Revelation 17
Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · AD 68 – AD 96 · Late apostolic age · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·
18 verses · 524 words · ~3 min read · ~3 min listen
The Woman on the Beast
1Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. 2The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”
3And the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, where I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. 5And on her forehead a mysterious name was written:
BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
The Mystery Explained
6I could see that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses for Jesus. And I was utterly amazed at the sight of her.
7“Why are you so amazed?” said the angel. “I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns.
8The beast that you saw—it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet will be.
9This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 10There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. But when he does come, he must remain for only a little while.
11The beast that was, and now is not, is an eighth king, who belongs to the other seven and is going into destruction. 12The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive one hour of authority as kings, along with the beast. 13These kings have one purpose: to yield their power and authority to the beast.
The Victory of the Lamb
14They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen and faithful ones.”
15Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute was seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. 16And the ten horns and the beast that you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose by uniting to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18And the woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
Study notes on this chapter · 2
Four beasts from the sea
Daniel sees four beasts rise from the sea: a lion with eagle's wings, a bear, a leopard with four wings, and a terrifying beast with iron teeth and ten horns, from which a little horn arises and speaks boasts. Then thrones are set, the Ancient of Days judges, and one like a son of man receives the kingdom. The four beasts are identified in different ways, and Revelation borrows their imagery for its beast.
When: Daniel, set c. 553 BC; proposed fulfillments from the 6th century BC to the end of the age.
Ways people read this (4)
- Babylon, Media, Persia, Greece, with the little horn as Antiochus IV (the usual critical reading).
- Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, with the little horn as a future ruler or series of rulers (traditional Christian and many premillennial readings).
- The fourth beast is Rome, and the little horn is the papacy (a historicist Protestant reading).
- The beasts stand for empires generally, and the point is God's judgment on all tyrannical powers.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
Babylon the great, the woman on the beast
Revelation 17 shows a woman seated on a scarlet beast, drunk on the blood of the saints, called 'Babylon the Great, mother of prostitutes', and explains that the seven heads are seven hills and also seven kings. 'Babylon' in Revelation builds on Isaiah's and Jeremiah's oracles against the historical city. Interpreters differ on which power John means.
When: Revelation, c. AD 90s (or before AD 70, in some dating).
Ways people read this (5)
- Rome: the seven hills and the emperors, as the original readers would have understood (the most common scholarly view).
- Jerusalem, as the city that killed the prophets (some preterist readings).
- A future global political-economic-religious system (futurist).
- A particular institution, such as the Roman Catholic Church (historicist Protestant, rejected by Catholics and many others).
- The world system in every age that opposes God (idealist).
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.