Sermon: The Harlot And The Beast: Revelation 17:7-18

Old Testament Reading: Daniel 7:15-28

“As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me. I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. ‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’ Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus he said: ‘As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it to pieces. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings. He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end. And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’ Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.”” (Daniel 7:15–28, ESV)

Sermon Text: Revelation 17:6-18

“And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I marveled greatly. But the angel said to me, ‘Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.’ And the angel said to me, ‘The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.’” (Revelation 17:6–18, ESV)

Introduction

I think that most people would agree that this world is a messed up place. That is not to say there is no good in it at all. Indeed, by the grace of God, there is good in the world. There is beauty to behold. There are things to be rightly enjoyed. There is truth to be found here. There are people who do live virtuously. And there are even some who do worship God according to his word, seeking to keep his commandments.

The world, by the grace of God (both his common grace and saving grace), has not been delivered over to sin, and to the effects of sin, completely. Something of the Creator can still be seen within his creation. God is active in this place. He does show grace to all, causing it to rain upon the just and unjust alike. Indeed, it is in him that we all “live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28, ESV). And he has shown saving grace to some, redeeming them out of the world by the blood of Christ, and by calling them to faith in Christ by his word and Spirit.

And so the Christian cannot be absolutely negative concerning this world in which we live. Indeed, we are sometimes moved to say, “what a wonderful world this is!”, and we are right to say it! But when we say it, you know as well as do I, that it will not take long for something to happen, or for some piece of news to reach our ears, which does remind us that something is terribly wrong with this world in which we live.

The book of Revelation does reveal, among other things, what is wrong with the world. It reveals something of the source of the troubles that do plague us. This book shows us, through its symbolic visions, that behind all of the sin and suffering that we see in the world lies an ancient, cosmic, and spiritual battle.

In the beginning Satan himself did rebel against God. And that dragon – the ancient serpent – did tempt man to rebel against God. But God, being rich in mercy showed grace to fallen humanity. In his common grace he did not immediately judge man fully and finally, but does permit us to live, making “his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45, ESV). And in his special and saving grace he calls his chosen people out of the world to walk with him by faith in Christ. To put it in different terms, God is building his kingdom in this world, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18, ESV), and Satan is seeking to keep his.

Here in Revelation 17 we are learning more about how Satan works in this world. He does not always work directly to deceive his subjects and hold them captive, but often he works through agents. In Revelation 13 we learned that the evil one (the dragon) works uses political powers to persecute the people of God. Also, he uses false prophets to deceive men and women. These two powers that are always at work in the world were there symbolized by the beast that rose from the sea and the beast that rose up out of the earth. Here in Revelation 17 we are introduced to third agent. She is called “the great prostitute who is seated on many waters” (Revelation 17:1, ESV). Her name is “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations” (Revelation 17:5, ESV). She symbolizes the seductiveness of the world – money, power, fame, sexual immorality, and every filthy thing that the evil one does use to pull on the heart of man, drawing him away from the worship of the living God to idolatry.

We now have in the book of Revelation a kind of false or counterfeit trinity – the beast from the sea, the false prophet, and the harlot. These compel men and women to worship, not the one true God, but the things of this world, and ultimately the dragon whom they serve. These figures are presented to us so that we might understand something of how the evil one works in the world, and having understood it, to bear up under the temptation, so that we might conquer in Christ Jesus.

Notice that the beast from the sea of Revelation 13 and harlot of Revelation 17 are intimately related. The have a kind of symbiotic relationship, where the one benefits from and promotes the activities of the other.

In verse 3 John “saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns” (Revelation 17:3, ESV). This is the beast from the sea of Revelation 13. Here we learn that his color is red. It matches the color of the dragon of Revelation 12. It also matches the color of the prostitutes apparel. Red symbolizes blood and their persecution of the saints of God.

The fact that the harlot is riding upon the beast indicates that, although they represent different entities, they are in partnership with one another. The beast, who represents political powers that persecute, and the harlot, who represents the world in all of its seductive and sinful pleasures, motivate one another and cooperate in their effort to lead people away into idolatry. The harlot rides the beast, and thus drives it, as a rider does with a horse.And the beast carries the harlot, and thus empowers her, as a horse does its rider.

Something new is, therefore, revealed to us here in Revelation 17 concerning the sea beast of Revelation 13. One, we learn that political powers that persecute, and the rulers that rule them, are often driven by an insatiable desire for the pleasures of this world – money, power, fame, sexual immorality, and every abominable thing. Two, we learn that political powers that persecute use, not only brute force to make men comply with them, but also, in partnership with the seductiveness of the cultures of this world symbolized by the harlot, use the promise of the same pleasures that they themselves enjoy to lure others into idolatry. The combination is a powerful and deadly one. “Conform to our ways”, says the world, “If you will not we will use our powers to persecute you with force”. And, “conform to our ways”, says the world. “and you yourself will enjoy the pleasures that we enjoy – money, power, fame, sexual immorality, and the like”. It takes a special kind of resolve to stand against temptation such as this and to overcome. It takes faith. Faith in Christ, and faith that what God’s word say concerning the true nature of things is in fact true.

Why Do You Marvel? 

When John saw the image of the harlot “drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” in partnership with the beast, he “marveled greatly” (Revelation 17:6, ESV). He marveled, not because he was drawn to her, but because he recognized her seductive power.

The angle then said, John, “why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her” (Revelation 17:7, ESV). What follows, then, is an explanation of the symbolism of these two figures.

The Mystery The Beast

First, the angel provides an explanation of the beast that carries the woman.

Verse 8a: “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction.”

It is easy to hear the mockery of this member of the counterfeit trinity.

The threefold expression, “was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction” is meant to be contrasted with the description of the one true God in Revelation 1:4: “John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come” (Revelation 1:4, ESV). God is, was and is to come. He is eternal. His life and power are without end.

Also, we are to remember Christ’s description of himself in 1:18: “Fear not”, Christ said to John, “I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (Revelation 1:17–18, ESV).

The beast, though impressive to our sight, is nothing before God and Christ. That he “was” indicates that there was a time when his power was greater. That he “is not”indicates that his power has, in some ways been broken and restrained by the time of John’s writing (the beast, though still active in the world, was defeated at the resurrection and ascension of Christ). And that he “is about to rise from the bottomless pit” indicates that a day will come when this beast will be unleashed, not to victory, but to ultimate judgement.

In verse 8b we read, “And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.” (Revelation 17:8, ESV)

Here is the interpretation that I believe to be correct. The beast, representing political powers that persecute the church, is restrained now (he “is not”). God is restraining the political powers of this world from gaining too much power to oppress the people of God. At the end of time this beast will be released for a while, and he will come against the people of God to overthrow them. Those of the world will be impressed. They are called “dwellers on earth”, for this is their home. They are the ones “whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world”.They “marvel to see the beast”. It is not that the world will have been without political powers that persecute between the time of John’s writing and the the time of the end. Indeed, the world will always have manifestations of the beasts power in it. But the beast “is not”. His power is now restrained. But at the end of time he will be released  – he will “rise from the bottomless pit” so that that his power will grow in a way that is impressive to the earth dwellers. Here at the end of verse 8 the text says that the beast “was and is not and is to come”. The “is to come” refers to the time where he will be released from the pit for while to come against the saints of God, and to be fully and finally judged.

And so here in verse 8 we have a kind of general overview of how the career of the beast will go in the world between Christ’s first and second comings. He “was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction.” And again, he “was and is not and is to come.”

The angel now interprets the symbolism of the beast’s seven heads. In verse 9 we read: “This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated…” (Revelation 17:9, ESV).

Notice that there is a shift in the metaphor. The angel says, “the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated.” What, then, do the seven mountains symbolize? The answer is clear. They represent Rome. Rome, from ancient times and down to the present, is known as “the city of seven hills”. They are here called mountains because mountains symbolize power. Rome was the dominant world power in the first century A.D. The seven churches to whom Revelation was addresses lived under Roman rule. The Christians of the first century did, from time to time, come under Roman persecution. Clearly the present manifestation of the beast’s power for the original recipients of this letter was Rome. That is upon the “seven mountains [that]… the woman is seated” signifies that Rome does also have the power to seduce with it’s economic and religious systems.

In verse 10 we read that the seven heads are “are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while” (Revelation 17:10, ESV).

So the seven heads also symbolize a succession of kings or kingdoms. From the perspective of the original recipients of the book of Revelation, five had fallen, one was in power currently, and the other had not yet come to power, and would remain only a short while.

There are some (in fact, many) commentators who try to identify those kings with precision, saying that they represent seven particular Roman Emperors – “Roman Emperor so and so was number one, this Emperor was number six (the one alive at the writing of Revelation), and that one was number seven.”

I agree with those commentators such as Beale and Johnson who question the validity of such an approach. It is better to see that the symbolism of the book of Revelation does not work with such precision, but often communicates truths in a more general way.

The fact that the commentators who seek such precision rarely can agree on the proper numbering of Roman Emperors, and the fact that all of the their views are filled with certain problems, should caution us against interpreting the text in such an exact way.

I do not wish to get too bogged down here, but here is a chart which shows five different ways in which commentators have attempted to number the Roman Emperors according to the number seven (or eight, as we will see) found in Revelation 17.

Date of Reign	Emperor	Possible Enumerations of the Reign in Rev. 17:10
49–44 b.c.	Caesar	1	1
31 b.c.–a.d.14	Augustus	2	2	1	1
14–37	Tiberius	3	3	2	2
37–41	Caligula	4	4	3	3	1
41–54	Claudius	5	5	4	4	2
54–68	Nero	6	6	5	5	3
68–69	Galba	7		6
69	Otho	8		7
69	Vitellius			8
69–79	Vespasian		7		6	4
79–81	Titus		8		7	5
81–96	Domitian				8	6

(Taken from Beale)

It is far better to take the number seven as symbolic for completion. The recipients of the book of Revelation were living historically near to the end of the succession of kings or kingdoms symbolized by the seven heads of the dragon. Quoting Johnson,

“The solution to the puzzle may be simpler, if understanding the message of the seven or eight kings is not dependent on historiographic expertise: Seven symbolizes completeness, so it shows that the beast’s reign apparently holds sway over the whole history of fallen humanity. Yet from the perspective of God’s plan to establish his kingdom under the scepter of the Lamb, the beast’s time is drawing short – five out of seven already ‘have fallen.’ To be sure, John’s readers are not yet at the very end of the conflict of the ages. The one king who ‘has not yet come’ and must ‘remain a little while’ shows that, though the dragon has been decisively defeated by the blood of the Lamb and therefore ‘has only a short time’ (Rev. 12:!1-12), nevertheless the church must be prepared to endure further suffering” (Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, 250-251).

This, I think, is the right approach.

In verse11 we read, “As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction” (Revelation 17:11, ESV). After the seventh king does reign, the beast himself will reign as number eight. When the text says that “it belongs to the seven” it does not mean that he is to be number along with the seven, but that he of the same kind. Better yet, the seven are of the same kind as the beast who is eight. They are cut from the same cloth. At the end of time, when the beast “[rises] from the bottomless pit” the political powers on earth will persecute the people of God in such a way that it will right to say, the beast himself does reign, and then he will “go to destruction”.

The way that John talks about the beast here is similar to the way that he talks about the anti-Christ in his other writings. There are many anti-Christ’s in the world now, but there will come a day when the Anti-Christ will appear.

In verse 12 we read, “And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast” (Revelation 17:12, ESV).

These ten horns symbolize ten kings who will “receive authority as kings for one hour”. This reference to ten kings who reign only briefly is another way of referring to the the seventh king of verse 10 of whom it is said “when he does come he must remain only a little while”. In other words, the seven kings do not represent individual kings, but kingdoms. The ten kings refer to a corporation of kings and kingdoms at the end of time who, being empowered by the beast who “will rise from the bottomless pit”, will persecute the people of God. The number ten, like the number seven, is not to be taken literally, but also communicates completion. The number ten has also been used in the book of Revelation to stand for a complete, intense, but brief period of persecution for the church. To the church in Smyrna Christ did say, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10, ESV). The ten kings of Revelation 17 stand for the end time world powers that, in a most intense way, and being motivated by the beast released from the pit, will seek to overrun the church of God that does remain in the world.

Verse 13: “These [ten kings] are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast” (Revelation 17:13, ESV). They are of one mind as it pertains to their opposition of God and his people. The are, in a most pure way, compelled by the beast.

Verse 14: “They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” (Revelation 17:14, ESV).  The battle at the end of time will be between the beast and his army, compose of all who are of this world, and the Lamb and his army, composed of the elect.

As you know, the book of Revelation does recapitulate, and so it should be no surprise to you that we will be given another picture of this end time battle later in the book. Look at Revelation 19:17. There we hear John say,

“Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, ‘Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.’ And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh” (Revelation 19:17–21, ESV).

Can you picture it, then? In human history the dragon has always been active (Revelation12). He works through his agents, the beast, the false prophet (Revelation 13) and the harlot (Revelation 17), to oppose God, his kingdom, and his people. There has been a never ending succession of world powers, symbolized the beast and harlot together,  who do threaten the people of God with their strength and seduce them with their pleasures. At the time of the writing of the book of Revelation, Rome was that power. The succession of powers has continued from that time, and will continue to the end of the world. Near to the end of the world there will be an intensification of this power when the beast is released from the pit where he is now restrained. He will persecute the people of God through his ten kings. The persecution will be brief, and then the beast and his kings will go to destruction.

The Mystery Of The Woman

In verses 15 through 17 we have a brief explanation of the symbolism of the woman.

In verse 15 we read, “And the angel said to me, ‘The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages” (Revelation 17:15, ESV).

The prostitute was said in verse 1 to be seated on many waters. This imagery conjures up throughs of Babylon, situated on the Tigris and Euphrates, and even Egypt, situated on the Nile. That she is seated on these waters indicates her authority. When a king is said to be seated on his through, it refers to his authority. When Christ is said to be seated at the Father’s right hand, it refers to the authority. The woman seated on many waters signifies the power and authority that she has over the kingdoms of the world.  “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.” It is worth noting that she has authority, not over one nation, but man. The symbolism in this passage cannot be confined only to Rome, or to any other power, but has universal and timeless significance.

Verse 16 reveals something surprising: “And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire…” (Revelation 17:16, ESV).

At the end of time the beast and its kings will turn on the prostitute. The world power symbolized by the beast and the harlot will somehow self destruct. The political powers will turn on the culture to devour it. It is not hard to imagine how this could be for we have seen examples of this in human history with the rise and fall of nations.

Why does the beast turn on the harlot? Verse 17: “for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled” (Revelation 17:17, ESV).

Where is God in all of this? He is enthroned. He does permit it the rise of nations, including those at the end of time, and does ordain their destruction. Sometimes he executes his judgments by simply given men over to their corruptions. Much like when he hardened Pharaohs heart to bring about his greater purposes, so too will he “put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose”.

Verse 18: “And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth” (Revelation 17:18, ESV). It was Babylon in the days of Israel’s captivity. It was Rome in the days of the early church. There are manifestations of it in our day. Who it will be at the end of time, only God knows. There is no point in speculating. What we need to know has been clearly communicated here, and we must be faithful to Christ.

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, these visions are given so that we might see the world for what it truly is. Yes, in many ways the world is filled with the glory of God, but it is all twisted up by sin, bent away from God and towards evil. There is a power at work in this world that is Satanic in its origin.

We should not be completely negative in our view the world for, by the grace of God, there is much good in it. But neither should we be naive. The Christian is, therefore, to live in the world, but be not of it.

Worldly power do tend away from God and towards evil. The cultures of the world are seductive  and promote, not the worship of the one true God, but idolatry.

This principle is what undergirded Paul’s famous words to the Christians at Ephesus when he said,

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:1–10, ESV).