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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
November 30, 2025
*Judgment on Religious Babylon
Revelation 17
Introduction
Our previous studies in Revelation 16 were of the progressive narrative that came with each of the seven bowls of the wrath of God being poured out. These will occur in the later part of the seven year tribulation period which Jesus described in Matthew 24:21-22 as “a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” Revelation 16:17-21 gives some of the details of the seventh bowl of wrath including the greatest earthquake that ever occurs which causes the islands to flee away and the mountains to not be found, and the plague of hailstones that were about 100 pounds for which the wicked on the earth blasphemed God. However, the narrative of everything that comes as a result of the seventh bowl of wrath is paused there and does not pick up again until Revelation 19:11 when heaven opens and the King of kings and Lord of lords comes to earth to wage war and judge in righteousness.
*Revelation 17:1 – 19:11 is another intercalation, an explanatory excursus that gives greater detail and explanation of what occurs in the judgments that have come upon those that dwell on the earth. In this case, what happens to Babylon as the bowls of wrath are poured out. Revelation 17 deals with Babylon as a religious entity. Revelation 18 deals with Babylon as a political & economic entity. Revelation 19:1-10 describes what occurs in heaven during this same time period.
I gave an overview of Revelation 17 a couple of weeks ago. Since the great amount of symbolism in both Revelation 17 & 18 can make them very confusing, I will be doing that again this morning to give you a general understanding of the chapter before we dig into the details of the text.
Several commentators noted that this chapter is one of the most diverse in the Bible when it comes to interpreting it. The symbolism can be confusing enough, but that is compounded when allegorical methods of interpretation are used. Those methods allow for speculative interpretations to be created according to whatever makes sense to the interpreter with or without any contextual Biblical justification. However, most of the symbolism used in both Revelation 17 & 18 is defined within the immediate text or in the context of other places in the book. On that basis, I will make some simple identifications of the symbolic characters in the text so that it will make a little more sense to you when we read through the chapter. I will then give a more detailed analysis and interpretation.
*Identification of the Actors – Revelation 17
The Angel who speaks or acts this chapter is stated in verse 1 to be “one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls.”
*The Great Harlot in verse 1 is identified in greater detail in several verses. She is the woman described in vs. 3 as riding the beast and who is clothed magnificently in vs. 4. She is named “mystery Babylon the Great” in vs. 5, and is drunk on the blood of the saints in verse 6. She is further identified in vs. 18 as “the great city, which has a kingdom over the kings of the earth.” When we analyze this in detail we will see she is the symbol of false religions which began in post-flood Babylon and will reach its apex in the tribulation period.
*The Waters in verse 1 upon which the great harlot sits are stated in verse 15 to be “peoples and crowds and nations and tongues.” These are the humans that dwell on the earth that yield themselves to the false religions of the great harlot.
*The Scarlet Beast in verse 3 is the same one seen in Revelation 13:1 which is described in the same way. This is the beast from the sea, the antichrist. He is further described in verses 8 & 11 as the one who “was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction” which ties him to being Satanically controlled.
*The seven heads of the beast in verse 3 are further identified in verses 9 & 10 as both seven mountains and seven kings. Five of the kings are historical, one is present, one is to come but only for a short time. The beast will also be an eighth king according to verses 11.
*The Ten Horns on the beast in verse 3 are stated in verse 12 to be ten kings who will receive their authority from the beast for a short time. Verse 13 & 14 note that their purpose will be to support the beast and wage war against the Lamb. Verse 16 notes they will take part in destroying the harlot.
*The Lamb in verse 14 is stated to be “Lord of lords and King of kings.” That is the Lord Jesus Christ.
*Revelation 17.
With those identifications in mind, follow along as I read through Revelation 17. 1 Then one of the seven angels who have the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.” 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; then I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her sexual immorality, 5 and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” 6 Then I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly. 7 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. 8 “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. 9 “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, 10 and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. 11 “And the beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. 12 “And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 13 “These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. 14 “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and elect and faithful.” 15 And he said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and crowds and nations and tongues. 16 “And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will lay waste to her and make her naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. 17 “For God gave it in their hearts to do His purpose both by doing their own common purpose and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be finished. 18 “And the woman whom you saw is the great city, which has a kingdom over the kings of the earth.”
*Interpretive Overview
Revelation 17 begins with a description of the vision shown by an angel to John concerning religious Babylon in verses 1-6. The vision is then explained in verses 7-18. *In brief, Genesis 11 tells the story of ancient Babylon which became the source of the false religions of the world that have led people into spiritual adultery and fornication throughout time. False religion will reach its apex of influence in an ecumenical coalition that partners with the beast, the antichrist, in the tribulation period. Together, they will bring about the martyrdom of countless godly people who are faithful to Christ.
*The great harlot, false religion, is useful to the beast, the antichrist, as he builds his political and military power. However, once he has become the world dictator, with the help of his political and military allies, *he will turn on the great harlot, the ecumenical false religion that was supporting him, and will utterly destroy it to replace it with worship of himself alone. *He and his coalition will then wage war with the Lamb and those with Him, but the Lamb will overcome them. The details of that victory will come in Rev. 19.
*The Vision of Great Harlot – Revelation 17:1-2, 3-7, 15,16, 18
The vision begins in verse 1 with “one of the seven angels who have the seven bowls came and spoke to me.” This occurs just after John had recorded the consequences of the pouring out of the seventh bowl of wrath up to the point of the plague of the one hundred pound hailstones. There is no indication which of these seven angels comes to John. A detail left out because it is not important to the narrative. The angel then tells John to come and he would show him “the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters . . .”
As already noted, the great harlot is further described and identified in verses 2-6 and 18, and she is the symbol of the false religions which began in post-flood Babylon and will reach its peak level of influence in the tribulation period. I will deal with the importance of the additional descriptions as we get to each verse. Here in verse one she is called the great harlot. Why is a harlot used as the symbol of false religion and participating it described as sexual immorality and debauchery?
*The term for harlot / prostitute, is often used in the Old Testament as a metaphor for unfaithfulness of people in worshiping false gods or perverting worship of the true God. The earliest example is in Exodus 34:14-17 in expanding on the command to “not worship any other god, for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” with the warning for the Israelites not to make a covenant with any of the inhabitants in the promised land lest “they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice.” In Leviticus 20:5-6 God warns He would set His face against those “playing the harlot after Molech” and those that “play the harlot” by turning to mediums and spiritists. In Numbers 15:19 God warns them not to play the harlot by following their own heart and eyes instead of His commandments. The same metaphor of harlotry is used in Deuteronomy, Judges, 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea and Nahum to describe the spiritual unfaithfulness of idolatry and false religion. The metaphor is used for idolatry and false practices of religion by both Jews and Gentiles with Nineveh (Nahum 3:1,4), Tyre (Isa. 23:15-17) and even Jerusalem described as cities of such religious harlotry.
It should be noted that the church is described in 2 Cor. 11:2 as a virgin betrothed to one husband, Christ, and James 4:4 warns Christians against being adulteresses by friendship with the world which is hostility toward God. So this same metaphor continues in the present age and to the tribulation period.
*The extent of the great harlot’s influence in involving people in false religion is expressed in three ways. First, in verse one she sits on or beside many waters. The usage of that metaphor may arise from Jeremiah 51:13 in which the prophet addresses Babylon as “you who dwell beside many waters.” It was the capital city of the empire and of great influence. Babylon was built on the banks of the Euphrates river with canals and ditches extending from it with its marshes around the city. As already noted, in verse 15 the waters are stated to be “peoples and crowds and nations and tongues.” That covers everyone. Peoples is the largest unit listed here and refers to humans who are of the same line of descent. It is similar to tribes, but the ancestry extends many generations prior. Nations are those people who are grouped together by common culture or political boundaries. Tongues refers to those who speak the same language, and multitudes or crowds is the catch all for it refers to masses of people grouped together without reference to the other three categories. This then is a reference to humanity.
*Verse 2 points to the great harlot’s specific influence on world governments – 2 “with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality.” Religious and political systems interplay with each other. Sometimes working in harmony, but more often using each other to gain what is desired – at least until one can control the other. That is what will happen in the tribulation. The rapture of the true church will create political and religious upheaval at the start of the tribulation period with false religion and apostate churches becoming dominate. *The initial wrath of God that comes in the first six seal judgments will create even greater chaos from which people will seek reprieve in religion. Some will turn to Christ, but the vast majority will pursue false religion . Verse 18 states, “And the woman whom you saw is the great city, which has a kingdom over the kings of the earth.” Verse 5 identifies that city as Babylon the great. Those in quest of political authority will prostitute themselves to her false religion in order to gain power. Later in the tribulation, verse 16 reveals the political powers join together with the beast to destroy the harlot replacing ecumenical false religion with worship of the beast.
*Verse 2 goes on to say concerning the great harlot, “and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.” The phrase “those who dwell on the earth” has been used throughout Revelation to refer to the wicked. This imagery probably arises from Jeremiah 51:7 which in reference to ancient Babylon states, “Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of Yahweh, Intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine; Therefore the nations are going mad.” The wicked of the world willingly yield to the influence and control of false religion in the same way a drunk pursues the intoxicating effects of wine.
*The Scarlet Beast & The Woman – Rev. 17:3-5, 7, 8-13, 14-17
John’s perspective is changed in verse 3 as the Spirit carries him away into a wilderness which is not further identified. His position prior to this had been in heaven (Rev. 15:1; 16:1). A wilderness is a region that is desolate and lonely with few if any people living in it, and often it is arid with sparse vegetation – a desert or grassland.
What John sees there is “a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.” This is the same harlot, and her position of sitting on the beast shows both her dominance of him and his support of her. They work in cooperation with each other, at least for a while.
*The Scarlet Beast in verse 3 is the same as the beast from the sea who has ten horns and seven heads with blasphemous names (Rev. 13:1). This is the future antichrist spoken of by Jesus (Matt. 24: 15) in explaining the prophecies of Daniel (9 & 11). As explained in the sermon on Revelation 13, the seven heads, as with earlier symbolic use, point to seven successive world kingdoms that controlled the area of the middle east inhabited by the Jews. *Revelation 17:9 & 10 further identify the seven heads of the beast as “seven mountains on which the woman sits,” and “seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.” Verse 9 states it will take a mind which has wisdom to understand this, yet no amount of speculative conjecture has ever been able to identify seven kings which fits the description of these verses.
*The solution is that the kings represent the kingdoms over which they ruled as is common in the Scriptures (see Daniel 7:17 & 23). It is still common today for the head of a state to represent the state over which he rules or presides. The five kings which had already passed when John wrote are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece. The one existing at that present time was Rome. *The final still future seventh kingdom will be a revived Roman empire controlled by the antichrist. Each of these kingdoms were blasphemous in the idolatry of their nations. The future one coming will be worse after the abomination of desolation and the antichrist demands worship of himself. The antichrist’s kingdom will be short lived. The total time of the tribulation period is only seven years, and the time from the abomination of desolation to the destruction of the antichrist is only three and a half years.
*The Seven Mountains on which the woman sits has generated much spilt ink on speculation on their meaning. It is from this verse that arises the idea that the woman, the symbol of false religion, must refer to the Roman Catholic Church because the city of Rome sits on seven hills. While the Roman Catholic Church is a false religion due to its means of salvation being based on the works of righteousness by man rather than faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work of atonement, verse 9 does not support the woman being the Roman Catholic Church. It is much more expansive than that.
*First, the seven mountains are expressions of the beast upon which the woman sits and not the woman herself. They are separate entities. *Second, the Roman Catholic Church could not have influenced kingdoms that existed prior to itself. Third, it equates the seven heads of the beast with one physical location but seven different political spheres with at least five of them based in other locations. *Fourth, the seven heads are related to political ungodly powers, not religious ones. *Finally, reducing the woman down to just one false religion is far too narrow since the great harlot has her origin in ancient Babylon and extends from that to the many false religions that arose from her as not just the harlot, but the mother of harlots (vs. 5).
*Since the seven mountains are equated with seven kingdoms, then it should be understood that they are equivalent in meaning. Since Revelation has many ties with Daniel, then the usage of mountain in the prophecies in Daniel 2 of a final kingdom crushing the previous kingdom would fit here.
*The Scarlet Beast is further described in verse 8 as one who “was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.” The past, present and future references matches the description in Revelation 13:3, “And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain fatally, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth marveled and followed after the beast.” The description of those that dwell on the earth matches Revelation 13:8 of those “whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.” The context of that passage points to these people being those who worship the beast.
*Verse 8 is specific that the beast is “about to come up out of the abyss.” The abyss (or bottomless pit) is presented as a place inhabited by demons in Rev. 9, 11 and 20. This connects the beast to being demonic in some respect which would explain the descriptions in Revelation 13 of Satan giving him authority over the world, his waging war and overcoming the saints, the appearance of having died and come back to life, and his false prophet being able to do miraculous signs in his presence. It would also explain the beast having a connection to previous kingdoms. We know from Daniel 10 that demons are involved in the affairs of nations, so a demon involved in influencing previous kings and kingdoms in the oppression of Israel as expressed in the seven heads of the beast would reach his maximum level of evil by empowering the scarlet beast, the antichrist. While there is no exact time indicator of when the beast comes up out of the abyss, Rev. 11:7 indicates that it is prior to overcoming and killing the two witnesses.
*Revelation 17:8 & 11 are also specific that the beast will go to destruction. That is later described in Revelation 19:20 and 20:10 of being seized by the conquering Christ and “thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone” to be “tormented day and night forever and ever.”
*The Woman’s Attire is described in verse 4. “And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her sexual immorality.” The dyes for both colors are very expensive, so purple became associated with royalty, and scarlet with luxury and splendor. The opulence of her attire is further accented with adornments of gold, precious stones and pearls, all of which also are extremely expensive and so represent great wealth. She is dressed to impress her paramours, which has also been a practice of harlots to the best of their ability. The richer the appearance, the richer the client attracted. This will be a sharp contrast to the Lamb who appears in Rev. 19:8 in simple apparel of “fine linen, bright and clean.”
*To match her attire she has a golden cup in her hand, but there is nothing good in it. It is full of what is disgusting – abomination and the unclean things of her fornication. This imagery may also come Jeremiah 51:7 which was pointed out earlier concerning Babylon. To my mind, it fits what is already present in false religions in which great wealth is expended in the display of their idols, which are abominations to God, and religious paraphernalia which are part of their false worship, which is spiritual fornication.
*The Woman’s Name. In verse 5 the woman is further identified by the name written on her forehead. “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth.” The descriptive reference, mystery, is given before the title showing that this is not referring specifically to the physical city, but rather the religious apostasy that arose out of her. The story of ancient Babylon is found in Genesis 11.
*Only two generations after the worldwide flood, Nimrod, the son of Cush, the son of Ham, the son of Noah, (Gen. 10:6, 9), founded the city of Babylon in defiance of God’s command for them to “be fruitful and multiply; populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it” (Gen. 9:7). Instead, the people of Babylon purposed to “build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name; lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” You know the rest of the story of Yahweh confusing their languages which forced them to scatter over the face of the whole earth (Gen. 11:7-9). *False religions after the flood trace their origins to Babel and the defiance of man against God to do things his own way. Towers around the world built and dedicated to heathen deities trace back to Babylon.
Ancient Babylonian records point to Nimrod also becoming the head of the Babylonian mysteries which were developed as part of the worship of the idols of Babylon. This includes Semiramis and her son, Tammuz, who was supposedly miraculously conceived, and then a savior figure including a resurrection from the dead. *These legends and rites show up in many religions around the world in which there is worship of a mother, a queen of heaven figure, and her son, a savior figure. Allusions to these false religious rituals are found in the Scriptures. Ezekiel 8:14 protests the ceremony of weeping for Tammuz. Jeremiah 7:18 refers to the pagan practice of making cakes for the queen of heaven, and Jeremiah 44:17-19, 25 of offering incense to her. Baal of the Canaanites is considered identical to Tammuz. Religious ideas and practices of Babylon spread throughout the ancient world, as would be expected as the inhabitants of Babylon scattered. This gave rise to all sorts of variations on the same theme of a counterfeit god with a false religion and of religious practices that trace back to ancient Babylon. In Pergamum, the city referenced in Revelation 2:12 in the letter written to the church located there, the chief priests to Dagon, the fish god, wore hats that looked like fish heads, sort of like a pope’s miter hat. On it was imprinted the Roman equivalent of the title, Pontifex Maximus.
*Jesus warned there would be tares among the wheat (Matthew 13:25f), and there been false Christians from the earliest days of the church to the present. Christian apostasy will reach its zenith in the tribulation period when it joins with other false religions in the ecumenical and blasphemous religion of the great harlot, Babylon the great, to participate in her abominations.
*The Woman’s Murders. Among her abominations will be an active participation in murder, for she will be “drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus.” These are two names for the same people with the repetition making an emphasis on their character and nature. The title, saints, points to their being sanctified by Christ and pursuit of holiness. Their designation as “witnesses of Jesus” points to their faithfulness to proclaim Jesus even unto their death as martyrs. The great harlot will be drunk with their blood, a description of a lust for violence inclined to savagery and celebration of death. That was the response of the wicked toward the death of the two witnesses in Rev. 11:10.
*John’s Wonder at The Vision – Revelation 17:6-7
What the angel showed John caused him to wonder, to be amazed, as noted at the end of verse 6. He was completely astonished, he marveled with great marvel. The specific reason is not stated, and it could have been from several different things or a combination of them. It may have been grasping at the meaning of the symbolism, or the unrestrained evil, or the appearance of the woman and the beast. Whatever the reasons, the angel intervenes to rhetorically ask him, “Why do you wonder?” in verse 7. He then proceeds to give a detailed explanation, most of which we have already covered.
*Additional Insights – Revelation 17:8-18
A few additional insights from the angel’s explanation that I have not already covered include the following.
*Verse 11 explains that “the beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.” This is pointing to the two phases of the kingdom of the antichrist which will fulfill the prophecies in Daniel 7. In the early phase, the beast will cooperate with the harlot and be part of a coalition of ten horns as pointed out in Rev. 17:12, and they will “receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour,” but this coalition of acting kings is short lived. Their purpose as stated in verse 13 will be to “give their power and authority to the beast.” As shown in Daniel 7:8, the antichrist, the little horn will usurp three of the other horns to dominate all of them. That will be the second phase of the kingdom of the beast which will be so different from the first phase that it will be considered an eighth kingdom.
*Verse 16 brings out a major difference in this eighth kingdom which will be its relationship with the harlot, false religion. “And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire.” This is a description of the political powers turning against the religious powers and first plundering her wealth – the reference to making her desolate. An action kings and governments have done many times to religious institutions throughout history. Second, they will make her naked, a reference to exposing her corruption which will turn the populace against her. Third, they will “will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire.” A graphic description of her utter destruction. The reference to burning with fire comes from the Levitical code punishment for those who commit sexual immorality. The immorality here is religious unfaithfulness in the false worship brought about by the ecumenical coalition of false religions. This occurs after the abomination of desolation when the beast proclaims himself to be a god and demands to be worshiped with death as the punishment for those that fail to do so.
*Verse 17 brings back the point that God remains sovereign in all of this. “For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.” What is that fulfillment? First, as stated in verse 1 is the purpose of the vision, it is the judgment of the harlot. God uses the beast to destroy her. Second, this includes what is said back in verse 14, “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” Neither Satan nor the beast will be the ultimate victors. God allows them to play out their efforts to achieve both political and religious control over the world, but that will bring about their own destruction when the beast and his coalition wage war against the Lamb. The answer to the rhetorical question of the beast worshipers in Revelation 13:4, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” is Jesus Christ is greater than the beast and He and His saints will overcome and destroy the beast and those with him. The reason is that Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings. That battle and victory will be described in Revelation 19:11-21.
*God is sovereign and He will remain sovereign regardless of what evil arises on the earth. The wicked will practice evil for their own sinful purposes for which they are solely responsible and will be punished unless they repent to believe in Jesus Christ and receive His forgiveness, yet what they do will be according to God’s purposes to fulfill His sovereign will. What is meant by the wicked for evil will be used by God to bring about final results that will glorify Him.
Sermon Notes – 11/30/2025
Judgment on Religious Babylon – Revelation 17
Introduction
Rev. 17:1-19:11 is an _____________ excursus giving greater detail & explanation to what occurs
Identification of the Actors – Revelation 17
The Angel (17:1-2, 3, 7-14; 15-18) is one of the angels that had a ________ of wrath (vs. 1)
The Great Harlot (17:1, 3-6, 18) is the system of _______ religion which reaches its apex in the tribulation
The Waters (17:1,15) on which the great ________ sits “are people and crowds and nations and tongues”
The Scarlet Beast (17:3, 8, 11) is the same as in 13:1 – the beast from the Sea, the __________
The seven heads of the beast (17:3, 9-10) are 7 mountains & 7 kings – 5 __________,1 present, 1 future
The Ten Horns (17:3, 12-14; 16) are 10 ________ allied with the beast & wage war against the Lamb
The Lamb is the __________ Christ, the “Lord of lords and King of kings.”
Interpretive Overview
Revelation 17:1-6 is the _________. Revelation 17:7-18 is the ____________ given by the angel
Ancient Babylon generated ________religions around the world; which will reach its apex in the tribulation
The great harlot, false religion, _________with the beast, the antichrist, until he becomes the world dictator
The antichrist then ___________ the false religion replacing it with worship of himself
The antichrist and his allies wage _______against the Lamb, Jesus Christ, and they are utterly destroyed
The Vision of Great Harlot – Revelation 17:1-2, 3-7, 15,16, 18
One of the 7 angels shows John greater ________ about events during the tribulation concerning the harlot
Harlotry is used ___________________in the Scriptures to refer to spiritual unfaithfulness to God
The influence of the Great Harlot is expressed in 3 ways & includes ___________with an emphasis on kings
Religious & Political systems ________with each other to gain what is desired – at least until one dominates
The rapture & God’s wrath result in upheaval & _____which religious & political powers take advantage of
The wicked of the world willing __________to the influence & control of the harlot, false religion
The Scarlet Beast & The Woman – Revelation 17:3-5, 7, 8-13, 14-17
John’s perspective changes from heaven to the ____________ where the angel had taken him
The Scarlet Beast is the same as the beast from the sea in Rev. 13, the future ________(Matt. 24:15; Dan. 9)
Rev. 17:9-10, The 7 heads of the beast also represent 7 ______ on which the harlot sits, and 7 _______
The kings represent _________. 5 past (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia & Greece), 1 present (Rome)
The final 7th kingdom of the antichrist is still _________- and it only lasts a short time, < 7 years total
The Seven Mountains on which the harlot sits do not represent Rome, & the harlot is not the ____________
The 7 hills are expressions of the beast, not the woman. The R.C.C. could not influence kingdoms _____to it
The 7 heads are ______, not religious powers. The harlot represents _____false religions than just the R.C.C
The seven mountains represent __________, just as in Daniel 2
The past, present & future reference in vs. 8 matches ____________ – the beast’s fatal wound that heals
The beast coming up out of the abyss shows a ____________connection & empowerment
Rev. 17:8 & 11 foretell the ___________of the beast – later described in Rev. 19:20; 20:10
The Woman’s Attire (vs. 4) is opulent demonstrating her ___________
Her golden cup is full of abominations & unclean things – Great wealth ______________in false worship
The Woman’s Name (vs. 5) points to the __________ of false religion after the flood
Only 2 generations after the flood, Nimrod establishes Babylon with the purpose of ______God’s command
The people scattered from Babylon took their ideas of false religion with them __________them worldwide
__________of Babylonian religious mysteries show up in false religions around the world
Tares have always been among the wheat (Matt. 13:25f); Christian _______reaches it peak in the tribulation
The Woman’s Murders (vs. 6). Among the harlot’s abominations will be the __________ of the saints
John’s Wonder at The Vision – Revelation 17:6-7
John is _____________ at the vision given to him, and the angel intervenes to explain it in vs. 8-19
Additional Insights – Revelation 17:8-18
Vs. 11. Antichrist’s kingdom comes in two distinct phases. His 10 nation coalition is __________in the first
Vs. 16. In the 2nd phase, he & his coalition turn on the harlot to plunder, expose & then ___________her
Vs. 17, 14. God remains sovereign using their evil for His ______purposes in destroying the harlot & them
God’s ____________extends to even using what wicked men purpose for evil to bring about His own glory
KIDS KORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Count how many times the word “beast” is said. 2) Discuss Revelation 17 with your parents and the relationship between the harlot and the beast in that chapter.
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. How does Revelation 17:1-19:10 fit into the context of Revelation 16 & 19:11f? Why is the term harlot / prostitute used as a metaphor for false religion? What is the extent of the influence of the great harlot? Who is the scarlet beast? What do his seven heads represent? What do the seven mountains represent? Why don’t they represent Rome and the Harlot the Roman Catholic Church? What do the past, present, future references to the beast point to? What is the significance that the beast comes up out of the abyss? When will the beast go to destruction? What is the significance of the woman’s attire & adornments? What is in her golden cup? What is the significance of her name in vs. 5? What is the relationship between ancient Babylon (Gen. 11) and false religions today? What is the harlot’s response to the saints / witness of Jesus? Why does John wonder at the vision? How can the beast be both the 7th kingdom and an 8th? What is the difference between the beast’s relationship with the harlot early in the tribulation period and at the end of it? What religion replaces that of the harlot? In what two specific ways does God use the evil of the beast & his 10 king coalition to accomplish His own will?
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