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Revelation 17

Revelation 17 exposes the violence beneath Babylon’s splendor and declares that her allied powers cannot defeat the Lamb or escape God’s purpose.

An angel takes John into a wilderness to show him the judgment of a woman called Babylon the Great. She rides a scarlet beast, wears costly clothes and jewels, and is drunk with the blood of Jesus’ martyrs. The angel explains the woman, the beast, and its heads and horns through images of a ruling city and kings. Their alliance makes war against the Lamb, then turns against the woman, carrying out God’s purpose in her destruction.

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1One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here. I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters,
2with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality. Those who dwell on the earth were made drunken with the wine of her sexual immorality.”
3He carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.
4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of the sexual immorality of the earth.
5And on her forehead a name was written, “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”
6I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered with great amazement.
7The 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.
8The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and shall be present.
9Here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.
10They are seven kings. Five have fallen, the one is, and the other has not yet come. When he comes, he must continue a little while.
11The beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goes to destruction.
12The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.
13These have one mind, and they give their power and authority to the beast.
14These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with him are called, chosen, and faithful.”
15He said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.
16The ten horns which you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute, will make her desolate, will strip her naked, will eat her flesh, and will burn her utterly with fire.
17For God has put in their hearts to do what he has in mind, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God should be accomplished.
18The woman whom you saw is the great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Revelation 17:14The Lamb’s supreme authority settles the outcome of the kings’ war, and his people share in his victory.
Revelation 17:8The beast’s return provokes wonder among earth’s inhabitants, yet the angel names destruction as its destination.
Revelation 17:6The woman’s drunkenness reveals the bloodshed beneath her wealth: she has killed saints and witnesses to Jesus.
Where this chapter reaches

Daniel shares the imagery of beasts, horns, and kings whose rule ends under God’s authority, while Isaiah and Jeremiah announce judgment against Babylon. Jeremiah also portrays Babylon as a cup that intoxicates nations, linking imperial splendor with corruption and coming ruin.

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After reading the whole chapter

How does the woman’s splendor affect your reading of the violence revealed in verse 6?

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What tension do you notice between the kings’ shared purpose and God’s purpose in verse 17?

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Questions people ask about Revelation 17

Who is Babylon the Great in Revelation 17?

The angel identifies the woman as the great city ruling over the kings of the earth. Her wealth, corrupting influence, and persecution of Jesus’ witnesses define her character. The seven mountains suggest Rome to many readers, but the chapter does not name Rome, and interpretations of Babylon’s wider significance differ.

What do the seven heads and ten horns mean in Revelation 17?

The angel explains the seven heads as seven mountains and seven kings. Five kings have fallen, one exists, and another will come for a short time. The ten horns are ten kings who briefly share the beast’s authority. The chapter leaves these rulers unnamed, so specific historical identifications remain disputed.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).