The coming world leader

A few years ago, it was estimated that 95% of New Age Journal readers were college-educated, representing the most affluent and successful segment of the Baby Boom generation. Corporations spent an estimated $4 billion a year on New Age consultants. All of these channelers and New Age aficionados trace their religious heritage all the way back to Babel. And John calls this false religious system, “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER HARLOTS.” 

The Reign of the System (Revelation 17:2-13) 

Why is Mystery Babylon called the mother of harlots? John gives it this name because it has spawned a host of other false religious systems throughout history. That system will reach its peak during the Tribulation. No doubt, the final version will incorporate some elements of the Church – Christianity in a perverted and apostate form. Paul the apostle wrote, “The Spirit expressly says in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). 

At the time of the end, this religious harlot will have established a worldwide reign. In the Book of Revelation 17:1, the phrase “who sits on many waters” refers to all the people of the earth. Its meaning becomes especially clear in verse 15, when an angel tells John, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues.” 

This blasphemous religious system will forge an alliance with the beast. Verse 3 depicts her as sitting on a “scarlet beast,” the same beast that appears in Revelation 13 – the Antichrist. The beast will support the woman and her false religious system. Using his political and economic clout, he will help her to become a worldwide force. Of course, because she is shown riding the beast, it seems, at first anyway, she controls the beast’s direction. The world will look to her for guidance rather than to the Antichrist, especially when the heavens and the earth fall apart and people’s hearts begin failing them out of fear. They’ll see no hope in politics or economics, and so will turn to religion. 

This false religious system will make alliances with the entire world. Verse 2 tells us that the kings of the earth will commit fornication with her, and she will make the inhabitants of the earth “drunk with the wine of her fornication.” Through these alliances she will become very wealthy, clothing herself in the royal colors of purple and scarlet, flashing baubles of gold and precious stones and pearls, and drinking out of a golden cup. 

It’s important to remember at this point that one of the things that makes the Great Tribulation so terrible is that Satan will be allowed to have more control over the earth than ever before. The restraining influence of the Holy Spirit will be gone, so demonic activity will explode, which is, no doubt, the primary force behind the great deception and delusion that will grip the world. The point to be made here is that the world is not becoming more secular; in fact, it’s becoming more religious – but not more Christian! The trend toward an amorphous kind of spirituality and a growing interest in religion means that at the time of the end, the world will become increasingly religious. That is no doubt why the Antichrist must rely, for a time at least, on the support of the false religious system. He will use humankind’s natural desire for a connection to God in order to gain worldwide power for his own ends. 

Don Feder of the Boston Herald said that as a significant portion of the population drifts away from traditional religion, Americans look for comfort from beyond the stars. When people have that kind of pervasive mentality – believing something wise and powerful and superior is “out there,” whether in the form of demons or space aliens or avatars or what have you – then the earth becomes ripe for deception. 

This woman will make alliances not only with beasts and the kings of the earth but also against God’s people. John tells us she will be “drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (v. 6). Throughout history, every false religious system has persecuted God’s people. And so it will be in the last days. 

In fact, we see such conditioning taking place right now throughout the world, and even in America, toward the elimination of people. 

Abortion is legal in every state, in many cases funded and sanctioned by the government. The key idea behind this is that a mother can choose to eliminate her unwanted fetus. The next logical step, euthanasia, has already started taking root. If it’s legal to eliminate an unwanted fetus, then what about unwanted adults –those who are sick, or elderly or terminally ill? 

The state of Oregon already has a law on the books to permit assisted suicide for terminally-ill patients. Society is methodically paving the way to remove any human life deemed unwanted, unviable, or unproductive. With that sort of mindset in place, it will be no great step for the Antichrist to move toward eliminating believers in Christ. After all, they will refuse to cooperate with his state-sanctioned religious system and will insist instead on preaching about Jesus. The beast’s answer? “Remove them! The world will be better off without them.” 

We’re seeing that mentality developing and growing even now. When John sees the woman “drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus,” he marvels “with great amazement” (v. 6). The angel who is talking with John at this time immediately challenges him on this and begins to explain the true meaning of the woman and the beast she rides (v. 7). Now, John isn’t marveling because of what he sees here; he has already seen the whole world worship the beast. What causes him to marvel, rather, is the fact the woman is controlling the beast. How is this possible? 

The angel goes on to identify the beast as one who “was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit” (v. 8). That’s probably a reference to the beast having a fatal head wound and yet continuing to live. This beast also has seven heads and ten horns (v. 3). Verse 9 tells us the seven heads stand for seven “mountains,” and verse 18 speaks of “that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.” Historically, the city set on seven hills has always been identified as Rome. We know that in the last days, the Roman Empire will be revived, as Daniel foresaw (Book of Daniel 2:40-45). And the beast at the head of this revived Roman Empire will lead a ten-power confederacy, as depicted here by the ten horns (v. 7). 

The angel mentions seven kings, five of whom had “fallen,” one who “is,” and the last king, who “has not yet come.” From John’s perspective, there had been five major world powers that had exerted a major impact on Israel: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. At the time John wrote this, the sixth world empire was then in power: Rome. John had been exiled to Patmos by the Roman government. And John tells us that there is yet another empire to come, one that Daniel foresaw as well. Daniel saw it represented by the feet and toes of a grand statue, and the ten toes were made of an unstable mixture of iron and clay. John sees seven heads and ten horns, which we’re told represent nations. So the visions of Daniel and John are essentially the same. The last worldwide kingdom to oppress Israel will be the kingdom of the Antichrist, the revived Roman Empire. 

The angel tells John that the final king “must continue a short time” (v. 10). In fact, the Antichrist will rule for just 42 months, or three-and-a-half years, the last half of the Tribulation period. That’s not long! 

But what can the angel mean when he says, “The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition”? (v. 11). Let’s consider this verse in light of what we already know. 

What will happen to the Antichrist? He will receive what seems to be a fatal head wound, and he will supposedly die and then be resurrected. When he “dies,” his kingdom will die with him. That’s the seventh kingdom. And when he is “revived,” his kingdom will undergo a resurgence, and so the seventh kingdom will become the eighth. At no point does John identify the ten kings who will yield their sovereignty to the Antichrist (v. 13). But interestingly enough, certain groups and world leaders already have documented plans to divide the world into ten geographical zones for ease of rule. It may be that the Antichrist will take advantage of just such schemes. 

Replacement of the System (17:16-17) 

The beast will have no interest in allowing the great harlot to ride him forever. When she is no longer useful to him, he will devour her.