Great Whore

Biblical Text

In chapter 17 of the Book of Revelation, an angel shows John the judgment of "the great whore that sitteth upon many waters" (Revelation 17:1). The woman rides a scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns. She is arrayed in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls, and holds in her hand a golden cup full of abominations (17:3-4). Upon her forehead is written the name "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH," and she is drunk with the blood of the saints and of the martyrs of Jesus (17:5-6).

The angel himself interprets the symbolism. The seven heads are the seven mountains on which the woman sits (17:9); the waters are "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (17:15); and the woman is "that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth" (17:18). Yet the beast she rides and its ten horns turn against her, hating her and burning her with fire (17:16). Chapter 18 recounts the fall of Babylon the Great and the laments of the kings and merchants who mourn her. Revelation 19:2 praises God for having judged "the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication."

Background

The Old Testament prophets compared Israel, which had forsaken God and fallen into idolatry, to an adulterous wife (Hosea; Jeremiah 3; Ezekiel 16 and 23). Gentile cities were likewise compared to prostitutes: Isaiah 23 speaks of Tyre in this way, and Nahum 3:4 calls Nineveh a "harlot." Jeremiah 51 addresses Babylon as "thou that dwellest upon many waters" and portrays her as a "golden cup" that made the nations drunk (Jeremiah 51:7, 13). The great whore of Revelation is a symbol of apocalyptic literature that draws on this Old Testament imagery.

Significance within Scripture as a Whole

The great whore forms a counterpart to another figure in the same book, "the bride, the Lamb's wife," that is, the New Jerusalem (19:7-8; 21:2; 21:9). By setting the lavishly adorned city of the harlot against the holy bride-city prepared by God, the book contrasts the world in rebellion against God with the people of God.

Interpretations and Debates

• First-century Rome: Many scholars identify the seven mountains with the seven hills of Rome and regard the great whore as the Roman Empire, which was persecuting the saints at the time, together with its economic and religious system. The "Babylon" of 1 Peter 5:13 is also commonly read as a reference to Rome.
• Identification within church history: During the Reformation, many Protestant writers identified the great whore with the Roman papacy. The Catholic Church rejects this interpretation, and many Protestants today do not hold it either.
• End-times interpretation: Futurist interpretations, including Dispensationalism, see the great whore as an apostate religious alliance that will arise at the end of the age, and some distinguish her from the Babylon of chapter 18, which they understand as an economic system.
• Symbolic interpretation: Rather than identifying a specific referent, this view holds that the figure symbolizes the allure of power, wealth, and false religion that appears in every age.

The "strange woman" of Proverbs 5 and 7 refers to an actual temptation set in contrast to wisdom; her context differs from that of the great whore in Revelation.

In the Korean Church

In preaching, the passage is used chiefly as a warning against materialism and worldly success. At the same time, some groups label established churches as "Babylon" or "the whore" and urge believers to leave them for their own organization, so the interpretation of this passage is frequently addressed in cult counseling.