Revelation 17:6-14

In previous posts, we saw the theme of Chapter 17—The woman riding the Beast symbolizes enticing evil behind the kingdoms of this world. The application of Revelation 17 is—

God will thoroughly destroy all religious-economic-political alliances
that seek to dominate people’s lives. 

I. We must look to God alone for a true assessment of the society in which we live! 

vs. 6b When I saw her, I marveled greatly.

John is “awestruck” by the woman. The Greek word is thaumazō “to be awestruck at something,” from thauma “a wonder” (see Bible Hub, below).  Note below that the earth-dwellers are awestruck  at the woman riding the beast. John needed explanation from God. God is the Creator, so He alone can explain His world.

“He who marries the spirit of the times will soon find himself a widower (see, Chesterton, below).

Milner gave us a beneficial caution — “Yes, God is at work in the world [today]. That doesn’t mean the church needs to be like the world. The best thing the church can do for the world is to be the church, not regurgitate graduate school seminar room talk…” (see Milner, emphasis mine, below.)

Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established,
that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it
(see, Pascal, below).

“On Jordan’s Stormy Banks,” states a truth that reinforces our need to look to God in order to understand our world. God’s light on our path is important as we walk in his world. The hymn speaks of heaven, but we have God’s light here as recorded in His Word.

O’er all those wide extended plains
Shines one eternal day;
There God the Son forever reigns,
And scatters night away.

Refrain
I am bound for the promised land,
I am bound for the promised land;
Oh who will come and go with me?
I am bound for the promised land.

I met George Beverly Shea when he was over a 100 years old. I thanked him for the music, and it was a passing meeting in the corridor. Later I heard him sing on the radio a version of the above hymn, and it has stuck in mind ever since.

Revelation teaches us we shouldn’t care from which direction we are coming—rich or poor; high born or low born; beautiful or not. We should be very interested in where we are headed!  Earth-dwellers are at home here and are pulled constantly in the direction of the culture. Christians are bound for glory and are pulled toward it!

II. We ever must be on guard against the allurements of this world system, which steals our affections from God.

vs. 7 But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her.

The earth-dwellers make up their own explanation of the world in opposition to God. They thus form a false religion around the beast. I have found over the years that alternative explanations for Holy Scripture’s events or teachings are not steps toward God, but are steps away from God. God alone deserves the emotional response of awe from us, and not the Beast. I dislike the ubiquitous “awesome” in our society. God alone should elicit awe from us!

John seeks and is satisfied with the explanation God gives. Rejection of God’s explanation of reality lies at the base of all false religion. Romans 1:21-23 gives us the historical progression of rejecting God’s explanation of reality and its results—

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. [ESV; emphasis mine.]

Read further in Romans One to see the depths of descent into depravity. That descent began with a people “knowing God, but not honoring him as God. Idolatry begins with that one step down from giving God His rightful place.

III. We must realize there are no new falsehoods, but they are merely dredged up from the past by the evil one.

vs. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. 

Our modern aversion toward history is not simply wrong, it is dangerous.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
(see Santayana, below.)

This phrase has led to the interpretation of Babylon as a future reviving of the old Roman Empire in the future. (For further explanation of the dying and rising myths see the notes on Revelation 13:3; 13:14.) Many ancient commentators associate this dying and rising again of the beast with the Nero Redivivus Myths of the first century. (One popular myth believed Nero had been reborn in Parthia and would lead armies to conquer Rome. see Nero Redivivus legend, below.) However, this is not the case at all. The identification of Nero with one of the heads is impossible (as the notes on the next verse to be explained in the nest post will point out). The best identification of the symbols behind the beast is with the hydra-monster of the ancient mythology. The theological truth illustrated is that of Christ’s victory over the beast at Calvary. It is a destruction of the beast, but not the vanquishing of the beast from the battle field. That will occur at the Second Coming. We are living in between the defeat of Satan and the vanquishing of him and his cohorts from the battlefield. We are living between D-day and VE-day, so to speak.

Notes
(Commentaries on which I rely without direct quotation) 

Beale, G. K. (2015). Revelation: a Shorter Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Kindle Edition.

Bible Hub. (2021). Thaumazō. Accessed 6 February 2021 from https://biblehub.com/greek/2296.htm

Chesterton, G. K. (2011). Accessed 27 February 2021 from https://bustedhalo.com/tag/contemporary-culture

ESV. (2001). Accessed 24 June 2020 from https://www.biblegateway.com

Hendriksen, William. More Than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (p. 125).

Johnson, A. F. (1982). Revelation in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Johnson, D. E. (2001). Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Kenner, C. (2000). The NIV Application Commentary: Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic.

Milner, M. J. (n.d.) Retrived 6 February 2021 from https://www.one-eternal-day.com/2011/08/who-marries-spirit-of-age-will-soon.html

Morris, Leon. (1987). Revelation in Tyndale New Testament Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Nero Redivivus legend. (2020). Accessed 28 February 2021 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero_Redivivus_legend

Pascal, B. (2011). Accessed February 27, 2021 from https://bustedhalo.com/tag/contemporary-culture

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Revelation 17:3b-7

Image above of “Vanity Fair” by Frederick Rhead, from The Pilgrim’s Progress from this world to that which is to come, by John Bunyan, New York, 1898. Public Domain illustration found at https://scrap.oldbookillustrations.com

I have spent a great deal of time in this Blog trying to discern the message of Revelation to First Century Christians. I believe the book has application to every age, but I see application for us today as derived from the message of the text to the first century believers. For example, John didn’t see planes dropping bombs or helicopters flying in battle. He saw visions of apocalyptic warfare in terms of his own day. Most of the symbols are taken from the Old Testament. John is up-dating the prophecies of the Old Testament prophets for his audience. 

This chapter reminds me of a scene from John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. (Sorry for its being animated, but it is not just a cartoon version of the book.)

In the last post, we saw the theme of Chapter 17—The woman riding the Beast symbolizes enticing evil behind the kingdoms of this world. The application of Revelation 17 is—

God will thoroughly destroy all religious-economic-political alliances
that seek to dominate people’s lives. 

I. Believers must resist all attempts by Godless alliances to usurp the place of God in their lives. vs. 3

vs. 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.

The words “and I saw” indicate another vision has occurred. It is true that the wilderness is a place where God places His people for their protection. However, the wilderness is not a physical location, but it illustrates a spiritual truth.

“Whatever person or system—whether political, social, economic, or religious—cooperates with Satan by exalting itself against God’s sovereignty and by setting itself up to destroy the followers of Jesus, or entices them to become followers of Satan through deception, idolatry, blasphemy, and spiritual adultery, embodies the beast of Revelation 13.” (see Johnson, A.F., p. 525, below.)

Image of desert by Panoramio licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported from WikiMedia Commons.

Why does the scene take place in a wilderness area? The wilderness is the place where God protects His people while judgments are falling on His and their enemies. John is wafted off to this desolate place to see the woman and beast judged. Why? This act tells us that the wilderness is not only a place of protection, but it is also a place where God’s people understand events happening in the world around them more clearly. (see Johnson, D.E., below.) 

II. Believers can best discern the evil behind the scenes in our world by remaining disconnected from mainstream society. vs. 4

vs. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.

The kings’ and the nations’ acquiescence to immorality refers not to literal immorality, but figuratively to acceptance of the religious and idolatrous demands of the ungodly earthly order. (see Beale, p. 354, below.)

The woman was clothed like a queen in regal garments. But, in her hand was a cup filled with wickedness. Jeremiah 51:7 says—Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, making all the earth drunken; the nations drank of her wine; therefore the nations went mad.

The Babylon of old was a mighty force for conquest in the Ancient Near East, but just like Babylon of old, Babylon of John’s and ours will fall. “Abomination” is bdelygma—”detestable thing” such as an idol. In Matt. 24:15, quoted from Daniel, it causes desolation. The word “filth” is akathartēs—uncleanness or impurity, especially that of immorality. It is often associated with demons in the New Testament. The outward scenes of adultery painted in the movies and magazines are those of  pleasure and delight. On the contrary, its true inward character is uncleanness and impurity.

Isaiah 21:1-2 seems to give the background of John’s words here.

1 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the Negev sweep on, it comes from the wilderness, from a terrible land. 2 A stern vision is told to me; the traitor betrays, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, O Elam; lay siege, O Media; all the sighing she has caused I bring to an end.

III. Believers must always bear in mind Babylon is a corrupter of human beings made in the image and likeness of God. vs. 5

vs. 5 And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” 

The writings of Juvenal and Seneca state that it was the custom of Roman prostitutes to wear their names on a piece of lace that encircled their foreheads. Jeremiah 3:3 says—Therefore the showers have been withheld, and the spring rain has not come; yet you have the forehead of a whore; you refuse to be ashamed. (see Johnson, A.F., below.)

False religion flaunts its sin. What is written on the forehead band is in dispute, however. Is the word “mystery” a part of the title or a part of the introduction to the title? The Greek New Testament punctuates the verse so as to exclude the word from the title. It makes it an adjective modifying the entire title—i.e., “A name was written on her forehead, a mysterious one… .” A mystērion in Scripture is a divine allegory or secret that is revealed. One New Testament scholar defines mystery as “an open secret.” It is that which can only be known by revelation. The verse should be translated—”And she had a name written on her forehead, a mysterious one: Babylon the Great the Mother of Prostitutes and of the Abominations of the Earth.” The mystery is that the woman is the mother of all of the filth the earth-dwellers have gotten involved with. (Image above right is from Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.se/emc2csc3559/revelation-17-18-19-fall-of-babylon/.)

IV. Believers must understand that Babylon is intoxicated by martyring believers. vs 6

vs. 6 And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

“The narrator identifies this city as Vanity, home of a great and ancient festival called Vanity Fair, where tawdry products are traded and Beelzebub is worshiped. At Vanity Fair, Faithful and Christian are mocked, smeared with dirt, and thrown in a cage.” (summary from Spark Notes at https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/pilgrims/section3/). 

The image of “being drunk with blood” is a symbol of “the lust for violence.” Two groups are mentioned as being killed at the woman’s instigation—(1) the saints (2) and the martyrs. False religion allied with evil government is the source of the persecution of God’s people since the beginning of history. For instance, read the history of the Scottish Covenantors struggle with the British government allied with the high church party. Thousands were slaughtered because they would not affirm the English Monarch as the head of the church. The Covenantors would only affirm King Jesus as the head of the church. This was not a massacre of Christians by pagans. It was a slaughter of Christians by other professing Christians.

John says, when I saw her. I was greatly astonished. John did not understand the vision at first glance. John is awestruck (Greek word is thaumazō = “astonished out of one’s senses”) by the woman. John was whisked away to the wilderness lest he form an understanding on his own. Note also that the earth-dwellers marvel over the beast. John needed explanation from God. The earth-dwellers make up their own explanation in opposition to God. They thus form a false religion around the beast.

Christian and Faithful beaten at Vanity Fair; image by David and William Bell Scott; 1857 Wood engraving; Illustration for Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. Scanned image and text by George P. Landow. 

We ought not to be awestruck by any government or organization that claims to be a secular savior for mankind. In the end they will martyr all who profess to serve Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Governments can tolerate criminals, but they refuse to tolerate those who will not conform to their dictates and laws. We must stay awake and not be lulled to sleep by the siren-songs of godless society around us!

“Ulysses (Odysseus) and the Sirens,” 1891, by John William Waterhouse,
shows the Greek warrior-king bound to his ship’s mast as the Sirens’ song calls to him. (Public Domain)

Next time we will move on to Rev. 17:7-14.

Notes
(Commentaries on which I rely without direct quotation) 

Beale, G. K. (2015). Revelation: a Shorter Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Kindle Edition.

ESV. (2001). Accessed 24 June 2020 from https://www.biblegateway.com

Hendriksen, William. More Than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (p. 125).

Johnson, A. F. (1982). Revelation in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Johnson, D. E. (2001). Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Kenner, C. (2000). The NIV Application Commentary: Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic.

Morris, Leon. (1987). Revelation in Tyndale New Testament Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

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Revelation 17:1-3

Image above is “The fall of Babylon”; Cyrus the Great defeating the Chaldean army. By J. Martin, 1831; from Wellcome Images

Image shared under CC SA License from https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Whore_of_Babylon_(theology)

The interpreter’s approach to the entire book determines the interpretation of the woman in chapter 17. If the interpreter approaches Revelation as prophecy fulfilled in the 1st Century (preterist view), the woman is Rome.  If the interpreter looks upon Revelation as entirely end time prophecy, the woman on the beast as Antichrist’s kingdom of the end time—futurist view. The idealist looks upon the woman as a symbol of the world arrayed against Christ in all ages—(spiritualized view).  

There has been a blending of the different views in the recent approach to the book. The most popular blend is the preterist/futurist position. The woman is both 1st century Rome and the final manifestation of Antichrist’s kingdom at the end. The approach taken by this study is a blend of three positions—preterist/idealist/futurist position.

The woman is evil behind the kingdoms of this world in all ages which
includes the final manifestation of it under Antichrist’s rule at the end of the age.

“People are not always what they seem to be. Although we know this is true intellectually, we may still be easy prey for the flashy image, the manipulative hype, the convincing come-on that had its origins in the garden, when the serpent persuaded the woman that it, not God, had her best interests at heart” (See Johnson, D. E., below). 

The Relationship between the sixth and seventh bowls and what follows—Rev. 17:1–19:10 is a large interpretative snapshot of the sixth and seventh bowls, which have foretold the judgment of Babylon (which was first explicitly prophesied in 14:8). (see Beale, p. 353 below.)

Revelation 17 depicts the truth that —

God will thoroughly destroy the worldwide religious-economic-political-elitist alliance
that seeks to dominate people’s lives. 

I. God will bring to an end all false religion and culture in league with “Babylon.” 

vs. 1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters… .

This verse makes it clear that chapter 17 is connected with chapter 16. It is one of the seven angels holding the seven bowls that steps forward to give John the explanation of the vision unfolding before his eyes. It is interesting that the Greek contains the present tense of echō (“has”) whereas the NIV/ESV have the past tense of echō (“had”). The seven angels still have the bowls in their hands. This indeed makes the vision all the more vivid. This fact also reinforces the idea that the time span the seven bowls judgment is very short.

John uses krima (“judgment’) which literally means “sentence,” “condemnation,” or “punishment .” The -ma ending of the Greek word has the idea of “the result of judgment,” hence, the “sentence passed.” John is not going to a trial. He is, rather, going to an execution. 

The angel describes the person in the vision as a “whore.” The Greek word is pornē (from which the English word “porn” is derived). It can mean either “prostitute’ or “whore.” In this context. it refers to a prostitute. Frequently in the Old Testament, the image of an  unfaithful spouse is used to illustrate spiritual unfaithfulness to the Lord. Remember that God’s people are said to be married to the Lord. Idolatry is unfaithfulness to Him. Anything metal, material, or mental that we substitute for the Lord is an idol. Compare Hosea 1, 2 for an apt illustration of this image.

“The great whore” sits on many waters. The image of “sitting on waters” is explained in Rev. 17:15—And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.”

The waters are a symbol of the nations of the world. The fact that the woman sits on the waters is symbolic of  the “influence that she wields over all the peoples of the world.” The central question facing the interpreter is who is the woman? Several answers have been suggested by different commentators over the years. (1) The most often suggested is that the woman is the Roman Empire. John’s announcement of the impending destruction of Babylon is an announcement of the destruction of the Roman Empire in the future beyond John’s lifetime. (2) Another suggestion is that the woman is Jerusalem. The announcement of the impending destruction of Babylon is an announcement of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman army in A.D. 70. (3) A better explanation is that the woman as symbolic of “all entrenched worldly resistance to God. Babylon is found wherever there is satanic deception.

“Babylon is a trans-historical reality that includes idolatrous kingdoms as diverse as Sodom, Egypt, Babylon, Tyre, Ninevah, and Rome. Babylon is an eschatological symbol of satanic deception and power; it is a divine mystery that can never be wholly reducible to empirical earthly institutions. It may be said that Babylon represents the total culture of the world apart from God, while the divine system us depicted by the New Jerusalem. Rome is simply one manifestation of the total system.” (see Johnson, A. F., emphasis mine; below.) 

Babylon Burning on the left; New heavens and Earth on the right.

As one commentator said, “Revelation 17-19 is a tale of two cities.” (Gordon Fee) Which city will we choose?

II. God will judge those who have allied themselves and their fortunes with the false religion and culture of “Babylon.”

vs. 2 …with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.”

The Greek word describing the sexual sin here is porneuō. Compare this with the noun referred to above porē (“whore”). The verb describes the “immoral behavior” of the “immoral woman.” It is the most general  word for immoral behavior in the New Testament. It includes adultery as well as immorality by unmarried persons. The rulers of the earth are said to be those who have engaged in immoral behavior with the woman. The “earth-dwellers” is a symbol of those who are thoroughly at home on the earth and who are not looking for a home with the Lord. The “earth-dwellers” are “drunk on the wine of the woman’s immorality.” This is a reference to idolatry and the intoxicating effects of “false religion.” “Immorality” always goes hand in hand with idolatry. Compare Romans 1:18 ff. Immorality and perversions follow idolatry.

III. God’s Judgment shows that for all pretense of power and glory, Babylon is a mirage.

vs. 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. 

John is in an ecstatic state when he experiences the desert vision. He emphasizes this by adding that he was “taken away in the Spirit” or “by means of the Spirit.” The fact that John is in the desert is in keeping with the geography of ancient Babylon. The literal city and region has become a symbol of satanic deception of the world.

In the desert, John saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names. Previously John was told about the prostitute. Now he is shown. The beast is the same one we were introduced to in the first part of chapter 13. This is clear from the fact that the beast here, like the one there, has seven heads. The color scarlet is descriptive of the blasphemies written on the beast. It is similar to the color of the dragon in chapter 12. The Greek words are different, but they are similar. It is in marked contrast to the white garments of the saints and the Lamb. The blasphemous names describe what activity the beast engages in.

“Whatever person or system—whether political, social, economic, or religious—cooperates with Satan by exalting itself against God’s sovereignty and by setting itself up to destroy the followers of Jesus, or entices them to become followers of Satan through deception, idolatry, blasphemy, and spiritual adultery, embodies the beast of Revelation 13.” (see Johnson, A. F., p. 525, below)

“Beast,” in Greek, is thērion—meaning “wild beast.” This is a designation for evil, demonic forces behind human governments. It is taken from the book of Daniel (7:4-6). In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, he envisioned his government as a golden statue. In God’s estimation, human governments under the influence of demonic forces are wild beasts. Government is supposed to support right and punish wrong, but often it does the opposite. It is best to view the number seven as symbolic of fullness of regal power, rather than to identify them with individual nations, kings, emperors, etc. The confusion over which emperor fits which head is proof enough that this method of interpretation is confusing.

The connection between the woman and the beast—If the woman is symbolic of idolatry, it seems that the fact that she rides the beast symbolizes false religion wedded to corrupt government. The end times will witness such an unholy union. Government will come increasingly under a demonic spell. False religion will cause people to worship the corrupt state.

Michael Card sings of Babylon’s fall in his Unveiled Hope album—City of Doom. (It is contemporary music.)

In Revelation, John is removing the screen behind which the deceptive controller of Babylon is hiding and shows it all to be a mirage! 

Next time, on into Revelation 17 further.

Notes
(Commentaries on which I rely often without direct quotation) 

Beale, G. K. (2015). Revelation: a Shorter Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Kindle Edition.

ESV. (2001). Accessed 24 June 2020 from https://www.biblegateway.com

Hendriksen, William. More Than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (p. 125).

Johnson, A. F. (1982). Revelation in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Johnson, D. E. (2001). Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Kenner, C. (2000). The NIV Application Commentary: Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic.

Morris, Leon. (1987). Revelation in Tyndale New Testament Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

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© 2021 C. Richard Barbare All Rights Reserved