Introduction[1]
Among the prophetic books of Scripture concerning Eschatology, the Book of Daniel is targeted by the hostile higher critic almost as much as the Book of Isaiah. One of the major complaints about the prophecies in Daniel is their accurate portrayal of events before those events occurred. Because of the accuracy of Daniel’s prophecies, one can be assured that those prophecies that are not yet fulfilled will be fulfilled with 100% accuracy. When Daniel first penned the visions God gave him, there was a mystery to their meaning. That is until the Apostle John was given the key to unlocking the prophetic Book of Daniel. While Daniel saw four beasts chronologically, John saw a harlot riding the fourth beast with seven heads. The enigmatic link between the prophecies by Daniel and those in Revelation given to John for the edification of the church may be the most controversial in Scripture because of the woman, a harlot, who represents religious idolatry.
Read more: THE REVELATION 17 WOMANDaniel
When taken from Jerusalem to Babylon, the prophet Daniel was a teenager. He was educated in Babylonian customs, learned their language, and served in Nebuchadnezzar’s court. Most would accept that Daniel died in captivity during the Medo-Persian Empire not long after Cyrus reigned. Daniel’s prophecies provide a timeline for events that lead to the Messianic Kingdom. Merrill Unger says the Book of Daniel “is key to all biblical prophecy.”[2]
In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar is recorded as having a dream he could not recall. He demanded that “the wise men of Babylon” tell him about the dream and its interpretation or be destroyed. Daniel requested more time from Nebuchadnezzar so that Daniel and his friends could pray the matter before God, and “the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision.” Daniel was brought before Nebuchadnezzar to reveal the dream and its interpretation.
Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar the dream concerned “what would take place in the latter days” (Daniel 2:28). The dream was of “a single great statue” of a man. The head was gold, the breast and arms were silver, the belly and thighs were bronze, the legs were iron, and “its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.” The dream ended when a stone “cut out without hands” struck the statue on its feet. The statue was “crushed all at the same time and became like chaff…” However, “the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”
The dream was about five kingdoms that would rule the world. Nebuchadnezzar is the head of gold, and God had given him dominion over the known world. His reign was an absolute monarchy. The silver and bronze represent the following two kingdoms, both inferior to Nebuchadnezzar. The fourth kingdom of iron would “crush and break all these in pieces.” However, there are two phases of the fourth kingdom. In its first phase, it is pure iron. In the second phase, the feet mixed with clay are a “divided” form in which the kingdom is sewn with strength and weakness, represented by the mixture of iron and clay. Merrill Unger says, “The iron is commonly interpreted as imperialism, and the clay or tile as democratic rule by the people.”[3] The authority of this kingdom is divided between ten kings, represented by the toes. When those ten kings are in power, “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed.” God “will crush and put an end to all” previous kingdoms.
In Daniel 3, Nebuchadnezzar erects a giant statue of gold representing himself and commands it to be worshipped by all. In Daniel 4, Nebuchadnezzar dreams about a great tree that “grew large and became strong” and “was visible to the end of the whole earth.” It produced abundant fruit and provided shelter for “all living creatures.” However, a command came from heaven to “Chop down the tree and cut off its branches, Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit.” Nevertheless, “the stump” of the tree “with its roots in the ground” and bands “of iron and bronze” around the stump remain. Daniel identifies the tree as Nebuchadnezzar, who will live like a beast for seven years. Daniel tried to warn Nebuchadnezzar to “break away from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor.” Still, Nebuchadnezzar did not heed Daniel’s advice and claimed glory for himself one year later as having established such a great kingdom. The moment he glorified himself rather than God, the dream came true, and he lived like an animal for seven years.
Daniel 3 and 4 reveal Nebuchadnezzar as a type of the Antichrist, whose program involves establishing a kingdom in which he alone is worshipped and manifested in two phases. Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece are the first three kingdoms. The fourth is Rome, which crucified the Messiah and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple; however, the birth and growth of the church contributed to the weakening of the Roman Empire until it dissolved. Rome was mainly hostile to the church until the alleged conversion of Constantine, who joined the church. Daniel does not see the wounded head, the intercalation of the church age, or the woman riding the beast. Since the church was a mystery and not seen by the prophets of the Old Testament, there is a clear relationship between the church and the woman riding (controlling/mediating) the beast, the restored Roman Empire after a hiatus of power (Daniel 4), in Revelation 17.
The final king of Babylon was Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. The fall of Babylon is reported in Daniel 5. Medo-Persia’s conquest of Babylon under Darius the Mede is recorded in Daniel 6. However, Daniel 7:1-14 records an event in “the first year of Belshazzar”: “Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind” representing God’s view of the four kingdoms from Daniel 2. Daniel saw “four great beasts coming up from the sea…” The first beast “was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle.” However, “its wings were plucked,” and “made to stand on two feet like a man” with “a human mind.” The second beast resembled a bear “raised up on one side” with “three ribs in its mouth between its teeth…” It was told to “devour much meat.” This beast is also the ram in Daniel 8:20, representing “the kings of Media and Persia.” The third beast was “like a leopard” with “four wings of a bird” on its back and “had four heads.” This beast is identified as Greece, the goat, in Daniel 8:21. When Alexander died suddenly, his kingdom was divided between his generals. The fourth beast is nondescript and “different from all the beasts before it,” having “ten horns” on its head. This beast was “dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong,” with “large iron teeth” for devouring. Its feet “crushed and trampled down” what remained of the previous kingdoms. While Daniel was thinking about the horns, another smaller horn came up. Three of the other horns “were pulled out by the roots before” the little horn, which “possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth” boasting wildly. The beast was slain at the height of its power, and “the Ancient of Days…was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom…Which will not be destroyed.”
In Daniel 7:15-28, the prophet receives the interpretation of the four beasts in the vision. However, Daniel is more concerned about the fourth beast. In particular, “the ten horns that were on its head and the other horn which came up, and before which three of them fell.” The one “with eyes and a mouth.” Daniel is told the fourth beast is a kingdom that “will devour the whole earth.” The ten horns on its head are ten kings that will emerge from the fourth beast. The little horn “will subdue three kings.” He will also “speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.” However, this king will be taken to court “and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever.” While Daniel was alarmed by the revelation, he kept it to himself. Even though this beast is not identified by name as the others were, it will be deduced from Daniel 9 as Rome.
Daniel 8 records the prophet’s vision two years after the vision in Daniel 7. In the vision, Daniel sees the fall of the Medo-Persian Empire by the Greek Army led by Alexander the Great. As part of Alexander’s conquests, he imposed Greek language and culture on the people (Hellenism). The vast Grecian Empire was divided between Alexander’s generals after his death. Out of one of those regions, “a rather small horn” marches “toward the Beautiful Land.” Ptolemy took Egypt, Seleucus took the more significant portion to the East, Antigonus took Asia Minor, Lysimachus took Thrace, and Cassander took Greece. Ptolemy, Seleucus, and Lysimachus joined forces and defeated Antigonus, dividing the territory between Lysimachus and Seleucus.
In Daniel 9, the prophet understood from Jeremiah’s writing that the fall of Babylon and the rise of the Medo-Persian Empire marked the end of Israel’s 70 years of captivity (Jeremiah 25:11-12, 29:10). Daniel entered a time of “prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.” In response to Daniel’s prayer, God sent Daniel a messenger, the archangel Gabriel, with an answer to Daniel’s petition. The message Gabriel gave Daniel is called the “70 Weeks” prophecy. There would be seventy weeks (years) of judgment for Daniel’s “people,” the Jews. First, there would be seven weeks, then sixty-two weeks, and the Messiah would be cut off. After 69 weeks, Jesus was crucified. However, the seventieth week yet remains. Jeremiah 30:7 is the prophecy concerning “the time of Jacob’s trouble, which is synonymous with the 70th week of Daniel.
In Daniel 11-12, constant war is prophesied between Ptolemy (South) and Seleucus (East) over “the Beautiful Land.” While the Roman Republic expanded, Antiochus Epiphanes, the “small horn” of the Seleucid Empire (North), led campaigns against Egypt (Ptolemy, South). The Roman Republic was isolated to Italy when Alexander’s territory was divided. By the time Antiochus Epiphanes came to power, the Roman Republic had captured the territories of Cassander and Lysimachus. Rome sent military forces to Egypt, turning Antiochus Epiphanes back the way he came, and absorbed North Africa (Ptolemy, South) into the Republic of Rome. Antiochus went to Judah, laid it waste, and desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem. Finally, the Republic of Rome captured the Seleucid Empire. While the Alexandrian Greeks imposed Hellenistic religion, language, and culture, Rome absorbed their territories’ religion, language, and culture. Rome was the first multiculturally diverse kingdom through its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
Based on the seventy-week prophecy, it is clear that Rome is the fourth beast because Rome was in power when the Messiah was “cut off” and “the people of the prince [Titus/Rome] who is to come” destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. From the time that Nebuchadnezzar captured and destroyed Jerusalem until the end of the seventieth week is called “the times of the Gentiles” in Luke 21:24. Therefore, the prophecies in Daniel 2, 7-8, and 10-12 concern the “times of the Gentiles”—the seventy-weeks prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27 concerns Israel.
Revelation
The Revelation of Jesus Christ was written by the Apostle John late in the first century. It was likely written while John was held prisoner on the Isle of Patmos. God gave the message to Jesus, who sent an angel to give it to John. The message contained “the things which must soon take place.” John recorded the message and sent it to “the seven churches that are in Asia.” In Revelation 2 & 3, each church is given a message specific to that church. Given that the church is raptured before the tribulation begins, only the letter to the seventh church, Laodicea, will be discussed as part of this research. Also, it is a given that the letters to the specific churches represent the whole church age for its duration. Each letter could be secondarily applied to a local body or a person.
It is assumed that the church in Philadelphia represents the raptured church, and the Lord’s comments about the seventh church, Laodicea, suggest that the seventh church represents a group of people who claim to be true believers but are not. R. L. Thomas says Laodicea means “the rule of the people,”[4] suggesting the idea of “democracy.”[5] They are accused of being “neither cold nor hot.” Concerning the coldness of this church, Thomas says this metaphor presents “a picture of an unbeliever who has rejected the gospel openly and aggressively.”[6] However, they have an outward form of godliness (2 Timothy 3:5). Because of their “lukewarm” condition, the Lord says, “I will spit you out of my mouth.” They claim to be “rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” but the Lord says they “are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” Furthermore, they are advised “to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.” They are told to “repent.” The imagery suggests that Jesus is knocking on the church door, waiting for someone to let Him in. Since repentance is still possible, this is a pre-trib picture.
Chapter four begins, “After these things…” This writer accepts that the rapture has just occurred after the church things. Those of the seventh church who did not repent and let Christ in have entered the Great Tribulation. This congregation is never mentioned again as a church, and it would be improper to call it a church because the true church is the body of Christ, which will be raptured. The people of this pseudo-religious group continue through the tribulation as a counterfeit to the raptured church. They may also represent those who follow the Antichrist when he arrives on the scene, having been thoroughly duped into believing the second Advent had occurred in his arrival with great signs and wonders performed by him and the false prophet.
The Beast in Revelation Connected to Daniel
The first passage in Revelation connected to Daniel’s prophesies is in Revelation 11:1-7. John is told to “measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it.” This suggests that there will be a temple in the tribulation. However, the temple’s perimeter is not measured because “it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.” The Lord will send His “two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” They cannot be killed until “they have finished their testimony.” They will testify for three and one-half years, probably the first half of the tribulation, then, “the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.” Coming out of the abyss means it will be thoroughly Satanic.
The beast in Revelation 12:1-4, 7, 9, 13, 16-17 is connected with the fourth beast in Daniel 7:15-28. It has seven heads and ten horns because it amalgamates all the beasts Daniel saw, plus two before Daniel’s time, into one great beast, just like Nebuchadnezzar did with the gold statue of himself in Daniel 3. Christ was born when this beast had power and tried to kill Him. This is the first phase of the fourth beast identified in Daniel 9 as Rome and ends with the beast being wounded in the head (Revelation 13:12, 14). The second phase of the fourth beast begins with the rise of the Antichrist. However, Satan, here called “the great dragon, “will be thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” When “the dragon saw that he [Satan] was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child,” takes possession of the Antichrist and reigns as an absolute imperialist monarch over the whole world. The two dispensations of the beast are illustrated in Daniel 4 when, because of his pride, Nebuchadnezzar lived like an animal for seven years. Satan will try to destroy the woman, Israel, who has not yet called on their Messiah, and those “who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.[7] Revelation 12:12 announces that “because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time,” begins the third “woe” announced in Revelation 8:13.
The beast in Revelation 13 is the final amalgamation of the fourth beast. These are the same nations represented by the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, plus Egypt and Assyria, rolled into one final beast. However, this beast is empowered by Satan, who “gives him his power and his throne and great authority.” The whole world will worship this beast because of his great power. It will have “authority to act for forty-two months,” the duration of the tribulation. When Satan is cast to the earth, he will totally possess the Antichrist and will kill the two witnesses in Revelation 11. Another beast that appears to be connected to Daniel’s prophecy is the “little horn,” the false prophet. This beast “makes the earth and those who dwell in it worship the first beast, whose fatal wound is was healed.” That is, the leader of the revived Roman Empire. This third beast, the false prophet (Revelation 16:13, 19:20, 20:10), is given power “to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed” (Daniel 3:3-5). He also “causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead” to be able to buy and sell in the marketplace. This mark will either be the name of the beast or his number. What has been established is a false godhead. A false father represented by Satan. The false son represented by the beast, the leader of the revived Roman Empire, the Antichrist. And the false holy spirit represented by the false prophet in service to the Antichrist. Anyone that worships the false godhead “and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God” in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10).
Revelation 17
In Revelation 17:1-14, “one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls” spoke to John, directing him to come to where the angel was, and the angel would show John “the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters.” Scripture presents two aspects of harlotry, which is prostitution. In Genesis 38, Judah hired a harlot for sex. However, it was his daughter-in-law Tamar who had dressed herself as a prostitute. When Judah learned that Tamar was pregnant, he called for her to be burned, but she exposed him as the father of her child. In Jeremiah 3, the tribe of Judah is called “a harlot with many lovers.” They were looking to other nations for protection from Nebuchadnezzar rather than to God, whom they worshipped at the temple in Jerusalem (Isaiah 42:8). Therefore, the harlot in Revelation 17 has introduced worldwide spiritual harlotry, worshipping a false god (idolatry), the Antichrist. Revelation 17:15 reveals that the “many waters” she sits on “are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.” Therefore, the whole world has bought the woman for favors like Judah bought a harlot. They paid her to be blessed and protected by the Antichrist. She seduced “the kings of the earth” into immoral acts and made “those who dwell on the earth…drunk with the wine of her immorality.” The woman is for sale to all who would pay her price.
The angel “carried” John “in the Spirit into a wilderness” where John “saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.” The Greek text in v3a reads, “καὶ ἀπήνεγκέν με εἰς ἔρημον ἐν πνεύματι.” The literal translation would be “and he [masculine because of the context] carried me into [an] (isolated, abandoned, lonely) place [there was nothing there but the woman riding the beast] in spirit. Since the word for “spirit” is anarthrous, the Holy Spirit, or Spirit, is not likely what John is saying. John says he had a spiritual experience—a vision within a vision.
In man’s view, scarlet is connected to royalty. However, in Scripture, this is not the case. In Genesis 38:27-30, Tamar, whom Judah hired as a harlot, is giving birth to twin children. When a hand came out, “the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand” to mark the firstborn. However, the hand retracted, and the other, Perez, came out first. The child with the thread was Zerah. In Joshua 7:1, Achan, a descendant of Zerah, “took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel.” Ai defeated Israel, and it was discovered that this sin by Achan was the reason. Achan and his family are destroyed because he lusted for things that belong to God. They were “burned with fire” because of this harlotry (idolatry). Achan perished and took his whole family with him.
The curtains of the tabernacle were “blue and purple and scarlet” (Exodus 26:1). The Hebrew word for “blue” is תְּכֵלֶת, which means “violet,” but it’s a different shade than שָׁנִי, scarlet. Most of the material of the tabernacle was blue, scarlet, and purple. The Tabernacle was where Israel dealt with their sins. A “scarlet thread” is an ingredient for healing leprosy (Leviticus 14:4,6) and a house (Leviticus 14:49, 51). Scarlet material is to be burned along with a red heifer, of which the ashes are used for purification from defilement (Numbers 19:6). Rahab the harlot, understanding her need for a Savior, hung a scarlet cord from her window when Jericoh was taken by Israel (Joshua 2:18, 21). David’s song lamenting Saul and Jonathan’s deaths says that Saul clothed the daughters of Israel in scarlet robes (2 Samuel 1:24). The excellent wife and her children in Proverbs 31 are dressed in purple and scarlet. Solomon’s lover has lips resembling scarlet thread (Song of Solomon 4:3). Solomon’s idolatry divided the kingdom. The sins of Judah and Jerusalem “are as scarlet” (Isaiah 1:18). To “dress in scarlet” in Jeremiah 4:30 means to be dressed in the same sin as the world so that the world would love them, but the world hated them and wanted to kill them. God is warning them that Babylon is going to destroy them. The Chaldean army (Babylon) was “dressed in scarlet” (Nahum 2:3). Jesus was stripped naked, they put a crown of thorns on His head, and “put a scarlet robe on Him” (Matthew 27:28, 31); they spat on Him and beat Him with reeds. Except for two passages in Scripture where scarlet is mentioned, 2 Samuel 1:24 and Proverbs 31, scarlet directly relates to sin and defilement. The “blasphemous names” are likely to be the names of all cults, false religions, and idols.
The woman was wearing “purple and scarlet” clothing; her jewelry was “gold and precious stones, and pearls; she was holding “a gold cup full of abominations and the unclean things of her immortality;” “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” was “on her forehead,” which John calls “a name.” Purple and scarlet have similar connotations of sin. Babylon is “the mother of harlots.” The gold and precious stones were created by God for His glory but are used to glorify false religions and decorate the idol of self, bringing to mind Belshazzar’s feast in Daniel 5.
The woman was “drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus” (Daniel 7:25). Any student of church history knows the murderous reputation of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). The RCC is notoriously anti-Semitic. The doctrine of the RCC is that since the Jews killed Jesus, they must be antichrist and deserve only death if they refuse to convert. They believe the RCC is the new Israel, and God uses them to conquer the world for His glory.
John “wondered greatly” when he saw her. The angel asked John why he was so curious about the woman (Daniel 7:19-22). While purely speculative, was his “wonder” because she looked familiar somehow, and he was confused (Babel)? The angel asked why John “wondered.” One would not think that John initially saw the woman in a positive sense. Perhaps the angel’s question is more like, “Why are you surprised?” It would be most likely that, like Daniel about the fourth beast, John was so intrigued by the woman that he wanted to know more. To paraphrase, the angel’s response somewhat gives a clue in saying, “Why wonder? I will tell you, so you don’t have to wonder.”
In Revelation 17:8-14, the angel first explains the beast to John, saying, “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction.” The people “who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.” The angel is not speaking of John’s time but prophetically from when the beast appears in Revelation 13:1-3. Therefore, the beast that John saw “was,” in the time John was held prisoner by Rome on the Isle of Patmos; “and is not,” from the perspective before Revelation 13:1-3 when the beast appears with the deadly wound illustrated by Nebuchadnezzar as a tree cut down because of his pride and restored in Daniel 4. The Republic of Rome existed from about 509 B.C. to about 31 B.C. Naval battleships from the Roman Republic turned back Antiochus Epiphanes in Daniel 11:30. Rome became an Empire, the fourth beast, in about 27 B.C., when Octavian became the kingdom’s first Emperor and absolute monarch. This is phase one of the fourth beast, who “was” in John’s day. The Roman Empire dissolved in A.D. 476.[8] This dissolving marks the “and is not” part of John’s vision and the reason for the wounded head (Revelation 13:3, 12, 14), which continues until Revelation 13:1-3 when it “is about to come up out of the abyss.”
The woman sits on “seven mountains,” which are the beast’s “seven heads” and “seven kings.” The “seven mountains” are not the literal mountains surrounding Rome. They are the seven Gentile idolatrous nations that held Israel captive or trampled Jerusalem looking forward from Daniel’s day. Five kings (mountains, heads) have fallen: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. Daniel did not see a beast for Egypt or Assyria because they had already passed into history, and the prophecy in Daniel concerns his own day to “the latter days.” The sixth king (mountain, head) occupied Jerusalem, crucified the Messiah, destroyed the Temple in A.D. 70, and imprisoned John on Patmos, Rome. The seventh king (mountain, head) “has not yet come” is the revived Roman Empire with the wounded head, which “must remain a little while,” the first half of the Tribulation. When Satan is cast out of Heaven halfway through the Tribulation, “The beast which was and is not (Revelation 17:8) is an eighth and is of the seven,” because it is Rome. This one “goes to destruction.” This interpretation is accurate according to what Daniel and John saw.
Before proceeding, an alternative view of the seven heads needs investigation, that the seven heads are Roman emperors. One proponent of this view is Robert M. Johnson, former president of Tyndale Seminary (West), who claims that the beast’s seven heads in Revelation 17 are seven Roman emperors. An article he wrote and published in the Conservative Theological Journal proclaims, “A consistent, literal hermeneutic requires that symbolism, metaphors, similes and other figures of speech be understood as such, and thus, be taken literally as figures of speech.”[9] Furthermore, Johnson sings the praises of “Robert L. Thomas’ two volume commentary on Revelation,”[10] as “by far, one of the most excellent works available today,”[11] because Thomas consistently uses literal hermeneutics in his exposition of Revelation.
Johnson begins his argument by attempting to show that geographic Babylon will be restored by isolating Isaiah 14:4 from its context, which begins in Isaiah 13:1 in an “oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.” In Isaiah 13:1-16, Isaiah prophesies the coming of Babylon “To destroy the whole land” (Isaiah 13:5). There is also a reference to “the day of the LORD” in v6. Because of the presence of Divine design and prophetic nature, Babylon, especially its king, is to be seen as a type of the final world power ruled by Satan as an absolute monarch. In Isaiah 13:17-22, God will “stir up the Medes” to destroy geographical Babylon so that “It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation.”
Isaiah 14:1-4 sets the stage for Jacob’s rest when God will “again choose Israel, and settle them in their own land” and “take their captors captive.” The Millennium will be a time when Israel will be granted rest from the “turmoil and harsh service in which you [they] have been enslaved.” When that day comes, Israel “will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon,” Satan, the antitype of prideful Nebuchadnezzar. The “taunt” Israel will say in 5-21 refers to God’s final victory over Satan in Revelation 20:7-10. Therefore, Isaiah 14:4 has nothing to do with a restored geographical Babylon.
Johnson tries to support the view of a restored geographical Babylon with Jeremiah 50:1, which he claims “is even more specific in his prophecy regarding Babylon”[12] being restored. However, again, this passage is also pulled from its context. In Jeremiah 50:1-3, the doom of Babylon by the Medo-Persian Empire, where Israel is captive, is prophesied. The destruction of Babylon ended the seventy years of captivity for Israel and Judah (Daniel 9:2), and many of them returned and were later joined by groups led by Ezra and Nehemiah after Medo-Persia captured Babylon. Therefore, Jeremiah 50:1 does not support a rebuilt Babylon.
Johnson dances around the clear indicators that the harlot in Revelation 17-18 is not a literal geographical place. The terms on the woman’s head call her a harlot, which has been shown to represent idolatry. Johnson does not recognize the absurdity of a literal city being a harlot or immoral. A city is a collection of inanimate structures. Whether they are homes or temples makes no difference because these structures can do nothing. It is the people that give life to a city. It is the people who are confused about who God is, so they worship idols. Therefore, the harlot and her daughters in Revelation 17-18 are a collection of people sold out to idolatrous worship of a false god. This writer would suggest that Johnson is not “utilizing a literal hermeneutic”[13] that recognizes figurative language but offers a prime example of wooden literalism.
Johnson has been in lockstep with Thomas up to this point, but here is where Johnson parts ways with him. Johnson says, “As will be demonstrated, the seven heads of the Beast are seven Roman emperors…”[14] However, in Thomas’ commentary on Revelation 17, which Johnson holds as the best available, Thomas says, “It has been popular to take the seven kings as literal kings or emperors of Rome.”[15] However, Thomas refutes that notion and says, “The best solution is that the seven kings represent seven literal Gentile kingdoms that follow one another in succession.”[16] Just as they are presented in Daniel. Recognizing he has parted with Thomas, Johnson tries to justify his alternative view by suggesting the “respective identities [of the Roman emperors] are not significant to the prophecy, nor is whether or not they have ruled successively, one following another.”[17] Since the names and order were important in Daniel’s prophecy, they should be just as important in John’s. The seven heads are not Roman emperors. Neither are they seven “types of governments”[18] through which Rome passed and became an empire. They are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome with the head wound, and revived Rome.
This view fails to see that the angel is speaking to John in a vision at the time of the end during the tribulation back beyond Daniel to Egypt, the first head from which Israel was redeemed. The angel takes John to the future in spirit, showing him a complete picture of what Daniel saw. Daniel’s incomplete view was from his own time to the latter days, and he saw the beasts individually as they would appear. John saw one fully amalgamated beast.
“The ten horns” are “ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour,” and they “have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.” When do these kings receive “a kingdom?” The ten toes of the statue in Daniel represent these ten kings. When the pseudo-peaceful Antichrist appears at the beginning of the Tribulation, they will receive their allotted kingdoms. The “ten horns [kings, mountains, heads]” that John saw, “and the beast…will hate the harlot” and “burn her up with fire.” They will destroy the harlot, the idolatrous false religious system controlling (mediating with) the beast, the kingdom Satan heads. These ten kings “will wage war against the Lamb” but “the Lamb will overcome them [the ten kings],” the beast they are conscripted to, and the Antichrist, along with his army of followers having his mark who are confused (Babel).
Conclusion
The enigmatic link between the prophecies by Daniel and those in Revelation given to John for the edification of the church may be the most controversial in Scripture. This is true even among Bible scholars and theologians. Without Daniel, the prophecies in Revelation would yet still be mysteries. Daniel provides a semi-clear picture of events between his day and the days of the end. The prophecies John was given made the picture perfectly clear looking back to Egypt. However, when an interpreter, even though well-meaning, switches to a historicist method of interpretation, their interpretation of the woman in Revelation 17 becomes distorted.
The beast in Revelation 17 is the final adumbration of the Roman Empire (iron), whose sole authority is the Antichrist. He comes to power under the authority of Satan by subduing three of the world’s ten kings and reigns for three and one-half years, the first half of the Tribulation. Satan is thrown out of heaven to the earth and fully possesses the Antichrist for the last half of the Tribulation. The woman represents the pseudo-religious idolatrous (scarlet) democratic (clay) people who worship the beast and depend on it for their protection and luxuries, just like the people of Babylon depended on Nebuchadnezzar. Satan, who wants to be God, and the ten kings will hate the woman because of her pseudo-religious democratic ways and “eat her flesh and burn her with fire.” Satan wants an absolute monarchy and will not tolerate demands from any form of Democracy or rule of the people. While the RCC has committed many atrocities, it would be a historicist mistake to say the woman represents it. Will there be RCC members included in the false system the woman represents? More than likely. However, there will be Protestants, Evangelicals, and Christian Nationalists, as well as people from every cult, denomination, and ism, because her allure engenders a false sense of security for the currency of worship of the beast.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G. The Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events. Rev. ed. Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2003.
Johnson, Ronald M. “Babylon The Great City, The Harlot An Expository Study.” Conservative Theological Journal 4, no. 13 (2000).
Thomas, Robert L. Revelation 1-7: An Exegetical Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1992.
———. Revelation 8 – 22: An Exegetical Commentary. Chicago: Moody Pr, 1995.
Unger, Merrill F. Unger’s Commentary on the Old Testament. AMG Publishers, 2003.
Unger, Merrill Frederick, and Dr Gary N. Larson. The New Unger’s Bible Handbook. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2005.
Woods, Andrew M. “Have The Prophecies In Revelation 17-18 About Babylon Been Fulfilled? Part 2.” Bibliotheca Sacra 169, no. 674 (2012).
[1] All Scripture references are from the 1995 NASB version
[2] Unger, Merrill Frederick, and Dr Gary N. Larson. The New Unger’s Bible Handbook. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2005. page 309
[3] Unger, Merrill F. Unger’s Commentary on the Old Testament. AMG Publishers, 2003.
page 1617
[4] Thomas, Robert L. Revelation 1-7: An Exegetical Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1992. Page 296
[5] Ibid
[6] Ibid page 306
[7] These two groups come from the evangelistic efforts of the 144,000.
[8] Some might argue that the Roman Empire was not fully dissolved until the fall of Constantinople in 1453, just 64 years before Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of Castel Church in Wittenburg, Germany. This sparked the Protestant Reformation, which culminated in the Thirty Years’ War, breaking the Holy Roman Empire’s grip on world domination.
[9] Johnson, Ronald M. “Babylon The Great City, The Harlot An Expository Study.” Conservative Theological Journal 4, no. 13 (2000). Page 345 (emphasis in original)
[10] Johnson 2000 page 345
[11] Ibid
[12] Ibid page 348
[13] Ibid page 351
[14] Ibid page 355
[15] Thomas, Robert L. Revelation 8 – 22: An Exegetical Commentary. Chicago: Moody Pr, 1995. Page 297.
[16] Ibid page 297
[17] Johnson 2000 page 359
[18] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events, Rev. ed (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2003). page 42