Revelation 17:1-18

From Now to the End of Time

Revelation

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 17

God destroys Babylon - Revelation 17:1-19

The *beast and the evil woman - Revelation 17:1-18

v1 Then one of the 7 *angels who had the 7 bowls came. He spoke to me. He said, ‘Come with me. I will show you how God will punish a certain woman. This woman is famous because of her evil deeds. She is like a woman who sells her body for sex. And, because of her situation, this woman controls many rivers. v2 All the kings of the earth had sex with her. Because of her sex acts, the people of the earth became as those who drink too much wine.’

v3 Then the *angel carried me away by the Spirit to the desert. There I saw a woman. She was sitting on a bright red *beast. The *beast had all over it names that insult God. And it had seven (7) heads and ten (10) *horns. v4 The woman wore purple and bright red clothes. She also wore gold, precious stones and *pearls. She held a gold cup in her hand. The cup was full. And the meaning of its contents was the awful and evil things that come from her sex acts. v5 On the front of her head, someone had written her name. This name has a secret meaning. The name is:

‘Great Babylon! The mother (leader) of those who sell their bodies for sex. And the mother (cause) of the evil things upon the earth.’

v6 The woman was like those who drink too much wine. But it was not wine but the blood of God’s people that she drank. These had died because they had been loyal to Jesus.

When I saw her, I was very surprised. v7 Then the *angel said to me: ‘You should not be surprised. I will explain to you the secret of the woman. And I will tell you the secret of the *beast that carries her. This is the *beast which has 7 heads and 10 *horns. v8 That *beast which you have just seen used to be alive. But the *beast is not alive now. However, it will soon come up from the hole whose depth has no end. After this, the *beast will go away and the *Lord will punish it. The inhabitants of the earth will be surprised to see the *beast. It was alive but it is not alive now. However, it will live again. But God did not write the names of these people in the book of life. God wrote that book before he created the world.

v9 You need a wise mind in order to understand this. The 7 heads of the *beast mean 7 hills. Because of the woman’s situation, she controls the 7 hills. v10 These heads also mean 7 kings. Five of the kings have already died. One of the kings is alive now. The last king is yet to appear. When he comes, he will be king for only a short time. v11 The *beast used to be alive but he is not alive now. He was one of the 7 kings. But he will come again as the eighth (8th) king. He will go away and the *Lord will punish him.

v12 The ten *horns that you saw are ten more kings. They have not yet begun to rule. But they will receive authority to rule as kings for one hour with the *beast. v13 These ten kings will all agree to give their power and authority to the *beast. v14 The *beast and the ten kings will fight against the *Lamb. But the *Lamb and those who follow him will defeat them. This is because the *Lamb is the *Lord over all *lords. And he is the most powerful king. God has called those who follow the *Lamb. God chose them and they are loyal to the *Lamb.’

v15 Then the *angel said to me, ‘You saw the rivers. The evil woman controls them because of her situation. These rivers mean peoples, crowds, nations and languages. v16 You saw the 10 *horns and the *beast. They will hate the woman who sold her body for sex. They will ruin her and they will leave her naked. They will eat her body and they will burn her with fire. v17 God made them carry out his plan. So, they will agree to give their royal power to the *beast. They will obey the *beast until all God’s plans are complete. v18 The woman whom you saw means the most important city. That city rules over the kings of the earth.’

Verse 1 One of the *angels invited John to see how God would punish Babylon. Here he describes that great city as an evil woman. She is like a woman who sells her body for sex.

Babylon has two meanings in this passage. Babylon means the power that has always been against God. This power has ruled the *kingdoms of the earth through the whole of history. But Babylon also means the city that will be the most important city in the *kingdom of *Antichrist.

This woman sells her body for sex. By this, she makes what is good to be wicked. God gave sex for a good purpose. But such women use it for wrong purposes. John writes this to describe the character of Babylon. The important city had used everything that was good for bad purposes. All the wicked things that the city did were for power and luxury.

The city controlled many rivers. The rivers meant the nations. Babylon had control over the nations of the world. It led the false religions of the world. From the start, it fought against God’s people.

Verse 2 Babylon showed other nations how to behave in the same evil ways. The kings of the earth shared trade and culture with Babylon. With Babylon, they desired wealth, luxury and false gods. So, the importance of Babylon increased. And Babylon caused the nations to *worship the *beast.

The wicked ways of Babylon spread through the whole earth. It was as if the people had drunk too much wine. They became unable to turn from their evil deeds. Babylon’s false religion had become their religion too. They had joined in the *sins of Babylon. And these *sins were against God. So, the nations of the world could not avoid Babylon’s control.

Verse 3 Next, the Spirit showed a desert to John. This desert is not a place of safety as it was for the good woman in an earlier chapter (Revelation 12:6; Revelation 12:14). For this evil woman, it is the place where she will suffer.

There she sat on a bright red *beast. That *beast was the one that came from the sea (Revelation 13:1). That *beast meant the evil ruler of the last great *kingdom on earth. He was the *Antichrist. He was the great enemy of Christ and God’s people (see Revelation 13:2).

The *beast pretended that he was as good as the *Lord Jesus. The *beast even pretended to be God. On his body were names that were an insult to the real God. He had 7 heads and 10 *horns.

Verses 4-5 The clothes of the woman were purple and bright red. When John wrote, it cost a lot of money to make the colours of purple and red. To wear these clothes meant that she was rich. She wore all kinds of precious things to show her wealth.

The gold cup in her hand was full of awful and evil things. People think that such things will satisfy them. But in the end, such things will ruin those who chose them.

She had a name on her head. That name had a secret meaning. John could understand that secret name. The woman meant the great city called Babylon. And Babylon meant the principal city that the *Antichrist ruled.

So, Babylon means the evil cause that leads people away from the real God. Because of Babylon, people follow *sinful behaviour that will ruin them.

Many people followed the wicked ways of people in Babylon. So, Babylon was like a mother; and these people were like her children. These people spread the evil ways of Babylon to every part of the world.

Verse 6 The woman was like those who drink too much wine. But the cause was not wine. She had drunk the blood of God’s people. This means that Babylon had been responsible for the death of a great number of God’s people. These people had died because they remained loyal to Jesus.

John saw this woman, who was wealthy and successful. She sat on a terrible *beast. John looked at her and he was surprised.

Verse 7 The *angel then told John that he would explain about the woman and the *beast.

Verse 8 The *beast used to be alive. When John wrote, the *beast was not still alive. But the *beast would come soon. John saw that *beast come (Revelation 13:1-4). There the *beast actually came out of the sea. But it had come from *Satan (the *dragon). *Satan was the *beast that came from the great hole (Revelation 11:7). But this *beast (the *Antichrist) came from *Satan. So, the *Antichrist did come from the hole whose depth has no end. In fact, the *beast means both *Antichrist and the *kingdoms over which he has power.

The *Lord will punish the *beast. He will throw the *beast into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20).

When the *beast comes, he will be most impressive. People across the world will see him. And he will astonish them. They will trust him and they will serve him. The names of these people are not in the book of life.

There is a book of life. God has written in it the names of his people. God wrote that book before he made the world (Revelation 3:5; Revelation 13:8). And God’s people will not believe the lies of the *Antichrist. So, they will not serve the *Antichrist.

Verse 9 John will explain the secret of the woman and the *beast. What he wrote is not easy to understand. We can partly understand it. But to understand it will need special wisdom from God.

In the time of John, Rome was the principal city in the world. It was a city on 7 hills. But perhaps John was not writing about Rome itself. John was writing about the city that will come in the future.

The great city, Babylon, will be on 7 hills. The evil woman controlled the 7 hills. She had power over all that the 7 hills meant.

Verse 10 The heads or hills meant seven (7) kings. The word ‘king’ meant also the *kingdom over which the kings ruled. The 7 hills meant 7 *kingdoms. Five (5) of these *kingdoms were past. They had fallen. At the time of John, there was the sixth (6th) kingdom. The sixth (6th) *kingdom out of the 7 was Rome.

After Rome, there will come the last of the seven (7) *kingdoms. That *kingdom has yet to come. When it comes, it will last for only a short time. This will be the *kingdom that *Antichrist rules.

The same evil power that controlled Babylon also controlled each of these *kingdoms.

Verse 11 The *beast is the eighth king. But he is also one of the seven. The *beast was not alive when John wrote. The *beast had been alive and he will come again.

He is not just a human ruler by whom the evil power works. He is that evil power. But, that power will come as a man. He will be *Antichrist. He will rule among the 7 and will be the eighth (8th).

This *kingdom will not last long. The time of *Antichrist will be even shorter. The *Lord will punish him. The *Lord will throw him into the lake of fire.

Verse 12 There will be ten (10) kings. These kings have not yet begun to rule. They will form a union, which will be the seventh *kingdom. They will rule with the *beast over the nations of the world. But they will have power for only a short time.

Verse 13 The ten kings give their power to the *beast. This *beast will be the most powerful man on earth. He will be *Antichrist. He will rule over the kings and the nations of the earth.

Verse 14 Here is the final war. *Antichrist and the ten kings will fight against the *Lamb. The *Lamb means the *Lord Jesus Christ. Christ and God’s people will win this war (Revelation 19:11-21). This battle will be at Armageddon (Revelation 16:16).

Christ is the *Lord over all *lords. He is the king who is more powerful than all kings. Nobody is as strong as Christ.

God’s people will follow Christ their leader. God chose them to be his people. And they have remained loyal to the *Lamb.

Verse 15 John had seen the woman. She was like a city that controls many rivers (Revelation 17:1). The *angel now explains the meaning of the rivers. The rivers mean the people of the earth. Rivers do not remain separate. Instead, the waters flow into the sea. There, the waters mix together. So, Babylon’s evil charm has spread across the whole earth. All the nations and peoples follow the wicked ways of Babylon.

Verse 16 The woman meant the principal city that the *beast ruled. And the 10 kings supported the beast completely. But then a strange thing happened. There was a war among the evil forces. *Antichrist and the ten kings turned against the woman. They hated her.

They destroyed the proud city called Babylon. They took away all that was of value. And they tore Babylon apart. They left nothing. They completely ruined Babylon.

Verse 17 The *beast hated Babylon. But this was God’s plan in order to punish Babylon. The kings gave their power to the *beast. But even this was in the plan of God. God even works by means of evil men to achieve his plans.

God is in control. His plans will succeed because he is the only real God.

Verse 18 The woman meant the great city called Babylon. And Babylon meant the evil power that ruled over the *kingdoms of the earth. Because of Babylon’s power, the people had followed an evil false religion. And Babylon had fought against God’s people.

beast ~ an animal. In this Book of Revelation, the beasts describe Satan, Antichrist and the false prophet.
Satan ~ the name of the devil.
Antichrist ~ a powerful ruler who imitates and opposes Christ. The Book of Revelation also describes the Antichrist as ‘the beast’. The Antichrist hates Christ. The Bible also refers to many antichrists. These are people who hate Christ like the Antichrist.
prophet ~ person who speaks for God. A prophet can sometimes say what will happen in the future. The Book of Revelation also describes a false prophet. This false prophet speaks on behalf of the Antichrist and Satan.
angel ~ a servant of God from heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages. So, angels are God’s servants from heaven. But there are evil angels who opposed God. These evil angels now serve the devil.
horns ~ the bones that some animals such as goats and male sheep have on their heads.
pearl ~ a beautiful object that is like a precious stone. It is transparent and round. It comes from an animal (called the oyster) that lives in the sea.
Lord ~ a title for God, or Jesus, to show that he is over all people and things.
lord ~ a title for someone who rules.
lamb ~ a young sheep.
Lamb ~ a name for Jesus because he died as a sacrifice for our sin. He is the Lamb of God.
sacrifice ~ the priests killed a special animal and they burned it on an altar. This was to ask God to forgive sins. Jesus died as a sacrifice for our sins.
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. Those who sin are called sinners.
altar ~ the special table where priests burned animals and other gifts that they offered to God.
forgive ~ to forgive is to remove sin.
Lord ~ a title for God, or Jesus, to show that he is over all people and things.
lord ~ a title for someone who rules.
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules.
Antichrist ~ a powerful ruler who imitates and opposes Christ. The Book of Revelation also describes the Antichrist as ‘the beast’. The Antichrist hates Christ. The Bible also refers to many antichrists. These are people who hate Christ like the Antichrist.
beast ~ an animal. In this Book of Revelation, the beasts describe Satan, Antichrist and the false prophet.
Satan ~ the name of the devil.
prophet ~ person who speaks for God. A prophet can sometimes say what will happen in the future. The Book of Revelation also describes a false prophet. This false prophet speaks on behalf of the Antichrist and Satan.
worship ~ the act when someone shows honour to God (or to an idol). Someone who worships, praises God. That person thanks God. And that person respects God.
idols ~ objects that people worship instead of God.
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. Those who sin are called sinners.
sinful ~ evil and wrong.
Satan ~ the name of the devil.
dragon ~ an evil creature, a beast. Satan is called the dragon.
creatures ~ Things that are alive. In the Book of Revelation, there are 4 special angels in heaven called creatures.
beast ~ an animal. In this Book of Revelation, the beasts describe Satan, Antichrist and the false prophet.
Satan ~ the name of the devil.
angel ~ a servant of God from heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages. So, angels are God’s servants from heaven. But there are evil angels who opposed God. These evil angels now serve the devil.
Antichrist ~ a powerful ruler who imitates and opposes Christ. The Book of Revelation also describes the Antichrist as ‘the beast’. The Antichrist hates Christ. The Bible also refers to many antichrists. These are people who hate Christ like the Antichrist.
prophet ~ person who speaks for God. A prophet can sometimes say what will happen in the future. The Book of Revelation also describes a false prophet. This false prophet speaks on behalf of the Antichrist and Satan.