Revelation 17:5-9

5A name was written on the front of her head. Only God knows what it means. It was: Powerful Babylon. Mother of all prostitutes. Mother of all the disgusting things on the earth.

6I saw that the woman was like a drunk. She was like someone who had drunk the blood of God's people. She had killed them because they had told other people about Jesus. When I saw her, I was very surprised.

7Then the angel asked me, ‘Why are you surprised? I will explain the secret of the woman to you. I will tell you the secret of the wild animal that she rides. The wild animal that you saw has seven heads and ten horns.

8This animal was once alive, but it is not alive now. Soon it will come up out of the deep hole again but then God will destroy it completely. All these things will surprise many people who live on the earth. Those are the people whose names are not written in God's book of life from the beginning of the world. They will be surprised to see the animal that was alive at one time. It is not alive now, but it will soon appear again.

9If you are wise, think carefully about this. The animal's seven heads are a picture of seven hills in the place where the woman sits.