“The Harlot and the Beast” (Revelation 17)

What this episode covers

The Harlot and the Beast The Harlot and the Beast Brad Mills / General Revelation The best classic novels represent excellent writing and story telling, but those with the greatest impact typically illustrate some moral purpose. One of my favorite novels portraying the devastating consequences of immorality is Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. The story follows the lives of two main characters. Anna, a disenchanted housewife, has an extra-marital affair with another member of the upper-class. Konstantin Levin, a down-to-earth landowner, struggles with his own doubts of faith, but remains content with simple living. Their decisions shape the quality of the rest of their lives. Like other popular Russian novelists Tolstoy has a way with dragging out the details well beyond what is necessary. The forty page section describing Levin harvesting his field, was not easy reading. The last 100 pages make the first 800 worth your time. Thankfully, John’s vision in Revelation 17 takes a very different approach to illustrating immorality. In a few brief chapters Scripture reveals the empty promises of sin and the consequences of following the corrupt course of this world. The vision portrays the fruit of worldly living and Satan’s deceptive strategies. The focus of chapters 17 & 18 is the judgment of the great prostitute, Babylon. It precedes a series of judgments that fall upon the dragon, beast, and false prophet. Although the prostitute is not technically part of that “unholy trinity,” she is used by Satan to promote his evil intentions. Babylon is the counterfeit church promoting counterfeit worship. Read Revelation 17. The Seduction of the World (1-6) One of the seven angels from the previous chapter reveals further judgment. The great prostitute is sitting beside many waters (1). Those waters are defined as “peoples and multitudes and nations and languages” (15). This woman’s corruption has worldwide influence. However, it is ironic that she is found in the wilderness where her luxury is worthless. Who needs jewelry when you are starving? Ignoring the obvious, the kings of the earth are seduced into committing adultery with her (2). Babylon is the epitome of seduction. Inhabitants of earth become intoxicated with her wine. She traps people in a cycle of evil that prevents them from turning to God. As they grow more accustomed to their sinful lifestyle, they become less satisfied by it. It is called the law of diminishing returns. Each bite of your favorite candy bar becomes less satisfying than the previous one. And yet we still have a hard time stopping until we are sick from over indulgence. That is the empty promise of sin’s seduction. The woman is arrayed in the royal colors of purple and scarlet (4). She is adorned in luxurious gold, gemstones, and pearls. This is the same language that describes priestly attire. She literally offers the worship of sinful inclinations. Like the sirens in Homer’s Odyssey, the woman charms people to destroy themselves. She holds a golden cup filled with adulteries that she pours into the mouths of her addicted lovers. Like Roman harlots, her name is written on her forehead: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations” (5). This is her identity as a servant of the beast. She herself is drunk with blood of Christian martyrs (6). Rome, like Ancient Babylon, had already claimed the lives of a few saints, and many more followed. The harlot represents various spheres of immoral society working together to promote the beast’s evil state power. Immorality and tyranny make a great team. America’s founding father were right to suggest that a morally corrupt nation would lose her freedom (Phillips). No government, republic or otherwise, is capable of withstanding rampant immorality. Babylon offers prosperity mixed with all manner of immorality. She specifically targets the church by whatever means necessary. Her wealth lures those who worship luxury. She offers her cup of abominatio

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