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 [Rev. 17:4–5].

And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and gilded with gold, and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, even the unclean things of her fornication, and upon her forehead a name written MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

“Clothed in purple and scarlet.” Purple was the predominant color of Roman imperialism. Every senator and consul wore a purple stripe as a badge of his position, and the emperor’s robes were purple. Scarlet is the color adopted by Roman Catholicism.

“Gilded with gold” shows the beauty of the outward display, but, like the Pharisees, it is within “full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness.”

“Precious stone and pearls!” are pretty cold, though they may be genuine, and are a sordid imitation of genuine heartfelt religion. The Lord Jesus said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess” (Matt. 23:25).

“A golden cup full of abominations!” is the religious intoxication of the anti-church (not Antichrist) and a pseudoreligion, counterfeit Christianity, a fake and false gospel, and a sham and spurious system. This is the cup which makes the world drunk. “Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad” (Jer. 51:7).

“Upon her forehead a name written” is a startling revelation of the character of this woman. She does not wear a crown but rather the mark of her profession. It is of interest to see that Seneca, in addressing a wanton priestess, said, “Thy name hung from thy forehead.” “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” is the disgraceful title for the “church” which should belong to Christ as a bride.

Now I know that we live in a day of changing morality, but I am a little old-fashioned, and I still think that the Word of God is right, in its values. I think that the finest thing in the world is a woman and that God has made her that way. When she marries, she is brought into a relationship in which she can give to a man that which puts him in orbit. It is my firm conviction that the thing our civilization has done for a woman has not been to liberate her but to enslave her so that she has become more of a sex symbol than ever before. Instead of taking her rightful place where she can lift a man to the heights, she is characterized as the one who pulls him down to the depths. And the lowest picture you can have is that of a harlot. You may not like it, but that is how the Word of God sees it.

“MYSTERY BABYLON.” The true church is a mystery in that it was not revealed in the Old Testament (see Eph. 3:1–9). The anti-church, designated here as a harlot, is a mystery in that it was not revealed until John wrote Revelation 17. Let me say again that when the true church left the earth at the time of the Rapture, the phonies, those who were only church members, entered the Great Tribulation Period, and the system continued—not now a church, but a harlot. Paul had written of the mystery of iniquity: “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now hinders will hinder until he be taken out of the way” (2 Thess. 2:7). The anti-church is the antithesis of the true church, which is the virgin bride of Christ, and it is the consummation of the working of “the mystery of iniquity.” It is “MYSTERY BABYLON” because it is given this designation just as Jerusalem is called Sodom.

Babylon is the fountainhead for all false religion; therefore she is “THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” This is, by far, Scripture’s more expressive and vivid picture of awful and abominable sin. Sex and false religions are related, you may be sure of that. I believe that many young people are really missing it in marriage when they do not stand at the marriage altar in the presence of God presenting themselves to each other, having kept their bodies for the marriage. That was God’s ideal and still is.

Have you noticed that this “MYSTERY BABYLON” is called the “MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS”? The mother of harlots—not singular but plural. In our day the ecumenical church has faced a lot of problems. It seems that they have recognized psychological differences in people and that it is impossible to water down theologies and practices to suit everyone. So each group will come into this great world ecumenical system but retain some of its peculiarities. For example, those who want to immerse will immerse. Those who want to sprinkle will sprinkle. Those who want elaborate ritual will have it, and those who want no ritual will have that. You see, there is going to be more than the mother harlot—there will be a whole lot of harlots, a regular brothel.