BIBLE STUDY MANUALS: REV 17

[REV 17:1-18 NASB]:

(Rev 17:1 NASB) "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,

(Rev 17:2 NASB) with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality."

(Rev 17:3 NASB) And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.

(Rev 17:4 NASB) The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality,

(Rev 17:5 NASB) and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

(Rev 17:6 NASB) And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly.

(Rev 17:7 NASB) And the angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

(Rev 17:8 NASB) "The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.

(Rev 17:9 NASB) "Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,

(Rev 17:10 NASB) and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.

(Rev 17:11 NASB) "The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.

(Rev 17:12 NASB) "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.

(Rev 17:13 NASB) "These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

(Rev 17:15 NASB) And he *said to me, "The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.

(Rev 17:16 NASB) "And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire.

(Rev 17:17 NASB) "For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.

(Rev 17:18 NASB) "The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth."

2) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:1-2]:

(Rev 17:1 NASB) "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,

(Rev 17:2 NASB) with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality."

"3. The harlot and the beast (17:1-18)

In an important sense, the interpretation of this chapter controls the interpretation of the whole Book of Revelation. For a majority of exegetes, Babylon represents the city of Rome. The beast stands for the Roman Empire as a whole, with its subject provinces and peoples. The seven hills (v. 9) are the seven selected dynasties of Roman emperors from Augustus to Domitian. The ten kings are heads of lesser and restless states, eager to escape their enslavement to the colonizing power. John's prediction of the fall of Babylon is his announcement of the impending dissolution of the Roman Empire in all its aspects. For such a view there is considerable evidence. Babylon was a term used by both Jews and Christians for Rome (2 Baruch 11:1; Sib Oracles 5:143, 158; 1 Peter 5:13; Hippolytus Christ and Antichrist 36; TDNT, 1:516). Rome was a great city (v. 18), a city set on seven hills (v. 9), and by the time of Domitian (A.D. 85) it was notorious for persecuting and killing the saints (v. 6). Thus the argument goes. Many scholars of unquestioned competence have been fully convinced of the certainty of these equations.

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

On the other hand the Bible is not to be limited to scholars of a so called majority of exegetes and their unquestioned competence, i.e., those who profess to convey a remarkable, even supernatural understanding of thousands of years of history and the future which covers more than 2,000 years from the first century through today and on - even more: they claim to go back authoritatively into hundreds of years of past 'Old Testament' times - who declare what a number of terms such as Babylon, Rome, Sodom, Egypt, Jerusalem, the harlot, the beast, etc. mean which refer to multiple entities in varying contexts that do not just point to one thing throughout the ages making our sovereign God look like a god who has serious flaws who can't keep his story straight:

2 cont.) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:1-2, cont.]:

"Yet there is evidence that casts doubt on this exegesis [of the so-called majority of exegetes] and impels us to look for a more adequate if also a more subtle - understanding of John's intention. It is simply not sufficient to identify Rome and Babylon. For that matter, Babylon cannot be confined to any one historical manifestation, past or future. Babylon has multiple equivalents (cf. 11:8). The details of John's description do not neatly fit any past city, whether literal Babylon, Sodom, Egypt, Rome, or even Jerusalem. Babylon is found wherever there is satanic deception.

It is defined more by dominant idolatries than geographic or temporal boundaries. The ancient Babylon is better understood here as the archetypal head of all entrenched worldly resistance to God. Babylon is a transhistorical reality including idolatrous kingdoms as diverse as Sodom, Gomorrah, Egypt, Babylon, Tyre, Nineveh, and Rome. Babylon is an eschatological symbol of satanic deception and power; it is a divine mystery that can never be wholly reducible to empirical earthly institutions. It may be said that Babylon represents the total culture of the world apart from God, while the divine system is depicted by the New Jerusalem. Rome is simply one manifestation of the total system.

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

Actually, Babylon today is only a pile of rubble that does not exist as a city; nor does the name exist as representing something "concrete" in the minds of individuals who can make an intelligible, provable point as to what the name means in this age - and in the near future or something that has persisted as viable from the first century on for thousands of years. So what the word "Babylon" refers to today - in today's history and beyond is unclear to say the least. And how is Rome simply one manifestation of the total system? There is no set of stipulations that John's words can be used in our - mankind's understanding - to verify that Rome or Babylon or any term is one or more manifestations of the total system - nor even what comprises all or part of the total system. Nor is there any clear statement that the so called Divine System is depicted by the New Jerusalem. God's Word has to clearly state these things in order for one to make use of what is stated for one in a particular time or encompassing all or part of all of the history of the world - ignoring what future centuries have to offer even so far into today's present age. So far especially in Rev 17-18 most of John's writing is a mystery and sealed up until the time is ready for those for whom the information is made available and will then be activated. How many times has God made fools of us all - even the "wisest." His predictions have always come true. So far his record is perfect ours is not.

2 cont.) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:1-2, cont.]:

(Rev 17:1 NASB) "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,

(Rev 17:2 NASB) with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality."

Chapters 17 and 18 form one continuous unit dealing with the judgment on Babylon. The woman is identified as the great city (17:18) whose fall is described in chapter 18. From internal evidence, the identity of Babylon the woman (ch. 17) with Babylon the great city (ch. 18) is so unmistakable that it would be inappropriate to make them different entities. Neither should chapter 17 be viewed as an interpolation, as some have suggested (Mathias Rissi, "The Kerygma of the Revelation to John," Int, 22 [January 1968], 4), simply on the grounds that it seems to be politically specific in the manner of ordinary Jewish apocalyptics (see Introduction: General Nature and Historical Background). While the Roman Empire theory leads more readily to this conclusion, if we reject it, the contents of chapters 17 and 18 are wholly compatible with John's emphasis elsewhere. These two chapters form an extended appendix to the seventh bowl, where the judgment on Babylon was mentioned (16:19). They also expand the earlier references to this city (11:8; 14:8) and look forward by way of contrast to the eternal Holy City (chs. 21-22).

Chapter 17 may be divided as follows: the vision of the great harlot (vv. 1-6) and the interpretation of the vision (vv. 7-18). In suspenseful literary fashion, John first describes the nature of the harlot and the beast she rides (ch. 17); then he describes her momentous fall in terms drawn from the OT descriptions of the fall of great cities (ch. 18).

1 "One of the seven angels" connects this vision with the preceding bowl judgments, showing that it is a further expansion or appendix of the final bowl action and not an additional event.

John sees a great prostitute (porne) established on many waters. The verse forms a superscription for the chapter. The relationship between prostitution (porneia) and idolatry has already been discussed (see comments at 2:14, and at 20). The prevalence of cult prostitution throughout the ancient world makes this figure appropriate for idolatrous worship. The expressions "abominable things" (17:4) and "magic spell" (18:23) confirm this connection. In the OT, the same figure of a harlot city is used of Nineveh (Nah 3:4), of Tyre (Isa 23:16-17), and frequently of idolatrous Jerusalem (Ezek 16:15ff.). The best background for understanding the language of the chapter is not the history of the Roman Empire or pagan god parallels but the descriptions of Jerusalem the harlot in Ezekiel 16 and 23 and Babylon the harlot in Jeremiah 51. A quick reading of these chapters will confirm the many parallels to John's language.

But the great prostitute (porne), Babylon, that Revelation describes is not any mere historical city with its inhabitants, whether in John's past, present, or future. Rather, this city is the mother of all these historical prostitutes, the archetypal source of every idolatrous manifestation in time and space. Therefore, it is as much a mistake to identify Babylon with Rome (though many scholars do, most recently Mounce, Revelation, p. 310) as it is with Jerusalem (so Ford, p. 285). Babylon could equally well be seen in any of these classic manifestations from the past or in modern times—viz., Nazi Germany, Idi Ammin's Ugandan regime, Soviet Russia, Mao's China, British colonialism, or even in aspects of American life (so William Stringfellow, An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land [Waco: Word, 1973]).

Amazingly, all the harlot-city societies mentioned in Scripture have certain common characteristics that are also reflected in John's description of the great Babylon, in which he merges the descriptions of ancient Babylon and Jerusalem into one great composite. Royal dignity and splendor combined with prosperity, overabundance, and luxury (Jer 51:13; Ezek 16:13, 49; Nah 2:9; cf. Rev 18:3, 7, 16-17); self-trust or boastfulness (Isa 14:12-14; Jer 50:31; Ezek 16:15, 50, 56; 27:3; 28:5; cf. Rev 18:7) power and violence, especially against God's people (Jer 51:35, 49; Ezek 23:37; Nah 3:1-3; cf. Rev 18:10, 24); oppression and injustice (Isa 14:4; Ezek 16:49; 28:18; cf. Rev 18:5, 20); and idolatry (Jer 51:47; Ezek 16:17, 36; 23:7, 30, 49; Nah 1:14; cf. Rev 17:4-5; 18:3; 19:2) are all here. Wherever and whenever these characteristics have been manifested historically, there is the appearance of Babylon.

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

John's descriptions of the great Babylon are everywhere. He merges the descriptions of ancient Babylon and Jerusalem into one great composite which totally confuses everything, leaving nothing that makes sense especially as time moves on toward the coming of Christ. Don't forget, more than 2000 years have passed us by and we still have not experienced a convincing fulfillment of all or most of John's prophecies within the context of subject and time that is given in Revelation.

2 cont.) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:1-2, cont.]:

(Rev 17:1 NASB) "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,

(Rev 17:2 NASB) with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality."

The great prostitute "sits on many waters." This goes back to Jeremiah's oracle against historical Babylon, situated along the waterways of the Euphrates, with many canals around the city, greatly multiplying its wealth by trade (Jer 51:13). While the description alludes to ancient Babylon, it also has a deeper significance, explained in v. 15 as "peoples, multitudes, nations and languages"- figurative for the vast influence of the prostitute on the peoples of the world."

2 cont.) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:1-2, cont.]:

(Rev 17:1 NASB) "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,

(Rev 17:2 NASB) with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality."

"2 Earth's kings and inhabitants committed fornication with the prostitute. This language goes back to references to the harlot cities of the past (e.g., Jer 51:7) and means that the peoples of the world have become drunk with abundance, power, pride violence, and especially false worship. The expression "kings of the earth" may be in poetic synonymous parallelism (i.e., an equivalent term) with "inhabitants of the earth." If this were so, the exegesis of the former term would be enriched. The evidence for this is not, however, conclusive (cf. 14:8; 17:4-5; 18:3, 9). "The kings of the earth" may describe simply the rulers in contrast to the hoi polloi.

3) [Bible Knowledge Commentary On Rev 17:1-2]:

(Rev 17:1 NASB) "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,

(Rev 17:2 NASB) with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality."

"K. The fall of Babylon (chaps. 17-18)
Babylon—the source of so many heathen and pagan religions which have opposed the faith of Israel as well as the faith of the church—is here seen in its final judgment. These chapters do not fall chronologically within the scheme of the seals, trumpets, and bowls of the wrath of God, and expositors have had difficulty in determining precisely the meaning of the revelation in these chapters.

In general, however, in chapter 17 Babylon is seen in its religious character climaxing in a world religion which seems to fit the first half of the last seven years preceding Christ's second coming. Chapter 17 also records the destruction of Babylon by the 10 kings (v. 16).

Chapter 18, by contrast, seems to refer to Babylon as a political power and as a great city and as the seat of power of the great world empire which will dominate the second half of the last seven years before Christ's return. Babylon, referred to about 300 times in the Bible, is occasionally viewed as a satanic religious program opposing the true worship of God, but primarily it is viewed as a political power with a great city bearing the name Babylon as its capital. The end times bring together these two major lines of truth about Babylon and indicate God's final judgment on it.

1. RELIGIOUS BABYLON DESTROYED (CHAP. 17)

17:1-2. One of the seven angels (in chap. 16) who had one of the seven bowls invited John to witness the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. This evil woman symbolizes the religious system of Babylon, and the waters symbolize "peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages" (v. 15). The angel informed John that the kings of the earth had committed adultery with the woman; in other words, they had become a part of the religious system which she symbolized (cf. 14:8)."

4) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:3-5]:

(Rev 17:3 NASB) "And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.

(Rev 17:5 NASB) and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

"3 John is carried in the Spirit (see comments at 1:10 and cf. 4:2; 21:10) into a "desert." Again the allusion is to ancient Babylon (Isa 14:23; 21:1; cf. Rev 18:2; see comments at 12:6). Caird (p. 213), following more the imagery of 12:6, thinks that John was taken to the desert to be free from the charms and attractions of the whore so that he could understand her exact nature. Yet it is in the desert that he sees the prostitute seated on "a scarlet beast"- scarlet, presumably, because the color symbolizes the beast's blasphemy in contrast to the white-horse rider and those dressed in white, who are faithful and true (19:8, 11, 14). Since this beast is a seven-headed monster, there is no cogent reason against identifying it with the first beast in chapter 13, which is also inseparable from the seven-headed dragon of chapter 12.

4 Dressed in queenly attire (Ezek 16:13; cf. Rev 18:7), the woman rides the beast, swinging in her hand a golden cup full of her idolatrous abominations and wickedness. Note the contrast—beauty and gross wickedness. Her costly and attractive attire suggests the prostitute's outward beauty and attraction (Jer 4:30). The golden cup filled with wine alludes to Jeremiah's description of Babylon's world-wide influence in idolatry (Jer 51:7). Her cup is filled with "abominable things" (bdelygmaton). The bdelygmaton are most frequently associated with idolatry, which was abhorrent to the Jew and likewise to the Christian (21:27). It is the same word Jesus used in referring to Daniel's "abomination that causes desolation" standing in the temple (Mark 13:14; cf. Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). Babylon is the archetype of all idolatrous obscenities in the earth (v. 5). "Filth" (akatharta, "uncleannesses") is a word frequently associated in the NT with evil (unclean) spirits (e.g., Matt 10:1; 12:43) and also with idolatry (2Cor 6:17) and perhaps cult prostitution (Eph 5:5).

5 The woman has a title written on her forehead, showing that in spite of all her royal glamour she is nothing but a prostitute. From the writings of Seneca and Juvenal, we know that it was the custom for Roman prostitutes to wear their names in the fillet that encircled their brows (Swete, p. 214). The OT also refers to the peculiar brow of the prostitute (Jer 3:3, "a harlot's brow," NEB).

The first word in the woman's title is MYSTERY (mysterion, cf. 1:20; 10:7; 17:7). But does the word belong to the name "MYSTERY BABYLON" itself, or is it a prefix before the actual name—viz., "She has a name written on her forehead, which is a mystery, `Babylon...'?" Scholars disagree, but the latter explanation fits better with John's use of mysterion as a word denoting a divine mystery or allegory that is now revealed. Furthermore, his use of pneumatikos ("figuratively") before the words "Sodom and Egypt" in 11:8 (q.v.), by which the reader is alerted to a special symbolic significance in what follows, likewise supports this.

No doubt, as Lilje suggests, the specific part of the title that is a divine mystery is that this prostitute is the mother of all earth's idolatrous prostitutes (p. 223). She is the fountainhead, the reservoir, the womb that bears all the individual cases of historical resistance to God's will on earth; she is the unholy antithesis to the woman who weds the Lamb (19:7-8) and to the New Jerusalem (21:2-3). Therefore, she cannot be merely ancient Babylon, Rome, or Jerusalem, because these are only her children—she is the mother of them all. While at its beginning Babel was associated with resisting and defying God (Gen 11:1-11), it is probably the epoch of the Babylonian captivity of Israel that indelibly etched the proud, idolatrous, and repressive nature of Babylon on the memories of God's people and thus provided for succeeding generations the symbolic image that could be applied to the further manifestations of the mother prostitute."

5) [BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:3-5]:

(Rev 17:3 NASB) "And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.

(Rev 17:5 NASB) and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

"17:3-5. John was then taken in the Spirit (or better, "in [his] spirit," i.e., in a vision, not bodily; cf. 1:10; 4:2) to a desert where he saw the woman herself. She was sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names. The beast had 7 heads and 10 horns. The beast is an obvious reference to the world government (13:1). The 10 horns are later defined (17:12) as 10 kings who had "not yet received a kingdom." The 7 heads seem to refer to prominent rulers of the yet-future Roman Empire.

The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones, and pearls. Her adornment is similar to that of religious trappings of ritualistic churches today. While purple, scarlet, gold, precious stones, and pearls can all represent beauty and glory in relation to the true faith, here they reveal a false religion that prostitutes the truth.

In her hand the woman held a golden cup... filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries (cf. "the wine of her adulteries" in v. 2). This confirms previous indications that her character and life are symbolic of false religion, confirmed by the words written on her forehead: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. The NASB and NIV are probably right in separating the word "mystery" from the title which follows because the word "mystery" is not a part of the title itself; it describes the title.

The Bible is full of information about Babylon as the source of false religion, the record beginning with the building of the tower of Babel (Gen. 10-11). The name "Babel" suggests "confusion" (Gen. 11:9). Later the name was applied to the city of Babylon which itself has a long history dating back to as early as 3,000 years before Christ. One of its famous rulers was Hammurabi (1728-1686 B.C.). After a period of decline Babylon again rose to great heights under Nebuchadnezzar about 600 years before Christ. Nebuchadnezzar's reign (605-562 B.C.) and the subsequent history of Babylon is the background of the Book of Daniel.

Babylon was important not only politically but also religiously. Nimrod, who founded Babylon (Gen. 10:8-12), had a wife known as Semiramis who founded the secret religious rites of the Babylonian mysteries, according to accounts outside the Bible. Semiramis had a son with an alleged miraculous conception who was given the name Tammuz and in effect was a false fulfillment of the promise of the seed of the woman given to Eve (Gen. 3:15).

Various religious practices were observed in connection with this false Babylonian religion, including recognition of the mother and child as God and of creating an order of virgins who became religious prostitutes. Tammuz, according to the tradition, was killed by a wild animal and then restored to life, a satanic anticipation and counterfeit of Christ's resurrection. Scripture condemns this false religion repeatedly (Jer. 7:18; 44:17-19, 25; Ezek. 8:14). The worship of Baal is related to the worship of Tammuz.
After the Persians took over Babylon in 539 B.C., they discouraged the continuation of the mystery religions of Babylon. Subsequently the Babylonian cultists moved to Pergamum (or Pergamos) where one of the seven churches of Asia Minor was located (cf. Rev. 2:12-17). Crowns in the shape of a fish head were worn by the chief priests of the Babylonian cult to honor the fish god. The crowns bore the words "Keeper of the Bridge," symbolic of the "bridge" between man and Satan. This handle was adopted by the Roman emperors, who used the Latin title Pontifex Maximus, which means "Major Keeper of the Bridge." And the same title was later used by the bishop of Rome. The pope today is often called the pontiff, which comes from pontifex. When the teachers of the Babylonian mystery religions later moved from Pergamum to Rome, they were influential in paganizing Christianity and were the source of many so-called religious rites which have crept into ritualistic churches. Babylon then is the symbol of apostasy and blasphemous substitution of idol-worship for the worship of God in Christ. In this passage Babylon comes to its final judgment."

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

Again it is evident that if special, out of the ordinary theological, symbolical, geographical, numerical insights are required to understand the Bible; and since most people do not possess these insights then the Bible is not meant for all men to read and understand; but must depend upon some elite, superior individual(s) to lead / teach / instruct them. But the language in the Bible does include all individuals of accountable age evidently only needing to study it utilizing normal reading / linguistic skills and nothing else

6) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:6]:

(Rev 17:6 NASB) "And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly."

"6 This mother prostitute is also the source of the shed blood of the followers of Jesus, the martyrs referred to throughout the book (6:9; 7:9ff.; 13:8; 18:24). The same mother harlot who had killed the saints of old throughout salvation history is now also responsible for the deaths of the Christians (cf. 2:13). Though there is no direct reference here to Rome or Jerusalem, early Christian readers would understand that whenever they were threatened with death by any temporal power—whether political, religious, or both—they were in reality facing the blood-thirsty mother prostitute God was about to judge and destroy once for all. To be drunk with blood was a familiar figure in the ancient world for the lust for violence (Charles, Commentary on Revelation, 2:66; cf. Isa 34:7; 49:26).

7) [BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:6]:

(Rev 17:6 NASB) "And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly."

"17:6. The woman symbolizing the apostate religious system, was drunk with the blood of the saints. This makes it clear that the apostate religious system of the first half of the last seven years leading up to Christ's second coming will be completely devoid of any true Christians. As a matter of fact the apostate church will attempt to kill all those who follow the true faith. John expressed his great astonishment at this revelation."

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

There evidently will NOT be any Christians true or not true during this Tribulation period of 7 years for there will be an absence of church worship. They will simply be believers who are either non-Jews, i.e., Gentiles or Jews as in the period of the Jews when Temple Worship existed.

8) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:7-8]:

(Rev 17:7 NASB) "And the angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

(Rev 17:8 NASB) The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come."

"7 Verses 7-18 contain an extended interpretation of the vision that parallels the method used in apocalyptic sections in OT prophecy (cf. Zech 1:8ff., etc.; Rev 7:9ff). First the beast is described and identified (vv. 7-8), then the seven heads (vv. 9-11), the ten horns (vv. 12-14), the waters (v. 15), and finally the woman (v. 18). John's astonishment over the arresting figure of the woman on the beast is quickly subdued by the interpreting angel's announcement that John will be shown the explanation of the divine mystery of the symbolic imagery of woman and beast.

8 Much difficulty in interpreting this section has resulted from incorrectly applying John's words either to the Roman emperor succession (the seven heads), to the Nero redivivus myth ("once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss" [see comments at introduction to ch. 13]), or to a succession of world empires. None of these views is satisfactory for reasons that will be stated below. John's description is theological, not political. He describes a reality behind earth's sovereigns, not the successive manifestations in history. When this is seen to be the case, it is unnecessary to revert to source theories (contra Beasley-Murray, "The Revelation," p. 1300), to interpolation theories (Charles, Commentary on Revelation, 2:67; Eller, pp. 165-67), or to other theories in an attempt to relate John's descriptive language to past events.
The beast is the monster from the Abyss, i.e., the satanic incarnation of idolatrous power, described in 13:1ff. (q.v.), mentioned earlier in 11:7, and whose destruction is seen in 19:19-20. John is told that the beast "once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss." This seems clearly to be a paraphrase of the idea in chapter 13 of the sword-wounded beast who was healed (13:3, 14); the language is similar, the astonishment of the world's inhabitants identical, and the threefold emphasis on this spectacular feature is repeated in both contexts (13:3, 12, 14; 17:8 bis, 11).

The play here on the tenses "was,... is not,... will come" refers to a three-stage history of the beast that requires a mind with wisdom to understand its mystery. Isaiah refers to the chaos monster as "Rahab the Do-Nothing," i.e., the monster thought to energize Egypt is in reality inactive, rendered impotent by the hand of the Lord (Isa 30:7). That John's beast "is not" refers to his defeat by the Lamb on Calvary. To those who worship only the Father and the Son, all other gods are nothing or nonexistent (1Cor 8:4-6). Satan once had unchallenged power over the earth ("was," cf. Luke 4:6 Heb 2:14-15). Now he is a defeated sovereign ("is not," cf. John 12:31-32); yet he is given a "little time" to oppose God and his people (12:12c; 13:5; 20:3b) before his final sentencing to destruction (apoleia, v. 11; cf. Matt 7:13; John 17:12; Rom 9:22; 2 Thess 2:3). It is this apparent revival of Satan's power and authority over the world after his mortal wound (Gen 3:15) that causes the deceived of earth to follow him.

Note the subtle change in perspective from the way the first reference to the beast is stated (v. 8a) to that of the second (v. 8b). Whereas the first instance refers to his satanic origin ("out of the Abyss") and his final destruction, a divine revelation to believers, the second simply states how that he was, is not, and yet comes, an unbeliever's view. This twofold viewpoint is paralleled in vv. 9-11 where one of the kings "is" (v. 10) and an eighth king "is" (v. 11); yet the beast "is not" (v. 11). There seems to be an intentional double-talk whereby the author seeks to identify theologically the nature of the power that supports the profligate woman.

John's use of the present tense for the beast's coming up out of the Abyss (anabainein, cf. 11:7) may suggest a continuing aspect of his character, similar to the use of the present tense to describe the New Jerusalem descending from heaven (katabainousa; cf. 3:12; 21:2, 10). That the beast goes into perdition (present tense) may likewise indicate one of his continuing characteristics. There is also a possible parallelism in the expression "once was, now is not, and yet will come" with the divine attributes described in the phrase "who is, and who was, and who is to come" (1:8). On the meaning of the book of life, see comments at 3:5 (cf. 13:8)."

9) [BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:7-8]:

(Rev 17:7 NASB) "And the angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

"17:7-8. The angel explained the meaning of the woman and of the beast she was riding. The beast... will come up out of the Abyss, the home of Satan (11:7) and the place from which demons come (9:1-2, 11). This indicates that the power behind the ruler is satanic (cf. 13:4) and that Satan and the man he controls are closely identified. Their power is one. The fact that the beast was, now is not, and will come up in the future is another indication of what was introduced in 13:3. The supernatural survival and revival of both the world ruler and his empire will impress the world as being supernatural and will lead to worship of the beast and Satan. (On the book of life see comments on 3:5; 13:8. Also cf. 20:12, 15; 21:27.)"

10) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:9]:

(Rev 17:9 NASB) "Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,"

"9 This and the following verses form the key of the Roman emperor view of the Apocalypse. The woman not only sits on many waters (vv. 1, 15), and on the beast (v. 3), but she also sits on seven hills. As previously stated, most scholars have no doubt that the seven hills refer to the seven hills of Rome and the seven kings to seven successive emperors of that nation. Mounce states, "There is little doubt that a first-century reader would understand this reference in any way other than as a reference to Rome, the city built upon seven hills" (Revelation, pp. 313-14).

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

Even if someone like a first century reader were to understand this reference as a reference to Rome, the phrased rendered, "the city built upon seven hills," would this be understood even fulfilled as such throughout the 20 centuries that follow? How would this edify innumerable readers since then to the point of providing an accurate understanding of what will actually transpire in any or all of the following centuries or at the time these prophecies are destined to be fulfilled?

10 cont.) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:9, (cont.)]:

(Rev 17:9 NASB) "Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,"

"As previously stated, most scholars have no doubt that the seven hills refer to the seven hills of Rome and the seven kings to seven successive emperors of that nation. Mounce states, "There is little doubt that a first-century reader would understand this reference in any way other than as a reference to Rome, the city built upon seven hills" (Revelation, pp. 313-14). "Yet there is very good reason' to doubt that this interpretation, and its varieties, is the meaning John intended. The following dissenting view is drawn largely from Minear (I Saw a New Earth, pp. 237ff.). In the first place, the seven hills belong to the monster, not the woman. It is the woman (i.e., the city [v. 18]) who sits upon (i.e., has mastery over) the seven heads (or seven hills) of the monster. If the woman is the city of Rome, it is obvious that she did not exercise mastery over seven successive Roman emperors that are also seven traditional hills of Rome. This introduces an unwarranted twisting of the symbolism to fit a preconceived interpretation. Also, how could the seven hills of Rome have any real importance to the diabolical nature of the beast or the woman? Nor does it help to make the prostitute the Roman Empire and the hills the city of Rome (so Kiddle) since the woman is explicitly identified in v. 18 not as the empire but as the city. In fact, nowhere in the NT is Rome described as the enemy of the church.

If it is argued that what is really important in the mention of the seven hills is the identification with Rome, how then does this require any special divine wisdom ("This calls for a mind with wisdom" [v. 9])? As Caird (in loc.) remarks, any Roman soldier who knew Greek could figure out that the seven hills referred to Rome. But whenever divine wisdom is called for, the description requires theological and symbolical discernment, not mere geographical or numerical insight (cf. comments at 13:18). Those who follow Charles and argue for a fusing of sources or images to explain the dual reference to the hills and kings simply evade the implications of the incongruity they have created.

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

10 cont.) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:9, (cont.)]:

(Rev 17:9 NASB) "Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,"

"In the seven other instances of the word 'ore' in Revelation, it is always rendered "mountain," except here in 17:9, where it is translated "hills" (see Notes). Is this a case where previous exegesis has influenced even the best translations (KJV has "mountains")? On the other hand, mountains allegorically refer to world powers in the Prophets (Isa 2:2; Jer 51:25; Dan 2:35; Zech 4:7). It seems better, then, to interpret the seven mountains as a reference to the seven heads or kings, which describe not the city but the beast. The expression "they are also seven kings" seems to require strict identification of the seven mountains with seven kings rather than with a geographic location.

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

10 cont.) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:9, (cont.)]:

(Rev 17:9 NASB) "Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,"

John's use of numbers elsewhere in the book likewise argues against the Roman Empire identification. He has already shown a strong disposition for their symbolic significance e.g., seven churches, seals, trumpets, bowls, and thunders; twenty-four elders; 144,000 sealed, etc. By his use of seven, he indicates completeness or wholeness. The seven heads of the beast symbolize fullness of blasphemy and evil. It is much like our English idiom "the seven seas," i.e., all the seas of the world. Caird recognizes the patent absurdity of trying to take the symbolic number seven and make it refer to exactly seven Roman emperors. Yet he goes on to explain the seven kings as a reference to an indefinite number of emperors, including Nero redivivus (pp. 218-19). While Caird's view is much more in keeping with John's symbolism, it still labors under the unacceptable assumption that John is identifying the beast with Rome."

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

11) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:10]:

(Rev 17:10 NASB) "and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while."

"10 If the seven heads symbolically represent the complete or full source of evil power and blasphemy, why, then, does John talk about five fallen heads or kings, one existing head or king, and one yet to come? Does this not most readily fit the view of dynastic successions to the imperial throne? To be sure, there have been many attempts to fit the date of Revelation (the then contemporary king would be he who "is") into the emperor lists of the first century (for detailed discussions, see Caird, pp. 217-18; Ford, pp. 289-91). But immediately there are admitted problems. Where do we begin—with Julius Caesar or Caesar Augustus? Are we to count all the emperors or just those who fostered emperor worship? Are we to exclude Galba, Otho, and Vitellius who had short, rival reigns? If so, how can they be excluded except on a completely arbitrary basis? A careful examination of the historic materials yields no satisfactory solution. If Revelation were written under Nero, there would be too few emperors; if under Domitian, too many. The original readers would have had no more information on these emperor successions than we do, and possibly even less. How many Americans can immediately name the last seven presidents? Furthermore, how could the eighth emperor who is identified as the beast also be one of the seven (v. 11)?

Recognizing these problems, others have sought different solutions to John's five-one-one succession of kings. Since the word "king" may also represent kingdoms, Seiss (followed recently by Ladd and Walvoord) has suggested an interpretation that takes the five-one-one to refer to successive world kingdoms that have oppressed the people of God: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece (five fallen), Rome (one is), and a future world kingdom (p. 393). While this solves some of the emperor succession problems and fits nicely, it too must admit arbitrary omissions, such as the devastating persecution of the people of God under the Seleucids of Syria, especially Antiochus IV, Epiphanes. This view also suffers in not respecting the symbolic significance of John's use of seven throughout the book. Also, how can these kings (kingdoms) survive the destruction of the harlot and be pictured as mourning over her demise (18:9)? And what logical sense can be made of the fact that the seventh king (kingdom), usually identified with Antichrist, is separate from the eighth king (kingdom), which is clearly identified with the beast (vv. 10b-11)?

A convincing interpretation of the seven kings must do justice to three considerations: (1) Since the heads belong to the beast, the interpretation must relate their significance to this beast, not to Babylon. (2) Since the primary imagery of kingship in Revelation is a feature of the power conflict between the Lamb and the beast and between those who share the rule of these two enemies (cf. 17:14-19:19), the kind of sovereignty expressed in 17:10 must be the true antithesis to the kind of sovereignty exercised by Christ and his followers. (3) Since the kings are closely related to the seven mountains and to the prostitute, the nature of the relationship between these must be clarified by the interpretation (Minear, I Saw a New Earth, p. 240).

If we can see that the seven heads do not represent a quantitative measure but show qualitatively the fullness of evil power residing in the beast, then the falling of five heads conveys the message of a significant victory over the beast. The image of a sovereignty falling is better related to God's judgment on a power than to a succession of kings (-doms) (cf. Jer 50:32; 51:8, 49; Rev 14:8; 18:2).

The imagery of the seven heads presented in 12:3 and 13:1 must be restudied. The ancient seal showing the seven-headed chaos monster being slain (see comments at 13:1b) well illustrates John's imagery here. In that ancient scene, the seven-headed monster is being slain by a progressive killing of its seven heads. Four of the heads are dead, killed apparently by the spear of a divine figure who is attacking the monster. His defeat seems imminent. Yet the chaos monster is still active because three heads still live. Similarly, John's message is that five of the monster's seven heads are already defeated by the power of the Lamb's death and by the identification in that death of the martyrs of Jesus (12:11). One head is now active, thus showing the reality of the beast's contemporary agents who afflict the saints; and one head remains, indicating that the battle will soon be over but not with the defeat of the contemporary evil agents. This last manifestation of the beast's blasphemous power will be short—"he must remain for a little while." This statement seems to go with the function of the ten horns (kings) who for "one hour" (v. 12) will rule with the beast. The seventh king (head) represents the final short display of satanic evil before the divine blow falls on the beast (cf. 12:12c; 20:3c)."

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

It is evident that if special, out of the ordinary theological, symbolical, geographical, numerical insights are required to understand the Bible; and since most people do not possess these insights then the Bible is not meant for all men to read and understand; but must depend upon some elite, superior individual(s) to lead / teach / instruct them. But the language in the Bible does include all individuals of accountable age evidently only needing to study it utilizing normal reading / linguistic skills and nothing else

12) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:11]:

(Rev 17:11 NASB) "The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction."

"11 This verse presents all interpreters with a real difficulty. One of the common interpretations refers the language to the Nero redivivus myth (see comments at introduction to ch. 13)—viz., a revived Nero will be the reincarnation of the evil genius of the whole Roman Empire (Beasley-Murray, "The Revelation," p. 1300). Furthermore, among futurist interpreters there is no agreement as to whether the seventh or the eighth king is the Antichrist. It must be admitted that any king(-dom) succession hypothesis founders on v. 11. On the other hand, if John has in mind qualitative identification and not quantitative, a theological rather than historical or political sense, the passage may yield further insight into the mystery of the beast.

First, we note the strange (to us) manner in which the sequence of seven kings gives way to the eighth, which is really the whole beast. This pattern of seven-to-eight-equals-one was familiar to the early church. It is a concept those raised in the great liturgical traditions can grasp. The eighth day was the day of the resurrection of Christ, Sunday. It was also the beginning of a new week. The seventh day, the Jewish Sabbath, is held over, to be replaced by the first of a new series, namely Sunday. Austin Farrer has noted how even the whole theme of the Apocalypse is integrally related to this idea. "Sunday is the day of Resurrection. The 'week' with which the Apocalypse deals extends from the Resurrection of Christ to the General Resurrection, when death has been destroyed." He further states the relation between the seventh and eighth:

God rests from his completed work, but in so resting he initiates a new act which is the eighth-and-first day. We may compare the Gospel once more. On the sixth day Christ conquered, and achieved his rest from the labours of his flesh. But the sabbath-day which follows is in itself nothing, it has no content: it is simply the restful sepulchre out of which, with the eighth and first day, the resurrection springs. (A Rebirth of Images; the Making of St. John's Apocalypse [London: Darce, 1949], pp. 70-71).

Each of the series of sevens in the book, except for the seven churches, follows a pattern of the seventh in the series becoming the first of a new series; thus seven to eight equals one. The eighth was the day of the Messiah, the day of the new age and the sign of the victory over the forces of evil (Alexander Schememann, Introduction to Liturgical Theology [London: Faith, 1966], pp. 60-64). Shepherd also calls attention to this phenomenon in Revelation (Massey H. Shepherd, Jr., The Paschal Liturgy and the Apocalypse [Richmond: John Knox, 1960], pp. 20-21, 80). But does this provide a key to interpret the symbolism of the chaos monster?

Of the three stages of the beast—was, is not, will come—only the last is related to his coming "up out of the Abyss" (v. 8). These words appear to be the equivalent of the beast's healed wound (plague) mentioned in 13:3, 14. While, on the one hand, Christ has killed the monster by his death (Gen 3:15; Rev 12:7-9) and for believers he "is not" (has no power), yet, on the other hand, the beast still has life ("one is" [v. 10]) and will attempt one final battle against the Lamb and his followers ("the other has not yet come;... he must remain for a little while"). In order to recruit as many as possible for his side of the war, the beast will imitate the resurrection of Christ (he "is an eighth king" [v. 11]) and will give the appearance that he is alive and in control of the world (cf. Luke 4:5-7). But John quickly adds, for the pastoral comfort of God's people, that the beast belongs to the seven, i.e., qualitatively not numerically (as if he were a former king revived); he is in reality (to the eyes of the saints) not a new beginning of life but a part of the seven-headed monster that has been slain by Christ and, therefore, he goes "to his destruction." While this imagery may seem to us to be unnecessarily obscure, it reveals the true mystery of the beast in a fashion that exposes the dynamics of satanic deception so that every Christian may be forearmed."

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

13) [BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:9-11]:

(Rev 17:9 NASB) "Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,

(Rev 17:10 NASB) and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.

(Rev 17:11 NASB) "The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction."

"17:9-11. The angel informed John, This calls for a mind with wisdom (cf. 13:18). The truth that is being presented here symbolically requires spiritual insight to be understood, and the difficulty of correct interpretation is illustrated by the various ways it has been interpreted in the history of the church.

The angel informed John that the beast's heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. Many ancient writers, such as Victorinus, who wrote one of the first commentaries on the Book of Revelation, identified the seven hills as Rome, often described as "the city of seven hills." This identification has led to the conclusion this passage teaches that Rome will be the capital of the coming world empire. Originally Rome included seven small mountains along the Tiber River, and the hills were given the names Palatine, Aventine, Caelian, Equiline, Viminal, Quirimal, and Capitoline. Later, however, the city expanded to include the hill Janiculum and also a hill to the north called Pincian. While Rome is often referred to as having seven hills or mountains, different writers do not necessarily name the same seven mountains.

A close study of the passage does not support the conclusion that this refers to the city of Rome. Seiss, for instance, offers extensive evidence that the reference is to rulers rather than to physical mountains (The Apocalypse, pp. 391-94). This is supported by the text which explains, They are also seven kings (lit., "the seven heads are seven kings"). If the mountains represent kings, then obviously they are not literal mountains and refer not to a literal Rome but to persons.

This view is also supported by verse 10, Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. John was writing from his point of view in which five prominent kings of the Roman Empire had already come and gone, and one was then on the throne (probably Domitian, who caused the persecution which put John on the island of Patmos). The identity of the seventh king, the one to come after John's time, is unknown.

Verse 11 adds that the final world empire will be headed by an eighth king.... The beast who once was, and now is not.... belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. The eighth king is obviously identical to the final world ruler, the man who heads up the final world empire destroyed by Christ at His second coming.

One possible explanation of the difference between the seventh and eighth beast is that the seventh beast itself is the Roman Empire marvelously revived in the end time, and the eighth beast is its final ruler. These verses show that in the end time, particularly during the first half of the last seven years, there will be an alliance between the Middle East ruler (the Antichrist) and the apostate world church of that time. This will come to a head, however, at the midpoint of the seven years, when that political power becomes worldwide."

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

"Again it is evident that if special, out of the ordinary theological, symbolical, geographical, numerical insights are required to understand the Bible; and since most people do not possess these insights then the Bible is not meant for all men to read and understand; but must depend upon some elite, superior individual(s) to lead / teach / instruct them. But the language in the Bible does include all individuals of accountable age evidently only needing to study it utilizing normal reading / linguistic skills and nothing else

14) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:12-14]:

(Rev 17:12 NASB) "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.

(Rev 17:13 NASB) "These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

"12-14 Here John seems to allude to Daniel 7:7, 24. The ten horns are usually understood as either native rulers of Roman provinces, serving under the emperors or native rulers of satellite states, or governors of Palestine. Others see in them a ten-nation confederacy of the future revived Roman Empire (e.g., Walvoord, pp. 254-55). There are good reasons for abandoning these explanations. In the first place, the number ten should—like most of John's numbers—be understood symbolically. Ten symbolizes a repeated number of times or an indefinite number. It is perhaps another number like seven, indicating fullness (Neh 4:12; Dan 1:12; Rev 2:10). Thus the number should not be understood as referring specifically to ten kings (kingdoms) but as indicating the multiplicity of sovereignties in confederacy that enhance the power of the beast.

Second, since these kings enter into a power conflict with the Lamb and his followers (v. 14), the kind of sovereignty they exercise must be the true antithesis of the kind of sovereignty the Lamb and his followers exercise. These rulers as well as the beast with which they will be allied can be no other than the principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms that Paul describes as the true enemies of Jesus' followers (Eph 6:12). To be sure, they use earthly instruments, but their reality is far greater than any specific historical equivalents (see note on v. 14). These "kings' embody the fullness of Satan's attack against the Lamb in the great eschatological showdown. They are the "kings from the east" (16:12-14, 16), and they are also the "kings of the earth" who ally themselves with the beast in the final confrontation with the Lamb (19:19-21).

Finally, there is a link between v. 12 and v. 11. The ten kings are said to receive authority for "one hour" along with the beast. This corresponds to the "little while" of the seventh king. From the viewpoint of the saints, who will be greatly persecuted, this promise of brevity brings comfort. These kings have "one purpose" (gnome); they agree to oppose the Lamb. But the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings (cf. Deut 10:17; Dan 2:47; Rev 19:16). He conquers by his death, and those who are with him also aid in the defeat of the beast by their loyalty to the Lamb even to death (cf. 5:5, 9; 12:11)-a sobering thought."

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

(Rev 17:12 NASB) "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.

(Rev 17:13 NASB) "These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

(Rev 17:14 NASB) "These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."

"Again it is evident that if special, out of the ordinary theological, symbolical, geographical, numerical insights are required to understand the Bible; and since most people do not possess these insights then the Bible is not meant for all men to read and understand; but must depend upon some elite, superior individual(s) to lead / teach / instruct them. But the language in the Bible does include all individuals of accountable age evidently only needing to study it utilizing normal reading / linguistic skills and nothing else

(Rev 17:12 NASB) "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.

(Rev 17:13 NASB) "These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

(Rev 17:14 NASB) "These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."

"17:12-14. Verse 12 explains that the 10 horns... are 10 kings. While many commentators have tried to identify 10 successive kings in the past, the passage itself indicates that they are contemporaneous kings who are heads of the countries which will form the original alliance in the Middle East that will support the future world ruler. They will receive authority for one hour... as kings along with the beast. While the 7 heads may be chronologically successive rulers of the Roman Empire who are singled out as prominent, the 10 horns by contrast are contemporaneous with each other, and as the text indicates they will receive political power for a brief time.

The 10 kings will unite their power to support the beast (v. 13), the Middle East ruler who will emerge in the end time and will make a covenant with Israel seven years before the second coming of Christ. Their antagonism to Christ is indicated throughout the entire seven years. And when Christ returns, these 10 kings will war against Him but will be defeated (v. 14). Interestingly Christ the Lamb is also the Lord of lords and King of kings (cf. 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 19:16)."

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

. Therefore special insights are NOT required to understand the Bible. Given this point of view which is biblical, it is feasible that what God has inspired the bible writers to write in His Word for the moment is incomprehensible until such time that He has determined / decreed it to be comprehensible and fulfilled in that time."

18) [EXPOSITER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:16-18]:
(Rev 17:16 NASB) "And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire.
(Rev 17:17 NASB) For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.
(Rev 17:18 NASB) "The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth."

"16-17 On these verses the Roman hypothesis (empire and city) breaks down. For in that view the emperors (the beast and its heads) will turn against the city or empire and destroy her. Swete (p. 222) tries to locate this event in Rome's history and to argue that there is some supporting evidence for it. But the attempt is not convincing. Rather, the attack on the prostitute indicates that in the final judgment the kingdom of Satan, by divine purpose, will be divided against itself. The references to the prostitute being hated by her former lovers, stripped naked, and burned with fire are reminiscent of the OT prophets' descriptions of the divine judgment falling on the harlot cities of Jerusalem and Tyre (e.g., Ezek 16:39-40; 23:25-27; 28:18). The description of the punishment of convicted prostitutes who are priests' daughters (cf. Lev 21:9; the burning with fire is explained by Ford as "a pouring of molten lead down their throats" [p. 55]) is combined with the picture of judgment against rebellious cities (18:8). Caird aptly captures the meaning of John's imagery in v. 16: "The ravaging of the whore by the monster and its horns is John's most vivid symbol for the self-destroying power of evil" (p. 221).
In the declaration "God has put it into their hearts to accomplish His purpose" (v. 17), there is another indication of God's use of the forces of evil as instruments of His own purposes of judgment (Jer 25:9-14; cf. Luke 20:18). Nothing will distract them from their united effort to destroy the prostitute till God's purposes given through the prophets are fulfilled (cf. 10:7; 11:18).

18 The "woman" and "the great city" are one. Yet this city is not just a historical one; it is the great city, the mother city, the archetype of every evil system opposed to God in history (see comments at introduction to ch. 17). Her kingdom holds sway over the powers of the earth. John's concept of the city in Revelation entails much more than a specific historical city even in its political and sociological aspects. The cities in Revelation are communities; they are twofold: the city of God, the New Jerusalem (3:12; 21:2, 10; 22:2ff.), and the city of Satan, Babylon the Great (11:8; 14:8; 16:19; 18:4, 20, etc.). The meaning cannot be confined to Sodom or Egypt or Jerusalem or Rome or any future city. Instead, John describes the real trans-historical system of satanic evil that infuses them all."

19) [BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:16-18]:
(Rev 17:16 NASB) "And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire.
(Rev 17:17 NASB) For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.
(Rev 17:18 NASB) "The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth."

"17:16-18. The chapter closes with the dramatic destruction of the woman. The beast (the world ruler, the Antichrist) and the 10 horns (10 kings) will hate the prostitute and will bring her to ruin. While the exact time of this event is not given in this passage, it would seem to occur at the midpoint of the seven years when the beast will assume the role of world dictator by proclamation (Dan. 9:27; Matt. 24:15).

[BIBLE STUDY MANUALS]:

The church is not present, only temple worship is evident in the end times. The rapture has evidently taken believers off the planet up into the clouds and into heaven .

19 cont.) [BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY ON REV 17:16-18, cont.]:

It [believers in Jesus Christ - Jews & Gentiles] will be replaced by the final form of world religion which will be the worship of the world ruler, Satan's substitute for Christ.
This is part of God's sovereign purpose to bring evil leaders into judgment, For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish His purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled.

The final description of the woman is given in 17:18: The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth. The reference to the woman as a city is another link with ancient Babylon, this time regarded as a religious center for false religion. The apostate church [not a christian church] represented by the woman was a combination of religious and political power. As stated in verse 5, the city and the woman are a "mystery," and are therefore a symbolic presentation. Verse 18, however, introduces the next chapter which seems to refer to Babylon more as a literal city than as a religious entity."

[Biblestudymanuals]
Note that Babylon today does not physically exist (2025). It is a pile of dirt.

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

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8 Much difficulty in interpreting this section has resulted from incorrectly applying 'Johns words either to the Roman emperor succession (the seven heads), to the Nero redivivus myth ("once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss" [see comments at introduction to ch. 13]), or to a succession of world empires. None of these views is satisfactory for reasons that will be stated below. John's description is theological, not political. He describes a reality behind earth's sovereigns, not the successive manifestations in history. When this is seen to be the case, it is unnecessary to revert to source theories (contra Beasley-Murray, "The Revelation," p. 1300), to interpolation theories (Charles, Commentary on Revelation, 2:67; Eller, pp. 165-67), or to other theories in an attempt to relate John's descriptive language to past events.
The beast is the monster from the Abyss, i.e., the satanic incarnation of idolatrous power, described in 13:1ff. (q.v.), mentioned earlier in 11:7, and whose destruction is seen in 19:19-20. John is told that the beast "once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss." This seems clearly to be a paraphrase of the idea in chapter 13 of the sword-wounded beast who was healed (13:3, 14); the language is similar, the astonishment of the world's inhabitants identical, and the threefold emphasis on this spectacular feature is repeated in both contexts (13:3, 12, 14; 17:8 bis, 11).

9 This and the following verses form the key of the Roman emperor view of the Apocalypse. The woman not only sits on many waters (vv. 1, 15), and on the beast (v. 3), but she also sits on seven hills. As previously stated, most scholars have no doubt that the seven hills refer to the seven hills of Rome and the seven kings to seven successive emperors of that nation. Mounce states, "There is little doubt that a first-century reader would understand this reference in any way other than as a reference to Rome, the city built upon seven hills" (Revelation, pp. 313-14).

Yet there is very good reason to doubt that this interpretation, and its varieties, is the meaning John intended. The following dissenting view is drawn largely from Minear (I Saw a New Earth, pp. 237ff.). In the first place, the seven hills belong to the monster, not the woman. It is the woman (i.e., the city [v. 18]) who sits upon (i.e., has mastery over) the seven heads (or seven hills) of the monster. If the woman is the city of Rome, it is obvious that she did not exercise mastery over seven successive Roman emperors that are also seven traditional hills of Rome. This introduces an unwarranted twisting of the symbolism to fit a preconceived interpretation. Also, how could the seven hills of Rome have any real importance to the diabolical nature of the beast or the woman? Nor does it help to make the prostitute the Roman Empire and the hills the city of Rome (so Kiddle) since the woman is explicitly identified in v. 18 not as the empire but as the city. In fact, nowhere in the NT is Rome described as the enemy of the church.

In the seven other instances of the word ore in Revelation, it is always rendered "mountain," except here in 17:9, where it is translated "hills" (see Notes). Is this a case where previous exegesis has influenced even the best translations (KJV has "mountains")? On the other hand, mountains allegorically refer to world powers in the Prophets (Isa 2:2; Jer 51:25; Dan 2:35; Zech 4:7). It seems better, then, to interpret the seven mountains as a reference to the seven heads or kings, which describe not the city but the beast. The expression "they are also seven kings" seems to require strict identification of the seven mountains with seven kings rather than with a geographic location.

10 If the seven heads symbolically represent the complete or full source of evil power and blasphemy, why, then, does John talk about five fallen heads or kings, one existing head or king, and one yet to come? Does this not most readily fit the view of dynastic successions to the imperial throne? To be sure, there have been many attempts to fit the date of Revelation (the then contemporary king would be he who "is") into the emperor lists of the first century (for detailed discussions, see Caird, pp. 217-18; Ford, pp. 289-91). But immediately there are admitted problems. Where do we begin—with Julius Caesar or Caesar Augustus? Are we to count all the emperors or just those who fostered emperor worship? Are we to exclude Galba, Otho, and Vitellius who had short, rival reigns? If so, how can they be excluded except on a completely arbitrary basis? A careful examination of the historic materials yields no satisfactory solution. If Revelation were written under Nero, there would be too few emperors; if under Domitian, too many. The original readers would have had no more information on these emperor successions than we do, and possibly even less. How many Americans can immediately name the last seven presidents? Furthermore, how could the eighth emperor who is identified as the beast also be one of the seven (v. 11)?

11 This verse presents all interpreters with a real difficulty. One of the common interpretations refers the language to the Nero redivivus myth (see comments at introduction to ch. 13)—viz., a revived Nero will be the reincarnation of the evil genius of the whole Roman Empire (Beasley-Murray, "The Revelation," p. 1300). Furthermore, among futurist interpreters there is no agreement as to whether the seventh or the eighth king is the Antichrist. It must be admitted that any king(-dom) succession hypothesis founders on v. 11. On the other hand, if John has in mind qualitative identification and not quantitative, a theological rather than historical or political sense, the passage may yield further insight into the mystery of the beast.

12-14 Here John seems to allude to Daniel 7:7, 24. The ten horns are usually understood as either native rulers of Roman provinces, serving under the emperors or native rulers of satellite states, or governors of Palestine. Others see in them a ten-nation confederacy of the future revived Roman Empire (e.g., Walvoord, pp. 254-55). There are good reasons for abandoning these explanations. In the first place, the number ten should—like most of John's numbers—be understood symbolically. Ten symbolizes a repeated number of times or an indefinite number. It is perhaps another number like seven, indicating fullness (Neh 4:12; Dan 1:12; Rev 2:10). Thus the number should not be understood as referring specifically to ten kings (kingdoms) but as indicating the multiplicity of sovereignties in confederacy that enhance the power of the beast.

15 On first reading, this verse appears to be out of place. However, closer examination shows that v. 16 also refers to the prostitute and the horns. verse 15 teaches that the influence of the idolatrous satanic system of Babylon is universal (cf. vv. 1-2) and embraces all peoples, from the humblest to the kings of the earth.
16-17 On these verses the Roman hypothesis (empire and city) breaks down. For in that view the emperors (the beast and its heads) will turn against the city or empire and destroy her. Swete (p. 222) tries to locate this event in Rome's history and to argue that there is some supporting evidence for it. But the attempt is not convincing. Rather, the attack on the prostitute indicates that in the final judgment the kingdom of Satan, by divine purpose, will be divided against itself. The references to the prostitute being hated by her former lovers, stripped naked, and burned with fire are reminiscent of the OT prophets' descriptions of the divine judgment falling on the harlot cities of Jerusalem and Tyre (e.g., Ezek 16:39-40; 23:25-27; 28:18). The description of the punishment of convicted prostitutes who are priests' daughters (cf. Lev 21:9; the burning with fire is explained by Ford as "a pouring of molten lead down their throats" [p. 55]) is combined with the picture of judgment against rebellious cities (18:8). Caird aptly captures the meaning of John's imagery in v. 16: "The ravaging of the whore by the monster and its horns is John's most vivid symbol for the self-destroying power of evil" (p. 221).
In the declaration "God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose" (v. 17), there is another indication of God's use of the forces of evil as instruments of his own purposes of judgment (Jer 25:9-14; cf. Luke 20:18). Nothing will distract them from their united effort to destroy the prostitute till God's purposes given through the prophets are fulfilled (cf. 10:7; 11:18).

18 The "woman" and "the great city" are one. Yet this city is not just a historical one; it is the great city, the mother city, the archetype of every evil system opposed to God in history (see comments at introduction to ch. 17). Her kingdom holds sway over the powers of the earth. John's concept of the city in Revelation entails much more than a specific historical city even in its political and sociological aspects. The cities in Revelation are communities; they are twofold: the city of God, the New Jerusalem (3:12; 21:2, 10; 22:2ff.), and the city of Satan, Babylon the Great (11:8; 14:8; 16:19; 18:4, 20, etc.). The meaning cannot be confined to Sodom or Egypt or Jerusalem or Rome or any future city. Instead, John describes the real trans-historical system of satanic evil that infuses them all.
Notes
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1 For Minear's general view, cf. I Saw a New Earth, pp. 228-46; idem, "Babylon in the New Testament," IDB, 1:338. While Ford presents five good reasons why Babylon cannot be the city of Rome, she falls into a similar error by identifying the city as Jerusalem (p. 216). But Jerusalem, like Rome, is only one of the multiple manifestations of Babylon in history. Josephus refers to Cleopatra in language very similar to that of the Apocalypse, but as a historical type Jezebel would probably come closer to John's imagery (cf. comments at 2:20; Jos. Antiq. XV, 97 [iv.2]).

Πόρνη (porne, "prostitute") may be either male or female, married or unmarried. The word is generally used of unmarried sexual relations (μοιχεία [moicheia] is used for extramarital relations, i.e., adultery and cult prostitution), but it can denote sexual perversions in general, whether among married or unmarried (TDNT, 6:579ff.).
8 Ladd, following Zahn, interprets the play on tenses in a more literal manner, understanding the reference to the beast as the beast that "was" as pointing to the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes IV, the great persecutor of the people of God in the days of the Maccabees (c.167 B.C.) (Commentary on Revelation, pp. 230-31). There is some support for this view in Dan 8:9, 21. But the beast that "was" could just as well have been the emperor Vespasian, who ordered Jerusalem destroyed in A.D. 70 by Titus. Or it could also refer to Nero, who undertook an attack on Christians in the city of Rome a short time earlier.

9 Translations that render ὄρη (ore) as "hills" include RSV, NEB, TEV, Ph, Knox, NIV; those translating the word as "mountains" include KJV, ASV, NASB. Places in Revelation where ὄρος (oros) or ore occurs and is translated "mountain(s)" in most all versions are 6:14-16; 8:8, 14:1, 16:20; 21:10. The early Christian work the Shepherd of Hermas (c.90-140/150) refers to a vision of "twelve mountains" that are interpreted symbolically as the twelve tribes of Israel (Similitudes 9.17). The coinage of Vespasian depicts the goddess of the city, Roma, enthroned on the seven hills, with the Tiber and the she-wolf (Ethelbert Stauffer, Christ and the Caesars (tr. K. & R. Gregor Smith [London: SCM, 1955], p. 154). One could, however, count at least eight hills in Rome: the Capitol, the Palatine, the Aventine, the Caelian, the Oppian, the Esquiline, the Viminal, and the Quirinal. The Vatican would make a ninth (ZPEB, 5:162).

10 Caird refers to the symbolic significance of the seven heads as indicating not seven specific emperors but a whole line of emperors (pp. 218-19). Why the emperors should then be limited to Rome, Caird does not tell us. He also refers to the well-known Eagle Vision of 4 Ezra 11-12 as support for the emperor succession interpretation of Rev 17:10. However appropriate this interpretation is to Jewish apocalyptic writing, it remains to be demonstrated that John had such an intent in mind. The Jewish visions are more allegorical (language with a specific historical counterpart in mind) than Rev, while Rev is symbolical (language of universal reality having many historical counterparts).

11 In the early church there was an interpretation that took the seven mountains as referring to the seven millennia of world history, a theme current in that period. Thus after asserting that the Sabbath is a type of the millennial reign of Christ, Hippolytus says, "Since, then, in six days God made all things, it follows that six thousand years must be fulfilled. And they are not yet fulfilled, as John says: five are fallen, one is, the other is not vet come (Rev 17:10). Moreover, in speaking of the other he specifies the seventh, in which there shall be rest" (Commentary on Daniel 4.23; see note on 20:1).
14 For an enlightening and thorough discussion of the relationship between the angel powers who rule and their earthly agents, see Oscar Cullmann, The State in the New Testament, "Excursus: on the most recent discussion of the ἐξουσίαις in Romans 13:1" (New York: Scribner's, 1956), pp. 95-114.

Expositor's Bible Commentary, The - Volume 12: Hebrews through Revelation.

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K. The fall of Babylon (chaps. 17-18)
Babylon—the source of so many heathen and pagan religions which have opposed the faith of Israel as well as the faith of the church—is here seen in its final judgment. These chapters do not fall chronologically within the scheme of the seals, trumpets, and bowls of the wrath of God, and expositors have had difficulty in determining precisely the meaning of the revelation in these chapters.
In general, however, in chapter 17 Babylon is seen in its religious character climaxing in a world religion which seems to fit the first half of the last seven years preceding Christ's second coming. Chapter 17 also records the destruction of Babylon by the 10 kings (v. 16).

1. RELIGIOUS BABYLON DESTROYED (CHAP. 17)
17:1-2. One of the seven angels (in chap. 16) who had one of the seven bowls invited John to witness the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. This evil woman symbolizes the religious system of Babylon, and the waters symbolize "peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages" (v. 15). The angel informed John that the kings of the earth had committed adultery with the woman; in other words, they had become a part of the religious system which she symbolized (cf. 14:8).

17:3-5. John was then taken in the Spirit (or better, "in [his] spirit," i.e., in a vision, not bodily; cf. 1:10; 4:2) to a desert where he saw the woman herself. She was sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names. The beast had 7 heads and 10 horns. The beast is an obvious reference to the world government (13:1). The 10 horns are later defined (17:12) as 10 kings who had "not yet received a kingdom." The 7 heads seem to refer to prominent rulers of the yet-future Roman Empire.

17:6. The woman symbolizing the apostate religious system, was drunk with the blood of the saints. This makes it clear that the apostate religious system of the first half of the last seven years leading up to Christ's second coming will be completely devoid of any true Christians. As a matter of fact the apostate church will attempt to kill all those who follow the true faith. John expressed his great astonishment at this revelation.

17:7-8. The angel explained the meaning of the woman and of the beast she was riding. The beast... will come up out of the Abyss, the home of Satan (11:7) and the place from which demons come (9:1-2, 11). This indicates that the power behind the ruler is satanic (cf. 13:4) and that Satan and the man he controls are closely identified. Their power is one. The fact that the beast was, now is not, and will come up in the future is another indication of what was introduced in 13:3. The supernatural survival and revival of both the world ruler and his empire will impress the world as being supernatural and will lead to worship of the beast and Satan. (On the book of life see comments on 3:5; 13:8. Also cf. 20:12, 15; 21:27.)

17:9-11. The angel informed John, This calls for a mind with wisdom (cf. 13:18). The truth that is being presented here symbolically requires spiritual insight to be understood, and the difficulty of correct interpretation is illustrated by the various ways it has been interpreted in the history of the church.

(Rev 17:12 NASB) "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.

(Rev 17:13 NASB) "These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

17:15. Verse 1 stated that the woman "sits on many waters." These waters are now interpreted as peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. This indicates that there will be one ecumenical world religious system, embracing all nations and languages.

17:16-18. The chapter closes with the dramatic destruction of the woman. The beast (the world ruler, the Antichrist) and the 10 horns (10 kings) will hate the prostitute and will bring her to ruin. While the exact time of this event is not given in this passage, it would seem to occur at the midpoint of the seven years when the beast will assume the role of world dictator by proclamation (Dan. 9:27; Matt. 24:15).

When the ruler in the Middle East takes on worldwide political power, he will also assume the place of God and demand that everyone worship him or else be killed (cf. Dan. 11:36-38; 2 Thes. 2:4; Rev. 13:8, 15). The world church movement, which characterizes the first half of the seven years leading up to the Second Coming, is thus brought to an abrupt end. It will be replaced by the final form of world religion which will be the worship of the world ruler, Satan's substitute for Christ.
This is part of God's sovereign purpose to bring evil leaders into judgment, For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish His purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled.

The final description of the woman is given in 17:18: The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth. The reference to the woman as a city is another link with ancient Babylon, this time regarded as a religious center for false religion. The apostate church represented by the woman was a combination of religious and political power. As stated in verse 5, the city and the woman are a "mystery," and are therefore a symbolic presentation. Verse 18, however, introduces the next chapter which seems to refer to Babylon more as a literal city than as a religious entity.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.

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