Whore Of Babylon

Whore of Babylon by William Blake.

The Whore of Babylon is a symbolic figure of evil described in Revelation. Revelation describes her as, "Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations."^[1]

Bible scholars have various theories concerning what the whore represents. In ancient times, Tertullian suggested that Babylon was a stand-in for pagan Rome.^[2] Like Babylon of Revelation, Rome ruled over the kings of the earth,^[3] sat on seven mountains,^[4] was the center of the world's merchandise,^[5] corrupted nations,^[6] and was a persecutor of saints.^[7] If Babylon does represent Rome, it follows that the beast represents Emperor Nero and that the whore represents the Jews, who John accuses of collaborating with the Roman authorities against Christians.^[8]

Historically, Protestant commentators emphasized parallels between the Whore and the papacy. The Geneva Bible (1540) connects the papacy to the Whore by portraying it as a continuation of imperial Rome: "A scarlet color, that is, with a red and purple garment: and surely it was not without cause that the Romish clergy were so much delighted with this color."^[9] There is also, "That harlot, the spiritual Babylon, which is Rome."^[10] In his 1706 Bible commentary, Matthew Henry identified those who followed the whore with those that "have been bewitched and enslaved by the papacy."^[11] This view has waned in recent years due to increased cooperation between Protestants and Catholics (though the cooperation is mainly on social issues such as abortion); however, it is still the prevalent view within fundamentalism especially within Independent Baptist churches.

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