In the latter part of the book of Revelation, the New Jerusalem as the bride of the Lamb is set off in contrast to Babylon the prostitute. This parallel is tipped off by the opening lines of 17:1 and 21:9. Each verse begins with “One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me” (Greek of 17:1: kai ēlthen eis ek tōn hepta angelōn tōn echontōn tas hepta phialas kai elalēsen met emou; Greek of 21:9: kai ēlthen eis ek tōn hepta angelōn tōn echontōn tas hepta phialas . . . kai elalēsen met emou). The Greek of the two verses is identical with the exception that in 21:9 there is an explanatory insertion “which are filled with the seven last plagues” (Greek: tōn gemontōn tōn hepta plēgōn tōn eschatōn). This is way too many words in common to be an accident. The bowl angel of chapter 17 and the bowl angel of chapter 21 are one and the same.

The speech that follows in each case opens in the same way. “Come, I will show you” (Greek: deuro, deixō soi). In 17:1 the angel shows John the judgment of the great prostitute. In 21:9 the angel shows John the bride, the wife of the lamb, which is the New Jerusalem (21:9-11). The comparison between Babylon and the New Jerusalem could not be any clearer. The New Jerusalem comes down from heaven and settles on the ruins of Babylon (Robert Badenas, “New Jerusalem—The Holy City”, in Symposium on Revelation—Book II, edited by Frank B. Holbrook [Silver Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute, 1992], 255-257).

There are numerous parallels that flow from this double introduction. In each case John is carried away in the Spirit (17:3; 21:10). He sees the great city Babylon (17:5, 18) and the holy city Jerusalem (21:10). The prostitute sits on many waters and the beast (17:1, 3), the New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven from God (21:10). Both “women” are covered with previous jewels (17:4; 21:11). One city is the dwelling place of demons (18:2), the other is the dwelling place of God and His people (21:3). One is filled with unclean spirits, the other is empty of anything unclean (18:2; 21:27). The inhabitants of Babylon do not have their names written in the Book of Life (17:8), the inhabitants of Jerusalem do (21:27). The kings of the earth give their power to the beast (17:12-15), they bring glory and honor into the New Jerusalem (21:24).

The fates of the two cities are also in strong comparison and contrast. The fate of both cities is introduced with “It is done” (16:17; 21:6). Babylon receives the wine of God’s wrath (16:19), Jerusalem is for those who desire the water of life (21:6). The plagues of Babylon result in death (18:8), the New Jerusalem is a place where there is no more death (21:4). In Babylon the lamps go dark (18:23), in the New Jerusalem, the Lamb is its lamp, it is brightly lit (21:23, 25, 22:5). Babylon is thrown down with violence (18:23), the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem reign forever and ever (22:5). Underlying this whole contrast is the imagery of a prostitute (unfaithfulness to God) and the image of a bride (faithfulness to God). Human beings get to decide which city to live in and which fate will be theirs. So I think I know that the Babylon of Revelation 17 is strongly parallel to the New Jerusalem of 21-22.