FIRST READ: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND
ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH
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The GREAT WHORE of Revelation
by Shaun Willcock
"And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgement of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
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:
And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
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." Rev. 17:1-6
In the first century AD, John the apostle was given, by the Lord, an astounding revelation of things which were to take place in the coming centuries. In chapter 17, he describes "the great whore": and the interpretation of this symbolic prophecy has not been left open to conjecture. There is only one institution that has ever fulfilled this prophecy. And the Holy Spirit, in the very same chapter, provides infallible evidence as to which one it is.
Vs.9 says: "And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth."
And vs.18 says: "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth."
From these two verses, we learn that the "great whore" of this chapter is a great city; in fact, "that great city" – the greatest of them all – which rules over the kings of the earth. And it is a city built on seven mountains (or hills).
Now, as has been well-known for many, many centuries, there is only one city that has always been known as "the city on seven hills" – and that is Rome. And no other city that has ever existed has reigned over the earth as Rome has.
With these facts in mind, we are able to correctly interpret the rest of the chapter. And there is overwhelming evidence that the Great Whore of this chapter is the great religio-political system known as the Roman Catholic "Church".
The implications, of course, are tremendous. If, indeed, the Roman Catholic institution is the Great Whore, then it is an institution utterly abhorred by God; a vile, antichristian institution, a monstrous counterfeit of the true Church of Christ. And the hundreds of millions of souls within it are lost and hell-bound, destitute of the saving grace of God.
Let us, therefore, study the first six verses, in order.
In vs.1, this institution is called a whore. A whore, of course, is a harlot, a prostitute; and from vs.3 we see that a woman is meant. Now, the true Church of Jesus Christ is often described, symbolically, as a woman; but a "chaste virgin" in 2 Cor. 11:2, and as the bride, or wife, of Christ, in Eph. 5:22-33, Rev. 19:7, and Rev. 21:9. The Lord Jesus Christ is described as the Church's "husband", who loved the Church, and gave himself for it, in 2 Cor. 11:2 and Eph. 5:25; "that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:27). The true Church is described as glorious, spotless, holy, without blemish.
In Rev. 17, however, there is another type of woman set before us! This one is a harlot, filthy and vile. That she is set forth as a "woman" means that she is an imitator of the true Church; but she is not chaste, or spotless, or pure – she is a harlot. She may pretend to be a chaste virgin, and externally may appear very beautiful; but she is all filthiness within.
If a "chaste virgin", a spotless bride, is the true Church, then the Great Whore is a FALSE "church": a counterfeit. And as we have seen, it is a false "church", or ecclesiastical institution, that "sits" on seven hills – the city of Rome. There is only ONE institution that fits the description, and that is the Roman Catholic institution. Its description as the Great Whore, alone, would be sufficient to identify it; but there is more. The Lord did not want his people to be in any doubt.
We are told that the Whore "sitteth upon many waters". What are these? Vs.15 tells us: "The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." For centuries, the Roman Catholic institution has ruled over peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues! It still does to this day: there are now over 900 million Roman Catholics worldwide. And she SITS upon them! She suppresses them, squashes them, suffocates them. She controls all aspects of their lives, from birth to the grave, and even beyond the grave by means of the money she extracts from the relatives of the departed.
But let us go on to vs.2.
Vs.2 says, "With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication". This is spiritual fornication (Jas. 4:4). Ever since the emperor Constantine became the first earthly ruler to "commit fornication" with the Whore, kings and queens and emperors and dictators and other rulers of the earth have been doing so. They have bowed to her authority, worshipped her, served her. That vile religion has fascinated them, mesmerised them, and they have been seduced by her. The history of Europe, and of other parts of the world, is replete with examples of the unholy relations of the Great Whore with worldly rulers – right down to our day!
"And the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication." The Papal institution has committed fornication with the world; it has embraced all manner of evils; it has done this, and the earth's inhabitants have been made spiritually "drunk" on this religious system. NOT ONLY Roman Catholics, but vast numbers of other people, of other religions, have become intoxicated on her wine. And hundreds of millions of "Protestants" are "drunk" on her wine as well! They gaze longingly at her, and desire to be joined to her.
In vs.3, John writes, "So he [the angel] carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness", where he saw this Harlot. Later on, when he is shown the true Church, the Lamb's wife, he writes, "And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain..." (Rev. 21:10). The language is identical, and is meant to show us that what John saw in Rev. 17:3 was the great false "church", the very opposite of the true Church of Jesus Christ, the Lamb, in Rev. 21:10.
The Whore was in a "wilderness". Roman Catholics are, indeed, in a spiritual wilderness. Their spiritual state is desperate. They are not in that place of spiritual rest which true Christians are in. For they have not found rest for their souls in the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 11:28-30). They are trusting in their "church", and its sacraments, and Mary, and the so-called "saints", but have not drunk of that living water, which forever quenches one's spiritual thirst (Jn. 4:13,14). They are drinking from a well that never satisfies.
The woman sat "upon a scarlet coloured beast". This is the political power of the Roman Catholic institution. The woman signifies spiritual power, the beast signifies political and military power. History reveals that this system took over the political might of the Roman Empire; controlled the so-called "Holy Roman Empire"; and has sat upon the political powers of Europe ever since. Political and military powers have been harnessed by the Harlot and made to work for her. The two most notable examples this century have been Nazism and Communism. Scarlet, of course, is the colour associated with violence and cruelty and bloodshed; and has also been the "official" colour of various political systems.
"Full of names of blasphemy". This refers to the blasphemous titles given to the popes – "Vicar of Christ"; "God on earth"; "Holy Father"; and many, many others; as well as to the blasphemous doctrines of this system, the titles given to Mary, etc., etc.
"Having seven heads and ten horns". What do these signify? We are not left to wonder. Vs.9, as mentioned previously, declares that the seven heads symbolise seven mountains – and this identifies this system with the city of Rome. As for the ten horns, these are said to be ten "kings", in vs.12. In the fifth century, the Roman Empire collapsed into ten barbarian kingdoms; and these developed into the nations of Europe as we now know them.
Now we come to vs.4: "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour". In no other religious institution on earth are these two colours so predominant as in Roman Catholicism! These are the colours used by popes and cardinals. The true Church of Christ is said to be "arrayed in fine linen, white and clean" (Rev. 19:8); but the Harlot wears purple and scarlet. We are told that the white fine linen symbolises "the righteousness of saints" in Rev. 19:8; which is the imputed righteousness of Christ. The followers of the Romanist religion are not dressed in Christ's righteousness, but, "being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God" (Rom. 10:3).
Next, we read that the Whore is "decked with gold and precious stones and pearls": these represent the vast wealth of the Roman Catholic institution. This wealth is so great that it cannot be realistically estimated. The institution has vast real estate, art treasures, gold, businesses, etc.
And the woman is said to have "a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication." Truly, Rome's abominations are many: her false doctrines, her evil actions through the centuries, her idolatry, etc. As for "the filthiness of her fornication": her spiritual fornication was mentioned in vs.2. And as a result of the enforced celibacy for her priests and nuns, she is full of physical fornication as well. Immorality of all kinds abounds within her.
The Harlot's name is given in vs.5. "And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT". This name is said to be written on her forehead, where it is visible. To those with eyes to see, her real identity is clear.
"MYSTERY". Paul the apostle wrote of "the mystery of iniquity" in 2 Thess. 2:7; and he was referring to the same system. The religion of Romanism is derived from the ancient "mystery religion" of Babylon.
"BABYLON THE GREAT". What a perfect name for this system! For, although its headquarters, the Vatican, is in the city of Rome, the doctrines, rites, ceremonies, etc., of the Roman Catholic religion are all derived from the ancient religion of Babylon, Baal worship! Even Papists have recognised that this is true. Many centuries ago, in its infancy, Romanism adopted the various doctrines and practices of Baal worship, and disguised them with Christian names and terminology. All her distinctive doctrines – the mass, purgatory, Mariolatry, the papacy, the celibate priesthood, salvation by works, to name just a few – originated in Babylon. Rome is to the New Testament times what Babylon was to the Old.
"THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." It is the boast of Rome that she is "Holy Mother Church". Although she is not the Mother Church, she is a Mother – the Mother of Harlots and Abominations! She is a Harlot who has given birth to daughters. These daughters are numerous, and include even certain so-called "Protestant" institutions, which, by both doctrine and practice, are very similar to her. Anglicanism and Lutheranism are two of her daughters. In both doctrine and practice, they ape their Mother.
In vs.6, the Great Whore's bloody persecutions of true Christians are revealed by the words, "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." Century after century, the Roman Catholic institution has sought to destroy the true Church of the living God. It has persecuted unto death literally millions of believers. They have been put to death in a thousand diabolical ways. There have been times when so many have been killed, that blood has flowed down the streets. The Papacy has used fire, the sword, the rack, and all kinds of other means to destroy the saints of God. How apt is the vision John saw! The woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and martyrs! This is a documented fact of history, impossible to deny. Nor must it be thought that Rome has now repented of her persecution of believers. Even in this century, she has provoked wars, and supported dictators, and persecuted the children of God.
Such is the description the apostle has given of the prophetic vision he saw. It has been perfectly fulfilled, down to the smallest detail, in the Roman Catholic institution. That Rome is the city meant in Rev. 17, even Roman Catholic authors have had to admit. That a religious system, masquerading as a Christian church, is meant, is clear from the prophetic description, when Scripture is permitted to interpret itself. That there is only one religious system which fits the description, is quite obvious. A worldwide system, with headquarters in Rome, deeply involved with earthly rulers, purple and scarlet in colour, extremely wealthy, whose doctrines and practices originated in ancient Babylon, the greatest persecutor of the saints of God throughout the centuries: this is Romanism, and Romanism alone.
This being so, beyond a shadow of doubt, it becomes clear just how abhorred of God the Roman Catholic system is! It is utterly vile in his sight. Indeed, according to his own prophetic Word, the day is coming when it will be completely destroyed (see Rev. 18). And when that happens, Scripture says there will be a "great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluiah; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are his judgements: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluiah. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever" (Rev. 19:1-3).
The doom of this great enemy of God, Christ, and his Church, is certain, The Lord has spoken.
But, oh! if you are a child of God, does not your heart break with compassion for the multitudes of Romanists, who, thinking themselves to be true Christians, are miserably deceived, and on their way to hell? In our day, we see "Protestants", as spiritually blind as the Romanists, treating the Roman Catholic institution as if it were part of the Christian Church – and the chief part at that! It is not! It is not! It is an accursed system, and its adherents are as lost as the Hindu, or the Muslim, or the Buddhist. You who love the Lord, pray for the Roman Catholic people, and preach the Gospel to them! Under the sovereignty of God, those whom he has chosen will be effectually called unto Jesus Christ, will repent, and believe the Gospel, and "come out of her" (Rev. 18:4).
Shaun Willcock is a minister of the Gospel, and lives in South Africa. He runs Bible Based Ministries. For other pamphlets (which may be downloaded and printed), as well as details about his books, tapes, news articles, etc., please visit the Bible Based Ministries website, or write to the address below. If you would like to be on Bible Based Ministries’ electronic mailing list, please send your details.
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