Revelation 17 9

Revelation 17:9 kjv

And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

Revelation 17:9 nkjv

"Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.

Revelation 17:9 niv

"This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits.

Revelation 17:9 esv

This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated;

Revelation 17:9 nlt

"This calls for a mind with understanding: The seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills where the woman rules. They also represent seven kings.

Revelation 17 verses

Revelation 17 9 Meaning

Revelation 17:9 serves as a vital interpretive clue given by the angel, highlighting that a discerning mind, endowed with divine wisdom, is required to understand the profound symbolic realities unveiled. It explicitly equates the seven heads of the beast with "seven mountains" and declares that the enigmatic woman, "Babylon the Great," is enthroned upon them. This verse identifies the geographical and political base of the harlot's influence and authority.

Revelation 17 9 Context

Revelation 17 delves into a pivotal angelic interpretation of "Babylon the Great," described as a harlot (prostitute) aligned with and empowered by the blasphemous scarlet beast. This chapter follows the visionary descriptions of divine judgment in preceding chapters, providing specific insights into the nature and eventual fate of the final oppressive system opposing God. Verse 9 is presented as a crucial clue in a series of revelatory explanations about the beast and the harlot, immediately preceding further identification of the beast's heads as kings (Rev 17:10). For John's original audience, particularly those suffering persecution under Roman rule in Asia Minor, the phrase "seven mountains" would instantly bring to mind Rome, the city famously built on seven hills and often called "Septimontium" (seven-hilled) in ancient literature. This served as a potent polemic, unmasking Rome's imperial claims as actually rooted in spiritual harlotry and opposition to the Almighty, rather than divine mandate. The passage provides comfort and assurance that God would expose and ultimately judge even the most formidable earthly powers.

Revelation 17 9 Word analysis

• Here is the mind (Ὧδε ἡ νοῦς, Hōde hē nous):

  • Here (Ὧδε, Hōde): An adverb indicating "at this point," signifying that what follows is profoundly important and requires acute attention and understanding. It's a pointer to an essential truth.
  • is the mind (ἡ νοῦς, hē nous): "Nous" means the faculty of understanding, spiritual comprehension, or discerning intellect. It's not mere intellectual ability but a capacity for insight that can grasp spiritual truths and divine mysteries.
  • Significance: This phrase acts as a divine interjection, calling for special spiritual insight beyond a casual reading. It indicates that the interpretation given is a "wisdom statement," not obvious to the unsaved or spiritually blind. It echoes similar calls for understanding in apocalyptic literature.

• which has wisdom (ἔχων σοφίαν, echōn sophian):

  • has (ἔχων, echōn): Literally "having" or "possessing," denoting ownership or characteristic.
  • wisdom (σοφίαν, sophian): Denotes divine wisdom, spiritual understanding, and sagacity derived from God, rather than merely human intellectualism. It's the discerning quality of a righteous heart.
  • Significance: This qualifies "the mind." The understanding of these profound truths is granted only to those who possess God-given wisdom, emphasizing that divine revelation is discerned by the spiritually discerning, aligning with principles that "spiritual things are spiritually appraised."

• The seven heads (αἱ ἑπτὰ κεφαλαί, hai hepta kephalai):

  • The seven heads: Refers directly back to the detailed description of the beast in Rev 17:3, 13:1, and the dragon in Rev 12:3. In biblical symbolism, heads often represent authority, power, and ruling entities. "Seven" denotes completeness or perfection in number, indicating a complete manifestation of this power.
  • Significance: This directly identifies a prominent feature of the terrifying beast. Its identification as "seven heads" signals a full and encompassing scope of power.

• are seven mountains (ὄρη ἑπτὰ εἰσίν, orē hepta eisin):

  • are (εἰσίν, eisin): A direct statement of identity, declaring what the heads represent.
  • seven mountains (ὄρη ἑπτὰ, orē hepta): "Oros" (singular) can refer to a mountain or hill. In prophetic Scripture, mountains frequently symbolize kingdoms, empires, or centers of political and religious power (e.g., Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah). Historically, the city of Rome was renowned for its seven hills (e.g., Palatine, Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, Aventine).
  • Significance: This provides a key geographic and symbolic identification for John's original audience. For Christians living under Roman dominion, this allusion to Rome was unmistakable and damning, portraying their imperial capital as the very seat of the anti-God, persecuting harlot. It merges abstract symbolism with concrete historical reality.

• on which the woman sits (ἐφʼ ἃ ἡ γυνὴ κάθηται, eph' ha hē gunē kathētai):

  • on which (ἐφʼ ἃ, eph' ha): A prepositional phrase indicating position, foundation, and control.
  • the woman (ἡ γυνή, hē gunē): Refers to the "great harlot" of Rev 17:1, 3, 5, ultimately identified in Rev 17:18 as "the great city which reigns over the kings of the earth."
  • sits (κάθηται, kathētai): Implies a stable reign, established authority, dominion, or secure residence.
  • Significance: This explicitly connects the woman (harlot/city) to the seven mountains, showing that her seat of power, her realm of authority, is based on and operates from this symbolically identified location. It portrays her as reigning with stability and command from this central point of influence.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "Here is the mind which has wisdom": This opening statement is a direct call for spiritual discernment, distinguishing those who can comprehend God's prophetic revelations from those who cannot. It indicates that the upcoming interpretation is profound and divinely illuminated, not for merely academic or natural understanding. This challenges the reader to seek wisdom from above to grasp divine truth.
• "The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits": This concise statement is a powerful deciphering key. It directly identifies a crucial symbolic feature of the beast—its heads—with both a physical reality (mountains) and the base of the harlot's dominion. For the original audience, the seven mountains unmistakably pointed to Rome. The woman "sitting on" these mountains signifies her stable reign, control, and authority over that specific power center and, by extension, the world system it represents.

Revelation 17 9 Bonus section

The interpretation offered in Revelation 17:9-11 is remarkably explicit, rare for the highly symbolic genre of apocalyptic literature. This suggests its immense importance for believers to identify and understand the nature of the great spiritual harlot and her supporting beast. The deliberate choice of "seven mountains" over other Roman descriptors for geographical precision likely aimed to create an immediate and undeniable link for contemporary readers, despite the potential dangers of directly naming the imperial power. The multi-layered symbolism, wherein the "seven heads" are first "seven mountains" and then "seven kings" (Rev 17:10), highlights the beast's influence across both geographical dominance (a city) and political power (rulers/regimes). This duality provides both immediate historical context and broader prophetic significance, reminding the church that the spirit of anti-God, oppressive power can manifest in different forms across generations, always seeking to "sit" (rule) where human authority resides.

Revelation 17 9 Commentary

Revelation 17:9 is an essential divinely given insight into the identity and nature of the formidable opposing power in the end times. The introductory plea for "the mind which has wisdom" emphasizes that true comprehension of such spiritual mysteries necessitates more than human intellect; it requires God-given spiritual insight and a discerning spirit. This passage offers a precise clue, directly equating the "seven heads" of the scarlet beast—a creature symbolizing global political and anti-God authority—with "seven mountains." This clear reference strongly pointed John's original first-century Christian audience to Rome, which was ubiquitously known in the ancient world as the city of seven hills. The "woman sitting" on these mountains signifies the deep establishment and reigning authority of "Babylon the Great" in this location, demonstrating her influential grip and stable dominion over the earthly power structure. Thus, this verse directly identifies Rome, a contemporary persecutor of Christians, as the earthly manifestation of the oppressive harlot power, whose foundations and actions are fundamentally opposed to God. It assured persecuted believers that God saw and would judge their oppressor.