Teaching | Understanding Revelation: The Beast and the Harlot (Revelation 17)

Revelation 17 opens with shocking imagery: a drunk prostitute riding on a seven-headed and ten-horned beast holding a cup of wine. But the greatest shock is the prostitute’s identity: she is Jerusalem drunk with the wine of martyr blood. Her adultery is spiritual: she has forsaken her true husband Christ for the dragon and his Beast, the Roman empire. God will judge her for her unfaithfulness, but hints of redemption remain. The gospel is the story about Christ the bridegroom turning his whorish wife into a spotless bride. When the Beast turns on the prostitute she finds her spurned husband waiting with garment of redemption ready to restore. This is Understanding Revelation.