Principles of Interpretation: There are patterns to Revelation which should be considered when trying to understand it. One pattern is that each new section is introduced by a scene from the temple. There is significance to these introductions. Do not ignore them. They are a key to understanding the section. Another pattern is that the book is written in symbolic language. The King James Version translates verse 1 as “he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:” To signify is to show in signs, i.e., symbols. Those symbols are based in the rest of the Bible, both Old and New Testament. As such, look to the rest of the Bible to interpret Revelation rather than using Revelation to interpret the rest of the Bible. This also means that you need to let the Bible interpret itself rather than attempting to have it fit into today’s headlines. In short, do not treat Revelation as separate from the rest of the Bible. Instead, expect that the events described in Revelation have been presented in other parts of the Bible. A third pattern in Revelation is the idea of judgement. There are courtroom scenes and wrath and complaints about God not bringing justice. In fact, humans are not the only ones under judgment. God Himself is on trial, and the repeated verdict is that God is just, holy, and worthy. From the beginning claim that this is the Revelation of Jesus to the promise in the last chapter that we shall see God’s face, Revelation is an examination of who our Creator is and whether He is worthy of our loyalty.

Disclaimer: There are four basic methodologies used to interpret the book of Revelation in modern society: futurism, historicism, idealism, and preterism. Many modern churches have embraced the idea of the secret rapture, which is a form of futurism. On the other hand, some churches say that Revelation deals solely with events that were happening in the apostolic era. This is called preterism. Other churches teach that Revelation does not describe any specific time period. Instead, the symbols are philosophical and/or spiritual ideas. The series of studies that I am posting is based on historicism, which says that the Bible teaches that Revelation begins with the time of John and describes the interactions of the church with a hostile world throughout history culminating in the final future eradication of sin from the universe. This view denies a secret rapture. I do not want you to be in confusion about the basic premises of this series of lessons. If you disagree with the historicist viewpoint, please study for yourself to be certain that the interpretations that you have been told by others and simply accepted make sense with the whole Bible. As you study, first ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit; then study the verses, and let the Bible interpret itself. Even if you disagree with my comments, you may find the verses and background information that I provide useful. Finally, I want to emphasize that I myself am still studying Revelation and my understanding is deepening each time I open the book and read. Revelation is a distillation of the whole Bible; as such, the limited space of this blog and my limited understanding means that these lessons are not nearly as in-depth as they could (and maybe should) be.

References: See the end of this post for sources and references.

INTRODUCTION:  The first part of Revelation 17 describes the situation when the enemies of God are at the top of their game.  The second part describes how they fall.  Keep in mind that at the time John wrote the book of Revelation all of this was in the future, but for us, part of this is in the past, part of this is in the present, and part of this is in the future.  The past and present are easy, but the future is something that we can only see as a general framework.  In my opinion, we should not try to be too specific about the future because if history has taught us nothing else, it is that we humans are terrible at predicting how God will act.

Part 1—The Prostitute at the Height of Her Power

Revelation 17:1-2

(1)  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.”

• One of the angels with plague bowls enlightens John about the wrath that John has observed. The plagues are horrendous, so an angel comes to show John why these terrible events are necessary.  Revelation 17:1-11 gives the reasons for the fall of Babylon. 
• Remember, that a woman represents God’s people in the Bible, and a prostitute or whore represents God’s people who are unfaithful.
• Judgment:  “The word for judgment here is krima in the Greek. It means “a decision,” or the process of going to law or the function of the law. It infers making a decision based on evidence rather than the actual execution of justice” (Unlocking Revelation).  In other words, this is not an explanation of the punishment.  This is a presentation of the evidence that will convict the woman.
• Seated on many waters
  • Revelation 17:15  And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. Being seated on many waters means that this is the universal church, rather than a remnant of the church. Waters are groups of people, and this is many groups of people who are being controlled by this woman.
  • This water was previously identified with the drying up of the River Euphrates.  In Plain Revelation, Ranko Stefanovic makes the point that this end-time picture is different from the Middle Ages.  “at the time of the end, these two entities are distinct—something that was not the case in the past.  Throughout history, and through the Middle Ages, political powers and the established religious authority went hand in hand.  Nations were governed by religiopolitical powers.  Revelation 13:1-10 portrays the medieval church, led by the papacy as a religiopolitical power, dominating the Western world during the prophetic 1,260-day period.  However, at the time of the end, the two entities will be distinct, yet they will work together for a common purpose.”  Thus, the prostitute and her daughters will be working through the established governments to get their way rather than simply ordering them to do what they want as the papacy did in the Middle Ages.  This will allow the political powers to easily withdraw their support later whereas that was only achieved with great difficulty and over a long period of time in the Middle Ages.
• Great prostitute
  • Hosea 6:6-7  (6)  For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.  (7)  But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me.
    • According to Hosea, God wants the steadfast faithful love of His people.
    • Why does God compare idol worship with infidelity in marriage?  God had a covenant with mankind.  Here He says that Adam broke covenant.  God had a covenant with Israel.  Here He says that Israel broke covenant.  Marriage and God’s relationship to humans are both covenants of love.  Thus, to break a covenant is to be unfaithful.
  • Hosea 5:3-4  (3)  I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore; Israel is defiled.  (4)  Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not the LORD.
    • God says that Israel could not return to Him because of their actions.  They have become transformed so that it is in their nature to betray and despise love.  They do not know the Lord.
    • What does this tell us about someone that Revelation calls the Great Prostitute?  There is no redemption possible.  The very nature of the so-called church is the opposite of love.  That church has no knowledge of God even though it claims Him as the object of its worship.
• Sexual immorality is the wine that makes dwellers of earth drunk
  • Luke 5:36-39 (36)  He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.  (37)  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.  (38)  But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.  (39)  And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”
    • What is the wine in this parable?  Jesus’ teachings and doctrines
    • What does this tell us about the prostitute’s wine that makes the people of the world drunk?
      • The wine is false doctrine rather than Jesus’ teachings.
      • Why does God speak of making the people of earth drunk?  Drunk people do not think clearly.  They make bad decisions, e.g., Noah in his tent or Lot and his daughters.  Contrast this with the Nazarite vow where the one who had set himself apart for God was not to drink wine.
• Kings commit sexual immorality with her
  • In the Old Testament, sexual immorality was leaving the worship of God to worship pagan idols, but this prostitute is said to be cheating on God with Kings.  What does this mean?  She worships political power rather than God.
  • Ezekiel 23:28-30  (28)  “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust, (29)  and they shall deal with you in hatred and take away all the fruit of your labor and leave you naked and bare, and the nakedness of your whoring shall be uncovered. Your lewdness and your whoring (30)  have brought this upon you, because you played the whore with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.
• Thus, the false teachings of the universal church that has chosen political power over loving God make the people of the earth stupidly drunk and unable to think clearly.

Revelation 17:3

(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.

• Woman riding a scarlet beast
  • A beast in prophecy is a political power.  Thus, this is a picture of powerful political powers aligned with a false church that has no love for God.  In reality, only one power is being described, but God is emphasizing that this system has two kinds of power:  religious and secular.
  • Jesus made a clear distinction about loyalty to the state versus loyalty to God in Matthew 22:21  (21)  They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
  • “Historically speaking, the union of the church with the state breeds intolerance, persecution and undermines the very spirit of true worship” (Unlocking Revelation).
  • A true relationship with God is not found in trying to establish a false theocracy on earth.  That has only ever resulted in forced worship and blasphemy. What is the Spirit of true worship?  It is found in John 4:23-24.  (23)  But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.  (24)  God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
• Blasphemous names
  • “In the Bible, blasphemy is identified as claiming the right to do that which is the prerogative of God alone” (Unlocking Revelation).
  • Names denote character, i.e., who you are.  Thus, this beast was claiming power and titles that can only belong to God.

(We will wait to talk about the beast until we get to verses 7 and 8.)

Revelation 17:4-5

(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.”

• Purple and scarlet—Purple was the color of royalty in ancient times.  Scarlet matches the color of the beast that she is riding.  It is also the color of blood.  Between the clothes and jewels and gold, this woman is dressed for seduction.
• Gold/jewels/pearls— This fallen church has become wealthy because of fornicating with governments and drunk from killing God’s people.  Her beautiful apparel comes from cruelty and evil.
• Golden cup—There is another aspect to the woman’s apparel, ornaments, and golden cup.  This is a parody of the high priest’s dress and accessories when he served in the temple.  She is pretending to hold Jesus’ place as our High Priest.
  • Exodus 28:4-6 (The colors match the high priest’s uniform.)  (4)  These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests.  (5)  They shall receive gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen.  (6)  “And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked.
• • Exodus 28:36-38  (The name on her forehead parodies the high priest’s mitre.) (36)  “You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the LORD.’  (37)  And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. (38)  It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.
  • Exodus 30:9  (The cup copies the drink offering that the priest presented to God.)  (9)  You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it.
• The Contents of the Cup—Abominations / impurities of sexual immorality.  These contents contrast with the drink offering that represented Jesus’ blood that He shed for us. The Prostitute offers a mixture of lies and idolatry rather than the purity of the gospel.
• The mysterious name on her forehead is Babylon the great—“In Revelation, Babylon stands for ‘a short-lived coalition of dragon, beast, and false prophet.  Each has its own history but, at the end-time, they join together in deception and coercion.’” (Plain Revelation)
• Mother of Prostitutes and abominations
  • Identifying her as the mother indicates that she has existed long before most modern churches.
  • If she is a mother, she has daughters.  The daughter prostitutes are Protestant churches who have chosen worldly political power over God’s power. They are following in their mother’s footsteps of combining church and state into an unholy mixture of forced worship.

Revelation 17:6

(6)  And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I marveled greatly.

• The woman was drunk with the blood of saints and martyrs—The false church has made the world drunk, but she has also made herself drunk.  She is drunk with bloodlust.  She thinks that she can get anything she wants by killing her opponents.  What she does not understand is that her decisions are flawed because of her love for killing.

Revelation 17:7-8

(7)  But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her.  (8)  The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.

• The beast was/is not/is about to rise—This beast is a twisted counterfeit Christ.
  • Revelation 1:4  (4)  John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,
  • Revelation 4:8  (8)  And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
  • “The idea of the past, present, and future reign of the beast in this phrase is stated a total of four times in verses 8-11. Notice the three other occurrences:
    • 1) “The beast that was, and is not, and shall be present” or “is to come” (Revelation 17:8, NKJV, margin, or RSV).
    • 2) “Five are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh he must continue a short space” (Revelation 17:10).
    • 3) “The beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth” (Revelation 17:11).
    • This description of the Revelation 17 beast, that it “was, is not, and is to come,” is similar to that of Revelation 13. There we see a kingdom that had great authority, was wounded to death, losing its authority, but will regain great authority when the wound is healed (see Revelation 13:3).” (Unlocking Revelation).

(When we get to verse ten, we will find out more about this beast.) 

• Bottomless Pit
  • Revelation 20:1-3 (1)  Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.  (2)  And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, (3)  and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.
  •  In Revelation 20, the bottomless pit is a place to imprison Satan for a while.  Satan has no power over anyone when he is in the pit.  It is not death since he will be released from it.  If we apply this knowledge to Revelation 17, we can say that the beast had no power for a while, but he is going to emerge from that state to be able to exercise his power again.
• Go to destruction—This is good news.  Even though the beast has power, it is only for a short time, and then there will be no more power to persecute God’s people.
• Mark of the beast people marvel at the beast
  • Revelation 13:3, 8  (3)  One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.  (8)  and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

Revelation 17:9-11

(9)  This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; (10)  they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while.  (11)  As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction.

• Seven heads—I have found two possible interpretations for the seven heads.  At this time, I am not sure which interpretation is the correct one.
• The seven heads are seven mountains / The woman was seated on seven mountains
  • Interpretation 1:  “In the last verse of chapter 17, the woman is said to be “that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth” (Revelation 17:18). What church, sitting on seven hills, has political influence over the rulers of the earth? There is only one. It is the Vatican, which is headquartered in Rome, known historically as the city on seven hills”  (Unlocking Revelation).
  • Interpretation 2:  The mountains cannot mean literal mountains because the angel immediately explains the meaning as seven kings.  Thus, there is no reason to try to apply the seven hills to Rome.  “Mountains often represent world powers or empires (Jer. 51:25; Dan. 2:35).  Thus, the seven mountains, which the prostitute Babylon sits upon, stand for seven successive empires that have dominated the world throughout history and through which Satan has worked to oppose God.  These empires have shared the common traits of religiopolitical governance and coercion, which were used to persecute and destroy God’s people.”
• The seven heads are seven kings
  • Five have fallen/one is/ one is to come—This parallels the “was, is, is to come” that we have seen before.
    • 5 = was
    • 1 = is
    • 1 = is to come
  • Two Interpretations:  Both of these interpretations agree that these are past empires, but the lists are slightly different.  I prefer the first list.
    • Five of the seven kings are fallen, representing previous kingdoms (see Daniel 7:17, 23). But there are many past kingdoms.  How can we identify which ones these five represent? A clear explanation of who they are is found in Revelation 13, our parallel chapter. Here John is also shown a beast “having seven heads and ten horns” (Revelation 13:1). He is told that the beast was like “a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power and his seat, and great authority” (Revelation 13:2). According to the Bible these animals represent four kingdoms:
      • Lion = Babylon (see Daniel 2:38; 7:4; 17).
      • Bear = Media-Persia (see Daniel 2:39; 7:5, 17; 8:20).
      • Leopard = Grecia (see Daniel 2:39; 7:6, 17; 8:21).
      • Dragon = Pagan Rome (see Daniel 2:40; 7:7; Revelation 12:4;  (Unlocking Revelation)
      • The medieval church of Rome—1798 finished this kingdom
    • List 2—I do not think this list makes sense, but I include it to remember that not everyone is in agreement at this time.
      • “Egypt was the world power that enslaved and oppressed Israel, seeking to destroy it.
      • Assyria destroyed and scattered the ten tribes of Israel.
      • Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and took Judah into exile.
      • Persia almost annihilated the Jews at the time of Esther.
      • Greece oppressed and tried to destroy the Jews through Antiochus IV Epiphanes.”  (Plain Revelation)
      • The sixth and seventh heads are the papacy which was and was not
      • The eighth head is the revival of the seventh head
• Is not—We are shown a prostitute riding a beast, but in 1798, the prostitute lost her political power/beast power.  Thus, we are living in the time when the beast “is not.”
• The one to come is only for a short time
  • Revelation 12:12  (12)  Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
  • “The seventh head represents the papal power in its revived or ‘healed’ state, having the complete support of the United States and the world (see Revelation 13:3, 7; 17:12-13, 17)” (Unlocking Revelation).  Remember this is not just the papacy.  This is apostate Protestantism and the U.S. government forcing the world to worship according to the Prostitute’s principles.
• Beast—There is an eighth head which belongs to all seven heads—The significance of this symbol is that each of the seven heads had their own unique characteristics that were different from the others, but the beast that the woman rides at the end of time will have characteristics of all of these political powers.
• The eighth head/beast goes to destruction—Again the point is made that this power will have an end.

PART 2:  The Fall of the Prostitute

INTRODUCTION:  The next verses give more of an explanation for the sixth and seventh plagues—the drying up of the river Euphrates.  In other words, they tell about how the political powers withdraw their support from the apostate church that has been controlling them like a rider controls a horse.  The beast is going to buck its rider off.

Revelation 17:12-13

(12)  And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.  (13)  These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast.

• The ten horns are ten kings who have not yet received power
  • “They are a kingdom, singular, a unity of one universal power (see Matthew 24:9).
  • They have no kingdom, singular, as yet. They have not yet established the kingdom of which they all will have a part.
  • They give their kingdom unto the beast. They look to the beast and support it (see Revelation 13:7).
  • They rule for one hour, a short time, with the beast.
  • They have one mind or purpose. They are all in agreement in establishing this universal kingdom.” (Unlocking Revelation)
• Here, in symbolic language, Bible prophecy unfolds an attempt by the powers of the earth in unison with the United States and papal Rome to establish a universal power, a one world order. In doing this, they “make war with the Lamb” (Revelation 17:14). This is “the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (Revelation 16:14). The “kings of the earth” and the “whole world” have been gathered together by this church-state power to oppose the authority of God as revealed in His Word. They have established a kingdom and have given it “unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled” (Revelation 17:17)” (Unlocking Revelation).
• The ten kings have power for 1 hour—This is reassurance that this time of trouble will only be for a short time.
  • Matthew 24:21-22  (21)  For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.  (22)  And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
• The ten kings give power and authority to the beast—There will be a time when there is one world government in some form.  The countries will still be separate, but they will be united for a short time everywhere around the world.

Revelation 17:14

(14)  They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

• The ten kings and the beast make war with Jesus.  Of course, Jesus is out of reach of earthly powers, but He made it clear to Paul on the road to Damascus that when you persecute His people, He takes it personally.
  • How do they make war with the Lamb?  Acts 9:4-5 (4)  And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”(5)  And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
  • This war is described in Matthew 24:9-14 (9)  “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.  (10)  And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.  (11)  And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.  (12)  And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.  (13)  But the one who endures to the end will be saved.  (14)  And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
• Jesus is the Lamb, and the Lamb wins—The Battle of Armageddon describes how Jesus will step in to rescue His people, but I want to point out that the war is actually won before that.  Matthew 24 tells us that the gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed to the world.  This is the 3 angels’ message.  By proclaiming the gospel, God’s people win.  However, the war actually continues after this because it is not completely finished until the lake of fire.
• Jesus is the Lord of lords and King of kings!

Revelation 17:15-16

(15)  And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.  (16)  And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire,

• Remember, water represents people groups. This passage describes the population of the world
• The ten horns and the beast come to hate the prostitute—Why?  Because she is weaker than Jesus.  Political powers always gravitate towards the strong and stomp on the weak.  When they see that the prostitute cannot give them what they want, they will turn on her, i.e. the political powers will turn on the church during the seven last plagues.
• The prostitute becomes desolate and naked.  There are no scarlet robes to mimic Jesus as our High Priest anymore.  The nations have sobered up.  There are no drunken people and powers to manipulate.  The prostitute no longer has allies and minions and credibility as the representative of God.  She has lost it all.
• The ten horns and the beast devour the prostitute’s flesh—There are several places in the Old Testament where this graphic picture is used to denote the lack of mercy that an enemy has for his victim.
• The ten horns and the beast burn her with fire—The significance of this was that this was the Levitical punishment for a high priest’s daughter who was involved in prostitution.  A regular prostitute was not punished with fire.  Thus, this punishment emphasizes that the prostitute is claiming priestly authority.
  • Leviticus 21:9  (9)  And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.
  • This warning is pointing to the fact that the church that should have been holy had become a prostitute and was being punished by her former lovers.

Revelation 17:17-18

(17)  for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.  (18)  And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”

• The ten horns/kings united in giving power to beast
• There will be an end to that union
• The woman is also referred to as a great city who has dominion over secular governments.  Again, this is a reference to the unholy alliance of church and state. This alliance will continue for a time, but God will put an end to the power of Babylon.

CONCLUSION:  There are two cities contrasted in the book of Revelation: Babylon and Jerusalem.  The prostitute rules Babylon, but she has no real power.  She is manipulating governments and people for power. She is making people drunk with lies in order to establish her authority as their leader.  Jesus rules Jerusalem.  He leads only with love.  His people follow Him wherever He goes because they know that He is worthy to lead.  They know Him and love Him.  He knows them and loves them.  One city is about fear, greed, violence, and lies.  One city is about peace, unselfish giving, faith, and love.  When we see Babylon rising, we must always remember that Jerusalem is our real home, and the truth will triumph over lies and delusion.  In the end, the Lamb wins, and we win with Him.

References:

• Andrews Study Bible–In some lessons, I refer to study comments from this Bible.
• God Cares: The Message of Revelation for You and Your Family-A book by C. Mervyn Maxwell that examines how the prophecies of Revelation relate to an individual’s life.
• Plain Revelation–A book by Ranko Stefanovic that summarizes the meaning of various sections of Revelation
• Revelation of Jesus Christ–A book by Ranko Stefonovic that comments on each verse of Revelation.
• Salvation in Signs and Symbols–a series of shows where two pastors and two others study through the books of Revelation and Daniel. These programs can be accessed at 3abnplus.tv . Scroll down to 3ABN Dare to Dream Network and choose Salvation in Signs and Symbols from the list there.
• Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Commentary (Volume 7) (Copywrite 1957)–This is the old green set of commentaries, not the new commentary series that is in the process of being published and should be released after 2022. (Boy, I would love to get my hands on that set when it comes out!)
• Table Talk–A series of shows where four pastors discuss various topics. These programs can be accessed at tabletalk.online . Season 4 focuses on Revelation.
• Unlocking Revelation–A series of pamphlets that can be downloaded for free from lightbearers.org and clicking on Resources