Welcome to The MHB Podcast. This is Michael Baun. And welcome to my 163rd episode. In this episode I want to return to our study of the book of Revelation. We are in chapter 17. This chapter presents another cryptic vision given to John concerning the Antichrist and the wickedness which characterizes his reign. It’s possible to understand this prophecy in other ways but I want to be consistent and see what valuable lessons we can extract from it. In John’s previous visions the Antichrist was symbolically represented as a beast but now he is shown as a great prostitute. Depending on your exposition, you can think of the great prostitute as the Antichrist or also as Babylon. Either way the point is the great prostitute represents a spiritual condition of pride, idolatry, and defiance of God. This chapter gives us a description of the great prostitute and explains the mystery surrounding her appearance. At the end of this chapter the great prostitute’s future destruction is revealed to John. Let’s begin with verses 1-6:
Rev 17:1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,
Rev 17:2 with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.”
Rev 17:3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:4 The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality,
Rev 17:5 and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”
Rev 17:6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly.
In this passage John is invited to witness the judgment of the great prostitute. Prostitutes and harlots are often used throughout Scripture to indicate humanity’s faithlessness with God. Idolatry is likened to prostitution because it involves human beings selling themselves out to false gods who cannot promote their best interest. Spiritual harlotry in this manner doesn’t always have to be with made up gods either. It can even happen if you idolize another human being. The great prostitute in this passage is said to have sold herself to the kings of the earth whom she intoxicated with the wine of her fornication. This suggests earthly power was a significant motivating factor for the faithlessness of the prostitute. When you sell out the truth in exchange for power you break your own covenant with God. You can tell that wealth was also at play here when you see the prostitute was arrayed in purple and scarlet clothes as well as gold, precious stones, and pearls. Power and wealth, which are often of a piece, make up the world’s most deadly allurements which tempt you to turn away from God. Politicians of mighty governments are given both power and wealth in great measure which is why corruption is so common in politics it has almost become cliche.
The prostitute is pictured upon the beast that had seven heads and ten horns. Many have considered this illustration to symbolize Rome with its infamous decadence. But the case is accurate for any nation who has become characterized by idolatry, tyranny, and blasphemy. The prostitute has the name “Babylon the great” written on her forehead. I don’t think this name points directly to ancient Babylon, rather it’s pointing to a city which resembles ancient Babylon in their sin. Or it’s possible the name is pointing to all cities who bear similarity to ancient Babylon in their wickedness. I don’t think its an interpretive liberty to suggest this, as the text even goes so far to say the name written on the prostitute’s forehead carries a mysterious element – although part of this mystery will be explicated in the following verses.
The problem with places like Babylon is that idolatry is so deeply ingrained the nation itself begins to reproduce idolaters. It’s very dangerous when an entire population’s grand overarching narrative is badly inaccurate because this grand overarching narrative is the mechanism by which the people make sense of everything else. That’s why people seem so crazy to you in our generation. That’s why it’s so difficult for us to get along with each other well enough to make sense of our surroundings together. We can’t agree on a meta-narrative so therefore we can’t agree on our perception of reality itself. Context is required for the interpretation of anything – including reality – and context is made up of the grand overarching narrative. We need to be able to agree on the basic context of life or else our endeavour to live peacefully among each other will continually fail. That’s what it’s like to live in a nation not only composed of idolaters, but one in which idolaters are systematically reproduced. These kinds of societies become increasingly dangerous for Christians to live in which is evidenced by the prostitute being drunk with the blood of the martyrs and the saints who bore witness of Jesus Christ. Let’s read verses 7-13:
Rev 17:7 And the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.
Rev 17:8 “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.
Rev 17:9 “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,
Rev 17:10 and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.
Rev 17:11 “The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.
Rev 17:12 “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.
Rev 17:13 “These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.
The angel responded to John’s wonder by explaining part of the mystery which John beheld. It’s not a full explanation such as to leave no room for open interpretation – but it gets us closer to the mark. Matthew Henry thought the beast which was, and is not, and yet is points to the seat of idolatry. Ancient idolatry manifested itself as the worship of pagan gods. This is the part of the beast that was. Modern idolatry doesn’t concern itself with paganism so much as it does with self-aggrandizement or investment of faith in earthly powers. That’s why this part of the beast is not – because it’s not the same as the idolatry of the ancients. But it’s still idolatry at the core which is why it’s part of the beast which is. That sounds a little confusing but it’s just saying idolatry looks a lot different today than it did in ancient times. Even though it looks different today, idolatry is motivated by the exact same fallen nature and it causes the same deleterious effects on a person’s heart. All forms of idolatry are the products of our wicked heart’s desire to be separated from God and all forms of idolatry will be condemned to eternal separation from God in Hell unless atoned for through Jesus Christ.
The beast in the vision had seven heads which most expositors agree references the seven hills upon which Rome was built. The seven heads also represent seven kings which might indicate the seven forms of Roman governance. Some protestants suggest the beast represents the papacy and that the Catholic Church presides over idolatrous religious practices. I suppose it’s possible among certain wicked members of the Catholic hierarchy, but when there’s this much room for interpretive liberty in a passage I like to avoid pointing the finger at billions of my brothers and sisters in the Catholic Church and accusing them of idolatry. The ten kings might indicate leaders who wouldn’t rise to power until some time after the Roman empire was broken up. It’s also possible some of these kings won’t be revealed until the final part of the Antichrist’s reign on earth. If that’s the case, then these leaders will be unified under the direction of the Antichrist and they will forsake their own agendas in service to his.
You might wonder how something like that could happen. I think it has something to do with wanting to be on the winning side more than wanting to stand up for your convictions. I think we would be terrified if we knew how quickly many “enlightened” western-types would capitulate to nonsensical and wicked leaders if it looked like these leaders were going to have most of the power. That’s one of the great dangers of our society today. The insane idealists who sit on the fringes of coherence are able to amass armies of sheep-like followers because they’re very good at casting the perception that their idealism is only available future. At the end of the day, most people just want to be able to live their own lives in peace without regard for their neighbor or the health of their society. This self-dominated perspective blinds them to the reality that macro-changes on a broad scale have the power to disrupt the micro-bubble in which they live day-to-day. This sense of, I don’t care what you do just leave me alone while you do it, is what empowers who should be marginalized thought-leaders into the mainstream and allows their incoherent beliefs to shape our civilization. That’s not a good thing because it means the worst among us are the only ones bold enough to lead us. Let’s read verses 14-18:
Rev 17:14 “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”
Rev 17:15 And he *said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.
Rev 17:16 “And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire.
Rev 17:17 “For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.
Rev 17:18 “The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
Where the first parts of this can be understood as references to Babylon as well as any other city which reflects Babylon’s characteristics, this passage narrows the focus onto Babylon itself more specifically. But I think it’s still relevant to apply to Rome or any other nation which follows an idolatrous path. This passage shows us a war between the Lamb and His followers versus the beast and the beast’s followers. It’s likely the beast and his army appeared much stronger than the Lamb, but the Lamb overcame them all because the Lamb is a title for Jesus Christ and Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords. The reign of King Jesus is eternal and all of His enemies will be humbled and placed under His feet. Just think of all the enemies and obstacles the Church has overcome throughout the ages. Generation after generation presents many people whose efforts are focused on bringing down the name of Jesus once and for all. Despite the countless opposition, not only is the name of Jesus still remembered, but it’s worshiped all over the world regularly. His name has outlasted even the strongest of empires and mightiest of kings.
Sometimes it feels like our world is out of control and too many challenges go beyond the reach of any person. But it’s at times like these we must remember Jesus Christ has supreme dominion over all things on earth, in heaven, and also in hell. Nothing is outside of His sight or His control. In this passage Christ’s followers are described as called, chosen, and faithful. It’s not that they had more talent or ability than anyone else. It’s not that they were included among Christ’s followers because of anything they did to earn it. Anyone in the world can become a follower of Jesus – all it takes is to be faithful to Him. The followers of Jesus won’t win the war because of their own might, they will win the war because they rest under the victorious King Himself. When God is with you there is nothing for you to fear – not even death itself.
The prostitute is said to preside over many waters and this means there was a great many people who followed her. Kings of nations served as vassals and tributaries to her and people of all languages were counted among her followers. But the chapter finishes with an expression of just how much God was able to influence her followers as He pleased. In the execution of His divine will the kings of nations which followed the prostitute gave themselves and their nations over to the beast. Their hearts were turned against the prostitute and they hated her. They made her desolate, vulnerable, and burned her up with fire. In this way they were divided against the prostitute and made an instrument in her destruction.
This same process plays out in wicked nations today. People pursue idolatry until they pit themselves against each other and work destruction. Human beings have been arguing and disagreeing with each other ever since the dawn of man. But the reason we notice a different kind of division in our own societies today is because we are longer walking down a road of simple disagreement. We have what is called an epistemic divide. There are multiple overarching grand narratives competing for dominance in the western world and each of them tell a different story about humanity and history. Competing worldviews often result in something approximating a religious war. That might be where we’re heading, but we can take solace in the understanding that the truth will always win out. The truth is the only overarching grand narrative which stands the test of time. The truth is eternal and will never pass away. It is by the truth that we are set free, and without the truth we can do nothing. The truth about life, the truth about ourselves, the truth about God, all of these things are indispensable to our continued existence in peaceful society. These truths are not optional and despite all our efforts at crafting a civilization on the foundation of lies these truths will always reassert themselves. We need these truths, and these truths are found in Jesus Christ.
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