Revelation 17:3
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The "wilderness" isn't just a desolate place; it's a stark contrast to the woman's splendor, highlighting her chosen dependence on earthly power rather than divine provision, unlike the faithful who find refuge there. Notice that the beast is covered full of blasphemous names, not just on its heads, indicating that its entire being is saturated with defiance against God, a deeper corruption than previously described.
And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.
English Standard Version (ESV)
John is taken in vision to a desolate place, a wilderness, where he witnesses a striking and symbolic scene. He sees a woman, identified as the "great whore" from earlier in the chapter, riding on a fearsome scarlet beast. This beast is described as being covered in blasphemous names and having the same seven heads and ten horns seen previously, representing immense and corrupt worldly power.
Why would John be taken to a desolate wilderness to see such a dramatic vision? This setting isn't random; it speaks volumes about the spiritual landscape.
The wilderness is a powerful symbol in Scripture. It often represents a place of testing, desolation, or separation from the comforts of civilization.
A Place of Contrast
In this vision, the wilderness contrasts sharply with the woman's apparent splendor. She sits on a magnificent, albeit terrifying, beast, yet her surroundings are barren.
Symbolizing Spiritual Barrenness
Some commentators suggest the wilderness here points to a spiritually empty or corrupted state. It could symbolize the desolation that comes from turning away from God, or perhaps the decline of a once-great empire into chaos and spiritual decay, as suggested by the descriptions of Rome's condition during certain periods.
A Haven for the Persecuted?
Interestingly, the wilderness is also a place where God met His people in times of need, like Israel in the Exodus or the woman in Revelation 12. However, this woman in the wilderness seems to be a perversion of that refuge, embracing the desolation rather than finding refuge in God through it.
The beast is described as 'scarlet' and 'full of blasphemous names.' What does this terrifying imagery signify?
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The scarlet beast is not just any monster; it's a symbol of immense, corrupted power that directly opposes God.
Scarlet: Symbol of Power and Bloodshed
The color scarlet is significant. It's often associated with royalty and power, but here, it also evokes blood. The dragon (Satan) was red, and this beast's scarlet color links it to that same destructive, unholy power, suggesting a history steeped in violence and sin.
Blasphemous Names: Usurping God's Identity
The beast being 'full of blasphemous names' means it is covered with titles and claims that rightly belong only to God. This isn't just about disrespect; it's about a fundamental rebellion where a power attempts to usurp divine authority, demanding worship and allegiance due only to the Creator.
Seven Heads and Ten Horns: Global Dominion
The seven heads and ten horns are symbols of comprehensive, global authority. These represent ruling powers or kingdoms that are ultimately controlled by the beast's anti-God agenda. They signify a dominion that spans both time and territory, seeking to control all aspects of human life.
A woman sits upon this terrifying beast. Who is she, and what does her position signify?
The woman riding the beast represents a corrupt religious or political entity that uses and directs worldly power for its own ungodly purposes.
A Perversion of Relationship
Normally, a rider controls the mount. Here, the woman directs the beast, symbolizing a system that influences or manipulates the dominant world power. However, the scarlet color of the beast, mirroring the dragon's red, suggests this 'control' is deeply intertwined with sin and violence.
Spiritual Prostitution
This woman is often interpreted as a symbol of apostate religion or a powerful, corrupt city that seduces nations. She is described as a 'harlot' in other parts of Revelation, indicating spiritual unfaithfulness and illicit alliances with worldly powers, leading others into 'fornication' (idolatry and sin).
A False Prosperity
Her prominent position on the beast suggests a time of seeming triumph and influence. She appears outwardly glorious, but her foundation is the corrupt, blasphemous power of the beast, revealing her true nature as a deceptive force leading people away from God.
Understand the original words
pneuma · Greek Noun
A state of being under the direct influence and guidance of the Holy Spirit, often used in apocalyptic literature to describe the means by which prophets receive visions and access supernatural reality.
blasphēmos · Greek Adjective
A symbol of extreme defiance against God, involving speech or actions that claim divine prerogatives or heap insults upon the Creator and His holiness.
The 'wilderness' in this vision can symbolize the spiritual desolation and political fragmentation of Europe, particularly around Rome, during periods like the Western Schism. The woman, representing a corrupted church, sits upon the beast (the corrupted secular power), highlighting a symbiotic, yet ultimately destructive, relationship.
c. 4th-5th century AD
Decline of Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire began to crumble due to internal strife, economic problems, and barbarian invasions. This created a power vacuum that various entities, including the emerging Papacy, began to fill.
c. 590-605 AD
Gregory the Great's Pontificate
Pope Gregory I (the Great) consolidated papal authority and influence, acting as a significant political and spiritual leader during a period of instability in Italy. This marks a key stage in the rise of the Papacy's power.
c. 756 AD
Donation of Pepin
Pepin the Short, King of the Franks, granted significant territories in Italy to the Papacy, forming the basis of the Papal States. This solidified the Pope's temporal power.
c. 800 AD
Charlemagne Crowned Emperor
Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope, signifying a renewed but complex relationship between the Church and secular rulers, with the Papacy asserting significant influence.
c. 1075-1122 AD
Investiture Controversy
A major conflict between the Papacy and European monarchs over who had the authority to appoint bishops. This struggle highlighted the immense power and influence the Papacy wielded.
c. 1309-1376 AD
Avignon Papacy
The Papal court relocated from Rome to Avignon, France, largely under French influence. This period diminished the Papacy's prestige and created division.
c. 1378-1417 AD— this verse
Western Schism
A split within the Catholic Church where multiple men simultaneously claimed to be the true Pope. This era of confusion and conflict further eroded papal authority and contributed to the image of a compromised church.
This passage introduces the beast that the woman rides in Revelation 17:3, establishing its identity as a powerful, blasphemous entity with seven heads and ten horns.
Daniel 7:20Daniel's vision also describes a beast with ten horns, and a 'little horn' that arises among them, which is often seen as a parallel to the blasphemous power described in Revelation.
Jeremiah 51:7This Old Testament passage describes Babylon as a 'golden cup in the Lord's hand, making the whole earth drunk,' echoing the theme of a powerful, intoxicating entity that leads nations astray, similar to the woman in Revelation 17.
Revelation 12:3The dragon, a symbol of Satan, is described as red in Revelation 12, and the scarlet beast here connects this powerful entity directly to the dragon's influence and opposition to God.
Isaiah 1:18The prophet Isaiah speaks of sins being 'like scarlet,' which connects the color to deep sin and rebellion, making the scarlet beast a potent symbol of utter corruption.
ellicottRevelation 17:3: "So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns."
(3) So he carried. . . . —Better, And he carried me away into a wilderness in spirit: and I saw a woman sitting upon a wild beast of scarlet colour, teeming with names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. We recognise the wild beast as that described in Revelation 13. Now the wild beast carries t…
barnesRevelation 17:3: "So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns."
So he carried me away in the spirit - In vision. He seemed to himself to be thus carried away; or the scene which he is about to describe was made to pass before him as if he were present. Into the wilderness - Into a desert. Compare the notes on Revelation 12:6. Why this scene is laid in a wilderness or de…
The "wilderness" isn't just a desolate place; it's a stark contrast to the woman's splendor, highlighting her chosen dependence on earthly power rather than divine provision, unlike the faithful who find refuge there. Notice that the beast is covered full of blasphemous names, not just on its heads, indicating that its entire being is saturated with defiance against God, a deeper corruption than previously described.
John is taken in vision to a desolate place, a wilderness, where he witnesses a striking and symbolic scene. He sees a woman, identified as the "great whore" from earlier in the chapter, riding on a fearsome scarlet beast. This beast is described as being covered in blasphemous names and having the same seven heads and ten horns seen previously, representing immense and corrupt worldly power.
John is taken in vision to a desolate place, a wilderness, where he witnesses a striking and symbolic scene. He sees a woman, identified as the "great whore" from earlier in the chapter, riding on a fearsome scarlet beast. This beast is described as being covered in blasphemous names and having the same seven heads and ten horns seen previously, representing immense and corrupt worldly power.
"And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns." — The "wilderness" isn't just a desolate place; it's a stark contrast to the woman's splendor, highlighting her chosen dependence on earthly power rather than divine provision, unlike the faithful who…
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Last reviewed October 2026
