One of the angels who has carried one of the bowls of judgment now approaches John. Whereas the meaning of the seven bowls was a general judgment upon the world, the angel offers to show John the specific judgment of the great whore who is seated on many waters. Note what we are told about this woman. She sits upon a scarlet beast full of blasphemy. She, like the fearful beasts we have seen before, has the imagery of secular authority (seven heads) and military might (ten horns). She is Rome and at the same time she is every earthly power that sets itself against God’s people and his purposes. She is dressed in purple, claiming royal prerogative. She sits upon many waters. We are told in v. 15 that these waters symbolize the many peoples and nations she rules over. Her rule is worldwide. She is adorned with precious things, but the golden cup in her hand holds only filth. She is drunk and the wine of her inebriation is the blood of God’s faithful saints. She is the force behind their martyrdom.
What are we to make of this image? Clearly the great whore symbolizes a particular temptation. In v. 6 John tells us that he marvels at her. He too feels the temptation of her lure. He is attracted to her. A whore takes what is good and pure and perverts its purpose. The great whore of Revelation does the same. She is the lure of false religion, taking the good things of God and perverting them. She is the antithesis of the sexually pure ones whom we saw worshiping the Lamb (14:4). In v. 5 she is described as the mother of whores, that is, her falsehood gives birth to all the rest.
In v. 7 the angel tells John to wake up and smell the coffee. The angel will tell John who this woman is. The beast she rides, he is told, is a shadow mockery of God. In chapter 4:8 the heavenly host proclaim of God: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. Here we meet the beast that was and is not and is to come. It is important to note that in vs. 8, 12, 15, and 18 the angel reminds John of the specific things he saw. John sees these things. The angel interprets their meaning. This is not the realm of vague feeling or kaleidoscopic impressions. The false religion of the great whore relies upon feelings and desire. Their corrective is revelation and true understanding.
In v. 8 the angel gives to John a very clear statement of the doctrine of election. Those condemned with the woman and the beast are those inhabitants of the earth, whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. The angel gives John an enigmatic statement regarding the seven heads that John sees. We have already mentioned how this is an allusion to Rome. But the meanings are multiple. The angel tells John that they are also seven kings, five have fallen, one is, and one is yet to come. No one knows for certain what is meant by this. The most common explanations tie the seven to a sequence of Roman emperors, but none is completely satisfactory. I think it best to see it as the power of the Roman state in particular and all governments in general. We are in their midst—five have fallen, one is. Our time is the one that is. We are at neither the beginning nor the end. The seven kings are in a sequence. The ten kings of v. 12 are a federation. They are the forces of power of this world opposed to God’s work throughout the world and throughout the ages. Note that the victory accomplished (v. 14) is a victory of the Lamb, not the saints. It is Christ who wins the day.
In v. 16 we are told the unexpected fact that the destruction of the great harlot comes at the instigation of the beast upon which she rides. While unexpected, it is not surprising, for there is a self-destructive quality to evil. It eats its own children. An even deeper truth is seen in v. 17 where we are told that God has put it into their hearts. God is sovereign. These are the actions of the enemy, but they are not outside of God’s will or purpose.
Babylon Destroyed
When John sees Babylon the Great in chapter 17 he is captivated by her garish appeal. A prostitute dresses in a manner that is eye catching and seductive. John has felt that attraction. Now in chapter 18, John sees another angel coming to announce the fall and destruction of Babylon. John sees Babylon in utter ruin. The glory of this new angel stands out in contrast. His light and glory illuminate the earth and by it John recognizes that what he saw as attractive is in fact the haunt of demons and foul birds (v. 2). Interestingly, v.3 adds an economic dimension to Babylon’s crimes.
Verses 4–8 are a summary of the message of the book of Revelation. John hears another voice. The substance of the message this voice brings is a reaffirmation that one day a just judgment and retribution will fall upon Babylon and it calls God’s people to separate themselves from any entanglement with her. God’s people are a called out people. Like Pilgrim in John Bunyan’s classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress, we flee the City of Destruction.
Babylon is not without those who mourn her destruction. In verses 9–19 we find a lament offered by those who benefited from her financially. Those who mourn are kings, merchants and sailors and it is the merchants who wail the longest and hardest over her destruction. These verses are a warning to us that all day long we make decisions of eternal significance. Each day we choose again the master we will serve. In the end, the loyalties we affirm may surprise us when we find that the line between good and evil runs through every human heart.
In v. 20 God’s people are invited to rejoice in Babylon’s fall. God has sent his judgment. Their prayers have been answered.
The Wedding Banquet of the Lamb
Chapter 19 describes the exultation of heaven over the fall of Babylon. It is important at this point to remember that the metaphor of Babylon in the book of Revelation represents, basically, the world as we know it. The world we live in is a world at war with God. The world rebels. It denies God. It rejects him. It hides from his presence. The rejoicing described in chapter 19 is the celebration of the ultimate victory of Christ over the world. This is the first thing John hears after Babylon falls: the declaration of salvation coming from the multitude of God’s people in heaven (v. 1). The justice of God’s judgment upon the world is affirmed (vs. 2–3) and the totality of God’s people, symbolized by the twenty-four elders, and the totality of creation, symbolized by the four living creatures, fall in worship (v. 4).
But judgment is not the last word. The dominant image is celebration and rejoicing in heaven. The destruction of Babylon ushers in the marriage supper of the Lamb (v. 7ff). We know intuitively that the right way to celebrate a significant event is by sharing a meal with those whom we love and with whom we are united. Weddings are invariably followed by feasts. So too are birthdays, anniversaries and holidays. The salvation God granted to the Hebrew slaves was marked by a Passover meal. The salvation Christ offers to his people is marked by the Communion meal. Salvation was accomplished by his sacrifice on the cross. We mark it by a meal. The communion meal we celebrate today is both a remembrance of what is past and a promise of what will come. It points both to the cross as the turning point in history and to the wedding feast of the Lamb as the culmination of history.
The marriage feast of the Lamb is the last of the images of the Sixth scene or cycle of Revelation. Scene One (1:9–3:22), the seven letters focused upon the church in the world. Scene Two (4:1–8:1), the seven seals offered assurance that God remained in control of history in spite of the suffering experienced by the church. Seven trumpets of warning to the world comprised scene Three (8:2–11:18). Scene Four (12:1–15:4) retold the drama of human history from a heavenly perspective. Scene Five (15:5–16:21) described the punishment poured out upon the world by God’s righteous wrath. Scene Six (17:1–19:10) spoke the declarative word of divine judgment upon the rebellious world. Now, in the next to last cycle of Revelation, scene Seven (19:11–21:8), we will see the veil peeled back to reveal the cosmic drama standing behind human history. Here we will see heaven itself opened and gaze upon the visions of ultimate reality that normally in this life are only dimly perceived and understood.
The first thing John sees when the heavens are opened for him (v. 11) is a cosmic vision of Christ seated upon a white horse and dressed for battle. Salvation comes, but it comes out of war, out of the midst of the battle and in the face of opposition. Christ is described as faithful and true. He is righteous in his judgments. He possesses all authority, being crowned with many crowns.1 And he is, to us, a mystery, possessing a name (v. 12) inscribed that no one knows but himself. He is the warrior, our champion, fighting for his church. Significantly, he possesses only one weapon: his Word. The imagery is that of a sword, but not a sword held in his right hand, rather a sword coming from his mouth. The power of Christ is in his Word and in his words. Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Note that there is nothing in the vision John sees that says that the Christ he sees going forth is going forth to the last battle. This vision is not of what Christ will one day do, it is of what Christ is doing today. His word goes forth. The message of this vision is that those who oppose him are doomed. The terrible beast whom we met in chapters thirteen and seventeen is now captured. With his fall goes the false prophet who spread lies and deceit. Christ’s Word destroys the power of the world and unmasks falsehood and deceit. The imagery of vs. 17–21 is graphic, but the message is simple and unmistakable: the battle engaged is being won by Jesus Christ.
This study first appeared in Theology Matters, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Jul/Aug 2002).
Notes
- A contrast no doubt is intended with Satan and the sea beast each of whom possessed only ten crowns. ↩
