Revelation 17 Commentary

Revelation 17 KJV	Commentary
¹And 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: ²With 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.	17:1-2 The Judgment of the Harlot of Babylon: Chapters 17, 18 and part of 19 deal with the judgment of Babylon the Great. In Revelation 17:1-6 The crimes for which God executes judgment upon the harlot, the Roman Papal system, are enumerated; in 17:7-18 her punishment and the means by which it will come to pass is pronounced. She is called “The Great Whore.” According to Ephesians 5, Jesus is the spiritual husband of the church; therefore if a church unites with or receives favors of one who is not her husband, she commits spiritual adultery. The “kings of the earth” represent civil powers. When churches lose the power of the gospel to transform hearts and lives they turn to the power of the state to support their doctrines and thus they commit spiritual fornication. The “many waters” are the countless people (vs. 15) she has deceived and “made drunk” with her doctrines.
³So 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. ⁴And 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: ⁵And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. ⁶And 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.	17:3-6 The main difference between the beast of Revelation 13 and the combined power represented by the beast and the woman here is that a distinction is made between the religious and political aspects of Papal power. The “scarlet colored beast” represents the governments. The woman—the apostate church—rides upon the beast, symbolizing the church controlling the state. In contrast to the pure church of Revelation 12 this woman is “arrayed in purple and scarlet…with gold” and jewelry. She is a part of “Babylon,” the great city that Satan has set up in opposition to the New Jerusalem of God. The Roman Catholic Church has proudly styled herself as “The Mother Church,” but here she is called “The Mother of Harlots.” From the mother have come the various Protestant denominations which profess to be clean and pure, vehemently rejecting the corruptions of the Catholic Church. But these churches have shown a distressing tendency to follow their mother’s example of sacrificing truth and the approval of God and to seek the power of the state to enforce doctrine, and thus they choose to become harlots with their mother. She is truly “drunk with the blood of the saints.” History records the deeds of the papacy as it used the state to persecute and kill millions of faithful Christians during the Dark Ages. The Catholic Church has disguised herself with humble apologies for these actions, but she has not changed. The same spirit of persecution with again be exhibited against God’s faithful children who will not drink the wine of her corruption just before the second coming of Christ.
⁷And 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. ⁸The 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. ⁹And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. ¹⁰And 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. ¹¹And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.	17:7-11 The beast has “seven heads and ten horns.” The seven heads are said to be “seven mountains on which the woman sitteth” (vs. 9) and “seven kings” (vs.10). These heads are the same as the ones on the dragon of Revelation 12 and the beast of Revelation 13. They represent the great world empires which Satan uses to persecute God’s people. Five of these powers which have been noted in the books of Daniel and Revelation are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Pagan Rome and Papal Rome. At the end of time, the power of Papal Rome is greater than ever, her deadly wound is healed and she again strongly persecutes God’s people as in former years. The revived Roman Catholic Church unites with apostate Protestants and spiritists to form a religious-political entity that is supported by the governments of the world. The historic center of Rome was built on seven hills and has been known since ancient times as the “City of Seven Hills.” The phrase “seven mountains on which the woman sitteth” also serves to link the “woman” with the city of Rome establishing her once again as the Roman Catholic Church.
¹²And 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. ¹³These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. ¹⁴These 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. ¹⁵And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. ¹⁶And 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. ¹⁷For 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. ¹⁸And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.	17:12-18 The “ten horns” are the nations of Europe and all the earth that rally under the banner of Rome. Daniel 7:7, 24; Revelation 16:14. They are also called “The waters…where the whore sitteth” (vs. 15) and “They that dwell on the earth…whose names were not written in the book of life.” See Revelation 13:8. These nations give the end-time church-state alliance, which is Babylon the great, all of their strength to make war against Jesus, the Lamb, and His people who keep God’s commandments and have the faith of Jesus. The nations of the world will support Babylon’s Sunday law. They will enforce her decree, and those who disobey will not be allowed to buy or sell. Ultimately, they support legislation calling for the death of God’s people. Revelation 12:17; 13:11-18; 14:12. However, when Jesus delivers His faithful followers (Revelation 19:11-20) the multitudes who have supported the great whore finally realize that they have been deceived and that they are eternally lost. Enraged, they will turn upon their religious leaders, vs. 16. Thus, by God’s will, the punishment of the harlot of Babylon is carried out in part by her own allies.

Revelation 17 KJV

Commentary

Ahead to Revelation 18