Who or What Is "mystery Babylon" in Revelation 17?
1) Direct Answer
Mystery Babylon is the great end-time apostate church system—a religious city that rules the nations, joins with political power, and mothers other churches after her kind. It is an unfaithful “woman,” a system of worship that mixes the things of God with the world.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- It is a woman—an unfaithful church: in prophecy a woman types a church (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:25-27). Here she is a harlot, meaning spiritual fornication—uniting with the world and idols (Revelation 17:1-2; Jeremiah 3:1-9).
- She sits on many waters—global reach: “The waters… are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues” (Revelation 17:1,15).
- She is a mother system: “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS…” (Revelation 17:5). She has daughters—other churches that take her ways.
- She is rich, ceremonial, and intoxicating: “arrayed in purple and scarlet… decked with gold… having a golden cup… full of abominations” (Revelation 17:4). Her “wine” makes the nations drunk (Revelation 18:3).
- She persecutes the true saints: “drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Revelation 17:6).
- She is a ruling city on seven mountains: “The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth” and “that woman… is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth” (Revelation 17:9,18).
- She rides the beast—church controlling state power—until the horns turn and destroy her (Revelation 17:3,16-17).
- God calls His people out: “Come out of her, my people” (Revelation 18:4).
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- A pure woman portrays the Bride of Christ; a harlot portrays a fallen church. So this is not merely a nation; it is a religious system.
- She is centered in a specific great city known for seven mountains and worldwide influence over kings and peoples—so it’s a church-political power, not just a local congregation.
- She is a “mother,” so her daughters are other systems patterned after her—sharing her mixture of tradition with the world.
- The name “Babylon” reaches back to Babel—confusion and man-made religion (Genesis 11). “Mystery Babylon” is that same spirit in its religious form at the end: organized worship mixed with politics, wealth, and idolatry, drawing power from the beast and intoxicating the nations.
- The final word from Heaven is separation: leave the mixture and cleave to the Word, because her judgment comes suddenly (Revelation 18:8-10).
4) Reinforcing Statement
Now notice, the Bible paints it plainly: a mother church-system, ruling from a great city, riding worldly power, rich, ceremonial, persecuting the saints, and spawning daughters after her order. The call of God is simple—come out to the pure Word of Jesus Christ before her plagues fall.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Is this the sign of the end sir?
62-1230E §108
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Seals 9: Questions and Answers on the Seals
63-0324M §169
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Revelation, Book of symbols
56-0617 §35
Then Daniel, closing, at the last he seen an Angel come down, put one foot on the land and one on the sea, a rainbow over His head, He raised up His hands, and swore by Him that lives forever and ever, that "time shall be no more," at the finishing of that time that he'd told him. In other words, this, the body of time that we're living in now, from the time at coming of the Prince until this day. And said, "At that time, the mystery of God should be finished." And the world's groaning, waiting today. People don't...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 5:E-125
What with the Nicolaitane doctrine and the amalgamation of Christianity with Babylonianism the net results had to be what Ezekiel saw in Chapter 8:10, "So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall around." Revelation 18:2, "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 un...
Questions and Answers, part 1
54-0103M §34
And notice, I could state something here that would shock, but if it is... Listen, now. Watch how Babylon ... what taken place in Babylon, when the force was brought on to the true worshippers. Remember, just a little handful, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and Daniel, of the true worshippers that went down into captivity, when God called them to really show their colors, what they were. They were forced into worship of an idol. Is that right? Idolatry! They were forced into worship an idol, and they had to bow...