So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness; and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
The most interesting area of study of Revelation 17 and 18 are translating the English interpretations back into the original Greek and breaking down the meaning behind those words. Some of the English translations were poorly chosen.
John chose his words very carefully when drafting his account, detailing specifics that are not found in the English translations. Studying the Greek which John used gives us a clearer picture of what John was witnessing while in the spirit.
In verse 7 the angel tells John that he will tell him the mystery of the woman and the beast (kingdom) that carries her. The angel begins to give John a succession of events surrounding the beast that carries the woman upon his seven heads. It seems as though the angel completely skips telling John about the woman until we reach chapter 18. The angel begins with the beast in verse 8 but does not give John much more information concerning the city itself until the very last verse, Revelation 17:18. This final verse transitions chapter 17 into chapter 18. (chapter breaks were not added until the Geneva Bible was printed in 1557) Here, the angel tells John that the woman which he saw was that great (μεγας) city (πολις) which reigns over the kings of the earth.
In the Greek the words that he uses are μεγας, mega meaning great. When defined in the Greek μεγας means huge, enormous by volume, overtly large by physical size.
πολις or, polis for city is defined in the Greek as a walled city, mother city, magistrate city of many that dominates well defined territory.
So now we know that the woman is a metaphor for a extremely large city.
In verse 1 we were given an exceptionally huge clue to the interworking's of this city. This study is detailed here: English Back to Greek, Revelation 17:1.
The Greek word John used to define the great (huge, mega) 'harlot' or 'whore' is πόρνης which means commercially corrupt one, to export or sell a product or commodity immorally for profit or gain. This is generally defined or translated by its root word: πόρνη which is simply pornēs, prostitute or prostitution. This is where the term harlot or whore originate from, from the root of πόρνης.
The root of the word in the English translation fails to properly define the harlot by it's Greek interpretation as a commercially corrupt trader and human trafficker in context to scripture.
πόρνης is the feminine form of πόρνος which is the Greek for: male prostitute or sex trafficker. The feminine translation would simply mean a female prostitute or sex trafficker.
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither, I will show you the judgment of the great whore πόρνης that sits upon many waters. Revelation 17:1
With a better understanding of what John was documenting, we can start to put the pieces together. Simply by defining the Greek we now understand that the city is physically large and vast, a mega city, a supercity that is commercially corrupt dealing with international immoral trade, human trafficking and pharmaceutical distribution. This is further supported in chapter 18: verses 3, 13b, 23b, which provide more information. Her reach is world wide as defined in Revelation 17:15: many waters, peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues. This could not be possible without the participation of the kings of the earth who actively distribute this immoral lifestyle to the inhabitants of the earth.
When John had his little chat with the angel in verse 1 and 2, the angel told him that he was there to show him the judgement of the great (English: harlot, whore), Greek: πόρνης -commercially corrupt one. The angel also told John in verse 2 that this commercially corrupt trader is who the kings of the earth willingly commit fornication with and through their actions all the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk by her poisoned potion, her wine aka: her sorceries that she keeps in her golden cup.
The Greek in verse 2, επορνευσαν – is translated into, they were corrupted by – this is an active verb meaning they were actively participating in, or were willing participants in immoral acts for gain of leisure and material wealth. See also Rev 18:3a and 9a)
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials and talked with me saying unto me, Come hither, I will show you the judgement of the great πόρνης that sits on 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.
While Revelation 17:1 defines a commercially corrupt city that sells immoral or inhumane merchandise; verse 3 details another piece of the puzzle with the location of this vast and large city: the wilderness.
So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness; and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. Revelation 17:3
The angel says to John in verse 1: Come Hither, which tells John he will be carried away in the spirit in order to witness something that will need to be recorded and documented. (Rev 2:19) We saw this in Revelation 4:1,2a when John saw an open door and was taken into heaven and shown the things which must be hereafter.
The angel carries John away in the spirit into the wilderness: Greek: ἔρημος erēmos, where he witnesses the great μεγας city πολις carried upon a great scarlet beast kingdom that had ten horns and seven heads. The woman is a metaphor for a city which was common practice among the prophets of the old testament. Cities were often referred to in the feminine as a harlot, wife, bride, sister or widow. The Greek word used in verse 3 to define the woman is: γυνη, to mean woman, bride, or wife. This is to show her relationship to the red dragon and his beast kingdom. As New Jerusalem is the wife, bride of the Lamb, Babylon is prepared as a wife, bride for the red dragon, the little horn and his beast kingdom.
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21:2
Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain (kingdom), and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. Revelation 21:9b,10
Verse 3 also introduces a new character: the scarlet beast kingdom. The beast kingdom is the same kingdom that rose from the sea in Revelation 13:1-4a. This is the kingdom on which the woman sits; the kingdom whose genetic makeup is of the lion (Daniel 7:4), the bear (Daniel 7:5) and the leopard (Daniel 7:6) geographical locations of the middle east.
The wilderness: ἔρημος in the Greek defines a vast, barren, desolate location, a erēmos -a desert. The Greek translation erēmos, erēmo or erēmon is also used several times throughout the Bible to describe an area of great desolation, sterile, barren, a desert.
- Then was Jesus led up by the Spirit into the wilderness (erēmon, ἔρημον) to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:1
- Jesus often went into the wilderness to pray: And he withdrew himself into the wilderness (ἐρήμοις, erēmois) to pray. Luke 5:16
- In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness (erēmō, ἐρήμῳ) of Judea, saying, Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Mathew 3:1,2
- Then the woman (Israel) fled into the wilderness (erēmon, ἔρημον) where she had a place prepared for her by God, that they can feed and take care of her there for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. Revelation 12:6
- To the east he settled as far as the entrance of the wilderness from the river Euphrates, because their cattle had increased in the land of Gilead. 1 Chronicles 5:9
John is taken, in the spirit, into the wilderness, the desert, a desolate and barren area where she and the beast are. This is describing a physical location where the pair are located. Strong's number: 2048 ἔρημος - deserted, remote, solitary; as a noun: desert, uninhabited wilderness, wasteland, a forsaken, desolate place - abandoned to ruin.
If this was meant to be a place of spiritual emptiness or spiritual barrenness John would have used the Greek word ἐκένωσεν meaning a complete emptying of oneself, an empty vessel void, empty of spirituality. He may have even used the Greek word κενός which means destitute of spiritual wealth, without the fruits of faith. But, instead, he used the Greek word: ἔρημος - a physical location: a desert, sterile, empty, desolate, a wasteland. to indicate a physical location where the city and beast kingdom are located.
So, where did the angel take John? Where is this barren desolate place? The Bible centers around Jerusalem and the middle east. I think it is safe to say that the wilderness, the desert is located in the middle east; around the location where the lion, the bear and the leopard beasts kingdom were located or centralized. It appears as though the beast and the woman rise from the same location, become reacquainted and form a mutual bond, reestablishing an old connection. She is located in the wilderness, the desert, and there the beast is too. She will continue to ride the beast as it transforms into the kingdom of antichrist. Revelation 17:8, 11.
“So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. Matthew 24:24
Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Translations from the Greek-English Lexicon - Liddle, Scott, Jones. Bill Mounce Greek Dictionary Strong's Concordance and the Greek New Testament, Abarim-Publication Interlinear.
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