On her forehead was written a name, a mystery: “Babylon the Great, the mother of the prostitutes and of the disgusting things of the earth.”
Revelation 17:5
Notable features
Babylon the Great is described as
- the great prostitute
- sitting on many waters,
- committed sexual immorality with the kings of the earth
- making earth’s inhabitants drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality
- sitting on a scarlet-colored wild beast
- clothed in purple and scarlet
- adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls
- having in her hand a golden cup that was full of disgusting things and the unclean things of her sexual immorality
- the mother of the prostitutes and of the disgusting things of the earth
- drunk with the blood of the holy ones and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus
- the great city that has a kingdom over the kings of the earth
Additional clues to unravel the mystery
- (Revelation 17:9-13) 9 The seven heads mean seven mountains, where the woman sits on top. 10 And there are seven kings: Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet arrived; but when he does arrive, he must remain a short while. 11 And the wild beast that was but is not, it is also an eighth king, but it springs from the seven, and it goes off into destruction. 12 “The ten horns that you saw mean ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they do receive authority as kings for one hour with the wild beast. 13 These have one thought, so they give their power and authority to the wild beast.
- (Revelation 17:15) . . .“The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is sitting, mean peoples and crowds and nations and tongues.
- (Revelation 18:3) . . .the merchants of the earth became rich owing to the power of her shameless luxury. . .
- (Revelation 18:5) . . .her sins have massed together clear up to heaven, and God has called her acts of injustice to mind. . .
- (Revelation 18:7) . . .she glorified herself and lived in shameless luxury. . . she keeps saying in her heart: ‘I sit as queen, and I am not a widow, and I will never see mourning.
- (Revelation 18:22-23) 22 . . .the sound of singers who accompany themselves on the harp, of musicians, of flutists, and of trumpeters will never be heard in you again. And no craftsman who practices any trade will ever be found in you again, and no sound of a millstone will ever be heard in you again. 23 No light of a lamp will ever shine in you again, and no voice of a bridegroom and of a bride will ever be heard in you again; for your merchants were the top-ranking men of the earth, and by your spiritistic practices all the nations were misled.
What is the identity of Babylon the Great?
These features, and references leaves us in no doubt! The Mother Harlot, Babylon the Great can be nothing other than
religion. Notably, since she has God's displeasure, she has to be
false religion. This is supported by the warning God gives... “Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues. For her sins have massed together clear up to heaven, and God has called her acts of injustice to mind. . . (Revelation 18:4-5)
Thus, keeping in consistency with scripture, Babylon the Great represents all religion that is false from God's perspective.
What else can it be,
based on scriptural references?
Babylon is not really a place, but more of a state of mind and collective behavior. Babylon is presented as a she. The "she" shows a connection to matter and material things; matter=mother. She is very beautiful and adorned, but is also very shady. John marvels at her outward appearance, but the Angel explains her true nature as a Whore.
Babylon symbolizes superficial and collective self esteem, based on material things. One can look beautiful/handsome with a weekend trip to the spar and a new set of designer clothes. But she/you is not what you appear to be based on this shiny surface; always so beautiful. Below that temporary shiny exterior, is not as pretty; insecurities that drive this need. The beautiful mask/shell of Babylon is designed for the short term applause of the external world. Clothes get old and need to be renewed or the applause and jealousy will end.
Many young couples will over extend their finances, trying to keep up with the Jones; material things. This might buy an expensive house, a boat, a vacation home, a motorcycle, new furniture from a top level business, etc. The Whore symbolism is this image of materialism, for the pleasure stemming from the envy of others and appeasement of insecurity. Bu this over extension can lead to stresses. It requires cash to rent the pretty whore for pleasure. Designer clothes wear out, or go out of style, so your continued pleasure requires another visit to the whore, to reboot fresh.
Jesus spoke of the inner man, which is not connected to outwardly pretty Babylon and the money exchange for its pleasure. Buddha also took the same path. He was from a very wealthy family, who had all the creature luxury of his days, so Buddha could have lived a life as the Beautiful Babylon symbol. But he saw this pleasure was transitory, like renting a Ho for an hour of enjoyment. It wears off and you need another dose. He evolved his inner man where great treasures could be found, within.
The anger at the rich, by the Left, is partially due to jealousy, since the levels of super rich symbolic Babylon, is top notch, and not available for all. This jealousy is part of insecurity of the Scarlet Beast; scarlet is red and red is emotions. The Beast; emotions, will burn the Whore with fire. The shallow material quest will end, but not by wisdom of the ages; Jesus and Buddha showing a better way; but at the hand of the people; Beast, on which the Whore rides and depends. Jealousy and insecurity makes you adorn yourself for the good external feedback of others. But if you cannot adorn to the 9's; keep up, the rage can come out and you may want to loot and burn the objects of Babylon, so nobody can have it.
The prestige of materialism, adorning oneself with designer bobbles, can make you appear higher, in the eyes other people. The poor child needs the expensive fancy basketball shoes to get along in their shallow material pond. The shoes confer prestige and self esteem. The same insecurity, that supports the beast; need and willingness to buy, will eventually burn her with fire; jealousy. If you cannot buy the stairway to heaven, you will burn it so nobody can climb. This sound like the promises of Left leading to Socialism. Revelations; after the Whore is burned by the Beast with fire, the merchants of the world mourn since nobody buys their cargo anymore. One can see by that quote the connection to material prestige. This is not a place since these same dynamics are world wide; human nature.
I was educated as an engineer and had a good job with career opportunities leading to the upper middle class. I quit the Babylon treadmill; materialism, to find a simple job that placed me a notch above the poverty line, so I could not be dependent on Government. From this position, of basic self reliance, I would not be able to pursue the material path of symbolic Babylon; by default. I was adorned, not in jewels, but in a humble peasant dress riding a donkey. This was easy for me, being a child from the Love generation, who had tried to get rid of the illusions of materialism. This did not last, collectively. From this humble platform, I had no choice but to develop from the inside out. Now I find contentment in treasures of my inner self.
Prophesy is really about an update in the human brain's operating system. Part of any update process, is an uninstall process of the old system into a backup copy. This is the symbolism of the Whore riding the Beast and the Beast burning the whore with fire. This is less about group dynamics; external world stops buying, but more about each of us searching our soul; internal, for what is our need and what is enduring. This is not easy to do, since without the material mask, the insecure mob will sense you being different and will try to make you insecure.
In Revelations, there is the Abomination of Desolation. This is connected to the whore being burnt by the jealous beast. In a symbolic sense, an entire lifestyle meets a sudden awakening and ends, with your soul waiting in faith, since one cannot go back, since it is all gone; placed in backup. What is forward only slowly comes into focus; faith and perseverance of the Saints.