Revelation 17:1-18:24

Rev 17-19 forms a complete unit of thought that describes, as a prophetic vision, the ultimate downfall of Babylon the Great. This downfall will be accomplished by two primary factors, (1) the plagues described in the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments previously described in Revelation and (2) the decisive victory of Christ at the Battle of Armageddon described next in Rev 19.

The first two chapters describe this collapse from an earthly viewpoint, while the third describes it from a heavenly viewpoint. Rather than zoom in on every detail of this vision, we’ll take a “big-picture” survey approach.

We’ll look at Rev 17-18 first, then Rev 19 in a subsequent study. We can divide Rev 17-18 into the following four sections:

• A Description of the Woman and the Beast (Rev 17:1-6)
• An Explanation of the Woman and the Beast (Rev 17:7-18)
• The Collapse of Babylon the Great (Rev 18:1-8)
• A Lament for Babylon the Great (Rev 18:9-20)
• The Termination of Babylon the Great (Rev 18:21-24)

A Description of the Woman and the Beast (Rev 17:1-6)

This section opens with a special invitation from one of the seven angels who had poured out one of the seven bowl judgments (Rev 17:1). He invites John to see the significance of God’s judgment on a certain “great prostitute” who “sits on many waters.” These “many waters” may indicate some economic and religious overtones, but at the very least they indicate widespread influence over the nations and people of the world (Rev 17:15).

Corrupt political and religious powerbrokers have participated in her godless agenda, but the rest of the people in the world – the consumers – have also participated with her agenda by intoxicating themselves with her many offers of pleasure and satisfaction (Rev 17:2).

John saw this woman sitting on a scarlet-colored beast, which is the same beast that John saw rising from the ocean in Rev 13 as the Antichrist (Rev 17:3). The heads on this beast represent the major political superpowers of world history which have antagonized God’s people, culminating with the Antichrist’s future world empire.

John saw the harlot riding on the back of this monstrous, red, carnivorous creature (Rev 17:3). According to him, she was wearing an extravagant and flamboyant outfit, which appeared to be decadent, luxurious, and royal (Rev 17:4). Most importantly, she held a golden goblet that seemed appealing on the outside, but it was filled with a disgusting and poisonous mixture on the inside, not fit to drink.

A first-century prostitute would normally wear her name on a headband. This one revealed a three-fold name (Rev 17:5). She identified as the prototypical godless political system (“Babylon the Great”), source of idolatry and immorality (“mother of harlots”), and source of all other detestable behavior (“mother of the abominations of the Earth”).

Despite her gaudy appearance, John saw her staggering like a drunken person, with the blood of God’s people dripping from her mouth (Rev 17:6). This astonished him.

An Explanation of the Woman and the Beast (Rev 17:7-18)

The angel asks why John was dumbfounded (Rev 17:7-8). Then he clarifies that the beast which the woman was riding was the Antichrist, who would die (or appear to die), resurrects (or seem to resurrect), and then be judged by God forever. His apparent resurrection will shock everyone in the world into following him, except for those who follow Christ by faith.

The angel also clarifies that this beast would be the final world ruler emerging from and superior to the elite world rulers from history before him (Rev 17:9-11). In one sense, he is the seventh such world leader, but in another sense (after his apparent resurrection) he will be the eighth such world leader, too. This indicates the possibility of the Antichrist changing his underlying identity between his death and apparent resurrection. He’ll likely be a satanically controlled person before his death, but Satan in bodily form when he “resurrects.” If so, then he’ll be the same person but different at the same time, though more deceptive, evil, hideous, and powerful than before.

Ten world leaders will ally with the Antichrist by submitting to his leadership and agenda (Rev 17:12-13). Together they will wage war against Christ and his followers, but Christ will defeat them (Rev 17:14).

John presents a surprising twist which he describes in a rather grotesque way (Rev 17:16-18). Though world leaders had bowed at the altar of political, economic, and religious power, which Babylon the Great provided, they will abandon that system to follow the Antichrist. They will “bite the hand that fed them” so to speak and vow their exclusive loyalty to the Antichrist instead.

So, the Antichrist and his kingdom will both overcome Babylon the Great and become Babylon the Great, consolidating world power completely. Put another way, the Antichrist will not represent any particular religious, political, or economic system we know today. Instead, he will benefit from them all, then discard them all to create his own religious, political, and economic system that’s like them but displaces them.

The Collapse of Babylon the Great (Rev 18:1-8)

This section opens with an invitation from another angel from heaven to observe a prophetic vision (Rev 18:1-2). This angel stands out from previous angels giving similar invitations because it not only had “great” authority, “illuminated” the entire Earth, and cried out “mightily” (not just with a “loud voice” as others).

This angel announces that Babylon the Great (now the Antichrist’s kingdom centered around him) is about to be destroyed forever. It will no longer be filled with vibrant crowds of people but will be inhabited by hideous ghosts and scavenger birds instead. Why will this city be destroyed? Because its inhabitants, leaders, and businesspeople will have intoxicated themselves with all she offered. In their unbridled pursuit of fleshly and material satisfaction, they had abandoned God (Rev 18:3).

Meanwhile, John also heard a warning to God’s people from yet another angel, urging all followers of Christ to withdraw themselves from this godless system (Rev 18:4). Why? Because God is about to pay back in judgment what this system (and the people in it) had paid out in sins (Rev 18:5-7). Like any proper business transaction, he will return to them in judgment exactly what they have spent or consumed in sin. Though those who are engaged in this sinful system have an arrogant “you can’t touch me” attitude, God will judge them suddenly and completely (Rev 18:7-8).

A Lament for Babylon the Great (Rev 18:9-20)

When God’s judgment comes, world rulers who derived their political power from the Antichrist’s power structure will mourn loudly because their source of power will be gone (Rev 18:9-10). Businesspeople of the world will also mourn loudly because their economic system will have crashed completely, and no one will buy their products ever again (Rev 18:11, 14-19).

In the middle of this description, John gives us a basic catalog of the kinds of things that Babylon (and the Antichrist’s) system buys and sells. Altogether, he lists 29 common items which were bought and sold in the first-century Roman economy, and he seems to arrange them into eight basic categories.[1]

Jewelry Products	Gold, silver, precious stones, pearls
Clothing Products	Fine linen, silk, dyed fabrics
Furniture Products	Rare woods, ivory
Metal Products	Bronze, iron, marble
Cologne and Perfume Products	Cinnamon, Indian spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense
Food Products	Wine, olive oil, special grains, wheat
Animals and Transportation	Cattle, sheep, horses, carriages (fancy cars?)
People	Bodies, human lives

At least two things stand out in this list of commercial items.

• Some items are ordinary (i.e., staple products) while many are luxury commodities.
• Many items are entirely legitimate on their own, while some seem inappropriate.

These observations indicate that business, commerce, and trade are not inherently wrong since many of these items are not inherently sinful. For instance, the wise men gave gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Christ, and wheat and grains are necessary food products. So, there is a legitimate place for buying and selling both staple and luxury items.

Doing business is not wrong but devoting your life to business and searching for satisfaction in material acquisitions is ungodly. It’s a form of idolatry that leads to self-reliance (rather than God-reliance), dishonest practices (to get ahead), and even illicit business as the buying and selling of body [parts?] and human trafficking suggests. In fact, this wrong approach to business is at the heart of the ungodly system of this world.

For a moment, the triumphant theme of Rev 19 interrupts John’s vision as the angel cues all angels and deceased saints in heaven, along with the apostles and prophets, to celebrate and rejoice that this system has finally crashed. Though it persecuted them in the past, God will now have avenged their suffering.

The Termination of Babylon the Great (Rev 18:21-24)

In conclusion, a mighty angel picked up a large boulder, the size of a millstone, and threw it into the sea (Rev 18:21). A millstone would weigh several hundred pounds and be used by farmers to grind their grain into flour for the market, which was a basic, less-sophisticated form of commerce. Here, John views the entire grand, worldwide, economic system of Babylon the Great as nothing more than a millstone.

By throwing it into the sea, the angel illustrated how this corrupt system would “sink to the bottom of the ocean never to be discovered or recovered.” The music, the industry, and the agriculture of this system would cease forever (Rev 18:22). The lights in the houses and sounds of wedding celebrations would also cease (Rev 18:23). Why? Because at the root of this system was a quest for satisfaction apart from God and a blatant opposition to God that would rather kill God’s people than lose material prosperity (Rev 18:24).

Key Takeaways

Beware of any political alliance that contradicts your reliance on God.

If we’re not careful as believers, we can place too much trust in one political system, party, agenda, or platform, or another. Though some political systems and politicians are better or more “biblical” than others, none are perfect. Though we should submit to whatever government God allows to govern us at any given place and time (Rom 13:1-7), we should also take notice whenever any government requires us to disobey God (Acts 5:29).

Sometimes we must make tough choices to obey God rather than the government. We should never do this lightly, nor should we resist for reasons that have more to do with personal comfort and opinion. But when political pressure requires us to minimize God’s will as revealed in his Word, then we should not allow “Babylon the Great” to interfere with our loyalty to God and our commitment to his kingdom.

If how you get money or spend money contradicts godly values, beware.

While it’s not possible to withdraw ourselves from society at large, we should be careful to maintain biblical ethics in the way we earn and spend money. This means believers should always keep accurate records, be honest in all their dealings, produce high-quality products, and treat their employees with dignity, equity, and respect.

This also means that some jobs or promotions will be inappropriate for Christians, and some purchases or entertainment choices will be wrong for Christians, too. Sometimes these choices are obvious, like refusing to patronize the so-called “adult entertainment” industry, while other times these choices may not be as easy to unpack. For instance, is it better to buy coffee from “fair trade” suppliers or not?

Due to the intricate, hyper-politicized nature of our world today, these decisions are not always easy, yet we should all seek to make choices that honor godly values and avoid supporting the ungodly system of “Babylon the Great” that rebels against Christ and suppresses his people.

Christ will make right all economic, political, and religious injustice at his coming!

Though we should pray for and support honest and equitable business, godly political values, and religious freedom today, we must also recognize that complete justice will only come (and it will come) when Christ returns to overthrow this corrupt world system in its entirety and to establish his just and righteous reign in its place. Since this is the case, we can rejoice ahead of time – not in our efforts to bring justice now but in his coming justice in the future.

Knowing this, we should focus our efforts on bringing people to a saving knowledge of and relationship with Christ by faith. Only this message can rescue them from the deadly grip of “Babylon the Great” today and the judgment that’s coming. Elevating social change over gospel change, though well-intended, often amounts to nothing more than giving people a more enjoyable ride on a plane that’s going to crash anyway.

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[1] For a helpful analysis of this list, see Kendell H. Easley, Revelation, vol. 12, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1998), 332-334