Revelation 17

Berean Standard Bible

Chapter summary

One of the seven angels invites John to witness the judgment of the great prostitute sitting on many waters, with whom the kings and inhabitants of the earth have committed immorality. Transported in the Spirit to a wilderness, John sees a woman adorned in purple, scarlet, gold, and jewels, riding a scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns while holding a golden cup of abominations. The angel explains the mystery of the woman, identified as Babylon the great, and the beast, detailing that the seven heads represent seven mountains and seven kings, while the ten horns are ten kings who will unite to give their authority to the beast and make war against the Lamb. Ultimately, the beast and the ten kings will hate the prostitute, leaving her desolate, naked, and burned with fire, fulfilling God's purpose until the words of God are accomplished.

Summary automatically generated from the Bible text.

Words of Jesus in red

¹Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. ²The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.” ³And the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, where I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. ⁵And on her forehead a mysterious name was written: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. ⁶I could see that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses for Jesus. And I was utterly amazed at the sight of her. ⁷“Why are you so amazed?” said the angel. “I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns. ⁸The beast that you saw—it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet will be. ⁹This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. ¹⁰There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. But when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. ¹¹The beast that was, and now is not, is an eighth king, who belongs to the other seven and is going into destruction. ¹²The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive one hour of authority as kings along with the beast. ¹³These kings have one purpose: to yield their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen and faithful ones.” ¹⁵Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute was seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. ¹⁶And the ten horns and the beast that you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. ¹⁷For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose by uniting to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. ¹⁸And the woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

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Louis Segond 1910 and Berean Standard Bible: public domain. Cross references: open-cross-ref, Creative Commons BY 4.0.