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Revelation
Chapter Seventeen
Revelation 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, God's 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. [1] 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 God's 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.
[1] 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.
── John Darby《Synopsis of Revelation》
Revelation 17
Chapter Contents
One of the angels who had the vials, explains the meaning
of the former vision of the antichristian beast that was to reign 1260 years,
and then to be destroyed. (1-6) And interprets the mystery of the woman, and
the beast that had seven heads and ten horns. (7-18)
Commentary on Revelation 17:1-6
(Read Revelation 17:1-6)
Rome clearly appears to be meant in this chapter. Pagan
Rome subdued and ruled with military power, not by art and flatteries. She left
the nations in general to their ancient usages and worship. But it is well
known that by crafty and politic management, with all kinds of deceit of
unrighteousness, papal Rome has obtained and kept her rule over kings and
nations. Here were allurements of worldly honour and riches, pomp and pride,
suited to sensual and worldly minds. Prosperity, pomp, and splendour, feed the
pride and lusts of the human heart, but are no security against the Divine
vengeance. The golden cup represents the allurements, and delusions, by which
this mystical Babylon has obtained and kept her influence, and seduced others
to join her abominations. She is named, from her infamous practices, a mother
of harlots; training them up to idolatry and all sorts of wickedness. She
filled herself with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus. She
intoxicated herself with it; and it was so pleasant to her, that she never was
satisfied. We cannot but wonder at the oceans of Christian blood shed by men
called Christians; yet when we consider these prophecies, these awful deeds
testify to the truth of the gospel. And let all beware of a splendid, gainful,
or fashionable religion. Let us avoid the mysteries of iniquity, and study
diligently the great mystery of godliness, that we may learn humility and
gratitude from the example of Christ. The more we seek to resemble him, the
less we shall be liable to be deceived by antichrist.
Commentary on Revelation 17:7-14
(Read Revelation 17:7-14)
The beast on which the woman sat was, and is not, and yet
is. It was a seat of idolatry and persecution, and is not; not in the ancient
form, which was pagan: yet it is; it is truly the seat of idolatry and tyranny,
though of another sort and form. It would deceive into stupid and blind
submission all the inhabitants of the earth within its influence, except the
remnant of the elect. This beast was seven heads, seven mountains, the seven
hills on which Rome stands; and seven kings, seven sorts of government. Five
were gone by when this prophecy was written; one was then in being; the other
was yet to come. This beast, directed by the papacy, makes an eighth governor,
and sets up idolatry again. It had ten horns, which are said to be ten kings
who had as yet no kingdoms; they should not rise up till the Roman empire was
broken; but should for a time be very zealous in her interest. Christ must reign
till all enemies be put under his feet. The reason of the victory is, that he
is the King of kings, and Lord of lords. He has supreme dominion and power over
all things; all the powers of earth and hell are subject to his control. His
followers are called to this warfare, are fitted for it, and will be faithful
in it.
Commentary on Revelation 17:15-18
(Read Revelation 17:15-18)
God so ruled the hearts of these kings, by his power over
them, and by his providence, that they did those things, without intending it,
which he purposed and foretold. They shall see their folly, and how they have
been bewitched and enslaved by the harlot, and be made instruments in her
destruction. She was that great city which reigned over the kings of the earth,
when John had this vision; and every one knows Rome to be that city. Believers
will be received to the glory of the Lord, when wicked men will be destroyed in
a most awful manner; their joining together in sin, will be turned to hatred
and rage, and they will eagerly assist in tormenting each other. But the Lord's
portion is his people; his counsel shall stand, and he will do all his
pleasure, to his glory, and the happiness of all his servants.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Revelation》
Revelation 17
Verse 1
[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:
And there came one of the seven angels,
saying, Come hither — This relation concerning the great whore,
and that concerning the wife of the Lamb, Revelation 21:9,10, have the same introduction,
in token of the exact opposition between them.
I will show thee the judgment of the great
whore — Which is now circumstantially described.
That sitteth as a queen — In pomp, power, ease, and luxury.
Upon many waters —
Many people and nations, verse 15. Revelation 17:15
Verse 2
[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.
With whom the kings of the earth — Both ancient and modern, for many ages.
Have committed fornication — By partaking of her idolatry and various wickedness.
And the inhabitants 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.
Verse 3
[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.
And he carried me away — In the vision.
Into a wilderness —
The campagna di Roma, the country round about Rome, is now a wilderness,
compared to what it was once.
And I saw a woman —
Both the scripture and other writers frequently represent a city under this
emblem.
Sitting upon a scarlet wild beast — The same which is described in the thirteenth chapter. Revelation 13:1-18 But he was there described as
he carried on his own designs only: here, as he is connected with the whore.
There is, indeed, a very close connexion between them; the seven heads of the
beast being "seven hills on which the woman sitteth." And yet there
is a very remarkable difference between them, - between the papal power and the
city of Rome. This woman is the city of Rome, with its buildings and
inhabitants; especially the nobles. The beast, which is now scarlet-coloured,
(bearing the bloody livery, as well as the person, of the woman,) appears very
different from before. Therefore St. John says at first sight, I saw a beast,
not the beast, full of names of blasphemy - He had' before "a name of
blasphemy upon his head," Revelation 13:1: now he has many. From the time
of Hildebrand, the blasphemous titles of the Pope have been abundantly
multiplied.
Having seven heads —
Which reach in a succession from his ascent out of the sea to his being cast
into the lake of fire.
And ten horns —
Which are contemporary with each other, and belong to his last period.
Verse 4
[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:
And the woman was arrayed — With the utmost pomp and magnificence.
In purple and scarlet — These were the colours of the imperial habit: the purple, in times of
peace; and the scarlet, in times of war.
Having in her hand a golden cup — Like the ancient Babylon, Jeremiah 51:7.
Full of abominations — The most abominable doctrines as well as practices.
Verse 5
[5] And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE
MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
And on her forehead a name written — Whereas the saints have the name of God and the Lamb on their foreheads.
Mystery —
This very word was inscribed on the front of the Pope's mitre, till some of the
Reformers took public notice of it.
Babylon the great —
Benedict XIII., in his proclamation of the jubilee, A.D. 1725, explains this
sufficiently. His words are, "To this holy city, famous for the memory of
so many holy martyrs, run with religious alacrity. Hasten to the place which
the Lord hath chose. Ascend to this new Jerusalem, whence the law of the Lord
and the light of evangelical truth hath flowed forth into all nations, from the
very first beginning of the church: the city most rightfully called 'The
Palace,' placed for the pride of all ages, the city of the Lord, the Sion of
the Holy One of Israel. This catholic and apostolical Roman church is the head
of the world, the mother of all believers, the faithful interpreter of God and
mistress of all churches." But God somewhat varies the style.
The mother of harlots — The parent, ringleader, patroness, and nourisher of many daughters, that
losely copy after her.
And abominations — Of
every kind, spiritual and fleshly.
Of the earth — In
all lands. In this respect she is indeed catholic or universal.
Verse 6
[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.
And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of
the saints — So that Rome may well be called, "The
slaughter-house of the martyrs." She hath shed much Christian blood in
every age; but at length she is even drunk with it, at the time to which this
vision refers.
The witnesses of Jesus — The preachers of his word.
And I wondered exceedingly — At her cruelty and the patience of God.
Verse 7
[7] 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.
I will tell thee the mystery — The hidden meaning of this.
Verse 8
[8] The
beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless
pit, 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.
The beast which thou sawest (namely, verse 3)
Revelation 17:3 was, etc.-This is a very
observable and punctual description of the beast, verses 8, 10, 11. Revelation 17:8,10,11 His whole duration is here
divided into three periods, which are expressed in a fourfold manner. I. He, 1.
Was; 2 And is not; 3. And will ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into
perdition. II. He, 1. Was; 2. And is not; 3. And will be again. III. The seven
heads are seven hills and seven kings: 1. Five are fallen; 2. One is; 3. The
other is not come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. IV. He,
1. Was; 2. And is not; 3 Even he is the eighth, and is one of the seven, and
goeth into perdition. The first of these three is described in the thirteenth
chapter. Revelation 13:1-18 This was past when the angel
spoke to St. John. The second was then in its course; the third woe to come.
And is not —
The fifth phial brought darkness upon his kingdom: the woman took this
advantage to seat herself upon him. Then it might be said, He is not. Yet shall
he afterwards ascend out of the bottomless pit - Arise again with diabolical
strength and fury. But he will not reign long: soon after his ascent he goeth
into perdition for ever.
Verse 9
[9] And
here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which
the woman sitteth.
Here is the mind that hath wisdom — Only those who are wise will understand this. The seven heads are seven
hills.
Verse 10
[10] And
there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet
come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
And they are seven kings — Anciently there were royal palaces on all the seven Roman bills. These
were the Palatine, Capitoline, Coelian, Exquiline, Viminal, Quirinal, Aventine
hills. But the prophecy respects the seven hills at the time of the beast, when
the Palatine was deserted and the Vatican in use. Not that the seven heads mean
hills distinct from kings; but they have a compound meaning, implying both
together. Perhaps the first head of the beast is the Coelian hill, and on it
the Lateran, with Gregory VII. and his successors; the second, the Vatican with
the church of St. Peter, chosen by Boniface VIII. the third, the Quirinal, with
the church of St. Mark, and the Quirinal palace built by Paul II. and the
fourth, the Exquiline hill, with the temple of St. Maria Maggiore, where Paul
V. reigned. The fifth will be added hereafter. Accordingly, in the papal
register, four periods are observable since Gregory VII. In the first almost
all the bulls made in the city are dated in the Lateran; in the second, at St.
Peter's; in the third, at St. Mark's, or in the Quirinal; in the fourth, at St.
Maria Maggiore. But no fifth, sixth, or seventh hill has yet been the residence
of any Pope. Not that the hill was deserted, when another was made the papal
residence; but a new one was added to the other sacred palaces. Perhaps the
times hitherto mentioned might be fixed thus: - 1058. Wings are given to the
woman. 1077. The beast ascends out of the sea. 1143. The forty-two months
begin. 1810. The forty-two months end. 1832. The beast ascends out of the
bottomless pit. 1836. The beast finally overthrown. The fall of those five
kings seems to imply, not only the death of the Popes who reigned on those
hills, but also such a disannulling of all they had done there, that it will be
said, The beast is not; the royal power, which had so long been lodged in the
Pope, being then transferred to the city.
One is, the other is not yet come — These two are remarkably distinguished from the five preceding, whom
they succeed in their turns. The former of them will continue not a short
space, as may be gathered from what is said of the latter: the former is under
the government of Babylon; the latter is with the beast. In this second period,
one is, at the same time that the beast is not. Even then there will be a Pope,
though not with the power which his predecessors had. And he will reside on one
of the remaining hills, leaving the seventh for his successor.
Verse 11
[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 wild beast that was, and is not, even
he is the eighth — When the time of his not being is over.
The beast consists, as it were, of eight parts. The seven heads are seven of them;
and the eighth is his whole body, or the beast himself. Yet the beast himself,
though he is in a sense termed the eighth, is of the seven, yea, contains them
all. The whole succession of Popes from Gregory VII. are undoubtedly
antichrist. Yet this hinders not, but that the last Pope in this succession
will be more eminently the antichrist, the man of sin, adding to that of his
predecessors a peculiar degree of wickedness from the bottomless pit. This
individual person, as Pope, is the seventh head of the beast; as the man of
sin, he is the eighth, or the beast himself.
Verse 12
[12] 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.
The ten horns are ten kings — It is nowhere said that these horns are on the beast, or on his heads.
And he is said to have them, not as he is one of the seven, but as he is the
eighth. They are ten secular potentates, contemporary with, not succeeding,
each other, who receive authority as kings with the beast, probably in some
convention, which, after a very short space, they will deliver up to the beast.
Because of their short continuance, only authority as kings, not a kingdom, is
ascribed to them. While they retain this authority together with the beast, he
will be stronger than ever before; but far stronger still, when their power is
also transferred to him.
Verse 13
[13]
These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
In the thirteenth and fourteenth verses Revelation 17:13,14 is summed up what is
afterwards mentioned, concerning the horns and the beast, in this and the two
following chapters.
These have one mind, and give — They all, with one consent, give their warlike power and royal authority
to the wild beast.
Verse 14
[14]
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.
These —
Kings with the beast.
He is Lord of lords —
Rightful sovereign of all, and ruling all things well.
And King of kings — As
a king he fights with and conquers all his enemies.
And they that are with him — Beholding his victory, are such as were, while in the body, called, by
his word and Spirit.
And chosen —
Taken out of the world, when they were enabled to believe in him.
And faithful —
Unto death.
Verse 15
[15] And
he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are
peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
People, and multitudes, and nations, and
tongues — It is not said tribes: for Israel hath
nothing to do with Rome in particular.
Verse 16
[16] 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.
And shall eat her flesh — Devour her immense riches.
Verse 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.
For God hath put it into their heart — Which indeed no less than almighty power could have effected.
To execute his sentence — till the words of God - Touching the overthrow of all his enemies,
should be fulfilled.
Verse 18
[18] And
the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings
of the earth.
The woman is the great city, which reigneth — Namely, while the beast "is not," and the woman "sitteth
upon him."
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Revelation》
Chapter 17. Punish the Great Prostitute
Lord of Lords
King of Kings
I. Description
of the Great Prostitute
II. The Angel
Explains the Mystery
III. The
Punishment of the Great Prostitute
── Chih-Hsin
Chang《An Outline of
The New Testament》
Chapter Seventeen General Review
OBJECTIVES IN STUDYING THIS CHAPTER
1) To appreciate the importance of this chapter in interpreting the book of Revelation 2) To note the significance of the fact that the beast "is not" when the Revelation was given 3) To ascertain the identity of the great harlot and the scarlet beast SUMMARY
This is a key chapter, for the mystery of the great harlot and thebeast is explained, and one's understanding of this chapter will affecttheir interpretation of the rest of the book. John is carried away into the wilderness where he is shown the great