The Book of Revelation speaks of two beasts in Revelation 13. Today we’ll look at how these beasts relate to the mysterious “Whore of Babylon” in Revelation 17 from a Catholic Preterist point of view.

As I explained in last week’s free audio podcast, the first is the Sea Beast (arising from the sea) that symbolizes the pagan and idolatrous Roman Empire and its Emperors. This beast follows the exact description of the “Fourth Beast” described in the Prophet Daniel.

The second is the Land Beast (arising from the land) symbolizes the apostate Jewish leaders of the Temple in Jerusalem who condemned and killed their Messiah Jesus of Nazareth saying, “We have no king but Caesar.” How do these two beasts work together?

Revelation 13 describes the alliance and pact between the Sea Beast and the Land Beast to persecute Jesus and the followers of Jesus…and that’s exactly what happened after the Resurrection of Christ. Read the Acts of the Apostles and see how the Jews and the Romans worked together to persecute James, Stephen, Peter, Paul, and eventually the entire early Church of the first 40 years between AD 33 and AD 70.

The Whore of Babylon

A third personage is introduced to the mix in Revelation 17 is infamous the Whore of Babylon. She is undoubtedly the High Priesthood in Jerusalem that condemned not only James the Greater, Stephen, Peter, Paul, but eventually James of Jerusalem. We know the Whore of Babylon is the High Priesthood because she wears “purple and scarlet” (the vestment colors of the Jerusalem priests) and she is adorned in precious stones, which refers to the breastplate of precious stones that the Jewish High Priest wore during his liturgical services. She is said to be drunk on the blood of the martyrs.

The “Whore of Babylon” refers to how the Jewish priesthood has become a “whore” or “prostitute” providing her intimate services not to God but to pagan Rome. This is not surprising. Nearly all the Old Testament prophets refer to Israel’s infidelity toward God as “spiritual” whoredom, adultery, fornication, and prostitution. The fact that the High Priest literally condemned the Messianic Son of God and sold out this divine Son to the Roman Pontius Pilate is the greatest manifestation of prophetic and spiritual prostitution.

This is why the Whore of Babylon rides around on the back of Sea Beast. The apostate High Priesthood is supported by the idolatrous Beast of Rome.

The end of Revelation 17 explain how the Beast (Rome) will eventually turn on the Whore of Babylon (Jerusalem) and destroy her. This happened in AD 70 when Rome destroyed Jerusalem and burned its Temple.

Look for more on this. You can listen to my podcast on the 2 Beasts of Rev 13 by clicking here:

The Taylor Marshall Catholic Show Podcast #066: What is 666 and the Mark of the Beast?

In this podcast we saw how Satan and these two beasts stand for an unholy Trinity against Christ. Likewise, the Whore of Babylon stands against the immaculate, pure, and faithful Bride of Christ who also appears in Revelation. More on that later.

[reminder]Would you like me to do a full podcast series on the book of Revelation? Please leave me a comment and let me know what you’d like to me to clarify, write about, or record a podcast about. Thanks so much.[/reminder]