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| Chapter 17 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ And there came one of the seven angels, who had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, "Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment upon the great whore who 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 sitting upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, and having seven heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and bedecked 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, Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth." 6 And I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with great amazement. 7 ¶ And the angel said unto me, "Why dost thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carried 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, whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, shall wonder 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 has 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, yet is one of the seven and goeth into perdition. 12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet, but will receive power as kings for one hour with the beast. 13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. 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 into their hearts to fulfill His will and to agree, and to give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. 18 And the woman whom thou sawest is that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth." |
The Lamb now begins the step by step destruction of "the beast" and his kingdom. Starting with the religious system in this chapter, the "Mystical Babylon." John uses symbolism to help the church understand his record down through the ages. The true church is the "virgin," the Bride of Christ, while the false religion is described as an "harlot" (behaves like a prostitute, available to ‘any man’). v1 John is invited by an angel to watch the destruction of the beasts false worldwide religious system. Four times it is referred to as an "harlot" v1,5,15-16. v2 This "harlot" is guilty of "fornication," "adultery," "idolatry." She has spread her evil influence to the whole world, reaching into the leadership (kings). v3-6 John is taken by the angel into the wilderness where he saw this woman, dressed in red. Red and scarlet were very expensive dyes and could only be afforded and used by the rich. She is decorated with gold, jewels and pearls, holding a golden cup containing evil, and she is drunk with the blood of the saints. She is sitting upon many waters, or people v1,15. When John saw her she was also sitting upon a red coloured beast with seven heads and ten horns. v7-18 The angel explains who and what these are. In v18 the woman is shown to be a city that existed in John’s time, "reigns" is in the present. This city is obviously powerful and rich but is evil, spreading its evil around the world. Persecuting those who belonged to the Lord. v6. Her name involves a "mystery" or hidden truth v5, The mystery is connected to the city Babylon. Babylon was first constructed in Gen 11:1ff by Nimrod and was an attempt by man to defy God. v9-14 tells us that the seven heads of the beast are seven mountains, suggesting Rome which was built on seven hills. Also v10 the seven heads also indicate seven kingdoms, five have pasted, one now exists and a further kingdom is to come for a short period. The five past kingdoms would be, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece. The present being Rome, the future would be the kingdom of the beast, a revival of the Kingdom of Rome. Rev 6:1-2. v11 Confirms that "the beast" existed before, "one of the seven" and when ‘he’ comes will end in hell. The ten horns symbolize ten kings, they will be given power by "the beast" and being of the same attitude and aims will give him support. v16 These ten kings hate religion, even the false religion of the "harlot." They will eventually turn against any kind of religion. They do not want any kind of god, anything greater then mankind cannot exist in their world. They eventually will destroy the false religion and then make war with the Lamb. But the Lamb is Lord of all and so will always win, v14. v17 All these events do not just happen, neither are they under the control of Man. No, these events are all planned and are completely under the control of God. v18 Confirmation that the "great city" is Rome as it was the controlling power during the time of John. |
Easy English Translation
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