요한계시록 Chapter 17

Translation: ESV

1

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters,

Key Message

The great prostitute is the symbol of the worldly system that opposes God and deceives the world with idolatry — and its judgment will certainly come.

▸Chapters 17–18 deal with the detailed description and fall of Babylon (the great prostitute).

Chapters 17–18 deal with the detailed description and fall of Babylon (the great prostitute). 'The great prostitute who is seated on many waters' is interpreted in verse 15 as 'peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.' 'Prostitute' is an Old Testament prophetic image for a city/system that has abandoned God and committed adultery with idolatry and the world (Ezekiel 16, 17; Hosea 1–3). The angel leading John into the wilderness signals the beginning of a new vision.

Related Verses

O you who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut.But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his.
2

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

Key Message

The worldly system makes both the powerful and the common person drunk with the wine of immorality, drawing them away from God.

▸Babylon's immorality has affected two groups: the kings of the earth (those in power) and the dwellers on earth (the general population).

3

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

Key Message

The woman riding the beast depicts how the corrupt religious-economic system of the world exploits political power.

▸John is moved in the Spirit to the wilderness to see the vision (a pattern also seen in 1:10, 4:2, 21:10).

4

The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.

Key Message

The worldly system attracts people with a glittering exterior of gold and jewels, but within it is full of corruption and depravity.

▸The woman's appearance is described in sumptuous terms.

5

And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: "Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations."

Key Message

Babylon is the source and mother of all spiritual corruption and idolatry in the world, with her name written on her forehead as a mystery.

▸A name is written on the woman's forehead.

6

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

Key Message

The worldly system is a persecutor drunk with the blood of martyrs, and its enmity against God's people will certainly be judged.

▸The woman is drunk with the blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus.

7

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

Key Message

God reveals to His people the spiritual reality behind the worldly system so that they will not be deceived by its allure.

▸The angel responds to John's astonishment and declares he will explain the mystery of the woman and the beast.

8

The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.

Key Message

The beast parodies God's eternity, but its origin is the bottomless pit and its end is destruction.

▸The beast is described with three tenses: 'was, and is not, and is about to rise' — a parody of the divine title 'who is and who was and who is to come' (1:4, 8).

9

This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated;

Key Message

The seven mountains point to Rome in John's era and more broadly symbolize the center of worldly power opposing God in every age.

▸The first interpretation of the seven heads: seven mountains.

10

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

Key Message

Worldly powers appear and disappear in sequence through history, and no power can exist eternally beyond God's sovereignty.

▸The second interpretation of the seven heads: seven kings.

11

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

Key Message

The beast claims to be an eighth king in imitation of Christ's resurrection, but its end is eternal destruction.

▸The beast itself is described as 'an eighth king.

12

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

Key Message

The coalition of evil enjoys power for only 'one hour' — an extremely limited time — and is controlled within God's plan.

▸The ten horns are interpreted as ten kings.

13

These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast.

Key Message

The evil forces of the world unite to oppose God, but this coalition will ultimately fail under God's sovereignty.

▸The ten kings are of one mind and delegate their power and authority to the beast.

14

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

Key Message

The Lamb as Lord of lords and King of kings conquers all worldly powers, and the saints who follow Him also share in the victory.

▸The ten kings and the beast wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb conquers.

15

And the angel said to me, "The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.

Key Message

Babylon's influence extends to the whole world, but the Lamb's salvation also targets the whole world.

▸The 'many waters' of verse 1 are now interpreted: peoples and multitudes and nations and languages — that is, all the people of the world.

16

And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute and make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire,

Key Message

Evil ultimately destroys itself, and this too is one of God's modes of sovereign judgment.

▸A dramatic reversal occurs: the beast and the ten kings destroy the prostitute.

17

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

Key Message

Even the actions of the wicked become instruments that fulfill God's word within His sovereign providence.

▸Even the ten kings' support of the beast and destruction of the prostitute occurs because God has permitted and sovereignly directed it.

18

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

Key Message

The prostitute's identity is the great city (Babylon/Rome) that controls worldly power — the worldly system that will face God's judgment.

▸The final identity of the prostitute is revealed: 'the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.