Introduction

Five enemies of Christ and His people have been introduced so far in Revelation. They are: the dragon, the beast from the sea, the beast from the land, the harlot Babylon the Great, and the men having the mark of the beast. Chapters 15 and 16 have shown God’s judgments against those having the mark of the beast. Chapters 17 and 18 can well be described by the opening statement of Revelation 17:1: “I will show you the judgment of the great harlot (whore) who sits on many waters.” The fall of Babylon the Great had been anticipated in Revelation 14:8: “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of fornication…” and Revelation 16:19: “Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath…,” but all if its details are now given.

The last half of the book of Revelation presents a contrast between the radiant woman (chapter 12) and the harlot, drunk with the blood of Christian martyrs, riding upon the beast. Also, a contrast is drawn between the city of Babylon the Great, full of idolatrous abominations, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from heaven as a bride adorned to meet her bridegroom.

One of the great puzzles of this book is how to interpret these two women symbolizing the two cities. The harlot riding upon the terrible beast is identified as Babylon the Great, later described as a great and wicked city, Revelation 18:5, 10. In contrast, the bride of Christ is described as making herself ready for the great marriage feast (Revelation 19: 7-8), and is identified in chapter 21:9-10 as the new Jerusalem coming down from God. Throughout this half of the book, these two stand in opposition to one another.

Yet, the question that interpreters have had to face is, “What is the connection, if any, between these two women and the two cities?”

There are those who make a direct connection between the two women, seeing in Babylon the Great, the drunken harlot, the picture of the radiant woman, from chapter 12, gone astray and now persecuting the true Christians, as the apostate church. Those who follow the apostate church view connect this primarily with the Roman Catholic Church and the papacy, which is its foundation, as the false form of Christianity which has persecuted those trying to follow the New Testament teachings. They point out that it is in the wilderness into which the radiant woman fled in chapter 12 that we see the woman who is the harlot here in chapter 17, having been greatly changed (verse 3 – the angel carries John in the Spirit into the wilderness). They also point out that fornication is one of the important symbols of apostasy from God throughout the Old Testament, which is true. The luxury of her attire, and her close alliance with the kings and rulers of earth, they say, point to the wealth of the Roman Catholic Church and the constant political ambitions and alliances of the papacy.

Another major group of interpreters see in the term, “Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots,” a reference to imperial Rome, the persecutor, the anti-Christian power so opposed to Christianity. They point out that this interpretation speaks more to the needs of the early church and the problems they confronted than to the apostate church idea with its later papacy. In addition, the descriptions made in chapter 18 (which we will see in our next lesson) are distinctly those of a great commercial civilization with its materialistic emphases and powers, which seem to refer to the trade, luxury, and vice of a great commercial state like imperial Rome, rather than to an apostate church.

It seems most likely that the early Christians reading this book would find distinct references to imperial Rome in chapter 17:9, 18. To make this refer to a later papal Rome with a developed hierarchy would certainly be unlikely to these 1^st Century readers. The similarity between the description here and that given of Tyre in Ezekiel, chapter 17, or of ancient Babylon sitting on many waters in Jeremiah 51:13, as pagan centers of vice and materialism is striking. While primarily referring to imperial Rome, Babylon can also stand as a symbol of secular anti-Christian powers that in every age oppose God’s rule in His world and seek to destroy His people. This interpretation seems the most adequate in view of those addressed and the context of the book.