What Old Testament passages connect with Revelation 17:1's theme of judgment? Revelation 17:1—The Judgment Scene “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters.’’’ Old Testament Echoes of a Prostitute City Under Judgment The angel’s invitation immediately pulls forward a gallery of prophetic pictures in which God exposes and destroys proud, idolatrous kingdoms described as harlots. Key places to visit: • Isaiah 1:21 – Jerusalem as “the faithful city” turned “whore,” introducing the prostitute metaphor for unfaithfulness. • Nahum 3:4-7 – Nineveh, “the prostitute, alluring and full of sorceries,” publicly shamed by the LORD. • Ezekiel 16 & 23 – Samaria and Jerusalem portrayed as sisters whose harlotries end in terrifying judgment. • Hosea 2:2-13 – Israel’s spiritual adultery punished until she seeks her Husband again. Babylon’s Fall Foretold Revelation 17 unveils “Babylon the Great,” so the Babylon oracles are foundational: • Isaiah 13:19-22 – “Babylon… will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.” • Isaiah 47:1-3 – “Go down and sit in the dust, O Virgin Daughter of Babylon… your nakedness will be uncovered; your disgrace will be exposed.” • Jeremiah 50–51 (select lines) – 50:13 “Because of the LORD’s wrath she will be uninhabited.” – 51:8 “Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been shattered.” – 51:11 “The LORD has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His purpose is to destroy Babylon.” The Cup of Wrath Motif In Revelation 17 the nations drink the “wine” of her immorality, and in the next chapter Babylon herself drinks the cup of wrath. The imagery is lifted straight from the prophets: • Jeremiah 25:15-17 – “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.” • Jeremiah 51:7 – “Babylon was a golden cup in the hand of the LORD, making all the earth drunk.” • Psalm 75:8 – “For in the hand of the LORD is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; He pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it.” Sitting on Many Waters—A Jeremiad Link Revelation 17:1 calls the harlot “seated on many waters.” Jeremiah 51:13 targets historical Babylon with the same phrase: “O you who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the measure of your end.” The Euphrates canals made Babylon literally “by many waters,” while Revelation repurposes the line to depict her international reach (17:15). Whoredom as Spiritual and Political Seduction The prophets repeatedly equate idolatry and international intrigue with prostitution: • Ezekiel 23:30 – “You have gone the way of your sister; therefore I will put her cup in your hand.” • Ezekiel 23:32-34 – “You will drink your sister’s cup… the cup of ruin and desolation.” • Nahum 3:4 – Nineveh “sells nations by her prostitution.” These texts shape John’s description of a city that “committed sexual immorality with the kings of the earth” (Revelation 17:2). Cosmic Courtroom Oracles against the Nations Revelation’s angel echoes broader “lawsuits” the LORD files against arrogant empires: • Isaiah 34:1-8 – Edom and the nations summoned for slaughter. • Zephaniah 2:4-15 – Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Cush, Assyria all sentenced. Such passages supply the dramatic courtroom atmosphere felt in Revelation 17. Connecting the Seven Bowls The messenger comes “who had the seven bowls,” tying this vision to the plague-like bowl judgments (Revelation 15-16). That structure in turn recalls: • Exodus 7-12 – Plagues on Egypt, climaxing with divine victory over a tyrant who oppressed God’s people. The Old Exodus plagues anticipate the final outpouring of wrath on end-time Babylon. Concluding Connections Revelation 17:1 is not a stand-alone verse; it is a tapestry woven from earlier prophetic threads. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Nahum, Hosea, and the Psalmists all provide colors—prostitute imagery, cup-of-wrath symbolism, “many waters,” sudden downfall, and cosmic courtroom scenes. Together they underscore that God’s judgments in history preview His climactic judgment of the last great city of rebellion. The same God who literally humbled Babylon, Nineveh, and Egypt will just as surely bring final justice on Babylon the Great, vindicating His holiness and His people. |
    |