The Great Prostitute

SETTING THE SCENEOne of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.” (Revelation 17:1-2)

Revelation 17 is a postlude to the bowls of wrath, which expands upon Babylon the Great (elsewhere referred to as the woman, the harlot, or the prostitute), her relationship with the beast, and her judgment.(1) The message is delivered by one of the seven angels from the bowl judgments. Exactly which one of the angels is not specified, although the judgment upon the “woman” (Babylon) appears to be indicated by the sixth bowl of judgment when the Euphrates is dried up.(2)

The woman is called a harlot or prostitute four times in Revelation 17, and her sin is referred to as fornication. Her evil influence has extended to the entire world, reaching Continue reading “The Great Prostitute”