Revelation 17:5 describes a woman whose name is written on her forehead as “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of the prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth.” In plain terms, John is being shown a symbol of a corrupt, idolatrous power that draws the nations into its sins, and the verse labels her with the name that makes her identity clear. The words come from the angel who guides John through a vision of judgment, and they are addressed to John and, through him, to the churches of Asia Minor.
And on her forehead a name was written, “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”
Revelation 17:5 (WEB)
What Revelation 17:5 Means
The phrase “a name was written” matters because in ancient culture a name on a forehead or a placard identified a person’s character and allegiance. Here the name is not a personal name but a description: “Mystery” signals that her true meaning is hidden to those who do not see with spiritual eyes, and “Babylon the Great” points to a city that stood for imperial arrogance and exile of God’s people.
The labels “mother of the prostitutes and of the abominations” describe her as the source and home of spiritual unfaithfulness, meaning the worship of rival powers and the moral corruption that comes with it. The verse does not promise anything directly. It exposes a false system so that readers can recognize it and refuse its allure.
The Context of Revelation 17:5
Revelation was written by John, traditionally identified as the apostle, to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia during a period of pressure from imperial cult worship. The book is apocalyptic, meaning it uses vivid symbols, visions and numbers to reveal God’s hidden purposes in history. Within chapter 17, John is carried by the Spirit into a wilderness and sees the woman seated on a scarlet beast, dressed in luxury and holding a cup of abominations.
Verses 2 through 8 show that the woman is closely tied to the kings and inhabitants of the earth, who have been drawn into her immorality. Reading verse 5 within this scene shows that the name is an interpretive key: the angel explains in verse 7 that he will reveal the mystery, so the name is the first clue to a symbolic picture of worldly power seducing the nations.
Key Phrases in Revelation 17:5
Revelation 18:4
I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, that you have no participation in her sins, and that you don’t receive of her plagues…
(WEB)
This verse follows directly in the same story and calls God’s people to come out of Babylon so they will not share in her sins or receive her plagues. It shows that the warning in chapter 17 is meant to lead to a practical separation from the corrupt system it exposes.
Jeremiah 51:7
Babylon has been a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, who made all the earth drunk. The nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations have gone mad.
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Jeremiah describes the historical Babylon as a golden cup in the Lord’s hand that made the nations drunk, which sheds light on the cup of abominations in Revelation 17:4. The Old Testament background helps readers see how John draws on earlier prophecy to describe the seductive power of an oppressive empire.
A Short Prayer From Revelation 17:5
Lord, you see through every false glitter and every name the world gives to its pride. Open my eyes to recognize what draws my heart away from you, and give me the courage to refuse its promises. Keep me faithful in ordinary choices, so that I will not be seduced by what looks impressive but leads away from your truth. Thank you that the mystery is ultimately yours to reveal, and that you are faithful to your people. Amen.
