COMMENTARY ON REVELATION 17:5

REVELATION 17:5 

And on her forehead a name was written: A mystery: Babylon the great, the mother of the fornications and the abominations of the earth. (Rev. 17:5, DRCB)  

At sa kaniyang noo ay nakasulat ang isang pangalan, HIWAGA, DAKILANG BABILONIA, INA NG MGA PATUTOT AT NG MGA KASUKLAMSUKLAM SA LUPA. (Rev. 17:5, TCB)  

And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. (Rev. 17:5, KJB)

Harlots . . . . not only used to put their names over their doors, but some of them upon their foreheads, that all might know who they were. ^[1] 

The following quotes help to enlighten us regarding the name written on the Great Harlot's forehead . . . 

[BEGIN QUOTE] - The “great harlot” is described as “Mystery, Babylon the Great” here in Revelation 17:5. — Now by calling the “great harlot”, or “great whore”, by the name of “Mystery, Babylon the Great”, Apostle John is revealing to us that the “great harlot”, or “great whore” relates to TWO different ‘anti-God’ cities, both of which are called “Babylon” in the Bible. 

By stating that “Babylon the Great” is the “Mother of fornications”, or “Mother of Harlots”, and being that “Babylon the Great” is an ‘evil city’ and not a person (which is confirmed further on in Revelation 17:18), Apostle John is revealing here in Revelation 17:5 that “Babylon the Great”[ancient Babylon] is the mother of all ‘harlot cities’ including the ‘daughter cities’ that are mentioned in the Book of Revelation, - They include, Sodom (Rev. 11:8), Jerusalem at the time it crucified Jesus (Rev. 11:8), Tyre, and Nineveh (Rev 11:8; 16:19; 18:23). – So, as “mother” to all ‘harlot cities’ in the world, “Babylon the Great”[ancient Babylon] contains within it all the evil characteristics of all the harlot cities of the world combined. ^[1] 

By stating that “Babylon the Great” is the “Mother” of the “Abominations of the Earth”, Apostle John is revealing that Babylon is the originator of every evil on earth that God hates. [END QUOTE] ^[2] 

[BEGIN QUOTE] - The word “mystery” is a descriptive reference to the title, not a part of the title itself as implied by the capitalization [of the word "Mystery"] in the Authorized [King James] Version.  . . . .  It has been commonly held that the title “Babylon the Great” assigned to this woman is not a reference to Babylon as a city or to Babylonia as a nation but a religious designation, namely, that the woman corresponds religiously to what [ancient] Babylon was religiously. The meaning is made clear by her description as “the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.” It has been noted by many writers that the iniquitous and pagan rites of [ancient] Babylon crept into the early church and were largely responsible for the corruptions incorporated . . . [END QUOTE] ^[3] 

The following quote helps to put light on the “mystery” of why the “Great Harlot” was assigned the title of “Babylon the Great” in Revelation 17. – The “apostate religious system” in Revelation 17 (that is called “Babylon the Great”) has the very same pagan characteristics in her religious system as did the “Babylon cult religion” in ancient Babylon.

[BEGIN QUOTE] - In Genesis 10 and 11 it is recorded that Nimrod was the founder of Babel, later called Babylon.  . . . .  Of primary importance in the study of Babylon is its relation to religion as unfolded in Revelation 17. In addition to materials given in the Bible itself, ancient accounts indicate that the wife of Nimrod, who founded the city of Babylon, became the head of the so-called Babylonian mysteries which consisted of secret religious rites which were developed as a part of the worship of idols in Babylon. She was known by the name of Semiramis and was a high priestess of the idol worship. According to extrabiblical records which have been preserved, Semiramis gave birth to a son who she claimed was conceived miraculously. This son, given the name of Tammuz, was considered a savior of his people and was, in effect, a false messiah, purported to be the fulfillment of the promise given to Eve. 

The legend of the mother and child was incorporated into the religious rites and is repeated in various pagan religions. Idols picturing the mother as the queen of heaven with the babe in her arms are found throughout the ancient world, and countless religious rites were introduced supposedly promising cleansing from sin. Though the rites which were observed in the Babylonian false religion differed greatly in various localities, there usually was a priestly order which furthered the worship of the mother and child, practiced the sprinkling of holy water, and established an order of virgins dedicated to religious prostitution. Tammuz, the son, was said to have been killed by a wild beast and afterward brought back to life, obviously a satanic anticipation of the resurrection of Christ. 

In the Scriptures themselves, though many of these facts are not mentioned, there are a number of allusions to the conflict of the true faith with this pseudo religion. Ezekiel protests against the ceremony of weeping for Tammuz in Ezekiel 8:14. Jeremiah mentions the heathen practices of making cakes for the queen of heaven (Jer. 7:18) and offering incense to the queen of heaven (Jer. 44:17-19, 25). 

The worship of Baal, characteristic of pagan religion in Canaan, was another form of this same mystery religion originating in Babylon. Baal is considered identical to Tammuz. The doctrines of the mystery religions of Babylon seem to have permeated the ancient world, giving rise to countless mystery religions, each with its cult and individual beliefs offering a counterfeit religion and a counterfeit god in opposition to the true God revealed in the Scriptures. 

Babylon as an evil woman is portrayed in the prophecy of Zechariah 5:1-11 where the woman of verse 7 is described as personifying wickedness in verse 8. The Babylonian cult eventually made its way to other cities including Pergamos [which Jesus called the “Seat of Satan” in Revelation 2:13], the site of one of the seven churches of Asia. 

The chief priests of the Babylonian cult wore crowns in the form of the head of a fish, in recognition of Dagon the fish god, with the title “Keeper of the Bridge,” that is, the “bridge” between man and Satan, imprinted on the crowns. The Roman equivalent of the title, Pontifex Maximus, was used by the Caesars and later Roman emperors, and was also adopted as the title for the bishop of Rome. In the early centuries of the church in Rome, incredible confusion arose; and attempts were made to combine some of the features of the mystery religion of Babylon [Paganism] with the Christian faith, a confusion which has continued down to the present day. 

Apostasy [perversion of true Christianity with Paganism] , which is seen in its latent form today, will flower in its ultimate form in this future Super-church which will apparently engulf all Christendom in the period after the rapture of the church. [END QUOTE] ^[4] 

END NOTES

---

[1] BIBLICAL CULTURE, “The Identity of Babylon the Great in the Book of Revelation”, Accessed August 8, 2024, Web: https://biblicalculture.com/the-identity-of-babylon-the-great-in-the-book-of-revelation/

[2] Ibid   

[3] WALVOORD, John F., “The Destruction of Ecclesiastical Babylon”, Accessed August 10, 2024, Web: https://walvoord.com/article/275[

[4] Ibid