Revelation chapter 17 explains that the essence of Israel’s sin was spiritual adultery: forsaking Christ for Caesar and becoming drunk on the blood of the Church.
Revelation 17:1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”
3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. 5 The name written on her forehead was a mystery:
Babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes, and of the abominations of the earth.
6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. 7 Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.
9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
12 “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”
15 Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. 16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
John is shown the great prostitute:
Revelation 17:1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”
Again John compares Jerusalem to Babylon, making reference to Jeremiah 50-51, “O thou that dwell upon many waters, abundant in treasures, your end is come.” Because of her unfaithfulness to her God, Israel is likened to a prostitute.
See how the faithful city has become a prostitute, She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her— but now murderers! Isaiah 1:21
Do not rejoice, Israel; do not be jubilant like the other nations. For you have been unfaithful to your God: you love the wages of a prostitute at every threshing floor. Hosea 9:1
You spread your legs to every passerby. Ezekiel 16:25, the entire chapter is very crude, detailing Israel’s unfaithfulness, graphically describing her lusts and the widespread use of pornography, and much more.
Earlier in their history Israel had rejected God as their King and had demanded an earthly king. This generation had made the same mistake. They rejected their true King Jesus, the Messiah, and pledged their allegiance to Caesar.
They said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me, serving other gods… Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights. I Samuel 8:7-8
Rejecting Christ the Jews proclaimed:
We have no king but Caesar. John 19:15
Do you remember Christ’s message To the Church at Thyatira?
Revelation 2:20 “Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.”
God’s people are always being warned about apostasy because we are always so easily enticed by the culture around us. Unbelievers look pretty good, they are healthy, wealthy, intelligent, pragmatic, unrepressed, and having fun. Psalm 73 Looking at them we are easily tempted to compromise rather than speak prophetically. We rationalize… If we go along with the flow of culture we can have a great life now with a lot of great benefits and enjoyment. Or the more spiritual might rationalize that they can be less offensive to the unbeliever, be accepted by the cool kids, and maybe be better witnesses for Christ. Of course as Asaph discovered in Psalm 73 such thinking is a very slippery slope leading to destruction. When we stop being salt and light and increasingly become indistinguishable from the culture we fail not only ourselves but also the culture. Neither will long survive without God’s truth.
Revelation 17:3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. 5 The name written on her forehead was a mystery: Babylon the Great: the mother of Prostitutes: and of the Abominations of the earth.
The harlot is pictured sitting on the beast because apostate Israel was dependent on Rome for her national existence and power. Jerusalem worked in league with Rome both to crucify Christ and to persecute Christ’s Body, the Church. Additionally, she is described as adorned in the royal dress of the priests. But although she is still adorned in the outward trappings of the pure, chaste priesthood, beneath her royal dress she is a vile whore.
How often has the church outwardly looked like the church, pretty buildings, steeples, respected clergy, but inside it is rotting, becoming just a mirror of the culture?
Revelation 17:6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.
The mother of prostitutes, Babylon, who is Israel, has joined forces with Rome. She is murdering Christians, those who bore testimony to Jesus, just as Christ had predicted:
Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.
Matthew 23:34-37
Because this generation had done the unthinkable, crucifying the Messiah, Christ had pronounced judgment: Upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah. Matthew 23:35
Revelation 17:6 When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. 7 Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.
9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
12 “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”
This calls for wisdom… In other words the contemporary readers were expected to understand this as it applied to them.
The seven hills again identify the beast as Rome. As you will no doubt recall from your elementary school history lessons, Rome was built on seven hills named; Aventine, Caelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal, and Viminal. The reference to the seven kings is to Rome’s Caesars, five have fallen, Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius. One now is, Nero. One must remain a little while; Galba reigned for only seven months. The ten horns reference the ten Roman provinces, Italy, Achaia, Asia, Syria, Egypt, Africa, Spain, Gaul, Britain, and Germany.
“The totality of those allied or subject kings aided Rome in her wars both on Judaism and Christianity” Milton Terry, “Biblical Apocalyptics…”
Attesting to the alliance Luke wrote: That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies. Luke 23:12
Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. Acts 4:27
Though Israel and Rome conspired against Christ and his Church, nevertheless they were implored to fear God and make peace or they would soon face the sure wrath of God.
Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. Psalm 2:11-12
Persecution is inevitable for those who are determined to live Christian lives, while wicked and deceitful men will go from bad to worse, deluding others and deluding themselves. 2 Timothy 3:12
They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. John 16:12 And of course, we read about that exact persecution taking place in Smyrna and Philadelphia.
Revelation 17:15 Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. 16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
In the Old Testament if a priest’s daughter became a whore she was to be burned with fire… Here God promises that he would use the harlot Israel’s former lovers, the heathen nations, The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages, to burn her to the ground. Leviticus 21:9
Though unfaithful Israel had aligned herself with the beast, the unbelieving nations, would eventually turn on her and destroy her. Making her desolate as Daniel had prophesied.
Rome believed that in destroying Jerusalem they would destroy Christianity. In 70 AD Titus besieged and destroyed both Jerusalem and the Temple. “Titus himself thought that the temple ought specially be overthrown, in order that the religion of the Jews and of the Christians might more thoroughly be subverted… If the root were extirpated the offshoot would speedily perish.” Septimius Severus,
“A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Church”
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. Daniel 9:26-27
And as Christ had prophesied.
So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Matthew 24:15-16
And as we have seen, that is just what happened. The people of the church at Jerusalem, in accordance with a certain oracle…had been commanded to depart from the city before the war. Eusebius, “A New Eusebius: Documents Illustrating the History of the Church”
Revelation 17:18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
How can Jerusalem be said to rule “over the kings of the earth”?
We tend to view history as political and easily get entangled in the politics of the day, seeking to appease the gods of this present age. However, looking behind the scenes with John, we learn that true history is actually Covenantal. Although many have used Christ for political ends, Christ’s singular mission was redemptive: to save his people from their sins, Matthew 1:21, give his life as a ransom for many, Mark 10:45, seek and save the lost, Luke 19:10, grant eternal life, John 3:16.
Israel was to be a Kingdom of priests telling the nations about the wonders, works, and ways of God. Exodus 19:6 We are never to appease the popular political gods by neglecting or forgetting our primary responsibility: telling the world about the true God. Likewise, I Peter 2:9 taught that Christians are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
The earth is God’s possession. Psalm 2:8 You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
Psalm 24: The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it. For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the rivers.…
How sad then, when God’s people compromise with the culture rather than proclaiming God’s ownership and, thereby extending God’s offer of life which alone is able to transform men and their cultures into God’s image. God’s promise to the compromising Church is always, Revelation 2:5 Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place– unless you repent.
As Paul taught both the Corinthians and Galatians: do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor the effeminate nor homosexuals 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God… The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. I Corinthians 6:9-11
Christians are warned to never make excuses for their cherished sins: theft, greed, selfishness, factions, drunkenness witchcraft, hate, discord, jealousy, rage, and more. And in today’s world of sexual anarchy, Christians are particularly susceptible to rationalizing and accepting their sexual sins such as fornication, adultery, homosexuality and other LGBTQ+ experimentations. But notice what Paul said to the Corinthians; That is what some of you were but you were washed…
Christians are to no longer practice or identify with their former sinful behaviors. We are no longer thieves, or homosexuals, or drunks, etc., we are made new in Christ. We are to identify as Christians. However, as we have seen, to Christians that insist on continuing to practice such things, Christ promises to come and remove their lampstand.