NT Text: Revelation 17:6
OT Source(s):
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Analogy + Longitudinal Theme
Significance: Isaiah 34:5-7 describes YHWH's sword as "bathed in heaven" and "drunk with blood" (rivtah) in the judgment against Edom, with the land soaked in blood and fat from the divine slaughter. Revelation 17:6 describes the harlot Babylon as "drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses for Jesus." Both texts use the image of being intoxicated or saturated with blood. In Isaiah, it is YHWH's instrument of judgment that is drunk with blood; in Revelation, it is the persecuting city that has gorged itself on the blood of the faithful. The ironic reversal is that the one drunk on blood will herself be made to drink the cup of God's wrath (17:16; 18:6). This allusion connects Babylon's persecution of the saints with the OT pattern of blood-guilt that demands divine retribution.