Revelation 17:6-13·~1 min

The Mystery Explained

John is stunned to see that the woman is drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses of Jesus, making plain that her glamour is sustained by persecution. The angel responds by promising to explain the mystery of the woman and the beast. He describes the beast as one that was, is not, and is about to rise from the Abyss before going to destruction, a pattern that fascinates those whose names are not written in the Book of Life. The paragraph portrays the beast as a deceptive counterfeit power that draws worldly wonder while being headed for judgment.

I⁶ could see that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses for Jesus. And I was utterly amazed at the sight of her. ⁷“Why are you so amazed?” said the angel. “I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns. ⁸The beast that you saw — it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet will be.

The angel calls for wisdom and explains that the seven heads signify both seven mountains and seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, another has not yet come and will remain only a little while. The beast itself is described as an eighth that belongs to the seven and is going to destruction. The paragraph stresses that however one maps the symbols historically, the point is that beastly rule is successive, limited, and doomed.

⁹This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. ¹⁰There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. But when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. ¹¹The beast that was, and now is not, is an eighth king, who belongs to the other seven and is going into destruction.

The ten horns represent ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom but will briefly receive authority with the beast. They are united in purpose and hand over their power and authority to the beast. The paragraph highlights the coordinated yet temporary alliance of rulers gathered under beastly rebellion.

¹²The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive one hour of authority as kings along with the beast. ¹³These kings have one purpose: to yield their power and authority to the beast.

Section summaryJohn sees that the woman is drunk with the blood of the saints, and the angel begins to explain the mystery of the woman and the beast that carries her. The beast is described in terms of a deceptive, counterfeit pattern of existence that astonishes those whose names are not in the Book of Life, yet it is moving toward destruction. The angel then interprets the seven heads as both mountains and kings and describes a sequence of rulers culminating in the beast's brief, doomed manifestation. The ten horns are kings who receive short-lived authority with the beast and willingly hand their power to it. The section reveals that Babylon's splendor rests on persecuting violence and that the political powers supporting her are temporary, derivative, and destined for ruin.

Role in the chapterThis middle section interprets the symbols of the woman and beast, exposing their persecuting character and temporary political power.