The Mystery Woman
The next verses to consider in Revelation are:
“And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.” Rev 17:1-3
Here we have introduced a woman who, we are told, is sitting upon many waters in verse one and upon the Beast in verse three. So where is she really sitting–on the waters or on the beast?
Actually both. Earlier we learned that the Beast rose “up out of the sea.” Revelation 13:1 Apparently the woman is sitting on the Beast, who is sitting upon the sea so in an indirect way the woman is also sitting upon the sea.
A few verses later we learn the interpretation of the waters:
“The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” Revelation 17:15
Water is also a symbol of the emotional nature so we could say that the woman receives her power from the emotionally polarized people of the planet.
Earlier we learned that the Beast represents unjust, unearned authority – authority that expects to be obeyed without question. Then we have this woman sitting upon this powerful authority.
What then is the meaning of the woman and why is she called a whore?
First recall from chapter twelve that there was a woman that signified the female side of God. However, in this case the corrupted woman sees herself as a mystery. The magnetic female energy is not understood and misused.
A whore prostitutes her ability to give pleasure to the highest bidder instead of finding a husband. The scriptures often compare God or Christ to a husband. What does this tell us then? We are to assume that instead of seeking to please God or nourish the spiritual side of our nature the woman is very materialistic and will seek to please those who pay the most in money, authority, power or in a way that appeals to the lower nature or materialism.
This then gives us an interesting picture. Supported by the emotional nature of the masses (the sea) of people are strong authorities, who expect blind obedience (the Beast). This blind obedience is ridden or manipulated by selfish and materialist people (the woman) who take full advantage of the weaknesses of the masses; neither do they care for their suffering. The woman may even present herself as the true handmaiden of God, but for those who have eyes to see she is only a prostitute willing to sell out for material comfort and possessions.
John could see the true nature of the woman only by being carried away “in the spirit” away from the influence of the material world. He saw that the true power of the female is a magnetic force that can almost magically draw to itself the things of the spirit or material goods. In this case only the material is sought.
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: Revelation 17:4
Purple and scarlet were the typical colors of the attire of prostitutes in Rome in John’s day. Just like you can recognize a prostitute in today’s world because of their dress, even so it was in ancient times.
But the meaning goes deeper than this. In today’s world those who prostitute their spiritual nature for riches and power also stand out from the crowd, just as does the dress of a prostitute. Instead of dedicating their surplus money for the benefit of the whole they dedicate it to self.
Here are some of the signs of the dress of the modern-day prostitutes:
- A house much more elaborate than is needed.
- Expensive and numerous cars.
- Expensive, showy jewelry.
- Luxury items like yachts, expensive planes, fine clothes etc.
- Any attempt to possess to feel superior.
Basically, a person does not have to be wealthy to fall into this trap. Maybe two friends are making an average wage but one goes in over his head and buys a new car with the motivation of feeling superior rather than to merely fill a need.
Whatever the case, those who are motivated toward material benefit over service to the whole are easy to spot by how they spend their money and by the “dress” of their lifestyle.
Next, we are told the woman has “a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.”
The golden cup symbolizes the beautiful outward appearance of those submerged in materialism. They seem to have the golden touch. They have a fine home, car, clothes, jewelry, etc. But what was the cost that was paid? Many sell out their spiritual self and all the value they really have is based on illusion, which is the true abomination.
‘And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” Revelation 17:5
It is interesting that the servants of God receive the seal and name of God in their foreheads and the servants of the Beast receive his mark in their foreheads. Now we see that the woman also receives a mark or name in her forehead.
In Rome in John’s day the prostitutes wore a frontlet on their foreheads which had their name written thereon for identification.
Where is the name in the forehead of those wrapped in materialism?
The forehead symbolizes thought and intention. This merely tells us that that those who are part of the female prostitute are identified with “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”
Let us analyze the name:
[1] Mystery: Those caught up in materialism are also caught up in mystery. The female nature is a mystery and the right use of female energy is feared and suppressed. God and creation are mysteries, money is a mystery, their lot in life is a mystery and their belief system is often based upon mysteries to which they have no reasonable explanation. And, most of all, the part played by materialism and selfishness in creating the problems and suffering in the world is a mystery. Because of these mysteries they are motivated to eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.
[2] Babylon: Babylon signifies confusion because of improper mixing. Those caught in materialism mix in some religion and maybe even a little philanthropy for show to hide their real motives. This mixing of God and mammon creates confusion and illusion that makes it difficult to be seen for what they are.
[3] The Great: Greatness is seen in worldly power and money rather than in spiritual power, intelligence and character.
[4] Mother of Harlots: Wrong use of money causes people to prostitute their true nature and female energy.
[5] Abominations of the Earth: Whenever you hear of something happening that causes your stomach to turn there is wrong use of money and material goods involved somewhere along the way.
“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.” Revelation 17:6
The wrong use of material, goods, money and power causes those caught up in the illusion to see those who follow the path of spirit (the saints) as being the enemy and they will seek to destroy them. Many of the martyrs in the history of the planet have been sacrificed to preserve either the money or the power of the harlot or materialistic individuals or groups.
When John saw the true reason and the full picture of why his brethren were martyred, he was amazed at how the pieces to the mystery fit together.
The next few verses are some of the most complex in the Bible and to make any sense of them I’ll have to give the rest of the chapter for consideration:
The next few verses are some of the most complex in the Bible, and to make any sense of them we should first read the rest of the chapter.
“And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the Beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
“The Beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the Beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
“And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
“And the Beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
“And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the Beast.
“These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the Beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
“And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the Beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the Beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.” Rev 17:7-17
Let us begin our analysis with verses 7 and 8:
Let us begin our analysis with verses 7 and 8:
“And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the Beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. The Beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the Beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”
“The Beast that thou sawest was, and is not;” Revelation 17:7-8
This is the Beast of chapter 13. The beast that was and is represented by the seventh head which had the mortal wound. It “was” and then appeared to be been killed.
This mortal wound represents the blow given to the authoritative systems by the U.S. Constitution and the emergence of free governments as well as free religious expression. (See commentary on chapter 13 for a fuller explanation.)
”…and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit,”
The bottomless pit is the emotional world of people on this earth as well as the next world. The bottomless pit for negative entities would be the lower astral (emotional) world after death where there is no bottom (earth or physical bodies) for them to find rest.
The authoritative system which was thought to have a mortal wound will emerge again by relying upon the blind emotional desires of the masses.
”…and go into perdition.”
Perdition cones from the Greek APOLEIA, which more literally means “destruction.”
When humans follow blind emotion as an animal follows its master then destruction is always the end result.
”…and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world,”
It will be amazing to watch the loss of freedoms and the restoration of unjust authority to rule over the people. All will be amazed except those whose names are written in the book of life–or have the life of the soul and spirit flowing through them. These will know the nature of humanity and will not be surprised.
”…when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”
The seventh head or the kingdom that rules with authority in our time “was.” Then tyrannies seemed to be replaced by freedom, and for a time this head “is not.” Then the deadly wound was healed and the beast again “is.”
We live in the time of the healing of the deadly wound and powerful unjust authority is again expressing itself in all nations. The life of this head of the Beast will increase for a time.
“And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.” Revelation 17:9
In John’s day this had a literal meaning in that Rome was built on seven hills or mountains. When looking for the higher meaning we see that a mountain stands for a kingdom. As explained when commenting on chapter 13 the seven heads represented seven kingdoms of the world during the six thousand years covered in the Bible.
On another turn of the spiral they represent the seven chakras when dominated by the solar plexus which governs emotion.
The woman sits on these seven mountains which tells us that the forces of materialism have dominated for thousands of years.
“And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.”Revelation 17:10
In John’s day five world empires ruled by the Beast had fallen and “one is.” This was the Roman Empire.
“…and the other is not yet come;” John saw the interlocking kingdoms after the fall of the Roman empire that did not yet exist.
“…and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.”
The tyrannical kings and czars of the earth actually lasted for more than a short time. John was, however, not referring to them. He clarifies in the next verse:
“And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.” Revelation 17:11
The beast that continues only a short time is the eighth. What is the eighth?
When the seventh head receives a mortal wound, and is then healed, it becomes the eighth head. This is the power of authority, which is now emerging among all nations. It is seeking to re-establish the power of the kings, but under one head. Fortunately, the world has had a taste of freedom and will only permit its existence for a short time for it shall go to perdition or “destruction.”
This cycle also shows itself in the personal life of the disciple. He achieves soul contact and experiences the freedom this divine communion gives him. Then he gets lazy and lets his guard down and the Beast of unjust authority is healed and dominates him again for a short time.
July 29, 2006
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