The Whore of Babylon Vs. The Bride of Christ in Revelation

  

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Whore of Babylon Vs. Bride of Christ

In the book of Revelation we see both the Whore of Babylon in Revelation 17 and the Bride of Christ in Revelation 21.  This lines with the Bible’s theme of contrasts of Satan with God, and  the Antichrist versus Jesus. In line with this subject is the Whore of Babylon who is opposite the Bride of Christ.

Christ loves His Bride who is made righteous by His blood and He gives Himself for her, while Satan has his whore who is evil  and who he destroys because she gets in the way of his being the sole object of worship.
Christ loves His bride and gives Himself to her while Satan uses the whore to accomplish evil and lead men and women astray from the true God.
One woman teaches truth, the other lies. One woman lives for eternity, the other is destroyed. The Bride is seen by John in a great and high Mountain. (Revelation 21:10). The Whore of Babylon is viewed in the wilderness (Revelation 17:1). The mountain is always a place of blessing, while the wilderness is a location of hardship.  Revelation doesn’t just describe  any mountain but a great and high mountain.
Holy Jerusalem descends out of heaven (Revelation 21:10). The Harlot sits on many waters in the earth (Revelation 17:1).One is spiritual, eternal and heavenly, while the other is of this earth and is carnal and temporal.
Both are referred to as city’s. Revelation 17:18 states of Babylon:
The woman you saw is that great city that reigns over the kings of the earth.”
 Rev. 21:2 describes New Jerusalem as a city,
“Then I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
Revelation 21:10 confirms:
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.
While Babylon is referred to as a great city the heavenly is named
‘the Great City The Holy City.” Babylon as “that great city” is not the “The Great City” because does not possess the grandeur and splendor of  the Holy Jerusalem.
We see that both cities’ are represented by women and have names written on them.
On Babylon we see a name on her forehead: Mystery Babylon the Great, The mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth (Rev. 17: 5). Along with her name are the names of blasphemy on the heads of the Beast indicating these all belong to her and are her offspring.
On the heavenly city there are names written on the 12 Gates of the 12 tribes of the children of Israel and  Revelation 21:12 records that on the twelve foundations are the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb (Revelation 21:14). Whereas the whore is branded on her forehead and is also the same place we see the names of blasphemy on the seven to eight heads of the east. It is also one of the places on the body to accept the mark of the Beast or the number of his name.
The 144 thousand witnesses bear God’s name on their forehead.  Like the 144 thousand witnesses the priests of the Old Testament wore a turban on their forehead that said, “Holiness to the Lord.”  Ezekiel 38:36-37 reads:
36 “You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet:
HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
37 And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. 38 So it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.
The name on the forehead is a strong identity statement of acceptance or rejection before God. Note that those accepted have the name of Christ or Holiness to the Lord as a sign of acceptance, while the Harlot, the Beast’s heads and the foreheads of those who take the mark of the Beast bear names of idolatry.
There is also another element here with the Harlot’s  name on her forehead and it is in line with actual worship of the Queen of Heaven. In some civilizations she is portrayed with writing on her forehead, identifying her honor in those societies, but God writes on her forehead her true identity.  
What should also be noted is the use of the word “mystery,” in ancient societies the Greco-Roman mysteries were part of their faith. The mystery religion was any of the secret sects that offered those in the Greco-Roman world religious experiences not provided by the official public religions. Mystery religions reached their peak of popularity in the first three centuries AD. They origin goes back to earlier periods of Greek history. In 391-399 AD, the Roman Emperor Theodosius through a series of decrees forbade pagan worship and ordered the demolition of temples and alters, which led to the extinction of the mysteries by the fifth century.
Mystery religion is known to have flourished from the sixth century B.C.E. onward. Although often focused on “oriental” gods and goddesses such as the Egyptian Isis and Persian Mithras, the cults themselves seem to have been of Mediterranean origin.
According Walter Burkert, who wrote Ancient Mystery Cults, published by Harvard University Press:
     “Mysteries are initiation ceremonies, cults in which admission and participation depend upon some personal ritual to be performed by the initiated. Initiations . . . are found in a wide range of settings, from the most primitive Australian tribes to American universities. Mystery initiations were an optional activity within polytheistic religion, comparable to, say, a pilgrimage to Santiago di Compostela within the Christian system. . . . Mysteries were initiation rituals of a voluntary, personal, and secret character that aimed at a change of mind through experience of the sacred”
The initiation rituals of the mystery traditions often sought an existential transformation through a highly dramatic and emotional ritual such as the taurobolium, which is the sacrifice of a bull.
Alexander the Great inherited a unified Greece from his father, Philip of Macedonia. Between 336 and 323 B.C.E. (the year of his death) Alexander united the entire oikumene (the known world) under the dominantly Greek culture. According to Luther H. Martin in his book Hellenistic Religions: An Introduction: “With the advent of Hellenistic Internationalism, Eastern deities such as the Egyptian Isis and Syrian Atargatis, found themselves welcomed as cultural citizens of Hellenistic society and worshipped alongside traditional Greek
deities by a newly constituted cosmopolitan following. . . . As these deities gradually became participants in the Hellenistic world, they were simultaneously severed from their original roles and meanings”
More is known of the mystery religion of the Roman period associated with such deities as Dionysius, Isis (originating in Egypt), Mithra (originating in Persia and related to Mitra/Varuna of the early Vedic texts), Zeus, Helios, Sol Invictus, and Jupiter. These cults were at their peak in about the fourth century of the Christian era.
According to the website, “Timeless Myths:”
     “There are many different religious groups in Greece and Rome, that doesn’t correspond to the usual religions of the various gods and goddesses. Their rites and sometimes their teachings are kept secret, and that are only understood by the cult initiated. For these reasons these groups are known as the “mystery religions.”

On the Whore of Babylon’s forehead we see the word mystery having a double meaning as both referring to the ancient religious mysteries as they were called that she was a part and also the answer to a mystery in God’s word, that “Mystery Babylon” is false religion.
In line with the Harlot having her name written on her forehead, in which the Queen of Heaven was actually depicted and by the name Mystery Babylon, which derives from how she was regarded we see  the names of the twelve tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles on  her Gates and very foundation.  In contrast to the mystery name: actual names of men who lived.  
Revelation 21: 12-16 depicts the Heavenly City laid out as a square with walls and gates: a  Heavenly foundation. While Revelation 17:3  records Babylon as a woman riding a Beast  with seven to eight heads and ten horns; a fleeting Earthly empire. The ten horns of the earthly city pale in comparison to the 12 foundations of the Heavenly city. In the contrast here we see the woman and eventually the Beast she rides destroyed, while the Heavenly City with its gates and foundations is eternal.
The Heavenly city is made of jewels, pearls and gold. The walls are jasper, pure gold, precious stones on the foundations, jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, jacinth, amethyst, The 12 gates were 12 pearls, each individual gate was of one pearl, street of the city was pure gold like glass.
The Whore wears her jewels and is adorned with them to lure men and women from the true God (Revelation 17:4.) The Heavenly City is made of jewels because it is the True God and is given to the saved to walk in its light (Revelation 21:24). The whore is beastly and of the earth, while the bride is heavenly with God and Jesus providing the light and there is no darkness. 
The Whore has in her hand a cup and in it is the filthiness of her fornication meaning her false teachings. (Revelation 17:4). Whereas we see Jesus with a cup Luke 22:20 Jesus tells us ‘the cup is the new testament in My blood.’ Meaning it represents the Gospel, which are teachings of truth.
The Beast carries the Harlot (Revelation 17:7) while the Heavenly City comes down from God Himself (Revelation 21:2).
The Whore is a dwelling place for every kind of demon and for all kinds of abominations (Revelation 17:5, 18:2). Whereas The New Jerusalem is Holy where God Himself dwells and the Bride of Christ is Holy because she is redeemed by His Blood (Revelation 21:3).
The Whore provides fine goods and the merchants become rich by her with earthly goods and riches (Revelation 18:15-19) whereas the heavenly city provides the desires of the soul of no more pain or sorrow and God’s comfort and treasures in heaven (Revelation 21: 4).
Conclusion
In the Revelation 17 and 18 passage we see the profound accuracy of Bible Prophecy in addition to a spiritual picture through the lens of God Himself.  In the depiction of the Whore of Babylon compared with the Bride of Christ we see the Bible’s message of promise and hope and a picture of the truth of  the Gospel, the redemptive power of the Lord Jesus Christ and the promise of eternity for those who believe.
The Bible’s message is clear and the promise is open to everyone. At the end of the book of Revelation is an invitation from Christ Himself, Revelation 22: 17 invites, “And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”
Jesus provides the living waters, consider these verses:
Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.”

It is a simple message,  believe in Jesus Christ as the son of God and his redemptive work on the cross and you too can partake in the promise of eternal life and the Heavenly City   that is described in the Revelation. If you have not made that decision I urge you to make it today.  

This is an excerpt from the free online version of my book Whore of Babylon in Bible Prophecy: A Book of Revelation Mystery Revealed
To Continue Reading see the articles below
 
Would you like to understand the Whore of Babylon prophecy described in Revelation 17 and 18? Why does the Whore Wear Purple and Red, and ride a Red Beast and why is her name branded on her forehead? 

The Whore of Babylon in Bible Prophecy: A book of Revelation Mystery Revealed examines this passage while revealing new details of “Mystery Babylon” along with compelling evidence of the Whore of Babylon’s identity along with her role in the Revived Roman Empire and her coming judgment.  

The book uncovers: 

Hidden details of Babylon’s origin 

How the little horn points to the Harlot and the revived Roman Empire.  
The names of blasphemy on the seven heads and their correlation to the woman riding the 7 to 8 headed Beast.  

You will also learn historical and often missed details of the Queen of Heaven, the Vatican, and the tie to the mysterious Zechariah 5 prediction and how the ten king prophecy showcases modern politics. Disclosed is overwhelming proof the city of seven hills is Rome and many other details missed by other Bible expositors. 
 
Scholar, Analyst, Bible Prophecy Expert, Journalist and Commentator; Erika Grey once again delivers a fact filled, information rich expose.
 
The above book is also for free here and you can read it chapter by chapter on my website, just follow the links.   Some of the titles have been slightly from the book but the material is the same.  


Whore of Babylon All Your Questions Answered, Free version of the Whore of Babylon in Bible Prophecy” A Book of Revelation Mystery Revealed. 


Introduction -The Whore of Babylon-All Your Questions Answered
1-The Origin of Babylon in the Bible-New Details Revealed
2-The King of Babylon is Lucifer and the Antichrist
3- Babylonian Society Old and New Judged in the Revelation
4-The Mother of Harlots in Revelation 17
5-Zechariah 5 Predicts Whore of Babylon’s Temple
6-The Little Horn of Daniel Points to Revived Roman Empire
7-The Seven Heads on the Beast of Revelation
8-City of Seven HIlls in Revelation 19:9 is Rome
9- The Vatican is the Whore of Babylon
10-Why the Whore of Babylon Wears Purple and Red
11-Why the Whore of Babylon Rides a Red Beast
12-10 Facts That Prove the Roman Empire Revived
13-Whore of Babylon’s Religion in the Revived Roman Empire
14-Daniel’s Ten Kings Predicts Modern Politics
15-The Whore of Babylon’s Coming Judgement in Revelation
16-The Whore of Babylon Vs the Bride of Christ in Revelation

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