1One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here. I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, 2with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality. Those who dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her sexual immorality.” 3He carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. 4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of the sexual immorality of the earth. 5And on her forehead a name was written, “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” 6I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered with great amazement.
7The angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and shall be present.
9Here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 10They are seven kings. Five have fallen, the one is, and the other has not yet come. When he comes, he must continue a little while. 11The beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goes to destruction. 12The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 13These have one mind, and they give their power and authority to the beast. 14These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with him are called, chosen, and faithful.” 15He said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. 16The ten horns which you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute, will make her desolate, will strip her naked, will eat her flesh, and will burn her utterly with fire. 17For God has put in their hearts to do what he has in mind, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God should be accomplished. 18The woman whom you saw is the great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
The vision of the great harlot revealed that she had the name of Babylon and had persecuted the saints while committing acts of immorality with the kings of the earth. It is introduced with one of the seven angels who executed the bowl judgments, taking John to see the vision of the “Great Harlot.” Which of the seven is not stated. Which one is unimportant. They are all just servants of God.
“Harlot” refers to false religion throughout the Old Testament, and so here as well (Jer 2:20; 3:6-10; Ezek 16:33; Hosea 1-2; Rev 2:20-22). It was popular in the past to call it an apostate Christendom embodied in the Catholic Church, united with the World Council of Churches. Thus, Babylon is Rome, and the beast is the revived Roman Empire. However, this need not be so. The practice of beheading the saints points more to a Muslim influence. Though those Roman Catholics who are not believers will not be raptured with the church (the same is true for non-believing Protestants as well), all religions of the world will be absorbed into the Antichrist’s system.
Her identity with “many waters” connects back to the Old Testament promise of Babylon’s destruction (Jer 51:12-13). “The kings of the earth” would refer to world rulers. Sexual immorality points to both physical and spiritual immorality involved in idolatrous worship in the Old Testament and in the beast’s kingdom.
Being “carried away in the spirit” indicates a continuation of John’s vision rather than physical relocation. The wilderness is then a part of the vision where John sees its message played out.
The woman John sees is a picture of the false religious system established by the Antichrist and his false prophet in chapter 13. The cloth and colors of her clothing indicate royalty and wealth. Her drinking from the golden cup shows the pleasure this system takes in immoral conduct that is offensive, an abomination, to God.
The name on her forehead begins with “mystery.” This use of “mystery” implies that Babylon has a secret meaning and may not be intended as a reference to ancient and modern Babylon in Iraq. “Mother of Harlots” indicates that a whole system of false religions is centered there (in Mystery Babylon). The same is true for “the abominations of the earth.” These are sourced in and nurtured by this false religious system.
In their world, a person had to drink a lot of wine to get drunk. The reference to this “woman” being drunk with the blood of the martyrs indicates that this religious system will have a vast number of victims who will die violent deaths. In particular, they will be tribulation saints, loyal to Jesus.
This places the occurrence of Babylon’s destruction chronologically within the period of the seven bowls, likely toward the end, particularly as a part of the devastating earthquake of the seventh bowl. Thus, “Mystery Babylon” will be destroyed last of all, and will continue to function until the end of the Antichrist’s reign. The symbolic language describes something literal.