Revelation 17:1-5: 1 Then one of the seven angels… spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.” 3 …and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, 5 and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

The name written on the forehead of the woman riding the scarlet-colored beast did not represent a location, nor did it refer to literal Babylon located in Iraq in ancient times. It was part of a title, “MYSTERY: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” The title symbolically identified the woman.

All of Revelation is filled with signs, symbols and pictures from the vision the Apostle John received on the isle of Patmos. These visions were delivered to him by Jesus himself. To understand who the woman symbolically represents, we look to other scriptures of women. 

In the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins in Matthew 25, the true “bride” of Christ (his faithful followers) is represented as the wise virgins who go out to meet the bridegroom. They represent the pure church, the true church. In the opposite sense, the woman in Revelation 17:5 represents a false and evil church as shown by her description. She was arrayed in purple and scarlet and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls. Consider a powerful church system that displays various forms of wealth in both person and ritual.  In her hand was a golden cup full of the abominations and filthiness of her fornication. Who was she fornicating with? Revevelation 17:1,2 says she was a prostitute and had committed fornication with the “kings of the earth.” Since the time of our Lord’s first advent, has there been a church system which has made strong alliances with the kings of the earth, the earthly governments throughout history?

Why does her title include the name, Babylon? Smith’s Bible Dictionary tells us that Babylon is the Greek form of “Babel,” bringing to mind the account of the tower of Babel in the Old Testament where God confused the language of the people so that they could not complete the construction of the tower. The name “Babylon” means the same as its literal reference – confusion.   

This false church system carries in her hand a cup that was once filled with truth but now is contaminated with a wide array of confusing doctrines. Those doctrines are designed to intoxicate those who drink it. As error was spread, ambition replaced the spirit of humility and loyalty to God, and she desired the conditions that would give her greater power and influence in the world. Revelation 18 describes in detail the destruction of this false system. 

Additional Resource:
Christian Questions Podcast
Episode #1143: What Does Jesus Expect From Us?
Uncovering the age-lasting meaning of the wise and foolish virgins
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CQ Rewind Show Notes