The Whore of Babylon as Blasphemous, Materialistic Grandeur

Summary

When a society does not want to have a profound, beautiful, and meaningful spousal relationship with God, it turns away from God toward what He merely made in a figurative, worldly “fornication”. This is materialism. The violation of the Decalogue, or, as can be seen, the deca-horns of the beast, are consummate with this blasphemous and materialistic society. For a time, the godless society prospers. But, eventually, the immorality and wickedness catch up with it. When this happens, the power of the “anti-Decalogue”, manifesting the true nature of sin, tears down the materialistic society through the intrinsic consequences of moral corruption, opens its eyes to its wrongdoing, and leads to its conversion. In this way, the ten horns of the beast “carry out the will of the Lamb” in eradicating both the wickedness of the society (the beast) and its parallel rejection of the Divine invitation to spousal Covenant (the harlot), transforming it into a rebuilding civilization of love and holiness. Hence, the Lamb “conquers the beast and the Whore, for He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords!” (Apocalypse 17)

The Whore of Babylon as Blasphemous, Materialistic Grandeur

(cf. Apocalypse Chapter 17)

A little snippet of wisdom. Read the latter portion of Apocalypse Chapter 17: the woman rides the beast with seven heads and ten horns. But eventually, the ten horns of the beast turn on the whore, consume her with fire, and eat her flesh.

What might that mean?

Well, one Early Catholic Father suggests that the common ten horns of the dragon and beast of Apocalypse 13, seen also in this Apocalypse 17, are deemed to be the war of the fallen nature on the ten commandments, seeing as the Fall itself says, do not care about obeying God and His Law: believe as you want and do as you want.

So then, the Whore seats herself upon the beast with ten horns. How can we see this? Well, again, when man no longer want God for His own sake, what will they do except turn away from the Creator to the creation? Here, humanity, having forsaken their Maker, no longer desires to marry their Creator--as the People of God do, the chaste Apocalyptic Woman--but rather, as an Apocalyptic Whore, seek superficial “fornication” with the creation. Materialism! That is, rather than seeking their ultimate fulfillment in the profound, beautiful and truly worthy Uncreated goods of God-- truth, mystery, love, and supernatural life--they rather seek their ultimate satiation in merely brute created goods--pleasures, possessions, and egotistical accomplishments. Again, Materialism. This is the same materialistic glory as at Babel, or the pyramids of Egypt, or the blasphemous grandeur of pagan Greece, Rome, and the now decadent and arrogant 1st Word societies, that seat themselves above religion, saying that God is no longer relevant in any sense and that peace and prosperity can be built and maintained purely by that same materialism.

But then, also, by way of implication, when a society is materialistic, living for the creation instead of the CreaTOR, they are necessarily NOT living to keep the TEN COMMANDMENTS! For the ten commandments go hand in hand with God.

Hence, again, the Whore seats herself upon the beast with ten horns.

Now, we know that the whore will be destroyed by the self same ten horns. How might we understand that? It is not hard. Just follow along. What has brought down these great powers of selfish, perverse, and brute glory in history? What will bring this modern world to its knees? Is it not MORAL CORRUPTION?! Will it not be the consequences of ignoring those very ten commandments? Is not the fruit of a world that says it does not need peace with God, the destruction of peace between men? For if man says, we needn't worship the true God, nor keep Holy His Name and therefore our promises, nor set aside regular worship for Him, nor respect our parents and all legitimate authority over us, nor respect all life, even those that are burdensome, nor to respect the spiritual life of our neighbor, by slandering him, or gossip, nor live in purity, respecting in awe the sacred mystery of our sexuality, instead of treating our bodies like playgrounds and for pleasure only, nor to be truthful in all obligations, nor to respect the material things of others, to not steal and be greedy, not caring for the poor, nor to be greedy or lustful, how can peace persist in such selfishness and perverse behavior? What remains of such a society except collapse? Can a society that scoffs at these things live in peace? For superficial regard of authority and sex and life issues destroys families, severing their peace. If peace fails in families, it fails in communities. If it fails in communities, it fails in cities. If it fails in cities, it fails in nations, and if it fails in nations, it fails in the world.

Wherefore, it is the war against the ten commandments, the moral decline of a worldly civilization, that spells its end; it is the turning away from God's Law, the ten horns of the beast, the ten principles of the evil one, that say, don't listen to this or that commandment from God, that then will burn up the great Whores of world history; these immoralities will eat her flesh.

Wherefore also, does the angel in that apocalypse say that Christ shall "put in their hearts [the ten kings] to carry out His will", which is like also, as it is written, "And God hardened Pharoe’s heart". This is hyperbolic language. Christ does not will destruction in and of itself. Nor does Christ will sin, in any sense. But in allowing sin to run its course, just as Christ allows the spiritually blind to progress until the consequences of their sin catch up to them--which He must because of free will--the terrible effects of the sin “carry out the will of the Lamb” by shewing forth the true nature of sin to the sinner or sinful society. When that happens, man’s eyes are opened, they see the light, and they repent. And this repentance is the ultimate victory that Christ wins over both the beast and the whore: in converting, the sinful society vanishes and becomes a child of God again, a spouse of God. Too, the renewed spousal love to God, vanquishes the Whore. Finally, too, the society has been left with an apocalyptic lesson of the consequences of wrongdoing and of assuming independence from God.

So also, does Catholic prophecy say that the current apostasy will be destroyed by the coming Minor Chastisement, which shall shock the world into the reality of their darkness and restore the light!

When that happens, the beast and false prophet will be cast into the fire, and the dragon will be chained--peace on earth, love of God resting in men’s hearts, just as God rested on the seventh day of His labors in the Creation!