Whore of Babylon

The Whore of Babylon is one of several Christian and Rastafarian allegorical figures of supreme evil mentioned in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. She is associated with the Antichrist and the Beast of Revelation by connection with the kingdom with seven heads and ten horns, and Her apocalyptic downfall is prophesied at the hands of the beast with seven heads and ten horns.^[clarify]

Contents 1 Symbolism 2 Identity of the Whore of Babylon 2.1 Rome and the Roman Empire 2.2 Earthly Jerusalem 2.3 Roman Catholic Church 2.3.1 Protestant Reformation 2.3.2 Swedenborgianism 2.3.3 Latter Day Saint movement 2.3.4 Traditionalist Catholics 2.3.5 Catholic responses 2.4 United States 2.5 Soviet Union 2.6 Resurgent Ottoman Empire 3 Other doctrinal interpretations 3.1 Jehovah's Witnesses 4 Other uses 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links

Symbolism

The “great whore” of the biblical book of Revelation is featured in chapters 17 and 18. Many passages define symbolic meanings inherent in the text:

“

4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. 9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth (King James Version; the New International Version Bible uses "hills" instead of "mountains"). 10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. 11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. 12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.(Revelation 17:4-18 (various))

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Identity of the Whore of Babylon

Rome and the Roman Empire

Many Bible scholars agree that Babylon in the whore's title is meant as an allegory of Rome — perhaps specifically at the time to some aspect of Rome's rule (brutality, greed, paganism), or even a servant people that does the bidding of Rome. The Roman Catholic commentary of the Jerusalem Bible, the evangelical Protestant commentary of the New International Version Study Bible, the Rastafarians and the liberal Protestant commentary of the Oxford Annotated Study Bible all concur that "Babylon is the symbolic name for Rome" and that (1st century) "Rome" is the "type of place where evil is supreme" (Jerusalem Bible, commentary to Rev. 17). Elsewhere in the New Testament, in 1 Peter 5:13; "Babylon" is possibly used to refer to Rome. This is bolstered by the remark in Rev. 17:9 that she sits on "seven mountains"(the King James Version Bible-the New International Version Bible uses the words "seven hills"), which could be the seven hills of Rome. "Rome" would therefore be the 'new Babylon' and all of the symbolism characterizing Babylon as a wanton "whore," would be transferable to Rome, according to this view. There are a number of smaller symbolic clues that some see as suggesting a link between Rome and Babylon — the Roman Empire in its military occupation of Palestine, its repression of the Jewish nation and religion, its destruction of Jerusalem following Jewish revolts in 70 AD and 135 AD, and its persecution of Christians, would lend meaning to the imagery of the 'whore, drunk with the blood of martyrs,' as a wantonly violent and bloodthirsty entity. However, it must be noted that in Matthew 23:35 and Luke 11:50-51, Jesus Himself assigned all of the bloodguilt for the killing of the prophets and of the saints (of all time) to the Pharisees of Jerusalem, and, in Revelation 17:6 and 18:20,24, almost identical phrasing is used in charging that very same bloodguilt to Babylon. In Rastafarian ideology both Babylon and Rome are also equated with this modern world in which we live. The Rastas have popularized the name Babylon to refer to what they see as the fundamentally evil modern society.

Earthly Jerusalem

Many Christian scholars point out that although Rome was the prevailing pagan power in the 1st century when the Book of Revelation was written, the symbolism of the whore of Babylon refers not to an invading infidel of foreign power, but to an apostate false queen, a former "bride" who has been unfaithful and who, even though she has been divorced and cast out because of unfaithfulness, continues to falsely claim to be the "queen" of the spiritual realm.^[1][2] This symbolism did not fit the case of Rome at the time. In this view, Israel (or Judea) ruled by the Jews who rejected Jesus Christ as the Messiah, is seen by the uneducated and by pagans as being a spiritual harlot and thus a whore. (Some connect this interpretation to the Jewish people as a whole, and especially to the State of Israel.) This was not a new "Christian" metaphor. Several Old Testament prophets referred to Jerusalem as being a spiritual harlot and a mother of such harlotry (Isaiah 1:21; Jeremiah 2:20; Jeremiah 3:1-11; Ezekiel 16:15-18; Ezekiel 23). Some of these Old Testament prophecies concerning Judah are in fact very close to the text concerning Babylon in Revelation, suggesting that John may well have actually been citing those prophecies in his description of Babylon. For example, in Jeremiah 13, Judah is warned that because of her whoredom, the cups of all of the people will be "filled with wine," they will be "made drunk," and the nation will be suddenly destroyed. This is identical to the scenario in Revelation 17-18; it also correlates with the warning of Jesus that Jerusalem would be suddenly invaded and destroyed just prior to His return to Earth, in Luke 21:20-22. Jerusalem had been completely destroyed by fire in 70 AD, whereas Rome was only partially burned by Nero. So, according to this view, John's prophecy about Babylon was merely a detailed repetition of warnings already given by many Old Testament prophets and by Jesus Himself in Matthew Chapter 23. There are other clues in the book of Revelation supporting the idea that Jerusalem is Babylon. Revelation 17:15-18 says the "woman" (Babylon) is "that great city". In Revelation 11:8, Jerusalem is referred to as "the great city."

"Their corpses will lie in the main street of the great city, which has the symbolic names ‘Sodom’ and ‘Egypt,’ where indeed their Lord was crucified." (Revelation 11:8)

According to this exegesis of Revelation, Babylon's trappings of gold and silver and her clothing of diverse colors could refer to the Jewish temple services and the high priesthood of Judaism, and thus to a possible Third Temple of the future in Jerusalem, in which the Antichrist might seat himself according to the epistles of the apostle Paul, which was written while the Second Temple still still intact. These riches are also considered by some to refer to the Jewish nation's historical involvement in the trade of precious metals, jewels, textiles, and other merchandise. Jerusalem, is built on seven mountains: Mt. Goath, Mt. Gareb, Mt. Acra, Mt. Bezetha, Mt. Zion, Mt. Ophel, and Mt. Moriah.^[3] However, Jerusalem never literally ruled over the kings of the Earth, as is specified in the scriptures used, although Jerusalem has spiritual sovereignty over all of the nations.

"‘I myself have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.’ I will proclaim the decree of the LORD, who said to me, ‘You are my son; today I am your father. Only ask it of me, and I will make your inheritance the nations, your possession the ends of the earth. With an iron rod you shall shepherd them, like a clay pot you will shatter them.’" (Psalms 2:6-9)

Both the Old and the New Testament use different words for hills and mountains.^[4] Scripture calls the small mountains of Jerusalem by the very word "mountains": "As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever." (Psalms 125:2) Those scholars who defend this position believe that Earthly Jerusalem would "ride the beast" that is control and manipulate the Satanic power behind the various 'pagan' or 'worldly' nations. Some see it as an evil relationship between the harlot, apostate Jerusalem, and the scarlet beast Rome on whom she is seated to crucify Jesus and persecute the Christians. This evil alliance is confirmed in the Book of Acts (Acts 4:26-28, 12:1-3, 19:21-23).

"‘The kings of the earth took their stand and the princes gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed.’ Indeed they gathered in this city against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do what your hand and (your) will had long ago planned to take place." (Acts 4:26-28)

The influence of Jerusalem and the Pharisees may also have contributed to the anti-Christian activities of ancient Rome biblical scholars say. The See of St. Peter, however, in its essence would not fall due to this influence; neither did the Church of the Apostle Peter in Rome fall due to the persecutions of Nero, these scholars say. The Papacy in itself would remain "until the end of time" according to the First Vatican Council. The city Jerusalem, that slew Christ using Rome, was like the harlot who rode upon the beast but was later destroyed by that very beast and burned with fire.^[5]

And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. (Revelation 17:16)

Another important verse is Revelation 18:4:

"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." (Revelation 18:4)

The term "my people" is covenant language (Jer. 31:31-33; Eze 37:26-27); it is a reference of people who were in a covenant relationship with God. However, while John wrote this book, many of God’s people were still in the Old Covenant, in old worldly Jerusalem; God wanted them to leave it and come into the New Covenant. God could refer to them as "my people" because they were in His Old Covenant. ^[6] This is also similar to the words of Jesus warning His disciples to flee Jerusalem (Luke 21:20-22) before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:20-24)

When 1.1 million Jews were slaughtered in Jerusalem in 70 AD, none of the Christians who had lived there were killed; they had escaped by the time the Romans came. According to this view, the "great city" in the Book of Revelation, the Earthly Jerusalem of those who have rejected Christ (see Judaism and Talmud) is opposed to the spiritual, heavenly, new Jerusalem, which is the Christian Church of the faithful of Jesus (the bride): "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." (Revelation 21:2) In this sense, Earthly Jerusalem is also considered by some to be tied to a world rule of hedonism and (religious) relativism, to have its center of power in Jerusalem, State of Israel.^[7] It might link to an establishment of Noahide Laws combined with a worldwide body of religious unity, a One-World Church or One-World Religion eventually coming forth from it, which would have its center in Jerusalem, State of Israel. This latter view is a fairly modern interpretation, but the idea of an establishment of a One World Church is not, because Pope Pius X explicitly warned against it in his condemnation of religious laicism called Notre Charge Apostolique (Our Apostolic Mandate).^[8] It is tied, in this interpretation, to the establishment of a universal world government, against which Bonum sane of Pope Benedict XV warned.^[9]

Roman Catholic Church

Protestant Reformation

Most Reformation writers and all Reformers themselves, from Martin Luther (who wrote On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church), John Calvin, and John Knox (who wrote The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regimen of Women) identify the Roman Catholic Church with the Whore of Babylon. This opinion influenced several generations in England and Scotland when it was put into the 1599 edition of the Geneva Bible. Identification of the Pope as the Antichrist was written into Protestant creeds such as the Westminster Confession of 1646. The identification of the Roman Catholic Church with the Whore of Babylon is kept in the Scofield Reference Bible (whose 1917 edition identified "ecclesiastical Babylon" with "apostate Christendom headed by the Papacy") and pro-Reformation writings such as those of I.M. Haldeman, and it is kept alive by contemporary figures such as Ian Paisley and Jack Chick. The "drunkenness with the blood of saints and martyrs," by this interpretation, refers to the veneration of saints and relics and the Sunday sacredness, which is viewed by Reformers as idolatry and apostasy. Some Protestants commonly used the phrase "Whore of Babylon" to refer to the Roman Catholic Church. The Protestant reformers were not the first people to call the Roman Catholic Church the Whore of Babylon. There was a fairly long tradition of this kind of name-calling by opponents of the Papacy. Frederick Barbarossa published missives that called the Papacy the Whore of Babylon, and the Pope the Antichrist, during the course of his protracted quarrel with Pope Alexander III. Dante equated the corruption and simony in the office of the Papacy with the Whore of Babylon in Canto 19 of his Inferno:

Di voi pastor s'accorse il Vangelista,

quando colei che siede sopra l'acque

puttaneggiar coi regi a lui fu vista. . .

("Shepherds like you the Evangelist had in mind when he saw the one that sits upon the waters committing fornication with the kings.")

When the Florentine religious reformer Girolamo Savonarola also called the Papacy the Whore of Babylon, he meant something closer to the Reformers' usage; these claims, however, were based chiefly on social and political disagreements with Roman Catholic policy, or, at their strongest, accuse the Papacy of moral corruption. The Protestant reformers, in contrast, seriously considered the Papacy to be at least potentially the apocalyptic figure mentioned in Bible prophecy, and included the claim in Bible commentaries as well as polemics. They meant something more than to accuse the Roman Catholic Church of political or moral corruption; they claimed that, as a church, it taught a Satanic counterfeit plan of salvation, one that would lead its faithful to Hell rather than to Heaven.

Swedenborgianism

According to Swedenborgian doctrine, the Whore of Babylon symbolizes the lust for power within the Roman Catholic Church. It is believed that the book of Revelation is a spiritual allegory for the downfall of traditional Christianity, and its revival into a New Church. Each symbol in Revelation is thought to have correspondence with some aspect of the spiritual state of the Christian Church. In the book "Apocalypse Explained" Swedenborg expounds an explanation of Revelation that includes judgement on the corrupted leadership of the Catholic Church, as the Whore of Babylon.

Latter Day Saint movement

Main article: great and abominable church

In the Latter Day Saint movement, which accepts the Bible as scripture, additional books within its canon describe the Whore of Babylon as a "great and abominable church". According to the religion's Book of Mormon, the great and abominable church was formed soon after the life of Jesus and is responsible for the Apostles' deaths and the Great Apostasy (1 Ne. 13:5-6). The church was said to be instrumental in corrupting the Bible and removing from it "the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb" (1 Ne. 13:34). Although some followers of the religion's founder Joseph Smith, Jr.—including prophets and apostles of the LDS faith—have understood the great and abominable church to refer to the Catholic church or Protestantism, the book also states that there are "two churches only": one that follows Jesus, and another that follows the devil (1 Ne. 14:10-11); therefore, many adherents understand the references in the Book of Mormon to refer to all religions other than their own.

Traditionalist Catholics

A handful of Traditionalist Catholics and sedevacantists, who do not accept the 1969 revision of the rite of Mass and consider the recent popes to be heretics, believe that the official Roman Catholic Church as it has existed since Vatican II or the election of John XXIII is in fact the Whore of Babylon.^[10] They differ from the Protestant view only in that they consider the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council to be the "real" Catholic Church, with which they claim continuity. In their eyes, the present-day Roman Catholic Church is a blasphemous mockery.

Catholic responses

The Roman Catholic Church denies the claim that it is the being referred to by the Book of Revelation as the Whore of Babylon; at the height of the Reformation era tensions, Roman Catholic authors often accused specific Protestant leaders of being potential Antichrists; these leaders, however, did not include St Robert Bellarmine, who taught that a personal Antichrist would arise before the end of the world, as do most Protestants who take a position today. The use of the idiom appears to have dwindled, along with the rise in secular terminology to replace religious symbolism. Among the explanations are that the term is contrary to evangelical methods and goals and socially unconstructive, and so the tradition is kept only internally if it is kept at all. The rise of dispensationalism as a school of interpretation of the end times has also caused many Protestants to revise their interpretation of these passages in a way that diminishes the certainty of their identification of the Whore of Babylon with any present religion.

United States

The use of the "Great Satan" metaphor by some fundamentalist followers of Islam makes an implicit comparison of the United States to ancient Babylon and Rome. Those who equate the US with Mystery Babylon liken the United States to the Roman Empire — and therefore to Babylon — because of what they charge is its high-handed treatment of other countries as a military superpower. South American intellectuals from the 60's and 70's political movements have been known to use this metaphor as well. American religious right groups such as the American Family Association, see United States as decadent, evil and anti-Christian; and 'drunk with the blood of the saints' due to its popular culture as well as its earthly military and technological superiority. Not only is Mystery Babylon, in Revelation 17 and 18, described as a great consumer and superpower, but she is destroyed by the beast kingdom of the Antichrist with its seven heads and ten horns. The beast with seven heads and ten horns is a reference to Daniel's description of the kingdom of the Antichrist, in Daniel 7:23-25. Additionally, an online organization claims that the Statue of Liberty bears relatively close resemblance to the Whore; the statue was modeled after the Roman goddess Libertas, which they suppose had come from the chief Babylonian goddess Ishtar.^[11] Babylon (or the Whore) is also described as sitting upon many waters (Revelation 17:1); this may apply to either the United States, which stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic and which has a trading empire across the oceans; or to the Statue of Liberty, which sits in New York Harbor. Furthermore, if the "beast" is identified as the United Nations, then the U.S. might be seen as being its rider, since it is one of the five members of the UN Security Council and hosts the UN headquarters in New York City. Another aspect of interest is that the United States has "conquered" the historical capital of Babylon in Iraq during the Iraq War. By virtue of tradition, this implies that America has taken up the mantle of the Babylonian Empire. Such an interpretation has been promulgated by individuals such as Texas preacher Texe Marrs.

Soviet Union

During the Cold War, United States popular culture was engendered to view the former Soviet Union as a "Babylon" of sorts — a monster to be defeated. Dispensationalist study Bibles and commentaries such as the Scofield Reference Bible and The Late Great Planet Earth typically identified the Soviet Union, or earlier Russia, with Gog, also an allegorical figure of evil that appears in Revelation and the Book of Ezekiel (although it is important to note that Gog and Magog are themselves defeated by the Beast who rules Babylon). A great many parallels could be drawn to the USSR, and for that matter, the British Empire, and Nazi Germany. The demise of the Soviet Union has led dispensionalists to revise their commentaries.

Resurgent Ottoman Empire

There is a theory linking the “whore of Babylon” to a resurgent Ottoman Empire and militant Islam. The belief in an Islamic link to the whore of Babylon is not new – Christian groups as theologically diverse as Eastern Orthodox believers (i.e., the Byzantine Emperor) and the Protestant English Puritans noted similarities between Revelation and medieval Islam. However, Constantinople, today known as Istanbul, has (like Rome) been known as the city built on seven hills. It also sits on "many waters" (Rev. 17:1), and was capital of both the Ottoman Empire and Roman Empire. This theory, which takes issue with the tendency in the United States and Western Europe to view the world through a Western perspective, is being promoted by publication of books, such as Walid Shoebat's book Why I Left Islam, and AntiChrist: Islam’s Awaited Messiah, by Joel Richardson.

Other doctrinal interpretations

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Babylon the Great, the great harlot (NWT) symbolizes the world empire of false religion, [3] including, but not limited to, Christendom, a term they use to refer to the part of the world that claims to be Christian.^[12][13] Among John’s visions recorded in the book of Revelation appear pronouncements of judgment against “Babylon the Great,” as well as a description of her and of her downfall.—Re 14:8; 16:19; chaps 17, 18; 19:1-3. The luxury and the dominion attributed to Babylon the Great do not allow for simply equating her with the literal city of Babylon in Mesopotamia. After ancient Babylon fell to Cyrus the Persian in 539 B.C.E., it lost its position as a dominant world power, its captives, including the Jews, being freed. Although the city continued to exist even beyond the days of the apostles, and hence existed in John’s day, it was no longer a city of world importance, and it eventually fell into decay and utter ruin. Thus, Babylon the Great must be viewed as a symbolic city, one of which the literal city of Babylon was the prototype. Because the ancient city gives the mystic city its name, it is helpful to consider briefly the outstanding features of Babylon on the Euphrates, features that provide clues as to the identity of the symbolic city of John’s vision. Characteristics of Ancient Babylon. The founding of the city of Babylon on the Plains of Shinar was concurrent with the attempt at building the Tower of Babel. (Ge 11:2-9) The popular cause to be advanced by the tower and city construction was, not the exaltation of God’s name, but that the builders might “make a celebrated name” for themselves. The ziggurat towers uncovered not only in the ruins of ancient Babylon but elsewhere in Mesopotamia would seem to confirm the essentially religious nature of the original tower, whatever its form or style. The decisive action taken by Jehovah God to overthrow the temple construction clearly condemns it as of a false religious origin. Whereas the Hebrew name given the city, Babel, means “Confusion,” the Sumerian name (Ka-dingir-ra) and the Akkadian name (Bab-ilu) both mean “Gate of God.” Thus the remaining inhabitants of the city altered the form of its name to avoid the original condemnatory sense, but the new or substitute form still identified the city with religion. The Bible lists Babel first when giving the ‘beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom.’ (Ge 10:8-10) Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures the ancient city of Babylon is featured prominently as the longtime enemy of Jehovah God and his people. Though Babylon became the capital of a political empire in the seventh and sixth centuries B.C.E., it was outstandingly prominent during its entire history as a religious center from which religious influence radiated in many directions. Professor Morris Jastrow, Jr., in his work The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria (1898, pp. 699-701), says regarding this: “In the ancient world, prior to the rise of Christianity, Egypt, Persia, and Greece felt the influence of the Babylonian religion. . . . In Persia, the Mithra cult reveals the unmistakable influence of Babylonian conceptions; and if it be recalled what a degree of importance the mysteries connected with this cult acquired among the Romans, another link will be added connecting the ramifications of ancient culture with the civilization of the Euphrates Valley.” In conclusion he refers to “the profound impression made upon the ancient world by the remarkable manifestations of religious thought in Babylonia and by the religious activity that prevailed in that region.” Babylon’s religious influence is traced eastward to India in the book New Light on the Most Ancient East, by archaeologist V. Childe (1957, p. 185). Among other points he states: “The swastika and the cross, common on stamps and plaques, were religious or magical symbols as in Babylonia and Elam in the earliest prehistoric period, but preserve that character also in modern India as elsewhere.” Thus, ancient Babylon’s religious influence spread out to many peoples and nations, much farther and with greater potency and endurance than did her political strength. Like mystic Babylon, the ancient city of Babylon, in effect, sat on the waters, located, as it was, astride the Euphrates River and having various canals and water-filled moats. (Jer 51:1, 13; Re 17:1, 15) These waters served as a defense to the city, and they provided the thoroughfares upon which ships brought wealth and luxuries from many sources. Notably, the water of the Euphrates is depicted as drying up prior to Babylon the Great’s experiencing the wrath of divine judgment.—Re 16:12, 19. Distinguishing Features of Mystic Babylon. The symbolic woman bearing the name Babylon the Great is “the great city that has a kingdom over the kings of the earth,” a kingdom that allows her, in effect, to sit on “peoples and crowds and nations and tongues.” (Re 17:1, 15, 18) A kingdom over other kingdoms and nations is what is defined as an “empire.” Babylon the Great places herself above earthly kings, exercising power and influence over them. She rides the symbolic seven-headed beast, beasts being used elsewhere in the Bible as symbols of political world powers. Some scholars assume that Babylon the Great is a political empire, either Babylon or Rome. We have already seen that Babylon as a political empire had long since ceased to exist when John received his prophetic vision. As to Rome, the nature of its political rule does not harmonize with the description of Babylon the Great’s course and her methods of dominating. She is a harlot, committing fornication with the kings of the earth, making them drunk with the wine of her fornication, misleading the nations by her “spiritistic practice.” (Re 17:1, 2; 18:3, 23) Rome’s dominion, by contrast, was gained and maintained by its iron like military might and its firm application of Roman law among its provinces and colonies. Recognizing this fact, The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible says: “It is not sufficient to identify Rome and Babylon. Babylon embraces more than one empire or culture. It is defined rather by dominant idolatries than by geographical or temporal boundaries. Babylon is coextensive with the kingdom of that beast which has corrupted and enslaved mankind, and whom the Lamb must conquer (Rev. 17:14) if mankind is to be freed.”—Edited by G. Buttrick, 1962, Vol. 1, p. 338. The symbol of a harlot or a fornicatrix is used frequently in the Hebrew Scriptures. The nation of Israel was warned against entering into covenant relations with the nations of Canaan because this would lead them to commit “immoral intercourse [“play the harlot,” RS] with their gods.” (Ex 34:12-16) Both Israel and Judah apostatized from the true worship of Jehovah God and were condemned by him as having engaged in harlotry, prostituting themselves to the political nations and their gods. (Isa 1:21; Jer 3:6-10, 13; Eze 16:15-17, 28, 29, 38; Ho 6:10; 7:11; 8:9, 10) It may be noted here that God was not viewing Israel or Judah as mere political entities entering into relations with other political governments. Instead God reprimanded them on the basis of their being in a sacred covenant with him, hence responsible to be a holy people devoted to him and his pure worship.—Jer 2:1-3, 17-21. A similar usage of this figure is found in the Christian Greek Scriptures. The Christian congregation is likened to a virgin espoused to Christ as her Head and King. (2Co 11:2; Eph 5:22-27) The disciple James warned Christians against committing spiritual adultery through friendship with the world. (Jas 4:4; compare Joh 15:19.) The fornications of Babylon the Great and her “daughters” are of a similar nature and not some unique exception. (The term “daughters” at times is employed in the Bible to refer to the suburbs or surrounding towns of a city or metropolis, as the “dependent towns” (literally, “daughters” in Hebrew) of Samaria and Sodom; see Ezek. 16:46-48.) An additional significant factor is that when Babylon the Great goes down under the devastating attack of the ten horns of the symbolic wild beast, her fall is mourned by her companions in fornication, the kings of the earth, and also by the merchants and shippers who dealt with her in supplying luxurious commodities and gorgeous fineries. While these political and commercial representatives survive her desolation, notably no religious representatives are depicted as still on the scene to share in mourning her downfall. (Re 17:16, 17; 18:9-19) The kings of the earth are shown as having judgment executed upon them sometime after mystic Babylon’s annihilation, and their destruction comes, not from the “ten horns,” but from the sword of the King of kings, the Word of God. — Rev. 19:1,2,11-18. A further distinguishing characteristic of Babylon the Great is her drunkenness, she being pictured as “drunk with the blood of the holy ones and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus” (Rev. 17:4,6; 18:24; 19:1,2). She thus is the spiritual counterpart of the ancient city of Babylon, expressing the same enmity toward the true people of God. Significantly, it was to the charge of religious leaders that Jesus laid the responsibility for “all the righteous blood spilled on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah.” While those words were addressed to religious leaders from among Jesus’ own race, the Jewish nation, and while persecution against Jesus’ followers was particularly intense from that sector for a time, history shows that thereafter the opposition to genuine Christianity came from other sources (the Jews themselves suffering considerable persecution) (Mt 23:29-35). All of the above factors are significant, and they must all be considered in arriving at a true picture of the symbolic Babylon the Great and what it represents.

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The Whore of Babylon figures strongly in Thelemic theogony, appearing very similarly to Cybele or Ishtar, called under the name Babalon. The name is also a title bestowed by the magician Aleister Crowley on a number of his female companions and partners in magical rites, most notably Leila Waddell. John Whiteside Parsons attempted to envoke her in his "Babalon Working" performed with L. Ron Hubbard. In the movie Metropolis (1927), the Robot Maria was depicted in one scene as the Whore of Babylon. In the movie The Devil's Advocate (1997) it was implied that New York was the Whore of Babylon. In the movie The Ninth Gate (1999) the actual name of the female character (played by Emmanuelle Seigner) who frequently appears to the rare books dealer Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) is never revealed (when asked her name, she replies "Guess"). While there is speculation that she is the Devil, at the movie's end she is pictured on the missing page from the book riding a Beast, implying she is the Whore of Babylon. Madonna adapted the Whore of Babylon as a working title for her 2004 Re-Invention Tour. Shadwell from Good Omens continually uses the phrase "Hoor of Babylon!" The song "Dead Sound of Misery" by the power metal band Blind Guardian includes references to the Whore of Babylon. The progressive industrial band Babalon based their album Descent on the concept of the Whore of Babylon. The song "Pure Evil" by the heavy metal band Iced Earth includes references to the Whore of Babylon. The song "Beast and the Harlot" by the heavy metal/hard rock band Avenged Sevenfold includes references to the Whore of Babylon. The song "Babalon" from the 1980 album "Laughing Academy," by the band Punishment of Luxury, includes references to the Whore Of Babylon. The song Invocation of the whore bitch goddess Babylon is featured on an album by rock band Killing Joke and refers directly to the end of the world and the rise of Babylon. The Whore of Babylon appears in the PS2 game Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne as "The Harlot." In Monty Python's Life of Brian the "Blood and Thunder Prophet" played by Terry Gilliam preaches that "...the Whore of Babylon shall come forth on a six-headed serpent, and throughout the land there shall be a great rubbing of parts!!" The Whore of Babylon is mentioned in the song Four Winds by Bright Eyes, in the line "When Great Satan's gone, the Whore of Babylon, she just can't sustain the pressure where it's placed. She caves." The Whore of Babylon and associated historical phrases presaging her destruction are the theme of Flieht aus der Mitte von Babylon ("Flee from (the middle of) Babylon") of the German band Glashaus. The Steely Dan song "Babylon Sisters" has little to do with the Biblical Whore of Babylon, but bears loose references to prostitution. The Cradle of Filth song "Mother of Abominations" has several lines alluding to the Whore of Babylon, but also ones which notably describe the Lovecraftian elder god Cthulhu The Inkubus Sukkubus album Vampyre Erotica contains a song titled "Whore of Babylon."

See also

• Historicism (Christian eschatology)
• Great Apostasy
• Antichrist
• Babylon (New Testament)
• Beast of Revelation
• End times
• Summary of Christian eschatological differences
• Great Satan
• The Two Babylons
• Tower of Babel
• Garden of Eden
• New World Order (conspiracy)

Notes

References

• Harper's Bible Dictionary Paul J. Achtemeier, general editor (1985, Harper Collins), ISBN 0-06-069863-2
• The Jerusalem Bible, Alexander Jones, general editor. (1966, Doubleday & Co.)
• The NIV Study Bible, Kenneth Barker, general editor. (1995, Zondervan) ISBN 0-310-92589-4
• The New Oxford Annotated Study Bible with Apocrypha, Bernhard W. Anderson, Bruce Metzger, general editors. (1991, Oxford University Press) ISBN 0-19-528356-2
• John Coleman, Conspirators' Hierarchy, 4th ed., Carson City: Joseph Holding Corp., 2006.
• R. A. Coombes, America, The Babylon: America’s Destiny Foretold In Biblical Prophecy, Leathers Pub, 1998.
• Walter Wink, Engaging the Powers, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992.

External links

• A woman rides the beast True Protestant teaching from John Wycliff to John Calvin.
• According to the Scriptures The whore is that great city Babylon revived.
• Catholic Answers on the Whore of Babylon
• What is the whore of Babylon? from an Evangelical Christian perspective
• Enominepatris.com America The Great - Mystery Babylon
• European Institute of Protestant Studies EU as the Whore of Babylon
• "The End of False Religion Is Near!" - a tract distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses