We will see the answer once we go through the referenced Scriptures and more. We will take a backward journey from Revelation 18.
Revelation 18 speaks of Babylon the Great. Let us see the details:
- She is so unclean with demons and evil spirits
- All the political nations have committed fornication with her
- She is in control of the international trade
- This is a great city, that is, a small political entity, also
- She is the epitome of luxury
- Her destruction is so fast and furious
- She is also a religious entity because “in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all the ones having been slain on the earth” (Rev 18:24; 19:2).
We understand that she is a political power and a religious power at the same time and hence has great sway over the political nations of the world. She is dead against and “responsible” for the death of God’s saints.
What is the “fornication” meant here, when Babylon the great is not a single person but an entity, especially when she is committing fornication with “nations” of the world?
In God’s Word, “fornication” simply means religious syncretism: in other words, teaching to “mix” the worship of the true God with other gods and idolatry.
We see the same described in Jeremiah:
“Jehovah also said to me in the days of Josiah the king, Have you seen
what the apostate Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill
and under every green tree, and has fornicated there…the apostate
Israel committed adultery… And it happened, from the wantonness of
her harlotry she defiled the land, and committed adultery
with stones and with pieces of wood” (Jer 3:6, 8-9).
[This is talking about false religion]
So, Babylon the great is a false religious system that has a political existence that leads all the people into false religion resisting the true believers of God.
Babylon the Great = the Great Harlot
In Revelation 17 we see a great harlot being described.
- She is sitting on “the many waters” (verse 1) which is ‘interpreted’ by Scripture itself as “peoples and crowds and nations and tongues” (verse 15). [She is a great international religion]
- She is the Mother of harlots but the Scripture is silent on the daughters
- She misleads the nations of the world in false religion
- She leads a luxurious life style
- She is the “source” (cup) of religious harlotry (mixing of true religion with false religions)
- She is against the true God and His saints
- She is “leading” and controlling a great and powerful political system known as the Beast [remember this carefully]
- She is also a political entity
- Her end is by the very hands of the Beast which turns against her at the end
Notice verse 6 which talks about something strange:
“And I saw the woman being drunk from the blood of the saints, and
from the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And I marveled, seeing
her, with a great marveling”.
Why does John get “greatly” marveling at her?
Yes, because this is a Christian religious system that teaches to mix the worship of the true God with false religions!
That is why she hates God’s true saints as they “resist” such religious syncretism!
[We will see, later, such religious blending described in the Bible: in the Old Testament]
Babylon the Great = the Great Harlot=the Second Beast
The same politico-religious entity is again described in Revelation 13.
- It had 2 “horns” (1 political power and 1 religious power); it looked like a “lamb” (Christ/Christian) but spoke like a “dragon” (false Christ/Christian)
- It “leads” and controls the first Beast which is a political power [remember this carefully]
- It shows great false “signs” to ‘mislead’ (verse 14) people and nations
- It doesn’t kill the saints directly but “causes” them to be killed by the political Beast
- It sways a large number of peoples across many borders in its religious practices
- It controls international trade
Babylon the Great = the Great Harlot=the Second Beast=Little Horn
We see the same entity in Daniel 7 described as the little horn.
“I was thinking about the horns. And behold! Another little horn
came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before
it. And behold! In this horn were eyes like the eyes of the man, and a
mouth speaking great things” (Dan 7:8).
This little horn is different from the ten horns in Daniel 7. It is not part of the 10 original horns. It uprooted the first three horns but did not touch the remaining 7 horns.
In fact it was leading the other 7 horns.
“that horn that had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things, and was
greater than the rest” (Dan 7:20).
Daniel 7 was written in Aramaic and the word translated “greater” is “rab” in Aramaic (H7229 corresponding to Hebrew H7227). It is translated as “lord” (Dan 2:10), “captain” (Dan 2:14), “chief” (Dan 2:48), “master” (Dan 4:9) etc.
So, the little horn is the master, chief, lord, captain of the remaining 7 horns and controlled them.
- The little horn makes war with the saints of God and overcomes them (verse 21). He shall wear out the saints of the Most High (verse 25)
- It intends to change times and law (of God) as part of the religious “mixing”
- It dislikes the true God
- The little horn is the leader of the remaining 7 horns (verse 20). In other words, it “leads” and controls the 7 horns or 7 heads of the Beast (remember this carefully)
Thus we see that the “little horn” leads the 7 horns of the Beast. The second “lamb” beast leads the first Beast with 7 heads. The “Harlot” is leading the Beast with 7 heads.
These are all one and the same entity.
But remember, we have already reached Babylon during Daniel’s time when Babylon was a virgin daughter: a literal nation back then! She has travelled all the way from Daniel through Isaiah, Jeremiah and finally reached Revelation as a mother harlot.
Babylon to Samaria
We have already seen that God hates “religious harlotry” which is “mixing” the true religion with false religion.
We see that happening right there in Samaria led by Babylon!
“And the king of Assyria brought men in from Babylon, and from
Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and made them
live in the cities of Samaria instead of the sons of Israel; and
they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities” (2 Kings 17:24).
Religious Harlotry
It is in Samaria, the great religious experiment of mixing and blending of the true religion with false religion happened.
“These people also worshiped the LORD and chose from among their
own number all sorts of people to serve as priests at the pagan places
of worship and to offer sacrifices for them there. So they
worshiped the LORD, but they also worshiped their own gods according to the customs of the countries from which they had come.
They still carry on their old customs to this day.” (2 Kings 17:32-34; GNB).
“So those people worshiped the LORD, but they also worshiped
their idols; and to this day their descendants continue to do the
same” (verse 41).
This was the great harlotry which was abominable in God’s sight.
Samaria, before, was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel (10 tribes).
From Babylon through Samaria to New Testament Church
Unfortunately, the same religious blending was carried forward into the New Testament Church. We see the tip of the iceberg in the Acts of the Apostles.
“Now in that city (Samaria) there was a man named Simon. He was
practicing occult arts and thrilling the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. Everyone from the least to the
greatest paid close attention to him, saying, "This is what we call
the great power of God!" They paid careful attention to him because he had thrilled them for a long time with his occult
performances. But when Philip proclaimed the good news about the
kingdom of God and about the name of Jesus the Messiah, men and women
believed and were baptized. Even Simon believed, and after he was
baptized he became devoted to Philip. He was amazed to see the signs
and great miracles that were happening.... Now when Simon saw that the
Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he
offered them money and said, "Give me this power too, so that when I
lay my hands on someone, he will receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter
told him, "May your money perish with you because you thought you
could obtain God's free gift with money! You have no part or share
in what we're saying, because your heart isn't right with God. So
repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if
possible, your heart's intent may be forgiven you. For I see that
you're being poisoned by bitterness and you're a prisoner of wickedness!"… After they…started back to Jerusalem, continuing to
proclaim the good news in many Samaritan villages” (Acts 8: 9-25;
ISV).
I said “tip of the ice berg” because later we get to read so much about this Simon Magus in early church fathers as the ‘father of all heresies’.
Conclusion
So, yes, Babylon the Great Harlot started out as “virgin daughter of Babylon”. Later she became the mother of other harlots. She is both a political entity controlling and leading a great political system and, more importantly, a great false religious system also that combines Christian symbols with pagan symbols.
