One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries." Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. The name written on her forehead was a mystery:

BABYLON THE GREAT
THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. Then the angel said to me: "Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come."

"This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”

Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” _{Revelation 17:1-18} (all scripture from the NIV unless otherwise noted)

Descriptions of the Prostitute:

1. The woman is situated by many waters.
2. The rulers of earth have adulterous relations with her.
3. The people of earth are drunk with her wine.
4. She is seated (riding) atop the scarlet beast.
5. She is dressed in purple and scarlet and adorned with precious jewelry.
6. The golden cup in her hand holds the wine of her abominations.
7. She has a name that is a mystery, Babylon the Great.
8. She is also called "The great city".
9. She is drunk with the blood of the saints.

The final judgement declared on Babylon is the main theme of Revelation chapter 17 and continuing on in chapters 18 and 19. It is first revealed by one of the angels from the previous chapter who had one of the seven bowls of God's wrath that are poured out on the earth. The woman seated upon the scarlet beast is named by the angel as "the great prostitute". It must be understood that this symbolic representation of a prostitute is not one in the strictest sense of the word but, like a real prostitute, she offers something of an illicit nature in exchange for payment. And, according to the text above, this 'adulterous' relationship existed between the woman and the kings of earth.

Let the Bible be our guide to understand the meaning of prophetic symbols.

1. Waters symbolizes the populous, multi-ethnic region surrounding the Mediterranean. _{Psalm 65:7, Revelation 17:15}
2. Her position on the beast symbolizes the beast's allegiance to and compliance with the prostitute.
3. The wine in her cup is symbolic of her immoral doctrines. It brings madness and intoxicates those who drink it.
   _{Jeremiah 51:7, Revelation 18:3}
4. She claims to be a queen since purple is the color of royalty.
   _{Lamentations 4:5, Revelation 18:7}
5. Scarlet is the color associated with immorality, particularly prostitution or adultery. _{Isaiah 1:18, Jeremiah 4:30}
6. Perhaps the mystery about her name is that she is the reincarnation of ancient Babylon.
7. God, through the Old Testament prophets, had much to say against ancient Babylon: _{Isaiah 18 & 47, Jeremiah 51}
   • Blasphemy: "You said, 'I am forever - the eternal queen!'"
   • False prophets: "Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions."
   • Idolatry: "Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!"
   • Immorality: "Your nakedness will be exposed and your shame uncovered."
   • Oppression: "Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain."
   • Sorcery: "Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries."
8. She is a persecutor of the true faith.

She is also identified as "Babylon the Great, the mother of prostitutes", and lastly as "the great city that rules over the kings of the earth." The question that needs to be answered is this: What is the significance of connecting this woman with the city of Babylon? The answer to that question may lie with a closer look at the scarlet beast she rides. The angel says (of this beast), "The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits." "Rome is often referred to as the City of Seven Hills due to its geographic location, and also as the "Eternal City". _{Wiki Link} Thus the imperial city of Rome can be identified as Babylon in John the apostles time.

1. The description of this beast is similar to the sea beast of chapter 13.
2. The beast is scarlet in color.
3. The beast is covered with blasphemous titles.
4. It has seven heads and ten horns but no crowns.
5. It once was, now is not, and will arise again out of the Abyss.
6. The unfaithful people of earth are amazed by the return of the beast.
7. The twofold meaning of the seven heads on the beast.
   • They are seven hills on which the woman sits.
   • They are also seven kings (kingdoms).
8. Of the seven kings, five have fallen, one is, the seventh has not yet come.
9. The beast is an eighth but belongs to the seven.
10. The ten horns become subservient to the beast.
11. They hate the prostitute and utterly destroy her.
12. They wage war against the Lamb of God but are defeated.

Comparison: The Dragon, Sea Beast and Scarlet Beast:

1. They all have seven heads and ten horns.
2. The dragon's heads and the sea beast's horns bear crowns.
3. The sea beast and the scarlet beast have blasphemous names.
4. One head on the sea beast bears the mark of a fatal wound that healed.
5. The scarlet beast once was, then is not, but arises again.
6. The people of earth are astonished by the reappearance of both beasts.
7. The scarlet beast' 'is not' period is concurrent with John the apostles time.
8. This is when the scarlet beast was under the dominion of Babylon the Great.

What constitutes an entity being symbolized as, or compared to a beast? In the seventh chapter of Daniel, the prophet has a dream in which he sees four creatures coming out of the sea one after the other: A lion, bear, leopard and a nondescript creature. These four represented the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian and Roman empires. All four empires came to be through the conquest of surrounding nations, including the land of Israel.

At the time of his dream Daniel was one of the Hebrew captives living under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Before Daniel's time there were other nations that oppressed Israel, most notably those that bordered it. The most oppresive of these were the kingdom of Egypt and the Assyrian empire. Therefore, the beast power can be singularly summed up, though under different names, as an enemy of God's people throughout their history.

1. The beast is symbolic of an oppressive power in relation to God's people throughout history.
2. The color scarlet is indicative of an immoral, sinful state. _{Isaiah 1:18, Jeremiah 4:30}
3. Blasphemy is the offense of speaking sacrilegiously against God. _{Isaiah 37:23}
4. The seven heads are:
   • Seven hills. Rome was built on seven hills. _{Wiki Link}
   • Seven kings. Seven historical occurences of the beast.
   • "Five have fallen" (i.e. existed before John's time).
   • Those five: Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Medo-Persia and Greece.
   • "One is" (i.e. present in John's time) and that was Rome.
   • "The seventh has not yet come" (i.e. exists in the future relative to John's time.
   • "The beast is an eighth... he belongs to the seven". The beast is represented by all seven heads.
5. The ten horns are ten kings that coexist in the future relative to John's time.
6. Three historical states of the beast:
   • It once was. This refers to the five kings that have fallen
   • Now is not. Transitional period when the beast was not an oppresive power.
   • Will arise again. Returns as an oppressive power in some future time.
7. The Abyss (Sheol in Hebrew) from which the beast arises: _{Revelation 11:7, 17:8, 20:1,3}
   • Figuratively, a boundless, bottomless pit.
   • The underworld abode of the dead. _{Job 26:6}
   • In spiritual terms, a prison for demonic beings so they can no longer act. _{Luke 8:31, Revelation 20:3}
8. The unsaved people of earth are astonished by the return of the beast.
9. When the ten horns receive their kingdoms they unite with and empower the beast.
10. The beast and the ten kings rebel against the harlot and destroy her.
11. In the end-time of this prophecy the ten kings and the beast make war with the Lamb at his return. _{Revelation 17:14}

The harlot, Babylon the Great, that "rules over the kings of earth" is not like the real cities of past centuries. Rather it symbolizes an ideology that stands in opposition to God. It reflects in every way the materialism and false religion that defined the ancient cities of Babylon and Rome.

She sits atop (controls) the scarlet beast which represents the "peoples, multitudes, nations and languages" that occupy the Mediterranean region and which were subjugated by Rome through conquest. The beast that was not arose from the Abyss and, along with the ten kings, were essential in bringing God's final judgment on her. _{Revelation 17:16}