In
chapters 17-18 we come to the last pairing of three sections of scripture that
tell us about the final destruction of Babylon; the other two are Isaiah 13-14
and Jeremiah 50-51. I have heard it said
that the Bible is a story of two cities—1) Babylon, established to the worship
of false gods, and 2) Jerusalem, the city designated by the One True God as the
place for His chosen people to worship Him.
Revelation 17:1–3a “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: 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. So he carried
me away in the spirit into the wilderness:”
John lets us know that he recognizes the angel
that is coming to talk to him next as an angel that poured out one of the seven
vials. (Not that it matters, but I tend to think it was probably the fifth
angel that poured out his vial over the kingdom of the beast.) This angel
wants to direct John’s attention to a particular judgment and takes him “in the
spirit” to a wilderness location to explain things to him.
The judgment concerns a “great whore” that sits on
many waters and who has committed fornication with the kings of the
earth. She has made the inhabitants of earth drunk/intoxicated by
encouraging them to practice idolatry and indulge in unlawful lusts. Jeremiah
prophesied against Babylon using the same terminology.
Jeremiah
51:7&13 “Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all
the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations
are mad….O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine
end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.”
Waters are used as representative of many things
in scripture, but they represent nations and peoples according to verse 15 of
this chapter.
We are also reminded of the message of the angel
in Revelation 14:8: “Babylon is
fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the
wine of the wrath of her fornication.”
Revelation 17:3b “…and I saw a woman
sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven
heads and ten horns.”
A whore is a term used in reference to a woman who
is sexually immoral, and it seems obvious that the woman in verse 3 and the
whore in verse 1 are the same being. John sees this woman sitting on a
scarlet colored beast; this is a picture of the fact that she is supported by
and derives her power from the beast.
This beast is full or swelled out with blasphemies
and has 7 heads and 10 horns. This directly connects to the Dragon from
chapter 12 and the beast from the sea, Antichrist, from chapter 13.
Revelation
12:3 “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red
dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.”
Revelation
13:1 “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the
sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon
his heads the name of blasphemy.”
There also seems to be a direct connection with
the dream of the prophet Daniel regarding the four major world kingdoms
significant to bible prophecy.
Daniel 7:23-27 “Thus he said, The
fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse
from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down,
and break it in pieces. And the ten
horns out of this kingdom are
ten kings that shall arise: and
another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he
shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the
saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be
given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. But the
judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to
destroy it unto the end. And
the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole
heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose
kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.”
It seems
obvious to me that Babylon is directly connected to the kingdom of Antichrist. Note that Daniel says he will “devour the
whole earth” and “wear out the saints.”
Revelation 13:7 “And it was given
unto him to make war with the saints,
and to overcome them: and power was
given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”
Daniel
also prophesies that this beast will “speak great words against the most high”
and will be allowed to rule for “a time and times and the dividing of time,”
3.5 years or 42 months. (Hebrew for time = “ a set time; technically a year"……for dividing = "a half")
Revelation 13:5–6 “And there was
given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was
given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy
against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell
in heaven.”
Daniel
tells us that the kingdom of the beast will eventually be destroyed and the
kingdom of the saints of the Most High established—as will be described in these last
few chapters of Revelation.
(to be
continued…)
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