Harlot Babylon Series
Session 6: The Global Political, Economic & Religious Network
I.
Intro:
The Harlot will be a complicated inter-connected worldwide religious
economic and political network. This will put her at the center of the world
stage. She will not however go by the name “The Babylonian System.” In fact
she will seem to serve everyone’s interests including the possibility of not
formally having a formal name at all but that her ways will simply become
the new way of life thus avoiding the sting of seemingly being proprietary.
This makes nailing down the precise identity of the Harlot difficult, and of
knowing exactly how she will operate unclear. We can know that Babylon
will have global prominence and we can identify the spirit in which she will
flow but specifying ahead of time exactly what this will look like is tricky.
II.
Overview of Revelation Chapter 17 & 18:
The prophecy recorded in Revelation chapters 17 & 18 is one of the primary
sources in scripture where we can clearly see Babylon’s global prominence.
Perhaps no place lays out Babylon’s international platform so clearly making
a close look at these chapters invaluable.
A. Chapter 17:
1. The Harlot’s global intoxication (Re. 17:1-2).
2. The Harlot’s leadership over the nations of the Beast (Re. 17:3).
3. The Harlot’s great wealth (Re. 17:4).
4. The mystery of Babylon in the Earth (Re. 17:5).
5. The Harlot’s martyrdom of the saints (Re. 17:6).
6. Her unique relationship to the Beast (Re. 17:7-18).
B. Chapter 18:
This chapter speaks about Babylon’s position on the world scene in seven
distinct sections.
1. Angelic global proclamation of the fall of Babylon (Re. 18:1-3).
2. Jesus’ global warning and direction for His Church (Re. 18:4-8).
3. The lament and proclamation of Earth’s kings (Re. 18:9-10).
4. The lament and proclamation of Earth’s merchants (Re. 18:11-17a).
5. The lament and proclamation of Earth’s sea traders (Re. 18:17b-19).
6. Heaven’s celebration of God’s judgment on the global Babylonian
empire (Re. 18:20).
7. Angelic proclamation of the final fall of Babylon in the Earth (Re.
18:21-24).
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C. The Primary Message of this Prophecy:
In Revelation chapter 17, we primarily saw the religious aspects of the
Harlot city and system with a few mentions of her economic side. Yet in
chapter 18, the angel gives John an up close look into the financial
collapse of the empire and the shifting of power from the Harlot to the
Antichrist. Chapter 18 predominantly deals with the economic side of the
empire with little mention of the religious. At the end of chapter 17 the
ten horns judge the Harlot, so in chapter 18 Babylon is no longer
identified as a Harlot because the focus has shifted from religion (the
Harlot) to economics (the Great City).
III.
Identifying Specifics of Babylon’s Global Role:
A. Deep Involvement with the Kings & the Merchants of the Earth:
By looking at what is written regarding the relationship that the kings of
and the merchants of the Earth have with Babylon we can see a clear 3fold global empire (Re. 17:2, 18, 18:3). We will take a deeper look at this
in the following sections.
B. Babylon is Called the Great City of the Earth:
1. In our session on Israel we identified that Babylon is called the great
city (Is. 13:19; Re. 17:18, 18:10, 18, 19, 21).
“The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the
earth (Re. 17:18).”
2. We didn’t give much attention by what is meant by that phrase
however. To be considered “great” is a statement about her grandeur.
This phrase is a commentary on how the nations view Babylon (e.
17:2, 18, 18:3, 7, 9-11), the Earth sees her as great
“When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and
shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning…they will stand far off
and cry: “‘Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power (Re. 18:910)!”
C. She is Said to be Over Many Waters:
1. The waters speak of her worldwide influence (Je. 51:13; Re. 17:1, 15).
“Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits
on many waters (Re. 17:1).”
"The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples,
multitudes, nations, and tongues (Re. 17:15).”
2. John had heard the twenty-four elders and the living creatures singing
of how the Lord redeemed men to God by His blood out of every tribe
and tongue and people and nation (Re. 5:9). Just as a spirit of revival
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will permeate every sector of society and every people group of the
earth, the influence of the harlot will also prevail among the nations of
the earth.
3. This matters for us because it means that each person who will be
redeemed by God at the end of this age will be responsible for
resisting the sway of the Babylonian culture that will pervade the
planet.
D. The Babylon Worldwide Empire will Receive Judgment:
By looking at some of the judgment passages it is super clear that the
punishment of Babylon is going to be a global reality and not localized to
the city or region of Babylon proper.
“An oracle concerning Babylon…from faraway lands, from the ends of the
heavens—the LORD and the weapons of his wrath—to destroy the whole
country...See, the day of the LORD is coming…to make the land desolate…I
will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins…I will make man
scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir (Is 13:1, 5, 9-12).”
“Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on
many waters (Re. 17:1).”
E. Babylon will be the Boast of the Earth:
Babylon is called and depicted as the boast of the entire Earth (Is. 13:19;
Je. 51:41; Re. 18:3, 9-11, 16-17). This is a vast statement about Her place
of prominence.
“How Sheshach (cryptogram for Babylon) will be captured, the boast of the
whole earth seized! What a horror Babylon will be among the nations (Je.
51:41).”
F. Babylon Boasts of Her Own Prominence:
Since she sits in such greatness, she brags about her global role and
invincibility (Ps. 10:2-7; Is. 47:7-10; Je. 51:41; Da. 4:30; Re. 18:7).
“In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never
mourn (Re. 18:7).’”
G. The Whole World will Mourn Over Her Judgment:
The whole world doesn’t often give it’s attention to much of anything, and
for the Earth to be unified in mourning over something the subject must
have global significance (Re. 18:9, 11, 15, 19).
“the kings of the earth…will weep and mourn over her (Re. 18:9).”
“The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her (Re. 18:11).”
“The merchants…will weep and mourn (Re. 18:15).”
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“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn
their living from the sea…will throw dust on their heads…with weeping and
mourning (Re. 18:17-19)...”
H. The Nations will Express their Horror at Her Judgment:
On top of expressing mourning over Babylon the nations will be terrified
and tell of their horror (Is. 13:7-8, 14; Je. 50:36, 51:32, 41; Re. 18:9-11,
14-19). This horror comes because it was assumed Babylon was
impenetrable, invincible, and good for all. Babylon’s destruction will be a
statement to the world that is watching.
“the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her
luxury…will (be)…Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off (Re.
18:9)…”
IV.
Prominence as a Global Political Network:
Since we understand that Babylon will at least be a city, it will also be good
for us to aquatint ourselves with the information that clarifies that she will
also be a global empire (Is. 13:1, 11-14, 19, 22; Je. 50:11-12, 51:25; Re. 14:8,
16:19, 17:1-2, 15, 18:3, 9, 11, 14-15, 17-18, 19:2).
A. She will Rule Over the Kings of the Earth:
To rule over means that she will be giving leadership to these kings. This
will affect political policies impacting the decisions being made in the
international community.
“The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth
(Re. 17:18).”
B. Political Union Influenced by Religion and Economics:
1. One network with three faces:
Earlier in this session when we looked at Revelation 17 & 18 we saw
where the angel spoke to the Apostle John about the Harlot. He
divided the information into two fairly distinct categories, to help
distinguish these sections a chapter break was added making
Revelation 17 mostly about the religious and political elements of
future Babylon and chapter 18 to deal more with the economic side of
how she is run and financed by the nations.
2. Testimony of Ahab & Jezebel:
This is similar to how Ahab and Jezebel joined together. Ahab, the
king of Israel, joined himself through marriage to Jezebel, the Sidonian
princess, who worshiped Ashtoreth. Ahab was the political leader of
the nation of Israel, and Jezebel promoted the religion of Baal
worship. The two joined in marriage for political protection, but also
for financial benefits. As a result Israel gained access to the
Phoenician ports and valuable trade routes as so their marriage
brought about a convergence of the political, economic, and religious
areas of life. Ironically, during their reign, the city of Jericho was
rebuilt (1Ki. 16:34), which had been left desolate for over 500 years
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since the ancient city had been destroyed with a curse (Js. 6:26). This
is similar to the end of the age when the long forgotten city of Babylon
will be rebuilt in conjunction to the emergence of the Antichrist.
C. A One World Government will be Formed:
She will bring unity to the political systems and the nations of the Earth
(Re. 17:1-2, 9-14, 18, 18:3). It will be a one-world government, with a
global political infrastructure.
1. In the Old Testament Babylon was a worldwide empire. Ancient
Babylon is the model for End Time Babylon.
2. It is clear that she will have deep global influence and international
ties (Re. 14:8, 17:1-2, 15, 18:3, 9, 11, 14-15, 17-18).
3. Babylon is the place where the basket of iniquity is set (Zch. 5:5-11)
which represents the sins of the people throughout the Earth (Is.
13:11).
4. She is called a mother of many nations (Je. 50:11-12).
IV.
Prominence as a Global Economic Network:
Babylon will unify global economics for the greatest measure of human
prosperity the world has ever known (Re. 17:4, 18:3, 9, 16, 19-23). This
economic network is seen quite clear Revelation 18 but can also be found
throughout the Old Testament (Je. 51:13, 25, 41, 53).
A. Her Role Over the Merchants of the Earth:
“The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of
the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries (Re. 18:3).”
B. Her Merchants will be the Great Men of the Earth:
“Your merchants were the world’s great men (Re. 18:23).”
C. She Holds the Industries of Labor, Music, & Trade in Her Palm:
“the great city of Babylon will be thrown down…The music of harpists and
musicians, flute players and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again.
No workman of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a
millstone will never be heard in you again (Re. 18:21-12).”
D. All the Nations will be in Participation with Her:
“For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries (Re.
18:3).”
E. Babylon’s Worldwide Wealth Unsurpassed in History:
Babylon will amass resources in ways never before possible due to shear
scope of participation. Because of the measure of her influence she will
bring forth a shocking amount of wealth (Is. 13:19; Je. 51:13; Re. 18:3, 7,
11-13, 16, 17, 19).
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““‘O great city…glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls…(with) such
great wealth…‘Was there ever a city like this great city (Re. 18:16-18)?’”
“Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the glory of the Babylonians’ pride (Is.
13:19)…”
“You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures (Je. 51:13)…”
F. The World Becomes Rich Because of Her:
The planet is enamored by Babylon because the world is getting rich off
of global trade (Re. 18:3, 14, 19).
“The kings of the earth…and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her
excessive luxuries (Re. 18:3).”
G. She is Clothed in Splendor & Royal Dress:
“The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with
gold, precious stones and pearls (Re. 17:4).”
“Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and
glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls (Re. 18:16)!”
H. Babylon is Described as a Lofty City:
Many places paint Babylon as an exalted city in the Earth (Je. 51:53; Re.
17:18, 18:10, 16, 18, 19, 21).
“Even if Babylon reaches the sky and fortifies her lofty stronghold, I will
send destroyers against her,” declares the LORD (Je. 51:53).”
IV.
Babylon’s Merchant Goods:
There are several different ways to categorize the 29 items found in the
following passage listed as the items of Babylon’s shipping industry. Looking
at these items that will be used in the city of Babylon from multiple angles
will prove helpful.
“The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys
their cargoes any more— cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls;
fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles
of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; cargoes of
cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil,
of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and
souls of men (Re. 18:11-13).”
A. 29 Specific Trade Goods:
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These were all items of merchandise that were very familiar in the
ancient world, each of which speaks of categories that will undoubtedly
include more items in today’s context.
1. Gold
2. Silver
3. Precious stones
4. Pearls
5. Fine linen
6. Purple
7. Silk
8. Scarlet cloth
9. Citron wood
10. Ivory articles
11. Costly wood
12. Bronze
13. Iron
14. Marble
15. Cinnamon
16. Spice
17. Incense
18. Myrrh
19. Frankincense
20. Wine
21. Olive oil
22. Fine flour
23. Wheat
24. Cattle
25. Sheep
26. Horses
27. Carriages
28. Bodies
29. Souls of men
B. Eight Categories According to the Shipping Industry:
1. Precious metals: gold, silver, precious stones, pearls
2. Clothing: fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet
3. Building materials: citron wood, ivory, precious wood, bronze, iron,
marble
4. Spices: cinnamon, incense, fragrant oil, frankincense (to make
perfumes, aid religious offerings)
5. Organic foods: wine, oil, flour, wheat (main food supply for the Earth)
6. Live stock: cattle, sheep (food supply, hides for trade, wool)
7. Transportation: horses and carriages
8. Human beings: bodies, souls (manual labor force, sex trade victims,
objects for human sacrifice, necrophilia, cannibalism, deranged art
projects, witchcraft and occult practices, demonic empowerment)
C. Four Categories Pertaining to Our Way of Life:
1. Luxury items:
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“The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no
one buys their cargoes any more— cargoes of gold, silver, precious
stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth (Re. 18:1112)…”
Babylon will be an epicenter of luxurious goods in the midst of the
End Times. The world will long for her beautiful trinkets and
garments.
2. Building materials:
“every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory,
costly wood, bronze, iron and marble (Re. 18:12);”
The strength of Babylon’s reach regarding building supplies will be
unparalleled. A time is coming for much of the planet where if it is
used to build it was probably shipped via Babylon.
3. Items for daily life:
“cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of
wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and
carriages (Re. 18:13)…”
These items will be especially important at the end of the age, as
having access to them is essential for survival. Babylon will have a
surplus of food, including fine flour, wheat, and cattle. The sheep will
provide clothing and other goods. The horses and carriages will be a
mode of transportation (this may be literal in light of where things are
heading; war, famine, devastations). Babylon will become a
storehouse much like ancient Egypt was in Joseph’s time, it became
the earth’s supplier of goods during the widespread famine of that day
(Ge. 41:53-57).
4. Items used only for evil purposes:
“and bodies and souls of men (Re. 18:13).”
Not a single god purpose can come from the trade of bodies and souls,
in fact every evil act and practice imaginable is opened up when
humans are sold. The way this is phrased is especially disturbing
because it doesn’t just say “people will be traded” but that their bodies
will be traded and then goes on to include the sale of human souls.
This will certainly include slavery but it implies much darker imagery.
D. Comparison to Tyre:
A similar list of goods, the only other like it in the Bible, is given in Ezekiel
27 regarding the city of Tyre. In the cases of both ancient Tyre and future
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Babylon the world trades wares with these cities as the epicenter of
commerce. They stand alone as the world market of their day and their
prominence brings in unsurpassed wealth.
“(The Nations) did business with you because of your great wealth of goods;
they exchanged silver, iron, tin and lead…slaves and articles of bronze…
work horses, war horses and mules…ivory tusks and ebony...turquoise,
purple fabric, embroidered work, fine linen, coral and rubies…wheat from
Minnith and confections, honey, oil and balm…wine from Helbon and wool
from Zahar…wrought iron, cassia and calamus…saddle blankets…lambs,
rams and goats...spices and precious stones, and gold...beautiful garments,
blue fabric, embroidered work and multicolored rugs with cords twisted
and tightly knotted (Ez. 27:12-24).”
V.
Prominence as a Global Religious Network:
These network dimensions are not in competition but all three aspects fuel
each other; Her global political, economic, and religious systems. Below are
some of the reasons from scripture that we can be certain that this Harlot
will be a religious network.
A. Her Role With the Kings of the Earth:
“With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of
the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries (Re. 17:2).”
B. The Testimony of Martyrdom:
1. Religious ideals are the primary reason for the mass martyrdom of
Christians throughout history and today.
2. We can be quite clear that many believers who will take a stand
against Babylon will be martyred (Re. 18:34). They will be killed for
testifying that Jesus is the only true God and that Babylon is a demonic
kingdom. Murder of the saints will be widespread in the Harlot
Babylon.
“I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood
of those who bore testimony to Jesus (Re. 17:6).”
3. We therefore know that Babylon is more than an economic institution
business networks do not kill those who take a stand on doctrinal
issues. A government’s primary concern is not religious in nature but
rather secular (i.e. money/economy), thus Babylon must be more than
an economic institution because business networks alone do not
legislate the murder of those who take a conflicting stance on
religious issues.
C. Her Spiritual Prostitution:
She is called the Mother of all Harlots (Re. 17:5). This means that Harlot
Babylon will commit spiritual harlotry.
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1. We must understand that when God speaks about a harlot He is
referring to a harlot that leads the people of God astray (Pr. 7:6-27),
never does it refer to “wicked” actions merely, but always wickedness
in the context of the pursuit of false Gods.
2. 100% of the 90 references in the Old Testament that refer to national
harlotry are about religion seeking provision through idolatry. Thus,
John is using the concept of spiritual harlotry in the way that is in
unity with the Old Testament.
3. To be guilty of harlotry, it requires that many of her followers be
those who claim to have had a relationship with God (Church and
Israel). This depiction is meant to alert the Church about more than
the existence of End Time Babylon, it is to awaken us to recognize her
as a harlot that will lead God’s people into deception and wickedness.
4. She is called a “mother” of harlots. We need to understand that to be a
mother of anything means that she is a producer. In this case she is a
producer of people, systems and religion that leads to multitudes of
people being lead astray. Her direct influence will be broad and
terrible, but the focus is on her being a mother of far more. Her
influence will entice and invoke entire systems that will produce
harlotry.
5. The original mother, at the tower of Babel (Ge. 10-11), was the
formation of Babylon and was profoundly religious. Babylon’s history
is far more dominant in religion than its economic policies.
6. She is called ”THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS,” she is the harlot of harlots.
This indicates that there will be none to compare her to in the depth
or the breadth of her wickedness.
D. Her Abominations:
The Harlot is filled with abominations and filth (Re. 17:6). To understand
the significance of this we want to define abominations according to the
Old Testament. “Abominations” always referred to demonic idol worship,
and filth speaks of moral perversion. So this Harlot will be a demonically
charged, morally devoid worship movement presented to the nations.
E. Babylon will Unify the Nations Across the Earth:
1. Religious unity is the only way to truly end wars as history shows us
that most wars have had a religious overtone.
2. We find all the nations working together with her (Re. 17:2, 15, 18:3)
meaning that war has been greatly diminished or that it will be
relegated to only two sides; those who are part of the Harlot system
and those who are not.
3. That all the nations are working together in such close relationship
without wars is testimony of religious unity (Re. 17:1, 3, 5-6, 8, 15,
18:3, 23, 19:2).
4. This is one of the most important themes about End Time Babylon for
the Church to understand. It is because of the religious nature of the
Harlot that so many will fall into her allure. She will come packaged
with all the right sounding ideas that people want to hear (2Ti. 4:3),
and will appear very good for those without discernment.
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5. Her strength will be gained by her synchronization of the religions of
the earth and her ability to bring people together, she will however be
inherently evil and will be preaching a gospel other than the one laid
out in the scriptures.
F. Forerunner for the Antichrist:
1. This Harlot system is the forerunner for the coming of Antichrist (Re.
17:3-6, 16, 13:4, 7, 11-16; 2Th. 2:3). Any forerunner for the man of sin
will have to include elements that set the global stage for Satan
worship.
2. The world’s religions are not yet ready for that, there will first have to
be some massive trends that seer religious convictions and
consciences before Muslims, Hindus and Christians will agree to Satan
worship.
3. Antichrist is going to attempt to get every human being to worship
him as the only one god (2Th. 2:4). Before he can pull this off the
nations must first get drunk on the ideas he presents, they have to
really like him and give him their power.
4. By the time he reveals his real plan the nations will be drunk on ideas
commonly celebrated and they will have lost their discernment so
that now they may be effectively deceived into such outlandish
compromise as the Antichrist worship system.
5. Only powerful religious delusions will have the strength to cause
people to make such a theological jump.
G. Operates According to Religious Ideals:
In the coming hours of modern history, the Church will preach against the
most wicked institution man has ever known, the Harlot Babylon.
Mankind, however, will be so captivated by her and will follow after her
and will actually proclaiming her as good, despite her abominations.
They will call her “good,” not just that she is economically useful to them,
but they will believe she is good. The argument will be “If this economic
super power uses her resources to end world hunger, provide
unprecedented humanitarian relief, and unite the peoples of the earth
together in peace how could such a thing be bad?” All of these are major
premises of religion.
H. Babylon’s Idol Worship:
The city and the empire of Babylon will be filled and even fueled by literal
Idol worship (Je. 50:2, 38, 51:47, 52). Pluralism will aid the rise of this
occult practice.
“For the time will surely come when I will punish the idols of Babylon; her
whole land will be disgraced (Je. 51:47).”
I. She is Wrapped up in Witchcraft:
The End Time Babylon system operates in sorcery, which is interaction
with the demonic and a form of worshiping demons.
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“By your magic spell all the nations were led astray (Re. 18:23).”
J. Testimony of Modern Events:
1. Their are currently many religions across the Earth that are joining
together for the first time in history. Though formerly these groups
have been in direct opposition to one another now the message of
“unity” is bringing them together.
2. Their coming together is disingenuine however because in effect they
have to lay down the main doctrines of their religion. This it is not the
unifying of multiple religions at all; it is synchronization,
reprogramming and actually the forming of a new religion; this is the
Harlot Religion.
3. Two groups both claiming to have unique revelation that opposes the
other cannot unify unless they decide their revelations aren’t valuable
enough to maintain. Groups that do so loose their practical theology,
they may still claim to believe certain things but they cease to stand
for them, and cease to act on them. No religion exists apart from
actions related to beliefs.
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