A Revelation Invitation

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. (Revelation 17:1-6a ESV)

I know a man who would regularly come home in a drunken stupor and pass out on his couch. On one such night he told his wife, “Don’t let the kids see me like this.” She proceeded immediately to their bedrooms, gathered her three young children and brought them before their drunken father to see him in all his glory. It was time to rip off the mask. Of course he protested, but in vain as his wife knew that bringing his behavior into the light was the only way that it would change. “Look at your father. This is what drinking does to you. See what your father has become. Do you want to become like this?” In time this man became an elder in the church and his children are all faithful disciples of Jesus. But his turnabout began when the mask came off revealing evil for what it is.

John appears to introduce a new character into his narrative—the great prostitute—until we notice that on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” Then we realize that this is simply another portrait of Rome, the beast that rose out of the sea uttering blasphemous names. As the mother of prostitutes she was the embodiment of all that is lascivious, depraved, decadent, reprehensible and faithless—and she flaunted it! Needless to say Rome did not portray herself this way. She charmed the world with her opulence and beguiled it with her great luxuries so that the world would desire her and serve her. However, God ripped off the mask exposing her true nature. We must not become captivated by evil as it struts before us lest we succumb to its bewitchment.

God painted this picture of Rome’s moral character and the nature of her power in order to emphasize the magnitude of her impending fall. She rode on the red beast to show that she manipulated and controlled her world by the satanic power that was manifested in the political and military strength of the Empire. Her portrayal as a prostitute showed how morally repulsive she was so that Christians would have nothing to do with her.

Has this woman reappeared in our day? Consider how much of this portrait of Rome could also describe the United States. The U.S. is also the dominant military and political powers of its day (ten horns). It enjoys ascendant commercial prosperity, satiating itself in luxuries (dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls). Foreign rulers submit to and cooperate with the U.S. so as to enjoy these same benefits (With her the kings of the earth committed adultery). American society indulges in luxuriant decadence and wickedness (held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries). I could go on. Unless the U.S. changes its ways, I fear that its present path will lead to the same judgment that we will soon see fall upon Rome in the pages of Revelation. For all the good the United States has accomplished in history, we are wise to lift the mask and recognize the evil that grows within.

When we see an aggressive persecution of the church like that of the early Christians (drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus), the time may be at hand. In God’s court the blood of the saints bore testimony against Rome as evidence of capital offense. Her resulting downfall would be simultaneously magnificent and awful. So we can understand why Christians would have been comforted in knowing that Rome’s end was coming. The mask was off.

O King of kings, open my eyes to the realities around me in the world. Remove the blinders from my eyes so that I see evil for what it is. Don’t allow sentimental attachments to my nation or any other institution to cloud my vision of the nature and character of the powers of the world. Their allure is seductive. Their allure is deceptive. It is to your eternal kingdom that my allegiance is pledged. Amen.