God picked the right symbol.
Revelation 17:1-5 introduces a woman, the “great harlot,” who “sits on many waters,” and rides a “scarlet beast.” This woman is one of many contrasting pairs found in Revelation. Her counterpart is the pure woman, clothed with the sun, of Revelation 12. Both women in Revelation are named cities—the harlot is Babylon, and the bride is “the holy city, Jerusalem.” Both have gold, precious stones, and pearls. One is clothed with the sun, the other with scarlet and purple. Proverbs 8 helps us to identify the bride—she is the personification of wisdom, knowledge, truth, justice and 8 other attributes. These 12 attributes of the woman are also the foundational principles of God’s government. They show up in Revelation 21, as the twelve foundation stones of the holy city, New Jerusalem. Several of the stones can be discovered to represent those very attributes. The remaining ones, we can assume, represent the balance of those attributes.
On the other hand, we are warned to stay away from the “harlot” in Proverbs 7. Spiritually, she represents the lure of false doctrines that stem from ancient Babylon and have found there way through history to many religious organizations of today. There is something attractive about false teachings—they are usually based on what we would like to be so.
The woman who rides the beast takes the mind of the reader back to the ancient goddess who shows up in just about every culture and religion of the world. Her origin can be found in ancient Babylon, specifically with the wife of Nimrod—Semiramis. Because of the scattering at the tower of Babel, the myths of ancient Babylon found their way around the globe. The ancient goddess showed up everywhere with new names.
Some accompanying symbols are found frequently with the ancient goddess in her various forms. The lion she rides or accompanies her is the first and foremost. The moon, the sea, and the serpent are three more symbols important to her. It is interesting that in Revelation 17, the woman rides a red beast. The red beast has seven heads and ten horns just as the great red dragon of Revelation 12, which is called the devil, “that serpent of old.” In Revelation 17, she sits on “many waters,” again using another of her ancient symbols. Her counterpart, the pure woman of Revelation 12, stands on the moon— one of the most frequently used accompanying symbols of the ancient goddess. Could it be that the pure woman, clothed with the sun (truth), stands on, or subdues and suppresses error, represented by the moon, a symbol taken from the harlot who represents falsehood? Clothed with truth and suppressing error sounds fitting for the woman, the bride of Revelation.
Below is a caricature of Ishtar. Notice all of the accompanying symbols.
This harlot is said to have many daughters. The many false religions of the world find their common origin in the myths of ancient Babylon before God scattered them at the time of Babel. Altogether, the mother and her daughters make up Satan’s entire arsenal of falsehood that has captivated the masses and “made them drunk” through the centuries. God could not have chosen a more accurate symbol to represent the domain of Satan.
Until next time,
Dennis
dennispumford.com
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