Revelation 10

Chapter 10. Mystical Babylon, the Woman and the BeastI saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 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. This title was written on her forehead:MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. (Revelation 17:3-5)It will help us to understand the varied imagery of this wonderful book if we pause at this point and fix in our minds the fact that we have four figures in the Apocalypse which stand as two sets of companion pictures. The one is the coming King and the companion picture is His holy Bride. The opposite picture is the earthly kingdom with seven heads and 10 horns and the counterfeit bride, the false church represented by a vile woman. These four figures loom up above every other amid the symbolism of the book: the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, and the devil’s counterfeit of earthly politics and dominion. This is one contrast. The other is the glorious woman clothed with the sun and crowned with the stars, His blessed Bride; and her antithesis is the harlot who represents the false church. As the Lord Jesus Christ is to be united with His Bride, so Satan’s earthly king becomes wedded to the false church and the woman appears therefore seated upon the beast. Once more the holy Bride is designated in the closing vision of the Apocalypse as the glorious city which is to be her home, and so she is described as “the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:2). In keeping with this the false woman is also associated with the city which is her home, and she is called Babylon. Altogether we have six images: the Lord Jesus, His Bride and the new Jerusalem—a Trinity of blessed and glorious realities; and in contrast with them we have the dragon’s kingdom, the false church and the mystic Babylon. All these images of the evil power are focused in the 17th chapter of Revelation where we see appearing again and again the beast, the harlot and the city of Babylon where all together they establish their dominion and meet their doom. There are really two powers described, the one a political and the other an ecclesiastical power. We saw them both in the 13th chapter of Revelation as two different beasts. Here they are represented by a beast and a woman and the two become united and are judged and destroyed. Let us look at the special features of this remarkable picture and learn its prophetic and practical lessons.

The Figure of a Woman

The Figure of a WomanThis system of spiritual evil is represented under the figure of a woman. This is no new representation. In Zechariah 5:7-11 we behold a woman sitting in the midst of an ephah and then borne by two other women with wings like a stork to her own abode in the land of Shinar—which is just Babylon—and the angel interprets it to the prophet by saying, “this is wickedness” (Zechariah 5:7). This is God’s ancient picture of this false woman. Again, in the 13th chapter of Matthew we find a woman mixing the leaven in three measures of meal. And again in this same book of Revelation in connection with the church of Thyatira the same evil system is represented as “that woman Jezebel” (Revelation 2:20). How truly it is said that woman can be earth’s greatest blessing or bitterest curse! Her power for evil is as boundless as her power for good. She raised a mortal to the skies; She brought an angel down.

A Harlot

A HarlotShe is a vile woman, a harlot. It is implied that she was once pure but has committed spiritual adultery with the world. This figure, of course, is to be understood in its highest spiritual meaning. In the book of Hosea we find as the very basis of the prophet’s appeal to Israel the figure of the false wife; and in the epistle of James those who become the friends of the world are addressed as adulterers and adulteresses, and the apostle adds, “Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?” (James 4:4-5).

Sitting On Many Waters

Sitting On Many WatersThis woman is represented as sitting on many waters. These waters are explained as “peoples, multitudes, nations and languages” (Revelation 17:15). This represents the wide dominion of the false church over earth’s myriads. The Papacy has been eminently successful in her foreign missions because she has adapted herself unscrupulously to the superstitions, prejudices and passions of the various races with whom she has mingled, and today her spiritual sway extends over more than 200 million of the human family.

Dwelling in the Wilderness

Dwelling in the WildernessShe is represented as dwelling in the wilderness: “Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert” (Revelation 17:3). This expression is peculiar and seems to describe with singular propriety the condition of Rome and the surrounding country at the time the Papacy arose. It came out of the wreck of Roman power; and at the time that it first appeared in its supreme claims for ecclesiastical primacy and temporal sovereignty, Gibbon says of Rome she had reached at this time … the lowest period of her depression by the removal of the seat of empire and the successive loss of the provinces, the sources of private and public opulence were exhausted, the lofty tree under whose shade the nations of the earth had reposed was deprived of its leaves and its branches, and the sapless trunk left to wither in the ground. The Campagna of Rome was reduced to the state of a dreary wilderness in which the land is barren, the waters are impure and the air infectious. The depopulation was constant and rapid and gloomy enthusiasts might expect the approaching fate of the human race.

Her Attire

Her AttireThe attire of this woman is described. She was “dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls” (Revelation 17:4). It is unnecessary to identify these colors with the insignia and adornment of the entire Papal ritual and officiary. The prominent colors in its great ecclesiastical ceremonies are purple and scarlet. The red hood of the cardinal is the most honored gift of the church. Its altars are decked with gold and precious stones so that even silver is scarcely seen. In the single church of St. Paul’s at Rome there is altar after altar which has been endowed by kings and princes, each of which is of incalculable value.

Holds a Golden Cup

Holds a Golden CupShe is represented as holding in her hand a “golden cup… filled with abominable things” (Revelation 17:4). It is strangely significant that one of the official medals of the Papacy struck by Leo XII contains on its face this very picture of a woman holding in her hand a golden cup and with the Latin inscription, “sedet super univenam.”

The Blood of Saints

The Blood of SaintsThis woman is “drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus” (Revelation 17:6). She has been a persecuting power and the rage of persecution has become the wild passion of intoxication. It is unnecessary for us to recall that we have already said in this connection in the former chapters to prove that with the Papacy the shedding of the blood of saints has been a passion and a carnival of fiendish delight.

The Name On Her Forehead

The Name On Her ForeheadHer name is emblazoned on her forehead, MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. (Revelation 17:5) Here we have the first local mark of identity, apparently at least, but we are prepared to attach a purely figurative meaning to the local name by the word “MYSTERY” which precedes it. We are reminded that the prophet is not speaking about literal but mystical Babylon. Babylon was the head of the whole system of earthly powers described by Daniel’s vision, and these represent in prophetic symbolism the whole system of Antichrist. Beginning with the tower of Babel, the first center of man’s rebellion against God, it represents the whole series of developments of Satan’s kingdom from the beginning to the end. This system is to nominal Christianity what ancient Babylon was to the heathen world.

Her Motherhood

Her MotherhoodBut what is meant by her motherhood and her children, “THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Revelation 17:5)? Of course, it first suggests the impure and defiling influence of her teaching and example upon her own children. We do not need to look far to find the degrading effects of Romanism in all the communities that have been steeped in its superstitions. Look at those European countries where it has predominated and you will find all the hallowed restraints of domestic and social life relaxed and destroyed. And when you come to such lands as the republics of South America and the colonies of France and Spain where the priesthood has ruled with unrestricted influence, you find the sanctity of home almost unknown, the rising generation blighted with the stain of illegitimacy and the very ministers of religion detested and abhorred because of their unholy lives. But more is meant than this. It is meant that this mother church has ecclesiastical children, that there are other churches besides the Papacy that are included in the mystical Babylon. While we condemn the fearful record of the Papacy let us not forget that the name of Protestant does not shield us from her curse if we are sullied with her stain. There is a Romanism of Protestantism just as real as that of the Papacy—a spirit of outward form, of compromise with the world, of ecclesiastical ambition and pride, of gorgeous architecture, splendid ritual and dead works which will bring the same curse upon the daughters as falls upon the mother’s head. Alas! the saddest thing about this woman is that once, she, too, was pure. She seems to be the same woman that the apostle saw in her youth in the 12th chapter, clothed with the sun and trampling upon the darkness of night. But, alas! how changed has she become since she learned to lean upon the arm of flesh and compromise with the spirit of the world! And if the Apostolic Church could sink so low, why may not the church of the Reformation, the church of the Puritans, the church of the Covenanters also become partaker of the guilt and doom of Babylon? Is not this the meaning of that solemn passage which we hear sounding from heaven: “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4)? We cannot fail to notice, especially in the 18th chapter which describes the doom of Babylon, the atmosphere of luxury, self-indulgence, commercial enterprise, enormous wealth, aesthetic culture and the pomp and glory of the present world connected with this whole religious system. It seems most aptly to describe the church which seeks to ally itself with the world’s wealth, refinement and pleasure. She had lived “deliciously” (Revelation 18:7). She said, “I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn” (Revelation 18:7). She was full of the merchants of the earth. She was bedecked with gold, silver, precious stones and pearls, and clothed in fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet. Her houses were filled with ivory, precious wood, marble, brass and iron, perfumes, wine, equipage, earth’s most precious fruit, luxury, beauty and glory, and the highest aesthetic culture. The voice of harpists and musicians, pipers and trumpeters are all represented there. Surely it describes the church in alliance with the world, embracing it in her membership, compromising with it in her principles, and finding with it her pleasures, her aims and her rewards. Is not this the church which we see taking form on every side of us today? Her name is Protestant but her spirit is that of the woman sitting on the beast. We see her in the third chapter of Revelation as Laodicea. We see her here as Babylon. Do not let us be misunderstood as including all parts and members of the visible church. It is only in so far as the visible church enters into the spirit of Babylon that she becomes partaker with her of her character and doom. The Papacy is the mother but these are her daughters that share the destiny of her who gave them birth.

The City

The CityIn the 18th verse of the 17th chapter and in the verses which follow in the 18th chapter the image changes from the woman to the city and the vision becomes localized in Babylon more than in the woman. “The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” There seems no other city on earth with which this can be identified but Rome. Twice already has this vision of wealth, influence and worldwide dominion been realized in the city of the seven hills, and there seems every reason to suppose that it will yet be realized once more in some era of greatness and glory before the end which yet may await this historic place. True, at the present time Rome is not the metropolis of a worldwide commerce such as the 18th chapter describes, but it would not be difficult to restore its ancient preeminence in the last days of the tribulation times, especially if once again the Papal system became the embodiment of earth’s combined systems of political and ecclesiastical power. Certainly, at the time that John wrote she was entitled above all other places on earth to this preeminence, and all through the Middle Ages she was the center of the world’s wealth, culture, influence and power. The features which are specified in the descriptions which follow leave no doubt of the identity of Rome.

The Mountains

The MountainsAmong these are the mountains on which she is represented as sitting. “The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits” (Revelation 17:9). Rome is built on seven hills and has long been known as the seven-hilled city. They are the topographical feature of Rome. But these mountains are next explained not merely as literal hills but as symbols of seven kings or kingdoms, and they are more fully explained in the 10th verse. “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 a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction” (Revelation 17:10-11). We have already explained in a former chapter that the seven heads of this world power are the successive empires that have dominated the world: namely, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia and Greece. These were the five that had fallen in the days of John. The one that was still in existence at that time was Rome. The other that was not yet come was the Papacy. And the eighth head of the beast, who was of the seven and was to head it up as an eighth head and then go into perdition, was the devil himself who had been in all the seven as their master mind and invisible head, and who, at last, it would seem, is to become incarnate as a visible personality and lead the last battle against Jehovah and then go into perdition.

The Woman’s Attitude

The Woman’s AttitudeNext we come to the attitude of the woman to the beast. She is represented as sitting on him, carried by him and supported by his power. This represents the union of the false church with the world power. We see this through the whole story of the Papacy, and after the church became the state religion of Rome the unity became more intimate until the purity of the church was corrupted and finally the earthly and the spiritual power became identified in their aims, policies and means of aggrandizement. The Papacy used the armies of the world for the propagation of her policy and principles and the punishment of heretics, and she in turn crowned earth’s kings and rewarded them with her endorsement. Charlemagne the Great, who restored the old Roman Empire, was crowned by the Pope as the founder and the king of the whole Roman Empire. Henry of England was called the Defender of the Faith. France was named the eldest son of the Papacy. Her cathedrals and altars were built and adorned by the munificences of princes and they were expected in return to obey her and submit to her supremacy. Thus she committed fornication with the kings of the earth and sat on the beast as her supporter.

The Attitude of the 10 Horns

The Attitude of the 10 HornsWe next note a peculiar feature of this vision, the attitude of the 10 horns of the beast to this woman. We know who these 10 horns were: the broken kingdoms which followed the wreck of the Roman Empire. They received power as kings for a season with the beast and they give their strength unto the beast and with him make war against the Lamb, and at last are to be arrayed against the Son of God when He comes. It is remarkable that these horns appear without crowns at this stage of the vision. It looks as though the monarchical was to give place in the last days to the democratic form of government for earth’s nations. They are still to be horns but democratic rather than kingly horns. But the peculiar feature is that toward the last we find these horns in the 16th verse turning against the harlot and making her desolate and naked and eating her flesh and burning it with fire. Do we find any such strange transformation in the attitude of modern nations toward the Papacy? Surely there is nothing more remarkable than the exact correspondence of the events of modern history with this part of the vision. Was there ever a country more completely under the control of the Papacy than France; and yet, was there ever a country that turned so violently against the Papacy in the French Revolution and the series of events that followed, defiling her sanctuaries, besieging the Pope in his capital, capturing him, carrying him off to die in exile, and setting in operation the long train of events which culminated in the fall of the temporal power of the Papacy? Scarcely less marked was the next chapter in this drama, the rising up of Italy—long the seat and constituency of the Papacy—driving the Pope from the throne and establishing an independent political power under his very eyes. So we have lately seen the people of Cuba and South America rising against the Spanish power which was practically an instrument of the Papacy, and we know that their hatred of the monks and priests was far greater than of the representatives of the Spanish political power. Thus already have the horns begun to ravage and waste the harlot, and God is fulfilling His precious Word and will still fulfill it in the same direction yet more wondrously.

The Destruction of Babylon

The Destruction of BabylonThe destruction of Babylon is the great catastrophe of the 18th chapter. There seems to be a double process of destruction. The cry that echoes through the heavens is twofold. “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!” (Revelation 18:2). So we see two processes of destruction going on in the providence of God. One is political. This has already begun through the agency of the 10 horns, earth’s political forces. The other is to be the more sudden and terrible destruction of the ecclesiastical system which will be by the personal appearing of the Lord Jesus and the brightness of His coming. The vision of Daniel represents the gradual process culminating in a sudden catastrophe. There the words used are “will be taken away and completely destroyed forever” (Daniel 7:26). What the exact significance of this final catastrophe will be it is premature for us to discuss. It is one of the events of the future connected with the closing days of the great tribulation when so many stupendous and awful judgments are to culminate on this doomed earth. It is surely becoming for us to judge with modest deference these mighty future possibilities. But out of all these solemn signs the lesson is surely plain. It is the call for these last days, “Come out of her my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4). This does not mean come out of the churches, but, come out of the spirit of compromise, the spirit of luxury, the spirit of selfishness, the spirit of a worldly church, the spirit of Babylon, the spirit of indulgence, extravagance and pride, the spirit that seeks its satisfaction here and sits a queen instead of a widow waiting for her absent Lord. Thank God that while so many even in the churches of Protestantism have fallen into the spirit where we fear they will meet the curse of Babylon, there is a little flock all through the ages that today can be found in all branches of the Church of Christ walking in separation and watching, white-robed and Spirit-filled, for their inheritance when the Bridegroom comes and the true kingdom will be ushered in. God grant that we may be found in that happy company.