Revelation 17:6

My Notes

What Does Revelation 17:6 Mean?

John sees the true nature of Babylon: and I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

The woman drunken with the blood of the saints — the whore of Babylon is not merely seductive. She is violent. She is drunk — intoxicated — on the blood of God's people. The drunkenness suggests excess and compulsion: she has consumed so much blood that she is impaired by it. The killing of saints is not reluctant or measured. It is indulgent — a binge.

The blood of the saints, and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus — two groups may be in view: Old Testament saints and New Testament martyrs. Or the phrase may be hendiadys — one group described two ways: the saints who are the martyrs of Jesus. Either way, the blood belongs to those who were faithful to God and faithful to Jesus. The system murders the faithful.

When I saw her, I wondered with great admiration — wondered (thaumazo) means to marvel, to be astonished. Admiration (thauma) here does not mean approval but amazement — shock. John is stunned by what he sees. The angel's response in v.7 (wherefore didst thou marvel?) suggests that John's amazement needs correction — the system should provoke horror, not fascination.

The verse captures the seductive horror of Babylon: the system is simultaneously attractive (v.4, gold, precious stones, pearls) and murderous. The beauty conceals the blood. The luxury is funded by the deaths of the faithful. The combination produces John's shocked amazement — a system that looks magnificent and operates through martyrdom.

The pattern recurs throughout history: empires, systems, and cultures that appear glorious on the surface while being sustained by the oppression and murder of God's people.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What does the image of being 'drunken with the blood of the saints' reveal about the system's relationship to God's people?
• 2.How does the combination of luxury (v.4) and murder describe the deceptive nature of the world's system?
• 3.Why was John amazed — and why does the angel correct his amazement (v.7)?
• 4.Where do you see systems that appear beautiful on the surface while being hostile to the faithful underneath?

Devotional

I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints. Drunken. Not stained with blood — drunken with it. She has consumed so much of it that she is intoxicated. The blood of God's people is her drink of choice. She does not kill reluctantly. She kills excessively — to the point of drunkenness.

With the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. The faithful. The people who belonged to God and bore witness to Jesus. The ones who would not bow, would not compromise, would not worship the beast. Their blood is what Babylon drinks. The system thrives on the death of the faithful.

When I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. John is stunned. Not attracted — stunned. The combination of beauty and blood is disorienting. She is covered in gold and precious stones (v.4) and covered in the blood of martyrs. She is gorgeous and murderous at the same time. The splendor conceals the slaughter.

This is how the world's system works. It looks magnificent. It is dressed in luxury. It promises pleasure and power and beauty. And underneath the gold is blood — the blood of the people who refused to participate in the system, who chose faithfulness over comfort, who bore witness to Jesus and paid for it with their lives.

Do not be dazzled by the gold. Look for the blood. The system that looks most impressive may be the one that is most hostile to the faithful. The beauty that impresses the world may be funded by the suffering of the saints. John was amazed — and the angel corrected him. Do not marvel at Babylon. See it for what it is.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture