Revelation 17:1: 

“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who is seated upon many waters’”

 

Revelation 17:1

“one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls”

• The context of this chapter has to do with the judgment of the great harlot
• This judgment will occur during the seven last plagues and is why one of the seven angels with the seven bowls is describing it

 “the judgment of the great harlot”

• The Greek word for judgment used here means “the verdict” or “the sentence”
• The Greek word for judgment in Revelation chapter 18 means the execution of the verdict
• Revelation chapter 17 will describe the harlots’ verdict and Revelation chapter 18 will describe the execution of that verdict

 “the great harlot”                  

• The Greek word “porne” means prostitute or harlot
• The word suggests the idea of selling oneself
• Apostate Israel was described as a whore or adulterer (see book of Hosea)
• Babylon is this harlot (Rev. 17:5)

“waters”

• The waters are people (Rev. 17:15) whom the great harlot influences

 

Revelation 17:2: 

"with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and with the wine of whose fornication the dwellers on earth have become drunk.”

Revelation 17:2

“the kings of the earth”

• The kings of the earth are the world’s political powers as opposed to its religious powers

“committed fornication”

• The Greek word “porneuo”  means “gone a whoring”
• Fornication here represents an illicit relationship between the harlot and the world’s political powers as opposed to a relationship with God
• This relationship will form a church-state union to enforce religious dogma

 “committed fornication”

• Fornication represents the alliance of apostate Christianity and the world’s political powers

“the wine”

• The wine represents the false doctrines the world has accepted from the harlot
• The drunk dwellers represent the world’s people who have accepted these falsehoods
• The world’s people will accept these falsehoods because their leaders bring them under Babylon’s power
• They were not under Babylon initially but were put under her power by their leaders
• This text is connected to the second angels’ message which describes the same event (Rev. 14:8)

The three angels messages are:

• The hour of judgment has come---- the investigative judgment began in 1844
• Babylon has fallen because she made all nations drink her wine---- the passage of the Sunday Law
• The mark of the beast---- the enforcement of the Sunday Law with the loss of the ability to buy or sell

 

Revelation 17:3: 

“And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.”

Revelation 17:3

“away in the Spirit”

• John is now carried “away in the Spirit”
• The Greek is absent the definite article “the”
• This suggests the nature or quality of the experience

“a wilderness”

• The Greek suggests a desolate place but this is not a definite location (absent the definite article)

 “a woman”

• John now sees a woman
• This is the “great harlot”  (Rev. 17:1)
• This is “Babylon the great” (Rev. 17:5)
• This is the “mother of harlots” (Rev. 17:5)
• This is the woman “seated” on seven hills (Rev. 17:9)
• This woman is the great city (Rev. 17:18)

 “sitting”

• Sitting here implies continued action (Greek)
• Sitting suggests a cooperation with the beast
• John  sees this woman sitting on a scarlet beast

“a scarlet beast”

• This scarlet or red beast has seven heads and ten horns none of which are crowned since they have not yet completed their reigns (Rev. 17:12)
• This scarlet beast was described earlier in Rev. 12:3 as a red dragon and is the same beast
• The only difference between the red dragon and the scarlet beast is that the seven heads are crowned in Rev. 12 because they have already reigned (see Rev. 17:12)
• Scarlet represents sin (Isaiah 1:18) which covers the beast
• This beast is full of blasphemous names because it takes God’s place
• This scarlet beast is the red dragon
• The red dragon is Satan (Rev. 12:9)
• The red dragon is the false Christ
• The red dragon is the abomination that makes desolate or the desolating sacrilege

 

Revelation 17:4: 

“The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and bedecked with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication”.

Revelation 17:4

“arrayed in purple and scarlet”

• This scarlet woman represents false religion as opposed to the true church which is described as a pure woman
• This woman is covered in scarlet or sin just as the scarlet beast is
• Purple is also a color of royalty: this woman has royal power

“bedecked with gold and jewels”

• This woman is rich (gold, ,jewels, and pearls)

“a golden cup”

• This golden cup hides its filthy contents
• This woman is involved in abominations (actions which usurp God’s place)
• This woman is involved in fornication (illicit  relationship with political leaders)
• This woman is currently successful but will become desolate after her judgment (Rev. 17:16)

 

 

 

Revelation 17:5: 

“and on her forehead was written a name of mystery: ‘Babylon the great, mother of harlots and of earth’s abominations’”.

Revelation 17:5

“a name of mystery”

• Mystery here refers to something about to be explained
• A name reflects the character
• A name written on the forehead indicates a choice
• This woman’s character was the result of her choices
• She chose to be an abomination and a harlot

 “Babylon the great, mother of harlots”

• This woman’s name is Babylon the great
• This woman is the mother of harlots (Apostate Protestantism)
• This woman represents the Papacy and specifically the city of Rome (see Rev. 17:18)
• The woman represents the leadership of the Papacy and not its members
• The members are described as “waters” (Rev. 17:1,15)

 

Revelation 17:6: 

“And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her I marveled greatly.”

Revelation 17:6

“drunk”

• Drunk here means “continuing in a state of intoxication”
• This woman or church is drunk with the blood of the saints (holy ones) and martyrs (witnesses) of Jesus
• This church has killed many of God’s people (50-100 million in the Dark Ages)
• This same church is described in Dan. 7:24,25 as wearing out the saints
• This same church will kill God’s people again in the last days (Rev. 13:7)

 “I marveled greatly”

• John was shocked at what he saw

This woman has:

• Seduced the world’s leaders ( Rev.17:2)
• Committed fornication with the world (Rev. 17:2)
• Misled the world with false teachings (Rev. 17:2)
• Supported blasphemy (Rev. 17:3)
• Committed abominations (Rev. 17:4)
• Raised many daughter harlots (Rev. 17:5)
• Killed the saints (Rev. 17:6)

 

Revelation 17:7: 

“But the angel said to me, ‘Why marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her’”.

 

Revelation 17:7

“I will tell you the mystery”

• The angel will now tell John who the woman and the beast are

“the beast with seven heads and ten horns”

• This beast carries the woman
• This scarlet beast is the red dragon of Rev. 12 (see Rev. 12:3)
• This beast is Satan, the dragon (Rev. 12:9)
• The only difference between the red dragon of Rev. 12 and the scarlet beast of  Rev. 17 is that the 7 heads are crowned in Rev. 12 and not in Rev. 17 (the crowning of the 7 heads relates to the time period during which the beast is seen)

 

• These same 7 heads are associated with the leopard-like beast of Rev. 13
• The leopard-like beast of Rev. 13 is the Papacy, which is described as a scarlet woman in Rev. 17
• The leopard-like beast had a mortal wound to its head (Rev. 13:3)
• The mortal wound occurred in 1798 when General Berthier captured Pope Pius VI (the head) and its kingdom was destroyed
• The mortal wound was healed in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty signed by Mussolini
• Once the wound was healed the leopard-like beast became a kingdom again
• The 7 heads represent the Popes or kings of the Papacy after it was restored to kingdom status in 1929

 

Revelation 17:8: 

“The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to perdition; and the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will marvel to behold the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.”

Revelation 17:8

“The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is to ascend”

• The beast (Satan) “was” in power before when he reigned in heaven as Lucifer (see Isaiah 14:14-15)
• God placed Lucifer in the pit when he attempted to overthrow God (Isaiah 14:14-15)
• Notice that Satan attempts to rise above God ,above “the heights of the clouds” (Isaiah 14:14) and God places him in the pit

 “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is to ascend”

• The beast “is not” in power when John is seeing these events (during the reign of the 6^th king, Rev. 17:10)
• The beast will come into power as the 8^th king

“is to ascend from the bottomless pit”

• The beast will “ascend from the bottomless pit” refers to Satan’s release from God’s restraints

 “is to ascend” and “is to come”

• These both refer to Satan once he reigns as the 8^th king
• This is the beast that ascends to kill the two witnesses (Rev. 11:7)
• This is the fallen star that ascends from the pit in the 5^th trumpet (Rev. 9:1)

“the bottomless pit”

• The “bottomless pit” represents the circumstances that God uses to control Satan (Rev. 20:2,3,7,8)

 “go to perdition”

• This beast (Satan) will go to “perdition”

“have not been written in the book of life”

• The wicked (the dwellers on earth) are those not in “the book of life” who accept this beast as their king

“will marvel”

• The world will marvel at the beast’s (Satan’s) power

 

Revelation 17:9: 

“This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven hills on which the woman is seated”.

 

Revelation 17:9

“a mind with wisdom”

• The minds with wisdom are the “wise” of Daniel chapters 11&12 who understand (Dan. 12:10)
• They understand who the abomination that makes desolate is
• Daniel’s abomination that makes desolate is John’s 8^th king
• John’s 8^th king is the scarlet beast or the red dragon (Satan, as the false Christ)

 “the seven heads”

• The seven heads are seven hills

“on which the woman is seated”

• The woman is sitting on these 7 hills
• The woman is a city (Rev 17:18)
• The woman is Rome the city of seven hills

 

Revelation 17:10: 

“they are also seven kings five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must remain only a little while.”

Revelation 17:10

“they are also seven kings”

• The 7 heads are also 7 kings

“Five of whom have fallen”

• These 5 kings had fallen when John was viewing these events

“one is”

• The 6^th king was reigning when John saw these events

 “the other has not yet come”

• The 7^th king was soon to reign

“remain only a little while”

• The 7^th king would reign for a short time

“seven kings”

• These 7 kings began to reign in 1929 once the wound was healed and the Papal church was restored to kingdom status
• Kingdoms have kings!
• The “seven kings” are:
• Pius XI (1922-1939)
• Pius XII (1939-1958)
• Blessed John XXIII (1958-1963)
• Paul VI (1963-1978)
• John Paul I (1978)
• John Paul II (1978-2005)
• Benedict XVI (2005-present)
• We are living in the time of the seventh king!
• The eighth king (the false Christ) is next!

 

Revelation 17:11: 

“As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to perdition.”

Revelation 17:11

“the beast that was and is not”

• The beast “that was and is not” is Satan who is not reigning during the reign of the 6^th king but will follow the reign of the 7^th

“goes to perdition”

• This beast “goes to perdition” which means utter destruction (see also Rev. 17:8)

 “the beast…it is an eighth”

• The 8^th king is the scarlet beast (Satan)
• This is the beast in its revived state
• This is the beast in the “is to come” state (Rev. 17:8) after it has ascended to its throne of power as the 8^th king

 “it belongs to the seven”

• The 8^th king belongs to the 7 because they all claimed to be God on earth, they all led people astray; Satan guided their actions and he will take over their kingdom
• The absence of the definite article in the Greek suggests that this is not one more king but the whole beast

The 8^th king is the beast

The eighth king is:

• The false Christ and the desolating sacrilege (Matt. 24)
• The abomination that makes desolate (Dan.11,12)
• The red dragon (Rev. 12) and the scarlet beast (Rev. 17)
• The beast that ascends from the bottomless pit (Rev. 11)
• The prince who is to come (Dan. 9:26)
• The transgression that makes desolate (Dan. 8:13)
• The man of lawlessness (II Thessalonians 2:3,4)
• Satan when he finally is allowed to reign on earth as the false Christ

 

Revelation 17
The Ten Horns

Introduction

• The ten horns of Revelation 17 are initially described in verse 3
• These horns are seen on the scarlet beast
• The scarlet beast is Satan (Rev. 12:9) who will become the 8^th king as the false Christ
• The 10 horns are not crowned (Rev. 17:3) which means they have not yet reigned
• The vision of Revelation 17 is during the reign of the 6th king (Rev. 17:10)
• The 10 horns will not reign until after the 8^th king reigns (Rev. 17:12)

 

Revelation 17:12: 

“And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.”

 

Revelation 17:12

“the ten horns”

• The 10 horns of the scarlet beast (Rev. 17:3,7) are the same 10 horns seen on the red dragon (Rev. 12:3)
• These 10 horns “have not yet received royal power” which is why they are not yet crowned
• In Revelation chapter 12 John is viewing history during the close of probation before the 10 kings reign, therefore, they are not yet crowned
• In Revelation chapter 17 John is viewing history during the reign of the 6^th king (Rev. 17:10) before the 10 kings reign, therefore they are not yet crowned

 “the ten horns… are ten kings”

• These 10 horns “are ten kings”
• These 10 kings are not the same as the seven kings described as “seven heads” (Rev. 17:1)
• The 10 horns of Revelation 13 are not the same kingdoms as the 10 horns of Revelation chapters 12 and 17
• John is looking backward in time in Rev. 13:1,2
• The 10 horns of Rev. 13:1 are the 10 European Kingdoms which Daniel described in Daniel chapter 7
• The 10 horns or 10 kings of Rev. 17:12 will only reign “as kings for one hour”

“authority as kings for one hour”

• “one hour” represents a short period of time, possibly as little as 2-3 weeks
• The context here suggests a brief unspecified time period
• The 10 kings will be involved in the destruction of Babylon (Rev. 17:16)
• This “one hour” is the same “one hour” of Rev. 18:10,17,19 when Babylon is destroyed

“together with the beast”

• These 10 kings will reign with the 8th king (the beast)
• These 10 kings will be reigning when Jesus comes and they will battle with Him (Rev. 17:14)

 

Revelation 17:13: 

“These are of one mind and give over their power and authority to the beast”.

 

Revelation 17:13

“of one mind”

• These 10 kings are loyal to the beast (Satan) who is the 8^th king
• They are of “one mind” which means Satan will control them and they will do his desires

“give over their power and authority”

• They will do what the false Christ (8^th king) asks
• They will support Satan’s attempt to destroy God’s people with a death decree (Rev. 13:15)  just prior to Jesus’ return
• They will also turn against the scarlet woman (Papal Rome) at the end and destroy her (Rev. 17:16,17)

 

Revelation 17:14: 

“they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

 

Revelation 17:14

“make war on the Lamb”

• These 10 kings will exist when the final battle for this earth is fought
• This final battle will involve Satan and the 10 kings against Jesus and His angels

“the Lamb will conquer them”

• Jesus, the Lamb, wins
• The Lamb is “Lord of Lords and King of kings”

 “chosen and faithful”

• Those who are with Jesus “are called and chosen and faithful”
• Many are called, some are chosen
• Some are chosen, but few are faithful
• These represent God’s people at the end of time

 

Revelation 17:15: 

“And he said to me, 'The waters that you saw, where the harlot is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.'”

 

Revelation 17:15

“And he said to me”

• The angel now continues to explain the symbols

“`The waters`”

• The waters represent peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues

“where the harlot is seated”

• The harlot, Babylon, was “seated” on or controlled much of the world’s population

 

Revelation 17:16: 

“And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the harlot; they will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire”.

 

Revelation 17:16

“the ten horns… and the beast”

• The 10 kings are the ten world divisions which Satan sets up at the end of time to help him control the world
• The beast is Satan

“hate the harlot”

• The harlot is Babylon (Papal Rome)
• This verse suggests that at the end of time Satan will turn against Babylon

 “hate the harlot”

• The 10 kings and Satan will hate the harlot because she will try to reclaim her authority

“make her desolate”

• The 10 kings will “make her desolate and naked, and devour her” (Rev. 18:17,19,21)
• Compare this to her prior state (Rev. 17:4)

“burn her up with fire”

• They will “burn her up” (Rev. 18:8,9,18)
• This verse is describing the destruction of Babylon (Papal Rome)
• This verse is describing the destruction of the city (Rev. 17:18)
• This verse is describing the same thing that Revelation chapter 18 describes
• This event occurs prior to the 2^nd Coming since the world watches it and weeps (Rev. 18:9,10,15,19)

 

Revelation 17:17: 

“for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and giving over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.”

 

Revelation 17:17

“God has put it into their hearts”

• This text shows how God can use the wicked to do His work
• Satan and his 10 kings will do God’s work by destroying Papal Rome

“one mind”

• They will be of “one mind” or unified in their attack on the harlot
• The 10 kings will be controlled by Satan
• This attack on Rome will occur just prior to the 2^nd Coming since these kings only reign for a short time (one hour) and are reigning when Jesus returns (Rev. 17:14)
• This attack on Rome will be followed by The Battle of Armageddon

 

Revelation 17:18

“And the woman that you saw is the great city which has dominion over the kings of the earth.”

 

Revelation 17:18

“the woman”

• This text tells us who “the woman” is
• The “woman” is the harlot who is called “Babylon” (Rev. 17:5)
• The “woman” is “the great city”

“has dominion”

• This city “has dominion over the kings of the earth”
• This woman sits on seven hills (Rev. 17:9)

• This woman has seven kings or popes after her deadly wound is healed
• This woman is currently controlling one sixth of the world
• This woman will be destroyed prior to Jesus 2^nd Coming
• This city or woman is Papal Rome

 

 

Summary

• Revelation chapter 17 describes the judgment (verdict) on the scarlet woman and Revelation chapter 18 describes the execution of that judgment
• Revelation 17 involves a scarlet woman, a scarlet beast, 7 heads, 10 horns, an 8^th king, a beast that ascends, and the destruction of Babylon
• The scarlet woman (Babylon) is Papal Rome which is a city with 7 hills that rules over many people
• This city has 7 heads which are 7 kings (Popes) which will rule over it after its deadly wound is healed and it is restored as a kingdom
• The scarlet beast is Satan as the 8^th king (the false Christ) who is the final leader of the Papacy and all apostate Christianity
• Satan as the 8^th king is the beast that ascends
• As the beast that ascends Satan will rule first as spiritual king and then as world king
• After the plagues begin to fall, Satan will begin to lose power
• This will lead Satan to set up 10 kings to maintain world control
• These 10 kings will only reign for a short time (one hour)
• These 10 kings, along with Satan, will destroy Papal Rome just prior to Jesus’ 2^nd Coming
• These 10 kings will be involved in the final battle with the Lamb and will be destroyed at that time
• Revelation chapter 17 is about the judgment of the great harlot (Babylon)
• The first few verses describe who Babylon is, who works with her, and what she does
• The scarlet woman (Babylon) is seen riding a scarlet beast (Satan)
• This scarlet beast has seven heads which are related to both the beast and to the woman
• These seven heads are seven hills upon which the woman sits which represent the seven hills of Papal Rome
• They are also seven kings of Papal Rome
• The scarlet beast is Satan
• The scarlet woman is Papal Rome
• The 7 kings are the 7 last Popes of Rome
• The eighth king is Satan when he reigns as the false Christ and takes over control of apostate Christianity
• The 7^th king is now reigning and his name is Pope Benedict XVI
• The 7^th king will reign for “only a little while”
• The 8^th king (Satan) will follow Pope Benedict and also only reign for a short time and then Jesus will come again