Revelation 17

Revelation 17:1

In order to let the author into the meaning of the seven vials, he sees a representation of the great harlot sitting upon a mysterious beast; and hears her doomed to destruction by the Divine judgments. Rev. XVII. throughout.

REVELATION XVII. 1.

AND, when all this was done, one of the seven angels, who had been honoured with bearing the seven vials, the pouring forth of which I have just described, came and spake with me, saying to me, Come, [and] I will shew thee, to what this prophetic scene, which has passed before thy view, principally refers, even the judgment of the great harlot, that sitteth upon many waters, whom thou shalt now see; and observe the terrible vengeance to which she is reserved, though so many people have been corrupted by her, and though she has tyrannized over them in so insolent and imperious a manner: Even of her with whom the kings of the earth have so long committed fornication, (compare Isa. xxiii. 17,) and their subjects have been debauched with them; so that, in a manner, all the inhabitants of the earth have been drunk with the wine of her whoredom, as if they had taken some powerful provocative, to make them doat upon her, and sacrifice every dictate of religion, and reason, and even common sense, to those alluring arts with which she has been tempting them. And he brought me in the spirit into the wilderness; and I saw a woman, of an impudent front, and a most imperious and cruel appearance, sitting upon a scarlet beast, fierce and savage; and the beast had gaudy trappings of embroidery upon it, full of blasphemous names, ascribing to itself, and the harlot upon it, properties and glories which belong to God alone; and having also, like the beast which I saw before, (chap. xiii. 1,) seven heads, and ten horns; referring to the hills on which the city, designed by this harlot, stood, and the number of kingdoms subject to its government. And the charms of her person, such as they were, were set off with all

Drunk with the blood of the saints, &c

the gorgeous ornaments of the most splendid dress; for, the woman was clothed with purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold, and precious stones, and pearls; having also a golden cup in her hand full of that inflaming mixture, by which those who drank of it, were instigated to all the abominations and pollution of her dissolute and abandoned whoredom; that is, those idolatrous practices, which the society of men represented by this infamous woman, had carried to so shameful a height. (Compare Jer. li. 7.) But, that she might appear in my eyes as a criminal, marked out by God for speedy and dreadful execution, [she had] upon her forehead [her] name, her titles and crimes, written; and the first word was MYSTERY: the great mystery of iniquity, abetted by all the fraud and artifice which can be conceived, is represented by this woman: after which followed these words, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS, AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH; the most impudent strumpet that ever appeared upon earth, and the greatest procuress of lewdness that ever polluted the face of it. And I saw the woman drunk; and was informed, that it was with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus; of which she had gorged vast quantities, and for which she still thirsted impatiently; and seemed to cast her greedy eyes around, as longing for renewed draughts of it. And I wondered, when I saw her, with great amazement, as I knew she represented a society that would call itself Christian, and pretend a regard for Jesus and his saints, in the midst of all this cruel persecution of them; and also, for the honour of God, amidst all these unequalled idolatries and immoralities. And the angel said unto me, Why dost thou wonder? Hast thou not thy self had intimation of this antichristian sect, and this great apostasy? I will tell thee the secret of the whole matter; the mystery of the woman, and of the beast which carries her, which hath, as thou

a Amazement ] This seems a plain ar- Christian; for it had been no great won- ument, that the society referred to, was der, that a heathen power should persecute.

seven heads, which are seven mountains:

seest, the seven heads, and the ten horns. The beast which thou formerly sawest, was, and is not; that is, God will cut short its reign, and he will indeed ascend, as has been represented, out of the bottomless pit, and go suddenly into destruction; and the inhabitants of the earth, (whose names, as I said, are not written in the book of life, from the foundation of the world,) shall wonder, seeing the beast, who, for a little while, was, and is not; that is, he shall quickly be overthrown, though he is to appear for a while and perform such great wonders. Here [is] a proof of the understanding that hath wisdom; for the utmost sagacity may here be put to the trial. But this I will observe, to guide the inquiring mind, and I am commissioned by God to give this key to the mystery, that the seven heads of the beast are seven mountains, on which that celebrated city is built, on which the infamous woman I have been describing, sitteth. And there are seven kings, or forms of government, five of them are fallen, and one is, [and] the other is not yet come; and when he comes, he must endure for a little time, but will soon be destroyed and swallowed up. And the beast, of whom I said, that he was, and is not, he is the eighth, and he is of the seven; he ariseth out of the remainders of this people, but at length goes into destruction, as the rest, though his reign shall be so much longer than any of his predecessors. And the ten horns which thou sawest, are ten kings, or kingdoms, which shall

b The beast — was, and is not.] This seems to intimate, that the persecuting power of Pagan Rome, should for a while revive in Papal Rome, and, ere long, be utterly destroyed.

c Seven — forms of government.] Some reckon these to be the Roman kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, military tribunes, emperors, and popes. But I much question, whether this be a right solution. Mr. Lowman supposes here is an intimation, that the seventh form of government was not to begin till the imperial power was destroyed. And this last may, on some account, be called the seventh, and for other reasons, the eighth head of government, as the exarchate of Ravenna was in some

sense, a new form of government, and yet hardly so distinct and proper a form, as to be reckoned for a different head. Compare chap. xii 6, note d.

d He is the eighth, &c.] Mr. Fleming understands this of the government of the Ostrogoths in Rome; who, though they were the seventh head in number, yet were not of the seven, that is, such as the six first, and the eighth, because they were foreigners, whereas the others were natives. Flem. on the first Res. p 106, 107. This exact prophecy, he says, is a great confirmation of the Divine authority of this book. Limborch understands it of the German Emperor, who was only titular king of Rome. See the preceding note.

VOL. 6.

They shall make war with the Lamb : ut be

arise out of the ruin of the former state, and shall all, for a while, be dependent upon, and subject to the beast: they have not, indeed, yet received their kingdom, but they shall receive authority from the beast as kings, though greatly under his limitation and controul, to reign for one hour, for a certain limited time. And however these princes may be disunited in their political interests, which may, in some respects, contradict each other, yet, with respect to their unhappy prejudices in religion, and idolatrous inclinations, there shall be a surprising agreement between them; and they have one mind and sentiment in that respect, and shall consent to deliver over their own power and authority to the beast, to be employed by him for the advancement of his interest; so that they shall act but as his viceroys, even in their own territories. These also shall presume to make war with the Lamb; and the consequence may easily be conjectured; for the Lamb, who bears such magnificent titles, and who hath already triumphed over all the powers of hell, shall undoubtedly overcome them, and triumph over them; for he is indeed, (what some vain mortals have impiously and arrogantly called themselves,) Lord of Lords, and King of Kings, the supreme Ruler of all governors and magistrates upon the face of the earth, to whom dominion over them belongs, by the strictest and most unalienable right; and those that are with him, and have the honour to fight under his banner, [are] not only called to arm themselves in this glorious cause, but chosenᶜ to act in the service, and they are faithful to the engagements into which they enter. All these were the words of that angel who was commissioned to

ᶜ Called and chosen faithful ] Here may very possibly be, as the ingenious author of the Christian warfare has represented, in his learned and beautiful remarks on this exct, a reference to the military custom of the Greeks; who used to call the people together when any expedition was designed, out of which there were some selected to serve in the action intended, who swore delity to their leader. (Compare 2 Pet. i. 10, note 4.) But I can by no means suppose that this is the uniform idea to be annexed to the word chosen in scripture, any more than I can suppose the term called, always to signify invited to a feast; which is an idea another ingenious writer has endeavoured to lead his readers to affix to it. The truth is, both signify something much more general, though both may be applied, in particular cases, in the limited sense contended for. Compare Isa. xxxiv. 2. 6, 7

These shall hate the harlot, and make her desolate.

instruct me in the meaning of an appearance, which had thrown me into such amazement. And he proceeded, and said further unto me, The waters which thou sawest, on which the specious, but abandoned harlot sate, are people, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues, a vast multitude of different nations and languages, who shall consent for a long time, to those degenerate forms of religion which she shall introduce. And the ten horns which thou sawest on the savage beast, these are the kingdoms subject to her. But the princes of them shall at length turn against her, so that she shall, as it were, be thrown down, and gored by the creature that has so long tamely and patiently carried her; for they shall hate the harlot, and make her desolate and naked; they shall strip her of all those ornaments, which they have profusely lavished away upon her; and they shall be ready, as it were, in the transport of their indignation and zeal, to eat her very flesh, and shall burn her with fire. They shall be bent upon destroying their stupid idolatry, and all the monuments of it, and turn their keenest resentment upon the abettors and instruments of such cruel persecution as they have exercised: For God hath given it into their hearts, by a strong and powerful impression, to execute his council and sentence, and they shall agree in it, even to perform one purpose. And he hath left them under a fatal infatuation, in opposition to true policy, as well as virtue and religion, so as to give their kingdoms to the beast, till the words of God be fulfilled; and then their minds shall be turned, and their eyes opened, and they shall ruin this oppressive society more eagerly than they ever established it. And the woman which thou sawest, is the great imperial city, that ruleth over the kings of the earth, and now disposes of their crowns at her pleasure, none daring to make war against her.

[Execute his sentence.] We render it to fulfil his will. Hence some have inferred, that it is the will of God, that heretics should be cut off. But it is sufficiently known to what extremities people are driven to find any thing that looks like an argument for persecution in the New

Testament, when they are forced to have recourse to a text for this purpose, which only proves that God had, in his wise an holy council, determined that the idolatrous and persecuting antichristian power should be destroyed.

Reflections on the character of antichristian Rome.

IMPROVEMENT.

EX. RESIGNED, though it had not been so particularly described by its situation on seven hills, or by the empire it then possessed over all the kingdoms of the world. The harlot might be sufficiently distinguished by her names of blasphemy, by her cup of enchantment, by her titles, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS, AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. Yea, she might be known by this single character, of having made herself drunk with the blood of saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And is it heathen Rome, to whom these characters are most remarkably applicable? The apostle would not then have wondered with so great admiration, that idolatry and persecution should prevail, where the former had raged for so many ages, and the latter almost from the very beginning of Christianity; and to such a degree, in the days of Nero, who, as their own historian tells us, had, thirty years before this, added mockeries and insults to torment, that Christians were dressed up in the skins of wild beasts, and so exposed to be worried on the theatre: a method which hath, indeed, figuratively speaking, been every where practised, and must be practised, if Christianity is to be made ridiculous, or odious. But the true occasion of the apostle’s astonishment was, that Rome professing Christianity, Rome setting up for the head of the Christian world, should have emulated and exceeded any Pagan city, and even itself in its Pagan state, in its idolatries, and in its cruelties. And this is a fact indeed wonderful. But these are the secret councils of God, even those counsels which are to us unsearchable. Nevertheless, the beauty and glory of them shall at length be apparent. The kings of the earth, though, like Nebuchadnezzar, (Isa. x. 7,) they meant it not, are now fulfilling the plan of Divine Providence; a plan that shall at length appear wise and harmonious, though the permission of all these absurdities and horrors make a part of it. And when the words of God are fulfilled, they who with one mind have given their power and strength to the beast, in order to support the harlot, shall be as unanimous in hating her, and making her desolate and naked, shall be ready to devour her flesh, and consume her in her own fires. Fierce and savage as the beast may at present appear, its war with the Lamb shall be utterly in vain; for the Lamb is always victorious, and will assert his grand and imperial titles, LORD OF LORDS, AND KING OF KINGS. May we all list under his banner; May we not only be called, but chosen and faithful, faithful even to death; since all the rage of men, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues, if it were united against us, could not prevent his giving us a crown of victory, and a part in his everlasting triumphs.

The fall of Babylon is proclaimed.