November 17, 2020

Revelation 17 lays out a wildly disturbing scene. A Bowl Judgment Angel approaches the Apostle John and says, “Come, I will show you… the Great Prostitute.”

For her physical appearance, the Great Prostitute is described as having emblazoned across her forehead a tattoo that says: “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and of the Abominations of the Earth.” The woman is dressed in purple and scarlet and glitters with gold, precious stones and pearls. She holds a golden cup in her hand filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.

As for her actions, she commits adultery with the kings of the earth. She intoxicates the inhabitants of the earth with the wine of her adulteries. She rides upon a seven-headed, ten-horned, scarlet beast which is covered with blasphemous names and sits on many waters. She is found drunk on the blood of the saints who proclaim Jesus Christ.

Fortunately for the readers of Revelation, the Bowl Angel goes on to explain to John what he is seeing. Unfortunately, though, the angel’s description of the Prostitute is almost as mysterious as the scene itself.  And yet, we can look upon Bible prophecy within the Scriptures to discern who or what she is and is not. 

This research took me several weeks to discover, but here's what I want to share.

Who She Is Not

The Great Prostitute is not a woman we can add a name to.  As much as some would like to point to a popular singer or actress, or a particular female politician, neither they nor any other single woman fits the bill.

The Beast, we are told, is the future one-world leader who is handed over power to rule what ten future leaders of the earth will control (verses 12-13). While the Antichrist and ten kings will make war against Jesus and certainly kill many of Jesus’ followers (verse 14), they hate the Great Prostitute and by God’s prompting participate in her destruction (verse 16-17). Since these political systems will give rise to the ten kings, neither can they also be the Great Prostitute because they hate and kill her.

The Great Prostitute will not be a newly constructed city called Babylon. Babylon was certainly a great city like verse 18 states, but it is a city cursed, never to be rebuilt. Isaiah 13:20 makes it very clear that Babylon would cease to be inhabited forever. In accordance with this prophecy, Babylon was conquered by the Medes and then it began a long decline that ultimately resulted in its abandonment to the forces of nature. By the time of Christ, one eyewitness reported that the city was nothing but “mounds and stones and ruins.” Why then is she also called “Babylon the Great?” Because Babylon has always been credited as the source of worldly spiritual evil and idolatry which will hold a dominant presence during the Tribulation.

What She Could Be

Because women are used in the Scriptures to symbolize religious systems, the Great Prostitute is indeed a religious system.  Which religious system the Great Prostitute is can be interpreted by where she sits. The text says she sits in four places — on the beast (Antichrist), on seven hills, on seven kings, and across the nations and peoples of the world.

After the Rapture, the only “Church” left will be the apostate followers of Christ who, as 2 Timothy 3:5 states, “have a form of godliness but denying its power.” 

One-World Religion — This idea is based on her sitting on the seven kings of verse 10. Five of the kings fell before John’s time, so they must have been pivotal to world rulership in relation to Israel. The sixth “one is” to John would have been Caesar. The seventh king who “has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while” is the Antichrist, called so in 1 John 2:18. “The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king” and “belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction” could only be Satan himself ruling through these seven human rulers throughout history, as there are no other kings after Jesus Christ once Jesus sets up His Millennial Kingdom. These kings extend over a time period much longer than the 2,000 years the Church has been around and cover all the world’s peoples.

Humanism — Cultural, Modern, Religious, but particularly Secular, will be the religion of the first half of the Tribulation. This could be viewed as all false religion stems from man’s belief in Satan’s lie from the Garden of Eden where Satan said “you will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). All expressions of worship not towards God are flat out rebellion against the Creator. Even if we personally are not the object of our own worship, by setting ourselves up in our own religion we are worshiping self, so therefore it is Humanism.

The Old Testament is overwhelmingly filled with God’s  hatred of idolatry.  He chastised Israel again and again for running after foreign gods in rebellion. Be it an apostate form of what God truly wants, or a deviation from all  that God has established for worship — man’s rebellion is about the worship of self.

By the midpoint of the Tribulation when Satan indwells the Antichrist, whatever flavor of humanistic self-worship the people adhere to, all will be made to cease to exist. The Antichrist, False Prophet, and the Ten Rulers will be sure to take the Great Prostitute of human idolatry and the institution in which she is enshrouded and “bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire” (verse 16). Only one religion will be allowed to exist 3 1/2 years into the Tribulation by the Antichrist’s demonic master, and that will be the worship of Satan through his Antichrist “messiah.”

Praise be to Jesus Christ who returns 3 1/2 years later to doom that “beast” to eternal destruction and set up His kingdom of peace and righteousness!

Blessings,

Lisa