Why is the woman in Revelation 17 drunk with the blood of the saints?
The woman represents the religious system, and she is drunk with the blood of the saints because religion has been the persecutor of true believers. She is filled with the blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus, picturing religious persecution rather than political oppression alone.
Les explains that in Revelation 17 the woman symbolizes the religious system, just as the beast symbolizes the political system. John saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. The context asks who has been the persecutor of true believers, and the answer is religion of one sort or another. So the woman is intoxicated with the blood of the saints because false religious systems have persecuted and killed true believers. John marveled at her wealth, pomp, circumstance, and power, and the angel offered to explain the mystery of the woman and the beast that carries her.
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
What does the woman represent in Revelation 17?
In Revelation 17, 'the woman' represents the religious system, just as 'the beast' represents the political system.