Revelation 17:1: AND there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters

Revelation chapter 16 describes John's vision of the last seven Vial Plagues of the Third Woe.¹ However, before John could actually see the seventh and final Vial Plague, God the Father declared in Revelation 16:17 that it is done, with very little explanation.² Fortunately, one of the seven angels which had the seven vials³ talked with John.⁴ This angel told him to Come hither⁵ to receive from the angel an explanation of the seventh Vial Plague.⁶ John recorded the angelic explanation in Revelation chapters 17 to 19.⁷ These chapters contain detailed information about the history, context, and final judgment⁸ of the great whore and Modern Babylon during the seventh Vial Plague.⁹

Revelation 17:1 mentions the great whore by name for the first time, but John's use of the definite article to identify her as the Great Whore indicates that John already knew who and what she is.¹⁰ The scriptures frequently use a whore,¹¹ that is, a harlot or prostitute,¹² to symbolize immorality,¹³ idol worship,¹⁴ and the love of money.¹⁵ The Great Whore in Revelation chapter 17 embodies all these attributes.¹⁶

John saw the Great Whore sitting upon many waters.¹⁷ This image is specific to the latter-day¹⁸ church of the devil since 1830.¹⁹ The many waters symbolize the worldwide presence of Satan's kingdom²⁰ and his latter-day dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.²¹ The imagery comes from the ancient city of Babylon whose walls were built over the Euphrates river²² so that she sat upon many waters.²³ This ancient imagery matches her modern name given in Revelation 17:5 as Babylon the Great.²⁴ Her other names include Spiritual Babylon,²⁵ Modern Babylon,²⁶ and that great city that reigns over the kings of the earth in Revelation 17:18.²⁷

The Great Whore in Revelation chapter 17 represents all latter-day false religions²⁸ that lead people away from the true worship of Jesus Christ.²⁹ She is the evil antithesis³⁰ of the glorious woman who represents the true church of Jesus Christ in Revelation chapter 12,³¹ and the chaste woman³² who represents the bride of Christ in Revelation chapter 21.³³

With the introduction of the Great Whore in Revelation chapter 17, it's now possible to correlate and connect several symbolic images of evil from the latter days that are described in John's visions. The Great Whore is the religious arm‒and one of two horns‒on the Second Beast from Revelation 13:11-18. This is the beast that looks like a lamb but speaks like a dragon.³⁴ Nephi calls the Great Whore the great and abominable church.³⁵ The Second Beast of the latter days has a second horn which is a political or secular arm that is distinct from the Great Whore of false religion.³⁶ The False Prophet identified in Revelation 16:13, 19:20 and 20:10 is the disembodied spirit of Judas Iscariot,³⁷ who stands as the spiritual head of the religious arm in Satan's latter-day kingdom.³⁸

Revelation 17:2: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

In Revelation 17:2, the religious horn of the Second Beast‒the Great Whore‒fornicates with the political horn of the Second Beast called the kings of the earth.³⁹ These kings of the earth⁴⁰ are wicked and corrupt rulers of nations and influential people within nations upon the earth.⁴¹ They are the political arm⁴² or horn of power in Satan's latter-day kingdom.⁴³ They represent earthly governments and secular institutions of all kinds⁴⁴ and they become increasingly more corrupt⁴⁵ and more powerful⁴⁶ as they yield to the demoralizing influence of the Great Whore,⁴⁷ and spiritually fornicate with her.⁴⁸ The kings of the earth fall prey to the Great Whore⁴⁹ as they lie in her bed of prostitution and become drunk with the wine of her fornication, which is the wine of wickedness⁵⁰

The illicit relationship between the kings of the earth and the Great Whore takes many forms.⁵¹ It can be formal or informal, defined or undefined, compulsory or consenting. But in all cases it represents a deadly combination of church and state‒both the ecclesiastical and political‒that causes many inhabitants of the earth⁵² to become drunk with the wine of her fornication.⁵³ Fundamentally, this means the Great Whore is demoralizing society under the guise of government and many people drink the intoxicating wine of Great Whore's wickedness as consenting victims.⁵⁴ They stagger through life intoxicated by sin and in spiritual darkness.⁵⁵

Some scholars say the imagery from Revelation 17:2 describes the conditions in the ancient Roman Empire.⁵⁶ That is not the case. This verse describes a latter-day condition that is worsening.⁵⁷ The spiritual intoxication will be at its worst at the Second Coming⁵⁸ when the Great Whore will finally be the object of God's wrath.⁵⁹