The book of Revelation is the last or 66th book of the Bible, and, in my estimation, it would be insane to even study it without seriously considering the other 65 books of the Bible which precede it.
There are 404 verses of scripture in the book of Revelation, and it has been estimated that 278 of them contain references or allusions, whether direct or indirect, to verses of scripture which precede them in the Old Testament.
Furthermore, some of the estimated 278 verses contain more than one reference or allusion to the Old Testament. With such being the case, it has been estimated that there are as many as 505 references or allusions to the Old Testament contained within the 404 verses of scripture in the book of Revelation.
Seeing how these references or allusions to Old Testament passages of scripture outnumber the total number of verses of scripture in the book of Revelation, it is my rational belief that we can easily understand what the book of Revelation is talking about if we simply allow the Bible to be its own interpreter.
In other words, although reading and understanding the book of Revelation can initially seem rather daunting in that it employs much imagery and is very cryptic in nature, if we know where to look elsewhere in scripture, then the imagery is explained to us plainly, and we can understand what we are reading.
Additionally, we are not only limited to the use of Old Testament references when it comes to understanding what was prophesied in the book of Revelation because there are many instances within the book of Revelation itself where the angel with whom John is speaking plainly gives the interpretation of his vision to him.
With this introduction behind us, let us now examine how this “woman” or “whore” is arrayed in the book of Revelation.
Revelation 17:1-5
“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: 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. 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. 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: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”
These New Testament references as to how this "woman was arrayed" have deep significance if one understands what was written in the Old Testament, and especially in regard to the high priest and how he was arrayed.
Turning to the book of Exodus, we read:
Exodus 28:1-8
"And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. It shall have the two shoulder-pieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together. And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen."
The high priest's garments contained the following:
gold
blue
purple
scarlet
fine twined linen
Now, compare how the high priest was arrayed to how this "woman was arrayed" in the book of Revelation:
Revelation 17:4
"And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls..."
Both the high priest and "the woman" share the following in their “array” or attire:
gold
purple
scarlet
At first glance, it seems as if this "woman" is missing both the blue and the linen, but the linen can be found in a further description of this "woman" in the next or 18th chapter of the book of Revelation.
Revelation 18:15-16
"The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!"
Well, there is the "fine linen", but we are still missing the blue...and for good reason.
Please allow me to explain.
Throughout the Old Testament, there were many types given.
In other words, certain things were types or representations of other things, and the colors that we are presently examining were certainly numbered among the same.
Regarding the significance of the blue in scripture, we read:
Numbers 15:37-40
"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: 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: That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.”
Through Moses, God instructed the children of Israel to put "a ribband of blue,” or a twisted thread of blue, upon the fringe of the border of their garments. This "ribband of blue" was placed there so they would "remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them" and not "go a-whoring" after other gods.
With such in mind, it is extremely significant that the only color that is missing from the array of this woman in the book of Revelation is blue.
In other words, no matter how religiously arrayed this woman is, her distinguishing feature is that she does not "keep the commandments of God" (which is exactly what the missing blue represents) and has therefore "gone a-whoring".
This woman is, after all, a “great whore” (Revelation 17:1), or a “whore” (Revelation 17:15-16), or "THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS" (Revelation 17:5).
Here is where it gets really interesting.
This same exact woman is also described in Revelation chapter 12, and she has "a remnant" that is described there as well.
Revelation 12:17
"And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."
Did you catch that?
Even though most of those who comprise the woman have no blue in their array or attire in that they do not "keep the commandments of God,” "the remnant" of this woman, or the Jews who will be saved in the last days, do have blue in their array or attire in that they "keep the commandments of God.”
Again, it is this "keeping of the commandments of God" that distinguishes "the remnant" from "THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS.”
Please continue reading in my next post.