Revelation 17:7 - Meaning and Application

Here the mystery of the vision is explained. The apostle is amazed at what he sees in this woman, and the angel steps in to open the meaning of the vision. This explanation is the key to the earlier visions. He tells John what the beast under the woman means, but even this explanation still needs more unpacking.

This beast “was, and is not, and yet is.” That is, it once stood for idolatry and persecution, then it was no longer in its old pagan form, and yet it still remained a real center of idolatry and cruel power, though in a different shape. It comes up from the bottomless pit, because idolatry and cruelty are the work of hell, and it will return there and end in destruction.

The beast has seven heads, and these carry a double meaning. They point first to seven mountains, the seven hills on which Rome stands. They also point to seven kinds of rule. Rome was governed in turn by kings, consuls, tribunes, decemvirs, dictators, pagan emperors, and Christian emperors. Five of these forms of rule had already ended when this prophecy was written. One was then in place, the pagan emperor, and another, the Christian emperor, was still to come (Revelation 17:10). The beast, understood as the papacy, makes an eighth ruler and brings idolatry back again.

The beast also had ten horns. These are described as ten kings who had not yet received kingdoms. Some understand this to mean that they would not rise until the Roman empire was broken into pieces. Others take it to mean that they would not rise until near the end of antichrist’s reign. In either case, they would reign with the woman for only a short time, yet during that time they would be very united and very eager to support her cause. They would give up their own power and income, things that princes usually value highly, because of their blind attachment to the papacy.