Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots is the great antagonist of the book of Revelation, but who is she? In our study, we will come to see that this harlot represents the same end-time power as the Little Horn of Daniel 7, the first beast of Revelation 13, and the man of sin mentioned by the Apostle Paul. Correctly identifying this harlot is imperative so that we do not ultimately receive her mark.
As always, when we want to understand what the symbols in scripture represent, we need to allow the Bible to interpret itself. To understand what the harlot represents we need to go to the book of Ezekiel. The imagery and narrative in Ezekiel parallel the final events of Revelation and provides for us a necessary backdrop to our study. Here we find the explanation of the harlot, the sealing process of the saints, and the final punishment of the wicked.
The first point we can note is that God referred to Israel as a harlot when she started to mix true religion with the abominations of the pagan nations around her.
Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms. Ezekiel 16:25
Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD: Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didst give unto them; Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness. And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy. Ezekiel 16:35-38
If we go back a few chapters to Ezekiel 8, we can discover exactly what sins they had committed that led to God pronouncing such a severe judgement upon them. Starting in verse 10, Ezekiel begins to describe the abominations he witnesses in the temple. Each subsequent abomination is said to have been greater than the one listed before it, with the final and greatest sin being the worship of the sun in the east.
And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD,
between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Ezekiel 8:16
It’s also worth noting here that these abominations that are described occurred within the temple. This sin was in the House of God, not isolated to a fraction of the community. It was the religious leaders who were responsible. The same is true of the harlot of today.
In Ezekiel 7:1-2, God told Ezekiel that because of these abominations He would bring destruction upon the whole land,
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD unto the land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land.
Yet in Ezekiel 9 we also see that there is a remnant group of faithful people who have not involved themselves in these abominations. These faithful ones were marked by God’s angel and spared from destruction. At this time of apostasy, there were two groups established, just as there will be just before Jesus returns. In the last days there will be those who receive the mark of the beast/harlot (Rev 13:16), and those who receive the seal of God (Rev 7:3).
In Ezekiel, God’s faithful people are identified by their sighing and crying for the abominations that are being committed.
And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.Ezekiel 9:4-6
Hopefully, this is sounding reminiscent of the events foretold in Revelation, where we have the exact same scenario. We have a harlot, and we have two groups of people; those who are faithful to God, and those who belong to the harlot system and are involved in the abominations of false religion. In Ezekiel 9, the work of destruction happens after God’s angel has gone through Jerusalem and marked all the faithful people in their forehead. This same process is also described in Revelation 7.
And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. Revelation 7:1-3
The book of Lamentations describes the judgements that came upon Israel for their apostasy. There was starvation, violence and pestilence that brought chaos and destruction. The parallel to this will be the outpouring of the plagues upon those who receive the mark of the beast.
Taking what we have just learnt from Ezekiel into consideration, how do we understand the harlot in Revelation? From what we have seen, God considers it harlotry when His people mix truth with error, specifically, when forms of paganism are brought into the church. While Israel were the chosen people of God, and represented His church in Old Testament times, the Christian church represents God’s chosen people today. This means that the harlot represents an apostate church that has mingled truth with error and incorporated pagan practices into her worship. In contrast, God’s true and faithful church are represented as the pure bride of Christ.
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:2
Paul foretold that the man of sin would be revealed when the church fell into apostasy.
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
We can now see how the harlot of Revelation relates to the man of sin; it is the same apostate church system. But there is also evidence that shows that this harlot fulfills the role of the first beast of Revelation 13 and the little horn of Daniel 7. These connections become clearer when we compare the defining features of these symbols.
In Revelation 13 the sea-beast speaks blasphemy against God (vs 5-6), continues for 42 months (vs 5), and persecutes the saints (vs 7). This is identical to the little horn of Daniel who also speaks blasphemy against God, reigns for a time, times and the dividing of time (3.5 years = 42 months), and persecutes the saints (Daniel 7:25). In Revelation 17, the harlot is full of blasphemy (vs 3) and drunk with the blood of the saints (vs 6).
In our article ‘Unmasking the Antichrist’ (click here), we went into detail on the Little Horn of Daniel 7 and found that it represents the Roman Catholic Papacy. This apostate church system fell shortly after Christianity was first legalised in Rome with the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. When Emperor Constantine ‘converted’ to Christianity and made this a legal religion within Rome, the fires of persecution against the church ceased and the world started to make its way into the church. Many pagans began to adopt Christianity; however, they never left their paganism behind. The result was a church that began to blend the truth of God’s word with the practices of pagan Rome. From what we studied in Ezekiel regarding the harlot, this is exactly what we would expect to see. This amalgamation of Christianity and Paganism is well summarised by John Henry Cardinal Newman in his book ‘An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine,’ p. 324,
“We are told in various ways by Eusebius, that Constantine, in order to recommend the new religion to the heathen, transferred into it the outward ornaments to which they had been accustomed in their own...The use of temples, and these dedicated to particular saints, and ornamented on occasions with branches of trees, incense, lamps, and candles; votive offerings on recovery from illness, holy water; asylums; holy days and seasons, use of calendars, processions, blessings on the fields; sacerdotal vestments; the tonsure, the ring in marriage, turning East, images at a later date, perhaps the ecclesiastical chant, and the Kyrie Eleisen, are all of pagan origin, and sanctified by their adoption into the church.”
Instead of worshipping and praying to multiple gods, they began praying to multiple saints; Jupiter became St. Peter. Instead of the transubstantiation of the cake and Haoma drink of Mithraism, they formulated the transubstantiation of the bread and wine of the Eucharist. The goddess worship of Hera, Artemis, Isis, Demeter or Venus, became the veneration and adoration of Mary. Elements of sun-worship can also be seen within Catholicism, such as in the shape and semblance of some of the artifacts used in their services.
Knowing that the destruction of Jerusalem in the Old Testament was a parallel of events at the end of the world, it is very interesting to note another reason that God was angry with Israel.
But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. Jeremiah 17:27
Observing Sunday is also a pagan practice. For the Romans, it was the ‘Venerable Day of the Sun’ and considered a holy day dedicated to the sun deity. In the beginning, God sanctified the seventh day (Genesis 2:2-3) which equates to our ‘Saturday’ today. God has always upheld the seventh day as the sign of His authority as our Creator (Exodus 20:8-11). It is also the sign (seal) that He is the one who sanctifies us. Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them. Ezekiel 20:12
The change of the sanctity of the seventh day (Saturday) to the first day (Sunday) fulfils the prophecy of Daniel 7:25 where it was predicted that the Little Horn would intend to change times and laws. They have turned toward the east and mingled sun worship with the true worship of God from within the temple of God, just as they did in Ezekiel’s day, perfectly fulfilling the role of the Great Harlot.
Despite all of this, there is a very special message God is trying to give to His people today. While the Catholic Religion is an apostatised form of Christianity, God recognises that He has many wonderful people within this system that He wishes to save.
And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. Revelation 18:2-4
God’s message to us today is to recognise the fall of Babylon and come out of her. For many, this will be a difficult message to bear, yet it is a necessary one. Yet this message also extends beyond Roman Catholicism. Babylon the Great is the ‘mother’ of harlots. If she is a mother, she must have daughters; and these daughters are also described as ‘harlots.’ To understand this, we need only look at the various forms of Protestantism today. Many cling to the same false doctrines of the Catholic church, especially in abandoning God’s law to follow pagan traditions.
Revelation tells us that this harlot is garbed in purple, scarlet, gold, and precious jewels,
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: Revelation 17:4
This is almost identical to the vesture of the priests of the Old Testament, except for one key difference; she is not wearing blue. The importance of this lies in understanding what blue symbolises in scripture.
Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: Numbers 15:38-39
As we can see, the blue represents God’s commandments/law. The Israelites were instructed to keep a fringe of blue on their garments to remind them of God’s requirements and keep them from becoming harlots with the pagan nations around them. The Catholic Church has attacked and changed God’s law, and, sadly, most protestant churches have followed her example. As a result, they have abandoned true worship and obedience to God and replaced it with the abominations of paganism.
Revelation 17 also goes on to reveal other important features of the harlot. She is said to commit fornication and rule over the kings of the earth (Rev 17:2, 18), and to form an alliance with the merchants of the earth. This is evident as we watch the Pope take a leading position in the issues of climate change and the implementation of Catholic social doctrine. To see how this is unfolding today please also read the article ‘The Merchants of the Earth’ (click here).
In the end, there will be only two classes; those who receive the seal of God and are identified by their obedience to the commandments of God (Revelation 12:17 and 14:12), and those who follow the pagan practices and traditions of the Great Harlot and receive her mark. Let’s be certain we are found to stand on God’s side, even if that means we must make the uncomfortable decision to ‘come out of her.’
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