Who is the ’Great Whore’ of Revelation 17-18?

[James]

Who is she?

Revelation Chapter 17

Rev 17:1 ¶ And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Rev 17:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Rev 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead [was] a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rev 17:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Rev 17:7 ¶ And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Rev 17:9 And here [is] the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
Rev 17:10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, [and] the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
Rev 17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
Rev 17:12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
Rev 17:13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him [are] called, and chosen, and faithful.
Rev 17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Rev 17:16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Rev 17:17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Rev 17:18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.


Revelation Chapter 18

Rev 18:1 ¶ And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Rev 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Rev 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Rev 18:6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
Rev 18:7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Rev 18:8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong [is] the Lord God who judgeth her.
Rev 18:9 ¶ And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
Rev 18:10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
Rev 18:11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
Rev 18:12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
Rev 18:13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
Rev 18:14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
Rev 18:15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
Rev 18:16 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
Rev 18:17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
Rev 18:18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What [city is] like unto this great city!
Rev 18:19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
Rev 18:20 Rejoice over her, [thou] heaven, and [ye] holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
Rev 18:21 ¶ And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast [it] into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
Rev 18:22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft [he be], shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
Rev 18:23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
Rev 18:24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

[Edward]

I try to keep a Hebrew perspective, so my assumptions are likely quite different than yours. In my mind, every detail is symbolic unless obviously otherwise. While there is an obvious symbolic reference to the Seven Hills of Rome, I doubt John is pointing at the future Roman Church, per se. She sits on the Beast who is the Seven Hills, and even that is symbolic.

She is religious compromise, in any form it takes. When any "spiritual institution" relies on the power of the sword for anything at all, she is in league with the Beast. I believe John foresaw Christians would seek the power of the state to protect, defend, and finally to enforce the will of churches. This was never the way of Christ. Thus, to the degree any church in history used the power of government for any reason, she has sold herself cheaply to the Beast. I would include with that obtaining tax exemption.

You cannot have government which is not a Beast, because fallen man cannot govern without turning to evil. Nothing in the Kingdom of God takes place by coercion. Yes, the Covenant of Noah was from God, but it was from God requiring sinners to keep sinners under restraint so civilization could stand. We who serve Christ are not under Noah, we just have to deal with it.

[Michelle]

I chose other. And here's why. It is more than just the Roman Catholic Church. It is the Roman Catholic Church, but it is also the Eucamenical movement, the Church-Growth, the New Evangelicals, etc.

While I voted for the Roman Catholic Church, I agree with Michelle that it will be comprised of all religions that reject the finished work of Christ as the one perfect salvation. In our book, The Final Flock, we outline all false religions as heading toward Rome, theologically, philosophically and/or structurally.
All these false churches have a common author - Satan; a common theology - DO; and a common end - ecumenism. "The Final Flock" refers to the fact that "birds of a feather flock together." John Hagee, in turning from his original stance of Rome's being the harlot church, is the latest of evangelicals compromising with Rome.

[linnymarie]

The Roman Catholic Church is the great whore the Bible talks about.

Linda

[The Parson]

Historically our brethren have always believed it to be the Vatican. Even the name Vatis-Can in latin is devining serpent. No way I can mistake then who John was talking about.

[TOM]

I think the great whore is Rome itself. The antichrist expells the Pope and the church from Rome. Rome is the great whore because it becomes a great port for the world trade. Many nations will come to trade with her and bring their sinful ways with them. John calls Rome the seat of devils.The antichrist mus expel papal Rome and the church first.

[Floppyjoe]

I Believe the Great Whore is The Roman Catholic Church or Vatican in whatever form that emerges from the ecumenical movement and "New Evangelization" The Vatican does not reside on seven hills but historically the popes have ruled the papal states which include all the seven hills. After the Roman emperors the popes ruled larger areas then the emperors did and did in fact rule over the kings of the earth. The Vatican has repeatedly committed spiritual fornication with the rulers of the earth. They had Alliances with Mussolini and Hitler and more recently with the CIA. They set up or took down kings during the rule of the popes. The Roman Catholic Church has murdered more Christians than it has Jews, therefore it is drunken with the blood of the saints. For these murders it remains unrepentant. They could have excommunicated Hitler when they found out about his killing of Jews but they did not. The goal of the Roman Catholic Church is to unite all mankind and their property under the Church. They are still the same church that they were when the reformation occurred yet many churches are moving to reunite with her. If the RCC sold the vast treasures that it sits on the problem of poverty could be gone. Jesus owned nothing but the clothes on his back.

[Herb Evans]

Originally Posted by Bill Jackson While I voted for the Roman Catholic Church, I agree with Michelle that it will be comprised of all religions that reject the finished work of Christ as the one perfect salvation. In our book, The Final Flock, we outline all false religions as heading toward Rome, theologically, philosophically and/or structurally. All these false churches have a common author - Satan; a common theology - DO; and a common end - ecumenism. "The Final Flock" refers to the fact that "birds of a feather flock together." John Hagee, in turning from his original stance of Rome's being the harlot church, is the latest of evangelicals compromising with Rome.

Well, there is something worse than ecumenism afloat. There is a new heresy that popishly excludes believers from the millennial kingdom and places carnal believers in hell fire for the duration of the thousand years under the guise of kingdom accountability. This doctrine is very similar to the Catholic purgatory, so probably the leaders of this very evangelical false doctrine may merge with the Roman Catholic church, which will ultimately culminate in the whore of Revelation. A woman is always associated with false doctrine. -- Herb Evans

[Zandra]

I believe it refers to the Roman Catholic Church.