The description of the great harlot and of the beast upon which she
sits.
17:1. And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven vials
and spoke with me, saying: Come, I will shew thee the condemnation of
the great harlot, who sitteth upon many waters:
17:2. With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication. And
they who inhabit the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her
whoredom.
17:3. And he took me away in spirit into the desert. And I saw a woman
sitting upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy,
having seven heads and ten horns.
17:4. And the woman was clothed round about with purple and scarlet,
and gilt with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup
in her hand, full of the abomination and filthiness of her fornication.
17:5. And on her forehead a name was written: A mystery: Babylon the
great, the mother of the fornications and the abominations of the
earth.
A mystery.... That is, a secret; because what follows of the name and
title of the great harlot is to be taken in a mystical sense.
Babylon.... Either the city of the devil in general; or, if this place
be to be understood of any particular city, pagan Rome, which then and
for three hundred years persecuted the church; and was the principal
seat both of empire and idolatry.
17:6. And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with
the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And I wondered, when I had seen her,
with great admiration.
17:7. And the angel said to me: Why dost thou wonder? I will tell thee
the mystery of the woman and of the beast which carrieth her, which
hath the seven heads and ten horns.
17:8. The beast which thou sawest, was, and is not, and shall come up
out of the bottomless pit and go into destruction. And the inhabitants
on the earth (whose names are not written in the book of life from the
foundation of the world) shall wonder, seeing the beast that was and is
not.
The beast which thou sawest.... This beast which supports Babylon, may
signify the power of the devil: which was and is not, being much
limited by the coming of Christ, but shall again exert itself under
Antichrist. The seven heads of this beast are seven mountains or
empires, instruments of his tyranny; of which five were then fallen.
(See chap. 13.1, and below, ver. 10.) The beast itself is said to be
the eighth, and is of the seven; because they all act under the devil,
and by his instigation, so that his power is in them all, yet so as to
make up, as it were, an eighth empire, distinct from them all.
17:9. And here is the understanding that hath wisdom. The seven heads
are seven mountains, upon which the woman sitteth: and they are seven
kings.
17:10. Five are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet come: and when
he is come, he must remain a short time.
17:11. And the beast which was and is not: the same also is the eighth,
and is of the seven, and goeth into destruction.
17:12. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, who have not
yet received a kingdom: but shall receive power as kings, one hour
after the beast.
Ten kings.... Ten lesser kingdoms, enemies also of the church of
Christ: which, nevertheless, shall be made instruments of the justice
of God for the punishment of Babylon. Some understand this of the
Goths, Vandals, Huns, and other barbarous nations, that destroyed the
empire of Rome.
17:13. These have one design: and their strength and power they shall
deliver to the beast.
17:14. These shall fight with the Lamb. And the Lamb shall overcome
them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings: and they that are
with him are called and elect and faithful.
17:15. And he said to me: The waters which thou sawest, where the
harlot sitteth, are peoples and nations and tongues.
17:16. And the ten horns which thou sawest in the beast: These shall
hate the harlot and shall make her desolate and naked and shall eat her
flesh and shall burn her with fire.
17:17. For God hath given into their hearts to do that which pleaseth
him: that they give their kingdom to the beast, till the words of God
be fulfilled.
17:18. And the woman which thou sawest is the great city which hath
kingdom over the kings of the earth.