Revelation 17:1-6 (The Great Prostitute)

Introduction

English Standard Version Chapter 17

The Great Prostitute and the Beast

17 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. 5 And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” 6 And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

This week we come to chapter 17 of John’s Apocalypse. Now, we’re not going to have time to get through the entire chapter this morning, so we’re going to focus in on the great prostitute this week, and then look more closely at the beast in our next time.

So, while the seven bowl judgments of chapter 16 have reached their conclusion, chapters 17-19, together, depict the fall of Jerusalem from another angle. They depict the fall of Jerusalem as a harlot condemned for her prostitution. So, if you were here two weeks ago when we looked at chapter 16 you may recall that we concluded by pointing out that the seventh bowl parallels the seventh plague against Egypt. Highlighting again how the Egyptian plagues had been turned against the Jews for their covenant apostasy. That Jerusalem had become like Egypt.

In the last verse of chapter 16, verse 21, John wrote that “great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on the people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe,” and while this plague was undoubtedly intended to parallel the plague of hail that befell Egypt in the Book of Exodus, we also noted Josephus’ account of the Roman seige against Jerusalem, when he wrote,

The Days of Vengeance The Last Three Chalices: It Is Finished! (Rev. 16:10-21)

"The stone missiles weighed a talent and traveled two furlongs or more, and their impact not only on those who were hit first, but also on those behind them, was enormous. At first the Jews kept watch for the stone-for it was white-and its approach was intimated to the eye by its shining surface as well as to the ear by its whizzing sound. Watchmen posted on the towers gave the warnings whenever the engine was fired and the stone came hurtling toward them, shouting in their native tongue: 'The Son is coming!' Those in the line of fire made way and fell prone, a precaution that resulted in the stone's passing harmlessly through and falling in their rear. To frustrate this, it occurred to the Romans to blacken the stones so that they could not be seen so easily beforehand; then they hit their target and destroyed many with a single shot."

With that, I pointed out that like the stoning of a harlot for her harlotry, Jerusalem was stoned by the invading Roman army. Which is precisely the point chapter 17 is intended to make. Jerusalem is not only a dangerous beast and a false prophet, but she has become a harlot. And so John describes these final judgments in chapters 17-19 in light of Jerusalem’s harlotry, in light of her her unfaithfulness, and her allegiance to Rome rather than to Christ.

Book about covenant, not politics

And at this point I also want us to remember that the Book of Revelation is not a book about world politics, but a book about covenant. John’s Apocalypse is written from the perspective of covenant, not world politics. This is why Jerusalem is front and center, this is why she’s the focus. If we interpret the Book of Revelation from the perspective of world politics then we’ll be tempted to attach the symbology and descriptions within the book to all sorts of world powers, whether it’s the Roman Empire of the first century, or any other future nations.

This coincides with what we observe throughout the old and new testaments. God’s redemptive historical purposes are always front and center, they’re what matters. In the grand scheme of biblical history it matters very little how powerful Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Rome are, whereas the nation of Israel is always front and center because of her redemptive historical purpose. They’re the nation from which the Messiah was purposed come, they were the only nation to make a covenant with God, and they were the only nation who was given his law. Therefore, Jerusalem is inherently more significant than Babylon or Rome.

Whereas, from the perspective of world politics we tend to ascribe significance to those nations that are the most powerful. This is why Christian’s often ask questions like, “Well, where’s the United States in the book of Revelation?” Or conclude that Babylon must be describing Rome rather than Jerusalem in the first century, because the earthly scope of Rome’s power is perceived as much greater. But, again, despite Rome’s immense political power, it takes a backseat to Jerusalem and God’s redemptive historical plans. John’s Apocalypse is concerned with the termination of the old covenant and the advent of the new covenant, therefore everything is viewed in light of this, even the Dragon and the Beast are subservient to this purpose, as we’ll see at the end of this chapter. This is why Jerusalem is the focus of the book, not Rome.

Babylon is Jerusalem

Now, given the focus of this chapter it’s probably worth summarizing, again briefly, the reasons I believe the Harlot Babylon here is referring to Jerusalem. The harlot was mentioned for the first time back in chapter 14, when she was referred to as Babylon the great, it was at that point that I took the opportunity to outline many of these arguments, but I also want to take the opportunity to point out some additional connections as well.

The great city

The first reason, and likely the most important, is that at the end of chapter 17 this harlot is referred to as “the great city”. This is significant because John revealed back in chapter 11, verse 8, that this is a reference to Jerusalem. He wrote, “and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.” Jesus was not crucified in Rome, but Jerusalem.

The second reason, is that this harlot, or woman, is described repeatedly (3 times throughout chapters 16-19) as being responsible for the blood of the prophets and saints. Now, biblically speaking, this was a characteristic indictment against Jerusalem, not the pagan nations. In fact, Jesus famously described Jerusalem like this in Matthew 23:37 saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!” In fact, just a few verses earlier he had told the Pharisees that they were “sons of those who murdered the prophets,” and to “fill up then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” (Mt 23:32–36)

Harlotry presupposes covenant relationship

The third reason, is that within the broader context of the Bible, harlotry typically presupposes a covenant relationship with God that has been violated by spiritual adultery. (Doug Wilson) Therefore, the harlot imagery here in Revelation 17 naturally points to the covenant unfaithfulness of Jerusalem, rather than to Rome or another pagan nation who had not been established by a covenant made with God.

And because this gets at the heart of our text today I want to read to you just a few examples from the OT prophets. Isaiah described Jerusalem’s unfaithfulness at one point in his day like this, “How the faithful city has become a whore, she who was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.” (Isaiah 1:21) The prophet Jeremiah wrote many years later, “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the LORD, “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest.” So, at first, Jeremiah describes Jerusalem as a bride who is holy to the Lord, but then Jeremiah goes on to describe Jerusalem’s apostasy like this, “for long ago I broke your yoke and burst your bonds; but you said, ‘I will not serve.’ Yes, on every high hill and under every green tree you bowed down like a whore.” (Jer. 2:2,20)

And finally, and probably the clearest parallel to chapter 17 of John’s Apocalypse, the prophet Ezekiel wrote about Jerusalem’s prostitution with the nations, we read in Ezekiel 16:23-26, “You also played the whore with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, multiplying your whoring, to provoke me to anger. Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you and diminished your allotted portion and delivered you to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. You played the whore also with the Assyrians, because you were not satisfied; yes, you played the whore with them, and still you were not satisfied. You multiplied your whoring also with the trading land of Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied.”

Now, what’s particularly significant about Ezekiel’s statement is that the spiritual fornication he’s describing there isn’t Jerusalem’s worship of false gods, but of Jerusalem’s whoring after other nations, seeking alliances with them for their protection, and lusting after their military might, rather than trusting in Yahweh. Which is the type of spiritual adultery, or spiritual fornication that John’s is depicting in his Apocalypse when he see a great prostitute sitting on a scarlet beast. That Jerusalem has allied herself with Rome, and that she has played the whore with the Roman Empire.

Jerusalem’s dependency upon Rome

Which brings us to my fourth reason, which is that the woman here in chapter 17 is riding on the beast out of the sea from chapter 13, and the relationship betwen the two beasts in chapter 13 parallels the relationship between the harlot and the beast here in chapter 17. John tells us that the beast out of the land in chapter 13 “exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence.” In other words, the authority of the beast that arose out of the land is derived from Rome, and then in chapter 17 the woman is likewise supported by the beast, who is Rome. So, my point here is that there’s a fundamental dependency that Jerusalem has upon Rome, a dependency that was characteristic of Jerusalem in the first century. And if the beast here in chapter 17 signifies Rome then it’s also unlikely that the woman is also Rome, rather the woman is meant to portray Jerusalem and her dependency upon Rome.

Prostitute and bride contrasted

And finally, the fifth reason, that I want to point out this morning, which is intimately connected here to chapter 17, is John’s purposeful contrast between the prostitute and with the bride later in chapter 21. And in order to see this contrast I want you to read again with me starting there in verse 1, and I want you to notice how the angel presents and describes this great prostitute, so that you can compare it to what we’re going read in chapter 21.

English Standard Version Chapter 17

17 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. 5 And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” 6 And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

Now, turn over to chapter 21 with me, starting in verse 9. Again, I want you to notice how the angel presents the bride, and how it parallels his presentation of the prostitute, with the intention that we’re meant to see a contrast between the two characters.

English Standard Version Chapter 21

9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Notice the identical presentation, it appears to be the same angel that approaches John in both instances, “one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls”, and then the angel tells John in both instances, “Come, I will show you...” At first, “Come, I will show you the judgement of the great prostitute, who is seated on many waters” then later, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” But the parallels don’t end there, in chapter 17 John tells us in verse 3, “And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness,” then later in chapter 21, verse 10, John says, “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain.” The idea here is that we’re ultimately meant to compare the prostitute with the bride, and this isn’t meant to be a comparison between a pagan nation and the heavenly Jerusalem, but between the Jerusalem that is below and the Jerusalem that is above.

Two women

You see, there are fundamentally two women in the Book of Revelation, apostate Israel and the true Israel of God. Whether it’s the woman who gives birth to the Messiah back in chapter 12, or the bride of Christ who is later revealed from heaven in chapter 21, the contrast is always between the harlot and the bride, between the old Jerusalem and the new Jerusalem revealed out of heaven, or as Paul described it in Galatians, between two women, the bond woman and the free woman, two covenants, one from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery, who is Hagar, the present Jerusalem, and the Jerusalem above who is free, who is our mother. The Apostle says in Galatians 4:24-26,

English Standard Version Chapter 4

24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

Judgment of the great prostitute

And so with all of that in mind, we come to Revelation 17 and the judgement of the great prostitute, who’s described as being seated on many waters. Which is likely a reference to Babylon described in the OT, a picture of what Jerusalem had become. The imagery is also meant to depict her influence over the nations. Later, in verse 15, the angel tells John that “the waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.” So, on one hand she sits on a scarlet beast, who is Rome, she’s supported by the beast, but on the other hand John says that she’s seated on many waters there in verse 1. While she has a fundamental dependency upon Rome, she also possess influence over the nations.

Dispersion and influence

While Jerusalem’s power wasn’t political in nature, her allegiance to Rome provided Jerusalem with widespread influence across the Roman Empire. As one commentator put it, “their synagogues were in every city.” (Chilton, The Days of Vengeance, p. 438) And as a result of their dispersion, after captivity in Babylon hundreds of years earlier, the Jews were spread across 10,000 cities, throughout the Empire, and beyond the Euphrates. While they were in subjugation to Rome the Jews still had tremendous influence. For instance, some scholars believe that the Jews may have even played a decisive role inciting Nero’s persecution of the Christians in AD 64, when Nero was looking for someone to blame while the city of Rome burned.

The Book of Acts bears witness to the Jewish presence throughout the Empire when Luke described the events on the Day of Pentecost, when men from all over the known world had gathered for the Jewish festival. We read in Acts 2:5-11,

Acts 2:5–11 ESV

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”

Spiritual fornication

And so the point of this imagery, of the woman seated on many waters, is what John says next there in verse 2, “with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” In other words, Jerusalem is no longer a light to the nations, but rather she had lead the nations astray by her spiritual fornications, by her spiritual infidelity.

You see, Israel was meant to be a light to the nations, to reflect the glory God and his law to the nations. This is why the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 2:19-20 that the Jews thought of themselves as being “a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, [and] having the law, the embodiment of knowledge and truth.”

However, they had become hypocrites, and, as Jesus put it, a wicked and adulterous generation. (Matt. 12:39, 16:4) Therefore, Paul wrote in Romans 2:23-24, “You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” They were no longer a light to the nations but a stumbling block. For the name of God was blasphemed among the Gentiles because of them, because of their hypocrisy, because of their spiritual fornication. This is why the church would become that city on a hill, and a light unto the world. And this is why Jesus had told the religious leaders in Matthew 21:43, “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.”

Compromise destroys our witness

And this ought to be a persistent warning for us today. That compromise destroys our witness, that it doesn’t enhance it. We’re often tempted to think that compromise will make our witness more effective, that we’ll reach more people, when in fact, it leads to false converts, and the name of God being blasphemed. When we compromise, our light darkens, it does not become brighter, and the effectiveness of our witness unavoidably diminishes. Jesus famously said in his Sermon on the Mount,

English Standard Version Chapter 5

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Lip-service

You see, while Israel considered herself faithful, her faithfulness proved to be mere lip service, instead she had prostituted herself to the world, more specifically to Rome, she had become a harlot, rather than being holy unto the Lord, Jerusalem had become a great prostitute. This is why the woman here chapter 17 is seen there in verse 5 as having on her forehead “written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.”” (Re 17:5) And it was Jesus who had exposed their hypocrisy when Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify your King?” and the chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”

And similarly, many people today profess Christ, and give lip-service to him, yet their professions are hollow. They live like the world, they’re often absent from the church’s corporate worship, their fellowship isn’t usually with other believers but with the world, their closest friends are unbelievers, and they’re carried along by every wind of doctrine and worldly philosophy. They profess to love God but they despise his people, they despise his bride, for whom Christ died. And they despise the word of God. And while they certainly wouldn’t think of themselves like this, or at all in those terms, their lives reflect this attitude. Their lives don’t reflect allegiance to Christ, but allegiance to the world.

Many hear what Jesus says, but still go their own way, they call him Lord, but they don’t do what he says. As James puts it, they’re not doers of the word, writing in James 1:22-25, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

You see, the 7 letters to the 7 churches in chapters 2-3 were written specifically to warn the churches of the first century of such compromise, and to remain faithful, and not to engage in spiritual fornication like Israel had. There was immense governmental and societal pressure put upon the church to compromise their faithfulness to Christ. Their earthly lives would have been much easier if they had pledged their allegiance to the beast, who was Rome, if they had served the beast rather than Christ, if they would just participate in some small way in imperial cult worship. As long as they were willing to offer worship to the beast like everyone else, then they could carry on with their lives. As long as the Christians proclaimed Caesar was Lord, the church could participate in society.

Drunk with the blood of the saints

Furthermore, as a result of the woman’s sexual immorality, or her spiritual infidelity, she became "drunk with the blood of the saints,” and “the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” (Rev. 17:6) Again, biblically speaking, this was characteristic of Jerusalem. It was what Jesus had predicted at the end of Matthew chapter 23 when he told the Pharisees, “Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town.” (Mt 23:34) You see, before Nero started persecuting Christians in AD 64, the principal persecutor of the early church were the unbelieving Jews.

You see, the Christians were a constant thorn in their side, and a threat to their nation. During Jesus’ ministry, at one point, the Pharisees gathered the Jewish Council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” (Jn 11:47–48) Yet, despite murdering Christ, his disciples carried on his ministry, with signs and wonders accompanying them just as they had Jesus, confirming their testimony. Therefore, thousands within Jerusalem, and eventually thousands more across the Roman Empire followed the disciples and believed the Gospel.

You see, the signs and wonders that attended the ministry of the Apostles bore witness to Israel’s apostasy, the church was a constant reminder of their spiritual infidelity, and so they made every effort to exterminate the early church. Which is why Jerusalem is described here in Revelation 17, as a “woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.”

Conclusion

Now, as we close this morning I want to make one final point of application as it relates to Israel’s apostasy, as it relates to her unbelief. I’ve already pointed out the dangers associated with Israel’s spiritual fornication, the dangers of her allegiance to Rome rather than to Christ, that we must be diligent against similar temptations in our own day. That our allegiance would be to Christ above all else, and that our lives would reflect this very reality.

But we also must guard us against spiritual arrogance. We must not see God’s judgment of Israel and think more highly of ourselves than we ought to, lest we fall into the same trap. So, I want to leave you will Paul’s words from Romans chapter 11.

The context at this point in the letter is Israel’s unbelief, that some branches were broken off, and the result was the Gentiles being grafted in. The Apostle writes in chapter 11, starting in verse 17,

English Standard Version Chapter 11

17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

Prayer