EIGHT CHAPTERS
EXPLAINING THE SPIRITUAL BATTLES, PEOPLE, AND
EVENTS OF THE GREAT
TRIBULATION TO THE RETURN OF
KING JESUS TO RULE THIS
EARTH:
PART VII: BABYLON THE
GREAT, THE ANTICHRIST’S CAPITAL CITY,
WILL BE JUDGED BECAUSE
OF ITS FALSE RELIGION
Revelation 17:1-18
As taught by Dave
Lindstrom
I. The false religion at the time of
the Antichrist’s rule and reign comes out of the same strain of
satanically motivated anti-Yahweh and anti-Messiah religions from
all time (Rev. 17:1-6a).
A. The Apostle John receives this
message from one of the seven angels that have just delivered the
seven bowl judgments to give added information. The wrath of Yahweh
had to be poured out (Rev. 14.8, 16:19) on the satanically
corrupted religious system (great prostitute controlling most of
the world population Rev. 17:15) in order for Yahweh’s ultimate
pure system to finally be established in Revelation 21:9 (verse 1).
1. The kings of the earth have
committed “sexual immorality” with her by believing her
message instead of Yahweh’s (verse 2a; Isa. 23:15-17; Jer.
2:20-31).
2. The “wine” of her sexual
immorality (Rev. 14:8) is judged by the “wine” of the fury of
Yahweh’s wrath (Rev. 16:19). The wine can be the finished
product of evil as well as good (verse 2a; Matt. 26:29; Jer.
51:7-14).
B. The Apostle John is carried away
(in the Spirit) to a wilderness to receive the vision of the
prostitute and the corrupt city of Babylon, whereas, he is carried
to a high mountain in Revelation 21:10 to receive the glorious
vision of the holy city Jerusalem (verses 3-5).
1. The wilderness or desert in this
context is prophesying the dryness of the prostitutes influence
which will lead to Babylon the Greats destruction (much like Isaiah
did with the previous nation of Babylon in Isaiah 21:1-10) (verse
3a).
2. The prostitute is sitting on the
same beast of Revelation 12:3 only this time we are told that it
is scarlet colored (probably representing sin, Isaiah 1:18) or blood
(Rev. 16:6). The beast represents the seven-headed satanically
influenced world empires that have opposed Yahweh’s believers
throughout history (probably Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media,
Persia, Greece, and Rome) as well as the ten-horned (ten kinged)
revived Roman Empire at the time of the Antichrist. Each of these
empires had and will have false religious systems that oppose
Yahweh blaspheming (cursing) His name (verse 3b).
3. The prostitute deceives the
nations by her appealing outer beauty and her promises of wealth
and fulfillment. However, what she really offers are abominations
which are detestable in Yahweh’s sight and provoke His wrath
(verse 4; I Sam. 16:7; Jer. 13:27; Ezek. 5:9).
4. There are three main views of how
to understand the use of Babylon in the book of Revelation: 1) It
is symbolic of the Roman Empire of John’s day (I Pet. 5:13); 2) It
is rebuilt Babylon on the Euphrates River during the time of the
Antichrist; 3) It is symbolic of all false religion and proud
human society that has tried to live without Yahweh or His help
throughout time (Gen. 11:1-9, Dan. 4:30). I would see Babylon as a
Revived Roman Empire that is still future from now (some of #1)
with a capital city that reflects the glory of a rebuilt city of
Babylon (not necessarily on the Euphrates, part of #2) and a false
religion incorporating Satan’s full deceit and demonic schemes (all
of #3) (verse 5).
5. Throughout time Satan’s false
religions have brought suffering and persecution to those who seek
to acknowledge Israel’s Yahweh as their God and believe in Messiah
Jesus (verse 6a; Dan. 7:25; Matt. 24:21; Rev. 13:10).
THOUGHT: False
religion comes from satanic influence on peoples minds and can bring
destructive thoughts, wrong living, physical death, and spiritual
death (John 10:10). This will all be judged by Yahweh Jesus soon
(Rev. 19:11 – 20:15).
II. The mystery of the woman and the
beast is revealed by the angel as ultimately being conquered by the
Lamb and His saints (Rev. 17:6b-14).
A. The Apostle John was marveling with
great wonder at the sight of the prostitute riding the beast. He
was either perplexed, distressed, and/or questioning if she could be
overcome. The context seems to imply all three (verses 6b, 7; Dan.
7:28, 8:27, 10:7, 8, 12:8).
B. The coming Antichrist is now
revealed to the Apostle John as the person who will rise out of
these seven nations and rule over these ten kings to make war
against Yahweh (verses 8-14).
1. Just like Revelation chapter 12
and 13 moves from the seven empire beast to the personal
Antichrist beast, so does Revelation 17:1-7 (seven empire beast)
move to the personal Antichrist beast in Revelation 17:8. Yahweh
Jesus “is and was and is to come”
(Rev. 1:4, 8) but the Antichrist
“was and is not”…and (will) “go to destruction.”
Therefore, truth, salvation, and eternal life lie with the true
Christ and not the Antichrist (verse 8).
a. The beast “was” could be
either a type of the beast ruler found in Daniel 7 and/or the
antichrists that have come against Israel and the church
throughout history
(I John 2:22). Some teachers have
thought the Antichrist might believe himself to be a reincarnated
emperor.
b. The Antichrist “was not”
alive at the time of the writing of Revelation.
c. The Antichrist appears to the
world to have died and been reincarnated (Rev. 13:3) but in
reality he became possessed by Satan or one of the demons (Rev. 11:7,
13:4).
d. The Antichrist will “go to
destruction.” (Rev. 19:20).
2. The seven mountains and kings that
become an eighth take spiritual wisdom and discernment to figure
out (verses 9-11). There are two main possibilities for the futurist
interpretation:
a. They are seven real Roman kings
(Rome was said to be built on seven hills), five that existed
before John (that have died or been killed), one that is (Domitian or
Nero if a person adopts an earlier date), one that will come for
a short time and then the Antichrist at the end. However, it is
hard for the timing of the Roman kings to fit properly. A list of
the Roman Emperors is as follows: Julius Caesar (44 B.C.),
Augustus (27 B.C. - 14 A.D.), Tiberius (14-37 A.D.), Caligula
(37-41 A.D.), Claudius (41-54 A.D.), Nero (54-68 A.D.) Galba,
Otho, Vitellius (68-69 A.D.), Vespasian (69-79 A.D.), Titus
79-81 A.D.), Domitian (81-96 A.D.), Nerva (96-98 A.D.), and Trajan (98-117
A.D.).
b. They are seven empires (mountains
are used for empires in Scripture in Psalm 30:7, Psalm 68:15, 16;
Isa. 2:2, 41:15; Jer. 51:25; Dan. 2:35; Zech. 4:7) that are probably
Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the
Revived Roman Empire. Of these, the first five have fallen,
Rome exists at the time of Revelation, the ten-nation revived
Roman Empire will exist for a short time, and the Antichrist’s
kingdom will be the eighth. This seems to best fit the
Scriptures of Daniel 7:1-28, Revelation 12:3, and 13:1. However,
it does take combining the empires of Media and Persia, as Daniel
does, to make it work.
3. The ten kings rule a major part of
the earth for a short time but when the Antichrist comes on the
scene, they choose to hand their power over to him (Dan. 7:19-22).
Together they make war against Yahweh’s people although three of
the original kings fall, but are finally conquered by the Lamb
and His saints (verses 12-14; Daniel 7:20-28; Rev. 19:11-16).
III. Yahweh’s judgment on the
prostitute (the satanic religion during the time of the ten kings and
Antichrist) is ironically partly carried out by the ten-kinged
kingdom led by the Antichrist
(Revelation 17:15-18).
A. The false religion of Satan
controls the world during the time of the ten-kinged kingdom and
the Antichrist from the great city Babylon (verses 15, 18; II Thes.
2:3-12; Rev. 13:5-18).
B. Yahweh exalts Himself and shows His
power over the kingdom of darkness by putting a plan inside the
hearts of the demonically controlled kings and Antichrist to turn
against the prostitute. In so doing, Satan’s power and supposed
kingdom divides against itself as Jesus predicted (Mark 3:23-26;
John 10:7-21). Evidently, the end time city called Babylon the great
which ruled the world through its false religion gets conquered and
burned up by its own people (verses 16, 17).
