Revelation 17:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: Then the angel said to me: 'Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns.

NASB: And the angel said to me, 'Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

CSB: Then the angel said to me, "Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast, with the seven heads and the ten horns, that carries her.

NLT: Why are you so amazed?' the angel asked. 'I will tell you the mystery of this woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns on which she sits.

KJV: And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

NKJV: But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

The angel speaking here is the same one who brought John into a vision about a "great prostitute" (Revelation 17:1–6). This symbolic woman is the religious aspect of Babylon. At the end of that description, John said he "marveled greatly," meaning he was amazed or astonished. The attending angel said he would explain the mystery of the woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that supported her. Apparently, the angel saw the look of bafflement on John's face and promised to reveal the meaning of what he was seeing.

Although John was an apostle, he did not know everything. He often depended upon a revelation from heaven to clarify matters. We, too, will never outgrow our need to depend upon God for enlightenment. Fortunately, God has given His Holy Spirit to us to help us understand what He has revealed. First Corinthians 2:9–12 explains, "As it is written, 'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him'—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God."

Revelation 17:7–14 explains the meaning of the visions John saw in the prior verses. The angel speaking with John explains the symbols of the beast, seven mountains, and ten horns. In the passage to follow, the angel will explain the downfall of the ''great prostitute,'' who symbolizes an ungodly religion. Other passages in the Bible speak to this vision in Revelation 17. e For example, Daniel 7 prophesies a ''fourth empire'' to produce ten kings and another king. The final king will speak blasphemous words against God and will wear out God's saints for three and a half years. However, the Most High will destroy him and establish God's everlasting kingdom. Daniel 9:24–27 and Revelation 13 also describe this defiant, powerful king. Revelation 19:11–21 reveals his end.

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.''