Two Opinions, Two Options
Who is “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations”? Who is this woman sitting on a seven-headed monster? Who is this woman sitting on seven hills?
For futurists, the answer could be any number of things. For those who believe John was writing about events his original audience was facing, we have basically two options: Jerusalem or Rome.
The great news is whichever of those options is actually correct for the original audience, the application for us today is pretty much the same. We must not compromise with an enemy state or false religion. We must stay away from idolatry. We must love God and our neighbors. We must faithfully serve God no matter what anyone does to persecute us.
The Jerusalem Case
Entire books have been written to make this case. The most well known is likely The Avenging of the Apostles and Prophets by my family friend Art Ogden. He makes a strong case. I can’t repeat his entire book in this post.
The strongest argument, to me, is that “the great city” gets described in Revelation 11:8: “…and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified” (ESV). Our Lord was crucified in Jerusalem. It makes sense to hear “the woman that you saw is the great city” in Revelation 17:18 as the same city.
The woman is “drunk with the blood of the saints, and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Revelation 17:6, ESV). First, the blood of the martyrs or witnesses immediately makes us think of the two witnesses who were killed in the visionary Jerusalem as the last paragraph revealed. Further, in Matthew 23:29-39, Jesus makes an impassioned plea against Jerusalem for martyring the prophets, wise men, and scribes God had sent and Jesus will send. The blood of these martyrs will be required of Jerusalem.
In this view, while the seven-headed, seven-hilled, seven-kinged beast is Rome, the woman sitting on Rome is actually the city of Jerusalem. I even like the great message this gives us today which fits in with the warning from the seven oracles. If God’s chosen city, Jerusalem, where He had made His name to dwell could become so faithless as to be judged, we the New Jerusalem, the Heavenly Jerusalem must take care. We must be sure to hold fast to Jesus and repent where we have fallen from Him lest we be judged.
I’ve not done justice to this argument. I’ve given you only two supports when, no doubt, many others could be mounted. I look forward to hearing from others who would like to add to these arguments in the comments.
The Case for Rome
No doubt, those who make a case for Rome will mount many arguments. However, for me one argument makes the case. The rest will be mere support to this one.
John was writing in the latter half of the first century. Whether at an early date in the 60s or a later date in the 90s, the Roman Imperial power held sway. It especially held power in the seven cities among which the seven churches of Asia met and assembled. While there were, no doubt, synagogues and struggles for the Christians from the Jews, the Imperial Cult and pagan idolatry were the oppressive realities of the daily life of those Christians. While synagogues may have existed in those cities, it was the Imperial and pagan cults that weighed heavily on their lives. It was the Greco-Roman idols, festivals, temples, sacrifices, guilds that hindered the Christians from being able to make a living while staying true to Jesus.
Behind all of this was the great city that held dominion over the kings of the earth: Rome. Rome had dominion over the seven cities, not Jerusalem. The Emperor held sway in the seven cities, not the high priest.
But the great argument running behind all of this was the the ever present story of Roma, the patron goddess of the city of Rome. The goddess who supposedly nurtured Romulus and Remus, providentially protecting and developing Rome. Rome and Roma were the benevolent hands caring for all the cities of the earth.
If someone today wrote an apocalyptic story about a nation symbolized by a red, white, and blue bald eagle, constantly bringing in pictures with stars and stripes, no one in the world today would have a difficult time knowing precisely who that story was about. When we see a political cartoon with elephants and donkeys today, we all know who is being represented. In like manner, the picture of a woman sitting on seven hills was a stock symbol in the first century. That woman was Roma Aeterna, goddess of Rome.
In fact, we have even found coins from around the time of the apocalypse with a picture of a woman sitting on seven hills. Everyone knew who that was. She was Roma.
The above picture was found at https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=184449 (accessed on July 1, 2024). A clearer image can be seen by clicking this link: Roma Aeterna coin. This coin was minted in the reign of Vespasian.
The entire Roman Empire and all its occupied peoples were told the story of Roma, the goddess of the imperial city. She was the noble, virtuous, warrior goddess whose benevolence and protection made the empire and every city protected by Rome what it was. Smyrna had the earliest known cult to Roma as far back as 195 BC. In 133 BC, the Pergamene ruler handed Pergamum over to Rome and the Roma cult spread rapidly.
But the apocalypse tells a different story. Rather than a noble, virtuous warrior, John reveals Roma as a murderous, vicious, blood-drinking harlot. In the end, the kings she lured by her sensual wiles and poisonous wine would turn against her in a civil war.
Interestingly, one of the common misconceptions today is John wrote the apocalypse in signs and symbols to hide his meaning from all but the initiated in order to be protected from further persecution. The fact is if John was actually writing about Jerusalem, he chose a charged image that all of his readers would have first thought referred to the goddess Roma. If he really was talking about Jerusalem, his imagery would actually cause so much more heartache, suffering, and tribulation that could have been avoided if he had just clearly stated he was talking about Jerusalem. By describing this city as a woman on seven hills, maybe his initiated Christians would know he was talking about Jerusalem, but any of their neighbors in the Asian cities who happened upon a copy of this book or visited on the day it was read in the assembly would assume John was talking about Roma.
Why cause this kind of turmoil for himself and for the churches where this would be read? Because he wasn’t actually trying to hide anything. He wasn’t trying to be subtle. He was actually being a stellar example of the point of this book. He was boldly standing out as following King Jesus as a citizen of His heavenly city, the New Jerusalem without compromise.
And whether the woman initially represents Jerusalem or Rome, ultimately she represents any political structure and government that opposes Jesus and His church. We need to follow John’s example and boldly stand out as followers of King Jesus, not try to blend end with the culture that surrounds us.
Tomorrow’s reading is Revelation 17.
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PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family
How does Revelation 17 prompt or improve your trust in God?
Read the Bible 