The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (306 page)

17:1-18:24
The visions that follow are directly related to the seventh bowl of wrath in 16:17-21, giving a more in-depth look at this final calamity. 
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17:1-6
John sees a seductive
harlot
riding atop a
scarlet beast.
The woman, popularly known as the whore of Babylon, is said to be "the great city" (17:18), a title earlier given to the city where Jesus was crucified (11:8). The beast, having seven heads and ten horns, was earlier described as the beast from the sea (13:1) and appears to be the Roman Empire, with its capital city Rome represented by seven hills (17:9). For background, see notes on Rev 11:8, 13:1-2, and essay:
Who Is Babylon?
at Rev 18. • Sinful cities are sometimes described as harlots in the Bible. On two occasions, this is said of a pagan metropolis, one being Tyre (Is 23:17) and the other Nineveh (Nahum 3:4). However, the charge is proverbially made against Jerusalem for her spiritual promiscuity with pagan nations (Is 1:21; Jer 2:20; Ezek 16:1-25; 23:1-4, 11, 30). 
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17:1 seated:
Symbolizes the unholy alliance between the harlot city and the pagan power with whom she is united in opposition to the Christian message. Multiple images are used to depict these partners in crime but always with the same posture: John sees a harlot
seated
on the waters (17:1, 15), a woman
sitting
on a beast (17:3), and a woman
seated
on seven hills (17:9). Violent action was taken against early Christians by both the harlot city (17:6; 18:24) and the beast (11:7; 13:7).
many waters:
Symbolic of the Gentile world, according to 17:15. It fittingly stands for the multinational Roman Empire. • Allusion is made to the Greek version of Jer 51:13, which depicts ancient Babylon dwelling upon "many waters". 
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17:2 fornication:
The language of sexual immorality is symbolic of spiritual immorality. In the Bible, acts of harlotry point to transgressions of the covenant, such as idolatry and alliances with godless nations (cf. Ex 34:15-16; Ezek 16:26-29; 23:30; Hos 1:2).
wine:
Sins of violence have filled the harlot's cup with the innocent blood of Christians (17:6). 
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17:3 in the Spirit:
The Greek expression, which also appears in 1:10 and 21:10, is ambiguous. As rendered in the RSV, it suggests John's visions are granted by the Holy Spirit and consist of mystical experiences perceived to be in different locations. It could also be translated "in spirit" and refer to John's interior awareness of the revelations he received.
scarlet beast:
Resembles the Satanic dragon in color (red, 12:3) and appearance (seven heads and ten horns, 12:3). 
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17:4 scarlet
 . . .
gold:
Jeremiah once described Judah and Jerusalem as a harlot (Jer 2:20) dressed in scarlet and decked in gold finery (Jer 4:30). Ezekiel likewise pictured Jerusalem as a young woman arrayed in gold and fine linen (Ezek 16:13) who became a harlot (Ezek 16:2, 15).
golden cup:
The image comes from Jer 51:7, which depicts Babylon as a golden cup filled with the wine of madness. 
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17:5 her forehead:
Recalls the mark of the beast (13:1618). 
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17:6 drunk with the blood:
I.e., guilty of murderous bloodshed (18:24). • The vision recalls OT laws that declare the consumption of blood an abomination before the Lord (Lev 3:17; 17:10). 
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17:8 was, and is not, and is to ascend:
The description of the beast is a parody of the Lord's name in 1:4, 8, and 4:8. Some interpret this as an allusion to the Nero
redivivus
legend, a popular belief in the first century that Nero, despite reports of his death, had secretly escaped to Parthia and would return with an army to reclaim the Roman Empire. Ultimately, it seems to refer to the "coming" of the Antichrist at the end of time (2Thess 2:8-10), the lawless one whom Paul calls "the son of perdition" (2 Thess 2:3).
bottomless pit:
The abyss.
See note on Rev 9:1
.
perdition:
The beast is destined for the lake of eternal fire (19:20).
book of life:
A heavenly registry of the saints.
See note on Rev 20:12
. 
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17:9 seven hills:
A representation of Rome, the city that sprawls over seven hills, according to the writers of classical antiquity (e.g., Virgil,
Aeneid
6, 783; Cicero,
To Atticus
6, 5; Martial,
Epigrams
4, 64). Many interpreters, ancient and modern alike, identify the harlot city with Rome on the basis of this tradition, though some see a reference to Jerusalem, noting that it, too, was said to rest on seven hills according to one rabbinic tradition (
Pirqe de Rabbi Eleazar
10). Interestingly, there is reason to think that two historical referents are in view here rather than one and that Jerusalem and Rome both form part of the picture. Throughout the chapter, the apocalyptic symbolism is stacked so that the upper images (harlot-city-woman) are distinguished from the lower images (beast-hills-waters). It is thus possible to identify Jerusalem as the harlot city who joins forces with the beastly power of Rome in opposition to Christianity. See notes on Rev 17:1 and 17:16. 
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17:10 seven kings:
Numerous interpretations of this have been offered. Read symbolically, it is said to represent all earthly kings, all the Roman emperors, or all the empires of history until the end of time. Read literally, it is often said to stand for seven Roman emperors, the sixth in succession being either Nero (
A.D.
54 to 68) or Domitian (
A.D.
81 to 96), both of whom were followed by emperors who ruled only a short time. For the most part, ancient Roman and Jewish authors counted Julius Caesar as the first emperor, in which case Nero is the sixth of Rome's first seven dictators (e.g., Suetonius,
Lives of the Twelve Caesars;
Josephus,
Antiquities
18, 32;
4 Ezra
12, 14-15). 
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17:12 ten kings:
Presumably rulers of a lower rank than the Caesars mentioned in 17:10. Their identity is a mystery, but their destiny is made clear in 19:17-21.
one hour:
Corresponds to the "hour" of divine judgment (14:7, 15) when the harlot city is destroyed (18:10, 17, 19). 
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17:16 make her
 . . .
naked:
A public disgracing of the harlot. • It recalls how the Lord, in OT times, punished the "brazen harlot" Jerusalem (Ezek 16:30) by sending her Gentile lovers to strip her naked and stone her (Ezek 16:35-43; 23:22-31).
burn her up with fire:
If the harlot is Jerusalem, this symbolizes the Roman conquest of the city in
A.D.
70. Interpreters who see the main referent throughout the chapter as Rome (or Jerusalem) exclusively often read this in terms of self-destruction caused by infighting or civil war. 
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17:18 dominion:
The language of political sovereignty points to a corruptive spiritual influence that leads other nations into deception (18:23). (1) If the city is Jerusalem, this could refer to the effort of official Judaism to slander the Christian movement and turn the Gentile world against it. (2) If the city is Rome, its political dominance over the Mediterranean world is in view, along with the spread of spiritual corruption through the cult of the emperors.
See note on Rev 13:11
. 
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18:1-24
A dirge over the death of the harlot city Babylon. • Several images and expressions in this chapter are taken from the judgment oracles of the Prophets, especially Jeremiah's condemnation of ancient Babylon in Jer 50-51. The cry that Babylon is
fallen
(18:2) recalls Jer 51:8; the charge that nations have
drunk
her
wine
(18:3) recalls Jer 51:7; the call to come
out of her
(18:4) recalls Jer 50:8 and 51:45; the vision of her sins
heaped high as heaven
(18:5) recalls Jer 51:9; the judgment by
fire
(18:8) recalls Jer 50:32 and 51:30; the rejoicing of
heaven
(18:20) recalls Jer 51:48; the image of a stone hurled
into the sea
(18:21) recalls Jer 51:63-64; and scenes of the
slain
(18:24) filling the city recalls Jer 51:49. • Babylon and the harlot, whose smoke goes up forever, are none other than the lustful, the adulterous, and the arrogant. If you wish to escape such punishments, have no desire to commit such grave sins. For in the present age, Babylon is always going to destruction and burning up in part (St. Caesarius of Arles,
Exposition of the Apocalypse,
homily 18). 
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