He carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of the sexual immorality of the earth. And on her forehead a name was written, “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered with great amazement. 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. The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and shall be present. Here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. They are seven kings. Five have fallen, the one is, the other has not yet come. When he comes, he must continue a little while. The beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goes to destruction. The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who 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 to the beast. These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and those who are with him are called chosen and faithful.” He said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. The ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute, will make her desolate, will strip her naked, will eat her flesh, and will burn her utterly with fire.
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Revelation 17:3-16 sits inside this longer paragraph.
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 prostitute who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality. Those who dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her sexual immorality.” He carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of the sexual immorality of the earth. And on her forehead a name was written, “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered with great amazement. 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. The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and shall be present. Here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. They are seven kings. Five have fallen, the one is, the other has not yet come. When he comes, he must continue a little while. The beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goes to destruction. The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who 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 to the beast. These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and those who are with him are called chosen and faithful.” He said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. The ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute, will make her desolate, will strip her naked, will eat her flesh, and will burn her utterly with fire. For God has put in their hearts to do what he has in mind, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God should be accomplished. The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
Parallel Translations
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He carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.
The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of the sexual immorality of the earth.
And on her forehead a name was written, “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”
I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered with great amazement.
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.
The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and shall be present.
Here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.
They are seven kings. Five have fallen, the one is, the other has not yet come. When he comes, he must continue a little while.
The beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goes to destruction.
The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who 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 to the beast.
These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and those who are with him are called chosen and faithful.”
He said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.
The ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute, will make her desolate, will strip her naked, will eat her flesh, and will burn her utterly with fire.
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And he caryed me a waye into the wildernes in the sprete. And I sawe a woman sytt apon a rose colored best full of names of blaphemie which had ten hornes.
And the woman was arayed in purple and rose color and decked with golde precious stone and pearles and had a cup of golde in her honde full of abominacions and fylthynes of her fornycacion.
And in her forhed was a name wrytten a mistery gret Babylon the mother of whordome and abominacions of the erth.
And I sawe the wyfe dronke with the bloud of saynctes and with the bloud of the witnesses of Iesu. And when I sawe her I wondred with grett mervayle.
And the angell sayde vnto me: wherfore mervayllyst thou? I wyll shewe the the mistery of the woman and of the best that berith her which hath seven heddes and ten hornes.
The best that thou seest was and is not and shall ascende out of the bottomlesse pytt and shall goo into perdicion and they that dwell on the erth shall wondre (whose names are not wrytten in the boke of lyfe from the begynnynge of the worlde) when they beholde the best that was and ys nott.
And here ys a mynde that hath wisdome. The seven heddes are seven mountaynes on which the woman sytteth:
they are also seven kynges. Fyve are fallen and on ys and onother is not yet come. When he cometh he muste contynew a space.
And the beste that was and ys not is even the ayght and ys one of the seven and shall goo into destruccion.
And the ten hornes which thou seist are ten kynges which have receaved no kyngdome but shall receave power as kynges at one houre with the beest.
These have one mynde and shall geve their power and strenghte vnto the beste.
These shall fyght with the lambe and the lambe shall overcome them: For he is lorde of lordes and kynge of kynges: and they that are on hys syde are called and chosen and faythfull.
And he sayde vnto me: the waters which thou sawest where the whore syttith are people and folke and nacions and tonges.
And the ten hornes which thou sawest apon the best are they that shall hate the whore and shall make her desolate and naked and shall eate their flesshe and burne her with fyre.
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So he caried me away into the wildernesse in the Spirit, and I sawe a woman sit vpon a skarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemie, which had seuen heads, and tenne hornes.
And the woman was arayed in purple and skarlet, and gilded with golde, and precious stones, and pearles, and had a cup of gold in her hand, full of abominations, and filthines of her fornication.
And in her forehead was a name written, A mysterie, that great Babylon, that mother of whoredomes, and abominations of the earth.
And I sawe ye woman drunken with the blood of Saintes, and with the blood of the Martyrs of IESVS: and when I sawe her, I wondred with great marueile.
Then the Angel saide vnto me, Wherefore marueilest thou? I will shewe thee the misterie of that woman, and of that beast, that beareth her, which hath seuen heads, and tenne hornes.
The beast that thou hast seene, was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomles pit, and shall goe into perdition, and they that dwell on the earth, shall wonder (whose names are not written in the booke of life from the foundation of ye world) when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Here is the mind that hath wisdome. The seuen heads, are seuen mountaines, whereon the woman sitteth: they are also seuen Kings.
Fiue are fallen, and one is, and another is not yet come: and when he commeth, he must continue a short space.
And the beast that was, and is not, is euen the eight, and is one of the seuen, and shall goe into destruction.
And the tenne hornes which thou sawest, are tenne Kings, which yet haue not receiued a kingdome, but shall receiue power, as Kings at one houre with the beast.
These haue one minde, and shall giue their power, and authoritie vnto the beast.
These shall fight with the Lambe, and the Lambe shall ouercome them: for he is Lord of Lordes, and King of Kings: and they that are on his side, called, and chosen, and faithfull.
And he said vnto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are people, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
And the tenne hornes which thou sawest vpon the beast, are they that shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eate her flesh, and burne her with fire.
Cross-references (176)
- Romans 8:30 (v14) Whom he predestined, those he also called. Whom he called, those he also justified. Whom he justified, those he also glorified.
- 1 Timothy 6:15 (v14) which in its own times he will show, who is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.
- Matthew 22:14 (v14) For many are called, but few chosen.”
- Revelation 11:7 (vv8, 14) When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them.
- Revelation 3:21 (v14) He who overcomes, I will give to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father on his throne.
Show all 100 cross-references
- Revelation 17:11 (v8) The beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goes to destruction.
- Revelation 12:3 (vv3, 12) Another sign was seen in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns.
- Deuteronomy 10:17 (v14) For Yahweh your God, he is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty, and the awesome, who doesn’t respect persons or take…
- Jeremiah 51:7 (v4) Babylon has been a golden cup in Yahweh’s hand, who made all the earth drunk. The nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations…
- Daniel 2:47 (v14) The king answered to Daniel, and said, “Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you…
- Revelation 1:5 (v14) and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and…
- Revelation 2:10 (v14) Don’t be afraid of the things which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be…
- Revelation 18:16 (v4) saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and…
- Revelation 19:14-21 (v14) The armies which are in heaven followed him on white horses, clothed in white, pure, fine linen. Out of his mouth proceeds a sharp,…
- Revelation 16:6 (v6) For they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. They deserve this.”
- Revelation 13:1 (vv9, 12) Then I stood on the sand of the sea. I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten…
- Revelation 14:8 (vv4–5) Another, a second angel, followed, saying, “Babylon the great has fallen, which has made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath…
- Revelation 19:2 (vv4–5) for his judgments are true and righteous. For he has judged the great prostitute, who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and…
- Revelation 13:18 (v9) Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six…
- Revelation 16:14 (v14) for they are spirits of demons, performing signs; which go out to the kings of the whole inhabited earth, to gather them together for the…
- Revelation 18:2 (v5) He cried with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and she has become a habitation of demons, a prison of every…
- Revelation 18:8 (v16) Therefore in one day her plagues will come: death, mourning, and famine; and she will be utterly burned with fire; for the Lord God who has…
- Revelation 17:7 (vv5, 9) 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…
- Revelation 17:8 (vv7, 11) The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth…
- Ezekiel 16:37-44 (v16) therefore see, I will gather all your lovers, with whom you have taken pleasure, and all those who you have loved, with all those who you…
- Daniel 7:24 (v12) As for the ten horns, ten kings will arise out of this kingdom. Another will arise after them; and he will be different from the former,…
- Zechariah 1:18-21 (v12) I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, four horns. I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” He answered me, “These are…
- Revelation 13:1-6 (v3) Then I stood on the sand of the sea. I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten…
- Revelation 14:1-4 (v14) I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a number, one hundred forty-four thousand, having his name, and the name…
- Revelation 16:19 (v5) The great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to…
- Revelation 18:12 (v4) merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet, all expensive wood, every vessel of ivory, every…
- Leviticus 21:9 (v16) “ ‘The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the prostitute, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire.
- Isaiah 3:9 (v5) The look of their faces testify against them. They parade their sin like Sodom. They don’t hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have…
- Jeremiah 1:19 (v14) They will fight against you, but they will not prevail against you; for I am with you”, says Yahweh, “to rescue you.”
- Matthew 28:18 (v14) Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
- Romans 8:37 (v14) No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
- 1 Corinthians 15:24 (v14) Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and…
- 2 Thessalonians 2:7 (v5) For the mystery of lawlessness already works. Only there is one who restrains now, until he is taken out of the way.
- 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (v5) But know this: that in the last days, grievous times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant,…
- Hebrews 3:1-2 (v14) Therefore, holy brothers, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession: Jesus, who was faithful…
- Revelation 13:15 (v6) It was given to him to give breath to it, to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause as many as…
- Revelation 17:1 (v15) 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…
- Revelation 17:16 (v12) The ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute, will make her desolate, will strip her naked, will eat her…
- Revelation 17:17 (v13) For God has put in their hearts to do what he has in mind, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of…
- Daniel 7:20 (vv3, 12) and concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three fell, even that horn that had…
- Revelation 17:18 (vv3, 9) The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
- Psalms 2:8-9 (v14) Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. You shall break them…
- Isaiah 8:7-8 (v15) now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River: the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will come…
- Jeremiah 50:41-42 (v16) “Behold, a people comes from the north; and a great nation and many kings will be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth. They…
- Jeremiah 51:13 (v15) You who dwell on many waters, abundant in treasures, your end has come, the measure of your covetousness.
- Jeremiah 51:47-48 (v5) Therefore behold, the days come that I will execute judgment on the engraved images of Babylon; and her whole land will be confounded. All…
- Jeremiah 51:55 (v15) For Yahweh lays Babylon waste, and destroys out of her the great voice! Their waves roar like many waters. The noise of their voice is…
- Lamentations 1:9 (v4) Her filthiness was in her skirts. She didn’t remember her latter end. Therefore she has come down astoundingly. She has no comforter. “See,…
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10 (v4) Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of…
- 2 Timothy 2:4 (v14) No soldier on duty entangles himself in the affairs of life, that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier.
- 1 Peter 2:9 (v14) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of…
- Revelation 2:13 (v6) “I know your works and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. You hold firmly to my name, and didn’t deny my faith in the days of…
- Revelation 3:10 (v8) Because you kept my command to endure, I also will keep you from the hour of testing which is to come on the whole world, to test those who…
- Revelation 9:1-2 (v8) The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from the sky which had fallen to the earth. The key to the pit of the abyss was given to him. He…
- Revelation 12:6 (v3) The woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that there they may nourish her one thousand two hundred sixty…
- Revelation 17:6-7 (v3) I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered with great…
- Revelation 17:9-12 (v3) Here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. They are seven kings. Five have fallen, the…
- Revelation 18:9-10 (v5) The kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived wantonly with her will weep and wail over her, when they look at the smoke…
- Revelation 19:15-21 (v8) Out of his mouth proceeds a sharp, double-edged sword, that with it he should strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He…
- Daniel 7:25 (vv3, 6) He will speak words against the Most High, and will wear out the saints of the Most High. He will plan to change the times and the law; and…
- Revelation 18:19 (vv12, 16) They cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had their ships in the…
- Psalms 110:5 (v14) The Lord is at your right hand. He will crush kings in the day of his wrath.
- Psalms 136:2-3 (v14) Give thanks to the God of gods; for his loving kindness endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords; for his loving kindness endures…
- Psalms 149:5-9 (v14) Let the saints rejoice in honor. Let them sing for joy on their beds. May the high praises of God be in their mouths, and a two-edged sword…
- Ezekiel 24:13 (v4) “ ‘ “In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I have cleansed you and you weren’t cleansed, you won’t be cleansed from your filthiness any…
- Ezekiel 38:10 (v13) “ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “It will happen in that day that things will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan.
- Daniel 2:40-43 (v12) The fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, because iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things; and as iron that crushes all these, it…
- Daniel 2:44 (v14) “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left to…
- Daniel 7:7-8 (v12) “After this I saw in the night visions, and, behold, there was a fourth animal, awesome and powerful, and exceedingly strong. It had great…
- Daniel 7:8 (v3) “I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were…
- Daniel 7:25-27 (v14) He will speak words against the Most High, and will wear out the saints of the Most High. He will plan to change the times and the law; and…
- Daniel 11:38 (v4) But in his place he will honor the god of fortresses. He will honor a god whom his fathers didn’t know with gold, silver, and with precious…
- Acts 22:20 (v6) When the blood of Stephen, your witness, was shed, I also was standing by, consenting to his death, and guarding the cloaks of those who…
- Revelation 3:5 (v8) He who overcomes will be arrayed in white garments, and I will in no way blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name…
- Revelation 6:12-17 (v14) I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon…
- Revelation 12:11 (v6) They overcame him because of the Lamb’s blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn’t love their life, even to death.
- Revelation 12:14 (v3) Two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, so that she might be nourished…
- Revelation 13:1-12 (v8) Then I stood on the sand of the sea. I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten…
- Revelation 14:8-20 (v8) Another, a second angel, followed, saying, “Babylon the great has fallen, which has made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath…
- Revelation 17:1-2 (v16) 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…
- Revelation 17:1-6 (v7) 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…
- Revelation 17:4 (v3) The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of…
- Revelation 18:6-7 (v4) Return to her just as she returned, and repay her double as she did, and according to her works. In the cup which she mixed, mix to her…
- Revelation 18:16-17 (v16) saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and…
- Revelation 18:17 (v12) For in an hour such great riches are made desolate.’ Every ship master, and everyone who sails anywhere, and mariners, and as many as gain…
- Revelation 18:20-24 (v6) “Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints, apostles, and prophets; for God has judged your judgment on her.” A mighty angel took up a stone…
- Revelation 18:21 (v5) A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence will Babylon, the great city,…
- Revelation 21:10 (v3) He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
- 1 Kings 14:24 (v4) There were also sodomites in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which Yahweh drove out before the children…
- Psalms 65:7 (v15) You still the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations.
- Psalms 93:3-4 (v15) The floods have lifted up, Yahweh, the floods have lifted up their voice. The floods lift up their waves. Above the voices of many waters,…
- Isaiah 10:5-7 (v13) Alas Assyrian, the rod of my anger, the staff in whose hand is my indignation! I will send him against a profane nation, and against the…
- Jeremiah 50:44 (v14) Behold, the enemy will come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation; for I will suddenly make them run…
- Jeremiah 51:42 (v15) The sea has come up on Babylon. She is covered with the multitude of its waves.
- Ezekiel 8:3 (v3) He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and the sky, and brought…
100 distinct cross-references across this passage (176 total citations).
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv3–16 A scarlet color, that is, with a red and…
A scarlet color, that is, with a red and purple garment: and surely it was not without cause that the Romish clergy were so much delighted with this color.
Henceforth is propounded the type of Babylon, and the state thereof in 4 verses. After a declaration of the type, in the rest of this chap., in the type are described two things, the beast (of whom chap. 13), in verse 3, and the woman that sitteth upon the beast, verses 4, 5, 6. The beast in process of time hath gotten somewhat more than was expressed in the former vision. First in that it is not read before that he was appareled in scarlet, a robe imperial and of triumph. Secondly, in that this is full of names of blasphemy: the other carried the name of blasphemy only in his head. So God did teach that this beast is much increased in impiety and injustice and doth in this last age, triumph in both these more insolently and proudly than ever before.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv3–16 3 So he carried me away in the spirit…
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.
Ver. 3. Into the wilderness] Whither the true Church fled, Re. xii., of which they must be (saith one) that can learn to know the Romish Church to be a whore, condemned of God.
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I saw a woman] {See Trapp on "Rev 17:1"}
Sit upon] Not going afoot, as Christ and the apostles did, but magnificently mounted, as the pope is ever, either upon a stately palfrey (emperors holding his stirrup) or upon men’s shoulders. England was once called the pope’s ass, for bearing his intolerable exactions. This ass he held by the ears instead of a bridle.
Upon a scarlet coloured beast] The proper colour of the court of Rome; and it well serves to set forth their pomp and their hypocrisy. Innocent IV gave a red hat to his cardinals, to show them (as he said) that they should be ready to shed their blood for the truth. But that painter was nearer the point, who being blamed by a cardinal for colouring the visages of Peter and Paul too red, tartly replied, that he painted them so as blushing at the stateliness and sinfulness of his successors.
Full of names of blasphemy] His head only before was busked with the blasphemy, Rev 13:1, now his whole body. Thus evil men and seducers grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, 2Ti 3:13.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv3–16 So he carried me away in the spirit; that…
So he carried me away in the spirit; that is, being in an ecstasy; see Rev 4:2; whether in the body or out of the body he could not tell, as Paul expresseth it, 2Co 12:2.
Into the wilderness; a place not, or not much, inhabited, either as fittest for contemplation. or to signify that this great whore, which had driven the spouse of Christ into the wilderness, should shortly herself come into her state, according to the fate of old Babylon, Jer 1:13.
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And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast; the great whore, mentioned Rev 17:1, upheld by the Roman emperors.
Full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns; the same which is mentioned Rev 13:1;
See Poole on "Rev 13:1". Here a great question ariseth, who this
woman is, or, (which is the same, as appeareth by Rev 17:5), what city is meant by Babylon, mentioned Rev 17:5; a question (as Mr. Pool noteth) of high concernment; for whoever this woman is, or whatsoever this Babylon signifieth, the people of God are upon pain of damnation admonished to avoid any communion with her, and to come out of her, Rev 14:9,10. Mr. Pool hath diligently collected into his Latin Synopsis all opinions about it, and showed what is to be said for or against them; I will give my reader the sum of what he saith.
1. Some would have it to be the whole world of wicked men. Against this it is said:
(1.) That John speaks here of a certain great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth, Rev 17:18; this cannot be meant of the wicked world.
(2.) The world of wicked men are those inhabitants of the earth, whom this woman made drunk with the wine of her fornication: now she that made them drunk, and those that were made drunk, cannot be the same.
(3.) This woman sitteth on seven mountains, Rev 17:9, and so do not all the wicked of the world.
(4.) We are commanded to come out of this Babylon, but we are not obliged to go out of the world.
2. Others would have this woman, or this Babylon, to be the old Chaldean Babylon. But:
(1.) Where then is the mystery, mentioned Rev 17:5?
(2.) The Babylon here mentioned, is by all agreed to be the seat of antichrist; so was that never.
3. The generality agree it to be Rome. Amongst the ancients, Tertullian, Jerome, Ambrose, CEcumenius, Augustine, Eusebius: of later writers, Beda, Aquinas, Salmeron, Pererius, Bellarmine, Lapide, Ribera, (all papists), besides a multitude of protestant writers.
(1.) That city is also like old Babylon for power and greatness, for oppression and tyranny of and over God’s Israel; besides, the city here mentioned is described by two characters, agreeing to none but Rome, Rev 17:9, dwelling upon seven hills.
(2.) Reigning over the kings of the earth: for the first Rome is the only city in the world founded upon seven hills, and famed for it by its old poets, Ovid, Virgil, Horace, Propertius, &c. It is attested to be so founded by Plutarch, Pliny, Dionysius, Halicarnassaeus. The names of these hills are known: Palatinus, Quirinalis, Aventinus, Celius, Veminalis, Esquilinus, Capitolinus. Both papist and protestant writers agree that here by Babylon Rome is meant; but they are divided, whether it be to be understood of Rome in its old pagan state, or in its present state, or in a state yet to come.
4. Some would have it to be Rome in its pagan state; of this mind are Grotius, and Dr. Hammond, and some others. But against this many things are said:
(1.) It is manifest that God here describes Rome not as under its sixth head, viz. the pagan emperors, but as it was under its last head, the eighth king, Rev 17:11, as it should ascend out of the bottomless pit, Rev 17:8.
(2.) What John saw herein mentioned as a secret about the blood of the saints, which he wondered at; now the pagan emperors’ spilling the blood of saints was a thing long since done.
(3.) The desolation of the Babylon here mentioned was to be final, never to be repaired, as appears by Rev 18:21-23; but pagan Rome was never made so desolate.
(4.) If Rome pagan be here meant, then, after its fall, Rome Christian was the habitation of devils, Rev 18:2.
(5.) Rome pagan fell upon our saints with downright blows, not with allurements, making them drunk with the wine of her fornication, as Rev 17:2.
5. The papists, who grant that by Babylon Rome is meant, would have it to be Rome toward the end of the world, when, they say, Rome shall apostatize from the pope to paganism again; but for this opinion there is no foundation in Scripture, nor the judgment of the ancients, and some of the papists themselves reject it as improbable and detestable.
6. The generality and best of protestant writers understand by Babylon, and by this woman, Rome, as it is at this day under the conduct of the pope, for which they give these reasons.
(1.) Because it cannot be understood of Rome in either of the other notions, as hath been proved.
(2.) Because antichrist is to sit in the temple of God, 2Th 2:4, as God, therefore not in any pagan city. The mystery of iniquity was working in the apostle’s time, but, Rev 17:7, the Roman empire hindered the appearance of antichrist till the popes had wrung Rome out of their hands, and were the sole rulers there; then antichrist showed himself.
(3.) Because there is nothing said of this great whore, or this Babylon, but admirably agreeth to Rome in its present state.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv3, 6, 9, 12, 15 Observe here, 1. That St. John was not in…
Observe here, 1. That St. John was not in one continued ecstasy, but at several times in the spirit, that is, in an ecstasy or rapture of mind, wherein his outward senses being bound up, his understanding was fixed and raised up to the contemplation of divine objects, represented to him in the vision. A spiritual frame of mind is requisite for discerning the visions of God: He carried me away in the spirit.
Observe, 2. The place whither St. John was carried, and where he saw the following vision, namely, in the wilderness; He carried me away into the wilderness; a place of privacy, say some, where he might discern things undisturbedly and undistractedly. Solitude is fittest for contemplation. A wilderness, say others, was the fittest place to see that church in a vision, which was itself a wilderness; the apostolical church before was driven into the wilderness; here the apostate church follows her, as an harlot succeeding to a faithful city.
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Observe, 3. The vision itself, I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet- coloured beast, &c. The woman here is the same with her that was called whore, Rev 17:1. namely, idolatrous Rome; she is represented as a woman richly and splendidly arrayed, with her wealth and riches, with her pomp and power, enticing the world to her idolatry, called so often whoredom and spiritual fornication; and the golden cup in her hand is an allusion to harlots, who with their philters, or enchanted cups, do allure and provoke men to sensual satisfaction; in like manner doth Rome by her outward splendour allure, and by other specious pretences and means draw persons to idolatries and superstitions.
Note lastly, The name written on her forehead, to wit, Mystery, Babylon the Great; that is, not literal, but mystical Babylon, the great city of Rome, the mother of idolatry, the pattern of cruelty, the patroness of all impiety; and propagating all these by her power and policies, who calls herself the mother church, but is indeed the mother of harlots, and of all manner of abominations; that is, of abominable doctrines and practices.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv7, 14 Here we have the mystery of this vision explained.…
Here we have the mystery of this vision explained. The apostle wonders at the sight of this woman: the angel undertakes to open this vision to him, it being the key of the former visions; and he tells the apostle what was meant by the beast on which the woman sat; but it is so explained as still to need further explanation. 1. This beast was, and is not, and yet is; that is, it was a seat of idolatry and persecution; and is not, that is, not in the ancient form, which was pagan; and yet it is, it is truly the seat of idolatry and tyranny, though of another sort and form. It ascends out of the bottomless pit (idolatry and cruelty are the issue and product of hell), and it shall return thither and go into perdition. 2. This beast has seven heads, which have a double signification. (1.) Seven mountains - the seven hills on which Rome stands; and (2.) Seven kings - seven sorts of government. Rome was governed by kings, consuls, tribunes, decemviri, dictators, emperors who were pagan, and emperors who were Christian. Five of these were extinct when this prophecy was written; one was then in being, that is, the pagan emperor; and the other, that is, the Christian emperor, was yet to come, Rev 17:10. This beast, the papacy, makes an eighth governor, and sets up idolatry again. 3. This beast had ten horns; which are said to be ten kings which have as yet received no kingdoms; as yet, that is, as some, shall not rise up till the Roman empire be broken in pieces; or, as others, shall not rise up till near the end of antichrist's reign, and so shall reign but as it were one hour with her, but shall for that time be very unanimous and very zealous in that interest, and entirely devoted to it, divesting themselves of their prerogatives and revenues (things so dear to princes), out of an unaccountable fondness for the papacy.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv3–16 So he carried me away in the spirit,.... Not…
So he carried me away in the spirit,.... Not in body, as if he was removed from the isle of Patmos to some other place; but in a visionary way, just as Ezekiel was carried between earth and heaven, in the visions of God, to Jerusalem, Eze 8:3. It was represented to the mind of John, to his spirit, or soul, as if he had been taken up by the angel and carried through the air:
into the wilderness; by which may be meant either the wilderness of the people, the world, the church hereafter described, being a worldly one, and consisting of worldly men; or Gentilism, the Gentile world is often in the prophecies of the Old Testament called a wilderness; the Romish church having much of Heathen worship, and Heathen customs and practices in it, hence its votaries are called Gentiles, Rev 11:2 or this circumstance may be mentioned, and the thing so represented to John, because that a wilderness is a solitary place, and fit for retirement and meditation; and where he might, without any interruption, take a full view of the following sight, and make proper observations upon it; and it is worth notice, that this is the place where the true church and became out of sight, in the room of which this apostate church appears: or, as others have thought, John is had into the wilderness, where the true church was hid and nourished, and the false one is there shown him, that seeing both together, he might compare them, and observe the difference between them; to all which may be added, that a wilderness is a fit place for such a beast as hereafter described to be seen in:
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and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast; the beast is the same with that in Rev 13:1 as the description shows, and is no other than the Roman empire as Papal; the "scarlet" colour is expressive of its imperial dignity, its power and authority, it received from the dragon; and also of this beast's cruelty and tyranny, and of its shedding the blood of the saints: the woman sitting upon it is the great city of Rome, as is manifest from Rev 17:18 or the Romish antichrist, the apostate church of Rome, represented by a woman, as the true church is, Rev 12:1 but in a very different form, and is the same with the second beast in Rev 13:11 and the false prophet; and as the two beasts respect the same, under different considerations, namely, the Papacy, in its civil and ecclesiastic capacity, so this strange phenomenon, a woman sitting on such a beast, means one and the same thing as the horse and his rider in the seals, though in different views; the woman designs the Romish church, with the pope at the head of it, and the beast the Roman Papal empire as civil, by which the former is supported and upheld, bore up on high, and exalted in the manner it has been: moreover, as purple and scarlet are the colours of garments wore by the pope, and cardinals, hence the woman in the next verse is said to be "arrayed in purple and scarlet colour", so even the very beasts on which they rode were covered with scarlet. Platina (h) says that Pope Paul the Second
"ordered by a public decree, on pain or punishment, that no man should wear a scarlet cap but cardinals; to whom also, in the first year of his popedom, he gave cloth of the same colour, to put upon their horses and mules when they rode; and besides, would have put into the decree, that the cardinals' hats should be of scarlet silk:''
upon which Du Maulin (i) makes this remark;
"Pope Paul the Second was the first that gave scarlet to the cardinals, as well for themselves as for their mules, to the end that this prophecy, which agreeth in general with the see of Rome, might likewise appertain particularly to everyone of the pillars of the said see, which is to be set upon a "scarlet coloured beast".''
It follows,
full of names of blasphemy: that is, the beast, or Roman Papal empire, was full of them; in Rev 13:1 a name of blasphemy is said to be upon his head, and he to have a mouth speaking blasphemy; but here his whole body is represented as full of them, and may refer to the blasphemous doctrines of worshipping of images, of pardons and indulgences, of transubstantiation, &c. and to the multitude of images, of the virgin Mary, and other saints, in the antichristian state, in every part of it; and to those blaspheming persons, the cardinals, priests, and Jesuits, which abound in it; as well as to those blasphemous names and titles which are given to the pope, the head of it, or assumed by him; such as God on earth, the vicar of Christ, the head, and husband, and foundation of the church, with many others:
having seven heads, and ten horns: the seven heads are the seven mountains, on which the city of Rome, the metropolis of the empire, is seated; and the seven kings, or seven forms of government, under which it has been, as appears from Rev 17:9; see Gill on Rev 13:1 and the "ten horns" signify the ten kings over the ten kingdoms, into which the empire was divided, when overrun by the Goths and Vandals; and which ten kings gave their kingdoms to the beast, the Romish antichrist; they gave their strength and power to him, being of his religion, and have been his horns, his defenders and supporters, ever since, as may be gathered from Rev 17:12.
(h) De Vitis Pontiticum, p. 312. (i) Defence of the Catholic Faith, &c. c. 3. p. 38.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv3–16 And he carried me away - In the vision.…
And he carried me away - In the vision. Into a wilderness - The campagna di Romansa, 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. chap. xiii, 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 connection 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," chap. xiii, i, 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.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv3–16 Verse 3. So he carried me away in the…
Verse 3. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness] This wilderness into which the apostle was carried is the desolate state of the true Church of Christ, in one of the wings of the once mighty Roman empire. It was a truly awful sight, a terrible desert, a waste howling wilderness; for when he came hither he:-
Saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.] No doubt can now be entertained that this woman is the Latin Church, for she sits upon the beast with seven heads and ten horns, which has been already proved to be the Latin empire, because this empire alone contains the number 666. See Clarke on Re 13:18. This is a representation of the Latin Church in her highest state of antichristian prosperity, for she SITS UPON the scarlet coloured beast, a striking emblem of her complete domination over the secular Latin empire. The state of the Latin Church from the commencement of the fourteenth century to the time of the Reformation may be considered that which corresponds to this prophetic description in the most literal and extensive sense of the words; for during this period she was at her highest pitch of worldly grandeur and temporal authority. The beast is full of names of blasphemy; and it is well known that the nations, in support of the Latin or Romish Church, have abounded in blasphemous appellations, and have not blushed to attribute to themselves and to their Church the most sacred titles, not only blaspheming by the improper use of sacred names, but even by applying to its bishop those names which alone belong to God; for God hath expressly declared that he will not give his glory to another, neither his praise to graven images.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 6, 8, 15 Rev 17:3. So he carried me away, &c. —…
Rev 17:3. So he carried me away, &c. — Namely, in the vision. As Ezekiel, while he was a captive in Chaldea, was conveyed by the Spirit to Jerusalem, (Eze 8:3,) so John is carried away in the Spirit into the wilderness; for there the scene is laid, being a scene of desolation. When the woman, the true church, was persecuted and afflicted, she was said (Rev 12:14) to flee into the wilderness: and, in like manner, when the woman, the false church, is to be destroyed, the vision is presented in the wilderness. For they are by no means, as some have imagined, the same woman, under various representations. They are totally distinct and different characters, and drawn in contrast to each other, as appears from their whole attire and behaviour, and particularly from these two circumstances, — that during the one thousand two hundred and sixty years, while the woman is fed in the wilderness, the beast and the scarlet whore are reigning and triumphant, and, at the latter end, the whore is burned with fire, when the woman, as his wife, hath made herself ready for the marriage of the Lamb. And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet- coloured beast — The same which is described chap. 13., but he was there described as he carried on his own designs only; here he is connected with the whore. A woman sitting upon a beast is a lively and significative emblem of a church or city directing and governing an empire. In painting and sculpture, as well as in prophetic language, cities are often represented in the form of women: and Rome herself is exhibited, in ancient coins, as a woman sitting upon a lion. Here the beast is a scarlet-coloured beast, bearing the bloody livery, as well as the person of the woman, called so for the same reason that the dragon (Rev 12:3) was termed a red dragon, namely, 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 — He had before a name of blasphemy upon his heads, (Rev 13:1,) now he has many: from the time of Hildebrand, the blasphemous titles of the Roman pontiff 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. So that this is the very same beast which was described in the former part of chap. 13: and the woman, in some measure, answers to the two-horned beast, or false prophet; and consequently the woman is not pagan, but Christian Rome; because Rome was become Christian before the beast had completely seven heads and ten horns; that is, before the Roman empire experienced its last form of government, and was divided into ten kingdoms.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv3–16 So he carried me away in the spirit -…
So he carried me away in the spirit - In vision. He seemed to himself to be thus carried away; or the scene which he is about to describe was made to pass before him as if he were present.
Into the wilderness - Into a desert. Compare the notes on Rev 12:6. Why this scene is laid in a wilderness or desert is not mentioned. Prof. Stuart supposes that it is because it is “appropriate to symbolize the future condition of the beast.” So DeWette and Rosenmuller. The imagery is changed somewhat from the first appearance of the harlot in Rev 17:1. There she is represented as “sitting upon many waters.” Now she is represented as “riding on a beast,” and of course the imagery is adapted to that. Possibly there may have been no intentional significancy in this; but on the supposition, as the interpretation has led us to believe all along, that this refers to papal Rome, may not the propriety of this be seen in the condition of Rome and the adjacent country, at the rise of the papal power? That had its rise (see the notes on Dan 7:25 ff) after the decline of the Roman civil power, and properly in the time of Clovis, Pepin, or Charlemagne. Perhaps its first visible appearance, as a power that was to influence the destiny of the world, was in the time of Gregory the Great, 590-605 a.d. On the supposition that the passage before us refers to the period when the papal power became thus marked and defined, the state of Rome at this time, as described by Mr. Gibbon, would show with what propriety the term “wilderness” or “desert” might be then applied to it.
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The following extract from this author, in describing the state of Rome at the accession of Gregory the Great, has almost the appearance of being a designed commentary on this passage, or is, at anyrate, such as a partial interpreter of this book would desire and expect to find. Speaking of that period, he says (Decline and Fall, 3:207-211): “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 public and private opulence were exhausted; the lofty tree under whose shade the nations of the earth had reposed was deprived of its leaves and branches, and the sapless trunk was 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 a rural life; and the Campagna of Rome was speedily reduced to the stale of a dreary wilderness, in which the land is barren, the waters are impure, and the air is 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 harvests of Sicily or 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 advantageous 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 resided with living energy in the breast of their successors; and the chair of 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.” Compare Rev 13:3, Rev 13:12-15. On the supposition, now, that the inspired author of the Apocalypse had Rome, in that state when the civil power declined and the papacy arose, in his eye, what more expressive imagery could he have used to denote it than he has employed? On the supposition - if such a supposition could be made - that Mr. Gibbon meant to furnish a commentary on this passage, what more appropriate language could he have used? Does not this language look as if the author of the Apocalypse and the author of the Decline and Fall meant to play into each other’s hands?
And, in further confirmation of this, I may refer to the testimony of two Roman Catholic writers, giving the same view of Rome and showing that, in their apprehension also, it was only by the reviving influence of the papacy that Rome was saved from becoming a total waste. They are both of the middle ages. The first is Augustine Steuchus, who thus writes: “The empire having been overthrown, unless God had raised up the “pontificate,” Rome, resuscitated and restored by none, would have become uninhabitable, and been a most foul habitation thenceforward of cattle. But in the pontificate it revived as with a second birth; its empire in magnitude not indeed equal to the old empire, but its form not very dissimilar: because all nations, from East and from West, venerate the pope, not otherwise than they before obeyed the emperor.” The other is Flavio Blondas: “The princes of the world now adore and worship as perpetual dictator the successor not of Caesar but of the fisherman Peter; that is, the supreme pontiff, the substitute of the aforesaid emperor.” See the original in Elliott, 3:113.
And I saw a woman - Evidently the same which is referred to in Rev 17:1.
Sit upon a scarlet-coloured beast - That is, either the beast was itself naturally of this color, or it was covered with trappings of this color. The word “scarlet” properly denotes a bright red color - brighter than crimson, which is a red color tinged with blue. See the notes on Isa 1:18. The word used here - κόκκινον kokkinon - occurs in the New Testament only in the following places: Mat 27:28; Heb 9:19; Rev 17:3-4; Rev 18:12, Rev 18:16 - in all which places it is rendered “scarlet.” See the Mat 27:28 note and Heb 9:19 note. The color was obtained from a small insect which was found adhering to the shoots of a species of oak in Spain and Western Asia. This was the usual color in the robes of princes, military cloaks, etc. It is applicable in the description of papal Rome, because this is a favorite color there. Thus it is used in Rev 12:3, where the same power is represented under the image of a “red dragon.”
See the notes on that passage. It is remarkable that nothing would better represent the favorite color at Rome than this, or the actual appearance of the pope, the cardinals, and the priests in their robes, on some great festival occasion. Those who are familiar with the descriptions given of papal Rome by travelers, and those who have passed much time in Rome, will see at once the propriety of this description, on the supposition that it was intended to refer to the papacy. I caused this inquiry to be made of an intelligent gentleman who had passed much time in Rome - without his knowing my design what would strike a stranger on visiting Rome, or what would be likely particularly to arrest his attention as remarkable there; and he unhesitatingly replied, “The scarlet color.” This is the color of the dress of the cardinals - their hats, and cloaks, and stockings being always of this color.
It is the color of the carriages of the cardinals, the entire body of the carriage being scarlet, and the trappings of the horses the same. On occasion of public festivals and processions, scarlet is suspended from the windows of the houses along which processions pass. The inner color of the cloak of the pope is scarlet; his carriage is scarlet; the carpet on which he treads is scarlet. A large part of the dress of the body-guard of the pope is scarlet; and no one can take up a picture of Rome without seeing that this color is predominant. I looked through a volume of engravings representing the principal officers and public persons of Rome. There were few in which the scarlet color was not found as constituting some part of their apparel; in not a few the scarlet color prevailed almost entirely. And in illustration of the same thought, I introduce here an extract from a foreign newspaper, copied into an American newspaper of Feb. 22, 1851, as an illustration of the fact that the scarlet color is characteristic of Rome, and of the readiness with which it is referred to in that respect: “Curious Costumes - The three new cardinals, the archbishops of Thoulouse, Rheims, and Besancon, were presented to the president of the French Republic by the Pope’s nuncio. They wore red caps, red stockings, black Roman coats lined and bound with red, and small cloaks.” I conclude, therefore, that if it be admitted that it was intended to represent papal Rome in the vision, the precise description would have been adopted which is found here.
Full of names of blasphemy - All covered over with blasphemous titles and names. What could more accurately describe papal Rome than this? Compare for some of these names and titles the notes on 2Th 2:4; 1Ti 4:1-4; and notes on Rev 13:1, Rev 13:5.
Having seven heads and ten horns - See the notes on Rev 13:1.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 Cup....full of the abomination, &c. These are common scriptural…
Cup....full of the abomination, &c. These are common scriptural expressions for the abominations of idolatry, with which ancient Rome had notoriously polluted herself. For not content with worshipping her own heathenish gods, she adopted those of all the countries and nations she had subdued. In Rome itself there were no less than 420 heathenish temples, so that one of their most famous poets, Ovid, (lib. i. Trist.) says: Sed quæ de septem totum circumspicit orbem,
mortibus Imperii, Roma, Deumque locus.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 the wilderness--Contrast her in Rev 12:6, Rev 12:14, having…
the wilderness--Contrast her in Rev 12:6, Rev 12:14, having a place in the wilderness-world, but not a home; a sojourner here, looking for the city to come. Now, on the contrary, she is contented to have her portion in this moral wilderness.
upon a scarlet . . . beast--The same as in Rev 13:1, who there is described as here, "having seven heads and ten horns (therein betraying that he is representative of the dragon, Rev 12:3), and upon his heads names (so the oldest manuscripts read) of blasphemy"; compare also Rev 17:12-14, below, with Rev 19:19-20, and Rev 17:13-14, Rev 17:16. Rome, resting on the world power and ruling it by the claim of supremacy, is the chief, though not the exclusive, representative of this symbol. As the dragon is fiery-red, so the beast is blood-red in color; implying its blood-guiltiness, and also deep-dyed sin. The scarlet is also the symbol of kingly authority.
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full--all over; not merely "on his heads," as in Rev 13:1, for its opposition to God is now about to develop itself in all its intensity. Under the harlot's superintendence, the world power puts forth blasphemous pretensions worse than in pagan days. So the Pope is placed by the cardinals in God's temple on the altar to sit there, and the cardinals kiss the feet of the Pope. This ceremony is called in Romish writers "the adoration." [Historie de Clerge, Amsterd., 1716; and LETTENBURGH'S Notitia Curiæ Romanæ, 1683, p. 125; HEIDEGGER, Myst. Bab., 1, 511, 514, 537]; a papal coin [Numismata Pontificum, Paris, 1679, p. 5] has the blasphemous legend, "Quem creant, adorant." Kneeling and kissing are the worship meant by John's word nine times used in respect to the rival of God (Greek, "proskunein"). Abomination, too, is the scriptural term for an idol, or any creature worshipped with the homage due to the Creator. Still, there is some check on the God-opposed world power while ridden by the harlot; the consummated Antichrist will be when, having destroyed her, the beast shall be revealed as the concentration and incarnation of all the self-deifying God-opposed principles which have appeared in various forms and degrees heretofore. "The Church has gained outward recognition by leaning on the world power which in its turn uses the Church for its own objects; such is the picture here of Christendom ripe for judgment" [AUBERLEN]. The seven heads in the view of many are the seven successive forms of government of Rome: kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, military tribunes, emperors, the German emperors [WORDSWORTH], of whom Napoleon is the successor (Rev 17:11). But see the view given, see on Rev 17:9-10, which I prefer. The crowns formerly on the ten horns (Rev 13:1) have now disappeared, perhaps an indication that the ten kingdoms into which the Germanic-Slavonic world [the old Roman empire, including the East as well as the West, the two legs of the image with five toes on each, that is, ten in all] is to be divided, will lose their monarchical form in the end [AUBERLEN]; but see Rev 17:12, which seems to imply crowned kings.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 3. Carried me away—From the visional Jerusalem temple, where…
3. Carried me away—From the visional Jerusalem temple, where were the throne, the living four, and the twenty-four elders. These are resumed again at Rev_18:1, as appears at Rev_19:4.
Into the wilderness—Where she has been driven by the downfall and desolation of her capital, Babylon. That this wilderness, or desert, is a typical image of a condition of deprivation or desolation is indicated by the fact that the same Greek word, in verb form, is used in Rev_17:16 for desolate. Desolate now by the loss of her capital, the nations will yet make her both desolate and, richly arrayed though now she be, naked. Having lost the real organic power of despotism and persecution, she still can glorify herself in gorgeous apparel, pomps, and display, and make proud pretensions of infallibility and universal supremacy, but of even these costly attires the ten horns will finally strip her naked. Rev_17:16. Alford, however, maintains that Babylon herself was in a wilderness, and that this woman is that Babylon. He argues, that in the Septuagint the chapter of Isaiah (Isa_21:9) from which the clause “Babylon is fallen” is quoted, is headed “The vision of the wilderness.” But Babylon is not there said to be “in the wilderness,” but the wilderness or “desert” is the region whence the vision sweeps in upon the conception of the prophet. It is incongruous to say that a city which was an empire in itself was in a wilderness. But we have a close analogy much nearer at hand. The woman of chapter 12 was driven from her high place into the wilderness; and so this harlot is driven from her fallen home into a parallel wilderness. And what makes this certain is the following parallelism:— seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness. Rev_17:1; Rev_17:8.
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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 Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain. Rev_21:9-10.
This remarkable and certainly intentional parallelism fully proves that as the bride is a pure Church so the harlot must be a corrupt Church. Pagan Rome was no Church at all.
Beast—The seven heads and ten horns worn both by the dragon of 12 and 13 identify this as the Roman beast of the latter chapter. Scarlet is the colour of popes, and especially cardinals; and Newton says, “The mules and horses which carry the popes and cardinals are covered with scarlet cloth, so that they may be properly said to ride upon a scarlet-coloured beast.” Wordsworth says, quoting the historian Platina, “Paul II. made it penal for any one to wear hats of scarlet except cardinals; and he gave them scarlet trappings for their mules and horses.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv3–16 3. in the spirit] Cf. Rev_1:10, Rev_4:2, Rev_21:10.
3. in the spirit] Cf. Rev_1:10, Rev_4:2, Rev_21:10.
into the wilderness] In Isa_21:1 the situation of the ancient Babylon is apparently conceived as in a desert: and in fact Babylonia has been reduced to one, despite its unsurpassed natural fertility. It may be relevant to compare the present desolation of the once populous Campagna of Rome.
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a scarlet coloured beast] Undoubtedly the same as the Beast of Rev_13:1-8, though there his colour was not mentioned. It is symbolic (compare that of the dragon, Rev_12:3), as being the colour of blood: perhaps also suggestive of the imperial purple.
full of names of blasphemy] So Rev_13:1, but here the blasphemies are even more all-pervading. The construction in the Greek, according to the best text, is irregular and peculiar, but cannot alter the sense.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16 (3) So he carried. . . .—Better, And he…
(3) So he carried. . . .—Better, And he carried me away into a wilderness in spirit: and I saw a woman sitting upon a wild beast of scarlet colour, teeming with names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. We recognise the wild beast as that described in Revelation 13. Now the wild beast carries the woman; for she draws her support from the great world-power. The scene is the wilderness. The contrast between the desolation around her and the splendour of her appearance is striking and suggestive. The woman clothed with the sun (Rev_12:1), persecuted by the dragon, finds a home in the wilderness into which she is driven. She is persecuted, but not forsaken; she can joy in tribulation. The scarlet-clad woman, amid all her dazzling surroundings, is still in a wilderness. The runagates continue in scarceness. Sansjoy is the brother of Sansloy. The wild beast is scarlet in colour. The dragon was red (Rev_12:3); the woman is clothed in scarlet. Is it the emblem of lawlessness ending in violence? (Comp. Isa_1:18). It has also a show of sovereignty.
Full of names.—Teeming with names, &c.—The living creatures (Rev_4:8) teemed (the same word as here) with eyes, the tokens of ready obedience and true intelligence. The wild beast teems with tokens of lawlessness and self-sufficiency.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv3–16 So he carried me away in the spirit; and…
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 ver. 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 Revelation 12. 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, Isa_21:16; 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 ver. 1, "I will show thee... the great harlot," identifies this woman with the harlot of ver. 1. This woman represents the faithless portion of the Church (see on ver. 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 Re 12. 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 yhrion , "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;
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(2) its connection with "kings," etc.; (vers. 12-14 and Rev_19:19, Rev_19:20)
(3) its connection with the "false prophet"; (Re 13 and Rev_19:20)
(4) its connection with the harlot the 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. ver. 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 ver. 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)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v7 I will tell thee the mystery of the woman,…
Rev_17:7-14
I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her.
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A picture of moral error
I. Its history is marvellous.
1. On account of the darkness that enfolds its introduction.
2. On account of the mask under which it works.
3. On account of the wonderful issues that will result from it.
II. Its course is lamentable.
1. It rises from the bottomless pit--the fathomless abysses of impure lusts, ravenous greed, burning ambition, sensual yearnings, impious irreverences, blasphemous assumptions, etc.
2. It leads to perdition--ruin.
III. Its supports are unstable. 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. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them.
War and conquest
I. The opposing forces. Look abroad upon the earth. What a pandemonium of vice and crime, injustice and cruelty, heathenism and superstition it is. Oh, how mighty and multiplied the antagonist hosts! They are mustered and marshalled; they are eager for the strife of the battle, they confront us at every step; and the great question is this, Can they be overcome? Must we lay down our arms in despair! Is the world to become no better?
II. The opposing forces vanquished. The Lamb will overcome them.
1. By the interpositions and changes of Providence. God has a purpose, the world is to be converted, and all things are working to accomplish that end; but Gods way is in the sea, and His path in the mighty waters; He is the real, though invisible, ruler, both of matter and of mind. The laws of providence are just as Divine in their appointments and results as the laws of nature. All things work to usher in the day predicted by the angels song, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.
2. By the preaching of His own truth and the outpouring of His Holy Spirit. Preaching is the appointment of heaven.
3. By the indomitable zeal and energy of His own followers. As the conflict advances, one shall chase a thousand and two shall put ten thousand to flight. In all ages God has carried on His work by the zeal, energy, and courage of His faithful servants. He did it even in the ages of miracles, He will do it till the world is saved; and why shrink from the task His benevolence appoints? Have we had no success? Did not Wesley and Whitfield arouse all England and North America to the worth of the gospel and the importance of eternal things? Are we faithful to the cause of the Lamb? Might He not reproach us for our doubts and fears? Where is the faith which wrought those moral wonders in the apostolic age? (W. S. Edwards.)
The Royal Christ
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 (chap. 4.; cf. Php_3:1-21.), Therefore hath God 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. Meekness is might, sacrifice is sovereignty, losing life is gaining it; the cross creates the crown.
4. By the consent of conscience.
5. By the grace he imparted to His people. Their patient continuance in well-doing put to silence all their foes.
6. In His people. They that are with Him. The Revised Version rightly renders St. Johns 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. They are--
(1) Called.
(2) 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.
II. faithful, then we are of the chosen too; and this, and this only, is the proof. (C. Conway, B. A.)
The great moral campaign
I. The contending forces.
1. The one is represented as a beast. Emblem of the mighty aggregate of wrong in all its elements and operations: wrong in theories and in institutions, wrong in sentiments and habits, wrong as imposing as seven mountains and as majestic as kings or empires, wrong sitting as empress over all nations and peoples and tongues.
2. The other is represented as a Lamb--emblem of innocence, mildness, and purity.
II. The marvellous conquest.
1. The conqueror. The Lamb, though not a bellicose existence, is
(1) Invested with the highest authority.
(2) Followed by a noble army.
2. The conquered. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The overcoming Lamb
I. 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.
II. What He shall overcome. All opposers, both nations and individuals.
III. How He shall overcome His opposers. There are two general methods--
1. 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.
2. 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.)
And they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful.--
The army of the Lamb
This is a description of the best appointed army that was ever brought into the field--the army of Christ Jesus. It has been the presumptuous boast of many earthly generals that their soldiers were invincible--such as no enemy could overthrow. This may, however, be with truth affirmed of this army. They carry, as it were, this inscription on their banners, Conquering and to conquer!
I. The Captain of this host of the Lord. The success of every ordinary army depends mainly, under God, upon the skill and valour of its general. But of this spiritual army it may with truth be said that every hope of victory they have arises altogether from Him who leads them to the battle. They have an Almighty leader at their head, One whose presence insures victory to all His followers. In the former part of the verse this Captain of the Lords host is called by two different titles, which seem, at first sight, scarcely reconcilable.
1. One of these titles is, the Lamb--a name which might seem, at first, little suited to the leader of an army. But what does the term signify in the case of Him to whom it is applied? Not that He is weak and feeble as the tender animal which bears this name. But He is a Lamb in reference to the death He died for His people, when He was led as a Lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep is dumb before its shearers so He opened not His mouth. It is a title, too, of endearment. The Lamb is not more meek and gentle than He is to His faithful followers.
2. But if the epithet Lamb represents His gentleness and tenderness towards His people and the death which He has died for them, He has another name which describes, as strikingly, His majesty and power--Lord of lords and King of kings.
II. His soldiers. They that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
1. They are called--just as the soldiers of an earthly army are enlisted for the service. The soldiers of an earthly warfare were called into the ranks they fill from very different occupations: some from the shop, some from the plough. Christs soldiers, too, were very differently occupied when the call of grace was given them. They were then mere children of the world, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind--each busily occupied in his own favourite and cherished sins. Various, too, were the circumstances under which the call was given to them, and various the means employed by the great Captain of salvation to make them hear that call. But in every case it was the Saviours Follow Me! which brought His soldiers to His side.
2. They are not called only, but chosen. There is a difference, even in earthly armies, between being called and being chosen, between being merely enlisted and being what is called picked men, men in whom the general can place his confidence. Look at Gideons army (Jdg_7:1-7). Two-and-thirty thousand then were called; three hundred only chosen. It is just thus in the camp of Jesus. What multitudes flock into it! But how many of all these become in after life true soldiers of the Cross? Alas! but a small remnant; for many are called, but few are chosen. But they that are really with the Saviour, and who constitute His Church militant here on earth, are, all of them, picked men. Whatever exploits Christs soldiers may perform when they have entered on the fight of faith, by the grace of God they are what they are.
3. They are faithful. The word may be taken in two senses, in each of which it is equally applicable to the armies of the Living God.
(1) They are faithful inasmuch as they are full of faith and confidence in the Captain of their salvation. The soldiers of the Lamb of God place their entire confidence in the Commander whom they follow.
(2) A man is said to be faithful who lives up to his engagements, and who adheres with constancy and perseverance to the person whose service he has undertaken. Faithfulness, in this understanding of the word, is most essential to the character of a good soldier. One part of his faithfulness consists in his remaining true to his commander until he be disbanded or dismissed. To run from his colours, or desert the service of his king and country, is amongst the soldiers greatest crimes. In this point, too, the soldiers of the Lord are faithful. They follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth, and nothing shall ever separate them from His love and from His service. (A. Roberts, M. A.)
.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 3. He carried me away in the spirit into…
3. He carried me away in the spirit into a wilderness. It is not explained why she is seen in a wilderness. Perhaps the thought is that her development was in obscurity and almost unnoticed until she had reached supreme power. Sitting upon a scarlet colored beast. Supported by this beast. In chap. 13 I have discussed at length the meaning of this beast and of its seven heads. See that chapter. And ten horns. The significance of these will be considered under verse 12.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv5, 7 mystery (See Scofield "Mat 13:11")
mystery (See Scofield "Mat 13:11")
Babylon See note 2, Isa 13:1 (See Scofield "Isa 13:1")
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv7, 9, 15 The mystery of the woman:
The mystery of the woman:
v. 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.
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v. 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 angel noticed the look of horrified wonder on the face of John, and hastened to enlighten him: And the angel said unto me, For what reason didst thou wonder? I shall tell thee the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her that has the seven heads and the ten horns. The angel himself undertakes to explain to the seer what he could not have guessed or explained, to reveal the mystery of the great harlot and of the beast that served as beast of burden for her shameless self and the abominations of her filth.
The angel now first explains the meaning of the beast: The beast that thou sawest was and is not, and will ascend out of the abyss and go into perdition; and they that live on the earth will marvel, whose name is not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that it was and is not, and yet is present. Here is the first step in the solution of the mystery which causes the harlot, the kingdom of Anti-Christ, to be connected with the beast, the Roman Empire. For it is the Roman Empire upon which the Church of Anti-Christ is sitting, in itself a continuation of the ancient Roman world empire. For the latter was before the kingdom of Anti-Christ; then it came to an end in 476, when the Germanic hordes conquered Rome; then, to the great surprise of all those that have its mark on their foreheads, it arose out of the abyss once more; it was revealed in all its hideousness by the Reformation and has lost its unlimited influence; and yet it is present to this day, being destined to eternal perdition on the last day.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16 carried me away in the Spirit to a wilderness
carried me away in the Spirit to a wilderness
The setting changes from John being in heaven to being in a wilderness. (See: Background Information)
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pearls
beautiful and valuable white beads. They are formed inside the shell of a certain kind of small animal that lives in the ocean. (See: Translate Unknowns)
On her forehead was written a name
This can be stated in active form. AT: "Someone had written on her forehead a name" (See: Active or Passive)
Babylon the great
If it needs to be made clear that the name refers to the woman, it can be put in a sentence. AT: "I am Babylon, the powerful one" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
angel
Holy Spirit
desert
beast
blasphemy
gold
sexual immorality
Babylon
prostitute
detest
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15 17:3-4 John is carried in the Spirit into the…
17:3-4 John is carried in the Spirit into the wilderness, his way of describing a visionary experience (see 1:10; 4:2). He sees a depiction of Rome’s moral corruption and excessive luxury (see 18:12-13, 16) that illustrates how such wealth can become an abomination to God. • The beast here is like the second figure in the evil trinity (see 13:1-4). • blasphemies against God: See 13:5-6. • purple and scarlet: Clothing in these two colors indicated royalty and carnality, respectively. • a gold goblet: See Jer 51:7.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.