Overflowing Grace

Ch.

1 And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I shall show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,

2 with whom the kings of the earth committed [acts of] immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality."

3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.

4 And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality,

5 and upon her forehead a name [was] written, a mystery, "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered greatly.

7 And the angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I shall tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

8 "The beast that you saw was and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth will wonder, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.

9 "Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,

10 and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.

11 "And the beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is [one] of the seven, and he goes to destruction.

12 "And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.

13 "These have one purpose and they give their power and authority to the beast.

14 "These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him [are the] called and chosen and faithful."

15 And he said to me, "The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.

16 "And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire.

17 "For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God should be fulfilled.

18 "And the woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth."

Rev. 17:3

And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. [NASB]

My Translation

[my translatio]

Greek

καὶ ἀπήνεγκέν με εἰς ἔρημον ἐν πνεύματι καὶ εἶδον γυναῖκα καθημένην ἐπὶ θηρίον κόκκινον γέμοντα ὀνόματα βλασφημίας ἔχων κεφαλὰς ἑπτὰ καὶ κέρατα δέκα

Hebrew

[hebrew]

Comments

scarlet beast --

This "scarlet beast" is the Antichrist. It is clearly demonic in nature:

Similarities:

Seven Heads and Seven horns
Blasphemous names
The 10 kings who give their power to the Antichrist war against Jesus (the Lamb) and persecute the saints of God.

Additional Information:

Was (existed before), Is not (not present when John wrote), about to come out of the abyss and go to destruction.
The seven heads are mountains/kings. These appear to be the same reference to the seven satanic world-wide empires: Five have fallen: Egypt, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. One is: Rome. One is yet to come and is of short duration: The kingdom that comes out of the Roman Empire that is described as feet, partly of iron and partly of clay, which has 10 toes, apparently corresponding to the 10 kings who give their power to the Antichrist. The beast part of this last empire, but is also a separate empire.
The woman is the "great city" that reigns over the kings of the earth. In Rev. 11:8 the great city is Jerusalem: "the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified."
The 10 kings and the Antichrist hate the woman and "make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire."

(by William Bell - - May 1, 2022, 11:16 a.m.

NASB: New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org