Revelation Chapters 17 to 19: Who is Babylon the Great?

Introduction

Revelation 17–19 presents one of the most vivid and climactic portrayals of divine judgment in Scripture. These chapters describe the fall of “Babylon the Great,” the judgment of the beast and false prophet, and the triumphant vindication of God’s people. While futurist interpreters typically project these events into a distant eschatological future, the Former Adventists Philippines, following partial preterist interpretation, understand these passages as describing the first-century judgment of apostate Jerusalem and its leadership, culminating in the city’s destruction in AD 70. This reading rests upon a careful examination of Revelation’s internal symbolism, prophetic language, and Old Testament allusions.

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Identifying Babylon as Jerusalem

A central claim of the Former Adventists Philippines is that “Babylon the Great” in Revelation 17 is symbolic of first-century apostate Jerusalem, not Rome. Revelation 17:5 describes Babylon as “the mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations,” echoing the prophetic language of Ezekiel 16 and 23, where Jerusalem is labeled a harlot for covenant unfaithfulness.¹ Further, Revelation 17:6 depicts Babylon as “drunk with the blood of the saints,” a characterization Jesus applies to Jerusalem in Matthew 23:34-37, warning that “upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth.”²

The symbolism in Revelation 17:9, where the woman sits on “seven mountains,” is often linked to Rome, but this refers to the complete and expansive nature of Jerusalem’s spiritual influence and apostasy within the biblical world, not merely Rome’s geography.³ Additionally, Revelation 11:8 identifies “the great city” as the place “where their Lord was crucified”—clearly Jerusalem. By keeping interpretive consistency, Babylon in chapters 17–18 is best understood as Jerusalem in covenant rebellion.

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The Beast and Its Alliance with Apostate Israel

Revelation 17:3 presents Babylon as riding upon a scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns. The Former Adventists Philippines interpret this beast as symbolic of the Roman Empire, with which apostate Jerusalem allied itself during the first century. The Jewish authorities’ collaboration with Rome—seen vividly in John 19:15 when they declared, “We have no king but Caesar”—fulfilled this prophetic alliance.⁴

The beast’s ten horns (Rev. 17:12-13) represent client kings and local authorities in league with Rome, who turned against Jerusalem during the Jewish War. Revelation 17:16 prophesies that these allies “will hate the prostitute… and burn her with fire,” a direct anticipation of Jerusalem’s fiery destruction by Roman forces in AD 70.⁵ This fulfills Old Testament judgments on harlot cities like Tyre and Nineveh (Ezek. 26:4-14; Nah. 3:5-7), now applied to covenant-breaking Jerusalem.

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The Fall of Babylon and Vindication of the Saints

Revelation 18 dramatically portrays Babylon’s fall, lamented by kings and merchants who profited from her corruption (Rev. 18:9-20). The Former Adventists Philippines view these laments as reflective of the economic and religious ties between Jerusalem’s elite and the broader Mediterranean world.  Jerusalem in the first century had become a wealthy, cosmopolitan city, gaining wealth through its religious status and collaboration with Rome.⁶

The repeated phrase “in one hour your judgment has come” (Rev. 18:10, 17, 19) signifies the swift and decisive fall of Jerusalem during the Roman siege. The call in Revelation 18:4 for God’s people to “come out of her” echoes Jesus’ warning in Luke 21:20-22 for believers to flee the city before its destruction. The rejoicing in Revelation 19:1-8 marks the vindication of the saints, especially the martyrs of the Neronian persecution and Jewish hostility (cf. Rev. 6:9-11), fulfilled as Babylon falls.

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The Defeat of the Beast and the False Prophet

Revelation 19:11-21 depicts Christ riding a white horse, executing judgment against the beast and the false prophet. The Former Adventists Philippines hold that this vision represents the covenantal coming of Christ in judgment upon apostate Israel and Rome’s persecutors, not a future second coming. This imagery parallels the Old Testament divine warrior motifs (Isa. 63:1-6) applied to God’s historical judgments against nations.⁷

The beast (Rome) and the false prophet (apostate Jewish leadership or religious collaborators) are defeated, signaling the end of Jerusalem’s rebellion and the demise of imperial persecution. The birds’ feasting on corpses (Rev. 19:17-18) fulfills Jesus’ warning in Matthew 24:28: “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather,” referencing the horrors of Jerusalem’s fall.

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Conclusion

In sum, the Former Adventists Philippines, grounded in Partial Preterist interpretation, affirm that Revelation 17–19 prophesies the first-century judgment of apostate Jerusalem (“Babylon the Great”) and its alliance with imperial Rome. This view is supported by internal evidence, Old Testament parallels, and historical fulfillment in AD 70. The vivid apocalyptic imagery portrays both the justice of God in avenging the blood of His saints and the inauguration of a new covenant order. Far from awaiting distant future fulfillment, these prophecies testified to the imminent end of the Old Covenant system and the vindication of the faithful church in history.

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Endnotes

1. David Chilton, The Days of Vengeance: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation (Tyler, TX: Dominion Press, 1987), 430–434.

2. Matthew 23:34-37, ESV.

3. Kenneth Gentry, Before Jerusalem Fell: Dating the Book of Revelation (Atlanta: American Vision, 1998), 259–261.

4. Milton S. Terry, Biblical Hermeneutics: A Treatise on the Interpretation of the Old and New Testaments (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986 [1890]), 475–477.

5. Revelation 17:16, ESV.

6. Chilton, Days of Vengeance, 458–461.

7. Douglas Wilson, Heaven Misplaced: Christ’s Kingdom on Earth (Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 2008), 166–169.
   
   
   

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