THE WHORE OF BABYLON

The time has come for me to turn my attentions to Mary Magdalene. I'll admit it, she never interested me much. To me, she seemed weak and pathetic. What kind of woman would prostrate herself at the feet of a man and wash him with her own hair? I was brought up by a very strong independent mother, and watched a whole gamut of female heroines on television, including Xena: Warrior Princess and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and for me, a subservient woman was perhaps the most offensive of depictions.

The interesting thing about Magdalene is that she was a whore who then saw the light of Jesus blah blah blah. Now, here she was, a sexual deviant, a power hungry woman who used sex to her advantage being effectively castrated by a more powerful figure who preached love and serenity.

The Whore of Babylon or "Babylon the great" is a Christian allegorical figure of evil mentioned in the Book of Revelation in the Bible.

The Whore is associated with the Antichrist and the Beast of Revelation by connection with an equally allegorical kingdom. The Whore's apocalyptic downfall is prophesied to take place in the hands of the beast with seven heads and ten horns. There is much speculation within Christian eschatology on what the Whore and Beast symbolize as well as the possible implications for contemporary interpretations.

The “great whore”, of the biblical book of Revelation is featured in chapters 17 and 18. Many passages define symbolic meanings inherent in the text.

17:4 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:

17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

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.

17:9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sat. [King James Version; the New International Version Bible uses "hills" instead of "mountains"].

17:10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he comes, he must continue a short space.

17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition.

17:12 And the ten horns which thou saw are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

17:15 And he said unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sat, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

17:18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.