What I Think I Know About Rev 17:
3) When you apply the previous principle to Revelation 17, it becomes evident that there are three main entities being described in the chapter.

The confluence of symbols in Revelation 17 lead me to believe that three main entities are in view. The first entity is Babylon, represented as a woman/prostitute in Revelation 17 and as a great city in Revelation 18. I understand Babylon to be a worldwide alliance of religion that rises and falls in the context of the final events of earth’s history. This alliance is named by many names in Revelation: Babylon (17:5, etc.), the great city (18:9-19), the great prostitute (17:1), and the woman who rides the beast. That Babylon is a religious entity seems evident for a number of reasons. For one thing, the woman appears in the desert (17:3), which recalls the final appearance of the woman of Revelation 12, who clearly represents the people of God (cf. especially 12:14-16). As such Babylon is also parallel to Jezebel in 2:20 and in contrast with the bride of the Lamb, the New Jerusalem (19:7-8; 21:9-10). All the women of Revelation are religious figures, two in relationship with God and two in opposition. Babylon is also a persecuting power that turns the “saints” into the “martyrs of Jesus” (17:6). This suggests a focus on religion.

Many scholars have also noticed that the description of the woman/Babylon in 17:4 is highly reminiscent of Israel’s High Priest. The High Priest’s ephod contained purple, scarlet and gold (Exod 28:5-6). The ephod and breast plate contained precious stones (Exodus 28:9-13 and 17-21). The cup in this case may represent the drink offerings of the sanctuary (Exodus 29:40-41 and 30:9; Leviticus 23:13, 18, and 37); and, the forehead inscription resembles the title HOLY TO THE LORD on the High Priest’s miter (Exodus 28:36-38). If Babylon is the sum total of the unholy trinity of Revelation 13 (cf. Rev 16:13, 19), I think I know that she represents worldwide religious authority in opposition to God and His people.

The second main entity is symbolized by the beast upon which the woman rides (17:3). In Revelation 17:1, prostitute Babylon is sitting on “many waters”. We have noted that the waters of Babylon are the Euphrates River (Rev 16:12) and that these are defined later in the chapter as “peoples and multitudes and nations and languages” (Rev 17:15). The waters of Babylon represent the civil and secular powers of this world that support the end-time religious alliance. They are, therefore, parallel to the “kings of the earth” and “inhabitants of the earth” that commit fornication with the prostitute in verse 2. The scarlet beast of verse 3 reminds us of the sea beast of Revelation 13, a counterfeit of the work of Jesus Christ. But while the scarlet beast wears the names of blasphemy, it primarily represents another way of describing the worldwide political confederacy. This becomes clear from the explanation of the vision offered in Rev 17:7-18. The scarlet beast has seven heads and ten horns. The seven heads represent seven kings (Rev 17:9-10). The ten horns represent ten kings (Rev 17:12). So the beast itself is the sum total of political and military power in the world (Rev 17:12-13). The Euphrates River and the scarlet beast are two different ways of describing the same thing. The blasphemy in which this beast engages occurs as part of its union with the aims and activities of Babylon.

The relationship between the prostitute and the political confederacy is a central feature of Revelation 17. She commits adultery with the kings of the earth. She intoxicates their citizens with the wine of her adulteries (17:2). The purpose of the union between the prostitute and the kings of the earth is worldwide dominance and control. This union is also illustrated by the image of the woman riding the beast (17:3, 7). There is a short period in the last days where worldwide religious authority dominates the political landscape of the world. Aspects of this relationship are also seen in the sixth and seventh bowl-plagues. The dragon, beast and false prophet (the unholy trinity of Revelation 13 that unites together in the end-time to become Babylon, cf. 13:15, 16:19) send out demonic frogs to gather the kings of the whole inhabited world for the battle of Armageddon (16:14-16). Then, when Babylon splits into three parts, the cities of the nations also fall (16:19). So the two entities, secular and religious, are anticipated in chapter 16. They unite in opposition to the third worldwide alliance in Revelation 17.

There is also a worldwide unity of the “saints” in Revelation. That alliance makes no appearance in Revelation 17:1-3, but it is visible elsewhere in Revelation. It comes into view in verse 6, where Babylon is described as drunk with the blood of the “saints” and of the “martyrs of Jesus”. Those “with the Lamb” are described as the “called, chosen and faithful” in verse 14. In Revelation 16:15, the faithful are called those who keep watch and hang on to their garments. The people of God in Revelation are elsewhere called the 144,000 (Rev 7:4; 14:1), the great multitude (7:9; 19:1), the remnant (12:17), those who follow the Lamb (14:4), and the saints (14:12). These are not discreet titles, but that they are many ways to talk about the one end-time people of God.

So according to Revelation 17, there will be three, great, worldwide alliances in the world at the very End, the alliance of the saints, an alliance of religious institutions, and an alliance of worldwide secular and political power. (1) The confederacy of the saints will probably not be organized in institutional terms. It is likely that any religious institutions which are truly faithful to God will be destroyed in the run-up to the battle of Armageddon. (2) The confederacy of religion is a worldwide alliance of religious authority. While the pope would be the logical choice to head such a confederacy, Babylon will in fact be much bigger than any single religion (Rev 16:13, 19). The union of religious institutions will occur out of a need to co-ordinate spiritual effort in the face of the significant challenges described in the first five plagues (Rev 16:1-11). (3) Events of the end-time will be such that the confederacy of secular and political power will arise and work with Babylon in a fruitless attempt to overcome the environmental and other challenges that the world faces as it approaches the End. For a short time, the worldwide political alliance places its power and resources in the service of the great religious alliance. The final outcome of this grand alliance is addressed in Revelation 17:16. So I think I know that Revelation 17 outlines three worldwide alliances as the human race approaches the End.