The Scarlet Woman & Scarlet Beast-Pt. 1

     Chapters 17 and 18 are a brief interlude in the sequence of events. They are like the aside in a play that explains something important about what is happening on stage. They give us crucial information about the characters in the scene. That is, the Scarlet Woman and the Scarlet Beast.
     The unexpected spiritual identification of Jerusalem we saw in Rev. 16 may rattle some people. It has to do with Israel’s calling to be a people unto God, as His living object lesson as to how God’s kingdom and love operates to a fallen world. Like a besotted lover, He is a jealous God (Ex. 34:13-15; Deut. 4:23-25).
      Throughout the Exodus and the establishment of the Promised Land, the nation rebelled and did its own thing as they saw fit. They disregarded God’s command to wipe out all the ungodly people whose religions included perverted worship practices and child sacrifices. It is no wonder we are seeing these very practices in mush of entertainment and political world. As God had warned, these people would corrupt them. Even if God’s chosen people followed certain elements of their God-ordained religion, their hearts were far from Him at times. They rejected His grace and His eternal salvation through Jesus Christ.
      The Apostle John sees what has become of his people spiritually in these last Days of the New Covenant. Instead of seeing the mystery of Christ, of Jesus and His Church becoming one through resurrection as recorded in earlier chapters, John now sees the Mystery of Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth (v. 5).  In John’s gospel record, the Apostle dutifully recorded Jesus’ response to the Jewish religious leaders. “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive” (Jn. 5:43).
        End-Time Lesson: The issue boils down to this: “Who do you say I am?” (Mt. 16:14-16). Christ’s crucifixion was brought about by the Jewish religious leaders conspiring with Rome, their oppressor. After Christ’s resurrection confirmed Jesus as the Son of God, Israel still had a choice as to whom they would serve.  
      God’s commission to Jesus’ followers was to preach the Gospel in all the world. But once again, it was the Jewish leaders who fought so hard to hinder their evangelistic efforts and to reject the Gentile Christians (Acts 4:1-2). This is why Rev. 17:6 records that Israel was responsible for the blood of the saints and martyrs.
         But that is not all. Rev.17:3-6 identify the Harlot as the counterfeit bride. Her true nature is seen in the cup she holds—it is full of abominations (repulsive actions) and the filthiness of her fornication (her ungodly union with the ways of the world instead of the One to whom she should belong).
         Just as Christ is the embodiment of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Beast is the embodiment of the Kingdom of Darkness, the Scarlet Woman is the embodiment of the Apostasy, the broken covenantal relationship between God and His people, the apostate Jews, prior to the initial invasion, the final sign of darkness, and the second coming of Christ. 
         This is why she is described as Babylon the Great. It is the same rebellious spirit behind Babel. She seeks to build a “tower” of power of her own doing. She is the counterfeit to God’s City, the New Jerusalem, which Rev. 21 says is the Bride of Christ. As the counterfeit city, the Scarlet Woman rides the dragon-like Beast, being carried by it. Their fates are intertwined because they both have rejected God’s Son. The rest of Chapter 17 and then Chapter 18 describe their history.