Are You a Babylonian, Seduced by This World?

REVELATION 17:1-18

Main Idea: God allows wickedness to wreak havoc on the world, but He eventually defeats those who oppose Him in worldliness and rebellion.

1. This World Is Seductive: It Will Attract You (17:1-5).
2. This World Is Murderous: It Takes Innocent Life (17:6).
3. This World Is Resilient: It Keeps Coming Back (17:6-8).
4. This World Is Organized: It Has a Plan (17:9-10).
5. This World Is Powerful, but Its Time Is Short (17:11-13).
6. This World Is Foolish: It Opposes the Lord of Lords and King of Kings (17:14).
7. This World Is Self-Destructive: It Will Not Last (17:15-18).

Revelation has been called “a tale of two cities.” One is Babylon, which represents this evil world and opposes the things of the one true God. Its character and destiny are described in detail in chapters 17–18. The other city is the new Jerusalem. Its glory and goodness are described in Revelation 21–22. At this point in the book, we are again confronted with inescapable questions: Which God will you worship? Which city will you love and live for? We all must answer these questions. In a real sense this is where Revelation has been taking us all along. As John Piper well says,

That’s the goal of everything the [angels have] been revealing. That’s what the whole book of Revelation is about. That’s the point of all God’s judgments, all God’s dealings with the world. All God’s plans for history from beginning to end have this one goal—WORSHIP GOD! Don’t worship the wealth of Babylon, don’t worship the power of Babylon, don’t worship the pleasures of Babylon, and don’t even worship the holy messenger who brings you the news that Babylon has fallen forever. WORSHIP GOD! (“Worship God”)

Unfortunately humans are too easily allured and trapped by this world. We do not see it for what it really is and where it ultimately leads. What we need is to have it exposed. We need to have it uncovered and shown to be what it truly is. Babylon and all it represents will be destroyed. The new Jerusalem and all it represents will last forever. Why would any sane person choose Babylon over the new Jerusalem? This text answers that question.

This World Is Seductive: It Will Attract You

REVELATION 17:1-5

Revelation 17–18 is an extension of the bowl judgments of chapter 16. John is told by one of the angels “who had the seven bowls” to come so that he might see “the judgment of the notorious prostitute,” the great whore “who sits on many waters” (17:1). We are told in verse 15 the waters are the peoples of the world.

This harlot is said to lead the kings, the rulers of the world, into sexual immorality. The image is one of spiritual adultery and idolatry. Not only does she seduce the leaders of the world, but common people, “those who live on the earth,” are drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality (17:2). The lust for power, material possessions, sex, and pleasure has intoxicated the world. No one under the sun (see Ecclesiastes) has escaped her enticing allurements. The prostitute has captivated their hearts and taken over their lives. As 1 John 2:16 explains, “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s lifestyle” have become our gods. This is a description of a world where the American dream is ultimate. And we must be careful because it is not hard to imagine that you and I will wake up on that day and realize that we have all become Babylonians!

Once again John is carried away in the Spirit (1:10; 4:2; 17:3; 21:10) into a desert to see a vision (17:3). He sees the notorious prostitute “sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and 10 horns.” This is the beast, the antichrist, of chapter 13. The woman is beautifully and seductively dressed “in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls” (17:4). She is quite attractive, like any beautiful adulteress (Prov 5:2; 6:20-25; 7:16-27). Yes, she is beautiful and attractive, but she bites and brings death. She holds “a gold cup in her hand filled with everything vile and with the impurities of her prostitution” (17:4). Johnson says, “The golden cup filled with wine alludes to Jeremiah’s description of Babylon’s world-wide influence in idolatry (Jer. 51:7). Her cup is filled with ‘abominable things’” (Revelation, 1983, 155). The idols of heart and life are filled to the brim as she shares them with a senseless humanity that falls into a drunken stupor, no longer able to see real truth, beauty, and goodness found only in God and His salvation through the Lamb.

In verse 5 the identity of the harlot is revealed. Like the Roman prostitutes of the day, she has a headband, and here that headband is a mystery about to be revealed: “Babylon the Great, the mother of prostitutes and of the vile things of the earth.” This is not literal Babylon on the Euphrates, a city that had been of no real significance for centuries. Regarding a specific city, it is better to see it as referring to Rome in that day, but its significance is greater than just Rome. This prostitute is “that great system of godlessness that leads people away from the worship of God and to their own destruction” (Mounce, Revelation, 311). It is an ever-present reality, a seductress that exists and entices in every age and every generation. It is a this-world perspective. Seduced by the sirens and idols of the day, we run madly down a path of spiritual and eternal suicide. Proverbs 6:32-33 rings true for this mad, mad world:

The one who commits adultery lacks sense; whoever does so destroys himself. He will get a beating and dishonor, and his disgrace will never be removed.

The World Is Murderous: It Takes Innocent Life

REVELATION 17:6

Because Babylonianism is driven by self-interest, it is willing to sacrifice others to promote its own benefits and prosperity. We see this all across the globe with abortion, euthanasia, genocide, and infanticide. Life is increasingly discounted at both its beginning and its end, as well as for the economically, ethnically, and socially marginalized.

However, in verse 6 it is revealed that the notorious prostitute has set her sights throughout history on the people of God and the followers of Jesus. Indeed, this whore is “drunk on the blood of the saints and on the blood of the witnesses to Jesus” (18:24; see Isa 49:26). In the New Testament alone the seeds of martyrdom were planted by John the Baptist, Stephen, James, and Antipas. From those seeds has flowed the blood of saints for 20 centuries. And the more blood this world drinks, the more it wants. Its intoxicating effects consume it and drive it to want more and more and more. The twentieth century was the bloodiest in Christian history. We should expect the twenty-first to be worse. Mounce again is helpful: “Although the Neronian massacre after the great fire of AD 64 may have been in the back of John’s mind, the drunken prostitute pictures the final days of persecution at the end of the age” (Revelation, 312). As we move toward the end of history, we can expect the blood of martyrs to flow like a river, even a flood, among the nations. It may be your calling and my calling. Are we willing to embrace it? Philippians 1:21 is a wonderful reminder that it is worth it to die for Christ!

This World Is Resilient: It Keeps Coming Back

REVELATION 17:6-8

The vision of the notorious prostitute amazed John (17:6). The angel, however, said he would explain things to him concerning both the woman and the beast who carries her (17:7). Verse 8 is the beast’s parody on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and the description of the Lamb (1:18; 2:8; see also 1:4,8; 4:8). We see this in 13:3,14 as well. And yet there is embedded here an important truth that Christians of every age must understand. Throughout history multiple antichrists (1 John 2:18) have risen from the abyss in the form of the beast for their reign of terror. They have a time, they die, and then amazingly they appear again only to be destroyed. The pattern repeats itself again and again and will continue until the antichrist, the beast, brings the cycle to an end. The priorities and values of this world system make themselves felt and known in empires and men consumed with the idols of this world. The beast has been Egypt, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, the Ottomans, the Soviet Union, communist China, and now the Western world. It has been Anticochus Epiphanes, Nero, Domitain, Genghis Khan, Shaka Zulu, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Kim Il Sung, Saddam Hussein.

Granted, all kingdoms and personalities were not equally evil and wicked. All, however, loved the prostitute more than they love God. And lest we think we are off the hook, remember verse 2: “Those who live on the earth”—regular, ordinary people like you and me—have become drunk with the wine of her seduction. Generation after generation, we give life and power to the beast as we love the practices, values, and ways of this world. Indeed, John informs us that “those who live on the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast that was, and is not, and will be present again.” The beast and the things of this world sparkle in our eyes and grip our hearts. First John 2:17 sounds an important warning: “And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God’s will remains forever.” Babylonianism will not last. The American dream is headed for destruction.

This World Is Organized: It Has a Plan

REVELATION 17:9-10

There is a divine rhyme and reason to the ebb and flow of history, because history is His story, the story of Messiah. The drama of redemption and restoration is unfolding according to God’s sovereign plan. John tells us we need wisdom to unravel the mystery of “Babylon the Great, the mother of prostitutes [i.e., a whore who gives birth to more whores] and of the vile things of the earth” (17:5).

There is no unanimity among Bible interpreters on verses 9-12. Godly men and women understand the details differently. The fact that we need wisdom is an understatement! Now, most agree that the phrase “the seven heads are seven mountains” is a reference to Rome in the first-century context. The city was known as “the city on seven hills.” Seven would also communicate great power and authority, something that is true of every coming of the beast. Verse 10 adds another interpretive challenge: The seven heads “are also seven kings: Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes, he must remain for a little while.” Efforts to identify these seven kings with seven Roman emperors have not worked. Viewing them as seven secular empires similar to Daniel 2 and 7 is more promising in my judgment, though I hold my view with great tentativeness. In Israel’s history five kings or kingdoms had fallen and passed off the scene: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. The one who “is” would obviously be Rome. And the one that “has not yet come” is the future kingdom of the antichrist. His kingdom will draw from the characteristics of the previous six. Once again the number seven would communicate completeness or perfection in power. The manifestation of this kingdom “will remain only a little while.” Yes, the beast as a man and kingdom will embody the brutality, greatness, splendor, strength, and wickedness of these great empires. But like all other worldly empires, it will have its day and come to an end. Brilliantly organized and with a plan for world domination, it will be impressive for a time, a very brief time, as it stands in pale comparison to the eternal and everlasting kingdom of God. The world has a plan, but God’s plan will endure forever.

This World Is Powerful, but Its Time Is Short

REVELATION 17:11-13

Verses 11 and 12 extend the explanation of verses 9-10. The beast is said to belong to the seven kings, particularly the seventh in my view, but he is also an eighth king himself. But as we were also told in verse 8, the beast goes to destruction. Again, his kingdom will not last. It cannot deliver on its false promises. Perhaps it is at the midpoint of the tribulation, following its apparent death and resurrection, that the beast achieves its lust for worldwide conquest and domination. MacArthur says, “The Antichrist’s kingdom is said to be both the seventh and eighth kingdoms because of his supposed demise and resurrection. He is the seventh before and the eighth king after his ‘resurrection’” (Study Bible, 2016). However, what all interpreters of Revelation can agree on is this: This king and his kingdom are going down. They will be destroyed. The beast will be beaten.

Verse 12 adds an additional detail and explanation: the 10 horns (17:3,7) are 10 future kings yet to receive their royal authority. However, when they do, we are again informed it will be for a short duration, described as “with the beast for one hour.” These 10 kings, whoever they are, will serve alongside the beast. Verse 13 informs us they will actually “have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.” Later they will have one purpose in carrying out the will of God in the destruction of the prostitute.

Isaiah 40:8 reminds us, “The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.” This world system, Babylonianism, will come again and again to seduce, attack, and destroy the people of God. It is influential and powerful. It is intimidating and prosperous. It is enticing and persuasive. It gives every appearance of the promise of victory, of the winning team: Get on board or get crushed. Join the team or be called a fool. Worship the beast and whore with the prostitute, or live a wasted life.

However, the Bible makes clear that “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you die” is a satanic lie! Tomorrow, we will stand before the King of kings and Lord of lords and give an account for the life He gave each one of us—the life many will waste. The world lasts only a little while (17:10), for one hour (17:12), and it is headed for destruction (17:8,11). This is not the winning team. It is headed for devastating defeat.

This World Is Foolish: It Opposes the Lord of Lords and King of Kings

REVELATION 17:14

This world chooses the wrong opponent. It takes on the wrong adversary. Verse 14 is an interjection that anticipates the second coming of Jesus described in 19:11-21 (see esp. 19:16). It is also a simple summary of Armageddon (16:16) and the final battle. The beast and his kingdom, in a spiritual suicide mission, attack the warrior Lamb, the Lamb who is also a Lion (Revelation 5). It is no contest! The Lamb will conquer them, for “He is Lord of lords and King of kings.” The title is well known, pointing back to Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalm 136:2-3; Daniel 2:47. It is a title reserved only for God. In 1 Enoch 9:4 our God is called “Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, and God of the ages.” There is no God like our god, and this world has played the fool in opposing Him and His kingdom.

We are told He brings with Him those who “are called, chosen, and faithful.” This is the army of 19:14. This description highlights the biblical balance of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Called and chosen is God’s part; faithful is our part. Thankfully, even our faith and faithfulness are kept by the power of God (Jude 24-25). Interestingly, we are not designated a role or assignment. I suspect it is because we are only spectators in the final conflict. Our Lord and King won the battle without our help in His first coming; I believe it will be the same at His second!

The World Is Self-Destructive: It Will Not Last

REVELATION 17:15-18

The transitory nature of this world system, Babylon, has been alluded to several times in chapter 17. Now the truth is driven home in graphic finality. When a man is finished with a prostitute, he does not marry her or take her home to his mother. What we see in the movie Pretty Woman (1990) is a dishonest myth. Men do not go to prostitutes to love them but to use them. In Revelation the prostitute has had a massive influence that covers the earth, as verse 15 makes clear. But suddenly it is over. She is finished. An abrupt turnabout will be made by the “10 horns” (17:16) who are the 10 kings. The language recalls the words of Ezekiel 23:11-35.

They will awaken from their drunken stupor with the woman, whose charm and seduction will have lost its lure. They have a new love in the antichrist. Love for the woman will turn to “hate” from the 10 kings and the beast (17:16). They will strip her of all the wealth she has confiscated throughout the world. They will make her “desolate and naked” (17:16). The beast and his kings will turn on her. Evil will attack evil once more but with the greatest ferocity the world will ever see. They tear away her personal support, position, power, and prestige, and expose her moral corruption. They will “devour her flesh” (17:16) like dogs devoured the corpse of Jezebel (see 1 Kgs 21:23; 2 Kgs 9:30-37). They will “burn her up with fire.” In a moment she is old news never to be seen again. Her demise will be greatly lamented by those who have loved and whored with her, as chapter 18 plainly teaches.

This hostile action, her destruction, will be initiated by God: “For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His plan” (17:17)—that is, to rid the world of “the world.” The kings believe they are carrying out their own program for conquest, but actually they will accomplish God’s providential program. Having destroyed the woman, the antichrist will unite the world’s religious, economic, and political systems under his control. The 10 kings will agree to “give their kingdom to the beast until God’s words are accomplished” (17:17). God’s prophetic program will reach its intended goal as He sovereignly allows the kingdoms of this world to come under the beast’s control until the end of the tribulation. The angel concludes his revelation by identifying the woman simply as “the great city that has an empire over the kings of the earth” (17:18). For obvious reasons, the early church believed the verse was speaking of Rome.

A great anti-God system will continue, both as power (economic and political) and cult (religion), united in one figure, the antichrist. The woman is the “great city,” Babylon in its religious, political, economic, and social significance. It refers to a diabolical worldly system. Babylon cannot be confined to a city in the past or future, such as Rome or Babylon, Washington or London, Moscow or Beijing. It is a trans-historical system of satanic evil, an extension of ancient Babylon, forming an evil world system throughout history and during the tribulation. After the destruction of the woman, all its power will reside in the antichrist, who will manifest all of its satanic evils in its fullness. Evil devours evil because God puts it in their heart. It is inevitable.

Conclusion

My friend C. J. Mahaney has well said, “Today, the greatest challenge facing [evangelical, Bible-believing] American [Christians] is not persecution from the world, but seduction by the world” (“Is This Verse,” 22). The Christian apologist C. S. Lewis would add,

We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who goes on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are too easily pleased. (Weight of Glory, 25–26)

Babylon offers mud pies in the slum. The new Jerusalem ruled by the King of kings and the Lord of lords offers a glorious holiday at a crystal sea that will last forever. Do not be too easily pleased. Do not be seduced by a world that can never deliver what is truly lasting and ultimately satisfying.

Reflect and Discuss

1. Compare and contrast the image of Babylon as described in this chapter with the new Jerusalem as described in Revelation 21.
2. How does this description of Babylon resemble the American dream?
3. When examining your own heart, what are some of the things of this world that tend to distract you from God and His good plan for you?
4. How do the many antichrists relate to the antichrist of Revelation? What antichrists can you observe in the world today?
5. The kingdom of the beast cannot last. It fails to deliver on its promises of domination and victory. How have you seen the empty promises of sin and rebellion lead to ruin?
6. Compare REVELATION 17:14 with Psalm 2. What parallels do you see?
7. How does REVELATION 17:14 show the balance between God’s sovereignty and our responsibility? What other passages would you point to that illustrate this balance?
8. What does the beast’s turn against the prostitute tell you about Satan’s character? About his end goal?
9. What does it mean that we are too easily pleased by the things of this world? What kind of pleasure should we strive for?
10. How can Christians pursue faithfulness to Christ when so much of our society seems caught up in “Babylonianism”? How can we protect against the prostitute’s seduction?