The Mystery of Babylon Unveiled
What’s Revelation 17 about?
John gets a front-row seat to one of history’s most disturbing power struggles – a vision of a seductive woman riding a scarlet beast, representing the ultimate collision between earthly power and divine judgment. It’s apocalyptic literature at its most vivid, showing us how corruption and compromise always lead to destruction.
The Full Context
Picture John on Patmos, probably around 95 AD, writing to seven churches scattered across Asia Minor who are feeling the heat from Roman persecution. Emperor Domitian is demanding worship, Christians are facing economic boycotts, and some are even dying for their faith. Into this pressure-cooker situation, John receives a vision that would have made perfect sense to his original readers – even if it leaves us scratching our heads today.
This chapter sits right in the heart of Revelation’s judgment sequence, specifically introducing us to one of the key players in the end-times drama: Babylon the Great. But this isn’t the historical Babylon that conquered Jerusalem centuries earlier. John is using “Babylon” as a code name for something much more contemporary and threatening to his audience. The literary structure here is brilliant – John shows us the woman’s identity first (Revelation 17:1-6), then gives us the interpretive key (Revelation 17:7-18), creating a classic apocalyptic reveal that would have had first-century readers connecting the dots.
What the Ancient Words Tell Us
Let’s start with that opening invitation in Revelation 17:1: “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute.” The Greek word here is pornē – and yes, it’s where we get our English word. But in biblical imagery, spiritual prostitution always refers to unfaithfulness to God, usually involving the worship of other gods or compromise with worldly systems.
The woman is described as sitting “on many waters” (Revelation 17:1), which John later explains represents “peoples, multitudes, nations and languages” (Revelation 17:15). This imagery would have immediately reminded John’s readers of ancient Babylon, which literally sat on many waterways, but also of any empire with vast international influence.
Grammar Geeks
When John describes the beast as “was, and is not, and yet will come” in Revelation 17:8, he’s using a brilliant parody of God’s eternal nature. Where God is described as “who was, and is, and is to come” (Revelation 1:4), the beast’s existence is fractured and temporary – a counterfeit eternity that ultimately leads nowhere.
The scarlet beast she rides is covered with “blasphemous names” (Revelation 17:3). In John’s world, this would have been a dead giveaway – Roman emperors regularly took titles like “Lord,” “Savior,” and “God,” directly challenging the worship that belonged to Christ alone.
What Would the Original Audience Have Heard?
When John’s first readers heard about a woman “drunk with the blood of God’s holy people” (Revelation 17:6), they wouldn’t have needed a commentary to figure out what John was talking about. Rome had been systematically persecuting Christians, and the image of intoxication suggests not just killing, but taking pleasure in the violence.
The seven hills mentioned in Revelation 17:9 would have been another obvious clue. Rome was famously known as the “city of seven hills” – every educated person in the ancient world knew this geographical detail. John isn’t being cryptic here; he’s being careful. Direct attacks on Rome could get you and your readers killed.
Did You Know?
The purple and scarlet clothing described in Revelation 17:4 wasn’t just expensive – it was imperial. Purple dye came from murex shells and was so costly that wearing it was often restricted by law to royalty and the highest nobility. John is painting a picture of ultimate luxury and political power.
But here’s what would have really grabbed their attention: the ten kings in Revelation 17:12 who “have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast.” John is describing a future coalition of powers that will temporarily ally with this corrupt system before ultimately turning against it.
Wrestling with the Text
Here’s where things get genuinely puzzling. John tells us the beast “once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss” (Revelation 17:8). What kind of political power can exist, then not exist, then exist again?
Some scholars think John might be referring to the Nero redivivus myth – the popular belief that Emperor Nero, who died in 68 AD, would somehow return from the dead to reclaim his throne. Others see this as describing the cyclical nature of oppressive empires throughout history. The mystery deepens when we realize the beast has seven heads representing both seven hills AND seven kings, with five fallen, one currently ruling, and one yet to come (Revelation 17:10).
Wait, That’s Strange…
Why does the woman start out riding and controlling the beast (Revelation 17:3), but then the beast and ten kings end up hating her and destroying her (Revelation 17:16)? This isn’t just political instability – it’s a complete reversal of the power dynamic. What John is showing us is that earthly alliances built on corruption are ultimately self-destructive.
The most challenging aspect might be Revelation 17:14: “They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings.” How does a slaughtered Lamb defeat the combined might of earthly kingdoms? John’s answer is that true power doesn’t come from political manipulation or military might, but from sacrificial love that transforms hearts.
How This Changes Everything
Here’s the game-changer: John isn’t just describing ancient Rome or some distant future scenario. He’s revealing the pattern of how earthly power systems operate when they’re disconnected from God’s justice and mercy. Every generation has seen versions of this seductive woman – systems that promise prosperity and security but demand compromise with our deepest values.
The woman’s cup “filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries” (Revelation 17:4) represents the accumulated effect of moral compromise. What starts as seemingly harmless accommodation to unjust systems gradually becomes spiritual intoxication. We stop seeing clearly, stop feeling the weight of injustice, and start celebrating what should horrify us.
“The most dangerous seduction isn’t obvious evil – it’s the gradual erosion of our capacity to recognize evil when it’s dressed in respectability and success.”
But notice the hope embedded in this dark vision: the ten kings “will hate the prostitute” and “bring her to ruin” (Revelation 17:16). Even corrupt systems contain the seeds of their own destruction. God doesn’t have to send fire from heaven – these powers will ultimately devour each other because they’re built on selfishness rather than love.
The angel’s explanation that “the waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages” (Revelation 17:15) reminds us that real power lies with ordinary people, not the systems that claim to rule over them. When people wake up to the truth about corrupt power structures, those structures collapse.
Key Takeaway
The most seductive forms of evil don’t announce themselves with horns and pitchforks – they come dressed as success, security, and respectability, gradually compromising our values until we’re celebrating the very things that once horrified us. But God’s justice ensures that every corrupt system ultimately contains the seeds of its own destruction.
Further Reading
Internal Links:
External Scholarly Resources:
- Revelation: Four Views (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology)
- The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text (New International Greek Testament Commentary)
- Revelation Unveiled by Tim LaHaye
- The Revelation of Jesus Christ by John MacArthur
Tags
Revelation 17:1, Revelation 17:5, Revelation 17:14, Babylon, Beast, Prostitute, Seven Hills, Ten Kings, Apocalyptic Literature, Roman Empire, Persecution, End Times, Political Power, Spiritual Compromise, Divine Justice
