Revelation 17
1 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:
God is revealing the next big event to occur which is the Great Whore’s preparation to attack the Lord Jesus Christ and then her subsequent judgement; this is the very end of the 7 year Tribulation. Babylon and this “Great Whore” began in Gn 10:8-10, 11:1-9. It was a system of rebellion, globalistic unity, and ultimately much confusion (Babel). It promoted many Catholic heresies, but long before Catholicism ever began: like Mariolotry, Papacy, Sacramentalism, Church – State union, etc..
Great Whore: spiritually speaking; churches are brides and are just the opposite of a whore and harlots. Referring to a religious group/system (RCC + Ecumenicism). This religious system is opposite that of the Bride and is quite Great, immense (1.5 billion people = Catholics + Ecumenicals) (many waters). Very powerful, widespread, influencial. A religious system/church (counterfeit); opposite of a pure, virgin bride; spiritual fornication; doctrinal error; flesh pleasing; nasty and filthy; prostituted herself with others for the Devil.
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.
Kings: nations, under their leaders, have made treaties and leagues with her; they accept her abominations, spiritually.
How much is America, and her kings, doing this?!! Supporting the EU, Muslims, Climate Change, nuclear de-armament, etc.! The RCC has highly influenced nations’ leaders, and wars, and economies. A state/political church system.
Fornication – spiritual; religious alliances made at the expense of truth; compromising with the Bible in order to gain numbers and influence.
Inhabitants – 1.1 billion people currently alligned with the RCC.
Drunk: this intimacy with other wicked nations cause these nations to be more powerful and rich…full of this. Under her influence; not in their right mind. Ecstatic and stupid acting over the globalistic peace, climate control, de-armament, universal health care, etc.!
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.
Wilderness – why here? where is this? Armageddon? It surely can’t be Rome, NY, or London. Iraq sure is a wilderness.
Woman: Religious system – Great Whore; RCC + Ecumenicism; but what about Islam? Islam is an offshoot of Judaism
and Catholicism and it is located in the wilderness and it is a gruesome system indeed! It may be that Islam and Catholicism join hands.
Beast: the AntiChrist, i.e. Satan, is how she travels, moves, progresses. Riches given (scarlet) to her. It has blasphemous
names. Carried by the revived Roman empire.
“While we do not deny the significant religious role assigned to the Harlot, taking her to be an ecclesiastical system contradicts what Scripture records—that she is a city (Rev. 17:18; 18:21-19:2). There is no reason why she must be an ecclesiastical system when Scripture says she is a city. Moreover, she is also associated with wealth and excess (Rev. 17:4)—these may speak equally of both politics and religion.The Beast represents the historic development of kingdoms empowered by the dragon (Rev. 12:3; 13:1) and its ultimate manifestation at the time of the end. The Harlot is the city Babylon in all its aspects—combining commercial, political, and religious influence. She has ridden the beast throughoutn history.” (Garland’s)
Blasphemy – AntiChrist is God; Popery, the Mass, the Mediatrix, Jesus was a prophet but not The Prophet.
7 Heads – “The Great Harlot rides upon the same Beast which arose from the sea (Rev. 13:1) which also had seven heads and ten horns (Rev. 13:1). These same heads and horns were seen upon the great red dragon who empowers the Beast (Rev. 12:3). The seven heads are seven mountains and seven kings (Rev. 17:9-10). The ten horns are ten kings (Rev. 17:12 cf. Dan. 7:7, 20, 24).” (Garland’s)
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:
Arrayed: a bridal gown for a whore; royalty, riches. Pompous, royal, impressive. View a RCC high mass and you will
see all this. Her colors are to be contrasted with the fine white linen of the overcomers, the saints.
Gold – very rich; the Vatican trillions! Indulgences. Kings paying her. “When coins in the chest doth ring, souls from purgatory spring!”
Golden cup: cup of communion; communes with abominations via her spiritual intimacy with other wicked, pagan,
satanic institutions: abominations such as: idol worship, Ashtoreth worship, sexual immorality, the AntiChrist…
Oh how today’s Christian religious system is full of abominations (Obamanations!): long haired hippy Jesus, blood not
important, rock music praises Him, spirit manifestations via sign gifts, easy believism, homosexuality is beautiful, etc..
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Forehead: “Like the sealed of Israel (Rev. 7:3; 14:1) and the Beast worshipers (Rev. 13:16), the woman is also
identified on her forehead. She has a harlot’s forehead and refuses to be ashamed (Jer. 3:3). The label on her forehead as the mother of harlots is to be contrasted with the engraved golden plate on the turban of the high priest which read, ‘Holiness to the Lord’ (Ex. 28:36-37).” (Garland’s)
Mystery, Babylon the Great: the mystery religions of the ancient pagans, stemming from Nimrod-Semiramus. A mystery
being revealed; we are starting to understand it more and more. The Satanic core was hidden all these centuries but now is revealed. Lots of secrecy within the Vatican. The occult. Who do they really worship?!
Babylon – where is Babylon? Iraq. It is more than just a city, but it surely has a headquarters. This may have moved to Rome.
Mother of Harlots: Church history explains where all the major denominations came from…Rome! Gave birth to the Protestant harlots. They are extremely Catholic, but yet a little less abominable than their whorish mother, the RCC.
Most all so-called Christian groups out there have direct roots to big momma! The Ecumenical movement is made up of all these little Prostitute Protestant Harlots!
Abominations of the Earth: Where did all these false doctrines come from? Began with Nimrod and then spread in Ephesus, then Rome, and now Muslims, the cults, and the harlots all have much of her filth in their belief systems.
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.
Drunken: 50 million+ saints (majority as Baptists) were murdered by this ‘whore’ over the past 2 millennia; they lusted after their deaths; Deleriously controlled by bloodlust of heretics (Baptists). The inquisitions and crusades. Most torture equipment of yesteryear was designed and used by the RCC. Most major wars have been highly influenced and directed by the RCC. Of course, this woman goes way back into the O.T. where she was killing the prophets and the saints of God.
Wondered: John couldn’t figure out who this woman was…very mysterious. Admiration – John couldn’t understand how something so wicked, widespread, and powerful could exist. Just look back in history: the Devil’s Millenium…the Dark Ages.
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.
Beast: the AntiChrist shall physically die, come back to life (Rv 13:3), and then his ‘power’, Satan, will be sent to the bottomless pit (Rev 20:3), be released for a short time of rebellion on earth (Rv 20:7) and then go to the Lake of Fire forever (Rv 20:10)!
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.
Wisdom: like with the number 666. Rome (Vatican) sits on 7 actually mountains/hills. “It seems odd that the seven hills should be equated with the well-known topography of Rome because the identification of the hills calls for special wisdom. Why should such a well-known geographical locale to John’s first century audience require special theological and symbolic insight for proper identification? This symbolic understanding of the seven mountains seems buttressed by the fact that the harlot sits on or beside seven mountains (Rev. 17:9) just as she sits on or beside the many waters (Rev. 17:1). Since the waters are symbolic of peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues (Rev. 17:15), consistency seems to dictate that the seven mountains are symbolic as well.” (Woods)
The seven mountains that the woman sits upon are most likely seven kingdoms, not literal mountains around Rome. This could pull Babylon away from Rome and out in the wilderness some.
Babel, Egypt, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece are huge kingdoms that have fallen; the Roman empire still is (at John’s time); and the one that comes will probably come to rise at or just before the 7 year Tribulation (short time).
The AntiChrist, specifically Satan, will rise out of this ruling kingdom in the Tribulation to take over (maybe at the half way point).
The “Revived Rome, which seems to be the European Union, was formed from the older European Economic Community (1957-1958) through the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty), which was enacted on November 1st 1993.” (Tom Stewart)
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.
Nations are all seemingly coming together behind Climate Control and saving the planet; they also are against nuclear weaponry; they are pro-homosexuality; and they want peace in the middle east. The worlds kings will eventually all agree on these, and many other issues, and will unite together but will need a leader for them…the AntiChrist. They will also be notably against Israel. There power will be short (one hour).
Will America be with these?! Will saving the planet, pro-homosexual rights campaigns, and forcing peace in the middle east be the issues that cause America to join in with one mind with the ‘beast’?!}
This ‘war’ most likely is the Battle of Armageddon to which the Beast, and his confederate kings, decisively are defeated. Called: it may be that the only saints that get to be with King Jesus on this battle are those that are chosen based on their faithfulness (to the Lord and to His Word = Faithful Baptists?!).
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.
Every major nation is involved with her: RCC? Islam? Christian Ecumenicism? Charismaticism? New Age Movement? Humanism? All of these? The nations that fornicated with her now turn on her and destroy her.
A lot of the ‘bad’ things going on in this world are pre-ordained by God! It is God who orchestrates this 10 nation confederacy with the AntiChrist.
The Great Whore is wicked, but the beast is wickeder! The RCC-Ecumenical-?Islamic union is not the Devil’s goal; it is for the world to worship him, not be a part of some erred religious organization.
Remember, what is happening with our government and the world situation right now, however bleek, might very well be all orchestrated by none other than God Himself!}
Great city: not mentioned as a nation or a religious system, per se; it is called a ‘great city’; referring to Babylon. But Babylon is destroyed and apparently won’t be rebuilt. This city, via its governmental hierarchy, has control over the other nations. The RCC even now controls a majority of nations. She is located in Vatican City…Rome.
What city nowadays could be the new Babylon? could reign over the kings of the earth? Some say it is London, others say New York City, still others say ancient Babylon, ….Rome???!