Apocalipse 17

ARC · Chapter 17/22

1E veiu um dos sete anjos que tinham as sete taças, e fallou comigo, dizendo-me: Vem, mostrar-te-hei a condemnação da grande prostituta que está assentada sobre muitas aguas;

2Com a qual fornicaram os reis da terra; e os que habitam na terra se embebedaram com o vinho da sua fornicação.

3E levou-me em espirito a um deserto, e vi uma mulher assentada sobre uma besta de côr de escarlata, que estava cheia de nomes de blasphemia, e tinha sete cabeças e dez cornos.

4E a mulher estava vestida de purpura e de escarlata, e adornada com oiro, e pedras preciosas e perolas; e tinha na sua mão um calix de oiro cheio das abominações e da immundicia da sua fornicação;

5E na sua testa escripto o nome: Mysterio: A grande Babylonia, a mãe das fornicações e abominações da terra.

6E vi que a mulher estava embriagada do sangue dos sanctos, e do sangue das testemunhas de Jesus. E, vendo-a eu, maravilhei-me com grande admiração.

7E o anjo me disse: Porque te admiras? Eu te direi o mysterio da mulher, e da besta que a traz, a qual tem sete cabeças e dez cornos.

8A besta que viste foi e já não é, e ha de subir do abysmo, e ir-se á perdição; e os que habitam na terra (cujos nomes não estão escriptos no livro da vida, desde a fundação do mundo) se admirarão vendo a besta que era e já não é, ainda que é.

9Aqui ha sentido, que tem sabedoria. As sete cabeças são sete montes, sobre os quaes a mulher está assentada.

10E são tambem sete reis; os cinco são caidos; e um já é, outro ainda não é vindo; e, quando vier, convem que dure um pouco de tempo

11E a besta que era e já não é, esta é tambem o oitavo, e é dos sete, e vae-se á perdição.

12E os dez cornos que viste são dez reis, que ainda não receberam o reino, porém receberão poder como reis por uma hora, juntamente com a besta.

13Estes teem um mesmo intento, e entregarão o seu poder e auctoridade á besta.

14Estes combaterão contra o Cordeiro, e o Cordeiro os vencerá (porque é o Senhor dos senhores e o Rei dos reis), e os que estão com elle são os chamados, e eleitos, e fieis.

15E disse-me: As aguas que viste, onde se assenta a prostituta, são povos, e multidões, e nações, e linguas.

16E os dez cornos que viste na besta são os que aborrecerão a prostituta, e a farão assolada e núa, e comerão a sua carne, e a queimarão com fogo.

17Porque Deus deu-lhes em seus corações que cumpram o seu intento, e que tenham um mesmo intento, e que deem á besta o seu reino, até que se cumpram as palavras de Deus.

18E a mulher que viste é a grande cidade que reina sobre os reis da terra.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

An angel shows John a vision of the great prostitute Babylon, seated on a scarlet beast, drunk with the blood of the saints and dressed in excessive luxury. The angel explains that the beast and its ten horns will eventually destroy the prostitute herself, fulfilling God's plan.

Explanation

The image of the 'great prostitute' seated on 'many waters' and later identified as 'the great city that reigns over the kings of the earth' (17:18) was understood by early readers as a symbolic representation of Rome, with its wealth, political power, and corrupting influence over vassal nations. The description of seven mountains on which the woman sits (17:9) reinforces this identification, since Rome was famous in antiquity for being built on seven hills. The surprising point of the vision is that the beast's own political allies will eventually turn against the prostitute and destroy her, showing how corrupt systems of power often destroy themselves through their own unstable alliances. Today's practical application is recognizing that wealth and power built on exploitation and corruption carry within themselves the seeds of their own ruin.

Fun facts

  • The reference to the 'seven mountains' on which the woman sits (17:9) was a widely recognized symbol in the ancient world for the city of Rome, famous for being built on seven hills, including the Palatine and Capitoline, something Roman coins of the time even celebrated.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Apocalipse 17:1The chapter itself explains, further on, that these ‘waters’ represent peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues; the image describes influence over many peoples, not a specific geographic place.
  2. Apocalipse 17:2Introduces the “great whore” mentioned in the previous verse as someone who corrupted kings and peoples with an influence compared to drunkenness, suggesting a seductive political and economic power more than literal sexual immorality.
  3. Apocalipse 17:3John is carried away in the spirit to see this woman sitting on a beast with seven heads and ten horns, the same combination of symbols already seen in the beast of chapter 13, linking the two figures.
  4. Apocalipse 17:4Purple and scarlet fabrics were extremely expensive luxury goods in antiquity, made with rare dyes extracted from mollusks. The description paints a picture of extravagant wealth and status, tied to a life of corruption.
  5. Apocalipse 17:5The text explicitly calls this a mystery, a symbol that needs explaining, and it later clarifies that it refers to the great city that dominates the kings of the earth. The earliest readers would have recognized in this description traces of the dominant imperial power of their own time, though the text never names it directly.
  6. Apocalipse 17:6The woman appears drunk with the blood of Christian martyrs, an image that shocks even John himself, who reacts with amazement at the scene.
  7. Apocalipse 17:7The angel offers to explain the “mystery” behind this vision, a direct invitation to decode the symbols that follow.
  8. Apocalipse 17:8The description of the beast, “was, and is not,” distorts and imitates the formula used for God (“which is, and which was, and which is to come”), a false imitation of eternity applied to a political power.
  9. Apocalipse 17:9The text itself draws attention to this riddle, saying that solving it requires wisdom, a direct invitation for readers of the time to connect the image to something in their own historical moment. Different traditions have proposed different identifications over the centuries, and this reading is deliberately left open here.
  10. Apocalipse 17:10The seven kings mentioned here, along with the seven heads explained in the previous verse as seven mountains, have been read in very different ways over the centuries, linked by different traditions to rulers from various eras, without the text settling this identification for today's reader.
  11. Apocalipse 17:11The beast described as an “eighth” king who belongs to the seven before it is another point that Christian traditions interpret in different ways, though they always end with the same verdict: it is headed for destruction.
  12. Apocalipse 17:12As with the seven heads, the text itself explains this symbol: they are rulers who act together with the beast for ‘one hour,’ a short, limited period, not a literal hour on the clock.
  13. Apocalipse 17:13The ten kings mentioned in the previous verse share a single purpose: handing over their own power to the beast, joining forces with it.
  14. Apocalipse 17:14This alliance of political power will confront the Lamb directly, and the outcome is announced even before the battle: the Lamb wins, because He is described with the title “Lord of lords, and King of kings.”
  15. Apocalipse 17:15The angel explains the symbol of the “many waters” mentioned at the start of the chapter: they represent peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues — the foundation that supports the whore.
  16. Apocalipse 17:16An ironic turn: the same powers that supported the whore turn against her and destroy her, showing how alliances built on corruption end up turning on themselves.
  17. Apocalipse 17:17Explains this turn as part of God's own plan, using even the ambition of these rulers to fulfill a greater purpose.
  18. Apocalipse 17:18Closes the chapter by revealing the central symbol: the woman represents a great city with power over the kings of the earth, without the text identifying it by a specific name for today's readers.

Chapters

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.