Revelation 17, 19 – The Harlot and Armageddon

We’re going to take this reading in two parts today. Let’s start with the whore. This sounds like it’s all about sex. Whores perform sexual acts for money. And the kings of the earth commit fornication with her – fornication is a kind of generic term for wrongful sexual activity.

In some places, when the Bible talks about sex, it is about sex. But in prophetic literature, like Revelation, it almost never is.

Instead, it’s about idolatry and unfaithfulness. It’s about greed and exploitation. Having said that, let’s look at the woman a bit closer.

But let’s start by looking at her from a distance. She’s dressed in robes of purple and scarlet – colors which indicate wealth…even royalty. Her golden jewels sparkle, and the beautiful pearls lay around her neck. She’s holding a golden cup…we can only imagine how good the wine must be that’s in that cup.

From a distance, she is alluring.

Attracted by the obvious display of wealth, we draw closer. This seems like someone to know…we want to be on her side so we can benefit from that wealth.

But as we get closer, we find out she’s not as wonderfull as we thought.

The beast she’s riding is horrible – in fact it appears to be the beast from last week’s reading. Instead of fine wine she’s drinking a cup of garbage. She’s become drunk on the blood of innocent people…people who proclaimed their loyalty to God and the Lamb.

And the name inscribed on her forehead is Babylon the Great.

Whoa…wait a minute. Babylon has a bad reputation. Babylon conquered much of the Middle East in the 6th century BC. Babylon was wealthy and powerful…but not known for kindness to those they conquered.

What’s going on here?

Just as the beasts from Revelation 13 represented powers and authorities from all times and place, so too does this woman…she represents Babylon…but also Rome…and Egypt…and all powers and authorities who worship wealth and who make their wealth on the backs of those who are exploited.

Her apparent wealth attracts…it leads people to believe she holds the key to a successful, happy life. Instead, she drinks the blood of those who die at the hands of the Empire. This vision, like all the visions of plagues and beasts and dragons in the book, is a warning.

It’s a warning to people to not be deceived by the glitter and promise and wealth of the Empire. It’s a warning to the churches John wrote to who had become lulled into complacency by their own wealth.

It’s a warning to those who have benefited from the power of the Empire….but in doing so have compromised their faith to avoid displeasing the Empire.

If we read on in that chapter, we would learn that eventually the beast turns on the whore and destroys her. Her end serves as encouragement to those who have risked their livelihood and even their lives resisting the allure of the whore. Evil eventually destroys itself.

Let’s move on to the bit of Chapter 19 we read.

But first, tell me what you think of when you hear the word Armageddon? (Answers)

End of world, mass destruction, since the nuclear age, it’s become almost synonymous with nuclear annihilation.

So this is it…this second part of today’s reading describes the battle of Armageddon.

The first thing you notice is that not much of a battle is described here. The armies of heaven don’t do anything. They are dressed in fine linen which is terribly inappropriate battle wear.

The only weapon mentioned is this sword coming from the mouth of the rider on the white horse. In case you’re not sure who that is, it’s Jesus.

And the blood his garment is dipped in is his own.

And that sword? We were told back in chapter one of Revelation that the sword is the word of God. Jesus is the word of God and his weapon is the word of God.

So for all the images of death and destruction and birds gorging on the flesh of the defeated, something different is going on here. Remember, this is a vision. Everything is symbolic rather than literal.

So let’s work our way through this.

First, Armageddon.

John names a place called har mageddon where the final battle will take place. Har means mountain. Megiddo is a place in Israel…so literally this might mean the Mount of Megiddo. Except that Megiddo is on a plain. More importantly, in Old Testament stories, Megiddo is a place where Israel’s enemies are defeated. That, along with the way John uses other names and places symbolically suggests that Megiddo… Armageddon…symbolizes a place where God’s enemies are defeated. Armageddon is where evil will be defeated.

And how about that defeat? An army in fine linens? A sword which symbolizes the word of God?

Is God’s word really that powerful? And what exactly is that word anyway.

The word…first of all, is Jesus Christ himself. The word of God is also the sword. And that word is the gospel word…the gospel word that the Lamb who was slain has risen from the dead and has begun his reign over heaven and earth. We sing it every time we have communion. The lamb who was slain has begun his reign.

The powers of the earth represented by the two beasts and by the harlot and by the dragon himself put Jesus to death on a cross. If Jesus had operated like the dragon, he would have worked to violently overthrow those forces.

Fear of death would have led him and his disciples to use the same tactics the beast used….the same tactics the Empire used…the same tactic that all powers and authorities of all times and places have used…attraction through promises of wealth and security…and obedience through threat of violence.

By going willingly to the cross, Jesus deprived the beasts and the dragon of their best weapon - fear. And when Jesus was raised from the dead, the power of the dragon and of the beasts and the whore was sucked right out of them.

The Lamb who was slain has begun his reign. A reign not dependent on fear, or power or greed. Rather a reign of love.

John again leaves no room for a middle ground or a neutral position. Will we wear the mark of the Lamb or the mark of the beast?

We received the mark of Christ the lamb in our baptism…as the cross was drawn on your foreheads you were named and you were declared a child of God. And then, these words were spoken: you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.

Our mark is the cross of Christ. It is a mark that shapes us to defeat evil the way of the Lamb…through patient faithfulness and self-giving love, not through violence and arrogance and greed. The beasts and the harlot and even the dragon…are no match for the mark we bear.

And heaven’s armies? The ones dressed in fine linen? They are those who have been made pure by the blood of the lamb. They are the ones who’ve stayed faithful…the ones who have witnessed to the reign of Christ the lamb. They are the ones who bear that mark of Christ…and remain faithful to it.

Their weapon is also the word…it’s their witness. Their witness is to that same gospel word…and that gospel word is this: the lamb who was slain has been raised from the dead. The dragon and the monsters have lost and the lamb’s reign has begun.