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| Order Of Worship (Liturgy) *Song of Adoration: Hymnal #118B:1-4 “The Glorious Gates of Righteousness” Song of Confession: Hymnal #67A “O God, to Us Show Mercy” *Song of Preparation: Hymnal #517 “I Know Whom I Have Believed” Scripture Passage: Revelation 17 Message: The Great Prostitute Defeated *Song of Response: Hymnal #411 “Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns” *Doxology: Hymnal #9B:1 “Wholehearted Thanksgiving” |
Scripture Reading and Text: Revelation 17
Beloved Congregation in the Lord Jesus Christ:
We come this morning to the 6th cycle in revelation dealing with the period of time between the first and second coming. Much of the language of this section comes from the opening chapters of Daniel.
Chapters 15-16 contain the pouring out of the bowls of wrath. This is closely related to the seven trumpets of chapters 8-9. The seven trumpets were trumpets of warning, to prepare the people. The seven bowls are not warnings, but rather they are the execution in history of God’s judgement upon the world. Whoever refuses to be warned by the trumpets of judgement, is destroyed by the bowls of wrath
Now we come to chapter 17. This chapter does not chronologically come after chapter 16. This is where many interpreters go wrong. This is how so many interpreters end up with a conglomeration of judgements and returns and judgements. No, the time period for chapters 17-19, which must be combined, once again refer to the time between the first and second coming of Christ. We will look this morning at chapter 17 under the theme: The kingdom of Christ exalts itself over the kingdom of this world. Part I: The Great Prostitute
- Her Identity
- Her History
- Her downfall
I. Her Identity
Notice at the beginning of our text, it is an angel, one with seven bowls. Already we are hearkened back to the previous two chapters that dealt with the pouring out of the bowls. These judgments are awful for the wicked, but most desirous for the righteous. As the people of God, we can take great comfort in knowing that it is our God who will judge. Vengeance is the Lord’s.
As a comfort for the faithful the angel takes the apostle to see the judgement of the great prostitute who sits on many waters. The NKJV has great harlot, the KJV translates this as the “great whore who sits on many waters.” Here we are first introduced to this prostitute. Who is she?
A prostitute is a woman who is unfaithful to her husband, and either sells or trades herself, she gives her body to men who are not her husband. So, this harlot is a woman. However, in verse 5 we read the name that was on this harlot’s forehead, “Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots, and of the abominations of the earth.” Now we see that this woman, this harlot is also a city. We will have to reconcile this dual picture we find in our text.
First, as a woman, this prostitute committed fornication with the kings of the earth, and she made the earth drunk on the wine of her fornication. She also is drunk with the blood of the saints/martyrs.
Secondly, as a woman, she is beautiful. She is not beautiful in the sense of the beauty of a godly wife, but beautiful in a worldly sense. She is adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations. The closest picture that came to mind about this prostitute of our text, is similar to a walk through the red light district in Amsterdam, where prostitution is legal and advertised. A place full of fornication and legal wickedness. In the red light district, you will find the small Dutch streets lined with, not only canals, but also rowhouses. In the windows of these rowhouses under the red lights, you will see prostitutes. Prostitutes from all different countries, all shades of skin and color of hair, all with the goal of enticing the gawkers to come in and make a transaction. So too with the harlot of our text.
She holds a golden cup, as to entice people to drink from it. She carried with her all the allurements of the world. Don’t confuse the beautifully arrayed woman of Revelation 12 with the prostitute of Babylon. They are in fact enemies of each other. The prostitute uses her golden cup as the enticements of this world. Whether it is pornography, luxuries, worldly fame and power, the lusts of the flesh, selfishness, encouragement to use the Lord’s Day for your own pleasures, sports which become the most important thing in life etc. You make your own list. Things which can be good are turned bad when God as the ultimate end is removed. This is the prostitute’s golden cup.
This woman is the enemy of the church, who is also referred to as a woman. They are antithetically contrasting each other. This prostitute will look like the church, but in time will show herself to be the queen of apostasy and false religion. This is how she appears.
However, this woman was also a city, the city of Babylon. So, what is Babylon refer to? Babylon has always stood in the scriptures as that which opposed God and God’s rule. Already back in Genesis 11 we read of Babel for the first time. Babel was the city/tower that the people on the plain of Shinar were going to build to the heaven to make a name for themselves. God confused their language, and there was the beginning of the opposition to Babylon. Babylon took the Southern Kingdom into exile in 586 B.C. Think of Psalm 137, where the Psalmist says, “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept.” Though Babylon was a beautiful and powerful city, she was the enemy of the covenant and the opposition to the church. This is Babylon in the minds of the people of God. This is who this woman is. She is the prostitute/harlot/whore of Babylon.
Babylon is the city of this world. The pleasure hungry, hedonistic city of world history. She is the center of commerce and trade (18:11), she is the home of great art, culture, foreign goods, etc. As the cosmopolitan cities of the world today, as they have always been, have been the draw of luxury and vice and it is a picture of the “lust of the flesh.” What city is this, New York, Toronto, Paris? It is the city of the past, present and future, just as the beast has a past, present, and future aspect to him. What is true here of the beast is also true of the woman since there is such a close connection between the two. She sits upon the beast.
She sits upon the beast. We are introduced to the Beast in chapter 13. This is the beast that comes from the land, the beast who stands for Anti-Christian government and world power. We will learn more about him in a moment.
II. Her History
At the end of verse 6 we see that John marveled at the vision he was seeing. He marveled because he did not understand it. So, the angel is going to explain it to him.
First, the angel describes the beast. Remember, that the two beasts are servants of the great dragon. Their goal is to get all of the world to worship the dragon, or to worship the first beast and thereby to worship the dragon. The first beast stood for anti-christian religion, now this beast stands for anti-Christian government. The world marvels at this beast.
There also seems like there is a reference to the city of Rome in verse 9, when it says that the seven heads refer to the seven mountains. Rome is known to be the city built on seven hills. However, the Greek word for mountain is used, not hill, so this could be incorrect. Either way, Rome certainly stood out as a stark picture as a great and powerful city who was not friendly to Christianity. It was in Rome that the Christians would be thrown into the circus of that day to be torn apart by beasts, to fight to the death as gladiators. Nero is said to have lit his evening garden parties with the burning of the bodies of the martyrs.
The kings and kingdoms that this beast represents are all the kingdoms that rise and fall in the history of the world. To get too far into detail about them is dangerous and likely speculative and it will draw our focus away from the greater picture of our text. The beast and the woman who sits on top of him are seemingly joined together, they work together. This prostitute of Babylon is the bride of the antichrist, as Hoeksema explains it. These kings and kingdoms are of one mind, and they give their power and authority to the beast in verse 13. The beast and his bride, the prostitute are the enemies of the lamb.
With the prostitute of our text, the peoples are infatuated with her. They fall over her pretend beauty.
This harlot, will position herself as the church of this world. All of the things the world holds dear, this woman will intermix with true religion. She will seek to entice into her immorality the true children of God. She will carry the name of Christianity and will lure all who will follow until it is too late, and all who are in her are drunk with her fornication that they cannot escape. They will be in the death grip of the beast and his prostitute. This woman may seem more powerful and luxurious than the woman who had to escape to the wilderness in Rev. 12, but the church in the wilderness, the true church, even though she might shrink in this world, she will be protected by the Lamb of God.
III. Her Downfall
In our text this morning, we only see the beginning of the downfall of the harlot. Realize that she is sitting on the beast who is on water. The water, according to verse 15 are the peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. The harlot is elevated over them and they bow down to her in worship. She is the false/apostate church.
In verse 16 we see something very startling happening. The ten horns, those are the ten kings of the earth who all joined together to make a world government and a world religion will turn to oppose the prostitute. Read vs. 16. In modern terms, this is like the civil war of a wicked nation. A civil war is the most devastating of all wars. If a country is attacked from the outside, the country at least can band together. In a civil war, each man is killing his own countrymen, possibly neighbor killing neighbor. This kingdom of darkness turns on itself.
Why? Read vs. 14. Those with him are faithful and chosen because God called, protected, saved, and preserves them. The Lamb has become king when he rose from the dead. He will shame the kingdom of antichrist.
For the world, all may seem well. They will enjoy drinking from the cup of the prostitute, but they turn on her. The world will realize that it has been utterly deceived by the woman and beast, they will see how foolish they have been, but it will be too late. Think of Judas Iscariot who drank from the golden cup of the woman. The 30 pieces of silver seemed so enticing so he betrayed the Lord. Did he regret it? Yes, he threw the money at the feet of the priests and elders. Afterward he hangs himself. (Matt. 27:3 and Acts 1:18) The pleasures of this world will always disappoint at the end. Remember that.
Young people, as you go out into the world and find your place in the church and society, you will be greatly pressured to conform to the world. She may even look enticing for awhile. But she is veiled. She, the world, doesn’t reveal herself for who she truly is. Once she lifts her veil, you can see that she in fact is hideous. Her face is filled with hopelessness and despair.
Hendriksen says, “Rev. 17:16,17 is a lesson for every day. It reveals the course of worldly individuals; first they become infatuated with the pleasures and treasures of the world, and harden themselves against God; then, they are hardened; finally, when it is too late, they experience a revulsion of feeling. They are punished by the results of their own foolishness.”
Be on guard congregation. When the world offers you luxury and ease, beware of what lies behind it. The Devil tried that ploy with Jesus in Matthew 4. Read Matt. 4:8ff. This is the way of the Devil, the beast, the prostitute of Babylon. What we will see in chapter 18 is the calling to “come out from among her.”
Brothers and sisters, it is clear where worldliness and a going away from scripture will lead. Let us stand guard and stand fast against the assault of the “Mystery,” the hidden and deceiving one, “Babylon the Great, the mother of prostitutes, and of earth’s abominations.” Christ will destroy the wickedness that so often reign in this world, for the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” Amen.
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Steven Swets, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2025, Rev. Steven Swets
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