Revelation 17:7

7 And the angel said to me, "Why are you astonished? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that has the seven heads and the ten horns that carries her.

Revelation 17:7 Meaning and Commentary

Revelation 17:7

And the angel said unto me
The same as in ( Revelation 17:1 )

wherefore didst thou marvel?
which is not said by way of reproof, as questions of this kind sometimes are, ( Acts 3:12 ) for John did not wonder at her with a sinful admiration, so as to have her in great veneration, and to do homage and worship to her, as the inhabitants of the world wondered after the beast, ( Revelation 13:3 ) ( 17:8 ) but his admiration was an amazement, or stupefaction of mind, joined with indignation at her; and this is said by the angel to lead on to what he had to declare unto him.

I will tell thee the mystery of the woman;
that is, what is mysteriously or mystically designed by her; for till it was made known to John by the angel, it was a mystery to him; and when it was revealed, the interpretation is given in such an obscure manner, that it is only understood by the mind that has spiritual wisdom; and still remains a mystery to carnal men, just as the Gospel itself does. The hidden meaning of this woman, or the mystery of her, is told by the angel in ( Revelation 17:18 ) .

And of the beast that carried her, which hath the seven heads, and
ten horns;
the mystical sense of the beast, its heads and horns, and which is also delivered in a mysterious manner, is given in ( Revelation 17:8-12 ) .

Revelation 17:7 In-Context

5 And on her forehead a name [was] written, a mystery: "Babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth."

6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses to Jesus. And {I was greatly astonished when I saw her}.

7 And the angel said to me, "Why are you astonished? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that has the seven heads and the ten horns that carries her.

8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is going to come up from the abyss, and he is going to destruction. And those who live on the earth, whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will be astonished [when they] see the beast that was, and is not, and will be present.

9 Here [is] the mind that has wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains {on which the woman sits} and they are seven kings.