Revelation Chapter 17 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Revelation 17:1
Then came one of the angels with the seven bowls; and he said to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great whore who is sitting by many waters.
Now, one of the angels that had poured out the bowls of wrath came to John. This starts the vision of the punishment for the "great whore" which speaks of the anti-christ religion and the fact that it rules over the earth at this point.
Revelation 17:2
The kings of the earth went whoring with her, and the people living on earth have become drunk from the wine of her whoring."
The leaders and people of the earth embraced the idolatry.
Revelation 17:3
He carried me off in the Spirit to a desert, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast filled with blasphemous names and having seven heads and ten horns.
Now, John is shown a vision that contains a beast that he has seen before, in chapter 13, and a woman on its back. As we have seen, the beast is a picture of this Satanic kingdom and the woman represents the idolatry of that kingdom. As usual in the Bible, the use of the word name speaks of character and the character of this kingdom is the character of Satan as we saw demonstrated by the four horsemen of chapter 6.
Revelation 17:4
The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet and glittered with gold, precious stones and pearls. In her hand was a gold cup filled with the obscene and filthy things produced by her whoring.
The woman is finely dressed and wealthy appearing to be royalty. We see a cup in her hand and this cup is filled with things that are detestable to God. This is all a picture of the fact that this religion appears to be good but in fact is totally against the will of God.
Revelation 17:5
On her forehead was written a name with a hidden meaning, BAVEL THE GREAT MOTHER OF WHORES AND OF THE EARTH'S OBSCENITIES
We recognize the woman as the religious system of the day by this title. This system has not only gotten away from the worship of God but has produced many other false religions which is why "MOTHER" is in the title. The title also reminds us that it started in Babylon at the Tower of Babel (see Genesis 11) when man wanted to make a name for themselves instead of God.
Revelation 17:6
I saw the woman drunk from the blood of God's people, that is, from the blood of the people who testify about Yeshua. On seeing her, I was altogether astounded.
This worldwide religious system tolerated every form of religion except for those who testified to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. This system convinced its followers that they were in fact doing the work of God by killing Christians. It may seem to us that this could never possibly happen but even now, in many parts of the world, this is being taught.
Revelation 17:7 & 8
Then the angel said to me, "Why are you astounded? I will tell you the hidden meaning of the woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that was carrying her. The beast you saw once was, now is not, and will come up from the Abyss; but it is on its way to destruction. The people living on earth whose names have not been written in the Book of Life since the founding of the world will be astounded to see the beast that once was, now is not, but is to appear.
This is the same beast that was described in chapter 13 and now the angel explains how those that are not in Christ will be deceived by the beast. Satan wants to imitate the things of God and this beast imitates the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Those that do not have the Holy Spirit in them (names written in the book of life) will be deceived by this imitation. The angel explains to John that this beast was with Satan during the fall but is now bound until the time that God will release him into the world. After a brief time on the earth, the angel says that the beast will go to his destruction.
Revelation 17:9-11
This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven hills on which the woman is sitting; also they are seven kings - five have fallen, one is living now and the other is yet to come; and when he does come, he must remain only a little while. The beast which once was and now is not is an eighth king; it comes from the seven and is on its way to destruction.
The angel continues to explain the vision to John and, as we know, God is in charge of details. The seven hills speaks of seven empires and we are told that all seven of those kingdoms were under satanic influence. Five of the kingdoms have fallen and they are: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medes/Persians/ and the Greek. We see that there is one leader that is in place at the time of John's writing and that speaks of the Roman empire. The sixth kingdom will rise but it will be of relatively short duration. The seventh kingdom speaks of the nazi/fascist alliance which was defeated in World war II and the holocaust where the goal was the destruction of the Jewish people. The kingdom ideology of the seventh (anti-semitism) will rise again as the eighth beast. Throughout the Bible, the number eight is associated with new beginnings and the defeat of this final kingdom will bring about a new beginning under the kingdom of God.
Revelation 17:12
The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet begun to rule, but they receive power as kings for one hour, along with the beast.
Throughout God's word, the number ten is associated with earthly completion of the divine order. God has had a plan from the beginning and this number is a symbol that the cycle is complete. In this case, there are ten men that will become kings because of their partnership with the beast. As we see here, with "for one hour", it is going to be a very short reign.
Revelation 17:13
They have one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast.
These ten leaders will have power and the simple reason for them is that they are going to turn over that authority to the beast. This is a part of the devil's deception in that, if he just showed up and told the people to vote for him, they would not. Therefore, these leaders gain the confidence of their peoples and are elected but they quickly give the power to the beast.
Revelation 17:14
They will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are called, chosen and faithful will overcome along with him."
All of these kings and kingdoms are going to come together to oppose the plans and purposes of God. We, as Christians, will stand with him and demonstrate that he is in fact the King of kings.
Revelation 17:15
Then he said to me, "The waters that you saw, where the whore is sitting, are peoples, crowds, nations and languages.
Initially this false religion will be tolerant and will basically say that anyone can do what is right in their own eyes and the people will like this but the aim of this religious system (and the devil and the beasts) is to make it universal.
Revelation 17:16
As for the ten horns that you saw and the beast, they will hate the whore, bring her to ruin, leave her naked, eat her flesh and consume her with fire.
This world religious system will not last as God causes the beast and the world leaders to turn on the system. They use the religious establishment to gain power so that they could give that power to the beast but now they are through with it (her). Satan has wanted to be at the center of worship since his fall and he is not willing to share that position with any religious system or other individual. They will bring shame and ruin on these religious leaders and their final judgment is that they will spend eternity in hell.
Revelation 17:17
For God put it in their hearts to do what will fulfill his purpose, that is, to be of one mind and give their kingdom to the beast until God's words have accomplished their intent.
God can use godless things for his glory and that is what is described here as he will use the beasts to judge this religion. The time of their power is limited and will be used to fulfill his word. This has happened throughout the history of God's people (see Isaiah 10).
Revelation 17:18
And the woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth."
The reference to the great city speaks of the fact that this false religion of worshipping the beast becomes universal.