Revelation 17 Study Notes

17:11 On the beast that was and is not, see note at vv. 7-8. The phrase that the beast is an eighth king yet belongs to the seven is difficult to interpret. Some in the early church thought this referred to Nero coming back to life. The best explanation, though, seems to be that, even though the physical body remains the same, the beast is two different personalities at “before-and-after” points in his career. This dramatic change could happen either: (1) when the beast initially comes to prominence by killing the two witnesses (11:7), or (2) after its “resurrection” from a presumed fatal wound (13:3,12,14). That the beast is going to destruction refers to eternal torment in the lake of fire (19:20; 20:10).

17:12-13 The ten horns of Dn 7:7,20,24 (see Rv 17:3,7) are ten kings who will rule alongside the beast during his unrivaled reign of forty-two months (13:5). This period is referred to here as one hour, much as the tribulation period is called “the hour of testing” (3:10).

17:14 The battle here takes place at the second coming of Christ (the Lamb . . . Lord of lords and King of kings; note the reversed wording from “King of Kings and Lord of Lords,” 19:16). This verse clarifies that the armies following the Lamb in 19:14 are believers since the combined terms called, chosen, and faithful are never used of angels.

17:15-17 The prostitute (Babylon the Great) has ingratiated herself to the remaining world population (peoples . . . languages). The irony here is that, in the end, the very rulers (the ten horns . . . and the beast) with which the pseudo-queen (v. 4; 18:7) Babylon the Great has acted immorally (17:2), will turn on her and destroy her. Most amazing is that, ultimately, this will take place according to God’s purpose and sovereign plan.

17:18-18:3 The woman (Babylon the Great, 17:5) is now pictured as the great city (see note at 16:17-21), which has secured political influence over the kings of the earth (17:18) by sexual immorality (17:2). Babylon could include an actual city in the end times, but the “lament” in Rv 18 is modeled after Jr 51, which says that the Babylonian Empire and the city of Babylon will “never rise again” (Jr 51:64). It is thus more likely that Babylon the Great (18:2) is the world system (1Jn 2:15-17) organized in arrogant rebellion against God throughout history, with the tower of Babel, the Babylonian Empire, Rome—and even Jerusalem (Rv 11:8)—being classic expressions of this rebellion.