Only the fall of Jerusalem occurred within the time frame of Revelation’s prophecy (must shortly take place). Jerusalem had already been called: The great city, Sodom and Egypt (11:8 ). The division of the city into 3 parts (16:19) fits Jerusalem best (Ezekiel 5). Only Jerusalem can be described as a harlot since only Jerusalem had been in a covenant relationship with God. No city other than Jerusalem could be charged with the blood of the prophets, saints & apostles (17:6, 18:20+24). This seems to be a fulfillment of Ezekiel 16:37-41.
Jerusalem (the woman) is riding on Rome (the beast) in the vision. This is because of the unholy alliance which the Jews had formed with Rome. Thus, the reference to the seven mountains on which the woman sits (Rev. 17:9) is speaking of this alliance.
This works well in light of Rev. 17:16-18. Here we read that the beast hates the harlot, makes her desolate and naked, eats her flesh and burns her with fire… “For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose… until the words of God are fulfilled.” This makes much sense if the harlot is Jerusalem and Rome is the beast.
As usual, we don’t need the newspapers to help us indentify who is this city “Babylon”. We just need to use Scripture and let the “Bible interpret the Bible”. As a reader, we are told, in Chapter 17:7, that we are getting an explanation of this mystery.
7 But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.
I should point out that first of all John saw this as one standing in the wilderness. He was carried in the spirit to the wilderness. The last time we saw the wilderness in Revelation was in Chapter 12 where the woman who fled from the dragon was nurtured by God for 3-1/2 years. Here we see another woman in the wilderness. Not the woman of Chapter 12 who fled for safety, but we see this woman in the wilderness and she is a harlot. So, we have the woman of Chapter 12 “the bride” and the woman of Chapter 17 “the harlot”. So we have a contrast between the harlot and the Bride just as we have the contrast between Babylon and the New Jerusalem. It is clear that the harlot is Babylon and the bride is the New Jerusalem.
John sees the woman but she is riding upon the beast. The beast is somewhat familiar to us. The beast is said to have seven heads and ten horns in Rev. 17:3 and that is the description we saw of the first beast that came out of the sea in Chapter 13 and therefore is almost certainly the same beast.
Here we are told in 17 verse 3 that it was scarlet in color
“And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast ”
We are not told that about the beast in Chapter 13, but in Chapter 12 we saw that the Dragon was red in color and he also had seven heads and 10 horns. The Chapter 17 beast has all the same characteristics shared with the Dragon and we know that the Dragon was Satan, therefore the beast seems to also be Satan in disguise. Satan acting through some kind of entity that represents a state system that Satan inspires against Christianity to persecute the saints.
Now at the time that John wrote this, the paticular state system that was doing this was the Roman Empire under Nero, and for the sake of his own readers in the 1st century, John tends to identify the beast for them as Rome. And more precisely, Nero. John does this in Chapter 17:10
10 There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time.
If the seven kings refers to seven Emperors, the 1st being Julius Ceasar, the sixth, the one he says “now is” would have to be Nero. This indentifies what has to be the current manifestation of the beast’s activities as centered in Nero and the Roman Empire and the beast has all the marks of Rome - 7 heads and 7 mountains “vs. 9?. Rome was called the city with 7 hills.
Remember, the angel is saying that he is explaining this mystery. The readers were supposed to understand. So we need not read into this anything more than what history already has shown us.
Verse 18; “And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
Do we have other Scripture evidence that the “Harlot” “Babylon” is Jerusalem?
Rev. 11:8 great city - Jerusalem
Rev 17:18 great city
Rev 18:10, 18 great city
1 Peter 5:13 - Jerusalem
Isa. 1:21 How the faithful city has become a harlot!
Ezek. 16:15 …and played the harlot on them.
Hosea 2:2 Let her put away her harlotries from her sight
Conclusion:
By letting the “Bible interpret the Bible” and by using the Old Testament language to help us in identifying the harlot from Revelation - just as we use the Old Testament to identify most of the symbols of Revelation - then the harlot/Babylon would most naturally be understood to be Jerusalem who is called the harlot repeatedly.
