The Revelation · New Testament
Revelation 17
Revelation 17: the woman on the beast, and the angel's explanation
General context
One of the seven angels who had the vials invites John to be shown the judgment of the great whore that sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication. He carries John in the spirit into the wilderness, where John sees a woman sitting on a scarlet coloured beast full of names of blasphemy, with seven heads and ten horns. She is arrayed in purple and scarlet, decked with gold, precious stones and pearls, holding a golden cup, with a name written on her forehead. John sees her drunken with the blood of the saints and of the martyrs of Jesus, and says he wondered with great admiration. The angel asks why he marvelled and then explains, item by item, what the beast is said to do, what the seven heads are, what the seven kings are, what the ten horns are, what the waters are, and who the woman is. The explanation ends with the ten horns turning on the woman to make her desolate and burn her, and with a statement that this is according to what God put in their hearts.
Cited passages: Revelation 17:1, Revelation 17:2, Revelation 17:3, Revelation 17:4, Revelation 17:5, Revelation 17:6, Revelation 17:7, Revelation 17:8, Revelation 17:9, Revelation 17:10, Revelation 17:11, Revelation 17:12, Revelation 17:13, Revelation 17:14, Revelation 17:15, Revelation 17:16, Revelation 17:17, Revelation 17:18
Revelation 17 (KJV)
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.
18And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
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Historical context
This is the chapter where the book interprets its own images most fully, and every interpretation is spoken by the angel. The text says: "The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth"; "there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come"; "the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven"; "the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet"; "The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues"; and "the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth". The text stops there. It names no mountain, no king, no kingdom and no city, and gives no date or era for the five, the one and the one to come. The beast here carries the same count of heads and horns as the dragon at 12:3 and the beast at 13:1, and the chapter does not say whether they are one figure. The blood is stated plainly.
Cited passages: Revelation 17:6, Revelation 17:9, Revelation 17:10, Revelation 17:11, Revelation 17:12, Revelation 17:15, Revelation 17:18, Revelation 12:3, Revelation 13:1
Literary context
The chapter splits cleanly in half. The first half is what John sees, given in colour and ornament, purple and scarlet, gold, precious stones and pearls, a golden cup, a name on a forehead. The second half is what the angel says, and it is framed as decoding, with the phrase "which thou sawest" repeated as each element is taken up in turn. The two halves pull against each other, since the ornament of the first is undone in the second, where the same ten horns that carried power "shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked". The angel's opening question, "Wherefore didst thou marvel?", turns John's reaction into the reason for the explanation. The chapter also keeps one thing unexplained even while explaining: the beast is described as one that "was, and is not, and yet is", a formula the text repeats rather than resolves.
Cited passages: Revelation 17:4, Revelation 17:6, Revelation 17:7, Revelation 17:8, Revelation 17:9, Revelation 17:12, Revelation 17:15, Revelation 17:16, Revelation 17:18
Key moments
- A woman on a scarlet beast (Revelation 17:3). John is carried into the wilderness and sees the woman seated on the beast.
- A name on her forehead (Revelation 17:5). The text prints the name written on the woman's forehead.
- Drunken with blood (Revelation 17:6). John sees her drunk with the blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus.
- The heads explained (Revelation 17:9). The angel says the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.
- The horns explained (Revelation 17:12). The ten horns are said to be ten kings who have no kingdom as yet.
- The horns turn on her (Revelation 17:16). The same ten horns are said to hate the whore and burn her with fire.
- The woman explained (Revelation 17:18). The angel says the woman is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.
For reflection
The angel explains the heads, the horns, the waters and the woman, and still leaves the beast described as one that was, and is not, and yet is. What does it ask of a reader when an explanation stops short of the thing it is explaining?
