Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Revelation 17:18

"And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." — Revelation 17:18 (ASV)

The “woman” and “the great city” are one. Yet this city is not just a historical one; it is the great city, the mother city, the archetype of every evil system opposed to God in history . Her kingdom holds sway over the powers of the earth. The cities in Revelation are communities, of which there are only two: the city of God, the New Jerusalem (3:12; 21:2, 10; 22:2ff.), and the city of Satan, Babylon the Great (11:8; 14:8; 16:19; 18:4, 20; et al.). The meaning cannot be confined to any earthly cities. Instead, John describes the real transhistorical system of satanic evil that infuses them all.