Chapter 4: The Whore Of Babylon

Revelation chapters 17 and 18 present an interlude between the vial judgments and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, which is then followed by the War of Armageddon. In these chapters, John beholds a vision of a great whore seated upon a scarlet beast - commonly referred to as the Whore of Babylon. There has been much skepticism and confusion surrounding the true identity of this woman. Let us, therefore, turn to the Scriptures and identify her once and for all.

Revelation 17:1-6

1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

4 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:

5 And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.

6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

This verse identifies the woman (the whore riding the beast) as the great city. Jerusalem called the “great city”

Revelation 11:7-8

7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES PROVING JERUSALEM AS THE WHORE OF BABYLON WHORE OF BABYLON IN REVELATION 17&18

8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

The Lord was crucified in Jerusalem Matthew 16:21 - From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

Jeremiah 22:7-9

7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.

8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this great city?

9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.

And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Matthew 23:35-38

35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES PROVING JERUSALEM AS THE WHORE OF BABYLON

The Scriptures clearly reveal that the Great Whore of Revelation 17 and 18 is none other than Jerusalem - the city that rejected and crucified her Messiah. Revelation 17:18 identifies the woman as “that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth,” and Revelation 11:8 further defines this “great city” as the place “where also our Lord was crucified” - Jerusalem itself.

Jesus confirmed this when He cried out, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets,” declaring that upon that generation would come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth. That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth… - Matthew 23:35. Revelation 18:24 echoes this truth, stating that “in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.” No other city fits this description.

God’s chosen city, Jerusalem, became corrupted by forsaking His covenant, turning to idolatry, and persecuting His righteous servants (Jeremiah 22:7-9). Therefore, the Whore of Babylon is not Rome, nor any foreign empire, but corrupted Jerusalem - the city that became spiritually “Sodom and Egypt,” drunk with the blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus.

WHAT ARE THE SEVEN MOUNTAINS?

Revelation 17:9-10

9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

The verses above have caused many to stumble in their interpretation and division of the Word. Contrary to popular belief, the seven mountains upon which the woman sits are not the literal hills of Rome, nor do they represent the Catholic Church.

When John writes, “Here is the mind which hath wisdom,” he signals that what follows cannot be understood by natural reasoning alone. In other words, he is preparing us to discern symbolic language, emphasizing the need for spiritual wisdom to grasp what the Spirit is revealing. The term mountain here is used symbolically.

MOUNTAIN - A SYMBOL OF KINGDOMS, KINGS, NATIONS, CITIES, OR PLACES OF AUTHORITY AND WORSHIP

Verse 9 reveals that the seven heads are seven mountains - that is, seven kingdoms. However, each of these kingdoms has its own ruler. Verse 10 confirms this by stating that there are seven kings: five have fallen, one currently is, and one is yet to come. This makes it clear that these are not literal mountains, but kingdoms ruled by kings.

Jeremiah 51:24-25

24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the Lord.

25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

Zechariah 4:6-7

6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.

7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.

In both Scriptures above, Babylon - a nation - is referred to as a mountain, confirming that the word is used figuratively to represent a kingdom or seat of power.

In these passages, Jerusalem is called the mountain of the Lord, symbolizing the kingdom and seat of God’s rule.

Isaiah 2:2-3

2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Micah 4:1-2

4 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

REVELATION 19: FROM MARRIAGE SUPPER TO WAR