Introduction
Review the theme of chapters 6-16—the Great Tribulation. This is
the final period of human history as we know it, when there is an outbreak
of evil so terrible that only Jesus' personal return prevents the world
from being destroyed. This section also introduced us to the key characters
that are responsible for this evil—the “dragon” (Satan),
“the beast” (Antichrist), and the “false prophet.”
We will look at the third major vision in Revelation—chapters 17
and 18. This vision introduces us to yet another evil character, and describes
the judgment that God will pour out upon it at the end of the age. This
is the vision of the “Whore of Babylon.”
This is the most confusing character in Revelation, and it will take most
of our time this morning to figure out just what this entity is.
Read 17:1-5. Let's start with 17:5, because this gives us its
“name” or title.
The name is a mystery, which in the Bible refers to something that
has been largely hidden, but which is now being revealed (see Romans 16:25-26).
Through the symbols of this vision, then, God is exposing an expression
of evil that has long been at work in secret, undercover.
The first clue to its identity is the content of its name, which is
a two-fold title. It is like a city (“Babylon the great”)
and it is like a harlot (“the mother of harlots and of the abominations
of the earth”). Both of these images are rooted in the Old Testament,
and they reveal different aspects of this entity. Chapter 17 describes
it mainly as “the mother of harlots,” while chapter 18 describes
it mainly as “Babylon the great.” Let's take a closer look
at both of these titles . . .
“The Mother of Harlots . . .”
“Harlotry” and “abominations” are terms related in
the Old Testament not only to sexual immorality, but especially to idolatry.
See especially Ezek. 16:15ff., which uses both of these terms to
describe Israel as a harlot full of abominations (16:22) because it allowed
itself to be seduced from its “husband” YHWH to commit spiritual
adultery with idols. God uses very graphic language to describe Israel
as a spiritual nymphomaniac, made mad from the aphrodisiac of idolatry
(see 16:15, 25, 32-34). Israel became so polluted with idolatry that God
had to remove her through exile to bring her to repentance.
Revelation 17 evidently describes this same spiritual adultery at work in the
Church—culminating in the apostate Church. Just as Israel became
a harlot during the Old Testament period, so the Church (called the “Bride
of Christ”) will ultimately become a great harlot during the period
between Jesus' two comings. “Apostate” means “fallen away”
and here refers to a counterfeit entity that claims to be Christianity
but has really rejected Christ. Jesus warned that false prophets would
arise throughout the period between his comings (Matt. 24:5), and
that at the end of the age there would be a massive defection from the
faith (Matt. 24:10). This is the apostasy (“falling away”)
that Paul predicts in 2 Thess. 2:3; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim.
3:1,5.
The Harlot, then, is the demonic counterfeit of the Bride of Christ, the
Church.
She seduces not just Israel, but people from every part of the world
(17:1b,15). She seduces both political rulers and common people with
her cup of idolatrous inducements (17:2).
She is intimately related to, but distinct from the “beast (17:3).
It appears here that she is in control over (“sitting on”)
the beast, but in the end the beast turns on her and brings about her
downfall (17:16). It may be that the Antichrist rises to power (in part)
through the support of the apostate Church—but then turns on it
once he consolidates his power.
At any rate, like the beast, she hates the followers of Jesus Christ
(17:6). She makes others drunk with her wine of idolatry, but she herself
is drunk with the blood of the saints. One of the most horrible themes
in church history is the institutional church (especially when allied
with the State) betraying and persecuting true believers (INQUISITION;
STATE CHURCH LEADERS IN NAZI GERMANY & COMMUNIST RUSSIA & CHINA).
Most of the rest of chapter 17 describes the beast, which we have already
studied, so we'll pass over this section. But notice in 17:18 that this
“woman” is also “the great city, which reigns over the
kings of the earth” (17:18). In other words, as we saw in 17:5,
these two terms describe the same entity in two different forms. Chapter
17 describes it as a spiritual whore—the source of spiritual deception
and the counterfeit Church, while chapter 18 describes it as “Babylon
the great”—the “secular” expression of this same
evil entity.
“Babylon the Great”
Read 18:1-2. An angel announces the fall of “Babylon the
great.” That which was so powerful and impressive has now become
a desolate dungeon of the demons that animated it. The language here echoes
several Old Testament passages concerning the kingdom of Babylon (in southern
Iraq).
The original kingdom of Babylon is described in Genesis 10-11. It was
humanity's first empire, ruled by the godless tyrant Nimrod, who was
“a mighty hunter in defiance of the Lord” (10:8-9). Nimrod
built the first great city, Babel (“gateway to the gods”),
which was a society rooted in human pride and dedicated to exalting
itself over everything, including God (11:4). God noted that that this
kind of all-encompassing empire would totally corrupt humanity, so he
prevented this by confusing the people's languages so they have to disperse.
Neo-Babylon emerged in the 600's BC, and it was the greatest empire
ever known up to that point. Neo-Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and Israel's
Temple in 586 BC. It was ruled by King Nebuchadnezzar, who (like Nimrod)
was so intoxicated by his own power that he boasted Daniel 4:30
(read). Nebuchadnezzar was the first major ruler to require his subjects
to worship his image (Daniel 3). While God used Babylon to discipline
Judah for its idolatry, he vowed to destroy Babylon because of its arrogance.
See Isaiah's taunt in Isaiah 14:12-15. Note how his description
of the aftermath of Babylon's judgment (Isaiah 13:19-22) is echoed
by Revelation 18:1-3.
So “Babylon the great” represents fallen humanity's determination
to construct a “God-tight” society (EXPLAIN “AIR-TIGHT”).
It began with original Babylon, re-emerged in neo-Babylon, has flowered
since then in many godless empires throughout history (including Rome
in 1st century, and 20th century expressions like
the Fascist Axis and the Iron Curtain regime), and it will come to ultimate
fruition in the global reign of the Antichrist.
Yet, in spite of its splendor and power, God is going to take it out.
Chapter 18 is a taunt announcing its sudden, dramatic, and permanent
downfall—probably by the return of Jesus.
We don't have time to study the whole chapter, but I do want to highlight
a feature an aspect of “Babylon” that may hit closer to home . . .
It seduces rulers and business-people through the offer of material
wealth (18:3 NIV “ . . . by the wealth
of her luxury”). “Babylon” specializes not in the material
necessities of life, but in material luxury at the cost of human lives
(18:12-13). This is why her devotees lament her fall (rulers in 18:9;
merchants in 18:11-14; passengers in 18:17-19). “Babylon the great”
is in large part the spirit of materialism (seeking identity and security
and stimulation through the acquisition and enjoyment and accumulation
of money and things). Materialism flourishes in every political system—including
capitalist democracies (SLAVE TRADE). It is a key feature of the American
Dream, and which drives this materially prosperous and spiritually sick
nation and infects all of us here to some degree!
It seduces people by corrupting even good things so that they become
idols that lead us away from God. Notice the final description of “Babylon”
in 18:21b-23 (read). “Sorcery” is the Greek word pharmakeia,
from which we get “pharmacy” and “pharmaceutical drugs.”
It means the mixing of potions to induce spells in idol worship. It
is used figuratively here to refer to “Babylon's” deceptive
activity even through the arts (“harpists and musicians
and flute-players and trumpeters), industry and technology (“craftsman
of any craft . . . sound of a mill . . . light
of a lamp”), human relationships (“bridegroom and bride”)
and economics/commerce (“merchants”). And to this list
we could things like education/academia, political office,
sports and entertainment, etc.
Am I saying that these things are evil? No! All of these things are
good gifts from God that he wants us to enjoy. We deplore the unbiblical
fundamentalism that calls for Christians to withdraw from any of these
arenas in order to be spiritual! God wants Christians involved in
every one of these areas!
But beware! All of these areas are now laced with an intoxicating
“drug” that can deceive you into thinking these gifts can
replace the Giver. And if you buy into this lie, these very gifts
that God gives you to enjoy will destroy your character and your relationships
and your very soul. The arts are a great breeding ground for aesthetic
pride. Information technology has the power to erode rational and
reflective thought, and to erode or prevent in-depth personal relationships.
Academia can breed intellectual arrogance, political activity can
corrupt you with power-lust. Professional sports stars' salaries and
travel schedule have devoured the stars and destroyed countless marriages.
What is the “Babylon?” It is what the same author (John) elsewhere
calls “the world” (read 1 John 2:15-16). The kosmos
(“orderly arrangement”) is that satanically-inspired system
of values (hedonism, materialism, egotism) that seeks to seduce us from
a love relationship with the one true God, who alone can provide us with
the security and identity and significance we need. It is a whore, appealing
to our fallen desires and promising us satisfaction that it can never
deliver—while it charges the price of our souls.
“You gotta drink”
So much for explanation—it's time for some application. It would
require a whole series of teachings to explain how God wants us to respond
to the Whore of Babylon. I'm going to explain the most basic and important
response . . .
The Rally's commercial says, “You gotta eat.” God says, “You
gotta drink.” We have incurably thirsty souls, and we are unable
to make our own water. Therefore, your choice is not whether
you will drink, but only from whom you will drink. And according
to the Bible, there are only two sources.
You can drink from the Whore of Babylon. Her cup is full of false
gods (NAME SOME) that will intoxicate you temporarily, and she will
keep mixing different versions of the same ingredients to keep you
coming back. But they won't satisfy you, and eventually they will
drive you mad and destroy your soul. Haven't you drunk from this cup
enough??? How much more do you have to drink before you admit that
it doesn't work?
Or you can drink from Jesus Christ. His cup is full of living water
(read John 4:10, 14). This living water is the love of God, which
is the only thing that will ever quench the thirst of your soul. He
says he is offering this living water as a gift. You don't have to
clean yourself up before he will give it to you; he will give it to
you as you are and it will spring up inside you to transform your
life. (HIS ORIGINAL AUDIENCE WAS THE SAMARITAN WOMAN.) All you have
to do is ask Jesus for it. Admit to him that you are thirsty, that
the Whore's cup doesn't satisfy—and simply ask him to give you
this living water of a love relationship with God. If you do this,
your life will never be the same!
Listen to Dave Durrell describe his experience of drinking from both
cups . . .
Footnotes
Copyright 2002 Gary DeLashmutt