Verse 4
‘And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, even the unclean things of her fornication.’
What an absurd picture. While pretending piety in the wilderness her outward appearance tells a different story. She is decked out like a prostitute, enjoying all that comes from wealth and influence because of what she offers in her golden cup. She is the epitome of a pretence piety, of false religion.
‘Abominations’. This word is constantly used in the Old Testament to represent idolatry and idolatrous worship with all that accompanied it, including spiritualism, magic, witchcraft and divination (Deuteronomy 18:9-12; 2 Kings 23:24; Deuteronomy 29:17; Deuteronomy 32:16; 1 Kings 14:23-24; 2Ki 16:3-4 ; 2 Kings 21:2-3; Ezekiel 8:6 and often; Revelation 11:18; Ezekiel 16:15-26 - linked with harlotry). It is often described in terms of whoredom and uncleanness because of its accompaniments. For her golden cup see Jeremiah 51:7, ‘Babylon has been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunk. The nations have drunk of her cup, therefore the nations are mad’. This is what Babylon symbolises.
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