A Tale of Two Cities Part 2 (Revelation 17:1-7; 16-17)

Devotional

Day 1: From Babel’s Ruins to Armageddon’s Victory

Human history pulses with a hidden war: Satan’s relentless push to rebuild Babylon’s rebellion against God. From Genesis 11’s shattered tower to Revelation’s final battle, empires rise as counterfeits of divine rule. Yet Jerusalem’s triumph at Armageddon proves no coalition of kings can outlast Christ’s coming kingdom. The bloodied valley of Jezreel foreshadows the ultimate cost of defiance—and the certainty of God’s victory. [00:43]

“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.’ […] And the angel said to me, ‘The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.’” (Revelation 17:1–2, 15, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you see Babylon’s influence—systems prioritizing human glory over God’s—taking shape today? How does Christ’s promised victory steady your heart?

Day 2: Empires Rise, Prophecies Stand

Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon crushed Jerusalem, yet Daniel prophesied its fall to Persia, then Greece, then Rome. Each empire crumbled as God’s word outlasted their stone monuments. Today, ten toes of a final coalition prepare to bow before the Antichrist—but their reign, like all others, will shatter beneath Christ’s feet. History’s script remains unchanged: thrones rise only to make way for the King. [01:25]

“And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever.” (Daniel 2:44, ESV)

Reflection: When global events feel chaotic, how does Daniel’s certainty about God’s eternal kingdom reshape your perspective on today’s headlines?

Day 3: Riding the Beast: When Religion Sells Its Soul

The harlot of false religion rides the Antichrist’s empire, her “many waters” drowning nations in idolatry. She partners with power, thinking the beast sustains her—until he devours her. Like ancient prostitutes advertising on headbands, she flaunts unity while hiding death. Her fate warns: compromise with worldly systems always ends in betrayal. [05:13]

“And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. […] This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while.” (Revelation 17:3, 9–10, ESV)

Reflection: What modern alliances between faith and cultural power tempt you to dilute truth? How can you guard against spiritual adultery?

Day 4: Plastic Crowns and Heaven’s Gold

The harlot drapes herself in purple and gold, mimicking heaven’s splendor with trinkets. Like a child’s plastic crown, her wealth dazzles briefly—until true glory arrives. Her cup overflows with abominations, yet she names herself “Babylon the Great,” blind to her coming nakedness. Earth’s finest treasures will pale before the New Jerusalem’s radiance. [19:31]

“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. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: ‘Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.’” (Revelation 17:4–5, ESV)

Reflection: What earthly substitutes for God’s glory most entice you? How does Christ’s surpassing worth free you from chasing counterfeits?

Day 5: God’s Hand in Babylon’s Demise

The Antichrist’s hatred for the harlot isn’t rebellion—it’s fulfillment. God stirs kings to destroy Babylon, proving even evil serves His plan. What Satan means for chaos, God bends toward Christ’s coronation. The battle between Babel and Jerusalem isn’t a stalemate; it’s a divine countdown to the King’s “Amen.” [25:34]

“For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.” (Revelation 17:17, ESV)

Reflection: When evil seems unchecked, how does knowing God orchestrates even its defeat deepen your trust? What broken place can you surrender to His sovereign purpose today?

Sermon Summary

Human history is read as Satan’s long attempt to rebuild Babylon. Genesis 11 launches the project at Babel with Nimrod. Nebuchadnezzar later embodies it with old Babylon. Daniel, taken into that city, announces God’s timeline. Babylon falls to Medo-Persia. Medo-Persia to Greece. Greece to Rome. And then he points to one last empire, a revived Rome, a ten-king coalition that Revelation sketches and the Antichrist rules. So the conflict begun in Genesis crests in Revelation.

John is then pulled aside in Revelation 17 for a slow-motion replay. The bowls have been poured out. Judgment thunders. But the angel says, “Come here,” and shows the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters. Chapter 17 exposes the religious system of New Babylon. Chapter 18 will expose its city. Babylon gets 11 percent of Revelation’s lines, not because heaven is unimportant, but because the church had better understand Babylon, since the fight is already on.

The harlot’s influence stretches across peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. Kings climb into bed with her. A raptured earth minus true salt and light will let sin run unrestrained and religion surge without the gospel. Her partnerships are brazen. She rides the scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns. Those seven “hills” are seven kingdoms: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and one yet to come. The harlot seems to steer the beast for a time, but the Antichrist will not share the reins for long.

Her wealth dazzles. Purple and scarlet. Gold and jewels. A golden cup full of abominations. Next to heaven’s streets and gates, her treasure is costume jewelry, pretty trinkets that fool children. Her perversion is blatant. “Babylon the great, the mother of harlots” is stamped on her forehead, the old mother of idolatries, advertising for worship that belongs to God. Her agenda is blood. She is drunk on the blood of the saints. The world talks tolerance, but it cannot tolerate the witness of Jesus.

Her end is sudden. The ten kings and the beast turn on her, strip her, devour her, burn her. The Antichrist seizes her wealth and replaces her ecumenical tent with one demand. Worship me. And over it all, God writes the script. God puts it in their hearts to fulfill his purpose until his words are fulfilled. The last showdown between the city of man and the city of God ends in Jerusalem’s victory as Christ takes David’s throne, right on time.

Key Takeaways

1. Babylon’s religion intoxicates the nations [07:34] This system sits on “many waters,” seducing peoples and rulers into spiritual adultery. Without the church’s salt and light, religion explodes while the gospel is absent. Idolatry is not neutral; it is covenant infidelity that steals love from the living God. The result is a global stupor that confuses spirituality with truth. [07:34]
2. The revived empire rides the harlot [13:49] The woman perches on a scarlet beast, which signals an alliance between false worship and state power. Early cooperation masks a power struggle, because idolatry always seeks control. The seven heads as kingdoms remind the church that history has a map and God drew it. The Antichrist will use religion until it gets in his way. [13:49]
3. The counterfeit dazzles with plastic jewels [18:49] Purple, scarlet, gold, and pearls look weighty, but her golden cup is full of abominations. Heaven will expose the shine as trinkets next to glory that outlasts time. Discernment learns to weigh value by eternity, not sparkle. The church must not confuse opulence with holiness. [18:49]
4. False worship hunts the saints [22:30] The harlot is drunk with the blood of believers. Idolatry demands sacrifices, and faithful witnesses become its target. The world’s tolerance thins when Christ’s exclusivity is named. Suffering, then, is not an accident but a predictable collision between rival loves. [22:30]
5. God steers even Babylon’s fall [24:54] God puts it into the hearts of kings to perform his purpose. Their rage, their alliances, and their betrayals fold into his script until his words stand fulfilled. Providence does not excuse evil, but it does overrule it. Hope rests not in geopolitics but in the God who keeps time and keeps promises. [24:54]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:43] - History’s road back to Babylon
[01:25] - Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel’s forecast
[02:09] - The final empire and ten kings
[02:55] - One-world religion as the glue
[05:13] - Angel’s slow-motion rewind in Revelation 17
[06:02] - Why Revelation spotlights Babylon
[07:34] - Her influence on many waters
[09:13] - Rapture vacuum and religion’s surge
[13:04] - Ecumenism and unity without truth
[13:49] - Her partnership with the beast
[16:27] - Only one empire left to come
[18:01] - Her wealth in purple and gold
[20:51] - Mother of harlots and abominations
[22:30] - Drunk with the blood of saints
[23:18] - Beast devours the one-world church
[24:54] - God’s purpose fulfilled in their plans
[26:16] - Jerusalem’s victory and the King’s throne

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- Revelation 17:1-6, 15-16 (ESV)
1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. 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. 5 And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” 6 And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus... 15 And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. 16 And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire.”

- Daniel 2:31-35 (ESV)
31 “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”

Observation questions

In Revelation 17:1-6, how is the “great prostitute” described, and what symbols are used to emphasize her influence and corruption?
According to Revelation 17:15-16, what happens to the prostitute in the end, and who turns against her?
The sermon mentions that the harlot “rides the scarlet beast” (Revelation 17:3). What does this partnership represent, and how does it eventually collapse? [13:49]
Daniel 2:31-35 describes a statue made of different metals. How does this connect to the empires mentioned in the sermon, including the final “ten-king coalition”?

Interpretation questions

Why do you think the harlot in Revelation 17 is portrayed as both wealthy (“gold, jewels, pearls”) and morally corrupt (“a cup full of abominations”)? What does this contrast reveal about false religion?
The sermon states that the Antichrist “will not share the reins for long” with the harlot. Why might a temporary alliance between false religion and political power ultimately self-destruct? [13:49]
Daniel’s prophecy (Daniel 2:44) says the stone “became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” How does this image of God’s eternal kingdom contrast with the temporary empires described in Revelation 17?
The angel tells John the prostitute is “drunk with the blood of the saints” (Revelation 17:6). Why does false religion often target true believers, even while claiming to promote spirituality? [22:30]

Application questions

The sermon warns that counterfeit worship “dazzles with plastic jewels” but lacks eternal value. What “sparkly” things in our culture (e.g., success, comfort, approval) might distract us from valuing God’s kingdom? How can we cultivate discernment? [18:49]
The harlot’s influence spans “peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.” Where do you see modern examples of ideologies or systems that claim to unify people but exclude Christ? How can believers remain “salt and light” in such environments? [07:34]
The world’s tolerance “thins when Christ’s exclusivity is named.” Have you experienced pushback for standing on biblical truth? What practical steps can help us stay faithful without compromising love? [22:30]
The sermon emphasizes that “God steers even Babylon’s fall.” How does trusting God’s sovereignty over evil systems change the way you pray about current events or personal struggles? [24:54]
The Antichrist’s empire is called the “final” one before Christ’s reign. How should the certainty of Christ’s ultimate victory shape our priorities today (e.g., relationships, time, resources)?

Sermon Clips

There is only one more empire to come. We have seen six come and go. There's only one left, the revived Roman Empire ruled by the Antichrist. We're closer than ever before, aren't we? We're living in that moment in human history when the next world empire ruled by a man will be the last to be ruled by a man. The one following that is the one ruled by the God man, our king, Jesus Christ. [00:16:43]

Human history can be viewed as the attempt by Satan to bring men back to a new Babylon after he failed in Genesis 11 to create a global political order of mankind where every empire answers to one being. once again in effect with this one world religion serving as the glue in this political empire that defies creator God. And is the world ever set for that? Now, do people ever look to the universe more than ever to the stars? Any God but the God. [00:02:42]

The rapture's taken place and the Christians are gone. Sin will be unleashed throughout the world like never before because the restraining influences of salt and light are gone. Now, we don't know how much time elapses between the rapture and the beginning of the tribulation, which begins with the peace treaty of the Antichrist with Israel. But in that lapse of time, there's no gospel. [00:08:47]

It's fascinating then to consider that from Genesis to Revelation, the purposes of God are being played out. You can bank on it. You can depend upon it. He is the author of it all. For those of us who believe in him, even our lives now, no matter what the struggle, no matter the suffering, chaos, the conflict, God's purposes for you will be fulfilled perfectly on time and ultimately. [00:25:53]

Just like Nimrod and Nebuchadnezzar of old Babylon, the king of new Babylon will demand that everybody worship before the image of his own greatness and the glory of his own empire. And and like both of them, all three will ultimately be defeated in battle. In fact, the last time a conflict occurs between Babylon and Jerusalem, it's called the battle of Armageddon. [00:03:40]

The missing people are the missionaries, both vocational and for and informal, who are testifying. They're the ones saying, "Hey, wait a second. There aren't many paths to God. There's only one. Jesus Christ is the only way there. They're gone." Now all you have is religion without any gospel. [00:11:21]

What just happened? And then it's like somebody pushes a button and everything stops. and it's rewound and started over again in slow motion. That's what happens in chapters 17 and 18. Chapter 17 and 18 are a slow motion, in fact, a rewind where we're shown the details of Babylon, New Babylon. [00:05:33]

It's prepped and ready for the final kingdom. In between Genesis and Revelation, it frankly seems like Satan is winning. As Nimrod appeared on the scene in the first book of the Bible and the Antichrist appears in the last book of the Bible, just like Nimrod and Nebuchadnezzar, the Antichrist builds a statue in his honor. [00:03:20]

Now just imagine for a moment the world without any true Christians in it. And I mean true genuine Christian. Not everybody who calls themselves a Christian. We live in a city filled with people who would say I'm a Christian. I mean genuine Christians who've come to faith and under the mastery of this one we call our Lord Jesus Christ. Well just imagine the world without any true Christians. [00:08:31]

The world is a religious place and the rapture won't slow them down at all. In fact, I think they'll only increase. There will be Protestant churches who will carry on as if nothing happened. Their staff still on planet Earth as well as most of the church members. Catholic churches will have their mass as usual. The Mormon church won't miss a service. [00:10:15]

John gives us the answer. Five have fallen, one is, and the other is not yet come. And you say, "Thanks, John. That's so helpful. I know exactly now what you mean." Well, you understand it. If you understand this metaphor is is one of hills being empires. Five have come and gone. Who are they? Well, study world history. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Meo, Persia, and Greece have come and gone. [00:15:40]

Put simply, the 10 kingdom federation and the antichrist will reach a point where they will have no need of her anymore. She served her purpose. Antichrist now unveils his image, desecrates the holy place. The one world church will be replaced. Many believe around the latter part of the tribulation period while the Antichrist will claim to be God and set himself up to be worshiped alone. [00:23:35]

Get rid of doctrine, get rid of any theology, and basically say, "Well, we'll all unite around this, whatever that may be." Well, here it comes. All it takes is for the bride of Christ to disappear and the world will in a very brief period of time without the salt and light of the gospel run together say finally we are one at last. I want you to notice secondly her partnerships. [00:13:13]

I can only speculate, but I it came to my mind that perhaps it's because we can't understand much about heaven. But we'd better understand much about Babylon because we're in a battle in our own generation against the kingdoms of this world with their philosophies and their religions and their false worship. We're in that battle today. [00:06:59]

Why? The only missing element is the salt of the earth. The genuine believer in Christ who will have been raptured. And the only religious people who by the way are are caring about the Bible. All of a sudden, the people are gone within the religious systems of the world who care about God's word. And and the only people left are people that really never cared. [00:10:49]

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