Revelation 17:1-6 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, 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.” 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. 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. 5 And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” 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.
One of the seven angles leads John to a new vision. This passage is a comparison between the prostitute and the Bride of the Lamb. A harlot was often used in OT to show apostasy. Israel turned its back on God. In the first century, Rome was called a harlot.That was because Rome killed Christians and was known for its immorality and idolatry. Babylon can represent any worldly power that follows in this pattern.
John is carried by the Spirit to the desert for the next vision. The Beast is described in verse 3 as scarlet with seven heads, ten horns, blasphemous names. This is the same beast as chapter 13. The one thing missing from 13:1 is the crown. What happened to the crown? In 15:10, the beast lost its kingdom. The woman is described in verse 4 as dressed in purple, scarlet, glittering with gold, precious stones, pearls. This reflects the wealth and splendor of ancient Rome. Scarlet was color of magnificence and purple the color of royalty. The name is written on her forehead and described as a mystery. Those with the key understand know who she is.
Then there is a golden cup described filled with abominable things, the filth of adulteries. The woman is ceremonial unclean. She drinks the blood of martyrs. There is the sense of intoxication (see Isaiah 49:26). This implies that she is joyful in taking the lives of Christians. Verse 6 describes the martyrs, the saints who bore testimony to Jesus and lost their lives. These may be the ones who cry out from the altar in chapter 6. The whole image describes the persecution at the end of time.
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