Without getting into the details over the years I’ve observed many explicitly named “persons” or spiritual beings in the Book of Revelation. The one Mike Ratliff comments upon is also known as as Mystery Babylon. Babylon, in the Old Testament refers not only to the City of that name but also, the Nation/Kingdom, the areas referred to by other names to the North and East of Israel, and is directly linked to the post Flood times and the Tower of Babel. It has quite a history outside of the Bible.
The use of the words Marriage, Bride, Bride of Christ for the Church are a common theme in the Bible. Most of these examples in the New Testament refers to the Church.
KJV Search Results
21 Verses Found, 22 Matches
Mat 22:2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
Mat 22:4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.
Mat 22:9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
Mat 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
Mat 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
Mat 25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Mrk 12:25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.
Luk 17:27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
Luk 20:34 And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:
Luk 20:35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
Jhn 2:1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
Jhn 2:2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
Jhn 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
1Co 7:38 So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better.
Heb 13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
Rev 18:23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
It’s pretty straightforward to think of the harlot or prostitute as being a perversion of the bride or wife, i.e. the Church, or God’s chosen people….particularly in the spiritual sense not the physical.
Anyway, I ended up spending more time working through Mike’s Post this morning. I will put some reference notes of verses I looked up and Old John Gill text below. It’s fairly long and you can at least see what was taught some 270 years ago (for Gill’s commentary) and of course what the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostles and Prophets to write much before that. These are not my words.
BTW…I picked this up from ChatGPT about Elijah. We often celebrate a “Christian” version of the Passover in the Spring, and set a place and a cup for Elijah, but I do like John Gill’s note that his coming was fulfilled at the time of the Messiah, i.e. Jesus Christ first coming 2000 years ago.
Short Answer
Jews began setting a place (or cup) for Elijah at the Passover Seder in late antiquity, with the practice becoming widespread in the Middle Ages. The custom expresses the hope that Elijah will arrive as the forerunner of the Messiah, which—according to Scripture—he is destined to do, and Passover became a natural moment to symbolize this expectation.
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Historical Development
- Early Roots (Biblical & Rabbinic Background)
• The Hebrew Bible ends with the prophecy that Elijah will come before the “great and terrible day of the LORD” (Malachi 4:5–6).
• Early rabbis saw Elijah as the one who would announce the Messiah and resolve unanswered legal questions.
• Because Passover is the feast of redemption, it became the yearly moment when Jews symbolically “ready themselves” for final redemption.
There is no evidence of the custom in the Mishnah (2nd century) or Talmud (completed 5th century), though Elijah is frequently mentioned. The Seder cup was not yet standardized.
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- Emergence of the “Cup of Elijah” (Geonic period, 7th–11th centuries)
The Seder tradition originally had four cups of wine, but early sources show debate about the exact number. Later teachers resolved this conflict by adding a fifth cup, which was not to be drunk until Elijah arrived to clarify the law.
During the Geonic period (Babylonia, 600–1000 AD), writings begin referring to:
• a fifth cup, connected with Elijah
• the idea of leaving it untouched for him
This is the earliest layer of what eventually becomes “Elijah’s Cup.”
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- Medieval Consolidation (12th–15th centuries)
By the medieval period the custom became universalized:
• Jewish communities began filling a special cup for Elijah.
• Some communities added the custom of opening the door for Elijah.
• Late medieval Haggadot (e.g., Ashkenazi manuscripts from the 1400s) show illustrations of Elijah’s cup at the Seder table.
Medieval Jewish commentators explain that:
• Opening the door symbolized trust in God’s protection during exile.
• The cup represented hope in imminent Messianic redemption.
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Reasons Behind the Custom
- Expectation of Elijah as the Messiah’s Forerunner
Jews set a place/cup for Elijah because he is the one who will:
• announce the Messiah
• usher in final redemption
• resolve disputed matters of Jewish law
Passover, already the festival of redemption, became the ideal moment to express that hope.
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- Harmonizing a Legal Debate
The existence of various early opinions about the number of cups at the Seder led to:
• setting aside a fifth “Elijah’s Cup”
• symbolizing that Elijah will settle the matter when he comes
Thus, a halakhic dispute gave rise to a symbolic ritual.
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- Ritualizing Hope and Hospitality
Many Jews describe the custom as:
• a symbolic invitation to Elijah
• a reminder that the world’s redemption has not yet come
• an act of faith in God’s promises
It became one of Judaism’s most familiar symbols of Messianic hope.
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Summary
• Started: Hints appear in the Geonic period (7th–11th centuries); widespread by the Middle Ages (12th–15th centuries).
• Origin: Linked to rabbinic debates, Messianic expectation, and Elijah’s prophetic role.
• Reason: To express hope for Messiah’s arrival and for Elijah to resolve unsettled matters—and because Passover retells Israel’s redemption, it naturally invites hope for the final redemption.
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If you’d like, I can also provide:
• sources from early rabbinic literature
• quotes from medieval Haggadot
• a timeline graphic showing the custom’s development
End of ChatGPT quote.
My notes:
The Great Day of the Lord
Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
Mal 4:3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 4:4 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Mal 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Malachi 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet,…. Not the Tishbite, as the Septuagint version wrongly inserts instead of prophet; not Elijah in person, who lived in the times of Ahab; but John the Baptist, who was to come in the power and spirit of Elijah, Luk 1:17 between whom there was a great likeness in their temper and disposition; in their manner of clothing, and austere way of living; in their courage and integrity in reproving vice; and in their zeal and usefulness in the cause of God and true religion; and in their famous piety and holiness of life; and in being both prophets; see Mat 11:11 and that he is intended is clear from Mat 17:10. It is a notion of the Jews, as Kimchi and others, that the very Elijah, the same that lived in the days of Ahab, shall come in person before the coming of their Messiah they vainly expect, and often speak of difficult things to be left till Elijah comes and solves them; but for such a notion there is no foundation, either in this text or elsewhere. And as groundless is that of some of the ancient Christian fathers, and of the Papists, as Lyra and others, that Elijah with Enoch will come before the day of judgment, and restore the church of God ruined by antichrist, which they suppose is meant in the next clause.
Before the coming of the great and, dreadful day of the Lord; that is, before the coming of Christ the son of David, as the Jews (r) themselves own; and which is to be understood, not of the second coming of Christ to judgment, though that is sometimes called the great day, and will be dreadful to Christless sinners; but of the first coming of Christ, reaching to the destruction of Jerusalem: John the Baptist, his forerunner, the Elijah here spoken of, came proclaiming wrath and terror to impenitent sinners; Christ foretold and denounced ruin and destruction to the Jewish nation, city, and temple; and the time of Jerusalem’s destruction was a dreadful day indeed, such a time of affliction as had not been from the creation, Mat 24:21 and the Talmud interprets (s) this of the sorrows of the Messiah, or which shall be in the days of the Messiah.
(r) T. Bab. Eruvin, fol. 43. 2. & Gloss. in ib. (s) T. Bab. Sabbat, fol 118. 1.
Malachi 4:6
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children,…. Or “with” the children, as Kimchi; and Ben Melech observes, that על is put for עם, and so in the next clause:
and the heart of the children to their fathers; or “with” their fathers; that is, both fathers and children: the meaning is, that John the Baptist should be an instrument of converting many of the Jews, both fathers and children, and bringing them to the knowledge and faith of the true Messiah; and reconcile them together who were divided by the schools of Hillell and Shammai, and by the sects of the Sadducees and Pharisees, and bring them to be of one mind, judgment, and faith, and to have a hearty love to one another, and the Lord Christ; see Mat 3:5; see Gill on Luk 1:17. The Talmudists (t) interpret this of composing differences, and making peace.
Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse; the land of Judea; which, because the greater part of the inhabitants of it were not converted to the Lord, did not believe in the Messiah, but rejected him, notwithstanding the preaching and testimony of John the Baptist, and the ministry and miracles of Christ, it was smitten with a curse, was made desolate, and destroyed by the Roman emperors, Vespasian and Adrian, as instruments doing what God here threatened he would do; for not the whole earth is intended, as the Targum and Abarbinel suggest; but only that land, and the people of it, are intended, to whom the law of Moses was given; and to whom Elias, or John the Baptist, was to be sent; and to whom he was sent, and did come; and by whom he was rejected, and also the Messiah he pointed at; for which that country was smitten with a curse, and remains under it to this day.
(t) Massachet Ediot, c. 8. sect. 7.
Luk 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Right now as you read this God is calling His people again to turn away from empty religion in brokenness and repentance to walk before Him with penitent hearts in full obedience. The Church in our time is very sick. Its leaders have the appearance of godliness, but deny its power. They minister perfunctorily and pragmatically which are fruits of unbelief. The Gospel presentation has become a set of steps followed by the rite of saying a sinner’s prayer. Jesus is presented as a wimp who would not dare rebuke anyone or violate their “Free Will.” Neither would he demand that His disciples must deny themselves, take up their crosses and follow Him. Lordship? What’s that? Christianity is seen as a set of add-on options that are all subject to choice. There is no teaching of the wrath of God or of sin or of Hell. Salvation is seen as a way to have Jesus come into your life so it will be better.
In Roman times, prostitutes wore a head band with their name on it. This “proudly” portrayed their debauchery. This “great harlot” wears a head band as well. We must remember that to God any form of religion that is counterfeit is akin to sexual infidelity in marriage. These churches that exist totally outside of true worship and service for His glory alone are spiritual prostitutes in God’s eyes. Those churches are run by leaders who have bought into the lie that Christianity is marketable or can be sold, or merchandised, or soft-sold, or peddled, or made into entertainment. They have prostituted their ministries by sacrificing the sheep in their care on the altar of self. Who needs God when we have a system that “works?”
The Great Prostitute and the Beast
Rev 17:1 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:
Rev 17:2 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.
Rev 17:3 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.
Rev 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:
Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rev 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.
Revelation 17:5
And upon her forehead was a name written,…. As the high priest had on his mitre upon his forehead written, holiness to the Lord, Exo 28:36 only a different inscription from that; the allusion is thought to be to harlots, who not only used to put their names over their doors, but some of them upon their foreheads, that all might know who they were; of which Mr. Daubuz has given proofs out of Seneca, Martial, Juvenal, and Petronius; and such might be said to have an whore’s forehead indeed: and this is expressive of the openness and impudence of the church of Rome, in her idolatrous worship; she openly declares it, and pleads for it, and invites and ensnares persons to join with her in it: the name follows,
mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth; her name is “mystery”; not the mystery of godliness, that she dislikes and opposes, but the mystery of iniquity; which is the name antichrist went by in the Apostle Paul’s time, when he was but in embryo, 2Th 2:7. Some reference may be had to the mystery of the Mass, in which the Papists pretend are the very body and blood of Christ; to their seven sacraments, for wherever almost they find the word mystery, they make a sacrament of that to which it is applied; and to their unwritten traditions, and the sense of the Scriptures, which are locked up in the pope’s breast: and it is very remarkable what has been observed by some, that the word “mystery” was formerly upon the frontlet of the pope’s mitre, and was removed by Pope Julius the Third, when it was observed that the Protestants made use of this passage of Scripture, and applied it to the Romish antichrist. Joseph Scaliger (l) affirms, that he saw mitres at Rome with this inscription on them. Though others think that this is not any part of the name, but only signifies that this woman was, in a mysterious or mystical sense, called Babylon, &c. just as the great city is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, Rev 11:8 but to me it seems to be a part of the name, as well as what follows, “Babylon the great”; that is, the great city, Rev 14:8 by which name the church of Rome may well be called, because of the signification of it, confusion, Gen 11:9 its doctrine and worship being a confused mixture of Paganism, Judaism, and Christianity; and because of the pride and haughtiness of it, its tyranny and cruelty, and its sorceries and idolatry; see Isa 14:12.
And the mother of harlots, of all antichristian states and kingdoms; and is different from the heavenly Jerusalem, the Gospel church, which is the mother of true believers, Gal 4:26 or the “mother of fornications”: as some copies read, and the Vulgate Latin and eastern versions render it; that is, the author and encourager of them, as the church of Rome has been; of corporeal fornication, by commanding celibacy, and forbidding marriage to priests, and setting up of brothel houses; and of spiritual fornication or idolatry, everywhere required and encouraged by it: and of “the abominations of the earth”; of abominable doctrines and practices; all manner of wickedness that is to be found in the earth, as murder, adultery, sodomy, perjury, &c. these, with everything that is vile and wicked, are practised and connived at by her.
(l) In Scaligeran.
2 Thessalonians 2:7 (KJV)
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
Revelation 11:8 (KJV)
8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
Revelation 14:8 (KJV)
8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Galatians 4:26 (KJV)
26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
The Fall of Babylon
Rev 18:1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Rev 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Rev 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Rev 18:6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
Rev 18:7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Rev 18:8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
Revelation 18:2
And he cried mightily with a strong voice,…. Which shows not only the vehemence and affection of the ministers of the word, who will publish what follows, but the greatness and importance of it; and this loud voice may be, as for the sake of the whole church in general, that all may bear, so for the sake of those of the Lord’s people in particular, that will be in Babylon at this time; and it may have regard to that deep sleep and spirit of slumber that Babylon itself will be in, which, notwithstanding this loud cry, will remain insensible of its ruin till it comes upon her, as was the case of old Babylon, Jer 51:39,
saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen: the whole world is not designed by Babylon, for it is distinguished from all nations in the following verse; nor Babylon in Chaldea, which was fallen long before John saw this vision, but Rome Papal; See Gill on Rev 14:8 so the woman is called in Rev 17:5 who sits on seven mountains, and is that great city, the city of Rome, that reigns over the kings of the earth, Rev 18:9 this is said to be fallen, because, in a very little time after this declaration, it will fall; for as yet it was not destroyed, since after this the Lord’s people are called upon to come out of her, and are bid to reward her double; and it is declared, that her plagues, should come in one day, and she should be burnt with fire; and an angel after this throws a millstone into the sea, saying, that so should Babylon be thrown down, Rev 18:4 and it is repeated to denote the certainty and utter destruction of her: and which is more fully expressed by what follows,
and is become the habitation of devils; as old Babylon was of satyrs, Isa 13:21 demons, which appeared in a hairy form, like goats, and the word is rendered devils in Lev 17:7 and the inhabitants of Rome now are no other; the pope and his cardinals, the priests, Jesuits, monks, and friars, are the spirits of devils, and their doctrines the doctrines of devils; see Rev 16:14
and the hold of every foul spirit: devils are frequently called unclean spirits, and these appear in desert and desolate places, Mat 12:43 where they are either of choice, or rather are obliged to it; and so the word translated “hold” signifies a prison, or place of confinement; and such as are comparable to unclean spirits now haunt and abound in Rome, and its territories; see Rev 16:13
and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird; such, as vultures, kites, owls, &c. which generally reside in desolate and uninhabited places; the Alexandrian copy, the Syriac and Ethiopic versions, add, “and the hold”, or “seat of every unclean and hateful beast”; and so the desolation of old Babylon is described by wild beasts and doleful creatures dwelling in it, Isa 13:21. Some consider all this as a reason of the destruction of Babylon or Rome, because it now is the residence of persons comparable to devils, foul spirits, hateful birds, and beasts of prey; but this account rather describes its state and case in which it will be after its ruin, being never more to be inhabited by men, in allusion to old Babylon, Isa 13:19.
Revelation 14:8 (KJV)
8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Revelation 17:5 (KJV)
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Revelation 18:9 (KJV)
9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
Revelation 18:4 (KJV)
4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Isaiah 13:21 (KJV)
21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.
Leviticus 17:7 (KJV)
7 And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.
Revelation 16:14 (KJV)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Matthew 12:43 (KJV)
43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Revelation 16:13 (KJV)
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Rainbow Trout 