The Mystery Explained

One of the angels with the seven bowls takes John into the wilderness to show him the judgment of the great city. He sees a woman sitting on a scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns. She is dressed in purple and scarlet and covered with gold, jewels, and pearls. She holds a golden cup full of wickedness. On her forehead is a name: Babylon the great. She is drunk with the blood of the saints.

Readers have long understood her as a picture of a rich, proud world system that leads people away from God and persecutes his people. In the Bible, the name Babylon recalls the empire that destroyed Jerusalem. John is amazed, and the angel explains the mystery. The seven heads are seven mountains and seven kings. The ten horns are ten kings who give their power to the beast. The waters she sits on are peoples, nations, and languages.

Then comes the key promise. These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings. Those with him are called, chosen, and faithful. In the end, the beast and its allies turn against the city and ruin her. Even evil powers end up serving God’s purpose until his words are fulfilled.