Revelation 17:1, 7; I will Show Unto Thee the Judgment

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Revelation 17:1 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: … 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. 

An introductory word on the close relationship between chapter 17 and 18 is necessary, since both chapters deal with Babylon, albeit from different angles. Brief notices of Babylon’s destruction are given in Revelation 14:8 and Revelation 16:19 but chapters 17 and 19 fill in all the details of God’s judgment on a guilty religious system. It is essential to take all these passages and read them as one.

Revelation 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 

Revelation 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. 

In Revelation 17, we have …

  • mystical Babylon,
  • a corrupt system,
  • an apostate Christendom,
  • the whore and the beast,
  • religious pretension, and
  • the delight of the kings of the earth over the drunken harlot, “Mystery Babylon.”

In Revelation 18, we have …

  • material Babylon,
  • a doomed city.
  • godless commericialism
  • God and Babylon,
  • worldly pride, and
  • the rulers and merchants of earth wailing and lamenting over the destruction of commercial Babylon.

It is fitting that one of the seven angels responsible for pouring out the seven bowls of wrath should explain to John the judgment already pronounced upon Babylon. Two significant phrases seemed to divide this seventeenth chapter:

  • “I will show unto thee the judgment (Revelation 17:1).
  • “I will tell thee the mystery (Revelation 17:7).

The twofold development of the chapter is clearly evident:

  • The great whore dominates the beast (v1-7).
  • The beast destroyed the great whore (v8-18).