Revelation Chapters 17 & 18 – The ‘Mother of Denominations’ is the Church of Rome – Neo-Historicism – End Times Eschatology From A New Eastern Orthodox Christian "Historicist" Perspective

The ‘Mother of Denominations’ and the Fall of the Church of Rome

Introduction

In the previous analysis of chapter 16 of the Apocalypse, we saw the judgments that fell upon the former lands of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires from the middle of the dark ages, through the Reformation and into the modern Industrial Age. John is now given another vision by one of the seven angels with the seven vials. Most probably it is the third angel that is talking to John, as we will see that Chapters 17 and 18 both provide more details on the events described in the third vial. John is being instructed on the details of another woman, or Bride-of-Christ that was to be judged. As we saw in Chapter 12, the faithful woman fled into the wilderness for a period of 1260 years. We now have a different identified woman that was unfaithful to Christ during this 1260 year period. Let’s take a look if we can confirm the identity of this woman, i.e. church, from the pages of world history.

Revelation Chapter 17

Revelation 17:1-2 – “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”

The angel of one of the seven vials calls John in order to provide him a lesson on the judgement of the great whore. The judgement proceeds from the dreadful Judge that sits at the throne of God. The guilty verdict is handed down to Babylon because of the crimes she has committed, which is because she is guilty of fornication with the kings of the earth, and her wine caused many nation in Europe to become intoxicated with the wine of her fornication. She is guilty of being the source of every crime and perversion that corrupted the nations and peoples. This judgment is the most severe punishment over the trumpets and vials and is called the “wine-cup of the wrath of God’s indignation.”

Revelation 17:3 – “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.”

John was carried away in a vision to the wilderness. This uninhabited place in the desert where the woman sat had neither the “living water” of scripture to provide, the “grass” and green pastures for the sheep to graze up, and neither the fruit-bearing “trees” to provide sustenance and life. The sandy soil in this desert wilderness is unable to provide the proper nutrients for the seeds of faith to grow and sustain everlasting life. The woman sat upon a red colored beast with blasphemous ideas and beliefs. This beast contained the same image and likeness of the Red Dragon in Revelation Chapter 12. The woman was originally the bride of Christ, but at some point during the marriage she strayed and became unfaithful and adulterous, and committed adultery to reign with Satan, giving him power and glory and dominion upon the earth. The scarlet covered beast with “seven heads and ten horns” is an image and representation of Satan’s activity on the earth, ruling from Babylon. From the very beginning Satan has envied man’s rulership over the earth. Since the beginning he attempted to snatch away this control by conquering and subjugating man to his own will and desires.

Revelation 17:4-5 – “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”

The clothing of the women arrayed in purple and red color, with gold and precious jewelry show she believes she is the decorated queen and bride of Christ, and possesses all of the earthly glory in showing the kingdom of God is upon the earth for many to behold. Appearances are deceiving, as on the surface she is a queen, but beneath the veil of glory hides the true nature of a filthy adulteress who fornicated with the kings of the earth through the power of Satan. Oh the irony! How can the Bride of Christ in reality be committing adultery with Satan? How can this Queen appear as a harlot who is blood-thirsty, vindictive and deceitful? John observes this scene in disbelief an acknowledges the mystery and the irony of this woman. Her true nature is not realized by the people of the world. This woman is supposed to be the True Church of Christ founded by the Apostles, but instead she has become Satan’s mistress. She is called “Mystery Babylon the Great.” The first of Daniel’s kingdoms to rise was Babylon, the city that was a great religious and cultural center of a worldly empire but promoted idolatry. In identifying this woman, we need further analysis.

Peter’s epistle provides a very important clue which city of the Apocalypse is identified with Babylon. since he provides greetings from Rome, the city where he was Bishop. Peter 1 5:13 states: “The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.” Thus we have biblical proof from St. Peter that Rome is referred to as the great city of Babylon the Great. And certainly the power Rome and it’influence and culture and sinful repression far surpassed that of the Babylonian Empire. The fourth kingdom of Daniel is identified as Rome, just as the first one was Babylon. So the fourth kingdom of Daniel 7 is type of “Babylon” surpassing power and might of the first kingdom of Daniel 7 as being identified as Babylon.

Many Preterists, in supporting their theory that all prophecy was fulfilled by 70 AD, claim that Jerusalem is the great Harlot and Babylon the Great of Revelation 17. This is impossible Jerusalem can’t be equated as Babylon, because Jerusalem was never equated as a “beast” of Daniel or a capital of an empire. Just as the 1st Beast of Daniel’s capital was Babylon, the 4th Beast of Daniel’s capital was Rome. Babylon here is meant to describe a “great political, cultural and religious center of the known world.”, something that fits more Rome than Jerusalem. During the time of Daniel’s empires, Jerusalem was to be downtrodden for over 2500 years by the Gentile nations. Jerusalem also could not be the “woman” or “betrothed & bride of Christ” of Revelation because the unbelieving Jews rejected Christ and Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD. And even still, John’s focus of Revelation is describing the church as the bride of Christ. So different churches in Revelation are representing different women and daughters of women. We can hardly make an argument that the woman Patriarchate of Jerusalem founded by James the Apostle could ever have been Babylon the Great and Mother of Harlots.

So then, let’s return our focus back to the identification of Rome as Babylon. The woman is also called the “mother of harlots and all of the abominations of the earth.” This statements provides critical additional information for confirming the identity of the woman and where her seat of power i. A harlot or whore will illegitimately give birth to daughters who would grow to exhibit similar characteristics, and continue the legacy by also becoming harlots themselves. What in a main characteristic of harlotry? Very simple, harlotry is equated with heresy. So the harlot would create heresy and division, and in turn cause her daughters to be born from her ‘out of wedlock’ to grow to promote new heresies. This woman would also be the cause of all of the “abominations” of the earth. As a result of her sins of persecutions and inquisitions, she would give rise to bloody wars against her. New atheistic philosophies and political movements would be born as a reaction to her influence and control. She would attempt to influence many nations and political movements behind the scenes. All the while ruling over those who become drunk and insane and oblivious to her true nature. So all who drink from her cup, she remains shrouded in mystery.Numerous history books on the church and European history ultimately support the evidence that Church of Rome was initially the Bride of Christ, but through her pride and corruption and perverse sins of the Papacy in the Middle Ages lead her to be the cause of all of the abominations of the earth, including. Thus the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth gave birth to the following:

Daughter harlot churches, who are the numerous Protestant Denominations. The Mother Church of the Protestants is thus the Mother Church of the Prostitutes, who have spawned numerous new heresies on the nature of the God-Man as the rejected many traditions, creeds and ecumenical councils in favor of Sola Scriptura.
Buying and Selling Indulgences for salvation was one motivation for Luther to attempt to reform the Church. The Catholic Church in Rome clothed herself with all of the great gold, stones through the sale of these Indulgences.
Imperial reign of many of her “ten kingdoms” she co-reigned with throughout the world (British, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German and French Empires and Colonies throughout the East and the new Americas) while she intoxicated them with the wine cup of the wrath of her fornication.
Through her sins and rejection in the west, causing the spread of false philosophical systems of thought after the Enlightenment and Age of Reason (Marxism, Darwinism, Nazism, Liberalism, Nationalism, etc etc).

Revelation 17:6 – “And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.”

The intoxication and drunkenness of the blood of the saints and martyrs reveals the true desire of this woman to kill innocent Christians (and Jews) because of their testimony. The great harlot attempted to become drunk with the blood of the Eastern Christians with the Crusades and ransack of Constantinople in 1204 AD, and demanded that the Eastern Christians submit to the authority and veneration of the Papacy and thus “make an image to the beast.” When the two witnesses were slain by the Islamic beast, the harlot church rejoiced greatly. For no one was able to stop the new dogmas of the harlot and she went on to kill innocent Christians who didn’t submit to her authority, such as through the Inquisitions where it is claimed that over 50 million people were martyred throughout Europe. John saw this power and glory given to the woman as a reward for her numerous crimes and he was amazed and stunned.

Revelation 17:7 – “And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.”

John was so amazed and stunned at what he saw and was still unable to comprehend the meaning of the woman and how she could have possibly rose to power through the killing of saints and witnesses to the testimony of truth, leading others to indulge in her seductive power and glory and corruption. The angel knew the true identity of the woman and the beast that carried her as well as the judgment that was to fall upon her. We already know that the last kingdom of Satan was to last for 1260 years. And as we will see, the end of this time period the woman will suffer the same fate and fire in which she inflicted on millions of other souls. The angel then goes on to identify the empires and kingdoms identified with this woman.

Revelation 17:8 – “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”

The beast described here is the one described in Revelation Chapter 13 as the first Islamic beast. In the 7th century Islam would spread to many nations throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Spain. The beast of Revelation 13 is a tri-composite beast as a Lion-Bear-Leopard. So the angel states the beast was once part of these three empires, but at the time of John’s vision in 95 AD the previous partial incarnations of this beast are no more – “the beast that thou sawest was and is not”. Those “whose names were not written in the book of life” that dwell in much of the lands of the Roman Empire will wonder after the “little horn” of Daniel and would become amazed at it’s political and religious power of Islam and convert and worship Allah at that time period on it’s arrival – “when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is”. This statement written at the time of John was pending future fulfillment, while today we consider it in the past. The Islamic beast came out of the bottomless pit of Arabia and trampled Jerusalem in 636 for a period of 1260 years. The Papacy would use this Islamic Beast for it’s own ambitions to conquer and eliminate the Eastern Church through quarrels with the kings of Europe, the Crusade liberation of Palestine and ransack of Constantinople and the “blackmail” recognition of Papal primacy and authority by the Byzantines in order to help defeat the Ottomans, and marketing and profiting off of religious artifacts stolen from Constantinople in the ransack by the fourth crusade in 1204.

Revelation 17:9-11 – “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.”

John shows us a challenging and wonderful riddle that requires significant spiritual and historical insight and understanding. The angel gives John two different meanings of the “seven heads” to identify the woman. The “seven mountains” are where the “woman sitteth”, and the “seven kings” represent kingdoms or empires from the past present and future relative to the time period of John. John’s period of 95 AD is considered to be the present tense. The “seven mountains” is the seat or location of power of the queen. Rome is well known as the city built upon seven hills. The seven hills or mounts are identified as:

Aventine Hill
Caelian Hill
Capitoline Hill
Esquiline Hill
Palatine Hill
Quirinal Hill
Viminal Hill

Now let’s move ahead to the great history lesson of Revelation 17, which describes all 7 “Biblical” empires that subjugated the Woman. The 7 heads are 7 kings/kingdoms. “Five” of the empires have already “fallen” and are in the past and no longer exist at the time of John. “One” is the current present empire of John’s time, and “the other is not yet come” is the last empire to come in the future.

In helping us first identify the 5 fallen kings, we can first look for valuable interpretive information from Daniel’s 4 Beasts/Kingdoms:

1. Lion = Babylon
2. Bear = Medo-Persian
3. Leopard = Greece
4. Beast with Iron Teeth and 10 Horns = Rome

Daniel starts with Babylon. However, do we consider all of the empires in the starting by the subjugation of the Jews under Egypt? Yes, of course, we consider all significant empires and kingdoms of the bible situated in the same lands as Daniel’s empires. Daniel also identifies another rising empire he calls the Little Horn which was come after the fourth Roman Beast speaking blasphemous things against God. The first biblical monarch to subjugate the Jews was the kingdom of Egypt. The next great monarchy established in Asia was that of the Assyrians, which was the strongest monarchy to that date which appeared around 720 BC and took the northern tribes and scattered them. The third was Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar in 606 BC. Th fourth was the Medes, the fourth was Persian with Cyrus the Great. The fifth monarchy were the Greeks, and Alexander the Great. This brings us to the sixth and current empire at the time of John “One is” which is identified as the Roman Empire.

1. Egypt
2. Assyria
3. Babylon
4. Medo-Persia
5. Greece
6. Roman Empire
- “One is“. When John was writing, Rome was ruling the world
7. Islamic Empire
- “The other is not yet come” – This is the empire foretold in Revelation 13, which describes the 7 headed/Caliphate beasts comprising of the territory of Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece, that would trample Jerusalem for “42 months”, or 1260 years from 637 AD until 1967 AD.
8. Revived Holy Roman Empire
- “And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven”. This riddle requires some wisdom and insight to it’s comprehension by studying European History from the fall of the the Roman Empire in 476 AD by the barbarian migrations of Europe. “The beast.. is himself also an eighth“. The current 6th beast at the time (and 4th kingdom of Daniel 7)… Rome… is also identified similarly as the “8th beast” that would resurrect again after the 7th Islamic Beast arising in the 7th Century (632 AD with the 1st Caliphate). In the 8th Century, the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE was born when Charlemagne was crowned emperor by the Pope who would rise to become the second beast of Revelation 13, with “two horns” symbolizing religious and temporal or political authority “like a Lamb“.

So the eight empires (which are also only seven if we combine the Roman Empire an the revived Holy Roman Empire as one) are confirmed in history as: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Roman Empire, Islamic/Ottoman Empire, Holy Roman Empire.

Revelation 17:12-13 – “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.”

The angel explains the significance of the ten horns, indicating these are ten future kingdoms to come for they had not yet received a kingdom to rule from. The beast that “is” the Roman Empire collapsed in 476 AD, and upon it’s ruins a new social order was established in Europe with the ten nations or kings of the earth co-reigning with the Church under the united Holy Roman Empire (the beast that “was to come”) and along with it the revived power of the Papacy. This began in the 8th Century until her temporal destruction in the 19th century. The ten horns are ten kings founded by the ten barbarian invaders who brought about the dissolution of the Roman Empire, only to be reborn as the Holy Roman Empire.

The Barbarian Tribes & 10 Nations of Europe:

Franks (France & Central Europe)
Huns
Vandals
Angles & Saxons (Britain)
Ostrogoths (Italy)
Visigoths (Spain)
Lombards
Burgundians
Alans
Sueves

These ten barbarian tribal kingdoms would go on to form the nations of medieval and modern Europe through the various German and French empires of the middle ages under the Holy Roman Empire.

These ten kingdoms of Europe would co-exist with the Islamic beast which was to ascend out of the abyss. After the destruction of the political power of the Papacy, many in the ten nations that would form Europe created significant empires of their own through colonizing territories all around the world. These empires would come to form an alliance with the Islamic beast in order to maintain the political balance and integrity of the Turkish empire and it’s dissolution, as they were threatened by the power of the Russian Orthodox nations. And in the twentieth century this relationship flourished with the discovery and use of oil fields in the Middle East to sustain and give power to the ten nations. This alliance would lash for “one hour” or approximately one century. We are nearing the end of this cooperation between the ten nations and the beast.

Revelation 17:14 – “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”

This verse awaits fulfillment. The future war between the nations of Europe allied with the Islamic OPEC nations and the Christian Orthodox nation of Russia and her allies has yet to be waged. It will come at the next global war. This final battle is prophesied to be waged in Constantinople. This verse confirms that the True Christian nations will win the victory at the completion of the days of the seventh angel’s trumpet. The Western European nations today are threatened by the rise of a new Christian Russia who regards herself as the defender of Holy Orthodoxy. The transformation in Russia back to her Christian roots is nothing short of miraculous, as the West falls into moral and spiritual decay. The three unclean spirits which John described in Chapter 16 are preparing the ten nations and beast for the battle of the Great day of God Almighty, when they will suffer defeat at Armageddon, as Christ “declared through his servants the prophets” and saints through the many prophecies in scripture and many others provided to the Orthodox peoples coming from the monasteries. “

Revelation 17:15 – “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”

The “waters” where the “woman” sits symbolized the vast number of nations around the world that worship through the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic Church more than any other denomination has a global presence every continent and almost every nation. There are 1.2 billion Roman Catholics today as compared to 300 million Orthodox Christians. Over 40% of Catholics are based across the oceans in in the continent of South America due to the success of the Spanish and Portuguese empires. Approximately 55 % of the world today are Catholic, 32% are Protestant and up to 13% are Orthodox. Therefore the influence of the Mother church and from the schismatic daughters worldwide accounts for 87% of the Christian populations, whereas the legacy of the once great Byzantine Empire of the East account for 13% of Christians worldwide.

Revelation 17:16 – “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.”

After the 1260 year reign of the Papacy in the “Revived Roman Empire“, the ten nations of Western Europe came out of the Dark Ages with the start of the Protestant Reformation and Age of Enlightenment. The hatred for the woman by the ten kings goes back to the schism of Luther. The third angel’s vial would bring Luther to fight against the whore through the printing press and mass production of scriptures. The kings of the French Revolution reduced the temporal power of the papacy in 1798. We see that the first half of the judgment has been executed. But these initial attacks could not destroy the harlot, but she was stripped of her power by numbers and political authority. We now are awaiting the full realization of the “burning of her by fire”. This hatred of the Catholic Church, Vatican, Jesuits, monastics and bishops would be felt through the various Catholic/Protestant wars. The hatred towards Rome and the abandonment and “burning of her by fire” continue on some level at present time, and will increase in intensity until the final destruction of Rome and the Papacy (See St. Malachi’s and St. Don Bosco’s prophecies of Rome and the list of Popes in the appendix of this article). There are many Protestant denominations that spend all of their time and resources demonstrating and promoting the “whoredom” of the Vatican through books and videos, magazines and articles, such as the Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah’s witnesses and Black Hebrew Israelites. And recently the Catholic Church is seeing the “fire” of accusations with the sex scandals of the bishops and priests.

Revelation 17:17 – “For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.”

God has decided to use the western nations and the Protestants to execute his judgement on the Mother Harlot, and also cause the western nations to cede their authority to the pro-Islamic OPEC nations due to their reliance on oil and gas for fueling their economies. Without the partnership and use of the resources of the lands of the former great Islamic empire, the West could not fuel their technological progress and war economies. And more recently, as a result of the Western influence and meddling over the Middle East, it has literally given it’s kingdom to the new Islamic Caliphates and terrorist organizations. Western Europe to become overrun with migration of peoples from the nations of the Islamic beast because of it’s pro-Islamic support of various rebel groups. Europe is in a state of disarray as Islamic communities and influence wreak havoc, and this will continue to increase until “the words of God shall be fulfilled” with the sounding of the seventh angel’s trumpet.

Revelation 17:18 – “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”

The woman that John saw sitting upon the nations., clothed in purple and scarlet and adorned with the fines gold, precious gems and marble and granite stones, the women holding the gold cup full of heresies and atheistic an blasphemous philosophies and ideologies which she spawned as a result of her sins and perverse acts, that woman is none other than the great city, Vatican City, which is a country of itself located in the great city of Rome which reigns over the scarlet- and purple-clothed cardinals, bishops, pastors, Jesuit institutions and government leaders and organizations around the world. The title of “Cardinal” was given to the bishops in the year 854, and the College of Cardinals would go on to elect the new popes. Since the Great Schism of 1054 between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics, the Popes have been recognized as the “Supreme Pontiff” (a title used by Julius Caesar and by the high priest Pontifux Maximus in the ancient Roman Empire). Popes have aligned themselves with the great kings and emperors since Pepin and Charlemagne. Pope Gregory II boasted to the Byzantine emperor that “all the kings of the earth reference the pope as God.” The popes required the “kings of the earth” to bow down and worship the pope. Pope Eugenius II (9th century) was the first pope to make it the law to kiss the pope’s foot and from that time it was required to kneel before the Popes. Gregory VII ordered all of the princes and kings of Europe to worship at the pope’s feet to demonstrate they were worshiping God through his representative, and this practice of kissing the feet of the pope continued up to the 16th century by the kings.

Satan has used this unnatural union with the apparent lamb and Vicar of Christ to rule the world according to his image and his likeness for 1260 years, in order to frustrate and derail the will of God and rule the earth over man. The apparent lamb and former bride of Christ in reality exhibits characteristic of the whore sitting on the scarlet covered beast, deriving power from the red dragon This union between Satan and the apparent lamb gave birth to the harlots of the earth who also continue to maintain their union with Satan. The fornication of the woman and the apparent lamb can be found in the pages of history for anyone to see. As a result, the hatred of the kings of schism and revolution throughout the renaissance and age of reason would cause the church of Rome to be “burned in fire,” left desolate and her flesh devoured.

It becomes very clear to us that the Apocalypse of St. John the Theologian is about two primary Women or Churches of Christ. There is the woman that flees to the wilderness to escape the wrath of Satan and remain pure in her Christological doctrines, and another woman who would commit adultery with Satan.

Apostolos Makrakis, a Greek Orthodox historicist interpreter of prophecy, eloquently calls out this difference and spousal relationship of the two woman in his “Interpretation of the Revelation” published in 1881.

“Behold upon the stage of the Christian theater the two women-the woman of God and the woman of Satan, the bride of the Lamb and the harlot of the dragon; behold the virtues of the first and the vices of the second; observe the true blessedness of the one woman who gave birth to the man-child and was persecuted by the terrible dragon, and mark the false happiness and glory of the other woman, who has clothed herself in all the earthly, ephemeral, and outward glory of the dragon and now goes to eternal perdition along with him. Let the reader consider and compare the two women and the two unions, and let him freely choose the woman, the mother, and the mother country whose loving, devoted, and loyal child and citizen he would be. The revelation of the two women and the illuminations of the soul is of God, while free choice is the privilege of the free will of every man. Those who desire to become children of the virtuous woman and to be moulded by her moral virtue and beauty, realize their ambition; while those who wish to remain children of the harlot inherit both her dishonor and her ugly sores.

The two rival women of the Apocalypse are symbols of the two Christian Churches-the Eastern and the Western. The woman clothed with the sun, carrying upon her head the crown of twelve stars and having the moon under her feet, is the symbol of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which, after giving birth to the man-child, took refuge in the desert, fleeing from the face of the dragon enraged against her; whereas the woman seated upon many waters and upon the seven heads of the beast and appareled like an earthly queen in purple and gold, precious stones and pearls, is the symbol of the Latin Church with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication and with the wine of the wrath of whose fornication the inhabitants of the earth were drunk. He, then, who wishes to know the essence and the nature of each church and the existing difference between these two Christian Churches may look at the pictures and images by which the Holy Spirit has described and characterized both the nature and the achievement of each. We challenge the Latins of today to prove before the Christian world what woman’s children and offspring they are. Are they the children and the offspring of the woman clothed with the sun, who gave birth to the man-child and took refuge in the desert where she was sustained in her place for “a time, times, and an half,” that is, one thousand two hundred and sixty days? Or are they the children and progeny of the woman in purple sitting upon the seven mountains and ruling over the kings ‘of the earth? Which of the two lambs are they the followers of? Are they the followers of the true Lamb standing upon mount Sion, or of the apparent lamb sitting on the Capitol of Rome? The two women, the two lambs, and the two rival unions distinguish the kingdom of God from the kingdom of Satan. Satan has reigned over mankind through a woman, and so has God (…).”

Revelation Chapter 18

Revelation 18:1 – “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.”

In Revelation chapter 17, John was given an understanding of the judgment that would fall upon the great whore due to her many sins and crimes against against innocent Christians. In Revelation chapter 18, John will witness a vision of the execution of the penalty of the crimes committed. This angel that comes down from heaven shines a bright illumination upon the earth. Who is this angel and at what point does he come down from heaven. This angel is the one identified in Revelation chapter 10 and Chapter 16 at the sounding of the seventh trumpet and the pouring of the seventh vial. The angel will begin to sound his trumpet, announce his proclamation with the loud voice at the end of the days of the seventh angel. The angel will provide the illumination of the earth at the point of utmost darkness and despair of the great battle of Armageddon. As the Sun rises from the East and sets in the West, this Angel will proclaim from the lands of the East and within Constantinople that the period of the morall darkness of Satan is completed. The Light from the East will shine brightly for all to behold as teh two witnesses who were dead are risen.

Revelation 18:2-3 – “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 unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.”

Just as the bright stars Origen/Wormwood and Arius/Apollyon fell from from heaven through a moral plunge from their heights, the angel declares a similar “fall from grace” of the Roman Catholic Church. The “foul spirits” are the corrupt popes, cardinals, teachers, professors, Jesuits and child molesters within the Church of Rome. The Cardinals, or “hateful birds” refused to chase the sexually perverted priests from the sanctuary in order to protect their sacred fraternities and institutions. Babylon did not maintain the teachings of the Gospel and adulterated the teachings with new heresies in a quest for earthly power and glory, causing many to drink the “wine of the wrath” of the “fornication” with her. The “merchants of the earth” are the Vatican popes, cardinals and banks that became rich through the filling of the coffers, as well as the Catholic kings that supported her like Pepin and Charlemagne. The merchant Cardinals, bishops and secretaries close to the pope were those who bought salvation at the seat of the pope the many titles, offices, degrees, absolution of sin, indulgences, gems and religious artifacts and sold them again as merchandise to the people for the purposes of accumulating billions of dollars in the Vatican banks. The simony, or buying and selling of offices and titles for the goal of making money was one of the accusations of the popes where the people eventually called for reform. Therefore the moral crimes announced by the angel were corruption of doctrine, moral decline, simony and trafficking and marketing religious artifacts.

Revelation 18:4-5 – “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.”

Immediately after the resurrection and restoration of the two witnesses who gave their testimony, the angel will command those remaining souls to begin a mass exodus from the Church of Babylon and join the rising and celebrations of the two witnesses at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb through a future ecumenical council. This event is described by the Orthodox prophet Agathanghelos in the year 1279: “(…) the truth will triumph, and the heavens will rejoice with true glory; the Orthodox Faith will be elevated and it will expand from East to West and will be glorified.”

Revelation 18:6 – “Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.”

The “burning of fire” coming down from heaven was the power given to the second beast in Revelation 13 who was “like a lamb.” The Popes were able to repel the attacks of the Eastern patriarchs and emperors, and reverse the impact of the Reformation by launching a counter reformation. In both cases the Popes shed the blood of martyrs through the Crusades and Inquisitions. However, now after the restoration of the two witnesses and the bride of the lamb’s exodus from the wilderness and monasteries, the Orthodox and Protestants will cast back to the Roman Church all of the blame and accusations and blame she made to others for not following the “mother church”. From the time of the Photian Schism, Great Schism until the present day the Catholics have continuously accused the Eastern Christians of heresy and division, and remind the East that it was through their sins of not making an image to the Papacy that all of the ill and destruction fell upon the Eastern Christians. However, the tables will have reversed and it will be the Eastern Christians who will accuse the Papacy of all of the heresy and schism at the future Eighth Ecumenical Council. The Harlot Woman will not be shown any mercy because she had committed adultery with Satan. The Roman Catholic church did not consider the Eastern Orthodox worthy of burial after the Islamic Beast arose from the abyss and devoured her. Now the same will befall upon Rome – “Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works.” No sympathy will be given to the Papacy after the sounding of the seventh trumpet and the byzantine prophecies speak of the dissolution of the Papacy and the proclamation of a single Patriarchate to be established in all of Europe. The harlot will mourn and repent for a long period of time due to her luxury and perversion.

Revelation 18:7-8 – “How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.”

This “woman“, or “Bride of Christ” boasts that she sits as a “queen” in the great city of Rome, and that the throne of her kingdom is permanent and fixed, for she believes that the church was established by Peter in Rome due to the promise by Christ – “this is the rock where I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail-against it,” since Rome is where Peter suffered martyrdom and death. The queen of Rome also misinterpreted other woes that would befall her. For example, the Protestant Reformation and Luther did not bring down the queen’s throne. And although French Revolution for a short time period reduced her temporal power, she was able to survive. Napoleon and Luther and Calvin were to pass on and fade away, while she remained upon the throne of Babylon and saying: “I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.” The “harlot” does not remains a “widow” for long when she is attacked. As soon as one pope dies or is removed from office, another one is voted by the Cardinals and a new Papal reign continues uninterrupted. As a result, she believes that she will never mourn as a result of the fall or destruction or lose her universal claim for the one true Church on the Earth.

Revelation 18:9-10 – “And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.”

There are many of prophecies not in the bible describing the final future destruction of the city of Rome and the end of the papacy. Just like Jerusalem in 70 AD, there will not be one stone left unturned at St. Peter’s Basilica. The first was the temporal removal of the 1260 year reign of the Papacy, followed by it’s physical destruction, and finally it’s spiritual destruction. Those Roman Catholic nations, countries and continents will stand far off observing the destruction of Rome and lament how all of her glory and prestige was destroyed in such a short period of time. The old saying goes – “Rome was not built in a day”… but the Apocalypse predicts a fast destruction of the city in less than an hour.

Revelation 18:11-13 – “And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.”

The “merchants of the earth” here weep and mourn because no one desires to buy any of their merchandise and products. Who are these merchants and what are they marketing and selling? The merchants are the cardinals, bishops, priests, Jesuits, administration and monastic orders of the Roman Catholic Church. These merchants market the merchandise of indulgences, prayers of absolution, offices, job titles, degrees, access and influence. She marketed the idea that she was the one true mother church established by the Apostle Peter, and that all schism churches needed to return to the arms of the mother church. They marketed holy relics and items for the raising of significant funds for their purchase of gold, silver and precious stones and pearls. They forced celibacy on the priests and took their possessions upon their death. They sold sexual favors for salvation and other perverse and lewd acts in private, keeping this dark secret by moving bishops and priests from city to city to escape outrage and punishment.

Revelation 18:14 – “And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.”

The fruit-bearing trees or Christians in which the Church of Rome which to rule over, have left her desolate and naked, as they speedily abandon Rome in favor of the Churches in Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria and Antioch and Moscow. After the Eighth Ecumenical Council, the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, the Bride who made herself ready will reap the harvest of the Christians drawn to her.

Revelation 18:15-16 – “The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!”

The cardinals, bishops, priests and “sellers of salvation” through indulgences and prayers of absolution will stand in horror and despair and try to comprehend what is happening to their Mother Church. In seeing the videos and images of the desolation of Rome they will weep and mourn and be unable to come to grips with the horrific scenes and new reality. They are unable to save her and vouch for her.

Revelation 18:17-19 – “For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.”

In addition to the church leaders lamenting, the directors and teachers of Catholic universities and schools (“shipmasters”), and churches (“ships”) and laypeople (“company in ships”) in the different continents and smaller nations (“by sea”) will observe over the world communications and video transmission the destruction of Rome, gathering together and lamenting and crying as they try to understand the destruction of the Church which Christ promised would not be destroyed and prevailed by the “gates of hell.”

Revelation 18:20 – “Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.”

The harlot killed many souls over the centuries through her wars and inquisitions. The saints and apostles in heaven now rejoice over her destruction, as their true doctrines and scriptures were kept away from the people, and “God hath avenged” the blood of the saints and murders at the hands of Rome. The saints and martyrs in heaven rejoice and are overcome with joy at the judgment and sentence handed down by God.

Revelation 18:21 – “And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.”

The great violence and event that will destroy Rome is described as a casting down of a great millstone into the sea. It is unclear how much of this event is symbolism and how much of it is describing a literal destruction near Rome on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. But Rome’s physical presence or influence will be found no more upon the Church.

Revelation 18:22-23 – “And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.”

The city of Rome is laid desolate. It will not be inhabited by the architets, artists and musicians. No more church organs and choirs singing the church’s traditional hymns of the Latin mass. No more craftsman to build statues and ornate alters. The voice of Christ represented by the Vicar will be no more. The Churches traditional and modern Catholic liturgies will not be hear ever again as the Divine Liturgies of the East are adopted. It is because the Catholic form of worship were designed by the Popes and Vatican Councils, and this liturgical form of worship will be a reminder to those merchants who used their form of sorceries and merchandise to deceive all of the Catholic churches around the world. And after the destruction of Rome and the fall of Babylon from grace, the inhabitants of the earth will abandon her and leave her desolate and naked and prefer the more ancient unadulterated forms of liturgical worship instituted by the apostles and early fathers of the church. For the “sorceries” of the harlot’s “merchants” or Cardinals were an adulteration of the ancient Divine Liturgy and Creed.

Revelation 18:24 – “And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.”

The gravest sin of all by the Harlot was the genocide and innocent deaths of the saints, prophets, witnesses of the Christians, such as the Sack of Constantinople in 1204 AD by the Fourth Crusade, and the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572 AD. and the slaying of other people upon the earth such as Jews that were killed during the forced conversions, Inquisition and Rhineland Massacres. Future history will look back on Harlot Church called Babylon the Great and “burn her with fire” of blame for all divisions, heresies and false political philosophies, and forever throw her in the “lake of fire” of public opinion, hostility, disgust and regret in the pages of history.

Revelation 19:1-3 – “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.”

The saints in heaven give honor, thanksgiving and worship to the Lord their God, who judged the great harlot and carried out the sentence. The saints in heaven do not look to kindly upon the state of the Roman Catholic Church through the middle ages to the present, and have full knowledge of the events on earth, while we are oblivious to them. The harlot reigned for 1260 years upon the earth and never remained a widow, because of our ignorance to the reality of the Apparent Lamb and the Woman on the Scarlet-covered Beast, who perverted the truth of Scriptures and caused the small and great men to drink the cup of her fornication. The people of the earth will soon come to understand the mystery of the harlot and the judgment upon her. And when the seal of knowledge and understanding has been fully removed and the scroll open, we will judge the whore appropriately and offer the same praise to the true woman and bride on earth as it is done in heaven. Amen!

END NOTES:

A prophecy from Agathanghelos (1279 AD) on the Fate of Rome

Agathanghelos was an Orthodox Christian seer who had an incredible vision in the year 1279 AD. His prophecy identifies Rome as Babylon and prophesies her impending destruction and the rise

“O vain city! Rome, you have been painted in human blood; your kings shed torrents of blood through the martyrdom of the just, and Christ’s believers ran like herds to become victims in the slaughter house. Where is your devoutness now? Where is your zeal? God has abandoned you, Christ rejects you, and the Devil shall conquer you; he is arrogant as you are, and a liar. You have become his conquest, daughter and concubine. For that reason, O lewd woman, you will utterly make a prostitute of yourself, and the East will humble you and you will be her captive and subdued to her, O infernal monster. Your royal purple shall be torn asunder by them, and the tiara shall be rejected under their feet. Because you have hidden Truth the eternal, and have colored it in falsehood. You have despised my Sanctity that I founded in the East, you have turned to the wineshop of perdition and to the robbers’ den, you have inserted novelties in man’s Faith and made my Church bankrupt. Yes, a stone upon a stone shall not remain in your walls, and you shall be as desolate as the holy town of David.. The East will shine at you, and you shall be tested through fire and (thus) be a corner stone. She (the East) will humble your arrogant neck. Most deeply doing homage, you shall go to worship (the genuine Faith) together with the conqueror of my Sanctuary in Byzantium, amen. amen. A link of hard iron will go through the tiny isthmus of your nostrils, and your unholy lip will drop disastrous poison. You, viper…hydra with seven heads, Babylonian tower, the Eternal Being shall defeat and evict you and put you to death”.

St. Malachi’s Prophecy on the Popes identifying Rome as the City of Seven Hills

St. Malachi’s entry 112 on the Prophecy of the Popes is identified as Petrus Romanus. This catholic prophecy identifies the “city of seven hills” with Rome. This is same as the “seven mountains” of Babylon in the Book of Revelation.

“Peter the Roman, who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations, and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The End.”

Many suspect Pope Francis to be equated with Peter the Roman, but St. Malachi skipped over the “Anti-popes”, so it is still too early to see if Francis is an Anti-Pope, because there is no connection to him being identified with St. Peter or as of Roman/Italian origin.

This last pope identified as Peter the Roman is the last pope to reign in the Catholic Church. During the reign of Peter the Roman, the City of Rome will be destroyed. We also know from the Byzantine and Orthodox prophecies that the Roman Pontiff or Bishop of Rome will no longer exist as the Eastern dogma of Orthodoxy shines and spreads from East to the West.

A Prophecy of the Catholic Church’s own St. Don Bosco on the destruction of Rome

“But you, O Italy, land of blessings, who has plunged you into desolation? Not your enemies, but your own friends. Do you not hear your children begging for the bread of faith, unable to find one to break it for them? What shall I do? I shall strike the shepherds and scatter the sheep so that those who sit upon the chair of Moses may seek better pastures and their flock may gently listen and be fed.

But My hand shall be heavy upon both flock and shepherds. Famine, plague, and war shall cause mothers to mourn the blood of their sons and husbands shed on foreign soil.

And to you, Rome, what will happen! Ungrateful Rome, effeminate Rome, proud Rome! You have reached such a height that you search no further. You admire nothing else in your Sovereign except luxury, forgetting that you and your glory stands upon Golgotha. Now he is old, defenseless, and despoiled; and yet at his word, the word of one who was in bondage, the whole world trembles.

O Rome! Four times shall I come to you!

The first time I shall smite your regions and its people. The second time I shall bring slaughter and destruction to your very gates. Should not that make you open your eyes? A third time shall I come, and I will demolish your defenses and defenders. At My Father’s command, terror, dismay, and desolation will reign.

My wise followers flee, but My law is still trod underfoot. Therefore, I shall come a fourth time. Woe to you if My law again shall go unheeded. There shall be defections among both learned and ignorant. Your blood and that of your children shall wipe out your transgressions.

War, plague, and famine are the scourges to smite human pride and malice. Where are your magnificent villas and palaces, you people of wealth? They have become the litter of squares and streets!

And you priests, why are you not prostrate between the vestibule and the altar, weeping and praying that the scourge may cease? Why do you not take up the shield of faith and preach My Word from the rooftops, in the houses, streets, and squares, and even in inaccessible places? Do you not know that this is the terrible two-edged sword which smites My enemies and placates the wrath of God and man?

These things shall inexorably come to pass, all in succession.”

References

Apostolos Makrakis, Interpretation of the Revelation, (1881), Translated by A.G. Alexander (1948), Hellenic Christian Educational Society, Chicago, IL, 1881,
Nelios Sotiropoulos, The Coming Sharp and Two-Edged Sword, Athens, 1973

“And her smoke rose up forever and ever”