seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Revelation 17:1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”
One of the commentaries explains who the great prostitute is.
Revelation 16:19 and 14:8 have already declared Babylon's fall. In Revelation 17 and 18, the fall of Babylon is carefully detailed.
Babylon is mentioned 287 times in the Scriptures, more than any other city except Jerusalem.
The concept of Babylon is greater than Revelation 17-18 and the Antichrist's reign. Babylon was present in John's day (typified by Rome), in our day, and throughout history, as the "world system." But under the Antichrist, Babylon (in both its religious and commercial aspects) will hold sway over the earth as never before.
Babylon is mentioned 287 times in the Scriptures, more than any other city except Jerusalem.
a. Babylon was a literal city on the Euphrates River. Genesis 11:1-10 shows that right after the flood, Babylon "was the seat of the civilization that expressed organized hostility to God." (Tenney)
b. Babylon was later the capitol of the empire that cruelly conquered Judah. "Babylon, to them (the Jews), was the essence of all evil, the embodiment of cruelty, the foe of God's people, and the lasting type of sin, carnality, lust and greed." (Tenney)
c. To those familiar with the Old Testament, the name Babylon is associated with organized idolatry, blasphemy and the persecution of God's people.
b. Babylon was later the capitol of the empire that cruelly conquered Judah. "Babylon, to them (the Jews), was the essence of all evil, the embodiment of cruelty, the foe of God's people, and the lasting type of sin, carnality, lust and greed." (Tenney)
c. To those familiar with the Old Testament, the name Babylon is associated with organized idolatry, blasphemy and the persecution of God's people.
The concept of Babylon is greater than Revelation 17-18 and the Antichrist's reign. Babylon was present in John's day (typified by Rome), in our day, and throughout history, as the "world system." But under the Antichrist, Babylon (in both its religious and commercial aspects) will hold sway over the earth as never before.
Another commentary describes the prostitute this way.
"The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth" (Rev. 17 v.18) Many have taken this to mean that the woman represents the capital city of Antichrist's kingdom, but his cannot be, for Antichrist himself rules over the kings of the earth.
If, then, the women is not the Antichrist, what other possible explanation can we have for such unanimous world dominance? The only answer is the one system before which all kings, dictators, and nations have been forced to bow down throughout history, that is, the Babylonian religion of idolatry. One cannot go anywhere in the world without being confronted with some semblance of the idolatry.
No system in the world's history has enslaved more people than this awful religion. It should not take us by surprise that this prostitute woman, the religious system, is referred to as a city. When used symbolically, a woman is always intended throughout the Scripture to signify a spiritual or religious movement. If a good woman, it is "Jehovah's wife" or "the bride of Christ". If an evil woman, such as "a prostitute," it represents the evil religious system of idolatry.
Since the woman who rides the beast gets her authority from the beast, the Holy Spirit uses this description to show how religious Babylon and governmental Babylon are so intertwined they are presented together. However, they are destroyed at different times. The prostitute (religious Babylon) is destroyed by "beast and the kings of the earth," who "hate the prostitute" and kill her.
If, then, the women is not the Antichrist, what other possible explanation can we have for such unanimous world dominance? The only answer is the one system before which all kings, dictators, and nations have been forced to bow down throughout history, that is, the Babylonian religion of idolatry. One cannot go anywhere in the world without being confronted with some semblance of the idolatry.
No system in the world's history has enslaved more people than this awful religion. It should not take us by surprise that this prostitute woman, the religious system, is referred to as a city. When used symbolically, a woman is always intended throughout the Scripture to signify a spiritual or religious movement. If a good woman, it is "Jehovah's wife" or "the bride of Christ". If an evil woman, such as "a prostitute," it represents the evil religious system of idolatry.
Since the woman who rides the beast gets her authority from the beast, the Holy Spirit uses this description to show how religious Babylon and governmental Babylon are so intertwined they are presented together. However, they are destroyed at different times. The prostitute (religious Babylon) is destroyed by "beast and the kings of the earth," who "hate the prostitute" and kill her.
Before I get all bananas about which of our Christian Churches worships idols.... there are a few things I like to consider.
An idol is anything humans worship. In the time of Moses, it was a calf. In the Roman Empire, when John was writing this, it was statues of the leaders. Now.... it's money.... Recently the President of the United States pardoned the Thanksgiving turkey. I was repulsed when this man used the sign of the cross in his little ritual. The cross has been reduced to a mockery.
I'm sure that Satan will not tolerate freedom of religion.... so there will have to be only one church... his church. In the preceding chapter there were 7 plagues.... how in the world could people survive the oceans and rivers turning to sludge, sun bursts, earthquakes and 100 hail strikes without some kind of prayer.... it's what we do.... Only.... these humans that have survived all this.... they aren't into prayer but they still need the ritual or "the sign of their own cross" to get through it. So there's the church that the AntiChrist controls. I'm sure that church already exists.... I'm equally sure that there won't be one verse out of the New Testament anywhere in that church....
