Chapter Seventeen

Who is the Great Harlot?
       We must take this chapter and the ones that follow it up until as being under and part of the final plague, the seventh bowl of wrath. It is clearly stated that there will be no more judgements; the seventh bowl was God’s final judgement on Rome.

Introduction to the Great Harlot   Rev 17:1-6, 18
1)      “One of the seven angels.”
a)      This angel is one of the seven angels who carried the seven bowls of wrath.
b)      Spoke to John “Come here, I shall show you the judgement of the great Harlot…”
This judgement is seen in chapter 18.

2)      Description of the Great Harlot.
a)      The angel’s description of the Great Harlot.
i)                    “who sits on many waters.”
In verse 15 these waters are explained as “peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.”
       This is where the sea-beast came from.  Rev 13:1
       The restless Sea of Humanity.   Isa 17:12;  Isa 57:20.

ii)                  “with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality.”
       She was guilty of spiritual fornication and immorality, and she entices the kings of the provinces that she has conquered to partake in evil with her.

iii)                “those who dwell on the earth.”
       Non-Christians – Gentiles
;  ;  ;  Rev 13:6-8; Rev 17:8.

iv)                “made drunk with the wine of her immorality.”
       This is seen in Rev 14:8

v)                  The angel calls her “the great harlot.”

b)      John’s view of the Great Harlot.
i)                    “into a wilderness.”
       Not the safe place used by the woman of chapter 12 but a wild and untamed place.

ii)                  “sitting on a scarlet beast”
A scarlet beast – scarlet the colour of blood.
       Full of blasphemous – see Rev 13:1
       Having seven heads – see Rev 13:1
       Having ten horns – see Rev 13:1
       We see that this is the first beast seen in chapter 13, the sea-beast. This beast and it’s meaning will be explained in greater detail later in this chapter.

iii)                “was clothed in purple and scarlet”
       Purple – a royal colour.
       Scarlet – the colour of blood.

iv)                “adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls”
Rich in material things – Rich in the riches of the world.

v)                  “having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality”
       Probably containing the blood of the saints (see verse 6)

Notice that 10 points, 5 described by the angel and 5 described by John, identify this woman. The number 10 stands for human – man, 10 fingers, and 10 toes. The woman pictured here is dressed gorgeously but notice that her adornment is cheap compared to that of the woman of Rev 12:1. She is called a harlot because of the abominations and immorality of her life.
                                     
The Harlot’s Name.
“Mystery” - apparently indicating the symbolic character of her name.  
c)      “Written upon her forehead.”
Remember – The seal of God (144,000).  Rev 7:2-8.
                     The mark of the beast.  Rev 14:16-17.

d)      “Babylon the Great.”
Symbolises the world centre of industry, commerce, art and culture.
        Part of the mystery is that Babylon to Jewish Christians would mean the great city of Rome but to others the name would not be understood, would remain a mystery.

e)      “Mother of Harlots.”
Symbolic of that, which would allure, tempt, seduce or draw man away from God.

f)       “Abomination of the Earth.”
Symbolic of the three types of sin John describes in 1 John 2:16.
        Lust of the flesh.
        Lust of the eyes.
        Boastful pride of life.

g)      Persecutor of the Saints.
        This woman is shown to be a persecutor of the saints. She is destroyed by God, not on the account of one or two martyrs but because of hundreds. She enjoyed doing this because she is described as being “drunk with their blood.”

3)      Six Reasons Why the City is Rome.  (See also -11, Appendix F.)
She is shown to be “the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

a)      She sits on seven hills.  Rev 17:9
        This is a well known description of the city of Rome that was in fact built on seven hills.

b)      She rules the earth in the time of John. 
        The woman is explicitly said to be the world ruler. Who ruled the world in the time of John? Rome did, well the entire known world of any importance anyway.

c)      She is a terrible persecutor of the saints. Rev 17:6;  , 24.
        This is one of the main themes of the book of Revelation. It is her persecution of the saints, God’s people, which has got her in trouble with God, brought God’s judgement down upon her. See the notes on the letters to the seven churches in chapters two and three. In these letters the Christians are warned of persecution coming upon them from Roman authorities.

d)      She is the leading commercial power on earth.  Rev 18:3, 11, 15-19.
        In fact most of chapter 18 presents a picture of a corrupt and ruthless commercial power.

e)      She is supported by the military might of an empire.  Rev 17:3, 7.
        The beast, the sea-beast is the Roman Empire and so when the Great Harlot is seen to be sitting on the beast we see the city of Rome supported by the military and economic might of the empire. The Roman system relied on the continued expansion of the empire to supply its needs. Once the empire stopped expanding, and the supply of slaves and other conquered goods stopped arriving, the city and empire entered a decline that would eventually lead to the end of the empire.

f)       She is destroyed by her own military power.  Rev 17:16-17.
        Because of the large numbers of soldiers needed by the military, Rome had to rely on armies made up of soldiers of other nations she had conquered. The general policy was to never let these soldiers serve in their homelands, rather sending them to other parts of the empire. For the most part this was successful but later this policy would be a factor in Rome’s downfall.

Who is the Harlot – Various Views.
            Rev 17:1-6 Rome clearly appears to be meant in this chapter. Pagan Rome subdued and ruled with military power, not by art and flatteries. She left the nations in general to their ancient usages and worship. But it is well known that by crafty and politic management, with all kinds of deceit of unrighteousness, papal Rome has obtained and kept her rule over kings and nations. Here were allurements of worldly honour and riches, pomp and pride, suited to sensual and worldly minds. Prosperity, pomp, and splendour, feed the pride and lusts of the human heart, but are no security against the Divine vengeance. The golden cup represents the allurements, and delusions, by which this mystical Babylon has obtained and kept her influence, and seduced others to join her abominations. She is named, from her infamous practices, a mother of harlots; training them up to idolatry and all sorts of wickedness. She filled herself with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus. She intoxicated herself with it; and it was so pleasant to her, that she never was satisfied.
                                                            Matthew Henry Concise Commentary – Online Bible.

Notice, in his commentary above, Matthew Henrew, (and other commentators), place a distinction between Pagan Rome and Papal Rome. This idea is places the Great Harlot as being the apostate church that arose as the pagan Roman Empire adopted Christianity. Authority, direction and autonomy of the local congregations were lost as central authority and power rose under the papal system.    
While this idea is certainly included in the downfall and overthrow of Rome it does not explain the warnings given to the seven churches in particular and the whole church in general, of a time of great persecution soon to take place. This terrible persecution took place during the reign of Domitian, the eleventh emperor of Rome, long before the early church gained any place of prominence among the religions of the empire.     

An Alternative View – Jerusalem. 
          The identity of the harlot is still an open question in my own mind. Many understand her to represent the commercial and immoral spirit of Rome (not the literal city itself, for she was never destroyed as described in later chapters) which was instrumental in opposing the people of God.  There is much to be said for this view.  Rev 17:2, 18; 18:3, 9, 11 certainly seem to fit Rome.
         However, I lean toward the view that the harlot represents Jerusalem, often supported in her persecution of the church by the Roman Empire but then destroyed herself by Rome in A.D. 70.  It is interesting to compare such verses as Rev 17:6; , 24; 19:2 with Jesus' statements in   Matt -39.  As foretold by Jesus in both Matthew and Revelation, God was about to avenge His apostles and prophets on this city "who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her" (; Matt ).
         While the identity of the beast, the kings, and the harlot might be unclear in the minds of some, the outcome of the conflict described in this chapter is certain.
                                                             Revelation Notes by Mark Copeland  pg 71.
         There are good arguments for the Great Harlot being either Papal Rome or Jerusalem, but I believe the final deciding factor is the overall context of the book. For Jerusalem there is the fact that this city was destroyed during the 1st century, at a date that sits well with the date we believe Revelation was written. On the other hand the argument for Rome points to a book primarily concerned with God’s judgement on Rome, so by suddenly going off and telling of the destruction of Jerusalem does not fit into the context of the Revelation story. 
         There is a lot of debate concerning the identity of the Great Harlot. Even the two examples I have included in this study differ on this point. Whereas Matthew Henry is in favour of this city being Rome, Mark Copeland comes out in favour of the city being Jerusalem. I have even seen some writers say both cities. That is when things get really confusing. 
         What ever we decide the important thing is to remember Mark Copeland’s final comment above. The true message here is not the identity of those involved in this conflict but rather the final outcome of the conflict itself. 

The Mystery of the Sea-Beast Explained.   Rev 17:7-17.
1)      The angel promises to explain the mystery.   Rev 17:7
a)      First the beast is explained.   Rev 17:7-17
b)      Then the Great Harlot was explained.  Rev 17:9, 18.

2)      The Sea-beast.   Rev 17:8
In verse 3 we have already identified this beast as the beast that the dragon called out of the sea in chapter 13, this was the sea-beast. The angel describes this beast using a rather unusual phrase, “as the one that was, that is not, and is about to come out of the abyss and go on to destruction.” This is closely tied into the seven kings where a similar phrase is used. This close relationship comes about because the sea-beast is the Roman Empire and the seven kings are the rulers of this empire.

3)      The Seven Heads.   Rev 17:9.
“The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.” Here is one of the most important identifying points linking the Great Harlot with the city of Rome. Rome was located beside the Tiber River and as the city grew it spread over seven nearby hills. Many of the important government buildings temples and palaces were located on top of these different hills and the city was commonly called ‘the city of seven hills.’

4)      The Seven Kings.   Rev 17:10-11.
At this point in our study we should stop and ask the question ‘Does the Roman Empire really fit into the book of Revelation?’
To answer this question we must take a look at the Roman Empire at the time Revelation was written. You may also want to refer to:-
Appendix F ‘Rome and the Roman Emperors’
Appendix E ‘Parts of Daniel Relating to Revelation.’

Let’s first look at the vision Daniel saw in Dan 7:1-28.
In this vision Daniel saw four beasts coming up out of the sea. In verse 17 Daniel is told that these four beasts are “four kings who will arise from the earth.” Later in looking closer at the fourth beast we see in verse 23 that this is in fact a fourth kingdom. So there is a close relationship between the Great Statue that Nebuchadnezzar saw in Daniel chapter 2 and this vision of the four beasts. (See Appendix E) Following this we can establish each kingdom as the four major kingdoms or empires between Daniel’s time and when Revelation was written in John’s time.
Nebuchadnezzar’s and Daniel’s visions laid out the political framework for the four hundred years between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament. By comparing the events outlined within these two visions with recorded history of this period we can clearly see God was moving in the affairs of men, working to achieve His purpose.

The 1st Beast   -  Babylonian Empire.
            This was the ruling empire when Daniel lived.
The 2nd Beast  -  Medo – Persian Empire.
By the end of the Old Testament the Babylonian had been replaced by the rise of the Medo – Persian Empire. (Since the Persians dominated sometimes known as the Persian Empire)
The 3rd Beast  -  Greek Empire.
Alexander the Great conquered most of the known world within a few years and started the Grecian period.
The 4th Beast  -  Roman Empire.
            Finally came the rise of Rome.

Looking at the fourth beast we ask the question:- Is this the same beast as the Sea-beast of Revelation?
Let’s compare them.
1)      Both came up out of the sea.
Rev 13:1                     Dan 7:3
2)      Both had ten horns.
Rev 13:1                     Dan 7:7.
3)      Likeness of a leopard, a lion and a bear.
Rev 13:2                     Dan 7:3-6
4)      Speaks great things and blasphemy.
Rev 13:5                     Dan 7:8, 20, 25.
5)      Makes war with the saints.
Rev 13:7                     Dan 7:21, 25.
6)      The time given to him to rule. (See notes on Rev 11:1-2 & Appendix C).
42 months – Rev 13:5.
Time, times and half a time – Dan 7:25.

            Our Conclusion.
Although the appearance of these two beasts is not exactly the same, there can be no doubt that both John and Daniel saw the same beast and that this beast is the Roman Empire. 

Rome.
From their humble beginnings in the 8th century BC as a minor people in a settlement on the Tiber River, the Romans conquered the entire Italian Peninsula and then went on to establish a vast Mediterranean based empire that lasted until the late 5th century AD.
According to legend, Rome was founded in the 8th century BC by the Latin Romulus, the first of a succession of kings. By the 5th century BC a senate had replaced the king and Rome had become a republic.
Under the republic rule, Rome gained control of all of Italy by the 3rd century BC. During the 2nd century her main rival Carthage was crushed leaving Rome as the major power of the central Mediterranean. By the time of Christ, Rome had become the great power, as we know it, having conquered an empire of all the lands and nations from Britain in northwest to Egypt in the southeast.
The senate system of government broke down around the time of Julius Caesar and 17 years after his death the Roman Republic had become the Roman Empire. The first emperor was Augustus who ceased power in 27 BC. (See list of Emperors below and also Appendix F).
The emperor system continued until Theodosius I, 379 – 395 AD when the empire divided into two parts. By the 5th century AD Rome had been invaded and overthrown by tribal peoples who occupied large segments of the western empire. In the east the Byzantine Empire survived well into the late middle ages.

The Kings of the Fourth beast.
It is hard to compress nearly 10 centuries of history in only a few sentences but what really concerns us is the period of the 1st century during the reigns of the first 11 emperors. They are the seven kings mentioned in Revelation and also the 10 kings mentioned by Daniel. Below is a list of these emperors together with their relationship to Revelation and Daniel.
In this chart we compare the kings of the fourth beast as seen by Daniel and by John. The first thing we notice is that John appears to have left off 3 emperors. Considering the time between Daniel and John you would expect that Daniel would have made a mistake rather than John. So why did John leave out 3 kings?


  Emperors of the 1st Century.

Emperor                      Reign              Daniel No.  Revelation No.               Rev 17:10-11


Augustus
27BC-14AD
     1
     1

Tiberius
14-37 AD
     2
     2
These are the five ‘kings’
Caligula
37-41 AD
     3
     3
“Five have fallen.”
Claudius
41-54 AD
     4
     4

Nero
54-68 AD
     5
     5
“The Beast that was.”





Galba
68 AD
     6

Three who took the throne
Otho
69 AD
     7

But were quickly overthrown.
Vitellius
69 AD
     8

(See notes below)





Vaspasian
69-79 AD
     9
     6
“the one that is” 
Titus
79-81 AD
     10
     7
“the one not yet come but only for a short time.”





Domition
81-96 AD
     11
     8
“an eighth, the beast”


For more detail and background on each of these emperors see Appendix F.

The Missing Three Kings.
            “Five have fallen..”
These five were the first five emperors of the Roman Empire, Augustus – Nero.
During the approximately 18 months between Nero and Vespasian there was a period of bloody civil wars. Nero had taken his own life but didn’t leave a successor to follow after him. So during the next 18 months 3 men became Emperor but were quickly overthrown. Finally Vaspasian established himself on the throne and stabilized the empire. These three emperors before him were more occupied in defending themselves than governing the empire. In a far away province like Asia they would have had little effect in the lives of the ordinary people so they were left off John’s list. The missing three kings are the three fallen kings of Daniel 7.

Dan   “before which three of them fell”.

Rev 17:8  “The beast that you saw was (the one that was).”  
Nero was the first emperor to persecute the Christians to any great extent. The Christians were blamed for burning Rome down but many writers say that Nero was trying to remove the blame from himself. Anyway, this persecution was believed to be mainly limited to the area around the city of Rome. The Apostle Paul is believed to have been killed during this period of persecution.

Rev 17:10  “one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while”
While the Romans were fighting over the Empire the Christians were left alone. Then Vaspasian took the throne and became emperor. He is the “one that is.” Vaspasian’s eldest son Titus became a joint ruler with him and succeeded him when he died. During the reigns of Vaspasian and his son Titus, Christians were allowed to live in peace.

Rev 17:8  “is about to come up out of the abyss.”
  “even he is the eighth…….He goes on to destruction.”

When Domitian, the second son of Vaspasian became emperor he decided that instead of being proclaimed “god” upon his death, as was the usual Roman custom, he would become a god while he still lived. He demanded that every person within the empire worship him, even setting up a government authority, known as the “commune” or “concilia” to enforce this. Of course this was a major problem for the Christians who were only able to worship one god, the true God in heaven.
Therefore under Domitian the reign of persecution spread far beyond Rome to the furthest reaches of the Empire. The Christians living in Asia daily faced the threat of persecution and death as emperor worship was strictly enforced, throughout the Empire.

The Ten Horns   -17
In Rev 13:1 we saw that the ten horns of the sea-beast meant complete power. Well here in chapter 17 we find there is another deeper meaning.
These are client kings under the authority of imperial Rome. Note that they have lost their own independent authority, rather ruling as sub-rulers under the power of Rome with the ever present Roman legions ready to step in at the first sign of rebellion. Verses 12 – 17 are directly concerned with these client kingdoms.
A good example of one of these kingdoms would be Judea. Herod was the king and he ruled with the appearance of being the king but to Rome he was just a means of keeping the Jews, one of the more difficult people under Roman rule, in check and under control. Herod held his position on the basis of imperial favour. If he offended or fell out with the emperor he would have been quickly dethroned.
Other client kingdoms at that time were Armenia, Carpoptosia, Galatia and Commagene. Their number is more likely to be symbolic rather than figurative. Let’s now look at what the text says about them.

Rev 17:12  “they receive their authority as kings with the beast for one hour.”
            The meaning here is for a short time or that the length of their rule was limited. In the case of Herod his kingdom had lasted for nearly 2 centuries but now under Roman control it would soon come to an end.

Rev 17:13  “These have one purpose and they give their power and authority to the beast.”
            Their purpose is to govern on behalf of Rome, to maintain peace and stability so the Romans could give their attention to other more unstable areas of the empire. Notice the word ‘give’ in this verse. Many of these kingdoms did in fact give their authority to Rome, which was often a better alternative than their country being crushed by a conquering Roman army.

Rev 17:14  “These will wage war against the Lamb.”
            Following the direction of Rome they will take their place among those who will bring persecution upon Christ and His followers.

  “and the Lamb will overcome them”
1)      Because He is the Lord of Lords.
2)      Because He is the king of kings.

Rev 17:14   “those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”
            Those who are with the Lamb are the saints, Christians. They have been called out of the world because He has chosen them; they follow Him and remain faithful to Him.

   “and the ten horns….will hate the beast”
            The client kingdoms for the most part continued to harbour deep down resentment and hatred. When their chance came many kingdoms were quick to overthrow their Roman masters. As this verse predicts they did play their part in the downfall and destruction of the empire.

Rev 17:17   “God has put it into their hearts to execute His purpose.”
            When the time is right, God will use these client kings for His own purpose. They may believe they are acting under their own motives but once again we can see another example of God being in control and things turning out as He planned them.

The Book of Daniel.
The close connection between the book of Revelation and the book of Daniel is an interesting side study. The Great Statue of Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel’s vision of the four beasts both revealed a series of four great empires. These are explained in greater detail in Appendix E. Both visions tell us that the fourth empire will make war against God’s people and then will be overthrown. 

Daniel told the king that his statue was in fact four kingdoms.
The Head –                       1st Kingdom –       Babylon.
The Breast & Arms –     2nd Kingdom –       Mede-Persian. (See Dan 5:26-28)
The Belly & Thighs –     3rd Kingdom –        Greece.  (See Dan 8:5-8)
Legs & feet –                              4th Kingdom –        Rome.   (See Dan 11:20-45)

The King is told that his Kingdom is the first of a series of four great kingdoms. During the time of the fourth kingdom God will set up another kingdom, the stone that will stand forever and never be destroyed.

In Daniel’s vision of the four beasts.   Dan 7:23-25.
                        The 1st beast                           Babylon.
                        The 2nd beast                          Mede-Persian.
                        The 3rd beast                          Greece.
                        The 4th beast                          Rome.

            Then the Ancient of Days will bring His judgement upon Rome and a kingdom of the saints will be established that will last forever.
This is the main message of Revelation too. God is in control and eventually the Roman Empire will fall while the church will remain.

Overview – The Story so Far.

            Let’s look back over the last few chapters and view the overall picture.
           
Under the Struggle between Christ and Satan.
Delivering of the Child   Rev 12:1-6.
            War in Heaven.   Rev 12:7-12.
            War on Earth.   Rev 12:13-17.
The Forces of War
1)      Forces of Evil lead by Satan.   Rev 13.
2)      Forces of Righteousness  Rev 14.
a)       Forces of Righteousness lead by the Lamb. Rev 14:1-5.
b)      Interlude:- Hope and confidence.   Rev 14:6-13.
c)      The Sickles of Judgement.   Rev 14:14-20.
The Seven Bowls of Wrath.
1)      Introduction.   Rev 15:1
Interlude:- Glory to God.   Rev 15:2-4.
2)      The Temple of Testimony.   Rev 15:5-16:1. 
3)      The Seven Bowls of Wrath.   Rev 16:2-21.
a)      The First Bowl of Wrath – Rev 16:2..
Loathsome and malignant sores.
b)      The Second Bowl of Wrath – Rev 16:3.
The Sea turned to blood of a dead man.
c)      The Third Bowl of Wrath – Rev 16:4-7.
            Rivers and springs of waters turned to blood.
d)      The Fourth Bowl of Wrath – Rev 16:8-9
God gave the sun power to scorch men with fire.
e)      The Fifth Bowl of Wrath – -11.
Darkness.
f)       The Sixth Bowl of Wrath – -16.
The Euphrates dried up.
g)      The Seventh Bowl of Wrath – -21.
A Great Earthquake – God’s Final Judgement.
4)      The Great Harlot.  Rev 17:1-6, 18.
5)      The Mystery of the Sea-Beast is explained.  Rev 17:7-17.

In Chapter 17 we found the most evidence that Revelation is mainly concerned with the God’s Judgement on Rome. The Great Harlot, the Sea-Beast and the Earth Beast are all connected with the city of Rome and her great empire.
In our study of this chapter there are many references to the book of Daniel, particularly to the 2 visions concerning future great empires. First the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar saw a great statue in a dream, and then Daniel himself saw a dream concerning four terrible beasts. Both of these dreams are closely connected to Revelation because they both predicted what John is also telling us:- The Church will overcome the Roman Empire.
See Appendix E “Parts of Daniel relating to Revelation.”  
Also see Appendix F “Emperors of Rome during the 1st Century.”
            Now we move into the Judgement chapters of Revelation, Chapters 18 - 20. Notice the unusual way that John describes the judgement on The Great Harlot.

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