Revealing the Mystery of Babylon the Great and the Beast
• "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 shew unto thee the judgment of the Great Whore that sitteth upon many waters:" Both Chapter 17 and the following chapter describe the destruction of "Babylon the Great" (Rev 17:5), i.e., "I will shew unto thee the judgment of the Great Whore" (Rev 17:1); but, this chapter sets the stage for that destruction by revealing to us the identities of both Babylon the Great and the Beast, i.e., "I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the Beast that carrieth her" (Rev 17:7). Many commentators agree that ecclesiastical, political, and economic Babylon are described in this pair of chapters. However, the difficulty of interpreting the two chapters lies in distinguishing the spheres of influence of both the Great Whore and the Antichrist, since they overlap and are intertwined through their spiritual fornication. "Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts" (Nahum 3:4). That their conduct is illicit, can be seen through the name given by the Holy Spirit to Babylon the Great, i.e., the "Great Whore [Greek, porne, also translated as harlot]" (Rev 17:1). "17 There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. 18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God" (Deuteronomy 23:17-18).
An angel, "one of the seven angels which had the seven vials" (Rev 17:1), is seen here instructing the Apostle John concerning the "judgment of the Great Whore" (Rev 17:1). She is described as sitting "upon many waters" (Rev 17:1) and sitting astride the "Beast that carrieth her" (Rev 17:7). Just as Antichrist arises "out of the sea" (Rev 13:1)-- signifying that he will emerge out of the "isles of the Gentiles" (Genesis 10:5)-- the Great Whore sits "upon a scarlet coloured beast" (Rev 17:3)-- signifying that she both derives her power from the Antichrist and exerts controlling influence over him-- a symbiotic relationship. "What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith He, shall be one flesh" (1Corinthians 6:16). Historically, the Roman Catholic Church has been noted to have this whorish relationship between Established Religion and State, and as mammoth as Rome is today; the Roman Pontiff would need to elevate himself even more to continue the prophetic destiny of the Church of Rome-- most probably through the recent inauguration of the United Religions. "This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men" (Daniel 4:17).
• "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." Why have the Kings of the Earth committed spiritual fornication with Babylon the Great? Just as physical fornication is intercourse between unmarried partners, spiritual fornication is an illicit departure from God for the gratification of self. "They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to Me, saith the LORD" (Jeremiah 3:1). Rulers have both their own sense of religion for themselves, as well as their understanding of what religious sense motivates their people, which they must harness to establish their kingdom. "24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand" (Mark 3:24-25). An example of how the religious sense of a ruler converted the king, but not the kingdom, is that of Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon. "34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto Heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honoured Him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation... 37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of Heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways judgment: and those that walk in pride He is able to abase" (Daniel 4:34, 37).
The spiritual fornication of the kings is most often the spiritual temperament of the people, i.e., "And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings" (Hosea 4:9). Kings not only enforce the Law, but they lead by their example-- for good or for ill. "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" (Rev 17:2). Regardless of the actual form of government, rulers understand that their government requires the support of the people, and often make their decisions based upon the will of the people-- without concern for what is right. "13 And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 said unto them, Ye have brought This Man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined Him before you, have found no fault in This Man touching those things whereof ye accuse Him: 15 No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him [along with Jesus, to make your allegations against Him]; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto Him. 16 I will therefore chastise Him, and release Him. 17 (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.) 18 And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with This Man, and release unto us Barabbas: 19 (Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) 20 Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. 21 But they cried, saying, Crucify Him, crucify Him. 22 And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath He done? I have found no cause of death in Him: I will therefore chastise Him, and let Him go. 23 And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that He might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. 24 And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. 25 And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will" (Luke 23:13-25).
• "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." We are here reminded that the Apostle John was given a series of visions in the Apocalypse, for one of the seven angels of the Vial Judgments carries him "away in the Spirit" (Rev 17:3) to see a third vision of Christ climaxing His judgment of the world (Rev 17:1-21:8). Why was this vision given to John in the "wilderness" (Rev 17:3)? In this instance, the "wilderness" (Rev 17:3) seems to indicate the theme of judgment. "How is the hammer of the whole Earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!" (Jeremiah 50:23). The Great Whore (Rev 17:1) is the woman that sits upon the "scarlet coloured Beast" ( Rev 17:1). The "seven heads" (Rev 12:3) of the Dragon signify seven governments, kingdoms, or empires, from which the "ten horns" (Rev 12:3) or ten different rulers reign, i.e., "ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise" (Daniel 7:24).
The phrase span style="color:darkred">"full of names of blasphemy"</span style="color:darkred"> (Rev 17:3) indicates that both the Great Whore and her paramour the Beast are full of evil speaking against our LORD Christ, "who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen" (Romans 9:5). Though sin is plainly the despising of the Law of Love, i.e., "sin is the transgression of the Law" (1John 3:4), how anyone could loathe the God who is love, is truly a mystery. But, the "mystery of iniquity doth already work" (2Thessalonians 2:7). Or, as the Apostle John informs us, "Little children, it is the Last Time: and as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the Last Time" (1John 2:18). Virulent hatred of God exists in the world, because God in His wisdom has allowed moral agents to exercise their Godlike image, i.e., "in the image of God made He man" (Genesis 9:6), for or against Himself; however, it is the "goodness and forbearance and longsuffering" (Romans 2:4) of God that brings any of us unto "repentance" (Rev 2:4). That Loving Longsuffering of God that seeks our repentance, is even more unfathomable than the blackest sin and blasphemy of the Great Whore herself. "17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:17-19).
• "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:" The Great Whore is "arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls" (17:4), indicating an opulence unknown to the vast majority of the world, but so easily identifiable with the ecclesiastical pomp of the Church of Rome. "7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow... 16 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!" (Revelation 18:7, 16). What justification does the Church have to impress the ungodly with worldly displays of wealth in the name of seeking the salvation of their souls? None whatsoever! "And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head" (Luke 9:58). Neither pageantry to impress the benighted masses or woo the overindulged elite, justifies the ostentation that places the emphasis upon the "lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" (1John 2:16). Only with the greatest caution and understanding could any successful ministry justify the building ofany superstructure that would potentially overpower the hearts of the Faithful. "7 Two things have I required of Thee; deny me them not before I die: 8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: 9 lest I be full, and deny Thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain" (Proverbs 30:7-9).
A gilded cup is held by the Whore, "full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication" (Rev 17:4). The cup is gold, which is lawful for all to possess, but its contents of disobedience and rebellion are deceptively marketed to mankind as good and right-- and not the self-seeking, self-loving, self-gratifying, God-hating thing that it really is. "O love the LORD, all ye His Saints... for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever" (Psalms 31:23; 136:1). The Whore seeks to entrap mankind to gratify herself, as well as justify her actions. "4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil" (1Corinthians 13:4-5). As long as we "walk in love" (Ephesians 5:2), it is unfathomable that all men would not likewise love the Blessed LORD with all their heart, soul, and mind; but, Scripture has wisely depicted evil to give the Innocent Saints the necessary understanding of our enemy, which is the Whore. "I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil" (Romans 16:19). "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices" (2Corinthians 2:11). Those who refuse to separate themselves from the Whore, become partakers of her evil deeds, and are justly worthy of her punishments. "And I heard another voice from Heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues" (Revelation 18:4).
• "5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." Why should the "Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding" (Isaiah 11:2) inspire the Apostle John to record that Babylon the Great is "THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH" (Rev 17:5)? The ziggurats of the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and the Mayan people of Central America indicate the antiquity of such structures as the Tower of Babel-- built like the Egyptian pyramids in receding tiers, often of sun-baked bricks, e.g., "Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter" (Genesis 11:3). These ziggurats normally had shrines at the top, which indicated their use for religious worship. One of the most ancient examples of these ziggurats was discovered in Erech, i.e., "And the beginning of [Nimrod's] kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar" ( Rev 10:10), dating more than 3,000 years before Christ. For this reason, Babylon the Great would be viewed as the Fountainhead of Idolatry and Spiritual Harlotry and "ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH" (Rev 17:5), since the time of Noah's Flood.
The very name Babylon is also translated as Babel in the Old Testament. "8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the Earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod [literally, rebellion] the mighty hunter before the LORD. 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel [literally, confusion], and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar" (Genesis 10:8-10). Subsequently, the building on a "plain in the land of Shinar" (Rev 11:2). of a "city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven" (Rev 11:4); was devised to exalt man and not God. "11 Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. 12 Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish" (Psalm 49:11-12). Jehovah's judgment was to scatter and confuse them, because the intent of the builders of the Tower of Babel was not only to exalt the name of man, i.e., "let us make us a name" (Genesis 11:4), but to refuse obedience to the Almighty's command to "be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the Earth" (9:1)-- which implies populating and overspreading the Earth-- as can be seen in their concern that they would "be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole Earth" (Rev 11:4).
It is typical of a prostitute to know "no shame" (Zephaniah 3:5), inasmuch that Scripture speaks of a "whore's forehead" (Jeremiah 3:3), i.e., "Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush" (Jeremiah 6:15). John Gill (1809) recorded that some harlots of ancient times impudently advertised their names over their doors, as well as upon their foreheads. But, the name emblazoned by God upon the forehead of the Whore, "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH" (Rev 17:5), makes simple her identification. "Knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth" (Proverbs 14:6). The Greek word musterion, which is translated "MYSTERY" (Rev 17:5), is capitalized by the translators of the King James Version as part of the title "BABYLON THE GREAT" (Rev 17:5); however, it may only be an adjective describing the woman's title, e.g., "Babylon the great" (Rev 18:2). John Wesley also reminds us, "This very word ["MYSTERY"]was inscribed on the front of the Pope's mitre, till some of the Reformers took public notice of it" (from Wesley's comments on Revelation 17:5 in his "Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament" [1765- In his classic expose on Romanism, Alexander Hislop (1809-1865), a Scottish Free Church minister, wrote, "There never has been any difficulty in the mind of any enlightened Protestant in identifying the woman 'sitting on seven mountains,' and having on her forehead the name written, 'Mystery, Babylon the Great,' with the Roman apostacy" (from the Introduction to "The Two Babylons: Or, The Papal Worship Proved to be the Worship of Nimrod and His Wife" [1853].) It has been a common position of Christians since the Reformation to view Roman Catholicism as a corruption of the Primitive Church, and a torch bearer of the "mystery of iniquity" (2Thessalonians 2:7) that has polluted the world from Ancient Babylon to the present. Henry Alford (1857) saw Roman Catholicism in the BABYLON THE GREAT of this passage: "I do not hesitate therefore, induced mainly by these considerations, which will be confirmed as we proceed step by step in the prophecy, to maintain that interpretation which regards papal and not pagan Rome as pointed out by the harlot of this vision" (from "Alford's Greek Testament: An Exegetical and Critical Commentary," IV, p. 705.) - What will be the final form of Babylon the Great? We can be sure that the Whore: (1) Will be personified as "the False Prophet" (Revelation 16:13). Since Babylon the Great only rides the Beast, i.e., "I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast [the Antichrist]" (Rev 17:3), she is not to be confused with the Beast himself. Her intimacy with the Beast stems from her need for the governmental power of the Beast to assure her a monopolistic religious franchise, i.e., "as many as would not worship the image of the Beast should be killed" (Rev 13:15).
(2) Will promote the worship of the Antichrist., i.e., Babylon the Great "exerciseth all the power of the first beast [the Antichrist] before him, and causeth the Earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed" (Revelation 13:12). Babylon the Great's ingenious device will be forcing the world to take the Mark of the Beast, which assures the participation of every human being in the world in the religion of Babylon the Great in exchange for life and its physical necessities. "16 And [the False Prophet] causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name" (Rev 13:16-17).
(3) Will spiritually fornicate with the kings of the Earth, i.e., "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" (Rev 17:2), because, as with the Antichrist, she needs their help to force her religion upon the world. Her spiritual fornication is that she will champion the violation of the Most High God's Law of Love. "Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind... Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matthew 22:37, 39).
(4) Will be blasphemous, i.e., "And [Babylon the Great] had power to give life unto the image of the Beast, that the image of the Beast should both speak... full of names of blasphemy" (Rev 13:15; 17:3). "10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart... 21 With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him" (Proverbs 7:10, 21).
(5) Will be materially rich, i.e., "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" (Revelation 17:4).
(6) Will be a murderer of the True Saints, i.e., "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the Saints, and with the blood of the Martyrs of Jesus" (Revelation 17:6).
(7) Will reign over the people of the world, i.e., the "inhabitants of the Earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication... The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (Revelation 17:2, 15).
(8) Will be characterized as a city, i.e., "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the Earth" (Revelation 17:18). Alexander Hislop recorded: "No other city in the world has ever been celebrated, as the city of Rome has, for its situation on seven hills. Pagan poets and orators, who had not thought of elucidating prophecy, have alike characterised it as 'the seven hilled city.' Thus Virgil refers to it: 'Rome has both become the most beautiful (city) in the world, and alone has surrounded for herself seven heights with a wall.' Propertius, in the same strain, speaks of it (only adding another trait, which completes the Apocalyptic picture) as 'The lofty city on seven hills, which governs the whole world.' Its 'governing the whole world' is just the counterpart of the Divine statement--'which reigneth over the kings of the earth' (Rev 17:18). To call Rome the city 'of the seven hills' was by its citizens held to be as descriptive as to call it by its own proper name. Hence Horace speaks of it by reference to its seven hills alone, when he addresses, 'The gods who have set their affections on the seven hills.' Martial, in like manner, speaks of 'The seven dominating mountains.' In times long subsequent, the same kind of language was in current use; for when Symmachus, the prefect of the city, and the last acting Pagan Pontifex Maximus, as the Imperial substitute, introduces by letter one friend of his to another, he calls him 'De septem montibus virum'--'a man from the seven mountains,' meaning thereby, as the commentators interpret it, 'Civem Romanum,' 'A Roman Citizen.' Now, while this characteristic of Rome has ever been well marked and defined, it has always been easy to show, that the Church which has its seat and headquarters on the seven hills of Rome might most appropriately be called 'Babylon,' inasmuch as it is the chief seat of idolatry under the New Testament, as the ancient Babylon was the chief seat of idolatry under the Old" (from the Introduction to "The Two Babylons: Or, The Papal Worship Proved to be the Worship of Nimrod and His Wife" [1853].)
Revealing the Mystery of Babylon the Great and the Beast Part 2