“And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:” (Revelation 17:1).

Visiting Vial Angel

The angels assigned to pour out those terrible Vial woes just completed their busy assignment (Revelation 16). Devastation to earth’s inhabitants has been momentous. Most important, the triumvirate of Babylon has been decimated (16:19). Those triune apostate powers so long bent on muffling the voice of God included Satan. His crowning acts of spirit manifestations and appearing as an angel of light have now been thwarted. He’s impotent and powerless. That’s why the seventh Vial heralds a decisive change in redemptive history. It comes when a voice out of the temple in heaven is declaring, “It is done” (16:17; cf. 11:19)!

Angels are assigned curious tasks when working with human beings. The most mysterious tasks were assigned (right at the end) to a select few. Those majestic beings appointed to work with Christ must have expressed awe and honor at their sacred mission. One of the vial angels is now given a unique instructive task.

“And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me” (vs 1)

John must have been excited, though he doesn’t admit it. He has seen stunning heavenly activity. There were the 144,000 on a sea of glass. They sang in one of heaven’s great choirs. Just recently a living creature gave the seven angels their destructive Vials; a general voice from the temple (likely God the Father speaking) ordered those angels to begin their fearful mission; and then he saw those terrible woes come upon the earth. What could this Vial angel now be coming to John to talk about?

Before we listen in, a visit to God’s prophecy center will be extremely helpful. He chose to give John these sacred prophecies in a variety of ways. That array permits us to better grasp their intent and significance.

Revelation is divided into different message packets:

1.   Visions/auditions of earthly events

2.   Visions/auditions of events in heaven

3.   Commentary inserts – comments to add information, often “out of the clear blue” – “Oh, by the way” thoughts

4.   Interludes – vision/audition messages that review what was just given but fill in important details

5.   Orientation statements as to time and/or place

This vial angel is about to begin an
interlude of special details that go way back into chapter 12! Those intervening chapters were filled with astonishing prophetic facts. But God wants us to know even more information. This special bulletin continues on through chapter 19, verse 10. It is clearly extremely important, or such a special mission would not be
occurring!

Attention on Harlotry

“Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore” (vs 1)

In the second angel’s message (Revelation 14:8), Babylon is fallen. In the third, there is a warning of receiving God’s wrath if anyone identifies with the mark of the beast – the insignia of Babylon’s kingdom. In the seventh Vial the fall of Babylon is said to have happened because of the cup of the wine of anger of God’s wrath (16:17). The Vial angel is going to fill us in on what led to unleashing His wrath. It is an amplification of “why” the seventh Vial or Bowl occurred. You will be stunned to know that Babylon is a harlot. Another Vial angel will later come to John and tell him about another “lady,” the bride of the Lamb (21:9)! This book is filled with amazing paradoxes. God’s bride was first introduced in 12:1 as a pure woman with a crown of victory. The most amazing is how Satan tries incessantly to mimic things God does.

This Vial angel is now speaking: “Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters” (17:1).

Those are the same words He will use in 21:9 about the “bride”! We are to know about those two “women”: a harlot (with many husbands) and a bride (with one – Jesus). They are also called two cities: Babylon and the New Jerusalem. Lest we become mired in information overload, the angel is going to explain everything to make it all clear.

What are John, you and I, going to be shown? The “judgment of the great whore” (17:1).

We won’t be told until verse 5 that this harlot is Babylon. But we will know much about her beforehand. “Harlot” is pornes (Gr.) and matches the attributes of Babylon in 14:8, where she’s guilty of fornication (porneias). It suddenly tells us that she is active in spiritual adultery. She is involved with illicit religious practices. In prophecy, prostitution, adultery or fornication is the same as idolatry or religious apostasy! (Isaiah 23:15-17; Jeremiah 2:20-31, 12:27; Hosea 2:5).

It is most amazing that we already were told centuries ago that Nineveh (Nahum 3:1, 4), Tyre (Isaiah 23:14-17) and Babylon (Jeremiah 23:17) were adulterous cities.

Even before we get the harlot’s facts, we know she is the epitome of spiritual idolatry. Because of God’s wrath we know she is an abomination to Him. She represents a false religion.[1]

She Can’t Get Away with Evil

The angel said that that false religion will face future judgment. Repeatedly (vss 2, 5, 15-16; 18:9; 19:2), words are used for her proselytizing religious corruption. Her existence is a travesty to the worship of the true God. We are now going to witness what occurred that led up to Babylon’s demise (developing in the sixth Vial and completed in the seventh).

Babylon’s judgment echoes Jeremiah 51:13, where the fall of literal Babylon, the city associated with many waters, is in view. The destruction of spiritual Babylon comes as an answer to the saints’ cry under the fifth Seal, “How long, oh Lord, how long” (6:10). Thus, that great city became “an eschatological symbol of satanic deception and power,”[2] which God finally destroys.

Wielding Her Power

“that sitteth upon many waters:” (vs 1)

This next clue tells us of her power.

The “many waters” are explained in 17:15. They represent “peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.” That list collectively symbolizes the whole world. Since the harlot is evil, it depicts the wicked earth. Since  Babylon was situated on the Euphrates River, in prophecy we can deduce that that body of water epitomizes wicked people supporting the city (Isaiah 57:20-21). This is helpful in other contrasting apocalyptic studies [Revelation 16:12, Daniel 8–12 – Hiddekel and Ulai Rivers (“east” of the Euphrates River) are righteous people].

 “Sitting” on the waters portrays rulership or enthronement.[3] This is substantiated in the next chapter when Babylon replies: “I sit as a queen” (18:7). It also represents judicial authority over (Daniel 7:9 – “Ancient of days did sit”). All examples portray “control over.” She is controlling the world!

We will be presented with new instances of her “sitting” (vss 3, 9, 15). Each will inaugurate a fresh line of information to this woman’s seductive, controlling power.

It’s All About Religious Power

Before we visit the next verse, it is important to observe what is being introduced. A woman in prophecy represents a church (Ephesians 5:24-27, Jeremiah 6:2, II Corinthians 11:2). A pure woman was already presented to John’s readers in 12:1-2. That symbolized God’s true church with a crown of twelve stars, representing its first leaders (the apostles). The harlot is a fearful presentation, noting that at the end God’s church will apostatize. We can lean on one amazing promise – there will be a remnant left.

 “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17).

Side by side these two women – these two churches – will compete for followers. One headed by Christ, the other by Satan. Satan will have one advantage – deception. That is why Jesus repeatedly addresses: “Take heed that no man deceive you” (Matthew 24:4). Knowing truth, having a precise understanding of prophecy, is vital to avoid the devil’s traps.

 The contrast between the pure woman and the impure woman is striking. We can now anticipate prophetic details about God’s church in rebellion at the end. The timing of this event, the players and the outcome are all unfolded. But what is that apostasy over? There must be something that God wants earth’s Christians to revolt against. The Bible does tell us. It relates to the beast and its mark. Those details will unfold as we navigate deeper into God’s mysteries.