Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Revelation 17:1

"And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls, and spake with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters;" — Revelation 17:1 (ASV)

“One of the seven angels” connects this vision with the preceding bowl judgments, showing that it is a further expansion or appendix of the final bowl action. John sees a great prostitute (GK 4520) established on many waters. This verse forms a superscription for the chapter. The relationship between prostitution (GK 4518) and idolatry has already been discussed (see comments on 2:14, 20). The prevalence of cult prostitution throughout the ancient world makes this figure appropriate for idolatrous worship (cf. comments on “abominable things” in 17:4 and “magic spell” in 18:23). In the OT, the same figure of a harlot city is used of Nineveh (Nahum 3:4), of Tyre (Isaiah 23:16–17), and of idolatrous Jerusalem (Ezekiel 16:15ff.). The best background for understanding the language of the chapter is not the history of the Roman Empire or the pagan gods but the descriptions of Jerusalem as the harlot in Eze 16 and 23 and Babylon as the harlot in Jer 51. Amazingly, the harlot-city societies mentioned in Scripture have certain common characteristics that are also reflected in John’s description of the great Babylon. Royal dignity and splendor combined with prosperity, overabundance, and luxury (Jeremiah 51:13; Ezekiel 16:13, 49; Nahum 2:9; cf. Revelation 18:3, 7,16–17); self-trust or boastfulness (Isaiah 14:12–14; Jeremiah 50:31; Ezekiel 16:15, 50, 56; Jeremiah 27:3; Jeremiah 28:5; cf. Revelation 18:7); power and violence, especially against God’s people (Jeremiah 51:35, 49; Ezekiel 23:37; Nahum 3:1–3; cf. Revelation 18:10, 24); oppression and injustice (Isaiah 14:4; Ezekiel 16:49; Ezekiel 28:18; cf. Revelation 18:5, 20); and idolatry (Jeremiah 51:47; Ezekiel 16:17, 36; 23:7, 30, 49; Nahum 1:14; cf. Revelation 17:4–5; Nahum 18:3; Nahum 19:2) are all here. Wherever and whenever these characteristics have been manifested historically, there is the appearance of Babylon. The great prostitute “sits on many waters.” This goes back to Jeremiah’s oracle against historical Babylon, situated along the waterways of the Euphrates, with many canals around the city, greatly multiplying its wealth by trade (Jeremiah 51:13). This description has a deeper significance, as is explained in v.15 with “peoples, multitudes, nations and languages”—figurative for the vast influence of the prostitute on the peoples of the world.