And upon her forehead was written a name, a mystery: ‘Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and of the disgusting things of the earth.’

Revelation 17:4-

23. What is the full name of Babylon the Great, and what is its significance?

²³ As was the custom in ancient Rome, this prostitute is identified by the name on her forehead.d It is a long name: “Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and of the disgusting things of the earth.” That name is “a mystery,” something with hidden meaning. But in God’s due time, the mystery is to be explained. In fact, the angel gives John enough information to allow Jehovah’s servants today to discern the full significance of this descriptive name. We recognize Babylon the Great as being all of false religion. She is “the mother of the harlots” because all the individual false religions in the world, including the many sects in Christendom, are like her daughters, imitating her in committing spiritual harlotry. She is also the mother of “disgusting things” in that she has given birth to such revolting offspring as idolatry, spiritism, fortune-telling, astrology, palmistry, human sacrifice, temple prostitution, drunkenness in honor of false gods, and other obscene practices.