Revelation 17 and 18 begins another inset section which tells how Babylon the Great came in remembrance before God and what God does in pouring out this cup of the wine of His wrath (Revelation 16:19). Revelation 17 deals primarily with the historical background of the "end time" Beast power of Babylon the Great. See Jeremiah 50 and 51 for prophecies about Babylon the Great.

1. Did one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls come and talk to John? (Revelation 17:1). Did he tell John "I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters"?

Note: These seven bowls are referring to the seven last plagues described in Revelation 16. The word "judgment" could be translated as punishment, doom, condemnation, or damnation. The word "harlot" is translated as "whore" in the K.J.V. and "prostitute" in the N.I.V. The word "sits" could be translated as dwell, resides or enthroned. This harlot is enthroned in a place of regal splendor and has the power that only royalty possesses in normal cases. Throughout the prophets "whoredom" and "harlotry" is a symbol for religious corruption (Lev. 20:5, Ezekiel 16:17, 23:8, 17, 27). "Many waters" is a reference to many nations that will be under the control of the great harlot.

2. With who did the great harlot commit fornication? (Revelation 17:2).

Note: Drunkenness is a symbol for intoxication with false doctrines or false religious systems (Ezekiel 23:31-35). The word "fornication" is translated from the Greek word "porneia" and can be translated as harlotry but could be translated figuratively as idolatry which would be spiritual fornication. Idolatry is breaking the second commandment (Exodus 20:4).

3. Did John in vision see a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns? (Revelation 17:3). Is Satan the devil described as a fiery red dragon or serpent having seven heads and ten horns? (Revelation 12:3,9). This great "end time" political and military power symbolically pictured as a scarlet beast will be controlled by Satan the devil. Is the true Church pictured as a woman? (Ephesians 5:23-25). The woman sitting on this scarlet beast will be the false church guided by Satan the devil and directing the political military Beast power.

4. Is the woman arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls? (Revelation 17:4). What does she have in her hand?

Note: The woman is clothed in regal attire that a king or queen would wear. Scarlet and purple are royal colors.

5. What is the name written on her forehead? (Revelation 17:5).

Note: It was a custom of Roman prostitutes to wear a headband with their name written on it. To a Bible student the phrase "Mystery Babylon the great, the Mother of Harlots" could be a prophetic phrase referring to the Protestant Churches being daughters of their Mother Church in which they broke off of in the Protestant reformation. The word "mystery" comes from the Greek word "musterion" and from a derivative of muo (to shut the mouth); a secret or "mystery". This could be referring to the Babylonian Mystery religion based on paganism.

6. Was this woman responsible for the blood of many saints and martyrs of Jesus? (Revelation 17:6). Was John amazed at this?

7. Is the angel going to explain this mystery to John? (Revelation 17:7).

8. Will those people whose names are not written in the Book of Life marvel when they see the Beast that was, and is not, and yet is? (Revelation 17:8). Does the Book of Life contain the names of the true converted Saints who are overcoming sin and will they inherit the Kingdom of God in the first resurrection and not be cast into the lake of fire? (Revelation 3:5, 20:15). When did the Beast come up out of the bottomless pit or abyss? (Revelation 9:1-2). The Beast comes out of the bottomless pit or abys and rises up and is responsible for bringing the fifth trumpet plague upon the world.

Note: The phrase "the beast that was, and is not, and yet is" is referring to a time setting depending where you are in history. When John wrote this in 100 A.D. the Roman Empire was strong. The ‘beast that was and is not’ could not be referring to the Roman Empire in Johns’ day. It had to be referring to sometime in the future after the fall of Rome in 476 A.D.

9. Does the angel explain to John that the seven heads are seven mountains? (Revelation 17:9). What is the term mountain symbolize in Bible prophecy? (Isaiah 2:2).

Note: Mountain symbolizes a great government or power and hills then would symbolize minor governments.

10. What does the angel say about the seven kings? (Revelation 17:10).

Note: The seven kings are the kings in power over the seven governments of Verse 9. The seven heads in Verse 9 are the seven governments in which the harlot sits on or had been enthroned upon and known as the Holy Roman Empire and it’s revivals.

The seven heads of Revelation 17 are: 1. "Imperial Restoration" of the Roman Empire by Justinian 554 A.D. He recognized the supremacy of the Pope and submitted to him.

2. Frankish Kingdom began in 774. Charlemagne crowned by Pope in 800 A.D.

3. Holy Roman Empire (German head) Otto the Great crowned by the Pope in 962.

4. Hapsburg Dynasty (Austrian head), Charles the Great crowned by Pope in 1520.

5. Napoleon’s Kingdom (French head), crowned by the Pope in 1805.

6. Italy, united by Garibaldi 1870 to 1945.

7. Revived Roman Empire by ten dictators.

The angel said that five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. There is only one time in history when this could have been the case. This pinpoints for us when the understanding of this vision would come as God would reveal it. The understanding would come when the sixth head or empire was in power on the world scene during World War II. The five empires before this have come and gone and fallen. The ‘one’ that ‘is’ is at the time setting of World War II and the sixth head represented the Axis power. The ‘other has not yet come’ would represent the last revival of the Holy Roman Empire in the ‘end time’ when the harlot rides the Beast.

11.  Is the beast that was, and is not, also the eighth, and is of the seven? (Revelation 17:11). Is he going into perdition?

Note: Believe it or not, this verse helps us to understand the historical basis of this beast that is and is not, even he is the eighth and of the seven and goes into destruction. The eighth head will be just like the ones before it, but one of the seven heads was different, because that head was not ridden by the woman harlot. The harlot only rides seven heads but this prophecy says that there was another head and that makes eight heads. The sixth head fueled the flames of World War II but what about World War I?

In the Encyclopedia Britannica under the heading Third Reich we read the following: "The Third Reich is the official designation for the Nazi Party's regime in Germany from January 1933 to May 1945. The name reflects Adolf Hitler's conception of his expansionist regime—which he predicted would last 1,000 years—as the presumed successor of the Holy Roman Empire (800–1806, the First Reich) and the German empire under the Hohenzollern dynasty (1871–1918, the Second Reich)."

The Second German Reich was involved in World War I which occurred from 1914-1918 but there were no claims of it being a Holy Roman Empire. Therefore this Second German Reich fulfills Verse 11 in that "the beast that was" part of the Roman Empire, "and is not" part of the Holy Roman Empire, "is himself also the eighth" king or kingdom, "and is of the seven" who are part of the Holy Roman Empire, "and is going to perdition", it was destroyed by the Allied Forces of World War I.

12. Does the ten horns which the apostle John saw represent ten kings who had not received a kingdom as to when the understanding of this prophecy was made known during the sixth head or empire that was in power on the world scene during World War II? (Revelation 17:12). After the sixth head or sixth government has come and gone and it is time for the seventh head, will the ten kings receive authority and power for one hour as kings with the beast? (Same verse). Did they receive their power and authority from Satan the Devil? (Revelation 9:11). Did King Nebuchadnezzar have a dream and did it escape him? (Daniel 2:1-3). Did Daniel interpret the dream? (Daniel 2:27-28). Did King Nebuchadnezzar dream about an image of gold, silver, bronze and clay? (Daniel 2:31-35). Did the image have feet with ten toes? (Daniel 2:41-42).

Note: The ten horns or ten kings of Revelation 17:12 are a fulfillment of the ten toes of Daniel 2. These ten kings will get their power from Satan the devil who is the angel of the bottomless pit. These ten kings will share their power of one hour with the Beast. Did Jesus tell the Church of Philadelphia that He would keep them from the hour of trial that would come upon the whole world? (Revelation 3:10). One hour is a Greek idiom and represents a short duration of time. This one hour may represent the three and one half years during the tribulation period.

13. Do these ten kings agree and have one purpose of mind and do they give their power and authority to the Beast? (Revelation 17:13).

14. Will the Beast and the ten kings make war with the Lamb? (Revelation 17:14). Is Jesus the Lamb? (John 1:29, 36). Is Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings? (Revelation 17:14). Who is with Jesus Christ? (Revelation 14:1-5, Matthew 25:21, 20:16, John 6:44, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.)

Note: Those who fight with Christ are the resurrected Saints who will follow the Lamb wherever He goes.

15. Do the waters that the apostle John saw where the harlot sits represent peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues? (Revelation 17:15.)

16. Will the ten horns which represents ten kings and governments come to hate the harlot and destroy her with fire? (Revelation 17:16.) Did God instruct that if a daughter of a priest was a harlot that she should be burned with fire? (Leviticus 21:9.)

Note: Something causes the ten kings to become disenchanted with the false church. If we read between the lines of what happened in the trumpet plagues, it is obvious that the false church which is led by the false prophet, who is possessed by Satan and who was able to do great miracles of even calling fire down out of heaven (Revelation 13:13), made promises that as long as the people surrendered to the power of the church, that nothing would be allowed to happen to them, and they would receive diving protection. This is why the Beast thinks he can turn on the nations of the east with their two hundred million man army and feels that he has nothing to fear and he torments them with chemical or biological warfare for five months as described in the fifth trumpet plague of Revelation 9:1-12. But when God loosens the four angels at the Euphrates River, the next thing that happened is a one hour nuclear war that literally destroys all of Europe and the ten kings which are down in the Middle East with the Beast and the False Prophet are going to hate the harlot because the harlot lied. The false church was not able to provide protection that it said it could. They then will destroy the false church.

17. Did God put it into their hearts to fulfill his plan and purpose? (Revelation 17:17-18.) Was the woman that John saw a great city that reigns over the kings of the earth?