Revelation 17

17 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 harlot who is seated upon many waters, 2with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and with the wine of whose fornication the dwellers on earth have become drunk." 3And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. 4The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and bedecked with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication; 5and on her forehead was written a name of mystery: "Babylon the great, mother of harlots and of earth's abominations." 6And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her I marveled greatly. 7But the angel said to me, "Why marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her.

We come here to the description of the downfall of Babylon the great, mother of harlots. In the Old Testament, Babylon was the epitome of evil nations, having conquered and led Judea into exile in 586 BC. Babylon, however, by John's day, no longer existed. Hence, John is using the term figuratively. So what is the identity of Babylon, and what is the beast she is described as riding?

8The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to perdition; and the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will marvel to behold the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.
9This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must remain only a little while. 11As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to perdition.

The Beast we recall from chapter 13 as the spirit behind corrupt political empires. Here, it is narrowed down a little bit more, with the seven heads referring both to seven hills, and to seven kings. The Seven Hills suggest the Seven Hills of Ancient Rome, and the kings its Caesars--probably to those especially that persecuted the Christians: Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Decius, Valerian, and Diocletian. The seventh, who is still to come, could refer to another in the line, or, more likely, to the final Anti-Christ. Hence, in the final analysis, the Beast immediately relates to Rome, but just as in chapter 13, cannot be confined to it. The final persecution (the great tribulation) will be in the same spirit as the Neronic persecution that killed Sts. Peter and Paul.

12And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. 13These are of one mind and give over their power and authority to the beast; 14they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful."

These ten kings are vassal kings under Rome, who work in allegiance to it. They are mentioned also in Daniel 7:24.

15And he said to me, "The waters that you saw, where the harlot is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. 16And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the harlot; they will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, 17for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and giving over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. 18And the woman that you saw is the great city which has dominion over the kings of the earth."

Here we come to the woman. Above, she is described as committing fornication with the kings of the earth. Throughout the Old Testament, and especially in Ezekiel 16, harlotry is metaphorically used as violating God's covenant to commit idolatry. She is described as being dressed in royal garments and decked with wealth, referring to her power and commerce under Rome's authority. She is seated on the beast, Rome, indicating her alliance. Together with the beast, she persecutes the saints and martyrs of Jesus. Finally, she is described as the great city, and throughout Revelation, there is only one "great city." Chapter 11 identifies it as Jerusalem.

Rome and its allies did indeed turn on Jerusalem, and utterly destroyed it with fire. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh, an allusion to the fate of Jerusalem in Ezekiel 16:39, because of her harlotries described there.

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