What does Revelation 17:17 mean?
Unwittingly, the beast (Revelation 17:3) and the ten kings (Revelation 17:12) destroy religious Babylon by an act of God's will. God puts it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose. Further, the ten kings unintentionally fulfill God's will by turning their power over to the beast. However, it is God's purpose to draw the political leaders into judgment.In the time of Moses, God brought the evil Pharaoh and the Egyptians into judgment. They worshiped false gods, but God punished them. First, God responded to Pharaoh's stubborn heart by sending further hardening, so the ruler would not allow the Hebrews to leave Egypt. Then God drowned the Egyptians in the Red Sea. He declared in Exodus 14:17 "I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them [the children of Israel into the Red Sea], and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen."
We may not understand why God delays His judgment, but we can be certain that He will not delay forever. Further, God works in mysterious ways to fulfill His purposes. He used Pharaoh to display His power and glory at the Red Sea, and He will use the ten kings and the beast to display His power and glory when He judges both them and religious Babylon.