Revelation Chapter 17

Revelation Chapter 17

For a general overview of Rome in Prophesy => http://sidnash.org/docs/RomeProphesy.html

In chapter 16, we saw seven angels, each with a bowl "of the wrath of God" which they poured out "into the earth." This is also know as the seven last plagues( Rev15:1-8;21:9 ), which appear to happen after God's people receive the seal of God( Rev7:1-4;14:1-5 ) and after others receive the mark of the beast( Rev13:11-18 ).

Now, in chapter 17, we will learn about "Babylon the Great", "the great whore", a "scarlet-colored beast", which she rode on, and their war against the Lamb - Jesus, our Messiah.

Revelation 17:1-6 And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls, and spake with me, saying, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: 2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication , and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy , having seven heads and ten horns . 4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints , and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus...

History/Identity of the Woman:

... is the great whore vs1
... is sitting upon many waters vs1
- "And he{an angel} saith unto me, The waters which you saw, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues"(Vs15)
- More specifically, she is sitting on the "scarlet coloured beast"(Vs3,7).
- Still more specifically, she is sitting on the "seven heads{kings}", which are on the "beast"(Vs9-10).
... committed fornication with the kings of the earth (Vs2)
The inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication(Vs2)
- It is generally understood that people of the earth are drunk with her false doctrines which are represented by "wine".
the woman [church] sat on a beast [state (civil powers)], full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns (Vs3).
... is arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls (Vs4).
- It is interesting to note that that "purple and scarlet are the chief colors in the robes of popes and cardinals" (DaR 658)
... has a golden cup in her hand full of abominations (Vs4 - likely a reference to false doctrines. Think of the "wine" in the cup as being false doctrines)
... is MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT vs4
- Rev16:19 ... Babylon (apostate religions) came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
- Deeper study on Babylon of Revelation => http://sidnash.org/docs/RevBabylon.html
... is THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS (other religious organizations - apostate Protestantism & paganism) AND ABOMINATIONS (Vs5)
... is drunken with the blood of the saints (Vs6)
... is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. (Vs18)

The Scarlet Colored Beast

Revelation 17:6-8 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. {538AD-1798} And when I saw her, I wondered with a great wonder. 7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the {scarlet colored} beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns. 8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder{ Rev13:13 USA "doeth great wonders"}, they whose name hath not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall come.

Identity of the "scarlet coloured beast"

The "great whore" rides on this beast, like a person rides on, and controls, a horse. That "whore", represents a so-called church, likely comprised of all the false(non-Biblical) religions of the world, including apostate Protestantism, with Papal Rome at it's head. This is what is controlling this "beast" of Rev17. Because of that, this "beast" must represent civil powers(state), that have legislative powers and are used by the "whore" to enforce the religious dogma of the "church" - their false doctrines.
What is this civil power that is represented by this "beast" of Rev17? In verses 9-10, the angel said, "The seven heads are ... seven kings" that the whore sits on. Why does the woman sit on the 7 kings? To control them, just as a rider sits on a horse to control it. The angel makes this clear in verse 18 => "And the woman which you saw is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." From this, we know:
- "the woman" "reigneth over the kings of the earth." How many of these "kings" are there? We know that "the woman" sits on "seven kings." Is the word "seven" a literal number? I don't know...
- "the kings of the earth" are represented by the "scarlet coloured beast", particularly the "seven kings."
- "BABYLON THE GREAT"("great city") == "the woman" - "the great whore".
When John said that he "saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints"(vs6), this must have been primarily during that 1260 year period of time between 538 and 1798 AD, when much persecution was afflicted on the saints of God, by Babylon that "reigneth over the kings of the earth."
What about Vs8? => "The beast that thou saw was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit{abyss}, and go into perdition".
- This is certainly referring to the "scarlet coloured beast", but there are several conflicting theories about the specifics of this text. What we know for sure is that "the kings of the earth" are represented by the "scarlet coloured beast" and its "seven heads" and we will soon see that the "beast" itself is "is of the seven"(Vs11). I think we can also safely say that those kings/kingdoms will "go into perdition" - be destroyed.

The Seven Heads

Revelation 17:9-11 Here is the mind that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth: 10 and they are seven kings; the five are fallen, the one{6th} is, the other{7th} is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a little while. 11 And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goeth into perdition.

Identity of the "seven heads"

"The seven heads are seven mountains... and they are seven kings"(vs9-10).
Are the "seven mountains" literal? => http://sidnash.org/docs/7Mtns3Questions.html
"the woman" "reigneth over the kings of the earth.(Vs18)" How many of these "kings" are there? We know that "the woman" sits on "seven kings." Is the word "seven" a literal number, and exactly who are these "kings"? I don't know... But, we do know that this "woman" uses these "seven kings" - (the state - civil power) to enforce her religious(church) dogmas/doctrines/abominations upon the people. We also know that these "seven kings" will go "into perdition." They will be destroyed.
Referring to the "seven kings", what about this? => "five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition(Vs10-11)."
- There are many theories about these things, but I haven't found any that make total sense with all of the specifics given in prophesy. But what I know for sure is that this "woman" uses these "seven kings" to cause the people to obey or be persecuted - sometimes to death. Because of what we previously learned about the second beast of Revelation 13, I would think that the last of the "seven kings" must be that second beast - the USA. More about that later...

The Ten Horns

Revelation 17:12-14 And the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet; but they receive authority as kings, with the {the scarlet coloured} beast, for one hour 13 These{ten kings} have one mind, and they give their power and authority unto the beast. 14 These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them{10 horns/kingdoms & the beast}, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they also shall overcome that are with him{the lamb of God}, called and chosen and faithful{the saints of God}.

Identity of the "ten horns"

"the ten horns ... are ten kings", strangely with no kingdoms(Vs12), at the time when the angel explained this to John. Do they have their kingdoms now? No. This happens just before Christ's 2nd coming...
Also strange that while these kings are represented as "horns" on the "scarlet coloured beast", "they give their power and authority unto the beast.", but only for one hour!(Vs12-13) Assuming that "one hour" is prophetic time, then this would still only be for 15 literal days!
The most absurd part of this prophesy is that the "scarlet coloured beast", along with its ten other kingdoms will apparently spend 15 days fighting against Jesus(the lamb), along with His army of angels and the saints, "called and chosen and faithful"(Vs14), who seem to be with Him at our Messiah's return. And, of course Jesus and His armies win the war!
Could it be that the last of the "seven kings" could be the second beast of Rev13, which is the USA? Considering the wording this prophecy, it makes sense to me that the USA, with help from 10 other nations could try to wage war with Jesus in outer space, while on His way to earth. In fact, I have heard that the US and at least one other country now has outer space war capabilities.
From a previous study, we know that the 2nd beast of Rev13 does represent the USA, which began coming into power in 1776, which seems to fit with the ascending "out of the bottomless pit{or abyss}". Are there other qualities of that USA-beast that match with the "scarlet coloured beast"? Yes, at least these three:

1. In Rev13:11, the USA was "coming up out of the earth", similar to the scarlet beast that "shall ascend out of the bottomless pit"{or abyss in 1776}.
2. In Rev17:8, it is said, "they that dwell on the earth shall wonder" after the "scarlet coloured beast". And, we read in Rev13:13 that the USA "doeth great wonders".
3. In Rev13:11 the USA "spake as a dragon", like the "great red dragon" of Rev12:8, which was likely the first of the "seven kings".

This prophecy also says that this beast will "go into perdition" - being destroyed. Does prophesy indicate that the USA will be destroyed? Yes. In a previous study, we determined that the 2nd beast of Rev13 is also the "false prophet". And, in the following text, we will see the final end of the "false prophet"(the USA):
- Revelation 19:20 And the beast{the papacy} was taken, and with him the false prophet{the USA} that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
So, when we consider the 2nd beast of Revelation 13 - the USA, we can easily understand how the ecclesiastical power of the papacy will be using it's image(the apostate Protestant "church") to control the civil powers of the USA, which will use it's laws to enforce the dogma of the papacy. Since we understand this, it makes good sense, to me, to understand the USA as the last of the "seven kings" of the "scarlet coloured beast".
For more context and timing of Jesus' return => http://sidnash.org/MK/BelovedVSHolyCity.html

Prophecy of the End of "the great whore" - Babylon

Revelation 17:15-18 And he{an angel} saith unto me{John}, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the {the scarlet coloured} beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. 18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city{Babylon(evil church)}, which reigneth over the kings of the earth{the state - the civil powers}.

More about the 10 whore-hating Horns => http://sidnash.org/docs/10HatingHorns.html

Desiring to live by every word that comes from the mouth of Jehovah ( Deut8:3; Matt4:4 )

-Sid Nash: 03/01/2025. Latest version: http://sidnash.org/docs/Rev17.html