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... 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. Revelation 17:1-3

1. The prophetic objective introduced in this chapter reveals the judgment that God has pronounced upon the entity symbolized by the woman who rides the beast.
2. These are the allegations brought against her:
   • She has illicit relations With the kings of the earth.
   • The people of earth are made drunk by the wine of her adulterous teaching.
   • She is guilty of the blood of God’s holy people and those who bear testimony to Jesus.
3. The "many waters" reference suggests she has a global influence. She is also identified as "the great city that rules over the kings of the earth." Revelation 17:18

The beast [the scarlet beast], which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. Revelation 17:8(1)

4. The scarlet beast, like the dragon and the beast from the sea of Revelation 13 has seven heads and ten horns, making an obvious connection between these three.
5. The scarlet beast and the beast from the sea are the same entity. The former is shown as it existed in the past when it "once was, and now is not", while the later as the beast that "yet will come."
6. The unsaved people on earth are astonished by the reappearance of the scarlet beast. Revelation 17:8 This reaction is similar to that observed for the beast from the sea upon its fatal wound having been healed. Revelation 13:3

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. Revelation 17:9-11

7. The seven hills reference points to Rome, the city built on seven hills, as the location of the harlot, Babylon the Great.
8. The seven kings symbolize all the civil powers on earth throughout history that represent forces of evil, chaos, greed, and destruction in opposition to the law of God, and are the historical enemies of God's faithful people.
9. Five have fallen or passed into history, says the angel. The apostle John lived during the time of the Roman Empire, which identifies it with the one that is.
10. The Roman Empire being so identified as the sixth head on the scarlet beast is crucial in identifying the five that have fallen: Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Medo-Persia, and Greece.
11. The question is, what is the identity of the seventh king? The beast that "once was, and now is not" is said to be an eighth but belongs to the seven. This suggests that one of the first six heads on the scarlet beast that existed in the past will reappear in a future time.

While I was thinking about the horns [the ten horns on the fourth beast], there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully. Daniel 7:8

12. This horn arises later on the head the fourth beast, which has been identified as the Roman Empire. This makes a strong argument that the beast that "yet will come" will mirror that of the pagan Roman Empire.

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. Revelation 17:12

13. Prior to Christ's Second Coming the ten horns, when they are empowered as kings, subject themselves to the authority of the scarlet beast. Revelation 17:12,13

    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. Revelation 17:16,17

14. The scarlet beast, by the will of God, in union with the ten horns exercises its power to become the dominant force promoting itself as the object of worship, and thus is used to execute God's judment upon Babylon the Great. Revelation 17:1, 18:8,20

They [the beast and ten horns] 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. Revelation 17:14