March 22 - The Great Prostitute (pt. 1)

March 22 – The Great Prostitute (pt. 1)
Revelation 17:1-2

“One 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, who sits on many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.’

“Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.”

The entire seventeenth chapter deals with the harlot, the whore of Babylon. She seems to epitomize all the sin of the world.

We see her sitting on many waters. John is taking us back to the prophet Jeremiah. Babylon has long been considered the greatest enemy of Israel and it has also been considered a great enemy of righteousness. Jeremiah’s prophecy is about to be fulfilled.

“You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be cut off.” (Jeremiah 51:13)

Jeremiah was an active prophet during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar and prophesies immediate and future events. He offered the Israelites a hope for a better future after they had been removed from their home, their lives, their temple and everything that made them a community.

In Revelation 17:3, the angel carries John to the desert. Since John tells us that he was carried away in the Spirit, we should recognize that this is a vision and not an actual occurrence.

The woman is now seated on a scarlet beast. If you look back at Revelation 13:1-2, you will see that this is the beast from the sea, the one identified as the antichrist. We learn something new about him. He is described as being scarlet. This is the same color as the dragon in Revelation 12:3 and in Isaiah 1:18 is the color of sin.

Scarlet is a symbol of atonement. In Leviticus 14:4-6, a piece of scarlet yarn is part of the process used to cleanse a person of disease. In Matthew 27:28-29, Jesus was forced to wear a scarlet robe and a crown of thorns.

Back in Revelation, the woman is dressed in purple and scarlet, glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. Purple and scarlet were very expensive dyes. To wear both colors was a symbol of complete extravagance.

Before we get there, I want you to watch for an astounding contrast to come. The whore is dressed in extravagant colors and jewelry. She is quite a sight to behold. By the end of all this, we will see the Bride of Christ. In Rev. 19:8, she is given fine linen – bright and clean – to wear. As you consider this contrast, realize that the Bride of Christ is the church and the whore is the apostate church – the desecration of everything holy.