Revelation 17:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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,

NIV: One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, 'Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters.

NASB: Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, 'Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters,

CSB: Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me: "Come, I will show you the judgment of the notorious prostitute who is seated on many waters.

NLT: One of the seven angels who had poured out the seven bowls came over and spoke to me. 'Come with me,' he said, 'and I will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute, who rules over many waters.

KJV: And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

NKJV: Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,

John relates that one of the seven angels with the bowls invited him, but does not specify which one. His vision here is to see judgment on a symbolic woman living in a symbolic location. The following descriptions are ornate and meant as intricate metaphors. Their non-literal intent is made clear in the next passage, starting in verse 8, where the angel explains what each of these images is meant to symbolize. The angel's invitation to John begins by identifying another infamous figure in the end times, sometimes referred to as the "Whore of Babylon" or "Mystery Babylon."

Scholars are divided in their interpretation of the identity of this prostitute. Later verses connect this symbolic woman named Babylon with a city (Revelation 17:18). Some say this points to Rome, meaning Catholicism. Others identify Jerusalem, meaning Judaism. However, this symbolic prostitute is probably an incorporation of corrupt religions. Some commentators suggest an end-times union of apostate Protestantism and apostate Roman Catholicism, or a blend of world faiths into a single one-world religion. Others suggest this is a reference to a general, ungodly humanistic version of spirituality.

The prostitute is "seated on many waters." We learn from verse 15 that the waters "are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages." Perhaps the false prophet in Jerusalem persuaded world religions to join in the worship of the beast regardless of their religious views. Revelation 14:8 describes Babylon as having "made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality." The prostitute—this ungodly and corrupt approach to religion and morality—is about to receive divine judgment.

Revelation 17:1–7 depicts a system of corrupt religion from which God calls upon His people to withdraw (Revelation 18:4; 2 Corinthians 6:14–18). This religious system is referred to using the name Babylon; the following chapter will use similar names and symbols to describe a ''political Babylon.'' This religion is state-sponsored, like the Baal worship imported from Phoenicia by Jezebel, King Ahab's wife (1 Kings 16:29–33). Just as Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord (1 Kings 18:4), so religious Babylon will murder many tribulation believers. In a literal sense, this suggests the one-world religion of the Antichrist and the False Prophet, but it also has implications for worldly and false religious teachings of our present time.

Revelation 17 zeroes in on God's judgment of Babylon as the center of religious corruption in the tribulation. The target of this wrath seems to be an eclectic form of all apostate religions. This might be a concrete, single religion. Or, it might be a near-religious blending or equalizing of all spiritual beliefs. God views religious Babylon as ''the great prostitute'' that has support from heads of state. This system is both extremely rich and murderous, guilty of martyring saints. It has a past and a renewed existence as a religious-political system. Together, the political heads of state and religious Babylon battle Jesus, the Lamb, but He defeats them. The end of religious Babylon comes when the ten kings turn against her and ruin her. They destroy religious Babylon because God puts it in the hearts to do so.

Chapter 16 resumed explaining God's pattern of end times wrath, this time describing the seven bowl judgments. As the last bowl is poured out, John is called to see a vision, which seems to incorporate events occurring throughout the tribulation. This chapter focuses on the fall of religious Babylon. Revelation 14:8 and 16:19 mention Babylon's collapse under the wrath of God in the tribulation. Babylon's ultimate fall may actually occur before the bowl judgments, anytime during the second half of the tribulation. Isaiah 13 and Jeremiah 50 and 51 predict the fall of Babylon. Revelation 18 also speaks of the ruin of Babylon, but from a political and economic perspective.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''