 |

Home
Church Community
Statement of
Beliefs
Contact Us Search Our Site
Bible
Study Resource
|
 |
 |

Particulars
of Christianity:
314
End Times Prophecy (Eschatology)
Prophetic
Symbols: The Great Prostitute (Part 1)
Prophetic
Symbols: The Great Prostitute (Part 1)
Prophetic Symbols: The Great
Prostitute (Part 2)
Prophetic Symbols: The Great
Prostitute (Part 3)
Prophetic Symbols: The Great
Prostitute (Part 4)
Prophetic Symbols: The Great
Prostitute (Part 5)
Prophetic Symbols: The Great
Prostitute (Part 6)
Prophetic Symbols: The Great
Prostitute (Part 7)
Articles 7-12
Articles 13-18
Articles 19-25
Articles 26-29
Revelation 17:1 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. 7 And
the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will
tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that
carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns...15
And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where
the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations,
and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which thou sawest 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 hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and
to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the
words of God shall be fulfilled. 18 And the woman which thou
sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of
the earth.
Here in Revelation 17 we are presented with the symbol of
a woman riding the seven-headed beast. We will first, examine
this final symbol from our prophetic symbol study by looking
at the various descriptions of this woman that are supplied
by Revelation 17 and 18. Second, in order to gain a more complete
Biblical and historical context for Mystery Babylon we will
compare these descriptions to other Biblical passages and
to some non-Biblical historical materials. Third, we will
discuss whether or not the city that is Mystery Babylon is
specifically identified for us in Revelation 17 and 18. And
finally, we will take a look at the relationship between Mystery
Babylon and the empire of the False Prophet and the empire
of the Antichrist.
We will start by making a list of the descriptions that are
given of this woman in Revelation 17 and 18.
1. She is over many ethnic groups, nations, and peoples
(sits on many waters, which is a reference to many peoples,
nations, and tongues). (Revelation 17:1, 15)
2. She is politically involved.
a. With the kings of the earth. (Revelation 17:2, 18:3,
9)
b. She reigns over the kings of the earth. (Revelation
17:18)
3. She is the great city.
a. With political power - that rules over the kings
of the earth. (Revelation 17:18)
b. A wealthy city,
- An important city of trade. (Revelation 18:3, 11-15)
- Her merchants are the great men of the earth. (Revelation
18:23)
c. An important seaport. (Revelation 18:17,19)
4. She is responsible for the martyrdom of the saints.
(Revelation 17:6, 18:20, 24)
5. She will be destroyed.
a. By the 10 kings, who will hate her. (Revelation
17:16)
b. With fire. (Revelation 17:16, 18:9)
c. In one hour. (Revelation 18:10, 18-19)
6. She deceives all the nations through her sorcery.
(Revelation 18:23)
7. She is given the title, description, or names: (Revelation
17:5)
a. Mystery.
b. Babylon the Great.
c. Mother of Harlots and of the Abominations of the
Earth.
8. She rides the seven-headed beast, which is a symbol
representing the succession of the seven Gentile empires,
which would rule the earth before the coming of the Jewish
Messianic Kingdom of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 17:3, 7)
Now that we have a grasp of who Mystery Babylon is we can
find her described in both the scripture and in non-Biblical
reference books. Remember from our list that we are looking
for some entity that is politically powerful, wealthy, which
deceives involving the use of sorcery, which is responsible
for the death of the saints, and which is connected to a great
city, which is the seat of rule over the nations of the earth,
and (at least in the end times) is an ethnically diverse city,
a city of importance to shipmasters and sailors, and a center
of global trade.
In the scripture we will find a group of people who play a
significant role throughout the Book of Daniel and who fit
the above criterion very closely. These men are referred to
collectively in this book as the Chaldeans, a term which reflected
their Babylonian heritage. In fact the term Chaldeans is simply
another word that denotes Babylonians in general. A survey
of the Book of Daniel reveals the following about the Chaldean
wise men, showing that this group fits the characteristics
that we outlined above regarding Mystery Babylon.
1. They are politically powerful. (Related to No. 2
above)
2. They are present in and hold power in the two empires
of the succession of seven empires. (Related to No. 8 above)
3. They attempt to bring about the destruction of God's
people. (Related to No. 4 above)
4. They are involved in instigating idol worship. (Related
to No. 7c above)
5. They are involved in deception of the king. (Related
to No. 6 above)
6. They practice sorcery, astrology, magic. (Related
to No. 6 above)
7. They held secret knowledge and were able to reveal
hidden mysteries. (Related to No. 7 above)
8. They are related to Babylon. (Relates to No. 8 above)
1. The Chaldeans were politically powerful.
In Daniel 1:17-20 and Daniel 2:12-14, 24, and 27 we see that
Daniel and his three associates, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
are counted among the wise men of Babylon. In Daniel 2:48-49
we see that after revealing the dream and it's meaning to
the king, Daniel is promoted to be the highest ruler over
Babylon, the chief of the governors over all the wise men
of Babylon. And at Daniel's request his associates are placed
over the affairs of the province of Babylon as well. Daniel
and his associates were both wise men and civic leaders. Upon
the demonstration that Daniel possessed secret knowledge that
the other Chaldeans could not reveal, Daniel was made the
highest leader over all of them.
In chapter 3 of Daniel, we again see the dual roles of the
Babylonian civic leadership. The rulers are involved in making
religious decrees binding on peoples, nations, and languages
(Daniel 3:4), which had legal weight throughout the kingdom.
And in verse 8 we see that the Chaldeans both accused lawbreakers
and petitioned the king to enforce the penal code.
Similar to chapters 1 and 2, we see that Daniel, who was the
chief political ruler over the entire kingdom of Babylon is
referred to as the master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans,
and soothsayers, showing that the king made little distinction
between his political and religious authority. Later in the
chapter, in verse 36, we see that the king has counselors
and lords, terms, which refer to the kingdom's civic leaders
(lords) and the king's advisors (astrologers, sorcerers, etc.).
In Daniel 5:7,16, and 29 king Belshazzar, the third and final
king of Babylon, promises that the Chaldean who could reveal
the meaning of the words written on the wall would be made
the third ruler over the kingdom. This again shows how closely
related these Chaldeans were to the political structure over
Babylon. Likewise, verse 11 makes no distinction between the
civic and religious authorities of Babylon in that it refers
to Daniel's appointment in chapter 2 as "master of the astrologers,
magicians, soothsayers, and Chaldeans." This is compared to
chapter 2 where Daniel is said to be made "ruler over the
whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over
all the wise men of Babylon."
In Daniel 6, though the Babylonian kingdom has been conquered
by the Medes, we find that Darius the Mede, keeps Daniel as
the first of three governors over the 120 provinces of the
kingdom. And it is likely that Daniel was not the only satrap
or governor to retain his position under the new authority.
The reason we say this is that we see that these rulers of
the Media-Persian empire do the exact same thing that the
Chaldeans did earlier in chapter 3. In Daniel 6:7 we are told
that the rulers and counselors consulted together and issued
a royal decree, a religious law which was considered to be
a law of the Medes and Persians. This law is religious in
nature. They then petitioned the king to sign the decree and
enact the law.
Just as the Chaldeans did in chapter 3, these men accuse Daniel
of breaking this law before the king and demand that Daniel
be punished in accordance with it. From the similarities in
these events it does not seem unwarranted to suppose that
many of these men may have been the same people who first
tried this maneuver against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
in chapter 3.
In all of these passages of Daniel we see the existence of
a prominent group of sorcerers and wise men, known as Chaldeans,
who wielded considerable political power in the kingdoms of
Babylon and Media-Persia.
2. The Chaldeans are present in and hold power in the two
empires of the succession of seven empires. (Related to
No. 8 above)
Another thing that is significant to note in Daniel 1-6 is
that the Chaldeans served as civic and religious authorities
in both the Babylonian and Media-Persian empires. Regardless
of whether it was the same individuals in both cases, the
sorcerers, magicians, soothsayers, wise men, astrologers,
and Chaldeans are present in and hold the same significant
role in the administration of both the Babylonian and Media-Persian
empires. This is a significant help in explaining what Revelation
17 is indicating when it describes the woman riding the succession
of seven empires. We will look more at this later as we examine
other scripture passages, which describe similar occurrences.
3. The Chaldeans attempt to bring about the destruction
of God's people. (Related to No. 4 above)
As we saw from Daniel 3 and Daniel 6, in both the Babylonian
and Media-Persian empires, the Chaldeans worked together to
persecute God's people and to bring about their destruction.
Two instances of this are recorded in the Book of Daniel.
In both instances a law is enacted, which the Jews had to
violate in order to obey God. The Chaldeans, rulers, and counselors
designed the law deliberately so that when the Jews defied
it the punishment would be their destruction. These events
bear much resemblance to Revelation 17 and 18's statement
that Mystery Babylon is responsible for the blood of the saints.
Again, we will look more at this type of activity when we
look at other passages in other books, which describe similar
events.
4. The Chaldeans are involved in instigating idol worship.
(Related to No. 7c above)
As we have just covered, in Daniel 3 and 6 these Chaldeans,
rulers, and counselors designed a law in order to entrap God's
people into either capitol punishment or disobeying God. In
both of these cases, which are recorded in Daniel the law
that these men used required the worship of either of the
king himself or an idol (a statue of a man). Throughout the
Old Testament and the New Testament the worship of idols is
stated to be equivalent to spiritual adultery or harlotry
against God and considered by God as an abomination. So, again
we see a strong connection between the work of these men known
as Chaldeans and the woman of Revelation 17. One of the titles
for the woman of Revelation 17 is "the Mother of Harlots and
Abominations of the Earth." The connection that must be made
then between the Chaldeans and Mystery Babylon is that both
entice the people of the earth to worship idols (including
kings as representations of political systems) and so to commit
spiritual adultery against God. Thus, both are responsible
for the abominations of the earth, which has to do with idolatry
and idol worship.
5. They are involved in deception of the king. (Related
to No. 6 above)
In chapter 2 of Daniel we saw that king Nebuchadnezzar was
angered enough with the Chaldeans to order their deaths when
they did not tell him his dream or its interpretation. The
king's reaction is interesting to note for two reasons. One,
he believes that these men are lying to and deceiving him.
And two, the king believed that they were doing so in order
to stall until his kingdom fell and was succeeded by another.
Daniel 2:8 The king answered and said, I know of
certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the
thing is gone from me. 9 But if ye will not make known
unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye
have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me,
till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream,
and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof.
From Nebuchadnezzar's statement here we can see that he was
suspicious of the wise men. Not only does he accuse them of
deceiving him, of stalling, and of having knowledge that they
are withholding from him, but the king says that they are
waiting "till the time be changed."
It is apparent that the king did not trust these men's loyalty
to his kingdom and we can understand why since many of these
same men no doubt survived the fall of the Babylonian empire
in chapter 5 and went on, like Daniel, to be leaders in the
Media-Persian empire. But how is it that Nebuchadnezzar suspected
that this is what they were waiting for way back here in chapter
2? The key is the phrase "till the time be changed" found
in verse 9.
From Daniel 2:20-22 we know what this curious phrase means.
Daniel 2:20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the
name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth
kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the
wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: 22 He
revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in
the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
The phrase "the changing of the times" refers to the removal
and setting up of kings and kingdoms. Therefore, it is apparent
that Nebuchadnezzar was accusing the Chaldeans of knowing
that the time of his kingdom was passing and of deceiving
him and stalling until it passed to his successor.
By this we know that the Chaldeans were known to possess the
understanding of when one kingdom would be removed and the
next would come to replace it. And Nebuchadnezzar knew that
these men not only had knowledge of such secrets, but that
they would at times reveal it to him or deceive him according
to their own agenda. And this is interesting since Revelation
tells us that this woman deceives the world through her sorceries.
Likewise, these Chaldeans, the sorcerers, astrologers, magicians,
wise men, soothsayers, the keepers and revealers of secrets
deceived king Nebuchadnezzar presumably in an attempt to preserve
their own power.
We can also see that Nebuchadnezzar's comments confirm our
earlier conclusion that these men survived and presided in
each of the successive empires of the seven-headed empire
system as Revelation 17 describes, and as Daniel 5-6 records
with regard to Babylon and Media-Persia.
(Points No. 6-8 continue in next article.)
|
 |
|
 |

Related
Images


Historic Map Series
(Maps 1-12)


Additional
Relevant Maps


Lexicon Excerpts


Apocalyptic
Comparison Chart


7 Heads of the
Beast Chart


Illustrations of
Symbols Series
(Illustrations 1-7)


Correspondence of
Visions Diagram
|
 |