Revelation 17

One of the bowl angels shows John a vision of a great prostitute riding a scarlet beast. She stands for a rich, seductive, persecuting world system called Babylon. The angel explains the symbols, and the chapter ends with the beast and its kings turning on her, while the Lamb wins the final victory.

Revelation 17:1

One of the seven bowl angels invites John to see the judgment of the great prostitute. In the Old Testament, a prostitute often pictures a people or city unfaithful to God. Her “many waters” show how far her influence reaches. God’s judgment on her is certain.

BSA: prostitute (“harlot, one who engages in spiritual adultery”): The picture is about betrayal of God as much as about sexual sin. punishment (“judgment, condemnation”): What John is shown is a verdict being carried out, not a random disaster.

See also: Revelation 16:1; Isaiah 1:21.

Revelation 17:2

Rulers and ordinary people alike have been drawn into her corruption. The wine image shows how her seductions dull judgment, so people stagger along and cannot see what they are doing. Political compromise and personal indulgence both come from the same cup.

BSA: intoxicated (“made drunk, under the influence”): Her influence clouds the mind, so people follow her without thinking.

See also: Jeremiah 51:7.

Revelation 17:3

John is carried in the Spirit to a wilderness and sees the woman seated on a scarlet beast. The beast is covered with blasphemous names. This is the same kind of beast that rose from the sea in chapter 13. She depends on its power, and its worship is an insult to God.

BSA: wilderness (“deserted, desolate area”): The place already suggests her end: a barren, empty land.

See also: Revelation 13:1.

Revelation 17:4

Her purple, scarlet, gold, jewels and pearls show wealth and splendor. But the golden cup in her hand is full of filth. The outward glamor hides the inward rot. Evil often looks lovely, and the verse teaches the reader to look beneath the surface.

BSA: abominations (“detestable things, idolatrous practices”): The word often means idolatry, which God hates most of all.

Greek: βδελυγμάτων (bdelygmatōn, G946) — “detestable, disgusting things.” The word describes what God finds loathsome, and in the Old Testament it is often used of idols and the practices that go with them.

Revelation 17:5

Her forehead bears a mysterious name: Babylon the Great. Ancient Babylon was the proud, idolatrous city that crushed God’s people. Here the name stands for that same spirit in every age. She is called the mother, meaning the source from which spiritual unfaithfulness spreads across the earth.

BSA: mysterious (“secret, hidden truth”): The name has a meaning that has to be explained, not just read. MOTHER (“the source, origin”): She is the source that breeds idolatry and immorality.

Greek: μυστήριον (mystērion, G3466) — “a secret now being made known.” In the Bible a mystery is not a puzzle with no answer. It is something hidden that God reveals, and the angel goes on to explain it.

See also: Daniel 4:30; Isaiah 47:1.

Revelation 17:6

She is drunk with the blood of believers who died for their faith in Jesus. The world system that looks so attractive has killed those who would not bow to it. John is stunned, both by the horror and by the sight of such a thing. God sees every martyr’s death.

BSA: witnesses (“those who testify, martyrs”): The Greek word for witness is the one from which we get martyr, since many who testified died for it.

Greek: μαρτύρων (martyrōn, G3144) — “witnesses.” Those who bore witness to Jesus were often killed for it, and so the word came to mean martyr.

See also: Revelation 6:9-10.

Revelation 17:7

The angel gently asks why John is so astonished and promises to explain. God does not leave his servants in the dark about the powers that oppress them. The vision is meant to be understood. What follows decodes both the woman and the beast that carries her.

BSA: mystery (“secret or hidden truth”): It is a hidden truth that God now opens to his servant.

Revelation 17:8

The beast mimics God, who is and was and is to come. It was, is not, and will rise again from the Abyss, only to go to destruction. People whose names are not in the Book of Life will marvel at it. Those who belong to God are not fooled.

BSA: Abyss (“deep, seemingly bottomless pit”): The beast’s power comes from the place of evil spirits, not from heaven. destruction (“perdition, eternal loss”): The beast’s end is final ruin, however impressive its return.

See also: Revelation 1:8; Revelation 13:8.

Revelation 17:9

The angel calls for wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains where the woman sits. Rome was famous as a city on seven hills, and many readers have seen her as the first-century power in view. The picture can also stand for any great, proud empire.

BSA: mountains (“high elevations of land, or seats of power”): Mountains can be literal hills or symbols of great kingdoms. wisdom (“higher or spiritual understanding”): The vision must be read with God-given discernment, not just quick guessing.

See also: Jeremiah 51:25.

Revelation 17:10

The heads are also seven kings: five fallen, one reigning, one yet to come who will last only briefly. Christians have read these in different ways, either as particular rulers or as the sweep of worldly powers. The plain point is that their time is limited and God knows its length.

BSA: fallen (“collapsed, come to an end”): Earthly kingdoms look permanent but they collapse.

Revelation 17:11

The beast itself is an eighth king, yet one of the seven. It is somehow a return of the same evil power in a more terrible form. But the verse ends with the same word as before: destruction. Whatever its form, this power is heading for ruin.

BSA: destruction (“perdition, eternal loss, ruin”): The end of the beast is already settled.

Revelation 17:12

The ten horns are ten kings who have no kingdom yet. They receive authority for one hour along with the beast. An hour means a very short time. Their power is borrowed and brief, and it only exists because it is permitted.

BSA: hour (“a short time, a brief period”): Their reign is no more than a moment in God’s plan.

See also: Daniel 7:24.

Revelation 17:13

These kings share a single purpose: to hand their power and authority to the beast. They stand united, but united in surrender to evil. Human power given to the beast is power taken from God’s rightful rule, and it ends in loss.

BSA: purpose (“resolution, decision”): They act in agreement, as if they chose this path together.

Revelation 17:14

The kings make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb conquers them. He wins because of who he is: Lord of lords and King of kings. His people are with him, called, chosen and faithful. The battle is certain to end in his favor, and his followers share his triumph.

BSA: Lamb (“Jesus Christ”): The one who was slain for sinners is the one who wins. faithful (“trustworthy, loyal”): Those with him have stayed true to the end.

See also: Revelation 19:16; Revelation 19:19-21.

Revelation 17:15

The waters where the prostitute sits are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. Her influence reaches across the whole human race. That explains how she can seduce so many. It also shows that her reach is not a sign of strength, since all of it falls under God’s judgment.

BSA: tongues (“languages and dialects”): Every language group is within her reach.

See also: Isaiah 8:7.

Revelation 17:16

In a surprising turn, the beast and the ten horns hate the prostitute. They strip her, devour her and burn her. Evil is not united in the end. The powers that used her turn against her, and her ruin is complete and shameful.

BSA: desolate (“laid waste or destroyed”): She is left empty, just as the wilderness suggested. naked (“exposed or vulnerable”): Her glamor is stripped away and her true state shown.

See also: Ezekiel 23:25-29.

Revelation 17:17

Even this is under God’s control. He put it into the kings’ hearts to carry out his purpose, until his words are fulfilled. Evil powers act freely, yet they cannot go beyond what God has decreed. The reader can rest in that sovereignty.

BSA: fulfilled (“completed, accomplished, brought to pass”): Every word God has spoken will be carried through to the end.

See also: Proverbs 21:1.

Revelation 17:18

The angel names her: the great city that rules over the kings of the earth. For John’s first readers this pointed to the dominant power of their day, and Rome is widely thought to be in view. More broadly she stands for any proud world order set against God. She falls, and Christ’s kingdom remains.

BSA: rules (“reigns, has dominion”): She holds real power over earthly rulers, but only for a time.

See also: Revelation 18:2.