Revelation 17:1-18 Lesson 491

Revelation 17:1-18 Lesson 491

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

"The great whore."

An angel explains.

Verses 17:1-7 describe John's vision.
Verses 17:8-18 interpret the vision.

Study Tip:

"It shall greatly help to understand scripture if thou mark, not only what is spoken or written, but of whom, to whom, with what words, at what time, where, to what intent, and with what circumstances, considering what goes before and what follows."
Miles Coverdale 1488-1569

The Revelation of Saint John the Divine

The King James Bible

Revelation 17:1-18
The scarlet beast

1And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

2With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

3So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

4And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

5And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

6And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

7And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

8The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

9And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

10And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

11And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

12And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

13These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

14These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

15And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

16And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

17For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

Margin notes:

"Seven vials." (7:1) - "Seven bowls."

"The great whore." (17:1) - There is a centuries old controversy over who or what "the great whore" is. While there is no universal agreement, the Bible often refers to people who practice idolatry as fornicators or whores because they are unfaithful to God (1 Chronicles 5:25; Ezekiel 16:1-63; 23:1-49). Therefore, many scholars believe that "the great whore" refers to someone or something (i.e. government, wayward church, or religion) that practices idolatry. Some feel it was the Roman Empire (see verses 17:9-11) with its pagan gods, or Babylon, or perhaps Jerusalem itself. Other Christians believe that "the great whore" doesn't represent one particular person, thing, or government but symbolizes every society throughout history that has been unfaithful to God. What do you think?

"Sitteth upon many waters." (17:1) - "Rules over many people and nations." Read verse 7:15 below.

"The inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication." (17:2) - "The people of the world are captivated by the false religion."

"I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns." (17:3) - This woman is the same "great whore" from verse 17:1. The beast represents either the red dragon (Satan) from Revelation 12:3, the beast (anti-Christ) from verses 13:1-10, or it is simply a false religion.

"The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet." (17:4) - The colors purple and scarlet were considered luxurious and worn only by the rich or royalty.

"Golden cup." (17:4) - Another symbol of wealth.

"I wondered with great admiration." (17:6) - "I was greatly amazed."

"I will tell thee the mystery of the woman." (17:7) - "I will tell you the secret of the woman."

"The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit." (17:8) - "The beast you saw was once alive and then died, but will be resurrected out of the bottomless pit." It is this Christ like but fake resurrection that will fool people into following the beast (13:3; 13:12).

"Go into perdition." (17:8) - "Go to his everlasting punishment, doom, destruction."

"Whose names were not written in the book of life." (17:8) - Only faithful Christians have their names written in the book of life.

"And here is the mind which hath wisdom." (17:9) - "And this calls for wisdom."

"The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth." (17:9) - Since Rome sits on seven hills many believe the "whore" is the Roman empire. Others believe she is the Roman Catholic church while still others feel she represents a powerful yet wayward church of the future. There is also an opinion that "the woman" symbolizes all the evil leaders, governments, movements, wickedness and worldly temptations that have plagued mankind throughout history.

"There are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come." (17:10) - Some Christians are convinced this is a reference to the five Roman emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero who had already passed away ("fallen"), Vespasian who was in power at the time ("one is"), and Titus who was yet to rule ("not yet come"). Others say this is not likely since Vespasian died in AD 79, fifteen years before Revelation was probably written. Still another point of view holds that the seven kings represent seven nations, five which had already fallen (i.e. Egypt), Rome which ruled at the time ("one is"), and a nation of the antichrist which is yet to come.

"And one is." (17:10) - "One still rules." Some Bible scholars' believe this is the Roman Empire.

"The ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings." (17:12) - As read in Daniel 7:24.

"Receive power as kings." (17:12) - "Receive their authority as kings."

"These have one mind." (17:13) - They (the ten kings) have one purpose."

"The Lamb shall overcome them." (17:14) - Jesus will forever defeat the forces of evil at the battle of Armageddon.

"Tongues." (17:15) - "Languages."

"The ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore." (17:16) - The world leaders that supported the "whore" and her false religion will now destroy her and worship the beast.

"For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will." 17:17) - God will manipulate unbelievers in order to fulfill his divine plan (2 Thessalonians 2:11). It is part of that plan to have the beast turn against "the woman".

"The woman which thou sawest is that great city. (17:18) - "The great city" is the one that was divided into three parts in Revelation 16:19 (lesson 490).

New Living Translation

Revelation 17:1-18
The Great Prostitute

1 One of the seven angels who had poured out the seven bowls came over and spoke to me. "Come with me," he said, "and I will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute, who rules over many waters. 2 The kings of the world have committed adultery with her, and the people who belong to this world have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality."

3 So the angel took me in the Spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, and blasphemies against God were written all over it. 4 The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality. 5 A mysterious name was written on her forehead: "Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World." 6 I could see that she was drunk-drunk with the blood of God's holy people who were witnesses for Jesus. I stared at her in complete amazement.

7 "Why are you so amazed?" the angel asked. "I will tell you the mystery of this woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns on which she sits. 8 The beast you saw was once alive but isn't now. And yet he will soon come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction. And the people who belong to this world, whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made, will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died.

9 "This calls for a mind with understanding: The seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills where the woman rules. They also represent seven kings. 10 Five kings have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief.

11 "The scarlet beast that was, but is no longer, is the eighth king. He is like the other seven, and he, too, is headed for destruction. 12 The ten horns of the beast are ten kings who have not yet risen to power. They will be appointed to their kingdoms for one brief moment to reign with the beast. 13 They will all agree to give him their power and authority. 14 Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him."

15 Then the angel said to me, "The waters where the prostitute is ruling represent masses of people of every nation and language. 16 The scarlet beast and his ten horns all hate the prostitute. They will strip her naked, eat her flesh, and burn her remains with fire. 17 For God has put a plan into their minds, a plan that will carry out his purposes. They will agree to give their authority to the scarlet beast, and so the words of God will be fulfilled. 18 And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world."

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

One purpose of these lessons is to create an interest in learning more about the Bible, so spend time each day exploring the Scriptures on your own.

Application thought for the day:

"No matter what happens, we must trust that God is still in charge, that God overrules all the plans and intrigues of the Evil One, and that God's plans will happen just as he says. He even uses people opposed to him as tools to execute his will. Although he allows evil to permeate this present world, the new earth will never know sin."
(From the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream Illinois, page 2573)

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress Books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; "The Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies"; "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers published by Barbour publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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