I always thought the Harlot of Revelation 17 was merely a false church or a false religious system.
But then I realized something.
This image is not just of a lewd woman drinking the blood of saints.
It's an image of MOCKERY!
But mocking who?
See Revelation 12. The chapter opens with a woman - Israel - who gives birth to a Child Who will reign all the nations. The Child is caught up to heaven, in spite of the Dragon's (Satan's) attempts to destroy him by proxy (Herod), by personal temptation (Matthew 4's encounter between Jesus and the Devil), and ultimately by power (the Sanhedrin and the Romans). But while he bruises the heel of Masiach Nagid - the prophet Daniel's title for the Messiah, Jesus Christ - his head is bruised because Jesus rises again from the dead and ascends into heaven.
But back to my point. Who is the harlot of Revelation 17 mocking?
It's not a false church, like Rome. It's not some arcane, yet-to-be-born religious order.
It's mocking ISRAEL! And as the religious leaders of Israel killed Jesus, their descendants - whom John calls in his first epistle those of the "spirit of Antichrist" - this false religion is going to gleefully persecute and kill Christians.
[They] have done it many times before and will gladly do it all over again.
All I've said does not speak of the true Jews. These are the synagogue of Satan that Jesus speaks of. We should be loving and praying for the salvation of the true Jews, that as we Gentiles have already had, that they would bow to their Messiah and repent.
Zechariah 12:10-12 talks about their hour when the sons of Israel finally see Jesus:
10 "I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
11 In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
12 The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; (Zechariah 12:10-12, NASB).
We speak about Israel here, but please, PLEASE remember to keep a good distinction between which Israel we ask God to bless: the good and faithful remnant whose families will eventually be saved at the final coming of Jesus, or the globalist, evil, scheming stakeholders of world power, ever attempting to thwart the spread of the Gospel and the Kingdom of God.
The harlot is the Catholic Church. See A Woman Rides The Beast by Dave Hunt. It’s brilliant. Excerpt via copy pasta.
In his 1994 book, Hunt presents several arguments to identify the Catholic Church with the harlot and "Babylon the Great" of Revelation chapters 17 and 18. These include:
A city on seven hills: Hunt points to Revelation 17:9, which describes the woman as "seated on seven mountains" and interprets these as the seven hills of ancient Rome.
"Drunk with the blood of the saints": He cites Revelation 17:6, which states that the woman is "drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." Hunt connects this to historical events, such as the Inquisition, where the Catholic Church persecuted those with dissenting views.
Connection to wealth and kings: Hunt draws a parallel between the harlot's wealth and her "fornication with the kings of the earth" (Revelation 17:2) and the Vatican's wealth and political relationships with worldly powers.
"Mother of Harlots": The harlot is also called "the mother of harlots" (Revelation 17:5). Some interpretations, including those adopted by Hunt, view this as the Catholic Church spawning apostate "daughter" Protestant denominations that continue similar unbiblical practices.
If you track the Bible’s own language, the “harlot” has always been Jerusalem/Israel when she broke covenant. Isaiah called her a harlot (Isa 1:21), Jeremiah said she played the harlot with many lovers (Jer 2–3), and Ezekiel showed her chasing Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon (Ezek 16, 23). Revelation is pulling straight from that backdrop. John says the woman is “the great city” (Rev 17:18), the same city “where their Lord was crucified” (Rev 11:8). And Jesus said it was Jerusalem that was guilty of all the prophets’ blood (Matt 23:37; Luke 13:33). That’s not Rome ….that’s Jerusalem.
See, here's the funny thing.
I always thought the Harlot of Revelation 17 was merely a false church or a false religious system.
But then I realized something.
This image is not just of a lewd woman drinking the blood of saints.
It's an image of MOCKERY!
But mocking who?
See Revelation 12. The chapter opens with a woman - Israel - who gives birth to a Child Who will reign all the nations. The Child is caught up to heaven, in spite of the Dragon's (Satan's) attempts to destroy him by proxy (Herod), by personal temptation (Matthew 4's encounter between Jesus and the Devil), and ultimately by power (the Sanhedrin and the Romans). But while he bruises the heel of Masiach Nagid - the prophet Daniel's title for the Messiah, Jesus Christ - his head is bruised because Jesus rises again from the dead and ascends into heaven.
But back to my point. Who is the harlot of Revelation 17 mocking?
It's not a false church, like Rome. It's not some arcane, yet-to-be-born religious order.
It's mocking ISRAEL! And as the religious leaders of Israel killed Jesus, their descendants - whom John calls in his first epistle those of the "spirit of Antichrist" - this false religion is going to gleefully persecute and kill Christians.
[They] have done it many times before and will gladly do it all over again.
All I've said does not speak of the true Jews. These are the synagogue of Satan that Jesus speaks of. We should be loving and praying for the salvation of the true Jews, that as we Gentiles have already had, that they would bow to their Messiah and repent.
Zechariah 12:10-12 talks about their hour when the sons of Israel finally see Jesus:
10 "I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. 11 In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; (Zechariah 12:10-12, NASB).
We speak about Israel here, but please, PLEASE remember to keep a good distinction between which Israel we ask God to bless: the good and faithful remnant whose families will eventually be saved at the final coming of Jesus, or the globalist, evil, scheming stakeholders of world power, ever attempting to thwart the spread of the Gospel and the Kingdom of God.
Sorry for the rant, thanks for reading.
The harlot is the Catholic Church. See A Woman Rides The Beast by Dave Hunt. It’s brilliant. Excerpt via copy pasta.
In his 1994 book, Hunt presents several arguments to identify the Catholic Church with the harlot and "Babylon the Great" of Revelation chapters 17 and 18. These include: A city on seven hills: Hunt points to Revelation 17:9, which describes the woman as "seated on seven mountains" and interprets these as the seven hills of ancient Rome. "Drunk with the blood of the saints": He cites Revelation 17:6, which states that the woman is "drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." Hunt connects this to historical events, such as the Inquisition, where the Catholic Church persecuted those with dissenting views. Connection to wealth and kings: Hunt draws a parallel between the harlot's wealth and her "fornication with the kings of the earth" (Revelation 17:2) and the Vatican's wealth and political relationships with worldly powers. "Mother of Harlots": The harlot is also called "the mother of harlots" (Revelation 17:5). Some interpretations, including those adopted by Hunt, view this as the Catholic Church spawning apostate "daughter" Protestant denominations that continue similar unbiblical practices.
If you track the Bible’s own language, the “harlot” has always been Jerusalem/Israel when she broke covenant. Isaiah called her a harlot (Isa 1:21), Jeremiah said she played the harlot with many lovers (Jer 2–3), and Ezekiel showed her chasing Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon (Ezek 16, 23). Revelation is pulling straight from that backdrop. John says the woman is “the great city” (Rev 17:18), the same city “where their Lord was crucified” (Rev 11:8). And Jesus said it was Jerusalem that was guilty of all the prophets’ blood (Matt 23:37; Luke 13:33). That’s not Rome ….that’s Jerusalem.