Objectives in Studying this Chapter:
1) To appreciate the importance of this chapter in interpreting the book of Revelation
2) To note the significance of the fact that the beast “is not” when the Revelation was given
3) To ascertain the identity of the great harlot and the scarlet beast
A Reading of Revelation, Chapter 17
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, ‘Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.’
3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written:
MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE
MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE
EARTH.
6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.
7 But the angel said to me, ‘Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 ‘Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 10 There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. 11 The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.
12 ‘The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.’
15 Then he said to me, ‘The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the Words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.’”
Introduction
Five enemies of Christ and His people have been introduced so far in Revelation. They are: the dragon, the beast from the sea, the beast from the land, the harlot Babylon the Great, and the men having the mark of the beast. Chapters 15 and 16 have shown God’s judgments against those having the mark of the beast. Chapters 17 and 18 can well be described by the opening statement of Revelation 17:1: “I will show you the judgment of the great harlot (whore) who sits on many waters.” The fall of Babylon the Great had been anticipated in Revelation 14:8: “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of fornication…” and Revelation 16:19: “Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath…,” but all if its details are now given.
The last half of the book of Revelation presents a contrast between the radiant woman (chapter 12) and the harlot, drunk with the blood of Christian martyrs, riding upon the beast. Also, a contrast is drawn between the city of Babylon the Great, full of idolatrous abominations, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from heaven as a bride adorned to meet her bridegroom.
One of the great puzzles of this book is how to interpret these two women symbolizing the two cities. The harlot riding upon the terrible beast is identified as Babylon the Great, later described as a great and wicked city, Revelation 18:5, 10. In contrast, the bride of Christ is described as making herself ready for the great marriage feast (Revelation 19: 7-8), and is identified in chapter 21:9-10 as the new Jerusalem coming down from God. Throughout this half of the book, these two stand in opposition to one another.
Yet, the question that interpreters have had to face is, “What is the connection, if any, between these two women and the two cities?”
There are those who make a direct connection between the two women, seeing in Babylon the Great, the drunken harlot, the picture of the radiant woman, from chapter 12, gone astray and now persecuting the true Christians, as the apostate church. Those who follow the apostate church view connect this primarily with the Roman Catholic Church and the papacy, which is its foundation, as the false form of Christianity which has persecuted those trying to follow the New Testament teachings. They point out that it is in the wilderness into which the radiant woman fled in chapter 12 that we see the woman who is the harlot here in chapter 17, having been greatly changed (verse 3 – the angel carries John in the Spirit into the wilderness). They also point out that fornication is one of the important symbols of apostasy from God throughout the Old Testament, which is true. The luxury of her attire, and her close alliance with the kings and rulers of earth, they say, point to the wealth of the Roman Catholic Church and the constant political ambitions and alliances of the papacy.
Another major group of interpreters see in the term, “Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots,” a reference to imperial Rome, the persecutor, the anti-Christian power so opposed to Christianity. They point out that this interpretation speaks more to the needs of the early church and the problems they confronted than to the apostate church idea with its later papacy. In addition, the descriptions made in chapter 18 (which we will see in our next lesson) are distinctly those of a great commercial civilization with its materialistic emphases and powers, which seem to refer to the trade, luxury, and vice of a great commercial state like imperial Rome, rather than to an apostate church.
It seems most likely that the early Christians reading this book would find distinct references to imperial Rome in chapter 17:9, 18. To make this refer to a later papal Rome with a developed hierarchy would certainly be unlikely to these 1st Century readers. The similarity between the description here and that given of Tyre in Ezekiel, chapter 17, or of ancient Babylon sitting on many waters in Jeremiah 51:13, as pagan centers of vice and materialism is striking. While primarily referring to imperial Rome, Babylon can also stand as a symbol of secular anti-Christian powers that in every age oppose God’s rule in His world and seek to destroy His people. This interpretation seems the most adequate in view of those addressed and the context of the book.
VISION OF THE GREAT HARLOT (VERSES 1-6)
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, ‘Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.’ 3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written:
MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE
MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND
OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE
EARTH.
6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.”
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls introduces this vision by inviting John to see the judgment of the great harlot [verse 1]. The word translated “judgment” is from the Greek word “krima.” It carries the idea of condemnation, the result of having already been judged by a righteous God.”
Notice that she is called a “harlot” (whore, prostitute), from the Greek, “pornfl”, and never called an adulteress, from the Greek “mojchalas”. She is not a bride and has never been a bride, nor has she ever been the wife of the Lamb. She has never been pledged to the Lamb and cannot be thought of as the apostate church. The word “harlot” is also applied to ancient Nineveh, Nahum 3:4 [“Because of the multitude of harlotries of the seductive harlot, The mistress of sorceries, Who sells nations through her harlotries, And families through her sorceries.”], and to Tyre, Isaiah 23:16-17 [“‘Take a harp, go about the city, You forgotten harlot; Make sweet melody, sing many songs, That you may be remembered.’ 17 And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the LORD will deal with Tyre. She will return to her hire, and commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.”], neither of which cities were ever a part of God’s chosen people in the Old Testament. These points would seem to confirm the interpretation of this “whore” or “harlot” as the anti-Christian world.
She is represented as sitting “upon many waters.” This is introduced here, but not interpreted until verse 15, where we learn that this refers to “peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.” Her sitting refers to her ruling over them. It also alludes to ancient Babylon, located by the waters of the Euphrates amid the canals that interlaced the rich plain, Jeremiah 51:13, and the center of a great ancient empire that carried away the Jews into captivity. [Jeremiah 51:13: “O you who dwell by many waters, Abundant in treasures, Your end has come, The measure of your covetousness.”]
Two things the angel accuses the harlot of doing [verse 2]: (1) committing fornication with the kings of the earth; (2) making the earth dwellers drunk with the wine of her fornication. These “dwellers upon the earth” [“habitants of the earth”] are the ones described in chapter 13, verse 8, as those “whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb.”
In verse 3, the angel the carries the prophet [John] away in the Spirit into the wilderness, and to his great amazement he sees a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored beast. The beast has seven heads and ten horns and is full of blasphemous names, reminding one of both the dragon in chapter 12 and the beast from the sea in chapter 13. The woman is luxuriously dressed in the royal colors, purple and scarlet, bedecked with gold, precious stones and pearls [verse 4]. She holds a golden cup in her hand that is full of “abominations,” meaning “detestable things” from the Greek “bdelugma”, a word that in the Greek Old Testament frequently meant “moral and ceremonial uncleanness connected with idolatrous worship.”
On her forehead is an identifying name [verse 5], alluding to the custom of prostitutes who, in public brothels of Rome, wore headbands on which their names were placed. The name written on her forehead is: “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” The meaning of the word “MYSTERY” signifies that it is not to be taken literally, but symbolically. She is the mother city of all the harlots and abominations of the earth. John sees her drunken, not with wine [verse 6], but “with the blood of the saints” (Christians) and “the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” These martyrs (witnesses) were sealing their witness with their blood. She has not only corrupted herself in her idolatrous and lustful living, but she has crowned all her sin by her persecution of God’s people. She is like a drunkard, wanting more and more blood of the saints. It is no wonder that John sees in her what Jeremiah saw in ancient Babylon, Jeremiah 51:7: “Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, That made all the earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; Therefore the nations are deranged.”
THE BEAST INTERPRETED (VERSES 7-11)
“But the angel said to me, ‘Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 ‘Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 10 There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. 11 The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.’”
As is often true in this interesting book, the interpretation of the woman is left to last [in verses 15-19], even though she is mentioned first. The order of interpretation begins with the beast, followed by the ten horns [verses 12-14], then the waters, and last the woman. The beast and the woman are so closely related that he is spoken of as carrying her (verse 7). Because the beast so nearly represents the dragon and the beast from the sea earlier in the book, it is difficult to be absolutely sure regarding the meaning of the beast. It puzzled John and it puzzles us. In some verses here, it would appear to represent the empire that supports the woman, which is the great city of Rome. In other verses, it appears to refer to one single individual or a succession of individuals, who represent the empire. Thus, the beast can be interpreted personally, as in verse 11. It is likely that this is purposeful on the part of John so that the interpretation may not be too limited.
The beast is describes as one that “…was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition,” [verse 8]. It is as if the beast has died, and will soon be resurrected. Scholars have pointed out a kind of parallel between God and His Messiah, Jesus Christ, and Satan and his “messiah,” the beast. There is the living, dying, and “rising again” of both, but with this difference: Christ was raised to reign eternally; the beast comes up to go to perdition.
The seven heads [verse 9] are interpreted not only as seven mountains, an obvious reference to Rome that sits upon seven hills, but also to seven kings [verses 10-11], five of whom are fallen, one exists, and one is about to come for a short time, and then following him an eighth one, who is the beast himself (verses 9-11).
This eighth one is the beast “of the seven,” thus a king like them, yet it is clear from verses 1-6 that the beast represents a city and an empire. It would appear that the heads, the kings, represent the empire as a whole. Some interpreters have tried to work out a historical list of Roman emperors that would come out at the time of Domitian, when the book was written. The most widely followed procedure among this group of interpreters is to begin with Emperor Augustus Caesar, followed by Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero, omitting the names of Galba, Otho, and Vetellius, whose short reigns occur during the anarchy of 68 and 69 AD. Vespasian (69-79 AD) is identified as “the one who is” and Titus as the one to come for only a short time (79-81 AD), thus making Domitian the eighth (81-96 AD), the beast that embodied all the evil of the past in himself. This is open to the objections that it omits three names in order to get the right number, and makes the book a product of the reign of Vespasian rather than Domitian. Any endeavor to make the heads correspond to the Roman emperors runs into difficulty. It would seem to indicate that the number “seven” here is symbolic of the Roman rulers as a whole and, by extension, of all world powers opposed to God.
Many scholars see in the beast that was, is not, and shall ascend, a reference to the popular 1st Century legend that Nero, who actually committed suicide, was not dead, but would return from the East at the head of an army and take possession of the Empire. Nero, who had first cruelly persecuted the Christians, would be “revived” in the beast that would continue to persecute. Domitian was certainly a revived Nero, persecuting Christians and claiming divine honors for himself.
Others look upon the seven “kings” as kingdoms, with five fallen, one (the Roman Empire) in existence, and one yet to come that would more or less embody in itself all the forces of the antichrist against God’s people. The flexibility of this symbol between empire and individual keeps us from being too strict in our interpretation. The fact that there is more to come indicates that the end of the opposition of the evil forces has not yet arrived.
Several times in this paragraph of Scripture, the assurance of the defeat of the beast and his heads allows us to see the failure of Satan’s efforts against Christ and His people. Though the dwellers on earth are amazed and attracted by the beast’s power and revival, they will share in the completeness of his overthrow. Evil will be destroyed in God’s world ultimately, and for men to choose the side of evil is to condemn themselves to complete failure and destruction in the end.
THE TEN HORNS INTERPRETED (VERSES 12-14)
12 “‘The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.’”
The ten horns are ten kings without a kingdom, but exercising power as kings for “one hour,” a brief period, along with the beast. They are allies of the beast, giving him their strength and power. Who are the ten horns, the ten kings? Several interpretations have been advanced: (1) They are unknown future rulers toward the end of the Roman Empire who will join in helping to destroy her; (2) Governors of provinces under the Roman Senate that hold office for a year; (3) Parthian satraps that will be coming back with Nero at the head of the Parthian forces to capture the Roman Empire; (4) Purely symbolic powers, representing all of the powers of the nations that are subservient to the beast, the antichrist; (5) The mighty persons of all the earth in every realm of endeavor who serve evil influences and work against the cause of Christ. The first and fourth seem more plausible.
The ten all have one purpose—to oppose and to fight against Christ and His people. This purpose is expressed in the words, “These shall make war with the Lamb,” [verse 14]. One is not to think here of a literal war in which Christ and His people are drawn up against the evil forces of the world, but rather a spiritual war in which the Lamb, along with His called, chosen, and faithful ones, will overcome the beast and the kings associated with him. Christ is called here “the Lord of lords, and King of kings,” acclaiming Him the true Ruler over all.
THE WOMAN SITTING ON MANY WATERS (VERSES 15-18)
“15 Then he said to me, ‘The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the Words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.’”
We have already referred to verse 15 in interpreting the waters, which signify the great polyglot of peoples that made up not only the Roman Empire of the 1st Century, but make up the nations of the world bewitched by Satan’s influence [verse 15]. Interestingly enough, the horns associated with the beast in their power turn upon the harlot to strip her of her finery and make her desolate and naked, then eat up her flesh and burn her up with fire [verse 16]. This is what eventually happens to her, even though she is so prosperous, beautiful, and seemingly fortunate. God’s overruling providence enables these very agents to fulfill His Will “until the Words of God are fulfilled,” [verse 17]. Swete [in his commentary] sees the fulfillment in the long series of disastrous invasions of Rome and her Empire, bringing its fall.
Here we see illustrated once more the great Truth that Jesus taught, “The house divided against itself cannot stand” [Mark 3:23-26: “23 So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.”]. Satan divided against himself is bound to fall. The seeds of destruction are within every force of evil, and nothing could illustrate it better than the close of this chapter. Bowman (The Drama of the Book of Revelation, p. 117) comments, “For John and his contemporaries, the Empire was coextensive [extending equally in time or space] with the civilized world, and so included within its borders all the peoples known to them. But the Harlot is also the Great City, and hence from age to age not Rome’s peoples only, but also those of every other secular power opposed to the Kingdom of God on earth.” While Rome may have represented Babylon the Great in the days of John, this certainly does not exhaust the meaning of this figure.