Revelation 17:1-6 – Power Is Seductive

This passage is nothing new. Or, to word it better, it’s a closer look at what’s already been introduced in 14:8 and 16:19. Babylon, the great city, is destroyed. We need to remember that this is not the literal city of Babylon. Even though that city was still in existence at the time that John had his vision, it had nowhere near the political, economic, and military importance that it had in centuries past. But Babylon had become a symbol for the hubris and oppression that comes from overreaching human power. It was a power, and represented other powers, that dominated and oppressed. In particular, “Babylons” persecute believers. But they also put a price on everyone and everything, and destroy lives in the process. In John’s day, “Babylon” was the Roman Empire. I Peter 5:13, for example, uses the name “Babylon” to refer to Rome.

John’s description of Babylon relies upon other themes, from the Old Testament, that describe evil political power that attacks the people of God. We’ve already seen multiple references to Moses and the plagues of Egypt, particularly in Chapter 16. Here, we also see some of the images of Jezebel, King Ahab’s foreign queen who promoted paganism and repressed worship of the Lord in Israel.

John is taken to the desert, normally a place of security, where he sees the woman on a beast. Don’t confuse this woman in the desert for the one of 12:6, 14, who represents the people God! She has world-wide influence (sitting on the many waters, and intoxicating the kings and inhabitants of the earth). The two strongest images about this woman are drunkenness and prostitution or adultery. Of the two, the second is the strongest of all.

Anyone from the first century would have recognized all sorts of images related to Rome that are attached to this woman and the beast upon which she sits. The blasphemous names are the emperor’s claims of divinity. The seven heads are either (or both) the seven hills of Rome or the emperors. The ten horns would be the local officials who did the Romans’ bidding. Even the name on the woman’s forehead is a connection with Rome; Roman prostitutes wrote their names on their foreheads (perhaps a creative form of advertising).

But we miss the point if we recognize the woman on the beast simply as an imaginative way to represent the Roman Empire. Rome was simply an example in John’s time of the prostitute’s influence in the world all the time. It was there for the original Babylon, and for every generation from John’s day to ours. And it will still be there until the end of history, when God will destroy it forever. This passage, however, doesn’t describe the punishment and destruction of the “Whore of Babylon,” as she’s often called. First, we need to understand that it is, and how it affects our lives.

The woman is power. And power can be a dangerous thing. Lord Acton put it famously: “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Presbyterians recognize the danger of power, and so our form of government is set up in a way that ensures that no single person ever has very much power. And those who do have authority and power only have it for a limited period of time. Lord Acton and the Presbyterians recognize the danger of this woman. Power is seductive and addictive. It lures you in, and once you’re in its grips, its all but impossible to break out.

Describing the seductive nature of power as a prostitute is consistent with a theme that is prevalent in the Old Testament. Prostitution was a common theme to condemn pagan religions, for two reasons. First, many of these religions were fertility cults that focused upon the birth of many healthy babies and upon successful harvests. As part of their rituals, some of these religions would have shrine prostitutes, with whom worshipers would, well, relate as a symbolic action of fertility. Others would promote “group activity” to celebrate fertility. It wasn’t much of a leap for the prophets to identify pagan religions with sexual promiscuity. But there was a second, perhaps more profound, reason why idol worship was described as illicit sex: whether it was prostitution or adultery. God had call his people to be faithful to him, and to him alone. The relationship between God and his people is compared to that of a husband and wife. Hosea lived out this metaphor in a powerful and probably heartbreaking way. It continues in the New Testament; Paul’s description of the marriage ideal in Ephesians 5 is directly related to the church’s relationship with Christ. And as we go on in Revelation, we’ll see the church portrayed as a bride. Any time a believer steps out on God and puts their hope and trust in someone or something else, or allows someone or something else to become the most important thing in their lives, it’s like committing adultery. And if we go from one thing to another, seeking fulfillment in all the wrong places, we’re like a prostitute with many partners.

The main issue of the prostitute of Babylon in Revelation 17 isn’t sexual sin, although that can certainly be a feature of the problem. The prostitute symbolizes power. The close association of the prostitute with the Roman Empire, the most powerful force in John’s time, makes this clear. All the powerful people of the earth want her: they want power and influence

And it fits everyday life well. It’s practically second nature for people to want influence, control, and power. We want to be in charge. That doesn’t mean that we all want to be up front, telling everyone what to do and having them follow our orders. Some of us would rather have a quieter, more background power. But we still want people to do it our way. In our church, for example, who has more power: the fund-raising committee that promotes an activity and asks for everyone’s help, or the people who sit back quietly and grumbles to other people that they don’t like the activities or think that we’re having too many of them? They are both quests for control and influence. We want people to do things our way. And we get the credit and praise for it, we’re not going to complain about it!

We all seek power in certain ways. Some of them are obvious and direct, and others are more subtle and quiet. Here’s just a few examples:
• force: military might, or the bully on the playground
• money: everything has a price, and with money you can get what you want and avoid what you don’t.
• knowledge: education opens doors for you, and equips you to use people, ideas, and materials to advance your goals
• personal charm: if you can win people over with a smile and a well-placed word, you can get them to do what you want, and maybe not even realize it. Taken to the extreme, this can even include seductive “charm” that’s similar to the woman of this passage. Many women know how to turn on their charm and turn men into babbling fools who will do whatever she wants.
• relationships: people who have influential friends and relatives can call upon them to help their plans succeed. And if you don’t have any of them, but if you have a lot of “regular” people that will be there for you, you’ve got the ability to make things happen.
These are just a few examples, but you probably get the point.

We seek power because it promises all sorts of good things that come our way. The woman of this passage is draped in all the trappings of luxury: expensive fabric, gold and precious jewels, and intoxicating drink that just pulls you into it more and more. We want power because it offers us the things that, we think, make for a good and happy life. Ultimately, however, they are disappointing, cheap, gawdy, and ultimately enslaving, especially when compared to the heavenly vision we’ve already seen. Who would want to trade the majesty and glory of heaven for the Vegas showgirl gaudiness of this woman? Well, we would if we lose sight of what true beauty and blessing really looks like. The allure of power isn’t necessarily financial or material prosperity. You may want power in order for people to think more highly of you or to achieve your goals. Ultimately, however, power is its own promise. We want power not just for what it can give us, but because it, in itself, is seductive. It plays up to the inherent selfishness and pride that marks our fallen human nature.

It’s easy for us to get sucked into the quest for power in our lives. It is seductive and addictive. We can let our lives begin to revolve around the things that we think we have power over, or will give us more power. Sometimes, we will do it at any price. We become like the person who is caught up in an affair and is so hypnotized by it that he or she can’t see the damage that it is causing themselves and other people. This description and warning about the nature of power, and how seductive it can be, is a splash of cold water on the face to break its grip on us. The struggle of faith is to escape the temptations of power, to realize the doom of those who chase after it, and to dedicate ourselves to the One with true power and honor and glory.