Revelation 17-The Antichrist Destroys the World-Wide Babylonian Religion (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)

Doctrinal Bible Church

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Wednesday August 14, 2024

The Day of the Lord Series: Revelation 17-The Antichrist Destroys World-Wide Babylonian Religion

Lesson # 35

Revelation 17 records the destruction of religious Babylon, while on the other hand, Revelation 18 describes the destruction of political and commercial Babylon as it is embodied in the city of Babylon, the headquarters of Antichrist.

Revelation 17 describes Babylon in its mystery form, as a religious system or spirit of false worship whereas Revelation 18 describes Babylon as a political and commercial system embodied in a city, the city of Babylon of the future.

This system will have its tentacles in every part of the world where there is any kind of religion at all, apostate Christendom (the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, Protestant unbelieving churches), the Jewish religion, and the cults.

These will all come together in one great ecumenical movement, a super world religion, and the Antichrist will use this to extend his authority and power throughout Europe, parts of Africa and perhaps the Americas.

Ancient Babylon began with Nimrod and the Tower of Babel rebellion and was located in modern Iraq, about twenty miles south of Baghdad, near the modern city of Hilla, on the Euphrates River, south of where the Tigris and Euphrates approach.

Babel was the seat of Satan’s ancient counterfeit strategy to destroy and corrupt the knowledge of God as well as God’s plan of salvation as anticipated in Genesis 3:15.

It was accomplished by Nimrod’s political, commercial, and international system as demonstrated in the tower of Babel and by the mother-child cult instituted by Nimrod’s wife, Semiramis.

During the Babylonian captivity Jeremiah condemned Israel’s worship of Semiramis “Queen of Heaven” (Jeremiah 7:18-19; 44:15-30) and at Jerusalem, in the Temple, they were worshipping Tammuz, the son of Semiramis (Ezekiel 8:14-15).

This idolatrous worship spread around the globe where in Egypt Semiramis is called Isis and her son is Osiris, and in Assyria it was Ishtar and Bacchus and in ancient Greece it was Aphrodite and Eros.

The mother-child cult worship is a clever attempt on the part of Satan to anticipate the genuine virgin birth and thus to cast doubt upon the story when the Son of God would later become a human being in the town of Bethlehem.

The cult has also crept into Christianity and forms the basis for Mariolatry that has prevailed in the Roman Catholic Church, where the Mother and Child are worshipped as joint redeemers.

This idolatrous religion culminates at last in the Bible in the book of Revelation and is described as the “great harlot” whose name is “Mystery Babylon the Great,” the originator of all the harlotries and false religions of earth.

Revelation 17:1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. (NIV84)

Babylon’s description as “the great prostitute” refers to the spiritual prostitution and fornication that categorizes the false church of the Tribulation which is unfaithful and rejects the Lord Jesus Christ as her husband (2 Pet. 2:1-2).

The description of the great harlot “who sits on many waters” refers to the fact that the nations are religiously united and politically affiliated with each other through the power and control of this religious system and its head.

The prostitute exists today in many forms (Roman Catholicism, liberal Protestantism, the cults, etc.), but after the church is gone, or perhaps even before it is gone, they will unite and become one great ecumenical religious system.

Revelation 17:2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.” (NIV84)

The wine refers to the demonic doctrines, ideologies and concepts produced by this religious/political alliance between the kings of the earth and the apostate religious system.

Revelation 17:3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. (NIV84)

The “desert” is not only a literal desert that the Spirit carried John away to but also is symbolic of the “spiritual wilderness” the world will be during the Tribulation because of the rejection of the absolute truth contained in the Bible.

“The scarlet beast” refers to the blood thirsty character of Antichrist and the “blasphemous names” refers to His anti-Christ character.

Revelation 17:4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. (NIV84)

The “purple and scarlet” are colors of royalty and the wealthy and interestingly are the colors of the Roman Catholic Church and are symbolic of the apostate church’s political power and wealth and the harlot is “adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls” which refers to the apostate church’s immense wealth.

“Abominable things” refers to the various forms of idolatry involved in the worship of God through images, statues, and medals, etc. and “filth” refers not only to the nature of the doctrines taught, but what they lead to in life, namely, immorality and impurity.

Revelation 17:5 This title was written on her forehead: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. (NIV84)

“This title was written on her forehead” refers to the practice of prostitutes in ancient times where they wrote their names on their foreheads for easy recognition, which showed the shamelessness of their character and it revealed a seared conscience from continual rejection of God’s truth.

“Mystery” is not a part of the name but a description of the name, a secret in that initiation into the mysteries of the cult was always a part of Babylonianism and links this harlot with the ancient system.

The word “Mother” indicates the position the harlot will play in the final days where she will gather all the forms of false religions under her wings for the one great world-wide harlot system.

Revelation 17:6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. 7 Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come. (NIV84)

As we have noted in previous chapters, we must understand that the ancient Orientals regarded kings and kingdoms synonymously and so therefore, the “beast” in Revelation 17 will refer at times to the final stage of the Roman Empire and at times to the Antichrist with the context determining which one is view.

“The beast” in Revelation 17:8 does not refer to Antichrist but to the Revived Roman Empire since it is described as having “seven heads,” which refers to six Gentiles nations of the past and one to come in the future.

Revelation 17:9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. (NIV84)

“The seven heads are seven hills” refers to six successive Gentile nations in history and the one to come in the future: (1) Egypt (2) Assyria (3) Babylon (4) Medo-Persia (5) Greece (6) Rome (7) Revived Roman Empire of the Tribulation.

History teaches that the five kings who have fallen are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persian and Greece and the king that remained in John’s day was the Roman Empire and the other to come is the Revived Form of the Roman Empire, which John says will “remain a little while,” which refers to three and a half years.

Revelation 17:11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. (NIV84)

“The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king” refers to the fact that the final stage of the Roman Empire will take on the form of an imperial dictatorship and by this change actually become an eighth kingdom, a whole new and vicious form of government, the blasphemous form seen in Revelation 13.

Revelation 17:12 “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” 15 Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. 16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. (NIV84)

For centuries, the kings and the harlot have appeared as lovers, but in reality they used each other to further their own ends and now the religious system will have served its purpose, so the ten kings banish and completely destroy the harlot when her wealth, buildings, property will be confiscated, her leaders killed.

Revelation 17:17 For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God’s words are fulfilled. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” (NIV84)

The city is a mystery and not a literal city, which is indicated chapter 17 which distinguishes as it does between the city identified with the woman and the political power referred to as the beast and the ten horns and yet it is the great city, the mother city, the archetype of the evil Babylonian system that has been opposed to God throughout history.