Solomon defined wisdom in this way: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
(Proverbs 9:10). A person can become competent in how to do life well only by taking God seriously and so building on God’s revelation concerning himself. In our present paragraph, the Lord himself through his angel unveils how the beast goes about making war on the Lamb (Revelation 17:14; see also Revelation 12:17) but will not succeed. More, as “wisdom” takes God seriously, it is vital to note that the beast can do nothing else than carry out God’s purpose (Revelation 17:17). Further, given the centrality of prostitution and wisdom in this chapter, it is worth noting the juxtaposition of these same two themes in Proverbs 7:1 – 9:6.
9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated;