REVELATION 17 [†]Then v one of the seven angels who had w the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of x the great prostitute y who is seated on many waters, 2[†] z with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and a with the wine of whose sexual immorality b the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” 3[†]And c he carried me away in the Spirit d into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on e a scarlet beast that was full of f blasphemous names, and g it had seven heads and ten horns. 4[†]The woman h was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned i with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand j a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. 5And on her forehead was written a name of k mystery: l “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” 6[†]And I saw the woman, drunk m with the blood of the saints, the blood of n the martyrs of Jesus.
When I saw her, I marveled greatly. 7[†]But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you o the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 8[†]The beast that you saw p was, and is not, and q is about to rise from r the bottomless pit and s go to destruction. And t the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in u the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because p it was and is not and is to come. 9[†] v This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. 11As for the beast w that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. 12[†]And x the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings y for one hour, together with the beast. 13These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14They z will make war on the Lamb, and a the Lamb will conquer them, for he is b Lord of lords and b King of kings, and those with him are c called and chosen and faithful.”
15And the angel said to me, d “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. 16[†]And e the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast f will hate the prostitute. They will make her g desolate and h naked, and i devour her flesh and j burn her up with fire, 17for k God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and l handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18[†]And the woman that you saw is m the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”
REVELATION—NOTE ON 17:1–19:10 Babylon the Prostitute. An extended vision elaborates on the fall of Babylon, previously announced by an angel (14:8) and portrayed in the seventh bowl (16:18–19). The city appears as a woman, a prostitute (17:1–6); then an angel explains the meaning of the woman and the beast on which she sits (17:7–18). Finally, a series of voices comment on her fall—from the perspective of heaven (18:1–8), through earthly laments (18:9–19), and again from heaven’s viewpoint (18:20–19:10). The “great prostitute” and “Babylon the great” (chs. 17 and 18) are synonymous, both depicting the empire of the beast. Many futurists think that Babylon represents a great religious entity (not identified more specifically) that will follow and support the Antichrist in the end times. Historically, many Protestants identified Babylon with the Roman Catholic Church, but that view is not widely held today. Others foresee an actual restoration of ancient Babylon, while still others think this represents some kind of revived Roman Empire or similar political entity (see note on 17:9–11).
REVELATION—NOTE ON 17:3 carried me away in the Spirit. John was transported by the Holy Spirit in a prophetic vision, as was Ezekiel (Ezek. 3:12; 11:24; cf. 2 Pet. 1:21; Rev. 19:10). wilderness. A place of spiritual protection (cf. 12:6, 14) but also physical deprivation, where John could see through Babylon’s surface beauty to her underlying ugliness. The beast of ch. 13 is now a scarlet beast on which the woman sits. Some understand this to be the Antichrist, who supports Babylon.
REVELATION—NOTE ON 17:1 Many waters symbolizes the many peoples and nations over which Babylon rules (vv. 15, 18). The contrast between the prostitute and the Lamb’s bride is emphasized by similarities in the way they are introduced. In both cases, one of the angels with the seven bowls tells John, “Come, I will show you,” and then carries him away in the Spirit (cf. 21:9–10).
REVELATION—NOTE ON 17:4 Both prostitute and bride are adorned in gold, jewels, pearls, and fine linen (cf. 18:16; 19:8; 21:18–21). Babylon’s apparel is opulent purple and scarlet, while the bride’s is bright, pure white. As the beast portrays the state’s power to coerce religious conformity through violence, so the prostitute symbolizes the seductive appeal of a worldly economic system driven by the quest of affluence and pleasure (18:11–19). The disgusting brew that brims from her golden cup drives her lovers insane (cf. Jer. 51:7).
REVELATION—NOTE ON 17:1–15 Babylon’s Power and Luxury. Babylon’s sumptuous clothing and jewelry signify the allure of prosperity. Her name, “mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations” (v. 5), represents the lust of godless societies for sensual pleasure and their rejection of all restraints. Her becoming drunk on the blood of the saints, and the beast on which she sits, reveals that, in cultures that defy God, an insidious conspiracy unites the relentless pursuit of wealth and pleasure and the ruthless exercise of political and coercive power.
REVELATION—NOTE ON 17:9–11 Rome, which then had “dominion over the kings of the earth” (v. 18), rests on seven mountains (or seven hills; cf. Introduction to Romans: The Ancient City of Rome). In prophetic imagery, mountains symbolize the seat of power (Jer. 51:24–25; Dan. 2:35, 44–45). The beast’s seven heads, symbolizing both mountains and kings, show its power over earth-dwellers whose names are not in the book of life. Efforts to identify in history the five … fallen kings (or kingdoms), the sixth (current) king, a seventh (future) king who would reign briefly, and the eighth that belongs to the seven have yielded conflicting conclusions (proposals include several Roman emperors, several world empires, or simply numerical symbols standing for all worldly kingdoms that culminate in the beast). Even if they cannot be identified specifically, these details send the message that, although the dragon and beast’s final assault has not yet begun, their “time is short” (Rev. 12:12), for the beast goes to destruction.
REVELATION—NOTE ON 17:8 The beast … was and is not and is to come; it had received a mortal wound yet came back to life (13:12–14). The prediction that the beast was about to rise from the bottomless pit (11:7) and go to destruction means that its present power to persecute Christians is inhibited, and that its future appearance in unprecedented violence will be short-lived (see 19:19–21; 20:7–10).
REVELATION—NOTE ON 17:16–19:10 Babylon’s Fall Lamented and Celebrated. The depraved militant powers that now sustain Babylon’s pursuit of pleasure will dismantle and destroy its affluence and social order, to the distress of those who idolized and profited from its wealth—and to the delight of believers, who have suffered its violent attacks.
REVELATION—NOTE ON 17:12–14 The beast’s ten horns symbolize ten kings not yet in power and destined to reign merely for one hour, under the beast’s control. These 10 probably represent all of the earth’s kings (not just 10 specific kings or nations), deceived and gathered by the dragon and the beast for a momentary, final, futile insurrection against the Lamb and an assault on his called and chosen and faithful followers (see 16:14; 19:19–21; 20:7–10). John will see the Lamb as the Word of God, Lord of lords and King of kings, riding into triumph over the beast and its coconspirators (19:11–21). Some dispensationalists identify these 10 horns with political entities represented by the 10 toes of the image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Dan. 2:41–42) and the “ten horns” on the fourth beast that Daniel saw rising from the sea (Dan. 7:7, 20, 24).
REVELATION—NOTE ON 17:2 Sexual immorality and spiritual infidelity are interlinked; in Scripture the former often symbolizes the latter (2:20–23; Ezek. 16:15–43). Babylon’s wanton beauty seduces and intoxicates both heart and body.
REVELATION—NOTE ON 17:16–17 The satanic alliance of prostitute and beast will disintegrate, and military power will ravage the economic system it once supported. When the beast and its allies strip the prostitute naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, they will imitate the judgment pronounced by God on Israel, his unfaithful bride (Ezek. 16:39–41). God sovereignly uses even his enemies to carry out his purpose and fulfill his words, both for the salvation of his own people (Acts 2:23; 4:24–28) and for the destruction of the enemies themselves.
REVELATION—NOTE ON 17:6 drunk with the blood of the … martyrs of Jesus. Pleasure-addicted society conspires with the power-addicted state to silence the testimony of Jesus’ witnesses by putting them to death (13:15–17).
REVELATION—NOTE ON 17:18 The great city is identified with Rome, which had dominion over the kings of the earth.
REVELATION—NOTE ON 17:7 In vv. 7–18, the angel interprets the mystery portrayed in the prostitute and the beast.