Revelation · chapter 17 of 22
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Revelation 17 presents the vision of a woman, the great prostitute, seated on a scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns, drunk with the blood of the saints and called Babylon the great. An angel explains that the heads and horns are kings and that the beast was, is not and is about to rise from the abyss. The kings make war on the Lamb, who conquers them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and finally they destroy the prostitute.
One of the angels of the bowls now shows John the judgment of Babylon, announced in chapters 14 and 16. This chapter and the next describe the fall of the city that symbolizes the world's seduction and oppression against God. It is one of the most complex visions in the book, and it has been read with reference to Rome, to systems of power in every age or to a future power.
One of the seven angels with the bowls invites John to see the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed immorality and with whose wine the inhabitants of the earth have become drunk. In the Spirit, John sees a woman seated on a scarlet beast covered with blasphemous names, with seven heads and ten horns. The woman is clothed in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, jewels and pearls, and holds in her hand a golden cup full of abominations. On her forehead is a mysterious name: Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes. She is drunk with the blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus, and John marvels greatly (vv. 1-6).
The angel explains the mystery. The beast you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction, and the inhabitants of the earth will marvel to see it. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are also seven kings: five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. The beast itself is an eighth and belongs to the seven. The ten horns are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority for one hour together with the beast (vv. 7-13).
These kings make war on the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called, chosen and faithful. The angel explains that the waters where the prostitute sits are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The ten horns and the beast will hate the prostitute, make her desolate and naked, devour her flesh and burn her with fire, for God put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose. The woman is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth (vv. 14-18).
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
On the woman's forehead is a mysterious name: Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations. The name indicates that she is not an ordinary city but a symbol of the world's seduction and rebellion against God.
The woman is drunk with the blood of the saints and of the martyrs of Jesus. The text shows that the power that seduces with luxury and pleasure also persecutes those who will not bow.
The kings will make war on the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, together with the called, chosen and faithful. The victory is Christ's and does not depend on the strength of his people.
God put it into the hearts of the kings to carry out his purpose until his words are fulfilled. Even the actions of hostile powers remain under his sovereignty, without freeing them from responsibility.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: A scarlet beast covered with blasphemous names, with seven heads and ten horns. — Revelation 17:3
Answer: In purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, jewels and pearls. — Revelation 17:4
Answer: Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations. — Revelation 17:5
Answer: The blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus. — Revelation 17:6
Answer: Seven mountains on which the woman sits, and also seven kings. — Revelation 17:9-10
Answer: Because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. — Revelation 17:14
Revelation 17 warns us that evil can appear well dressed: with luxury, pleasure and prestige. For the first readers, that meant compromising with a system that demanded loyalty in exchange for security. A group can ask what current forms of seduction, such as consumerism or success at any price, compete with loyalty to Christ.
At the same time, the chapter assures us that no power has the last word. The Lamb conquers with the called, chosen and faithful. Our task is not to predict who is who in history, but to remain faithful and trust that God governs even the powers that oppose him.
Revelation 17 ends with the prostitute destroyed by the very kings who allied with her. Chapter 18 describes the fall of Babylon in more detail and the lament of those who profited from her.
It is a symbolic name taken from the ancient city that oppressed Israel. Many interpreters link it with Rome, to which the text seems to allude with the seven mountains; others see a symbol of every worldly system that seduces and persecutes; and others, a future city or power. The readings do not entirely exclude one another.
The text says that five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. Some link them to Roman emperors, though they do not agree on the list; others understand successive empires or a symbolic number for the totality of human power. The text gives no names.
It parodies the title of God, who is, was and is to come. The beast imitates a resurrection but goes to destruction. It has been linked to the rumor that an emperor would return, to a power that is reborn in different ages, or to a final figure.