And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
The Judgement of the Great Whore. Her Pomp. Chap. 17 Rev 17:1-6
1. one of the angels ] So Rev 21:9: cf. Rev 5:5.
I will shew unto thee the judgement &c.] Which had been exhibited, and described in general terms, in Rev 16:19: but the seer is now to have a nearer view of it, and describe it in detail.
the great whore ] The image of the harlot is taken from the Old Testament description, not of Babylon, which when personified is a virgin (Isa 47:1), but of Tyre (Isa 23:15 sqq.) and Nineveh (Nah 3:4). The truth is, the Antichristian Empire is conceived as embodying the various forms of evil that existed in previous earthly empires. They have existed and become great, in virtue of what was good in them: (see St Augustine’s City of God, V. xii. 3, 5, xv. &c.; Epist. cxxxviii. 17: cf. Plat. Rep. I. xxiii. pp. 351 2); they are the divinely appointed protectors of God’s people (Jer 29:7; Rom 13:1-7; 1Ti 2:2) though their possible persecutors: and so they at once hinder (2Th 2:6-7) the coming of Antichrist, and foreshadow his coming by acting in his spirit. The Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar had (as no one can read the Book of Daniel without seeing) something nobler in it than mere conquering pride, and to this nobler element Isaiah does justice: but St John sees (it does not follow that the natural man will see) that in the New Babylon the baser element is supreme.
But another interpretation has been suggested. In Rev 12:6; Rev 12:14 we found that the Woman, the City of God and the Mother of His Son, fled into the wilderness, and there was concealed through the time of the Beast’s reign: and some have thought that the Woman in the Wilderness whom we meet with here is actually the same as the one we then parted with the faithful City become an harlot (Isa 1:21.)
This view is an unpleasant one, and seems out of harmony with the tone either of chap. 12 or of this chapter. But it is supported by the argument, that the image of a harlot is most frequently, in the O. T. used of the unfaithful City of God: Isa 1:21; Jer 2:20, Jer 3:1 sqq., Jer 3:6 sqq.; Eze 16:23; Hosea 1-3; Hos 4:15; Mic 1:7: while it is applied to heathen cities only in Isaiah 23 fin.; Nah 3:4, already quoted.
On the other hand, in almost all those passages it is insisted on, more or less expressly, that the whoredoms of unfaithful Israel have the special guilt of adultery: and of that there is no hint here, the Lord does not say of Babylon as of Aholibah that she was “Mine.” This seems to destroy the parallel with the former nine cases, which moreover is less close, as regards the details of language, than that with the two latter.
And further, the identification of the two Women is only possible on the assumption, that the Mother of chap. 12 is the true Christian Church, and the Harlot of this chapter the apostate Christian Church of Rome. Now we have seen reason to reject the former view: nor does the latter appear any more tenable. This subject is discussed in the Introduction: it may be enough to refer to St John’s own words in I Eph 4:2-3 , as proving that the spirit of the theology (whatever may be said of the political attitude) of the existing Roman Church is, on the whole, of God that it certainly is not the spirit of Antichrist.
Yet it is hardly necessary, if it be possible, to restrict the application of this chapter to the Pagan Rome of the past. ‘The kings of the earth have committed fornication’ with other cities since. Nor did Rome, like Nineveh and Babylon (Nah 3:4, Eze 23:5; Eze 23:12; Eze 23:14), conquer as much by the fascinations of her splendour as by her arms, though the royal vassals of the Csars were dazzled as well as awed.
on many waters ] Jer 51:13. Literally true of the old Babylon, it is explained of the new in Rev 17:15.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials – See the notes on Rev 15:1, Rev 15:7. Reference is again made to these angels in the same manner in Rev 21:9, where one of them says that he would show to John the bride, the Lambs wife. No particular one is specified. The general idea seems to be, that to those seven angels was entrusted the execution of the last things, or the winding up of affairs introductory to the reign of God, and that the communications respecting those last events were properly made through them. It is clearly quite immaterial by which of these it is done. The expression which had the seven vials, would seem to imply that though they had emptied the vials in the manner stated in the previous chapter, they still retained them in their hands.
And talked with me – Spake to me. The word talk would imply a more protracted conversation than occurred here.
Come hither – Greek, deuro – Here, hither. This is a word merely calling the attention, as we should say now, Here. It does not imply that John was to leave the place where he was.
I will shew unto thee – Partly by symbols, and partly by express statements; for this is the way in which, in fact, he showed him.
The judgment – The condemnation and calamity that will come upon her.
Of the great whore – It is not uncommon in the Scriptures to represent a city under the image of a woman – a pure and holy city under the image of a virgin or chaste female; a corrupt, idolatrous, and wicked city under the image of an abandoned or lewd woman. See the notes on Isa 1:21; How is the faithful city become an harlot! Compare the notes on Isa 1:8. In Rev 17:18, it is expressly said that this woman is that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth – that is, as I suppose, papal Rome; and the design here is to represent it as resembling an abandoned female – fit representative of an apostate, corrupt, unfaithful church. Compare the notes on Rev 9:21.
That sitteth upon many waters – An image drawn either from Babylon, situated on the Euphrates, and encompassed by the many artificial rivers which had been made to irrigate the country, or Rome, situated on the Tiber. In Rev 17:15 these waters are said to represent the peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues over which the government symbolized by the woman ruled. See the notes on that verse. Waters are often used to symbolize nations.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rev 17:1-6
The Judgment of the great whore.
A corrupt Christianity
The description here given of this harlot suggests and illustrates three great evils ever conspicuous in corrupt Christianity.
I. Political subserviency. With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication. Essentially Christianity is the absolute queen of life. Although her kingdom is not of this world, her demand is that the world should bow to her. In yielding to worldly influence she lost her pristine purity and primitive power, she got corrupted, and became more and more the servant of rulers and the instrument of states.
II. Worldly proclivity. And the woman was arrayed in purple anal scarlet colour, and decked with gold, etc. Genuine Christianity is essentially unworldly.
III. Religious intolerance. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, etc. (David Thomas, D. D.)
Babylon and Anti-Christ
I. The woman.
1. Her position, which was indicative of power. John saw her seated upon a beast, dreadful, and terrible, and strong exceedingly; for so, in the book of Daniel, we find him described. Again, it was a position indicative of hostility to God. For the beast on which the woman sat was full of names of blasphemy. Then it was a position indicative of the unsightliness of vice. What a hideous monster was this beast, having seven heads and ten horns; and how strange was the picture presented to the apostles view of the great whore, as seated upon him. Here, too, was a position indicative of cruelty towards men, as well as of hostility towards God. The beast on which she sat was scarlet-coloured, betokening war and bloodshed. It was a position, nevertheless, of allurement and seduction. For she was seen as one who had in her hand a golden cup, too successfully held forth to the inhabitants of the earth, who are represented as having been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. Her position once more was that of a deceiver and destroyer. The cup held forth was golden. But its contents, as seen by the apostle–what were they? It was full of abominations, etc.
2. Her attire. The woman was arrayed in purple, and scarlet-coloured, indicative of her real dignity; and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls–illustrative of her vast wealth. How many, beholding a female thus adorned, would at once wish to occupy her place! Yet such might be arrayed on earth in purple, and fail of being hereafter arrayed in white in heaven. Instead of wishing to be decked with gold and precious stones, such as John saw glittering on the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth, let the heart go after that redemption of the soul which is precious, and ceaseth for ever.
3. Her names.
(1) Mystery. Such she would have been to John but for the angels explanation. Such, even with that explanation, she to certain extent remained to him. And such she was destined to remain to the Church of God through a long succession of ages. Let it be observed, however, that inquiry into the import of the vision was, as it were, challenged by the angel who showed this woman to John. We do not, therefore, act unbecomingly in endeavouring to ascertain what this woman was destined to represent to the apostle.
(2) Babylon the Great. In having this name inscribed upon her forehead, she was exhibited to the apostle in a vaunting attitude, and as under the influence of a spirit, similar to that of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 4:30). Elsewhere, too, in this book we find her displaying a boastful and vainglorious temper of mind (Rev 18:7). This should be a lesson to us not to be high-minded, as the possessors of either worldly or religious distinctions.
(3) The mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth. This was indeed to have a whores forehead, and to be, as the Jewish nation was once charged with being, one that refused to be ashamed. Behold the woman with unblushing effrontery proclaiming to the world her character and misdoings; and see, m her, the foreshowing of those latter times, in which doctrines of devils shall be promulgated, and men, giving heed to seducing spirits, shall depart from the faith; times when there shall be a forbidding to marry. It would seem that in this way Babylon the Great is destined to become the mother of harlots–namely, by an authoritative prohibition of the nuptial tie; a doing away with marriage throughout the wide extent of her dominion, and a consequent abandonment of society to general dissoluteness.
4. Her condition. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, etc. What spectacle was this! fitted to awaken in his bosom feelings at once of disgust and horror. How fearful an amount of persecuting rage against the Church of God, as destined to become apparent in the days of the ascendency of Babylon the Great, was thus prophetically indicated to him! And of what an amount of suffering, on the part of the saints, and of the witnesses for Jesus, was he thus made aware beforehand.
II. The beast.
1. His colour. A scarlet-coloured beast. What did this indicate? Perhaps, his regal character. We are forewarned that he will be a king of widely-extended rule. In another vision John saw power given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. We conclude, then, that in being foreshown to John as a scarlet-coloured beast, the regal character of the Man of sin may have been prophetically indicated, and in particular his character, as vicegerent on earth, of the great red dragon (Rev 12:3). But it is more probable that, in presenting him thus to the view of the apostle, the Divine purpose may have been to foreshow to the Christian world the character of antichrist, as a warrior and persecutor of the Church of God. Such he most certainly will be. As a scarlet-coloured beast he might be very fitly presented to view–a monster dyed, as it were, in blood–when it is considered that the time of his ascendency will be a time of trouble such as never was, since there was a nation to that same time (compare Rev 12:12; Dan 12:1), and except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved. Power was given to him to make war forty-and-two months–no longer. Then he was, as foreshown to John, cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
2. His names. He was full of names of blasphemy, which make us, as they made the apostle, aware that antichrist, when he shall come, besides wearing out the saints, will speak great words against the Most High–marvellous things against the God of gods. In times long gone he was foreshown to the prophet Daniel as one who would act thus. It will be one special end of his mission, as Satans prime minister in the world, to blaspheme.
3. His figure. He had seven heads and ten horns, and must, hence, have presented to the apostle an aspect at once singular, hideous, and terrible–indicative, however, of large intelligence and vast power.
4. His manifestation, contemporaneously with that of Babylon the Great. Together they will flourish–together they will fall. The day of power to both will be one and the same. The day of doom also.
5. His subservience to her exaltation and advancement. She is seated on him. He carrieth her. Her prosperity, glory, and dominion will be consequent on, and commensurate with, his own.
III. The apostles wonder at the spectacle. And when I saw her I wondered with great admiration. But John was rebuked on account of the great admiration with which he wondered at the woman on whom he was looking. He writes, And the angel said unto me, wherefore didst thou marvel? What you have now before you is not, in itself, a spectacle that ought to be wondered at, as it now is, by you. And, even if the world will wonder at it, should you do so? They shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life, from the foundation of the world (verse 8). But wherefore shouldst thou marvel?
IV. The angels promise to John. I will tell thee the mystery of the woman. This vision was granted to the apostle for the purpose of instruction, not of mere entertainment. The angel will unfold the mystery to him. The promised revelation, however, of all to him, a holy man of God and a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, is in accordance with what we read elsewhere (Psa 25:14). (H. Edwards.)
The martyrs of Jesus.
The noble army of martyrs
I. What do the Martyrs of Jesus teach us about themselves?
1. Their heroic faith. They had unswerving reliance in Christ, and knew they were not following cunningly devised fables. These martyrs had not simply an opinion or impression, but a deep belief; they were resting upon evidence which they felt to be sufficient and immovable. They believed in living, risen, and reigning Lord.
2. Their sublime hope. All they could see seemed to be against them, all their surroundings were calculated to depress them; but they looked not at things seen and temporal, but for aa inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away.
3. Their ardent love. They loved their country, home, and friends; but they loved their Master more, and they were prepared to relinquish all for the love they bore to Him.
4. Their complete obedience. They had their marching orders, and they marched on under the Great Captain of their salvation, to do and dare and die. They reciprocated His love.
5. Their transparent sincerity.
6. Their restful satisfaction. They felt they had not only sufficient, but satisfactory evidence of the truth as it is in Jesus. They found in Him all they needed to satisfy the wishes and wants of their spirits, so nothing could move them or shake their steadfastness.
II. What do the martyrs of Jesus teach us respecting Him?
1. He could have been no myth. These martyrs were–as the word literally means–witnesses, not inventors, or historians merely, they had the evidence of their senses as well as the experience of their hearts. From what we know of human nature, we feel it would have been impossible for the early Christians to have died for a myth or phantom: they were in a position to test most fully the historic claims of Christ, and to prove His personality and identity at the various points of His mission and ministry.
2. He could not have been a deceiver. Men may submit to be deluded when they have much to gain and nothing to lose; but when it is the reverse they will exercise the utmost vigilance and practise the strictest caution.
3. How faithful Christ was to His promise never to leave nor forsake them, and they witness to the victorious power of His religion to sustain the soul in the most trying circumstances, in torturing pain, and the dying hour.
4. The impotence of error and the omnipotence of truth. Truth is mighty, and must prevail; more is for it than all that can be against it. Error, in its rage and cowardice, has drawn the sword and gone forth to win its way, and strike terror into the hearts of the true. But the prospect of massacre and martyrdom could not deter the true followers of the Lamb: they have gone forth feeling that the Lord of hosts was with them, and that the mighty God of Jacob was their refuge. The King Immortal, Invisible, steers and guards His own ark, and all shall ultimately and utterly fail and fall who lay their unholy alien hands upon it. The noble army of martyrs praise God, and they preach to us. (F. W. Brown.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER XVII.
The judgment of the great whore, which sits on many waters,
1, 2.
Her description, name, and conduct, 3-6.
The angel explains the mystery of the woman, of the beast, c.,
7-18.
This chapter is, on several accounts, very important, and particularly as it appears to explain several of the most remarkable symbols in the book. The same author who has written so largely on the twelfth and thirteenth chapters, has also obliged me with his interpretation of this chapter. Not pretending to explain these things myself, I insert this as the most elaborate and learned exposition I have yet seen, leaving my readers at perfect liberty to reject it, and adopt any other mode of interpretation which they please. God alone knows all the secrets of his own wisdom.
NOTES ON CHAP. XVII., BY J. E. C.
Verse 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 show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters] That idolatrous worship is frequently represented in Scripture under the character of a whore or whoredom, is evident from numerous passages which it is unnecessary to quote. See 1Ch 5:25; Eze 16:1-63; Eze 23:1-49, &c. The woman mentioned here is called a great whore, to denote her excessive depravity, and the artful nature of her idolatry. She is also represented as sitting upon many waters, to show the vast extent of her influence. See Clarke on Re 17:13.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This whole verse is but a preface to a new vision which John had; not new, as to the matter revealed in it; for it plainly revealeth matters relating to antichrist; and the matter of it contemporizeth with the three last vials, about the final ruin of antichrist, who was before described under the notion of a beast, here under the notion of a
great whore. A whore properly signifies one that is married, and is false to her husbands bed; and so very well suits the Church of Rome, (if they yet deserve that name), whose faith was formerly spoken of throughout the world, Rom 1:8, but is long since turned idolatrous (idolatry, in the prophetic style, being quite through the Scripture called whoredom). She is said to
sit upon many waters, either because she exerciseth a jurisdiction over much people, or with allusion to old Babylon, (which gave her her name), which was situated near Euphrates, a river in which there was a great collection of waters. John is called to hear the counsels of God concerning her destruction, which though more generally and shortly revealed before, yet God here designs to reveal to John more fully, particularly, and plainly.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. unto meA, B, Vulgate,Syriac, and Coptic omit.
manySo A. But B, “themany waters” (Jer 51:13);Re 17:15, below, explains thesense. The whore is the apostate Church, just as “the woman”(Re 12:1-6) is theChurch while faithful. Satan having failed by violence, tries toosuccessfully to seduce her by the allurements of the world; unlikeher Lord, she was overcome by this temptation; hence she is seensitting on the scarlet-colored beast, no longer the wife, butthe harlot; no longer Jerusalem, but spiritually Sodom (Re11:8).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven vials,…. It may be the first of them, since one of the four beasts designs the first of them, in Re 6:1 though Brightman thinks the fifth angel is meant, because he poured out his vial on the seat of the beast, who is by this angel described; but rather this is the seventh and last angel, concerned in the utter destruction of antichrist: and therefore proposes to John to show him the judgment of the great whore:
and talked with me, saying unto me, come hither: he conversed with him in a friendly manner, see Zec 1:9 and desires him to come nearer to him, and go along with him, adding,
I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore; that noted and famous one, known before to John by the names of Jezabel and Babylon, who taught and caused many to commit fornication, Re 2:20
Re 14:8 and is no other than Rome Papal; for that a city or state is meant is clear from Re 17:18 and it is usual for idolatrous or apostate cities to be called whores or harlots, see Isa 1:21
Eze 23:2 and she is called a “great” one, because of the largeness of the Papal see; and because of the multitude of persons, the kings of the earth, and the inhabitants of it, with whom the Romish antichrist has committed spiritual fornication, or idolatry: her “judgment” signifies either her sin and wickedness; in which sense the word is used in Ro 5:16 and which is exposed, Re 17:5 namely, her idolatry and cruelty; or else her condemnation, and the execution of it, suggested in Re 17:8 and more largely described in the following chapter:
that sitteth upon many waters; which in Re 17:15 are interpreted of people, multitudes, nations, and tongues, subject to the jurisdiction of Rome; and so several antichristian states are in the preceding chapter signified by the sea, and by rivers and fountains of water: and this is said in reference to Babylon, an emblem of the Romish harlot, which was situated upon the river Euphrates, and is therefore said to dwell upon many waters, Jer 51:13 her sitting here may be in allusion to the posture of harlots plying of men; or may denote her ease, rest, and grandeur, sitting as a queen; and is chiefly expressive of her power and dominion over the kings and nations of the earth, Re 17:18.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Fall of Babylon. | A. D. 95. |
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 show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: 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. 3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Here we have a new vision, not as to the matter of it, for that is contemporary with what came under the three last vials; but as to the manner of description, c. Observe, 1. The invitation given to the apostle to take a view of what was here to be represented: Come hither, and I will show thee the judgment of the great whore, &c., <i>v. 1. This is a name of great infamy. A whore [in this passage] is one that is married, and has been false to her husband’s bed, has forsaken the guide of her youth, and broken the covenant of God. She had been a prostitute to the kings of the earth, whom she had intoxicated with the wine of her fornication. 2. The appearance she made: it was gay and gaudy, like such sort of creatures: She was arrayed in purple, and scarlet colour, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls, v. 4. Here were all the allurements of worldly honour and riches, pomp and pride, suited to sensual and worldly minds. 3. Her principal seat and residence–upon the beast that had seven heads and ten horns; that is to say, Rome, the city on seven hills, infamous for idolatry, tyranny, and blasphemy. 4. Her name, which was written on her forehead. It was the custom of impudent harlots to hang out signs, with their names, that all might know what they were. Now in this observe, (1.) She is named from her place of residence–Babylon the great. But, that we might not take it for the old Babylon literally so called, we are told there is a mystery in the name; it is some other great city resembling the old Babylon. (2.) She is named from her infamous way and practice; not only a harlot, but a mother of harlots, breeding up harlots, and nursing and training them up to idolatry, and all sorts of lewdness and wickedness–the parent and nurse of all false religion and filthy conversation. 5. Her diet: she satiated herself with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus. She drank their blood with such greediness that she intoxicated herself with it; it was so pleasant to her that she could not tell when she had had enough of it: she was satiated, but never satisfied.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
I will show thee ( ). Future active of . It is fitting that one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls should explain the judgment on Babylon (16:19) already pronounced (14:8). That is now done in chapters Rev 17:17; Rev 17:18.
The judgment of the great harlot ( ). The word is the one used about the doom of Babylon in Jer 51:9. Already in 14:8 Babylon is called the harlot. is the objective genitive, “the judgment on the great harlot.”
That sitteth upon many waters ( ). Note triple use of the article . In Jer 51:13 we have ‘ (locative in place of genitive as here). Babylon got its wealth by means of the Euphrates and the numerous canals for irrigation. Rome does not have such a system of canals, but this item is taken and applied to the New Babylon in 17:15. Nahum (Na 3:4) calls Nineveh a harlot, as Isaiah (Isa 23:16f.) does Tyre.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Sitteth upon many waters. Said of Babylon, Jer 51:13; the wealth of Babylon being caused both by the Euphrates and by a vast system of canals. The symbol is interpreted by some commentators as signifying Babylon, by others pagan Rome, Papal Rome, Jerusalem. Dante alludes to this passage in his address to the shade of Pope Nicholas 3, in the Bolgia of the Simonists.
“The Evangelist you pastors had in mind, When she who sitteth upon many waters To fornicate with kings by him was seen. The same who with the seven heads was born, And power and strength from the ten horns received, So long as virtue to her spouse was pleasing.” ” Inferno, ” 19, 106 – 110.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
THE SEVEN DOOMS Rev 17:1 to Rev 20:15 (The Divine View of Babylon) v. 1-18:1-8
Note: see also Introduction Revelation
1) “And there came one of the seven angels,” (kai elthen eis ek ton hepta angelon) “and there came out one of the seven angels; Divine messengers who communicated to John matters of pending judgment and the coming of the Lord Jesus as conqueror, Rev 8:2; Rev 15:1; Rev 16:1; Rev 21:9.
2) “Which had the seven vials,” (ton echonton tas hepta phialas) “which or who was holding one of the seven vial like bowls; as described in the two previous chapters, Rev 15:1; Rev 16:1.
3) “And talked with me, saying unto me,” (kai elalesen met’ emou legon) “and conferred with (communicated with) me saying,” instructing, imparting the following information:
4) “Come hither; I will shew unto thee,” (deuro deikso soil “come thou, and I will show to you,” give to you a preview, make you to see, recognize some false religious orders and influences and their final judgment, Ecc 12:13-14.
5) “The judgment of the great whore,” (to krima tes pornes tes megales) “the judgment of the great harlot as Jesus Christ has his true bride, the church, so Satan has his vulgar woman the whore (the harlot) a religious fornicator and adulterer, perhaps Romanism and Catholicism, both of which pose as, but are unfaithful to, our Lord’s church and his ordinances to her, Rev 19:2; Nah 3:4; Heb 13:10.
6) “That sitteth upon many waters,” (tes kathemenes epi hudaton pollon) “the judgment of the one sitting or placed over many waters; This appears to be Roman Catholicism or an end time union of a one world church inclusive of religious orders that have come out of and from her and later merged with a one-world program of unbiblical idolatrous worship. The term waters refers to the masses of people on whose back she rides, Rev 17:15.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
THE FALL OF MYSTICAL BABYLON
Rev 17:1 to Rev 19:8
ONCE more it devolves upon us to present an unattractive subject, namely, Mystical Babylon. Chapters 17 and 18 are also included in the inspired picture of the last days and the judgments to come.
When Christ performed the miracle of changing water into wine, He illustrated a principle that will be found running through all Divine conduct, namely, that of keeping the best till the last.
It would be a wearisome task indeed to listen to the sounding of these trumpets, to watch the unequal warfare of righteousness, to behold the dragon, the beast and the false prophet, to look upon the out-pouring of the seven vials, to study the character of Mystical Babylon, if with the preview of these things, one came to an end. But, as the traveler is repaid for crossing the valley, by the beauties of the mountain side, and the outlook from the mountain height, so the student of Revelation will quickly forget the darkness that envelopes the whole world, under the dragons reign, when lo, that dragon is cast down, his entire following overthrown once for all, and the Son of God is seated in the place of universal power.
But, as one who studies these chapters will see, that day lies beyond the rise and fall of Babylon. I propose, therefore, four questions, touching the content of these chapters (Rev 17:1 to Rev 19:8).
What is meant by Mystical Babylon? Will ancient Babylon be rebuilt? What will be the nature of Babylons fall? And what will be some of the effects of that fall?
WHAT IS MEANT BY MYSTICAL BABYLON?
This question can best be answered by a study of the text and a comparison with other Scriptures.
The first thing that impresses one is, the figure of the fallen woman.
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:
With whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns?
Every reader of the Book of Revelation must be impressed with the personnel of the great leaders in this coming conflict. On the one side, we have Godthe Father, Christthe Son, the Bride or True Churchincarnating the Spirit, angels Prophets, Apostles and saints; on the other hand we have the dragon, the antichrist, the false prophet, the fallen woman, and all evil spirits.
It is a volume of contrasts because preparation for the final conflict is rapidly making. As the dragon stands over against God; as the antichrist opposes the true Christ; as the false prophet attempts to undo all the results of faithful Prophets, so this fallen woman is the antithesis of the Faithful Spouse.
You will remember that, by comparing Scripture with Scripture, we found that bride to be nothing other than the true peopleChurch of God, who, in the process of time, is to be wedded to the Son. If that figure signified the Church, and illustrated all worship rendered in spirit and in truth, this fallen woman is an equally adequate expression of all false worship, wherever found and in whatever form. As long ago as Zachariahs time, Gods Prophets were privileged a vision of this deceiver to come. She was not only pictured in the fifth chapter of that volume, seventh verse, following, as a, woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah, but ere the Prophet concludes, he locates her in ((the land of Shinar, or of Babylon. If, years ago, one had asked me the meaning of this harlot figure, I should have answered, with a good degree of confidence, the Papacy. But, I am quite convinced that such an answer would have been incomplete, notwithstanding the eminence of certain scholars who have given it.
False worship was born when Cain brought the fruits of the ground; but even he made an offering to the Lord. It remained for Nimrod, in the plains of Shinar, to erect a shrine that disregarded God altogether, and introduced a religion which sought to dethrone the Most High, and give His seat of authority to another.
They called their endeavor, Babel or Babylon confusion. And there the woman of this text, or false worship, begins her history. From that point on, you will find God characterizing as harlotry, and whoring, inventions of men that rejected Him and worshipped at another shrine. See Psa 106:39; Jer 2:20; Jer 3:2; Jer 11:15; Jer 13:27; Eze 16:13-15; Eze 20:29-30; Eze 23:2-8; Hos 4:18; Hos 5:1-4. Every one of these passages is in perfect line with Rev 17:1-5.
If a fallen woman is Satans agent for the downfall and destruction of enticed men, so a false worship is the surest path to sorrow and even hell, for its patron souls. Every such a false worship, from Nimrods day, has consorted with the wicked world.
Every such a worship has been pleased to receive support from the political state, or the scarlet colored beast, having seven heads and ten horns.
Every such a worship has delighted to array itself in purple and scarlet, to bedeck its altars with gold, and adorn its subjects with precious stones and pearls.
Every such a worship has feasted itself on the blood of the saints, and delighted to empty the veins of the martyrs of Jesus.
In all of these things, Papacy has had her part! She has consorted with worldliness of every form. The sale of indulgences has not been her exceptional behavior. She has ridden upon the back of every political power that she could bridle to her profit. The scarlet-colored beasts of Italy, France, Spain, the South American Republics, many Isles of the sea, have had to carry her: even Europe, England and North America have contributed their millions toward her unholy support.
She has arrayed herself in purple and scarlet, bedecked herself with gold and precious stones and pearls. And it is estimated that not less than fifty millions of martyrs have had to shed their blood to satiate her inhuman thirst.
And yet, the woman of this text is not wholly accounted for by the Roman church. Buddhism, Confucianism, Shintoism, Mohammedanism, and every other false ism of the ages down to the Fetishism of the Dark Continent, and Modernism of civilized countriesall of them have contributed their share to the character of this mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. And wherever you find a man, or a company of men;an individual or an organization, that is attempting to dethrone God, to overturn His altars, and to end His worship, as in present-day university teaching, there you have a child of this strumpet of the centuries.
I read once Count Tolstois book entitled, What is Art, in which he quotes from an American volume, published in Chicago, by Ragner Red-beard. His subject is, The Survival of the Fittest, or The Philosophy of Power. And, Tolstoi says, The substance of his volume is to the effect that to measure goodness by the false philosophy of the Hebrew Prophets and weepful Messiahs is madness. Right is not the offspring of doctrine, but of power. All laws, commandments, or doctrines as to not doing to another what you do not wish done to you, have no inherent authority whatever, but receive it only from the club, the gallows, and the sword. A man, truly free, is under no obligation to obey any injunction, human or Divine. Obedience is the sign of the degenerate. Disobedience is the stamp of a hero. Men should not be bound by the moral rules invented by their foes. The whole world is a slippery battlefield. Ideal justice demands that the defeated should be exploited, emasculated, and scorned. The free and brave may seize the world. And, therefore, there should be eternal war for life, for land, for love, for women, for power, and for gold. The earth and its treasures is booty for the bold.
That was the boldest putting of this doctrine that we had seen in print to that time. It far exceeds the late Senator Ingalls infamous declaration that political righteousness is an iridescent dream, and that the Ten Commandments have no place in politics. Such expressions are as common now as atheism and communism.
That is the spirit that accounts for every false shrine ever erected in the world; for every rejection of God; for every repudiation of His authority; for all antagonism to His Holy Word. That is the spirit that has animated and increased the life and power of that false faith which is represented by the text of this night, under the figure of a fallen woman, whose fornications have corrupted the earth; whose drunkenness has been shared by all of her consorts; whose gay clothing has eloquently declared her evil purpose; and whose jeweled fingers have delighted and still delight to shed the blood of saints. Write upon her forehead, Babylon. Mark the meaning of the word, confusion ! and remember where she was born, in the plains of Shinar, with Nimrod, the rebel, for her earthly father; and the dragon of the pit her spiritual ancestor, and I believe you have what is meant by the first verses of this 17th chapter of Revelation.
WILL ANCIENT BABYLON BE REBUILT?
To raise this question must strike many as strange, and may impress some as fanciful in the extreme. When, about thirty years ago, W. E. Blackstone, that great student of prophecy, suggested this to me, as the meaning of certain sentences in this seventeenth chapter, I confess it seemed then to savor of the fanciful, and I said to myself, speculative!
But up to that time, I had given little thought to the subject, and so was not fitted to form a definite opinion. Even now, I prefer, rather, to set you studying the subject, than to assert, dogmatically, my own conclusions concerning it. There are three lines of argument that look toward a possible rebuilding of Babylon, so that the city to come will fill up the measure of what these chapters have to say concerning it.
First, the argument from this Scripture. If false worship be here referred to, it began its course at Babylon. The Nimrodism of that ancient city is in a very real sense the mother of all endeavors to dethrone God, defeat His Church, snatch the world away from His Son, and turn it over to Satan! And this Scripture declares that the beast, on which this woman is to sit, which is nothing else than the political power that shall be associated with this false worship, is to be located in that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
The angel who talks with John, explains the seven heads on this wise,
The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
And, there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; * *
And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast, etc.
At the time John wrote, there had been five great world empires, Babylon, Persia, Assyria, Greece, and Egypt. The sixth existed then, in the Roman Empire, and when it fell, it left no successor, since the sovereignty of the single man was at an end. But according to this prophecy, the seventh is yet to come, and when he comes, the antichrist will hold that office, and enjoy that distinction for a short period, with headquarters at Babylon, which shall then be worthy of the distinction, that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
The next argument is from prophecies yet to be fulfilled. If you have Hitchcocks Analysis of the Bible, look up the word Babylon, and see what is prophesied as to the greatness of this city. It will raise a question as to whether it has ever attained, as yet, to the fullness of Divine purpose; and, when you study the prophecies of its destruction, you will be impressed with the fact that they have never been perfectly fulfilled, and a day of judgment must yet await it. Read the 137th Psalm: in Isa 13:19-21 it is said,
Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.
And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces.
Jeremiah also says, Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling place for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, WITHOUT AN INHABITANT
These prophecies have never been fulfilled as yet. Babylon has had her great adversities, her earnests of judgment to come; but she has never been totally depopulated. Today there are more than ten thousand inhabitants there. The assurance that she is to have another and complete fall is found in Isa 13:6, where her final judgment is set at the day of the Lord, or at the time of the Second Coming.
But to me, the most effective argument, touching Babylons being rebuilt, has to do with the citys location and the spirit of our times. These are times when a great city is solely a question of commercial advantages. Seventy-five years ago the southwest shore of Lake Michigan was a mud hole; today, in many respects, it is the most mighty metropolis of America. The explanation is easy. Chicagos location accommodates commercial interests.
It has been urged, recently, that no city in the world could compete with Babylon in this respect. The earth does not know a more fertile soil than that which sweeps away from this center. The Euphrates is one of the great waterways of the earth, leading out to oceans that lave every shore.
W. P. Andrew, many years ago, wrote a volume on The Euphrates Valley Route to India, in which he declared that commercially, historically, and politically, the Euphrates valley route must yet affect the commerce and even the destinies of our race, and become the high-way of the commercial world. Other authors have urged the same. Sir Charles Napier declared that civilization would yet return and find its headquarters at Babylon, a revived Empire.
Seiss says, touching its becoming the first city of the world, There is no spot on earth so suited to the purpose. * * There all the great mercantile organizations could unite in one common center. And there is a disposition on the part of capital to organize, more and more, and to centralize and incorporate. Recent events make it seem possible that competitor may yet be an obsolete term, and a single corporation may control the markets and determine the prices of every material product. A few more Rothchilds, Rockefellers, and Morgans and we will be ready for the beast to appear; and take his place, and begin his reign over the marts of the eartha reign in which all those who will not receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads, be they small or great, rich or poor, free or bond, will not be privileged to buy or sell.
There are those who, studying these conditions from a purely socialistic standpoint, reach the conclusion just announced, and write it out. Caesars Column is such a prophecy fifty years old.
The meaning of these modern movements is more suggestive still, because the Scriptures have anticipated them and told us what would be the end. Somewhere on the earth, there will necessarily be a chief commercial center which will have outstripped all other contestants, as Chicago has outrun the meanest Illinois village. Sometime, in the not distant future, corporate wealth with its centralizing tendency will have resolved itself into a single organization. That commercial organization and that city will dwell together. Should we be surprised to find the city located in the Euphrates valley, in Babylon, rebuilt; with the antichrist on the throne; with commerce for its animating spirit; and modernism for its religion?
Whatever may be the meaning of this Babylon, the prophecy touching her fall is full and clear, and I invite your attention to two other questions.
WHAT WILL BE THE NATURE OF HER FALL?
First of all, it will be sudden and unlooked for.
The description of her greatness is scarcely finished, when lo, John saw another angel come down from Heaven, * * And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
When God gets ready, it doesnt take Him long to whelm the mightiest city. One day in 1871, Chicago was a prosperous metropolis, with every promise of permanence; the next morning it was in ashes, and her people in sackcloth. So with San Pierre and San FranciscoSodom repeated!
It will be complete and irremediable.
Her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord Gad who judgeth her.
The prosperity of a city is no sign of its security. If its commerce countenances sin, and its mortar is laid in innocent blood, no matter how deep they dig to place its foundations, it cannot stand.
Henry Ward Beecher, some sixty years ago, speaking of the communistic movement in Paris, said, There are hundreds that sit before me who have made their pilgrimage thither, who have dwelt in its palaces, who have strolled through its galleries with delight, who have admired its cleanliness, and who have marveled at the abundance of its resources for satisfying the rarest appetites and the most exquisite taste. Here was gayety that beat with dancing foot the hours almost around the year. Was there ever any place on earth so fashioned to make men gay, and genial, and happy, as Paris? Its government, its order, art, its science, its beautythe imagination teems with these elements which belonged to it; and now it is soaked with blood. Many of its fairest structures are smouldering in ashes. Thousands and tens of thousands of festering corpses lie along its streets. Multitudes of its people are in exile. More of them are dead; and many others wish they were dead. The scenes of the hideous French Revolution are enacted again.
But Paris recovered its equinimity. When Babylon goes down in death, and mourning, and famine, and fire, she will go, never to rise again, never to know another inhabitant.
That fall will mark the beginning of the end. In time, it corresponds with the opening of the sixth vialthe visitation of the sixth plague. You remember that when the sixth angel poured out his vial, the very waters in the great Euphrates dried up. A commentator says, Terrible mortality and famine would be the natural and inevitable result of the failure of that river to a city built upon it, and so dependent on its waters. All her shipping would thus be disabled. All the fertility of her gardens and surrounding country would be turned to dust and barrenness. The exposed and stagnant filth of so great a river, together with the decaying vegetation for the space of nearly 2,000 miles, would be a source of deadly pestilence, which no skill or power of man could abate or stay. With such a plague over all the place, all helpers would fear to approach; their markets would be unsupplied, their communication with the rest of the world (already so largely emptied and desolated by the march of the kings with their armies to the scene of battle against the Lamb) would be without avail. And thus black death and helpless want would stalk through every street, and highway, and lane, and alley of the whole city, and fill all the region round about with unexampled suffering, mourning, and horror.
WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF HER FALL?
Three things. It will result in consternation to many. That day the antichrist will meet his defeat, or at least see the beginning of his end. We are told also that
the kings of the earth * * shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
And saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
And cried * *, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
The refrain of her consorts shall be in one hour! The very suddenness of it will smite them all with a consternation equal, at least, to the sorrows for which they alike are set.
It will illustrate Gods faithfulness in judgment.
There are men who call evil good, and good evil, and expect to escape the confusion that God has promised to such philosophers. This day will undo their teaching, and visit upon them the penalty of their conduct.
But last, and best of all, will be the effect of starting the hallelujahs of the holy. For it was after these things, John says,
I heard a great voice of much people in Heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
For true and righteous are His judgments: for He hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand.
And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great.
And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His Wife hath made herself ready (Rev 19:1-7).
Frederick W. Faber spake the truth when he said, True worship is something more than either the fear of God, or the love of Him; it is delight in Him. And I tell you that when Christ His Son, shall again appear on earth and shall take into His own hands the reins of power, and overthrowing iniquity, shall establish His sovereignty from sea even to sea, and from the river even unto the ends of the earth, then, those who love Him will prove their delight by praises that will wake the whole earth, and resound through the remotest Heavens.
I think I know what Thomas Kelly meant when he wrote,
Hark! ten thousand harps and voicesSound the note of praise above;Jesus reigns, and Heaven rejoices;Jesus reigns, the God of love;See, He sits on yonder throne;Jesus rules the world alone.
Jesus, hail! whose glory brightensAll above, and gives it worth:Lord of life, Thy smile enlightens, Cheers, and charms Thy saints on earth:When we think of love like Thine, Lord, we own it love Divine.
King of glory, reign forever;Thine an everlasting crown;Nothing from Thy love shall severThose whom Thou hast made Thine own;Happy objects of Thy grace, Destined to behold Thy face.
Saviour hasten Thine Appearing;Bring, O bring the glorious day, When the awful summons hearing, Heaven and earth shall pass away: Then, with golden harps well sing, Glory, glory to our King.
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
THE JUDGMENT ON BABYLON
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES
NOTICE that in the Old Testament, harlotry is the frequent representation of apostasy. Babylon stands for the Apostate Church, which is here figured as a harlot temptress.
Rev. 17:4. Golden cup.Jer. 51:7.
Rev. 17:5. Upon her forehead was a name.It is said to have been an ancient custom for harlots to wear their names on their foreheadstied on as a label. Mystery.See 2Th. 2:7.
Rev. 17:7. Carrieth her.The woman sitting upon the beast may mean the union of the ecclesiastical and secular power. [It is not in the design of this commentary to examine how far the events of St. Johns time, more especially in relation to the persecutions of Imperial Rome, and in relation to doctrinal and moral failures within the Church of Christ, give colour and form to his symbolical representations. It is hardly possible to make any elaborate homiletical use of this portion of the Apocalypse.] Into the controversy as to the relation of ecclesiastical Rome to these Johannine visions and prophecies, it is not either fitting or necessary that this work should enter. It has been the aim of its author and editor carefully to avoid all contentious topics, and keep entirely in the realm of general truths and principles. What wise uses may be made of single passages in these chapters will be found indicated in the homiletic portions, and in the notes and specimen outlines.
SUGGESTIVE NOTES AND SERMON SKETCHES
Rev. 17:3. The Scarlet Harlot.Who or what is the Scarlet Harlot of Revelation 17? Commentators have given scores of opinions, but the majority have settled upon Rome, either Pagan or papal. That great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth (Rev. 17:18) to their minds determines the question, and as a collateral proof is the plain declaration (Rev. 17:9) that the seven heads are the seven mountains on which the woman sitteth. What can these be (they say) but the famous seven hills of Rome? These interpreters find no difficulty in exalting the petty hills of Rome into mountains, and they also fail to see that these seven mountains are (in Rev. 17:3) a scarlet coloured beast, and (in Rev. 17:1; Rev. 17:15) many waters. How are they going to turn the seven hills of Rome into many waters, or a beast? The harlot sits on all three equally. The error with most commentators in this remarkable book is their strange mingling of the literal with the symbolic. It is true that when the apostle-prophet himself explains a symbol, we have a literal statement, as in Rev. 19:8. The fine linen is the righteousness of saints, but in all other cases the symbolism must be adhered to. In this seventeenth chapter we see a scarlet harlot, seated on a scarlet beast, and the beast is full of names of blasphemy, and has seven heads and ten horns. The woman is gorgeously arrayed and is drunkdrunk with the blood of the saints. The beast and the horns (see R.V.) at last destroy the harlot (Rev. 17:16). Now, if the woman of chap. 12, clothed with the sun, and yet bitterly persecuted, is Gods true Church, as the whole context seems to demand, what is more likely than that this prosperous harlot is the false church? But what is the false Church? The Church of Rome? But how about the Greek Church? and the Armenian Church? and the Nestorian Church? and the Abyssinian Church? Are not these as false as Rome? I think we shall have to give up the identification of this woman with the Church of Rome. She is the false Churchany Church which puts aught in Christs place. In other words, she is the ecclesiastical corrupter of doctrine and practice found in all so-called churches of Christ. Christ has a real, true Church, composed of sincere believers, trusting in Him alone as the Saviour; and side by side with these, under the same external organisations, are thousands and millions who are a false Church, whose faith is in human power and human works, who pervert the truth, and whose lives are not spiritual, but carnal. These form Antichrist. They are not under any one organisation. They are under all nominally Christian organisations. This is the false Church. Do not look for either this or the true Church in one external form. Look for it in life and spirit. This is the scarlet harlot. It seeks this worlds gold and precious stones and pearls (Rev. 17:4), and has no eye for eternal realities. It has always been the oppressor of Gods true people, and the suppressor of Gods truth. It is the concreted spirit of persecution toward all that is godly. It is a Christianity that practically denies Christ, and puts human greed or human pride and pleasure in His place. It exhibits itself, not only in superstition, political power, the Inquisition and Jesuitism, but also in rationalism, scepticism and worldliness. This womanthis harlotthis false Church, is called that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth, because it is this false style of Christianity that controls the governments of the world, which support the Church as it does the theatre, and which sings The Deums over acts of tyranny and murder. This great city is called Babylon (Rev. 17:5), and Sodom, and Egypt, and Jerusalem, which crucified our Lord (Rev. 11:8), names indicative of hatred to Gods people and to their Lord and Redeemer. The waters on which the woman sits, we are told, are the nations of the earth (Rev. 17:15), for she proudly flourishes wherever the nominal Christian Church is found. These nations in their institutions support her. The waters and mountains also appear as a beast, the beast of chap. 13, the beast of human tyrannical power, selfish and cruel. This human power has had seven grand manifestations in history as connected with Gods peoplenamely, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome Pagan, Rome Christian. The first five of these had fallen in the prophet-apostles time (Rev. 17:10); the sixth was in existence; the seventh was still to come, but to continue only a brief period, for the beast itself has to succeed his heads and share his power with the ten horns. That is, the successors of the Roman Empire should unite with the tyranny, now not in an Empire, but in an ecclesiastical human centre. On all these phases of tyranny over man, the scarlet woman sits in her gorgeous pride. Ecclesiastical corruption flourishes on these human institutions of government. The false Church finds her aliment in these human and carnal principles of society and law. But the time will come when Gods judgment will fall on the false Church. The very beast and horns will destroy it. The carnal interests of human authority will be the means of destroying the false Christianity which they formerly supported. The wrath of man will praise God. And then the true ChurchGods faithful oneswill be vindicated and glorified.Howard Crosby.
Rev. 17:14. The Overcoming Lamb.A great Person is here spoken of, and a great thing, it is declared, He will accomplish.
I. Consider the Person mentioned. He is not a lamb but the Lamb. He is the great, universal Lamb, causing the blood which He shed to spread itself, as it were, all over the world, so that every sinner might touch it, and be saved from his sins. See His personal qualities.
1. His quietness. It is in marked contrast with the lion.
2. Wonderful patience. How much He bore from His enemies!
3. Perfectly innocent.
4. Capable of exercising great wrath.
II. What He shall overcome.The Lamb shall overcome them; which seems to have special reference to organised Antichrist. But He shall overcome all opposers, both nations and individuals.
III. How He shall overcome His opposers.There are two general methods. One is that of using certain means to persuade rebellious hearts to become reconciled to God. His greatest effort has always been to overcome by the passion of His love. But the second method is that of final banishment from His presence. Oh, what can feeble man do against such an all powerful being as Christ is? How utterly vain have been the threats of infidels, that they would banish Him from the world!C. H. Wetherbe.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Strauss Comments
SECTION 57
Text Rev. 17:1-5
And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls, and spake with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters; 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and they that dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her fornication. 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, even the unclean things of her fornication, 5 and upon her forehead a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Initial Questions Rev. 17:1-5
1.
Discuss the O.T. and N.T. use of the symbol of adultery with respect to faithfulness or lack of faithfulness to God.
2.
How extensive was the influence of the great harlot Rev. 17:2?
3.
In the N.T. period, what did the color scarlet signify Rev. 17:3?
4.
Discuss the economic significance of the dress of the woman in Rev. 17:4.
5.
What does the word mystery mean Rev. 17:5?
The Vision of Babylon Seated on the Beast
Chapter Rev. 17:1-5
Thus far we have noted that five enemies and the followers of the fifth enemy have been presented. The dragon, the beast from the sea, the beast from the earth, the false prophet, the great harlot, Babylon, and those who wear the mark of the beast. John relays the fate of those who wear this mark in chaps. 1516. God grants to John an inspired vision in chps. 1719 in which the ultimate defeat of Babylon, the beast of the sea, and the false prophet are revealed. R. H. Charles erroneously charges that the book under study introduces the subject of the fate of Babylon and then fails to discuss it. First, we must not forget that the original Greek Text had no chapter nor verse divisions. In view of this fact Charles criticism is irrelevant. The content of chp. 17 relates the nature and history of the harlot, Babylon; chp. 18 manifests the ultimate and final defeat of the enemies of The Light of the World; Chp. 19 relates the holy rejoicing in heaven because of Satandoms irrecoverable fall! The victorious Christ and those that are more than conquerors are presented.
The harlot is seated on waters, an O.T. symbol for evil. We shall learn later that this is not Johns meaning. Almost these very words are used in Jer. 51:13. The description of the harlot given in Rev. 17:2 is without question taken from Isaiahs (Isa. 23:15-17) description of Tyre. The harlot was arrayed in scarlet, the color of royalty. This woman has the same general characteristics of the beast which is described in Jer. 51:7; as the one who attempts the destruction of Gods elect. We must also emphasize that the Church and the all-Anti-Christian powers occupy the same territory, the earth. Gods purpose involves the safety of the remnant (The Church), and the destruction of the five enemies and their evil cohorts. Part of chapter 17 is an explanation of Johns visions (Rev. 17:8-18).
Rev. 17:1
The judgment of Babylon (Rev. 16:19) was already revealed in chapter Rev. 14:8. The actual description of the judgment is provided in chapters 1718. Another prophet of God, Nahum (Rev. 3:4) uses the imagery of the harlot when speaking of Nineveh.
One of the seven angels commands John to come and see the judgment of Babylon the great harlot sitting on many waters. This description was originally given by Jeremiah (Jer. 51:13) when speaking of physical Babylon. But John cannot be speaking of real Babylon on the Euphrates restored once more; because Isaiah (Isa. 13:19-22) prophesied that it would never exist again as a powerful empire. Babylon on the Euphrates controlled many canals which were used for irrigation (like the Nile for Egypt). Rome did not have access to such a source of wealth.
Rev. 17:2
The harlot is described as the source of sensual gratification (not merely sexual) of the kings of the earth. The kings practiced fornication (eporneusan 1st aor. indicative, the aorist tense is used to show the established fact of illicit practices) with this harlot. This imagery comes directly from the prophetic pronouncements concerning the disloyal, disobedient people of Israel. The apostasy of the church from her Lord is here asserted (see Jer. 2:20; Jer. 3:1; Jer. 6:8; Isa. 1:21; Hos. 2:5; Hos. 3:3; Hos. 4:14; Eze. 16:15-16; Eze. 16:28; Eze. 16:31; Eze. 16:35; Eze. 16:41; Eze. 23:5; Eze. 23:19; Eze. 23:44). The spiritual apostasy of the people of God is asserted as a matter of fact in both the O.T. and N.T. It is impossible to harmonize this biblical doctrine with the claim of some denominations that a saved individual can never become an apostate from Christ (The Greek word from which we derive apostate comes from two words one meaning of or away from, and the other meaning to stand, thus to stand off from an earlier commitment to Christ).
John further describes the moral decadence through the imagery of drunkenness. The moral degradation has extended through out the entire earth. The ones dwelling on the earth became drunk from the wine of her fornication.—-
John is led to the wilderness in the spirit. The woman of chapter 12 had already fled to the wilderness. John saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, being filled with names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The harlot sits clothed like a queen. The kings of the earth are her lovers. Swete has an excellent discussion on the maternal imagery used here of Rome. This relationship with the provinces and their rulers was widely known as late as the fourth century. (See Swete, The Apocalypse of John, op cit., p. 217 for this type of information. Swete and Beckwith are the best readily available sources.) The martyrdom of Christians was the result of an official Roman policy.
Rev. 17:4
The wealth of the harlot is most clearly asserted in the description of her dress. She was no cheap hussy; she was a member of the first century jet set (a name given to the decadent, wealthy European and American men and women of our own day). She was having been clothed in purple and scarlet (chrusio kai kokkinon only the wealthiest of the wealthy could dress in purple and scarlet garments), and having been gilded (decked or covered) with gold, and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand being filled with abominations and unclean things of her fornication,. . . . Culturally, the great harlot represented the highest level of Roman society. She possessed the things that men and nations fight to the death to obtain. Roman culture fell because the seed of her collapse was being sown, even in the first century. She fell, never to rise again in the fifth century A.D.
Rev. 17:5
John draws his imagery from the 1st century practice. Roman harlots wore their names written on their brows. This was a publically visible sign of their illicit profession. The badge of infamy contained the nameMystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth. Her evil, lustful life was public knowledge, but her power, prestige and social status made it impossible for even the morally sensitive person to stand for righteousness. In fact, Christians were slain as martyrs of the Faith because of their publically expressed indignation. (See 1Pe. 5:13, Tertullian, Irenaeus, and Jerome for the use of the symbol Babylon for the Roman Empire.)
Discussion Questions
See Rev. 17:6-18.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Tomlinsons Comments
CHAPTER XVII
MYSTERIOUS BABYLON SITTING
UPON THE BEASTS
Text (Rev. 17:1-18)
1 And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls, and spake with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters; 2 with whom the kings of the earth commited fornication, and they that dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her fornication. 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness: and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, even the unclean things of her fornication, 5 and upon her forehead a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with a great wonder. 7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns. 8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, they whose name hath not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall come. 9 Here is the mind that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth: 10 and they are seven kings; the five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a little while. 11 And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goeth into perdition. 12 And the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet; but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour. 13 These have one mind, and they give their power and authority unto the beast. 14 These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they also shall overcome that are with him, called and chosen and faithful. 15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire. 17 For God did put in their hearts to do his mind, and to come to one mind, and to give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God should be accomplished. 18 And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
INTRODUCTION
Beginning with the Vision of the Three Signs, namely, the Women (Rev. 12:1-17 th chapter), the Two Beasts (Rev. 13:1-18 th chapter) and the Seven Vials (Rev. 15:1-8 th and 16th Chapters), we have found that the woman (or the true church of Christ) has had three great adversaries.
These three were the Dragon, or the Devil and Satan, political Rome, the beast coming up out of the sea and papal Rome, the beast coming up out of the earth and later called the false prophet in (Rev. 16:1-21 th chapter). In this chapter, in which we now enter, papal Rome is called Mystery, Babylon, the Great, the Mother of Harlots, and the abominations of the earth.
It is altogether fitting that as we reach the climax of the uncovering of her identity, she should be so designated in the chapter upon whose threshold we now stand.
The introduction, of this new revelation of the apostate church, is linked to the judgments visited upon her under the Seven Vials, by the declaration:
Rev. 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters.
The seven vial angels had given a sweeping account, of the overthrow of this spiritual Babylon, by the pouring out of their vials. This one of the seven angels will present to John, Babylons overthrow in greater detail. This, and the two following chapters, relate to her final fate.
Twice before, in chapters Rev. 14:8, and Rev. 16:19, this Babylon has been named and her fall foretold, yet in neither mentioning has she been described, nor has her identity been disclosed. Here the mystery of her is to be uncovered, or revealed.
There is a second definite linking of this description with the Babylon of the Seven Vials. Under the third vial, we read: They have shed the blood of saints, In this present chapter and the sixth verse, this Babylon, characterized as a woman, is drunken with the blood of saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
This repeating of unfoldings of revelation, in a series of visions is proof positive that the Apocalypse is divided into a series of approaches, in which there is a constant returning in later visions to territory, that has already been covered, either for a fresh start, or to show a vision in greater detail.
The seventeenth chapter is expressly an uncovering of the judgment of the great harlotthe apostate church.
This great harlot is described as sitting upon many waters. Here again, we meet with one of the few times in Revelation when the book itself, interprets the symbol given. The symbol of waters, is explained in the fifteenth verse of this same chapter, And he saith unto me, the waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations and tongues. These waters, then, are symbolic of the many nations and races that support the whore.
The papal church calls herself the Catholic church, meaning, the universal church. It is a church, here in Revelation, under the characterization of a harlot, which sits upon, or has dominion over peoples and nations and races, the world over. The very name Catholic, even if no other identification were given, is enough to prove she is the harlot depicted here in Revelation. How unwittingly has this apostate church revealed herself by the very name she wears, as the Babylon of the Apocalypse! By her very name she presents the student of the Bible, not with mere circumstantial evidence, but with positive, incontrovertible, direct evidence.
God works in a mysterious way his wonders to perform. He not only will not allow a church to wear a scriptural name, which observes unscriptural practices and follows unbiblical doctrine, but He brings it about that every church that so departs from the truth wears a name in keeping with that departure. We continue to read:
Rev. 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 the first verse she is called a whore or harlot, and in this verse, the participants with her in her harlotry, are disclosed.
For centuries past the kings of the earth, or earthly governments have had unholy relations with this Jezebel. Since she if a religio-political institution, she has enticed the governments of the world to support and sustain her unholy ambitions, by secret, as well as open alliances. History breathes in the record of her political and religious concordats with the rulers and governments of the earth.
And the inhabitants have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Fornication, in the Scripture, spiritually speaking, refers to false worship, and disloyalty to Christ and His word. Judged by this stand, the Roman Church stands self condemned. When she endeavors to obtain mercy and redemption through Mary as Mediatrix, rather than through Christ, directly, she is untrue to Him. When she teaches doctrines of men, rather than a thus saith the Lord, she is guilty of spiritual fornication.
The Scripture here says, They are drunk with the wine of her fornication. Intoxication addles the brain, and affects the muscles so the intoxicated cannot walk straight. The wine of spiritual fornication also addles the mind so the one drunk cannot think Gods thoughts after Him, and their walk is crooked. Not according to the straight and narrow way of New Testament truth. A drunk thinks himself sober; likewise, the deluded think themselves right and everyone else wrong. Hence, you hear the apostate church declaring, The Catholic Church is the only true church.
Rev. 17:3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness.
The true church fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared of God. (Rev. 12:6), but here it is a place of the apostate churchs own preparing. Her growth and development was so obscure and unnoticed, until her true nature was revealed, that she was like one living hidden in a wilderness. John had to be carried away in the spirit to clearly see her true nature and only those with God-opened eyes can spiritually see this great apostacy and departure from the truth.
Rev. 17:3 And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
We have already learned in Rev. 13:1-18 th chapter, that the beast was political Rome, one of those heads was wounded as to death, but whose deadly wound was healed, We learned from history how the old political Rome fell during the seven trumpets, but how, simultaneously, the papal, political state arose to heal the head of government and cause it to continue to live.
So, here, the woman rides upon political Rome, or a secular power. It was a scarlet colored beast, a color symbolical of bloodshed. Both old imperial Rome, and later papal Rome, that arose from the ashes of the destruction, of the former, were guilty of shedding the blood of the saints.
John saw the heads of the beast full of names of blasphemy. Blasphemy is the sin of claiming the attributes of God. Because Christ claimed that he was the Son of God, the high priest accused him of blasphemy. (Mat. 26:63-65)
We shall find, presently, that these heads represented forms of government. Did the Roman rulers claim deity, and in so doing become guilty of blasphemy? Let history speak for itself, on this point.
Alexander, reading Homer, found that the ancient heroes were sons of gods, so he, also, claimed and received divine honors, reserved for a god.
The infamous Antioches Epiphanes was assigned a place among the holy gods. We read, in the Scriptures that, Herod, with all his vileness, was hailed as a god.
And upon a set day, Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an ovation unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, it is the voice of a god, and not of a man. (Act. 12:21-22)
Caius Marius (about 156 to 86 B.C.), seven times elected to the consulship of Rome, was classed with the gods, by the people of Rome.
Julius Caesar was worshipped as a god, and after his death many temples were built and frequented in order to worship him.
Trajan worshipped Nerva and honored him with chief priests, with altars and with scared gifts.
Plury, the younger, in turn, honored Trajan as a god.
The vile Caligula claimed to be a god, calling himself by names of the deity. He boasted that every nation, except the Jews, worshipped him.
The King of Parthis, kneeling before Nero, said to him: You are my God, and I am come to adore you as I adore the sun.
Domitian filled the earth with his statues, to which sacrifices were offered, and required that all letters written, or published in his name should begin with, Our Lord and god commands.
One of the underlying reasons for the martyrdom of the early Christians, was that they would not worship, nor sacrifice to the Emperors, as gods.
And the woman herself, patterned after old imperial Rome, in that she was an ecclesiastical state springing up out of the old empire, also is full of names of blasphemy.
The pope claims to be the vicar of Christ, or the representative of Christ on earth; but Christ declared that he sent the Holy Spirit to speak for him on earth. (Joh. 16:12-14) He also claims to be the head of the Church, but Pauls words come to us across the centuries saying that God hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body. (Eph. 1:22-23)
Some of these blasphemous names come to light in the Mariolatry, or worship of Mary of the apostate church.
Some of these names have been spoken so often by this institution of blasphemy that they no longer shock the world whose spiritual senses have been dulled and deadened. Listen to a few of them as we hear Mary called: Mother of God, Queen of Heaven, Mary, the Immaculate. And listen to those pronouncements of blasphemy: There is one mediator between Christ and men, the Holy Mother, Mary. How blasphemous this sounds when read along beside 1Ti. 2:5 : For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
Or listen to this blasphemy, Mary is the way, the Truth and the Life, no man cometh to Jesus, but by Mary, in comparison with Christs own words, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (Joh. 14:6)
The Psalter of Bonaventure, reads: We praise thee, O Mary! We acknowledge thee to be the Virgin. All the earth doth worship thee, spouse of the Eternal. To thee angels and archangels cry, Holy, Holy, Holy, art thou, Mary, Mother of God.
Archbishop Vachon, of Ottawa, who sponsored the Marian Congress, (June 1947), in his pastoral letter, given in the Canadian Register (Feb. 8, 1947), quoted the encyclical of Leo 13th (Sept. 22, 1891). No portion whatsoever of the immense treasury of graces accumulated by the Savior, is bestowed upon us except through Mary, such is the will of God . . . no heavenly gift comes to men which does not pass through her virginal hands.
The canonized saint, Liguori, in his work, The glories of Mary, says, this good Mother, for the love she bore us, wished also to help the cause of our salvation with the merits of her sufferings, which she offered for us on Calvary. (Vol. 2, page 19)
Again same author, Volume I, page 409:
The wills of Christ and of Mary were then united, so that both offered the same holocaust; she thereby producing, with him the one effect, the salvation of the world. At the death of Jesus, Mary united her will to that of her Son; so much so, that both offered one and the same sacrifice.
No wonder Cardinal Gibbons, in his book. Faith of Our Fathers, page 215, 38th Edition, attempted to escape the accusation of Mariolatry, by saying, And yet the admirers of Marys exalted virtues can scarcely celebrate her praises without being accused in certain quarters of Mariolatry.
Then, there is the familiar claim of the power to forgive sins, which only Christ has the power to do. Truly, both imperial Rome and religio-political papal Rome are full of names of blasphemy!
We also note that papal Rome, or the apostate church, here is presented under the symbolism of a woman. The very circumstance that this woman is seen in the wilderness, places her in contrast to the other woman of the twelfth chapter of Revelation who, as the true church, was forced to flee into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared of God.
Since the woman of the twelfth chapter, represented the true church, this woman in the seventeenth chapter, being a harlot, symbolizes the false or apostate church.
This is further substantiated by turning to the twenty-first chapter of Revelation. Just as one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, had revealed to John, in the seventeenth chapter, the apostate church, here, in this chapter, one of the seven angels, also, shows John the true church, the Lambs wife:
And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lambs wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit, (Just as in Rev. 17:3) to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.
Here the Lambs wife is called a city, just as the harlot woman is also called a city, And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the Kings of the earth. (Rev. 17:18)
Further, the harlot woman of the seventeenth chapter is identified with the earthly city of Babylon, or the city of confusion and instead of being the immaculate bride of Christ, she is one with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication.
This, beyond a scintilla of a doubt, is the false church, which came into being in the Pergamos Period, characterized by the doctrine of Baalam, or the doctrine of compromise, and the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes or the doctrine of overlordship. This is the apostate church which came to full flower in the Thyatira church period, when the church reached the depths of Satan. Removing all symbolism the false church is known, in history, as the Roman Catholic Church.
The only symbolism left in this verse yet to be considered the seven heads and the ten hornswill be taken up in the more logical place where they are mentioned later in this chapter. Shall we proceed with the description of the woman.
Rev. 17:4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls.
Purple is the color of royalty. She has ever claimed temporal and spiritual sovereignty, hence the mention of this color. As for scarlet, her cardinals wear the color scarlet with their red hats. Her altars throughout the world are decorated with gold and precious stones. These colors, purple and scarlet are characteristic of the vestments of the Roman hierarchy, scarlet being particularly identified with the cardinals, who are called, princes of the church. The red color also identifies this church with the great red dragon or the devil and satan.
The gold and precious stones and pearls are truly representative of the earthly gorgeousness and magnificence of the embellishments with which the Roman church adorns her altars, temples, rites and ceremonies.
Over against the showy attire of the harlot church, Paul speaks of the true church as follows:
Whose adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting of hair, and wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. (1Pe. 3:3-4)
Even the pope is reported using a solid gold telephone and has a car in which to ride on six hundred feet of track in the Vatican grounds. And that car is covered within and without with pure gold.
Besides all this, this apostate church is the richest institution in all the world, that is materially, though not spiritually. The papal church has enriched herself at the expense of peoples, multitudes and nations (many waters), upon which she has fastened her tentacles. Her treasures are fabulous beyond the knowledge of men. Her revenues are enormous. Her land, factory and building values run into astronomical figures, much of which is non-taxable, though oftimes competing with legitimate business, which must bear a staggering tax burden. Never in history, was there ever a more flagrant example of contempt for and regard of Christs pronouncement, Lay not up for yourselves treasures on the earth. (Mat. 6:19)
Continuing this verse, we read: Having a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.
This harlot woman, the apostate church, had in her hand the means of conveying the trutha golden cup; but instead she filled it with her own abominations and filthiness of false teaching, called fornication.
Later this woman is called, Babylon, which, in connection with the mentioning of a cup in her hand, brings to our mind a statement made concerning the Babylon, of the Old Testament, which was a type of this spiritual Babylon: Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lords hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine, therefore the nations are mad. (Jer. 51:7)
Shall we note also, that the cup is one. In all the varied systems of religion, whether Roman Catholic, the degenerate catholicism of the Byzantine church, or the false teachings and worship of denominationalismall have the essence of the old harlotry of Babylon.
Shall we continue to the next verse.
Rev. 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery.
Of all the institutions of the world, whether secular or spiritual, there has never been one so mysterious as the apostate church. Her rising out of the ashes of the old Roman empire, her hold upon the souls of men, as well as the life of nations, her political machinations, her age-long ability to seduce men to subscribe to her half-pagan ritualism, her power to demand an unquestioning blind following of her devotees, her seductive influence to induce men to substitute the worship of Mary, in the place of Christ, her strong hold of slavish fear over the hearts and minds of menall combine to make her the most mysterious religio-ecclesiastical-political organization in all history.
But there is even more hidden in this word, Mystery. It is entirely fitting that this name should be written upon her foreheadthe seat of all false thinking and teaching. Paul, looking down through the corridors of time, saw this coming, whose beginning was manifest, even in his day:
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who letteth will let until he be taken out of the way: and then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. (2Th. 2:7-8)
This church that went into the wilderness of error, superstition and false teaching, yea even humanism became the monstrous mystery Babylon.
The second name by which she is called is Babylon the Great.
Here we come to one of the deepest symbols. In the tenth and eleventh chapters of Genesisthe book of beginnings, we have in these two chapters the record of the beginning of various nations. These chapters may rightfully be called, the chapters of origins. In this catalog of nations, we are given the origin of the Kingdom of Nimrod, the grandson of Ham. This kingdom is called Bab-el or Babylon, in the land of Shinar.
Nimrod, we read was a mighty hunter before the Lord. The Targum of Jonathan renders this, a mighty rebel before the Lord, the mightiest rebel before the Lord that ever was on earth.
The apostate church, or New Testament Babylon is likewise, the greatest rebel before God, scripturally and spiritually speaking.
As Nimrod was such a brazen offender, who hesitated not to withstand God, Himself, so the Roman church is the worlds worst offender in Gods sight, because she wilfully rejects Gods authoritative pronouncements.
Bab-el, means, the gate of God. The Catholic Church teaches no one can come to God but by that particular church, thus claiming she is the gate of God.
Bab-el, or Babylon, means, confusion, because there began the confusion of tongues. The apostacy, by its false teaching, has confused the religious world.
The people, in the days of the erection of the tower of Babel, did it to make a name for themselves. (Gen. 11:4) Literally it is, make a sem, meaning token, sign, banner, name or mark, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth. (Gen. 11:4)
That name, sem or sema, was a mark of their greatness. In the language of that day, a sema-rama. From this we derive the name, semiramis, the dove-goddess, the ensign of all Assyrian princes. This mark, or name figures prominently in the national lives of the pagan nations. It came to be the name of a woman closely resembling the Virgin Mary of the Roman Church. In ancient Babylon, she was Semiranii, in Assyria, she was Astarte; in Egypt, Isis, in Greece, Aphrodite, in Rome, Venus. Hesiod, one of the earliest Greek writers, described her as, the mother of the gods. Catholics call her, mother of God.
The symbol of such a mark came to take the place of a god and became the holy mother, the great heavenly protectress.
She is called, Babylon the Great. She is the great church that ruled over the kingdoms of earth. History substantiates this with an abundant flood of proof.
She is called, The mother of harlots. The Catholic Church habitually calls herself, the Mother Church, and ever urges her childrenthe churches who broke away from herto return to the fold.
Revelation not only calls her a harlot, but the Mother of Harlots.
This church is pictured as the mother of a family of churches. Since she is a harlot and a church, then her children, being harlots, are likewise churches. How necessary for each person to examine with extreme care the denomination to which he belongs, to see whether it may not be like its mother, holding a cup full of humanisms and doctrines of men, rather than a thus saith the Lord. The apostate church surely has a numerous and growing family of daughters. And ever this Mother Church longs to gather her daughters to her ample arms.
She is also called the mother of abominations of the earth. How astonished the entire world will be when that Wicked shall be revealed! The more one studies the harlotry and abominations of this apostate church, the more utterly amazed he becomes that he never realized before her hideousness in Gods sight, and, also, that the world is so blind to the true character of this God-hated institution.
And speaking of how abominable she is in Gods sight. One of the, if not the most characteristic features of this woman is her harlotry. Harlotry is the standing symbol, in the Scriptures, for a system of debauched worship, idolatry, and false teaching.
The Scriptures call it adultery, whoredom and fornication.
Harlotry uniformly symbolizes the apostacy of Gods church. The word, harlot, is used at least fifty times to describe spiritual fornication. In eighteen out of twenty occurrences of this figure of speech, the import is that Gods church and people have forsaken Him. There are only three times in the entire Bible where the figure is applied to heathen cities or nations, twice to Tyre and once to Nineveh. So she is a harlot and the Mother of Harlots, or other false churches which have followed in her footsteps.
Rev. 17:6 And I saw her drunken with blood of saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
She not only made the inhabitants drunk with the wine of her fornication (Rev. 17:2), but she herself has become drunk with the blood of saints and martyrs.
The word drunken expresses the state of being glutted or surfeited with blood, although, judging by her persecution and slaughter of the saints, her thirst is insatiable.
There have been harlot daughters who have also engaged in persecution, but there is only one church who could be styled, drunk with the blood of the saints. And, note she was drunken with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. That identifies her as an institution this side of the time Jesus walked on the earth, was crucified, died, was buried and rose again.
Her blood-drunken state made the Apostle to wonder with great wonderment.
Rev. 17:7 And the angel said unto me, wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman and the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition.
We have found this beast to represent a government, and in this case Imperial Rome, which perished during the seven trumpets, but arose from the ashes of destruction, as the papal hierarchy restored the government, but in another form. And this restored government, ascended out of the bottomless pit, the final abode of the devil. In other words, it was devil born and satan inspired.
Rev. 17:8 And they that swell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Rev. 17:9-10 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. Of course, this refers to spiritual wisdom for, the natural man (the unrenewed man through the new birth) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
The seven heads are seven (1Co. 1:14) mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
While there is a much deeper meaning hidden here, Rome has always been recognized as the seven-hilled city, from the seven hills on which she stood. They were Mt. Aventine, Mt. Capitaline, Mt. Palatine, Mt. Esquiline, the Caelian Mount, the Quirinal and Viminal. Ovid, Horace, Levy, the early church fathers, Tertullian, as well as Jerome, all called Rome the seven-hilled city.
Jerome, born 342 A.D., wrote a letter to a certain Christian lady urging her to read what is written in the apocalypse of the seven hills.
But there is a deeper meaning. A mountain, in symbolism, represents a government of some form or nature. The seven heads are also seven kings, or kingdoms, or governments, for the original term may signify either of the three. Rev. 17:10, And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is yet to come; and when he is come, he must continue a short space.
Rome, in all her political history, had seven forms of government, as follows:
1.
The first form was Kingly. The first king was Romulus; the last, Torquin, the Proud. There were seven kings in all.
2.
The second form, that of Consulers. Two consuls were elected annually.
3.
The third form was that of Dictators. In this form one man was invested with dictatorial power.
4.
The fourth form was that of Tribunes. Under this form, the chief magistrates were the Tribunes of the people.
5.
The fifth form was that of Decemvirs. Under this system absolute government was invested in ten men who were superior to all laws.
These first five forms had come and gone before Johns day, because five are fallen. The sixth form was in existence at the time, for we are here told that one is. We know from earlier studies, that the system of government, at the time of the revelation given to John, was that of Emperors. John had been banished to Patmos by the Emperor, Domitian. The form was that of an Imperial government.
So, now we have found six of the heads to be, (1) Kings, (2) Consuls, (3) Dictators, (4) Tribunes, (5) Decemvirs and (6) Emperors.
But we are informed that one is to come. We have already discovered this seventh form in our study of the Seal Series. Following the overthrow of the Emperors, there followed a period in which Rome was ruled by Military Governors. Under this form, the Roman Legions set up their own Generals as Military Governors. Of this form, John said, And when he cometh, he must continue a short space. This seventh form was to give way for an eighth. Shall we read about it:
Rev. 17:11-12 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
In the light of our already gained knowledge, we know with the fall of Rome, a new form of government had already begun to rise, like an empire within an empire. Long before the fall of Rome, there had begun to grow up within the secular state, an ecclesiastical state, which in its constitution and administrative system, was shaping itself upon the imperial model, with finally the pope becoming temporal sovereign, with the states of the church, its domain.
This eighth form then, was an image of the old secular government, yet with something distinctly new addedthe merging of church and state. The eighth form was, then, a religio-political form.
This is the reason why the woman is said to be seated on the beast. The secular system supported the papal form. The temporal form carried the religious system.
It is worthy of note that it is never said of the other seven forms that they should go into perdition. It is only of this eighth formthat of religion and politics combined, that it is said And goeth into perdition. This is the Babylon of the seventh vial (Rev. 16:19) that came into remembrance before God to give her the cup of the wine of fierceness of His wrath.
Now, we are ready to advance to the next verse. Rev. 17:12, And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no Kingdoms as yet, but receive power as Kings one hour with the beast.
We have, earlier in this study, learned that a horn represents power, especially a Kingdom, not necessarily a world power. When John wrote, those Kingdoms did not yet exist.
After the fall of Rome, the dominion of the Caesars divided into ten smaller states. Sir Isaac Newton traced this ten as follows:
1.
Kingdom of the Vandals in Spain and Africa.
2.
Kingdom of the Visigoths.
3.
Kingdom of the Suevi.
4.
Kingdom of the Alans in France.
5.
Kingdom of the Burgundians.
6.
Kingdom of the Franks.
7.
Kingdom of the Britons.
8.
Kingdom of the Huns.
9.
Kingdom of the Lombards.
10.
Kingdom of the Revenna.
So the Roman Empire broke up into ten lesser nations, but all the ten carried or supported the Papacy. They are not to exist very long as ten, for a part of them soon passed away.
Rev. 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of Lords, and Kings of Kings: And they that are with him are called and chosen, and faithful.
These are evidently mentioned again in (Rev. 19:19) when the Kings of the earth and their armies come forth to battle the Lamb.
Rev. 17:15 And he saith unto me. The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
This verse is one of the few in Revelation that seems to be included in that book to give us an interpretation of some symbol. We will recall that the verses mentioning seven candlesticks, the seven stars, and the one explaining that the dragon was the devil and satan, are verses employed as interpreters of symbols.
Rome, in the Papal form, or eighth governmental system, held vast sway of the power over peoples and nations and tongues.
Rev. 17:17 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
We have already shown how France, one of the ten horn Kingdoms, conquered the Papal states and humiliated the pope by taking him a prisoner to France. With the action of France, we read of how a tenth part of the city (or papal Rome) fell. As nations threw off the Roman yoke, they made the Harlot on the Tiber, desolate, and naked, by stripping her of her treasuries, her power and her temporal states. The seven vials recounted how these made war on religion-political Rome. And how did it happen that they were of one mind to do this? Judging from the historical viewpoint, we would say they did this because of oppression and through a desire to throw off the papal yoke.
But John was permitted to step in behind the scenes, and see the hand back of it all, For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree and give their Kingdom unto the beast, until the Word of God shall be fulfilled.
He caused them to agree and used these ten agencies to carry out His divine will.
First, they unitedly gave their support to the woman, or the apostate church, until Gods word was accomplished; then they turned on the woman or ecclesiastical Rome to destroy her.
Rev. 17:18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the Kings of the earth.
There is but one church that ever ruled over the Kingdoms of this earth, the City of Babylon, spiritually speaking, or the Roman Catholic Church.
This entire seventeenth chapter seems to have been dedicated to the task of leaving the world without the faintest doubt as to what the beast is, as to what Babylon is, what the Mother of Harlots is, and what church, in Gods sight, is the abomination of the earth. Mystery, Babylon the great, has now been fully revealed so that all who runs may read.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(1) And there came . . .One of the vial-bearing angels summons the seer, saying, Hither I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters (or, the many waterscomp. Rev. 17:15). The kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and they who inhabit the earth were made drunken (lost their reason and self-control) from the wine, the delicious and delirious draught of her fornication. Before we go further, it is well to make sure of our ground. Babylon was the great city, whose splendour dazzled, and whose power destroyed Jerusalem (Isa. 39:1-8; Isa. 13:19; Isa. 14:4; Isa. 14:13-14; Isa. 47:5-8). Against Babylon the voices of the prophets were lifted up (Isa. 21:9; Jer. 51:25); she seemed to them the embodiment of splendid vice and resistless power; the glory of kingdoms, the golden city, who exalted her throne above the stars of God, who sat as a lady given to pleasures, and flattering herself that she would see no sorrow. In her greatness and her hostility to Jerusalem she became a type of later world-powers; and, in St. Johns vision, Babylon, in her purple and her pomp, in her luxurious ness and her tyranny, takes her place. And it is explained in the vision that Babylon is no longer the literal Babylon, but the power which has taken her place of pride and empire. That power was Rome. Rome was in St. Johns day just what Babylon had been in the days of the prophetsthe hammer of the whole earth, the golden cup that made all the earth drunken (Jer. 50:23; Jer. 51:7; comp. Rev. 17:2 of this chapter). At the same time, the way in which the Evangelist transfers to the Rome of his day the prophetic language which earlier prophets applied to ancient Babylon (compare these chapters, Revelation 17, 18, with Isaiah 47, Jer. 51:6-14) ought to be sufficient to warn us against limited and local interpretations, even if the seven-headed wild beast did not show us that the world-power, like the moral principles of which Babylon and Rome were examples, is not confined to one age. If we remember this, we shall see that the Babylon of the Apocalypse, while, undoubtedly, Pagan Rome, cannot be limited to it. Is it, then, the question must be asked, Papal Rome? The answer is: In so far as Papal Rome has wielded tyrant power, turned persecutor, stood between the spirits of men and Christ, depraved mens consciences, withheld the truth, connived at viciousness, sought aggrandisement, and been a political engine rather than a witness for the righteous King, she has inherited the features of Babylon. The recognition of these features led Dante to apply this very passage in the Apocalypse to Rome under the rule of worldly and tyrant popes, when he exclaimed to the shade of Nicholas III. (Il compiuto):
Of shepherds like to you the Evangelist
Was ware, when her who sits upon the waves
With kings in filthy whoredom he beheld:
She who with seven heads towerd at her birth,
And from ten horns her proof of glory drew
Long as her spouse in virtue took delight.
Of gold and silver ye have made your god,
Differing wherein from the idolater,
But that he worships one, a hundred ye!
Inferno, Cant, xix., 109-117.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 17
THE FALL OF ROME ( Rev 17:1-18 ) 17:1-18 1 One of the seven angels, who had the seven bowls, came and spoke with me. “Come here,” he said, “and I will show you the judgment of the great harlot, who sits upon many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication and with the wine of whose adultery those who inhabit the earth have become drunken.” 3 He carried me away in the Spirit to a desert place, and I saw a woman, seated upon a scarlet beast, which was full of names which were insults to God, and which had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet and bedizened with gold and jewellery and pearls. She had in her hand a golden cup, full of abominations and the unclean things of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead there was written a name with a meaning which was secret except to those who knew its meaning: “Babylon, the great, the mother of the harlots and the abominations of the earth.” I saw the woman, drunk 6 with the blood of God’s dedicated people and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her I was stricken 7 with a great wonder. The angel said to me: “Why are you moved to wonder? I will tell you the secret meaning of the woman and of the beast who bears her and has the seven 8 heads and the ten horns. The beast, which you saw, was and is not, and is about to come up from the abyss, and is on the way to destruction; and the inhabitants of the earth, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will be stricken with wonder, when they see the beast, because it was, and is not, and 9 will come. Here there is need for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They 10 are also seven kings. Five have fallen; one at present exists; another has not yet come, and, when he shall come, Heb 11:1-40 must remain for a short time. The beast, which was and is not, is itself the eighth. It proceeds from the series of the seven and it is on the way to destruction. 12 The ten heads you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received their royal authority, but they are to receive authority as kings 13 for one hour in the company of the beast. They have one mind in common and they hand over power and authority to the beast. 14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, because he is the Lord of lords and the King of kings, and the called, the chosen and the loyal will share his victory.” 15 And he went on to say to me: “The waters which you saw, on which the harlot is seated, are peoples and crowds and nations and tongues. 16 The ten horns, which you saw, and the beast will hate the harlot, and will make her desolate and naked, and will devour her flesh, and will burn her in the fire; for it is God who 17 has put it into their minds to perform his purpose, and to be of one mind to give their royal power to the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. 18 And the woman which you saw is the great city which has dominion over the kings of the earth.” (1) The Woman On The Beast
The woman is Babylon, that is to say, Rome. The woman is said ( Rev 17:1) to sit upon many waters. In this picture of Rome, John was using many of the things said by the prophets about ancient Babylon. In Jer 51:13 Babylon is addressed as: “O you who dwell by many waters.” The river Euphrates actually ran through the midst of Babylon; and she was also the centre of a system of irrigation canals, spreading out in every direction. When this description is applied to Rome, it does not make sense. Later in Rev 17:15, John realizes this and gives the waters a symbolic interpretation as the many nations and peoples and tongues over whom Rome rules. For this way of speaking, also, we must look to the Old Testament. When Isaiah is forecasting the invasion of Palestine by Assyria, he writes: “Therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory; and it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks; and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck” ( Isa 8:7-8). Again, when Jeremiah is prophesying the coming invasion, he uses the same picture: “Behold, waters are rising out of the north, and shall become an overflowing torrent; they shall overflow the land, and all that fills it” ( Jer 7:2).
In Rev 17:4 the woman is said to be clothed in purple and scarlet and decked with all kinds of ornaments. This is symbolic of the luxury of Rome and of the meretricious and lustful way in which it was used, the picture of a wealthy courtesan, decked out in all her finery to seduce men.
The woman is said to have in her hand a golden cup, full of abominations. Here we have another picture of Babylon taken direct from the prophetic condemnation of the Old Testament. Jeremiah said: “Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, making all the earth drunken; the nations drank of her wine; therefore the nations went mad” ( Jer 51:7). So Rome is said to hold the golden cup in which is that power of seduction which has spread immorality over all the earth.
The woman is said to have a name on her forehead ( Rev 17:5). In Rome the prostitutes in the public brothels wore upon their foreheads a frontlet giving their names. This is another vivid detail in the picture of Rome as the great corrupting prostitute among the nations.
In Rev 17:6 the woman is said to be drunk with the blood of God’s dedicated people and with the blood of the martyrs. This is a reference to the persecution of the Christians in the Roman Empire. But it does more than simply stamp Rome as the great persecutor. She is glutted with slaughter; and she has revelled in that slaughter as a drunken man revels in wine.
In Rev 17:16 she is to be destroyed by the invasion of the ten kings. This we shall discuss more fully when we come to discuss the symbolism of the beast. It is sufficient to say just now that it foretells the destruction of Rome by the rising against her of her subject nations. It is as if to say that the great prostitute will in the end be destroyed by her lovers turning against her.
(2) The Beast
It is much harder to fix the meaning of the beast than of the woman, mainly because the meaning of the beast does not stay steady. The beast has a series of interconnected meanings, whose point of union is that they are all closely connected with Rome and with her empire.
(i) The woman sits on the beast and the beast is filled with blasphemous names which are all insults to God ( Rev 17:3). If the woman is Rome, clearly the beast is the Roman Empire. It is full of blasphemous names. This includes two things. First, it is a reference to the many gods of which the Roman Empire was full. All these names are insults to God, for they are all infringements of his supreme and unique authority. No one has the right to the name of god save only the true God. Second, it is a reference to many of the titles of the emperor. The emperor was Sebastos, or Augustus, which means to be reverenced; and reverence belongs to God alone. The emperor was divus or theios ( G2304) , which, the first in Latin and the second in Greek, mean divine; and to God alone belongs that adjective. Many of the emperors were called soter ( G4990) , saviour, which is uniquely the title of Jesus Christ. Most common of all, the emperor was in Latin dominus and in Greek kurios ( G2962) , lord, which is the very name of God.
(ii) The beast has seven heads and ten horns ( Rev 17:3). This is a repetition of what is said of the beast in Rev 13:1, and we shall very soon return to its meaning here.
(iii) The beast was, and is not, and is about to come ( Rev 17:8). This goes back to Rev 13:3; Rev 13:12; Rev 13:14 and is a clear reference to the Nero redivivus legend, which is never far from the mind of John. We have already seen that the ideas of Nero resurrected and of Antichrist had become inseparably connected. Therefore, in this passage the beast stands for Antichrist.
(iv) The beast has seven heads. These are doubly explained.
(a) In Rev 17:9 the seven heads are seven hills. Here we have an easy identification. Rome was the city upon seven hills; this once again identifies the beast with Rome.
(b) The second identification is one of the riddles of the Revelation ( Rev 17:10-11).
They (the heads) are also seven kings. Five have fallen; one at present exists; another has not yet come, and, when he shall come, he must remain for a short time. The beast, which was and is not, is itself the eighth. It proceeds from the series of the seven, and it is on its way to destruction.
Five have fallen. The Roman Empire began with Augustus; and the first five emperors were Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. These, then, are the five who have fallen. We have already seen that after the death of Nero there were two years of chaos in which Galba, Otho and Vitellius followed each other in quick succession. They were not in any real sense emperors and cannot be included in any list.
One at present exists. This must be Vespasian, the first emperor to bring back stability to the empire, after the chaos following the death of Nero; he reigned from A.D. 69-79.
Another has not yet come, and, when he shall come, he must remain for a short time. Vespasian was succeeded by Titus, whose reign lasted for only two years from 79-81.
The beast which was, and is not, is itself the eighth. It proceeds from the series of the seven, and is on its way to destruction. This can only mean that the emperor who followed Titus is being identified with Nero redivivus and Antichrist; and the emperor who followed Titus was Domitian.
Can Domitian reasonably be identified with the evil force which Nero redivivus personified? We turn to the life of Domitian written by Suetonius the Roman biographer, remembering that Suetonius was not a Christian. Domitian, as Suetonius tells, was an object of terror and hatred to all. We get a grim picture of him at the beginning of his reign. “He used to spend hours in seclusion every day, doing nothing but catch flies and stab them with a keenly-sharpened stylus.” Any psychologist would find that a curiously revealing picture. He was insanely jealous and insanely suspicious. He formed a homosexual attachment for a famous actor called Paris. One of the pupils of Paris so much resembled his teacher that it was not unreasonable to suppose that he was his son; the lad was promptly murdered. Hermogenes, the historian, wrote things which Domitian did not like; he was executed, and the scribe who had copied the manuscript was crucified. Senators were slaughtered right and left. Sallustius Lucullus, governor of Britain, was executed because he allowed a new type of lance to be called Lucullan. Domitian revived the old punishment of having his victims stripped naked, fixed by the neck in a fork of wood and beaten to death with rods. He put down a civil war that broke out in the provinces. Suetonius goes on: “After his victory in the civil war he became even more cruel, and, to discover any conspirators who were in hiding, tortured many of the opposite party by a new form of inquisition, inserting fire in their privates; and he cut off the hands of some of them.”
Early in his reign he appeared wearing a golden crown with the figures of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva in it, while the priest of Jupiter sat by his side. When he received back his divorced wife, he announced that she had returned to the divine couch. When he entered the amphitheatre, he loved to be greeted with the cry: “Good fortune attend our lord and his lady.” He began his official edicts: “Our lord and god bids this to be done.” Soon that was the only way in which he might be addressed.
He was so suspicious that he never gave prisoners a hearing in private, and, even when he heard them with his guards present, they were chained. He so feared for his own life that he had the passages and colonnades through which he moved tiled with phlengite stone, which is like a mirror, so that he could see anyone who was moving behind him. Finally, on 18 September, A.D. 96, he was murdered in the bloodiest circumstances.
To all this we may add a final fact; it was Domitian who first made Caesar worship compulsory and who was, therefore, responsible for unloosing the flood-tides of persecution on the Christian Church.
It might well be that John saw in Domitian the reincarnation of Nero. Others did precisely the same. Juvenal spoke of Rome being “enslaved to a bald-headed Nero” (Domitian was bald) and was exiled and finally murdered for his temerity. Tertullian called Domitian “a man of Nero’s type of cruelty,” and “a sub-Nero,” a verdict which Eusebius repeated.
The one difficulty is that it makes it look as if John wrote in the reign of Vespasian; and we know that John in fact wrote under Domitian. Two possibilities may explain this. John may have written this particular vision years before in the time of Vespasian, lived to see it come terribly true and incorporated it in his final draft of the Revelation. Or he may have written it all in the reign of Domitian, and, projected himself back into the time of Vespasian to trace in retrospect the terrible lines that history had taken.
However we explain it, the picture is satisfied if we hold that John saw in Domitian the reincarnation of Nero, the supreme embodiment of Roman wickedness and defiance of God; we need not go on to say that he identified Domitian with Antichrist.
There remains one problem in identification and it is less susceptible of definite solution than the others. In Rev 17:12-17 it is said that the ten horns are ten kings who have not yet received their power. They will receive it, and when they do, two things will happen. They will unanimously agree to hand over their own power to the beast; and with him they will rise against the harlot and make war with the Lamb and finally be defeated.
By far the likeliest interpretation of this is that the ten kings are the satraps of the Parthian hosts, who will make common cause with Nero redivivus and under him fight the last battle in which Rome will be destroyed and the Lamb will subdue every hostile force in the universe.
The City Which Became A Harlot ( Rev 17:1-2)
In these two verses Rome is described as the great harlot. More than once in the Old Testament heathen and disobedient cities are described as harlots. It is thus that Nahum describes Nineveh, when he speaks of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favoured harlot ( Nah 3:4). It is thus that Isaiah describes Tyre ( Isa 23:16-17). Even Jerusalem can be so described. “How the faithful city has become a harlot!” mourns Isaiah ( Isa 1:21). And the charge of Ezekiel is: “You trusted in your beauty and played the harlot” ( Eze 16:15).
It is a way of speaking which is strange to modern ears; but there is great symbolism behind it.
(i) Behind it is the idea of God as the lover of the souls of his people. Primasius, the old Latin commentator, says that Rome is called a harlot, because “she left her Creator and prostituted herself with devils.” When we turn our backs upon God, it is not so much a sin against law as a sin against love.
(ii) There is another idea behind this. Beckwith suggests that Rome is called the great harlot, because she is “an allurement to godlessness and immorality.” The sin of the harlot is not only that she sins herself, but also that she deliberately persuades others into sin. God will never hold guiltless the man who seduces others into sin.
The Vision In The Wilderness ( Rev 17:3)
John says that he was carried away in the Spirit to a desert place.
The prophet is a man who lives in the Spirit. “The Spirit,” said Ezekiel, “lifted me up and took me away” ( Eze 3:14). “The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem” ( Eze 8:3). “And the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea to the exiles” ( Eze 11:24). It is not that the Spirit physically moves a man about from place to place; but, when a man lives in the Spirit, his horizons are widened; he may live in time, but he becomes a spectator of eternity. The prophets could see the trends of history ahead because they lived in the Spirit.
One of the ever-recurring features of the Bible story is that it was in the desert that the great men of God saw their visions. It was in the wilderness that Moses met God ( Exo 3:1). It was when he had gone a day’s journey into the wilderness that Elijah met God and regained his courage and his faith ( 1Ki 19:4). It was in the wilderness that John the Baptist grew to manhood and it was there that he received his message from God ( Luk 1:80). It was to the wilderness that Jesus went to settle the way he would take before he set out to preach and teach and die for men and for God ( Mat 4:1).
It may well be that there is not enough quietness in our lives for us to receive the message which God is eager to give.
The Great Harlot ( Rev 17:4-5)
These verses give us a vivid picture of the great harlot. She is clothed in purple and scarlet, the royal colours, the colours of luxury and splendour. She is bedecked with gold and precious stones and pearls. She has the golden cup with which she makes her lovers drunk. She has the harlot’s frontlet on her forehead with her name. The name is a mystery. In Greek a musterion ( G3466) is not necessarily something abstruse; it is something quite unintelligible to the uninitiated but crystal clear to the initiated. The mystery in this case is that Babylon means Rome; the thing which the stranger does not know, but which the Christian reader does know, is that while the story is told under the name of Babylon everything relates to Rome.
(i) John may have got this picture from the temple prostitutes of Asia Minor. One of the strange features of ancient religion was that to many temples there were attached sacred prostitutes; there were, for instance, a thousand of them attached to the Temple of Aphrodite at Corinth. To have intercourse with them was an act of worship which paid homage to the life force.
(ii) John possibly had in mind the most notorious of all the Roman Empresses, Messalina. She was the wife of the weak and almost imbecile Claudius; and it is related of her that at nights she would go down to the public brothels and serve there like any common prostitute. Juvenal paints the picture in vivid terms (Satire 6: 114-132): “Hear what Claudius endured. As soon as his wife perceived that her husband was asleep, this august harlot was shameless enough to prefer a common mat to the imperial couch. Assuming a night-cowl, and attended by a single maid she issued forth; then, having concealed her raven locks under a light-coloured peruque, she took her place in a brothel reeking with long-used coverlets. Entering an empty cell reserved for herself, she there took her stand, under the feigned name of Lycisca, her nipples bare and gilded, and exposed to view the womb that bore thee, O nobly-born Britannicus. Here she graciously received all comers, asking from each his fee; and when at length the keeper dismissed the girls, she remained to the very last before closing her cell, and with passion still raging hot within her went sorrowfully away. Then, exhausted by men but unsatisfied, with soiled cheeks, and begrimed by the smoke of the lamps, she took back to the imperial pillow all the odours of the stews.”
When even an empress stooped to this, is there any wonder that John thought of Rome as a harlot?
The cup of the harlot Rome is full of unclean things. Lest it be thought that this is the verdict of some narrow-minded Christian, let it be remembered that Tacitus called Rome “the place into which from all over the world all atrocious and shameful things flow and where they are most popular,” and Seneca called her “a filthy sewer.” John’s picture of Rome is actually restrained in comparison with some of the pictures which the Romans themselves drew. This was the civilization into which Christianity came; and it was out of this that men were converted to chastity. We may well speak of the miracles of the Cross.
Drunk With The Blood Of The Saints And The Martyrs ( Rev 17:6)
As we have already pointed out in the general introduction to this chapter, the way in which John describes Roman persecution is very significant. He says that Rome is drunk with the blood of the saints and the martyrs. The implication is that Rome did not simply persecute the Christians as a legal necessity but took fiendish delight in hounding Christians to death.
No doubt John is thinking of the persecution which took place under Nero. The Neronic persecution sprang from the great fire in A.D. 64 which burned for a week and devastated Rome. The people of Rome were convinced that the fire was no accident; they were also convinced that those who tried to extinguish it were hindered and that when it died down, it was deliberately rekindled; and they were also convinced that the instigator of the fire was Nero. Nero had a passion for building, and the people believed that he had deliberately burned down the city in order to rebuild it.
Nero had to find a scapegoat to divert suspicion from himself; and he fixed on the Christians. This was the first great persecution and in many ways the most savage of all. We quote Tacitus’ description in full because it is one of the few passages in pagan literature where the name of Christ occurs (Tacitus: Annals 15: 44):
All human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor (Nero), and
the propitiations of the gods, did not banish the sinister belief
that the conflagration was the result of an order. Consequently to
get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the
most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations,
called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name
had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of
Tiberius, at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus,
and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment,
again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil,
but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every
part of the world find their centre and become popular.
Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty;
then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted,
not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred of
mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered
with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs, and perished, or
were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burned,
to serve as a nightly illumination when daylight had expired….
Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary
punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion, for it was not,
as it seemed for the public good, but to glut one man’s cruelty
that they were being destroyed.
The Reincarnation Of Evil ( Rev 17:7-11)
In the introduction to this chapter we have already seen that the likeliest explanation is that John is projecting himself backwards into the reign of Vespasian. The five who have been are Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero; the one who is is Vespasian; the one who is to come and who is to last for only a very short time is Titus; the one who is to be the equivalent of the head wounded and restored, who is to be Nero all over again, is Domitian, the man of savage cruelty. Lying behind all this imagery are three permanent truths.
(i) Even when Nero died, his wickedness lived on and John sees it re-emerging in Domitian, the new Nero. Everyone leaves something behind in this world. It may be a memory which is a helper of all that is fine and good; it may be an evil influence which lays a trail of trouble for many generations to come. Every man’s life points somewhere; he must see that it points to goodness and to God.
(ii) In Rev 17:8 we read that those whose names have not been written in the Book of Life will be dazzled at the coming of the evil one. There are always those who can be dazzled by evil. The one way to avoid its fascination is to keep our eyes on Jesus Christ. Then evil is seen for what it is.
(iii) In Rev 17:11 we read that the beast is on his way to destruction. However great the success of evil may be, it has in it the seeds of self-destruction. He who allies himself with evil has chosen the losing side.
The Purposes Of Man And The Purposes Of God ( Rev 17:12-18)
This passage speaks of the ten kings whom the ten horns represent. It is likely that the ten kings are the satraps of the East and of Parthia whom the resurrected Nero, the Antichrist, is to lead against Rome. Or they may simply stand for all the world powers which in the end will turn against Rome and destroy her. We note certain things in this passage.
(i) In Rev 17:14 we read that these world powers war with the Lamb but the Lamb destroys them; and the called, the chosen and the loyal share in the victory of the Lamb. One of the great conceptions of Jewish thought was that the saints and the martyrs would share in God’s final triumph. “Sinners,” says Enoch, “shall be delivered into the hands of the righteous” (Enoch 91:12). “Be hopeful, ye righteous,” says Enoch again, “for suddenly shall the sinners perish before you, and ye shall have lordship over them according to your desires” (Enoch 96:1). In a grim passage the same book says: “Woe to you who love the deeds of unrighteousness…. Know that you shall be delivered into the hands of the righteous, and they shall cut off your necks and slay you, and have no mercy upon you” (Enoch 98:12). In the Wisdom of Solomon there is the same promise to those who have lived and suffered and died for God. “Having borne a little chastening, they shall receive great good, because God made trial of them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace he proved them, and as a whole burnt-offering he accepted them. And in the time of their visitation they shall shine forth, and as sparks among the stubble they shall run to and fro. They shall judge nations and have dominion over peoples” ( Wis_3:5-8 ). It is no doubt this belief that was in the minds of James and John when they came and asked Jesus for the places on his right and his left when he entered into his kingdom ( Mat 20:21; Mar 10:37).
This Jewish thought has two aspects, one noble and one subchristian. The subchristian one is that there were times when this became nothing other than a thirst for vengeance; but who shall blame the persecuted for longing for the day when the world’s roles will be reversed in eternity? The noble idea is that the saints and martyrs will aid Christ to win his triumph and share in the glory. It is an affirmation that for us, too, after the Cross comes the crown.
(ii) Rev 17:16 gives a picture of the ten horns rising violently against the harlot who had been their mistress. They will devour her flesh. In the Old Testament that is the action of a most savage and powerful enemy. It is the complaint of the Psalmist that the wicked ate up his flesh ( Psa 27:2; King James Version). The wicked in Israel, with their grasping oppression, eat the flesh of the people of God ( Mic 3:3). This is a picture of terrible vengeance. They will burn her in the fire. This is the punishment for the most heinous sin ( Lev 20:14), and above all the punishment for the daughter of a priest who has been guilty of sexual immorality ( Lev 21:9).
It is to be noted that the harlot’s previous lovers turned against her. Evil has in it a divisive power.
(iii) In Rev 17:12-13 we read of the ten kings making common purpose with the beast; and in Rev 17:17 we read that God put this into their hearts that his purposes might be carried out and his words fulfilled. Here is a strange thing. These evil powers thought they were working out their own purposes but they were, in fact, working out the purposes of God. R. H. Charles says: “Even the wrath of men is made to praise God.” The truth behind this is that God never loses control of human affairs. In the last analysis God is always working things together for good.
-Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)
Fuente: Barclay Daily Study Bible
SECOND OVERTHROW OF ANTICHRIST’S HARLOT.
1. Picture of the harlot mounted on the beast, Rev 17:1-6.
1. And Antichrist’s capital has fallen; but antichrist himself is not dead nor imprisoned until Rev 19:20; and his harlot still lives, and her destiny is not revealed until Rev 17:16.
One of the seven angels For, doubtless, one of the destroyers is one of the best expounders of the destruction. Which of the seven is not clear, but perhaps the seventh, as the last and greatest.
The judgment John first shows the character and the sentence of judgment in Rev 17:15-16.
Great whore On the question whether the harlot represents pagan Rome or the papal Church, Alford forcibly says: “The figure here used, of a harlot who has committed fornication with secular kings and peoples, is frequent in the prophets, and has one principal meaning and application, namely, to God’s Church and people, that had forsaken him, and had attached herself to others. In eighteen places out of twenty-one, where the figure occurs, such is its import, namely, in Isa 1:21; Jer 2:20; Jer 3:1; Jer 3:6; Jer 3:8; Eze 16:15-16; Eze 16:28; Eze 16:31; Eze 16:35; Eze 16:41; Eze 23:5; Eze 23:19; Eze 23:44; Hos 2:5; Hos 3:3-4, [Mic 1:7.] In three places only is the word applied to heathen cities, namely, in Isa 23:15-16, to Tyre, where, Rev 17:17, it is also said, ‘She shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth;’ and in Nah 3:4, to Nineveh, which is called the ‘well favoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.’”
And here, we note, it appears that Israel, though a corrupt Church, was still a true Church, and the truly pious within her limits were heirs of salvation. She was, at her worst, better than heathendom. And so of Rome. And in regard to the better side of Rome, see our note 2Th 2:9. There is no fair doubt that the Christian Church appears as a woman in Rev 12:1. And the antithesis between the harlot of antichrist and the bride of Christ is very decisive. Note on Rev 11:1.
Sitteth upon many waters Rome on the Tiber was not seated on many waters. It was more true of Babylon on the Euphrates. But Rome as a commercial power, especially with those nations subject to her power, was based upon many waters.
Fornication, the latter more deeply have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. Such was not a true picture of the relation of Rome to the kings and peoples of the world. She conquered them by force, and ruled them by equitable civilizing force, save when her own domination required injustice. In religious matters she stood aloof, and allowed each nation its own national superstition. She was no seducer or fornicator. These qualities belong to a later than pagan Rome.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
IV. THE SEVEN TRUMPETS, Rev 7:1 to Rev 20:10.
Of the trumpets, the first four are mundane, or earthly; each of the four blasts draws down a judgment upon some creational point, as earth, sea, fountains and rivers; firmamental luminaries. It is the sins of men that draw down these bolts of wrath, rendering every point of creation hostile to our peace. “Cursed is the ground for thy sake,” (Gen 3:17,) is the key-note. This sad status of humanity has existed through all past ages; but it is here represented to form a base from which the history of the renovation commences.
The first four the earthly trumpets are each brief as well as terrible; the spiritual, the fifth and sixth, expand into wider dimensions and rise to more spiritual interests; while the seventh trumpet rolls forth its series of events, through all the future scenes of retribution and redemption to the judgment.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me saying, “Come with me. I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication”.’
The idea of nations and cities as prostitutes is common in Scripture. Nahum, speaking of Nineveh speaks of ‘the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts who sells nations through her whoredoms and families through her witchcrafts’ (Nah 3:4; Isa 1:21). Isaiah says of Tyre, ‘she shall return to her hire and play the harlot with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth’ (Isa 23:17). Samaria and Jerusalem are depicted as harlots because they doted on idolatry and made treaties with idolatrous nations (Eze 23:5; Eze 23:7; Eze 23:11; Eze 23:16). And all these idolatries were accompanied by sexual deviations and the occult. Thus the great prostitute (harlot) who sits on many waters is an idolater and partaker in uncontrolled sexual activity, just like the Jezebel of Rev 2:20. And they will share the same fate.
‘Sits on many waters’. This was a prophetic description of Babylon, with its river and network of canals, it was the city which ‘dwells on many waters’ (Jer 51:13). Thus the prostitute represents idolatrous religion and its accompaniments as personified in the city of Babylon. Great Babylon is seen as the source of idolatry and unrestrained sexual proclivities, from Babel onwards, something which she is now exercising through Rome. Compare how the woman who represented wickedness was seen as carried into the land of Shinar, the land where Babylon was, for that was the ‘home’ of wickedness (Zec 5:5-11 and see Gen 10:10). But John stresses that the many waters also have a special significance in that they represent ‘peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues’ (Rev 17:15). Thus the woman has an insidious influence over many nations.
‘With whom the kings of the earth committed fornication.’ They submitted to the requirements of the woman, and of the beast who demanded they follow the ways of the great prostitute. The dwellers on earth did so also for they ‘were made drunk with the wine of her fornication’. The controlling influence of Babylon and Rome and similar great cities reached out to the world seeking to turn men to themselves and to their own divinity rather than to God.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Scarlet Woman and the Beast ( Rev 17:1-18 ).
This is a remarkable chapter for in it John rises above himself and foresees the inevitable consequences of history. As with all the great prophets he ‘sees’ beyond his own day to the final days when God will bring all things to conclusion. Each can be speaking of his own times and the near future, and then suddenly be found speaking about the end times. For he sees the near future as an indicator of those end times, and his prophetic instinct tells him what will be in the end.
We have an example of this in this chapter. It seems to speak of Rome, and it does speak of Rome, but it goes beyond Rome and speaks of all great cities to the end times. (Of course the people of his day thought that Rome would go on for ever and would be there in the end times. John himself may have thought the same. Great empires are always so viewed. But inevitably the cracks appear and they are replaced. In the providence of God. John sticks to great principles rather than dealing with specifics).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Babylon as an Earthly Institution Revelations Rev 17:1-18 describes Babylon as an earthly institution that exalts itself against God.
Rev 17:4 Comments – If someone were to watch a parade of Roman Catholic cardinals with their pope in the Vatican in Rome, he would see all of the items described in Rev 17:4. Non-cardinal archbishops and bishops wear purple. Scarlet is the color of the cardinals. The pope’s crown is made of gold and many of these bishops wear heavy golden crosses. Pearls are often used in the form of a rosary. [114]
[114] Irvin Baxter, Jr., A Message for the President (Richmond, Indiana: Endtime, Inc. 1986).
Rev 17:10 Comments – Marilyn Hickey teaches that six of these kings represent the six ancient kingdoms of the past: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persian, Greece and the Roman Empire. When John the apostle was writing this book, the Roman Empire was still in power over the known world. She says that the seventh king will rule during the Tribulation period as the Antichrist. This is why Rev 17:11 says that the seventh king will rule for a short time. [115]
[115] Marilyn Hickey, Today With Marilyn and Sarah (Englewood, Colorado: Marilyn Hickey Ministries), on Trinity Broadcasting Network (Santa Ana, California), television program.
Rev 17:11 Comments – Marilyn Hickey teaches that the description of the beast in Rev 17:11 being the eighth king and is of the seventh refers to the fact that this beast will be wounded unto death and live again (Rev 13:1-10). [116]
[116] Marilyn Hickey, Today With Marilyn and Sarah (Englewood, Colorado: Marilyn Hickey Ministries), on Trinity Broadcasting Network (Santa Ana, California), television program.
Note: Comments – Note in this chapter that the last great battle to be fought will be between God and Babylon. It is interesting to note that the first military battle to be fought in the Scriptures was between Abraham and the king of Shinar, which is Babylon (see Genesis 14).
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Babylon and Its Fall Rev 17:1 to Rev 19:10 describes Babylon, its rebellion against God (Rev 17:1-18), its fall (Rev 18:1-24), and praise unto God for its destruction (Rev 19:1-10). The fact that the Tribulation Period marks the end of the Times of the Gentiles, a period in which Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome raised empires that ruled the known world, suggests that the fall of Babylon in Rev 17:1 to Rev 19:10 essentially marks the end of human rule upon earth. Jesus will return to earth at this time and set up His earthly kingdom, ruling from the holy city of Jerusalem. Whether biblical scholars interpret Babylon in the book of Revelation to symbolize the Roman Empire or to literary mean the city of Babylon, the fact is that the world’s system of rule that began with Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome ends at this time, ushering in a new era of God’s plan of redemption for mankind.
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. Babylon as an Earthly Institution Rev 17:1-18
2. The Fall of Babylon Rev 18:1-24
3. Heaven’s Praises for Babylon’s Fall Rev 19:1-10
The Personification of the City Called Babylon In Rev 17:1-18 John the apostle introduces a figurative character of a woman, a harlot, whom he calls Babylon, and later describes as the great city. The most popular interpretation of this passage is to identify the city as Rome, whom John personifies in this passage of Scripture as the “mother of harlots.” One of the strongest argues in support of the city of Rome is the description of her sitting upon seven hills (Rev 17:9). The city of Rome has been popularly known as the city of seven hills since antiquity, as seen in Classical literature, with Virgin and Propertius using very similar language to John the apostle in personifying the city of Rome with her enthronement and pomp among the nations.
The Latin scholar Varro (116-27 B.C.) writes, “Where Rome now is, was called the Septimontium [Seven Hills] from the same number of hills which the City afterwards embraced within its walls.” ( On the Latin Language 5.41) [106]
[106] Virro, On the Latin Language, vol. 1, trans. Roland G. Kent, in The Loeb Classical Library, eds. T. E. Page, E. Capps, and W. H. D. Rouse (London: William Heinemann, 1938), 39.
The Latin poet Virgil (70-19 B.C.) writes, “thus Rome became of all things the fairest, and with a single city’s wall enclosed her seven hills.” ( Georgics 2:535) [107] He also personifies the city of Rome much like John the apostle, writing, “Lo! under his auspices, my son, that glorious Rome shall bound her empire by earth, her pride by heaven, and with a single city’s wall shall enclose her seven hills, blest in her brood of men: even as the Berecyntian Mother, turret-crowned, rides in her car through the Phrygian cities, glad in her offspring of gods, and clasping a hundred of her children’s children, all denizens of heaven, all tenants of the heights above.” ( Aeneid 6.783) [108]
[107] Virgil, vol. 1, trans. H. Rushton Fairclough, in The Loeb Classical Library, eds. T. E. Page, E. Capps, and W. H. D. Rouse (London: William Heinemann, 1938), 153.
[108] Virgil, vol. 1, trans. H. Rushton Fairclough, in The Loeb Classical Library, eds. T. E. Page, E. Capps, and W. H. D. Rouse (London: William Heinemann, 1938), 561.
The Latin poet Horace (65-8 B.D.) writes, “To the Immortal Gods a hymn to raise Who in the seven-hilled City take delight.” ( The Secular Hymn 5) [109]
[109] The Works of Horace, vol. 2, trans. Theodore Martin (Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1881), 97.
The Latin poet Propertius (50-45 to 15 B.C.) personifies the city of Rome, using a number of similar statements to John the apostle, writing, “No day shall ever free thee of this stain, O RomeThe city high-throned on the seven hills, the queen of all the world, was terrified by a woman’s might and feared her threats! What boots it now to have broken the axes of Tarquin, whose proud life brands him with the name of ‘proud,’ if we must needs endure a woman’s tyranny? Rome, take thy triumph and, saved from doom, implore long life for Augustus. Yet didst thou fly, O queen, to the wandering streams of timorous Nile!” (3.11.36, 46-52) [110]
[110] Proterius, trans. H. E. Butler, in The Loeb Classical Library, eds. T. E. Page, E. Capps, and W. H. D. Rouse (London: William Heinemann, 1916), 215-217.
The Latin poet Ovid (43 B.C. to A.D 17) writes, “but Rome, that gazes about from her seven hills upon the whole world, Rome, the place of empire and the gods.” ( Tristia 1.5.69) [111]
[111] Ovid: Tristia, Ex Ponto, trans. Arthur Leslie Wheeler, in The Loeb Classical Library, eds. T. E. Page, E. Capps, and W. H. D. Rouse (London: William Heinemann, 1939), 33.
The Latin historian Pliny (A.D. 23-79) writes, “Romulus left Rome possessing three or, to accept the statement of the authorities putting the number highest, four gates. The area surrounded by its walls at the time of the principate and censorship of the Vespasians, in the 826th year of its foundation, measured 13 miles and 200 yards in circumference, embracing seven hills.” ( Natural History 3.66-67) [112]
[112] Pliny, Natural History, vol. 2, trans. H. Rackham, in The Loeb Classical Library, eds. T. E. Page, E. Capps, and W. H. D. Rouse (London: William Heinemann, 1961), 51.
The Latin poet Juvenal (late 1 st or early 2 nd c. A.D.) writes, “Juv. Fear not: you will never want a pathic friend, These hills standing and safe : from every where to them There come together, in chariots and ships…” ( Satires 9.130-132) [113]
[113] Juvenal and Persius, vol. 1, trans. M. Madan (Oxford: J. Vincent, 1839), 305.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Kingdom of Anti-Christ Symbolized by the Great Harlot.
The vision of the great harlot:
v. 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 show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters,
v. 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.
v. 3. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
v. 4. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication;
v. 5. and upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.
v. 6. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus; and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. Although this chapter makes the impression of an independent vision, it is very closely connected with the foregoing chapter and with the plagues of the seven angels, as the introduction shows: And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven vials, and spoke with me, saying, Come, I shall show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sits upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and those that inhabit the earth have become drunk with the wine of her fornication. One of the special messengers of the Lord that had poured out the vials of His wrath upon the kingdom of Anti-Christ and upon all his servants took John along to show him the doom, the execution of the sentence upon the anti-Christian harlot. With emphasis she is called the great harlot, for her impudence and shamelessness have become a proverb and a byword among the nations. It was a powerful harlot, for she exerted her authority over many waters, over many peoples; and it was a wily harlot, for she had induced the kings and princes of the earth to commit fornication with her, she had gained such power over them by her trickery that they willingly carried out her desires, and she had made all nations drunk with the wine of her fornication, with the glamour and pomp of her false doctrines, causing them to forget the love which they should bear to Jesus Christ alone.
John himself saw this harlot: And he took me away into a desert in the spirit. The prophet’s soul and mind were dissociated from his body for a short while, in order that he might see this picture: And I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast covered with names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns; and the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and wore ornaments of gold and precious stone and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand filled with the abominations and the filthiness of her fornication, and on her forehead a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and the abominations of the earth. The impression of the whole picture is one of abhorrence mingled with surprise that the great harlot should have succeeded so well with her designs against the earth and its inhabitants. Everywhere there is a lavish display of barbarous splendor, together with a repulsive show of the traffic in blood and in filth. The beast on which she is sitting is scarlet-colored and covered with blasphemous titles to take away the honor from the Lord of heaven, and its seven heads and ten horns make a strange and fearful combination. The woman herself, clothed with the garments of kings and bedecked with jewels which represent the riches of the world, all of which she had gathered in the course of her unspeakable traffic, had a cup of gold in her hand, the most dangerous feature in the picture, for it was filled with all the abominations and the filth of her fornication, of her adulterous life, with the doctrines of Satan, who tries to deceive the whole world. But on the forehead of the harlot John saw names which she had not inscribed there, for it explained to all men that would read just who and what this woman was. It was a name of mystery that was written there, as the Coptic version of the New Testament has it, and it told all men that this was Babylon the Great, the personification of the kingdom of Anti-Christ. And as she herself had left the Lord of her youth, so she had now become the mother of all other adulterous and idolatrous people in the world and the mother of all the greatest abominations on the earth.
The disgusting impression of the picture is heightened by the last part of the description: And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus, and I wondered, when I saw her, with a great wonder (a great amount of wondering). The kingdom of Anti-Christ is the devil’s harlot, and since he is a murderer from the beginning, she has joined him in shedding the blood of saints and of witnesses of Christ, until she is in a continual state of inebriation as a result of the great amount of blood which she has consumed. No wonder that John stood fascinated by the very horror of the woman’s aspect. See Isa 1:21.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
Rev 17:1
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me; and spake with me, saying. Omit “unto me.” This and the following chapters (to Rev 19:21) consist of visions which are really included under the seventh vial, but which, on account of their length and elaboration, may be considered apart from the other judgments of that vial. In the preceding chapters we have had placed before us a conspectus of three classes of ungodly people, and the three principles of evil in their abstract form, as represented by the world (the first beast), the flesh (the second beast), and the devil (the dragon). The personal final overthrow of the devil is described in Rev 20:10; Rev 17:1-18. and 18, are devoted to the description of the judgments of the two formerthe world, in its character of the openly hostile persecutor of the Church of God; and the other portion of the ungodly who, while still professing Christianity, find excuses for conforming to the worship of the image of the beast. The first beast is, therefore, identical with Babylon, and represents, as we have seen, the openly hostile and persecuting world power of all ages, of which, in St. John’s time, Rome was the foremost embodiment. The second beast is identical with the harlot, and represents faithless Christians, the apostate portion of the Church. The very raison d’etre of the Apocalypse is to deal with these two forms of evil; to declare the overthrow of the one, and to warn and, if possible, reclaim those under the influence of the other. In the latter case, the warning consists in setting forth the judgment in store for faithless Christians; and as this is the course pursued with the former also, the two merge into one, and indeed are declared to be one. The apostle in substance declares that, though there is a prima facie difference between the two forms of ungodliness, there is in reality no distinction to be made, but both are involved in one common final judgment. He thus twice solemnly asserts that the harlot is Babylon (verses 5 and 18). The comments upon the following chapters will be based upon this hypothesis, the reasons for which will be brought out more clearly as we proceed. The opening words of this chapter leave no doubt that the visions which follow are connected with the vial judgments. The “one of the seven angels” may be the seventh angel, to whom it pertained to unfold the circumstances connected with the last judgment. Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment. Hither, , without the verb, as in Rev 21:9 and Joh 11:43. Though this particular narration necessarily takes place after the account of the vials, yet we are not to understand that the events here related are subsequent to these related in the concluding verses of the previous chapter. Note the remarkable similarity between these words and these of Rev 21:9, and the contrast between the bride, the wife of the Lamb, and the harlot who is connected with the beast. Wordsworth carries the comparison even to the form of words, thus
The harlot and the beast.
,
The bride and the Lamb.
Of the great whore; harlot (Revised Version). There seems no doubt that this figure describes the degenerate portion of the Church of God.
(1) As we have already seen, this symbolism is made use of by St. John to portray the faithlessness of those who are professedly servants of God (see Rev 2:20; Rev 14:4), and in this sense it is applied in the great majority of passages of Scripture where it occurs (cf. Isa 1:21; Jer 2:20; Jer 3:1-25.; Eze 16:1-63.; 23.; Hos 2:5; Hos 3:3; Hos 4:15; Mic 1:7). In Isa 23:1-18, and Nah 3:14 the term refers to Tyre and Nineveh respectively.
(2) There is an intended contrast between the bride and the Lamb, and the harlot who allies herself with the beast (vide supra).
(3) A contrast is also probably intended between the woman clothed with the sun (Rev 12:1-17.), bringing forth the man child, Christ Jesus the Saviourthe representation of the pure Churchand the harlot clothed in scarlet, the mother of harlots and abominationsthe representation of the faithless part of the Church.
(4) Both the woman of Rev 12:1-17. and the harlot of this chapter reside in the wilderness, that is, this world (see on Rev 12:14); indeed, they are to men sometimes indistinguishable (cf. the parable of the wheat and tares).
(5) The faithful Church, the bride, is called a city (Rev 21:2, Rev 21:9, Rev 21:10); so the faithless portion of tile Church, the harlot, is identified with the city Babylon (Rev 11:8; Rev 17:4. 5). Other coincidences will be noted as we proceed. But it seems equally impossible to accept the view that this faithless portion of the Church refers to papal Rome, and none other. We must include all the faithless of God’s Church in all time. If the fulfilment is to be limited at all, it seems more reasonable to suppose that the first reference of St. John was to the faithless members of the seven Churches to which he addresses the Apocalypse. But we are, no doubt, intended to see here a picture of the position of the unfaithful part of the Church wherever it exists, at any time, and which men are certainly not able always to specify and judge. On this point see Professor Milligan’s ‘Baird Lectures’ for 1885, on “The Revelation of St. John.” In lect. 5. he says, “But Babylon is not the Church of Rome in particular. Deeply, no doubt, that Church has sinned. .. Yet the interpretation is false … Babylon cannot be Christian Rome; and nothing has been more injurious to the Protestant Churches than the impression that the two were identical, and that, by withdrawing from communion with the pope, they wholly freed themselves from alliance with the spiritual harlot. Babylon embraces much more than Rome, and illustrations of what she is lie nearer our own door. Wherever professedly Christian men have thought the world’s favour better than its reproach; wherever they have esteemed its honours a more desirable possession than its shame; wherever they have courted ease rather than welcomed suffering, have loved self indulgence rather than self sacrifice, and have substituted covetousness in grasping for generosity in distributing what they had,there the spirit of Babylon has been manifested. In short, we have in the great harlot city neither the Christian Church as a whole, nor the Romish Church in particular, but all who anywhere within the Church profess to be Christ’s ‘little flock’ and are not, denying in their lives the main characteristic by which they ought to be distinguishedthat they ‘follow’ Christ.” (For the distinction between the harlot and Babylon, see above.) That sitteth upon many waters. “The” is inserted in B and other manuscripts, probably on account of the reference in verse 15, but is omitted in , A, P, and others. This is the description of Babylon in Jer 51:13, whence, doubtless, the expression is derived. In the place quoted, the sentence refers to the many canals of Babylon; but the interpretation of this passage is given in Jer 51:15, where the waters are stated to be “peoples.” This fact sufficiently demonstrates that, though the imagery of the Apocalypse be taken from the Old Testament, it is not always safe to insist on an exactly similar interpretation; the symbols employed may be applied in an independent manner. That the harlot sits on many waters therefore shows us that the faithless portion of the Church is to be found distributed amongst “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”
Rev 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. “Of the earth” is used here (as it frequently is) for the worldly as distinguished from the righteous; and the two classes mentioned indicate the universality of this faithlessnessit is not confined to any one grade of society. As we have seen (see on Rev 17:1 and Rev 14:8), the figure of fornication is repeatedly used to describe faithlessness towards God. The verse, therefore, declares that this faithless portion of the Church has chosen rather to render to the world that love which is due to God, and to be connected rather with the powers of this world than to have its treasure in heaven. The expression, “wine of her fornication,” is a repetition of that in Rev 14:8, and is derived from Jer 2:7 (cf. also Rev 16:19 and Rev 18:3).
Rev 17:3
So he carried me away in the spirit; and he carried, etc. (cf. Rev 1:10 and Rev 21:10). In the latter reference the analogy is sufficiently close to lead us to believe that it is intended. Into the wilderness; a wilderness, according to the Revised Version, which is the rendering of Wordsworth and others; but Alford strongly supports the Authorized Version rendering, notwithstanding the absence of the Greek article (see Alford, in loc.). Some commentators have thought that the “wilderness” signifies the desolation which is the lot of the harlot (see Rev 17:16; Rev 18:2, Rev 18:19; also Jer 51:26). But we can hardly avoid the conclusion that the “wilderness” here is that spoken of in Rev 12:6, Rev 12:14, which is symbolical of this world, particularly when we remember that the “wilderness” in both cases is the abode of a woman, who moreover is representative of the Church; though in Rev 12:1-17. she represents the Church of God as a whole, persecuted by Satan, and in this place the woman is representative of the faithless part of the Church (see also below on “beast”). Vitringa, referring to Isa 21:1, and Rev 17:1,Rev 17:15, and Eze 20:35, arrives at a similar conclusion; it is a “wilderness of the people.” And I saw a woman. There is no article, but this vision, occurring immediately after the words of Eze 20:1, “I will show thee the great harlot,” identifies this woman with the harlot of Eze 20:1. This woman represents the faithless portion of the Church (see on Eze 20:1); that part which, following after worldly things, has thereby rendered to the beast the love and honour due to God alone. This woman is not identical with the woman of Rev 12:1-17. The latter represents the faithful, the former the faithless, part of the Church. Sit upon a scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. Here again, as in “wilderness” (vide supra), we have , “beast,” without the article; but the identity of this “beast” with that of Rev 13:1 is established by
(1) the same outward characteristics of names of blasphemy, seven heads and ten horns;
(2) its connection with “kings,” etc. (Rev 13:12-14 and Rev 19:19, Rev 19:20);
(3) its connection with the “false prophet” (Rev 13:1-18. and Rev 19:20);
(4) its connection with the harlotthe one representing the world power, the other the faithless, worldly portion of the Church.
That the woman sits upon the beast denotes, not that she exercises control and guidance over it (as Alford), for comp. Rev 13:16, but rather that the woman relies upon the beast for support and safety; thus presenting an accurate description of those who prefer to trust to the power and influence of the world rather than to God. Scarlet (whether the colour of the beast itself or of its trappings is immaterial) may signify either
(1) the worldly pre-eminence and power of which it is the sign, and for which the woman allies herself with the beast; or
(2) the blood-stained persecution of which the beast is the author. The first interpretation coincides best with the words which immediately follow; the second one agrees with the description in Rev 13:6 and Rev 13:7. (On the “names of blasphemy,” as signifying opposition to and rivalry with God, see on Rev 13:1.) The seven heads denote universality of (earthly) dominion, and the ten horns denote plenitude of power (see on Rev 13:1).
Rev 17:4
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour. These words, taken in connection with those that follow, seem to signify the worldly magnificence which may be the portion of the faithless Christian. Some writers see an allusion to the purple robe of Christ. (On the meaning of “scarlet,” see on Rev 17:3.) And decked with gold and precious stones and pearls; gilded with, etc. Similar descriptions are given in Eze 16:13 and Eze 28:13. Compare the description in Rev 21:11. This account is sufficiently characteristic of the world’s attractions to need no comment. Having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication; full of abominations, even the unclean things of, etc. (Revised Version), the Authorized Version reading being placed in the margin. Another reference to Jer 51:7 (cf. also Rev 14:10). Abominations are all things that are displeasing to God. (On “fornication,” see on Rev 14:8 and Rev 17:1, Rev 17:2; it signifies unfaithfulness towards God.)
Rev 17:5
And upon her forehead was a name written. Omit “was.” , “name,” is dependent upon , “having,” in Rev 17:4. This practice was customary with harlots (Juv., ‘Sat.,’ 6:123; Seneca, ‘Controv.,’ Rev 1:2). In Rev 14:1 and Rev 7:3 the faithful members of God’s Church have his Name in their foreheads; here the faithless ones, represented by the harlot, exhibit a spurious imitation. As God’s Name marked the former as his, so the name Babylon, etc., marks the latter as belonging to the world (see on Rev 16:19; Rev 17:5; Rev 18:2). The name consists of the words following, to the end of the verse. MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. The word “MYSTERY” may be
(1) part of the name, standing coordinately with “BABYLON” (Alford, Bleek, Hengstenberg, Vitringa, Wordsworth);
(2) a description of the following title, being thus in apposition with , “name” (Auberlin, De Wette, Dusterdieck, Ebrard);
(3) an adverb used in the same sense as in the last case (Stuart). Whichever view be taken, there can be no doubt that the purpose is to draw attention to the fact which is contained in the following wordsa fact which might otherwise be exceedingly difficult to receive. For the rest of the verso asserts that the harlot is Babylon; that is, that the worldly portion of the Church, though nominally Christian, is in reality identical with the world, which is openly antagonistic to God. Indeed, the latter portion of the verse goes even further than this. This faithless (though outwardly Christian) portion of Christ’s Church is the mother, that is, the cause of the existence of unfaithfulness to God. So true is it that the professing Christian who is worldly minded does more to cause in others disobedience and unfaithfulness to God, than he who openly declares himself in opposition to God, and even persecutes the faithful; cf. the words to the Church in Laodicea, “I would thou went cold or hot” (Rev 3:15). (On “ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH,” see on Rev 7:4.)
Rev 17:6
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus; of the witnesses (cf. Rev 11:7). Another point of contrast between this woman and the woman of Rev 12:1-17.; the former persecutes, the latter is persecuted. It may be askedHow can these words be applied to professing Christians, as they must be, if such be the interpretation of the “harlot”? The answer may be found in Jeremiah. In Jer 2:33, Jer 2:34 and Jer 3:1-11 we find the origin of this passage. Judah is a harlot (Jer 2:20; Jer 3:1, Jer 3:8) with a sign upon her forehead (Jer 3:3), who causes transgression in others (Jer 2:33; and compare above, “Mother of harlots “), and in whose “skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents” (Jer 2:34). She is clothed in crimson (Jer 4:30) and golden ornaments (cf. Rev 17:4); her lovers will despise her (Jer 4:30) and seek her life (cf. Rev 17:16). Just as it was declared that in Judah was found the blood of the innocent poor, so here we are told that the faithless part of the Church is guilty of the blood of the saints. The reason is found in the inscription. The harlot is absolutely identified with Babylon. No distinction in guilt can be allowed between the openly hostile world and the faithless Christian. “He that is not with me,” God declares, “is against me” (Mat 12:20). The description “drunken with,” etc., is similar to that of Babylon in Rev 18:2; and also in Jer 51:7. And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration; with a great wonder (Revised Version). Probably because the seer can scarcely realize that some who are professing Christians must be held guilty of such enormities; that the harlot, representing a portion of the Church, faithless even though it be, should be classed with the world, as represented by Babylon and the beast. Perhaps the wonder is caused by the fact that such a thing should ever be permitted to be; this leading to the following explanation, which shows how the unfaithfulness is avenged.
Rev 17:7
And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? did thou wonder?the same word as in Rev 17:6. Though the seer cannot fully comprehend the terrible significance of the sign he sees, viz. that a portion of the Church is one with the hostile world (see on Rev 17:6), yet there are sufficient marks wherewith to identify it. The woman, the wilderness, the reliance upon the world power, the inscription, the similar description of Judah in Jer 2:1-37 and Jer 3:1-25. (see on Jer 3:6), might have made the interpretation plain. I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns; the ten horns. Observe, too, that the “mystery of the woman and of the beast” is all one. (On the “beast,” “the seven heads,” and “the ten horns.” see on previous verses, especially Rev 13:1.) In Jer 3:1 the harlot is said to sit on the waters; here the beast carries her. The two statements are really identical; both the beast and the waters represent the worldly power found among “peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues” (Jer 3:14).
Rev 17:8
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition; and is about to come up out of the abyss (Revised Version). “And to go” () is read in , B. P, Vulgate, and almost all cursives; while , “he goeth,” is found in A, 12, Arethas, Irenaeus. The latter part of this passage is related again in Rev 19:20. The beast, as we have seen is the world powerSatan in his character of “prince of this world.” Three stages are marked out in the existence of this world power: first, it was; second, it is not now; thirdly, it reappears, to be cast into perdition. The first period describes the condition of things before the sacrifice of Christ. Then it was that Satan ruled supreme in the world; that the power of the worldthe beastwas. But Christ overcame the world (Joh 16:33); henceforth to all true believers there is “peace,” although they may “have tribulation” in the world (Joh 16:33); for the faithful Christian the power of the worldthe beastis not. Yet, though for the true servant of God there is a sense in which it may be said that this power has no existence, it nevertheless exists in the abyss, that is, in its natural abiding place in the world, among the worldly minded, and thus may cause “tribulation” to the faithful. A further downfall is, therefore, prepared for itthat which will take place at the last day, when it “will ascend from the abyss to go into perdition.” This nonexistence, contemporaneously with existence and subsequent reappearance, is exactly what is described in the wound healed (Rev 13:3; see also the remainder of this verse). The period, therefore, embraced in these words is that of the whole existence of this world. It coincides with the period referred to in Rev 12:14 and Rev 12:17, and in Rev 20:3. Throughout the Apocalypse the word , translated “bottomless pit” (Authorized Version) and “abyss” (Revised Version), is used to describe the dwelling place of Satan (see Rev 9:1, Rev 9:2, Rev 9:11; Rev 11:7; Rev 20:1, Rev 20:3) while working in the world. “Perdition” is described in Rev 19:20 as the “lake of fire burning with brimstone.” And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is; whose name hath not been written upon the book beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall be present. The last words show exactly what is meant in the first part of the verse (which see). The first words are a repetition of words in Rev 13:8 (which see).
Rev 17:9
And here is the mind which hath wisdom. Omit “and.” Read, Here is the mind (or, meaning), etc. These words (as in Rev 13:18) draw attention to the explanation which followsor else that which precedes (cf. Rev 13:18). They also make it appear that the explanation which the angel offers of the “mystery” is not one to be understood without some difficulty. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. The diversity of opinions on the interpretation of this passage is mainly owing to the fact that writers are not consistent in their application of symbols and numbers; in one place interpreting figuratively, in another literally. We have repeatedly seen that the language of the Apocalypse and its numbers are symbolical. The seals are not literal seals, the Lamb is not a literal Lamb, the beast is not a literal beast, etc. So here, the mountains are not literal mountains. A mountain is a symbol of power (see on Rev 8:8); seven is the number significant of universality (see on Rev 1:4; Rev 5:1, etc.). The plain meaning of the passage, therefore, is that the woman relies upon a visibly universal power. This is precisely the idea contained in Rev 17:3, which describes the faithless part of the Church (the harlot) trusting to the power of the world (the beast). Of course, the most prominent form of this world power in St. John’s time was heathen Rome, hence some writers believe that “the seven-hilled city,” Rome, is referred to hereeither pagan or papal Rome. And, indeed, this may be a partial fulfilment of the vision; but it is not the whole signification. To understand seven mountains literally in this place renders it necessary to interpret forty-two weeks, etc., literally in another.
Rev 17:10
And there are seven kings; and they are. Here we have the same idea (cf. Rev 17:9), with a somewhat different aspect. The phrase in Rev 17:9, “seven mountains,” regarded the world power as one universal indivisible whole, without respect to particular times or modes in which it might be exhibited. In this phrase, “seven kings,” we have the same world power viewed in its successive exhibitions by different nations; though here again we must be on our guard not to interpret the number seven literally of seven nations. The kings represent Worldly states or kingdoms; seven, again, betokens universality. We are thus told that this world power on which the woman relies is exhibited in the manifestation of power by successive nations, e.g. Egyptian, Assyrian, Roman, etc., as many as have ever existed or shall exist; for this is the meaning of seven. Five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; the five; the one; the other. Omit “and.” Here, again, not literally five. The seer divides the whole series of antitheistic world powers into three groups, and he would say, some, probably the majority, of these are passed away; the second group embraces the world power as it is exhibited now, whether Roman, Jewish, or any other; in the third group are included those yet to come. Thus those writers who enumerate Egypt, Nineveh, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Syria, etc., in the first group, are partially correct, and only wrong in so far as they attempt to limit and define the kingdoms; and similarly also those who in the third group place the Roman empire after the barbarian invasions, or imperial Germany, etc. And when he cometh, he must continue a short space; a little while (Revised Version). This “short space” describes the remainder of the time of the world’s existence. Such is its meaning in Rev 6:11 and Rev 12:12, and again in Rev 20:3. In a similar manner, also, “shortly come to pass,” etc. (Rev 1:1, Rev 1:3; Rev 2:5, Rev 2:16, etc.; cf also Joh 16:17, Joh 16:28).
Rev 17:11
And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition; and the beast (neuter, ) that was and is not, he himself is also an eighth (masculine), and is of (, out of) the seven, etc. We may note
(1) that “eighth” refers to “king” in Rev 17:10, being masculine gender;
(2) the absence of the article before , “eighth,” shows that this is not the eighth in a successive series, in which the kings already mentioned form the first seven. The Revised Version probably gives the correct meaning, “is of the seven;” that is, the beast himself consists of, and is formed by, what has been denoted by the seven kings. We have already interpreted the beast as the worldly powerSatan in his capacity of “prince of this world.” We have also shown that the “seven kings” describes this worldly power as it exists throughout all ages. This verse, therefore, sums up and reasserts briefly what has been already virtually intimated in the symbolism employed, viz. that the beast is the sum total of what has been described under the form of five kings, then one king, and then one king again (Rev 17:10). His final doom is also reasserted, “he goeth into perdition” (cf. Rev 17:8 and Rev 19:20)
Rev 17:12
And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet. The horns, as we have seen, are symbolical of power (see on Rev 13:1), and ten signifies completeness and sufficiency (Rev 13:1). By the ten horns, therefore, is expressed widespread, complete power. But this power, says the seer, has not come into existence as yet. He thus points to a coming power, hostile to God, such as is described in that part of the account of the seven kings which states “the other is not yet come” (Rev 17:10). If; seems probable, therefore, that in describing the forces opposed to Godthose past, those present, and those yet to comeSt. John foresees that the hostile world power will not be always pre-eminently wielded by one nation, as in his own time; but will be divided into many parts, here represented by the number ten, though not necessarily exactly ten in number. This, indeed, exactly describes what has really been the case since St. John’s time, and what, humanly speaking, seems likely to continue to the end of the world. These ten horns seem thus to be identical with the seventh king of verse 10. Compare the account given of the horns in Dan 7:1-28. But receive power as kings one hour with the beast; authority (Revised Version). One hour denotes “a short time,” in which way the Bible constantly describes the period of the world’s existence, and especially that period which intervenes between the time of the writer and the judgment day (cf. Rom 16:20; 1Co 7:29; Rev 6:11; Rev 12:12; Rev 22:20, etc.). This sentence thus declares that, though in the future divided into many parts, and thus not being visibly as potential as former single united kingdoms, nevertheless this hostile world power will be still formidable, having ranged itself on the side of the beast, acting for and with him, and receiving power from him.
Rev 17:13
These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast; they give (present tense) their power and authority, etc. That is, though apparently split up into many sections, they form practically one, acting by and for the beast on whose side they range themselves (see on verse 32).
Rev 17:14
These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; shall war against. This connects the description with Rev 16:1-21 :34 and with Rev 19:11-21. This war between the Lamb and the powers of evil is that which extends throughout the history of the world (vide infra); it occupies the “one hour” of Rev 19:12, which is equivalent to the period of the world’s existence. But the seer in this verse looks forward also to the termination of the conflict, the result of which, here briefly indicated, is soon to be narrated more fully. For he is Lord of lords, and King of kings. This is the reason given to the Israelites (Deu 10:17) for obedience to God (cf. also Dan 2:47; 1Ti 6:15; and Rev 19:16). Though the beast may exercise m this world dominion and power as “prince of this world,” yet the Lamb is King still greater, to whom the beast must finally succumb. He is thus King above the kings of Rev 17:2, Rev 17:10. And they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. The Revised Version is more correct, And they that are with him, called and chosen and faithful [shall also overcome]. Another evidence of the lifelong nature of this war. Not only Christ wars and overcomes, but those associated with him are permitted to share in the battle and the victory. Christ’s saints are called here to battle; in Rev 19:9 they are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb (cf. also the exhortation to faithfulness in Rev 2:10). The three epithets describe the progressive life of those who share Christ’s victory They are calledas all men areto serve him; having heard the call, they dedicate their lives to his service, and become his chosen servants; finally, having remained faithful to him, they share in his victory.
Rev 17:15
And he saith unto me. As in Rev 17:7, these words form the preface to a particular description. Having explained the mystery of the beast, to whom the woman looks for support, the angel now proceeds to unfold the mystery of the harlot herself. The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth; viz. those mentioned in Rev 17:1. In Rev 17:7 we are told that the beast carries the woman. Both statements are correct. The beast is the world power, which is found among the “peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.” Are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. The fourfold description of the human race (cf. Rev 5:9, etc.), which, as a whole, serves the beast (cf. Rev 13:3, Rev 13:8, Rev 13:12, Rev 13:16), and out of which are selected the redeemed (Rev 5:9; Rev 9:9).
Rev 17:16
And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast; and the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast. There is no authority for the of Erasmus except the Vulgate, in bestia, and, of course, the description given of the beast (Rev 13:1, etc,). The two are spoken of separately, on account of the separate juris diction wielded according to verses 32, 13. These shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire; and shall burn her utterly with fire (Revised Version). These words describe the fate in store for the faithless portion of the Church. That world, to which she trusts, shall turn and rend hera fitting sequel to her want of faith in the power of Christ. This is exactly the description given of the harlot in Eze 16:37 (cf. also Eze 23:22). “Eat her flesh” and “burn with fire” both describe similar results; possibly the one is thought of in connection with the symbol of “harlot,” the other with the symbol of “city,” with which the harlot is identical (see on Eze 16:5; but see Gen 38:24; Le Gen 21:9; cf. also the judgment upon the wicked rich in Jas 5:3, “shall eat your flesh as it were fire”).
Rev 17:17
For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled; God did put to do his mind, and to come to one mind (Revised Version). “His mind” is thought by Bengel, De Wette, and Dusterdieck to signify the beast’s mind. Others understand God’s mind. In either ease the general sense is plain. While the world power is apparently performing the will of the beast, God is working above all; only by his permission can anything be done (of. the “it was given” of Rev 13:1-18.). The “words of God” are his denunciations against those who trust to the world (cf. Eze 16:37, quoted on Eze 16:16).
Rev 17:18
And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. A repetition of the assertion made in Rev 17:5, viz. that the harlot and Babylon are identical (see on Rev 17:5). Many writers have been led by this verse to believe that Rome, either pagan or papal, is thus pointed out as the antitype of the harlot. That this is one fulfilment of the vision need hardly be doubted. Rome was in St. John’s time the foremost embodiment of the hostile forces of the world. But this is not the whole fulfilment, which is in all time (see above, especially on verse 1 of this chapter).
HOMILETICS
Rev 17:1-18
“Babylon the great.”
Our aim in this homily will be to show to what form of evil the name “Babylon the great” specially seems to point. The complexity and difficulty which have gathered round this chapter seem to the writer to arise rather from the enormous incubus of human interpretation which has pressed it down. In this passage we are shown rather a twisted rope than a tangled web. If we untwist the threads and lay them side by side, we shall not have much difficulty, specially if we exercise all that reverent and painstaking care which is due to the examination of every part of the Word of God. The main figure in the symbolism of the chapter is an infamous woman. Those who are familiar with Old Testament prophecy will know how often the terms “fornication,” “adultery,” etc., are used. As in Isa 1:21; Jer 2:20; Jer 3:1, Jer 3:6, Jer 3:8, and in many other places, such terms are used of an apostate Church. In Isa 23:15-17 the like terms are used of Tyre; in Nah 3:4, of Nineveh. So that, so far as the use of such terms in Scripture is concerned, they may mean apostasy from God under the form either of secular rule or of religious corruption. Nor can we have any difficulty in seeing the propriety of such figures. As fornication and adultery are forms of false affection, and are the prostitution of the most sacred part of our nature to alien purposes, so the alienation of the heart from God, and the departure of a Church from fidelity to him, is a violation of the most sacred ties, and is the leaguing of the heart in a false alliance, which is odious to our God. Where is THIS harlot seen? There is a triple combination of expressions here.
(1) She is seen seated on the beast with seven heads and ten horns;
(2) seated on seven hills;
(3) seated on many waters, which are peoples, nations, and tongues.
Her being seated on the beast, or resting on the civil world power, is one form of expressing her alliance with state authority. The seven heads of the beast are so many forms of worldly dominionfive of which had passed away, viz. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greece. The sixth existed at the time of the apostle. This was Rome. The seventh was another which, when Rome was no more Rome, would rise up, and would be manifest in ten forms. The number ten may be a definite expression for an indefinite number, or it may be that the world powers may yet be resolvable into ten before Babylon’s fall. And the beast himselfbeing an eighthis also doomed to perdition. That the woman is also spoken of as seated on seven hills, and (in Nah 3:18) as “that great city,” again indicates a very precise reference to Rome. That she was seated on many waters indicates her sway being as wide as that of the great world power with which she was in base alliance. Seated on this earthly power, and yet controlling it, as a rider is seated on a horse and yet controls the beast. This is the harlot, Babylon the great, which made all nations to drink of the wine of her fornication. Nor must we fail to notice the several descriptive features of the harlot. She is:
(1) Clad in gorgeous aray (Rev 17:4).
(2) Holding out an enticing cup (Nah 3:4).
(3) Mother of harlots and abominations (Nah 3:5).
(4) Drunk with the blood of the holy (Nah 3:6).
(5) Poisoning the inhabitants of the earth (Rev 18:3).
(6) Bearing names of blasphemy (Nah 3:3).
(7) Yet in a wilderness (Nah 3:3).
(8) Ruling over the kings of the earth (Nah 3:18).
(9) One by whom the merchants grow rich (Rev 18:3).
(10) Presumptuous in her self security (Rev 18:7).
(11) Hated by the very powers whom she has ruled (Nah 3:16).
Hence we are bidden, by the very terms of the symbolism, to look out for some form of evil, which manifests a glaring alienation and apostasy from Godwhile yet putting on a form like that of the faithful Church; which at once relies on worldly power, and yet assumes its direction; which invests itself in gorgeous array, assumes pompous titles, even such as are names of blasphemy against our Lord and against his Christ; which should exert a most baneful influence on the inhabitants of the earth, and fill the air with the miasma of her pollutions and her crimes; which should be at ease in her self security, as it no power could disturb her; which should shed the blood of the saints without measure; and which should be in itself the very filth and scum of wickedness. The apostle is astonished with a great astonishment at the symbols of such an incarnation of evil. And a voice is heard crying aloud, “Come out of her, my people that ye receive not of her plagues.” Can we now point to any form or forms of evil that answer to this symbolism? We have no hesitation in sayingYes. In so doing, let us observe that there really is not room for any great diversity in applying such symbolism as we have here, for surely there are few forms of evil so gigantic as to suit the words, “She hath made all nations drink,” etc. It is, however, clear that whatever form of evil there may be, known or unknown to us, which presents all the features named here, or even the greater part of them, there is a great Babylon which is doomed to a fall that will be utter and irretrievable. Therefore observe
I. One form of Babylon the great is seen in that terrible, awful, universal departure from God which has corrupted all nations, perverted politics, poisoned commerce, and marred social life; by which, as manifested in the iniquitous pursuit of gain, many have grown rich; which has manifested itself in “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life;” which has assumed a domineering air, commanding men to bow down to it, under pain of social ostracism or petty persecution. This spirit of exaltation, against God has often puffed men up in false security. It hath been the curse of mankind; for when men are unfaithful to God, they are untrue to themselves. The cup of iniquity becomes fuller and fuller. Often the land mourneth because there is no truth nor justice, nor knowledge of God, therein. Yea, in legion forms this worldwide poison of sin, which works out in blasphemy towards God and ruin towards man, is a great Babylon, which will be smitten, and reel, and fall. And in so far as any so called Church puts itself between man and God, and usurps his rights, it is akin to Babylon the great.
II. At the same time, we cannot fail to see that there is one special form of evil which more than anything else in the world is pointed out in the symbolism of this chapter, and that is THE APOSTASY OF THE CHURCH OF ROME. Not that we can agree with those who think papal Rome the sole enemy of God here referred to. For we shall find in the lamentation over Babylon’s fall much that leads us to think not only of a huge ecclesiastical Babylon, but also of a huge commercial one. But that papal Rome is one form of this mystic Babylon we can entertain no doubt whatever. The student of history can follow out at leisure thirteen or fourteen lines of inquiry, on which we can but give a few illustrative remarks.
1. The woman was seated on the beast as if supported by it (Nah 3:3). Rome has relied on the worldly power to put her decrees into execution by brute force; both in using temporal powers, and in herself claiming temporal power as well as spiritual.
2. She yet rides the beast as if to govern it (Nah 3:3). We know but too well how Rome has aimed at, and does still aim at, controlling the power on which she relies; claiming even to regulate allegiance to earthly princes.
3. She is seated on many waters (Nah 3:1). In every quarter of the world her emissaries are sent. And in many a land where the pure gospel of Christ has been preached, she sends her emissaries to undo the holy work by sowing tares among the wheat.
4. She rules over the kings of the earth (Nah 3:18). Kings are but the “sons of the Church,” to do the bidding of their “holy” (?) mother; otherwise she may absolve subjects from allegiance to their sovereign.
5. She holds out a golden cup full of abominations (Nah 3:4). Papal Rome makes large offers of indulgences and absolutions, and positively lures men into sin.
6. The merchants grow rich by her (Rev 18:3). Many are enriched by the ungodly traffic to which she consents in making the house of prayer a den of thieves; for her indulgences and absolutions will cover any kind and degree of sin, whether in the getting of wealth or otherwise.
7. She is presumptuous in her self security (Rev 18:7). Papal Rome acknowledges no other Church, and looks for the time when all will be absorbed in her, while she is to be “a lady forever.”
8. She is adorned with pompous arrayin gold (Nah 3:4), purple, scarlet, and precious stones. Anyone who has watched the working of papal Rome at Rome will need no words to convince him of her gorgeous display and dazzling sheen.
9. She is drunk with the blood of the holy (Nah 3:6). What tales does history unfold! A hundred and fifty thousand persons perished under the Inquisition in thirty years; and from the beginning of the Order of Jesuits, in 1540, it is supposed that nine hundred thousand persons perished through papal cruelty. While, although it is impossible to estimate the exact number, yet it is supposed that during the papal persecutions of the Waldenses, Albigenses, Bohemian Brethren, Wickliffites, and other Protestants, those who perished are counted by the million. The same spirit exists still. In Ireland the priests keep the people in terror, and if Rome does not persecute us, it is because she dare not.
10. She is the mother of abominations (Nah 3:5). Students of history and tourists in papal districts know that this is literally true. Indulgences for an indefinite number of years may be purchased with money. No viler looking set of faces could ever be beheld than the present writer has seen surrounding the confessional boxes in St. Peter’s at Rome.
11. The beast she rides is full of names of blasphemy (Nah 3:3). The proclamation of infallibility is the one fulfilment of this that surpasses all others.
12. The inhabitants of the earth are led by her into sin (Rev 18:3). The papal Church notoriously leads people into the sin of idolatry. The worship of Rome is largely the adoration of a great goddess. Papists pronounce accursed those who do not “honour, worship, and adore the adorable images.”
13. The several kings or kingdoms into which the civil power of the beast is to be divided shall “hate the whore, and make her desolate,” etc. (Nah 3:16). How true! If there is an object of imperial hatred, it is papal Rome, which is hated most of all. She is regarded as the disturber of states everywhere.
14. Yet within this great Babylon there will be to the last some saints of God, who will be called on to come out of her (Rev 18:4). Even so. Fearfully apostate and adulterous as is papal Rome, there are in her pale many holy ones who are profoundly ignorant of the abominations, done by her in religion’s name. The Lord will know his own in the day when he maketh up his jewels. But this great Babylon of harlotry, pomp, pride, and all abominations, is doomed to fall terribly, suddenly, completely, and forever! Earnestly do we press on the student carefully to follow up each of these fourteen lines on which history will be found to confirm the prophecy here couched in symbolic form. The identification is such that not one point seems lacking. How this great mystery of iniquity is to fall we have yet to consider.
Rev 17:16, Rev 17:17; Rev 18:4-8
Means and methods of the fall of Babylon the great.
Every great Babylon must fall; whether by such a term it be intended to denote a huge commercial or a huge ecclesiastical Babylon. A corrupt world and an unfaithful Church must both come to ruin. The name “Church” will give no security against destruction if the salt have lost its savour. If any Church allies itself with an ungodly world power, leaning on it for support, and gathering its prestige from thence, it is, so far, committing spiritual fornication. “The wine of her fornication” intoxicates men. Precisely so. It is the glamour, the glitter, the pomp, and prestige that attend a Church in her connection with the state, that lead men away into a deceptive admiration, and even intoxicate them with thoughts of her magnificence and power. In the Church of Rome, however, all the evils of spiritual whoredom are at their topmost height. In no other Church in the world is there so much pomp and yet so much carnality. And the Holy Ghost has in these chapters not only given us a sketch beforehand of what she would be, but (though with less of detail) has indicated the means and methods by which she would be destroyed, and has also pointed out the guarantees of the fulfilment of this.
I. A CONSTANT OVERRULING POWER, GOVERNING BY MEANS OF THE LAWS OF MENTAL SUGGESTION, IS AT WORK WITH THAT END IN VIEW. The impulses in human spirits are so directed as to serve God’s purposes and not man’s (Rev 18:16, Rev 18:17). “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, and he turneth it whithersoever he will;” “The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposal thereof is of the Lord;” “A man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.” God says to Cyrus, “I girded thee, though thou hast not known me.” So of another we read, “Howbeit he meaneth not so; it is in his heart to destroy nations not a few.” “God bath put it into their hearts to fulfil his will, till the words of God shall be fulfilled.” The right or the wrong of the willing is man’s own. The issues thereof are overruled by God for his ends. Scripture abounds in illustrations of this. Joseph is cast into the pit. Man meant one thing; God accomplished another. God meant it for good, to save much people alive. Paul is thrown into prison; his bonds turn out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel. Luther is imprisoned, and his castle becomes a Bethel. Bunyan is thrown into prison, and it becomes a second Patmos. Every diligent student of God’s providence must have observed the like again and again. Even so, that which is made use of by man to prop up a system may be employed by God to overthrow it. Thus it is to be with Babylon the great. In spite of all that man can say and do, however imposing the names and pretensions of this harlot, however widely spread and deeply rooted may be the ramifications of the evil, however much the worldly interests of men may be bound up therein, there is a sure process of undermining going on at every hourthat undermining being none the less speedy at the moment men are taking the pains to prop it up. It was so with slavery in America. It is so with popery at Rome. The plans of men for upholding both the one and the other have issued, and will issue, in results the very opposite of those which man intended. The world is not in man’s hands, after all, but in God’s. He puts it in men’s hearts to fulfil his will.
II. THE VERY POWERS ON WHICH BABYLON RELIED WILL TURN ROUND AGAINST HER TO HATE AND HARM HER. (Rev 18:16, “The ten horns shall hate the harlot,” etc.) How truly is this being fulfilled! Not one of the European powers that has not in some period or other been relied upon by Rome. And now there is not one of the main kingdoms of the world that is not “hating” her. They are working in their own defence against papal intrigue. Historical incidents of the last twenty years are a startling fulfilment of the Apocalyptic word. Thus “the Word of prophecy is made more sure” (2Pe 1:19, Revised Version).
III. THERE WILL BE JUDGMENTS AND PLAGUES THAT WILL CONSUMMATE HER RUIN, (Rev 18:8, Rev 18:10; Rev 16:18-21.) Regularity and continuity combine with catastrophe to advance the world. There is a long period of orderly, even, and regular sequents. Then there comes an upheaving, and effects in one hour that for which ages have been preparing the way. In the blasting of rocks we see the slow boring and undermining; then the laying of the train of powder. So far all is done deliberately. Then a match is applied; a spark is fired; there is a moment of suspense; then a small curling wreath of smoke, followed in an instant by a mighty blast, and lo! the rock is rent, and reels and falls. So there are wondrous works going on unobserved in the bowels of the earththat storehouse of molten flame. For years the crust is undisturbed; then comes one mighty heaving, and lo! in one awful moment cities and palaces, temples and towers, are overthrown. So shall it be at last with Babylon the great. The issue alone can explain the detail. But some six or seven words are sufficiently significant”A great earthquake” (Rev 16:18); “a great hail” (Rev 16:21); “death, and mourning, and famine,” “plagues” (Rev 18:4-8); “burned with fire” (Rev 18:8); and at the last her judgment shall come “in one hour” (Rev 18:10).
IV. THE ATTENDANTS OF HER RUIN WILL BE RETRIBUTION AND DESOLATION, Retribution; for she is to be rewarded as she rewarded others. She trifled with and even trampled on the temporal powers in time past, and now of her temporal power she herself is shorn. Desolation: the description of this is taken from the corresponding passages in Isaiah and Jeremiah concerning Babylon of old (Isa 13:19-22; Jer 51:37). Those words have come to be literally fulfilled. Like words are on record concerning papal Rome. They too will be fulfilled. The time will come when no priests shall minister at her altars. The walls of her mighty temples will be shattered, and the shrieks of many an unclean bird shall reverberate from column to column of her dilapidated pile.
“Thus terribly shall Babel fall,
Thusand no more be found at all!”
Note:
1. The amazing extent of the dominion of papal Rome may well fill us with wonder. It is terrible indeed to see this harlot committing fornication with the kings of the earth, seated upon many waters, intoxicating the nations with her greatness, and carrying her corruptions and abominations to the ends of the earth. But all is forewritten, that we might not be alarmed, however we may be distressed. Therefore:
2. We ought not to be dismayed, as if some calamity had unawares befallen the world. It has not come otherwise than was foretold to the apostle in Patmos. The fourteen outlines of the ground plan described in the preceding homily show an exact correspondence between the Word of God and the events of history.
3. Nor should we fear for the final issue. The word which forecast Babylon’s rise has foretold its fall.
4. Meanwhile, be it ours not to be caught by appearances. To this day the harlot is bedecked and bedizened in gold and silver and precious stones. Her pomp and pride and the prestige of her ancient date charm many into a blind compliance with her amours. Many wish to drink of the golden cup which is in her hand. But ah! even apostasy may be covered with pearls, and the beast may be clad in scarlet. What is beneath?
5. Even when, however, the fall of Babylon the great shall come, that will not be the end; one more conflict will await the Church. The ten horns that have turned round on the harlot will make war with the Lamb. There will remain the war between the beast and the King of kings and Lord of lords.
6. Therefore, finally, be it ours to be among those who are with Christ, and to whom the three epithets may be fitly applied”called,” “chosen,” and “faithful.” All tawdry show and carnal blaze are doomed. Only what is true and real will live on unharmed for ever. Laus Deo!
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY
Rev 17:14
The war with the Lamb.
This chapter and the next are mainly occupied with the description of the combatantsthe city, the court, and the provinces of Romewho waged war against the Church of Christ, and therefore are said to “make war with the Lamb;” and with (Rev 18:1-24.) the fall of the city, which was the centre and head of the whole war against Christ. We hold to the belief that St. John was telling, not of something in the far future, which could be but of little avail to the persecuted Church of his day, but of events which were near at hand, imminent, and should “shortly come to pass.” Therefore, concerning the interpretation which makes Daniel explain St. John, and understands the seven kings as the seven world empires from Egypt to Rome, and the ten horns as the future dismemberment of the Roman empirehow, we ask, could the knowledge of this then far future event help the suffering saints, to cheer and strengthen whom was the one chief purpose of this book? To say nothing of the incongruity of speaking of Rome in St. John’s day as a power that “was, and is not” (verse 11); or that in his day it had received a “deadly wound” (Rev 13:3); or that the dismembered Roman empire, of which we and most of modern Europe have for nigh a thousand years formed parts, should continue only “a short space.” We should feel pressed with the difficulties of this interpretation were there none other which avoided them. But as there is such other, we feel compelled to adopt it. We do not say that this one has no difficulties, but they are small in comparison with those belonging to the one we have refused. And now let us consider
I. “THESE” WHO MAKE WAR WITH THE LAMB. Who are they? We believe St. John to refer:
1. To the court of Rome, especially to the monster Nero, the emperor.
(1) He is described:
(a) As “the beast.” Sometimes this name stands for the God and Christ opposing world power in general, the secular antichrist of the several ages; and sometimes for the embodiment of that power in one person, as in Nero. How he deserved the name by reason of his ferocity, cruelty, and bestiality, let Tacitus tell, and many others who knew (cf. Renan’s ‘L’Antichrist’).
(b) As soon to be no more. So soon, so certain, was his removal, that he is spoken of in verse 8 as “the beast that was, and is not, and yet is;” and again
As one day to reappear (verse 8, “He shall ascend out,” etc.). The belief that Nero should return was notorious (cf. Stuart and Farrar, in loc.).
(2) He is identified:
(a) By the city over which he rules (verse 9). Seven-hilled Rome, “the city of the seven hills,” was as frequent and well understood a name for Rome as would be “the city on the banks of the Thames” for London.
(b) By his place in the succession of kings. He stands sixth in the list of the Roman emperors. “Five” had passed away of the twelve Caesars. He was the sixththe “one is” (verse 10).
(c) His successor’s short reign. Galba reigned but three months: “He must continue a short space.”
(d) By the universal belief that he would return (cf. supra).
(3) He is doomed to go “into perdition” (verse 11). Such was the man or monsterbeast, ratherwho led the war against the Church of Christ in his day.
2. To the city of Rome. She is branded with the name of “Babylon mother of harlots” (verse 5), and is described as an utterly abandoned woman, revelling in wealth and splendour, exercising her deadly seductive influences over all the empire, flaunting forth her shame with unblushing effrontery, and cruel with a ferocity that the beast she sat upon, and who sustained her, could hardly rival or satisfy. “Drunk with the blood of the saints.” Such was the seven-hilled Rome when St. John knew it. Even a monster like Nero would hardly have dared to rage as he did had he not been encouraged by the brutal populace that swarmed in Rome.
3. To the consuls and proconsuls. The ten provincial governors who aided and abetted “the beast” in his war against Christ. There were ten of these: Italy, Achaia, Asia, Syria, Egypt, Africa, Spain, Gaul, Britain, Germany (Farrar). And in all these the will of Nero was law. His persecution was by no means confined to Romethis entire book shows that, though it began there. It was, as verse 13 says, they gave “their power unto the beast.”
II. THE METHODS OF THEIR WARFARE.
1. Then, when St. John wrote, it was by cruel, horrible, widespread, and bloody persecution. So that Rome is represented as “drunk with blood,” and the description is confirmed by historic fact. But:
2. Now, in our day, the secular, antichristian spirit manifests itself in quite another form. The beast spirit “yet is,” though clothed in other garb. The world is the world yet, and still makes “war with the Lamb.” It aims now not so much to hurt the body as the soul. The former it may not touch, but the latter it can and does. It kills holy habits, wounds conscience, defiles the thoughts, stuns religious sensibilities, mocks at religious earnestness, exiles her language, her literature, and her laws. All this the world spirit does by its customs, maxims, and its administration of its rewards and punishments. It has corrupted public opinion, poisoned the atmosphere which daily the believer has to breathe; its influence is often, generally, unseen, intangible, indescribable, but nevertheless as real and deadly to the souls of men as were the bloody laws of Rome to the bodies of the believers in the Church of the first century. But consider
III. THE LAMB AGAINST WHOM “THESE” WAR. A Lamb, and yet “Lord of lords, and King of kings.” The ideas seem incongruous. How, then, is “the Lamb” this?
1. By rightful authority. Though Son of man, he is also Son of God (cf. Psa 2:1-12.).
2. By virtue of his sacrifice. It is this great fact that he keeps prominently through his chosen name”the Lamb.” In heaven he is thus seen as “a Lamb who had been slain” (Rev 4:1-11.; cf. Php 3:1-21., “Therefore hath God also highly exalted him, and,” etc.):
3. By the might of meekness. See how at his nativity the shepherds were told they should see the “Saviour, Christ the Lord.” And what was it that they did see? A babe, “wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.” But in that utter humiliation and self abnegation of the Son of God lay the might that should make him, as it has made him, “King of kings, and Lord of lords.” Meekness is might, sacrifice is sovereignty, losing life is gaining it; the cross creates the crown. It is no arbitrary arrangement; it lies in the constitution of our nature, to which his meekness and love appeal with such resistless force. “O Galilaean, thou has; conquered!” said the Emperor Julian. And Constantine confessed the same, and Rome bowed to Christ.
4. By the consent of conscience. Blessed be God, there is a better self in the worst of men, and the appeal to that better self in men, though drowned by many a vile clamour for a long time, will yet be heard and obeyed. And Christ by his gospel made such appeal.
5. By the grace he imparted to his people. “Their patient continuance in well doing put to silence” all their foes. Rome looked on at these Christians and wondered, and, after a while, gave way and worshipped with them. For not alone in and by himself does the Lamb overcome, but:
6. In his people. “They that are with him.” The Revised Version rightly renders St. John’s words, “They also shall overcome that are with him, called, chosen, faithful.” St. John does not teach that the Lamb was indebted to them for this victory, as a general is indebted to his army. That, though the Authorized Version seems to lend countenance to such idea, is very far from the truth. But what is meant is that, like their Lord, “they that are with him” overcome. “The noble army of martyrs praise thee.” In them he repeats and reproduces his victory. It is, therefore, of great interest and importance to know who they are that are “with him.” For the conditions of victory are the same today as they were of old. The enemy has not changed in reality, though he has in form. And would we overcome, we must be as they of old who overcame. Well, then, see how they are described. They are:
(1) Called. We answer to that description. So far so good. We, the avowed Christian people of our day, have been called by God’s providence, by his Spirit, through his Word, his ministers, and by his manifold means of grace, and we are in his Church because of it.
(2) Chosen. Are we this? It does not at all follow that we are so because we are called. All the chosen are called, but not all the called are chosen. “Many are called, and few,” etc. How, then, may we know if we are elect, chosen? Not by frames and feelings, fitful emotions of the mind, which come and go like the clouds. Not by position and efface. We may be recognized communicants and pastors, teachers, or aught else of the kind. God forbid that we should say all this counts for nothing as evidence of our Christian standing! It does count for something, but in itself is by no means sufficient evidence as to whether we be God’s chosen or not. And not by Church or creed. We may prefer our own and feel persuaded that we are in the right. But Churches and. creeds other than our own have furnished many of Christ’s elect, and not all ours are certainly chosen. But thus we may know if we be chosen:
(3) If we be of those who are faithful. Called we are; chosen we may be. If faithful, then we are of the chosen too; and this, and this only, is the proof. They of old through the Lamb overcame. It is they who today through him alone overcome. May we not, then, hear the apostolic word addressed to us, “My brethren, give all diligence to make your calling and election sure”?S.C.
HOMILIES BY R. GREEN
Verse 1-Rev 18:24
Babylon.
We read her name, “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” Now, the whole idea of the sinful opposition to God is gathered together in a unit. It is a city; it is a woman. We must forsake all guides, and declare our conviction that Babylon means neither Christian nor heathen Rome, nor any other city, kingdom, or state in particular; but the one kingdom of evil manifesting itself in many kingdoms and systems, both political and ecclesiastical, and equally independent of either, The essential idea is the Babylon of evil as it stands in antithesis to the holy Jerusalemthe pure, the bride, the Lamb’s wife. Two chief divisions will comprehend the teaching concerning “Babylon:”
(1) Its description;
(2) its destruction.
I. THE DESCRIPTION OF BABYLON.
1. Its corrupt character. As before the prophets were “false” and the spirits were “unclean,” and stood opposed to God; so now harlotry, fornication, drunkenness, blasphemy, abominations, luxury, persecuting violence, sorcery, submission to the beast, warring against the Lamb, are the terms employed to describe or indicate the excessive foulness and corruption of the faithless city. This is “the woman,” having in her hand “a golden cup full of abominations, even the unclean things of her fornication.” This the “Babylon the great,” which is become “a habitation of devils, a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird.”
2. Virulent antagonism to the good, even to the loftiest ideals of goodness. “War against the Lamb;” blasphemed the God of heaven;” “gather together unto the war of the great day of God;” “poured out the blood of saints and prophets;”in such terms is the antipathy to all righteousness declared.
3. Occasion of all evil, seen in the corruption of life, the deceitfulness of iniquity, the loss of the blessings of righteousness, degradation in sin, to which the “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues” are reduced “where the harlot sitteth;” and the judgments and consequent sufferings in which they are involved.
4. The widespread, universal character of the desolation caused. In every aspect this vision is “great and marvellous.” It is “Babylon the great.” The harlot “sitteth upon many waters,” which waters are “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” “And the woman is the great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth;” “by the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations are fallen.” “What city is like the great city,” with whose “sorcery were all the nations deceived”? “In her was found the blood of all that have been slain upon the earth.” This is the universal kingdom of evil, whose “sins reached unto heaven.” Again and again has it seemed as though these words of widespread import found their fulfilment; but no complete idea can be formed that shuts out any part of the one all pervasive kingdom of wickedness. This great kingdom shall come to an end. Such is the ever recurring promise of this book.
II. ITS DESTRUCTION IS COMPLETE. The “harlot” is made “desolate and naked;” hated by all over whom she sat as a queen; they shall “eat her flesh, and burn her utterly with fire.” “Woe, woe!” is pronounced against the great city, Babylon; “for in one hour is thy judgment come.” “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great.” “In one day shall her plagues come, death, and mourning, and famine: and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God which judgeth her.” “The Lamb shall overcome,” and thus shall they also overcome that are with him. “And a strong angel took up a stone as it were a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and shall be found no more at all.” Then shall the kings of the earth that committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth who were made rich by her, and every shipmaster and mariner, and all that were made rich by her, weep and mourn and lament; while to heaven a sweet song of joy and thankfulness shall rise from them who with the Lamb have overcomewho are “called, and chosen, and faithful.”R.G.
HOMILIES BY D. THOMAS
Rev 17:1-6
“The great whore:” a corrupt Christianity.
“And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters,” etc. What a strange woman loomed in John’s vision here! He calls her “the great whore [harlot].” He saw her seated upon a “scarlet-coloured beast,… decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup full of abominations: and upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth. And she was drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (verses 3-6). A strange creation this, truly, but scarcely stranger or more grotesque than many of the objects that have entered and still do enter into human dreams. We must ask Protestant interpreters to say who this woman is, for they know all about her. They, forsooth, are certain that she is pagan or papal Rome. I cannot say who she is; nor does it matter. I shall make use of her to illustrate corrupt Christianity; and this includes Protestantism as well as popery. Conventional Christianity is as truly corrupt as papal, and, in some respects, it is even worse. The description here given of this harlot suggests and illustrates three great evils ever conspicuous in corrupt Christianity Here is
I. POLITICAL SUBSERVIENCY. “Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore [harlot] that sitteth upon many waters [or, ‘many nations’]” (verse 1). This woman, clothed in “purple and scarlet,” and gorgeously adorned, yielded herself up to the desires and lusts of worldly authorities; empty voluptuaries “drest in a little brief authority.” “With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication” (verse 2). The essence of genuine Christianity is spiritual supremacy and invincible sovereignty over the princelets, kinglets, and emperors of the world, in all the little, as well as great, temporalities of life. Essentially Christianity is the absolute queen of life. Although her kingdom is “not of this world,” her demand is that the world should bow to her. In yielding to worldly influence she lost her pristine purity and primitive power; she got corrupted, and became more and more the servant of rulers and the instrument of states. This she has been from before the days of Constantine down to this hour. What is conventional Christianity, not only throughout England but throughout Christendom, today? Verily, she is rather a serf than a sovereign. Worldly rulers employ her to consecrate their coronations and to give the aspect of sanctity to their tawdry pageantries, their sensual indulgences, their unrighteous exactions, and their bloody wars. Truly, the purest virgin from heaven has become a harlot, the mere creature of worldly power. I am wearied of the cant of making this harlot the symbol of papal or pagan Rome; she is as truly a symbol of Protestant Christendom as of papal Rome. The Reformation, in which Wickliffe, Melancthon, and Luther so heartily engaged, is, for many reasons, more urgently required now in the realm of conventional Christianity. And the reiterated cry of Voltaire against popery in his day, “Crush the monster! crush the monster!” all thoughtful men should raise now in relation to conventional Christianity. Until conventional Christianity is banished from the land, and the Christianity of the sermon on the mount is restored, the moral condition of the human race will sink lower and lower into devildom and corruption.
II. WORLDLY PROCLIVITY. “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand” (verse 4). Here is worldliness, worldly vanity, and worldly greed. Genuine Christianity is essentially unworldly. Its Founder was born in a stable and cradled in a manger; he had nowhere to lay his head. At night the green sod was his pillow, and the sable heavens his covering. His disciples he despatched on their mission without “purse or scrip,” and none of his apostles preached the gospel as a means of livelihood. “I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel,” says Paul. “Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities.” But what of conventional Christianity? It is an instrument for worldly gain and aggrandizement. Everywhere men trade in the gospel, and the trade is carried on with all the passionate avarice, foul fallacies, and flatulent puffings that characterize the market. Pulpits are regarded as means of livelihood, chapels and churches are become shops, ecclesiastics are the grandees of the world, robed in costly attire and rolling in chariots of opulence. Institutions abound and multiply, baptized with the name of Christian, where men of feeble talent but crawling craftiness creep into offices of salary and show. I protest that conventional Christianity is not the Christianity of Christa Divine entity that “seeketh not her own.” The Christ exhibited in the creeds and institutions is as unlike the Christ of the Gospels, as the mechanical force of the manufacturing machine, throwing off commodities for trade, is unlike that vital energy in nature that clothes the landscape with verdure and fills the earth and the water with countless tribes of life.
III. RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE. “And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (verse 6). “The phraseology,” says Moses Stuart, “is derived from the barbarous custom, still extant among many pagan nations, of drinking the blood of enemies slain in the way of revenge. Here, then, the fury of the persecutors is depicted in a most graphic manner.” Genuine Christianity is essentially tolerant. “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up; charity believeth all things,” etc. But Christianity corrupted has always been cruelly intolerant, and this, whether it is called Protestant or papal! True, it does not shed blood as much as of yore, but if it does not take away life it may inflict life annoyances and disabilities in many respects more painful than bloodshedding. This harlot is a “mother;” her progeny is numerous and ever multiplying. “The mother of harlots.” The religious sects which crowd Christendom are all her daughters, and each sect has the intolerant spirit of its mother, each according to its measure is a persecutor, and, as a rule, the smaller the more virulent the spirit. Curs snarl and bark more as a rule than mastiffs. Large and affluent congregations can afford to overlook denominational circumstances, that irritate the smaller and the poorer to wroth and rage.
CONCLUSION. Such is corrupt Christianity, which is, alas! the current Christianity.
It is very like the “harlot” on account of its political subserviency, worldly proclivity, and religious intolerance. What are we to do with this abomination? Flee from this Sodom; come out of this Babylon. “Crash the monster!”D.T.
Rev 17:7-13
A picture of moral error.
“And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns,” etc. Whilst to the eye of the Infinite the greatest cities of the world, the mightiest empires, the most stupendous productions of human art are as nothing, and less than nothing, “vanity,” those great moral principles which are the expressions of his own nature, the laws that control the destinies of moral mind, are of transcendent import. What are Egypt, Babylon, Rome, Paris, St. Petersburg, New York, London, etc., to him? Shifting clouds, melting into infinite space; little bubbles, rising from and breaking into the ever changing, ever rolling stream of time. But justice, truth, love,what are these? As real, as changeless, as lasting, as God himself. Hence it is that in going through this Apocalypse I all but ignore the fanciful and conflicting interpretations presented by what are called Evangelical expositors, and concern myself with those two principles, good and evil, that touch the spring of all human activities. Looking at these verses as an illustration of moral error, three things are observable.
I. ITS HISTORY IS MARVELLOUS. John, in his vision, seems to have wondered at this vision of the “mother of harlots,” riding on the beast with “seven heads and ten horns.” “The angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel [wonder]?” (verse 7). Evil is indeed a “marvel,” a wonder. It is mysterious on several accounts.
1. On account of the darkness that enfolds its introduction. When thinking of the introduction of moral evil, there are tour questions which we ask with intense anxiety, but to which we seek a satisfactory solution in vain.
(1) When did it arise? A commencement it must have had. Evil is not eternal; there is but one Eternal Being in the universe, and he is “glorious in holiness.” Evil, then, had a beginning; but when? Who shall tell the morning when the first dark cloud rose upon the bright firmament of moral mind? Who shall tell when the first breath of sin ruffled the peaceful atmosphere of God’s creation? The events of that morning are not chronicled in the annals of our world.
(2) How did it rise? There are two principles on which we can account for the prevalence of sin amongst men nowinternal tendencies and external circumstances. Man now has a strong disposition to sin, so that as soon as he begins to act he begins to sin, and then the outward circumstances under which he is brought up tempt him to wrong. To the latter we refer the introduction of sin into our world. Adam had no unholy tendencies, but an external force was brought to bear upon his holy nature, which turned him from rectitude. But the first sinner, whoever he might be, had neither this internal tendency nor the external circumstances. All within and without, above, beneath, and around, was in favour of holiness. The whole current of inner feeling and the mighty tide of outward events were all flowing in favour of perfect purity. How could a being sin in such circumstances? How could he strike a discordant note amongst such harmonies? How could he rise up against and conquer all the mighty influences which were in favour of holiness? How could he lift his nature against the Eternal and “defy the Omnipotent to arms”? All is mystery.
(3) Where did it arise? In what province of the universe? Amidst what order of intelligences?
(4) And then, why did it arise? Omniscience must have foreseen it, and all the evil consequences that must start out from it. Almightiness could have prevented it. Why did he allow it to enter? Oh, why?
2. On account of the mask under which it works. Evil never appears in its own true character. Dishonesty wears the aspect of rectitude; falsehood speaks the language of truth; selfishness has the voice of benevolence; profanity robes itself in the garb of sanctity; the “prince of darkness” appears like an angel of light. The most monstrous deeds that have been perpetrated under these heavens have been done in the name of religion. The Alexanders and the Caesars of this world have fought their sanguinary battles, and reared their empires upon slaughtered nations in the name of religion. The popes of the world have erected their iron throne upon the soul of Christendom in the name of religion. The persecutors of the world have invented their Inquisitions, built their dungeons, and kindled their fires in the name of religion. Ah me! the Son of God himself was put to death in the name of religion. Wrong is necessarily hypocritical.
3. On account of the wonderful issues that will result from it. Results will spring from evil which the originators and agents never designed, nay, which they would dread. The introduction of sin became the occasion of a new and brighter manifestation of God. All the glorious developments of Divine justice and love and power which we have in Christ owe their existence to evil. Evil has done an immense injury to the universe, but I believe that in the long run of ages it will be found to have been overruled for a greater good.
II. ITS COURSE IS LAMENTABLE. “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit [is about to come out of the abyss], and go into perdition” (verse 8). What meaneth this? The Roman emperors, especially Nero, is the answer of some. My answer is deeper, broader, more practical. It is moral error; that which originated all that was bad in Rome, in Babylon, ay, and in the world and ages throughout. Moral error is the beastifying force in human nature; it makes men beasts everywhere. Its beginning and end are lamentable; it rises from the “bottomless pit,” from the fathomless abysses of impure lusts, ravenous greed, burning ambition, sensual yearnings, impious irreverences, and blasphemous assumptions, etc. Its end is lamentable. It leads to “perdition,” to ruin. The course of moral error is like the course of the meteor, which, rising from the abysses of the sulphurous cloud, flashes across the concave heavens, and then falls into darkness and forgetfulness. “Lust, when it conceiveth, bringeth forth sin; sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” “The wages of sin is death”the death of everything that gives value to life; the death of an approving conscience, pure friendships, bright hopes, etc. What a glorious contrast is the course of moral truth to this! “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” Light is the emblem of intelligence, purity, and blessedness. The march of the good is like the march of the sun.
1. Glorious. How glorious is the sun as it rises in the morning, tinging the distant hills with beauty, at noon flooding the earth with splendour, in evening fringing the clouds with rich purple, crimson, and gold!
2. Commanding. The sun is the ruler of the day; at his appearance the world wakens from its slumbers; the winds and waves obey him; as he moves, all nature moves.
3. Useful. The sun enlightens the system and maintains harmony throughout every part. It renews the earth, quickens the seeds into life, covers the landscape with beauty, ripens the harvest for man and beast.
4. Independent. Troops of black clouds may roll over the earth, but they touch not the sun; furious storms may shake the globe, but the sun is beyond their reach. It is always behind the darkest clouds, and looks calmly down upon the ocean in fury and the earth in a tempest.
5. Certain. The sun is never out of time; it is ever in its place at the right hour. In all this it is the emblem of the good.
III. ITS SUPPORTS ARE UNSTABLE. “And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the [is himself also an] eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition” (verse 11). This “mother of harlots” (the emblem of corrupt Christianity) is here represented as sitting “on the beast with seven heads and ten horns.” The seven heads are “seven mountains” (verses 9, 10). What mountains? The seven hills on which Rome was built, is the answer of popular expositors. There are “seven kings.” Who are these kings, five of whom are gone, one remaining and waiting for anotherwho are they? One expositor suggests that “the reference is rather to seven great monarchies, five of which, viz. Assyria, Egypt, Babylon, Persia, and Macedon, had fallen before the time of St. John. The pagan empire of the Roman Caesars then existing would be the sixth, the papal power might be the seventh, and the last form of antichrist the eighth.” I confess my utter inability to give any verbal interpretation agreeable to the dictates of common sense or the conditions of spiritual culture. The one idea which it suggests to me and serves to illustrate is that the supports of moral evil are unstable. Moral evil in our world has its supports. Many seem strong as “seven mountains,” mighty as “seven kings,” and more, but all are shifting and transitory. Many have been and are not, some have risen and have passed away, others in their course have come and will disappear. This has been the history of moral evil in our world. Many of the arguments that have sustained it from time to time have appeared as settled and imposing as mountains, as gorgeous and majestic as kings; but “mountains have fallen and come to nought,” and even imperial bulwarks have disappeared as visions of the night. So it has been, so it is, and so it must be to the end. Moral error has no lasting foundation. Its superstructures are not houses on the rocks, but on shifting sands. Whether it appears in the form of thrones, governments, churches, colleges, markets, it stands nowhere but on volcanic hills. They may be clad in loveliest verdure and enriched with the choicest fruit, but fires lie beneath them which will rive them to pieces and engulf in ruin all that have stood and flourished above.D.T.
Rev 17:14-18
The great moral campaign.
“These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful,” etc. To our mind these verses seem to adumbrate the greatest of all the campaigns this world has ever witnessed or ever will. In every department of sentient being there seems to be an arena of conflict, and physical wars in human life have been rife in every part of the world, from the first periods to the present hour. But the great moral campaign is the most universal, unremitting, and momentous. The words serve to bring to our notice two subjects in relation to this campaign
I. THE CONTENDING FORCES. “These shall make war,” etc. (Rev 17:14). What are these? Truth and falsehood, selfishness and benevolence, right and wrong,these are the battling powers. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Each of these contending forces has its own leader or general.
1. The one is represented as a “beast.” The beast is the emblem of the mighty aggregate of wrong in all its elements and operations; wrong in theories and in institutions; wrong in sentiments, ideas, and habits; wrong as imposing as seven mountains, as majestic as kings and empires; wrong sitting as empress over all “nations, and peoples, and tongues.” Wrong is the greatest thing in this world at present; it is the mighty Colossus with the “head of gold, breast and arms of silver, his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.”
2. The other is represented as a “Lamb.” “These shall make war with [shall war against] the Lamb” (Rev 17:14). The Lamb is the emblem of innocence, mildness, and purity. In Daniel’s vision wrong was a colossal figure, and right a little stone. Here wrong is a terrible “beast,” and right a tender “Lamb.” Here are the two great generals in this mighty campaign.
II. THE MARVELLOUS CONQUEST. Observe:
1. The Conqueror. “The Lamb shall overcome them” (verse 14). The Lamb, not the beast, is the Conqueror. Power is not to be estimated by size or form. The little stone shivered the image; the Lamb strikes the beast into the dust. The Lamb, though not a bellicose existence, is:
(1) Invested with the highest authority. “He is Lord of lords, and King of kings” (verse 14). The greatest sovereignty that man wields over his fellows is lamb like rather than leonine. It is not that of physical force and gorgeous form, but of lowliness and silence.
(2) Followed by a noble army. “They that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful” (verse 14). Who are his followers? Whom does he lead into the battle? “The called, and chosen, and faithful.” Soldiers in the physical battles of nations are men who have embarked in the campaign, not from disinterested love of their country or admiration for their generals, but from motives sordid and sinister; they have sold themselves to the execrable work. Not so with the armies under the command of the Lamb, who is “Lord of lords, and King of kings.” They are “called, and chosen, and faithful.” Love to him and his grand cause fills and fires their souls.
2. The conquered. “These shall hate the whore,” etc. (verses 16-18).
(1) The conquered turn with indignation on themselves. The “beast” with the “ten horns,” all his mighty armies, “hate the whore,” the harlot whom they fondled and adored, strip her of her grandeur, devour her, and “burn her with fire” (verse 16). Thus it has ever been. Those whom Christ conquers in his love and truth turn in devouring indignation against their old comrades. Thus Paul turned against the Hebrews, in whom at one time he gloried as a Hebrew of the Hebrews.
(2) This wonderful change in them is the result of the spiritual influences of God. “He hath [did] put in their hearts to fulfil his will [to do his mind], and to agree [to come to one mind]” (verse 17). The moral conquest of wrong is ever ascribable to him who is the Fountain of truth and right. “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph,” etcD.T.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Rev 17:1. The former vision represented a very afflicted state of the church; the true worshippers of God, few in number, driven out from society, flying into desart places for safety from persecution, prophesying in sackcloth, in a state of oppression and mourning, and often put to death for their testimony to the truth: yet the time of this afflicted state is limited to 1260 years; at the end of which period the oppressive persecuting power shall be destroyed; and purity, truth, and righteousness, which were oppressed and persecuted, shall flourish in a state of great safety, peace, and happiness. This is a much longer period of prophesy than either of the foregoing. To make the true meaning of it more clear, one of the angels who poured out the cup of God’s wrath, is sent to St. John as a messenger, more fully to explain it; and we may justly look upon his interpretation as a sure key, which will warrant an application of the several representations; and so far as an angel from heaven explains it, we may be satisfied we have the true meaning of it: so that by the help of this explication in the prophesyitself, we have a sure interpretation of some of the more important parts of the vision, and of such as will make the interpretation of the rest very likely and probable.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Rev 17:1-6. And there came one of the seven angels, &c. As the seventh seal, and the seventh trumpet, contained more particulars than any of the former seals or trumpets; so theseventh vial contains more thanany of the former vials: and the more you consider, the more admirable you will find the structure of this book in all its parts. The destruction of the antichristian empire is a subject of such importance and consequence, that the Holy Spirit has thought fit to represent it under a variety of images. Rome has already been characterized by the names of spiritual Egypt, and of Babylon; and having seen how her plagues resemble those of Egypt, we shall now see her fall compared to that of Babylon. It was declared in general, Babylon is fallen, &c. ch. Rev 14:8. but this is a catastrophe deserving a more particular description, both for warning to some, and for consolation to others. But before the description of her fall and destruction, there is premised an account of her state and condition, that there may be no mistake in the application. Rome was meant, as all, both Papists and Protestants, agree; and among the Papists are no less names than those of Baronius, Bellarmine, &c. and it appears almost to demonstration, that not Pagan but Christian, not imperial but papal Rome, was here intended. One of the seven angels calleth to St. John, Rev 17:1. Most probably this was the seventh angel; for under the seventh vial great Babylon came into remembrance before God, ch. Rev 16:19. and now St. John is called upon to see her condemnation and execution:Come hither, &c. So ancient Babylon, which was seated on the great river Euphrates, is described, Jer 51:13 . and from thence the phrase of sitting upon many waters is in some measure taken; and signifies, according to the angel’s own explanation, ver.15. ruling over many people and nations. Neither was this an ordinary prostitute; she was the great whore, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, Rev 17:2. as the prophet says of Tyre, Isa 23:17 . Nay, not only the kings, but inferior persons, the inhabitants of the earth, have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication; as it was said of ancient Babylon, Jer 51:7 . Fornication, in the usual style of scripture, is idolatry; but if it be taken even literally, it is true that modern Rome openly allows the one, as well as practises the other. Ancient Rome does in no respect so well answer the character; for she ruled more with a rod of iron, than with the wine of fornication. Her ambition was for extending her empire, and not her religion. She permitted even the conquered nations to continue in the religion of their ancestors. She may be said rather to have been corrupted by the importation of foreign vices and superstitions, than to have established her own in other countries. As Ezekiel was conveyedby the Spirit to Jerusalem, (ch. viii 3.) so St. John is carried away in the Spirit into the wilderness, (Rev 17:3.) for there the scene is laid, being a scene of desolation. When the woman,the true church,was persecuted and afflicted, she was said to fly into the wilderness, ch. Rev 12:14. and, in like manner, when the woman, the false church, is to be destroyed, the vision is presented in the wilderness. A woman sitting upon a beast, is a lively and significative emblem of a church or city directing and governing an empire. Inpainting and sculpture, as well as in prophetic language, cities are often represented in the form of women; and Rome itself is exhibited in ancient coins as a woman sitting upon a lion. Here the beast is a scarlet-coloured beast, for the same reason that the dragon is called the red dragon, ch. Rev 12:3. to denote his cruelty, and in allusion to the distinguishing colour of the Roman emperors and magistrates. The beast is also full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns; so that this is the very same beast which was described in the former part of ch. 13 and the woman in some measure answers to the two horned beast or false prophet; and consequently the woman is Christian, not Pagan Rome, because Rome was become Christian before the beast had completely seven heads and ten horns; that is, before the Roman empire was divided into ten kingdoms. The woman was arrayed too in purple and scarlet colour, (Rev 17:4.) this being the colour of the popes and cardinals, as well as of the emperors and senators of Rome. Nay, the mules and horses which carry the popes and cardinals are covered with scarlet cloth; so that they may properly be said to ride upon a scarlet coloured beast. The woman is also decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls: and who can sufficiently describe the pride, and grandeur, and magnificence of the church of Rome in her vestments and ornaments of all kinds? The mitre of Paul II. which was set with diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, chrysolites, jaspers, and precious stones of all sorts, is one instance; and another conspicuous instance was in the Lady of Loretto, the riches of whose holy image, and house, and treasury, were far beyond the reach ofdescription. There silver could scarcely find an admission; and gold itself looked but poorly among such an incredible number of precious stones. Moreover, the woman, like other harlots, who give philtres and love potions to inflame their lovers, has a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations, and filthiness of her fornications; to signify the specious and alluring arts wherewith she bewitches and entices men to idolatry, which is abomination and spiritual fornication. It is an image similar to that in Jer 51:7 . Yet farther to distinguish the woman, she has her name inscribed upon her forehead, (Rev 17:5.) in allusion to the practice of some notorious prostitutes, who had their names written on a label upon their foreheads, as may be collected from ancient authors. The inscription is so very particular, that we cannot easily mistake the person;Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of harlots, or rather, of fornications and abominations of the earth. Her name Mystery can imply no less than that she deals in mysteries; her religion is a mystery, a mystery of iniquity; and the herself is mystically and spiritually Babylon the great. But the title of mystery is in no respect proper to ancient Rome, more than to any other city; neither is there any mystery in substituting one heathen, idolatrous, persecuting city for another; but it is indeed a mystery, that a Christian city, professing and boasting herself to be the city of God, should prove another Babylon in idolatry, and in cruelty to the people of God. She glories in the name of Roman Catholic; well therefore may she be called Babylon the Great: she affects the style and title of Our holy Mother Church; but she is, in truth, the mother of fornications, and abominations of the earth. Neither can this character, with any propriety, be applied to ancient Rome; for she was rather a learner of foreign superstitions, than the mystery of idolatry to other nations; as appears in various instances. It may be concluded therefore, that this part of the prophesy is sufficiently fulfilled, though there should be reason to question the truth of what is asserted by some writers, that the word MYSTERY was formerly written in gold upon the forepart of the pope’s mitre. Scaliger affirms it, upon the authority of the Duke de Montmorency: Francis Le Moyne and Brocardus confirm it, appealing to ocular inspection; and when King James objected this, Lessius could not deny it. If the thing be true, it is a wonderful coincidence of the event with the letter of the prophesy; but it has been much controverted. It is much more certain, (and none of that communion can deny it,) that the ancient mitres were usuallyadorned with inscriptions. Infamous as the woman is for her idolatry, she is no less detestable for her cruelty: which are two principal characteristics of the antichristian empire she is drunken with the blood of the saints, (Rev 17:6.) This may indeed be applied to pagan and to Christian Rome; for both have, in their turns, cruelly persecuted the saints and martyrs of Jesus; but the latter is more deserving the character, as she has far exceeded the former, both in the degree and duration of her persecutions. It is very true, as has been hinted before, that if pagan Rome has destroyed her thousands of innocent Christians, Christian Rome has slain her ten thousands. For, not to mention other outrageous slaughters and barbarities, the croisades against the Waldenses and Albigenses, the murders committed by the Duke of Alva in the Netherlands, the massacres in France and Ireland, will probably amount to above ten times the number of all the Christians slain in all the ten persecutions of the Roman emperors put together. St. John’s admiration also plainly evinces that Christian Rome was intended; for it could be no matter of surprize to him, that a heathen city should persecute the Christians, when he himself had seen and suffered persecution under Nero: but, that a city professedly Christian, should wanton and riot in the blood of Christians, was a subject of astonishment indeed; and well might he, as it is emphatically expressed, wonder with great wonder.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Rev 17:1-6 . One of the vial-angels allows John to see the harlot.
. The angel had thus far occupied a standpoint adapted for the business described in ch. 16, the pouring-out of his vials; now he comes to John in order not only to speak with him (Rev 17:1 sqq.), but also to carry him in spirit to another place (Rev 17:3 ).
. . ., . . . One of the seven vial-angels. Incorrectly, Eichh.: is equivalent to . [3798] It is in no way to be conjectured which of the vial-angels it was; but that just by one of these he will be afforded a view of the judgment, is especially appropriate, because these angels have brought the last plagues immediately preceding the judgment, and that, too, without impelling the worldly kingdom to repentance. [3799]
. Cf. Rev 21:9 , also Rev 6:3 ; Rev 6:5 ; Rev 6:7 .
, . . . The fulfilment of the promise is not immediately presented in Rev 17:3 , [3800] nor even at all in ch. 17; for even though in Rev 17:3 ( ), in the description of the ostentatious woman, there is an allusion to the judgment now impending , as also the interpreting angel, Rev 17:16 , expressly proclaims the future devastation of the city symbolized by the harlot, yet neither the appearance of the woman herself, nor the interpreting speech of the angel, gives the idea of a judgment already actually present. But the angel first of all shows the harlot in her antichristian form, which is necessary, because the special view of the city, in distinction from that of the empire as a whole, is, at least in this definite form, new, and not until afterwards does the judgment occur (cf. Rev 18:1 sqq.).
, . . . From the entire presentation, especially from Rev 17:18 , it follows that “the great harlot” is the personification of “the great city,” i.e., of heathen Rome as the metropolis of the entire heathen-Roman Empire; [3801] therefore the harlot is designated in like manner as previously the beast, which symbolizes the entire realm. The special description of the city is prepared already by such passages as Rev 14:8 , Rev 16:19 ; [3802] but the city appears as a harlot, because to this applies what has previously been said concerning it as Babylon the great (cf, Rev 17:2 ).
. In this also like Babylon. [3803] But this sitting on masses of water, which is regarded as presenting itself to the eye of the seer, has a symbolical meaning which the angel explains in Rev 17:15 .
. Of all nations this was said in Rev 14:8 ; for the masses of the inhabitants of the earth have allowed themselves to be seduced [3804] in the same way as the kings of the earth by the beast, and especially by the city wherein is the throne of the beast. [3805] Accordingly it is said immediately afterwards: , . . . On the suppression of the relative constr., cf. Winer, p. 141.
[3798] Cf. Rev 6:1 .
[3799] Rev 16:9 ; Rev 16:11 ; Rev 16:21 .
[3800] Against Hengstenb.
[3801] See on Rev 17:18 .
[3802] Cf. also Rev 16:10 .
[3803] Cf. Rev 17:2 .
[3804] Cf. Rev 18:3 .
[3805] Cf. Rev 16:10 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
SECTION SIXTH
(Second Division.)
The Seventh Vial of Anger, or the Three Great End-Judgments
Rev 17:1 to Rev 20:10
I.FIRST SPECIAL END-JUDGMENT. JUDGMENT UPON BABYLON
Revelation 17-18
A.THE JUDGEMENT UPON BABYLON AS A HEAVEN-PICTURE, OR THE HEAVENLY PROPHECY OF THE FALL OF BABYLON
Rev 17:1-18
1And there came one of the seven angels which [who] had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me [om. unto me]1, Come [om. Come] Hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore [harlot] that sitteth upon [or ins. the]2 many waters; 2with whom the kings of the earth have [om. have] committed fornication, and the inhabitants of [they who inhabit] the earth have been [were]3made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So [And] he carried me away in the [om. the] spirit into the [a] wilderness: and I saw a woman sit [sitting] upon a scarlet colored [om. colored] beast [wild-beast], full of [or ins. the]3 names ofblasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4And the woman was arrayed [clothed] in purple and scarlet color [om. color], and4 decked [gilded] with gold and precious stones [stone] and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness [the uncleannesses]5 of her fornication6: 5And upon her forehead was [om. was] a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF [ins. THE] HARLOTS AND [ins. OF THE] ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs [witnesses] of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration [wonder]. 7And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel [wonder]? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast [wild-beast] that carrieth [beareth] her, which [that] 8hath the seven heads and ten horns. The beast [wild-beast] that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall [is about to ()] ascend out of the bottomless [om. bottomless] pit [abyss] and [ins. to] go7 into perdition (): and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were [of whom the name is] not written in [upon] the book [scroll] of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold [see] the beast [wild-beast] that [ins. he] was, and is not, and yet is [om. 9yet isins. shall be present]8. And [om. And] Here is the mind which [that] hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth 10[or where the woman sitteth upon them], [,] and there [om. thereins. they] are seven kings: [ins. the] five are fallen, and [om. andins. the]9 one is, and [om. and] the other is not yet come; and when he cometh [is come], he must continue a short space [little while]. 11And the beast [wild-beast] that was, and is not, even he10 is the [an] eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. 12And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which [who] have [ins. not yet]11 received no [om. noins. a] kingdom as yet [om. as yet]; but [ins. they] receive power [authority] as kings one hour [ins. together] with the beast [wild-beast]. 13These have one mind (), and shall [om. shall] give their power and strength [authority] unto the beast [wild-beast]. 14These shall make [om. make] war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome [conquer] them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are [om. are] called, and chosen, and faithful. 15And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore [harlot] sitteth,are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 16And the ten horns which thou sawest upon [om. uponins. and]12 the beast [wild-beast], these shall hate the whore [harlot], and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn [consume] her with [or in]13 fire. 17For God hath [om. hath] put in [gave into] their hearts to fulfill [perform] his will [mind ()], and to agree [perform one mind ( )]14, and [ins. to] give their kingdom unto the beast 18[wild-beast], until the words15 of God shall be fulfilled [finished]. And the woman which [that] thou sawest is that [the] great city, which [that] reigneth [hath kingdom] over the kings of the earth.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
SYNOPTICAL VIEW
When we say: the fall of Babylon as a Heaven-picture, we mean, the fall of Babylon sub specie terni, or, in other words, the phenomenon of Antichristianity in the Church, in all its historical bearings, illuminated by the light of revelation and designated for judgment by the rule of Divine Providence.
We must, above all, keep fast hold of the following points: 1. That the Babylon here spoken of, the Harlot, is to be distinguished from the general Babylon (Rev 16:19), and yet that it coincides with the latter as its first [last?]16 historical culmination. 2. That the Beast which bears the Harlot is identical with the Beast out of the sea (Revelation 13), as the peculiar antitheocratic and Antichristian organ of Satan; that, however, it here comes under consideration provisionally in a special aspect only, as bearing the Woman for a time, and, finally, judging her. Hence, also, the history of the Beast is more special here than in Revelation 13. In the latter passage, Rev 17:3, one of his heads is mortally wounded; here, the whole Beast disappears for a time (Rev 17:8).17 3. That the heads and horns of the Beast here resolve themselves into a special history consisting of two partsa history which must by no means be confounded with the history of the Beast presented in Revelation 13.
That we are still in the sphere of the seventh Vial of anger is manifest, in the first place, from the bare fact that one of the seven Angels who had the Vials, shows the Seer the judgment of the great Harlot. The latter is preliminarily signalized by two marks: 1. She sits upon many waters; she is an authority based upon many nationalities, many national dispositions, peculiarities and currents. 2. With her the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and they who inhabit the earth have become drunk with the wine of her fornication. She herself has become for the kings of the earth, of earthly states and seats of culture, an idol, a subject of idolatry which has seduced them to a thousand-fold apostasy from the laws of religion, humanity, truth and righteousness; and not only have they departed from the true God and served false gods in company and connection with her, but they have also done the same independently, as her followers and imitators. They have, however, in many respects been swept along in this direction by those who inhabit the earthby absolute hangers-on of the soil and of authority, who have become intoxicated in the fanatical enthusiasm of the bigotry of the world.
The Angel takes the Seer in spirit into a wilderness. Here, it seems, we a while ago left the Woman, once clothed with the sun (Revelation 12). And such is indeed the fact: it is the same wilderness, and not the same; the same Woman, and not the same. History sufficiently instructs us concerning the fact that the holy wilderness of world-renunciation, of asceticism, which so long guarded the integrity of the Woman, became in course of time a wilderness of spiritual and intellectual moral corruptionthat the heavenly flight from the world was changed into a demonic seeking of the world, embodied in the wild career of false monksthat a wilderness of hypocrisy, pia fraus, fanatical terrorism and demoralizing dogmas of all kinds was gradually developed. But the Womanis she, indeed, the same? Those who cannot understand how the one Woman (Revelation 12) can in the course of time have divided into the two figures of the Harlot and the Bride, should consider the fact that the wheat and the chaff grow on the same ear; that the same Theocracy which, in respect of its internal essence, bore Christ, also crucified Him, in respect of its external hierarchical figuration; and that thus the development of the Harlot and the Bride has not been effected in two separate lines, but in an original organic unity, in which the contrast has been continually maturing (see the foot-note on p. 25).
The following considerations now successively demand our attention:
1. The Woman and her relation to the Beast.
2. The Beast in his relation to the seven Heads.
3. The seven Heads in relation to the ten Horns.
1. The Woman and her relation to the Beast.
That the Woman here depicted is significant of the fallen Church there can be no doubt, when we consider the import of the Woman (the congregation of God) and of womanhood (religiosity)(see Rink, p. 238 sqq.). The exclusive reference of this figure to pagan Rome fails to recognize, in the first place, the broad scope of the eschatological vision; secondly, the fact that even in the time of Domitian, and far more in the time of Nero, it would have been impossible for the Apocalyptist to speak of Roma as cherishing a true Antichristian thirst for the blood of the saints. Thirdly, such a reference misapprehends the idea of Antichristianity, which takes its rise only in corrupt Christianity. From these considerations it will also be evident, first, that not simply the fallen Romish Church, Rome, is here intended;this is the further from being the fact since imperial Rome has been transferred to Byzantium and its centre of gravity has been thence removed to Moscow and St. Petersburg; moreover, the hierarchical principle radiates far and wide throughout the Church. It is also further evident, however, that nothing but Christian Rome can constitute the symbolical and historical apex of this whole body of the fallen Church. The Muscovite hierarchism is too rude to be this apex; sporadic hierarchism too theoristic; the mean lies where hierarchism is in its whole demonic depth. Nevertheless, we regard the seven mountains whereon the Woman sits, as but an allusion to terrestrial Rome, it being agreeable to the consistency of the Book to take the seven mountains as a symbolical figure, of which we must speak further on. The Seer declares that he wondered much to see the Woman as he saw her. We apprehend this utterance in the same sense with those expositors who have assigned the contrast of this figure with the appearance in Revelation 12 as the ground of the Seers wonderment. In the earlier passage, we behold a celestial Woman, clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, adorned with a garland of chosen stars, equipped with eagles wings. Here we have a Harlot, riding or sitting upon a scarlet Beast, a Beast signalized with the hue of blood and blood-thirstiness (into which the fiery hue of the Dragon has darkened), and thus herself founded upon the Beast and its blood-thirstiness, i. e., upon an Antichristian world-power and bloody violence. The Beast is full of the names of blasphemythere is no form of irreligion which is not comprehended in the absolute Machiavelism of world-monarchy: religious persecution, contempt of humanity, despotism over consciences, breach of promise, a doctrinal system of faithlessnessand the likeare some of the first articles. The incongruence of the seven Heads and ten Horns is brought into view here likewise, in order to the signalizing of the power indicated, as possessing the semblance, and but the semblance, of holiness. On this demonic Beast the poor Woman has prepared her a sort of throne for her exaltation; no longer is the moon beneath her feetvanished are the stars of elect spirits, and the eagle-wings. She herself is clothed with a party-colored double redwith the royal hue of purple and the scarlet of bloodand over this is spread the sheen of gold brocade, of precious stones and pearls, the richest worldly adornment of every sort. In her band the Woman holds the magical means of her dominion and glory, the golden cup, the symbolical vessel of consecrate and holy communion, solace and refreshmentbut full of abominations; and, together with the cup, the uncleannesses of the fornication, i. e., the idolatry, of the earthi. e., all those iniquities that follow in the train of idolatry. The abominations denote all manner of unnaturalnesses; the uncleannesses of the fornication of the earth are all those immoralities which are the consequential issues of the earths departure from the true God and its service of false divinities. On her forehead she has a name written as a mystery; i. e., whoever is able to read the name, will read the following inscription: Babylon the Great, the Mother of the Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth. She herself knows not that her proper escutcheonabsolute sovereignty over the consciences of earthmeans only this, and can mean nothing else. Most repulsive is her appearance: A drunken woman! Through fanaticism intoxicated to the verge of frenzy! Drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus! Blood-guiltiness produces excitement, confusion of the mind; and this remark applies in the fullest sense to that blood-guiltiness whose measure is filled up in the persecution and destruction of the holiest witnesses of God and Christ. Grotius depicts this phenomenon with drastic vividness, like a Dutch genre-picture: Vidit eam ore rabido, despumante et evomente sanguinem, ut ebrii solent.But now arises the questionhow can the Beast lend himself to bear the Woman, when it is declared that the ten Horns and the Beast shall hate the Harlot and make her desolate (Rev 17:16)? The weight of the future tense must be observed here. At first the Beast is subject to the Woman, for it is the Woman who helped the Beast out of his apparent annihilation. The absolutism of the hierarchy has promoted the growth of the absolutism of despotism. Finally, however, there is a reversal of the relation, the Beast having made a pupil of the Womans, the False Prophet, subservient to himself; and in the end it is the deep-lying antagonism between the demonic ground-forms of the two [the Woman and the Beast] which gives occasion to the full outbreak of hostility and the destruction of the Womanpossibly in a conflict in which the Beast will prove himself more human than the Harlot.
The Seer marvels to see the Woman in this situationor, let us rather say, to see her again. According to the speech of the Angel, that which most surprises John is her fellowship with the Beast, her riding upon himthis most horrible Amazon-equipment. Hence the answer of the Angel [to Johns wonderment] has in view an explanation of the origin of this mystery of the fellowship of the Woman and the Beast. The utterance runs thus: The Beast was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the abyss, in order to go speedily into damnation.18 This declaration [of the Beasts vanishment and re-appearance] is, certainly, a parallel to the mortal wounding of a head of the Beast (Rev 13:3), but it must be distinguished from the declaration concerning the king who is not yet come (Rev 17:10). The wounding of the Beasts head is the cause, the disappearance of the Beast the result; the return of the Beast is the transition from the seventh to the eighth head. For at that very moment of the vision [not the moment depicted by the vision, but the time at which the vision was vouchsafed.Tr.], the Beast was nothe seemed to have vanishedwhilst the sixth king was in being. We, therefore, understand the declaration of the Angel as of the following import: The Antichristian world-power was in being before Christ; it then seemed, for a period reaching to the time of the vision, to be annihilated by the victory of Christas indeed it was principially annihilated; it however was to return later as an external apparent power. And it was as the returned Beast that the Beast carried the Woman, for in that interval of his vanishment it was only in the saintly seeming of subserviency to the Woman that he could make his appearance again. But, again, it was also his wonderful re-appearance which induced the Woman to trust herself to him. From the wonder of all people dwelling upon the earth at the apparent invincibility of the Beastthat is, from the renewed belief in the irresistible power of evilthe complete fall of the Woman resultedthe vain fancy that with the help of the Beast, with the help of ungodly and God-opposed state-maxims, she might attain to greatness and ever-increasing glory. Hence this unblest concordat in which, for a long time, the Woman seems to rule the Beast, until she is finally deposed and destroyed by him.
2. The Beast in his relation to the seven Heads.
Hither [let] understanding [come]. The mystery which the Angel here pronounces can be solved only through the union of worldly understanding [or an understanding of the worldWeltverstand] and spiritual wisdom. In the application of this problem to the Nero tradition, there would certainly have been no wisdom; at most, it could only have contained such an understanding as the Apocalyptist would have declared to be devoid of wisdom. To proceed, the seven Heads of the Beast are seven mountains, on which the Woman sits, and are seven kings. Here our task is, to abide by the laws of symbolism and not take a leap into geography, although we assume that there is an allusion to the City of the Seven Hills. Neither is it advisable to regard the sentence, and are seven kings, as tautological. As in the Book of Daniel, the world-monarchies (Revelation 2) are, in respect of their bright side, represented in the human image of metal, and (Revelation 7) in respect of their dark side, in the four beasts, so there is also here, doubtless, an antithesis to be taken for granted. The seven mountains are seven forms of empirein the sacred number, because the State, taken in the abstract, is subservient to the purposes of the Divine Kingdom. The kings, however, seem here, in accordance with chs. Rev 17:2 and Rev 18:3, as despots, to represent the dark side of the world-monarchy, its God and Christ-opposed conducthence, pre-eminently, its bestial nature. The reference is not to individual kings; such a reference is impossible on this account, if for no other reason, viz.: because the kings must be in exact correspondence with the seven mountains. Otherwise the Apocalyptist must necessarily have seen fourteen heads, for, in accordance with the laws of allegory, the heads cannot denote two entirely different groupsthe seven mountains as diverse from the seven kings. We reckon once more, therefore, the four world-monarchies of Daniel and add to them the Roman-Herodian government as the fifth monarchy. The sixth king is the Roman Empire at the time of the vision, and the Seer proleptically beholds the coming of a seventh, a world-monarchy, on which the Woman can ride for a short time. Then the Beast that was, and is not, again undisguisedly appears. In the seventh king it was, to a greater or less extent, the still anonymous bearer of the Woman; in the eighth, which issues from all the seven, as their evil extract, it will become the open enemy and destroyer of the Woman, and then, when it has fulfilled its judicial mission, it will go into perdition.
3. The Seven Heads and the Ten Horns.
The ten horns are distinct from the seven heads; they seem finally, however, to be comprehended together above the eighth head (eight is the number of the world), in which the Beast manifests himself again openly. The number ten is the number of the ripe development of the world, in antithesis to the number seven as the number of complete Divine order. And so, also, the horns denote bare power or force, in antithesis to the heads which symbolize the government of intelligence. They, therefore, together with the eighth king-picture from the life of the Beast, issue forth as ten kings of abstract power, as absolute radicalism. They had hitherto not yet received a kingdom; now they obtain, for one hour, complete imperial power in the world together with the Beast. This hour is, again, the great and fear-inspiring hour of the decisive conflict between open Antichristianity and the hypocritically disguised Antichristianity of the Woman. The ten kings rule, not successively, but conjointly; they are also not real kings, but mock-kings ( ),19 and if they have one mind, it is but the spirit of Antichristian coalition. By the declaration: They shall war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall conquer them, etc., the finale is indicatedthe judgment upon the Beast (Rev 19:19). But to what purpose this interruption here? It explains that hatred of the Woman which finally bursts forth in completeness. A bold change of allegorical images is visible in the first and third verses, where the same Woman is spoken of as sitting upon many waters, and as sitting in the wilderness. Here [Rev 17:15] the reference is again to the waters on which the Harlot sits (and when we read: the waters which thou sawest, this inaccuracy reminds us of similar expressions in the Johannean Gospel). The sovereignty of the Harlot is based not only upon the wilderness and the Beast, but also, through these, upon the peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And she becomes in the end, by means of the semblance of Christocracy that clings to her, an object of hatred to the ten Horns and the Beast. She is destroyed by four principal strokes. In the first place, she is wasted, desolated: an allusion to the Harlot as a city, or to her false eremite estate. Secondly, she is stripped, exposed in her nakedness, a frequently cited punishment of courtesans, whose meretricious adornment has been a means of seduction. Thirdly, she is, while still living, robbed of her flesh, which her enemies devour: her goods, her territories, all her possessions become the prey of the foe. And fourthly, she is, in a sarcastic auto da f, suggestive of so many like proceedings, burned with fire; amid the wrath-fire of open, bold Antichristianity, hypocritical Antichristianity meets its end.For God gave into their hearts. As, in accordance with the grand view of the Seer, in the wrath of the heathen, the wrath of God is manifest in an ironical mode of judgment, so in the one mind and unanimity of these kings, the purpose of God is visible, and in the surrender of their kingdom to the Beast, the consummation of the prophetic words of God may be seen, as in that dark hour when Caiaphas and Pilate were made to subserve His Providence (Joh 11:51; Joh 19:11). The Angel at the close comprehends the characteristics of the Woman in one expression: The Woman that thou sawest is the great city that hath kingdom over the kings of the earth. In the Woman, Great Babylon shall be judged specially as Babylon.
[ABSTRACT OF VIEWS, ETC.]
By the American Editor.
[Elliott:20 This chapter contains a vision (Rev 17:3-6), and a descriptive statement by the Angel (Rev 17:7-18); both the vision and statement are introductory to the judgment upon Babylon, and explanatory of its causes and reasonableness. In the Vision, the Woman represents Papal Rome; the Beast, the Roman Empire under its last or Papal head (see p. 259); the desert, the Roman Campagna. The period of time contemplated in the vision is the 1260 years of the Beasts life under his last head (p. 260).In the description, the Angel contemplates the entire history of both the Woman and the Beastthe former representing Rome, Imperial and Papal (see Rev 17:18); the latter (identical with the Beast from the sea of Revelation 13), the Roman Empire under all its heads or forms. (It is on the ground of the general nature of this description that Elliott denies that the burning of Rev 17:16 is the final burning foretold in Rev 18:8. He explains the destruction referred to in the former instance as preceding the visionas that effected by the ten Gothic powers in the Fifth and Sixth centuries. These horns of the Beast (p. 260) then spoiled and burned the City, and so desolated the surrounding Campagna as to produce the or desert, in the midst of which Papal Rome arose, and in which (Rev 17:3) the vision was located).The riding of the Woman on the Beast (Rev 17:3) symbolizes that the Western Papal Empire, as a whole, with the power of its ten secular kingdoms and many peoples, should uphold and be ruled by Papal Rome.The double character of the Woman, as a Harlot with the ten kings and a tavern-hostess vending drugged wines to the common people (Rev 17:1-2; Rev 17:4), symbolizes her unholy alliance with the former, and her unholy and corrupting traffic (in indulgences, relics, transubstantiation-cup, etc.) with the latter.The adornment of the Harlot (Rev 17:4) presents, as applied to the Romish Church, a picture characteristic and from the life; the dress coloring specified being distinctively that of the Romish ecclesiastical dignitaries, and the ornaments those with which it has been bedecked beyond any Church called Christian.The word Mystery, Rev 17:5 (allusive to the mystery of iniquity, 2Th 2:7-8), was once, if we may repose credit on no vulgar authority, written on the Popes tiara.21The title Mother of harlots, etc., is a parody of the title, Rome, Mother and Mistress.The drunkenness with the blood of saints, Rev 17:6, symbolizes the martyr blood shed by Rome throughout the 1260 years of her prosperity.
Barnes: This chapter commences a more detailed description of the judgment inflicted on the Antichristian power referred to in Revelation 16; it contains a description of the sequel of the seventh Vial, which is continued (in various forms) to the close of Revelation 19; it embraces the following: 1. Introduction, Rev 17:1-3; Revelation 2. A particular description of this Antichristian power, Rev 17:3-6; Revelation 3. An explanation of what is meant by the Woman, and of the design of the representation, which comprises (1), a promise of the Angel that he would explain; (2) an enigmatical representation of the design of the vision (containing a description of the Beast, etc.), Rev 17:8-14; (3) a more literal statement of what is meant by this, Rev 17:15-18.The Harlot symbolizes Papal Rome; her adornment, fornication, cup, drunkenness, many waters, substantially as Elliott; her inscription, see Expl. in Detail, Rev 17:6.The Beast is identical with that of Rev 13:1, and designates the Roman power (see p. 260)the period of the vision being that of the Eighth or Papal head and the ten horns, or ten subordinate kingdoms22viz.: the 1260 years of Papal supremacy.The destruction of Rev 17:16-17, is the final destruction of Rev 18:8, to be effected by the instrumentality of the ten secular powers who now uphold and are governed by the Harlot.The , Rev 17:3, is the Roman Campagna.23
Stuart: Ch. 17 is wholly occupied with an explanatory vision designed for the purpose of making the reader understand whose destruction is going on.The Woman symbolizes the City of Rome, altogether in the manner of the Old Testament prophets, who everywhere personify great cities by women.The Beast means the Roman Emperors, specifically Nero, of whom the report spread throughout the empire is (was) that he will revive, after being apparently slain, and will come as it were from the abyss or Hades; but he will still perish, and that speedily. The Beast symbolizes him of whom it is said, that all the world will wonder at and worship him, when they see him thus returned, as they suppose from the under-world (see also p. 261).The ten horns denote the subordinate and tributary kings of the empire, who unite with the Beast in persecuting the Church.
Rev 17:16 indicates that tyrants like Nero, and persecutors such as his confederates, would occasion wasting and desolation to Rome, even like that already inflicted by Nero, who had set Rome on fire and consumed a large portion of it. In a description so highly figurative as the one before us, nothing more seems to be necessarily meant.The of Rev 17:3, is appropriate to symbolize the future condition of the Beast.
Wordsworth. The views of this commentator concerning the Woman and her session upon the Beast, coincide generally with those of Elliott and Barnes.For his interpretation of the Beast and the heads, see p. 261.By the horns he understands the kingdoms growing out of the Roman Empire at its dismemberment.The , he declares, may indicate the Campagna, pagna, or the moral wilderness in which Rome is situate, or both.The destruction of Rev 17:16 he interprets as Barnes.
Alford. This commentator also adopts the generally accepted Protestant hypothesis (that advocated by Elliott and Barnes) concerning the Woman, her adornment, fornication, session upon the Beast, etc.For his interpretation of the Beast and the seven heads, see pp. 261 sq.Concerning the eighth head he writes: This eighth, the last and worst phase of the Beast, is not represented as any one of his heads, but as being the Beast himself in actual embodiment. He is , not one of the seven, but the successor and result of the seven, following and springing out of them. And he does not fall like the others, but goes on and meets his own destruction at the hand of the Lord Himself. There can be little doubt in the mind of the student of prophecy, who is thus described; that it is the ultimate Antichristian power, prefigured by the little horn in Daniel, and expressly announced by St. Paul, 2Th 2:3 sqq.He interprets the ten horns as ten European powers, which, in the last time, in concert with and subjection to the Antichristian power, shall make war against Christ. In the precise number and form here indicated, they have not yet arisen.He regards the destruction as the final destruction mentioned Revelation 18.
Lord: It is apparent from Rev 17:1-2, that the Woman had been beheld in a previous but unrecorded vision, sitting where there were seven mountains and many waters. The scene was the site of Rome; the seven mountains were the seven hills of that city, and were symbols of the seven kinds of rulers who had exercised the government of the ancient empire; the waters were symbols of the peoples, etc., of the empire; the Woman symbolized the nationalized hierarchies of the Apostate Church, and the actions ascribed to her show that the kings of the earth united with her in her idolatry.The vision exhibited (Rev 17:3-6) and the explanation (Rev 17:7-18) represent the Woman in her relations to the rulers, first as her supporters, and finally as her destroyers.The Beast on which the Woman was borne, was, and is not, and yet is: it was, as the successions of rulers of the ancient empire, which its heads symbolize, had been; it is not, as a government of a head is no longer exercised over the empire as anterior to its fall; and yet it still is, in an eighth form, inasmuch as the cotemporaneous kings who now reign over the kingdom into which it is divided exert a sway essentially the samethey are a combination of rulers and under their several governments one, by exercising their authority on the same principles and on the same authority as the seventh head, and in that respect they are an eighth appropriately symbolized by the same monster under the horns.24The names of blasphemy symbolize the arrogation by the rulers of the rights of God, in assuming to dictate the faith and worship of their subjects, legislating over Divine laws, making their will the reason that they are to offer worship, etc.The session of the Woman on the Beast denotes that the combination of hierarchies whom she symbolizes is nationalized and established by the civil rulers.The destruction of Rev 17:16 has already begun in the disallowance and scorn of the claims of the Established Church in most of the European States, the confiscation of her property in France, the conquest of the Papal States, etc.; and these judgments are to be carried on to a greater severity
Glasgow. This writer adopts the generally accepted Protestant view that the Woman symbolizes Rome ecclesiastical.The Beast he identifies with the Beast of Rev 13:1, and the Dragon of Revelation 12 (see p. 263), and regards it as symbolizing, in its entirety, the world-power, and at the period contemplated by the vision, the Roman Empire in and after the fall of the Western Empire, A. D., 493.The heads have here a double symbolization; they are: 1. Seven mountains, i. e., the seven forms of government through which the Beast (since his emergence from the sea, Rev 13:1) has passed, viz.: (1) the state of ten horns represented in Italy for a time by Odoacer and Theodoric, (2) the government of Justinian in the West, (3) the Kingdom of the Lombards, (4) that of Pepin and Charlemagne, (5) that of Otho the Great, (6) that of Charles V., (7) that of the Emperors after Protestantism obtained political equality, A. D. 1555; 2. Seven kings, i. e., the original kingdoms out of which the Roman power rose, as on p. 242.The horns he interprets as Elliott, see p. 259.The session on the Beast he interprets as Elliott and Protestant interpreters generally.The period of the vision he places in the latter part of the effusion of the seventh Vial; the Woman is revealed to view in the same condition in which she has existed for a long period.
Rev 17:16 foretells the assaults that have from the era of the Emperors been made, from time to time, upon the Romish Church, to result in a complete destruction.
Auberlen: This chapter describes the Harlot and the Beast, ripe for judgment. (For the views of this writer concerning the Woman and the Beast, generically considered, and the wilderness, see pp. 243 sq., and 263 sq.). The Harlot is identical with the Woman of Revelation 12, who symbolizes the Church of God in the world; she is the Church conforming to the world. The identity is established by, 1. The place where she is seen, the wilderness, comp. Rev 12:6; Rev 12:14; Rev 17:3. 2. The fact that the same expressions are used in chs. 12 and 17 for wilderness and Woman ( and ). 3. The fact that the Beast in the two chapters is identical;but Beast and Woman are in both placed in immediate connection; if the identity of the one is conceded, how is it possible to doubt that of the other?25 4. The expression used by the Seer: When I saw her I wondered:the wonder finds its only explanation in the extraordinary change which had passed over the Woman; the impression made on John may be expressed by the words of Isaiah (Isa 1:21): How is the faithful city become a harlot! 5. The reason which lies in the expressions: Harlot (Rev 17:1; Rev 17:5; Rev 17:15-16; Rev 19:2), to commit fornication (Rev 17:2; Rev 18:3; Rev 18:9), fornication (Rev 14:8; Rev 17:2; Rev 17:4; Rev 18:3; Rev 19:2); Woman means the Church (see on p. 243); Harlot throughout both Testaments the Apostate Church, comp. Jeremiah 2, 3; Ezekiel 16, 23; Hosea 1-3; Mat 12:39; Mat 16:4; Mar 8:38; Rev 2:21. 6. The objective parallelism between Babylon and New Jerusalem; both are citiesthe one a harlot, the other a bride (Rev 17:1; Rev 17:3; Rev 17:5; Rev 21:9); but as the latter is acknowledged to mean the transfigured Church, it follows that Babylon means the Church in its worldliness. 7. The contrast in Rev 19:2; Rev 19:9, between the Harlot and the Wife of the Lamb. 8. The word Mystery on the forehead of the Harlot (Rev 17:5); this word warns us not to adopt a literal, but to look for a spiritual interpretation of those which follow, an interpretation to which we may be guided by Eph 5:31-32.The word Harlot describes the essential character of the false Church; she retains her human form, remains a woman, does not become a beastshe has a form of godliness, but denies the power thereof (2Ti 3:8). Her adultery appears in its proper form when she wishes herself to be a worldly power, uses politics and diplomacy, makes flesh her arm, uses unholy means for holy ends, spreads her dominions by sword or money, fascinates the hearts of men by sensual ritualism, allows herself to become Mistress of ceremonies to dignitaries of this world, flatters prince or people, the living or the deadin short, when she, like Israel of old, seeks the help of one worldly power against the danger threatening from another; it appears in a less gross form (comp. Mat 5:28) whenever she forgets that she is in the world, even as Christ was in the world, as a bearer of the cross and pilgrim, that the world is crucified to her and judged, whenever she regards the world as a reality and lusts after its power and pleasures. Herein consists the essence of whoredom, in leaning and listening, and conforming to, and relying on the world. Hence, there could not be a better description of it than that given, Rev 17:3; Rev 17:7; Rev 17:9; the Woman sits on the Beast.26 (See also below). The Harlot cannot be found exclusively either in the Romish Church, or in the Established State Churches. Christendom (the Church) as a whole, in all its manifold manifestation of sects, is the Harlot; the boundaries between Woman and Harlot are not denominationaltrue believers are hidden and dispersed, the invisible Church is within the visible, as the kernel within the shell;27 nevertheless it is true that the Roman and Greek Churches are in a more peculiar sense the Harlot, than the evangelical Protestant. The Roman Catholic Church is not only accidentally and de facto, but in virtue of its very principle, a harlot, whereas the Evangelical (Protesta ***) Church is, according to her principle and fundamental creed, a chaste woman; the Reformation was a protest of the Woman against the Harlot.As yet the mystery of Babylon is not fully developed. Bengel was probably correct in his expectation that Rome will once more rise to power; it is probable that the Greco-Russian Catholicism will likewise become of importance; the adulterous, worldly elements, in all churches and sects, lean towards that false Catholicism, and pave the way for its progress;and thus may it attain again to power.In like manner as the Woman, the Beast also appears in this chapter in a shape other than before; the deadly wound (Rev 13:3) is healed (see Extracts from Auberlen in foot-notes, pp. 263 sq.)he recovers life and returns, but now not only from the sea (Rev 13:3), but out of the abyss (Rev 17:8), whence he has drawn new Anti-christian strength of Hell; he is now scarlet-colored, a symbol of his blood-guiltiness; the names of blasphemy formerly on his heads (Rev 13:1) now cover his whole body, as a sign that his opposition to God is now to manifest itself perfectly; the crowns which were formerly on the horns (Rev 17:3) have now disappeared.28 In such manner the Antichristian Kingdom comes into existence;a new kingdom in which all the Beasts opposition to God is concentrated, and raised to a power such as it had had never before; therefore we read of an eighth, which proceeds from the seven (Rev 17:11), and is the full manifestation of the beast-nature. The final apostasy will consist in the union of the pseudo-Christian and Antichristian elements, which the Apocalypse expresses by the Harlot sitting on the Beast;29 this alliance likewise appeared in the concluding period of the Old Testamentapostate Israel, which was then the Harlot, formed an alliance with the heathen world-power against Jesus and His Apostles, see Luk 23:12; Act 17:5; Act 17:9.The abominations committed by the Jews, drew down the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, that is the judgment of the Harlot by the Beast (Dan 9:26-27)an exact parallel to the future judgment set forth in Rev 17:16-17.The judgment on the Harlot has already begun; see extract in foot-note (first column), p. 264.E. R. C.]
EXPLANATIONS IN DETAIL
Rev 17:1-2. One of the seven, etc.Which, is not to be determined, though the judgment upon Babylon in the narrower sense is indicated under the fourth Vial of anger.Hither, (comp. Rev 21:3).The reference is not to a local motion, but to a certain direction of the contemplation in accordance with the guidance of the Angel. I will show unto thee the judgment.The fulfillment of the promise is not found immediately in Rev 17:3 (contrary to the opinion of Hengstenberg), nor is it contained at all in Revelation 17 (Dsterdieck). It is doubtless, however, the idea of the Angel that John must already be able to see the judgment in this appearance of this Womanch. 17 being the judgment in a Heaven-picture, and Revelation 18 the same in an Earth-picture.Of the great harlot.Pagan Rome, according to Dsterdieck. The following description is simply inappropriate to this conception.That sitteth [Lange: is enthroned] upon many waters.Pagan Rome did indeed reign over many peoples, but its throne did not rest upon the superstition of those peoples (Jer 51:13 does not apply here). Still more forcibly does the following pronounce against the application of the passage to pagan Rome.[Rev 17:2]. With whom the kings of the earth committed fornication.Pagan Rome did not allure the kings of the earth by blandishments; she destroyed them. There is one casethat of Antony and Cleopatrawhich might be recommended, as a make-shift, to the historical interpretation, but even there the genders would have to be reversed before it could properly be regarded as applicable.And they who inhabit the earth were made drunk, etc.Not even this could be said, with reference to pagan Rome, either of the Spaniards, or of the Britons, or of the Germans, or of the Parthians, or of the Jews.
Rev 17:3. And he carried me away in spirit.This is to be understood only of a change effected in the ecstatic direction of the spirit [of the Seer]. The confounding of this wilderness with that mentioned in Rev 12:6; Rev 12:14a proceeding which, on account of the lack of the article is, even from a mere formal point of view, properly impossibleis in Auberlens case connected with his view of the identity of the Harlot of Revelation 17 and the Woman of Revelation 1230 Duesterdieck. Most certainly, the ascetic wilderness in which Jesuitism has its being is, spiritually, utterly diverse from the wilderness of Saint Anthony, and yet the two stand in the relation of historic continuity, and, hence, external unity. In like manner, the relation of the Harlot to the Woman is determined. According to Dsterdieck, et al., the Woman is seen in the wilderness because of the desolation imminent upon her in accordance with Rev 17:16! The symbolical interpretation of the wilderness is abundantly illustrated both by the Old and the New Testaments (Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, etc.); we must, therefore, wonder at the perverted interpretations of it (Bengel: Europe, especially Italy; other interpretations, see in Dsterdieck, p. 506). The fact that the same Woman who here sits in the wilderness, is subsequently represented as sitting on many waters, must necessarily give trouble to the historical interpretation.And I saw a Woman sitting upon a scarlet Beast.De Wette and Zllig embellish the Beast with a scarlet covering. The Beast must wear the color of blood (Andr., Lyra, et al.), just as the Dragon wears the color of flame, which is allied to blood-color. The Womans attire is variegated; together with the blood-color, the honorable hue of purple appears. In general, the Beast of the present passage is identical with that of Revelation 13; observe, however, the formal distinction that in the latter passage the Beast is spoken of in its general, world-historical shape, whilst here the primary and special reference is to it in its re-appearance after its vanishment, as the bearer, at first, of the Harlot.Full of the names of blasphemy.The 31 with the accusative is remarkable. Hebraizing: An emphatic expression: now filled up with writing; all the names of blasphemy. [The names of blasphemy, which were found before on the heads of the Beast only (Rev 13:1), have now spread over its whole surface. As ridden and guided by the Harlot, it is tenfold more blasphemous in its titles and assumptions than before. The heathen world had but its Divi in the Csars as in other deified men of note; but Christendom has its Most Faithful and Most Christian kings, such as Louis XIV. and Philip II.; its Defenders of the Faith, such as Charles II. and James II.; its society of unprincipled intriguers called after the sacred name of our Lord, and working Satans work ad majorem Dei gloriam; its holy office of the Inquisition, with its dens of darkest cruelty; finally its Patrimony of St. Peter, and its Holy Roman Empire; all of them, and many more, new names of blasphemy, with which the Woman has invested the Beast. Go where we will, and look where we will in Papal Christendom, names of blasphemy meet us. The taverns, the shops, the titles of men and places, the very insurance badges on the houses are full of them. Alford.E. R. C.]
Rev 17:4. And gilded with gold and precious stone and pearls.The is zeugmatical (Dsterdieck). Both precious stones and pearls, however, must have been set in gold. As a decoration of the Church, such an apparel rudely anticipates the adornment of the celestial congregation.A golden cup.Even the cup [Kelch=chalice] or goblet [Becher=beaker] would look very strange in the hand of pagan Rome. The cup is, apart from the symbolism of measure, here the symbol of fellowship; the golden cup symbolizes the holiest fellowshipthe fellowship of salvation. But, filled with abominations, it is certainly akin to hypocrisy, as in accordance with Bedea strange equivalent for the poculum missaticum (Calov.). According to Dsterdieck, the golden cup means merely a cup that is golden, agreeably to the historical interpretation. The accusative is remarkable. The most plausible construction of this is, apparently, that of Dsterdieck, who maintains that should be taken as parallel with the accusative . It contributes to the characterism of the Woman when it is intimated that together with the cup she has all sorts of other things in her handthings which the Spirit of truth designates as uncleannesses, and which are the issue of the fornication, i.e., idolatry, of the earth. [This language is probably taken from Jer 51:7, Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lords hand, that made all the earth drunken; the nations have drunken of the wine, therefore the nations are mad. Barnes on Rev 14:8.E. R. C.]
Rev 17:5-6. A name written.The does not belong to the inscription, but it characterizes iti. e., it is declaratory that the name Babylon and the rest of the titlethe mother of the harlots and the abominations, etc.is to be symbolically understood. [So also Barnes, Stuart, et al. On the other hand, Hengstenb., Wordsworth, Alf., et al. Lillie thus powerfully combats the former, and advocates the latter view: 1. While the Apocalypse is full of , in no other instance does the narrator herald one as such. 2. Supposing the inscription to have included , an explanation was thus formally invited which is furnished in Rev 17:7; and the interpreting Angel is then to be considered as taking up the very word, and as personally () confronting the difficulty which it announced. 3. As the Angel uses it the term is attached not to the name, but to the Woman herself and her equipment. 4. In that reference it might very well characterize her origin, nature, history, and destination; graciously to know the evilthe depths of Satan (Rev 2:24)the mystery of iniquity (2Th 2:7)this, not less than the knowledge of the good, requires heavenly teaching and an unction from the Holy One (1Jn 2:20). 5. Even if not intended thus to be itself descriptive of the Woman, might yet stand in the inscription as a sort of prelude or index to her name, somewhat like in Rev 13:18.E. R. C.]
BABYLON THE GREAT.This symbolism is introduced as early as in Genesis, with the history of the building of the tower, and carried on especially by Isaiah and Jeremiah; this special Babylon, however, must not be identified with the general Babylon (Rev 14:8 and Rev 16:19), as is ordinarily done.The MOTHER OF HARLOTS has also a more special import; the mother is reflected in spiritually, or rather fleshly, kindred daughters, some of whom compete with the mother in magical power. Grotius is correct in supposing that the aspect of the Woman must proclaim her drunkennessand that a drunkenness with the blood of the saints, even the witnesses of Jesus (see Syn. View). Prelusive examples of blood-thirstiness and its augmentations are to be found in the old pagan world; this blood-thirstiness, however, is fulfilled in the specific lusting of the Woman after the blood of the witnesses of Jesus, prefigured, it is true, by the death of Abel (see Matthew 23). [The phraseology is derived from the barbarous custom (still extant among many pagan nations) of drinking the blood of enemies slain in the way of revenge. Here, then, the fury of the persecutors is depicted in a most graphic manner. Blood is drunk by them even to intoxication, i. e., copiously, in great quantities. The effect of drinking blood is said to be, to exasperate, and to intoxicate with passion and a desire of vengeance. But the copiousness of the draught, and so the extent and bitterness of persecution, is particularly marked by the expression here. Stuart.E. R. C.]And I wondered.The Seer could hardly have expressed so great astonishment at the blood-thirstiness of pagan Romea quality long notorious and, proportionably, not so extraordinary. Bat this Woman! The Jewish hierarchy had, certainly, already nailed Christ to the cross. But that such a Woman could finally be the product of the historical development of the Church of faith then existent, must appear even to the Seer, with his knowledge of the world, a thing unheard of. Dsterdieck here reverts to Auberlen, stating that it is the opinion of the latter that the Seer marvels at recognizing in the Harlot the degenerate Woman of Rev 12:1. Dsterdieck calls this assumption an egregious mistake. Not even Auberlen, however, could have looked upon the Woman herself as the Harlot; that which he so regards, is but the Womans last historical representationin antithesis to her internal essence, the finally emergent Bride.32 Similar utterances of amazement at the degeneracy of the Church are to be found even in the Old Testament, Isa 5:1 [sqq.], Jer 2:1 [sqq.], Revelation 18, Ezekiel 16; Mat 24:37, 1 Timothy 4., etc. According to Bengel, the Seer wondered at the phenomenon of so powerful a Beast being constrained to carry the Woman; according to Zllig, Dsterdieck, et al., he marvelled because he knew not the import of the phenomenon; according to Ebrard, his astonishment was occasioned by the change in the Beast which he had seen in Revelation 13. According to Hengstenberg, who frequently makes a point, of discovering moral failings even in the visional moods of the Seer, the wonderment of John is censured as foolish. The object of astonishment is, doubtless, intelligible to the Seerit is the contrast between the Woman and the Harlot; in regard to the origin and development of this contrast, however, he stands in need of enlightenment from the Angel. [The object of wonder is doubtless the complex mystery (the mysteries, for each object is in itself a mystery) concerning which the Angel gives an explanation, viz.: the Woman, the Beast, and their relation to each other. This is evident from the words of the Angel (Rev 17:7): Wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell (explain to) thee the mystery, etc. The explanation extends through Rev 17:18.E. R. C.] According to Dsterdieck, the Beast denotes the world-kingdom, and the Woman the world-city.
Rev 17:7. I will tell thee the mystery.The mystery which he is to know, is the relationship betwixt the Woman and the Beast [see above]. How has it come to pass that the Woman could seat herself upon this terrible Beast? Or how is it that the wild-Beast suffered itself to be mounted by the Woman, like a gentle palfrey? In this query lies the key to the dark words that follow. The first explanation is contained in the history of the Beast.
Rev 17:8. The Beast was, and is not, and is about to ascend out of the abyss.The historic re-emergence of the world-power, spiritually wounded to death by Christianityan event proleptically beheld by the Seer at a time when the Beast seemed to be really destroyedserves as an occasion of offence and fall to the world and, consequently, to the majority of the men in whom the external and visible form of the Woman consists. The earthly-minded dwellers on the earth, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the worldwho, therefore, do not belong to the selection of the sealedshall wonder when they see this apparent revival and gain of dominion on the part of the Beast. This is the history of the waning faith in the world-overcoming victory of Christ and the simultaneously waxing faith in the omnipotence of the world-power. It is the history of all who can see the Kingdom of God only in a tangible Church, a tangible salvation, a tangible Head of the Churchin a word, in external things. All of these have lost all heart for the powers of the world to come; through them, the Beast rises and the Woman descends, in a spiritual sense, or, in respect of outward appearance, the Woman is elevated on the back of the Beastby means of a compromise between the two. [For an exposition of the Abyss, see Excursus, pp. 364 sqqE. R. C.]
Rev 17:9. Herewith is connected the history of the Woman. It becomes intelligible only for the mind [Lange: understanding] that hath wisdom, the cultivated connoisseur of world-history, who views the same in the light of the Kingdom of God. The seven heads (of the Beast) are, primarily, seven mountains, on which the Woman sits. The fact that the Woman sits upon the seven mountains is, considered in and for itself, perfectly natural, for mountains are Divine political world-ordinances (see Romans 13), and the seven mountains constitute the totality of the ground-forms of the political order of the world. But this natural conditionality of the Church upon worldly state ordinances becomes fatal from the fact that the seven mountains are at the same time seven kings, i. e., here, despotic powers; in other words, that the noble human image of metal (Daniel 2) has a reverse side, in accordance with which it is composed of four rapacious beasts. Through the despotism of the world-monarchies, the Woman is continually drawn more and more into the parallel path of hierarchism, and her character becomes more and more corrupt. [See Add. Note, p. 317.E. R. C.]
Rev 17:10. After the general history of the Beast and the Woman, the Angel gives the Seer a world-historical exposition of his stand-point in time. Five kings, i. e., world-monarchies, from a theocratic point of view, are fallen. The one is now subsistingthe sixth king, i. e., the sixth world-monarchy, behind which the Beast seems, for the instant, to be annihilated by young Christianity. This view was, assuredly, more entertainable by the Seer at the time of Nerva or even Domitian than at the time of Nero. The other king is the seventh world-monarchy, the future historico-Christian world-monarchy in a general apprehension, in so far as it, as Beast, bears the Woman upon its back. The Seer, from his distance, beholds, in perspective, the time of the seventh king on a reduced scale; he must continue a little while. Then, however, the whole Beast reappears in the eighth king in his true and undisguised nature. As Satan has embodied himself in the Beast, so the whole Beast, as the sum of all world-historic enormities, embodies itself in the eighth monarchy. Hence the Angel speaks of the eighth king as proceeding from the seven, as, in a sense, the unitous evil genius who was present in separate forms in all his seven predecessors. But because world-historical wickedness is, so to speak, concentrated and sublimated in this monarchy, finally being, as it were, embodied in the personal Antichrist (though the latter may branch into ten mock-kings), the stay of this eighth king is not long; he appears, he becomes an instrument of judgment upon the Woman, he goes into perdition. [See Add. Notes, pp. 272 sq., 304 and 317 sq.E. R. C.]
Hengstenberg correctly regards the seven mountains as symbols of seven kingdoms; Dsterdieck, on the other hand, with others, understands by them Rome, the City of the Seven Hills. Irrespective of our admission of an allusion to Rome, we consider the symbolic apprehension of the mountains as, indubitably, the true one, though, notwithstanding this, a number of other features are decidedly suggestive of the City of the Seven Hills. On the literal interpretation of the seven kings, or world-monarchies, as referring to seven persons, see p. 26, and the exegesis of Revelation 13; comp. Dsterd., p. 512 sqq.Seven kings, this historical, i. e., literal, exposition [of Dst.] declares, are merely seven kings and nothing more. Why then may not the Beast be a real beast and nothing more? The different modes of enumerating the kingdoms, see in Dsterd., ibid.The five are fallen.This, it is maintained, means that they are deadin total contradiction, to the use of terms. It maybe queried: why is the successor of the fifth king not called the sixth, and the seventh, the seventh? Probably because both these numbers are in an eminent sense symbolical; here, however, this symbolism must lie dormant. The sixth is, contrary to the nature of six, the better, behind whom the Beast seems to have vanished; and the seventh is the tame one [der Zahme, with reference to the taming of the wild Beast into a palfrey, so to speak, of the Woman.Tr.], in whom the Beast again appears. The expression, and is of the seven [Rev 17:11] is differently interpreted, as: the returning Nero (De Wette, et al.); the returning Antiochus Epiphanes (Hofmann); a descendant of the seven (Primas., et al.). Dsterdieck, rightly, makes the eighth proceed from the totality of the seven. This conception is, truly, very difficult in connection with that view of the kings which regards them as significant of so many individuals. A thorough understanding of the subject, in general, is impossible on the basis of this latter view, as is demonstrated by the following note of Dsterdieck: All interpretations are false, by which the concrete historic reference to the circumstances of the Roman Empire is discarded; thus, for instance, Andreas, who by the (Rev 17:8) understands Satan, explains that by the appearance and, especially, the death of Christ, the Beast was brought to a state of not-being. Comp. Bede, C. -Lap., Zeger, et al. Marlorat and other Protestants explain: Pagan Rome has passed away; Papal Rome is in present existence, but its world-dominion is in itself nought ( ). Various enumerations of the kings, in accordance with the synchrono-historical conception, see in Dsterdieck, p. 516. According to this expositor, the Seer did prophesy a little, after first prophesying ex post facto concerning kings already known to history; he fore-announced that Vespasian should be succeeded by his two sons: Titus as the seventh, Domitian as the eighththat Titus should continue for a short time, and that Domitian should appear as a personification of the whole Beast. Nevertheless, John was mistaken in the expectation that the Roman world-kingdom would perish with Domitian. Still, Dsterdieck admits that a minimum of prophecy remains notwithstanding this mistake: The singular error manifests, undoubtedly, a certain imperfectness of the prophetic essence in the Apocalyptist, but by no means entirely (!) abrogates that essence.
Rev 17:12 sqq. Now follows the future history of the ten horns, in respect of their relation to the Beast and the Woman. For although their war with the Lamb is mentioned here, the principal point of view is the war with the Woman. The war with the Lamb, considered in and for itself, is not announced until Revelation 19; it is introduced here, in this earlier passage [ch. Rev 17:14], because the hostility of the radical Antichristian powers against the Woman is directed against the last traces, reminiscences and tokens of Christianity in her nature.
Rev 17:12. The ten horns are ten kings.The number ten is the number of the completed course of the world, the completed development of the world. In the ten kings, therefore, the political organization of the last phase of world-history is represented. They are all anarchical upstarts, who, thitherto, had not received the kingdom. They all cotemporaneously attain to dominion together. They are all, in reality, mock-kings, or, symbolically defined, mock-governments and mock-powers, sporadically diffused over the earth, and for one hour only, i. e., for one unitous, great, final, terrible, but short decision-time, do they obtain the government with the Beast. This is the specific Antichristian evening of the world, which precedes the Parousia. The fact that they are but quasi-kings, is based not upon the shortness of the time of their supremacy (in accordance with Bengel and Dsterdieck), but upon the anarchical relations of the times. It is the period when the theocratic element in Church and State is laid dead, in accordance with Revelation 11; when the image and mark of the Beast prevail, in accordance with Revelation 13 [See on p. 308.E. R. C.]
Rev 17:13. These have one mind.Not, simply, a common cause, but also a common theory [one and the same view and intent and consent. Alford.E. R. C.], the system of positive contempt and blasphemy of the name and tabernacle of God, and the dwellers in the Heaven (Rev 13:6), based upon a threefold perversion of the truth into strong falsehood (the absolute nameless Divine, the absolute religion of this world, and the absolute blessedness of this world). Hence, they stand, from the outset, in connection with the Beast and make themselves, with their masses of peoples, their power and authority, completely its organs.
Rev 17:14. These shall war with the Lamb. [Together with the Beast, see Rev 19:19.E. R. C.]This announcement has a place here not independently, but as serving as an explanation of their hatred of the Harlot. Because they are enemies of the Lamb, even the dead, despiritualized symbolism, by which the Woman is still suggestive of the Lamb, is a subject of hatred. The Bride they scarcely see, because she is thoroughly internal, living, and human; she incurs their excommunication only in her individual members; the Harlot, however, they see, because she is thoroughly external, hindering life with her dead forms and denying humanity with her anti-humane statutes.33 Hence we here receive, in reference to the Lamb, only the precursory tranquillizing assurance that He shall conquer them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings. In His conflict and victory His people shall participate; they shall take part therein as truly called ones, who, in respect of their eternal ground-trait, are elect, and in respect of their character, in its temporal development,34 faithful. For the description of them is not divisible into three characteristics, but into twoelect and faithful, jointly bearing the signature of the truly called. This companionship may be predicated of the sealed in this world, who are progressing toward the Parousia, as well as of the trans-mundane retinue of the Lord on Mount Sion, that is to appear with Him in accordance with Revelation 19 [14].
[Here is the ground and reason for the victory assigned, and that is taken, 1. From the character of the Lamb; He is King of kings and lord of lords. He has, both by nature and by office, power over all things; all the powers of earth and hell are subject to His check and control. 2. From the character of His followers; they are called, and chosen, and faithful; they are called out by commission to this warfare; they are chosen and fitted for it; and they will be faithful in it.Such an army, under such a Commander, will at length carry all the world before them. M. Henry.E. R. C.]
Rev 17:15. And he saith unto me, The waters, etc.These waters serve as an introduction to the judgment upon the Harlot. The Woman has a threefold foundation. Her safest position was in the wilderness, in so far as she was spiritually at home there. Pure renunciation of the world is identical with heavenly security. But even the seat upon the seven mountains, the seven kingdom-powers of political order, gave her, still, a royal firmness. She is, however, also founded upon the many waters of surging popular life, and this foundation has become infinitely fluctuating, since popular life has been set in motion from its very depths, and is sundering into peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues, and since the Woman has lost the foundations of genuine asceticism in the wilderness and of the protection of the seven mountains. Hence it is incorrect to say, in spite of her wide dominion and all her glory, she shall be destroyed (Duesterdieck), for whence should the ten horns have their power if they did not establish themselves upon those very masses of peoples that have apostatized from the Woman?
Rev 17:16. And the ten horns.. and the Beast, these shall hate the Harlot.This hatred manifests itself in two negative and two positive forms. They make her desolate, not in the sense of devastation, but they leave her to herself, they take her at her word, and make her a perfect eremitess; moreover, they deprive her of all worldly fullness and covering [Flle und Hlle], so that she appears in all her nakedness. To these indignities are added positive damages; they eat her flesh, i. e., they wrest all her goods from her, and she herself is destroyed by the fire of negative fanaticism, after having so long raged with the fire of positive fanaticism. In all this the Beast, of course, acts through the horns or kings, hence . Dsterdieck refers the flesh-eating to the figure of the Woman, and the burning to the figure of the City, of course maintaining that Rome is intended.
Rev 17:17. For God gave into their hearts. Namely, to destroy the Woman. This judicial decree resolves itself into three parts: first, they must, blindly and against their will, execute the counsel of God; secondly, they must, in thus doing, accomplish one purpose; thirdly, they must, in order to this end, surrender their whole power to the Beast until the latter, in like manner as an instrument of judgment, has accomplished all those words of God with which the Apostate Church has been threatened. Here, therefore, as in the crucifixion of Christ, Divine, human, and devilish counsels materially coincide in one, whilst they are formally, in their motives, thoroughly diverse and even opposed to each other. We, with Hengstenberg and others, refer the after to God, and not, with Bengel, Dsterd and others, to the Beast, because this latter idea would then be tautologically expressedthe alliance between the kings and the Beast having previously been intimated. At the close of this chapter, Dsterd. vainly reiterates his assurance that nothing save pagan Rome can possibly be intended (p. 520).35
[Rev 17:18. And the Woman that thou sawest, etc.This verse concludes the Angels explanation of the mystery (see Rev 17:7), and unmistakably presents to us as one and the same, the Harlot, the Great City, and Babylon the Great (comp. Rev 17:3; Rev 17:5; Rev 17:7; Rev 17:18).E. R. C.]
[ADDITIONAL NOTE ON CH. 17.]
By the American Editor.
[This chapter contains a section supplemental to the pouring out of the seventh Vial. It contains: 1. An introduction to the vision, Rev 17:1-2; Revelation 2. The description of the vision, Rev 17:3-6; Revelation 3. The explanatory remarks of the Angel, Rev 17:7-18.
In his interpretation of the symbols, the writer agrees in the main with Auberlen, but with variations, as will appear. For his exposition of the Beast, see p. 272. In this chapter the Apostate Church, which, in Revelation 16, was figured by Babylon (i. e., the Great City=Rome), is presented under the symbol of a Harlot. These symbols represent the Church from different stand-points;the former in her earthly relations as a great, populous, wealthy, powerful world-city; the latter in her relations to Christ, as a once chaste Bride now faithless to her husband;each of these symbols represents an important truth which is not set forth by the other. In this chapter a portion of the imagery of the city-symbolization is preserved. This, indeed, may be regarded as detracting from the artistic unity of the respective symbols; but upon reflection it will be seen not only to unite the two symbols, but to give to each an instructive force that could not otherwise have been given. The mountains, the waters, and the wilderness are taken from the city-symbolization;the mountains relate primarily to the mountains on which Rome is situate, which symbolize the seven great world-kingdoms; the waters, probably to the Mediterraneanthat great sea which Rome once dominated, symbolizing the peoples and multitudes subject to the Church; the wilderness relates to the present and future Roman Campagna, an which aptly symbolizes the moral world-waste around the Church at the period contemplated in the visiona waste which it was her duty to reclaim and cultivate, but which she has left uncared-for.
The Vision, Rev 17:3-6, is a scene beheld under the seventh Vial; it represents the Church in the last time, in completed unholy alliance with the world-power, and ready for the destruction about to be visited upon her through the instrumentality of the Beast and the ten horns. The Introduction, Rev 17:1-2, and the Explanation, Rev 17:7-18, sweep through the entire period of the Churchs history; they represent her as sitting on the seven mountains (Rev 17:9-10), i. e., as having formed in every epoch of her history an adulterous connection with the then existing world-powera connection prefiguring, and consummated in, the alliance symbolized in the vision. The parallelism between the adultery and the destruction foretold in this chapter, and those set forth Hos 2:1-13, is manifest upon comparison. Is there not also a parallelism between the deliverance of Hos 2:14-23 and that alluded to Rev 18:4? In the latter case, as in the former, is there not an allusion to the eduction of a life-germ, in the day of destruction, from the corrupt mass, to be the seed of a new organism? The valley of Achor has ever been to the true Church a door of hope, comp. Hos 2:15; Jos 7:26; Isa 65:10.36E. R. C.]
Footnotes:
[1]Rev 17:1. [Crit. Eds. omit withand A.E. R. C.]
[2]Rev 17:2. [Tisch. inserts twice with B*.; Lach. and Treg. omit with . A. P.; Alf. brackets.E. R. C.]
[3]Rev 17:3. Tisch. [1859, also Treg.] gives , with Cod. A., etc. [Lach., Tisch. (8th Ed.), Alf. read ; Tisch. (8th Ed.) declares that P. requires this division. The reading of the participle in the following clause, which, were it certain, would settle the question, is also disputed: Alf., Tisch. (8th Ed.) read with . P.; Lach., Tisch. (1859), and Treg., with B*. 1, etc.E. R. C.]
[4]Rev 17:4. Lach. gives in acc. with A., etc. [So also Treg. and Tisch. (8th Ed.) with . A., 1, 7, Vulg., etc.; Tisch. (1859) omits with B*. P.; Alf. brackets.E. R. C.]
[5]Rev 17:4. Codd. . A. B*. give .
[6]Rev 17:4. Codd. A. [?] B*., etc., give . [So Tisch. (1859) with B*. (not A.); Alf., Treg., Tisch. (8th Ed.) give with A. 1, 7, Vulg., etc.; . reads .E. R. C.]
[7]Rev 17:8. Codd. A., etc., give . [So Lach., Alf., and Tisch. (1859); Treg. and Tisch. (8th Ed.) give with . B*. P.E. R. C.]
[8]Rev 17:8. [The and yet is is an attempted translation of the printed text of Erasmus, . This reading, as is now generally conceded, is an error of Erasmus copyist or of the press; it is not found in the original MS. of Erasmus. On this subject Dr. Conant writes (in his article on the Greek Text of the Apocalypse in T e Baptist Quarterly): The MS. reads, , with slightly removed from the preceding syllable (as often happens in manuscript), but with a distinctly written in the syllable , and with the accentuation, unquestionably, of . The copyist, mistaking for in the syllable , and making a wrong division of syllables, wrote , contrary both to the letters and the accentuation of the MS. There can be no doubt that the true reading is that of the ancient MSS., namely, the Sinaitic (=), the Alex. (Cod. Eph. is defective here), B. of the Apoc., and the Porphyrian palimpsest, all of which have . The reading thus indicated is universally adopted.E. R. C.]
[9]Rev 17:10. [Crit. Eds. read without . in acc. with . A. B*. P., Vulg., etc.E. R. C.]
[10]Rev 17:11. [Lach., Alf., Tisch. read with A. P. 1, Vulg., etc.; Treg. gives with . B*.E. R. C.]
[11]Rev 17:12. The reading in acc. with B*. [c, P., Vulg.], etc. [So Alf., Treg., and Tisch.; Lach. reads with A., Fuld.E. R. C.]
[12]Rev 17:16. [Crit. Eds. read with . A. B*. P. 1, Am., Fuld., Demid., Tol.; Clem. and Lips.4 6 require .E. R. C.]
[13]Rev 17:16. [Tisch. (8th Ed.) reads , without , with . B*. P.; Lach., Tisch. (1859), Treg. prefix with A.; Alf. brackets.E. R. C.]
[14]Rev 17:17. [This clause is omitted by Lachm., and bracketed by Alf., in accord, with A. 79, Vulg., etc.; it (or ) is given by Treg. and Tisch., with . B*. P. 1, 7, 14, etc.E. R. C.]
[15]Rev 17:17. Codd. A. B*. [. P.] give .
[16][It is probable that the erste of the German edition is a misprint for letzte, as it is only in the latter form that the proposition of our Author can be accepted. It may be remarked that even with this correction the truth of the first part of the proposition is questionable. Is it not probable that by Babylon the Great of Rev 16:19, the Seer contemplated the entire Babylon as headed up in the Babylon of the last days; or, in other words, as identical with Babylon the Great of Rev 17:5?E. R. C.]
[17][Is not one and the same event set forth by the figures, as slain (Rev 13:3), and is not (Rev 17:3)viz.: the apparent ceasing of the Beast to exist as Beast?E. R. C.]
[18][So Lange here freely renders.E. R. C.]
[19][When the Apostle Paul refers to the fact that the Thessalonians treated him as () an Apostle, does he imply that he was a mock-apostle? The well-known force of is to indicate not mere similarity to an individual or a class, but inclusion in a class specifiedthus it is declared. Mat 21:26, that the people held John as a prophet; see also 1Co 4:1; 1Co 4:14; 1Co 10:15; 2Co 6:4, etc. And further: To receive authority as a king, is to be a king, de facto if not de jure.E. R. C.]
[20][Elliott is at this point exceedingly obscure. The above is believed to be a fair presentation of the views be designed to express.E. R. C.]
[21][Scaliger, on the authority of an informant of the Duke of Montmorency whilst at Rome. And so again Francis Le Moyne and Brocardus, on ocular evidence, they assure us; saying that Julius III. removed it. See Daubuz, Vitringa, and Bishop Newton, ad loc. Foot-note by Elliott.E. R. C.]
[22][Barnes agrees with Elliott as to the general interpretation of the heads and horns, as on p. 259. He understands, however, by the sixth head, not the diademed emperors whom he includes under the fifth, but the Dukedom under the Exarchate of Ravenna, continuing from A. D. 566 to 727.E R. C.]
[23][Barnes agrees with Elliott as to the place indicated by the , but not as to the fact that it was produced by the destruction of Rev 17:16. The following extract which he makes from Gibbons Decline and Fall, Rev 45, deserves consideration: Rome had reached, about the close of the sixth century, the lowest period of her depression. By the removal of the seat of empire, and the successive loss of the provinces, the sources of private and public opulence were exhausted; the lofty tree under whose shade the nations of the earth bad reposed, was deprived of its leaves and branches, and the sapless trunk left to wither on the ground. The ministers of command and the messengers of victory no longer met on the Appian or Flaminian way; and the hostile approach of the Lombards was often felt and continually feared. The inhabitants of a potent and peaceful capital, who visit without an anxious thought the garden of the adjacent country, will faintly picture in their fancy the distress of the Romans; they shut or opened their gates with a trembling hand, beheld from the walls the flames of their houses, and heard the lamentations of their brethren who were coupled together like dogs, and dragged away into distant slavery beyond the sea and the mountains. Such incessant alarms must annihilate the pleasures and interrupt the labors of rural life; and the Campagna of Rome was speedily reduced to the state of a dreary wilderness, in which the land is barren, the waters are impure, and the air infectious. Curiosity and ambition no longer attracted the nations to the capital of the world; but if chance or necessity directed the steps of a wandering; stranger, he contemplated with horror the vacancy and solitude of the city; and might be tempted to ask, where is the Senate, and where are the people? In a season of excessive rains, the Tiber swelled above its banks, and rushed with irresistible violence into the valleys of the seven hills. A pestilential disease arose from the stagnation of the deluge, and so rapid was the contagion that fourscore persons expired in an hour in the midst of a solemn procession which implored the mercy of heaven. A society in which marriage is encouraged, and industry prevails, soon repairs the accidental losses of pestilence and war; but as the far greater part of the Romans was condemned to hopeless indigence and celibacy, the depopulation was constant and visible, and the gloomy enthusiasts might expect the approaching failure of the human race. Yet the number of citizens still exceeded the measure of subsistence; their precarious food was supplied from the harvest of Sicily and Egypt; and the frequent repetition of famine betrays the inattention of the emperor to a distant province. The edifices of Rome were exposed to the same ruin and decay; the mouldering fabrics were easily overthrown by inundations, tempests and earthquakes, and the monks who had occupied the most advantagous stations, exulted in their base triumph over the ruins of antiquity Like Thebes, or Babylon, or Carthage, the name of Rome might have been erased from the earth, if the city had not been animated by a vital principle which again restored her to honor and dominion.. The power as well as the virtue of the Apostles revived with living energy in the breasts of their successors; and the chair of St. Peter, under the reign of Maurice, was occupied by the first and greatest of the name of Gregory.. The sword of the enemy was suspended over Rome; it was averted by the mild eloquence and seasonable gifts of the Pontiff, who commanded the respect of heretics and barbarians.E. R. C.]
[24][Lord regards the Beast as identical with that of Rev 13:1. At the time of the emergence from the sea (Revelation 13), the horns were diademed, which, in his judgment, indicates that then all the heads should have fallen, although at the time of the Apocalyptist but five had fallen. At the time of the emergence, and in the passage before us, the Beast represents the Gothic rulers who established governments in the Western Empire during the Fifth century, and their successors and subjects to the present time (see p. 262). The Beast in its entirety symbolizes the Roman Empire in all its forms both before and after the disruption;the heads representing the different forms of government before the disruption, viz.: kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, tribunes, Pagan emperors, Christian emperors; the horns as above.E. R. C.]
[25][It must strike the reader at a first glance that all three expressions, wilderness, Woman, Beast (Rev 17:3), are without the article, which would be naturally expected here as expressions known from their previous occurrence. But the omission of the article has its good reason. The three expressions are identical and yet in a sense not identical with the former; the heathen world, the Church, and the world-power, have undergone, as we shall see subsequently, great changes, so much so, that John can scarcely recognize them, and sees a beast, a woman, and a wilderness. Auberlen.E. R. C.]
[26][Auberlen precedes the statements of which this section is an abstract, with a rsum of New Testament prophecy concerning the corruption of the Church. He writes: Our Lord Himself has given no obscure intimations in the parables which refer to the history of the Church (Matthew 13), that when once the gospel, according to its destination, shall have the whole world for its field, the Church would not be pure, but mixed, consisting of good and evil. The 24 ch. of Matthew, Christs eschatological words, in which He views simultaneously the destruction of Israel and His Parousia, and hence judgment upon Israel and Christendom,is based upon the fundamental view that the New Testament Church will become as much a wicked and adulterous generation as the Old Testament congregation; and the Lord dwells upon some symptoms and characteristics of this adultery, as distrust and suspicion, hatred, treachery (Rev 17:10-12), division into parties (2326), false doctrine (24). In the light of this chapter the Apostles looked into the future of the Church, see 1Ti 4:1 sqq; 2Ti 3:1 sqq.; Rev 4:3-4; 2Pe 2:1-3; 2Pe 3:3; 1Jn 2:18. Comp. also Luk 18:8.E. R. C.]
[27][Auberlen quotes as follows from John Michael Hahn (Briefe u. Lieder ber die Offenbarung, vol. v., sect. 6): The Harlot is not the city of Rome alone, neither is it only the Roman Catholic Church, to the exclusion of another, but all Churches and every Church, ours included, viz.: all Christendom that is without the Spirit and life of our Lord Jesus, which calls itself Christian, and has neither Christs mind nor Spirit. It is called Babylon, that is, confusion, for false Christendom, divided into very many churches and sects, is truly and strictly a confuser. However, in all churches, parties and sects of Christendom, the true Jesus-congregation, the Woman clothed with the sun, lives and is hidden. Corrupt, lifeless Christendom is the Harlot, whose great aim and rule of life is the pleasure of the flesh, the welfare of the beast-like, sensual humanity, who is open to the influence of all false spirits and teachers, and is governed by the spirit of nature and the world.E. R. C.]
[28][Is this circumstance intended as an indication that the ten kingdoms into which the Germanic-Sclavonic world is to be divided, will lose their monarchical form in the end? The expression (Rev 17:2), receive power as kings, speaking of the power which they are to receive along with the Beast in the last time ( ), seems to be in favor of such a supposition. Auberlen.E. R. C.]
[29][In a preceding paragraph, Auberlen speaks of the session of the Woman upon the Beast as symbolizing her adultery (see above), but here as indicating the final apostasy. Although the former of these is the beginning of, and results in the latter, yet are they distinct as bud and fruit. Is it not more correct to say that the session indicates the completed and public alliance of the Church with the world, or world-power!E. R. C.]
[30][For the view of Auberlen, see foot-note (*), p. 311.E. R. C.]
[31][See Text. and Gram., Note 3.E. R. C.]
[32][For the view of Auberlen, see p. 311.E. R. C.]
[33][The parallel passage in Rev 19:18, seems to indicate that the attack upon the Lamb and His followers shall be personal and direct.E. R. C.]
[34][Nach ihrem zeitlich ausgeprgten Charakter. The idea of the German is not that of an outward character, or form, imposed by the external application of a stamp, but one produced by internal out-pressingby development.E. R. C.]
[35][Elliott also contends that the destruction effected by the horns cannot be the final destruction set forth in Rev 18:8, since the kings of the earth (the horns) are, Rev 19:9, spoken of as mourning over the burning. He therefore refers the spoiling here mentioned to the destruction of Rome by the Gothic Kings in the Fifth and Sixth centuries (see p. 309). It must be admitted that he brings a weighty consideration in support of his opinion, one that may not be carelessly dismissed. It may be negatived by the fact, however, that men in their wrath often accomplish that over which they mourn in the subsequent hours of reflection. The Roman army destroyed the Temple at the capture of Jerusalem, and this fulfilled the purposes of Jehovah (Josephus speaks of the soldier who applied the torch as being hurried by a certain Divine fury), and yet that destruction was mourned over by Titus and the army as a calamity.E. R. C.]
[36][The study of this chapter has induced the questions: Is not the range of the seven heads, given on p. 272, too narrow? May not the reference be to the world-powers of the seven great epochs of the Churchs history? These are, I. The Antediluvian, ending with the apostasy set forth Gen 6:2; Gen 6:12, and the Deluge. II. The Noachic, terminating in the spiritual adultery alluded to Jos 24:2, and followed by the call of Abraham. III. The Patriarchal, terminating in the idolatry of Israel in Egypt and the Egyptian oppression; (although not directly stated, it is probable that the spiritual adulteries in Egypt, mentioned Jos 24:14; Eze 20:8; Eze 23:3; Eze 23:8, occurred in the days of Israels prosperity, Exo 1:7, before her oppression by the Egyptians commenced). IV. The Mosaic, ending in the idolatry mentioned, 1Sa 2:3, and the overthrow and subjection of Israel preceding the day of Mizpeh, 1Sa 4:10-11; 1Sa 7:3-14. V. The Samuelic or Kingly, terminating in the adultery that was followed by the Babylonish captivity. VI. The Restoration, terminating in the alliance between the High Priest and Herod on the one hand and Pilate on the other, and the destruction of Jerusalem. VII. The existing epoch. At the close of each of the first six of these epochs there was on the part of the visible Church an apostasy from God and a completed alliance with the world, followed by a destruction more or less complete of the extant form of the Church and the bringing forth from the corrupt mass of a new life-germ. The prophecy under consideration foretells a similar adulterous alliance, a similar destruction of the visible body, and a similar eduction of the vital germ of a new organism, Rev 18:4.E. R. C.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
SPECIAL DOCTRINO-ETHICAL AND HOMILETICAL NOTES (ADDENDUM)
Section Fourteenth
First Special End-Judgment: The Judgment upon Babylon, as a Heaven-picture. (Ch. 17)
General.Babylon, in the wider sense of the term, is the entire anti-Godly world, conceived of in its concentration; Babylon, in the narrower sense of the term, is the secularized, ungodly and anti-Godly, external Church; a birth-place of Antichristianity, in which the Antichristian essence often appears very undisguisedly, though the Beast, Antichrist himself, does not manifest himself therein. Here, the reference is to Babylon in the narrower sense, and primarily in respect of the heavenly appearance of her judgment.
According to this Heaven-picture of the judgment, the horrible appearance of the Woman is itself the judgment. Conformably to her general appearance, she is the great Harlot (Rev 17:1-2), i. e. the object and subject of idolatry, the patroness of, and seducer to, apostasy from the living God. Her appearance is presented in abominable contradictions: 1. A Woman in the wilderness of a seemingly holy renunciation of the world and asceticism, and yet riding, like an Amazon, upon a royally decorated Beast, a many-headed monster, marked with names of blasphemy. 2. The Woman in magnificent princely attire, with the golden cup in her handand yet in, and together with, the cup, abominations and uncleannesses of idolatry, and even bearing on her forehead, for all who are acquainted with spiritual characters, the following title: Babylon the Great, the mother of the fornications and abominations of the earth. 3. The Woman, claiming the purest womanliness, in the religious sense of the term (see Revelation 12), drunkenwith the blood of the saints; with the blood, even, of the martyrs of Jesusof Jesus, Whose mother, sister, bride, she would fain be called.
The Beast on which she rides has also great contradictions attaching to it. 1. It was and is not. The ungodly world-power was and is notis in principle annihilated by Christianity. 2. It is not, and it will ascend out of the abyss, to a new development of ungodly worldly glory in face of Christianity. 3. It will ascend, to the end that it may go down into perdition. 4. It is the hardest riddle to all the pious, the admiration of all the earthly-minded. 5. Its seven heads are seven mountains, which, however, are in reality identical with many ebbing and flowing waters. 6. It goes to destruction in the consecrated septenary of its kings, only to revive again in the profane decenary of kings. 7. It has long borne the Woman on its colossal body, and will at last destroy her with its ten horns. 8. The monstrous dividedness of the Beast is transformed into perfect unitedness in the warfare against the Harlot. 9. The Woman goes to destruction through the contradiction of her similarity to the Lamb and her affinity to the Beast.
Special.[Rev 17:1.] Come, I will show thee the judgment of the great Harlot. Her appearance itself, therefore, is, primarily, her judgment. We are not to shun speaking of this judgment; but we must not interpret it rudely, in a manner offensive to the legal system of faith and worship. We have, therefore, to distinguish (1) between the Woman and the Beast which bears her; (2) between the symbolic form of the Woman, which embraces a symbolic Babylon, and her historic and most prominent organs and central points; (3) at the same time we are to recognize the fact that the corruption of the Church converges, more or less, to historic nodes, and is therein consummated. Babylon is everywhere in the Church, and yet is nowhere perfectly palpable; it, however, has its historic zenith-points. (Who, for instance, could refuse to reckon consummate Byzantinism, Mormonism and other sects based upon a pretension to inspiration, as forming portions of Babylon?)As many Antichrists appear in the fore-ground of Antichristianity (1Jn 2:18), so in the foreground of the consummate Babylon of the last time there are many Babylons, especially predominantly spiritual and predominantly secular figures of Babylon.A leading mark of Babylon is the universal ruinous effect which proceeds from the very city which pretends to be and once was a teacher and educator of the nations; this effect is two-fold and in many respects antithetic: the seduction of kings to fanatical worldliness, and of nations to fanatical mock-holiness.[Rev 17:2.] With whom the kings of the earth committed fornication. An old and yet in many respects new story. History points to a whole series of dynasties which have been ruined by fanaticism, or have at least been brought to the very verge of ruin.History tells us of nations that have been made drunk, and that have, more or less, sunk into national ruin. Fallen or sunken Christian kingdoms in the East and West.[Rev 17:3-4.] The similarity and the difference between the picture of Revelation 12 and that of the present chapter: 1. Between the phases of the Woman; 2. Between the phases of the wilderness; 3. Between the relative positions of the Woman and the Beast.Contrast between the wilderness abode of the Woman and her luxury.Contrast between her perilous equestrian seat, figuring a taming of the Beast, and her festal attire. (There is also a distinction between warbootsEph 6:15and slippers.)Contrast between the golden cup and the abominations contained in it.[Rev 17:5.] The name on the foreheadmanifest and yet a mystery.The old antithesis: Babylon and Zion.[Rev 17:6.] Amazement of John (see Exeg. Notes).Horror of the holy mind at a caricature of the holy.Strange manifestation of unnaturalness in the corruptions of the Church.
Rev 17:8. How the earthly-minded are, by the terrible aspect of the Beast, kept in a state of dependence upon the Woman, as long as the latter sits upon the Beast.
Rev 17:9. Hither an understanding that hath wisdom. Profane learning can only misinterpret this enigmatical phenomenon.The world-monarchies, see Exeg. Notes.Waverings of unredeemed humanity between the false unity of the world-monarchy and a dissipation into heathenism, barbarism, savageness.Continuance of this wavering in the antithesis of the Hierarchy and separatism, absolutism and radicalism.[Rev 17:12 ] The ten horns: Or the fall of religious absolutism is followed by the rule of an irreligious radicalism.[Rev 17:13.] Demonic union of the ten horns. The principle of this union is to be found in their hatred of the Lamb, whose shadow they still persecute in the Woman.
Rev 17:14. The Lamb shall conquer them. Find the agreement between this and Rev 13:7. Of a conquest through [seeming] defeat, and a defeat through [seeming] conquest. What contrasts between the inner and the outer world, between the passing moment and the future, between seeming and being, are contained in the preceding paragraph.The Beast as the conqueror of the Harlot, conquered by the Lamb.Comp. the Old Testament prophecies against Babylon, especially Jeremiah 51.Fearful mission of the ten kings (Rev 17:17).[Rev 17:16.] Threefold judgment upon the Woman.[Rev 17:12.] The Antichristian power lasts but one hour, i. e., a short time; but it is an hour in the theocratico-religious sense, a sore and painful hour of temptation [trial]. The union of the wicked occurs only in special moments of judgment and never, through an abolition of their inner egoistical division, attains to the oneness of the saints.
Rev 17:18. in relation to Rev 17:7. In Heaven, the unnatural appearance of the Woman is itself, already, the judgment of the great Harlot.
Starke: Application of the judgment upon Babylon to the idolatrous Church of the Papacy. Reasons for this application: the great magnificence and ostentation of this Church in the external worship of God; the blandishments and flatteries which it employs to draw people to itself, etc. Fornication is interpreted as spiritual adultery, apostasy from Christ, the Husband of the Church. It is easy to learn who this Harlot is, from the description of her, and from her antithesis, the Bride of the Lamb. Her equestrian posture indicates that she derives her might and authority from the Beast and that she rules over it;that she has arbitrarily subjected the Roman Empire to herself, has placed herself above emperors and kings, and has instated and deposed them. The crimson and bloody hue [of the Beast] is indicative of the bloodthirstiness excited in it by the persuasions of the Harlot.[Rev 17:4.] Arrayed in purple and scarlet: purple, to indicate her usurped royal exaltation and pre-eminence above all potentates; and scarlet, to indicate her thirst for the blood of the saints. The true Church is resplendent only in the robe of Christ. There is nothing so abominable and unclean that it cannot be disguised and decorated with a tinsel of this world.
Rev 17:5. The whole essence of false religion is a mystery, but a mystery of iniquity and all godlessness (2Th 2:7). As the mystery of Christ passes all understanding and incites to godliness, so the mystery of iniquity is conceived by pure serpent-cunning and contains nothing but deception; note, e.g., the miraculous power resident, as the Church of Rome pretends, in certain pictures and images, etc.[Rev 17:6.] A leading mark of the false Church: pagan Rome, in the three centuries [of her existence subsequent to the Christian era], shed less blood, by far, than so-called Christian Rome. (Starke adduces the example of France, in particular.)
Rev 17:8. And yet is: This is not to be understood as referring to Antiochus himself or to such Antichristian regents as stood in the fiercest spirit of Antiochus (Hoffmanns view?).
Rev 17:9. Understanding and wisdom are two different things. There may be understanding without wisdom, but there can be no wisdom without understanding.(Starke mentions the seven mountains of Rome; he remarks, however, that the Apocalyptic seven mountains have also been interpreted as seven famous Popes.)
Rev 17:12. Marginal gloss, (Luther): These are the other kings,for instance, of Hungary, Bohemia, Poland, France (!).Quesnel: The Lamb suffers and succumbs in His members, and the members, whilst they are oppressed, conquer in the Lamb (Rom 8:37).
Rev 17:16. This verse is entirely subversive of the opinion that the Beast denotes the Pope.Great cities, great sins; and by the example of such cities, whole countries are seduced (Jer 23:15).
Auberlen (p. 317 [Eng. Trans.]): The fact that the Harlot is judged first, is not only in harmony with the general principle, that judgment must begin at the house of God (Jer 25:29; Eze 9:6; 1Pe 4:17), but a restoration of actual truth is also designed. The object which, in effect, alone continues to existis recognized as existingat the time indicated [the time of the judgment of the Harlot], is the world; for even the Church now courts only its favor, even for the Church it is the only reality. Against such a Church, the world must carry the day; and therefore the Harlot is not judged by the Lord Himself, but by the Beast and its kings.
Graeber: [Rev 17:5.] A mother of harlots is one who brings up others to harlotry.
Rev 17:6. It must needs be a subject of highest amazement that Christians, or those who pretend to be Christians, can reach such a pass.[Rev 17:16.] The Catholic States will in great part themselves accomplish the work of the destruction of the papacy.
Laemmert (Das Thier und der falsche Prophet, p. 36): The origin of Babel [Babylon] is related, Genesis 11. (comp. with Rev 10:8-11). This [Genesis 11.] is the same chapter which, in its second part, gives the genealogy of the chosen Shemite, Abraham, and closes by describing the exode of Terah and his family from Chaldea and their entrance into Canaan. Here, therefore, we already have the foundation and beginnings of that grand dualism which runs through the whole of the Sacred Writings and the entire history of mankind down to the consummation. The founder of Babel was a grandson of him who scoffed at his father, and his name was Nimrod, i. e., rebel. Human arrogance built the city and the tower, to make itself a namenot to the honor of Gods name; of its own strength and willnot at the behest of God. The inner motives were thoughts of arrogance, of the deification of man and of self.
Chantepie de la Saussaye, De Toekomst, p. 117. Man kann zeggen, dat de grand der tegenstelling der beide rijken reeds ligt in de paradijs-belofte. Doch wat daar nog slechts in het allgemeen gen?md wordt het zaad der slang, etc., verkrijgt immer meer kleur en gestalte.
[From The Comprehensive Commentary.The Lord takes pleasure in satisfying His people concerning the reason and equity of His judgments on His enemies; that they may not be intimidated by the severity of them, or fail to adore and praise Him on that account.Great prosperity, pomp and splendor, commonly feed the pride and lusts of the human heart; yet they form no security against Divine vengeance.Those who allure or tempt others to sin, must expect more aggravated punishment, in proportion to the degree of the mischief done by them. (Scott.)]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
Under the Representation of a Woman, arrayed in purple and scarlet is shown unto John, the Whore of Babylon. Her Character given. The Victory of the Lamb. The Whore’s Punishment.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
(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: (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.
We cannot well be at a loss to discover, who is here meant, if we call to remembrance, that in scripture language, Persons are spoken of by figures, and places by waters. That this woman is a city, the last verse of this Chapter, in so many words plainly saith, the woman which thou sawest, is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. And what great city but Rome, which had so many provinces under her, and in a religious sense, (that is, I mean a mere nominal religion,) how many kings and nations have owned the Pope’s supremacy. So that nothing can be more clearly defined. Add to these, it is a very usual thing, to call states and empires harlots and whores, when becoming profane and ungodly. Thus the Lord complained of Israel, How is the faithful city become an harlot. Isa 1:21 . Waters and rivers are terms used in scripture for states and people; yea, in this very Chapter, the term is explained. And he saith unto me, the waters which thou sawest where the whore sitteth, are people, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues, verse 15. Hence, therefore, here are explanations given, as plain as words can make them, in proof that this great whore, is great city, that hath rule over the kings of the earth, and the many waters she sitteth upon, expresseth her power and authority. So, that Papal Rome and none else, can be meant. This is a great point in discovery.
The next account is, that she is said to commit fornication with the kings of the earth, and the inhabitants of the earth, and to have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. Now when we consider, how many nations profess popery, surely we discover the awful proof of her fornications. And when we call to mind, the blood of the martyrs she has shed, we may well call her thirst after blood drunkenness. We shall see by and by as we prosecute the Chapter, the number of those kings, that are tributes to the whore. But this in due time.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Rev 17:6
Mercy and love are sins in Rome and hell.
Beaumont and Fletcher, ‘Bonduca,’ Act iv. Scene 4.
The Lamb’s War with the Beast
Rev 17:14
It is strange that the most mysterious book of the Bible should be especially singled out as the Revelation. Yet though no book is less patient of a detailed and pedantic exposition, none is more full of the triumph and the tears of God’s Word, none is richer in lessons to guide us in the stern and fluctuating conflict of our Lord with Satan. There is a roll of martyrs in the Christian Church, and over against it a roll of apostates. There are stories of great stones rolled to the door of sepulchres and removed by angel hands, of life and victory, but also of failure and disappointment and every form of death. The battle is often pictured here as a war between the Lamb and the beast The beast may be taken to denote the rebellion of the animal, the untamed, the sensual, the violent element, blatant and blasphemous.
I. A powerful and painful little book, lately published, under the title, From the Abyss, sketches a typical working man, John Smith by name. The writer foresees a not distant day when by the help of the policeman and the Peabody buildings the ape and tiger instincts will be eliminated in man. He thinks that lives now insurgent and unconfined will become confined and acquiescent, that the block-dweller of the future will pass from the great deep to the great deep, vacant, cheerful, undisturbed by envy, aspiration, or desire. John Smith represents half a million people. He lives in a four-roomed cottage at Camberwell, with a wife and five children, and a lodger. Six days of the week he goes early to his work at bricklaying; he returns at night to his pipe and supper, and, perhaps, goes round to the public-house to hear the news. On Sunday he sleeps late, but he has Sunday dinner, a stroll in Peckham Rye, and he closes his day with his companions at the ‘Blue Dragon’. So long as work is good, and pay regular, he does not lift his voice in complaint. Intellectual interests he has none. He will not listen to lectures. He will read a newspaper, but the news does not stir him. He cannot be galvanised into utterance. He drifts to his work daily, dumbly contented if work is easy and lucrative, dumbly resentful if it is not, but dumb always. To the Churches he is practically invulnerable. He has no quarrel with religion, but what faith he has is merely in a Deity of universal tolerance. He is commonplace, respectable, and fairly virtuous. Yet he is an immortal spirit journeying between two eternities through a world of tragical meaning, to the significance of which he seems destined to be blind. There are, we are told, in this vast city hundreds of thousands of such, and the trouble about them is not that they are unhappy, but that being what they are they should be so happy. Against this apparent death of the spiritual needs and cravings, against this life under the low sky, against this apparent numbness of heart and conscience, the Lamb wages His war.
II. ‘These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them.’ This is our task the awakening of the soul. How shall we do it? How shall we stir that heavy sleeper? How shall we rouse it into the tumult of yearnings and aspirings? How shall we break the force of the opiates that have drugged it till it seems dead, till the sole object in life seems to be to eat well, to drink well, to sleep well, to work as little as possible, and to keep out of the way of trouble? This is a harder task than to meet the soul awake and aware, clamorous, craving, exacting, rebellious, wild for home. Well, we will labour with all our might to destroy the social conditions that make a decent life impossible. Is it true that in many cases here in London there is a strength of circumstance that even the Gospel cannot quell and dominate, cesspools in which they who live must sin and perish? Is it true that there are thousands of children defrauded of their childhood, born to an inheritance of vice and wretchedness, damned from the beginning? We must change that at any cost, and that Church has strayed from the Master which is not in earnest sympathy and in mutual sacrifice with those inspired by a passion of pity to take away what Emerson calls this accursed mountain of sorrow. But as Christians we go very much further. Our problem is not solved when every dweller in London has four rooms. The problem of John Smith would still remain to us. It would not be solved even if we could transfer the East End to the West End, or even if we could mingle and equalise the privileges and opportunities of the two. The deliverance from materialism is not to be achieved in this manner, and it is the deliverance from materialism that we supremely care for. I come back to the point that we must awaken the soul. The Lamb sees the soul, and because He sees we should see also. There is an old legend which perhaps you remember. The Saviour and His disciples were walking along the way when they came upon a dead dog. The disciples did not conceal their disgust; the Saviour said, ‘How white its teeth are!’ And He always finds in the most degraded that touch of hallowing beauty, that germ of spirit and life, through which His redemption may come.
III. ‘The Lamb shall overcome them.’ What ideas are associated with the Lamb? How does He awaken, how does He cast out devils, how does He raise the dead? For answer, we read of His knowledge, His love, His power, His sacrifice. In the soldiers of the Lamb these in measure must be reproduced.
Mark Rutherford tells us of a friend who longed to try for himself a mission in one of the slums about Drury Lane. ‘I sympathised with him, but I asked him what he had to say. I remember telling him that I had been into St Paul’s Cathedral, and that I pictured the Cathedral full and myself in the pulpit, and I was excited when imagining the opportunity offered me to deliver some message to three thousand or four thousand persons in such a building. But in a minute or two I discovered that my sermon would be very nearly as follows: ‘Dear friends, I know no more than you. I think we had better go home.”‘ But because the Lamb has prevailed to open the book and to loose the seals thereof, we may speak without faltering, without fear, with the ring of certainty.
The Lamb is another name for love. In that Lamb love was shown stripped of the veils that hide. The love of the Lamb is the spring of our love, the love of Christ which no sin can weary, and no lapse of time can change, all-redeeming, all-glorifying, changing even death and despair to the gates of heaven. That love may win fresh triumphs in the wilderness through our love.
W. Robertson Nicoll, The Lamp of Sacrifice, p. 134.
Reference. XVII. 14. C. Bradley, The Christian Life, p. 347.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
XV
THE WAR OF HAR-MAGEDON
Rev 16:14-21
Ordinarily it would be out of proportion to devote a whole chapter to a few verses, but occasionally we find a single paragraph so pregnant with meaning that it cannot be unfolded in a few words. Particularly is there a call for careful and extended treatment when the imagery of the paragraph makes such an appeal to the imagination that the ignorant and unwary, without helm, chart, or compass, drift away into seas of fanciful interpretation, losing all practical benefit in the sonorous roll of words, or in the highly wrought figures of speech. Many a preacher, beguiled by the sound of words, has made shipwreck of a sermon and bewildered his congregation by attempting to expound, without understanding them, texts like these: “Garments rolled in blood,” “Blood up to the bridles of the horses,” “War of the great day of the Almighty God at Har-Magedon,” “Multitudes, multitudes in the Valley of Decision,” and certain people like to hear sermons on these blood and thunder texts. I am quite sure that none of Creasy’s Decisive Battles of the World, nor all of them put together, have taken such a hold upon the imagination of the people as the battle at Har-Magedon. Even Theodore Roosevelt, in a presidential campaign, insisted that he was fighting the battle of Har-Magedon.
2. My second observation is that, whatever the passage means, the context limits the application to the final struggle between the true church and the counterfeit church. It has no other application.
3. Whatever the passage means, it must precede the millennium, and prepare the way for it, and consequently it has no reference to Satan’s last struggle for supremacy as set forth after the millennium in Rev 20:7-10 . Nor is it a reference to the great judgment day described in Rev 20:11-15 .
4. Particularly I would have you know that this gathering of the nations together in the war of the great day of God the Almighty, at the place called Har-Magedon, results, as expressly stated, from the three unclean spirits that went forth out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. It is a gathering under their influence; another gathering under some other influence is not to be considered.
5. You must know, if there be any truth in the interpretation given in a preceding chapter, that the general purpose of sending forth of these three unclean spirits was to rally and solidify the Romanist hosts after they were shattered by the outbreak of the Reformation, and to establish a bar to the further progress of that Reformation, and to supply means of war with which to regain for Rome absolute supremacy over all states and all religions. That was the purpose. It is not, indeed, the last battle between Satan’s kingdom and the kingdom of our Lord, as we shall see later, but it is the last war between the true church and the counterfeit church. So stated and limited, it is a fight to the finish. And when this war is over, never more will the woman in purple and scarlet reappear in the history of mankind. Satan will come again in two more wars, but that harlot, drunk with the blood of the saints, will disappear forever.
6. The next observation is that while the imagery of war supplies the symbols, we must be careful not to interpret the symbol literally. It is a spiritual conflict, figuratively set forth in the terms of war and blood, as when Paul uses the terms of the Isthmian games and conflicts in the arenas of the Greek and Roman amphitheaters to set forth spiritual conflicts. No sane expositor would interpret Paul’s language literally.
The interpretation of the preceding chapters give us the wilderness period of the church, from A.D. 250-1510, and that the outbreak of the Reformation commencing early in the sixteenth century gave a severe and lasting shock to the papal hierarchy. And the sending out of these three unclean spirits now is to recover from that shock of the Reformation. If the nations are to be gathered together for that purpose, and if you lose sight of the end in view, you fail to interpret the three unclean spirits. We found in that chapter that three expedients were adopted by the Romanists to rally and solidify their own people, to bar the further progress of the Reformation and to re-establish their former claims to absolute supremacy over civil governments and all religions, and when we look in history to find some fulfilment of the work done by these unclean spirits, we find just three things; I confess I am able to find no other things as the result of their work.
First, the declaration of the Council of Trent, with its attendant profession of faith drawn up by the Pope, and its catechism on the doctrines, drawn up under his direction. That is the first thing they did to bar the further progress of Protestantism that broke out earlier in the century. Now in 1563 the first unclean spirit, the first frog, brought out his work.
Second, the dogmatic decrees of the Vatican Council, held in A.D. 1870, setting forth the infallibility of the Pope.
Third, the ex-cathedra utterances of the so-called infallible Pope, particularly in the various utterances concerning the virgin Mary, who is declared to be free from the taint of original sin, and second, from actual sin; third, her assumption in heaven; and fourth, her being made the Queen of Heaven. As the Pope expressed in one of his encyclical letters: “Mary is the fountain of all grace, and the only hope of salvation.”
Fourth, another one of these documents, issued by the Pope in 1863, entitled the “Syllabus of Errors,” that which he called errors in the teaching of science) errors in statesmanship, errors in doctrines, enumerating them and denouncing them with anathemas. Then, again in 1885, he sent out another encylical letter concerning the Christian constitution of states, making all states and all governments subordinate to the Pope. Then another encyclical letter in 1888, in which he expressly condemns what he calls “modern Liberties”: liberty of worshiping according to the dictates of the conscience, liberty of speech, liberty of the press, the liberty of teaching by the states for instance, having a free school system the liberty of conscience that your conscience must be put under the guidance of the Pope and the confessors. These are the distinguishing characteristics of modern Romanism, commencing in that Council of Trent held in 1563 and culminating in 1888, I say, that make modern Romanism, to wit: Papal infallibility, Mariolatry, supremacy over nations.
Fifth, the worship of Mary, making her, instead of the Holy Spirit, the mediator between the sinner and the Saviour. They have drawn pictures of Christ in the background, angry, with Mary standing between him and the sinner, and softening his wrath toward the sinner. I repeat: The decrees of the Council of Trent, the dogmatic decrees of the Vatican Council, and the various papal encyclical letters whose authority rests on his own declared infallibility, these did rally the Roman forces; they did bar, in certain states, the progress of the Reformation; they did make the battle line upon which Rome seeks to regain absolute supremacy over all states, religions, and all consciences.
We have seen in a previous chapter that for quite a while the Inquisition, established long before this time, was a mighty factor in enforcing these decisions. And we have found that the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits, was the next mightiest factor in the propagandism of this new declineation of doctrines. Now, I say that the object of all these expedients was to gather the nations in hostile array against what has been set forth as the true church and the pure gospel, and the result is a conflict, not a single battle, but a war. The Greek word is not “battle,” but is “war,” called here the war of the great day of God the Almighty, at the place called in Hebrew Har-Magedon.
The interposition of God is said here in our lesson to be a coming of the Lord: “Behold, I come as a thief in the night” (Rev 16:15 ). It is not his final advent, but it is his coming in judgment upon this counterfeit church. Now, your lesson shows that the expression of his judgment in this outpouring of this seventh bowl of wrath, and the symbols which set forth the decree of the wrath are various: Lightnings, voices, and thunders, a great earthquake such as was not since there were men upon the earth; a great hail, every hailstone weighing about a talent (a hundred pounds). Maybe some of you think that is too big for a hailstone, but I will tell you that hailstones have fallen as big as a small house) weighing many tons. Hailstones fell near Lisbon, one of which would sink a ship in the harbor. So you need not get scared at a hundred pound hailstone.
Now, the results of the wrath are said to be:
First, the utter overthrow of the mystic city of Babylon the Great. When the Reformation broke out it received a shock, that was the earthquake, and a tenth part of the city was destroyed. But here ah the parts fell away from each other; that is total destruction.
Second, the downfall of the cities of the states of the supporting nations.
Third, the falling away of every island and mountain stronghold.
I am just giving you the symbols here. The completeness of the overthrow is expressed in a voice from the throne: “It is done.” “He said: Let there be light, and there was light.” Or they recall the words of Christ on the cross: “It is finished”; the expiation is finished; nothing more to be done to it throughout eternity. So, when this last bowl of wrath is poured out on this mystic city of Babylon, it is done; that lightning never has to strike again. Our paragraph puts into compact sentence the downfall of the mystic city of Babylon, but both of the following Revelation 17-18, are employed to identify this great city, what it is, and then to give the detail of its destruction. We may look to the exposition of these chapters for many things omitted here, and content ourselves for the present with this observation:
First, the lightning, the thunders, the earthquake, the hail, are all natural phenomena used figuratively to express the overpowering spiritual forces.
Second, the weapons of warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of the strongholds.
Third, the blood and carnage are symbols of spiritual results; it is a war of light against darkness, of truth against error, of a pure gospel against a false gospel.
Fourth, the inner meaning of the whole paragraph is that no millennial triumph can ever come to this earth until that great apostasy, in its persecuting union of church and state, in its persecuting idolatrous hierarchy) in its blasphemous assumption, has passed away.
The confusion among the commentators in their interpretation of the war of the great day of God the Almighty, arises largely from a disregard of the context. Our interpretation puts into one section everything from Rev 12:1-19:10 , and the theme of that entire section is the conflict between the true church of our Lord, regarded as an institution, and Satan’s counterfeit church, regarded as an institution. This conflict does not last until the end of the world, but its culmination does prepare the way for the introduction of the millennium. The wrath of God poured out on the apostate church, while complete in itself, is not the wrath which falls on Satan and his followers after the millennium (Rev 20:7-10 ), nor is it the final wrath of the general judgment (Rev 20:11-15 ).
In general terms this book discusses four wars conducted by Satan against the kingdom of God. First, he uses the pagan Roman Empire by its persecutions to drive the true church into the wilderness, culminating about A.D. 250; and he was defeated because, as you will recall, the pagan Roman Empire like a burning volcano was turned over into the sea. His second war was from the same center, the city of Rome. He constructs a so-called Holy Roman Empire, a politicoreligious persecuting empire, with a Pope instead of a Caesar as the head, and with the woman in purple and scarlet as the counterfeit church.
Now, we followed that war in the first campaign, up to the Reformation in the beginning of the sixteenth century, and the second campaign commences with our lesson here with the sending forth of the three unclean spirits to break the force of the Reformation and to gather together the nations against the true church. By looking into history as I have told you, we are unable to find but three expedients that those three unclean spirits or demons could have devised for that purpose. These three I have described to you as the so-called ecumenical Council of Trent, the dogmatic decrees of the so-called ecumenical Vatican Council, and the several papal utterances whose authority rested on the claimed papal infallibility. These are the three things in history that constitute modern Romanism; nothing else in history can be found to fulfil Rev 16:13-14 about the three unclean spirits going forth.
What, then, is the war of the great day of God the Almighty culminating at “the place called in Hebrew Har-Magedon”? Laying aside all figures of speech, it is the war against the declarations of the Council of Trent, against the dogmatic decrees of the Vatican Council, against the various papal utterances embodied in various encyclial letters, and in the Syllabus of Errors.
In Schaff’s “Creeds of Christendom,” partly in Vol. I, but mainly in Vol. II, you may find both the history, the exposition, and the text of all these documents, and they do define modern Romanism. They draw the line of cleavage, and statesmen of Europe and America recognize them today &a the hardest problems of statecraft. Bismarck found it so; Gladstone found it so, and wrote one of the most remarkable books of the age, to wit: “Vaticanism.” Our presidents find it so, and in my opinion our last two presidents tripped right on that point, as I think I could prove. These United States, with all their territorial possessions, are today at the place “called in Hebrew Har-Magedon.”
The war is now on, in the press, in the schools, in the municipal, county, state, and national elections, in the pulpits, in the Congress and before the courts. There can be, I repeat, no millennium until the war, on these definite lines drawn by Romanism, is fought to a finish. The preacher, the politician, the statesman, who has not these books that I have named should sell his coat, if need be, and buy them, and when he has bought them should study them profoundly, should study Vol. I of Schaff’s “Creeds of Christendom” from page 83-191, and Vol. II from page 96-271, and then from page 555-602. It would take up twenty chapters to go over and give you the details of it, and you will never understand HarMagedon, you will not even know the nature of the war, you will not know the chief obstruction in the way of the coming of the millennium, unless you study them.
The issue of that war closes up the second war of Satan. I told you that our book treated of four wars; that is the close of the second war. The third one will be found to commence with Rev 19:11 , and going on through that chapter. And in that war there will be fulfilled the remarkable prophecy of Isa 63:1-6 ; Ezekiel 36-37; Dan 11:45-12:1 ; Joe 3:1-21 ; Zec 12:1-13:1 ; Rom 11:11-31 . And we must have a chapter on that because in it is involved the conversation of the whole Jewish nation in one day, which must come before the millennium.
Now, the fourth and last war of Satan in this book is the one described in Rev 20:7-10 . Will you keep those wars distinct in your mind? First, the war using pagan Rome as a persecutor; second, the war using papal Rome as a persecutor; third, the war culminating in the salvation of the Jews; fourth, the war after the millennium. They are all in this book.
As the whole of the following chapter simply identifies and defines the scarlet woman, and the next chapter gives the details of the downfall, I will put the questions:
1. Who is the woman in purple and scarlet riding upon the beast in this chapter? That is the Roman hierarchy, the counterfeit church as an institution.
2. What is meant by the many waters upon which she sits? The last of the chapter tells you that the waters mean many nations, tongues, kindred, and people.
3. What is the meaning of this woman being found in the wilderness? We found that radiant woman in the wilderness several chapters back, and this woman was not in the wilderness. It is the scarlet woman that is in the wilderness now. That means that her power is taken away, and she is ready to receive her doom.
4. What is meant by being full of the names of blasphemy? In a previous chapter I described them: It is blasphemy for a man to assume to be infallible; it is blasphemy for a man to claim to be the head of the church; it is blasphemy for a man to claim to be Christ’s vicar on earth; it is blasphemy to say that the prayers and manipulations of the officiating priest actually create God in changing the bread and wine into the real flesh and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ; it is blasphemy to worship the wafer as it is carried along in a procession, called the “Procession of the Host”; it is blasphemy to address a woman as the “fountain of all grace and the only hope of salvation,” and so I could go on for hours telling you the blasphemies.
5. What is meant by the cup of abomination, the unclean things of her fornication? I have told you that fornication, spiritual fornication or adultery, means idolatry. It was idolatry for the national Israel, claiming to be the wife of Jehovah, to worship idols. Now this woman mixes in her cup various abominations, and she makes the kings of the earth drink out of this cup.
6. What is the mystic name of this woman? “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and the abominations of the earth.” As there was a historic Babylon on the Euphrates, here this woman in the last verse of the chapter is expressly declared to be a city. There is a mystic Babylon, this woman in purple and scarlet, who is also a city.
7. What is meant by her being drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs? It means that from the constitution of that hierarchy to the present time she has used the thumbscrew, the rack, the dungeon, and the ax, and other forms of torture in putting to death the people who worship God according to the dictates of their consciences. The bloodiest pages in the annals of time record the martyrdoms done under the directions of this church. When on St. Bartholomew’s Eve, Admiral Coligny of France and so many thousands of other Huguenots were put to death in the city of Paris, as soon as the news got to Rome the bells of the Cathedral were set to ringing, and the whole city was full of the chimes because the streets of Paris were reeking with red blood of the martyrs. They sang a “Te Deum Laudamus” to celebrate this atrocious wholesale murder.
8. What is the beast upon which she sits? I told you that beast was the new government that Satan caused to rise up to take the place of Pagan Rome, the Holy Empire. That is the beast.
9. What is meant by saying that the beast had seven heads? The explanation is this, as you will see lower down, that five of these heads have fallen, one is, and another is to be, and the eighth will be of the seventh. Now, what are these seven heads? I have already given them to you, Egypt and Assyria, that had passed away before Daniel’s time, and then four, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. As he saw them, that makes six. Five of them had passed away, but in John’s time the sixth had not passed away. When it did soon pass away came the seventh, the union of church and state in the Holy Roman Empire, and the eighth was of the seventh, that was the papal head, which was part of the seventh.
10. What is meant by the ten horns? The chapter tells you that the ten horns are ten kingdoms that had not yet risen in John’s time. Pagan Rome was not yet disintegrated, but it will be disintegrated in a few centuries, and out of its ruins will come up the ten kingdoms. And these kingdoms for quite a while will support the woman in purple and scarlet and then these kingdoms will turn and rend the woman in purple and scarlet.
All the latter half of this chapter tells exactly what the first half means and in the next discussion we will take up the details of the fall of Babylon.
QUESTIONS
1. Why devote a chapter to the paragraph Rev 16:14-21
2. Does the paragraph describe a war or a battle?
3. What is the name of the war?
4. What was the cause of the war? (Read Rev 16:13-14 .)
5. What was the date and occasion of the beginning of the war?
6. What the expedients devised by the three unclean spirits to restore Romanist supremacy, and in what books do you find the history, exposition, and text of these documents, giving volume and pages?
7. What, then, is this war?
8. How do you account for the confusion of commentators in interpreting the paragraph?
9. What the symbolic name of the place of the conflict, and why that name chosen as a symbol?
10. Is it on in this country, and if so in what arenas?
12. What, then, the real place of conflict symbolized by Har-Magedon? Answer: Anywhere in the world where the battle rages.
13. Are the weapons carnal or spiritual?
14. Between what two institutions the war, and to what must the interpretation of the paragraph, whatever its meaning, be strictly limited?
15. How is the divine interposition represented, and does that refer to our Lord’s final advent? (See Rev 16:15 .)
16. What symbol represents the divine wrath?
17. What is meant by “the air” on which the wrath is poured? Answer: The air represents general public opinion and thought concerning the expedients devised by the unclean spirits, and implies that the judgment of the world condemns and rejects them.
18. What symbols express results of pouring out the bowl of wrath on the air? Answer: (1) Lightnings, voices and thunders; (2) a great earthquake such as the men of earth never saw before; (3) a great hail-storm.
19. What one symbol expresses the wrath on the mystic Babylon, or counterfeit church? Answer: “The cup of the wine of God’s wrath.”
20. In the first campaign of the war between the two ecclesiastical institutions, what the result of the earthquake to the counterfeit church occasioned by the Reformation, and the result of this earthquake? Answer: (For answer compare Rev 11:13 and Rev 14:13 , first clause Rev 14:20 .)
21. Concerning the hailstones, how much avoirdupois weight each hailstone?
22. What the largest hailstones known to history?
23. Where the true church when the counterfeit church commences the war on it, and where the counterfeit church at the close of the war, just before the final judgment falls? And what does this imply? (For answer consult Rev 12:6 and Rev 17:3 , which imply a complete reversal of public opinion concerning the two institutions.)
24. Describe the counterfeit church. Answer: A great harlot (Rev 17:1 and all of Rev 17:4-6 ).
25. What the meaning of the symbol “a harlot”? Answer: One claiming to be the spouse of the Lamb, who turns to the worship of idols.
26. What the meaning of “mother of harlots”? Answer: Her children also worship idols.
27. What the meaning of “abominations”? Answer: Another name for the perversions of the true worship of God.
28. What the meaning of the “golden cup in her hand”?
29. What the meaning of her gorgeous array in Rev 17:4 ? Answer: This implies the great wealth occurred from the world, by Peter’s pence, gifts of the states, bequests of the dying, sale of indulgences, charges exacted for services at birth, marriage, death, and purgatorial intercession, etc., and her pompous state and imposing ritual.
30. Relate a pertinent and illustrative incident. Answer: It is related that one of the popes, after exhibiting his treasures to a friend, remarked: “Great change this from Peter’s day, who said, ‘Silver and gold have I none’ “; to whom the friend replied: “We have the gold which Peter had not, but have we Peter’s power to make the lame walk?” (See Act 3:6-7 .)
31. What the meaning of “many waters” on which the harlot of Rev 17:1 , sitteth? (For answer see Rev 17:15 .)
32. What the meaning of the beast on which the woman rides in Rev 17:3 ? Answer: The governmental union of church and state, with the church on top.
33. Cite historical proof of the blasphemies of the names of which this beast (Rev 17:3 ) is full.
34. Explain the historical seven heads of the beast (Rev 17:3 ), why Daniel mentions only four, how five had fallen before John’s time, what the seventh and what the eighth, and how the eighth is one of the seventh.
35. Explain the first clause of Rev 17:8 . Answer: Pagan Rome, the sixth, was but will soon cease with its Caesar head, but will re-appear as the Holy Roman Empire with a Papal head, and it too will go into perdition.
36. Explain the “ten horns,” Rev 17:3 . (See Rev 17:12 .) Answer: These are the ten kingdoms formed out of the disintegrated elements of Pagan Rome, but all united in supporting the union of church and state.
37. How do you account for the change of attitude in these kingdoms toward the counterfeit church as set forth in Rev 17:3 ; Rev 17:13 ; Rev 17:16 ? Answer: Kings are willing to support the beast, i.e., the union of church and state with the king on top as head of church and state in his own realm, but will resist a Papal head of state and church in his realm.
38. What the mystic name of the harlot?
39. What the real meaning of the woman? (See Rev 17:18 .)
40. What classic authors refer to Rome as the “seven-hilled city”?
41. These historic seven hills on which Rome is built symbolize, according to the interpretation, seven world-empires: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Pagan Rome, Papal Rome. Why connect so far back in interpretation? Answer: Because all fought the kingdom of God and the underlying principles were the same in every case; because our lesson tells us that in John’s time five had fallen.
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
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:
Ver. 1. And there came ] This and the following chapters are set for the explanation of the dark and difficult passages in the former, in the three last vials especially.
One of the seven ] Probably the seventh.
And talked with me ] , familiarly as the Samaritess with her countrymen, Joh 4:42 , or as the master with his scholar.
I will show unto thee ] Thou shalt not only be an ear but an eye witness.
” Segnius irritant animos demissa per aures,
Quam quae sunt oculis commissa fidelibus.
Horat.
The judgment ] The damnation of her; the destruction is reserved to the next chapter.
Of the great whore ] The whore of Babylon, more infamous and notorious than any Thais, Lais, Phryne, Messalina, Orestilla ( cuius praeter formam nihil unquam bonus laudavit, Sallust), or Pope Joan, of whom Funccius the chronologer speaketh thus; Ego Funccius non dubito quin divinitus ita sit permissum ut femina fieret Pontifex eadem meretrix, &c.; I doubt not but that God therefore permitted a notorious harlot to be advanced to the popedom (and this about the very time when the popes were most busy in subjecting the kings of the earth, and making them their vassals), that he might point out to men this whore here mentioned, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
CH. Rev 17:1 to Rev 19:10 .] THE JUDGMENT OF BABYLON. And herein, Rev 17:1-6 .] The description of Babylon under the figure of a drunken harlot, riding on the beast . And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials (we are not told which of the seven, and it is idle to enquire. The seventh has been conjectured, because under the outpouring of his vial Babylon was remembered) and talked with me saying, Hither (see reff.), I will shew thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon [ the ] many waters, with whom the kings of the earth ( have ) committed fornication, and they who inhabit the earth have been made drunk from the wine ( , the wine having been the source of their drunkenness) of her fornication (the figure here used, of a harlot who has committed fornication with secular kings and peoples, is frequent in the prophets, and has one principal meaning and application, viz. to God’s church and people that had forsaken Him and attached herself to others. In eighteen places out of twenty-one where the figure occurs, such is its import; viz. in Isa 1:21 ; Jer 2:20 ; Jer 3:1 ; Jer 3:6 ; Jer 3:8 ; Eze 16:15-16 ; Eze 16:28 ; Eze 16:31 ; Eze 16:35 ; Eze 16:41 ; Eze 23:5 ; Eze 23:19 ; Eze 23:44 ; Hos 2:5 ; Hos 3:3 ; Hos 4:15 ( Mic 1:7 ). In three places only is the word applied to heathen cities: viz. in Isa 23:15-16 to Tyre, where, Rev 17:17 , it is also said, “she shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth:” and in Nah 3:4 to Nineveh, which is called the well-favoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts. And there the threat is pronounced of a very similar ruin to that which befalls Babylon here. So that the Scripture analogy, while it points to unfaithfulness and treachery against God’s covenant, also brings to mind extensive empire and wide-spread rule over the kingdoms of the earth. It is true, that as far as the image itself is concerned, pagan Rome as well fulfils its requirements as Tyre and Nineveh. It will depend on subsequent features in the description, whether we are to bound our view with her history and overthrow. Still, it will not be desirable to wait for the solution of this question till we arrive at the point where those features appear: for by so doing much of our intermediate exegesis will necessarily be obscured. The decisive test then which may at once be applied to solve the question, is derived from the prophecy of the destruction of Babylon in ch. Rev 18:2 . It is to be laid utterly waste, and to “become the habitation of devils and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Now no such destruction as this has yet befallen Rome, unless her transfer from pagan to papal rule be such a destruction, and the Pope and his ecclesiastics be described in the above terms. In an eloquent passage of Vitringa, he presses Bossuet with this dilemma. Again, it is said of this harlot, . But we may ask, if this be pagan Rome, who and what are these kings, and what is indicated by her having been the object of their lustful desires? In the days of Imperial Rome, there were no independent kings of the earth except in Parthia and Persia. Rome in her pagan state, as described for the purpose of identification in Rev 17:18 , was not one who intrigued with the kings of the earth, but : she reigned over them with undisputed and crushing sway.
I do not hesitate therefore, induced mainly by these considerations, which will be confirmed as we proceed step by step in the prophecy, to maintain that interpretation which regards papal and not pagan Rome as pointed out by the harlot of this vision. The subject has been amply discussed by many expositors. I would especially mention Vitringa, and Bp. Wordsworth.
The “sitting upon many waters” is said of Babylon in Jer. in reff., but has here a symbolical meaning; see below, Rev 17:15 . On the see ch. Rev 14:8 . The same thing is said of Babylon in Jer. l. c. But there she herself is the cup in the Lord’s hand). And he (the angel) carried me away to the wilderness (not, as Elliott, al., and even Dsterd., “a wilderness.” Such inferences from the absence of the art. in this later Greek, never secure, are more than ever unsafe when a preposition precedes: and the usage of the LXX should have prevented any such rendering here. In no fewer than twenty places (see Tromm.) they use the word anarthrously, where there can be no question that “ the wilderness ” is the only rendering. In fact it may be questioned whether the expressly indefinite rendering, “ a wilderness,” is ever justifiable, except in case of predication, or junction with an adjective, without some further indication than the mere omission of the definite article after a preposition. Had it been intended here, we may safely say that , or would have been used. The most natural way of accounting for the Seer being taken into the wilderness here, is that he was to be shewn Babylon, which was in the wilderness, and the overthrow of which, in the prophecy from which come the very words ( , LXX) ( Isa 21:9 ), is headed . So that by the analogy of prophecy, the journey to witness the fall of Babylon would be . The question of the identity of this woman with the woman in ch. 12 is not affected by that of the identity of this wilderness with that) in the spirit (see reff., and note on ch. Rev 1:10 ): and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast (this beast is introduced as if a new appearance: but its identity with that mentioned before, ch. Rev 13:1 ff., is plain as the description goes onward. For not to mention the features which the two have in common, this beast, as soon as described, is ever after mentioned as : and in ch. Rev 19:19-20 the identity is expressly established. For there we read, Rev 19:19 , that the beast and the kings of the earth make war against the Lamb, which beast can be no other than this on which the woman rides, cf. our Rev 19:12-14 : and in the next verse, ch. Rev 19:20 , we read that the beast was taken, and the false prophet who did miracles before him , which beast can be no other than that of ch. 13. See Rev 19:14 there. The identity of the two is therefore matter not of opinion, but of demonstration. The differences in appearance doubtless are significant. That with which we are now concerned, the scarlet colour, is to be understood as belonging not to a covering on the beast, but to the beast itself. It is akin to the colour of the dragon ( ), but as that is the redness of fire (see however ch. Rev 6:4 ), so is this of blood, with which both the beast and its rider are dyed. It was the colour, see ref. Heb., of the wool to be used in sprinkling the blood of sacrifice. There may be an allusion to the Roman imperial purple: for the robe which was put on our Lord in mockery was , ref. Matt. But this is more probably conveyed by its own proper word in the next verse.
By the woman sitting on the wild-beast, is signified that superintending and guiding power which the rider possesses over his beast: than which nothing could be chosen more apt to represent the superiority claimed and exercised by the See of Rome over the secular kingdoms of Christendom), full of names of blasphemy (for the construction with accus., see reff., and Winer, edn. 6, 32. 5. The names of blasphemy, which were found before on the heads of the beast only, have now spread over its whole surface. As ridden and guided by the harlot, it is tenfold more blasphemous in its titles and assumptions than before. The heathen world had but its Divi in the Csars, as in other deified men of note: but Christendom has its “most Christian” and “most faithful” Kings, such as Louis XIV. and Philip II.; its “Defenders of the faith,” such as Charles II. and James II.; its society of unprincipled intriguers called after the sacred name of our Lord, and working Satan’s work “ad majorem Dei gloriam;” its “holy office” of the Inquisition, with its dens of darkest cruelty; finally its “patrimony of St. Peter,” and its “holy Roman Empire;” all of them, and many more, new names of blasphemy, with which the woman has invested the beast. Go where we will and look where we will in Papal Christendom, names of blasphemy meet us. The taverns, the shops, the titles of men and of places, the very insurance badges on the houses, are full of them), having seven heads and ten horns (as in its former appearance, ch. Rev 13:1 ; inherited from the dragon, ch. Rev 12:3 . These are presently interpreted: we now return to the description of the woman herself). And the woman was clothed in purple (St. John’s own word, even to its peculiar form, see reff., for the mock-imperial robe placed on our Lord: and therefore bearing probably here the same signification; but not in mockery, as Bed [121] , “fucus simulati regiminis:” for the empire is real) and scarlet (see above. This very colour is not without its significance: witness the Cardinals, at the same time the guiding council of the Church and princes of the State), [ and ] gilded with gold and with (the is zeugmatically carried on) precious stone and with pearls (this description needs no illustration for any who have witnessed, or even read of, the pomp of Papal Rome: which, found as it is every where, is concentrated in the city itself), holding a cup of gold in her hand full of abominations and of the impure things (the change of construction is remarkable: for such it must be accounted, and not, with Dsterd., the accus. governed by . It seems to be made, not to avoid an accumulation of genitives, as Hengstb., but to mark a difference between the more abstract designation of the contents of the cup as , and the specification of them in the concrete as . . .) of her fornication (this cup is best taken altogether symbolically, and not as the cup in the Mass, which, however degraded by her blasphemous fiction of transubstantiation, could hardly be called by this name, and moreover is not given , but denied by her to the nations of the earth. That she should have represented herself in her medals as holding forth this cup (with the remarkable inscription, “sedet super universam;” see Elliott, vol. iv. p. 30, plate), is a judicial coincidence rather than a direct fulfilment), and ( having ) upon her forehead a name written (as was customary with harlots: so Seneca, Controv. i. 2, in Wetst.: “Stetisti puella in lupanari:. nomen tuum pependit a fronte: pretia stupri accepisti:” and Juv. Sat. vi. 123 of Messallina, “Tunc nuda papillis Constitit auratis, titulum mentita Lycisc”), Mystery (is this word part of the name, or not? On the whole it seems more probable that it is. For though no such word would in the nature of things be attached to her forehead as part of her designation, so neither would the description which follows , to which the word seems partly to refer. But whether part of the name or not, the meaning will be the same: viz. that the title following is to be taken in a spiritual and an enigmatical sense: compare ch. Rev 1:20 , and 2Th 2:7 ), Babylon the great, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth (i. e. not only first and greatest of these, but herself the progenitress and origin of the rest. All spiritual fornication and corruption are owing to her, and to her example and teaching). And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus (as the Seer contemplates the woman, he perceives that she is drunken: and from what is revealed to him, and from her symbolic colour of blood, he assigns the cause of that intoxication. Wetst. quotes Plin. H. N. xiv. 28, “quo facile intelligitur ebrius jam sanguine civium, et tanto magis eum sitiens”). And I wondered, when I saw her, with great wonder (what was the ground of the Seer’s astonishment? One doubtless might be assigned, which would at once account for any degree of such emotion. If this woman is the same as he before saw, who fled into the wilderness from the face of the dragon, “the faithful city become an harlot” ( Isa 1:21 ), he might well wonder. And certainly there is much in favour of such a supposition. It has been taken up by some considerable expositors, such as Auberlen (Der Prophet Daniel, pp. 278 ff.), who has argued earnestly but soberly for it. There is one objection to it, which has been made more of in this place than perhaps it deserves. It is, that in the Angel’s replication to St. John’s wonder, no allusion is made to this circumstance as its principal ground. But, it may well be replied, this would be just what we might expect, if the fact of identity were patent. The Seer, versed in the history of man’s weakness and depravity, full of O. T. prophetic thoughts and sayings, would need no solution of the fact itself: this would lie at the ground of his wonder, and of the angel’s explanation of the consequences which were to follow from it. Auberlen very properly lays stress on the fact, that the joint symbolism of the wilderness and the woman could not fail to call up in the mind of the Seer the last occasion when the two occurred together: and insists that this symbol must be continuous throughout. Without going so far as to pronounce the two identical, I think we cannot and ought not to lose sight of the identity of symbolism in the two cases. It is surely meant to lie beneath the surface, and to teach us an instructive lesson. We may see from it two prophetic truths: first, that the church on earth in the main will become apostate and faithless, cf. Luk 18:8 ; and secondly, that while this shall be so, the apostasy shall not embrace the whole church, so that the second woman in the apocalyptic vision should be absolutely identical with the first. The identity is, in the main, not to be questioned: in formal strictness, not to be pressed. This being so, I should rather regard St. John’s astonishment as a compound feeling, occasioned partly by the enormity of the sight revealed to him, partly also by the identity of the symbolism with that which had been the vehicle of a former and altogether different vision).
[121] Bede, the Venerable , 731; Bedegr, a Greek MS. cited by Bede, nearly identical with Cod. “E,” mentioned in this edn only when it differs from E.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rev 17:1 . A fresh vision commences ( cf. Rev 4:1 ), still punitive (Rev 16:1 ), but with an exchange of angelic cicerones (as Slav. En. xxi.). The Beast which has already (in 13) done duty as the empire is now the support of the capital. Rome, personified (so Sib. Or. iii. 46 92, before 80 A.D.) as a feminine figure, rides on a beast of the same colour, like a Bacchante on the panther, or like the Syrian Astarte on a lion.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Revelation Chapter 17
It is necessary to bear in mind, if we have not observed it before, that Rev 17 does not pursue the chronological course of the prophecy. It is an episode of special objects already treated, not being of the visions that carry us onward in historic sequence. It is a retrogressive description of Babylon in relation with the Beast and the kings, who were brought before us last under the Bowls of God’s wrath.
This chapter explains how it was that Babylon became so offensive to God, and wherefore He judged her thus sternly; while the destroying Beast and his horns await the breath and sword of the Lord’s mouth.. In giving the description of Babylon, the Holy Spirit enters yet more into an account of her relations with the powers, and gives important particulars of that imperial system of which Rev 13 in its earlier verses told us not a little. Accordingly these are the two main objects of judgment brought before us in the chapter. Indeed the Beast’s judgment carries us beyond all into defeat under the hand of the Lamb, the details of which are reserved for chap. 19. We must therefore look now into the two objects, Babylon and the Beast.
The principle is clear. Man has always sinned in one or other of these two ways, looking now at evil in its broadest forms. The “strange woman” figures corruption, human nature indulging itself in its own selfish desires, irrespective of God’s will. The Beast is the expression of man’s will raising itself up in direct antagonism to God. In short one may be described as corruption, and the other as violence; for we see both before the deluge (Gen 6:11 , Gen 6:12 ), and they go down to the close. More than this on the subject is given with great precision in scripture, because it is just the principle of sin in one or other form from the beginning.
Here then we read, “And one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, Come hither; I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon the many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and they that dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”
“And he carried me away in Spirit into a wilderness.” It is a thorough waste as to the knowledge or enjoyment of God. So in Isa 21 the prophet opens the chapter with that which was far beyond the horizon of the keenest creature view: “the burden of the wilderness of the sea,” so different from the burden which he saw and gave in Rev 13:14 , as “the golden city.” Hence some refer a “wilderness” here to the campagna of Rome, and its desolation under the Popes as contrasted with its prosperous and populous splendour under the Caesars. This is no doubt true and significant, though spiritual drought and dreariness seem more consonant to the Spirit’s expression.
A new symbol appears. “And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-coloured beast,” the well-known emblem of the Roman empire, “full of names of blasphemy” in its wicked opposition to God, and invested with its special forms of power, but with a full combination, “having seven heads and ten horns.” For the Spirit of God regards it in its final shape and completeness, as far as it was to be attained. “And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and decked (or, gilded) with gold and precious stone and pearls.’ Nor is it perhaps unworthy of note, as has been remarked, that her officials alone in Christendom array themselves in these colours of the world’s glory.
Babylon is in direct contrast with the true church, and like the Lord, heavenly glory hers, but meanwhile despised and rejected of men. Everything that could attract the natural man was there; and all that which looks fairest ought to be, she thinks, devoted to religion. Religion! Ah! it is nothing but ecclesiastical pride and corruption as a whole, though individuals may groan in secret, shrinking back into base superstition through alarm at Protestant free thought or worldliness; a religion of grace and truth unknown, of indulgences in sin for money, of dogmatic falsehood like transubstantiation or papal infallibility, of the most bloodthirsty cruelty to real saints of God, of debasing honour to filthy relics, of blasphemous worship paid to saints, angels, and above all the Virgin. Granted that Rome holds a little that is true; but she is keener still for many a lie and fraud; and “no lie is of the truth,” says God’s word.
But here we see more, “having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the unclean things of her fornication.”* Idolatry is the awful stamp that she bears, and this too both in what she gives to man, and in what is written on her forehead before God. “And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth.” Her outward grandeur in numbers, rank, wealth, and pomp impose on high and low; but the plague-spot is her idolatry. As Israel’s was against the One God, so hers is more guiltily against the One Mediator, the divine and only remedy in grace and truth.
* Most copies, it would seem, read , “of the earth” the Alex. and others give , “of her.” The Sinai MS. has both.
Men have been beguiled here and there, and from an early date, to set aside the true bearing of this chapter. Sometimes they have contended for its application to pagan Rome. Sometimes again they have sought to turn it aside toward Jerusalem in her corrupt state. But a grave consideration soon disposes of both views by her relation to the Beast, and by other particulars to be shown farther on. The application to old pagan Rome is harsh and purposeless enough; but the attempt to refer it to Jerusalem is of all schemes the most absurd. For, far from being borne up by the empire, Jerusalem was and is trodden down by it and other Gentile powers. If there was any nation since John’s day, which did not sustain but persecute and suppress Jerusalem, it was Rome, instead of presenting a gaudy harlot mounted on the proud and heartless empire.
The notion that what we have here is said of a future city of Babylon in Chaldea seems no less vain. There is a distinct contrast between the city now described and the ancient Babylon, in that the latter was built on the plain of Shinar, while the former is expressly said to have seven heads, and these explained to mean seven mountains or hills. There is no doubt more in the symbol than the literal hills of Rome, because they are said to be also seven kings or governing powers. Yet we are not at liberty to eliminate such a feature out of the description. It is written to be believed, not to be ignored or explained away. And the second sense of these mountains is as inapplicable to a Chaldean city as the first.
The attempt to apply Babylon to ancient Rome is further unhappy; and for a plain reason. As long as Rome was pagan, there was neither the full bearing of the seven heads, nor did so much as one of the ten horns exist. Any decem-regal division of the broken empire in the west was long after Rome had ceased to be heathen. Nobody can dispute that there arose a remarkable cluster of kingdoms in Europe, as the issue providentially of the fragments when the barbarians broke up the unity of the Roman empire. With that love of freedom which they carried from their wild forests, they destroyed the iron rule that bound men down, and set up their several kingdoms in the different parts of the dismembered empire. Thus the attempt to apply it during the pagan period is altogether futile on the face of the matter. Scripture affords much light to decide the true bearing of the prophecy; and no application to the past can possibly satisfy all the conditions satisfactorily. If ancient times fail fully to meet the requirements of the chapter, it is evident that the Middle Ages passed without any accomplishment as a whole; the Beast, in any consistent sense of the thing and word, was then non-existent. For the fulfilment of the prophecy, we must look onward to the latter day.
This falls in with what we have seen of the book in general. But it is not denied that certain elements which figure in the Apocalypse then existed and still exist. No one can soberly deny that Babylon in some sort had a place then; but that the special and the full character of Babylon was manifested as here portrayed is another matter. We may surely say her cup was not yet full. Not yet was that fairly out before men which God foresaw, as it finally provokes His judgment. Again it seems demonstrable that the relation to the Beast, at last brought before us, must in all fairness be allowed to look onward to a later stage of Babylon. Thus there is no question that some of the actors in the final scenes of the great drama were already there, as the reigning city, and the old Roman empire. Moral elements too were not wanting: the mystery of lawlessness had long been at work, though the enemy had not yet brought in the apostasy, still less the manifestation of the lawless one. But much as may have subsisted then, the Spirit here presents as a whole what cannot be found realised at any point of time in the past. We must perforce look for a still more complete development before the Lamb judges the Beast, after the ten horns along with him shall have destroyed Babylon. Did emperor or pope lead in this?
There is another remark to make. It is hard to see how Rome’s city, or anything civil connected with it, could be called “mystery.” Partly because of this, many excellent men have endeavoured to apply the vision to Romanism; and this religious system has an incomparably nearer connection with the mysterious harlot than anything yet spoken of. Rome in some form is the woman described in the chapter. The seven heads or hills clearly point to that city, which of all cities might best and indeed alone be known as ruling over the kings of the earth. There is therefore much truth in the Protestant application of the chapter, as compared with the Praeterist theory of pagan Rome. Yet it will be found imperfect, for reasons which ought to be clear to unbiassed and spiritual minds.
There stands the solemn brand graven, not on the blasphemous Beast but on the forehead of its rider, “Mystery, Babylon the great.” The question is, why is she thus designated? If only an imperial city, what has this to do with “mystery”? The simple fact of conquering far and wide, and of exercising vast political power in the earth, constitutes no title to such a name. A “mystery” points to something undiscoverable by the natural mind of man. It is a secret which requires the distinct and fresh light of God to unravel, but which when thus revealed becomes plain So it is with this very Babylon that comes before us. Justly does she gather her title from the old fountain of idols and of nature’s union for power without God. Confusion too is here the characteristic element. The designation is taken from the renowned city of the Chaldeans, the first spot notorious in both respects.
In short it would seem that God has hedged round His own draft of Babylon, so as to make it quits plain that Rome, city and system, figures in the scene. It may be taken to involve mediaeval application, though the full result will not be till the end of the ago. For where was the Beast after the past barbarian irruption and the resulting many-kingdomed state? Again, that it supposes Rome after it had professed the name of Christ is surely not to be doubted, if only from the expression “mystery” attached to Babylon. It clearly contrasts this mystery with another. We have not to learn what the other mystery means; we know well that it is according to God and of godliness. But here is a mystery altogether different: “Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth. And I saw the woman drunk with the. blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus; and seeing her, I wondered with a great wonder.”
Here were joined good and evil in godless union, for the worse, not for the better, an alliance unholy in principle, irremediable therefore in practice, between God and the natural man who substitutes rites for the quickening word of God’s grace, for the blood of Christ, and for the power of the Spirit; and who employs the name of the Lord as a cover for gross covetousness, ambition, and cruelty, yet more excessive than the vulgar world. All these things have their place in Babylon the great. She is the mother of the harlots, but also (and with still deeper guilt) of the abominations of the earth. This means the idolatries of the earth, real shameless idolatry too, not merely that subtle working of the idolatrous spirit that Christians had to guard against from early days (1Jn 5:21 ). Here it is the positive worship of the creature besides the Creator, yea, and notoriously more than Him. For who knows not the horrors of Mariolatry? Babylon is the parent of the prostitutes and of the abominations (or, idolatries) of the earth. It is not therefore a question of virtual idols suitable to ensnare children of God, but of that open image worship which is of the earth itself, or rather of him who is the prince of the power of the air, thorough going palpable idolatry. What is the crucifix and the Mass? What the veneration of angels and saints? What the honour paid to dead men’s bones, hair, nail-parings, and old clothes? Relics indeed!
Such is God’s account of Babylon the great. Take notice of this (which confirms the true application), that when John saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus, he wondered with a great wonder. Had it been simply a persecution from pagan Rome, who could marvel at its contempt of the truth and hatred of those who confess it? That a proud heathen metropolis, devoted to the worship of Mars, of Jupiter, of Venus, and other wicked monstrosities of pagan mythology, should be irritated with the gospel which exposes it all, and should consequently persecute the faithful, must be expected, and is a necessary result, directly that the uncompromising spirit of Christianity was known. Had those who preached said nothing about idol vanities, were they content to present the gospel as a better thing than anything the pagans could boast, the pagans themselves might have acknowledged thus much. Indeed it is pretty well ascertained that there was a discussion among them, even to the suggestion by one of their emperors, whether Christ should not be owned and worshipped in the Pantheon, before Constantine, and not so far from the earlier ages of the gospel. But none ever thought of giving Christ the only place due to Him. For Christ, as the Son of the Father and witnessed by the Holy Spirit, must be not only supreme but exclusive. Nor was anything more repulsive and fatal to paganism in every form than the truth revealed in Christ, which necessarily displaces everything that is not itself, because He is the truth definite and complete. Consequently Christianity, as being directly aggressive on the falsehood of heathenism, was of all things the most obnoxious to Rome. That pagan Rome therefore must set itself against Christianity was to be expected; it could amaze no one.
But the prophet was astounded that a mysterious form of evil, the counter-testimony of the enemy (not antichrist, but antichurch), could seem, and should be largely accepted as, the holy catholic church of God. He did marvel greatly that Christendom, if not Christianity, should with such a claim become the bitterest of persecutors, more murderously incensed against the witnesses of Jesus and the saints than ever paganism had been in any country or during all ages. This naturally filled him with intense wonder.
“And the angel said to me, Wherefore didst thou wonder? “Had he really penetrated under the surface, and seen that beneath the fair guise of Christendom the woman was, of all things under the sun, the most corrupt and hateful to God, it would not be so surprising. Therefore says the angel, “I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, that hath* the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that thou sawest, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose name was not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, beholding the beast that it was, and is not, and shall be present.”
* The description here is simply character, not dates. If a person drew from this, for instance, that the Beast was to carry the woman, Babylon, when it had as a fact all that is meant by the seven heads and the ten horns, it would be an error. The angel implies nothing of the sort. It is a question here of distinctive character, apart from that of historical time, for which we must consider other scriptures.
The closing phase here is the description of the Beast in its last state, in which it will come into collision with Babylon. Let us bear this in mind. It will help to convince that, whatever may have been the past conditions of the Beast, here is a future one; and in that future one the Beast is to perish. For, remark, the Beast or Roman empire is described here as that which once existed, which then ceased to exist, and which assumes a final shape when it reappears from the abyss. Bad as pagan Rome was, it would be exaggeration to affirm that it ever had come out of the bottomless pit. When the apostle Paul wrote to the saints at Rome, he particularly specified the then duty of absolute subjection on the part of Christians to the powers then existing. Of course the application to the Roman empire would be immediate in the mind of any Christian at Rome. No one doubted the character of the emperor; there never had been a worse. Yet God took this very opportunity to lay it en the Christians as their duty to the worldly authority outside and over them. It was ruled generally that the worldly powers were ordained of God. But it is a very different thing to emerge from the abyss.
For there is a time coming when power will cease to be ordained of God. This is the point to which the last phase of the Beast refers. God in His providence did sanction the world-empires of old; and the principle continues as long as the church is here below. Hence we have to own the divine source of government, even when its holders abandon or have revoked all such thoughts themselves, but perhaps regard their rule in the world as a thing flowing from the people irrespectively of God. But the day is at hand when Satan will be allowed to have things his own way. For a short time (what a mercy that it is to be only so!) Satan will bring forth an empire suited to his purposes; as it will work on human self-will and the unbelief which denies God and Hi’; truth. It will be not only apostate but openly claiming to be God, and excluding the true God. But if thus it comes up out of the abyss, it is to go into perdition. It is added, “and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose name is not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that it was, and it is not and it shall be present.” “Yet is” is an unfortunate expression, but it is the fault of the bad Greek text of Erasmus, Stephens, etc. It should be, “and shall be present.”* There is no thought of making such a paradox to perplex the mind. The true reading here is neither hard nor doubtful save to unbelief. There is no conundrum in the message whatever. It is all plain and simple reference to the Beast “that it was, and it is not, and it shall be present.”
* Even the Complutensian editors gave the right text here; and it would seem that Erasmus failed to use his MS. aright. For according to unquestionable testimony the Reuchlinian copy has like some half-dozen cursives, which was probably a mistake for . But was unmitigated error.
No wonder that the earthly-minded wonder; for all this will be a great reversal of man’s history and political maxims. There never has been a like experience. What mighty empire has existed, then become extinct, and finally reappeared, with higher pretensions and peculiar power, only to perish with unexampled horrors? It is altogether foreign to history. One of the most approved axioms is that kingdoms are just like men in this respect, that they begin, rise, and fall. As man does not believe in the resurrection of man, it is no wonder that he does not look for the resurrection of the empire. The marked difference is that in a dead man’s case it is God who raises him, whereas for the defunct empire not God but the devil will revive it again. Beyond controversy it is so unusual and abnormal a reappearance that it is altogether exceptional in the world’s history. Accordingly the resuscitated Roman empire will carry men away by a storm of wonder at its revival. Little do they know, because they believe not what is here written, that it is to come out of the abyss. That is, Satan will be the spring of its final rise and strange energy; he, and not God in any way whatever, will give it its character; as also he gives it his power and his throne and great authority.
“Here is the mind that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there (or, they) are seven kings.” The double force of the symbol has been already touched on. “The five are fallen, the one is, the other did not yet come.” That is, the sixth head (reigning in that day) was the imperial form of government. Can anything of the sort be plainer? It is a time-note of signal value. The seventh should follow for a little; and the seventh was in one respect to be an eighth. “And the beast which was, and is not, even he is an eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into destruction.” If in one sense an eighth, in another sense it would be of the seven; “eighth” perhaps, because of its extraordinary resurrection character, yet “one of the seven” because it is outwardly a head of rule again. This explains the wounded head that was afterwards healed. It is of the seven in that point of view, because it is old imperialism; but it is an eighth, because it has a diabolical source and strangely new character when raised up again. There never had been anything of the kind before.
“And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which received no kingdom yet; but they receive authority as kings (not at, but for) one hour with the beast.” They are all to reign concurrently with the Beast. This also is a no less important element for understanding the chapter. All who have looked back on the history know that when the ten kings appeared there was no real Beast or imperial power. It was the destruction of the imperial unity of Rome that gave occasion for the well-known kingdoms (ten, less or more) which the Gothic and other barbarians set up afterwards. We know that sometimes shore were nine or less, sometimes eleven or more; but supposing all this perfectly clear and true according to history, they did not receive their power as kings for one and the same time with the Beast.
The very reverse is the undeniable fact. They received their power as kings when the Beast ceased to exist. Thus the difference is complete between past history (if we look at the extinction of the empire and the rise of the divided kingdoms) and the certain fulfilment of the prophecy in the future, when we believe what God has really told us. The language is neither difficult nor ambiguous. Man alone is to blame who has misapplied it. Yet one allows freely a partial application already. We can quite understand that God would comfort His people in the dark ages by this book; and a very imperfect glimpse at its real meaning might in His grace serve to cheer them on in their trials as far as it went. From Rome saints had suffered; and it was easy to see that the revealed persecutress is called Babylon, but identified with the governing city of Rome. So far they were right. Nor is there any rem reason to wonder at their deriving help from partial light. It was but an imperfect view they had even of justification; a far scantier perception, if they could be said to have had any, about Christ’s headship of the church, His priesthood, or almost anything else. And how little a glimpse had they of prophecy! But we can understand that the Lord could and did make that little go far, and do no little good.
But is there any reason why we should content ourselves with the measure enjoyed of old? Such is the hard bondage which historical tradition imposes on its votaries. Holding on to what others knew before them or little more, they reduce themselves to a minimum of the truth. When God is gracious, His word rich, full, and deep, is it not sad to see His children satisfied with just enough to save their souls, or keep them from positive starvation? In presence of grace surely this is not for His glory, any more than for their own blessing. The only right principle in everything is to go to the sources and streams of divine truth, there to seek refreshment and strength and fitness for whatever our God calls us to. Unquestionably He has been of late awakening the attention of His children remarkably to the value of His word, and not least of all to the portion we are now examining.
It is plain that the verse contemplates a new state of things in the future, and neither the Roman power when there was one head of empire, nor the eastern or Byzantine part of it after that partition, still less in the west the state of division under the kings who succeeded the deposition of Augustulus. In the mediaeval state there may have been ten kings (in contrast with the ancient state of the Beast without them), but no Beast or imperial system with its subordinate chiefs or vassal kings. This is what drove men to the idea of making the pope to be the Beast. But the idea is wholly insufficient to cover or meet the word of God, which gives clear and strong reasons to prove the mistake of applying this to the pope as its complete meaning or fulfilment. For that which comes distinctly before us in this one verse is the twofold fact that the ten horns here contemplated receive their kingly power for the same hour or time as the Beast, not subsequently when his rule was extinguished. He on the contrary receives his power and they receive theirs for one and the same time. They are contemporaneous.
This disposes of many a web of comments; for we find at once what is simple enough for any child of God who believes this to be God’s word for us to understand. Bringing in history has embroiled the subject; and those who appeal most to its evidence are the men who seem in this to ignore plain facts. But the most ordinary knowledge suffices; for who does not know from the Bible that there was a Roman empire when Christ was born, ruled by Caesar Augustus, and no such state as that empire divided into ten kingdoms? Of course there must needs be a consultation with the kings, when the kings become an accredited part of that empire, as rulers subordinate to the Beast. But then it was an absolute decree that went forth, and this indisputably from a single head of the undivided empire. Centuries after came in, not only the division into cast and west, but the broken up state of the west, when there ceased to be an imperial head. But the prophecy points to the Beast revived and the ten subject kings reigning over its western breadth for the same time, before divine judgment destroys them all at the coming of Christ and of His saints with Him. Hence this certainly must be future.
Now this precisely fits in, let me say, with the state of feeling in these modern times; for “constitutionalism,” as men call it, is the fruit of the Teutonic system supervening on that of the broken up Roman empire. It was the barbarians who brought in the prevalent ideas of feudalism and of liberty. Accordingly they have firmly stood for freedom; so that all efforts to reconstitute the empire which have been tried over and over again have hitherto issued in total failure. The great reason is manifest: there is a hindrance – “one that letteth.” It cannot be done till the moment comes. When its own season arrives, as it surely will, the divine hinderer is to be “out of the way,” and the devil is then allowed to do his worst. The political side of this is described here with surprising brightness and brevity. The ten horns with the Beast are all to receive authority, the Beast of course wielding the imperial power, they as kings reigning, all during one and the same time before the end comes. Clearly therefore it is future. It is impossible to refer it to the past with any show even of reasonable probability, to say nothing of reality or truth. Scripture and facts refute all such theories.
“These have one mind, and give their own power and authority to the beast.” Hitherto the reverse of this has been verified in history. The horns have constantly opposed each other, and even sometimes the pope. Since then the world has not seen the imperial power to which all bow. Have we not all heard of “the balance of power”? This is what nations have been constantly occupied with, lest any one power should become the Beast. If some few have joined on one side, some are sure to help the other; because they are jealous of any one acquiring such a preponderant authority and power as to govern the rest. But in the time really contemplated all this political shuffling will be over. Then when Satan’s success seems complete, the Lord has His word to say. “these shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them (for he is Lord of lords and King of kings), and they that are with him, called, and chosen, and faithful.” His saints, already on high, come with Him. It is the second act of His coming.
But still we have more to hear of Babylon yet. Her part in the corruption of the high and the intoxication of the low – her idolatrous character – has come before us. We have seen her misguidance of the Beast; but a collision comes. The woman had been allowed to ride the Beast, to influence and govern the empire first. But the friendships of the bad, as the Stagirite felt, do not last. At last she becomes the object of hatred to the ten horns and the Beast, who expose, rob, and destroy her. “And he saith to me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and crowds, and nations, and tongues; and the ten horns which thou sawest and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her with fire. For God gave to their hearts to do his mind, and to do one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is the great city which hath kingship over the kings of the earth.” “The waters” indicate her influence stretching out far beyond the empire. It is a sad fact, and the words a true prediction.
The Gothic hordes were not yet incorporated with the empire, still less were they horns of the Beast, nor did they give their power to it but rather destroyed it. They broke up the Beast yet more than Babylon. Past history therefore in no way suits the prophecy. “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast.” Here we must say that our Authorised Version, and not merely it but the common uncritical Greek Testaments, are quite astray. This is known so well, and on such decided grounds, that it would be unbecoming to withhold the fact. There is no uncertainty whatever in the case. It is certain that we ought to rend (not “upon” but) “and* the beast” – a difference of great importance The horns and the Beast join in hating the harlot. Not only are they supposed to be co-existent, but united in their change of feeling against Babylon. “These shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.”
* It now appears that the Cod. Reuchlin. Capnionis, which was used by Erasmus, and lately discovered after a long obscurity by Dr. Franz Delitzsch, reads (not ) . as did the Complut. Polyglott, and all editions of the least critical value. Scholz’s note (“rec. cum cdd. pl.”) is a myth. Who can cite MSS. in its favour, though some versions represent it?
It is not the gospel nor the Holy Spirit, but the lawless revived Latin empire with its vassal kingdoms of the west, which combine to destroy Babylon. Unhallowed love will end in bitter hate. They will then treat her with contempt and shameful exposure. Next they will seize her resources. Finally they will destroy her. Can anything be less reasonable than that the various rulers of the western powers, catholic kings, join the pope in destroying his own city, or his own church, whichever Babylon may be made? Some evade the difficulty by referring the desolation to the Gothic powers; and these pious Protestants, as if they were mere Praeterists! What confusion! Is there not reason enough for saying that not even the shadow of solid ground appears for the system, when it denies the future crisis?
Hence the effort of some to prop up a manifestly false reading. It is due to the exigency of a notion which fears and is irreconcilable with the truth in this place. “The ten horns which thou sawest AND the beast” gives unquestionably the right sense of the verse. But it disproves the Protestant historicalism which refuses to allow an evil to come worse even than popery.
Thus everything implies their simultaneous presence for the same time and for common action with the Beast, in plundering and then destroying Babylon. God uses them for this object, their at length setting her aside, the great religious corruptress, whose centre is found at Rome. We can easily understand that the overthrow of the ecclesiastical power is necessary to leave a field unimpeded for the imperial power to develop itself in its final form of apostasy, blasphemy, and rebellion against the Lord. For religion, be it ever so corrupt, acts as a restraint on human will, as an ordinary government does, however evil. Even the worst of governments is better than none. That a corrupt religion is better than none, one does not say: but it may trouble men, putting a thorn in the side of those who want no religion at all. Hence the horns and the Beast join together and desolate the harlot. That kings had dallied with her, that the Beast had once borne her up, will only turn to gall the more bitter for her, who, faithless to God, had staked the usurped and abused name of Christ to Will worldly power and glory now lost for ever. “For God gave to their hearts to do his mind, and to do one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.” It is a time of strong delusion, be it remembered.
“And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city which hath kingship over the kings of the earth.” None but Rome corresponds. “The woman” is the more general symbol designating her as the great imperial city; “the harlot” is her corrupt religious character, embracing papal Rome but extending to the apostate days of the Beast and the Antichrist.
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev 17:1-7
1Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.” 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. 4The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, 5and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” 6And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly. 7And the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.
Rev 17:1 “one of the seven angels” Another angel is described in the same way in Rev 21:9. The chronological relationship between Revelation 17, 18 and the pouring out of the bowls in Revelation 16
1. may predate the pouring out of the bowls
2. it may be a further description of the result of the bowls
“will show you the judgment of the great harlot” This spiritual seductress is described in Rev 17:5 as “mighty Babylon, the mother of harlots,” and in Rev 18:10 as “the great city, Babylon.” According to earlier chapters these designations refer to a fallen world system epitomized in:
1. Daniel’s Babylon
2. Daniel’s interbiblical Antiochus IV
3. John’s Roman Emperor claiming deity.
In chapter 17 the seductive power of luxury and greed is matched with the commercial power of chapter 18. In the OT three cities are called whores.
1. Tyre (Phoenicia) in Isa 23:15-16
2. Nineveh (Assyria) in Nah 3:4
3. Jerusalem (fruitless Judah) in Isa 1:21; Eze 16:31; Eze 16:35; Ezekiel 23.
“who sits on many waters” The OT allusion is Jer 51:11-14, which refers to the ancient city of Babylon, which was located on the Euphrates (as Nineveh was located on the Tigris River) and had an extensive system of manmade irrigation and transportation canals. However, in light of Rev 17:15, this phrase is interpreted as an international kingdom (cf. Dan 7:2-3).
Rev 17:2
NASB”with whom the kings of the earth committed acts ofimmorality”
NKJV, NRSV”with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication”
TEV”the kings of the earth practiced sexual immorality”
NJB”with whom all the kings of the earth have prostituted themselves”
This prostitution has two primary aspects:
1. commercial alliances (cf. Tyre, Isa 23:13-18; and Nineveh, Nah 3:4)
2. political alliances which involved the contractual worship of the gods of the nations in the ratification ceremonies (cf. Jerusalem also called a harlot in Isa 1:21 and Jeremiah 3)
3. the worship of the Roman Emperor as divine
“those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality” This is an allusion to Jer 51:7. It is also introduced in Rev 14:8. The phrase “those who dwell on the earth” is a recurrent theme in Revelation denoting unregenerate, fallen mankind apart from God (cf. Rev 3:10; Rev 6:10; Rev 8:13; Rev 11:10; Rev 13:8; Rev 13:14; Rev 17:8).
“Drink” is an OT metaphor for judgment (cf. Psa 75:6-8).
Rev 17:3 “And he carried me away in the Spirit” This phrase is used to introduce John’s visions (cf. Rev 1:10; Rev 4:2; Rev 17:3; Rev 21:10). Many commentators base their understanding of the structure of Revelation on these visions. Remember, apocalyptic literature is a highly structured genre. The structure becomes a key in interpretation.
“into a wilderness” This may be
1. a metaphor of a place of safety (cf. Rev 12:6; Rev 12:14, where it is an allusion to the wilderness wandering period of Israel)
2. a place where evil and the demonic live (i.e., Lev 16:8; Lev 17:7)
3. an allusion to the ancient city of Babylon found in Isa 21:1-10, where it is a metaphor of judgment
John’s imagery is very fluid. In Rev 17:1 the woman sits on many waters (the Euphrates River) and in Rev 17:3 she sits on a scarlet beast in the wilderness.
“and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast” The term “scarlet” could refer to
1. murder, cf. Rev 17:6-7
2. luxury, cf. Rev 18:12-16
3. Satan as a red dragon, cf. Rev 12:3
The beast is described in detail in Rev 13:1-10. It refers to the end-time Antichrist (cf. Dan 7:9-14; Dan 9:24-27; Dan 11:36-45; 2 Thessalonians 2; 1Jn 2:18).
“full of blasphemous names” This is similar to Rev 13:1; Rev 13:5-6. These titles are related historically to the Roman Emperor’s self-deification. They claimed titles for themselves such as “divine,” “savior,” “lord.” The beast’s ultimate goal is not world political power, but religious worship (cf. Dan 7:8; Dan 7:20; Dan 8:11; Dan 8:25; Dan. 9:36, 37) as a representative or incarnation of Satan (possibly represented in Isa 14:13-14 and Eze 28:16-17).
“having seven heads and ten horns” This description is similar to that of the red dragon (cf. Rev 12:3) and the sea beast (cf. Rev 13:1). The similarity is intended to show the unity of these different anti-God persons.
In numerical symbolism (1) the seven heads relate to “perfect” knowledge or the ultimate end-time world leader, while (2) the ten horns relate to complete power or worldly authority (cf. Rev 17:7; Rev 17:9; Rev 17:12; Rev 17:16).
Rev 17:4 “The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet” These colors can refer to royalty (purple) and immorality (scarlet) or simply a metaphor for luxury, wealth, and opulence (cf. Rev 18:12; Rev 18:16).
“adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls” This is a symbol of earthly and spiritual power and position (used by Ezekiel as an Edenic metaphor for the pride of the King of Tyre cf. Eze 28:13).
“a gold cup” This is an allusion to the city of Babylon (cf. Jer 51:7).
Rev 17:5 “on her forehead a name was written” Seneca’s Controversies Rev 1:2 and Juvenal’s Satires 6:122-123, record that Roman whores wore a band with either their own name or the name of their owner on their foreheads. This may be a historical allusion to John’s day or in the context of Revelation; it may be a reference to the marking of the forehead of unbelievers (cf. Rev 13:16-17; Rev 14:9; Rev 14:11; Rev 15:2; Rev 16:2; Rev 19:20; Rev 20:4) which mimics God’s sealing of believers (cf. Rev 7:2; Rev 9:4).
NASB”a mystery, ‘Babylon the Great'”
NKJV”Mystery, Babylon the Great”
NRSV”mystery: ‘Babylon the great'”
TEV”a secret meaning: ‘Great Babylon'”
NJB”a name, a cryptic name: ‘Babylon the Great'”
There is some disagreement as to whether the term “mystery” should be a part of the title or a way of referring to the symbolic nature of the title (cf. Rev 17:7). Babylon has its origin in the first civilization, started by Nimrod (Babel), which rebelled against God and was dispersed in Genesis 11. From this usage and from the fact that Babylon took the people of God (Judah) into exile, it became a synonym for an evil, imperial world power. In John’s day, this power was Rome (cf. 1Pe 5:13).
Rev 17:6 This verse speaks of the persecution and martyrdom of believers (cf. Rev 11:7; Rev 13:7; Dan 7:21).
“I wondered greatly” The KJV translates this as “with great admiration” but the NKJV has “I marveled with great amazement.” John was not admiring her, but he was utterly astonished at her actions. She was allowed to persecute and kill God’s people (cf. Rev 13:5; Rev 13:7; Rev 13:15; Rev 11:7).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
seven angels . . . vials. See Rev 15:7.
talked. App-121.
unto me. The texts omit.
unto = to.
judgment. App-177.
waters. See Rev 17:15.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
CH. Rev 17:1 to Rev 19:10.] THE JUDGMENT OF BABYLON. And herein, Rev 17:1-6.] The description of Babylon under the figure of a drunken harlot, riding on the beast. And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials (we are not told which of the seven, and it is idle to enquire. The seventh has been conjectured, because under the outpouring of his vial Babylon was remembered) and talked with me saying, Hither (see reff.), I will shew thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon [the] many waters, with whom the kings of the earth (have) committed fornication, and they who inhabit the earth have been made drunk from the wine (, the wine having been the source of their drunkenness) of her fornication (the figure here used, of a harlot who has committed fornication with secular kings and peoples, is frequent in the prophets, and has one principal meaning and application, viz. to Gods church and people that had forsaken Him and attached herself to others. In eighteen places out of twenty-one where the figure occurs, such is its import; viz. in Isa 1:21; Jer 2:20; Jer 3:1; Jer 3:6; Jer 3:8; Eze 16:15-16; Eze 16:28; Eze 16:31; Eze 16:35; Eze 16:41; Eze 23:5; Eze 23:19; Eze 23:44; Hos 2:5; Hos 3:3; Hos 4:15 (Mic 1:7). In three places only is the word applied to heathen cities: viz. in Isa 23:15-16 to Tyre, where, Rev 17:17, it is also said, she shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth: and in Nah 3:4 to Nineveh, which is called the well-favoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts. And there the threat is pronounced of a very similar ruin to that which befalls Babylon here. So that the Scripture analogy, while it points to unfaithfulness and treachery against Gods covenant, also brings to mind extensive empire and wide-spread rule over the kingdoms of the earth. It is true, that as far as the image itself is concerned, pagan Rome as well fulfils its requirements as Tyre and Nineveh. It will depend on subsequent features in the description, whether we are to bound our view with her history and overthrow. Still, it will not be desirable to wait for the solution of this question till we arrive at the point where those features appear: for by so doing much of our intermediate exegesis will necessarily be obscured. The decisive test then which may at once be applied to solve the question, is derived from the prophecy of the destruction of Babylon in ch. Rev 18:2. It is to be laid utterly waste, and to become the habitation of devils and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Now no such destruction as this has yet befallen Rome, unless her transfer from pagan to papal rule be such a destruction, and the Pope and his ecclesiastics be described in the above terms. In an eloquent passage of Vitringa, he presses Bossuet with this dilemma. Again, it is said of this harlot, . But we may ask, if this be pagan Rome, who and what are these kings, and what is indicated by her having been the object of their lustful desires? In the days of Imperial Rome, there were no independent kings of the earth except in Parthia and Persia. Rome in her pagan state, as described for the purpose of identification in Rev 17:18, was not one who intrigued with the kings of the earth, but : she reigned over them with undisputed and crushing sway.
I do not hesitate therefore, induced mainly by these considerations, which will be confirmed as we proceed step by step in the prophecy, to maintain that interpretation which regards papal and not pagan Rome as pointed out by the harlot of this vision. The subject has been amply discussed by many expositors. I would especially mention Vitringa, and Bp. Wordsworth.
The sitting upon many waters is said of Babylon in Jer. in reff., but has here a symbolical meaning; see below, Rev 17:15. On the see ch. Rev 14:8. The same thing is said of Babylon in Jer. l. c. But there she herself is the cup in the Lords hand). And he (the angel) carried me away to the wilderness (not, as Elliott, al., and even Dsterd., a wilderness. Such inferences from the absence of the art. in this later Greek, never secure, are more than ever unsafe when a preposition precedes: and the usage of the LXX should have prevented any such rendering here. In no fewer than twenty places (see Tromm.) they use the word anarthrously, where there can be no question that the wilderness is the only rendering. In fact it may be questioned whether the expressly indefinite rendering, a wilderness, is ever justifiable, except in case of predication, or junction with an adjective, without some further indication than the mere omission of the definite article after a preposition. Had it been intended here, we may safely say that , or would have been used. The most natural way of accounting for the Seer being taken into the wilderness here, is that he was to be shewn Babylon, which was in the wilderness, and the overthrow of which, in the prophecy from which come the very words (, LXX) (Isa 21:9), is headed . So that by the analogy of prophecy, the journey to witness the fall of Babylon would be . The question of the identity of this woman with the woman in ch. 12 is not affected by that of the identity of this wilderness with that) in the spirit (see reff., and note on ch. Rev 1:10): and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast (this beast is introduced as if a new appearance: but its identity with that mentioned before, ch. Rev 13:1 ff., is plain as the description goes onward. For not to mention the features which the two have in common, this beast, as soon as described, is ever after mentioned as : and in ch. Rev 19:19-20 the identity is expressly established. For there we read, Rev 19:19, that the beast and the kings of the earth make war against the Lamb, which beast can be no other than this on which the woman rides, cf. our Rev 19:12-14 :-and in the next verse, ch. Rev 19:20, we read that the beast was taken, and the false prophet who did miracles before him, which beast can be no other than that of ch. 13. See Rev 19:14 there. The identity of the two is therefore matter not of opinion, but of demonstration. The differences in appearance doubtless are significant. That with which we are now concerned, the scarlet colour, is to be understood as belonging not to a covering on the beast, but to the beast itself. It is akin to the colour of the dragon (), but as that is the redness of fire (see however ch. Rev 6:4), so is this of blood, with which both the beast and its rider are dyed. It was the colour, see ref. Heb., of the wool to be used in sprinkling the blood of sacrifice. There may be an allusion to the Roman imperial purple: for the robe which was put on our Lord in mockery was , ref. Matt. But this is more probably conveyed by its own proper word in the next verse.
By the woman sitting on the wild-beast, is signified that superintending and guiding power which the rider possesses over his beast: than which nothing could be chosen more apt to represent the superiority claimed and exercised by the See of Rome over the secular kingdoms of Christendom), full of names of blasphemy (for the construction with accus., see reff., and Winer, edn. 6, 32. 5. The names of blasphemy, which were found before on the heads of the beast only, have now spread over its whole surface. As ridden and guided by the harlot, it is tenfold more blasphemous in its titles and assumptions than before. The heathen world had but its Divi in the Csars, as in other deified men of note: but Christendom has its most Christian and most faithful Kings, such as Louis XIV. and Philip II.; its Defenders of the faith, such as Charles II. and James II.; its society of unprincipled intriguers called after the sacred name of our Lord, and working Satans work ad majorem Dei gloriam; its holy office of the Inquisition, with its dens of darkest cruelty; finally its patrimony of St. Peter, and its holy Roman Empire; all of them, and many more, new names of blasphemy, with which the woman has invested the beast. Go where we will and look where we will in Papal Christendom, names of blasphemy meet us. The taverns, the shops, the titles of men and of places, the very insurance badges on the houses, are full of them), having seven heads and ten horns (as in its former appearance, ch. Rev 13:1; inherited from the dragon, ch. Rev 12:3. These are presently interpreted: we now return to the description of the woman herself). And the woman was clothed in purple (St. Johns own word, even to its peculiar form, see reff., for the mock-imperial robe placed on our Lord: and therefore bearing probably here the same signification; but not in mockery, as Bed[121], fucus simulati regiminis: for the empire is real) and scarlet (see above. This very colour is not without its significance: witness the Cardinals, at the same time the guiding council of the Church and princes of the State), [and] gilded with gold and with (the is zeugmatically carried on) precious stone and with pearls (this description needs no illustration for any who have witnessed, or even read of, the pomp of Papal Rome: which, found as it is every where, is concentrated in the city itself), holding a cup of gold in her hand full of abominations and of the impure things (the change of construction is remarkable: for such it must be accounted, and not, with Dsterd., the accus. governed by . It seems to be made, not to avoid an accumulation of genitives, as Hengstb., but to mark a difference between the more abstract designation of the contents of the cup as , and the specification of them in the concrete as …) of her fornication (this cup is best taken altogether symbolically, and not as the cup in the Mass, which, however degraded by her blasphemous fiction of transubstantiation, could hardly be called by this name, and moreover is not given, but denied by her to the nations of the earth. That she should have represented herself in her medals as holding forth this cup (with the remarkable inscription, sedet super universam; see Elliott, vol. iv. p. 30, plate), is a judicial coincidence rather than a direct fulfilment), and (having) upon her forehead a name written (as was customary with harlots: so Seneca, Controv. i. 2, in Wetst.: Stetisti puella in lupanari:. nomen tuum pependit a fronte: pretia stupri accepisti: and Juv. Sat. vi. 123 of Messallina, Tunc nuda papillis Constitit auratis, titulum mentita Lycisc), Mystery (is this word part of the name, or not? On the whole it seems more probable that it is. For though no such word would in the nature of things be attached to her forehead as part of her designation, so neither would the description which follows , to which the word seems partly to refer. But whether part of the name or not, the meaning will be the same: viz. that the title following is to be taken in a spiritual and an enigmatical sense: compare ch. Rev 1:20, and 2Th 2:7), Babylon the great, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth (i. e. not only first and greatest of these, but herself the progenitress and origin of the rest. All spiritual fornication and corruption are owing to her, and to her example and teaching). And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus (as the Seer contemplates the woman, he perceives that she is drunken: and from what is revealed to him, and from her symbolic colour of blood, he assigns the cause of that intoxication. Wetst. quotes Plin. H. N. xiv. 28, quo facile intelligitur ebrius jam sanguine civium, et tanto magis eum sitiens). And I wondered, when I saw her, with great wonder (what was the ground of the Seers astonishment? One doubtless might be assigned, which would at once account for any degree of such emotion. If this woman is the same as he before saw, who fled into the wilderness from the face of the dragon, the faithful city become an harlot (Isa 1:21), he might well wonder. And certainly there is much in favour of such a supposition. It has been taken up by some considerable expositors, such as Auberlen (Der Prophet Daniel, pp. 278 ff.), who has argued earnestly but soberly for it. There is one objection to it, which has been made more of in this place than perhaps it deserves. It is, that in the Angels replication to St. Johns wonder, no allusion is made to this circumstance as its principal ground. But, it may well be replied, this would be just what we might expect, if the fact of identity were patent. The Seer, versed in the history of mans weakness and depravity, full of O. T. prophetic thoughts and sayings, would need no solution of the fact itself: this would lie at the ground of his wonder, and of the angels explanation of the consequences which were to follow from it. Auberlen very properly lays stress on the fact, that the joint symbolism of the wilderness and the woman could not fail to call up in the mind of the Seer the last occasion when the two occurred together: and insists that this symbol must be continuous throughout. Without going so far as to pronounce the two identical, I think we cannot and ought not to lose sight of the identity of symbolism in the two cases. It is surely meant to lie beneath the surface, and to teach us an instructive lesson. We may see from it two prophetic truths: first, that the church on earth in the main will become apostate and faithless, cf. Luk 18:8; and secondly, that while this shall be so, the apostasy shall not embrace the whole church, so that the second woman in the apocalyptic vision should be absolutely identical with the first. The identity is, in the main, not to be questioned: in formal strictness, not to be pressed. This being so, I should rather regard St. Johns astonishment as a compound feeling, occasioned partly by the enormity of the sight revealed to him, partly also by the identity of the symbolism with that which had been the vehicle of a former and altogether different vision).
[121] Bede, the Venerable, 731; Bedegr, a Greek MS. cited by Bede, nearly identical with Cod. E, mentioned in this edn only when it differs from E.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
In chapter seventeen, we now have the specific judgment of God upon the false religious system that has damned the souls of so many men through deception. Jesus warned us to “beware of false prophets who will come looking like sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” ( Mat 7:15 ). And the false religious system, which traps the souls of men and its judgment, is coming. Chapter seventeen tells us of this judgment.
Babylon is used in the scripture as a symbol of confusion, because it was in Babylon where man, in rebellion against the living God, decided to build a tower whereby they could communicate with the universe. Ancient man was not as primitive and ignorant as we think him to be. They had tremendous means of communication. Perhaps even superior to ours, because there are indications that they had developed methods whereby they could communicate with other beings outside of the earth.
It is interesting Stonehenge in England, one of the communication centers, it was set up to match with the zodiac. But all through North America the Indians also had miniature Stonehenges, where it was just a miniature of what was that large finding in England where they would sit in the middle and communicate with the spirits. They were set exactly in alignment as is Stonehenge with the zodiac.
The large stones set on top of silicate, we know that to make a little receiver what you do is take a crystal, and by just through the crystal you can actually-Have you ever had a crystal set where you have tuned in and listened to the radio on a crystal set? When we were kids we used to always be making crystal sets and it was always exciting to hear the radio with the crystal. And with just moving the crystal a bit you could get different stations. We know that there is that communicating power within the crystal. We also know that energy is produced by the compression of crystal or silicate, and thus, these large stones were set upon crystal, compressing it and creating an energy force. Then the ability to transmit and to hear and communicate. It is also thought that that could be the purpose of the great pyramids, which again are in alignment with the zodiac.
So, in Babylon, they were going to build this tower to communicate with heaven, and because they had advanced and developed so in their science and in their capacities, God said, “Look what man is seeking to do now. If we don’t stop him he is going to be delving into areas where he has no business being.” And God brought the confusion of tongues, and thus, the word Babylon has become synonymous with the word “babble”, it is unintelligible sounds. He is babbling. What did he say? I don’t know he is babbling. So Babylon has become synonymous with unintelligible sounds. And God brought the confusion of languages as suddenly. They were not able to communicate with each other any more. And this confusion that resulted as their whole language patterns were changed, they began to get into groups and migrate away from that area into their language groups.
Now, we find that languages are based in groupings, but in many languages there is really no relation in the languages at all, as far as sounds are concerned. With many languages they are sort of basic. You have your romance languages where you have basic variations. You have languages that have been made up out of other language groups. But God brought that confusion in Babylon and thus it is always scripturally a symbol of a confused state.
Now, there is a tremendously confused religious state, as man has sought to take over and to establish a religious system for man. And I then study in the religious order and I become a religious man. And I become a go-between, because I am more righteous than you and I am more religious than you and I have a greater contact with God than you. I then become a priest and I help you to get to God: not so in reality. In truth, I am not more righteous than you. I do not have an in with God that you don’t have. In reality God looks at all of us the same. He doesn’t look at one as more righteous or holy than another. He sees us all the same. He sees us all who believe in Christ. He sees us all as righteous in Christ because of our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And we are all equal in the eyes of God, and there is no ranking as far as God is concerned. We are one together in Christ Jesus. And He is the only mediator between God and man.
Now, God can set up a perfect order. All you need is man to make confusion out of it. And God set up in the church a perfect order, but man confused it before the church was twenty years old. There were those who began to vie for authority, power, position and lording and ruling over others, though that was specifically prohibited by Jesus. He said, “You are not to be as the gentiles who love to lord over one another. If you want to be chief than learn to be the servant of all”( Mar 10:42 , Mar 10:44 ). And He rebuked the church of Pergamus because they had brought in a priest system, the priest over the laity. The Nicolaitanes ruling over the laity. And Jesus said, “I hate that.” Why? Because He died to abolish it. He died to open the door so that every one of us can come to God freely through the grace that is now ours in and through Jesus Christ.
So, man brought confusion, and that has developed through the years as the organization and structure has become so great and powerful. It began to rule over nations and kings, but God is going to bring it into special judgment and that judgment is declared here in the seventeenth chapter of Revelation.
And there came one of the seven angels ( Rev 17:1 )
Now, John just saw these seven angels as they poured out their plagues. One of them came to John, and as you remember in the one plague, the sixth plague, Babylon was brought into judgment and so forth. It was the fifth vial, the throne of the beast and the kingdom was full of darkness and so forth. Then in the nineteenth verse, in the seventh plague Babylon was brought into remembrance before God and judged. So, no doubt the seventh angel, which specifically dealt with judgment on the city of Babylon and came to Daniel to give him further explanation on the destruction of that religious system of man that ensnared men’s souls.
there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and he talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto you the judgment of the great whore that sits upon many waters ( Rev 17:1 ):
And spiritually this would be a false religious system leading men to a trust in something other than Jesus Christ for their relationship with God, trusting in their works, their goodness or something other than Jesus.
In the Bible, in a spiritual sense, adultery is the worship of another god. And so God said the nation of Israel in the worshipping of Baal, Mammon and Molech and so forth were committing adultery. They had gone out in their whoredoms. So, false worship of God or the worship of other gods is spiritual harlotry. So the great whore that has lead so many people into a false hope because they are not worshipping God in spirit and in truth according to the word of God.
sitting upon many waters [or nations]: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman who was sitting on a scarlet coloured beast ( Rev 17:1-3 ),
The scarlet colored beast of course being the antichrist.
full of names of blasphemy, [The beast itself] having seven heads and ten horns ( Rev 17:3 ).
This is a description of the beast. Again, we go back to Revelation chapter twelve and thirteen for the same description.
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and she was decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARuth ( Rev 17:4-5 ).
That is God’s view of her, “Mystery Babylon”. Why? Because she brought into the church many of the practices of the old Babylon religion that had been cursed of God.
Time does not permit us to go into the parallels that do exist in the practices that take place in many of the churches today, and those practices of ancient Babylon. Sufficient to say, that in ancient Babylon there was the worship of Nimrod also called Tammuz, and his mother Cymeramus also known as Ashtart. They were the mother and child, he supposedly born by a virgin. She was supposedly a virgin and he was born by virgin birth. He was worshipped by the people. He was a mighty hunter opposed to God according to the scriptures; called, “the mighty hunter” before the Lord. Actually, the Hebrew is “against the Lord”.
According to the stories, while hunting he was gored by a boar and died, and his body lay out there for three days and he resurrected. And thus, the people began to celebrate his resurrection by coloring eggs and by the worship of the rabbit, which of course is known for its productivity. And they had a great celebration they called Ashtart in which they worshipped his coming to life with the colored eggs and all. And it was a celebration year by year known as Ashtart, from which of course we get our word Easter. It is interesting that we have adopted the custom of coloring eggs.
He was supposedly born on December twenty-fifth. His birthday was celebrated by decorating trees, bringing them into your house and decorating them with silver and gold and different decorations, because the tree, the evergreen tree, the symbol of life, the evergreen tree and thus brought into the homes and decorated; accompanied with a lot of parties, gift-giving and drunken orgies.
Now, of course we don’t have anything in the church that we can liken unto that. These things were all of Babylonian origin. The Madonna and child with a halo about them; that kind of art existed a thousand years before Jesus was born as they worshipped Cymeramus, the mother and her virgin-born son Tammuz. “Mystery Babylon, the Mother of Harlots”.
So, God identifies the woman who is sitting upon the beast.
And the woman was drunken with the blood of the saints ( Rev 17:6 ),
Read Foxe’s book of Martyrs.
and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered [not with great admiration], but with great wonderment. And the angel said unto me, Why did you thus marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carried her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns ( Rev 17:6-7 ).
I will explain it to you the Lord said.
The beast that you saw was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit [or abusso in the Greek], and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. Now here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits ( Rev 17:8-9 ).
Or the city of Rome, the city of seven hills.
And there are seven kings ( Rev 17:10 ):
Seven emperors that have reigns over the Roman Empire.
five are fallen ( Rev 17:10 ),
Or are already dead at the time that John is writing.
one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he comes, he must continue for a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven ( Rev 17:10-11 ),
So, the beast is according to this, is one of the five previous Roman emperors prior to the writing of the book of Revelation by John. At the time that John was writing, he was no longer alive. He was in the abusso. He ascends out of the abusso. But the world will wonder at this man who once lived and was dead and is now alive again. Of the seven of the major Roman emperors, and of course the one that comes closest to fitting the description is none other than Caesar Nero whose name numerically in Hebrew totals to six hundred and sixty-six.
Caesar Nero was called by the early church the beast. That was the common name, because he wrecked so much havoc among the church. Quite apparent that he was possessed by demonic spirits. The things that he did could only be done by a mind perverted by Satan. The horrible atrocities that this man brought against the Christian church could only be done by a mind that was totally deranged by demonic forces.
And so the beast that was and is not,
even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and he is heading towards perdition [Gehenna]. And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, which have not received the kingdom; but receive power as kings ( Rev 17:11-12 )
That means that they are not actual kings as such, but they receive the same kind of a power as a king.
for one hour with the beast. And they have one mind ( Rev 17:13 ),
And that one mind is to make war with Christ and to destroy Him when He comes to set up His reign upon the earth. That is the one mind of these kings. So, they turn their power and strength over to the antichrist. He becomes the leader in the effort to thwart the establishing of God’s rule upon the earth.
Now, as John said when he wrote this epistle, he said, “The Spirit of antichrist is already at work in the world”( 1Jn 4:3 ). The spirit of antichrist is at work in our world today. There are already many powerful men who have dedicated themselves to the destroying of God: the humanist in their humanist manifesto. And many of our major congressmen and leaders are humanists and subscribe to the humanist manifesto.
And these men, such as Norman Lear, have tremendous power to influence our nation. They have dedicated their talents and their powers to the eradicating to the thought or the conscienceness of God from the minds of the people. They are out to destroy God. So, his programs put those who believe in God in sort of a weird funny category. There is an endeavor in the programming to make fun of strong beliefs, or faiths, or convictions, to make a man look like a fool, like a bumbling idiot who may have strong convictions on a particular subject. And the whole idea is to destroy by ridicule. For in the humanist manifesto, they are determined to eradicate once and for all the superstitious beliefs in a Supreme Being or in God by men. They are out to destroy God. Their goal is the destruction of God and the idea and concept of God, which they say, is archaic and belongs back in a past age of ignorance.
Now the purpose in destroying God is to free man so that he can live after his flesh without any kind of remorse or pangs of conscience. Thus, they want to get rid of any kind of a moral base that has its roots in the Bible. So that any of the prohibitions of the Bible, adultery, fornication and so forth are so obliterated from your mind that you can do these things without any conscience that would bother you or trouble you. Because, you see, that conscienceness comes from a biblical base and they are trying to destroy God and get rid of any feelings of guilt that man possesses, as a result of his past superstitious beliefs in a Supreme Being, and the Bible is His word to man. That is the goal of the humanist in their manifesto. And you can get the humanist manifesto and you can read point by point how they plan to bring to pass the destruction of God.
So, the spirit of antichrist is already at work and many of the powerful leaders have embraced the idea of the destruction of God. And we see that they have been highly successful. In Europe their job is just about complete. You go to Europe today and you are in a post-Christian era. You find out what the world is going to be like after the rapture has taken place. And you can see the hopelessness in the eyes of the people, the despair. And of course you see the other things that go along with such a society.
You see the degrading of womanhood as you see these poor girls standing in the windows beckoning to the men who walk by. They are displayed like merchandise, standing there like mannequins except that as the men walk by they try to entice them on in. And you can walk down the street and window after window see the degraded state of the women brought about by men whose minds are so perverted because of the absence of the conscienceness of God, that they have again degraded the woman back to the position that she was two thousand years ago before Christianity came on the scene and elevated her to a place of beauty and respect and honor. As they take advantage and as you see the nude pictures, as you see the pornographic magazines and all these things that attract the flesh, as you see people wholly given over to their own fleshly desires, you see the drunkenness and the hopelessness and you realize these men have been successful in their endeavor to destroy God from the minds and conscienceness of the people.
They are hard at work in the United States and they have come a long way here. They have petitioned the courts, which have allowed them to publish such filth, as we find in the girlie-type magazines that are open and available for the children to pick up and leaf through in the grocery store on the corner. They have been able to rule God out of the classroom in school. The Supreme Court has ruled that it is unlawful for the state of Louisiana to have the Ten Commandments written on the board in the classroom, even though it is written on the walls of the Supreme Court itself. They have declared that it is illegal to have the children sing Christmas carols in the public schools.
Thank God that we have courageous teachers who are Christians who are the salt of the earth, and in the public school system still shine as a glorious light in a dark place. And I thank God for everyone of you that are in public education and are putting up with the malaise of the broken society and these children who have come from this chaotic condition, and you are putting up with it in order to bring light unto them. And you are willing to go ahead and wherever you have opportunity share the true light of God. Thank God for you Christian teachers. You are the light of the world. Continue to shine until they kick you out.
And so these ten kings give their power to the beast in order that they might, through their combined efforts, destroy God once again to make war against Jesus as He returns, to stop the establishing of God’s law and God’s rule upon the earth. They don’t want God to rule over them.
These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them ( Rev 17:14 ):
I like that. No big battle, no big deal. They make war with the Lamb, but He overcomes them. Actually just with the words that go forth from His mouth they are destroyed. I don’t know what those words will be. I imagine that He will say you have had it man. He destroys them.
for he is King of kings, he’s the Lord of lords: and they that are with him are called, chosen, and faithful ( Rev 17:14 ).
God has called you to be His child. If you have responded to that call of God, He has chosen you to be a part of that eternal kingdom. And as we walk in faithfulness to Him, we have the promise that because you have been faithful, kept His commandments, He will also keep you from the hour of temptation, which is going to come upon the earth.
And he saith unto me, The waters which you saw, where the whore is sitting, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which you saw upon the beast, these shall hate the whore ( Rev 17:15-16 ),
These kings that shall give their power to the antichrist, they take advantage of the church, but now they turn against this religious system.
and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will ( Rev 17:16-17 ),
That is interesting, that is God’s will against this false religious system. And so they do it, but they only do it as God has put in their hearts to fulfill His will. It is interesting to me that God uses many times very unrighteous persons to accomplish His will. He can plant His will in the heart of an evil person. That was the problem that Habakkuk had when God revealed to Habakkuk that He was going to use the Babylonians to punish His people by taking them into captivity. And Habakkuk said, “Lord, come on, that is not fair. We are bad. I know that, but they are worse than we are. Now would you allow a nation more evil than us to conquer us?” God said to Habakkuk, “I told you that you wouldn’t understand that I told you that I would.” So, God puts in their heart to do His will,
and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which you saw is that great city, which reigns over the kings of the eaRuth ( Rev 17:17-18 ).
“
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Rev 17:1. ) , the account [reckoning], Rev 17:16.- , of the whore) Comp. Gloss, pp. 1195, 1440.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Rev 17:1-6
SECTION FOUR
BABYLON AND HER FALL
MORE FULLY DESCRIBED
Rev 17:1 to Rev 19:21
1. THE APOSTATE CHURCH THE
“MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS”
Rev 17:1-6
1 And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls, and spake with me,–The angel here being one of the seven whose work is described in the preceding chapter identifies this further revelation as directly connected with that in some way.. As the three chapters of this section describe the fall and desolation of Babylon in detail, the only conclusion that seems appropriate is that they explain what was said to have occurred when the seventh angel poured out the seventh plague. (Rev 16:17-21.) It may, therefore, be considered an extended symbolic view of what will take place when the last plague falls upon men. The language is in the past tense, but the incidents were then future–will not happen till Jesus comes again. Another example of the “prophetic past.”
saying, Come hither, I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters; –The words “Come hither” represent one Greek word–an adverb; the meaning is that John was to give attention while he was shown the judgment that was to be inflicted upon the apostate church, here represented as a great harlot. In verse 15 the “many waters” are explained to be “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” Since the apostate church is also called “Babylon the great,” the image may have been drawn from the fact that the ancient city was situated upon the Euphrates and encompassed with many canals. (Jer 51:13.) These waters sustained the city; the city controlled the waters. In like manner the nations supported the apostate church, and the papacy ruled the nations.
2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and they that dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her fornication.–A pure woman is a symbol of the true church–God’s faithful people–as the following texts will show: Gal 4:22-26; Eph 5:22-24;Eph 5:31-33. An obedient wife to a loving husband is Paul’s figurative description of the church as being true to Christ her head. An unfaithful wife typically represents an apostate church–those once God’s people, but who have corrupted themselves with idolatry and human doctrines. The kingdoms of Israel and Judah were both called a backsliding people, and charged with having “committed adultery with stones and with stocks.” (Jeremiah 36-10; Eze 23:37.) Because of their idolatry God allowed both kingdoms to be carried into bondage. The reason for the final rejection of the corrupt church is its idolatry and perversion of the truth. It is appropriately described, like the same sin among ancient Israel, as harlotry. This horrid sin is the disgusting symbol by which unfaithfulness to God is presented. Expositors generally agree that the word in the Bible refers to doctrinal corruption in most of its occurrences.
Kings here, doubtless, are to be taken literally, meaning that the rulers, representing the nations, were influenced and made the mediums through whom the perpetuation of these false doctrines could be made effective. To “commit fornication” means to practice the false teachings, and such people were affected by these practices as a drunk man is by wine. Intoxication by false doctrines is more deadly than that by wine. It not only dulls the senses, but closes one’s eyes to the truth.
3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness –In a vision the great city’s fall (16:19) is now to be explained, and a change of scene is necessary. By the Spirit John’s mind was transported to other symbols which give a detailed description of that fall. The event, of course, was future when John wrote, and is still future. Why these visions appeared in a wilderness is not stated. That the word wilderness, if any symbolic significance is intended, indicates the desolation that was to come upon the city seems the most probable view.
and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. –Unquestionably this woman is to be contrasted with the woman of 12:1. The true and false churches are described by a variety of symbols. The former is called a temple, a city (Jerusalem), a household, a kingdom, and a true and pure wife. (1Co 3:16; Heb 12:22; Gal 6:10; Mat 16:18 ; Eph 5:22-32.) The latter John pictures as a beast, a city (Babylon), and an impure and faithless wife. (Rev 13:11; Rev 18:2; Rev 17:5). A drunken harlot with all the abominable wickedness that goes with such crimes is the disgusting view here given of the apostate church. John sees the woman sitting “upon many waters” (verse 1), and “upon a scarlet-colored beast” (verse 3). These are two views of the same woman. See next paragraph for an explanation of the beast.
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearls,–Scarlet color is a significant characteristic of royal apparel; rich jewels of gold, pearls, and precious stones are the natural adornment of earthly rulers. When enemies wished to ridicule the claim of Jesus that he was a king, they placed a scarlet robe upon him. (Mat 27:28.) Some think the red color in this symbol finds fulfillment in the Catholic Church’s use of it in such things as the cardinal’s red hats. Perhaps the harlot being so gorgeously decked and robed was only intended to indicate her claim of royal authority–the divine right to rule the world. No picture could more appropriately portray her false claim, for the dignitaries of no other church have been so gorgeously arrayed and richly decked.
having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, even the unclean things of her fornication,–John sees the symbolic woman with a golden cup in her hand, which means she was appealing to all to drink of its contents. This is a figurative expression that means the apostate church was using every device possible to get all men to practice her false doctrines. The cup contained corrupt and false teaching, fittingly represented by harlotry, and was therefore an abomination to God. The text calls them “unclean things,” comparable to the unfaithfulness of a wife to her husband. There could be no stronger condemnation of a corrupt and perverted worship than such pretended honor to God.
5 and upon her forehead a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.–The name written upon the forehead could be distinctly seen, and it enabled John to understand the character of the woman instantly. Doubtless the reason for its appearing in the symbol was to prevent anyone’s misunderstanding the corrupt institution represented. Expositors are not agreed about the import of the word “Mystery.” Some consider it a part of the name; others think it an introductory word by John himself, meaning that a mysterious name was written. This would imply that the name was to be taken figuratively –literal Babylon being taken symbolically to represent spiritual Babylon, the apostate Roman Church. In either view the true meaning would have to be found by learning the import of the symbol.
Concerning ancient Babylon Jeremiah said: “Babylon bath been a golden cup in Jehovah’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.” (Jer 51:7.) God permitted Babylon t o punish Israel because of their sins, but promised that Babylon would be destroyed for her own sins. See verses 8, 9. This shows she was typical of the false church as our next verse indicates.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with a great wonder.–John next sees the symbolic woman plainly drunk, not with wine, but with the blood of the saints. The word “saints” here must he taken literally. The general statement “blood of the saints” is more particularly described as “blood of the martyrs”–that is, those who were slain because of their witnessing for the truth. The word “martyr” literally means a witness. The picture is that of victorious warriors inflaming their minds by drinking the blood of their victims. The meaning is, that the church that had become apostate through perverting Christianity with the commandments of men was so gloating over her persecutions of faithful saints that she was positively drunk mentally. John sees this abominable institution as the “Mother of the Harlots”–that is, the source from which would arise all churches that mingle the divine truth with human speculations.
Commentators have suggested many reasons why John wondered, but the simplest, and one that accords best with the angel’s explanation in the next paragraph, seems to be this: he wondered what was signified by a drunken woman sitting upon a vicious wild beast.
Commentary on Rev 17:1-6 by Foy E. Wallace
(1) The harlot sitting upon the waters-Rev 17:1-2.
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters. The term harlot has been used always in a figurative sense to denote wicked cities, as of Nineveh in Nah 3:4; and of Jerusalem in Isa 1:21; and of Israel, when the nation became a harlot by the practice of idolatry in Revelation.
So here apostate Jerusalem, in broken relation with God, was given the mystic name Babylon, the mother of harlots. From generations past the execration of Israel had increased from the time of prophets reprobations in Isa 1:21 to the Lords lamentations in Mat 23:29-39. By the elders of Israel the official responsibility for crucifying the Christ was placed upon Jerusalem in Mat 27:25. The martyr Stephen laid upon Jerusalem with the criminal charges of betrayers and murders in Act 7:52. The descriptions in Revelation, Rev 14:8; Rev 17:1-6; Rev 18:1-2 were but extensions of the same exposures in the continuing apostasies of Jerusalem.
The vision of the harlot that sitteth upon many waters was based upon the fact and the history that Jerusalem depended on her affiliations with the Roman Empire and its tributaries for commerce, revenue and support.
This statement has been considered an indication that the Harlot was Rome, sitting on the waters. But the same figure of speech was applied to Babylon in Jer 51:13 : 0 thou that dwellest upon many waters. It was not a reference to a literal geographical location, but to commercial sources of revenue and support; and it was a very impressive imagery of Jerusalems dependence on affiliations with the heathen tributaries of Rome.
The reference in Rev 17:2 to the harlots fornication with the kings, and the wine of her fornication making drunk the inhabitants of the land were symbols of the extensions of Jerusalems affiliations with foreign people, and the passion to be like the nations around them, as Israel demanded in 1Sa 8:5. These affiliations so enamored the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem as to be characterized in the symbolism of being drunk with. the wine of her fornication.
The apocalypse was consistently that of apostate Jerusalem. It described the iniquities of Israel from their national sin of demanding a king to be as other nations under Samuel, the course that carried them into exile; and that in the visions of Revelation brought their city and their national existence to destruction.
(2) The woman on the scarlet coloured beast-Rev 17:3-8.
So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman situpon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
The color of the beast was derived from the Red Dragon of the preceding chapters that instigated the persecutions. The crimson color was also the symbol of sin: Though your sins be as scarlet . . . though they be red like crimson Isa 1:18. The adaptation of the color red was significant in this symbol of a beast full of the sins of blasphemy. The word blasphemy originally denoted every kind of railing, reviling, irreverence, and insulting reproaches against God, or any other detraction; hence, this beast was full of names of blasphemy–any or all blasphemy against the church that could be named in connection with or reference to every known form of heathen idolatry.
The comments on the seven heads and ten horns which characterized the beast have been made in preceding chapters, this being the same beast, the Roman Empire and its tributaries, extended remarks here are unnecessary.
The description in Rev 17:4, of the woman arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and bedecked with all adornments of gold, jewels and pearls, were highly extended symbols of the harlots sources of seduction; and the golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication were all descriptive of the lewd character of the harlot woman, and symbolic of the unfaithfulness of Jerusalem, the faithful city become an harlot. It was a lurid picture of the spiritual condition of Jerusalem and all Judea.
The name written on the womans head, in verse five, was the inscription: Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth. The spiritual evils of the land of Judea with all the national apostasies of Judaism were her offspring.
The prophet Hosea employed the same figure of whoredom, or harlotry, in his descriptions of Israel in Hos 1:2 and Hos 2:1-5 of his book of prophecy. Stronger terms defining spiritual adulteries, fornications and harlotry, could not have been employed to set forth the spiritual luridness of Israel which brought on her exile–and the same extreme analogies apply to the spiritual decadence of Jerusalem which culminated in destruction, devastation downfall and termination.
The woman was envisioned as drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus, in Rev 17:6. This not only referred to the fact that Jerusalem had slain the prophets as in Mat 23:29-39; and been betrayers and murderers, as charged by Stephen in Act 7:52; and was the city where also our Lord was crucified, as in Rev 11:8; but it was her apostasies that had caused the persecutions which had overwhelmed the land, and Jerusalem was therefore responsible for the blood of the saints and the martyrs symbolized throughout the apocalypse.
When John saw this adorned harlot sitting on the beast, he wondered with great admiration. The word wonder here means that the meaning had not yet been revealed, as it was done in the visions that followed. The word admiration has the meaning of astonishment–that is, John wondered with great amazement as he viewed the decked and jeweled Harlot seated on the beast whose power would bring her to destruction.
Commentary on Rev 17:1-6 by Walter Scott
THE GREAT HARLOT DESCRIBED
(Rev 17:1-6).
THE WOMAN AND THE BEAST.
Rev 17:1. – The Seer first beholds the great harlot sitting upon the (The insertion of the article is a questioned reading. Its place, however, in the text is supported by many competent authorities. The definite article in introducing subjects of interest is a characteristic feature of the Apocalypse. It marks the definiteness and importance of the subject so spoken of. See the Heaven, the rainbow, the seven thunders (Rev 10:1-11), the beast (Rev 11:7), the two wings of the great eagle (Rev 12:14), etc. The use of the article brings into prominence subjects which might otherwise be regarded as of trivial moment.) many waters (see Jer 51:13).
In the explanation of the vision (Rev 17:7-18) we are informed who these waters signify: The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. The introduction of multitudes into the usual formula expressing universality marks the heterogeneous character of those subject to her sway. The great harlot sits upon the many waters. She rules and dominates the nations religiously, as the Beast does politically. Her following is an almost universal one. She herself is a vast religious system. The woman and the Beast represent distinct ideas. The former is the religious system; the latter the civil power. Corruption of the truth is characteristic of Babylon. Daring self-will and open opposition to God are marked features of the Beast. Corruption and self-will have been at work from earliest ages, and in fact were the two great evils let loose amongst the race in the period preceding the flood (Gen 6:11). Here we witness the full-blown development of the same crimes. Corruption is Godward; violence man-ward. The former is embodied and concentrated in the woman, who is a licentious one, for she is termed a harlot and the mother of harlots; the Beast is openly bad and exercises brute force, trampling down ruthlessly all that opposes, and at the end daringly comes out in military force and array against Christ and His heavenly army (Rev 19:19).
The Beast first destroys the woman, then flushed with victory and intoxicated with power madly and impiously leads on his armies against the Lamb and His militant host. The principles of Babylon have been at work from earliest times, but its highest development is yet future. It is not the papal system alone, (It cannot be doubted that our most eminent divines have commonly held and taught that the apocalyptic prophecies concerning Babylon were designed by the Holy Spirit to describe the Church of Rome. Not only they who flourished at the period of the Reformation, such as Archbishop Cranmer, Bishops Ridley and Jewel, and the Authors of the Homilies, but they also who followed them in the next, the most learned age of our theology – I mean the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth century – proclaimed openly the same doctrine. And it was maintained by those in that learned age who were most eminent for sober moderation and christian charity as well as profound erudition. It may suffice to mention the illustrious names of the two brightest luminaries of the English Church: Richard Hooker and Bishop Andrewes. – Wordsworth on the Apocalypse. Does pagan Rome or papal Rome inherit the character and features of the apocalyptic Babylon? The latter surely. In so far as popery has corrupted the truth, persecuted the saints of God, advanced arrogant and blasphemous claims, assumed universal dominion, and otherwise drunk into the spirit and adopted the principles and practices of the Great Harlot – she is in character the Babylon of the Apocalypse, but as we have already remarked, the Babylon of prophecy is worse – infinitely more than ever the papal system has been. We look for a fuller development of evil. Babylon is future.) but the fusion of parties bearing the Christian name into one vast system of evil. The characteristics of the papacy in the Middle Ages are evidently witnessed in the whore of the Apocalypse. The great whore is not only Satans counterfeit of the true Church, but is the concentrated expression of every antichristian movement and sect then in existence, consolidated and controlled by Satan. The pretensions of the whore, or harlot, are supported by the military forces and prestige of the apostate empire, whilst her influence extends throughout the known world. This gigantic system of spiritual whoredom is, without doubt, Satans masterpiece, and the vilest thing beneath the sun.
THE GREAT HARLOT.
Rev 17:2. – This, then, is Babylon the great: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and they that dwell on the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. This is future, although a past resemblance may be sought for in the character and doings of the papacy in the dark times of the Middle Ages. The harlot first forms a guilty alliance with the kings of the earth, i.e., the great political leaders of Christendom, and then makes drunk with the wine of her fornication they that dwell on the earth, that is, the mass of Christian apostates(*See remarks on Rev 2:13; on Rev 3:10; on Rev 8:13; and on Rev 11:8-10.). The wickedness of these once Christian professors is then filled up. Christ, the heavenly calling, and Christianity abandoned, they give themselves up to the short-lived joys of the harlots cup of wine. It is truly awful to contemplate the career, the character, and the doom of those dwellers on the earth, thus morally distinguished and singled out as the worst on the face of the globe.
SPIRITUAL FORNICATION.
Adultery, or idolatry – with their idols have they committed adultery (Eze 23:37) – is the special sin charged upon Israel of old as being the married wife of Jehovah (The royal consort of the King is Jerusalem (Psa 45:9). The bride and wife of the Lamb is the Church (Rev 19:7; Rev 21:9). The wife of Jehovah is Israel (Jer 3:14). The mother of the Man-Child is Israel, strictly speaking, Judah (Rev 12:1; Rom 9:5).) (Jer 3:14; Isa 54:1). For this she was divorced. (A wife divorced can never again be a virgin; hence not Israel, but the Church is the bride of the Lamb (see 2Co 11:2; Eph 5:32).) But in the purpose and grace of Jehovah Israel will be reinstated in her former blessed relation, one never again to be forfeited so long as sun and moon endure. Fornication, or illicit intercourse and connection with the guilty and apostate world, is the solemn indictment against Babylon – the corrupt and licentious woman who ensnares and captivates with her short-lived pleasures all within her influence – kings and people, high and low. The seductive glitter and meretricious display of this abandoned woman affect all classes, and morally ruin those over whom she casts her golden chains and who drink of her cup. Every right and true thought of Christ perishes where the womans blandishments are received and her smile courted.
THE BEAST ON WHICH THE WOMAN SITS.
Rev 17:3. – I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The Beast, if not the most prominent figure in the vision, is yet an integral part of the prophecy. The subserviency of the Beast to the harlot is expressed by the Seer, I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast. The action intimates the thorough and complete subjection of the civil power. The rule and supremacy of the woman over the vast imperial and apostate power is a singular sight. The woman not only sits upon, or beside, the nations and peoples comprised within the prophetic area (v. 1), but also rules the Beast, the then dominating civil and political power on earth (v. 3).
The scene in vision where this strange sight is beheld is a desert, a place of loneliness and utter desolation. What a striking contrast to the display both of the woman and the Beast! The surpassing splendor of both captivates the heart and intoxicates the senses of all, save a suffering remnant to whom this pageant is as a wilderness, for God is not there. It is but a grand flash, a magnificent spectacle before the final crash and overthrow.
But who is the scarlet Beast on whom the woman sits, from whom she derives her material strength, and through whom she enforces her commands? The political government of the world, its glory and greatness are indicated by the scarlet color. (The three colors in the gate of the Court of the Tabernacle, in the door of the Tabernacle, and in the veil dividing the holy from the most holy were blue, purple, and scarlet. The first points to Christ in His heavenly character; the second to His sufferings on earth; and the third to His assumption of the government and glory of the earth in a coming day.) Without doubt it is the world power of Rome that is here referred to, revived in grandeur and greatness, and controlled by Satan. The Beast is first named in the Apocalypse in Rev 11:1-19, and is abruptly introduced into the history as a subject well known and understood.
Rev 17:3. – Full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. In Rev 13:1 the seven heads, or complete governing authority of the empire, have upon them names of blasphemy (see margin of the Authorized Version). Here the Beast itself is said to be full of names of blasphemy (Rev 17:3). It is not simply that the executive of the empire is given over to many and varied expressions of a blasphemous character, but the empire itself, in all its parts, is wholly corrupt; while open, blatant blasphemy characterizes it throughout. Names of blasphemy intimate many and varied forms of rebellion and self-will against God.
Rev 17:3 – Having seven heads and ten horns. In the earlier notice of the seven heads upon the Beast there is indicated the completeness of administrative power (Rev 13:1), but here, as is shown in the explanation (Rev 17:10), the heads represent successive forms of government. The horns represent royal personages (Rev 17:12). In Rev 12:3 the dragon has seven heads and ten horns; the former being crowned, (In these passages the word should read diadems, not crowns. The former refers to the exercise of despotic, arbitrary power; the latter to limited monarchies – constitutional kingdoms.) not the latter. In Rev 13:1 the Beast has ten horns and seven heads, the horns in this case being crowned. In our chapter, however, neither heads nor horns are crowned. The royal personages seen in the vision were not in full possession of their royal dignity; thus, in the angels explanation of the ten-horned Beast, we read, And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have not yet received a kingdom, but receive authority as kings one hour with the Beast (Rev 17:12); that is, they reign in royal authority in conjunction with the Beast, the little horn of Dan 7:8; Dan 7:20 being their master. As the actual reign of these ten kings is regarded as subsequent to the vision the horns are not crowned.
THE WOMAN IN HER GLORY.
Rev 17:4. – And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and had ornaments of gold and precious stones and pearls. Having had the state in the Beast, we again turn to witness the Church in the woman, and her ascendancy for a time over the civil power. She rides the Beast, and controls it for her own selfish ends and purposes. But she is by far the more dangerous of the two. The Beast openly blasphemes and persecutes the saints then standing for the rights of God. The woman is seductive and attractive, and having gathered to herself the weight and splendour of courts, palaces, and, in short, the tinsel glory of the world, she sits as a queen, and wins by her arts and seductive flatteries the heart of Christendom. God is displaced in the thoughts of men.
Her vesture, purple and scarlet, is that which particularly distinguishes pope and cardinal. Her ornaments of gold, precious stones, and pearls are amongst the chief symbols of papal pride and glory. Silver is not here named. In the services of the papal Church silver is being discarded for gold. But whatever resemblance there may be between Babylon and the Roman Catholic Church, the great point is that the woman is arrayed and decked out in the worlds tinsel and finery. She surrounds herself with what the world regards as its highest and most valued possessions and material wealth; that, too, which it lives and labours to amass and accumulate.
Rev 17:4. – Having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations, and the unclean things of her fornication. Babylon as a system is covered with an external grandeur and glory that attracts the natural heart and imagination of man, dazzling and bewildering him. But, worse still, she holds in her hand a golden cup. How tempting! The cup is of gold, but its contents reveal the depths of iniquity to which she has sunk. The scarlet Beast, the color of the dragon (Rev 12:3), was full of names, or expressions, of blasphemy, so here the womans cup was full of abominations, and the unclean things of her fornication. These two evils, idolatry and corruption, characterise the last phase of the professing Church on earth. Abominations refer to idolatry (2Ki 23:13; Isa 44:19; Eze 16:36), and fornication to gross corruption (Rev 2:21 : Rev 9:21). Idolatry and the worst forms of wickedness characterize the woman. Her cup is full of horrible evils. The climax has been reached. These things might have been looked for in the midst of the heathen, but for Christendom, now the scene of light, of grace, and truth, to become the very hotbed and cesspool of all that is religiously filthy and vile is indeed a marvel. Yet this chapter sketches in plain word and symbol the future of these lands. Now the Holy Ghost dwells in the professing Church, then Satan will fill it, both with his presence and awful deeds. We thank God for the sure testimony of Jesus that the Church which He builds is invulnerable (Mat 16:18), and its ultimate triumph secured (Eph 5:27).
BABYLON A MOTHER.
Rev 17:5. – Upon her forehead a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots, and of the abominations of the earth. The shameless character of Babylon is next shown. Her name is publicly borne, indelibly stamped upon her forehead, so that all may read and understand the true character of this awful system – a travesty of the true Church. Her name is a compound one. First, Mystery. (See remarks on Rev 1:20; and on Rev 10:7.) The general usage of the word in the New Testament signifies what is now revealed, but had hitherto been a secret (Mat 13:1-58; Eph 5:32, etc.). The Church is subject to Christ; the woman is subject to none. She usurps Christs place of supremacy over the nations. She is indeed a mystery. She should have stood for God and truth, but now she is witnessed as the embodiment of error, and of all that is morally vile and wicked. Second, Babylon the Great. It is a huge system of spiritual evil. Great and bad as Babylon was, the enslaver of Gods people of old, so bad that its doom is irrevocable (Jer 51:64), yet it is exceeded by far in its spiritual counterpart, the great Babylon of the Apocalypse. The former was guilty, but the latter much more so. In Babylon the Great we witness the gathering up in one vast system all the evils which in past times have gone to wreck the Church. This is the culmination. The evils which have ever afflicted Christendom are here focused. The last days of the Church on earth are her worst. Christianity is the combined production of the Godhead, but Christendom is here viewed as the vilest thing on earth. Truly, the woman is entitled to the appellation Babylon the Great. That which should be her shame and sin she publicly glories in. Third, The mother of the harlots, and of the abominations of the earth. Her offspring are numerous. She is the parent, the source of each and every religious system which courts the world. Religious idolatry of every shape and form, every ensnaring thing and object; in short, systems, things, doctrines, and objects used by Satan to turn men from God are here traced to their source – Great Babylon. The moral features of Babylon are ever the same – unchanged through all the ages. Here she is seen in her worst, because in her last and closing hours, the parent of all that is morally loathsome. This, then, is the character publicly borne by the woman, just as in ancient times it was the practice in certain places for harlots to bear their name and evil reputation on their foreheads. If the admirers of the woman fail to see her true character because intoxicated with her finery and grandeur the spiritual do not.
THE WOMAN DRUNK WITH BLOOD,
AND THE WONDER OF THE SEER.
Rev 17:6. – And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And I wondered seeing her, with great wonder. One could readily understand the hatred of the pagan powers to the followers and witnesses of Jesus, but that the woman, the Church of these days and times, should herself shed the blood of Gods saints is indeed a cause of wonder to the Seer. She it was who devised the hellish cruelties of the Middle Ages. The secular power is an instrument in the hands of the woman. The real instigator, the power behind the civil authority, is the whore. In her skirts is found the blood so wantonly shed in all ages. Babylon inherits the guilt of every previous persecuting religious power (Mat 23:35). She has never judged the past. Her history is black enough, and stained in every page with blood, the blood of those dear to God and Christ. The Seer marvels at the awful sight. The Church is here witnessed as the most wicked thing on earth. This, then, is what the professing Church is coming to. Nothing can exceed her in grandeur, in greatness, in idolatry, in filthiness, and in cruelty. I wondered seeing her, with great wonder. The earth dwellers are drunk with her wine (Rev 17:2), and the woman herself is drunk with blood. These two, i.e., the apostates and the woman, are the worst then on the face of the earth, and on both the full fury of Gods indignation bursts forth in flames of inextinguishable wrath.
Commentary on Rev 17:1-6 by E.M. Zerr
Rev 17:1. This chapter (like some others) goes back to the time just before the Reformation, and will make symbolic predictions of that revolution. It should be stated that while the institution of church and state (which has not yet been dissolved as to the start of this chapter), is regarded as Babylon the Great and an enemy of God, the church part of the combination will seem to receive the more attention from the Lord in his condemnations. That is because it deals with the affairs of the soul which are more important than those of the secular government. Yet because the apostate church was supported by the political power of Rome and her Empire, much of the language in the symbols will be based upon the geographical and political features of that city. Show unto thee the judgment or give John a prediction of God’s judgments in a vision. The great whore is said of the apostate church because false religions of all kinds are likened to immorality in figurative language. Sitteth upon many waters. Waters in symbolic language means people upon whom the corrupt institution pressed down with her desolating weight of intolerance and persecution.
Rev 17:2. The kings of the earth means the rulers over the various divisions of the political empire, such as the ones named at Rev 13:1. In their devotion to the spiritual harlot they were guilty of fornication. The inhabitants of the earth refers to the subjects under these kings who submitted to their adulterous ruling. Wine of her fornication. In literal practice we find “wine and women” often associated, hence they are so considered in the symbolic vision that Johnsaw.
Rev 17:3. Carried me away in the spirit is significant, and reminds us again of the truth that John never did leave the isle of Patmos literally while in the vision of this book. It was a part of the symbolical vision to be taken away into the wilderness and see the things that shall be described. The woman is the apostate church of Rome symbolized by the city of Rome because the church rested on the government of that city for support. The literal reason for using a beast in the symbol that was scarlet, was the fact that scarlet was one of the royal colors of the Empire. Seven heads and ten horns is explained at chapter 13:1, and it will appear in this chapter with a slight variation in the application.
Rev 17:4. Since the state color of the beast (Rome) was scarlet and purple, it was appropriate that the rider of the beast should be robed to match. It is literally true that the clergy of the church of Rome wear these colors in their church ceremonies. It is also appropriate that such colors be used in the symbols of that church, in view of the faithful people of God who had their blood taken from them in the persecution at the hands of that wicked institution. Being decked with precious stones and pearls also was appropriate because the church of Rome possesses and uses great wealth in her ceremonies. The symbolic cup represents the corrupt practices that the church of Rome forced upon her subjects. It is symbolized in the form of a person filling a cup with vile and abominable materials then forcing some helpless person to drink it.
Rev 17:5. The name that John saw written on the forehead of this woman was put there by the Lord to designate to the apostate her true character, not that she had taken to herself such an inscription. In truth the leaders of the church of Rome of today deny that this applies to their “holy mother church.” Mystery is a part of her characteristics; Thayer’s definition of the word at this place is, “The mystic or hidden sense.” The apostate church has always thrived most when she could keep her people in ignorance of what was going on. Babylon the great. There are many ways in which anything can be great both good and bad. Babylon was great in a bad sense and that is because she was the most extensive and powerful influence for evil that Satan ever devised. Mother of harlots. A bad woman can be the mother of pure daughters and they would not need to participate in the wickedness of their mother; but this woman’s daughters also are harlots. Of course as we have previously learned, harlotry in figurative Ianguage means any false religion or unscriptural organization. The conclusion is that the religious denominations in the world are the harlot daughters of Rome, because they obtained the principal tenets that make up their creeds from the doctrines put out by that apostate church. Abominations of the earth is a general summing up of the evil doctrines and practices of the church of Rome throughout the world.
Rev 17:6. Saints and martyrs refer to the same people although the words have a different (but not conflicting) meaning. Saint means a holy or righteous person which applies to all Christians. Martyr means witness and all Christians are martyrs because they are faithful to the testimony of the Gospel regardless of what may be the result. The fact that both saints and martyrs had shed their blood in defence of the testimony of Jesus, shows the latter word is not applied to some on the simple ground that they died for Christ. Saw the woman drunken. To be drunk literally requires that a person be under the influence of alcohol. The term has come to be used figuratively, as when it is said that a man is “drunk with a craze for money; or for pleasure.” Rome had shed so much blood of righteous people she is said to be drunk with the desire to slay the Christians. Wondered with great admiration. The last word usually has the sense of approval, but it is not restricted to that meaning. The phrase means the vision John saw was so unusual and vast that he could only gaze at it.
Commentary on Rev 17:1-6 by Burton Coffman
Rev 17:1
This mighty chapter, more than any other in the word of God, kindled the courage and fired the zeal of the great martyrs and reformers who led the rebellion against the tyranny of the Medieval church, re-opened the New Testament for all the peoples of the earth from whom it had been stolen for centuries, and dealt the great whore of this chapter a wound from which she has never fully recovered. This writer has no desire whatever to accommodate with that vast school of modern exegetes who, like Southey’s owl:
Sailing with obscene wings athwart the noon; He drops his blue-fringed lids and holds them close, And hooting at the sun in heaven, Asks, Where is it? Where is it?
Christian commentators who withhold from view the obvious, historically accepted interpretation of this chapter must give an account to God for their reticence. If one is blind (spiritually), he may be pardoned for not revealing what he cannot discern; but, for those who reveal their true knowledge of what this chapter really means by the crooked arguments designed to contradict it, are nothing but an enigma. Do they not know that they themselves are under the eternal curse of this tyranny, proscribed and consigned to hell, and under the perpetual interdiction of that religious hierarchy which arrogates to itself alone the right to forgive the sins of people? Why, then, this amazing tenderness which so generally tempers their evasive comments?
The mainline interpretation of this chapter was thus stated by Albertus Pieters:
The Great Harlot symbolizes the apostate Christian Church, manifested historically in many forms, conspicuously and chiefly in the Roman Catholic Church, but also in other forms of nominal Christianity, especially when in combination with political power. We shall call this the Apostate Church interpretation.[1]
Although Pieters “reluctantly” voted against this view, for reasons which he cited, and which in no sense justify his decision, he nevertheless admitted that, “This view is held by many of the very best expositors, among whom we may mention William Milligan, Auberlen and Alford.”[2] Criswell, Plummer, Carpenter and many others could be added. Before considering some objections to it, we shall list some of the reasons for accepting this main-line interpretation of it:
1. The figure of adultery, harlotry, or fornication is the standard Old Testament description of apostasy. A very few instances in which the figure was applied to heathen cities, not apostate, cannot nullify the general usage. It is in the sense of the apostasy of God’s people that the figure is used “in the great majority of the Scriptures where it is used.”[3] There would therefore need to be some compelling reason for setting aside the normal and general meaning of the figure here; and no such reason exists. Pieters also admitted that, “It is correct that the figure of the harlot is a standard symbol of the Old Testament, and it usually means apostasy from Jehovah on the part of his people.”[4] “This argument has great force.”[5] It practically proves that the Great Harlot is some form of Apostate Christianity.
2. This Great Harlot was viewed by John “in the wilderness,” invariably associated with the church’s sojourn on earth, answering to the type of the first Israel’s forty years of wilderness wanderings, a symbolism that forces the conclusion that the Great Harlot is the true church gone astray, an apostate church. If such an apostasy had never occurred, this analogy might be ignored; “But this is exactly what happened to the Catholic Church, and not only to her but to many Protestant churches.”[6] This is a very strong argument.
3. The astonishment of the apostle (Rev 17:6) would be impossible to understand if it merely meant that a pagan city was in league with the devil. On the other hand, it would indeed be grounds for astonishment if Apostate Christianity itself was so revealed.
4. The glorified Bride of Christ, the church, is called “a city” in Rev 21:2; Rev 21:9-10; and it should therefore be expected that an Apostate Church should also be referred to as a city, in this case, Babylon; and this cannot nullify the positive spiritual overtones in this prophetic description of the Great Harlot.
5. The Great Harlot, represented here as committing fornication with the kings of the earth, is not an appropriate metaphor of Rome’s relation to the vassal kings of her great dominion when John wrote; but it is a valid metaphor of the Papal hierarchy’s traffic with human governments going on throughout history up to and including the present time. The literal Rome indeed raped many kingdoms; but this is not the metaphor of Revelation 17.
6. The compound vision of the Great Harlot riding the scarlet colored beast (Rev 17:3) requires that the harlot be identified with the second beast, the land-beast, of Rev 13:11. Wilcock was correct in his affirmation that this chapter “has established her (the great whore’s) identity with the second beast, false religion; while the scarlet beast in Rev 13:1 corresponds to the scarlet beast in Rev 17:3.”[7] Plummer also agreed that, “The second beast there (Rev 13:11) is identical with the Harlot and represents the apostate portion of the church.”[8] A study of our notes on Revelation 13 will reveal just how conclusive this argument is. “There can be no doubt that the Harlot describes the degenerate portion of the Church.”[9]
7. “The Mother of Harlots …” (Rev 17:5). This makes no sense at all unless understood as a reference to the apostate sects of Protestantism, historically the children of the Harlot, and many of them walking in her devious ways. In no sense whatever can this be understood of the literal city of Rome, nor of the emperor cult, nor of anything else ever suggested.
8. This Harlot reigns over the kings of the earth (Rev 17:18), her dominion including authority over “every tribe, tongue, people, and nation” (Rev 13:7); and she exercised “All the authority of the first beast” (Rev 13:12). Furthermore, this authority of the second beast (the Harlot) continues throughout the dispensation until the second Advent of Christ. There is not anything else in the history of the world that fulfills this except the worldwide Papal hierarchy and its spiritual children, the daughters of the Harlot. It is pure fantasy to interpret this as the promoters of “the emperor cult.”
There can be no marvel, then, that Luther, Tyndale, Huss, Knox, Wesley, Alexander Campbell, and other great ones of the Reformation accepted the interpretation presented here. For additional discussion of this see our “Excursus on the Man of Sin,” my Commentary on 2Thessalonians, pp. 106-117.
OBJECTIONS
1. Revelation would have had no relevance for John’s day if this interpretation is allowed. This is wrong. The great apostasy was specifically prophesied by Paul who stated that it was ‘”working already” (2Th 2:7). The church already had the disease that was to develop in time into the apostasy. Furthermore, the idolatry, blasphemous arrogance, perversions of the true worship, and other characteristics of the later apostasy were the “stock in trade” of the pagan religions prevalent everywhere when Revelation was written; but the thing that astounded John himself was the visions of these same things in the church at a time which we recognize as being far later. See article below on “‘Resurgence of Paganism in the Apostasy.”
2. John’s vision deals with the emperor cult. There is an element of truth in this; for the pure paganism of that condition was just as sinful in its original setting as it was later in the apostasy. The error is in making that original paganism the only thing in this prophecy. Such a view is just as myopic and unreasonable as limiting it to the Papacy alone; neither extreme is correct. See statement of the main-line interpretation at the head of this discussion.
3. As Pieters said, “It is difficult to see how original readers of Revelation could interpret this any other way than as a reference to the Imperial City.”[10] We agree that that is exactly what they would have done, but this is not a valid objection, because the prophecy is vast enough to include a relevance for all generations. The acceptance of the New Testament as a guide, not for one age only, but for all ages, it seems to us is the only tenable view of it as the word of God, an inspired book. This is precisely the point where so many go astray.
4. Viewing the Harlot as the city of Rome harmonizes better with Revelation 18 and the facts of history. This must be denominated as a monstrous misstatement of fact. See our interpretation of Revelation 18. Also, the city of Rome (in its pagan character) has not continued throughout history to rule over all nations, a dominant prediction in the prophecy, except in the very sense of our interpretation. See more on this in the notes below.
5. “It is not without precedent to apply the figure of the Harlot to a heathen city, without any religious reference.”[11] This of course is true; but where is the compelling reason for so doing? when the vast majority of instances employing this figure in the Old Testament refer absolutely to the apostasy of God’s people from the true worship of Jehovah. Besides that, in the New Testament, there is no example whatever of its being used of a heathen city. This objection has no weight at all.
Over and beyond all arguments and objections is the startling, dramatic contrast between the Bride of Christ and the Harlot which dominates this and the succeeding chapter, and which, on its face, positively has to mean the True Church and the False Church.
RESURGENCE OF PAGANISM IN THE APOSTASY
The relevance of Revelation to John’s day is seen in the condemnation of paganism which was rampant in apostolic times. The same relevance, of course, pertains to that resurgence of paganism which undeniably marked the character of the Apostate Church. If Revelation was relevant to either period, it was relevant to both. Here is a list of a few elements of paganism found in the apostate Christianity:
1. The consecration of sacred images for use in Christian worship was borrowed, in its totality, from paganism. Indeed, the “image” of St. Peter in Rome, the bronze foot of which has been kissed away by adoring multitudes, is reliably reputed to be the pagan statue of the god Pluto, transferred from the Pantheon!
2. Mariolatry has elevated a vulgar female statue above the high altar, where it stands higher than the image of Christ, the whole system being nothing but an adaptation from the old Babylonian myth of the queen of heaven, the Assyrian Ishtar and her Tammuz. “She was worshipped by the offering of a wafer (a little cake), along with forty days of Lent, of weeping over the destruction of Tammuz … and after forty days, the people celebrated Ishtar, exchanging Ishtar Eggs!”[12] Of course, the holy communion itself was adjusted so that the bread was formed after the pattern of those pagan wafers.
3. The use of holy water in the church came over in its entirety from paganism. “The holy water was used by the heathens to sprinkle themselves at the entrance to their temples; and this is admitted by Montfancion and the Jesuit La Cerda.”[13]
4. The burial of dead bodies in church houses came from Athens, as related by Plutarch in his Life of Theseus; and, as they did of old with their pagan heroes, the church began to deposit relics of so-called saints, supplemented by processions and sacrifices.”[14]
5. Celibacy is another relic of paganism. “It was most esteemed among the heathen philosophers.”[15]
6. Praying for the dead began in 380 A.D., and was at first vigorously opposed and condemned. It is another relic of paganism and the forerunner of the doctrine of purgatory.[16]
7. The Papal keys are exactly the same as those of the pagan gods Janus and Cybele, worshipped by pagan Rome long before Christianity.
8. The lighting of blessed candles was practiced in paganism in Siberia where they were placed before the statues of pagan gods.[17]
9. The tonsure, the shaving of the heads of priests, was practiced by the pagan priests of Osisis, the Egyptian Bacchus, as was also true in India and China.[18]
10. The forgiving of sins, “absolutions,” one of the most monstrous of un-Christian doctrines, appears to have been an outright invention.
These are only a few of a hundred similar things that might be cited, such as: the assumption of blasphemous titles, the consecration of sacred priestly vestments, the baptizing of bells, “The Feast of All Souls,” first celebrated by pagans in the lifetime of Romulus, monasticism, the elevation of the host, and many other devices and practices of paganism at the time Revelation was written. It is clear enough for anyone looking into the matter that Apostate Christianity was indeed the old paganism with a Christian veneer.
Therefore, the interpretation received here by no means violates the relevance of the sacred prophecy for the first generation that received it. Paganism, whether in its original setting, or as revived and continued by the Apostate Church itself, is the essence of what the apostolic writers condemned. We shall now examine the text of this marvelous chapter.
[1] Albertus Pieters, Studies in the Revelation of St. John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1954), p. 250.
[2] Ibid.
[3] A. Plummer, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 22, Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 413.
[4] Albertus Pieters, op. cit., p. 251.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid., p. 252.
[7] Michael Wilcock, I Saw Heaven Opened (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1975), p. 165.
[8] A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 413.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Albertus Pieters, op. cit., p. 256.
[11] Ibid.
[12] W. A. Criswell, Expository Sermons on Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1962), III, p. 185.
[13] John F. Rowe, History of Reformatory Movements (Cincinnati, Ohio: John F. Rowe, 1894), p. 259.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid.
And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls, and spake with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters; (Rev 17:1)
There came one of the seven angels … This angelic interpretation of the vision is here identified with the series of the seven bowls just concluded, leading to the conclusion that what is about to be revealed in Revelation 17 and Revelation 18, is actually a “playback” of the great judgment scene just seen, but with an elaboration and specific attention to what was included in the fall of “Babylon the great” (Rev 16:19).
I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters … But was she not seated upon a beast? Yes, but both she and the beast rise from the teeming populations of the earth.
Harlot … “In Isa 1:21; Jer 2:20; Jer 2:31, etc., these terms are used to describe God’s apostate people, those once joined to him in covenant relationship, but who had broken their marriage vow of faithfulness.”[19] “In the Old Testament, this imagery is commonly used to denote religious apostasy.”[20] “Is this harlot, then, Papal Rome? The answer is: Insofar as Papal Rome has wielded tyrannical power, turned persecutor, stood between the spirits of people and Christ, depraved the consciences of people, withheld the truth, sought aggrandizement and demonstrated the power of a political engine rather than that of a witness of Christ, she has inherited the features of Babylon.”[21]
Note that there are three Babylons: (1) the original city of that name situated upon the Euphrates river, and the historical persecutor of the first Israel; (2) the pagan city of Rome, symbolized by the sea-beast (Rev 13:1), and also its counterpart ridden by the harlot; and (3) the “Mystery Babylon” symbolized both by the land-beast and by the harlot herself. In this and the following chapters it is the third meaning which predominates.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Robert H. Mounce, Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1977), p. 307.
[21] W. Boyd Carpenter, Ellicott’s Bible Commentary, Vol. VIII (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), p. 611.
Rev 17:2
with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and they that dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her fornication.
With whom the kings of the earth committed fornication … This speaks of an illegitimate and sinful melding of Church and State as one of the principal sins of the harlot. This woman, and the radiant woman “arrayed with the sun” (Rev 12:1) are starkly “contrasted in every particular that is mentioned about them.”[22]
One is pure, the other corrupt.
One belongs to the Lamb, the other to the devil.
One is clothed with the sun, the other in scarlet and gold.
One is a chaste virgin, the other a brazen harlot.
One is persecuted, the other is a persecutor.
One sojourns in the wilderness, the other reigns there.
One enters into the marriage supper of the Lamb; the other is hated and consumed.
One enters heaven, the other departs into darkness.
ENDNOTE:
[22] Frank L. Cox, Revelation in 26 Lessons (Nashville: Gospel Advocate Company, 1956), p. 101.
Rev 17:3
And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness: and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness … “A wilderness” is here significant. Plummer, Alford, and others have pointed out that our version (ASV) is incorrect in changing this from “the wilderness” as in KJV.[23] It is not merely “a wilderness,” but “the wilderness” of the church’s probation that is meant. This strongly supports the view of the harlot as the apostate church. This wilderness scene is that of a violated probation.
A woman upon a scarlet-colored beast … “We should identify this beast with that in Rev 13:1. The woman’s position indicates a close connection and identifies her as one of the forces of evil supported by the beast.”[24] “It would be foolish to underestimate her. Even John finds himself marveling (Rev 17:7).”[25]
[23] A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 414.
[24] Leon Morris, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Vol. 20, Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1969), p. 205.
[25] Michael A. Wilcock, op. cit., p. 160.
Rev 17:4
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, even the unclean things of her fornication,
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet … The color strongly stresses her identity with the beast and her accommodation to his principles.
And decked with gold and precious stone and pearls … These indicate vulgar wealth lavished upon herself. Extreme riches is an outstanding mark of the apostate church this very day, which is richer by far than any human government, even including that of the U.S.A. One little Boy’s Ranch in Nebraska has recently been exposed in the public press as having a cash endowment in stocks, bonds and securities of over $300,000,000, and that at a time when their full-fledged fund-raising activities are going full blast. All of this vast horde of wealth was solicited and raised from the public for the ostensible purpose of taking care of a few run-away boys at “Boy’s Town.”
And a golden cup full of abominations, even the unclean things of her fornication … This “‘golden cup” may be seen at every communion service in the apostate church, not in the hands of the Bride to whom it belongs, but in the hands of the hierarchical priesthood who withhold it from the Bride and drink it all themselves! And what is that, if it is not the unclean things of her fornication? That which belongs to the Bride has been taken away from her. Is not this spiritual fornication?
Rev 17:5
and upon her forehead a name written, MYSTERY; BABYLON THE GREAT; THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
And upon her head a name written … In the culture of those times, harlots customarily “wore on their brows labels inscribed with their names; this whore is thus in character.”[26]; MYSTERY; BABYLON THE GREAT … See under Rev 17:1 for identification of the three Babylons. The comma after MYSTERY should be omitted, as her name is not BABYLON, but MYSTERY BABYLON. Just as the pagan empire was Babylon, answering to the Old Testament type, this woman is also Babylon in a different and extended sense. She is MYSTERY BABYLON, the essential quality of the mystery is that “the worldly portion of the church, though nominally Christian, is in reality identical with the world and is openly antagonistic to God.”[27] “Mystery is part of the name; it is not literal; something lies behind which will be made manifest in due time.”[28]
THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH … This harlot sets a religious style that will be copied throughout the ages. Many have interpreted this as a reference to apostate Protestant churches; and, while true enough, this by no means exhausts the interpretation.
[26] Leon Morris, op. cit., p. 206.
[27] A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 415.
[28] W. Boyd Carpenter, op. cit., p. 611.
Rev 17:6
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with a great wonder.
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints … with the blood of the martyrs …
Who invented the Inquisition? Who invented the torture chamber and the rack? Who burned at the stake the uncounted thousands and millions of God’s servants? Who? This scarlet whore, dressed in purple, decked in gold, riding in control of the governments of the world. It has been estimated that she has slain fifty millions of the servants of Jesus Christ.[29]
I wondered with a great wonder … In some versions, this is wondered “with a great admiration.” “This does not mean admiration in our modern sense.”[30] Despite Carpenter’s opinion, however, we are inclined to think that it does mean “admiration” in our modern sense; it was a startled, astonished kind of admiration, mingled with wonder. Now there is no way that John could have wondered if the woman had symbolized pagan Rome. Prophetic descriptions from the Old Testament were plentiful and well known to John which portrayed ancient Babylon, a pagan city, in exactly this same graphic terminology, even complete with the “golden cup” (Jer 51:7). This verse therefore proves that literal Babylon, or literal Rome, cannot be meant. John could never have “wondered” at a description already thoroughly familiar to him. No! The wonder here is in the application of this description to this whore which was once the true church of God! See “Admiration of the Harlot,” introduction, chapter 18.
[29] W. A. Criswell, op. cit., p. 186.
[30] W. Boyd Carpenter, op. cit., p. 612.
Commentary on Rev 17:1-6 by Manly Luscombe
1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,One of the angels who poured out the plagues engages in conversation with John. He invites John to see what happens next. After the plagues, next in Gods timetable is the judgment. We are not seeing the general judgment of the world. This is a special judgment of the great harlot.
2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication. The view that the harlot represents those who have apostatized the faith fails here. This verse states that the kings of the earth commit fornication with the harlot. John sees that there is some interaction between the kings (civil governments) and the harlot. On some occasions, governments allow, approve and even condone immorality. In our nation there are states passing laws to accept homosexual marriages, courts allowing abortion, states creating lotteries, cities allowing liquor by the drink. I can tell about cities that forbid weekly Bible studies in private homes, but allow weekly poker parties. I can add to the list of government and immorality working together to allow and support: pornography, prostitution, alcohol, gambling, divorce, homosexuality, massage parlors, distribution of condoms, abortion and many others. On the other hand the joint forces of these two will have a negative impact on: Bible reading, prayer at a football game, mention of God in any school paper, home Bible studies, and many other ways. When governments and immorality join forces, the danger for Christians increases. The list given above is real. And this is in America. Imagine what Christians deal with in Russia, China, Cuba, Laos, and in Arab nations under strict Muslim laws.
3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. Now John is carried away into the wilderness. John sees a woman sitting on a beast. The scarlet color would suggest royalty and power. This is the union discussed in the preceding verse. The beast is full of blasphemy. The point here is the two forces have been joined together to seek to destroy the church. There has always been a close relationship between governments, at all levels, and immorality. Many of the laws passed deal with issues of morality. Some seek to impose a moral standard; other laws are based on amoral values. Seven heads and ten horns are on this beast. Seven is the number of divine completeness. Ten is the number of human completeness. Some believe that the heads represent various emperors. Others believe that these heads characterize the major world empires in world history. It is my view, seeking to be consistent, that the heads and horns signify all power of all civil rulers. Some good (7) and some evil (10).
4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. The woman, immorality personified, is in purple and scarlet. She is in an alliance with governmental power. She is described as being arrayed with precious stones, pearls. She is pretty, attractive, and gets attention. She is covered with glitter and glitz. Christians are attracted to the shiny. It is the glitz that gets the attention. While she needed the support of the government to approve and condone her actions, she is the one who gets the attention and is the one to entice Christians to leave their faith.
5 And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. She is clearly identified. She is Babylon. She is the mother of harlots and known for her abominations. Again, Babylon, symbolizes immorality and those things that are abomination in the sight of our God.
6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement. She is drunk, not with wine, but with the blood of the saints. She is guilty of the death of martyrs. She is also guilty of leading many to spiritual death. She has lead many away from Christ and into fornication (physical and spiritual). When John saw her – there was amazement. He marveled in wonder.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
We now come to the true unfolding of the nature of Babylon and the detailed account of the judgment to fall on her. The name on the forehead of Babylon commences with the word “Mystery.” Babylon stands for the whole system of organized godlessness in the history of the human race. In its course it has been surrounded by every kind of material splendor, “arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls.” Through the ages, men turning from the vision of God have seen only the material glory of ail.
As the seer gazes on the fearful vision he wonders with a great wonder.
The angel then proceeds to explain the meaning of the vision. The beast represents the temporal authority which has been the strength of all spiritual harlotry. The heads refer to successive world powers which had risen and fallen. The powers having existed and passed at the time of John’s writing were Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greece. The one then existing was Rome, and still there was one to come. Ten kings remained who would finally act with the beast, having one mind with him. These will act against Babylon, and also against the Lamb, but He will overcome them.
Very striking is the seer’s declaration of the overruling of God in the words, “God did put it in their hearts to do His mind, and to come to one mind, and to give their kingdom unto the beast.” Thus the angel’s explanation ends with a manifestation of the perpetual truth that all godlessness carries within itself the elements of its final defeat and overthrow.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
the Great World City Overthrown
Rev 17:1-18
This scarlet-attired woman is that miserable attempt made in every age to counterfeit the true Church of the living God. Man does not like the religion of the cross, of faith, of self-denial, and each age has witnessed some false system from which all these objectionable elements are eliminated. Surely a meretricious system has revealed itself successively in Babylon, Jerusalem, Rome, London, New York, and other great centers. Fashion smiles on it, wealth bedizens it, human power unites with it, and in every age it has been drunken with the blood of martyrs.
Between this miserable travesty of the Church and the Church herself there has been perpetual conflict. But the ultimate victory has always remained with the Lamb, and if only we side with Him, as the called, chosen, and faithful of Rev 17:14, we also shall be more than conquerors. Human prestige and power shall not ultimately avail in the conflict against the all-conquering Savior. And finally the very world-powers shall turn against the apostate and adulterous Church, Rev 17:16. Come out from her and be separate!
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Chapter Seventeen Babylon: Its Character And Doom (Part One)
This chapter addresses a theme, the wonder of which grows on me every time I speak of it, namely the mystery of iniquity in its final form: Babylon the great. This vast system of error is so like Christianity in some respects that thousands of apparently spiritually-minded people have not been able to distinguish it from Christianity. Yet, when tested by the Word of God this system is seen to be a counterfeit of that church which God has purchased with the blood of His own Son.
Although we have heard of Babylons fall twice in this book, we have not learned to what city or system it referred. But the chapter now before us is entirely devoted to that interesting and solemn subject. A careful study of what is revealed here should free us from all doubt or perplexity as to the identification of Babylon.
Chapters 17-18 form another of the great parentheses of the book of Revelation. Chronologically chapter 19 immediately follows chapter 16. But before going on with the direct order of events, John is taken aside as it were to see this remarkable vision of the false church, before he beholds the union of the true church with the Lamb in glory.
The Vision (Rev 17:1-6)
The beast in verse 3 is the same as that of Revelation 13 and is therefore the Roman empire. It is the empire as a whole, but with the last phase especially emphasized. The woman (verses 3-6) is a religious system, that dominates the civil power, at least for a time. The name on her forehead should easily enable us to identify her. But in order to do that we will do well to go back to the Old Testament, and see what is there revealed concerning literal Babylon; the one will surely throw light on the other. We have also the added instruction of secular history that supplies us with some very important facts in this connection. It throws a flood of light on the succession of spiritual Babylon of the apocalypse to literal Babylon of the Old Testament.
As we go back into the dim twilight of history with Scripture, we learn that the founder of Bab-El, or Babylon, was Nimrod. We read of his unholy achievements in the tenth chapter of Genesis. He was the arch-apostate of the patriarchal age. He is described as a mighty hunter before the Lord-the rabbis called him a hunter of the souls of men. Going out from the presence of the Lord, he impiously sought to gather a multitude around himself. In defiance of the express command of God to spread abroad on the face of the earth, he persuaded his associates and followers to join together in building a city and a tower which should reach unto heaven. They were not building a tower to climb up into the skies to escape another possible flood. It was to be a tower of renown, rising to a great height and recognized as a temple or rallying center for those who did not walk in obedience to the word of the Lord. With all the effrontery of our modern apostates, they called their city and tower Bab-El, the gate of God; but it was soon changed by divine judgment into Babel, confusion. It bore the stamp of unreality from the first, for we are told they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. Throughout the ages an imitation of that which is real and true has characterized Babylon.
Nimrod, or Nimroud-bar-Cush as he is called on the monuments, was a grandson of Ham, the unworthy son of Noah. Hams character is revealed in his exposure of his fathers shame (Gen 9:22). We know that Noah had brought through the flood the revelation of the true God. He was a preacher of righteousness, and his utterances on more than one occasion show that he had the prophetic gift. Ham on the other hand seems to have been all too readily affected by the apostasy that brought the flood. He shows no evidence of self-judgment, but the very opposite. His name, as spelled out upon Egyptian monuments, is Khem. This name agrees with the literal sound of the Hebrew word rendered Ham in our Bibles. It means swarthy, darkened, or, more literally, the sun-burnt. And the name indicates the state of the mans soul. For a sunburned person is one who is darkened by light from heaven. Ham had been granted wonderful mercies; he was saved from the flood because of his fathers faith. But he abused his privileges and turn[ed] the grace of our God into lasciviousness (Jud 1:4). He was actually darkened by the burning rays of the light that God caused to shine on his soul. Thus his conscience became seared as with a hot iron, and he became the founder of a race that departed from the living God. He led the way into idolatry, worshiping and serving the creature more than the Creator.
We know something of what this means. We speak of people today who have become hardened to the gospel. They too have been darkened by the light, and they are often the ring-leaders in apostasy: If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness (Mat 6:23). There are many who used to listen with tears in their eyes to the story of the matchless grace of God as revealed in the cross of Christ. Now they are unmoved however tenderly that story is told. They have become hardened in their sins, and their seared consciences no longer feel the Spirits breath. It is a most dangerous thing to trifle with light from Heaven.
Ham became darkened by the light. We know his failure and sin. But when Noah had recovered himself and knew what his son had done to him he pronounced, by the spirit of prophecy, a curse on Canaan, not on Ham. Do you wonder at that? I did until I saw that God had already pronounced a blessing on all three sons of Noah- Shem, Ham, and Japheth. So Noah passed over his unworthy son and uttered a curse on Canaan, who we can well believe was, as we say, a chip off the old block. Ham begat a son named Cush, the black one, and he became the father of Nimrod, the apostate leader of his generation (Gen 10:6-8).
Ancient lore now comes to our assistance and tells us that the wife of Nimroud-bar-Cush was the infamous Semiramis the first. She is reputed to have been the foundress of the Babylonian mysteries and the first high-priestess of idolatry. Thus Babylon became the fountainhead of idolatry and the mother of every heathen and pagan system in the world. The mystery-religion that was originated there spread in various forms throughout the whole earth and is still with us today. It is identical with the mystery of iniquity which was at work in Pauls day (2Th 2:7). It will have its fullest development when the Holy Spirit has departed and the Babylon of the apocalypse gains control.
Building on the primeval promise of the womans seed who was to come, Semiramis bore a son whom she declared was miraculously conceived! When she presented him to the people, he was hailed as the promised deliverer. This was Tammuz, whose worship Ezekiel protested against in the days of the captivity (Eze 8:13-14). Thus was introduced the mystery of the mother and the child, a form of idolatry that is older than any other known to man. The rites of this worship were secret. Only the initiated were permitted to know its mysteries. It was Satans effort to delude mankind with an imitation so like the truth of God that they would not know the true seed of the woman when He came in the fullness of time. To this Justin Martyr bears definite witness.
From Babylon this mystery-religion spread to all the surrounding nations as the years went on and the world was populated by the descendants of Noah. Everywhere the symbols were the same, and everywhere the cult of the mother and the child became the popular system. Their worship was celebrated with the most disgusting and immoral practices. The image of the queen of Heaven with the babe in her arms was seen everywhere, though the names might differ as languages differed. It became the mystery-religion of Phoenicia, and was carried to the ends of the earth by the Phoenicians. Ashtoreth and Tammuz, the mother and child of these hardy adventurers, became Isis and Horus in Egypt, Aphrodite and Eros in Greece, Venus and Cupid in Italy, and bore many other names in more distant places. Within one thousand years Babylonianism had become the religion of a world that had rejected the divine revelation.
Linked with this central mystery were countless lesser mysteries; the hidden meaning was known only to the initiates, but the outward forms were practised by all the people. Among these were the doctrines of purgatorial purification after death; salvation by countless sacraments such as priestly absolution; sprinkling with holy water; the offering of cakes to the queen of Heaven as mentioned in the book of Jeremiah (7:18; 44:19); dedication of virgins to the gods, which was literally sanctified prostitution; weeping for Tammuz for a period of 40 days prior to the great festival of Istar, who was said to have received her son back from the dead (it was taught that Tammuz was slain by a wild boar and afterwards brought back to life). To him the egg was sacred, depicting the mystery of his resurrection. His chosen symbol, the evergreen, was set up in honor of his birth at the winter solstice. At this time a boars head was eaten in memory of his conflict and a yule-log burned with many mysterious observances. The sign of the cross was sacred to Tammuz, as symbolizing the life-giving principle and as the first letter of his name. It is represented on vast numbers of the most ancient altars and temples and did not, as many have supposed, originate with Christianity.
The patriarch Abraham was separated from this mystery-religion by the divine call. The nation that sprang from him had constant conflict with this same evil cult, until Jezebel, a Phoenician princess. Under her authority this cult was grafted onto what was left of the religion of Israel in the northern kingdom in the day of Ahab and was the cause of their captivity at the last. Judah was polluted by it, for Baal worship was but the Canaanitish form of the Babylonian mysteries. Only by being sent into captivity to Babylon itself did Judah become cured of her fondness for idolatry. Baal was the sun god, the life-giving one, identical with Tammuz.
When Christ came into this world the mystery of iniquity was in control everywhere, except where the truth of God as revealed in the Old Testament was known. Thus, when the early Christians set out on the great task of carrying the gospel to the ends of the earth, they found themselves everywhere confronted by this system in one form or another. Although Babylon as a city had long been but a memory, her mysteries had not died with her. When the city and temples were destroyed, the high priest fled with a company of initiates and their sacred vessels and images to Pergamos, where the symbol of the serpent was set up as the emblem of the hidden wisdom. From there, they afterwards crossed the sea and emigrated to Italy, where they settled in the Etruscan plain. There the ancient cult was propagated under the name of the Etruscan Mysteries, and eventually Rome became the headquarters of Babylonianism. The chief priests wore mitres shaped like the head of a fish in honor of Dagon, the fish-god, the lord of life-another form of the Tammuz mystery, as developed among Israels old enemies, the Philistines. The chief priest when established in Rome took the title pontifex maximus, and this was imprinted on his mitre. Julius Caesar, like all young Romans of good family, was an initiate. When he became the head of the state, he was elected pontifex maximus. This title was held henceforth by all the Roman emperors down to Constantine the Great, who was, at the same time, head of the church and high priest of the heathen! The title was afterwards conferred on the bishops of Rome and is borne by the pope today. This declares the pope to be, not the successor of the fisherman-apostle Peter, but the direct successor of the high priest of the Babylonian mysteries. He is the servant of the fishgod Dagon, for whom he wears, like his idolatrous predecessors, the fishermans ring.
During the early centuries of the churchs history, the mystery of iniquity worked with astounding effect. Babylonian practices and teachings had been largely absorbed by that which bore the name of the church of Christ. The truth of the Holy Scriptures on many points had been wholly obscured, while idolatrous practices had been foisted on the people as Christian sacraments. Heathen philosophies took the place of gospel instruction. Thus was developed that amazing system which for a thousand years dominated Europe until the great Reformation of the sixteenth century brought in a measure of deliverance.
This vision of the woman drunk with the blood of the saints filled the apostle with amazement (17:6). It seemed incredible that the glorious movement with which he had been identified for a generation should ever become so perverted as to become the mother of harlots and of every abomination, and should even become the slaughterer of the saints of God. But her bloody history during the dark days of persecution bears awful witness to the truth of the vision. The angel, however, goes on to show that the future has more marvelous things in store than we should otherwise have dared to imagine. No past period of Romes history fully answers to what is brought before us in the rest of the chapter.
We hear a great deal about the desirability of church-federation. But men seem to forget, or never to have known, that it is God Himself who has torn Christendom apart because of her unfaithfulness and apostasy. We are told that it would be an excellent thing if the different denominations of Protestants could be united in one great body, and then join hands with the Catholic church. It is pointed out that such a vast united church could dominate the world. Besides it would make for such increased efficiency and would simplify the financial problems which have so troubled and perplexed our boards and officials for so long. But we need to remember that such a union as this would not be the body of Christ at all. It would simply be a worldly confederacy of saved and unsaved-just great Babylon over again. The body of Christ remains undivided in spite of Christendoms unhappy schisms, for it is composed of all truly saved people who have by the Spirits baptism been made one in Christ. While outward unity is desirable, it would not be a blessing if it were at the expense of the truth.
The Interpretation of the Vision (Rev 17:7-18).
We have already seen in our study of the thirteenth chapter that the beast depicts the Roman empire as revived in a Satan-inspired league of nations after the church dispensation is over. This will be very different than any league that may be formed in our times while the church is still here. The federation of the future will be utterly godless and God-defiant. When that league is formed it will be only natural that a confederacy of all religious systems be worked out, and this too will be satanic in character. It will be a union of Christless professors, inheriting all the human and demoniacal mysteries of Babylon. In other words all sects will be swallowed up in the one distinctively Babylonish system that has always maintained the cult of the mother and the child. This system will dominate the civil power for the first part of the tribulation period. Thus the woman will be in the saddle again and ride the beast! He who has eyes to see and a heart to understand can readily discern the preparations now in progress with this very end in view.
From verses 9-11 we learn the identity of the city where Babylon has her seat. We also learn that when the final form of the empire appears she will attain the position of preeminence that she has sought so long. Only Rome answers to the description given. Previously we saw that the eighth head, who is of the seven, is the last great world-ruler who will dominate the league of nations in the time of the end. His capital will be the so-called eternal city.
It would seem however from verses 12-14 that the other ten kings act in fullest harmony with the beast. This completely nullifies the theory that the vision refers to any past history of the nations into which the Roman empire was divided. Never have they thus acted in unison, but Europe has been a scene of conflicting nations and warring powers since the break-up of the empire itself. We must look to the future for a time when the ten kings will receive power one hour with the beast. Then they will impiously make war with the Lamb only to be overcome by Him who is King of kings and Lord of lords.
The similitude of the waters is explained for us in verse 15: The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. Babylon has ruled over all nations in the past, deceiving them with the wine of her fornication. She will bear rule again over all nations, until wearied with her blandishments, the world, whose favor she courted, will spurn her at last (16-18).
There is no mistaking the identity of the woman. Pagan Rome was the lineal successor of Babylon. Papal Rome absorbed the Babylonian mysteries; and the Rome of the beast in the last days will be the seat of the revived satanic system that began with Nimrod and his infamous consort Semiramis. From that day to the present, that system has been opposed to everything that is of God. It changed the truth of God into a lie, worshiping and serving the creature more than the Creator.
Ancient Babylon was the mother of idolatry. In Jer 50:38 we read, It is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols. It was she who taught the nations to substitute idolatry for spiritual worship. Today one-third of Christendom has followed her in the adoration of images, and another third worships icons or pictures. There can be no question as to the Babylonish origin of these abominations. Nothing of the kind was known in the churches of God until the heathen mysteries were grafted unto Christianity. The images of the mother and child that are enshrined in Romes temples are only different in name to the images worshiped in the temples of Semiramis, Ashtoreth, Isis, and other so called queens of heaven. In many instances the old idols were simply renamed and adored as before. In southern Europe there is a statue of Apollo, the sun-god, identical with Tammuz and Baal. This statue is worshiped by deluded Romanists as St. Apollos; the S was carved on the pedestal later than the original name!
The mother of the Lord Jesus Christ assumed no such place among the early Christians as she has now been given in Romes mysteries. She is seen as a lowly worshiper and as joining with others in prayer in Acts 2, the last mention of her in Scripture. The Bible gives no hint of the fable of her assumption and crowning as queen of Heaven. It is Babylonianism pure and simple.
The word of the Lord to His people of old is most instructive for us now in the light of all we have been going over.
Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lords vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense. Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lords hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one to his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies (Jer 51:6-9).
It is a lamentable fact that Babylons principles and practices are rapidly but surely pervading the churches that escaped from Rome at the time of the Reformation. We may see evidences of it in the wide use of high-sounding ecclesiastical titles, once unknown in the reformed churches. It is also seen in the revival of holy days and church feasts such as Lent, Good Friday, Easter, and Christs Mass, or as it is generally written, Christmas. I quite admit that some of these festivals if divested of any ecclesiastical character may be observed in innocence in the home. But when they are turned into church festivals they certainly come under the condemnation of Gal 4:9-11, where the Holy Spirit warns against the observance of days and months and times and seasons. All of them, and many more that might be added, are Babylonish in their origin. At one time they were linked with the Ashtoreth and Tammuz mystery-worship. Through Rome they have come down to us. We do well to remember that Babylon is a mother, with daughters who are likely to partake of their mothers characteristics; it is written, As is the mother, so is her daughter (Eze 16:44). Therefore it behooves all who love the Lord and desire His approbation to depart from iniquity, and seek to follow righteousness, faith, charity, and peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart (2Ti 2:22).
We will have a fuller account of Babylons doom in our next chapter. To those who desire to make a fuller investigation of Babylonianism, I commend Alexander Hislops monumental work, The Two Babylons, to which I am indebted for many of the above facts.
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
CHAPTERS 17-18
Babylon, the Harlot, and Her judgment
1. The description of the woman (Rev 17:1-6)
2. The angels interpretation (Rev 17:7-15)
3. The desolation of the whore (Rev 17:16-18)
4. The angelic announcement (Rev 18:1-3)
5. The call to separation (Rev 18:4-5)
6. Her pride and destruction (Rev 18:6-8)
7. Lamentation and jubilation (Rev 18:9-20)
8. Her utter and eternal destruction (Rev 18:21-24)
Rev 17:1-6.
Babylon was mentioned for the first time in this book in Rev 14:8; her fall was then anticipated. In two chapters we have a description of her and the details of her overthrow and complete destruction. Babylon is seen as a great, world-wide ecclesiastical, political and commercial system, and her dwelling-place, from where she exercises authority, is a great city, which is the seven-hilled city Rome. There are many who believe that the literal Babylon is in view here in these two chapters. It is claimed that literal Babylon on the banks of the Euphrates is to become once more a large city and the seat of government during the end of this age. Literal Babylon never was a part of the Roman empire, and as the Babylon of Rev 17:1-18; Rev 18:1-24 is seen in closest identification with the empire, and for a time at least is at its center and capital, the Babylon in Asia is ruled out at once. Rome was the great center of the Roman empire and Rome will once more become the seat where the woman pictured in this chapter will exercise her authority.
In the first part of this chapter we have a description of the great harlot Babylon. Who, then, is this woman, branded a harlot, whom one of the seven angels who poured out the vials showed to John? She represents the papal system in its final power and control in the world. We shall see how this assertion is fully confirmed by the words of this chapter.
We saw in the church-message to Thyatira, which stands for the papacy and its great corruption, that Rome is pictured as the woman Jezebel, corresponding to the woman in the parable of the leaven. And of Thyatira it is said she repents not. This shows that Rome will continue in her corrupt ways to the end, till judgment overtakes her. She is to be cast into great tribulation (Rev 2:22).
When the true Church is caught up, the papal system, as we call it, the Roman Catholic church will see a great revival. For a time she has been stripped of the temporal power she once had, but it will be restored to her. Along with the revival of the Roman empire there will be a revival of papal Rome. But we must look very briefly at some of the descriptions of this woman, the harlot. She sitteth upon many waters. We find the interpretation in Rev 17:15. The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth are peoples, and multitudes, and nations and tongues. Rome even now can boast of her children among all nations. She gets her support from the whole world. And when she gets her revival she will have a still greater dominion. The kings of the earth will yield once more to her spiritual fornication. Then John saw the woman upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. Who is the Beast she rides? It is the first beast of chapter 13, the revived Roman empire. She becomes identified with that empire. Her attire is purple and scarlet and she is decked with gold, precious stones and pearls. The pope and his cardinals wear these colors. Purple and scarlet are the leading colors displayed in great Romish celebrations; gold, precious stones and pearls describe her enormous wealth and dazzling glory, so attractive to the natural man. And in her hand was a golden cup full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.
How clearly this describes papal Rome. Her service, called worship, her rituals, her splendid edifices, etc., all are fair to behold and pleasing to the eye, like a golden cup. But inside we find her filthiness in doctrine and in practices. She encourages sin by her indulgences. With the celibacy there is also filth connected. And then the vileness and abomination of the confessional. Her shameless character is written upon her forehead. The true Church is to have His name upon the forehead and the great harlot-system bears an inscription.
Rev 17:7-15.
The interpreting angel told John who the beast is, the beast, that was, and is not, and yet is (Rev 17:8). It is the Roman empire as stated before, it was, in an imperial form in Johns day. In the fifth century, A.D., it ceased existing as imperial Rome; it is not. But it is to be again, a revival which is here described as coming out of the pit of the abyss (chapter 13). Rev 17:9 shows Rome (seven mountains), where the woman sitteth. Therefore, Rome speaks of the See of the Papacy, and See is derived from the Latin Sedes, which means seat or throne.
The seven kings or heads in Rev 17:10, mean different forms of government of the Roman empire. Five are fallen; these were kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs and military tribunes. These are past forms of government. But in Johns day the empire had the imperial form of government. This is the meaning of one is. The other and final form of the Roman empire is not yet come. That is in Johns day it had not yet come. It is the Satanic revival and control of the empire as we saw it in chapter 13. And the eighth head, which goeth into perdition, is the man who heads the empire, the little horn, which Daniel saw on the ten-horned beast. The ten horns in Rev 17:12-13 are kings. They correspond to the ten toes on Nebuchadnezzars image and the ten horns on the fourth beast which Daniel saw coming out of the sea. And these ten kings yield their power and strength unto the beast. In Rev 17:14, their awful future is seen. We shall see this more fully in Rev 19:11-21. They are going to make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb, who is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, will overcome them. With Him are the called, the chosen and the faithful, that is the redeemed, who come with Him and are manifested when He appears.
Rev 17:16-18.
The woman rides the beast for a short time only. She will not be long successful in her regained power. The ten horns, the ten kingdoms, and the beast hate her and turn against the whore. (And the Beast is not in the Authorized Version; it is added in the Revised Version and belongs rightfully in the text.) First they were all for her and now they unite in making her desolate and naked and burn her with fire. But more than that and shall eat her flesh, just as Jezebel was eaten by the dogs. It is God in His righteous judgment who decreed her desolation in this way.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
Chapter 36
Christ and Babylon
‘And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH’
Rev 17:1-18
When John was carried away to see the judgment of the great whore, he was carried away in the spirit into the wilderness (Rev 17:1; Rev 17:3). Wherever false religion occupies the place of the true worship of God there is desolation and emptiness (Amo 8:11-12). There may be great worldly wealth and glory; there may be a fullness of power, influence, and approval; there may be purple and scarlet, gems and gold, pomp and luxury and everything to gratify the sensual desires of the heart; there may even be worldwide acceptance and dominion; yet, where the Word of God, the gospel of his grace, and the worship of Christ in all the fullness of his redemptive glory are despised and trampled under foot, there is a bleak, barren, empty, desolate wilderness. This great harlot, false religion, is called by the name, Babylon the Great. We have seen this name twice already (Rev 14:8; Rev 16:19). In both places the name is mentioned as the object of Gods great judgment. In Revelation 17, 18, , 19 John describes that judgment, assuring us of the fact that all false religion, here represented by Babylon, will be destroyed and the truth of God shall prevail to the glory of Christ.
Who is this woman
Without question, there is in this vision a representation of Rome, its pagan culture, government, and worship. Certainly, Roman Catholicism, the superstitious, idolatrous religion of papacy, is also involved in the picture before us. But it would be a serious mistake to limit the picture to Rome and Romanism. This woman is called – the great whore that sitteth upon many waters…And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth (Rev 17:1; Rev 17:5). This woman, Babylon, the great harlot represents all false religion in this world, no matter what name that religion bears.
There are only two religions in this world. All religions, when reduced to their essential elements, must be categorized under one of these two: Free-grace or free-will, the religion of God or the religion of man, the church of God or the synagogue of Satan. These two religions are represented to us in the book of Revelation by two women. In chapter 12 we saw the Church of God, the religion of free-grace, which proclaims salvation by the blood and righteousness of Christ alone, who is the Man Child, represented by a woman clothed with the sun. Here, in Revelation 17, we see the religion of Satan, free-willism, man centered, works religion, represented by The Great Whore…Babylon. The character of all false religion is described in Johns vision of the great harlot. Remember, the picture is a symbol of false religion. Do not try to get a literal picture in your mind. Try to grasp the spiritual meaning of the whole picture. Notice the features of this woman, by which we are instructed and warned, lest we be deceived by the great harlot, who with her much fair speech and the flattering of her lips has caused so many to follow her as an ox goeth to the slaughter (Pro 7:21-22). The angel calls her the great whore.
She is a harlot, and the mother of all spiritual harlots and abominations in the world
This is the standing symbol in the Word of God for false religion. (See Jer 3:6-9; Eze 16:28-37; Hosea 1-2; Rev 2:22). This woman is called the great whore and the mother of harlots, because she is the embodiment and representative of all idolatry, false worship and false doctrine in the world. To give an indication of her age and her vileness, she is given the name, Babylon the Great (Rev 17:5). This is not a prophecy that the ancient city of Babylon will be resurrected and rebuilt. God destroyed that ancient city in his wrath, and swore that it would never be inhabited again (Isa 13:19-20). This Babylon is any and all religious systems that are opposed to God. Babylon is the religion of man. It is that religion which teaches salvation by the works of mans hands and the power of mans will. Though it is seen in the sacrifice of Cain, it began as an organized religion, an organized system of worship in opposition to God, in the fourth generation after Noah, with Nimrod, the cursed son of Noahs cursed son, Ham (Gen 10:8-11). The Bible tells us that Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord. That is a very poor translation of the text. Literally, it means, Nimrod was a mighty rebel before the Lord, the mightiest rebel before the Lord in the earth. His name, Nimrod, means a rebellious panther. It was this rebellious panther, Nimrod, who built the city of Babel, or Babylon, and began the religion of confusion (Gen 11:1-9).
Idolatry is not a gradual decline from truth by well-meaning, but unenlightened men. It began at Babel in intentional rebellion. It was the invention of a proud race who refused to come to God by faith in a Substitute and refused to trust Gods grace alone. Babylon was born in defiance of God and his Word. The men of Babel despised Gods sovereignty, blood atonement, and salvation by grace. They attempted to build a tower to heaven by the works of their hands, with no regard for the glory of God. God scattered those men and brought their religion to confusion. Yet, wherever these idolaters spread through the earth, their religion is essentially the same. All the pagan mythologies, idolatrous images, and religious rituals of the world, no matter how much they differ, have an underlying sameness, which proves that they are all from one original source. That source is Babel, or Babylon, Nimrods plan to defeat the purposes of the God of Noah. The one foundational tenet that is always the same in the worldwide religions of Babylon is this: Mans salvation ultimately depends upon and is determined by man himself!
She has made the inhabitants of the earth drunk with the wine of her fornication (Rev 17:2)
The religion of old Babylon is not limited to one race, one time, one place, or even one religious order. It encompasses all. The kings and inhabitants of the earth, from one generation to another, commit fornication with her and drink from her cup until they are thoroughly drunk, beyond the reach of reason. The cup which she holds out is a golden cup (Rev 17:4). To the carnal, sensual heart, the worlds religion is very appealing. It is bright, glittering, full of blessings, promising happiness, health, peace, and prosperity to all who drink from its cup. But the cup is full of abominations, filthiness and fornication. This is a fact that cannot be disputed – Wherever false religion gains popularity and acceptance, moral corruption follows. The doctrines of self-righteousness, free-willism, and works salvation always produce moral degradation. The cup is always the same. The old harlot has only one cup. It is always filled with the same, head-spinning wine of free-will, self-righteousness, and good works.
She is also drunk (Rev 17:6)
She is drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. In her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth (Rev 18:24). Throughout history, persecution and the murder of Gods saints and prophets have been the work of this great harlot. It is old Nimrod trying still to destroy the kingdom of God. Persecution is not the work of Gods church. It is the work of Babylon. This woman sits upon many waters (Rev 17:1). The angel tells us plainly that these waters are not literal bodies of water. They are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues(Rev 17:15). That is to say, The false religion signified by this great harlot is universal in its acceptance. The prostitution of divine truth is supported and accepted by the fallen sons of Adam wherever they are found upon the earth. While the false religions of the world may fight among themselves, at times, they will always be found united in their opposition to the Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel of the grace of God revealed in him.
She is as one sitting upon a scarlet beast, full of the names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns (Rev 17:3)
The beast is the same one we saw in chapter 13. It tells us that this woman, the religion of this world, is inspired by and empowered by Satan himself (Rev 17:8). (See 2Co 11:1-5; 2Co 11:13-15). The seven heads of the beast are the kingdoms and empires of this world, by which false religion is both protected and advanced (Rev 17:9-10). The number seven may be merely a symbolical, figurative number, implying the complete, universal acceptance of false religion, all under the demonic influence of the beast (Rev 17:11). William Hendriksen suggests that, the seventh head might be the collective title for all antichristian governments from the fall of Rome unto the second coming of Christ, existing in that short space of time we call the Gospel Age (Rev 11:2-3; Rev 12:6; Rev 12:14; Rev 13:5). The ten horns of the beast are kings, rulers of the world, raised up by Satan for brief periods of time to make war with Christ and his church (Rev 17:12-14). They are not mighty emperors, just little presidents, senators, congressmen, governors, legislators, prime ministers, etc., to whom Satan gives a brief time of power to oppose the cause of Christ. This woman, the great harlot is the religion of this world, which reigns over the kings, people, and nations of the earth in opposition to Christ and his church (Rev 17:14; Rev 17:18).
What shall become of the woman
When John saw this great harlot, this great antichrist religious system, ruling over the people and nations of the earth, making the kings of the earth drunk with her idolatry and will worship, he was astonished. He says, When I saw her, I wondered with great admiration (Rev 17:6). A better reading would be, I was astonished with great terror. And well he might be! But he is comforted and encouraged by the realization that this great harlot shall be brought to destruction by the will of God, and that even she is under the dominion of our great God and Savior, and shall serve his purpose (Rev 17:16-17). Take courage, Christ shall prevail! And in him we shall prevail too. We are, in Christ Jesus, more than conquerors. This great harlot, with all her hellish power, shall have no influence over the church of Gods elect (Rev 17:8; Rev 17:14). Though all the world is deceived by the charms of false religion, the mother of harlots cannot deceive or destroy any of Gods elect. Our names were written, immutably, in the book of life before the world began (Rev 13:8). We are called of God; and the gifts and callings of God are without repentance (Rom 11:29). We have been chosen as the objects of Gods mercy, love, and grace; and the purpose of God in election must stand. God makes his elect faithful to Christ by the power of his grace; and faithful men and women cannot be turned away from their Master. Our Redeemer and Savior is Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who is the almighty Lord of lords and King of kings (2Ti 1:12). In the end, by the will of God, this woman shall be destroyed (Rev 17:16-17). It seems at times that antichrist will prevail. But as our God sent confusion to the people of Babel and turned them against one another, as he overthrew Egypt, Babylon, Assyria and Rome, he will utterly destroy all false religion, and make the great harlot desolate in the end, so that even those who once carried her upon their shoulders shall despise her and devour her. In Gods time, Babylon shall fall. And even Babylon shall prove, in the last great day, to have been the servant of God to perform his will in the earth (1Co 11:19; 2Th 2:1-14; Psa 76:10).
What are we to learn from this vision
There are many, many things taught in this picture. But I want to give you just four things to remember for the comfort and strength of your soul.
1 The Lord our God is sovereign over all things. He is in control. He is performing his will.
2 Popularity is no indication of the will of God or the truth of God. If you would follow Christ, you must be prepared to swim against the tide, always be in the minority, and always face bitter opposition from the world.
3 Gods elect are secure at all times, being kept by the power of His grace (Rom 8:28-39).
4 The religion of this world will prove to be empty, frustrating and loathsome in the end. Those who revel in it today will despise it at the last. But it will be too late!
There will be nothing but hatred in that day, when the lost mother meets her lost son, the lost wife meets her lost husband, and the lost preacher meets his lost hearers in hell! In eternity, all who have served Babylon shall despise her and shall themselves be despised.
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
angels (See Scofield “Heb 1:4”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
one: Rev 15:1, Rev 15:6, Rev 17:1-17, Rev 21:9
talked: Rev 4:1, Rev 21:15, Luk 9:30, Luk 24:32
I will: Rev 16:19, Rev 18:16-19
the great: Rev 17:4, Rev 17:5, Rev 17:15, Rev 17:16, Rev 19:2, Isa 57:3, Nah 3:4, Nah 3:5
that sitteth: Rev 17:15, Jer 51:13
Reciprocal: Exo 34:15 – whoring Lev 17:7 – gone a whoring Num 24:7 – many waters Jdg 2:17 – whoring 2Sa 22:5 – the floods 2Ch 21:11 – fornication Psa 73:27 – that go Psa 106:39 – went Psa 124:4 – the waters Psa 137:8 – who art Pro 23:28 – increaseth Isa 13:1 – of Babylon Isa 17:12 – mighty Isa 27:1 – in the sea Isa 57:5 – Enflaming Jer 47:2 – waters Jer 51:25 – which destroyest Eze 16:25 – and hast made Eze 16:30 – the work Eze 24:8 – I have set Eze 30:19 – General Eze 31:4 – waters Dan 11:38 – a god Hos 1:2 – for Hos 2:5 – their mother Mic 7:10 – she that Nah 2:8 – like Zec 1:9 – the angel Zec 5:7 – is Eph 4:19 – with Rev 11:8 – the great Rev 15:7 – seven Rev 17:7 – I will Rev 22:15 – whoremongers
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
CHAPTERS 17 AND 18 give us with full details the judgment of Babylon. We shall find it helpful to read Rev 21:9 -Rev 22:5, by way of contrast. Having done this, we shall note that in both cases, the vision is introduced by one of the angels who had the vials, and that what is seen is figured as a woman and as a city. The similarity ceases with this: all else is in sharpest contrast. There we view the bride, the Lambs wife; here, the great whore. There we have the true church, loved by Christ, redeemed and cleansed by Him, under the symbol of a city. Here we have the false religious system, which claims to be the church, also under the symbol of a city.
Babylon played a considerable part in Old Testament history. It was founded in defiance of God, as Gen 11:1-32 shows; and the beginning of Nimrods kingdom was there. It was also the fountain head of the idolatry that overspread the earth after the flood. This is indicated in such a verse as Jer 51:7, and historical records seem to corroborate it. Very appropriately therefore the mystical Babylon of our chapter symbolizes the harlot church centred in Rome, which has been in the present age a golden cup… that made all the earth drunken. After the true church is gone all that is Laodicean, and spued out of Christs mouth, will gravitate to Rome, we believe, so that the mystical Babylon will represent the sum total of apostate Christendom.
John is called by the angel to see the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters. In the Old Testament Israel in her apostasy is treated as an adulterous wife, because she had been brought nationally into an established relationship with Jehovah. The Church is espoused to Christ as a chaste virgin (2Co 11:2), with the marriage day still in the future; hence the false church, wholly allied with the world, is with accuracy called not an adulteress, but a whore. She sitteth upon, that is, dominates many waters, which in verse Rev 17:15 is explained as peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. She practices unbridled worldliness in order to become the mistress of the masses of mankind. In keeping with this, verse Rev 17:2 shows the kings of the earth seduced by her, and the inhabitants of the earth intoxicated by her wiles.
John is carried in spirit into a wilderness to see this great sight of the woman, riding the beast that he had previously seen in the vision of Rev 13:1-18. No colour is mentioned in that chapter, but in Rev 12:1-17 the dragon who gives his power to the beast is spoken of as red. Here we find the colour, which denotes the glory of this world, characterizing not only Satan but the revived Roman Empire, and apostate Christendom, which for the moment is exercising control over the empire.
Of the three, the woman presents the most gorgeous spectacle. She has in addition the imperial purple, since for this brief moment she seems to have attained the object for which she has always striven-recognized sovereignty over the nations. Gold, precious stones and pearls are elsewhere symbolic of all that is beautiful and of God, but here she is decked, or gilded with them. All is superficial, and these things, excellent in themselves, are perverted to base uses. Similarly the cup in her hand is golden, as may be seen viewing it externally, but internally full of filthiness. The sin of the Pharisee was similar, as we see in Luk 11:39, but here it is carried to its highest pitch of iniquity.
Her name, however, was carried on her forehead so as to be visible to every eye. The first word, Mystery, instructs us that Babylon the Great is not to be understood in a literal, but in a mystical or symbolic sense. All the principles of evil that first sprang up in the literal Babylon of ancient days are found in their most virulent form in this abominable system. It has been said very truly that in Scripture symbolism a system is represented by a woman, whilst the power or energy marking a system is represented by a man.
The Romish system, enlarged by the inclusion in it of all that is corrupt in Christendom after the church is gone, is represented by the woman here. She has become the mother of harlots and abominations; that is, the source of lesser yet similar systems of corruption, when she should have been the chaste virgin for Christ. How fearful is this charge laid against her! Notice too how the word earth occurs frequently here. We have had it twice in verse Rev 17:2. It occurs again in verses Rev 17:8; Rev 17:18, and also several times in the next chapter. Earthly religion is her stock in trade.
In Php 3:1-21, Paul reveals how he entered experimentally into the heavenly calling made known in Christ, but before the chapter closes he mentions certain enemies of the cross of Christ, and he states of these, whose god is their belly, whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things. The system that the woman represents may boast of apostolic succession: they have succession indeed, but not apostolic. It proceeds rather from these whom Paul had to denounce-a succession of self-gratification and earthly-mindedness. In its final development it has come to this.
Then again, the adjective, great, is applied to her, and this is a feature that appeals very much to the world. Earthly greatness and abominable corruption reach a climax in her, whereas the true church is to have on her the stamp of heaven and holiness, as we see in Rev 21:10, where the adjective, great, as applying to the holy Jerusalem, ought not to appear.
Verse Rev 17:6 adds another sinister feature. The system that the woman symbolizes is a great persecutor of the true followers of Jesus, and is so full of their blood that she is intoxicated therewith. All down the centuries their blood has flowed at the hands of the Romish church and her harlot offspring, but at the close this feature too will reach a climax. The sight of all this, even in symbol, so filled John with wonderment that the angel offered an explanation of the mystery, or inner meaning, both of the woman and of the beast. This explanation follows in the rest of the chapter; yet it is to be noted that it nearly all concerns the beast. That concerning the woman is only given in the last verse.
In the light of the explanation, the beast is evidently to be identified with the one described in the early part of Rev 13:1-18. Additional features, however, appear here. The empire that it symbolizes had an early existence, then it became extinct-to outward appearances at least-and then it is to reappear. It shall ascend out of the bottomless pit; that abyss into which Satan shall be cast for 1,000 years, as we are told in chapter 20. This means that it will be revived in a very evil form under Satanic influence, and be of so remarkable and sensational a character that all the earth-dwellers, who had no part in the book of life, will be filled with wonder, and fall easy victims to its enslaving power. That the empire in its revived form would be Satanically supported and directed, Rev 13:1-18 showed us. Here we discover that it will be Satanically produced, and that in such a way as to enslave the minds of all those false religionists, who have debased the faith of Christ to a mere religion of earthly things. We think there must be a definite connection between this and that of which 2 Thessalonians speaks-the strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.
The seven heads of the beast have a twofold meaning. They represent firstly, seven mountains on which the woman sits, and this helps to identify with Rome both the beast and the woman; that is, both the empire and the religious system. In Johns day Rome was without doubt the city of the seven hills.
But seven kings are also signified, and these distinct from the ten kings signified by the horns. The ten are kings who rise up in the last days, when the beast will represent not only the empire but also the empires last and imposing head. In verse Rev 17:10 the kings are clearly different, and represent successive heads of the empire, or rather successive forms of despotic government, and not individuals. Emperors held the power when our Lord was crucified and when John wrote, and they continued to do so until the empire broke up, but they had been preceded by five other forms of rule. A seventh was to come, that would continue but a short time and then be replaced by the eighth, who would be of the seven; that is, not entirely new but a reproduction of one of the earlier seven-of the imperial form.
This eighth, then, we should identify with the beast of Rev 13:4-8, and again with the little horn of Dan 7:8. If this be so, we may understand the seventh head, who continues for a short time only, to be a personage of importance and in control when first the empire reappears, but to be replaced by the little horn-Satans nominee-when he rises up with a look… more stout than his fellows, and three kings fall before him, as Dan 7:20 predicts. But the eighth, in spite of his dazzling splendour, is not permitted a long course. God intervenes and he goeth into perdition.
The ten horns, according to verse Rev 17:12, are the actual individuals who attain to kingly power for the brief spell during which the beast wields supreme authority. They are his willing vassals and support his Satanic schemes, even to the point of madness in making war with the Lamb. Men are going to reach such a pitch of mental inflation and self-confidence and arrogance, that they will actually fling themselves against the mighty power of God. We may say-borrowing the language of 1Co 8:5 -that however many lords and kings there may be in heaven and on earth, the Lamb is Lord and King of them all, the beast and his satellites included. They inevitably fall before Him; and He has His associates, called, chosen and faithful. They too were rejected by men but are chosen of Him.
Verse Rev 17:15 mentions the woman, but only to emphasize how complete her dominating power had been. It is remarkable that in this chapter she is seen sitting on the waters, on the beast, and on the seven mountains. Putting the three together, we are helped to identify her, and conducted to the last verse of our chapter. Two verses, however, intervene, in which we are shown her miserable end.
The ten kings, represented by the horns, are to be distinguished not only from the seven kings of verse Rev 17:10, but also from the kings of the earth, spoken of in verse Rev 17:2, and who reappear in the next chapter. These kings of the earth are seduced by her, have illicit commerce with her-the fornication that is spoken of-and they greatly lament her destruction. They are doubtless the kings or leaders of many peoples who are outside the revived Western empire. The ten kings are leaders within the empire, who favour her at first and help to support her, but finally find her yoke intolerable, hate her and fall upon her with such fury as to destroy her.
When the corrupt religious system, symbolized by the woman, shall have reached the height of its influence, its apparent success and glory, it will be completely overthrown by the worldly powers that have been its main support. It is Gods way to permit each successive form of evil to come to a head in fullest manifestation and apparent success before His judgment falls upon it. Here the judgment falls mediately through the ten kings and not immediately from the hand of God. The two beasts are to be dealt with immediately, by the Lord Jesus in person, as we shall see in Rev 19:1-21, for in them the violence of sin reaches its climax. In the harlot the corruption of sin reaches its most horrible expression. God does not put His hand upon the filthy thing but uses the violent to destroy the corrupt.
That God lies behind the violence of the ten horns is made quite clear in verse Rev 17:17. The horns act with an agreement and unanimity which is very rarely found amongst men. Usually there are dissentient voices, and the majority prevails over the minority. Here all act together as with one mind under the guidance of the beast, and as a result vengeance falls in a stroke of swiftness and completeness.
The completeness of her judgment is expressed in four ways in the latter part of verse Rev 17:16. Bearing in mind that she symbolizes a religious system, the significance of each item becomes clear. She is made desolate; that is, forsaken by all who formerly were friends and supporters. She is made naked; that is, stripped of everything that had formerly hid her true character. They eat her flesh; that is, appropriate to themselves all her wealth and luxuries. They burn her with fire; that is, utterly destroy the whole framework of her system. A clean sweep is made of the whole accursed thing. Little as they may realize it, the kings are acting as the executors of Gods vengeance.
The identification of the woman and the great city, which is Rome, is made quite clear in the last verse of the chapter; and following this, in chapter 18, the city aspect becomes much the more prominent.
Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary
Mystic and Commercial Babylon
Rev 17:1-18 and Rev 18:1-24
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
The seventeenth chapter of Revelation discusses what we call mystic Babylon; and the eighteenth presents commercial Babylon. Personally, we believe that there will be a union of apostate protestantism with apostate Catholicism. This is discussed in chapter seventeen. Then, we believe that Babylon will be rebuilded. We are quite aware of Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the former Babylon, which was to be destroyed, never to be inhabited, and never to be rebuilt. The new Babylon, however, may easily be erected on a sight distinct from the former one. If the eighteenth chapter does not. discuss a literal Babylon it certainly discusses a great city. If not Babylon, perhaps Rome where the world’s commerce may be centralized.
We should remember, as we approach these two chapters that we are at the very end of the seven year period of Tribulation, in which the antichrist shall rule, and reign over a ten kingdom empire, and in which his authority will reach to the end of the world. By way of introduction, we wish to speak upon one thing only. That is the present hour development of that great religious hierarchy which is known, in chapter seventeen, as the Great Harlot.
In considering this strange name for an apostate church, let us remember that the true church has been recognized in the Word of God as the bride, the Lamb’s wife. If a true fellowship in Christ is known as a Virgin, with raiment spotless and clean, why should not the contradiction of that spiritual fellowship be known as the great harlot? Let us observe several things in Rev 17:1-6 which are spoken about this evil woman, which we call the apostate church.
1. Consider the statement that she sitteth upon many waters. In verse fifteen, these waters are designated as peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. We all know of the universality of the Roman Catholic Church. While the Roman Apostasy centers in a little corner of the earth, in Rome. Yet. its sweep and sway is known and felt the world over.
2. Consider that the inhabitants of the earth, have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. When an individual is drunk, we think of him as dominated by a power, in which he loses his own sober, and individual self. Thus, also have millions come under the sway and the sweep of apostate Christianity.
3. Consider that the woman was seen sitting upon the scarlet colored beast. This beast is not difficult to place, because he is full of names of blasphemy, and he has seven heads and ten horns. We found out in a study, that these things are especially true of the antichrist. The verse, three, reveals to us the fact that apostate Christendom will make a league with the antichrist.
The fact that the woman was seated upon the beast, shows that she will have great power in directing, at least the early movements of the beast. Antichrist will have a religious personality, particularly, when he comes in power. The Roman Catholic church has long flirted with dictators and kings and potentates. Its dream is to hold a regal, as well as a spiritual relationship toward men. In this role apostate modernism will have no difficulty in playing its part.
4. Consider the harlot’s raiment. Verse four tells us, “And the woman was arrayed in purple, and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls,” No one could doubt the significance of this description. We were present at the Eucharistic Conference of the Roman church in Budapest, Hungary. The great church leaders had the appearance of monarchs, as they paraded the streets in purple and scarlet and gold. Apostate Christendom is more and more following in the same footsteps.
5. Consider the golden cup in her hand full of her fornications. What abomination, what filthiness, what shame have been found in many acts of the apostate church. Much of the blood of the martyrs lies at her feet. She seems to be holding her golden cup aloof in her hand, as she makes bold to boast of her power, and authority, in realms political. Many a politician has sought the favor of Rome in order to obtain his seat.
6. Consider her name. In verse five her name is described, as being written upon her forehead. Here it is: “Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth.” Mark you, we do not say that in this great world system of Romanism, and apostate Christendom, there are to be found no lovers of the Lord. Not that. We speak merely of the facts that the system, as a whole, is drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
I. THE MYSTERY EXPLAINED (17:7-11)
1. The beast is explained as one who was and is not and is about to ascend out of the abyss, and to go into perdition. What a picture of the antichrist. It was because of this, in the old days, that John wrote, “Even now there are many antichrists.” It is not because the personal antichrist is not to be revealed. The antichrist is to ascend out of the bottomless pit. Whether this means that the antichrist will be one who has already lived, or whether it means that his system and methods come out of the abyss, under the touch and power of Satan, we are not prepared to say. Perhaps the former is true.
He shall go into perdition. This we know is literal, because, in the nineteenth chapter, we read: “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he received them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.”
2. They that dwell on the earth wonder after the beast. Among men he is of great renown. Only those whose names are written in the book of life, will refrain from following after the antichrist. Daniel gives us a most graphic picture of the power of this striking personage. He is called a vile person, who comes in peaceably, and attains his kingdom by flatteries. He enters into league with others. Then, he works deceitfully. He stirs up his power and his courage against kings. He waxes great even to the host of Heaven. He magnifies himself. He destroys wonderfully, and prospers, and practices, but he shall be broken without hand.
3. The beast had seven heads. Verse nine tells us, “The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.” Our mind cannot help but go to Rome. There are some real Bible interpreters in the church of Rome. We wonder how they treat this chapter as a whole, and these words, in particular? To us, there can be but one meaning.
Verse eighteen tells us this: “And the woman, which thou sawest, is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” Once again the city of Rome comes to mind and the Roman Catholic Church.
II. A GROWING ANTAGONISM OF THE BEAST TOWARD THE GREAT HARLOT (Rev 17:12-15)
Let us take up these verses statement by statement.
1. “The ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings.” This statement is in perfect accord with many others. The ten horns here, are the same as the ten toes of Daniel two. They are the same as the ten horns of that dreadful and terrible monster in Dan 7:7. That the old Roman Empire has come into a ten kingdom empire under one super-king, there can be no doubt.
2. The ten kingdoms will have one mind, and shall deliver up their power and strength to the antichrist. We heard Stanley Baldwin, of London, say one night that a democracy believes in the voice of the people, but a totalitarian state, under a dictatorship, gives the people no voice. In a totalitarian state, he said, everything runs smoothly, and peaceably so long as the people have no mind, and no power or strength of their own. Mr. Baldwin had just come over from Europe, and was speaking in New York City. His words met a response in our own hearts.
3. The ten kingdoms will make war with the Lamb. This also is the message of the prophetic Scriptures as a whole. David, by the Holy Ghost, put special emphasis upon these things. He spoke of the kings of the earth, the coming confederacy, as they set themselves together, and took counsel together, against the Lord, and against the Anointed. Yes, the world that rejected Christ, when He came the first time has the same antagonism now, as of yore.
4. “The Lamb shall overcome them.” In Psa 110:1-7, we read that He shall strike through kings in the days of His wrath. In the same Psalm we read that His arrows will be hot in the hearts of the king’s enemies.
5. He who fights against the Lamb, fights against those who are with Him. These are described in our verse as the called, the chosen, and the faithful. Thus, whatever befalls our Lord, befalls His saints.
III. THE FINAL OVERTHROW OF THE GREAT HARLOT (Rev 17:16-18)
1. When the antichrist comes into power he will need the patronage and influence of the apostate church. When, however, he shall have ascended the seat of authority, it will be another matter. Even the Catholic Church will break with the antichrist. So long as he. was willing to permit the richly arrayed harlot, to sit upon him, all was well. When he, however, having received power from Satan, begins to demand the worship of the populace, and to lift himself up above God, and is worshipped; then, even the apostate church will bear with him no longer. Or, perhaps, he will bear no longer with her. He throws her from his back, and tramps her beneath his feet.
When the antichrist throws apostate Christendom from the saddle, he makes her desolate and naked, and as it were, eats her flesh, taking everything that was hers to himself, and then he burns her with fire.
2. This is the method by which God’s will is to be performed. For verse seventeen says, “God hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will, and to agree.” After this scene of judgment there remains among men, but one will, and one mind, and one supreme king, even the antichrist, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Our advice to the ministry of today is to carry forward their evangelism. It is not for us to take judgment into our own hands. Suppose that modernism does devastate the churches; suppose that Roman Catholicism does carry away many from the full Gospel, of glory and of grace; we should only preach that Gospel the more faithfully. We need not war against apostates, because we cannot overthrow them. We need not seek to avenge ourselves against the Romanists; we may contend for the truth, we may preach the Word; then, when the day comes God will judge this great religious harlot, with His own judgments.
IV. “THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE FALL OF BABYLON (Rev 18:1-3)
Our verse reads. “And after these things I saw another angel come down from Heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory, and he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying. Babylon, the great, is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.”
1. Think with me for a moment upon the ministry of angels. As we have been preaching on this wonderful book, you, no doubt, have seen the angels of God at every turn. They have ever been ministering spirits, sent forth to minister unto those who shall be heirs of salvation. With what tender, guarding hands they have ever encamped around those who fear the Lord. Now, however, they have become the angels of God’s judgments toward the ungodly.
The highest, and the holiest of angels, are seen in these hours of tribulation. One after the other appears on the scene. They come clothed with great power and glory. Just now we saw how the very earth was lightened with the glory of the angel, as he cried mightily with a strong voice announcing the fall of Babylon,
2. Come with me a while, as we look upon the greatness of the world’s great city, Babylon.
From the days of Babel and its mighty tower, until this moment, the name Babylon has stood for confusion. It has stood for the tearing down of God and of His authority, and for the erection of the dominion and rule of the coming superman. Babylon, in the chapter we are now considering, stands for world commercialism. Its message is the message of wealth and its power.
3. Come with me as we behold Babylon’s fall. All nations drank of the wine of her fornication, and the kings of the earth mingled with her in every evil way. The merchants of the earth waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. Now, commercialism, having reached its greatest height, is seen toppling and falling, Babylon quickly becomes the habitation of demons. Vandals come to sack her. Every unclean and hateful bird comes to suck her blood. She rose, but to fall. She lifted herself up, and God brought her down in humiliation and disgrace. She lived for self, and she lost it all. She played the game, but went into worse than bankruptcy.
V. A CALL TO GOD’S PEOPLE TO EVACUATE THE CITY (Rev 18:4-7)
1. The call, “Be not partakers of her sins.” This is God’s last call to His own people to come out of Babylon. Away back in the beginning, God called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees. Later He called the children of Israel out of Egypt. There has always been a great danger when saints mix and mingle, in the world of self-centered commercialism. Yet, it has been absolutely necessary for all to buy, and to sell. As the age, however, comes to its close and antichrist rules; and, as no man can buy or sell, excepting under the supervision of the man of sin, the antichrist; more and more it will be impossible for saints to compete in commercial life.
When, at last, God is about to destroy Babylon, the commercial center from which comes the authority of earth’s dictator, then, God cries, “Come out of her, My people.”
When Sodom had to burn, Lot had to flee. Poor Lot! He was so entangled in commercial Sodom and Gomorrah that he had to be urged to fly from her overthrow. The two angels who warned Lot, hastened him (Gen 19:15).
Has not God said to saints, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth”? Has God not also said concerning the riches of this earth, “But thou, O man of God, flee these things”? Let us beware lest we become too much entangled by the lure of gold.
2. The curse. The iniquities of commercial Babylon reached up unto God, and God says, “Reward her, even as she rewarded you; and double unto her double according to her works.” Then God added, “How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her; for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.”
Thus did commercialism boast her security, and thus did she trust in her gold.
VI. THE WOES AND WAILS OF MERCHANTS AND SHIPMASTERS (Rev 18:8-19)
1. When the merchants of the earth, who had luxuriated with the wealth of the world, saw that in one day she was cut down, and utterly burned with fire, they bewailed her and lamented. John foresaw all of this. The merchants saw the smoke of her burning as they stood afar off, because of fear. And they said, “Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.”
Thus did the merchants of the earth meet and morn, for no man bought their merchandise any more.
2. The merchandise, in which the merchants of the earth traded. Here is God’s forewritten list: “The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet; and all thyine wood, and all manner of vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and of iron, and marble; and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep; and horses, and chariots; and slaves, and souls of men.”
3. The woes of the shipmasters. Every shipmaster, and sailors; as many as trade by sea, stood afar off and cried as they saw the smoke of her burning. Do any of you wonder at the grief and groans of these men who had made themselves rich by trading? Men love money. They love to live deliciously, they love to luxuriate. When Christ commanded the demons to enter the swine, and the swine ran down a steep place into the waters of Galilee, the people were not slow in wanting Christ to leave their coast.
Shakespeare might write, “Who steals my purse steals trash”; but the average man thinks of his purse, as his greatest possession.
VII. THE HEAVENS REJOICE (Rev 18:20-24)
1. There is a bright side, as well as a dark side to every cloud. While on earth the merchants and the shipmasters were bewailing the fall of Babylon, Heaven was rejoicing. Here are the words of the angels, “Rejoice over her, thou Heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you of her.”
The Lord knows that all of us need to be clothed and fed, and He has promised to supply our needs. Legitimate commerce is honorable and right. However, today the whole world seems to be rising up against the inconsistencies and sins of the rich, as they have depressed the poor.
The Holy Ghost, in the book of James, gives us a brief record of this. “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, your garments are motheaten (Jam 5:1-20).
This will suffice to show you why God’s curse is upon the trade and traffic of men. It is because they have lived in pleasure on the earth and been wanton; it is because they have nourished their own hearts, in a day of slaughter. It is because they have condemned and killed the just.
2. Now we understand why the saints are told to rejoice at the overthrow of commercial Babylon. Commercial Babylon ceases forever upon the earth. The mighty angel, as he took up a stone, like a millstone, cast it into the sea, and said, “Thus with violence, shall that great city Babylon, be thrown down and shall be found no more at all.” Along with Babylon’s overthrow, comes also another overthrow: “The voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and of trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee.”
Thus, does Babylon fall, and in her wreckage is found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
Rev 17:1. This chapter (like some others) goes back to the time just before the Reformation, and will make symbolic predictions of that revolution. It should be stated that while the institution of church and state (which has not yet been dissolved as to the start of this chapter), is regarded as Babylon the Great and an enemy of God, the church part of the combination will seem to receive the more attention from the Lord in his condemnations. That is because it deals with the affairs of the soul which are more important than those of the secular government. Yet because the apostate church was supported by the political power of Rome and her Empire, much of the language in the symbols will be based upon the geographical and political features of that city. Show unto thee the judgment or give John a prediction of God’s judgments in a vision. The great whore is said of the apostate church because false religions of all kinds are likened to immorality in figurative language. Sitteth upon many waters. Waters in symbolic language means people upon whom the corrupt institution pressed down with her desolating weight of intolerance and persecution.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Rev 17:1
Introduction.
X
THE HARLOT WOMAN ON THE SCARLET BEAST
(Chapter 17)
The contents of this chapter comprised the announcement of the angel to reveal to John the judgment to have been passed upon the harlot city.
Before performing the announcement, however, the angel carried John away into a wilderness for a visional description of this harlot. These remaining chapters of the apocalypse surrounded only two opposite figures–the old apostate Jerusalem in contrast with the New Jerusalem, the Victorious Church of Christ.
The old Judaistic Jerusalem with all of her apostasies must have been removed in order for the New Jerusalem, the church–or kingdom of Christ–to have come into world-wide sway. Hence, symbolic Babylon the Harlot and figurative New Jerusalem, the Bride (the church), were the center of the remaining apocalypses. Later, John was transported in vision to a mountain where he was allowed to view the Bride, the wife of the Lamb (the church of Christ)–but before doing so, the first angel summoned the Seer in spirit to appropriate surroundings to reveal the identity and character of Babylon, the great, the mother of the harlots, and abominations of the earth, and to visualize the judgment that was to come upon her–for the destruction of the Harlot must precede the victory of the Bride.
The seventeenth and eighteenth chapters must be considered as one–for the announced judgment upon the Harlot by the angel at the beginning of chapter seventeen was suspended by the vision of the Harlot; and another angel descended in chapter eighteen to explain the mystery of Babylon the great, and to reveal the judgment against her in the overthrow and destruction of the city which the Harlot represented.
There are numerous reasons why the Harlot could not have been the city of Rome. It is stated in this chapter that the beast hated the Harlot. But the beast admittedly was the Roman Empire, and if Rome was the Harlot, the Roman Empire hated the city of Rome. The beast being the empire, the Harlot was of necessity some other than Rome.
First: The hatred of the beast for the Harlot harmonized with the animosity of both the Roman Empire and of Rome, its capitol city, toward Jerusalem.
Third: There was no basis for a symbol or an analogy in which Rome could have been depicted as having
Second: The latter half of Revelation beginning with chapter twelve was recapitulatory of the first half ending with chapter eleven, under another and different set of symbols. In Rev 11:8 the names Sodom and Egypt were symbolically applied to apostate Jerusalem, and thus identified by the descriptive clause where also our Lord was crucified. It was because of these apostasies and abominations that the symbolic name Babylon in Rev 14:8 was applied to the fallen city of Jerusalem.
become a harlot, for Rome never stood in the spiritual relation to God as a faithful city, turned to harlotry. The Harlot was a city once faithful to God, and only Jerusalem can fulfill the symbolic descriptions.
Fourth: The apocalypse was not directly concerned with Rome, or the Roman Empire; rather, they were envisioned only as the instrument in the execution of judgment on Jerusalem, which in her multiplied apostasies had come to be symbolized as the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth, i. e. Judea and Palestine.
All of this was in direct fulfillment of the things Jesus foretold in the twenty-third and twenty-fourth chapters of Matthew and the twenty-first chapter of Luke concerning the apostasies and abominations which would bring doom to the city of Jerusalem.
For example read Mat 23:34-37 : “Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. 0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not !”
The words of Stephen in denunciation of Jerusalem’s abominations in Act 7:52-53 were predictive of this doom: “Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.”
The culmination of the Lord’s upbraidings and Stephen’s denunciation of Jerusalem were reached in John’s visions of Jerusalem as Sodom, Egypt and Babylon, with her abominations and harlotry. There are other such portents of the downfall and doom of Jerusalem in the discourses of Christ and in the apostolic epistles, all of which come within the scope of John’s visions.
In chapter seventeen two chief figures were introduced: First, the old Jerusalem as the Harlot; and the persecuting power of Rome as the beast upon which the Harlot sat. Corollary to these two symbolic characters were the two judgments, one against the woman, the other against the beast in the form of the announced destruction of both. However, as the beast symbolized the Roman Empire, it was only as the persecuting instrument; hence, the destruction of the beast which should be accomplished was not the empire itself but the persecuting power which the beast embodied and personified.
Seeing that chapters seventeen and eighteen deal with Jerusalem as the Harlot, and the persecuting power of the beast as the Roman Empire, the verses of the two chapters fall into an orderly sequence.
(1) The harlot sitting upon the waters–Rev 17:1-2.
(2) The woman on the scarlet coloured beast–Rev 17:3-8.
(3) The great wonder comprehended–Rev 17:9-11.
(4) The coordination of the ten kings–Rev 17:12-18.
Verse 1.
(1) The harlot sitting upon the waters–Rev 17:1-2.
“And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters.” The term harlot has been used always in a figurative sense to denote wicked cities, as of Nineveh in Nah 3:4; and of Jerusalem in Isa 1:21; and of Israel, when the nation became a harlot by the practice of idolatry in Revelation.
So here apostate Jerusalem, in broken relation with God, was given the mystic name Babylon, the mother of harlots. From generations past the execration of Israel had increased from the time of prophet’s reprobations in Isa 1:21 to the Lord’s lamentations in Mat 23:29-39. By the elders of Israel the official responsibility for crucifying the Christ was placed upon Jerusalem in Mat 27:25. The martyr Stephen laid upon Jerusalem with the criminal charges of “betrayers and murders” in Act 7:52. The descriptions in Rev 14:8 Revelation 17 :l-6; 18:1-2, were but extensions of the same exposures in the continuing apostasies of Jerusalem.
The vision of the harlot that sitteth upon many waters was based upon the fact and the history that Jerusalem depended on her affiliations with the Roman Empire and its tributaries for commerce, revenue and support.
This statement has been considered an indication that the Harlot was Rome, sitting on the waters. But the same figure of speech was applied to Babylon in Jer 51:13 : “0 thou that dwellest upon many waters.” It was not a reference to a literal geographical location, but to commercial sources of revenue and support; and it was a very impressive imagery of Jerusalem’s dependence on affiliations with the heathen tributaries of Rome.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 17:1. One of the seven angels that had the seven bowls speaks to the Seer, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters. The judgment spoken of, as appears by the word used in the original, is judgment executed, not in process of execution. The harlot is obviously Babylon, but the name is a mystical one (Rev 17:5), and the Seer will afterwards more fully explain it. Many waters are interpreted by the angel in Rev 17:15 as peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues, and the fourfold division shows that we have a representation of the whole world. The figure is taken from Jer 51:13, where Babylon is addressed, O thou that dwellest upon many waters.Sitting is the emblem of authority and rule, accompanied by the thought of ease (comp. chap. Rev 14:6).The term harlot points to the fact that this city seduced men from the true God to worldliness and sin (Isa 1:21; Jer 2:20; Eze 16:15).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Section 1. (Rev 17:1-18.)
The rule of the harlot
Babylon is already announced as fallen in the fourteenth chapter, and as judged of God under the seventh bowl; but we have not yet seen what Babylon is, and we are not to be left to any uncertainty. She has figured too largely in human history, and is too significant a lesson every way to be passed over in so brief a manner. We are therefore now to be taught the “mystery of the woman.”
For she is a mystery: not like the Babylon of old, the plain and straightforward enemy of the people of God. She is an enigma, a riddle; so hard to read, that numbers of God’s people in every age have taken her, harlot as she is, for the chaste spouse of the Lamb. Yet here for all ages the riddle has been solved for those who are close enough to God to understand it, and the figure is gaudy enough to attract all eyes to her -seeking even to do so. Let us look with care into what is before us in these chapters, in which the woman is evidently the central object, the beast on which she is sitting being here viewed rather in its relation to her.
It is one of the angels of the bowls who exhibits her to the apostle, and his words naturally show us what she is characteristically as the object of divine judgment. As described by him, she is “the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters, 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.”
As brought into sharp contrast with the beast that carries her, we see that she is a woman, has the human form as the beast has not. A beast knows not God, and in Daniel we have found the Gentile power losing the human appearance which it has in the king’s dream, to take the bestial, as in the vision of the prophet. In Nebuchadnezzar personally we see what causes the change; that is, pride of heart which forgets dependence upon God. The woman, on the other hand, professedly owns God, and moreover, as a woman, takes the place of subjection to the man: in the symbol here, to Christ. When she is removed by judgment, the true bride is seen, to whom she is in contrast, and not, as so many think, to the woman of the twelfth chapter, who is mother, not bride, of Christ, and manifestly represents Israel.
But the woman here is a harlot in guilty relation with the kings of the earth. Here, also, is manifestly ambition, the desire of power on earth, the refusal of the cross of Christ, the place of rejection; and the wine, the intoxication of her fornication, makes drunk the “dwellers upon earth.” These we have already seen to be a class of persons who, with a higher profession, have their hearts yet set upon earthly things. These naturally drink in the poison of her doctrine.
To see her, John is carried away, however, into the wilderness; for the earth is that, and all efforts of those who fain would do so cannot redeem it from this. There he sees the woman sitting on a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, easily identified as the beast of previous visions by its seven heads and ten horns. The beast is in a subjection to the woman which we should not expect. It is the imperial power, but in a position contrary to its nature as imperial; in this harmonizing with the interpretation of the angel afterwards -the beast that was and is not.” In some sort it is; in some sort it is not; and this we have to remember as we think of its heads and horns. If the beast is not, necessarily its heads and horns are not. These are for identification, not as if they were existing while the woman is being carried by it. In fact, she is now its head, and reigns over its body, over the mass that was and that will be again the empire, but now “is not.”
What are we to say of the scarlet color and the names of blasphemy? Are they prospective, like the horns? The latter seems so, evidently, and therefore it is more consistent to suppose the former also, the difficulty of which may be relieved somewhat by the evident fact that of these seven heads only one exists at a time, as we see by the angel’s words. The seven seen at once are again for identification, not as existing simultaneously. The scarlet color is that which typifies earthly glory -what is simply that. The beast’s reign has no link with heaven. That it is full of names, not merely words of blasphemy, speaks of the assumption of titles which are divine, and therefore blasphemous to assume. Altogether, we see that it is the beast of the future that is presented here, but which could not really exist as such while carrying the woman. She could not exist in this relation to him, he being the beast that he is; and thus the expression is fully justified -really alone explains the matter -the “beast that was, and is not, and will be.”
There is clearly an identification of a certain kind all through. While the woman reigns, that over which she reigns is still, in nature, but the beast that was, and that after her reign will again be. There is no fundamental change all through. The Romanized nations controlled by Rome are curbed, not changed. And breaking from the curb, as did revolutionary France at the close of the eighteenth century, the wild-beast fangs and teeth at once display themselves.
But we are now called to consideration of the woman, who, as reigning as the professed spouse of Christ over what was once the Roman empire, is clearly seen to be what, as a system, we still call Rome -“that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth;” which did so even in John’s time, although to him appearing in a garb so strange that when he sees her he wonders with a great wonder.
She is appareled in purple and scarlet, for she claims spiritual as well as earthly authority, and these are colors which Rome, as we know, affects; God thus allowing her even to the outward eye to assume the livery of her picture in Revelation. These external signs are not to be thought unsuitable because external. They are intended surely to invite our attention to what is underneath them. She is decked, too, with gold and precious stones and pearls, figures of really divine and spiritual truths, which, however, she only uses to adorn herself outwardly with, and indeed to make more enticing the cup of her intoxication: “having a golden cup in her hand,” says the apostle, “full of abominations and filthiness of her fornications.” Now we have her name: “And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.”
Her name is Mystery, yet it is written on her forehead. Her character is plain, if only you can read it. If you are pure, you may soon know that she is not. If you are true, you may quite easily detect her falsehood. In lands where she bears sway, as represented in this picture, she has managed to divorce morality from religion in such a manner that all the world knows the width of the breach. Her priests are used to convey the sacraments; and one need not look at the hands too closely that do so needful a work. In truth, it is an affair of the hands, with the magic of a little breath by means of which the most sinful of His creatures can create the God that made him, and easily new-create, therefore, another mortal like himself. This is a great mystery, which she herself conceives as “sacrament,” and you may see this clearly on her forehead then. It is the trick of her trade, without which it could not exist. With it, a little oil and water and spittle become of marvelous efficacy, her capital stock indeed, out of which, at the smallest cost, the church can create riches and power, and much that has unquestionable value in her eyes.
“Babylon the great” means “confusion the great.” Greater confusion there cannot be than that which confounds matter and spirit, creature and Creator, makes water to wash the soul, and brings the flesh of the Lord in heaven to feed literally with it men on earth. Yet to this is the larger part of Christendom captive, feeding on ashes, turned aside by a deceived heart; and they cannot deliver their souls, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” (Isa 44:20.)
This, for those who are deceived by it, lifts her at once into a place of supreme power that nothing can resist. If she has power to create God, she may well have power over all the creatures that He has created.
This frightful system has scattered wide the seed of its false doctrine, and the harlot-mother has daughters like herself. She is the “mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.” Solemn words from the Spirit of truth, which may well search many hearts in systems that seem severed far from Rome, as well as those that more openly approach her. Who dare, with these awful scriptures before them, to speak smooth things as to the enormities of Rome? To be protestant is indeed in itself no sign of acceptance with God; but not to be protestant is certainly not to be with God in a most important matter. This Roman Babylon is not, moreover, some future form that is to be, though it may develop into worse yet than we have seen. It is that which has been (in the paradoxical language which yet is so lively a representation of the truth) seated upon the beast, while the beast “is not.” It is popery, as we know it, and have to do with it; and woe to kings and rulers who truckle to it, or (again in the bold Scripture words) commit fornication with it! “Come out from her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues!”
“And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus; and when I saw her,” says the apostle, “I wondered with a great wonder.”
Romish apologists have been forced by the evidence to admit that it is Rome that is pictured here; but they say -and some Protestant interpreters have joined them in it -that it is pagan Rome. But how little cause of wonder to John in his Patmos banishment that the heathen world should persecute the saints! With us it is simple matter of history, and we have ceased to wonder; while, alas, it is true that many today no longer remember, and many more think we have no business to remember, the persecutor of old. It was the temper of those cruel times of old, many urge. Nineteenth century civilization has tamed the tiger, and Rome now loves her enemies, as the Christian should. But abundant testimony shows how false is this assertion. Here, just before her judgment, the apostle pronounces her condemnation for the murder of God’s saints still unrepented of.
The angel now explains the mystery, and begins with the beast. “The beast that was, and is not” is clearly from the point of view of the vision, as has been said. The rule of the woman necessarily destroys beast-character while it lasts. But the beast will awake from its long sleep. It is about to come up out of the abyss, and go into perdition. This coming up out of the abyss, however, as has been elsewhere said, does not seem to be merely the revival of the empire: the key of the abyss in the hands of the fallen star under the fifth trumpet, and the angel of the abyss being the person who, by the two languages of his name is the destroyer of both Jew and Gentile, necessarily leads us to believe that there is in it the working of Satanic power. This is strengthened by the connection of this ascent with the “going into perdition” of that which comes up.
The previous revival under the seventh head would thus be passed over; this being in fact merely temporary and transitional; the prophecy, which is not a history of the beast, but of its relation to the woman, hastens on to what is most important; the beast pictured here being identified, in fact, in the prophecy itself, with its own eighth head (ver. 11). That it has only seven, as seen in the vision, is not against this, if the seventh and eighth heads are the same person.
The unhappy “dwellers upon the earth” wonder at this revival, whose names have not from the foundation of the world been written in the book of the Lamb slain. Divine grace is that alone which makes any to differ; and of this we are reminded here. The power that works in the revival of the beast is plainly beyond that of man; and how many in the present day seem to take for granted that whatever is of more than human power must be divine! This is the essence of the “strong delusion” which God sends upon those who have not received the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Powers and signs and lying wonders confirm the imperial last head in his pretension; and that they are “lying” means, not that they are mere juggling and imposition, but that they are made to foster lies. They shall wonder, seeing how that the beast “was, and is not, and shall be present [again].”
And here is the mind that hath wisdom, the divine secret for an understanding heart. First, as to the woman: “The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth.”One would think there need not be much doubt about the application of this, and in general there has not been. That Rome was the seven-hilled city is familiar to every schoolboy, and its being a “geographical” mark need not make it unsuited to be one, as Lange believes. God would point out in this way, in a manner plain even to unspiritual souls, if possible, what it is of which He is speaking here; and He has even, if one may so say, gone out of the way to give a needed plain mark of identification, that His saints may know, whose blood it would shed, and who would need the comfort of knowing, that He was against this “mother and mistress of the churches,” with all her effrontery, and the crowd that follow her.
But the heads are also seven kings, consecutive, not contemporaneous rulers; for five had already fallen, one was, and another was yet to come, only to exist for a short time; the beast himself being the final one. Imperial Rome was evidently what existed in the apostle’s day. “One is” we must take, as it seems, as applying to the apostle’s day, for at the time of the vision the beast itself “is not.” The only other time present would be the time in which the apostle lived himself.
The imperial head came to an end necessarily when the empire as a whole broke up under the attacks of the barbarians; and to make, as Barnes and others do, the exarch of Ravenna the seventh head of the world-empire, is either to overlook the plain terms of the prophecy, or else to pervert the simple facts of history. The exarchate lasted about 200 years, which Barnes considers comparatively but a short time, and the papacy he considers to be the eighth head. This falls with the exarchate; for the papacy would then be but the seventh, and nothing would correspond.
The seventh head began, according to Elliott, when Diocletian, already emperor, assumed the diadem -the symbol of despotic sovereignty after the Eastern fashion; and he quotes Gibbon’s words, that, “like Augustus, Diocletian may be considered the founder of a new empire.” But if this were the seventh head, there was a gap between it and the papacy, and this must have been the time when the beast was not.” This is better in some respects than Barnes, and may really be an anticipative fulfilment such as we find in the historical interpretation generally. But it fails when we come to apply it consistently all through, as where Elliott has to make the burning of the woman with fire by the ten horns to be merely the devastation of the city and the Campagna prior to their giving power to the beast, whereas in the prophecy it is really effected by the beast and the horns together, and is the complete end of the system which the woman represents. It would be manifestly incongruous to suppose the papacy to hate and consume the Roman Catholic church.
The scheme of prophecy involved in all this, if taken as a whole, must be reserved for an after-time, to consider more closely. When the papacy in fact ruled the empire, it had ceased to be in a proper sense the empire, and then it was that, according to the chapter before us, the beast was not. The true bestial character could not co-exist with even the profession of Christianity. The beast is necessarily, therefore, secular, not ecclesiastical. When the secular empire fell, the beast was not; though in that contradictory condition the woman might ride it. Since that fall there has been no revival, and therefore, as yet, no seventh head. The seventh head seems to be constituted that by the union of ten portions of the divided territory to give him power; and the preponderance of Russia in Europe might easily bring about a coalition of this kind. The new imperial head lasts but a short time, is smitten with a sword, possibly degraded to the condition of a “little horn,” is revived by the dreadful power of Satan acting through the antichristian second beast of the thirteenth chapter, assumes the blasphemous character in which we have already seen him, and then throws off the last remnant of the rule of the woman. This is the beast as Revelation contemplates him generally, identified with the eighth head, but which is of the seven; in fact, is the seventh which had the wound by the sword, yet lived. Thus seen, all the passages seem to harmonize; a harmony which is the main argument for the truth of such an interpretation of them.
“And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings which have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and give their power and authority unto the beast.” Alas, they are united against God and His Christ: “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”
Here we have anticipated the conflict of the nineteenth chapter. These that are with Christ are His redeemed people, as is plain. Angels may be “chosen and faithful,” but only men are “called”; and when He comes forth as a warrior out of heaven, they, as “the armies that were in heaven, follow Him.” The rod of iron which He has Himself is given to His people, and the closing scene in the conflict with evil sees them in active and earnest sympathy with Him.
The waters where the harlot sat are next interpreted as “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” With another meaning and intent than where it is spoken of Israel, “her seed is in many waters.” Her influence is wide-reaching and powerful, but it is brought to an end: “and the ten horns which thou sawest and the beast;” -so, and not “upon the beast,” all authorities give it now; -“these shall hate the harlot, and make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her up with fire.” That surely is not a temporary infliction, but a full end; and beast and horns unite together in it. She has trampled upon men, and according to the law of divine retribution this is done to her. This has been partially seen many times in the history of Rome, and the end of the eighteenth century was a dreadful warning of what is soon to come more terribly still upon her. The very profession of Christianity which she in time past used for the purpose of gain and power over men will, no doubt, by the same retributive law, become at last the millstone around her neck; and no eye will pity her, for it is God who has “put into their hearts to do His will, and to come to one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast until the words of God shall be accomplished.”
How good to know, amid all that day of terror, that God is supreme, above all, in all, the devices of His enemies! Still “He maketh the wrath of man to praise Him, and the remainder of it He restraineth.” And this is the time which will most fully demonstrate this. It is the day of the Lord upon all the pride of man, to bring it low. It is the day when every refuge of lies shall be swept away and all the vanity of his thoughts shall be exposed. “The idols He shall utterly abolish.” Yea, those who have been their slaves shall fling them to the moles and the bats. “And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.” Then the way is prepared for blessing, wide in proportion to the judgment which has introduced it.
There is yet a question which we should consider before passing on, and which affects the whole interpretation already given with regard to Babylon the great. It is being urged with more and more confidence, and by a growing number of prophetic students also, that Babylon here is, after all, not Rome, but the ancient city upon the Euphrates, which is to revive in the last days and manifest the old spirit which it had from the beginning. It is plain that the name itself is what has suggested this. Otherwise one would say it would never have found the acceptance which it has. The introduction, to so large an extent, of literalism into the interpretation of Revelation naturally provides for this view a great support. Those who can believe that the new Jerusalem itself is only a great city -literally 12,000 furlongs in measure, a cube or a pyramid, as it is variously considered, its foundations literal jewels, and all else accordant, -will contend most earnestly that Babylon the great is no other than that so constantly before us in the Old Testament Scriptures. Those, on the other hand, who believe that Revelation is essentially a book of symbols will find in the very name itself a suggestion really the other way. We need rather special proof that the name is literal here, where the beast, the horns, and other surroundings are so manifestly figurative. Then the word “mystery” comes before the name, as if to assure us that there is something deeper than the letter in it. Afterwards, also, we have the warning that, “here is the mind that hath wisdom;” which, again, suggests the care we need in looking at all this. Harlotry is the uniform figure for the departure from God of one in professed spiritual relation to Him. There are two exceptions to this -in the case of Tyre (Isa 23:1-18) and Nineveh (Nah 3:1-19). These are the only ones to be found in all Scripture, while abundance of quotations could be given from the prophets in which Israel’s relation to God is the very ground of such charges against a people departed from Him, and violating the relation in which He has brought them to Himself. The woman herself suggests such a thought as this. The woman of the twelfth chapter is not, however, as many take it, the figure of the Christian Church, but rather of Israel, as we have seen. That Babylon here is in contrast with her we need not deny or doubt, and the contrast comes out plainly in the fourteenth chapter where the 144,000 stand upon mount Zion with the Lamb. Of them it is said, “These are they that were not defiled with women, for they are virgins.” Against Babylon of old no such charge as what is here is ever made. Babylon the great is not only a harlot, but the “mother of harlots,” -a term which the lateness of Rome in the world’s history, according to some, makes it impossible to apply to her. And this connects itself with the objection derived from the universality of Babylon’s rule here, as also with the charge against her of “the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.” The answer to this should be plain, that the Lord charges Jerusalem in His day in a similar manner; declaring that upon her inhabitants shall come “all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.” “All these things,” He declares, “shall come upon this generation” (Mat 23:35-36). Certainly, nothing is said of Babylon here that can be stronger than this; and in fact upon any generation that takes up openly the sins of its ancestors, and makes them its own, such things may be said. That is how the Lord speaks of Jerusalem, and that is how the prophet speaks here.
There is no doubt that Babylon the great here is identified in spirit with the Babylon of old, and this accounts for the name given to her. There is a real unity in Satan’s work from the beginning, while at the same time it develops from age to age, to keep pace with the developing revelation of God. It is this development which is so important here, and which seems to be so much forgotten by those who see here Babylon on the Euphrates. Idolatry is thus connected all through the world’s history; and it is sadly interesting to trace in Romanism at the present time the adoption of certain old forms of idolatry, as indeed history assures us it has always, in every land, shown itself ready to ally itself with such things, covering them only with a new and Christian name. Indeed, the account of Babel at the beginning certainly looks forward to that which we find here, but not in the way in which it is represented by many: modern research and fragmentary traditions being woven together to make a history of the Biblical account for which the Bible itself is not responsible. Thus we are told that “the Bible says that it was arranged for the people to make for themselves a ‘name’ -a sem, token, sign, banner, ensign, or mark of confederation, fellowship, and organized unity,” and that “that sem, or sema, was, in the language of the time, a Sema-Rama. Thus we have the name of the mythic Semiramis, the dove-goddess, which was the ensign of all the Assyrian princes. . . . The symbol of such a name or confederation would naturally, and almost necessarily, take the place of a god, and become the holy mother, the great heavenly protectress,” etc., etc. All this is inventing for the Bible, to bring it up to what the Bible is here supposed to say. The thought of the Babel-multitudes, as Scripture in fact gives it, “to make themselves a name” is as simple as possible, and does not permit such things to be read into it.
Scripture is sufficient of itself in all matters of this kind, and its own account of Babylon is surely not lacking. Its typical character has been already remarked upon in its place. All this history in Genesis belongs to a great system of types in which Israel’s own history is included, according to the apostle’s words, “All these things happened unto them for types, and are written for our instruction upon whom the ends of the ages are come.” Thus the history of Israel is repeated in the Church, and the Babylonian captivity of Israel has had sorrowful repetition in that other Babylonian captivity which has left its mark everywhere upon Christendom today. These types in history are a result of the fundamental unity of man everywhere, in his weakness, his folly, and his sin, over which there has been always God’s controlling hand, acting according to His unity also with His own hand. Scripture gives us the history in such a manner as to bring out the types, and show us God’s knowledge of everything and control of everything from the beginning. But if we go outside of Scripture, it is quite possible in such things to follow a false clue, and lose the meaning. In fact, by reverting here to Babylon, as at the beginning, the meaning is lost, the end of Christendom as here set before us is obscured. It is not permitted to be apostate Christendom, but a new thing which replaces it, and which is but a revival of what was at the beginning. In the last phase of things here, it is Babylon herself that is to be set aside in the open revolt against God which follows it. The woman here presents to us what we must not be allowed to miss, the end of the false pretension of the day, after the true Church is removed to heaven. When this is done, Satan is met upon his own ground as manifestly Satan. Only the battle of the great day of the Lord God Almighty remains. The anti-Church is gone, but in its place there is an anti-Christ and anti-God; and man shows what has been in his heart all through, by taking his side against God, under Satan’s banner. Thus we have gone back of Babylon itself to where man placed himself at the fall; only now this is done deliberately and after the long, patient trial of centuries. The devil’s word, “Ye shall be as God,” is now, if possible, to be carried out; and with this open defiance the end comes, of course.
The connection of the woman with the beast is of the greatest importance to consider in all this. The beast is plainly Daniel’s fourth beast, however much it may unite in itself at last the characters of those preceding. But Daniel’s fourth beast, it is evident, has no successor. It is Rome, therefore, that is to be found in power at the end, as Babylon was at the beginning. It is not imperial Babylon that is to be revived, nor is it possible to make room in the prophecy for this. It may be true that the seven heads of the beast, successive as they are plainly, may, as already has been said, begin before Rome, and the Roman beast be seen in this, like the Roman woman, to be but the development of that which began in earliest human history. The beast, though the Roman beast, is only the continuance of the lawless Gentile powers that were from the beginning ever against God. The six heads culminate, as already said, in Rome, before the collapse of the empire. The seventh head is a new imperial head, as seen with its ten horns and as carrying the woman. It is a different form of power, transitional, and thus anomalous, but with the germ in it of the last, so that the whole number of horns is, in another view, only nine. When Christianized, Rome already lost in a sense its beast-character, though still in fact existing. Morally, it was never Christian, and its profession to be this was but a weight upon it, provoking judgment for its profession of the holy name. Thus it went down, as the historical view of Revelation shows, under the war-trumpets. The trumpets begin the history of the Church, when Church and world have become thus one. Thus at last the beast was not, though the “holy Roman empire” remained, as it were, as the ghost of what was departed. When it rises again, it rises in this anomalous condition; but even as it could not continue in this way before, so now its continuance is but “for a short time.” The seventh head is wounded to death, and only revived by the power of Satan when now it becomes, as the eighth head, openly apostate, destroying the woman herself, and thus making an end of the corrupt profession upon earth. There now remains only the open war with God and the Lamb.
The connection of Rome, the city, with the Babylonian harlot is easily seen; and it is not, as Auberlen says, “totally at variance with the spirit of this thoroughly symbolical book.” He would, with others, even deny the note of identification presented by the seven mountains upon which the woman sitteth. We have been told by another that these could not be even called “mountains;” they were but very small hills; but the Romans, who may be supposed to know their own language best, call them, nevertheless, montes -“mountains;” and it is quite the order of things, as shown in history, that a system of this kind should have a local representation and a name. The city of Rome has long been the centre and head of a corrupted Christianity, and cannot be released from the responsibility of this. Thus, in the Lord’s day, as all through her history, Jerusalem, on the other hand, has been identified with Israel, and is the sign of their condition at the present time. In the judgment of Babylon which follows here, Rome will assuredly be found to have her part, and to remain, in her utter desolation, such a witness for God as Babylon upon the Euphrates has long been.
Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary
THE SEVEN DOOMS
The seven dooms are those of Babylon, the beast, the false prophet, the kings, the dragon, gog, and the dead. This lesson will be limited to chapters 17-18, both of which speak of Babylon but in different ways, and to understand which, it is necessary to keep in mind that every city may be conceived of from two points of view, material and moral. The streets and parks, the buildings, the docks and market places, these are Chicago; but her politics and government, her commerce and industry, her educational and religious systems, these things which have made her what she is, constitute Chicagoism. The one is the city materially, and the other the city morally considered. This distinction is seen in Babylon and Babylonianism; Rev 15:3 revealing the doom of the city material, and chapter 17 that of the city moral.
INTRODUCTION: THE HARLOT AND THE BEAST (Revelation 17)
The Harlot is Babylon from the moral side, i.e., Babylonianism, or in other words, the summing up in that figure of the prevailing worldly systems that enter into the final federation of the Gentile nations. The waters represent those nations (see Rev 17:1 and Rev 17:18). The beast we have already identified as the federated Roman Empire, though sometimes the personal head of that empire himself, Rev 17:3 and Rev 17:8. The mystery is interpreted in the sense that the nations contribute to the supremacy of the harlot, i.e., to Babylonianism, and benefit by it, and yet do not recognize it. Drunken is explained by the circumstance that the latitudinarianism, the breadth, the laxness of Babylonianism tolerates all schools and theories of religion inimical to God and the Bible like Romanism, Mohammedanism, Hinduism, and so on, which have shed the blood of the saints in all the centuries. The seven mountains are related to the woman as the seven heads are to the beast, i.e., the systems of authority or power, the politics, government, commerce, industry, education, religion, etc., making the one totality. The seven kings is explained by the remark that God has allowed executive power in the prophetic earth to be exhibited in seven different forms, although there will be yet an eighth form before the end comes. By the prophetic earth is meant the nations clustering around the Mediterranean which, with their allies and dependencies, constitute the Roman Empire of the Caesars, and will constitute the federation at the end under the beast. The history of this executive power commenced with Nimrod and concludes with the beast, both of whom stand connected with Babel or Babylon. The whole of these seven forms of executive power include, the native Monarchy of Nimrod, the theocracy of Israel, the despotism of Nebuchadnezzar; the aristocracy of Persia, the military monarchy of Alexander, the empire of the Caesars, and the constitutional monarchies of modern Europe. The sixth, that of the Caesars, was existent when this revelation was given (one is, Rev 17:10), the seventh is now in vogue, and the eighth (Rev 17:11) will be that of the beast. The teaching of Rev 17:16-17 seems to be that the kings reigning over the ten kingdoms that will form the federation at the end, will find Babylonianism, i.e., the systems which control in their several kingdoms, to be a hard yoke upon them, especially so as these systems increase in influence with the increase of democracy which is always hateful to kings. It is to be rid of Babylonianism that they temporarily unite to give their power and strength unto the beast. Gladly will they take refuge under the arm of one whom Satan strengthens for dominion, and join in destroying a system which has really made them its slaves. The system of Babylon will be destroyed (chap. 17), but the city itself with all its wealth of greatness will for a time continue (chap. 18), the beast reigning over it until the hour of its dooms and his doom shall come together.
PROGRESSION: THE DOOM OF THE MATERIAL CITY (Revelation 18)
But a pause should be made here to prove the application to a literal city of Babylon rebuilt on the plain of Shinar. This is necessary when so respected an authority as the Scofield Bible says, The notion of a literal Babylon to be rebuilt on the site of ancient Babylon is in conflict with Isa 13:19-22. Those who have studied that chapter in this commentary will have seen reasons for the opposite view. The language of Isaiah 13-14 seems to demand the rebuilding of Babylon for their fulfillment. But the reason the Scofield Bible holds this view, is partly explained by its interpretation of the preceding chapter. Two Babylons are to be distinguished in the Revelation, it says, ecclesiastical Babylon which is apostate Christendom, headed up under the papacy; and political Babylon, which is the beasts confederated empire, the last form of Gentiles world dominion. Ecclesiastical Babylon is the greatest harlot and is destroyed by political Babylon. This commentary agrees that two Babylons are to be distinguished, and that the Babylon of chapter 17 is apostate Christendom. But it holds that apostate Christendom includes Protestantism as well as the papacy, and is in fact, the sum of the seven systems already indicated, one of which is ecclesiastical. It may be that ere the beast comes into power, Protestantism will become effaced and the papacy be the only ecclesiastical system to be reckoned with, but as to this we have no light. The language of Revelation 18, the Scofield Bible goes on to say, seems beyond question to identify Babylon the city with Babylon the ecclesiastical center, viz: Rome; but we do not see it that way, and are inclined to believe that there will be a certain logical conclusion of the history of the times of the Gentiles. The civilization and culture of the world will again become atheistic and man centered, and having described a circle, its cradle (Babylon) will become its grave.
In the study of chapter 18 one is impressed with the large place commerce is to hold in the greatness of that city. The merchants and ship masters are her chief mourners (compare Zec 5:5-11).
QUESTIONS
1. Name the seven dooms.
2. In what two ways is Babylon to be conceived of?
3. Define the terms Babylonianism, mystery, drunken, seven mountains, and seven kings.
4. What is meant by the prophetic earth?
5. Name the seven forms of executive power.
6. Why is Babylonianism destroyed by the Beast?
7. Have you reviewed the lesson on Isaiah 13-14?
8. Have you reviewed the lesson on Zachariah 5?
Fuente: James Gray’s Concise Bible Commentary
Observe here, 1. The angel’s invitation to the subsequent vision, One of the angels, talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee, &c.
Where we see the readiness of those ministering spirits, the holy angels, to do any good office for the saints, and with what cheerfulness they are employed about things for our consolation, and the sweet familiarity that is between them and the saints, evidenced by that expression, He talked with me, saying, Come hither.
Observe, 2. The promise which the angel makes to St. John, namely, to show him the judgment of the great whore. By the whore, all understand the city of Rome; only some will have it Rome Pagan, others Rome Papal, or the great idolatrous city and church of Rome. Idolatry is often in scripture style called whoredom; and idolaters are said to go a whoring from God. A whore is a person married to an husband, who afterwards proves false to his bed. The Papal present church of Rome deserves this name, having been guilty of the greatest defection and apostasy from the true evangelical doctrine and worship that ever was in the world; and she is deservedly also called the great whore, because of her whoredoms committed with so many under her power and jurisdiction, having many people subject to her, and for that reason is here said to sit upon many waters.
The true church is Christ’s bride and spouse, she is betrothed unto him in righteousness, in loving-kindness, and in tender mercy; and at any time by idolatry to apostatize from him is spiritual whoredom, which shall not pass without deserved punishment.
Learn hence, How hateful idolatry is to God, and how highly it provokes God’s wrath, even as the whoredom of a woman who plays the common harlot provokes the jealousy of her husband. Verily, never was husband more jealous of the chastity of his suspected wife, than God is jealous in point of worship.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
The angel tells John he will show him the condemnation of the harlot. Tyre was called a harlot by Isaiah ( Isa 23:16-17 ), as was Ninevah by Nahum ( Nah 3:4 f) Also, Jerusalem was described as a harlot when the people turned from proper service to spiritual adultery. ( Isa 1:21 ; Hos 2:5 ; Hos 2:12 ; Hos 9:1 ; Jer 2:20 ) The waters are identified in verse 15 as peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues. It seems possible to this writer that we first have a picture of Rome as the capital city of the empire and then as the head of the spiritually apostate church gone whoring after false religion.
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Rev 17:1-2. And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials Most probably this was the seventh angel; for, under the seventh vial, great Babylon came in remembrance before God, and now St. John is called upon to see her condemnation and execution; saying, Come hither, I will show thee the judgment of the great whore Which is now circumstantially described. This relation concerning the great whore, and that concerning the wife of the Lamb, (Rev 21:9-10,) have the same introduction, in token of the exact opposition between them; that sitteth as a queen, in pomp, power, ease, and luxury, upon many waters So ancient Babylon, which was seated upon the great river Euphrates, is described by Jeremiah, (Jer 51:13,) as dwelling upon many waters; and from thence the phrase is borrowed, and signifies, according to the angels own explanation, (Rev 17:15,) ruling over many peoples and nations. Neither was this an ordinary prostitute; she was the great whore, with whom the kings of the earth, both ancient and modern, have committed fornication By partaking of her idolatry, and various kinds of wickedness. So Tyre is described, Isa 23:17, as having committed fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. Nay, not only the kings, but inferior persons, the inhabiters of the earth, the common people, have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication No wine can more thoroughly intoxicate those who drink it, than false zeal does the followers of the great whore. Thus it was said of ancient Babylon, The nations have drunk of her wine, therefore the nations are mad. Fornication, in the usual style of Scripture, is idolatry; but if it be taken even literally, it is true that modern Rome openly allows the one as well as practises the other. Ancient Rome doth, in no respect, so well answer the character; for she ruled more with a rod of iron than with the wine of her fornication. Her ambition was for extending her empire, and not her religion. She permitted even the conquered nations to continue in the religion of their ancestors, and to worship their own gods after their own rituals. She may be said rather to have been corrupted by the importation of foreign vices and superstitions than to have established her own in other countries.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Revelation Chapter 17
The characters of Babylon are first portrayed. Like the beast, she is only one thing in the judgment but morally she is more important than all the rest. The general character is the great active idolatress that has gained influence over the mass of the nations; next, that the kings of the earth have lived in guilty intimacy with her, seeking her favors, while those that dwell on the earth have lost their senses through her pernicious and inebriating influence. This is the general idea first given, a character plain enough to mark the Roman or Papal system.
But more details follow. There was a woman, a religious system, sitting on an imperial beast full of names of blasphemy, having the form which marked it Roman. The woman was gorgeously and imperially arrayed, had every human glory and ornament on her, and a rich cup of prostituting yet gross idolatries in her hand. Abominations are simply idols; filthiness of her fornication, all the horrible corruption that accompanies it. Her cup was full of them. She was in the desert; no springs of God were there. It was not, so to speak, Gods land, no heavenly country. To spiritual understanding she bore on her forehead her character (yet one known only when spiritually known), of the great city of corruption, source of all seduction to men and of all idolatry in the earth: such was Popery. But this was not all. All the blood of the saints was found in her: she was the persecuting murderess of those God delighted in, and who bore witness to Jesus. [16] The prophet was astonished-for it was what the church had come to.
The angel then describes the beast on which she rode. It had been, ceased to exist, and then it comes up again from direct diabolical sources-comes up out of the abyss. The renewed Roman Empire, which had disappeared, is blasphemous and diabolical in nature, and in this character goes to destruction: yet all but the elect on the earth will be in admiration of it when they see the beast that was, is not, and shall be present. Of itself this marks the Roman or Latin Empire, only that it will reappear more formally. But Rome is more distinctly marked. It is the city of the seven hills. Nor was this even all. It was the existing authority in the time of the prophecy: five of its governing powers had fallen; one was there; there was then one yet to come for a short space, and then the beast out of the abyss, the last diabolical state of the empire, would appear, and it would be destroyed. The last however is not a new form; it is one of the seven, though an eighth. My impression is, that the first Napoleon and his brief empire is the seventh, and we have now to wait for the development of the last. The beast, though imperial, has ten horns, ten distinct kingdoms. They have their power, and for the same period, with the beast. But they all give their power to the beast, and make war against Christ, the rejected One on earth; but He shall overcome them. For, despised as He may be, supreme authority is His, and there are others coming with Him, not merely angels but called ones, His saints.
Details are then added. The waters are explained as peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues-masses of populations in their diverse divisions. Next the ten horns, the kingdoms which are associated with the beast, and the beast (for so it is to be read) hate the whore and eat her flesh and burn her with fire (first, take all her substance and fatness, and then destroy her); for they are to give their kingdom to the blasphemous beast until Gods words are fulfilled. And then we are expressly to]d that the woman (not the whore -the last is her corrupt idolatrous character-but the woman), who as riding the beast was to be such, is Rome. All this chapter 17 is description.
Footnotes for Revelation Chapter 17
16: It is important to remark that formal religion, which rests on ancient claims as established, and which is left behind as to the truth by others who have received it, is the regular habitual instigator of persecution, though others may be the persecutors. So it was with the Jews, so in the Imperial history of the world. It always becomes false as regards truth, though it may retain some and important truths. The truths which test theheart and its obedience are not there.
Fuente: John Darby’s Synopsis of the New Testament
THIS was one of the angels who had the seven vials of wrath. He has already poured out his vial, but is still on hand, and at this time becomes the Lords messenger to the apostle. To the harlot of Babylon, who now becomes the most conspicuous character in the scene passing on the prophetic drama, in the statement that she is sitting upon many waters, we have a confirmation of what I have frequently told you in this book; i.e., the sea means the people, while the rivers and fountains of water typify the subordinate rulers. The harlot here spoken of is none other than the Roman Catholic Church.
2. With whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and those dwelling upon the earth were made drunk from the wine of her fornication. All spiritual deflection from God, and all anti-holiness religions, are denominated fornication in the Bible. Here we find it stated that all the people in the world have been made drunk from the wine of her fornication. That is certainly a very strong affirmation; but when we consider the fact that regeneration takes us out of the world, we see that this sweeping implication only applies to the unsaved. An intoxicated man is carried away with dreamy visions, illusory phantoms, and flighty imaginations. So it is with the votaries of a false religion. They vainly flatter themselves that they are saved, when they are lost; that they are traveling up the Kings highway to heaven, when they are in the broad road to hell.
3. This verse strikingly contrasts with Rev 12:14. where the bride of Christ flies from the bloody dragon and makes her escape into the wilderness. Hence we must return thither to find her again. To Johns Unutterable astonishment, he finds her no longer flying from the ferocious beast, but sitting on his back, arrayed in silk, scarlet, and bedecked with gold, diamonds, and jewelry of every kind. It is abundantly revealed in these prophecies that this is the fallen bride the harlot of Babylon. The pompous pretensions of the papacy amount to the most horrific blasphemy. The seven heads are the kingdom, the consulate, the dictator, the triumvirate, the tribuneship, the empire, and the papacy. The
ten horns are the ten kingdoms into which the Roman Empire was disintegrated upon its downfall, A.D. 476.
4, 5. Here Romanism is pronounced the mother of harlots the abominations of the earth. In the preceding verses she is designated a harlot, and now the mother of harlots. The harlotry in the Bible means counterfeit religion; i.e., the devils religion. When the people take the Babylonian delusion for religion, this old harlot, who is none other than the devils wife, always simultaneously administers the wine of intoxication, so as to utterly hallucinate them with the pertinacious, chimerical dream that they are certainly bona fide Christians. While Romanism is the mother of all spiritual harlotry, we must remember that her prostitute daughters are in all the great Churches of Christendom. In this way the apostasy of all Churches supervenes. Abominations means the worship of anything and everything except God, and is synonymous with idolatry. Ecclesiasticism itself is abominable idolatry, growing on indefinitely, and undermining the simplicity of the Apostolic Church. The papacy is the culmination of all ecclesiasticism. It is unmistakably patent that all Churchisms have an inherent papistical trend. The Greek ecclesia means Church. It is from ek (out of), and kaleo (to call). Hence it simply means the called out; i.e., the people whom the Holy Ghost has called out of the world. This is the only Bible definition of Church. The Church is true and orthodox so long as she adheres to this definition. The prophet says God made man upright i.e., perfect but he has sought out many inventions. This predilection of fallen humanity to add to Gods institutions has derailed, humanized, despiritualized, degospelized, and ruined the Church in all ages. In this way originated Babylon, the old mother-harlot, and her innumerable family of daughters, belting the globe with their Briarian arms and blighting multiplied millions of souls with the withering siroccos of their pestilential breath. The Methodist Church is already crammed chuck-full of human institutions, and still they are constantly making more. The effect is to crowd God out, leave the people no time to serve Him, and run them all into Ezekiels valley of dry bones. For this reason the normal tendency of the popular Churches of all denominations nowadays is to cause the people to backslide, dry up spiritually, become servants of the Church rather than God, run into ecclesiasticism (a species of idolatry), get farther and farther from God, and make their bed in hell. God has raised up the Holiness movement to rescue honest souls who have not gone beyond the dead-line into the awful whirlpool of dead Churchism. In this way all the great Protestant Churches of the world are going at race-horse speed headlong into popery.
Since the pope lost his temporal power in 1870, be has been seeking, through a thousand subterranean devices, to regain his lost ground. Leo XIII, in a recent encyclical, kindly invited all the Protestants to come back. To this invitation they all said No. But still they come in a way they know not. Satan is the great deceiver. When people fall in with him, they never aim to do it. He is the uncompromising rival of Christ, and the fallen Church i.e., Babylon, the mother of harlots is his wife, the implacable enemy of the true Church, the bride of Christ. Antichrist climaxes all opposition to Christ by claiming to be Christ himself. Just so Babylon is the arch enemy of the true Church because she claims to be the true Church.
6. I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus, and seeing her, I was astonished with great astonishment. The woman the harlot of Babylon, the fallen Church, the devils disciple is drunk with the blood of Gods saints and martyrs. History bears testimony to the appalling fact that she has murdered two hundred millions of saints. It is a significant fact that the secular powers have never slaughtered Gods people Unless manipulated by the ecclesiastical. The counterfeit bride is the implacable rival of the true, and has done her utmost to destroy her in all ages. The present opposition to holiness is the very venom and rage of the Babylonian hag. Why was John so unutterably astonished? The word admiration, in English, is utterly wrong and misleading. Johns ineffable wonder was because he identified this drunken harlot, covered with the blood of Gods saints and riding the cruel beast of Romanism, with the humble bride of Christ he saw fly from the bloody beast in the 12th chapter. The identity was indiscernible, save by the revelation of the Holy Ghost. This confirms most indubitably the apostasy of the Church. In a similar sense, Satan was once a bright archangel in heaven. The devil has no creative power, and God cant create sin. But the devil has illimitable power of transformation. The fallen Church is a sad monument of this power. This wonderful transformation is so cunningly manipulated by the great deceiver that the victim never knows it till the Holy Ghost shines in. These two hundred millions of Gods humble saints have all been accompanied to the burning stake by a long-faced clergyman, who believed the cruel martyrdom was right and necessary to the glory of God and the good of his Church. Jesus Himself heads our list. When Caiaphas, the high priest of Jerusalem, signed His death-warrant, he assuredly believed he was doing God service. Thus multiplied millions this day serve the devil, thinking they are worshipping God; and belong to the Babylonian apostasy, thinking they belong to the Church of God. What is the remedy? Gods word, Spirit, and providence. This triple dance is infallible. Civil government is the only present preventive of martyrdom. Blood and torture would belt the globe if gunboats and bayonets did not intimidate the votaries of Babylon.
Gods Church, the divine ecclesia i.e., the souls called out of the world by the Holy Ghost is under the direct government of the Holy Ghost. It is the only earthly survivor of the theocracy. Gods original purpose was to rule the world in Church and State in the heaven-born theocracy.
The last political vestige went out of His hands at the fall of Jerusalem B.C. 87. Since that time the ecclesia has been launched, in which he proposes to rule faithful bands. Ecclesia means Gods Church, over which the Holy Ghost always presides. When men take into hands the government of the Church, they usurp the office of the Holy Ghost. This is downright robbery. Will a man rob God? As a rule, the men who commit this awful crime are so hallucinated by the devil that they think they are doing God service; and if they do not take the government of the Church into hand, it will certainly go to ruin. Uzzah thought the Ark would be ruined if he did not hold it; but he only lost his life and arrested the progress of the Ark.
So the man who usurps the office of the Holy Ghost loses his soul and ruins the Church. Where can you find a Church, outside of the Holiness movement, which is not under human rule and spiritually dead? The ecclesia is Divine, and ruled by the Holy Ghost. The ecclesiasticism is human, and ruled by men, the Spirit having retreated away because He was superseded by men. In this way originated priestcraft, prelacy, and popery, followed by all the horrors of the autodafe and the Inquisition.
7. I will tell thee the mystery of the woman and the beast that carrieth her. The Greek musterion i.e., mystery means a secret which is to be revealed. Gods religion is a profound mystery, which none but Himself can reveal. He has revealed it to me, but I cannot, to save my life, reveal it to another. It is a matter of history that when the Church apostatized into Romanism she became a secret society, and is yet. Just as Gods people receive a secret from Him, so Satans people receive a secret from him.
The devil reigns in fallen Churches under the name of God, imparting the secret of his soul-destroying sorcery, by which he gulls and stupefies his devotees till he can dump them into hell. We find, by personal appeal, that very few Church people have an acquaintance with God and a knowledge of sins forgiven. They are resting in carnal security amid the ambrosial delusions of Satan, who has beguiled them with false hopes, founded on a spurious faith. Woman, throughout the Bible, means the Church. The fair, chaste bride of Christ is the true Church, the mother of Gods children. This old harlot is the counterfeit bride, the devils wife, the mother of his children. This beast is a wonderfully conspicuous figure in these prophecies. The Greek theerion means a ferocious, bloodthirsty wild beast. It represents all human governments contrastively with the theocracy. As Rome is the greatest and most conspicuous of all human governments, here we find the beast playing the most prominent part.
Revelation 12 : He has seven heads and ten horns; i.e.,
(1) the kingdom,
(2) the consulate,
(3) the dictatorship,
(4) the triumvirate,
(5) the tribuneship,
(6) the empire, and
(7) the papacy.
The ten horns are the ten kingdoms into which the empire was disintegrated when destroyed by the Huns, Goths, and Vandals, A.D. 476, and which remain, with little modification, to this day. Romanism, the great power of antichrist, has a duplicate organization, the political and ecclesiastical, the former typified by the beast and the latter by the woman. Hence, in the figure, the drunken harlot is debauched Romanism and her fallen daughters in a more remote sense, while the beast is the secular power supporting these fallen Churches.
8. The beast was, is not, and yet is. The Bible abounds in enigmas to sharpen our wits and impress the truth more vividly. Jesus says: Let the dead bury the dead; i.e., the spiritually dead bury the physically dead. This wonderful beast was in the capacity of pagan Rome, but having been destroyed A.D. 476, he is not in that form. Since the pope succeeded Caesar on the throne and perpetuated the empire, the beast is yet in the capacity of papal Rome. Since this beast is a medley of contradictions, all the world wondered after him and worshipped him i.e. dragon, the devil gave the beast power and His throne.
9, 10. Rome stands on seven hills. I saw them last summer. These are one phase of the seven heads. There are seven kings : five have fallen, one is, and another has yet to come, and when he may come it behooveth him to remain a little time. Here comes in the other more prominent phase of the seven heads; i.e. seven kings, or kingdoms (the concrete for the abstract). Rome was first ruled by kings, then by consuls, then by dictators, then by triumvirs, and then by tribunes. These five forms of government had all passed away before Johns day. Hence he says, Five of the kings have fallen. One is; i.e., the Roman Empire, under which John lived, and that was the sixth head of the beast. One has not yet come; i.e. papal head of the Roman world. The empire continued nearly four hundred years after this prophecy before it passed away and the papacy supervened. When he i.e., the pope comes, it behooves him to remain a little time. The papistical period in prophecy is 1260 a short time contrastively with the lapse of ages, and especially the cycles of eternity.
11. The beast which was, and is not, is himself the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. Now, who is this wonderful eighth beast? He is said to he one of the seven. Who are the seven? The kings, consuls, dictators, triumvirs, tribunes, emperors, and popes constitute the seven heads of the Roman beast. Since all these are dead and gone long ago, except the popes, it follows as an irresistible, logical sequence that the pope is the eighth beast. How can the pope he the seventh and the eighth too? Of course, when he passes from the seventh to the eighth, he assumes a new character. What is this character? It is that of antichrist. Hence we see from this prophecy that the pope is to become antichrist early in the tribulation. At present, the censorship of Babylon is the chief papal prerogative. As Babylon will fall about the middle of the tribulation, doubtless the papacy will undergo a radical revolution, assuming a decidedly more political, dogmatic, imperious, defiant, blasphemous attitude than ever before.
THE ANTICHRISTHOOD
The Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Christ of the new. Hence the excarnate Christ is the hero of the Old Testament, and the Incarnate of the New. Hence we see that the Christhood has always been progressive, and destined to culminate in the glorious millennial kingdom. It is equally true that the antichristhood has always been progressive. Every positive has its negative. Thus the antichristhood is the simple and normal negative of the Christhood. The word antichrist is from anti (instead of), and Christ. While this is the original definition and attitude, the secondary definition i.e., the implacable enemy and indefatigable rival of Christ-assumes transcendent importance. 2Th 2:4 :
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above everything that is called God or divinity, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself off that he is God.
This inspired definition of Paul certainly does vividly describe the most pompous, pedantic, egotistical, defiant, and blasphemous rivalship of the Most High. When the sixth angel pours out his vial of wrath on the Euphrates, and those three unclean spirits, like frogs, shall come out of the mouth of the beast, the dragon, and the false prophet i.e., paganism, Romanism, and Mohammedanism and stir up the whole world to the great wars of Armageddon, in which all the powers of earth and hell will be arrayed against God Almighty i.e. all human governments, political and ecclesiastical, united against divine rule; i.e., Gods theocracy the pope, being the more influential of the three, will doubtless subordinate the other two departments of Satandom, assume the supremacy, and proclaim himself the incarnate Christ. Under these blasphemous assumptions, ambuscaded by the spiritual darkness which will fill the world after the Lord takes up His saints in the cloud, the first resurrection and concomitant translations having transpired, the pope, environed by the carnal millions of all nations, Catholic, Moslem, and heathen, will doubtless not only command their loyalty, but their adoration. During the terrible darkness of the tribulation (Dan 7:9), the Ancient of Days i.e., God the Father, who has no incarnation, and is consequently invisible will be here sitting on His judgment-throne, executing the just and awful retributions on the rebel nations and Babylonian Churches throughout the world. In consequence of the dismal spiritual night, which shall anticipate the bright millennial day, and the unprecedented activity of Satan, tremulously prognosticating his approaching doom, antichrist, through priestcraft, statecraft, witchcraft i.e., spiritualism, socialism, secularism and every species of diabolism, will rally the whole world against truth, righteousness, purity, and godliness, as never before. Dan 12:1 :
There shall be a time of trouble, such as was never since there was a nation, even to that same time.
This describes the great tribulation. It was an awful time when the Flood came and swept the world into eternity. When God rained fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorra, it was appalling in the extreme. When the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem, and the sword, pestilence, and famine slew a million of people, and a million more were sold into slavery, it was unutterably awful. But we are assured by Daniel, John, and Jesus that the horrors of the tribulation will transcend all the woes this wicked world, in six thousand years, has known. I am on the daily outlook for the Lord to come and take up the members of the bridehood, translating the living and raising the dead. Who is ready to meet Him in the cloud? This is our only hope of escaping the tribulations, unless the Lord takes Us to heaven after they set in.
12. John tells us the ten horns are ten kingdoms that have not risen in his day. They did not rise until after the fall of the universal Roman empire, A.D. 476. Horn, in the Bible, means political power. When great Rome fell, her worldwide territory was broken up into ten kingdoms, which remain to the present day much in their original integrity. At the present day, the great political powers of the earth are about ten. The pope was crowned A.D. 606, and dethroned in 1870, according to prophecy. He exercised his prerogative as universal bishop soon after the dethronement of Caesar in 476. From about this time the kings generally succumbed to his ipse dixit, till the Lutheran Reformation terribly relaxed his grip.
13. These have one mind, and give their authority and power to the beast; i.e., the pope. For more than a thousand years this prophecy has been signally verified within the above dates.
14. This verse prophesies the glorious triumph of Christ over all these secular and ecclesiastical enemies. We hail it with joyful enthusiasm.
15. You see in this verse a confirmation of much preceding interpretation, recognizing the sea, rivers, and fountains as symbolizing the people.
16. DIVORCEMENT OF CHURCH AND STATE.
The ten horns which you saw, and the beast. these shall hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. This prophecy is now rapidly being fulfilled. The secular powers, which tamely submitted to papistical interference and dictation, are now everywhere in rebellion. The Jesuits have been driven out of France, the most Catholic country on the globe. Not only the sovereigns of the old world, but Mexico, Central and South America, are ready in rebellion against the papal authority. So the time has come when the horns hate the whore. They will soon eat her flesh; i.e., confiscate her immense possessions in their kingdoms. This is coming during the tribulation, and will expedite her ruin; i.e., the fall of Babylon. The Roman Catholic Church has more financial ability than any nation on the earth. We see from this prophecy she is destined to lose it all. The secular governments will confiscate it; i.e., eat her flesh. Burn her with fire. Fire, throughout the Bible, symbolizes destruction. It is the constant symbol of sanctification, because this means sins destruction. Hence we see the secular powers are going to find out the awful imposition of ages and execute vengeance. You see the prophetic drama. This fallen woman is now riding the bloody beast, one of whose meanings is the world power. He has dressed her in scarlet, and covered her with gold and diamonds, and is carrying her on his back. In turn she promises to take him to heaven when he dies. He is going to find out the lying delusion; that he is paying his millions to adorn her in queenly splendor and toiling to carry her on his back, and all this for naught; for instead of taking him to heaven, she is not going there herself. They must all together make their bed in hell. No wonder he will throw her over his head and devour her without mercy. The English says the horns on the beast will do this; but the Greek says, The horns and the beast will hate the whore, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. While the harlot means the fallen Church, the beast means the world power. The horns are the different governments which have been identified with Romanism, and that will take in nearly every state this side of the Moslem power in the East. This is a practical solution of the fall of Babylon; i.e., the secular powers are going to smash her into atoms. We now see not only the established Churches of the old world riding the state, but the Laodicean Churches of America are everywhere mounted on the back of the world, enjoying a ride to the bottomless pit; e.g., in an average city Church of one thousand members, at least half of them are hurrying to destruction because they are wicked. But they constitute the society wing of the membership, have the money, fill the offices, and bear the financial burdens of the Church. While I was preaching in a Southern city, a pastor of twelve hundred members, being informed that a prominent brother was drunk, responded: I know he drinks, but he pays well; I would rather he would get drunk and pay than shout and not pay. Take the wicked members out of the wealthy Churches and they will pay hundreds instead of thousands. Thus we everywhere see the Church riding the world. Methodist Churches have been poisoned by the introduction of worldly lay representation. Formerly the bishops went to God and made the appointments; now the laymen dictate to the bishop. How seldom any but men of wealth are elected in the Conference delegation? How often do you find rich men with any religion? In this way even Methodist Churches have climbed up and taken their seats on the old bloody dragon, and are now riding the world. What will the end be? Echo answers, Wonderful things already make haste. The time is at hand when the world is going to wake up to the awful cheat, and find out that they are paying their money for naught. Then the beast (the world) will throw the woman (the Church) over his head, eat her flesh, drink her blood, and pick her bones. These awful tragedies will transpire during the oncoming tribulation. While the world is racked in a universal volcano, all nations rushing into deadly conflict, then, to augment the horror of the scene, Church and State will quarrel and fight.
17. God hath given it unto their hearts to do His will, and to have one will, and to give their power to the beast, till the words of God shall be fulfilled. You must remember, Satan, the beast, and all other evil powers can only prevail by Divine permission. These evils belong to the mysteries of human probation. Ours is the period of the bridehood; hence, characterized by the most terrible temptations. The responsibilities of the bridehood are absolutely incalculable, sweeping on through all eternity, and involving the interest of myriads of worlds. Hence the importance that she pass through Satans flint-mills over and over. If she comes out with a shout of victory in her soul and loyalty to God every time, she is climbing Jacobs ladder with cheering velocity. The devil, pope, and Mahomet, with their concomitant evil agencies, will tread down the world till the prophecies are fulfilled. I am glad the black reign of sin is nearly over. The Holiness movement is the morning star preceding the glorious millennial day. You must not think God is tied to the prophecies; they are tied to Him. If the Church had not permitted Satan to side-track her from the glorious doctrine and experience of entire sanctification, the millennium, with its floods of glory, would have filled the earth long ago. In that case the prophecies would have corroborated the facts. So all the kings of the earth gave their power to the pope till his appointed fall, which culminated in his temporal dethronement in 1870.
The Moslem power in the East is to fall in 1897. Ten thousand omens cheer us in the sanguine anticipation that this prophecy will be fulfilled. Still the papacy and Islam will continue to wield a wonderful influence, even to the very coming of our Lord to reign. Then they will be cast into the lake of fire. (Rev 19:20.)
18. The city of Rome has ruled the world two thousand years under the seven heads
(1) kings,
(2) consuls,
(3) dictators,
(4) triumvirs,
(5) tribunes,
(6) emperors, an
(7) popes.
This city is the throne of the beast and the harlot.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Rev 17:1. Come (up) hither; I will shew thee the judgment of the great whore, that sitteth upon many waters, or nations, as in Rev 17:15; and with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication. Of the new- testament church it is said in prophecy, the Lord thy Maker is thy husband. This idea is improved by St. Paul, who regards the church as a virgin without spot or wrinkle, espoused to one husband, even Christ. On the contrary, the prophet Isaiah inflicts the severest censures upon that harlot church which left the covenant of Jehovah, and went over to Baal, another lord, detestible for every crime. The prophet Ezekiel also, in a highly coloured allegory of sixty three verses, repeats the stripes of Isaiah, and with full effect. Ezekiel 16. And what arguments could be adduced with more propriety to reclaim the apostate church from error, and the foulest shame.
Rev 17:4. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet. We need not go to the imposing splendour of the catholic devotion in Italy and Spain. In Moorfields, at high mass, we see a human figure officiating at an altar, with an image before him, and his back turned to the people. A scenery of the crucifixion is presented around the semicircle of the altar, which is covered with a grand scarlet cloth, while a priest in robes less splendid awaits on either hand. Two confessional thrones are erected on each side of the chapel, where crimes are pardoned with soft whispers for shining gold, or for copper offered by the poor. The officiatories are arrayed in purple and scarlet intermixed, as if to give a literal verification of this prediction.
It is well known that the frantic baccanantis wore red coloured garments; therefore John had a specific object in describing this woman, the mother of harlots, as gorgeously attired. Calmets Diet.
But alas, the editor has empoisoned Calmet with unitarianism.
Rev 17:5. Upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY BABYLON, the very name St. Paul had foretold, under the idea of the mystery of iniquity. 2Th 2:7. The jesuits attempt to expound this of pagan Rome, but not one trait can they find in Roman history to support this notion. The Tiara of pope Paul the second was studded with the richest gems that could be procured.
Rev 17:6-8. I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints. This has been noticed in Rev 13:7.
Rev 17:11. The beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth. Professor Coccejus thinks this regards the kingdom of the Franks, who formed so powerful a kingdom in the centre of Europe.
Rev 17:14. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them. The Father hath put all his enemies under his feet. Psalms 110. So then, the war of the beast and his kings comes at last to a war with the Lamb! And when once his love shall burn to anger, and his longsuffering shall burst into fury, who may abide the day of his coming? According to his fear, so is his wrath. Psa 90:11.
Rev 17:16. The ten horns shall hate the whore, and make her desolate. The prophet Ezekiel says the same of the harlot church in Judea. He foresaw how the Assyrians would strip her, and make her naked, and kill her children with the sword. The French have already plundered the defenceless catholic church, and a similar system of ecclesiastical spoliation is still going on in different parts of Europe, especially in the Peninsula. God grant that a happier order of things may follow, according to the prophecies in this book.
REFLECTIONS.
The mother of harlots is the papal and apostate church. She is called a harlot because of image worship and innumerable corruptions, as the jewish church was called, on account of worshipping the gods of the heathen. It was proper to disguise the history by remote figures, because future things, and the fate of empires, must not be too clearly revealed.
The scarlet coloured beast represents this woman as mounted high in power, riding over the old empire of Rome, and having the ten kings reigning at her command. Her gold and jewels are figurative of the pomp and splendour of the catholic courts, and worship. The golden cup, poculum aureum plenum abominatione, and so the papist bible (Vulgate) reads, full of abominations, shows how the pontificate intoxicated the nations to submission under the idea of the popes supremacy, the succession of bishops from St. Peter, and the impossibility of obtaining salvation without subjection to the church of Rome. The four first letters of the above words make PAPA, the latin for pope.
The name on her tiara or crown, was mystery. The duke Montmorency, when at Rome, learned that this motto was once on the popes crown. What a mystery of iniquity, that so much wickedness should be disguised with so much sanctity; that this servant of servants should be called vice Deo; and take heaven, and earth, and purgatory into his own hands, and be drunk with the blood of the Waldenses, the Albigenses, and the protestants of later times.
The name of Babylon, and the seven heads, obviously point at Rome built on seven hills. Joseph Mede, and Peter Jurieu regard the seven kings, five of which were fallen when St. John wrote, as the seven forms of government which succeeded one another in the Roman empire. The five fallen were the kings, the consuls, the dictators, the decemvirs, and the tribunes. The sixth, or pagan emperors, and the seventh, or christian emperors followed. The pontificate is the eighth, or little horn of Daniel coming out of the seventh head.
The ten kings shall hate the whore, make her desolate and naked, and burn her flesh with fire. This the protestant kings have done; and now latterly the government of France, and more recently still, the new government of Spain and Portugal, formerly so devoted to popish interests, have made her desolate and naked by the sale of all her lands and monasteries. God having put it into their mind to fulfil his will.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Rev 17:1. harlot . . . waters: the description of Babylon in Jer 51:13, thou that dwellest upon many waters, is here transferred to Rome. [Ultimately it goes back probably still further. The many waters refer to the watery chaos, the chaos monster, so that the beast on which the woman sits is really identical with the many waters on which she is said to sit in this verse.A. S. P.]
Rev 17:2. kings . . . fornication: the imagery is that of OT (cf. Isa 23:17). The sin of which these kings were guilty consisted in purchasing the favour of Rome by accepting her suzerainty and with it her vices and idolatries (Swete).
Rev 17:3. into a wilderness: cf. Isaiah 31.scarlet-coloured beast: the beast, as in Rev 13:1-10, is the political power of Rome personified in Nero. The term scarlet indicates the pomp and splendour of the Empire.full of names of blasphemy: i.e. the imperial titles which claimed Divine honours for the Emperor.seven . . . horns: Rev 12:3*.
Rev 17:5. Mystery: the term here means symbol, and the whole phrase signifies, This woman is the symbol of Babylon the Great.
Rev 17:6. drunk with the blood: a reference to the Neronian persecution. [If a Jewish source has been employed here, the original reference may have been to the appalling bloodshed in the war with Rome and the sufferings which followed the suppression of the rebellion. See p. 774.A. S. P.]
Rev 17:7. the mystery of the woman: i.e. what the woman symbolises.
Rev 17:8. was and is not: like the wounded head in Rev 13:3, this phrase evidently refers to the legend of Nero redivivus. A widespread rumour was current through the Empire that Nero was not actually dead but in hiding and would soon return. Cf. Tacitus (Hist. ii. 8), About the same time Greece and Asia were greatly alarmed by a false report that Nero was about to reappear . . . so that many pretended that he was alive and even believed it. For other references to this belief, cf. Cent.B, pp. 56ff.out of the abyss: this phrase implies that Nero had actually died, though in Rev 13:3 he seems to have recovered from his wounded head. These contradictory statements represent two different forms of the legend.name . . . book of life, etc.: Rev 13:8*.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Great Babylon Exposed in View of Judgment
The next two chapters (17 and 18) deal with great Babylon, her character, her self-exaltation and her judgment. This emphasizes the solemnity of God’s view of the corruption of Christianity. One of the seven angels of Rev 16:1-21 bids John to come and see the judgment of this great harlot who sits on many waters-who has strong influence over many nations (v. 1). This is the final form of Roman Catholicism, yet then including many others who had professed Christianity while having no knowledge of Christ as Savior. Thus it is more of an apostate “world-church” comprised of all merely professed Christians who were left behind at the Rapture, but organized under the ecumenical umbrella of Rome.
The kings of the earth have had illicit associations with her, indulging in religious hypocrisy for political reasons and for monetary gain (v. 2). Rome of that day will be most cunning, with no regard for faithfulness toward Him whose bride she professes to be. She mixes her pleasurable wine to intoxicate and seduce great numbers of the inhabitants of the world.
John is carried by the angel into the wilderness (v. 3). This is in designed contrast to Rev 21:10 where he is carried to a high mountain to view the true bride, the great city, the holy Jerusalem. The wilderness reminds us of the moral and spiritual desolation of this vast corrupt future-day religious organization called “great Babylon,” its very name meaning “confusion.”
She sits on a scarlet coloured Beast, full of names of blasphemy, indicating that she assumes divine rights and titles in defiance of God. The seven heads and ten horns of the Beast refer to Rev 13:1, for she will have considerable influence over the revived Roman Empire. She is pictured as holding the reins of this bestial empire, but only for a short time before she is thrown off and destroyed by the very empire she sought to control (v. 16).
Being arrayed in purple and scarlet (v. 4) indicates her assuming the place of royalty and of world-wide attraction, in total denial of the present true place of the Church in sharing the sorrow and rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ, her future husband. This adulterous woman seeks the public display of glory and honor (gold, precious stones and pearls) in a world that still rejects the Lord she professes to represent. True faith, on the other hand, refuses to accept the world’s honors at a time when that world dishonors our blessed Lord. The golden cup in her hand indicates her claim to be the representative of the glory of Christ on earth, but inside is abomination (idolatry) and the filthiness of her fornication (corruption).
The terrible name written on the woman’s forehead for all to see (v. 5) is in contrast to the 144,000 in Rev 14:1 who have the Father’s name in their foreheads, and the saints of the heavenly city in Rev 22:4 who have the Lamb’s name in their foreheads. Great Babylon advertises herself, not the Lord. “Mystery” tells us of her deceitful covering of her character by keeping her victims in ignorance of the Word of God and in bondage to mystical rites and human dogmas. As the mother of harlots she has children who are as guilty as she.
“Drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (v. 6) is a graphic way of describing her insensitivity to the enormous guilt of her persecution of the true saints of God. Like a wild beast that has tasted blood, she has become the more callous and unrelenting. John, in seeing her, wonders with great wonder. Probably it was hard for him to imagine a woman being so exalted and yet so callous. Could one have before thought of the professing “church” developing so grotesque a character?
The Mystery of the Woman and of the Beast Explained
The angel questions John as to why he marvels (v. 7). Is it so hard to understand that when the best thing on earth (the true Church of God) is corrupted, it becomes the worst corruption? The angel then gives a long explanation that is a key to understanding the mystery of the woman and of the Beast on which she rides. The Beast “was and is not” (v. 8). During the Christian dispensation the Beast, the Roman Empire, has ceased to exist. However, it is about to exist again by ascending out of the bottomless pit, or the abyss. NATO and the European Common Market embrace the general area of the Old Roman Empire, and no doubt foreshadow the revival of the Empire to take place soon after the Rapture. Ascending out of the bottomless pit speaks of its revival by means of satanic power. Satan will be allowed to bring the Roman Empire back into existence in order that God may judge that whole system that was in power at the time of the crucifixion of Christ and was guilty of perpetrating history’s most enormous miscarriage of justice. The Beast will go to destruction. Its judgment will be swift and sure. These things are true of the Roman Empire as such and true also of the man who will rule it, also called the Beast or the seventh head, who will also become the eighth head (v. 11).
Though this head of the Roman Empire will be at Rome, he is the political head and must not be confused with the head of the Roman Catholic church. The “church” is looked at as a woman, responsible to be in subjection to the Man Christ Jesus. We see her in this case, however, seeking to take the prominent place of holding the reins and directing the Beast as she desires. Though she is a religious entity, she seeks political prominence.
Earthdwellers (whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world) will wonder at the miraculous character of the revival both of the empire and its head. They are ignorant of the fact that Satan can produce miracles and lying wonders that can deceive anyone who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ. There is further explanation for the mind that has wisdom. This explanation establishes the fact that prophecy can have at least a double application. The seven heads speak of seven literal mountains of the city of Rome (v. 9). This clearly settles the issue as to the woman’s identity. She is the religious system that holds great influence over the Beast, over political Rome. Also, the heads indicate seven successive kings (or authorities), five having already passed at the time of writing, the sixth being then in power and the seventh still future (v. 10). The sixth was Imperial Rome (Rome under the Caesars) at the time the Apostle John wrote these words. Now the whole present dispensation of the grace of God has intervened before eventually, at the beginning of the seven year Tribulation period, the seventh head will rise.
When he arises he continues a short time. This Beast that was and is not, is said to be the eighth, yet “is of the seven” (v. 11). The only apparent answer to this is that he is the seventh head, but will be revived as the eighth head. He personally will receive a deadly wound, evidently in the great overthrow of government by anarchy under the sixth seal (Rev 6:12-17). Thus, he falls as the seventh head, but arises by satanic power as the eighth head. However, the glory of his revival is only for a moment: he goes into perdition.
The ten horns are ten (European) kings (v. 12) though not in power at the time John wrote, but who will be identified with the Beast in a future great political-military confederacy. These appear to be Western European nations which were part of the bygone Roman Empire and will at the end willingly join forces with the Beast.
The ten nations are not forced into alliance with the Beast by military conquest. Rather, they have one mind and give their power and strength to the Beast. Of course these nations want the advantage of a strong leader and the protection of one another, as well as economic advantage. This “one mind” therefore is one purpose, not really unity of heart and soul.
“These shall make war with the Lamb” (v. 14). They don’t fight against Israel, but against the Lamb. Although they intend to defend Israel when they come to Armageddon, God is punishing Israel for its idolatry, and the Beast interferes by attempting to defend Israel. Thus, he is fighting against God and against the Lamb, who by infinite grace seek only the true good of the idolatrous nation of Israel. “The Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings.” This great event is seen accomplished in Rev 19:11-21. Those with the Lamb have no significance in winning the victory: it is won by His power alone. Yet because they are “called, chosen and faithful,” He will honor them by associating them with Himself in His conquest of the nations. All the saints caught up in the Rapture are “the armies in heaven” (Rev 19:14). They have been there for at least seven years awaiting this great manifestation.
Verse 15 gives us another key to the understanding of prophecy. The waters of the sea on which the woman sits (v. 1) are declared to be “peoples multitudes, nations and tongues.” Of course, she sits on the Beast which involves ten nations (v. 3), but her influence is more widespread still. It is over many Gentile nations. The waters symbolize the Gentile nations, just as the land speaks of Israel.
Though the harlot has long enjoyed great prominence and influence, those very nations which have been most forward in giving her this idolatrous adulation will be those who turn in bitter vindictiveness against her. The ten horns and the Beast eventually will be filled with hatred against all that remains of the so-called Christian religion. They will divest her of her luxurious clothing and eat her flesh, evidently appropriating her wealth, and will destroy her by fire. The whole religious world-church will be desolated, and the center of it, Rome, evidently literally burned (Rev 18:18).
This judgment appears to coincide with the Roman Empire (the Beast and its ten horns) accepting the lie of the Antichrist, the false prophet of Israel. Once he has set up “the abomination of desolation” in Jerusalem at the middle of Daniel’s seventieth week and claims to have given it life, it is understandable that all who accept this will then despise the claims of Christianity and reject every vestige of it. How long after the middle of the week this destruction takes place is not told us, but it will be before “the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev 19:1-9) and before the Beast and his armies gather at Armageddon with the purpose of defending Israel against the King of the North (Rev 19:19).
Little do the Beast and his cohorts realize that in all this they are subservient to the God they have refused! It is He who puts in their hearts to destroy the corrupt woman, the false church (v. 17), and He uses them until His judgment is complete. Then they too will suffer the judgment they justly deserve.
Finally, verse 18 gives the clearest testimony as to who this woman is-“that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.” Rome the city stands for the world-church, the woman. Her condition then will have worsened far beyond what it is today because no believers will remain to restrain the growth of corrupting evil.
Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible
Revelation 17
From the commencement of this chapter to the end of the book there extends a connected train of prophetical annunciation, the general import of which seems clear. Under the figure of a woman seated, upon a beast, though the symbol is afterwards changed to that of a city designated by the name Babylon, some great foe to the cause of Christ and of piety is represented, at first in a state of great activity and power, and afterwards overwhelmed with a very sudden and complete destruction. The terrible severity of this overthrow is enforced by a variety of images and representations in Revelation 18:1-24, which are followed by an account of rejoicings among the people of God at the great deliverance.
Verse 1
Many waters. The meaning of this expression is explained in Revelation 17:15.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
14 The Woman and the Beast (Revelation 17)
We have learned from Chapter 13 that during the reign of the beast – the head of the revived Roman Empire – all the evils of the times of the Gentiles will reach their terrible climax. Then we have learned, from Revelation 14-16, that these evils will call down the judgments of God upon the kingdom of the beast and the worshippers of his image. This intervention of God will also reach its climax in the judgments symbolised by the pouring out of the seven vials which are definitely described as “the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God” (Rev 15:1). These final judgments prepare the way for the personal return of Christ as foretold in Rev 19:11-18.
But before this great event is described, we are given, in Revelation 17 and 18, further details of the overwhelming judgment that will overtake the false religious system that is set forth under the figures of a false woman, and the great city Babylon. Already in the course of these judgments we have had two brief allusions to the judgment of Babylon (Rev 14:8, Rev 16:19). But this corrupt system has loomed so largely in the history of the world that God has seen well to warn His people to be wholly apart from it by giving us, in these two chapters, further details as to its true character and its solemn end under the judgment of God.
Attention to the Word will make it plain that under the figure of Babylon we have a presentation of corrupt Christendom as set forth in Papal Rome. In verse 9 the vision is identified with the seven-hilled city of Rome. In verse 15 we have a system which has exercised almost universal sway over “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues:” again, in verse 18 it is viewed as having reigned “over the kings of the earth.” Is it not manifest that only Papal Rome answers to this description?
This corrupt system that claims to be the church is, in reality, the devil’s imitation. In these chapters, then, it is no longer the Antichrist that is before us, but the antichurch. We have a twofold view of this false church. In Revelation 17 it is presented under the figure of a woman; in Revelation 18 it is seen under the figure of a great city. The woman presents the Papacy in all its corruption, as seen by God, for the woman is presented as a harlot. The city sets forth the Papacy as seen by man in all its magnificence and luxury. A little later, in the Revelation, we shall see a wonderful vision of the true church, first as the Bride of Christ (Rev. 19) and then in relation to the world as a heavenly city (Rev. 21). Here we have the devil’s imitation which, though claiming to be the church of Christ, is exposed as being a corrupt harlot and a worldly city.
Viewing this false system as presented in Revelation 17, we notice that in the first division – verses 1-6 we have the vision seen by John. In the second division – verses 7-18 – we have the angel’s interpretation of the vision.
(Vv. 1, 2) John is told that he will be shown the judgment of this false system which is described not only by the figure of a woman, but a corrupt and licentious woman, thus setting forth in figure that this false system would rob men of all true allegiance to Christ. Her widespread influence is expressed by the statement that she “sitteth upon many waters.” Her evil influence upon the leaders that govern in Christendom is set forth under the figure of unholy intercourse with “the kings of the earth.”
(Vv. 3, 4) To see this vision John is carried away in spirit “into the wilderness.” This corrupt system creates but a wilderness in which there is nothing for God or man. In the midst of this wilderness, John sees the vision of a woman sitting upon a scarlet coloured beast with seven heads and ten horns.
Let us remember that the vision, while expressing the evil of the Papacy throughout the ages, presents its last phase when it will be publicly associated with the beast, or revived Roman Empire. The woman sitting upon the beast suggests that for a brief time the Papacy, in its last phase, will rule the empire and have its support. The revived Roman Empire, with its confederacy of kings, in seeking to overthrow all fear of God and establish the worship of the image of the beast, will apparently find in the corrupt Papacy a ready instrument to attain these evil ends, for this evil system is, and always has been, itself, marked by the grossest idolatry. This idolatry is symbolised by the golden cup in the hand of the woman full of abominations. Here, as so often in the Old Testament, abominations speak of idolatry. The “golden cup” may give a fair appearance before men, but the contents of the cup are an abomination in the sight of God. Is it not clear, then, that in the near future the Papacy will publicly identify itself with the political power in seeking to lead men to abandon the true God, and give themselves up to idolatry? The religious power and the political powers will unite in leading the world back into the grossest heathenism. The dog will return to his vomit again, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. Such will be the terrible end of corrupt professing Christendom.
(V. 5) The terrible character of the Papacy is further set forth by the name that John sees written on the forehead of the woman. The first word “Mystery,” as used in Scripture, does not suggest something mysterious, but, as it has been said, it “points to something undiscoverable by the natural mind of man, a secret that requires the distinct and fresh light of God to unravel.” Apart from this revelation, John would never have imagined that in Christendom there would develop a great system that professes the name of Christ, and claims to be the church, and yet becomes so utterly corrupt that it is described as “Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.” Of old the literal Babylon, though for a time the greatest city on earth, was the centre and source of idolatry and corruption. In a spiritual sense the Papacy becomes “Babylon the great,” for, like the Babylon of old, it is the centre of corruption, luxury, and the glory of this world: and, again, as “the mother of harlots” it becomes the spring and mainstay of all the idolatrous abominations of the earth. Does this not indicate that all the corruptions of Christendom have their origin in the Papal system; and may we not infer that after the church is caught away all that is left on earth that makes any profession of Christianity will be expressed by “Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth” and will come under judgment as such?
(V. 6) Further, in the vision, John sees that the woman was “drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” Not only has the Papacy been a source of idolatry and corruption but, throughout the ages, it has opposed and persecuted the true people of God. Pagan Rome, in its day, persecuted God’s people, but such persecutions were small compared with the millions of “the martyrs of Jesus” that, under the Papacy, have been hounded to death in wholesale massacres, by the horrors of the rack and the fires of the stake.
That Christians should have been persecuted by Pagans would have been no surprise to the apostle, but to learn that a time was coming when the professing church would become the centre of idolatry and the bitter persecutor of the saints, naturally led him to wonder “with great wonder.”
(Vv. 7, 8) To meet the wonder of the apostle, the angel reveals the mystery of this terrible association of corrupt Christendom with the corrupt government of the world. First, from verses 8-14, the angel gives us the history of the beast, or Roman Empire. This empire is described as having once existed, then for a time ceasing to exist, but as about to be revived in the most terrible form as ascending “out of the bottomless pit,” and thus energised by Satan, but finally to meet with overwhelming destruction. We know that the once powerful Roman Empire has for centuries ceased to exist as a world-wide power. Here we learn that, to the wonder of those who dwell on the earth, and have no part in the book of life, it will for a short period be revived. We know that the powers that be are ordained of God; but the time is coming when, during this revival of the Roman Empire, the governmental powers will cease to be ordained of God, and for a short period will be directed by Satan from the bottomless pit; as one has said, “For a short time Satan will bring forth an empire suited to his own purposes, as it springs from Satanic principles which deny God.”
(Vv. 9-11) We are then told that the symbols of the seven heads have a double meaning. They set forth the seven mountains, which are more especially connected with the woman, and would surely set forth the well-known fact that the Papacy has its seat in the seven-hilled city of Rome. Further, the seven horns represent seven kings, or forms of government by which Rome at different periods has been ruled. In the apostle’s day five forms of government had already passed away, and the sixth, or imperial form of government, was then in power. This, too, has for centuries ceased to exist. But in the future the empire will be revived under a seventh form of government distinguished again by imperialism, but associated, as the apostle learns, with a confederacy of ten kings. Moreover, the head of the revived empire will be of the seven inasmuch as it has an imperial character, and yet, in a sense will be an eighth, seeing that it will spring from a directly diabolical source.
(Vv. 12, 13) The ten horns, we are told, represent ten kings who will reign concurrently with the beast. They will unite in giving power and authority to the beast. Does not the prophecy clearly indicate that in the future Europe will seek “peace and safety” by forming itself into a confederation of ten kingdoms under the central authority of the head of the Roman Empire, who will be directly led by the power of Satan?
(V. 14) This confederacy will lead the Western powers into the complete apostasy of Christendom, for these ten kings, or the kingdoms they represent, while seeking to keep peace with one another, will unite in making war with the Lamb. This, indeed, will involve their destruction, for the Lamb that they dare to oppose, “is Lord of lords, and King of kings,” the One who will overcome all rebellion. The saints, that under the reign of the beast have been persecuted, will be associated with Christ in His judgment of this satanic confederation, for they are “called, and chosen, and faithful.”
(Vv. 15, 16) Having foretold the character and doom of the revived Roman Empire, the angel now reverts to the Papacy to let us know the destruction of this false system. We are first told that the vision of the woman sitting upon the many waters sets forth the world-wide influence of the Papacy over “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” Then we learn that the time is coming when the confederated nations will turn upon this false system, as one has said, “Unhallowed love will end in hatred.” They will strip her of all power, treat her with shameful exposure, and seize upon her resources, and thus bring about her destruction.
(V. 17) Further, we learn that in the destruction of this fearful system, the nations will unwittingly be carrying out the will of God, though their object may be to give the supreme ruling power to the beast. But God is over all, whether it be in the destruction of the false woman or ending the reign of the beast. These evil powers can only last “until the words of God shall be fulfilled.”
(V. 18) The woman that at last will be destroyed by the ten kingdoms is that great imposing system that, under the figure of a great city, is represented as having reigned over the kings of the earth, and, as one has said, has been “The seat of anxious and tortuous ambition, of crimes and deceit of every kind, haughty power over others, and worldly luxury and evil.”
Fuente: Smith’s Writings on 24 Books of the Bible
17:1 And {1} 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 {2} thee the {a} judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
(1) The state of the Church militant being declared, now follows the state of the church overcoming and getting victory, as I showed before in the beginning of the tenth chapter. This state is set forth in four chapters. As in the place before I noted, that in that history the order of time was not always exactly observed so the same is to be understood in this history, that it is distinguished according to the people of which it speaks, and that the stories of the people are observed in the time of it. For first is delivered the story of Babylon destroyed in this and the next chapter (for this Babylon out of all doubt, shall perish before the two beasts and the dragon). Secondly, is delivered the destruction of both the two beasts, chapter nineteen and lastly of the dragon, chapter eighteen. In the story of the spiritual Babylon, are distinctly set forth the state of it in this chapter, and the overthrow done from the first argument, consisting of the particular calling of the prophet (as often before) and a general proposition.
(2) That is, that damnable harlot, by a figure of speech called “hyppalage”. For John as yet had not seen her. Although another interpretation may be thought of, yet I like this better.
(a) The sentence that is pronounce against this harlot.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The invitation of the angel 17:1-2
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The fact that this chapter describes the judgment of Babylon referred to in Rev 14:8 and Rev 16:19 seems clear. It was one of the angels who poured out the bowl judgments who served as John’s guide as he viewed these events in his vision. The "great harlot" (Gr. pornes tes megales) is Babylon (Rev 17:5). The connection between Babylon and immorality (Gr. porneia) was evident as early as Rev 14:8. She is the personification of spiritual fornication or idolatry (cf. Isa 23:15-17; Jer 2:20-31; Jer 13:27; Eze 16:17-19; Hos 2:5; Nah 3:4). [Note: Ford, Revelation, p. 277; Wall, p. 205.]
"In OT prophetic discourse the imagery of the harlot is commonly used to denote religious apostasy." [Note: Mounce, p. 307.]
It is probably better to translate epi as "beside" rather than "on" many waters since the harlot sits astride the beast (Rev 17:3). Evidently the beast and she were on the shore in John’s vision (cf. Joh 21:1). The "many waters" represent humankind (Rev 17:15), not a specific geographical site. This fact indicates that it is Babylon as a symbol that is in view here rather than the physical city. Babylon dominates humankind. It is also true, however, that literal Babylon stood beside many waters; it was built on a network of canals (Jer 51:13). This description helps make the identification more certain.
"She leads the world in the pursuit of false religion whether it be paganism or perverted revealed religion. She is the symbol for a system that reaches back to the tower of Babel (Gen 10:9-10; Gen 11:1-9) and extends into the future when it will peak under the regime of the beast." [Note: Thomas, Revelation 8-22, pp. 282-83. Cf. Seiss, pp. 387-90.]
There is similarity between this angel’s invitation to John and the one in Rev 21:9. This is the first of many clues that the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:9 to Rev 22:5) is the divine counterpart of humanistic Babylon. [Note: Lee, 4:735; Wall, p. 205.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
CHAPTER XIII
THE BEAST AND BABYLOST.
Rev 17:1-18
AT the close of chap. 16, we reached the end of the three great series of judgments which constitute the chief contents of the Revelation of St. John, – the series of the Seals, the Trumpets, and the Bowls. It cannot surprise us, however, that at this point other visions of judgment are to follow. Already we had reached the end at Rev 6:17, and again at Rev 11:18; yet on both occasions the same general subject was immediately afterwards renewed, and the same truths were again presented to us, though in a different aspect and with heightened coloring. We are pre pared therefore to meet something of the same kind now. Yet it is not the whole history of that “little season” with which the Apocalypse deals that is brought under our notice in fresh and striking vision. One great topic, the greatest that has hitherto been spoken of, is selected for fuller treatment, – the fall of Babylon. Twice before we have heard of Babylon and of her doom, – at Rev 14:8, when the second angel of the first group gathered around the Lord as He came to judgment exclaimed, “Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great, which hath made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication;” and again at Rev 16:19, when under the seventh Bowl we were told that “Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.” So much importance, however, is attached by the Seer to the fortunes of this city that two chapters of his book – the seventeenth and the eighteenth – are devoted to the more detailed descriptions of her and of her fate. These two chapters form one of the most striking, if at the same time one of the most difficult, portions of his book. We have first to listen to the language of St. John; and, long as the passage is, it will be necessary to take the whole of chap. 17 at once: –
“And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls, and spake with me, saying, Come hither; I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters: with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and they that dwell m the earth were made drunken with the wine of her fornication. And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness: and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, even the unclean things of her fornication, and upon her forehead a name written, Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I marveled with a great marveling. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss: and he goeth into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall marvel, they whose name hath not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall be present. Here is the mind that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And they are seven kings: the five are (alien, the one is me other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a little while. And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goeth into perdition. And the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. These have one mind, and they give their power and authority unto the beast. These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they also shall overcome that are with Him called, and chosen, and faithful. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire. For God did put in their hearts to do His mind, and to come to one mind, and to give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God should be accomplished. And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth (Rev 17:1-18).”
The main questions connected with the interpretation of this chapter are, What are we to understand by the beast spoken of, and what by Babylon? The Seer is summoned by one of the angels that had the seven Bowls to behold a spectacle which fills him with a great marveling. Thus summoned, he obeys; and he is immediately carried away into a wilderness, where he sees a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
1. What is this beast, and what in particular is his relation to the beast of chap. 13?
At first sight the points of difference appear to be neither few nor unimportant The order of the heads and of the horns is different, the horns taking precedence of the heads in the earlier, the heads of the horns in the later, of the two.1 The first is said to have had upon “his heads” names of blasphemy; the second is “full of” such names.2 There are diadems on the horns of the former, but not of the latter.3 Of the first we are told that he comes up “out of the sea,” of the second that he is about to come up “out of the abyss.”4 In addition to these particulars, it will be observed that several traits of the first beast are not mentioned in connection with the second. These last points of difference may be easily set aside. They create no inconsistency between the descriptions given; and we have already had occasion for the remark, that it is the manner of the Seer to enlarge in one part of his book his account of an object also referred to in another part. His readers are expected to combine the different particulars in order to form a complete conception of the object. (1Comp. Rev 13:1; Rev 17:3; Rev 17:7; 2Comp. Rev 13:1; Rev 17:3; 3Comp. Rev 13:1; Rev 17:3; Rev 17:12; 4Comp. Rev 13:1; Rev 17:8)
The more positive points of difference, again, may be simply and naturally explained. In Rev 13:1 the horns take precedence of the heads because the beast is beheld rising up out of the sea, the horns in this case appearing before the heads. In the second case, when the beast is seen in the wilderness, the order of nature is preserved. The distribution of the names of blasphemy is in all probability to be accounted for in a similar manner. At the moment when the Seer beholds them in chap. 13 his attention has been arrested by the heads of the beast, and he has not yet seen the whole body. When he beholds them in chap. 17, the entire beast is before him, and is “full of” such names. The presence of diadems upon the ten horns in the first, and their absence in the second, beast depends upon the consideration that it is a common method of St. John to dwell upon an object presented to him ideally before he treats it historically. We know that the ten horns are ten kings or kingdoms1; and the diadem is the appropriate symbol of royalty. When therefore we think of the beast in his ideal or ultimate manifestation in the ten kings of whom we are shortly to read, we think of the horns as crowned with diadems; and it is thus accordingly that we see the beast in chap. 13. On the other hand, at the point immediately before us “the ten kings have received no kingdom as yet;”2 and the diadems are wanting. The application of this principle further explains the difference between what are apparently two origins for these beasts, – “the sea” and “the abyss.” The former is mentioned in chap. 13, because there we have the beast before us in himself, and in the source from which he springs. The latter is mentioned in chap. 17, because the beast has now reached a definite period of his history to which the coming up out of “the abyss” belongs. The “sea” is his real source; the “abyss” has been only his temporary abode. The monster springs out of the sea, lives, dies, goes into the abyss, rises from the dead, is roused to his last paroxysm of rage, is defeated, and passes into perdition.3 This last is his history in chap. 17, and that history is in perfect harmony with what is stated of him in chap. 13, – that by nature he comes up out of the sea. (1 Rev 17:12; 2 Rev 17:12; 3 Rev 17:11)
While the points of difference between the beasts of chap. 13 and chap. 17 may thus without difficulty be reconciled, the points of agreement are such as to lead directly to the identification of the two. Some of these have already come under our notice in speaking of the differences. Others are still more striking. Thus the beast of chap. 13 is described as the vicegerent of the dragon1; and the object of the dragon is to make war upon the remnant of the womans seed.2 When therefore we find the beast of chap. 17 engaged in the same work, 3 we must either resort, to the most unlikely of all conclusions that the dragon has two vicegerents – or we must admit that the two beasts are one. Again, the characteristic of a rising from the dead is so unexpected and mysterious that it is extremely difficult to assign it to two different agencies; yet we formerly saw that this characteristic belongs to the beast of chap. 13, and we shall immediately see that it belongs also to that of chap. 17. Nay more, it is to be noticed that both in chap. 13 and in chap. 17 the marveling of the world after the beast is connected with his resurrection state. This was undoubtedly the case in chap. 13; and in the present chapter the cause of the worlds astonishment is not less expressly said to be its be holding in the beast how that he was, and is not, and shall be present.4 Let us add to what has been said that the figures of the Apocalypse are the product of so rich and fertile an imagination that, had a difference between the two beasts been intended, it would, we may believe, have been more distinctly marked; and the conclusion is inevitable that the beast before us is that also of the thirteenth chapter. (1 Rev 13:2; 2 Rev 12:17; 3 Rev 17:14; 4 Rev 17:8)
Turning then to the beast as here represented, we have to note one or two particulars regarding him, either new or stated with greater fullness and precision than before; while, at the same time, we have the explanation of the angel to help us in interpreting the vision.
(1) The beast was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss: and he goeth into perdition. The words are a travesty of what we read of the Son of man in chap. 1: “I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I became dead: and, behold, I am alive for evermore.”1 An antichrist is before us, who has been slaughtered unto death, and the stroke of whose death shall be healed.2 Still further we seem entitled to infer that when this beast appears he shall have the marks of his death upon him. They that dwell on the earth shall marvel when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall be present. The inference is fair that there must be something visible upon him by which these different states may be distinguished. In other words, the beast exhibits marks which show that he had both died and passed through death. He is the counterpart of “the Lamb standing as though it had been slaughtered.”3 (1 Rev 1:18; 2Comp. Rev 13:3; 3 Rev 5:6)
(2) The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And they are seven kings: the five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a little while. Notwithstanding all that has been said to the contrary by numerous and able expositors, these words cannot be applied directly to any seven emperors of Rome. It may be granted that the Seer had the thought of Rome sitting upon its seven hills in his eye as one of the manifestations of the beast, but the whole tenor of his language is too wide and comprehensive to permit the thought that the beast itself is Rome. Besides this, the heads are spoken of as being also “mountains;” and we cannot say of any five of the seven hills of Rome that they “are fallen,” or of any one of them that it is “not yet come.” Nor could even any five successive kings of Rome be described as “fallen,” for that word denotes passing away, not simply by death, but by violent and conspicuous over throw;1 and no series of five emperors in other respects suitable to the circumstances can be mentioned some of whom at least did not die peaceably in their beds. Finally, the word “kings” in the language of prophecy denotes, not personal kings, but kingdoms.2 These seven “mountains” or seven “kings,” therefore, are the manifestations of the beast in successive eras of oppression suffered by the people of God. Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, and Greece are the first five; and they are “fallen” – fallen in the open ruin which they brought upon themselves by wickedness. Rome is the sixth, and “it is” in the Apostles days. The seventh will come when Rome, beheld by the Seer as on the brink of destruction, has perished, and when its mighty empire has been rent in pieces. These pieces will then be the ten horns which occupy the place of the seventh head. They will be even more wicked and more oppressive to the true followers of Christ than the great single empires which preceded them. In them the antichristian might of the beast will culminate. They are “ten” in number. They cover the whole “earth.” That universality of dominion which was always the beasts ideal will then become his actual possession. They receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour; and together with him they shall rage against the Lamb. Hence. – (1Comp. Rev 6:13; Rev 8:10; Rev 9:1; Rev 11:13; Rev 14:8; Rev 16:19; Rev 18:2; 2Comp. Dan 7:17; Dan 7:23; Rev 18:3)
(3) And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven. The reader will notice that the expression of the eighth verse of the chapter “and is about to come up out of the abyss,” as also another expression of the same verse, “and shall be present,” are here dropped. We have met with a similar omission in the case of the Lord Himself at Rev 11:17, and the explanation now is the same as then. The beast can no more be thought of as “about to come up out of the abyss,” because he is viewed as come, or as about “to be present,” because he is present. In other words, the beast has attained the highest point of his history and action. He has reached a position analogous to that of our Lord after His resurrection and exaltation, when all authority was given Him both in heaven and on earth, and when He began the dispensation of the Spirit, founding His Church, strengthening her for the execution of her mission, and perfecting her for her glorious future. In like manner at the time here spoken of the beast is at the summit of his evil influence. In one sense he is the same beast as he was in Egypt, in Assyria, in Babylonia, in Persia, in Greece, and in Rome. In another sense he is not the same, for the wickedness of all these earlier stages has been concentrated into one. He has “great wrath, knowing that he has but a short season.”l At the last moment he rages with the keen and determined energy of despair. Thus he may be spoken of as “an eighth;” and thus he is also “of the seven,” not one of the seven, but the highest, and fiercest, and most cruel embodiment of them all. Thus also he is identified with the “Little Horn” of Daniel, which has “eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.”2 That Little Horn takes the place of three out of the ten horns which are plucked up by the roots; that is, of the eighth, ninth, and tenth horns. It is thus itself an eighth; and we have already had occasion to notice that in the science of numbers the number eight marks the beginning of a new life, with quickened and heightened powers. Thus also fresh light is thrown upon the statement which so closely follows the description of the beast, that he goeth into perdition. As in the case of Belshazzar, of Nebuchadnezzar, and of the traitor Judas, the instant when he reaches the summit of his guilty ambition is also the instant of his fall. (1 Rev 12:12; 2 Dan 7:7-8)
Before proceeding to consider the meaning of the “Babylon” spoken of in this chapter, it may be well to recall for a moment the principle lying at the bottom of the exposition now given of the ” beast.” That principle is that St. John sees in the world-power, or power of the world, the contrast, or travesty, or mocking counterpart of the true Christ, of the worlds rightful King. The latter lived, died, was buried, rose from the grave, and returned to His Father to work with quickened energy and to enjoy everlasting glory; the former lived, was brought to nought by Christ, was plunged into the abyss, came up out of the abyss, reached his highest point of influence, and went into perdition. Such is the form in which the Seers visions take possession of his mind; and it will be seen that the mould of thought is precisely the same as that of chap. 20. The fact that it is so may be regarded as a proof that the interpretation yet to be offered of that chapter is correct.
It may be further noticed that the beast s being brought to nought and being sent into the abyss takes place under the sixth, or Roman, head. We know that this was actually the case, because it was under the Roman government that our Lord gained His victory. The history of the beast, however, does not close with this defeat. He must rise again; and he does this as the seventh head, which is associated with the ten horns. In them and “with” them he assumes a greater power than ever, gaining all the additional force which is connected with a resurrection life. The objection may indeed be made that such an exposition is not in correspondence either with the view taken in this commentary that the beast is active from the very beginning of the Christian era, or with those facts of history which show that, instead of falling, Rome continued to exist for a lengthened period after the completion of the Redeemers victory.
But, as to the first of these difficulties, it is not necessary to think that the beast rages in his highest and ultimate form from the very instant when Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to His Father. That was rather the moment of the beasts destruction, the moment when, under the sixth head, he “is and is not;” and a certain extent of time must be interposed before he rises in his new, or seventh, head. The Seer, too, deals largely in climax; and, although in doing so he is always occupied with the climactic idea rather than with the time needed for its manifestation, the element of time, if our attention is called to it, must be allowed its place. Now in the development of the beast there is climax. In Rev 11:7 it is said that “the beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with” the two faithful witnesses “when they shall have finished their testimony,” and this finishing of their testimony implies time. Again, in Rev 12:17 the increased wrath of the dragon against the remnant of the womans seed appears to be subsequent to the persecution of the woman in the same chapter (Rev 12:13). No doubt the thought of the increased wrath of the dragon is the main point, but it may be quite truly said that some time at least is needed for the increase. The view, therefore, that the beast rages from the beginning of the Christian era, from the moment when he rises after his fall, or, in other words, is loosed after having been shut up into the abyss, is not inconsistent with the view that his rage goes on augmenting until it attains its culminating point.
The answer to the second difficulty is to be found in the consideration that to the Seer the whole Christian era appears no more than “a little season,” in which events must follow closely on one another, so closely that the time required for their evolution passes almost entirely, if not indeed entirely, out of his field of vision. He has no thought that Rome will last for centuries. “The times or the seasons the Father hath set within His own authority.”* The guilt of Rome is so dark and frightful that the Seer can fix his mind upon nothing but that overthrow which shall be the just punishment of her crimes. She is not to be doomed; she is doomed. She is not to perish; she is perishing. Divine vengeance has already overtaken her. Her last hour is come; and the ten kings who are to follow her are already upon their thrones. Thus these kings come into immediate juxtaposition with the beast in that last stage of his history which had begun, but had not reached its greatest intensity, before Rome is supposed to fall. (* Act 1:7)
2. The second figure of this chapter now meets us; and we have to ask, Who is the woman that sits on the beast? or, What is meant by Babylon?
No more important question can be asked in connection with the interpretation of the Apocalypse. The thought of Babylon is evidently one by which the writer is moved to a greater than ordinary degree. Twice already have we had premonitions of her doom, and that in language which shows how deeply it was felt.* In the passage before us he is awed by the contemplation of her splendor and her guilt. And in chap. 18 he describes the lamentation of the world over her fate in language of almost unparalleled sublimity and pathos. What is Babylon? We must make up our minds upon the point, or the effort to interpret one of the most important parts of the Revelation of St. John can result in nothing but defeat. (* Rev 14:8; Rev 16:9)
Very various opinions have been entertained as to the meaning of Babylon, of which the most famous are that the word is a name for papal Rome, pagan Rome, or a great world-city of the future which shall stand to the whole earth in a relation similar to that occupied by Re me towards the world of its day. These opinions cannot be discussed here; and no more can be attempted than to show, with as much brevity as possible, that by Babylon is to be understood the degenerate Church, or that principle of degenerate religion which allies itself with the world, and more than all else brings dishonor upon the name and the cause of Christ.
(1) Babylon is the representative of religious, not civil, degeneracy and wickedness. She is a harlot, and her name is associated with the most reckless and unrestrained fornication. But fornication and adultery are throughout the Old Testament the emblem of religious degeneracy, and not of civil misrule. In numerous passages familiar to every reader of Scripture both terms are employed to describe the departure of Israel from the worship of Jehovah and a holy life to the worship of idols and the degrading sensuality by which such worship was everywhere accompanied. Nor ought we to imagine that adultery, not fornication, is the most suitable expression for religious degeneracy. In some important respects the latter is the more suitable of the two. It brings out more strongly the ideas of playing the harlot with “many lovers”l and of sinning for “hire.”2 In this sense then it seems proper to understand the charge of fornication brought in so many passages of the Apocalypse against Babylon. Not in their civil, but in their religious, aspect have the kings of the earth committed fornication with her, and they that dwell on the earth been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. Her sin has been that of leading men astray from the worship of the true God, and of substituting for the purity and unworldliness of Christian living the irreligious and worldly spirit of the “earth.” To this it may be added that, had Babylon not been the symbol of religious declension, she could hardly have borne upon her forehead the term MYSTERY. St. John could not have used a word connected only with religious associations to express anything but a religious state awakening the awe, and wonder, and perplexity of a religious mind. Babylon, therefore, represents persons who are not only sinful, but who have fallen into sin by treachery to a high and holy standard formerly acknowledged by them. (1 Jer 3:1 2 Mic 1:7)
(2) We have already had occasion to allude to a fact which must immediately receive further notice, – that to the eye of St. John there is an aspect of Jerusalem different from that in which she is regarded as the holy and beloved city of God. Jerusalem in that aspect and Babylon are one. Each is “the great city,” and the same epithet could not be applied to both were they not to be identified. Not only so. The words here used of Babylon lead us directly to what our Lord once said of Jerusalem. “Therefore,” said Jesus, “behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: some of them shall ye kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous bloodshed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.”* Precisely similar to this is the language of the Seer, And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. (* Mat 23:34-36)
It may indeed be thought impossible that under any circumstances whatever St. John could have applied an epithet like that of Babylon, steeped in so many associations of lust, and bloodshed, and oppression, to the metropolis of Israel, the city of God. But in this very book he has illustrated the reverse. He has already spoken of Jerusalem as represented by names felt by a pious Jew to be the most terrible of the Old Testament, – “Sodom and Egypt.”1 The prophets before him had employed language no less severe. “Hear the word of the Lord,” said Isaiah, addressing the inhabitants of the holy city, “ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah,”2 and again, “How is the faithful city become an harlot, she that was full of judgment! righteousness lodged in her; but now murderers;”3 whilst the degenerate metropolis of Israel is not unfrequently painted by Jeremiah and Ezekiel and other prophets in colors than which none more dark or repulsive can be conceived. (1 Rev 11:8; 2 Isa 1:10; 3 Isa 1:21)
In forming a conclusion upon this point, it is necessary to bear in mind that to the eye of the faithful in Israel, and certainly of St. John, there were two Jerusalems, the one true, the other false, to its heavenly King; and that in exact proportion to the feelings of admiration, love, and devotion with which they turned to the one were those of pain, indignation, and alienation with which they turned from the other. The latter Jerusalem, the city of “the Jews,” is that of which the Apocalyptist thinks when he speaks of it as Babylon; and, looking upon the city in this aspect as he did, the whole language of the Old Testament fully justifies him in applying to it the opprobrious name.
(3) The contrast between the new Jerusalem and Babylon leads to the same conclusion. We have already more than once had occasion to allude to the principle of antithesis, or contrast, as affording an important rule of interpretation in many passages of this book. Nowhere is it more distinctly marked or more applicable than in the case before us. The contrast has been drawn out by a recent writer in the following words: –
“These prophecies present two broadly contrasted women, identified with two broadly contrasted cities, one reality being in each case doubly represented: as a woman and as a city. The harlot and Babylon are one; the bride and the heavenly Jerusalem are one.
“The two women are contrasted in every particular that is mentioned about them: the one is pure as purity itself, made ready and fit for heavens unsullied holiness, the other foul as corruption could make her, fit only for the fires of destruction.
“The one belongs to the Lamb, who loves her as the bridegroom loves the bride; the other is associated with a wild beast, and with the kings of the earth, who ultimately hate and destroy her.
“The one is clothed with fine linen, and in another place is said to be clothed with the sun and crowned with a coronet of stars: that is, robed in Divine righteousness and resplendent with heavenly glory; the other is attired in scarlet and gold, in jewels and pearls, gorgeous indeed, but with earthly splendor only. The one is represented as a chaste virgin, espoused to Christ; the other is mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.
“The one is persecuted, pressed hard by the dragon, driven into the wilderness, and well-nigh overwhelmed; the other is drunken with martyr blood, and seated on a beast which has received its power from the persecuting dragon.
“The one sojourns in solitude in the wilderness; the other reigns in the wilderness over peoples, and nations, and kindreds, and tongues.
“The one goes in with the Lamb to the marriage supper, amid the glad hallelujahs; the other is stripped, insulted, torn, and destroyed by her guilty paramours.
“We lose sight of the bride amid the effulgence of heavenly glory and joy, and of the harlot amid the gloom and darkness of the smoke that rose up forever and ever.”* (*Guinness, The Approaching End of the Age, p. 143)
A contrast presented in so many striking particulars leaves only one conclusion possible. The two cities are the counterparts of one another. But we know that by the first is represented the bride, the Lambs wife, or the true Church of Christ as, separated from the world, she remains faithful to her Lord, is purified from sin, and is made meet for that eternal home into which there enters nothing that defiles. What can the other be but the representative of a false and degenerate Church, of a Church that has yielded to the temptations of the world, and has turned back in heart from the trials of the wilderness to the flesh-pots of Egypt? Every feature of the description answers, although with the heightened color of ideal portraiture, to what such a professing but degenerate Church becomes, – the pride, the show, the love of luxury, the subordination of the future to the present. Even her very cruelty to the poor saints of God is drawn from actual reality, and has been depicted upon many a page of history. With the meek and lowly followers of Jesus, whose life is a constant protest that the things of time are nothing in comparison with those of eternity, none have less sympathy than those who have a name to live while they are dead. The world may admire, even while it cannot understand, these little ones, these lambs of the flock; but to those who seek the life that now is by the help of the life that is to come they are a perpetual reproach, and they are felt to be so. Therefore they are persecuted in such manner and to such degree as the times will tolerate.
One other remark has to be made upon the identification of Jerusalem and Babylon by the Seer. It has been said that he has one special aspect of the metropolis of Israel in his eye. Yet we are not to suppose that he confines himself to that metropolis. As on so many other occasions, he starts from what is limited and local only to pass in thought to what is unlimited and universal. His Jerusalem, his Babylon, is not the literal city. She is “the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters;” and “the waters which thou sawest,” says the angel to the Seer, “are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”* The fourfold division guides us, as usual, to the thought of dominion over the whole earth. Babylon is not the Jerusalem only of “the Jews.” She is the great Church of God throughout the world when that Church becomes faithless to her true Lord and King. (* Rev 17:15)
Babylon then is not pagan Rome. No doubt seven mountains are spoken of on which the woman sitteth. But this was not peculiar to Rome. Both Babylon and Jerusalem are also said to have been situated upon seven hills; and even if we had before us, as we certainly may have, a distinct reference to Rome, it would be only because Rome was one of the manifestations of the beast, and because the city afforded a suitable point of departure for a wider survey. The very closing words of the chapter, upon which so much stress is laid by those who find the harlot in pagan Rome, negative, instead of justifying, the supposition: And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. Rome never possessed such universal dominion as is here referred to. She may illustrate, but she cannot exhaust, that subtler, more penetrating, and more widespread spirit which is in the Seers view.
Again, Babylon cannot be papal Rome. As in the last case, there may indeed be a most intimate connection between her and one of the manifestations of Babylon. But it is impossible to speak of the papal Church as the guide, the counselor, and the inspirer of anti-Christian efforts to dethrone the Redeemer, and to substitute the world or the devil in His stead. The papal Church has toiled, and suffered, and died for Christ. Babylon never did so.
Nor, finally, can we think of Babylon as a great city of the future which shall stand to the kings and kingdoms of the earth in a relation similar to that in which ancient Rome stood to the kings and kingdom? of her day. Wholly apart from the impossibility of our forming any clear conception of such a city, the want of the religious or spiritual element is fatal to the theory.
One explanation alone seems to meet the conditions of the case. Babylon is the world in the Church. In whatever section of the Church, or in whatever age of her history, an unspiritual and earthly element prevails, there is Babylon.
We have spoken of the two great figures of this chapter separately. We have still to speak of their relation to one another, and of the manner in which if is brought suddenly and forever to a close.
This relation appears in the words, I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, and in later words of the chapter: the beast that carrieth her. The woman then is not subordinate to the beast, but is rather his controller and guide. And this relation is precisely what we should expect. The beast is before us in his final stage, in that immediately preceding his own destruction. He is no longer in the form of Egypt, or Assyria, or Babylonia, or Persia, or Greece, or Rome. These six forms of his manifestation have passed away. The restrainer has been withdrawn,1 and the beast has stepped forth in the plenitude of his power. He has been revealed as the “ten horns” which occupy the place of the seventh head; and these ten horns are ten kings who, having now received their kingdoms and with their kingdoms their diadems, are the actual manifestation in history of the beast as he had been seen in his ideal form in chap. 13. The beast is therefore the spirit of the world, partly in its secularizing influence, partly in its brute force, in that tyranny and oppression which it exercises against the children of God. The woman, again, is the spirit of false religion and religious zeal, which had shown itself under all previous forms of worldly domination, and which was destined to show itself more than ever under the last To the eye of St. John this spirit was not confined to Christian times. The woman, considered in herself, is not simply the false Christian Church. She is so at the moment when we behold her on the field of history. But St. John did not believe that saving truth, the truth which unites us to Christ, the truth which is “of God,” was to be found in Christianity alone. It had existed in Judaism. It had existed even in Heathenism, for in his Gospel he remembers and quotes the words of our Lord in which Jesus says, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and they shall become one flock, one Shepherd.”2 As then Divine truth, the light which never ceases to con tend with the darkness, had been present in the world under every one of its successive kingdoms, so also perversions of that truth had never failed to be present by its side. All along the line of past history, in Heathenism as well as in Judaism, the ideal bride of Christ had been putting on her ornaments to meet the Bridegroom; and not less all along the same line had the harlot been arraying herself in purple and scarlet and decking herself with gold and precious stones and jewels, that she might tempt men to resist the influence of their rightful King. The harlot had been always thus superior to the beast. The beast had only the powers of this world at his command; the harlot wielded the powers of another and a higher world. The one dealt only with the seen and temporal, the other with the unseen and eternal, the one with material forces, the other with those spiritual forces which reach the profoundest depths of the human heart and give rise to the greatest movements of human history. The woman is therefore superior to the beast. She inspires and animates him. The beast only lends her the material strength needed for the execution of her plans. In the war, accordingly, which is carried on by the ten kings who have one mind, and who give their power and authority unto the beast, in the war which the beast and they, with their combined power, wage for one hour against the Lamb, it would be a great mistake to suppose that the woman, although she is not mentioned, takes no part and exerts no influence. She is really there, the prime mover in all its horrors. The “one mind” comes from her. The beast can do nothing of himself. The ten kings who are the form in which he appears are not less weak and helpless. They have the outward power, but they cannot regulate it. They want the skill, the subtlety, the wisdom, which are found only in the spiritual domain. But the great harlot, who at this point of history is the perversion of Christian truth, is with them; and they depend on her. Such is the first part of the relation between the beast and the harlot. (1Comp. 2Th 2:7; 2 Joh 10:16)
A second, most unexpected and most startling, follows.
We have seen that in the war between the ten kings and the Lamb the woman is present. That war ends in disaster to her and to those whom she inspires. The Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings. The name is the same as that which we shall afterwards meet in Rev 19:16, though the order of the clauses is different. This Lamb, therefore, is here the Conqueror described in Rev 19:11-16; and many particulars of these latter verses take us back to the Son of man as He appeared in chap. 1, or, in other words, to the risen and glorified Redeemer. The thought of the risen Christ is thus in the mind of St. John when he speaks of the Lamb who shall overcome. The leaders of the Jewish Church had believed that they had for ever rid themselves of the Prophet who “tormenteth them that dwell on the earth.”* They had sealed the stone, and set a watch, and returned to their homes for joy and merriment. But on the third morning there was a great earthquake, and the stone was rolled away from the door of the sepulchre; and the Crucified came forth, the Conqueror of death and Hades. Then the Lamb overcame. Then He began His victorious progress as King of kings and Lord of lords. Then the power and the wisdom of the world were alike put to shame. Was not this enough? No, for now follow the words which come upon us in a way so wholly unexpected: And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire. (*Comp. Rev 11:10)
What is the meaning of these words? Surely not that Rome was to be attacked and overthrown by the barbaric hordes that burst upon her from the North: for, in the first place, the Roman manifestation of the world-power had passed away before the ten kings came to their kingdom; and, in the second place, when Rome fell, she fell as the beast, not as the harlot. Surely also not that a great world-city, concentrating in itself all the resources of the world-power, is to be hated and burned by its subjects, for we have already seen that this whole notion of a great world-city of the end is groundless; and the resources of the world- power are always in this book concentrated in the beast, and not in the harlot who directs their use. There seems only one method of explaining the words, but it is one in perfect consonance with the method and purpose of the Apocalypse as a whole. As on many other occasions, the fortunes of the Church of Christ are modeled upon the fortunes of her Master. With that Master the Church was one. He had always identified His people with Himself, in life and death, in time and in eternity. Could the beloved disciple do otherwise? He looked round upon the suffering Church of his day. He was a “companion with it in the tribulation, and kingdom, and patience which are in Jesus.”* He felt all its wounds and shared all its sorrows, just as he felt and shared the wounds and sorrows of that Lord who lived in him, and in whom he lived. Here, therefore, was the mould in which the fortunes of the Church appeared to him. He went back to well-remembered scenes in the life of Christ; and he beheld these repeating themselves, in principle at least, in the members of His Body. (* Rev 1:9)
Now there was one scene of the past – how well does he remember it, for he was present at the time! – when the Roman power and a degenerate Judaism, the beast and the harlot of the day, combined to make war upon the Lamb. For a moment they seemed to succeed, yet only for a moment. They nailed the Lamb to the cross; but the Lamb overcame them, and rose in triumph from the grave. But the Seer did not pause there. He looked a few more years onward, and what did he next behold? That wicked partnership was dissolved. These companions in crime had turned round upon one another. The harlot had counseled the beast, and the beast had given the harlot power, to execute the darkest deed which had stained the pages of human history. But the alliance did not last The alienation of the two from each other, restrained for a little by co-operation in common crime, burst forth afresh, and deepened with each passing year, until it ended in the march of the Roman armies into Palestine, their investment of the Jewish capital, and that sack and burning of the city which still remain the most awful spectacle of bloodshed and of ruin that the world has seen. Even this is not all. St. John looks still further into the future, and the tragedy is repeated in the darker deeds of the last “hour.” There will again be a “beast” in the brute power of the ten kings of the world, and a harlot in a degenerate Jerusalem, animating and controlling it The two will again direct their united energies against the true Church of Christ, the “called, and chosen, and faithful.” They may succeed; it will be only for a moment. Again the Lamb will overcome them; and in the hour of defeat the sinful league between them will be broken, and the world-power will hate the harlot, and make her desolate and naked, and eat her flesh, and burn her utterly with fire.
This is the prospect set before us in these words, and this the consolation of the Church under the trials that await her at the end of the age. “When the wicked spring as the grass, and all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever: but Thou, O Lord, art on high for evermore. For, lo, Thine enemies, O Lord, for, lo, Thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.”* (* Psa 92:7-9)
Babylon is fallen, not indeed in a strictly chronological narrative, for she will again be spoken of as if she still existed upon earth. But for the time her overthrow has been consummated, her destruction is complete, and all that is good can only rejoice at the spectacle of her fate. Hence the opening verses of the next chapter.