Revelation 17

Revelation 17:1

And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

And there came one of those Seven Angels, which had the charge of the Seven Last Plagues to be poured upon the world, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, and I will shew thee the judgment of that Great City, who is infamous for her spiritual fornications, and who ruleth over many nations:

Revelation 17:2

With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

By whom the kings of the earth have been drawn into abominable idolatries: and the inhabitants of the earth have been deceived and bewitched, with the pleasing doctrine and practice of her superstitions.

Revelation 17:3

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.

So he ravished me away, in a holy ecstasy of spirit, into the wilderness: and there, for the more free and full contemplation of these matters, by the opportunity of the solitariness of the place, he represented unto me the Antichristian State, in the form of a Woman sitting upon that great and glorious seat of the empire; which was distained with horrible and great blasphemies, being situated upon seven hills and having the command of ten kings.

Revelation 17:4

And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

And the woman was very gorgeously set forth, in all manner of rich ornaments, that the earth or sea could afford: and she had in her hand a golden cup, specious in shew, but full of error and abomination; which was that poisonous and intoxicating doctrine of heresy and idolatry, wherewith she hath seduced the people of the earth:

Revelation 17:5

And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

And, in the open shew and carriage of her, any indifferent man might read thus much: This is that Mystical Babylon, the Great City of the World, the most Infamous Author and Pattern of all both Spiritual and Bodily Fornications, and all Outrageous Wickedness.

Revelation 17:6

And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

And I saw the cruelty of this state and government such, as that it was even overlaid with the excess of that innocent blood of God’s Saints and holy Martyrs, which it had causelessly shed: and when I saw this sight, I stood marvelling, with great astonishment and admiration.

Revelation 17:7

And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carried her.

And the angel, seeing me thus amazed, said unto me, Why wert thou thus astonished at this sight? I will shew thee the true and plain meaning of this vision: and the signification, both of the Woman, and of the Beast that carrieth her.

Revelation 17:8

The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

The Beast, then, which thou sawest, is no other than the Roman Empire; the port and magnificence whereof was very great, in the days both of their former governors, and especially in the reign of their late emperors, Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, and Claudius: but now, in the following times of Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Domitian, is much abated of

Revelation 17:9

And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

This is the interpretation of this vision, according to true understanding and wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills, whereon that city is built.

Revelation 17:10

And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

And, withal, they signify seven forms of government or rule, which that state hath been and must be swayed by; viz. Kings, Consuls, Dictators, Decemviri, Tribunes, Emperors, Ecclesiastical Princes; whereof the five first are past and gone, and the sixth of them is now in being, and the seventh is not yet come; and, when it doth come, it shall not hold long, before it be wasted, and, for the time, suppressed, by the inundation of barbarous nations.

Revelation 17:11

And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

And that last form of government, which I said should be for a time suppressed, and yet is not come into being; even that is the eighth, in respect of that spiritual power and jurisdiction, which it shall challenge and usurp; and yet is one of the seven, in respect of this temporal dominion, which it claimeth; and shall in due time be destroyed.

Revelation 17:12

And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

And the ten horns, which thou sawest, are ten several kings; but such as are not yet in being, nor have their kingdoms as yet erected; but shall be set up afterwards, even at the same time, that the Second Beast shall arise to greatness, out of the ruins of the Empire.

Revelation 17:13

These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

These are all agreed, to give their utmost strength and assistance to that Second Beast, which is the False Prophet; and shall join both their counsels and forces, to that purpose.

Revelation 17:14

These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them.

These shall oppose the government and doctrine of Christ; and, at the last, the truth of the Gospel and the power of Christ shall overcome them.

Revelation 17:15

And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

And he saith unto me, The waters, which thou sawest, where this Antichristian State beareth rule, do signify people, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

Revelation 17:16

And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

And the ten kingdoms which thou sawest, represented by the ten horns, shall fall off from that Antichristian State; and shall hate it, and leave it utterly destitute and forsaken, and shall both profess and execute all manner of hostile violence against it.

Revelation 17:17

For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

For God hath so overruled them, by his secret and powerful Providence, as that they have unwittingly done that, which his most wise counsel had determined; in that they yielded up their kingdoms unto that Second Beast, until the time should come, wherein the decree of God should be accomplished.

Revelation 17:18

And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

And that Woman, which thou sawest sitting as Sovereign in this Antichristian State, is that Great City, which is the mistress of the world, and reigneth over all the kings of the earth.