Religion is one of a few cultural universals on earth,  along with marriage and language. It is therefore one of the most important subjects of human occupation today. Religion is both a complex and very controversial subject and has been the cause of many wars fought on earth since Cain and Abel. It has continued to be a major determinant of the course of human history to date. In the Bible, religion has been distilled into two broad streams. This piece must be understood to be but a brief introduction to the matter. It is a perspective restricted to the biblical narrative on the subject. We have also opted to divide the discourse into two parts due to considerations of space and the overall coherence of the topic. In the first and current segment, we shall decode the prophetic symbols used in John's vision and generally introduce the historical background to the woman of our text. In the second installment, we shall dwell largely on the contents of the cup in the woman's hands.

We find her in the 17th chapter of the apocalyptic Book of Revelation. She is described as: "...the great prostitute, who sits on many waters..." (Revelation 17:1). She is bedecked with costly stones, silver, gold and pearls. She is arrayed in purple and scarlet,  and has a golden cup in her hand. The cup is "filled with abominable things" and the "...filth of her adulteries" (Revelation 17:4). With the said cup, she has made the inhabitants of the earth both drunk and mad (Revelation 18:3, Jeremiah 51:7). Emblazoned in bold lettering on her forehead is the legend:

"MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS, AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

The apostle John notices too, that the woman is drunk with the blood of the saints (cf Revelation 17:1-6).

Such is the absolutely fascinating introduction of one of ONLY TWO churches that are recognized in the Bible. The other, found in Revelation 12, shall be examined in a separate article. In this piece, we shall only delve into the intriguing narrative as revealed to the Apostle John in Revelation 17.

But why are we concluding that John's vision was referring to a church? In Bible prophecy, a woman has often been used to symbolize a church or a religious organization. For example, the Apostle Paul talked of the Ephesian church as a bride being made ready for her wedding (cf Ephesians 5:25-27). The Corinthian church too was seen in similar lenses: "I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Messiah, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him." (2Corinthians 11:2). Similarly, in talking about the preparedness of churches for his Second Coming, Yahshua gave the parable of the ten virgins (see Matthew 25:1-10). So the True Church is compared to a pure, chaste virgin, busy preparing for her wedding, the Wedding Banquet of the Lamb (cf Revelation 19:9-10).

The woman of our text, however, is described as a harlot. A fallen, disgraced woman! A woman of the twilight zone. In modern parlance a woman of "easy virtue". The exact opposite of the True Church. So what can such a description mean? 
Since issues to do with worship are spiritual, I submit that the prostitution being described here be understood from a strictly spiritual angle. It is a falling away from the True Faith, and dabbling into idolatry, syncretism, and false religion. That is why God legislated against the adoration of graven images and polytheism. He, Adonai, is indeed a jealous God (cf Exodus 20:1-6).
Desiring to paint a vivid picture of the horribleness of Israel's spiritual adultery (the worship of Baal - the Canaanite sun-god and his consort Asherah), Adonai, the God of Israel,  commanded the prophet Hosea to go and marry a prostitute. This strange marriage was intended to shock theocratic Israel into repentance, the forsaking of idolatry, and a genuine return to the one True God (cf Hosea 1:1-2).

The church under review must therefore be understood to be a church that has set aside True Worship, as commanded by the God of Israel, our  Creator. It is a church that has sank into the spiritual cesspool of heathenism.

She is further described as a:  "...THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." In other words, this Church is a "mother" who has given birth to numerous "daughter churches" who similarly subscribe to her idolatrous ritual, dogma and canon. Like mother, like daughter (cf Ezekiel 16:44)! She is also a wealthy church,  "...glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls..." (Revelation 17:4). She is dressed like royalty, in purple. She "sits as queen" and "dwells  carelessly" (cf Isaiah 47:8). Her whole persona is in contra-distinction to what the scriptures say about the appearance and comportment of the woman who professes to worship the God of heaven. Says Peter: "...your beauty should not come from outward adornments, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes." (1Peter 3:3, NIV). Paul too, reiterated a similar admonition: "...I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or expensive clothes..." (1Timothy 2:9, NIV).

Unlike the True Church which is compared to Sarah (cf 1Peter 3:6), the Harlot Church is likened to wicked Queen Jezebel, who not only painted herself like a prostitute (cf 2Kings 9:30, 34), but also led the children of Israel into Baal worship (cf Revelation 2:20 - 22).

We are further told that: "...the waters you saw, where the woman sits, are peoples, multitudes, tribes, nations, and languages." (Revelation 17:15). This is an indication that the church being described here is a universal organization with great influence on the spiritual destiny of millions of earth's inhabitants!

The woman is riding (and therefore controlling) a strange scarlet-coloured beast that has seven heads and ten horns. So who is this beast that the woman rides? In Daniel 7, the prophet was shown four beasts that emerged out of a stormy sea, one after the other (Daniel 7:1-8). In the interpretation of the dream, it was revealed to the  prophet that the beasts were four kingdoms that were to arise out of the earth (Daniel 7:17, 23). We are able to garner from both the scriptures (cf Daniel 8:20 etc), and the historical record that the kingdoms that Daniel saw in his vision were the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greece and Roman empires. Now, if we count the number of heads and horns on the beasts of Daniel 7, we are able to see that they are the same in number with the heads and horns on the scarlet colored beast of Revelation 17. In other words, the beast that the woman rides is an amalgamation of the beasts as shown to Daniel. It is a political power that has taken on the characteristics of the earlier kingdoms that held sway on earth - Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. This is corroborated by the fact that this amalgamated beast is also spoken of in Revelation 13:2 as having ten horns (Rome), resembling a leopard (Greece), but having feet like those of a bear (Medo-Persia), and a mouth like that of a lion (Babylon). In addition, the beast is described as being blasphemous and a persecutor of the saints of God (cf Daniel 7:25, Revelation 13:5-7; 17:6). Going by the scriptural principle that "...by the testimony of two or three witnesses let every matter be established..." (2Corinthians 13:1, Deuteronomy 19:15), we can see that the identity of the beast being ridden by the woman is established beyond any doubt to be Papal Rome. No other power has had civil as well as ecclesiastical power, has persecuted the saints of God and has spoken blasphemously as has Papal Rome.

In part two, we will look at the contents of the cup held by the woman.

Pst JK Chang'andu,