The Vision of the Great Whore
“And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication” (Revelation 16:19). “And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath” (Revelation 14:8).
Chapter 17:1-6 – The Vision
Chapter 17:7-18 – The Interpretation
“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.” (Revelation 17:1-2).
We are not told which of the seven angels came to show John the vision. John is invited to go into the wilderness with the angel to witness God’s judgment on the city of Babylon. The analogy of a “wilderness” is used to contrast her life style with the place of her judgment. The area surrounding Babylon was one of unparalleled beauty. Two mighty rivers flowed through her lush fields and orchards making it a virtual paradise. It was, in appearance, like the Garden of Eden. However, it was full of foul, demonic spirits. The wilderness was a symbol of the place of judgment.
There are 286 references to Babylon by name in the Scriptures. Many Old Testaments prophecies foretold her destruction. The Medes and the Persians fulfilled some of them at their invasion of Babylon in 539 B.C. However, many prophecies were far reaching and are yet to be fulfilled in Revelation 17 and 18.
Chapter 17 is about the city of Babylon (see v. 18), which was the fountainhead of all religious idolatry. It was founded and fostered by Nimrod under the prompting of Satan in 2312 B.C. (See Genesis 10.) The “secret” or mystery of the idolatry and the immorality associated with her religion is revealed in this chapter. “Mystery Babylon” was written on her forehead. The sealed 144,000 followers of Jesus have their Father’s name in their forehead. The followers of the beast have his name or number in their forehead; and the whore has her name, “Mystery Babylon,” on her forehead. This shows her obstinate and shameless nature. She is without a conscious concerning her immorality, and she prides herself in it. The city of Babylon is called “The Mother of Harlots.”
Babylon is called “the great whore.” Idolatry, in Scripture, was associated with all kinds of sexual immorality. This was a title given to any person, religion, or nation who forsook the true God and went after other religions. Moses knew the people whom he had led from Egypt and was confident they would forsake God and embrace idolatry after his death. “And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them” (Deuteronomy 31:16).
Vine says, “The act of harloting after strange gods was more than changing gods, however. This was especially true when Israel went after the Canaanite gods, for the worship of these pagan deities involved actual prostitution with cult prostitutes connected with the Canaanite shrines. In the Old Testament, sometimes the use of the phrase “go a whoring after gods” implies an individual’s involvement with cult prostitutes. An example might be in Exodus 34:15-16: “Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods…. And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.” The religious theory behind such activity at the Canaanite shrine was that such sexual activity with cult prostitutes, both male and female, who represented the gods and goddesses of the Canaanite fertility cult, would stimulate fertility in their crops and flocks. Such cult prostitutes were not designated as prostitutes but rather “holy ones” or “set-apart ones,” since the Semitic term for “holy” means, first of all, to be set apart for a special use. This is illustrated in Deuteronomy 23:17: “There shall be no cult prostitute [set-apart one] of the daughters of Israel, neither shall there be a cult prostitute of the sons of Israel” (RSV), (“…whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel” (KJV). This theme of religious harlotry looms large in the prophets who denounce this backsliding in no uncertain terms. Ezekiel minces no words as he openly calls both Judah and Israel “harlots” and vividly describes their backsliding in sexual terms Ezekiel 16:6-63; 23.” Vine’s Expository Dictionary of the Old Testament.
The “many waters” on which the whore sits consist of, “…peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues” (Revelation 17:15). “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.” (Revelation 17:2).
Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.