Revelation Chapter 17

When we study Revelation chapter 12 we learn that God typifies the church organization as a woman. We are going to look at Revelation chapter 17 where we will see that the woman has now become “the great whore.” Those are not my words; those are God’s words. The opening verse of chapter 17 states, "I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore," so we know this chapter is dealing with God's judgment on the churches. The final judgment on the world will take place after the Great Tribulation, but God begins His judgment process with the churches:
"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17)
This process began in 1988 when God loosed Satan to rule within the churches. God is preparing the church organization for judgment.

Verse 1
"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"

Spiritual whoredom can be defined as placing trust in gospels that are not biblical:
"I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols." (Ezekiel 23:30)
"And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so." (Judges 2:17)

Spiritual whoredom has to do with embracing the works of men:
"Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions." (Psalm 106:39)

In a broader sense, spiritual whoredom is disobedience to God’s law:
"The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD." (Hosea 1:2)
"And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them ; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring" (Numbers 15:39)

The great whore is the church organization. The churches have created their own doctrines and gospels that are not faithful to the Bible. For example, God has commanded that there is not to be divorce for any reason, but the churches have decided that that’s an unreasonable law and have written their own loopholes. God has commanded that women are not to hold positions of spiritual authority over men, but the churches have decided that that’s discriminatory so they permit women to be pastors and deacons. God has declared that no action we take can initiate or complete our salvation, but the churches have decided that that’s unfair so they have created their own do-it-yourself salvation programs, which teach that a certain prayer, baptism, or other action can contribute to our salvation. We can go through a number of issues and see that the church organization has modified God’s law to suit its desires and line up with its own imperfect logic. The churches claim they want to do everything God’s way, but in practice they walk contrary to God’s way:
"Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein." (Jeremiah 6:16)

The truth that is in the Word of God is a reproach to them:
"To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it." (Jeremiah 6:10)

They have changed God’s judgments and statutes:
"And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them." (Ezekiel 5:6)

The churches are prophesying from their own hearts:
"Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!" (Ezekiel 3:2-3)

God speaks of them as prophesying the deceit of their hearts in His name:
"Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart." (Jeremiah 14:14)

In other words, He’s not talking about the teachers of false religions who want nothing to do with the God of the Bible. He’s talking about those who claim to be teachers of the Bible. They speak lies in God’s name. They say, “Here is what the Bible teaches,” when in fact it does not:
"And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken." (Ezekiel 22:28)

They do not realize they are teaching falsehoods. The Bible says that they have all deceived one another to the point where they have taught their tongues to speak lies:
"And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity." (Jeremiah 9:5)

In other words, they’ve allowed their church doctrines and creeds to be so deeply rooted in their understanding of the Bible that the falsehoods are effectively all they know. It is in these lies that they place their trust:
"Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit." (Jeremiah 7:8)
"This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the LORD; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood." (Jeremiah 13:25)

It’s terribly sad. God speaks of His people as being foolish and having no understanding:
"For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge." (Jeremiah 4:22)
When we compare this language with the rest of the Bible we know that the people in view here are those in the churches.

The New Testament church’s falling away from truth was predicted in the New Testament:
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

This is why the church organization, which was typified by a woman in Revelation chapter 12, has become “the great whore.” It has disobeyed God’s law and become polluted with the ideas of men:
"For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it." (Jeremiah 7:30)

We read in Revelation 17:1 that the great whore sits upon many waters. The true Gospel is referred to as living water (John 4:10-11), but when that Gospel is polluted with falsehoods it becomes bitter water that brings spiritual death rather than eternal life:
"And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter." (Revelation 8:11)
The many waters that the woman sits upon are the false gospels and doctrines that she has created for herself.

Verse 2
"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."

To better understand God’s use of the phrase “kings of the earth,” we should look at how He uses a few other words first. The word “trees” can spiritually point to the believers, such as in Isaiah 55:12 where we read about the true believers (typified by trees) rejoicing because of the peace they’ve received through salvation:
"For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."
But God also uses the word “trees” to point to those in the churches who look like true believers but actually are not:
"The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up." (Revelation 8:7)

God uses the word “stars” in reference to the true believers, such as in Daniel 8:10 where we read about Satan’s persecution of the true believers:
"And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them."
But God also uses the word “stars” in reference to those in the churches who look saved but are still under God’s wrath because they aren’t saved:
"And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise." (Revelation 8:12)

We’ve seen that God uses the words “Israel,” “Jerusalem,” and “Judah” in this way as well (see Word Study on "Israel"). We’ve also seen that God refers to both the true believers and the unsaved who identify themselves as believers as His people, and He does this because both groups are presenting themselves to the secular world as the representation of God’s Kingdom.

Likewise, God refers to the true believers as kings:
"And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." (Revelation 1:6)
But He also uses the word “kings” in reference to the unsaved in the churches who present themselves to the world as being a part of God’s Kingdom. We are seeing an example of this here in Revelation chapter 17 and we will also find it in the next chapter when we examine Revelation chapter 18.

"The inhabitants of the earth" is a phrase that points to those in the churches. We find the phrase, "inhabitants of the land," commonly used in the Bible in relation to Israel and Jerusalem:
"Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land." (Hosea 4:1)
"Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand" (Joel 2:1)
"Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah." (Jeremiah 1:14-15)
We’ve seen that the words “Israel” and “Jerusalem” spiritually identify with God’s people. The “land” of God’s people in the New Testament era is the church organization. God is telling us that the inhabitants, those in the churches, have committed spiritual fornication. Instead of staying faithful to God’s law, they have chased after the doctrines of men.

The Bible uses the phrase “strong drink” in relation to the deception and lies that come from those who claim to be bringers of God’s Word but in actuality are teaching lies:
"If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people." (Micah 2:11)
"But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment." (Isaiah 28:7)
"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." (Proverbs 20:1)
So the Bible calls false doctrines “strong drink.” Here in Revelation 17:2 we are reading that the inhabitants of the land, those in the churches, have been made drunk by these adulterous, false doctrines.

Verse 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."

In verse 1 we saw that the woman is sitting upon many waters and here we see that she sits upon a scarlet-colored beast. The beast is Satan and his kingdom. The color scarlet identifies with salvation:
"For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people" (Hebrews 9:19)
"She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet." (Proverbs 31:21)
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18)
It is also a color that identifies with royalty. For example, Daniel was told that he would be clothed in scarlet and become the third ruler in the kingdom:
"And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom." (Daniel 5:16)
Also, when Jesus was mocked, they clothed Him in a scarlet robe and placed a crown of thorns on His head:
"And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!" (Matthew 27:28-29)
The scarlet-colored beast points to the fact that Satan comes into the church counterfeiting Christ. He presents himself as a king and brings his own salvation plans. Of course, the churches do not recognize that Satan is their guide; they think it is Christ.

Verse 4
"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:"

The color combination of purple and scarlet is used in connection with the tabernacle:
"Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them." (Exodus 26:1)
There are 25 other verses in Exodus that mention purple and scarlet in connection with the tabernacle. The woman being arrayed in purple and scarlet is another reminder that the woman represents the earthly congregation of those who identify themselves as God's people; she represents the churches.

The woman is described as being decked with gold, pearls, and precious stones. These are words that identify with believers and the Gospel. In other words, the church organization presents itself as the home of the believers and bringer of the true Gospel. This is additional evidence that “the great whore” is the church organization because the churches were where the believers and Gospel could be found throughout the Early Rain.

Verse 5
"And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

This verse tells us that the church organization is also typified by Babylon. It ties in with Isaiah 1:21, which speaks of a faithful city that became a harlot:
"How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers." (Isaiah 1:21)
A further examination of the church organization as Babylon can be found in the Study on Revelation 18.

Verse 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 woman being drunken with the blood of saints is a reference to the fact that the true believers are being removed from the church organization. As believers become uncomfortable within the church during the Great Tribulation they may express their concerns to their pastors or share with other members their findings in the Bible about Satan’s position within the church. This activity will ultimately result in the believers either leaving the church on their own or being asked to leave. The Bible speaks of being removed from the church as being killed, spiritually speaking:
"They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." (John 16:2)

We may wonder why God uses this language. Why does He equate being removed from the church with being killed? Recall that the Israelites, the earthly representation of God’s kingdom in the Old Testament, were commanded to remove evil-doers from amongst them by literally killing them:
"And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee." (Deuteronomy 13:5)
Likewise, the church organization (the earthly representation of God’s Kingdom after the cross) was commanded to remove evil-doers from amongst it:
"But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person."  (1 Corinthians 5:13)
"And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you." (1 Corinthians 5:2)

Though the believers during the Great Tribulation are not actually the evil-doers, they are perceived as bringers of heresy and are removed from the churches. Read John 16:2 again and notice that those who are removing the believers from the church honestly believe they are doing the right thing:
"They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service."
They believe those who speak out against the doctrines of the church are trying to hurt them and so they want these individuals silenced:
"Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt." (Jeremiah 38:4)

God is currently warning the church organization through His Word and through believers as they bring this message to those in the churches. However, the churches are not listening:
"Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken." (Jeremiah 6:17)

In a spiritual sense, the churches are killing the messengers that God is sending to warn them:
"Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" (Matthew 23:34-35)

Verse 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."

It is not insignificant that God refers to this information as a mystery. We’ve learned that God wrote the whole Bible in the form of parables. Some of these parables are true stories of events that really did take place, but they are in the Bible because they contain spiritual meanings like the parables Jesus told during His ministry. God wrote the Bible this way so that He could hide certain information from unbelievers, and in some cases it was to hide information from all of mankind until the time came when God wanted it to be understood:
"All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world." (Matthew 13:34-35)
We are living in such a day when information that has been kept secret is now being revealed to believers as they approach God’s Word with the right attitude and carefully study it.

The events depicted in Revelation chapter 17 are part of a parable God has written. Parables are mysteries that can only be understood if God allows it:
"And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand." (Luke 8:10)
This is why God uses the phrase, “the mystery of the woman.” As hard as God-fearing, diligent theologians may have tried to understand this chapter, it was not until very recently that God revealed to believers that a time would come when the churches would be under His judgment.

Verse 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."

Satan is the one who was cast into the bottomless pit and, afterwards, loosed for a little season:
"And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season." (Revelation 20:2-3)

The beast "was" in that prior to the cross Satan was able to deceive the nations to a very high degree. This was written during the Early Rain. He "is not" in that throughout the Early Rain he was bound in a way that his abilities to deceive were greatly limited compared to prior to the cross. He "yet is" in that he was not completely bound; that is, he was still able to deceive the world and even plant his deceptive work within the churches to a degree.

For a closer look at this matter please see Study on The 1000-Year Reign.

Verse 9
"And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth."

We’ve seen that the woman sits on many waters and we’ve learned that this points to the church organization relying on its current foundation of false doctrines. We’ve seen that the woman sits on the beast and we’ve learned that the beast is Satan. Now we are reading that the woman sits on seven mountains. The seven mountains are typified by the seven heads of the beast and identify with Satan’s kingdom:
"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy." (Revelation 13:1)
"And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads." (Revelation 12:3)  

The seven kings identify with the rule of Satan’s kingdom in this world. When we see that the seventh king continues for a short space we should immediately think of the Great Tribulation. The Bible calls the Great Tribulation the “little season” (Revelation 6:11, 20:3). We’ve learned that the Great Tribulation will be a total of 23 years in length. Since the world will exist for 13,023 years, the other 13,000 years prior to the “short space” identify with the first six kings of Satan’s kingdom. If we divide the 13,000 years into six equal spans of time, each timeframe would be about 2,167 years in length. We would arrive at the following chart:

1st king: 11013 BC – 8846 BC
2nd king: 8846 BC – 6679 BC
3rd king: 6679 BC – 4512 BC
4th king: 4512 BC – 2345 BC
5th king: 2345 BC – 178 BC
6th king: 178 BC – 1988 AD
7th king: 1988 AD – 2011 AD

This verse tells us that it was written during the sixth king’s rule and that harmonizes with the above chart because it was written in the first century AD. At that time the fifth king was in the past and the seventh was still in the future.

We don’t know if Adam and Eve sinned in the first year this world existed and therefore we don’t know exactly what year Satan’s rule in this world began. It’s not necessary that we have that information insofar as understanding this verse is concerned. If Satan’s rule began, for example, 200 years after 11,013 BC, then that wouldn’t change the conclusion we are arriving at. Shifting the dates above 200 years would still place the writing of Revelation during the sixth king’s reign.

This is spiritual language. It is not referring to seven different beings ruling throughout time. The seven kings are all Satan ruling throughout the history of this world. This is admittedly difficult and it is part of how God concealed the truth about the end times. It is only because we now understand the timeline of history that this verse can be properly understood. If we didn’t know the world was going to end in 2011 and if we didn’t know the “short space” began in 1988, then we would still have great difficulty with this verse.

Verse 11
"And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition."

This eighth “king” does not chronologically follow the seventh, but rather coincides with the seventh. In Revelation chapter 13 God speaks of two beasts. One rises out of the sea and represents the rule of Satan in both the world and the churches that began in 1988. The second beast rises out of the earth and is a continuation of the first beast’s rule within the churches. However, out in the world the first beast’s rule became limited, beginning in 1994, because God’s plan to save a great multitude outside of the churches began. (see Study on The Beast)

During the Great Tribulation Satan continues to rule out in the world to some degree as he always has, and that is spoken of in this chapter as the seventh king. However, Satan now also has complete rule over the churches and that rulership is spoken of as being the eighth king. It’s still Satan, just as the other seven kings were Satan, and that is why we read that the eighth king is of the seven.

Verse 12
"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."

The one hour is a spiritual time label applied to the Great Tribulation. We've learned that the first part of the two-part Great Tribulation is spoken of as being the half-hour of silence:
"And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour." (Revelation 8:1)     

Verse 13
"These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast."

Verse 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."

The great war that has been taking place throughout this world’s existence is that which exists between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. Of course, we know the ultimate victor will be Christ.

Verse 15
"And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues."

The words “peoples,” “multitudes,” “nations,” and “tongues” are all synonyms. God has used this language to bring the number four into view. We know that the number four indicates that there is an all-encompassing or worldwide aspect tied to whatever is in view. In this case, we can know that the spiritual whoredom that exists in the church organization today is a worldwide situation; it is not just found in the United States or North America. The false doctrines, typified as many waters, that govern the churches are identified with the peoples of this world because they are rooted in the logic and desires of mankind. They do not come from the Bible.

Satan’s rule used to be limited to the secular world, but now he rules both in the secular world and in the churches. With the exception of the tiny remnant of true believers scattered throughout the world outside of the churches, Satan rules over all of mankind.

Verse 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."

We don’t have to look very hard in the Bible to find passages speaking about desolation among God’s people. A very familiar one is Matthew 24:15-16:
"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains"
We've examined this in a number of studies and seen that it’s speaking about the Great Tribulation when Satan rules within the churches. When we come to the realization that Satan has taken his seat in the church organization, then we are to flee it. We find this statement reiterated in Mark 13:14:
"But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains"

Both of these passages contain the statement, "whoso readeth, let him understand," which is a reminder that these verses have to be read carefully because not all of mankind will be able to properly understand what they are teaching. Judaea is a region that identifies with Israel. Israel was the earthly representation of God’s kingdom through much of the Old Testament era. Then the churches became the earthly representation of God’s kingdom for most of the New Testament era. When Jesus references Judaea He is speaking of the earthly representation of God’s Kingdom, which would be the churches in our day.

The above statement is also found in Luke chapter 21, and there we read about the holy place of God’s people being surrounded by armies:
"And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto." (Luke 21:20-21)
Depending on the context, either the earthly or heavenly church can be typified by Israel, Jerusalem, or Judah. Here God says that Jerusalem, or the earthly church, is surrounded by armies. We find similar language in Revelation chapter 20 where we learned that once Satan had been loosed (which we’ve learned took place at the beginning of the Great Tribulation in 1988) he surrounded the gathering place of God’s people:
"And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them." (Revelation 20:7-9)
The church is the gathering place of those who claim to be God’s followers. God is using Satan to prepare the churches for judgment. In Ezekiel chapter 29 God uses King Nebuchadnezzar as a representation of Satan and speaks of using the king to bring destruction.

Getting back to Revelation 17:16, the woman being made naked points to the fact that the churches have been stripped of their hope for salvation. When we are saved we become clothed with the garments of salvation:
"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." (Isaiah 61:10)
We’ve learned that the Holy Spirit was removed from the churches in 1988 so He is not there to apply the Word of God to people’s hearts (see Study on The Antichrist). This means that salvation is not occurring within the churches and, in that sense, they have been stripped of the garments of salvation.         

This does not mean that the individuals within them do not have any hope for salvation, but no hope remains for them within the churches. God’s elect will find their salvation outside of the churches where the Holy Spirit is still working, and, in fact, He is currently working at a much higher degree than ever before.

Verse 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."

Satan did not take control of the churches through his own abilities. It was God’s will that this take place. The churches spent 1,955 years falling further and further away from the truth, gradually placing additional trust in their own creeds, doctrines, and theologians. When someone tried to present a teaching that contradicted their established doctrines, that teaching was immediately rejected because the churches’ doctrines were not to be tampered with and, in that sense, they effectively were placed above the authority of the Bible. God’s tolerance for this ended in 1988 when He began to prepare the church organization for judgment by giving it up to its own apostasy:
"And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie" (2 Thessalonians 2:11)
As this verse teaches, the churches have effectively agreed with Satan and turned the entire organization over to him. Obviously, they haven’t done this intentionally, but by creating doctrines that satisfy their hearts they’ve welcomed Satan in. They confidently proclaim that the Bible is their ultimate authority, but in practice they are governed by their own doctrines. They pull a collection of verses from God’s Book to support their own ideas and nearly everyone is deceived. 

We also read about this in Daniel chapter 11 where God speaks of Satan obtaining the kingdom peaceably with flatteries:
"And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries." (Daniel 11:21)
In other words, those in the church organization have not intentionally given it over to Satan, but he has obtained it nonetheless. He did not have to war with them for it. He obtained it peaceably by presenting them with doctrines that appealed to them:
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

This was all part of God’s judgment plan. God declared that He would destroy the house called by His name:
"Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh." (Jeremiah 7:14)

He stated that He would bring destruction by giving His house over to the enemy:
"And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans." (Jeremiah 22:25)

God declared that He would profane His sanctuary:
"Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword." (Ezekiel 24:21)

God has removed the good things that He gave the church organization:
"I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them." (Jeremiah 7:40)

We seen that God removed the Holy Spirit from the churches in 1988. He has also removed the Gospel in that He has sent a strong delusion in the churches to cause them to further lock themselves into their own lies that will destroy them (2 Thessalonians 2:10-11). It is in that sense that God is feeding them wormwood (bitter water):
"And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them: Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink" (Jeremiah 9:13-15)

God has laid stumbling blocks to cause the churches to fall even further:
"Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish." (Jeremiah 6:21)

God has removed peace from the churches:
"For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies." (Jeremiah 16:5)
This, of course, ties back in with the fact that the Holy Spirit and Gospel have been removed because Christ is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) and the Gospel is the Gospel of peace (Romans 10:15).

We have to remember that the church organization has brought this on itself. God warned the churches back in the first century to turn from its false doctrines or He would remove their candlestick:
"Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." (Revelation 2:5)
The candlestick represents the source of light, which is Christ (John 8:12). This warning has existed in the Bible for centuries and, in that sense, God has been constantly warning the churches. However, throughout the organization’s entire existence it has failed to really listen:
"I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice." (Jeremiah 22:21)

God gave the church organization time to repent and warned that if it did not then He would cast it into great tribulation:
"And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds." (Revelation 2:21-22)

God declares that because the churches forsook Him and failed to correct their ways He has forsaken them:
"Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting. And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people since they return not from their ways." (Jeremiah 15:6-7)

As a result of being forsaken by God, the church organization has become desolate and been given into the hands of the enemy (Satan):
"Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up; To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity." (Jeremiah 18:15-17)

Verse 18
"And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth."

Earlier in this chapter we saw that the woman is also spiritually spoken of as the city of Babylon. This verse reminds us of that fact and serves as a transition into the next chapter, Revelation 18