(Part 9)
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 11/26/2017
If you’re just joining us, we are nearing the end of this ten-week excursion into the blessed yet baffling book of Revelation. Before we can enjoy the final chapters, however, there remains one last mystery to solve.
Last week, in Revelation 13, a scarlet, seven-headed beast exploded out of the sea and into John’s vision. This hideous and horrifying beast looked like a leopard, but had the feet of a bear and the mouth of lion. The beast wages war on Christians for forty-two months and demands to be worshipped as god. Both the monstrous imagery and the malicious intent of the beast, help us uncover the mysterious identity of the beast, who is none other than the Roman Empire and its reigning emperor, Nero Caesar.
But in chapter 17, John sees a woman riding on this terrible beast. She’s often called, the Whore of Babylon. “What has puzzled me over the years is not the identity of ‘the great prostitute,’ but how so many could mistake her historical identity. On the one hand, hundreds of prophecy experts misidentify the great prostitute as the contemporary Roman Catholic Church. On the other, hundreds of commentators identify the great harlot as ancient (or revived) imperial Rome… either way, this is a clear case of mistaken identity.”
If you have a Bible or an app on your phone, open it to Revelation 17. We’ll be looking at Revelation 17, 18 and 19, but let’s start with chapter 17, which focuses on the prostitute.
• THE PROSTITUTE
As chapter 17 begins, an angel calls to John saying, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute” (Revelation 17:1 NIV). So, John accompanies the angel on a spiritual journey into the wilderness, where he writes:
I 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. The name written on her forehead was a mystery: Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and of the Abominations of the Earth. 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. (Revelation 17:3-6 NIV)
As I already alluded to, all sorts of sensational suggestions have been made concerning the identity of the great prostitute, but—as always—Revelation itself provides us with several clues to help piece together this puzzle.
The first clue is handed to us on a silver platter when an angel explains to John, “The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth” (Revelation 17:18). So, we know that the great prostitute represents a great city. But which great city?
Contemporary conjectures include New York, Brussels, and the Vatican. More sensible scholars point to Rome, the capital city of the empire. However, I’m convinced that the great prostitute is none other than Jerusalem.
First, the city is called “the great city” multiple times. The first time the phrase “the great city” is used in Revelation is clearly a reference to Jerusalem. Back in chapter 11, John is told to measure the Temple in the holy city. That same city is then called “the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified” (Revelation 11:8 NIV). So the great city is the holy city, where the Temple resided, and where Jesus was crucified. No city beside Jerusalem matches that description. This same verse also sets a precedent for referring to Jerusalem figuratively. Just like Babylon, Sodom and Egypt were infamously wicked pagan places, hostile to God. If Jerusalem is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt in chapter 11, then it’s quite consistent to call it Babylon in chapter 17.
Furthermore, the clothing worn by the great prostitute reflects the clothing worn by the Jewish priests. John says, “The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold” (Revelation 17:4 NIV). This imagery comes from the Ephod worn by the high priest. God gave instructions: “Make the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen—the work of skilled hands” (Exodus 28:5-6 NIV). In fact, not only does the high priest dress in purple, scarlet and gold, but the Temple itself was decorated in purple, scarlet and gold. All of the fixtures inside the Temple were made of gold and the tapestries were purple and scarlet. The Jewish historian Joseph describes the curtain separating the “Holy Place” from the “Most Holy Place” this way: “It was a Babylonian curtain, embroidered with blue, and fine linen, and scarlet, and purple, and of a texture that was truly wonderful” (The Jewish Wars V.5.4).
Similarly, the imagery of inscription on the great prostitute’s head comes from the priestly garments: “Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: holy to the Lord. Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban. It will be on Aaron’s forehead” (Exodus 28:36-38 NIV).
Finally, and most importantly, in biblical history only one nation is inextricably linked to the moniker “prostitute.” And that nation is Israel! Time and time again, God accuses the people of Israel of adulterous prostitution.
Isaiah writes, “See how Jerusalem, once so faithful, has become a prostitute!” (Isaiah 1:21 NLT). Jeremiah agrees, saying, “For you are a brazen prostitute and completely shameless” (Jeremiah 3:3 NLT). And Ezekiel agrees, “What a sick heart you have, says the Sovereign Lord, to do such things as these, acting like a shameless prostitute” (Ezekiel 16:30 NLT).
You see, God often compares his relationship to Israel to that of a husband and wife. When the Israelites were unfaithful, chasing after false gods or foreign governments, God accused them of adultery and prostitution. There’s even an entire book of the Bible illustrating this metaphor. In the short prophetic book of Hosea, God instructs Hosea to marry a prostitute, who repeatedly cheats on him. God tells Hosea that this is what his relationship with Israel is like.
Of course, adultery and prostitution weren’t her only sins. She was also a murderer, “drunk with the blood of God’s holy people” (Revelation 17:6). Jerusalem is the city were Christ was slain and Christians were first slaughtered. Long ago, God warned Jerusalem, saying, “I will punish you for your murder and adultery” (Ezekiel 16:38 NLT). That punishment is the focus of Revelation 18.
• THE PUNISHMENT
The punishment of Jerusalem was foretold in very graphic imagery a few chapters back: “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries… they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever” (Revelation 14:8-10 NIV).
Although many take this passage out of context as a reference to eternal torment in hell, this declaration is instead a part of John’s apocalyptic vision which continues in chapter 18: “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great…For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries” (Revelation 18:2-3 NIV).
The fall of Jerusalem is then described in vivid apocalyptic terms. For instance: “And the kings of the world who committed adultery with her and enjoyed her great luxury will mourn for her as they see the smoke rising from her charred remains. They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment” (Revelation 18:9-10 NLT).
The imagery of torment, fire and smoke rising as far as the eye can see is used over and over in this chapter. It’s first witnessed by the kings of the land, then by the merchants, then by crews of nearby ships. All of them witness Babylon being consumed by fire, experiencing great torment, and smoke ascending from the city. This imagery conveys the absolute downfall and destruction of the city.
Finally, an angel picks up a huge millstone and throws it into the sea, shouting, “Just like this, the great city Babylon will be thrown down with violence and will never be found again” (Revelation 18:21 NLT).
All this violence, Revelation tells us, will come at the hands of the beast: “The scarlet beast and his ten horns all hate the prostitute. They will strip her naked, eat her flesh, and burn her remains with fire. For God has put a plan into their minds, a plan that will carry out his purposes” (Revelation 17:16-17).
Just as God said, the Roman Empire (represented by the scarlet beast) carried out God’s punishment against Jerusalem.
In 67 AD Nero Caesar sent General Vespasian to put an end to the Jewish uprising. The Roman army surrounded the city, first cutting off their food and water supply in order to starve the Jews out. The famine led to numerous deaths. Infighting amongst Jewish factions led to more. When Nero died, Vespasian returned to Rome to claim the throne, leaving his son Titus in charge of the siege. Interestingly, the penalty for adultery or murder in the Old Testament was stoning, and that’s just what happened to Jerusalem. Titus pummeled the city with hundred-pound stones launched by Roman catapults. After finally penetrating the wall, the Roman army slew every citizen within it—over 1,000,000 people, according to Josephus. The entire city, including the Temple, was demolished. Not one stone left upon another. In summary, Josephus writes, “Never did any other city ever suffer such miseries, nor did any age from the beginning of the world ever breed a generation more fruitful in wickedness as this was” (Wars 5.10.4).
The death and destruction doled out by the Roman empire carried out God’s judgement against Jerusalem. In the wake of Jerusalem’s destruction, however, the halls of heaven are filled with shouts of praise!
• THE PRAISE
As chapter 19 begins, John hears a vast crowd in heaven shouting, “Praise the Lord! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God. His judgments are true and just. He has punished the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the murder of his servants” (Revelation 19:1-2 NLT). Again, their voices rang out, “Praise the Lord! The smoke from that city ascends forever and ever!” (Revelation 19:3 NLT).
Then the twenty-four elders join in, crying out, “Amen! Praise the Lord!” (Revelation 19:4). All of heaven, it seems, praises the Lord for the punishment of the prostitute. Justice has been carried out. The piercing of Christ and persecution of Christians has been avenged. But there is more to it than that.
Continuing this imagery of Israel as an adulterous wife, the destruction of Jerusalem means that God is free to take a new bride. Suddenly John hears what sounds like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crashing of loud thunder. It’s the shout of a vast crowd, saying, “Praise the Lord! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns… For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself” (Revelation 19:6-7 NLT).
And then an angel says to John, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:8 NLT).
All of heaven praises the Lord and prepares for a great wedding banquet because the death of the adulterous prostitute, Jerusalem, means that Jesus is free to take a new bride—the church. All of Revelation has been building toward this wedding celebration, when the bride of Christ would finally walk down the aisle. Finally, John writes, “And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Revelation 21:2 NLT).
Following the destruction of the historical Jerusalem, Jesus take a new bride, the heavenly Jerusalem—representative of Christ’s holy church. We’ll take a deeper look at the New Jerusalem next week, but for now I want you to notice the contrast drawn between these two women. John writes, “She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear. For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people” (Revelation 19:8 NLT).
Two women: The first is call a prostitute; the second is call pure. The first is call a harlot; the second is call holy. The first is punished; the second is praised. The first is called a widow who refuses to mourn (18:7); the second is called a wife who rejoices to marry. The contrast couldn’t be clearer.
But the bride of the Lamb isn’t pure and holy and praise worthy all on her own. Rather, the Bible says, “Christ loved the church and gave himself for it to make it belong to God… He died so that he could give the church to himself like a bride in all her beauty” (Ephesians 5:25-27 NCV).
Folks, let’s join the hosts of heaven in praising the Lord, not only for his punishing evil, but for embracing his new bride—the church. As Christians, you and I are invited to that wedding feast of the Lamb. We are citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem. Christ died to make you beautiful and give you a place to belong.
Conclusion:
In summary, these three chapters spotlight: (1) the great prostitute—the citizens of Jerusalem who crucified Christ and persecuted Christians, (2) the great punishment—the total destruction of the Jerusalem carried out by the Romans, and (3) the great praise—the joyous celebration of heaven at the wedding feast of Christ.
Here’s what we need to take with us: Cheating on your spouse is a serious offense. In the Old Testament, it was punishable by death. Today, it typically leads to divorce. Rightfully so. When a covenant is broken, there are consequences.
Many of you would never consider cheating on your spouse. But how faithful are you to God? You and I are in a relationship with God. A relationship that parallels (and exceeds) the one between a husband and a wife. When you first gave your life to Christ, you pledged to be faithful to Him for the rest of your life. Let’s not follow in the footsteps of Jerusalem. Let’s love, honor, and obey God for as we live.
Next week, we’ll conclude our adventure through Revelation.
Invitation:
In the meantime, maybe you haven’t been fully faithful to God and you need to pledge your love anew. Or maybe you’ve never entered into relationship with Jesus and you’re ready to do that today. If you want to pledge your love and faithfulness to Jesus today, then come talk with me after church, call me at home, or come forward now while we stand and sing.
Let’s sing together church!
