Rev 17 - The Scarlet Beast & the Woman

REVELATION 17 – THE SCARLET BEAST AND THE WOMAN

12-1-2018

Revelation 17:1-3 NET Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. "Come," he said, "I will show you the condemnation and punishment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, (2) with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality and the earth's inhabitants got drunk with the wine of her immorality."

(3) So he carried me away in the Spirit to a wilderness, and there I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.

The prostitute woman envisioned later as sitting (or riding) on the scarlet beast is said to “sit on many waters” meaning that her influence covers a large area – possibly the entire earth. V2 “the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality and the earth's inhabitants got drunk with the wine of her immorality”.  When John received this vision, the “kings of the earth” would include those of Europe, Asia, Near East, and North Africa but considering that Mystery Babylon is presently being taken down, it can safely be said that it includes the government leaders of the entire earth.

The leaders of the world and many individuals have committed sexual immorality through the influence of the woman (prostitute or Babylon).  Scripturally speaking idolatry (the worship of some type of false god) is considered the same sin as sexual immorality.

The reader is next introduced to the scarlet beast.  It had seven heads and ten horns, filled with blasphemous names.  The beast coming from the sea in Rev 13:1 also had ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns were ten diadem crowns, and on its heads a blasphemous name. Other than the crowns listed in Rev 13:1 and the scarlet color, the descriptions are basically the same.  It also was composed of several animals:  the beast that I saw was like a leopard, but its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth.

In Daniel 7:3 he envisioned:  “Then four large beasts came up from the sea; they were different from one another”.  The first three beasts had the appearance of:  1) Lion with wings of an eagle 2) a bear 3) a leopard.  The beast in Rev 13:1 is a composite of the first three beasts of Daniel 7.  Daniel’s non-descriptive fourth beast had ten horns but among them came a “little horn” which uprooted three of the original ten horns.

One of the signs given in Rev 12:3 is a dragon:  Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns.  This dragon is red or scarlet with seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns, which is the same description as the beast in Rev 13:1

Other than a few occasional omissions, the scarlet beast of Rev 17 is the same as the beast (or dragon) in Rev 12 and Rev 13.  It is also a composite of the four beasts found in Daniel 7.

The wilderness location for the scarlet beast and the woman can create a certain amount of confusion:  Is this the same woman of chapter 12 that fled to the wilderness? Has this woman been seen before but was called by another name?  The word translated as “wilderness” can mean a desert area but it can also mean, desolate, deserted, and lonely.  Most likely the Rev 12 woman and the Rev 17 are not exactly the same but they may have common characteristics (i.e. the Rev 17 woman as representative of Mystery Babylon does contain certain religious or church related issues.

Revelation 17:4-7 NET Now the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet clothing, and adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup filled with detestable things (abominations) and unclean things from her sexual immorality. (5) On her forehead was written a name, a mystery: "Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth." (6) I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of those who testified to Jesus. I was greatly astounded when I saw her. (7) But the angel said to me, "Why are you astounded? I will interpret for you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with the seven heads and ten horns that carries her.

The woman is dressed in purple and scarlet clothing, adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls, and holds a golden cup.  This symbolizes wealth and luxury.  It could also describe the clothing of the Pope or a Vatican official.  The woman is emblazoned with a specific name which is called a “mystery”:  "Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things (abominations) of the earth."  Thus, the woman is (symbolically) Babylon the Great and since her name was said to be a “mystery” she can also be known as Mystery Babylon.

The reference to golden cup in the woman’s hand is taken from Jer. 51: 7.  Mystery Babylon is considered to have the basic characteristics of the original Babylonian Empire.

Jeremiah 51:7 NET Babylonia had been a gold cup in the LORD's hand. She had made the whole world drunk. The nations had drunk from the wine of her wrath. So they have all gone mad.

In Rev 17:4 the woman’s golden cup was filled with detestable things or abominations.  An abomination is a Hebrew euphemism for an idol.

John was astounded and was chided by the angel for his astonishment.

Revelation 17:8-11 NET The beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss and then go to destruction. The inhabitants of the earth -- all those whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world -- will be astounded when they see that the beast was, and is not, but is to come. (9) (This requires a mind that has wisdom.) The seven heads are seven mountains the woman sits on. They are also seven kings: (10) five have fallen; one is, and the other has not yet come, but whenever he does come, he must remain for only a brief time. (11) The beast that was, and is not, is himself an eighth king and yet is one of the seven, and is going to destruction.

In Rev 13:1 one of the heads of the beast rising from the sea is itself a religious beast and has been previously identified as the Pope/Vatican/Roman Church.  The Vatican and its Roman Church is also part of the composite Mystery Babylon or the woman on the scarlet beast.  The daughters may be the Protestant denominations that have arisen since the printing of the Bible.  The great harlot is more than the church, but it certainly includes it.

Rev 17:8 The beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss and then go to destruction. The inhabitants of the earth -- all those whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world -- will be astounded when they see that the beast was, and is not, but is to come.

The concept of “the beast you saw was, and is not, but will exit the abyss” has already been explained in Rev 13:3 - One of the beast's heads appeared to have been killed, but the lethal wound had been healed.

The pope was actually taken captive by Napoleon and placed in prison where he died in 1798.  Later Napoleon considered a Pope necessary to conduct his emperor coronation, so he reinstated a person as pope in 1800.

https://freedomfromdelusion.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-beast-rising-from-sea.html

This seems to indicate that the beast of Rev 13:1 is the dragon beast of Rev 12 or a composite of all the beast empires with one of the heads being the Holy Roman Empire which was an empire until the head (Pope) died in prison and was reinstated by Napoleon.

In Rev 17: 8, John describes the same beast, saying, “he was and is not and will come.” It is plain that we are to interpret this in terms of the event described earlier in Rev. 13: 3 One of the beast's heads appeared to have been killed, but the lethal wound had been healed.

Rev 17:8c then go to destruction

When the angel in Rev. 17: 11 says that the scarlet beast “goes to destruction” (apoleia), he was giving us a major clue as to the identity of the beast.  The angel is telling us that the beast from the sea (i.e. the religious beast) is the disciple and “friend” of Jesus who ends up betraying Him at the end of the age. This religious beast (Vatican/Papacy), then, is supposedly a Christian beast, even as Judas had been a Christian. 

This “friend” could also include the group of Zionist Christians who blindly claim that modern Israel is the fulfillment of various Old Testament prophecies concerning the northern nation of Israel that consisted of ten of the original twelve (13 counting the Levites) tribes.

Most Bible teachers tend to get lost in these details, because they do not know history, and even if they did, many of them are Futurists. Thus, they can only speculate about future things, not knowing that much of the prophecy has already been fulfilled. This only adds to the confusion and usually makes it virtually impossible to understand the prophecy about this scarlet beast.

 (9) (This requires a mind that has wisdom.) The seven heads are seven mountains the woman sits on.

Much debate has been spent identifying the seven mountains mentioned in verse 9.  Rome is identified with 7 mountains and the papacy is located inside Rome, however Rome is not the headquarters of the mythical “antichrist” of future dispensational fame.

According to Dr. Stephen Jones, these seven hills or mountains spiritually represent seven forms of government in the history of the Roman Empire: 1. Kings 2. Consuls 3. Dictators 4. Decemvirs (One of a body of ten Roman magistrates, especially a member of one of two such bodies appointed in 451 and 450) 5. Military Tribunes 6. Military Emperors 7. Christian Emperors.

“Five have fallen.” Remember this was written in the first century. In that context, the first five forms of Roman government had already fallen and had been replaced by the sixth i.e. the military emperors after the death of Nero in 68 A.D.  After Nero committed suicide there was a flurry of short term emperors until Vespasian returned from the Judah revolt and became a long term military emperor.  This was the type of government that existed when the angel interpreted the seven mountains to John around 96 A.D.

                                                

In summary:  “Rev 17:9 The seven hears are seven mountains and they are also seven kings”.  The kings are types of kingdom government.  “Rev 17:10 Five have fallen” – 1) Kings 2) Consuls 3) Dictators 4) Decemvirs 5) Miltary Tribunes.  “Rev 17:10b one is” – At the time of John the kingdom government was 6) Military Emperors.  “Rev 17:10 the other has not yet come”.  The 7) Christian Emperors.  “Rev 17:11 The beast that was” – The Pope.  “Rev 17:11b And is not” – The Pope died in prison.  “Rev 17:11c Is himself an eight king” – A restored new type of Pope with no land empire.  Scripturally, a resurrected (in this case restored) person is a new person.  “Rev 17:11d yet is one of the seven” - the new restored Pope was originally a part of the Papacy linage.

The Ten Horns

Revelation 17:12-13 NET (12) The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive ruling authority as kings with the beast for one hour. (13) These kings have a single intent, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.

In verse 13, according to Dr. Stephen Jones, the ten horns were ten nations or ethnic groups in Europe that did not as yet have kingdoms of their own, because they were under the control of the Roman Empire.  They are:  Bavarians; Franks; Bergundians; Alemanni; Suevi: Visigoths; Alans: Vandals; Ostrogoths; and Heruli or Lombards.  These ten regions could also be considered as the ten toes of the image of Daniel 2:41-42.  The “little horn” (i.e. soon to be Holy Roman Empire) paid mercenaries to conquer three or these areas. 

Jumping ahead to make this section more sensible, the ten horns (or nations) give their power to the “little horn” (Vatican) although three of them did not do so willingly.  “One hour” is not literal and most likely means a short span of time as compared to other occurrences.

Revelation 17:17 NET For God has put into their minds to carry out his purpose by making a decision to give their royal power to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled.

Revelation 17:14 NET They will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those accompanying the Lamb are the called, chosen, and faithful."

During the era of the Holy Roman Empire, prior to the Pope dying in French prison, many Church members were tortured and slaughtered by the Church.  This was the time of the Inquisitions and other destructive programs.  This stopped after the Pope was imprisoned.  It could be said that God anointed Napoleon to unknowingly place a halt to the “war with the Lamb” concerning the slaughter of church people who had a different view of God and scripture than the Vatican.

Revelation 17:15 NET Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw (where the prostitute is seated) are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.

Rev 17:15 verifies that Mystery Babylon (i.e. the woman and the scarlet beast) is currently a world-wide system.  Even the Amazon Indians are infected with loggers and miners.  The scarlet beast that the woman sits on is the equivalent of the waters.

Revelation 17:16-18 NET (16) The ten horns that you saw, and the beast -- these will hate the prostitute and make her desolate and naked. They will consume her flesh and burn her up with fire. (17) For God has put into their minds to carry out his purpose by making a decision to give their royal power to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. (18) As for the woman you saw, she is the great city that has sovereignty over the kings of the earth."

The remnants of the ten horns that were ruled by the beast will be anointed by God to destroy the woman (Babylon) because God has put into their minds to carry out his purpose.

Rev 17:16 c “They will consume her flesh”.  An interesting Old Testament prophetic type of the prostitute woman being eaten is the execution of Jezebel.  She was thrown into the street and dogs consumed her flesh leaving only bones.

2 Kings 9:36 NET When they went back and told him, he said, "The LORD's word through his servant, Elijah the Tishbite, has come to pass. He warned, 'In the plot of land at Jezreel, dogs will devour Jezebel's flesh.

This Jezebel story applied to the harlot woman is purely symbolic when it comes to the actual fulfillment of prophecy in our time. The point is that the harlot system will be destroyed by the nations and the people who have been oppressed by her domination.  God will use blind unbelievers to execute justice on the persecutor.

The ten horns are united as a single beast on which the harlot sits/rides (or rules), but in the end God causes the horn beasts to turn on the harlot.  It is also important to note that the saints (the elect or the chosen) are not the ones who eat the flesh of the harlot, but the beasts that she has ruled. God uses the nations to bring about His purpose and to execute the judgment decreed by the saints of the Most High (Daniel). Hence, when we observe international events today, we ought not to condemn the nations for overthrowing the harlot. The nations may be beastly, but in the end, they are agents of divine judgment.

Babylon is Fallen, Fallen, Fallen

The final wrath of God’s destruction of Mystery Babylon (the scarlet beast and the woman) is narrated in Revelation 16:17-21 presented as the seventh bowl judgment.  This final section of the Revelation concerning the fall of Mystery Babylon is a current (i.e. right now) prophecy that is being fulfilled in real-time announced in various news reports. 

The “great city” is not literal, it is not the futurist dispensational idea of Jerusalem or a physical city at all.  So this great city (Mystery Babylon metaphorically) is symbolically split into three parts.  The gigantic hailstones may be Mr. Trump’s (and others) actions and presidential edicts to bring down the illegal immigration, the Federal Reserve, and the coming indictments but they are not literal.  His actions are causing the Democrats, the MSM, and the Hollywood scoundrels to blaspheme God, insult Mr. Trump, his staff, and the red-state deplorables.

Revelation 16:17-21 NET (17) Finally the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying: "It is done!" (18) Then there were flashes of lightning, roaring, and crashes of thunder, and there was a tremendous earthquake -- an earthquake unequaled since humanity has been on the earth, so tremendous was that earthquake. (19) The great city was split into three parts and the cities of the nations collapsed. So Babylon the great was remembered before God, and was given the cup filled with the wine made of God's furious wrath. (20) Every island fled away and no mountains could be found. (21) And gigantic hailstones, weighing about a hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people, but they blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, since it was so horrendous.

The above mentioned earthquakes, if literal, would completely destroy the earth and every living thing.  They are merely symbolic of religious, political and governmental destruction and annihilation as they have been throughout the Revelation narration.

The Beast System

THE BEAST SYSTEM

From Babylon to the Present 

4-19-2017

In a previous article entitled, Mystery Solved Concerning “Mystery, Babylon”  Mystery, Babylon Solved, it was shown that the concept of a succession of “beast” kingdoms has been in effect from the invasion of Judah by the Babylonian Kingdom until the present day.  The northern kingdom of Israel was invaded and deported by the Assyrians, according to the will of God, due to their idolatry, unlawfulness, and their refusal to honor any Sabbath years or Jubilees.  In other words they earned a Debt Note to God which they refused to pay and could not pay.  Thus, northern Israel was sold to the Assyrians for a short time until the Babylonian empire conquered the Assyrian empire shortly thereafter leaving Israel under the control of the Babylonians.

Around 100 years after the invasion of Israel, the nation of Judah was conquered and deported by the Babylonian Empire to Babylon.  Some Judeans were allowed to return to Canaan by a decree of Cyrus of Persia with the conditions they rebuild the city of Jerusalem along with the temple.  Judah was invaded and deported because they also earned a Debt Note to God for the identical reasons as Israel:  idolatry; unlawfulness; a lack of honoring Sabbath years or Jubilees. 

The Great Image of Daniel 2

In Daniel 2, it is recorded that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream concerning a “great image” in the form of a man.  This statue or image had:  a head of gold representing Babylon; a chest and arms of silver representing Medo-Persia; a belly and thighs representing Greece; and legs of iron with feet part of iron and part of clay representing the Roman Empire and its various forms which appear later.

As the head of this great image, Nebuchadnezzar was given this dream, which has remained a mystery until modern times, of the four (possible 5) empires, including his current empire, that would rule the Biblical world of the Middle East, Europe, and definitely Canaan, until the Debt Note to bring forth the fruits of the Kingdom had been paid.  This debt note could not be paid by the various succeeding empires as it was passed from one empire to the next and was finally extended to a reborn nation of Israel.

The beast system may have started with the original Babel or Babylon under the rule of Nimrod.  Nebuchadnezzar was given a preview of the beast system which was refined and elaborated in the context of Daniel 7 which will be discussed next.

The Four Beasts of Daniel

In a different visual format, Daniel was later given a vision (dream) of the succeeding beast empires as found in Daniel 7.  Although similar in nature to the dream found in Daniel 2, additional information and descriptions are given.  In his dream, Daniel saw the four winds of heaven blowing upon the great sea (a metaphor of humanity) which produced “four great beasts” that emerged from the sea and were diverse or different from each other.  The descriptions of the four beasts use the term, “like a” which indicates the accounts are metaphoric (symbolic if you like) of empires, people, or large organizations. 

The first beast was “like a” lion with the wings of an eagle.  The wings were plucked off, the lion was lifted up to its feet, made to stand as a man, and was given the heart of a man.  This would represent Babylon with its leader, Nebuchadnezzar, who was sent into exile to live as an animal until he realized the God of Daniel was in control and responsible for his kingdom reign (refer to Daniel 4 for full details). 

The second beast was like a bear, along with other details which will not be covered in this post, and represents the Medo-Persian Empire.  The third beast was like a leopard, with four wings of a fowl, and with four heads.  This would represent Greece with the four wings or possibly the four heads representing the four generals who divided the Grecian empire after the death of Alexander.

The fourth beast is described as dreadful and terrible.  It was extremely strong, different from the preceding beasts, and had ten horns.  Among the ten horns came a “little horn” which has been identified (by me anyway) as the Roman church or the Papacy which is an extension or small version of the ten horns of the Roman Empire.  The ten horns are most likely nations or areas of the Roman Empire of which the Roman Church overtook three of them when it solidified its power.  Daniel 7:24 states the ten horns are ten kings (possibly nations) who will arise.  The eyes of a man and the mouth speaking great things would be the Pope issuing edicts and claiming the Pope can exceed the authority of the Apostles and even Jesus Christ which they did.

The statue image of Daniel 2 is destroyed by a large stone which represents Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God that will obliterate this succession of beast empires beginning at the feet with the dust of its destruction spreading around the earth.  This appears to indicate the Kingdom of God will not instantaneously envelope the world but will require a period of time during the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ.

This second vision of the four empires given in Daniel 7 exhibit additional characteristics to aid in the identification of the beast as presented in Revelation 13 and 17.

The Beast of Revelation 13

NOTE:  The first verse of chapter 13 actually should actually be the last verse of chapter 12 and should read:  “And the dragon stood upon the sand of the sea”.  The word “John” is not mentioned in the original Greek.

The dragon stands on the sand of the sea (humanity in general) and causes a composite beast to rise which is similar to the four historical beasts and contains many of the former characteristics of these beasts.  As in Daniel 7, this beast has 10 horns.  It is my opinion, this beast is the same as the “little horn” of Daniel 7, but is referred to as the beast from the sea in this scripture because it has inherited the Debt Note of Israel and Judah and now has the some of the power and authority of the former Roman Empire from which it is an extension.  This beast from the sea is an amalgamation of the previous four beasts and now has authority and rule over the Church which began in 33 AD.  It is the Holy Roman Empire or the Catholic Church of the Papacy.

Revelation 13:1-2 KJV  And I (the dragon) stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.  (2)  And the beast which I saw was like unto 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.

It should be noted this amalgamation beast has characteristics of the four beast described in Daniel 7 (i.e. it is a composite beast).  It was similar in appearance to a leopard (Greece); it had the feet of a bear (Medo-Persia); the mouth as a lion (Babylon).  Since this beast is the “little horn” or the Holy Roman Church, which transformed into a political power, it has the characteristics and some of the authority of the Roman Empire.

Napoleon imprisoned the Pope in France where he died and there was no pope for several years.  Napoleon, later decided he needed a pope to crown him as emperor for his conquests, so he reinstated the office and appointed a pope.  Napoleon died before this occurred and the new group of European leadership decided to limit the pope and the bishops of the Vatican by giving the authority of the Vatican’s funds and money to a Rothschild banking system in the form of a trust.  Thus the pope-beast died and was resurrected as a new pope.  The “earth beast” or the banking system was given a certain time period of authority over the Church because the Holy Roman Church system no longer existed and was now merely the Catholic Church.

The Woman on the Beast

Within the time line of the historical Revelation understanding, we are currently at the point of the overthrow of the Mystery, Babylon system.  It is now just a matter of discerning the actual identity of this entity.  There are various divergent interpretations from which to select an answer and some of them are quite different from the others.  The beast in Revelation 17 is scarlet or red in color, although the previous iterations were not given a specific color.  This beast continues to have seven heads and ten horns but the various animal characteristics as of Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 are not mentioned.

In later Revelation chapters such as 17 and 18, the composite beast or beast system has all the characteristics of the previous beast of Revelation 13.  Therefore, it would appear to be the same beast system.  In the prophetic historical understanding of the Revelation, the “beast from the earth” or false prophet has taken authority from the Daniel 7 prophesied “little horn’s” (Papacy) inheritance of the beast system.  This would mean the beast system is currently comprised of:  the earth beast, or the Jewish Rothschild banking and debt organization; the current state of Israel which was supported and financed by the Rothschild group; and the Jewish dual citizenship people scattered around the West and Europe who are involved in politics, media, and other activities.  It is not a recognizable empire but a system of control through banking debt and politics.

The woman sitting on the beast has a name written on her forehead, “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH”.  Is the woman the essence of Mystery, Babylon, or is the beast the essence, or both?  All viewpoints have been discussed and argued.  It would appear, from the forehead name, the woman is the symbolic personification of the actual Babylon mystery.

In verse 17:18 the woman is identified as “that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth”.  Joel Richardson believes it is a real actual city.  Doug Krieger, Dene McGriff, and Doug Woodward in their co-written book, The Final Babylon - America and the Coming of Antichrist, consider Babylon to be the USA and the city to specifically be New York City, NY.  Alexander Hislop in his book, The Two Babylons, is convinced Rome particularly the Vatican is the city in question.

The modern nation of Israel desires Jerusalem and would like it to be their capital city. Jerusalem is also the city where Jesus was crucified.  The Rothschild family of Jews has supported and bankrolled Israel.  The Jews in British positions of government were instrumental in initiating the Balfour Declaration.  Jews (supposedly through blackmail and donations) are said to be the Deep State of the USA where they control the majority of the politicians.  There are Jews in political positions throughout Europe and there is always the international Jew, George Soros, who attempts to control world events through his funding.  It could be said, “that great city” is Jerusalem and/or it could be the so-called Jews controlling the banks and politicians metaphorically represent that great city.

The Debt Note discussed earlier and in the article listed in the first paragraph, was inherited (or passed to) the Khazarian (Japheth), the Edomite, and the Persian converted Jews (see Esther 8:17). 

Esther 8:17 KJV  And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.

The Rothschild banking and debt organization which is identified as the beast from the earth in the historical understanding appears to have inherited the Debt Note from the “little horn”- Papacy – Roman Church.  It was then inherited or perhaps co-inherited by the 1948 nation of Israel. 

At this point, it is difficult for me to differentiate between the International banking system, the nation of Israel, and the dual citizen Jews in places of power and politics.  It is also difficult to differentiate between the ongoing beast system and the Mystery Babylon system.  The two systems could be the same system with varying factions.

The beast supporting the woman gave its authority to the “beast from the earth” who (or which) is sometimes called the “false prophet”.  The earth beast is the financial banking system ruling the world through debt slavery by fiat money.

The woman riding the beast is also considered by some commentators to be the same woman fleeing into the wilderness depicted in Revelation chapter 12.  Dr. Stephen Jones thinks the two women are the same but that the Church as represented by the woman in chapter 17 is only a part of Mystery, Babylon with the real Babylon being the banking and corporate industries.  I am not certain this is the full answer.  More research will be needed.  The woman from chapter 12 fled to the wilderness but did not have the proper faith and understanding to leave the wilderness and became corrupt.  This is somewhat similar to the Israelites under Moses who refused to enter Canaan for fear of the giants and were forced to stay in the wilderness until everyone of that generation died except Joshua and Caleb. 

The church, and its various denominations of today, is considered corrupt by many Christian writers.  The real Church is a congregation of believers and not a denomination with varying levels of misunderstanding of the scriptures.  The “mother of harlots” could refer to the church groups (i.e. denominations) that began with the Protestant Reformation that broke away from the Catholic Church. 

Revelation 17:6 states, “And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus”.  This verse appears to shed more light on the woman being the church or the early Roman Church.  The early Holy Roman Church killed many Christians (some claim many thousands) who disagreed with the established Catholic belief system.  Just a thought, but currently, many so-called Christians, former Christians, and denominations appear to have turned their back on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and could be considered “full of names of blasphemy”.  The woman may not be Mystery, Babylon at all but only an organization consisting of various Church groups, highly affected by Babylon.  After all, the woman is sitting on the beast, not actually guiding or controlling the movement of the beast as some have claimed.  Also, as claimed in previous posts, the Revelation is a prophetic history of the Church and the church in the West and Europe have been highly affected by the beast system.

The ten horns of the beast are said to declare war on the people of the Lamb (real Christians).  Verse 15 implies that “real Christians” can be found all around the world.  Verse 16 states the ten horns of the beast will hate the whore (woman or church denominations in general) and will perform disastrous deeds on the general church.  Anyone following the alternate internet news will notice this action has occurred for several years all over the world, especially in the USA and the Middle East.

Revelation 17:14-17 KJV  These (ten horns) shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.  (15)  And he said unto me, the waters which you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.  (16)  And the ten horns which you saw upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.  (17)  For God has put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

There are many interpretations of the seven heads and the ten horns as well.  If the Mystery, Babylon chapters of the Revelation are historically speaking of today, then the prophetic fulfillment of many of the verses would be unknown.

The 18^th chapter of the Revelation adds an economic side to Mystery, Babylon.  This has led some to claim there are two Babylons:  one religious and the other economic.  This has also prompted Joel Richardson to claim it is an actual city located in the desert that contains a seaport for performing trade.  Also note that Richardson’s end-times scenario requires an Islamic antichrist. 

It is a shame the word “antichrist” was ever used to describe the beast of Revelation 13 and other scriptures.  It has only created a prophetic cloud in the minds of Bible students and has complicated the understanding of the Revelation and the return of Jesus Christ as the King of the Kingdom of God.

The list of merchandise has led Chris White to claim this city is located within Israel and the listed trade items are necessary for the operation of a rebuilt temple.  The merchandise list also prompted Hislop to state these items are for the accoutrements of the Vatican’s ceremonies which is located in Rome.  Of course, the USA/New York Babylon group claims New York harbor is the ideal location.