Abstract: »The Book of Revelation is like a kaleidoscope; it can be read as apocalyptic literature, an anti-imperial resistance text, a war book, or an animal book. Revelation 17 encompasses these facets of the book of Revelation. It anticipates the end of the Roman Empire, mocks sovereign Rome by portraying it as a sex worker, and depicts a war between the Lamb and the beast. Biblical scholars have explored the multifaceted aspects of Revelation 17 using various methodologies and theories. In this paper, I delve into the scarlet beast and the whore of Babylon and their downfall through the lens of Animal studies. Several questions arise: How and why are the scarlet beast and the whore associated with each other? What would the defeat of the beast and the whore imply? Why is the demise of the whore pivotal to the narrative? And why is the whore punished in a sexually violent way? In response to these questions, I seek to re-read Revelation 17, focusing on the association between the scarlet beast and the whore of Babylon, as well as the significance of their defeat and downfall. I argue that the sovereignty of God is established by taming the ferocious beast but also by unleashing the beast to perpetrate violent acts against the whore of Babylon, such as sexual rape, murder, and consumption of her body. I present the joint body of the beast-whore as a representative of sovereign Rome, highlighting their association in relation to bestiality. Furthermore, I explore how the author of Revelation denigrates the sovereignty of Rome through the beast-whore body and establishes the ultimate sovereignty of a hypermasculine, virile, and carnivorous God through the domestication of the beast and the sexualized murder and consumption of the whore. Lastly, I offer reflections on the abject female-beast body, illuminating the whore and the beast as vulnerable objects of spectacle.« (Source: Online Program)

Wikipedia: Ancient history: History of ancient Israel and Judah | Religious text: New Testament / Book of Revelation, Revelation 17 | Sex and the law: Rape / History of rape