Some say the "woman" refers to Rome and a pope. Other say the "woman" refers to deceived Christian Churches that fall away in the end times. But the last verse of Rev.17 reveals what that "woman" of Revelation 17 represents...
Rev 17:18
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
(KJV)
It's a CITY, a "great city". All the symbols given about that Revelation harlot must be compared with that idea of a "great city".
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Rev 17:1-15
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
That city is called "the great whore", and the city "sitteth upon many waters". Our Lord explains the "waters" in verse 15 as "peoples and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." That's in parallel with the Rev.13:1 beast kingdom which comes up out of the "sea", and our Lord used the previous beast kingdoms of Daniel to point to that beast kingdom of Rev.13:1 which has ten horns, ten crowns, and seven heads. All that put together means "the great whore", which is a city, sits over that beast kingdom. It places this city as the ruling city over the entire beast kingdom.
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
In this 2nd verse, that idea of committing fornication with the kings of the earth, and its inhabitants being made drunk is about false worship. Those descriptions were used about historical Babylon, historical Nineveh, historical Tyre, and even Jerusalem at times (Jer.51; Isaiah 23; Isaiah 47; Nahum 3; Ezekiel 16; Ezekiel 23). Apostle Paul referred to the idea of being 'drunken in the night' in 1 Thess.5, which is about the deceived who declare "Peace and safety" when sudden destruction comes upon them, on the future day of The Lord (Christ's coming "as a thief"). That reveals the pattern for this "woman" of Rev.17, which is "a great city".
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Scarlet is a deeper shade of red. It was used in the early tabernacle worship of Israel, and in Matt.27:28 our Lord's robe was described as being scarlet colored. Scarlet was the color of the thread used to mark the firstborn (Gen.38). It was the color or cord Rahab the harlot used to lower down from her window. In this verse it's linked with the idea of the previous verses about ruling over the beast (waters of verse 1). And remember, this woman is still about a city. The scarlet beast itself has ten horns, ten crowns, and seven heads.
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
She is decked in purple and scarlet, which are colors of royalty. The precious jewels and gold were also signs of high status and rule. Daniel was offered clothes of scarlet and a chain of gold for interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The golden cup is a symbol for sacred things, and high status like royalty. Nebuchadnezzar's grandson held a party with the vessels of gold Neb took out of the Jerusalem temple when he destroyed it. Here the cup of gold is used to show the whore's status, and by that impresses the nations she rules over, in false worship.
This "MYSTERY" in its deepest sense, points to the opposite of the 'mysteries of the kingdom of heaven' which our Lord Jesus said were given for His Apostles to know and understand (Matt.13). This MYSTERY is attached to the idea of "BABYLON THE GREAT", which Babylon was the historical origin of pagan religious worship on earth. Throughout pagan history, its priests formed a system of religious philosophy which caused the springing up of various 'mystery religions' of ancient Babylon, Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc. Some secret societies of mystical initiation still claim to inherit the ancient teachings of those 'mystery schools'. That's what the study of the occult is about. It's about a system of knowledge which wants to supplant God's mysteries of His kingdom. And per the history of the pagan mystery religions, it has created all sorts of abominations involving worship of the things of God's creation, worship of gods which are no gods, worship of idols made of metal, stone, and wood, the practice of withcraft and sorcery (using drugs), and even worship of the devil and his minions, including human sacrifices, of their own children. This "woman" is to be the ruling city setup in the end of days by those involved in that MYSTERY movement.
And she is to be a royal type city, which will involve a king. In Rev.18, she says this about herself...
Rev 18:7
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, "I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow."
(KJV)
Sitting as "a queen" points to a royal relationship she's to have. And she says she's no widow, which means she is married. So who is the king she is wed to? This is pointing to the idea of the "woman" (a city) as a bride. In Rev.21 we are shown the Holy City, new Jerusalem coming down to earth out of Heaven "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Rev.21:9 -10 also reveals new Jerusalem as a bride, the Lamb's wife. This analogy goes back to what our Heavenly Father showed in Ezekiel 16 about His cleansing of old Jerusalem and then marrying her.
But this "woman" harlot city of Rev.17 is not the future new Jerusalem, meaning she is not married to The Lamb. Who most logically would be the opposite one she would be married to, and who wants to be her KING, and rule in place of Christ Jesus our True KING?
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Which city was it that our Lord Jesus cried out about, which was guilty of the blood of the prophets He sent? It was Jerusalem, per Luke 13:34.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
The mystery is that of her title mentioned in Rev.17:5.
(Continued...)
Rev 17:18
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
(KJV)
It's a CITY, a "great city". All the symbols given about that Revelation harlot must be compared with that idea of a "great city".
--------------------
Rev 17:1-15
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
That city is called "the great whore", and the city "sitteth upon many waters". Our Lord explains the "waters" in verse 15 as "peoples and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." That's in parallel with the Rev.13:1 beast kingdom which comes up out of the "sea", and our Lord used the previous beast kingdoms of Daniel to point to that beast kingdom of Rev.13:1 which has ten horns, ten crowns, and seven heads. All that put together means "the great whore", which is a city, sits over that beast kingdom. It places this city as the ruling city over the entire beast kingdom.
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
In this 2nd verse, that idea of committing fornication with the kings of the earth, and its inhabitants being made drunk is about false worship. Those descriptions were used about historical Babylon, historical Nineveh, historical Tyre, and even Jerusalem at times (Jer.51; Isaiah 23; Isaiah 47; Nahum 3; Ezekiel 16; Ezekiel 23). Apostle Paul referred to the idea of being 'drunken in the night' in 1 Thess.5, which is about the deceived who declare "Peace and safety" when sudden destruction comes upon them, on the future day of The Lord (Christ's coming "as a thief"). That reveals the pattern for this "woman" of Rev.17, which is "a great city".
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Scarlet is a deeper shade of red. It was used in the early tabernacle worship of Israel, and in Matt.27:28 our Lord's robe was described as being scarlet colored. Scarlet was the color of the thread used to mark the firstborn (Gen.38). It was the color or cord Rahab the harlot used to lower down from her window. In this verse it's linked with the idea of the previous verses about ruling over the beast (waters of verse 1). And remember, this woman is still about a city. The scarlet beast itself has ten horns, ten crowns, and seven heads.
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
She is decked in purple and scarlet, which are colors of royalty. The precious jewels and gold were also signs of high status and rule. Daniel was offered clothes of scarlet and a chain of gold for interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The golden cup is a symbol for sacred things, and high status like royalty. Nebuchadnezzar's grandson held a party with the vessels of gold Neb took out of the Jerusalem temple when he destroyed it. Here the cup of gold is used to show the whore's status, and by that impresses the nations she rules over, in false worship.
This "MYSTERY" in its deepest sense, points to the opposite of the 'mysteries of the kingdom of heaven' which our Lord Jesus said were given for His Apostles to know and understand (Matt.13). This MYSTERY is attached to the idea of "BABYLON THE GREAT", which Babylon was the historical origin of pagan religious worship on earth. Throughout pagan history, its priests formed a system of religious philosophy which caused the springing up of various 'mystery religions' of ancient Babylon, Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc. Some secret societies of mystical initiation still claim to inherit the ancient teachings of those 'mystery schools'. That's what the study of the occult is about. It's about a system of knowledge which wants to supplant God's mysteries of His kingdom. And per the history of the pagan mystery religions, it has created all sorts of abominations involving worship of the things of God's creation, worship of gods which are no gods, worship of idols made of metal, stone, and wood, the practice of withcraft and sorcery (using drugs), and even worship of the devil and his minions, including human sacrifices, of their own children. This "woman" is to be the ruling city setup in the end of days by those involved in that MYSTERY movement.
And she is to be a royal type city, which will involve a king. In Rev.18, she says this about herself...
Rev 18:7
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, "I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow."
(KJV)
Sitting as "a queen" points to a royal relationship she's to have. And she says she's no widow, which means she is married. So who is the king she is wed to? This is pointing to the idea of the "woman" (a city) as a bride. In Rev.21 we are shown the Holy City, new Jerusalem coming down to earth out of Heaven "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Rev.21:9 -10 also reveals new Jerusalem as a bride, the Lamb's wife. This analogy goes back to what our Heavenly Father showed in Ezekiel 16 about His cleansing of old Jerusalem and then marrying her.
But this "woman" harlot city of Rev.17 is not the future new Jerusalem, meaning she is not married to The Lamb. Who most logically would be the opposite one she would be married to, and who wants to be her KING, and rule in place of Christ Jesus our True KING?
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Which city was it that our Lord Jesus cried out about, which was guilty of the blood of the prophets He sent? It was Jerusalem, per Luke 13:34.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
The mystery is that of her title mentioned in Rev.17:5.
(Continued...)