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[a]I saw that the woman was drunk on the blood of the holy ones and on the blood of the witnesses to Jesus.

Meaning of the Beast and Harlot.[b] When I saw her I was greatly amazed. The angel said to me, “Why are you amazed? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, the beast with the seven heads and the ten horns. [c](A)The beast that you saw existed once but now exists no longer. It will come up from the abyss and is headed for destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world shall be amazed when they see the beast, because it existed once but exists no longer, and yet it will come again.

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Footnotes

  1. 17:6 Reference to the great wealth and idolatrous cults of Rome.
  2. 17:6b–18 An interpretation of the vision is here given.
  3. 17:8 Allusion to the belief that the dead Nero would return to power (Rev 17:11); see note on Rev 13:3.