of Roman imperialism. Every senator and consul wore a purple stripe as a badge of his position, and the emperor’s robes were purple. Scarlet is the color adopted by Roman Catholicism.

“Gilded with gold” shows the beauty of the outward display, but, like the Pharisees, it is within “full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness.”

“Precious stone and pearls!” are pretty cold, though they may be genuine, and are a sordid imitation of genuine heartfelt religion. The Lord Jesus said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess” (Matt. 23:25).

“A golden cup full of abominations!” is the religious intoxication of the anti-church (not Antichrist) and a pseudoreligion, counterfeit Christianity, a fake and false gospel, and a sham and spurious system. This is the cup which makes the world drunk. “Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad” (Jer. 51:7).

“Upon her forehead a name written” is a startling revelation of the character of this woman. She does not wear a crown but rather the mark of her profession. It is of interest to see that Seneca, in addressing a wanton priestess, said, “Thy name hung from thy forehead.” “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” is the disgraceful title for the “church” which should belong to Christ as a bride.

Now I know that we live in a day of changing morality, but I am a little old-fashioned, and I still think that the Word of God is right, in its values. I think that the finest thing in the world is a woman and that God has made her that way. When she marries, she is brought into a relationship in which she can give to a man that which puts him in orbit. It is my firm conviction that the thing our civilization has done for a woman has not been to liberate her but to enslave her so that she has become more of a sex symbol than ever before. Instead of taking her rightful place where she can lift a man to the heights, she is characterized as the one who pulls him down to the depths. And the lowest picture you can have is that of a harlot. You may not like it, but that is how the Word of God sees it.

“MYSTERY BABYLON.” The true church is a mystery in that it was not revealed in the Old Testament (see Eph. 3:1–9). The anti-church, designated here as a harlot, is a mystery in that it was not revealed until John wrote Revelation 17. Let me say again that when the true church left the earth at the time of the Rapture, the phonies, those who were only church members, entered the Great Tribulation Period, and the system continued—not now a church, but a harlot. Paul had written of the mystery of iniquity: “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now hinders will hinder until he be taken out of the way” (2 Thess. 2:7). The anti-church is the antithesis of the true church, which is the virgin bride of Christ, and it is the consummation of the working of “the mystery of iniquity.” It is “MYSTERY BABYLON” because it is given this designation just as Jerusalem is called Sodom.

Babylon is the fountainhead for all false religion; therefore she is “THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” This is, by far, Scripture’s more expressive and vivid picture of awful and abominable sin. Sex and false religions are related, you may be sure of that. I believe that many young people are really missing it in marriage when they do not stand at the marriage altar in the presence of God presenting themselves to each other, having kept their bodies for the marriage. That was God’s ideal and still is.

Have you noticed that this “MYSTERY BABYLON” is called the “MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS”? The mother of harlots—not singular but plural. In our day the ecumenical church has faced a lot of problems. It seems that they have recognized psychological differences in people and that it is impossible to water down theologies and practices to suit everyone. So each group will come into this great world ecumenical system but retain some of its peculiarities. For example, those who want to immerse will immerse. Those who want to sprinkle will sprinkle. Those who want elaborate ritual will have it, and those who want no ritual will have that. You see, there is going to be more than the mother harlot—there will be a whole lot of harlots, a regular brothel.

Chuck Smith: That is God's view of her, "Mystery Babylon". Why? Because she brought into the church many of the practices of the old Babylon religion that had been cursed of God.

Time does not permit us to go into the parallels that do exist in the practices that take place in many of the churches today, and those practices of ancient Babylon. Sufficient to say, that in ancient Babylon there was the worship of Nimrod also called Tammuz, and his mother Cymeramus also known as Ashtart. They were the mother and child, he supposedly born by a virgin. She was supposedly a virgin and he was born by virgin birth. He was worshipped by the people. He was a mighty hunter opposed to God according to the scriptures; called, "the mighty hunter" before the Lord. Actually, the Hebrew is "against the Lord".

According to the stories, while hunting he was gored by a boar and died, and his body lay out there for three days and he resurrected. And thus, the people began to celebrate his resurrection by coloring eggs and by the worship of the rabbit, which of course is known for its productivity. And they had a great celebration they called Ashtart in which they worshipped his coming to life with the colored eggs and all. And it was a celebration year by year known as Ashtart, from which of course we get our word Easter. It is interesting that we have adopted the custom of coloring eggs.

He was supposedly born on December twenty-fifth. His birthday was celebrated by decorating trees, bringing them into your house and decorating them with silver and gold and different decorations, because the tree, the evergreen tree, the symbol of life, the evergreen tree and thus brought into the homes and decorated; accompanied with a lot of parties, gift-giving and drunken orgies.

Now, of course we don't have anything in the church that we can liken unto that. These things were all of Babylonian origin. The Madonna and child with a halo about them; that kind of art existed a thousand years before Jesus was born as they worshipped Cymeramus, the mother and her virgin-born son Tammuz. "Mystery Babylon, the Mother of Harlots".

So, God identifies the woman who is sitting upon the beast.

mystery—implying a spiritual fact heretofore hidden, and incapable of discovery by mere reason, but now revealed. As the union of Christ and the Church is a "great mystery" (a spiritual truth of momentous interest, once hidden, now revealed, Ephes. 5:31-32), so the Church conforming to the world and thereby becoming a harlot is a counter "mystery" (or spiritual truth, symbolically now revealed). As iniquity in the harlot is a leaven working in "mystery," and therefore called "the mystery of iniquity," so when she is destroyed, the iniquity heretofore working (comparatively) latently in her, shall be revealed in the man of iniquity, the open embodiment of all previous evil. Contrast the "mystery of God" and "godliness," Rev. 10:7; 1 Tim. 3:16. It was Rome that crucified Christ; that destroyed Jerusalem and scattered the Jews; that persecuted the early Christians in pagan times, and Protestant Christians in papal times; and probably shall be again restored to its pristine grandeur, such as it had under the Cæsars, just before the burning of the harlot and of itself with her. So Hippolytus [On Antichrist] (who lived in the second century), thought. Popery cannot be at one and the same time the "mystery of iniquity," and the manifested or revealed Antichrist. Probably it will compromise for political power (Rev. 17:3) the portion of Christianity still in its creed, and thus shall prepare the way for Antichrist's manifestation. The name Babylon, which in the image, Daniel 2:32, 38, is given to the head, is here given to the harlot, which marks her as being connected with the fourth kingdom, Rome, the last part of the image. Benedict XIII, in his indiction for a jubilee, a.d. 1725, called Rome "the mother of all believers, and the mistress of all churches" (harlots like herself). The correspondence of syllables and accents in Greek is striking; "He porne kai to therion; He numphe kai to arnion." "The whore and the beast; the Bride and the Lamb."

Revelation 17:6

And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

[And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints] Drunk with blood of saints. (Why did John “wonder”? It would have been no surprise if pagan Rome should persecute believers. The love of a harlot is a feigned love; a pretended affection to gain favors.)

The woman symbolizing the apostate religious system, was drunk with the blood of the saints. This makes it clear that the apostate religious system of the first half of the last seven years leading up to Christ’s second coming will be completely devoid of any true Christians. As a matter of fact the apostate church will attempt to kill all those who follow the true faith. John expressed his great astonishment at this revelation.

John was stunned, why? If Rome he would not have been stunned, he saw these things being done under the banner of Christ.

The name is used for more than a city in these chapters; it also stands for a system. This is much the same as the way Americans speak of Wall Street or Madison Avenue. They are actual streets, but they also stand for the financial and advertising enterprises.

[admiration] more literal translation would be “wonderment”

As John watches all the cunning antics of persecution this woman used and uses, he [wonders] with great admiration. This does not mean he admires the one who has so mercilessly destroyed so many. Instead, the original Greek is that John "wonders with a great wonder." He is mystified.

JNTC: On seeing her, I was altogether astounded, since a whore does not usually dress so magnificently (v. 4; see G. E. Ladd, Revelation, ad loc.)

Revelation 17:7

And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

[Wherefore didst thou marvel?] Question 9. Last question in Revelation. “And the angel said to me ‘Why do you wonder?’” In other words, why do you stand there gawking! Perhaps he was reminding John (and us) of the principle of prayer, “ask and you shall receive…” or “if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God…” Nothing thrills the heart of God more than the hungry, searching heart of a believer seeking to know God’s Word.

So the angel promises to tell John about the mystery, the secret concerning the woman and the beast. I suppose from the world’s twisted perspective, this is the story of beauty (man’s viewpoint) and the beast. But there is more. By the angel’s question and description of the woman, however, he shows we should not marvel at the woman which appears in such pompous and religious attire because she is so satanic and thereby destructive and deceptive. We should never be deceived by outward form or religiosity no matter how outwardly attractive or influential or powerful as is the case with this ecumenical and godless system.

[beast that carrieth her] The beast carries her, so she must be something separate from the beast itself. One is political; the other religious.

McGee: “Drunken with the blood of the saints.” The harlot not only makes others drunk, but she is intoxicated by her acts of persecution. While it is true that the church will not go through the Great Tribulation, as we near the end of this age of grace, believers can expect some tribulation. It is my experience and that of other Christian leaders that today it is becoming increasingly difficult to stand for the Word of God and for the things of Christ.

“The saints” probably refer to Old Testament saints, and “the martyrs of Jesus” refer to New Testament saints. This indicates that “BABYLON” is more than just Romanism. Rather, it is an amalgam of all religions. All true believers were caught up at the Rapture, and Babylon is the residue of what is left.

Babylon is a composite religious system which includes Protestantism, Romanism, cults—the whole lot which was not raptured, you see. It is confusion compounded and is the fountainhead of all religious error and idolatry. Babylon in the Old Testament persecuted God’s people and was the enemy of God. It was Babylon that put the three Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace because they would not worship an image.

When John saw the vision of the woman, he says that he “wondered with a great wonder.” This is the first time that John has had his mind boggled. We have had our minds boggled before, but this really throws John. The angel asks why he should wonder when he (the angel) was present to explain the mystery of the woman.

The emphasis here is on the Roman Empire aspect of the wild Beast rather than on the Antichrist aspect. We should note that.

Revelation 17:8

The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

The revival of the Roman Empire is an oversimplified view.

Out of the pit (abousso) is not simply a “revival” of an earthly empire: it is supernatural (Rev 9:1,2,11; 11:7; 20:1, 3).

Be not ignorant of Satan’s devices; look at resent world events and how Satan is behind these events. (2 Cor 2:11).

Seed of serpent (Gen 3:15); Serpent = Satan (Rev 12:9); Man-child = Christ (Gal 3:16).

Brood of serpent: “Generation of vipers” (Mt 12:34). Not Gentiles; children of wrath, disobedience (Eph 2:2, 3); children of Satan (Jn 8:44; 1 Jn 4:1-3).

The angel explained the meaning of the woman and of the beast she was riding. The beast… will come up out of the Abyss, the home of Satan (11:7) and the place from which demons come (9:1-2, 11). This indicates that the power behind the ruler is satanic (cf. 13:4) and that Satan and the man he controls are closely identified. Their power is one. The fact that the beast was, now is not, and will come up in the future is another indication of what was introduced in 13:3. The supernatural survival and revival of both the world ruler and his empire will impress the world as being supernatural and will lead to worship of the beast and Satan.

The references to the beast as one who “once was, now is not, and yet will come” (17:8) has been taken by some that the world leader is one who was resurrected from an earlier time on earth, including such possibilities as Judas Iscariot and Nero and other world rulers. The preferable interpretation, however, is either to regard the resurrection of the beast as the resurrection of the Roman Empire or to consider the possibility of a deadly wound healed by Satan. In either case, the world ruler comes on the scene as a miraculous person.

Possible description of the antichrist is found in Zech. 11:17

(Zech 11:17) Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

Van Impe: The angel continues unfolding the mystery of the beast in verses 8 through 17. Then, in verse 18, the identity of the woman is revealed. Concerning the beast, the angel declares, The beast that thou sawest was [past tense], and is not [present tense]; and shall ascend [future tense] out of the bottomless pit. This is the same beast found in verse 3 and also in chapter 13, verse 1. The reason the beast was, and is not and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition is that, as mentioned during our study of chapter 13, verse 3, he is more than likely assassinated during the Tribulation hour-and thus, is not. Then Satan, the great imitator, resurrects him and enters the body of this human for the final forty-two months of the Tribulation. This explanation fulfills the statement, and yet is (verse 8). While he is deceased, the beast is in the place of departed evil spirits-the bottomless pit. At the time of his resurrection, he ascends out of this pit, only to eventually go back into perdition at the conclusion of his reign when Christ comes (at the Battle of Armageddon) and casts him into the lake of fire (chapter 19, verse 20). Verse 8 also tells us that those persons whose names [are] not written in the book of life, are emotionally stirred as they see the beast that was [alive], and is not [because of his assassination] and yet is [because of his resurrection] ruling again.

McGee: The wild Beast “was” speaks of the past history of the Roman Empire. “Is not” refers to the present condition of the fragmented Empire. The Roman Empire is not dead. It has fallen apart into the nations of Europe today. “Is about to come up out of the abyss” speaks of the reactivation of the Roman Empire by Satan.

As I have indicated before, many have attempted to put the Roman Empire back together again but have never been successful. Charlemagne tried it, Napoleon tried it, Hitler tried it, Mussolini tried it, and at the time I am writing this, the United Nations is trying it, but they, too, are failing. The wild Beast, who is the Antichrist, will be the one who puts the Roman Empire back together again.

“Shall … go into perdition” speaks of the destruction of the Roman Empire by the coming of Christ. The reappearance of the Roman Empire in its great power will win the admiration of the peoples of the world who are not redeemed. They will respect and worship the Antichrist for his brilliant coup d’etat. God’s saints will have the mind of the Spirit and will understand and not be spiritually stupid: “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things…. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” (1 John 2:20, 27).

JNTC: The beast once was (in the form of Antiochus IV “Epiphanes”), now is not in such an evil form, and will come as the anti-Messiah—as explained in 13:1–8. Since the beast pretends to the position of God, the angel sarcastically describes him in language similar to that used to describe God, “the One who is, who was and who is coming” (1:4&N). This beast, Satan, will come up from the Abyss and be “set free for a little while” (20:2–3, 7–8), but he is on his way to destruction in “the lake of fire and sulfur” (20:9–10).

The people living on earth (those in v. 2; see 3:10) whose names have not been written in the Book of Life (see 20:12b) since the founding of the world are to be contrasted with “God’s people … who testify about Yeshua” (v. 6). Also compare 13:3–4, 8; Ep 1:3–12; and Co 1:14–23.

Revelation 17:9

And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

Interpreting this verse requires spiritual understanding of the Scriptures not of world geography. This seems simple enough, but it is not as it appears. Revelation 17:10 tells us these seven hills are not seven actual hills, but are seven kings (kingdoms or world governments).

“...seven mountains”: Mountains = governments in prophecy (Dan 2:25,44 et al.).

Identifying the prostitute as Rome because of the seven hills has some serious flaws. The first flaw is the assumed relationship between the woman and the hills. The seven heads are attached to the beast, not the woman. The seven heads do not identify the location of the prostitute because she is not part of the beast. The woman sits on the whole beast, not just on the heads. It is far more consistent to view the harlot’s “sitting” as describing her control over the seven mountains instead of pointing to her physical location.

A close study of the passage does not support the conclusion that this refers to the city of Rome. Seiss, for instance, offers extensive evidence that the reference is to rulers rather than to physical mountains (The Apocalypse, pp. 391-94). This is supported by the text which explains, They are also seven kings (lit., “the seven heads are seven kings”). If the mountains represent kings, then obviously they are not literal mountains and refer not to a literal Rome but to persons, or Governments, which is a common idiom.

This view is also supported by verse 10, Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. John was writing from his point of view in which five prominent kings of the Roman Empire had already come and gone, and one was then on the throne (probably Domitian, who caused the persecution which put John on the island of Patmos). The identity of the seventh king, the one to come after John’s time, is unknown.

May have pun or double meaning or double reference!

Horace wrote, “The gods, who look with favor on the seven hills...”

Ovid: “But Rome looks around on the whole globe from her seven mountains, the seat of empire and abode of the gods”:

Augustine wrote, “Babylon is a former Rome, and Rome is a later Babylon.”

Even Peter is regarded as using Babylon as a “code name” for Rome (1 Pet 5:13), although some take it as literal.

Van Impe: This is a tremendous text. It locates, geographically, the final world power block and headquarters for the world church as well. Historically speaking, Rome is the only city situated on seven hills. The names of her seven peaks are (1) Aventine, (2) Caehan, (3) Capitohine, (4) Esquihine, (5) Palatine, (6) Quimnal, and (7) Viminal. There is no disputing the fact. The world church, sitting on these seven hills, heading up scores of denominations, rides to power on the back of the ten-horned western federation of nations.

Revelation 17:10

And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

Actually reads “They are 7 kings”:

1) Egypt (Isa 52:4; Isa 10:24; 27:13; Hos 9:3; 11:11; Zech 10:10, 11)

2) Assyria 7 centuries

3) Babylon [Daniel from here on..]

4) Persia

5) Greece

6) Rome - Phase 1 (in power at time of John).

—Church “gap”—

7) Rome “revived” - Phase 2

8) Incarnated Satan: the Coming World Leader

Newell and Govet: (another view some take)

1. Julius Caesar - assassinated

2. Tiberius - poisoned or smothered

3. Caligula - assassinated

4. Claudius - poisoned

5. Nero - committed suicide

One is: Domitian, living in John’s day; later assassinated.

Others (Walter Scott, Scofield, et al): Forms of government: kings, consuls, dictators, decimvirs, and military tribunes. The “one is” is the sixth, the imperial form set up by Julius Caesar. (It is interesting that the Kaiser of Germany, the Tsar of Russia, and Qaysars of Islam, take their labels from him.) John was banished under this form. The seventh will be the last.

Here 5 of the 7 kingdoms "are fallen (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece), and one is (the 6th, the old Roman Empire), and the other is not yet come (the 7th, made up of the 10 kingdoms that are yet to be formed inside the Roman Empire, Daniel 7:23-24); and when he (the 7th, or the Revised Roman Empire) cometh, he must continue a short space" (3 1/2 years, Rev. 12:12,14).

The beast "that was (had existed on earth before John's day), and is not (on earth in John's day), even he is the 8th (8th kingdom, succeeding the 7 preceding kingdoms), and is of the 7 (of one of the 7, the 5th or Greece, that had fallen before John's day and becomes the 8th after the 6th and 7th kingdoms), and goeth into perdition" (Rev. 17:9-11).

Van Impe: As John receives this vision of the seven kings, five have already fallen. They were (1) Julius Caesar, (2) Tiberius, (3) Caligula, (4) Claudius, and (5) Nero. Number 6-Domitian-is, at the time John receives this revelation, alive and on the throne. Number 7 is yet to come. He, of course, is the Antichrist whose reign will last briefly, or a short space.

Regardless of the interpretation adopted, the end in view is the same—the Antichrist rules over the reactivated Roman Empire.

Revelation 17:11

And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

A key riddle. The “Little Horn” of Daniel 7 (Dan 7:8, 24). Favors the “form of government” view... or refers to some other link; genealogical? We’ll have to wait and see.

Van Impe: This verse is a thought-twister, but easily understood when one considers it carefully. Who is king number eight if there are only seven kings in the first place? Number eight is number seven resurrected! And the beast that was [before his assassination], and is not [because of his untimely death], even he is [because of his resurrection] the eighth. He is of the seven because Satan, who incarnated his body while dead, also motivated the other seven. As further proof that number eight is the resurrected Antichrist (number seven), we are again told that he will eventually go into perdition. This statement is also made concerning number seven in verse 8 as well as in our text-verse 11. King number seven and king number eight are one and the same.

Chuck Smith: So, the beast is according to this, is one of the five previous Roman emperors prior to the writing of the book of Revelation by John. At the time that John was writing, he was no longer alive. He was in the abusso. He ascends out of the abusso. But the world will wonder at this man who once lived and was dead and is now alive again. Of the seven of the major Roman emperors, and of course the one that comes closest to fitting the description is none other than Caesar Nero whose name numerically in Hebrew totals to six hundred and sixty-six.

Caesar Nero was called by the early church the beast. That was the common name, because he wrecked so much havoc among the church. Quite apparent that he was possessed by demonic spirits. The things that he did could only be done by a mind perverted by Satan. The horrible atrocities that this man brought against the Christian church could only be done by a mind that was totally deranged by demonic forces.

And so the beast that was and is not,

Revelation 17:12

And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

(Dan 2:37-45) 37Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. 39And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 40And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 44And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

(Dan 7:7) Portrayed here. 7After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. 8I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

Most dispensationalists equate these ten horns with the ten toes of the image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Dan 2) and the ten horns on the fourth beast that Daniel saw rising from the sea (Dan7).

Another significant point: The ten kings will receive authority for one hour. One hour is a Biblical term that means a short time. In this case, it means the ten kings will reign with the Antichrist for the duration of the Tribulation Period. The significance of this is the fact that Jesus promised to keep faithful believers from the Hour of Trial that is coming upon the world. This is another hint of the pre-Tribulation Rapture (Rev 3:10). The church will not be on the earth during the one-hour reign of the ten kings with the Antichrist.

The ten horns have not become quite familiar to us. They may soon control the world. Communism, as we have learned, is not the final power block of history. Rather, this ten-toed western alliance is. The power of these nations, however, will be for one hour, or for but a brief moment of time.

Revelation 17:13

These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

Not that Saddam Hussein is part of all this however may be an example why it seems the confrontations with the Iraqi President will never end. The world must wonder why it is so important to make him toe the line. Simply Saddam’s defiance is a threat to the New World Order (world government). If he can defy the world government, others can defy the world government. It is important to show the world that the New World Order is not a paper tiger to be trifled with. Rogue nations like Iraq are going to have to submit to a higher authority (world government), in order for the threat of nuclear war and the spread of chemical and biological weapons to end.

The final ten-nation western federation-after the Antichrist ousts three of the original members and replaces them-becomes so unified that everything they possess, economically and militarily, is placed under the control of this world leader (see Daniel 7:8, 24).

Note parallel to Daniel 11:36-39 where the willful king likewise puts aside all other deities in favor of the worship of himself.

(Dan 11:36-39) 36And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 37Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. 38But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. 39Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

Chuck Smith: And that one mind is to make war with Christ and to destroy Him when He comes to set up His reign upon the earth. That is the one mind of these kings. So, they turn their power and strength over to the antichrist. He becomes the leader in the effort to thwart the establishing of God's rule upon the earth.

Now, as John said when he wrote this epistle, he said, "The Spirit of antichrist is already at work in the world"(1 John 4:3). The spirit of antichrist is at work in our world today. There are already many powerful men who have dedicated themselves to the destroying of God: the humanist in their humanist manifesto. And many of our major congressmen and leaders are humanists and subscribe to the humanist manifesto.

And these men, such as Norman Lear, have tremendous power to influence our nation. They have dedicated their talents and their powers to the eradicating to the thought or the consciousness of God from the minds of the people. They are out to destroy God. So, his programs put those who believe in God in sort of a weird funny category. There is an endeavor in the programming to make fun of strong beliefs, or faiths, or convictions, to make a man look like a fool, like a bumbling idiot who may have strong convictions on a particular subject. And the whole idea is to destroy by ridicule. For in the humanist manifesto, they are determined to eradicate once and for all the superstitious beliefs in a Supreme Being or in God by men. They are out to destroy God. Their goal is the destruction of God and the idea and concept of God, which they say, is archaic and belongs back in a past age of ignorance.

Now the purpose in destroying God is to free man so that he can live after his flesh without any kind of remorse or pangs of conscience. Thus, they want to get rid of any kind of a moral base that has its roots in the Bible. So that any of the prohibitions of the Bible, adultery, fornication and so forth are so obliterated from your mind that you can do these things without any conscience that would bother you or trouble you. Because, you see, that conscienceness comes from a biblical base and they are trying to destroy God and get rid of any feelings of guilt that man possesses, as a result of his past superstitious beliefs in a Supreme Being, and the Bible is His word to man. That is the goal of the humanist in their manifesto. And you can get the humanist manifesto and you can read point by point how they plan to bring to pass the destruction of God.

So, the spirit of antichrist is already at work and many of the powerful leaders have embraced the idea of the destruction of God. And we see that they have been highly successful. In Europe their job is just about complete. You go to Europe today and you are in a post-Christian era. You find out what the world is going to be like after the rapture has taken place. And you can see the hopelessness in the eyes of the people, the despair. And of course you see the other things that go along with such a society.

You see the degrading of womanhood as you see these poor girls standing in the windows beckoning to the men who walk by. They are displayed like merchandise, standing there like mannequins except that as the men walk by they try to entice them on in. And you can walk down the street and window after window see the degraded state of the women brought about by men whose minds are so perverted because of the absence of the conscienceness of God, that they have again degraded the woman back to the position that she was two thousand years ago before Christianity came on the scene and elevated her to a place of beauty and respect and honor. As they take advantage and as you see the nude pictures, as you see the pornographic magazines and all these things that attract the flesh, as you see people wholly given over to their own fleshly desires, you see the drunkenness and the hopelessness and you realize these men have been successful in their endeavor to destroy God from the minds and conscienceness of the people.

They are hard at work in the United States and they have come a long way here. They have petitioned the courts, which have allowed them to publish such filth, as we find in the girlie-type magazines that are open and available for the children to pick up and leaf through in the grocery store on the corner. They have been able to rule God out of the classroom in school. The Supreme Court has ruled that it is unlawful for the state of Louisiana to have the Ten Commandments written on the board in the classroom, even though it is written on the walls of the Supreme Court itself. They have declared that it is illegal to have the children sing Christmas carols in the public schools.

Thank God that we have courageous teachers who are Christians who are the salt of the earth, and in the public school system still shine as a glorious light in a dark place. And I thank God for everyone of you that are in public education and are putting up with the malaise of the broken society and these children who have come from this chaotic condition, and you are putting up with it in