Prophetic Symbols

One of the best methods to understand the meaning of a symbol in Bible prophecy is to simply write out all of its attributes. Once you write out all the attributes, you may be able to ascertain a timeframe, a geographical location, and other criteria that will lead you to a proper interpretation. Let’s see if you can determine her attributes:

The Woman’s Attributes (Revelation 17)

• This woman is called what a “great whore.” (Vs. 1)
• The wine she serves determines she is a spiritual prostitute. (Vs. 2)
• She sat upon many waters. (Vs. 2)
• The kings of the earth followed her (Vs. 2)
• The Beast she sat upon had the same characteristics as the beast found in Revelation 13. (Vs. 7)
• The Beast she sat upon was colored red. (Vs. 3)
• The colors of her attire were purple and red. (vs. 4) 
• According to the name on her forehead, she is associated with Babylon. (Vs. 5)
• She contained the blood of martyrs and saints. (Vs. 6)

Now that we have her attributes, let’s use this data to help us identify this woman who rode the beast:

According to 2 Corinthians 11:2 and Jeremiah 6:2, a woman represents God’s Church. However, we see that this woman is a whore, revealing that we are dealing with a false Church with false doctrines.

The name on her forehead reveals that this church was associated with the mystery religions.

She also was a universal Church as she sat upon many nations and had many kings follow her teachings.

According to Exodus 26:1, God’s colors were blue, purple, and red. However, this Church was missing the blue, which according to Numbers 15:39-40 represents a remembrance of God’s commandments. Thus we see a Church that not only forgot God’s commandments, but led the Christian world into this same belief system.  

She sat upon the same Beast that is described in Revelation 13:1. This Beast did not rise until 538 AD, after the fall of Pagan Rome. This reveals that this Church ruled Rome under its Papal phase.

Her Identity Revealed

Looking at the characteristics of this church, we should be able to see that she has all the attributes of the Roman Catholic Church. This Church accepted many Pagan traditions, it ruled Church and State and controlled the people of many European nations. Kings submitted to her teachings. She taught against the Sabbath and sanctioned bowing to images. And for the Christians who refused to acknowledge its supremacy, she had them killed.

The Woman’s Identity in the Last Days

Many erroneously believe that the Papacy will be revived to rule the nations as it did in the Dark Ages. They believe the Pope will sit on a throne or desk and the nations will submit to the authority of the Papal chair. However, once we understand the Church’s identity in the last days, we should understand that this system will look vastly different from the Catholicism of the Middle Ages.