Revelation Chapter 17:
In previous chapters, we have noticed the unholy trinity, the counterfeit of the real: Satan, the anti-Christ, and the false prophet. These three attempt to take the place of God the Father, Jesus the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit. In our present chapter, we have another counterfeit, the false church, which is an imitation of the true church of God. The true church is called Jerusalem in Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 12:22, and Revelation 3:12. The false church is known as Babylon in Jeremiah 51:13 and Revelation 17. The woman that represents the false church is called “mystery Babylon” because she represents a great religious system rather than a literal city.
The meaning of the word Babylon is “confusion.” Genesis 11 tells us of the confusion that was brought in that city when the people there decided to “build a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” This was man’s first attempt at organized religion that was dependent upon man’s works rather than upon God. So God caused them all to speak different languages, and thus scattered them abroad upon the face of the earth!
Babylon was the seat of idolatry, astrology, superstition, and every evil and immoral act. As such, it is a perfect example of the false church that will have great power over the world during the first half of the seven years’ tribulation. During this time, there will be a joining of many of the cults and false religions of today. I believe we have seen the beginnings of this union over the past few years. There has been a great push for unity among the different denominations in Christianity, as well as attempts at unity between the Catholic Church and liberal Protestantism, along with more dialog and union between the Catholic Church and Muslims, Judaism and many others. This will evolve into a one-world religious system which will preside over all nations and peoples of the world during the first 3 ½ years of tribulation.
This religious system is called the “great whore” and “mystery Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.” This name is given to her because of the great wickedness that will come from her. She is seen “sitting upon many waters,” and verse 15 explains that the waters are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues, teaching us that the false church will preside over all nations and peoples of the world at that time.
According to verse 2, the rulers of the nations will be joined to this great religious system—a joining of church and state—and the inhabitants of the earth will be intoxicated and spell-bound by her influence. This state of affairs has been true for many years in the Middle East. Islam has ruled many of the countries in that region, as the most important factor in everything from business to education and government. Also, it is a well-known fact that the Catholic Church has much power with governments. In 1984, the U.S. restored full diplomatic relationships with the Vatican and appointed an ambassador there. So the world is being prepared for this kind of a union.
Verse 3 tells us the angel carried John in spirit into the wilderness, a type of spiritual barrenness, and he saw this woman sitting upon, or presiding over, the beast that we studied about in chapter 13, or the anti-Christ. This also reminds us of the great red dragon of chapter 12. Satan, the anti-Christ, and the false prophet all work together during this time, influencing the seven nations and ten influential leaders who will be in power.
The woman is clothed in colors of royalty, having great riches and grandeur, yet holding a golden cup full of abominations and filth, which depicts the wickedness, corruption, and debauchery that will be coming from her. Isaiah 47 gives an apt and terrible picture of this great religious system that will have such power for a short while. According to verse 6, this false church will cause many Christians—ones who refuse to give allegiance to her—to be martyred and she will revel at the blood that is shed from them.
Next, the angel begins to explain to John the mystery of the woman, beginning with information concerning the beast she was riding on, which was the anti-Christ. In chapter 13, we learned that the anti-Christ will receive a deadly wound, resulting in his death, but he will come back to life again, causing the entire world to wonder after him. Verse 8 of our present chapter tells us that this man “was” (he was alive), and “is not” (he is killed), and “shall ascend out of the bottomless pit.” That is, at his death, his spirit will descend into the bottomless pit, which is full of demons, and when he comes back to life, he will ascend out of the pit, no doubt indwelled by many of these demons. This will cause the unbelievers that dwell on the earth to wonder, or marvel, at this man, which will give him great glory.
We are also told that the anti-Christ will go into “perdition.” Perdition is the place of final judgment on all sinners, or the lake of fire. So this verse gives us a view of the anti-Christ from his rise to power and acceptance by most of the world until his eternal damnation. The mountains of verse 9 refer to nations. (Nations are often referred to as “mountains” in scripture).
To better understand verses 10, & 11, we need to refer to a portion of scripture in Daniel 7. There, Daniel relates a dream in which he saw four wild beasts. These beasts represent four world empires. The last of these beasts had ten horns, which represent ten kingdoms that will be prominent kingdoms in the world at the time of the end. The “end” speaks of the end of Gentile times. As Daniel considered these ten horns, another little horn came up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked up. This little horn is the anti-Christ, as explained in verse 24. So when the anti.-Christ comes on the scene at the beginning of the seven years’ tribulation, he will subdue three of the ten kingdoms, leaving seven that will rule, the anti-Christ being one of the seven.
Daniel 11:40-43 names six kingdoms besides the one that the anti-Christ rules over. And while I cannot say with certainty, I believe that the ones named here could very likely be six of the seven kingdoms that will make up this league of nations in the end time. Look at these verses. The king of the South refers to Egypt; the king of the North is Syria; the glorious land refers to Israel; Edam, Moab, and Ammon make up what we know as Jordan; and Lybia and Ethiopia are named also. So there we have six of the nations and the anti-Christ will rule over the seventh. The king mentioned in verse 36 is the anti-Christ, and verses 40-43 describe a battle in which he conquers five of these nations. Jordan is the only one that will escape out of his hand.
Now let’s return to verses 10 & 11 of our chapter in Revelation. I believe this same battle is described. As we have before noted, during the first half of the Tribulation, there will be a league of seven nations that will be world rulers who will be controlled to a great degree by the false church. However, at the middle of the Tribulation, there will be a battle in which five of these kingdoms will fall. The anti-Christ will be killed, then come back to life, and continue to rule for a “short space” or 3 ½ years. That is the meaning in verse 11 of his being one of the seven, but is now the eighth. And again we are told that he will go into perdition!
However, after this battle, and after being raised from the dead, the anti-Christ will quickly become the world ruler. The ten powerful leaders, seen as the ten horns, will have much power and authority and will give all of their power to the anti-Christ. This will be a time of one-world government, with the leaders being of one mind. They will have such strength that they will ultimately even attempt to fight against Jesus Christ when He comes with His saints, at the end of the Tribulation. Notice the imagery here of a beast with ten horns fighting against a lamb—and the Lamb wins the battle because He is Lord of lords and King of kings!
Verses 16 & 17 bring us back to the beginning of the reign of the anti-Christ as world ruler at the middle of the Tribulation. He will use the false church to unite the people of the world, as well as the world leaders, into a unity that only religion can bring. Then, after achieving his objective through her, he will turn on her and the ten powerful men who work with him will destroy her, creating opportunity for the anti-Christ to exalt himself as God (II Thessalonians 2:4). However, neither these men nor the anti-Christ realize that they are just doing what is God’s will! He is sovereign and is in complete control over all things.
The “great city” of verse 18 is Babylon, which shows that the headquarters of the false church will be in Babylon until she is destroyed.
The meaning of the word Babylon is “confusion.” Genesis 11 tells us of the confusion that was brought in that city when the people there decided to “build a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” This was man’s first attempt at organized religion that was dependent upon man’s works rather than upon God. So God caused them all to speak different languages, and thus scattered them abroad upon the face of the earth!
Babylon was the seat of idolatry, astrology, superstition, and every evil and immoral act. As such, it is a perfect example of the false church that will have great power over the world during the first half of the seven years’ tribulation. During this time, there will be a joining of many of the cults and false religions of today. I believe we have seen the beginnings of this union over the past few years. There has been a great push for unity among the different denominations in Christianity, as well as attempts at unity between the Catholic Church and liberal Protestantism, along with more dialog and union between the Catholic Church and Muslims, Judaism and many others. This will evolve into a one-world religious system which will preside over all nations and peoples of the world during the first 3 ½ years of tribulation.
This religious system is called the “great whore” and “mystery Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.” This name is given to her because of the great wickedness that will come from her. She is seen “sitting upon many waters,” and verse 15 explains that the waters are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues, teaching us that the false church will preside over all nations and peoples of the world at that time.
According to verse 2, the rulers of the nations will be joined to this great religious system—a joining of church and state—and the inhabitants of the earth will be intoxicated and spell-bound by her influence. This state of affairs has been true for many years in the Middle East. Islam has ruled many of the countries in that region, as the most important factor in everything from business to education and government. Also, it is a well-known fact that the Catholic Church has much power with governments. In 1984, the U.S. restored full diplomatic relationships with the Vatican and appointed an ambassador there. So the world is being prepared for this kind of a union.
Verse 3 tells us the angel carried John in spirit into the wilderness, a type of spiritual barrenness, and he saw this woman sitting upon, or presiding over, the beast that we studied about in chapter 13, or the anti-Christ. This also reminds us of the great red dragon of chapter 12. Satan, the anti-Christ, and the false prophet all work together during this time, influencing the seven nations and ten influential leaders who will be in power.
The woman is clothed in colors of royalty, having great riches and grandeur, yet holding a golden cup full of abominations and filth, which depicts the wickedness, corruption, and debauchery that will be coming from her. Isaiah 47 gives an apt and terrible picture of this great religious system that will have such power for a short while. According to verse 6, this false church will cause many Christians—ones who refuse to give allegiance to her—to be martyred and she will revel at the blood that is shed from them.
Next, the angel begins to explain to John the mystery of the woman, beginning with information concerning the beast she was riding on, which was the anti-Christ. In chapter 13, we learned that the anti-Christ will receive a deadly wound, resulting in his death, but he will come back to life again, causing the entire world to wonder after him. Verse 8 of our present chapter tells us that this man “was” (he was alive), and “is not” (he is killed), and “shall ascend out of the bottomless pit.” That is, at his death, his spirit will descend into the bottomless pit, which is full of demons, and when he comes back to life, he will ascend out of the pit, no doubt indwelled by many of these demons. This will cause the unbelievers that dwell on the earth to wonder, or marvel, at this man, which will give him great glory.
We are also told that the anti-Christ will go into “perdition.” Perdition is the place of final judgment on all sinners, or the lake of fire. So this verse gives us a view of the anti-Christ from his rise to power and acceptance by most of the world until his eternal damnation. The mountains of verse 9 refer to nations. (Nations are often referred to as “mountains” in scripture).
To better understand verses 10, & 11, we need to refer to a portion of scripture in Daniel 7. There, Daniel relates a dream in which he saw four wild beasts. These beasts represent four world empires. The last of these beasts had ten horns, which represent ten kingdoms that will be prominent kingdoms in the world at the time of the end. The “end” speaks of the end of Gentile times. As Daniel considered these ten horns, another little horn came up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked up. This little horn is the anti-Christ, as explained in verse 24. So when the anti.-Christ comes on the scene at the beginning of the seven years’ tribulation, he will subdue three of the ten kingdoms, leaving seven that will rule, the anti-Christ being one of the seven.
Daniel 11:40-43 names six kingdoms besides the one that the anti-Christ rules over. And while I cannot say with certainty, I believe that the ones named here could very likely be six of the seven kingdoms that will make up this league of nations in the end time. Look at these verses. The king of the South refers to Egypt; the king of the North is Syria; the glorious land refers to Israel; Edam, Moab, and Ammon make up what we know as Jordan; and Lybia and Ethiopia are named also. So there we have six of the nations and the anti-Christ will rule over the seventh. The king mentioned in verse 36 is the anti-Christ, and verses 40-43 describe a battle in which he conquers five of these nations. Jordan is the only one that will escape out of his hand.
Now let’s return to verses 10 & 11 of our chapter in Revelation. I believe this same battle is described. As we have before noted, during the first half of the Tribulation, there will be a league of seven nations that will be world rulers who will be controlled to a great degree by the false church. However, at the middle of the Tribulation, there will be a battle in which five of these kingdoms will fall. The anti-Christ will be killed, then come back to life, and continue to rule for a “short space” or 3 ½ years. That is the meaning in verse 11 of his being one of the seven, but is now the eighth. And again we are told that he will go into perdition!
However, after this battle, and after being raised from the dead, the anti-Christ will quickly become the world ruler. The ten powerful leaders, seen as the ten horns, will have much power and authority and will give all of their power to the anti-Christ. This will be a time of one-world government, with the leaders being of one mind. They will have such strength that they will ultimately even attempt to fight against Jesus Christ when He comes with His saints, at the end of the Tribulation. Notice the imagery here of a beast with ten horns fighting against a lamb—and the Lamb wins the battle because He is Lord of lords and King of kings!
Verses 16 & 17 bring us back to the beginning of the reign of the anti-Christ as world ruler at the middle of the Tribulation. He will use the false church to unite the people of the world, as well as the world leaders, into a unity that only religion can bring. Then, after achieving his objective through her, he will turn on her and the ten powerful men who work with him will destroy her, creating opportunity for the anti-Christ to exalt himself as God (II Thessalonians 2:4). However, neither these men nor the anti-Christ realize that they are just doing what is God’s will! He is sovereign and is in complete control over all things.
The “great city” of verse 18 is Babylon, which shows that the headquarters of the false church will be in Babylon until she is destroyed.