This
chapter contains another representation of those things that had been
revealed before concerning the wickedness and ruin of antichrist. This
antichrist had been before represented as a beast, and is now described as a
great whore. And here, I. The apostle is invited to see this vile woman,
ver. 1, 2. II. He tells us what an appearance she made, ver. 3-6. III. The
mystery of it is explained to him, ver. 7-12. And, IV. Her ruin foretold,
ver. 13, &c.
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The
Fall of
Babylon.
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A. D. 95.
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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 show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many
waters: 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. 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. 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: 5 And upon her
forehead was a name written, MYSTERY,
BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF
HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
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.
Here we have a new vision, not as to the matter of it, for that is
contemporary with what came under the three last vials; but as to the manner
of description, &c. Observe, 1. The invitation given to the apostle to
take a view of what was here to be represented: Come hither, and I will
show thee the judgment of the great whore, &c., v. 1. This is
a name of great infamy. A whore [in this passage] is one that is married,
and has been false to her husband's bed, has forsaken the guide of her
youth, and broken the covenant of God. She had been a prostitute to the
kings of the earth, whom she had intoxicated with the wine of her
fornication. 2. The appearance she made: it was gay and gaudy, like such
sort of creatures: She was arrayed in purple, and scarlet colour, and
decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls, v. 4. Here
were all the allurements of worldly honour and riches, pomp and pride,
suited to sensual and worldly minds. 3. Her principal seat and residence--upon
the beast that had seven heads and ten horns; that is to say, Rome, the
city on seven hills, infamous for idolatry, tyranny, and blasphemy. 4. Her
name, which was written on her forehead. It was the custom of
impudent harlots to hang out signs, with their names, that all might know
what they were. Now in this observe, (1.) She is named from her place of
residence--Babylon the great. But, that we might not take it for the
old Babylon literally so called, we are told there is a mystery in the name;
it is some other great city resembling the old Babylon. (2.) She is named
from her infamous way and practice; not only a harlot, but a mother of
harlots, breeding up harlots, and nursing and training them up to idolatry,
and all sorts of lewdness and wickedness--the parent and nurse of all false
religion and filthy conversation. 5. Her diet: she satiated herself with the
blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus. She drank their blood with
such greediness that she intoxicated herself with it; it was so pleasant to
her that she could not tell when she had had enough of it: she was satiated,
but never satisfied.
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The
Fall of Babylon.
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A. D. 95.
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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. 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. 9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The
seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. 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.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the
seven, and goeth into perdition. 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. 13 These have one mind,
and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
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, v. 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.
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The Fall of Babylon.
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A. D. 95.
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14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and
the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings:
and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and
faithful. 15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest,
where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and
tongues. 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. 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. 18 And the
woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of
the earth.
Here we have some account of the downfall of Babylon, to be more fully
described in the following chapter.
I. Here is a war begun between the beast and his followers, and the Lamb and
his followers. The beast and his army, to an eye of sense, appear much
stronger than the Lamb and his army: one would think an army with a lamb at
the head of them could not stand before the great red dragon. But,
II. Here is a victory gained by the Lamb: The Lamb shall overcome.
Christ must reign till all enemies be put under his feet; he will be
sure to meet with many enemies, and much opposition, but he will also be
sure to gain the victory.
III. Here is the ground or reason of the victory assigned; and this is
taken, 1. From the character of the Lamb: He is King of kings and Lord of
lords. He has, both by nature and by office, supreme dominion and power
over all things; all the powers of earth and hell are subject to his check
and control. 2. From the character of his followers: They are called, and
chosen, and faithful. They are called out by commission to this warfare;
they are chosen and fitted for it, and they will be faithful in it. Such an
army, under such a commander, will at length carry all the world before
them.
IV. The victory is justly aggrandized. 1. By the vast multitude who paid
obedience and subjection to the beast and to the whore. She sat upon (that
is, presided over) many waters; and these waters were so many multitudes of
people, and nations, of all languages; yea, she reigned not only over
kingdoms, but over the kings, and they were her tributaries and vassals, v.
15, 18. 2. By the powerful influence which God hereby showed he had over the
minds of great men. Their hearts were in his hand, and he turned them as he
pleased; for, (1.) It was of God, and to fulfil his will, that these kings agreed
to give their kingdom unto the beast; they were judicially blinded and
hardened to do so. And, (2.) It was of God that afterwards their hearts were
turned against the whore, to hate her, and to make her desolate and
naked, and to eat her flesh, and burn her with fire; they shall at
length see their folly, and how they have been bewitched and enslaved by the
papacy, and, out of a just resentment, shall not only fall off from Rome,
but shall be made the instruments of God's providence in her destruction.
