Back to Study Guides

Who is the woman that rode the beast in Revelation 17?

If you’ve ever read Revelation 17, you know that there is a myriad of symbols throughout this chapter. However, one of the most prominent symbols in this chapter is a woman who is seen riding a beast. The question that is often asked regarding this woman is…who is she?

Prophetic Symbols

One of the best methods to understand the meaning of a symbol in Bible prophecy is to simply write out all of its attributes. Once you write out all the attributes, you may be able to ascertain a timeframe, a geographical location, and other criteria that will lead you to a proper interpretation. That being said, here are her attributes:

The Woman’s Attributes

She is a whore (Vs. 1)
She is a spiritual fornicator (Vs. 2)
She sat upon many nations (Vs. 2)
Kings followed her (Vs. 2)
She sat upon the same Beast found in Revelation 13 (Vs. 7)
The Beast she sat upon was red (Vs. 3)
She wore purple and red (vs. 4)
She is associated with mystery religions (Vs. 5)
She contained the blood of Christians (Vs. 6)

Now that we have her attributes, let’s use this data to help us identify this woman who rode the beast:

According to 2 Corinthians 11:2 and Jeremiah 6:2, a woman represents God’s Church. However, we see that this woman is a whore, revealing that we are dealing with a false Church with false doctrines.

The name on her forehead reveals that this church was associated with the mystery religions.

She also was a universal Church as she sat upon many nations and had many kings follow her teachings.

According to Exodus 26:1, God’s colors were blue, purple, and red. However, this Church was missing the blue, which according to Numbers 15:39-40 represents a remembrance of God’s commandments. Thus we see a Church that not only forgot God’s commandments, but led the Christian world into this same belief system.

She sat upon the same Beast that is described in Revelation 13:1. This Beast did not rise until 538 AD, after the fall of Pagan Rome. This reveals that this Church ruled Rome under its Papal phase.

Identity Revealed

Looking at the characteristics of this church, we should be able to see that she has all the attributes of the Roman Catholic Church. This Church accepted many Pagan traditions, it ruled Church and State and controlled the people of many European nations. Kings submitted to her teachings. She taught against the Sabbath and sanctioned bowing to images. And for the Christians who refused to acknowledge its supremacy, she had them killed.

The Woman’s Identity in the Last Days

Many erroneously believe that the Papacy will be revived to rule the nations as it did in the Dark Ages. They believe the Pope will sit on a throne or desk and the nations will submit to the authority of the Papal chair. However, once we understand the Church’s identity in the last days, we should understand that this system will look vastly different from the Catholicism of the Middle Ages.

We must understand that in the last days, this woman sits upon a Beast that WAS, IS NOT, YET IS. This description of the Beast represents the three-fold union of Babylon (the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet). This tells us that in the future, this religious system will not only inhabit mysticism, but it will also be inclusive of Protestant Christianity. It should also be understood that the ten horns represent the nations east of the Old Roman Empire—also known as the Kings of the East. And today, most of the territories these kings ruled are Muslim. This reveals to us that this religious system will not solely be Catholic but will also be inclusive of other religions.

Once you put all the puzzle pieces together, you should be able to see that this system began as the Roman Catholic Church, but in the future, it evolves into a one-world religious system that persecutes God’s people during the Time of Trouble.