The Woman named Mystery, Babylon the Great, as described in Revelation 17 and 18, emerges as a powerful and influential entity, far beyond the confines of a mere religious institution. Her identification as a mystery suggests a deeper, enigmatic significance. Revelation 18 portrays her not as a church, but as a city or nation deeply entrenched in massive, worldwide merchandising, shipping, and manufacturing, embodying a prophetic image of globalism. Her economic might is so vast that her downfall would halt worldwide trade, instilling panic among businessmen. This Woman, representing Jerusalem and all Israel, is depicted as the great harlot, unfaithful to the covenant relationship with God. Despite the intimacy and exclusivity of this bond, where God favored her with unparalleled gifts and revelations, Israel's deviance and faithlessness stand out as the greatest on earth. Her worldly greatness, achieved through the misuse of God's gifts, positions her as a dominant force, controlling a significant portion of global wealth and exerting political, economic, and military power. So great is her influence that she holds the Beast in check, bending it to her will until God's appointed time for her humbling arrives. Revelation 17 further illustrates her authority, showing her sitting upon many waters, the Beast, and seven mountains, symbolizing her dominion over numerous nations. The waters, defined as peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues, highlight the Beast's diverse composition, contrasting with the Woman's depiction as a singular, united entity. This suggests that God views her as one powerful people, distinct from the fragmented multitudes of the Beast, wielding wide-ranging influence and the ability to command and be served.

God uses the term great to describe an adulterous capital city, and by extension the rest of the unfaithful nation, ten times in the book of Revelation. Greatness, however, is certainly not synonymous with goodness. America has grown great indeed, and could very well be called the greatest nation, yet this is not a greatness of which to be proud. On September 12, 2001, Anthony C. LoBaido, a columnist, wrote an article entitled Judgment Day in Mystery Babylon?, daring to suggest that America might bear some blame for its tragedies. LoBaido notes that while the West often views Islamic people as irrational, Muslims might not be irrational in considering America akin to satan, reflecting values of lust, greed, gluttony, and revenge that mirror American society. Despite its wealth, power, resources, and technology, America's greatness is hollow without goodness.

In Revelation 17, the Woman identified as Mystery, Babylon the Great, is depicted as riding the Beast, symbolizing a position of control and dominance over a powerful entity with seven heads and ten horns. This Woman represents a city and nation, not a church, and is part of the same general Babylonish system as the Beast, though they exhibit distinct aspects and approaches within that system. Despite the Beast's portrayal as a formidable combination of the strongest parts of a leopard, bear, and lion, the Woman is shown as greater, superior, and more influential at this point in the prophecy. The relationship between the Woman and the Beast involves both cooperation and competition for world domination, yet this internal division within the Babylonish system ultimately leads to its downfall, as confirmed by Revelation 17:16, where the ten horns of the Beast turn against the Woman, making her desolate and destroying her. The Woman, symbolizing Babylon, is described as the mother of harlots, a term used collectively for all inhabitants, male and female, indicating their shared characteristics within this corrupt system. Revelation 18 further elaborates on the Woman, portraying her as a city and nation deeply involved in massive, worldwide commerce, manufacturing, and entertainment, presenting a prophetic picture of global influence. Unlike a religious figure promoting worship of the Beast, the Woman in Revelation 17-18 is heavily engaged in politics, manufacturing, and merchandising, exerting external influence over the Beast rather than being part of its internal structure. Babylon, as epitomized by this Woman, reaches the peak of its worldwide influence in the end time, embodying the system that stands in opposition to God's will.

In the end-time prophecies of Revelation 17 and 18, the entity known as Mystery, Babylon the Great, is identified as Israel, the physical descendants of Abraham, who have earned this title through a history of unfaithfulness to God. Despite entering into a covenant with Him, Israel has rebelled against her responsibilities, embracing the ways of the world to such an extent that she has surpassed the Gentiles in her manner of life, becoming appropriately named Babylon the Great. God depicts all of Israel in close relationship with the Beast, influencing it significantly, with the two Joseph tribes, America and Britain, as the strongest components of this Woman, and perhaps America as the most influential in these last days. Israel's identity as the Great Harlot is rooted in her unique covenant relationship with God, a bond not shared by any Gentile nation or church, making her solely qualified for this designation due to her corruption of that sacred agreement. God describes her as arrayed in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls, holding a golden cup full of abominations, illustrating her immense wealth and power among nations. This wealth, combined with her influence, allows her to sit upon many waters, the Beast, and seven mountains, symbolizing her authority over peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues, guiding or coercing them to do her bidding. The Woman, depicted as a singular people in contrast to the diverse, unrelated multitudes of the Beast, represents Israel, led primarily by the Joseph tribes, in intimate association with the Beast through political, trade, and military ties. Her strength is evident in her ability to control such a ferocious entity as the Beast, a power only Israel possesses in the world today. Despite her material greatness, she is also spiritually great in immorality, confusion, deviance from responsibility, and polluted influence, holding the Beast in check until God's appointed time. Israel's history reveals a pattern of hypocrisy, palming herself off as a Christian nation while conducting life as immorally as any pagan people. The blood of martyrs stains her past, and more will be added to her despicable and hypocritical anti-God record in the near future. As a major player in the biblical narrative, Israel's role as the Great Harlot underscores God's continued focus on her, even in the ultimate end-time book of Revelation, where His purpose for the nation remains incomplete.