Revelation – Babylon

(Revelation 17)

Revelation 17:1-18 “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:[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.[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.[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:[5] And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.[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.[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.[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.[9] And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.[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.[11] And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.[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.[13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.[14] These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.[15] And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.[16] And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.[17] For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.[18] And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”

Babylon: The whore that is riding upon the beast is America. She wasn’t always like this, because as you can see she is mentioned in Revelation 12:14 as just a woman with wings of an eagle. As time goes on she changed to a nation that has committed fornication by its corrupt dealings with the other nations of the world. She also makes the inhabitants of the earth drink from her cup of abominations and filthiness through the promotion of immorality. These abominations come in the form of promoting pornography, gay rights, alcohol, smoking or anything else that is evil. This nation also supports and encourages other nations to do as we do through trade and treaties. Once this nation was a symbol of freedom and virtue, now she has become Babylon. In verse 15 speaks of her sitting upon water, which represents peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. No other nation accomplishes this more than America, the supposed melting pot of the world.

The Beast: The Beast on the other hand is more complex for it is both a physical power and a spiritual one. The Spiritual Beast that comes from the Bottomless Pit and is given power and authority from the Devil is working behind the scene through the nations of the world and through this Beast God will have His words fulfilled. The Beast’s Seven Heads (Mountains) are not literal kings or rulers, but actual kingdoms or nations. At the time of John receiving this vision five of them had fallen, one was in existence and one would eventually appear. The one that existed back during John’s time was the Roman Empire. What is interesting is that the Beast is an eight kingdom and is of the seven. We know through Daniel that the final kingdom that will be around when God’s Kingdom is established is a revived version of the Roman Empire’s Western and Eastern parts. This seventh Kingdom though two separate Kingdoms will be controlled as one by way of the Beast making the Beast an eighth Kingdom but of the Seven.

The Ten Horns are representative of ten literal kings who will be around when this final Seventh Kingdom comes to power. They will be swayed and controlled by the Beast willingly because they give the Beast their power and strength. This same end time Kingdom along with these ten kings will be used to destroy and bring about judgment upon Babylon. Just as God has punished the nation of Israel for turning its back on Him and going after other gods, so too will this nation be punished the same way, by a foreign kingdom coming in and capture her, and laying waste her land and taking captive her people.