Revelation 17:1-18
“I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters... And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast... having seven heads and ten horns... And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS...”
King James Version
Babylon the great — the harlot on the seven-headed beast, drunk with the blood of the saints — and the angel's interpretation of the heads and horns.
Fulfillment References
Jeremiah 51:6-13 Revelation 18:1-24 Isaiah 21:9 Daniel 7:7
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalBabylon, drunk with the saints' blood, falls before the one Lord; His faithful are called out of her (18:4).
JewishBabylon evokes the great oppressor-city of the prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah), the archetype of God-opposing empire.
CatholicBabylon as the worldly, persecuting anti-city opposed to the city of God.
ProtestantBabylon as the seductive, persecuting world-system allied with the beast; views differ on its precise referent.
OrthodoxBabylon the great as the fallen world-order arrayed against the Church.
DispensationalA future religious and commercial Babylon (and/or revived Rome) judged in the Tribulation.
Academic17:9's 'seven mountains' is widely linked to Rome's seven hills; the heads as emperors invites historical decoding (Aune, Koester).
Scholarship & Sources
17:9 ('seven mountains on which the woman sitteth') strongly evokes Rome's seven hills, and 17:18 names her 'that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth' — Rome in the first century. The seven kings (17:10) have generated detailed emperor-counting debates. Babylon's fall reworks Jeremiah 50-51 and Isaiah 13, 21.
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Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, PhD · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.