The Meaning of Revelation 17:18 Explained

Revelation 17:18

KJV: And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

YLT: and the woman that thou didst see is the great city that is having reign over the kings of the land.'

Darby: And the woman which thou sawest is the great city, which has kingship over the kings of the earth.

ASV: And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

Discover Revelation 17:18

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Revelation 17:18?

MEANING: What does Revelation 17:18 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Revelation 17:18 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Revelation 17:18?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  the woman  which  thou sawest  is  that great  city,  which  reigneth  over  the kings  of the earth. 

What does Revelation 17:18 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The woman represents "the great city." In the context this undoubtedly refers to Babylon. It is the only city referred to specifically in this chapter ( Revelation 17:5; cf. Revelation 16:18; Revelation 14:8). As a system of apostate religion, which Babylon originated ( Genesis 10-11) and symbolizes, it reigned over the leaders and kingdoms of the world. Though religion has always guided the decisions of political rulers, this is very clear during the Middle Ages in Europe. Then the popes wielded great influence over the political leaders of the Holy Roman Empire. The religious influence of Jezebel over King Ahab is a striking parallel in biblical history.
The focus of the revelation in this chapter is the age-old apostate religious system and its relation to government during the seven-year Tribulation period. During the first half of the Tribulation it will be an ecumenical, worldwide body that will stand above government and will be aggressively hostile to true believers in God. At the end of the Great Tribulation, Antichrist will terminate it and demand universal worship of himself.
"In view of the fact that there does not seem to be any religious opposition to the woman, and her sway seems to be complete except for individual saints whom she persecutes, the evidence seems to support the fact that the woman represents an ecumenical or worldwide church embracing all of Christianity religiously, and therefore including not only the Roman Catholic Church but Protestant and Greek Orthodox as well....
"The final form of world religion will not even be Christian in name, and will actually be an atheistic, humanistic, satanic system which denies everything related to the true God, and is the persecutor of all who fail to worship the political ruler." [1]

Context Summary

Revelation 17:1-18 - The Great World City Overthrown
This scarlet-attired woman is that miserable attempt made in every age to counterfeit the true Church of the living God. Man does not like the religion of the cross, of faith, of self-denial, and each age has witnessed some false system from which all these objectionable elements are eliminated. Surely a meretricious system has revealed itself successively in Babylon, Jerusalem, Rome, London, New York, and other great centers. Fashion smiles on it, wealth bedizens it, human power unites with it, and in every age it has been drunken with the blood of martyrs.
Between this miserable travesty of the Church and the Church herself there has been perpetual conflict. But the ultimate victory has always remained with the Lamb, and if only we side with Him, as the called, chosen, and faithful of Revelation 17:14, we also shall be more than conquerors. Human prestige and power shall not ultimately avail in the conflict against the all-conquering Savior. And finally the very world-powers shall turn against the apostate and adulterous Church, Revelation 17:16. Come out from her and be separate! [source]

Chapter Summary: Revelation 17

1  A woman arrayed in purple and scarlet, with a golden cup in her hand sits upon the beast;
5  which is great Babylon, the mother of all abominations
9  The interpretation of the seven heads;
12  and the ten horns
14  The victory of the Lamb
16  The punishment of the harlot

Greek Commentary for Revelation 17:18

The woman [η γυνη]
She is now explained after the beast has been interpreted. Revelation 17:9 made it plain enough, but this verse demonstrates that the woman is the city of Rome “which reigneth (η εχουσα βασιλειαν — hē echousa basileian the one having a kingdom) over the kings of the earth (επι των βασιλεων της γης — epi tōn basileōn tēs gēs).” Rome followed Babylon, and other cities may follow in their train. [source]
Reigneth [ἔχουσα βαοιλείαν]
Lit., hath a kingdom. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Revelation 17:18

Revelation 16:19 Was divided into three parts [εγενετο εις τρια μερη]
“Came into three parts” In Revelation 11:3 a tenth part of the city fell. Babylon (Rome) is meant (Revelation 17:18). [source]
Revelation 17:2 The kings of the earth [οι βασιλεις της γης]
Repeated in Revelation 1:5; Revelation 6:15; Revelation 17:18; Revelation 18:3, Revelation 18:9; Revelation 19:19; Revelation 21:24 and “the kings of the inhabited earth” (Revelation 16:14) either for human rulers in general or the vassal kings absorbed by the Roman Empire. [source]

What do the individual words in Revelation 17:18 mean?

And the woman whom you saw is city - great having kingship over the kings of the earth
καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἣν εἶδες ἔστιν πόλις ἡ μεγάλη ἔχουσα βασιλείαν ἐπὶ τῶν βασιλέων τῆς γῆς

γυνὴ  woman 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: γυνή  
Sense: a woman of any age, whether a virgin, or married, or a widow.
ἣν  whom 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ὅς 
Sense: who, which, what, that.
εἶδες  you  saw 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: εἶδον 
Sense: to see with the eyes.
πόλις  city 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: πόλις  
Sense: a city.
ἡ  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: ὁ  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
μεγάλη  great 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: μέγας  
Sense: great.
βασιλείαν  kingship 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: βασιλεία  
Sense: royal power, kingship, dominion, rule.
ἐπὶ  over 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐπί  
Sense: upon, on, at, by, before.
βασιλέων  kings 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: βασιλεύς  
Sense: leader of the people, prince, commander, lord of the land, king.
τῆς  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: ὁ  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
γῆς  earth 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: γῆ  
Sense: arable land.

What are the major concepts related to Revelation 17:18?

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Similar Scriptures for Revelation 17:18

Revelation 16:19 [6]
Revelation 18:2 [2]
Daniel 7:23 [0]
Daniel 2:40-41 [0]
Revelation 12:4 [0]
Luke 2:1 [0]