To find out who, or what, Babylon is symbolic of in Revelation, we will need to turn to chapters 16-19. Revelation Chapter 17 is especially important. It contains several symbolic figures. Here the focus will be on identifying "the great" whore or prostitute of Re. 17:1 who is described as sitting on many waters (If you want to identify the other symbolic figures of this chapter please first study this section on Babylon then see Appendix Six). Re. 17:5 tells us that this prostitute's name is Babylon.

In the Bible a pure woman is used as a symbol for a pure church¹ and a prostitute is used to represent the professed people of God in a fallen or apostate condition.² So we know that Babylon in Revelation Chapter 17 is very likely to be a symbol of the Christian Church in apostasy.³ But the symbol has more meaning than just this.

Re. 17:18 explains that the prostitute called Babylon is the "great city"⁴ and Re.16: 17-21 describes the punishment of "the great city" or Babylon that occurs during the seventh bowl plague.⁵ As a result of this seventh plague, Babylon is divided into three parts (Re. 16: 19). What are these three parts?

To understand what the three parts of Babylon are, we need to know that Babylon gets together with the kings of the earth to fight against Jesus and His people. The preparations for this war, and/or the battle itself, are mentioned in:

(1) Re. 16: 13-16. 
(2) Re.16: 18-21. 
(3) Re. Chapter 17 (Notice verse 14). 
(4) Re. 19: 11- Re. 20: 3

All these passages describe the same battle (known as the battle of Armageddon) that occurs in conjunction with Christ's second coming. Let us study the different participants in this battle:

Now let us look at these passages point by point:

a). Re. 16: 13-16 describes the gathering of the kings of the earth under the influence of evil spirits from three powers: dragon, beast and false prophet. They gather together for the war of the great day of God Almighty.

b). Re. 16: 18-21 tells us that in the last great battle Babylon breaks up into three parts and that the "cities of the nations" fall.

c). Re. Chapter 17 describes a scarlet beast with 7 heads and 10 horns (vs. 12, 13, cf. vs. 3.). The seven heads are described as being "seven mountains" or "seven kings" and the ten horns represent "ten kings"(vs. 9,10, 12). These kings are all under the influence of the harlot Babylon who rides the scarlet beast (vs. 1-3, 18). This confederacy makes war with the Lamb -- who overcomes them (vs. 14). So, in summary, we have Babylon and various kings (symbolised by parts of the scarlet beast) making war against God.

Putting the above three points together we have:

From the above table we can see that "Dragon, beast, false prophet" is equivalent to "Babylon". Therefore, the three parts of Babylon must be the dragon, the beast and the false prophet. This confederacy combines with the kings of the earth (also called "the cities of the nations") to war against God and then breaks into its three parts.

d). This understanding is confirmed by Re. 19: 11- Re. 20: 3. Here the break-up of the three parts of Babylon into the dragon, beast and false prophet is described in more detail. When Christ makes war with these evil powers the beast and false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire (Re. 19: 20) and the dragon is shut up in the bottomless pit (Re. 20: 3) -- thus breaking up their unholy alliance.

These Bible passages we have just studied describe a religious confederacy that controls and cooperates with a civil confederacy in warring against God and His people. The religious confederacy is represented by the impure woman and is made up of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet. The civil confederacy is described variously as the kings of the earth, the cities of the nations or the scarlet beast with 7 heads and 10 horns. The evil union between the religious and civil elements is described as fornication (Re. 17: 3; 18:3). The worldwide extent of this evil conglomerate is made clear by such passages as Re. 16:14 and 18: 3.

If you want to learn more about the identity of the scarlet beast please first study this section on Babylon then see Appendix Six. By studying Babylon is Fallen first you will save time and avoid possible major misunderstandings.

The next question, of course, is who are the dragon, the beast and the false prophet that make up Babylon? Once again, in showing how the Bible reveals the identity of these powers, I do not wish, in any way, to judge the sincerity of the people involved with them. Please remember this information is given in the Bible, by our Heavenly Father, in love and compassion (cf. Re. 3: 19; Hebrews 12: 5-11). I will call this evil alliance of the dragon, beast and false prophet "the unholy trinity".

The first member of the unholy trinity is identified in Revelation chapter 12. Please read this chapter to refresh your mind regarding its contents. The beginning of chapter 12 describes a pure woman giving birth to a son which a "great red dragon" wants to kill. But the child is caught up to God and to His throne. This male child is obviously Jesus. He is the One who was caught up to God's throne (Re. 3: 21; Mk.16: 19). He is the One who is to rule with a rod of iron (Re. 12:5 cf. Re. 19:13-16; Ps. 2: 7-9). The woman here represents God's true church. The number "12" is a symbol of the people of God (ancient Israel had 12 tribes. The Christian church had 12 apostles ⁶).

The identity of the dragon is made easy for us because in Re. 12: 9 it is clearly and unequivocally named as "that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan." So the first member of the unholy trinity is Satan himself. This is confirmed by studying again Re. 19: 11-20: 3. As mentioned previously, this passage describes the break-up of the three parts of Babylon into the dragon, beast and false prophet at the second coming of Christ. The beast and false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire (19: 20) and the dragon "that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan" is bound for a thousand years and shut up in the bottomless pit (20: 2, 3). Again the identity of the dragon part of Babylon's trinity is further confirmed by reading Re. 20: 7-10. Here it says that after the thousand years Satan is released and deceives the resurrected wicked. They then surround God and His people in a foolish attempt at war. Fire from God devours them and "the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are".

Before going on to discuss the next member of Babylon's unholy trinity it would be worthwhile to mention a few things about the dragon:

First, we should note that he is the true leader of the end-time war against God and His people. As we will mention in more detail later, Babylon's unholy trinity is actually a counterfeit of the true trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The dragon is the one who counterfeits the position of the Father.

Second, please notice that three times in Revelation chapter 12 the dragon is warring against God's people on earth, and once he is fighting in heaven. Let us study what this chapter says about the different powers Satan has or will use in his earthly wars:

1. In Re. 12: 4 the dragon is described as trying to kill the infant Christ as soon as He is born. Through which power was Satan working here? It was the Imperial or Pagan phase of Rome acting through its local leader King Herod (Mt. chapter 2).

2. In Re. 12: 13-16 we have the dragon's war against the church during the 1260-year period.⁷ Through which power was Satan working here? The answer is given in Revelation 13: 1-7. The beast that comes out of the sea reigns for the 1260-year period (vs. 5) and during this time makes war with God's people (vs. 7). The identity of this beast from the sea (the "sea-beast") will be discussed soon.

3. In Re. 12: 17 we have the dragon's war against the church at the end of time. Through which power will Satan work here? The answer is given in Revelation chapter 13 (see especially Re. 13: 11-17). One translation of Re. 13: 1 says, "Then he [the dragon] stood on the sand of the sea." It is as if the dragon is calling for reinforcements -- the beast that comes out of the sea, the beast that comes out of the earth and the associated "image to the beast". The identity of the two beasts of Revelation chapter 13 will be discussed shortly because they represent the other members of the unholy trinity of Babylon. The identity of the image to the beast is covered a little later (in the next chapter).

Revelation contains descriptions of 5 different "beasts".¹⁰  Three of these different entities are called "the beast" (see Re. 11: 7; 13: 2; 17: 3-7). However we can see clearly which beast is referred to as part of the unholy trinity when we realise that Revelation chapters 12 and 13 describe, in sequence, the three members of this unholy alliance. Chapter 12 describes the dragon and chapter 13 the beast and the false prophet. Comparing Re. 19: 19, 20 (which, as we have mentioned, is describing the break-up of the unholy trinity) with chapter 13 (esp. Re. 13:11-14) confirms the identity of both the beast and the false prophet. The beast arising out of the sea (I will call this the sea-beast) in Re.13:1 is "the beast" of the unholy trinity. The second beast of chapter 13 which arises out of the land (I will call this the land-beast) is the false prophet. This false prophet works the miracles on behalf of the sea-beast in order to deceive the people of the world (Re.13:14; 19:20).

Who is this sea-beast of Revelation chapter 13? The identity of this beast should be clearly seen when its characteristics are listed. From Re. 13: 1-10 we get the following:

a). It arises out of the sea. Waters represent "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (Re. 17:15). So this power arises out of a populated area of the earth.

b). It has elements of all four of the beasts of Daniel chapter 7 (Re. 13: 1,2). It has the ten horns of the fourth beast of Daniel 7, the body of the third beast of Daniel 7, the feet of the second beast, and a mouth like the first beast. The sea-beast also has seven heads and if we add up all the heads of the animals described in Daniel chapter 7 they likewise come to a total of seven. Remember that the four beasts of Daniel 7 represented, in order, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. So this sea-beast in Revelation has characteristics of these four empires.¹¹

c). The dragon gives it his power and throne and great authority (Re. 13:2). This obviously must mean that Satan is the power and authority behind this sea-beast. But there is more. As noted above, the first power Satan used in Revelation Chapter 12 to fight against God's cause on earth was Imperial Rome. The second power used was the sea-beast -- who does the persecuting during the 1260 years.¹²   This suggests that as the 1260 years was about to begin the dragon gave the throne and authority of his Imperial Roman power to the sea-beast who was to be his next instrument. So this sea-beast takes over after Imperial Rome, and (as we can see from point "b" above) inherits characteristics of the four previous empires.

d). This beast receives a fatal wound but rises again, as it were, from the dead (Re. 13: 3,14). Two things are noteworthy here. First, this power reigns for a time, then appears to die but rises again to prominence later. Secondly, it is a counterfeit of Jesus Christ. This can be seen from this counterfeit death and resurrection as well as from the following other characteristics: It has a ministry, like Jesus, of 3 1/2 years (Re. 13: 5). It receives authority (cf. Jn. 5: 26, 27; Jn. 17:2) from a father figure (the dragon). It is promoted by the land-beast who performs miracles to authenticate it (Re.13:12-14). This contrasts with the Holy Spirit who glorifies Christ and works miracles for Him (Jn. 16: 13, 14; Mt. 12: 28). Clearly the "unholy trinity" is a counterfeit of the true trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The next point (e) discusses two further counterfeits of Christ that this sea-beast has. ¹³

e). It blasphemes God. Let's look at what the Bible says about blasphemy. Jesus was sometimes falsely accused of committing blasphemy. On one occasion (Mk. 2:1-12) a paralysed man was brought to Him for healing. This man not only needed physical healing but also relief from overwhelming guilt. Maybe the guilt had caused his illness. As Jesus compassionately looked upon him He realised his major need was the guilt and therefore addressed this problem first saying, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." The man was relieved, but some of the Jewish leaders who were standing by accused Jesus of committing blasphemy because He said that He had the right to forgive sins. Of course this was a false charge because Jesus, being God, and man's Saviour, has every right to (and wants to) forgive people for their sins and restore them to a right relationship with Himself. However, for anyone other than God to claim to be able to forgive sins is blasphemy. If you have a problem with sin and guilt please come to God, through Jesus Christ, in prayer asking Him humbly to forgive you and restore you to Himself (Heb. 7: 25; 4:14-16; Mt. 6:9-12; 1Jn.1:9). But please do not go to anybody else who claims to provide relief from sin.¹⁴ On another occasion (Jn. 10: 30-33) Jesus said "I and My Father are one." The Jews accused Him of blasphemy saying "Thou, being a man, makest Thyself God." Once again, it was perfectly correct for Jesus to claim to be God, but the Jews misunderstood Jesus and His mission. For anybody else to claim the titles of God would, of course, be blasphemy.

So, in identifying this sea-beast in Revelation chapter 13, we need to look for a power whose agents use the titles of God for themselves (cf. 2Th. 2: 3,4) and claim to provide relief from sin. Blasphemy may also include other areas of contempt for God's truth. In Re. 13:6 we are told specifically that this power opens its mouth to blaspheme God's name, His tabernacle (sanctuary or dwelling place), and those who dwell in heaven.

f). The sea-beast has a period of rule of 42 months (Re.13: 5).¹⁵  This is a period of 1260 days or 3 1/2 years (in prophetic time a month is 30 days and a year 360 days).¹⁶  We need to apply the prophetic day-for-a-year principal here (see Appendix Two- The day-for-a-year principle). By doing this we can see that this power has a period of rule of 1260 years.

g). It persecutes God's true people (Re. 13:7).

h). It is worldwide in its extent (vs. 7).

i). It receives worship (vs. 8) i.e.. it is, at least partly, a religious power.

j). It has a special mark which is enforced at the end of time (verse 16, 17).

If we compare these identifying characteristics with those of the horn with eyes and a mouth of Daniel chapter 7 we will realise that they are referring to the same power, the Papacy. As noted previously, the description of the sea-beast in Re.13: 1,2 points directly to Daniel chapter 7 (the sea-beast is made up of parts of all four beasts of Daniel 7 and, like them, comes up out of the ocean). Please notice the following similarities between the sea-beast and the horn with eyes and a mouth:

i). Both follow immediately after Imperial Rome.

ii). Both have a reign of 1260 years.

iii). Both persecute God's true people. Please see Appendix Four for further detail.

iv). Both have a mouth speaking great things against God. Please see Appendix Four for further detail.

v). Both continue until the time when Christ's eternal kingdom takes over, at which time they are destroyed by fire (Dan. 7: 11, 21, 22, 26, 27; Re. 19: 11-20).

vi). The horn with eyes and a mouth has the "eyes of a man" (Dan. 7: 8) while the sea-beast has the "number of a man" (Re. 13: 18).

vii). Also, as will be discussed later, the sea-beast, like the horn with eyes and a mouth of Daniel 7, attacks the fourth (Sabbath) commandment of the Ten Commandments.

This sea-beast also has parallel characteristics with the exceedingly great horn of Daniel chapter 8:

i). The sea-beast receives its kingdom from Imperial Rome. Likewise, the vertical phase of the exceedingly great horn, representing the Papacy, comes immediately after Imperial Rome.

ii). Both have kingdoms of great extent (Dan. 8: 9,10; Re. 13: 7).

iii). The exceedingly great horn grows up to the host of heaven and casts down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground while the sea-beast blasphemes those who dwell in heaven (Dan. 8: 10; Re. 13: 6).

iv). The exceedingly great horn casts down the place of God's sanctuary while the sea-beast blasphemes God's tabernacle (Dan. 8: 11, 13; Re. 13: 6).

v). Both persecute God's people (Dan. 8: 24; Re. 13:7).

vi) Both have a problem with pride (Dan. 8: 25; Re. 13:4-6,8).

Now we need to identify the third character in the unholy trinity of Babylon. As demonstrated previously (under the identification of "The Beast") the "false prophet" is the land-beast of Revelation chapter 13 (Re. 19: 19, 20 cf. Re. 13: 11-14). Let us look at its identifying characteristics: 

a). As noted in point (d) above, under the description of the sea-beast's characteristics, the land-beast is a counterfeit of the Holy Spirit and even brings fire down from heaven like the Holy Spirit did at Pentecost (Re. 13: 13; Acts 2: 1-4). This indicates that this power, whatever it is, is associated with a false revival in which counterfeit miracles are performed. These may well be real supernatural miracles. But they are not done by the Holy Spirit, but by the power of the evil one (cf. 2Th. 2: 9,10; Ex. 7: 10-12, 20-22; Ex.8: 5-7).

b). It comes up out of the earth (Re.13:11). We have noted previously  that waters symbolise "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (Re. 17: 15). Therefore, for this beast to come up out of the earth must mean that it arises in a relatively unpopulated area.

c). It is first described as having two horns like a lamb (Re.13:11). The word "lamb" is used 27 times in Revelation. It always refers to Christ except for this one exception in Re.13:11. Although the land-beast speaks like a dragon, the symbol of a lamb plainly indicates that this power, at least initially, has some benevolent characteristics. It is founded on some genuinely Christian principles.

The "earth" (out of which this beast comes) is also associated with benevolence in Revelation -- in Re.12: 16. In this verse the earth is described as helping the church (the woman ¹⁷) by swallowing up a flood of water. The dragon spewed this water out of its mouth to carry her away. 

Notice that the church was in the wilderness when the dragon tried this method of attack (Re.12:14). She was in the wilderness during the 1260-year period (verse 6 and 14). When was this 1260-year period? It was the period when the papal power described in chapter 13 had its long reign¹⁸ during which it persecuted God's true church.¹⁹  It caused the true church to hide in mountainous or wilderness areas of the earth.²⁰ The papal power was established in its rule in 538 AD when the last of the three horns (nations) which it rooted up was subdued.²¹  From 538 AD the period of 1260 years takes us to 1798 AD. It was in 1798 that the Papacy received an apparently fatal wound when Napoleon's general took captive the pope and sent him into exile where he died. Toward the end of this 1260-year period of persecution there is one land that stands out in particular as providing a haven for persecuted Christians; a place where the earth provided protection from the persecuting flood of the dragon – the land that we now call the United States of America. It was in 1620 when the ship Mayflower took the first "pilgrims" to New England to plant a colony.  

d). The USA was the power that was being formed at the very time when the Papacy was about to receive its deadly blow.  Re. 13:10 says "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword." It was in 1798 that the Papacy went into captivity -- the Pope was taken captive to France, no replacement Pope was put in place and a republic was proclaimed. It was in 1798 that the sea-beast "had the wound by a sword" (Re.13:14). After the verse describing the Papacy's captivity and wound (Re. 13:10) we have the words "I beheld another beast [the USA] coming up out of the earth" (Re. 13:11). Consider the history of the USA as it comes up from relative obscurity to a place of prominence, as its people build up a powerful nation from the sparsely populated lands of the West:

1776, Declaration of Independence.
1781, Articles of Confederation.
1787, The Constitution of the USA.
1789, Bill of Rights passed.
1791, Bill of Rights ratified.
1798, The Virginia Resolution, James Madison.
1799, The Kentucky Resolution, Thomas Jefferson.

Protestant USA was founded on Christian principles -- it started with some characteristics of the Lamb. But a change is to come. It has already spoken as a dragon at times, for example, in its support of slavery. And Revelation chapter 13 indicates it will especially speak like a dragon as the second coming of Christ approaches. 

It is the religious side of the USA, fallen Protestantism, that comes into prominence in the land-beast's role as a counterfeit of the Holy Spirit and as a part of Babylon. The civil element comes more into focus during the formation of the "image to the beast" in Revelation chapter 13 (see If any man worship the beast and his image..), and in the role of the scarlet beast of Revelation chapter 17(see Appendix Six- More on Revelation Chapter 17).

1 ¶ And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
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.
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.
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.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

How does Revelation chapter 18 describe Babylon?

a). She has become a habitation of demons (vs. 2). This is to be expected, since the dragon (Satan) is controlling her. Notice how Re. 16: 13,14 portrays the work of demons (unclean spirits) coming out of the three members of the unholy trinity to deceive the civil powers of the whole earth into supporting their war against God. These verses in Chapter 16 outline the infiltration of spiritualistic elements and false miracles into the churches of Catholicism and Protestantism. Has it not been clearly fulfilled?²² Also, the many non-Christian religions that have been engineered by the dragon are under the influence of these evil spirits and will no doubt unite with the other elements of Babylon to war against God in the end-time crisis. 

b). All the nations have drunk the wine of her fornication (vs. 3). Re. 17: 2 tells us that the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk by this wine. In the parable Jesus uses in Lk. 5: 37-39 wine is a symbol of doctrine or teaching. He likens the traditions of the Pharisees to old vintage wine that is hard to give up in place of new wine. From this we can see that the wine of Babylon must be her false teachings which confuse or intoxicate the inhabitants of the earth. ²³   We need to each ask ourselves, "Am I cherishing the falsehoods of Babylon?" "Have her false doctrines intoxicated me?" We need Jesus help in understanding our true condition and in turning from any false beliefs. We can be so easily self-deceived because, as the Bible says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Je. 17:9). Let our prayer be, "Dear Jesus please help me to see myself as I really am and to love the truth no matter what the cost. Please give me the understanding and strength to forsake any falsehoods in my life and to embrace your truth." Praying this prayer sincerely can cost you something. It can cost you your job, your friends, your family's support or even your life. But you will have peace and joy in the Lord and will be ready for His soon return.

c). She commits fornication with the kings of the earth (Re.18:3). This points to an illicit union of the church with the state.

d). Her sins have reached to heaven (Re.18:5). Sin involves the breaking of God's law (1Jn. 3: 4). Therefore, Babylon treads down God's law.

e). The merchants of the earth have been made rich through her (Re.18:11-19). Why do the merchants get rich at the end of every year? (And why do so many people get stressed out or in debt?) ²⁴

f). She persecutes God's people. More than that, in her is found the blood of all that were slain on the earth (Re.18:24). This is true if we think about the various characters composing Babylon -- in particular the dragon, of which a key identification is Satan himself.

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. 

Here is God's call to His sincere people who are members of the fallen religions of Babylon. He pleads with them to come out and renounce these organisations and their falsehoods. He is about to judge the fallen religions that make up Babylon (the dragon, the beast and the false prophet²⁵). Let us each ask ourselves, "Do I need to come out of a fallen Christian church? Do I need to come out of a non-Christian religion that is controlled by the dragon? Do I have the falsehoods of Babylon hidden deep in my heart?"  The Bible says that those who do not come out of Babylon will be "partakers of her sins" and will "receive…of her plagues". If you receive these plagues your health will be completely destroyed (see Revelation chapter 16). Do you need to come out into the light of God's truth, to come out into the truths revealed in the messages of the three angels of Revelation chapter 14? Christ invites you; His arms are open to receive you. You can rejoice in the true gospel. You can reverence God and give glory to Him - worshipping Him as the Creator by keeping holy His seventh-day Sabbath. This can be the best health decision you have ever made.

Footnotes