Revelation 17: Why Babylon Returns in the Last Days

Most people read Revelation 17 and fixate on the shock value — a woman called "the great prostitute," draped in gold, riding a beast. But the real shock isn't the imagery. It's the timeline. This passage reveals that before the Antichrist ever demands worship for himself, there will be a global religious system so seductive, so culturally celebrated, so politically endorsed that the entire world will voluntarily drink from its cup. And the name the Holy Spirit gives it — Babylon — is not random. It's a thread that runs from the very first organized rebellion against God in Genesis 11 all the way to the final chapters of human history. The second most referenced city in the entire Bible, Babylon appears roughly 280 to 300 times across Scripture, and six of its twelve New Testament appearances land squarely in Revelation. If we want to understand the end, we have to understand the beginning.

A Golden Cup Full of Poison

Look at the description in Revelation 17:4: "The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality." Outwardly, this system is stunning. It radiates wealth, sophistication, spiritual gravitas. It will appeal to the senses in overwhelming fashion — humanitarian efforts, global unity, spiritual experience packaged as something the world desperately needs. People will testify how it changed their lives. It will not be some fringe cult. It will be mainstream.

But look inside the cup. Abominations. Impurity. The substance is deadly even as the vessel gleams.

This is how false religion has always operated, and it's how it will operate at its zenith. As Pastor Daniel Batarseh warned: "People don't dig in enough. They don't look into the cup. They just look outside and they sign up for it" (watch at 1:08:36). That line should haunt anyone who has ever chosen a church, a movement, or a spiritual practice based on aesthetics rather than substance. A form of godliness that denies its power. A system that may even acknowledge a Christ — but not the real one.

Contrast this with how Scripture describes the bride of Christ in Revelation 19:7–8. No gold. No jewels. Fine linen, bright and pure — representing the righteous deeds of the saints. The simplicity is the point. The church is a group of people who regularly gather under the headship of Christ, worship him through the Word of God being revealed and obeyed. That's it. But for many people, that's not enough. They want the gold. They want the spectacle. And that, we're told, is exactly what Satan has always been willing to provide — counterfeit churches and distorted expressions of faith, offered to people's own damnation.

Satan's Two-Stage Strategy

Here is where the passage gets strategically brilliant — and terrifying. In verse 3, John sees the woman sitting on a scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns. This beast is the Antichrist, the same figure introduced in Revelation 13. But notice: the woman is sitting on the beast. She is distinct from him. She is a separate entity. He is supporting her, and she is benefiting from him.

Why would the Antichrist — who will eventually demand all worship for himself — promote a false religion that isn't about him? Because Satan is a master at desensitization. He doesn't go from zero to total blasphemy in one move. There's a preliminary stage.

"It's almost like a two-stage strategy," the teaching explained. "Here's Babylon and everybody's saying, 'Wow, this is great. This is what's gonna bring the world together.' And over time, even this man, the Antichrist, is gonna capitalize on it... until the strategy changes. And when humanity is ripe, he will step in and say, 'Now worship me.' And they will do it" (watch at 1:00:17).

The logic is chilling in its clarity. You don't ask a sober person to worship a man as God. You get them drunk first. You introduce one compromise, one departure from truth, one appealing lie — and when they've swallowed that, you introduce the next. By the time the Antichrist makes his move, the world's moral and spiritual immune system will have already been destroyed by Babylon. Verses 16–17 confirm this: the beast and his ten allied kings will eventually hate the prostitute, destroy her, and redirect all worship to the Antichrist himself. She was always disposable. She was always the setup.

This isn't just eschatology. It's a warning about how compromise works in any era. Every temptation has a preliminary stage. Every spiritual collapse has a prelude that looked reasonable at the time.

The Church Is Not a Branch of a Political Party

One of the most striking moments in this teaching had nothing to do with the future and everything to do with right now. The alliance between the great prostitute and the beast — between false religion and political power — prompted a pointed application that landed hard in the room.

"The true church of Jesus Christ has to be discerning in how it engages with politics. More specifically, how politics forces itself and seeks to engage with the church... There are many ministries, some of the most popular assemblies in America, that are more known for being platforms for political parties than embassies for the kingdom of God" (watch at 1:03:25).

The observation wasn't partisan. It was prophetic in the truest sense — a warning drawn directly from the text. If the great prostitute's power came partly from her political connections, and if those same political forces eventually discarded her once she'd served their purpose, then the pattern is clear: political systems will use religious movements and throw them away when they're done. "Pulpits have now become exegetes of headlines," came the rebuke. "'Here's what's happening, here's what happened.' Give me the Bible. What does God say? That's what my soul needs more than anything else" (watch at 1:05:11).

No one is saying Christians shouldn't participate in government. The concern is identity. When a church becomes indistinguishable from a political movement, it has lost its prophetic voice. It can no longer serve as the conscience of the culture because it has become a client of the culture. The great prostitute rode the beast and thought she was in control. She wasn't.

Genesis 11 Is the DNA of Every False System

The most illuminating moment of the entire sermon was a turn back to Genesis 11 — a passage most people associate with language confusion and little else. But the connections drawn here were extraordinary.

Why does the Holy Spirit call this future system Babylon? Because Babylon was the birthplace of organized, corporate defiance against God. At the Tower of Babel, the whole earth united around a single project: "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth" (Genesis 11:4). Read in isolation, it sounds ambitious. Read against the backdrop of Genesis 9:1 — where God told Noah's descendants to "be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth" — it is flat rebellion. They were told to scatter. They refused.

But there's a detail most readers miss entirely. The builders used bitumen for mortar — a waterproofing agent. The same substance Moses' mother used to seal the basket that carried her infant son down the Nile (Exodus 2:3). After the flood, God had promised never to destroy the earth by water again. The builders used waterproofing anyway. It wasn't just disobedience; it was unbelief. They didn't trust God's promise even when it was made for their benefit.

So here, at the dawn of post-flood civilization, you have the template for every false religious system that would follow: rejection of God's word, elevation of human autonomy, and the pursuit of self-made glory. "Let us make a name for ourselves." And then, in the very next chapter — Genesis 12 — God calls Abraham and says, "I will make your name great." That's grace. One chapter apart: human striving versus divine initiative. The spirit of Babel says, "We will achieve this on our own." The gospel says, "God did it for you."

As the teaching put it: "Do you want to know how you can determine if something is operating under the spirit of Babylon? It's very easy. Take your clues from Genesis 11. Which one challenges the authority of God's word? Who seeks to elevate other authorities above or to replace the Word of God altogether? I don't care how it looks. It doesn't matter how long it's been standing. If it defies God's clear word, it's Babylon" (watch at 1:20:37).

Drunk on Blood, Sober in Prayer

The final detail in these six verses is the darkest. Verse 6: "And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." While the world will be intoxicated with Babylon's lies, Babylon herself will be intoxicated with violence against believers. And the word drunk means this won't be moderate. It will be excessive, sweeping, and ugly.

History confirms the pattern. Some of the cruelest attacks against genuine followers of Christ have been carried out by those who claimed to act in God's name — even in the name of the church. Jesus himself warned of this in John 16:2: "They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God."

So what does the church do in the face of a world system that seduces with beauty and destroys with violence? First Peter 4:7 gives the answer with startling directness: "The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers." Sobriety. Clear-headedness. And the proof that you're spiritually awake? Active, conscious fellowship with God. Not theoretical. Not aspirational. Actual conversation with the living God — you talk to him, you let him talk to you, you remain aware that he is returning.

Paul echoes the same urgency in 1 Thessalonians 5:3–10: "While people are saying, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them... But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief." And then this staggering reason for why Christ died: "so that whether we are awake or asleep, we might live with him." Not just forgiveness. Fellowship. Christ died so you could live with him — now, while you're awake, and later, when you sleep.

If the book of Revelation doesn't shake a soul, nothing will.

What to Remember

• Babylon in Revelation 17 is not merely a city — it is a false religious system that will seduce the entire world before the Antichrist demands worship for himself.
• Satan's strategy is incremental: voluntary spiritual compromise through Babylon prepares humanity for the forced worship of the Antichrist. Every great deception has a preliminary stage that looks reasonable.
• The spirit of Babylon is identifiable today wherever God's Word is displaced, human autonomy is celebrated, and self-made religion replaces divine revelation — the DNA traces back to Genesis 11.
• The church's simplicity is its glory: fine linen, bright and pure. When Christians crave the gold and spectacle of counterfeit religion, they are reaching for the prostitute's cup.
• Political power will always use religious movements and discard them. A church that loses its distinct identity as an embassy of Christ's kingdom has already been compromised.
• Spiritual sobriety is not passive — it is proven by active, conscious prayer and fellowship with God in a world designed to intoxicate.

Questions to Sit With

1. If you were honest about why you chose your church or your spiritual practices, how much of that decision was shaped by appearance versus the substance of what's taught?
2. The builders at Babel waterproofed their tower against a flood God promised would never come. Where in your life are you hedging against a promise God has already made?
3. Is your engagement with politics shaping your faith, or is your faith shaping your engagement with politics? How would you know the difference?
4. Peter says the proof of spiritual sobriety is prayer. When was the last time you had an actual, unhurried conversation with God — not a request list, but fellowship?
5. If Babylon's power lies in making false worship feel voluntary and exciting, what cultural or spiritual movements today might be preparing people to accept even greater deception later?

Scripture Referenced

• Revelation 17:1-6 (primary passage)
• Revelation 17:15-17
• Revelation 14:8
• Revelation 16:19
• Revelation 13
• Revelation 19:7-8
• Genesis 11:1-9
• Genesis 9:1
• Genesis 12
• James 4:4
• John 16:2
• Isaiah 49:14-16
• Psalm 145
• 1 Peter 4:7
• 1 Thessalonians 5:3-10
• Exodus 2:3

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This summary was generated by AI from the sermon "The Great Prostitute | Revelation 17:1-6 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (5/10/26)" preached by Pastor Daniel Batarseh at Maranatha Bible Church Chicago. Watch the full sermon →