Revelation 17
18 verses
John is carried away in the Spirit to see the great prostitute seated on many waters, drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus—the world system embodied in Babylon the great. The scarlet beast bearing the prostitute has seven heads and ten horns, and the woman is arrayed in purple and scarlet with jewels and pearls, a parody of God's bride adorned with human wealth and power. The mystery of the woman and the beast is written on her forehead: Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations, revealing her identity as the culmination of human rebellion against God. The seven heads represent seven mountains on which the woman is seated and seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, and one is to come—cryptic eschatological chronology establishing the woman's dominion over earthly powers. The ten horns represent ten kings who have not yet received royal power but who receive authority with the beast for one hour and together wage war against the Lamb—yet the Lamb conquers them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. The ten horns will hate the prostitute, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire—God's sovereign use of earthly powers to execute judgment upon the world system.
VERSES IN THIS CHAPTER
1
And 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:
0 0Open verse page →
2
With 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.
0 0Open verse page →
3
So 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.
0 0Open verse page →
4
And 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:
0 0Open verse page →
5
And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
0 0Open verse page →
6
And 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.
0 1Open verse page →
7
And 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.
0 0Open verse page →
8
The 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.
0 0Open verse page →
9
And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
0 0Open verse page →
Reading the Psalms alongside this gives a fuller picture of what the author was experiencing — both the anguish and the ...
10
And 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.
1 0Open verse page →
11
And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
0 0Open verse page →
12
And 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.
0 0Open verse page →
13
These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
0 0Open verse page →
14
These 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.
0 0Open verse page →
15
And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
0 0Open verse page →
16
And 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.
0 0Open verse page →
17
For 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.
0 1Open verse page →
18
And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
0 0Open verse page →
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
No notes on this chapter yet. Be the first to write one!