In Revelation 17, what do the woman and the beast represent?
In Revelation 17, the woman represents the religious system, which is drunken with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus and has persecuted true believers. The beast represents the political system that carries her. John marvels at her wealth, pomp, circumstance, and power, and the angel offers to explain the mystery of both.
Les explains that Revelation 17 uses the woman to picture the religious system and the beast to picture the political system. He points out that the woman is drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus, because religion of one sort or another has been the persecutor of true believers. John wondered at her great wealth, pomp, circumstance, and power. The angel then tells John he will reveal the mystery, or secret, of the woman and of the beast that carries her. The surrounding context notes that pagan worship often involved gross immorality, with temples like Diana's functioning as glorified houses of prostitution.
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
More Questions
Why did John marvel in wonder at the woman in Revelation 17?
John 'wondered with great admiration' at the woman because of her wealth, pomp, circumstance, and power.