INTRODUCTION

INITIAL DESCRIPTION OF THE GREAT PROSTITUTE, MYSTERY BABYLON (Rev 17:1-18)

We will first look at four significant descriptions of the great prostitute from Rev 17 and seek to identify their symbolic meaning before we tackle the identification of the great prostitute.

• Rev 17:1 says that she sits on many waters. Rev 17:15 says that this means that she sits on or her foundation is built on a large number of people of various nationalities and languages (Also see Jer 51:13, 18). Rev 17:3 says that she also sits on a scarlet beast that had seven heads. Rev 17:9-11 says that the seven heads represent seven hills or mountains. Mountains often represent governments in the Bible. Thus she was sitting on or her foundation was built on certain governments of the world. A comparison of Daniels visions of the end times to Rev 17:9-11, in association with Dan 9:26, leads us to the conclusion that the revived Roman Empire is associated with this beast. The original Roman Empire was composed of many of the current European countries as well several mid-Eastern Muslim countries. Rev 17:12-13 leads us to believe that there will be ten countries closely associated with the antichrist in the end times. If the beast the woman is riding is the same as the beast described in Rev 13:1-10 then as we have seen that beast refers to both the allied empire of the antichrist and to the antichrist himself, who is also called the beast. It certainly appears that the scarlet beast and the beast out of the sea are the same and that the antichrist is the leader of the beast, the image of the beast and in fact is even called the beast.
• The statement in verse 16 which says that the antichrist and his empire will grow to hate the prostitute is very significant to trying to understand the identity of the prostitute. The antichrist and his empire will eventually destroy the prostitute.
• Rev 17:18 says that she is a great city that rules over the kings or nations of the world. The Bible often refers to the church as a city, as the dwelling place of God, Rev 21:9-10, Gal 4:26-31, Heb 12:22-24, Eph 2:19-21, Isa 60:14, 62:12. Thus the city which Babylon represents may be a spiritual city, a group of people who all belong to the same false religion, and the spiritual dwelling place of Satan.
• Rev 17:2 says that she is a great prostitute who commits (spiritual) adultery with the leaders of earth and the inhabitants of the earth. In the Old Testament God repeatedly called worship of other gods or idols adultery or fornication, Hosea 1:2, 2:2-3, 4:12-19. All of this taken together may be saying that the great prostitute is a false religion with a false god. That would mean a religion that did not recognize Jesus as God, 1 John 2:20-23. There are several candidates for who the great prostitute might be. It might actually be a powerful apostate religion on earth during the end times. This church might be thought of as the bride of Satan just as the true church is the bride of Christ. This could be the emerging one world or new age religion which the Catholic Church, many Protestant churches, the Reformed Jews and many other religions are courting. This church promotes many paths to heaven when there is only one path to heaven, and that is through Jesus Christ. It could be Islam at some future time if it becomes the major worldwide religion. There certainly are other possibilities. If the woman turns out to be both a group of nations as well as the principal religion of those nations then it could be Europe. The United States could be involved after the rapture. There are studies that conclude that if current immigration trends and birth rates continue Europe could be Islamic by about the year 2040. We will continue to study before coming to a conclusion about the identity of the woman.

OTHER INSIGHTS INVOLVING THE GREAT PROSTITUTE (Rev 17:1-18)

We will now turn our attention to other insights from Rev 17 concerning the great prostitute to help us in identifying her. First we see that she is also called a woman and Babylon the Great. Verse 2 says that the kings of the earth committed adultery with her and the inhabitants of earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries. We know from the Old Testament that God often accused Israel of committing adultery with idols (Ezek 6:9, 16:36, 23:7, 30, 37, Hosea 1:2-3). God identified idol worship by Israel as adultery. God said that he was married to Israel (Isa 54:2-7) and that she was being unfaithful to him when she worshiped other gods (Isa 65:3, 7). Since God is accusing the woman of adultery that must mean that the woman claimed to be married to God, but was unfaithful to him in the extreme. This likely involves denying that Jesus is their God. 1 John 2:22-23 says that the man that denies that Jesus is God is the antichrist, and that if he denies Jesus he is also denying the Father.

Rev 17:3 says that the woman was riding a scarlet beast. Verses 3 and 7 seem to imply that this beast is the allied empire of the antichrist, since they speak of the seven empires and ten kings who make up the beast. However, verses 8-11 seem to imply that the beast is the antichrist. Maybe the scarlet beast represents both the allied empire and the leader of the empire. John further says that in this vision the woman was seen riding the beast in a desert. This is obviously figurative language and may be any place that was desolate. For example, in the first century North America was basically a deserted area and might be called a desert.

The woman was said to be guilty of filthy adultery. She was wearing purple and scarlet and adorned with all sorts of expensive jewelry. This seems to indicate that she was very wealthy and held high spiritual offices. Many scholars believe that this ties in the Catholic Church with the prostitute. Making that call is certainly above my rate. Verse 16 says that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. That seems to say that she was guilty of the deaths of many Christian saints. Historically that is certainly true of both the Catholics and the Muslims. However, in the tribulation it seems that the woman may be a coalition of many faiths who deny that Jesus is the only way to heaven. Many Christian faiths are unfortunately beginning to lean that way and profess that there are many paths to heaven. The reformed Jews profess that belief, the all world religion certainly professes that, as well as other major world religions. Although Islam accepts Jesus as a prophet they deny that he is God. Another interpretation of verse 16 could be that the apostate church is stained with the blood of the prophets and apostles since it denies the truth of what they were saying; principally that there is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus.

Going back to verse 2 we find that the inhabitants of the earth were “intoxicated” with the wine of the great prostitutes’ adulteries. This implies that they had participated very excessively in whatever the prostitute was peddling. When one is intoxicated they are physically and mentally impaired, are incapable of making good decisions, become uninhibited and often do senseless things. If the prostitute represents the religion of the world during the tribulation that implies that the people of the world are making very bad decisions and are doing senseless things in the name of their false god. Isn’t that already going on in the world today?

Next, John says that when he saw the woman he was greatly astonished. I expect some of the astonishment might spring from the fact that the woman did not exist in John’s day. I expect he was also quite astonished that the leader of the beast that the woman was riding was a Nephilim who had come up from the Abyss. In verse 3 we saw that the angel took John away to a desert where he saw the woman riding the beast. This may be the desert of chapter 12; the place where the Jewish people were being protected. The angel seemed surprised at John’s astonishment and tells John that he will explain the mystery of the woman and the beast she was riding. Verse 8 says that the beast once was, now is not, and will come up out of the abyss and go to his destruction. The angel goes on to say that this fact would astonish the inhabitants of the earth. Who could this be? Many prophecy scholars assume it is simply the revived Roman Empire, but that certainly does not fit the definition, and it would not astonish the inhabitants of the world. Besides, how will the revived Roman Empire come up out of the Abyss? There is only one clear cut answer in my opinion, the Nephilim. We saw in the fifth trumpet judgment in Rev 9 that the evil angels and apparently the Nephilim were released onto the earth from the Abyss. If you do a serious study of the Nephilim throughout the Bible you will find that they were on earth before the flood and also to a lesser extent after the flood and then were chained in the Abyss or Tartaros. Thus they were not on the earth during the time that John wrote Revelation. We are also told in Rev 9 that they apparently will be released from the Abyss and so will “be again.” They once were, then were not, and once more will be. It is the only answer that makes sense to me. That means that the antichrist will be a Nephilim, or the spirit of a Nephilim inhabiting the body of the antichrist. That does not preclude him from also being a Jew, a Muslim, a European or some other nationality however. Satan can supernaturally create a Nephilim whenever he wants to I would guess. God forced him to quit creating Nephilim on earth once long ago, but it may be in God’s best interest to allow him to do it once more in the end times. Thus he could be any nationality. Verse 11 confirms that the scarlet beast is the antichrist. Both verses 11 and 8 point out that the antichrist or beast is going to his destruction. In Rev 19:20 we find that this destruction is very near because at his Second Coming Jesus defeats the antichrist and throws him into hell, the lake of fire.

Verses 12-13 point out that the other nations of the Revived Roman Empire will allow the antichrist to have authority over them, as a sort of united empire. Verse 12 also says that the leaders of the nations of the earth that are allied with the antichrist will only be allowed to reign with the beast for a short time, figuratively called one hour. Rev 18:10 confirms this when it says that Babylon’s doom will come in one hour (likely meaning a short time, but not literally one hour).

Verse 14 points out that at the Second Coming there will be a battle involving the empire of the antichrist and the Lamb. This verse also points out that when Jesus returns he will have his bride with him.

Verse 16 could again lead us to believe that the scarlet beast is the allied empire. Since we have so many clues that the scarlet beast is both the allied empire and the leader of the empire, the antichrist, we must come to that conclusion. The scarlet beast represents both the allied empire and the antichrist who leads it.

The prostitute was apparently using the antichrist and his new empire to accomplish some goal that she had set for herself; i.e. she was riding the beast. This must have happened as the antichrist was first coming to power. However, after he gains power, the Nephilim and evil angels are released from the Abyss, etc., he declares himself to be God and demands that those in the apostate church worship him. He tells them that he is really their God. This does not set well with many in the apostate church and they are tortured and killed.

It certainly seems from the clues given about the identity of the woman in Chapter 17 that she is a false religion that exists all over the world in the tribulation. The direction that the world is heading in today makes the situation that must exist after the rapture understandable. Many of the world’s leading religions, unfortunately including the Catholics and many Protestant denominations, are coming together under the umbrella of belief that there are many ways to get to heaven and that Jesus is not the only way. This will certainly be solidified once the rapture takes place. 2 Thess 2:3 says that the end will not come until the great apostasy or falling away occurs. That seems to be underway with the gradual coming together of the new age religion or one world religion which basically rejects Jesus.

We have learned that one of the principal characteristics of the woman is that she is a false religion in the end times. Does the woman also have other significant characteristics? Is there much more to the woman in addition to being a false religion? There are many other clues given in chapters 18 and 19. We will continue to study these clues about the identity of the woman in chapter 18 and look for the answers.