Teks -- Revelation 17:1-18 (NET)

The Great Prostitute and the Beast

17:1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. “Come,” he said, “I will show you the condemnation and punishment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, 17:2 with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality and the earth’s inhabitants got drunk with the wine of her immorality.” 17:3 So he carried me away in the Spirit to a wilderness, and there I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 17:4 Now the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet clothing, and adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup filled with detestable things and unclean things from her sexual immorality. 17:5 On her forehead was written a name, a mystery: “Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth.” 17:6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of those who testified to Jesus. I was greatly astounded when I saw her. 17:7 But the angel said to me, “Why are you astounded? I will interpret for you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with the seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 17:8 The beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss and then go to destruction. The inhabitants of the earth– all those whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world– will be astounded when they see that the beast was, and is not, but is to come. 17:9 (This requires a mind that has wisdom.) The seven heads are seven mountains the woman sits on. They are also seven kings: 17:10 five have fallen; one is, and the other has not yet come, but whenever he does come, he must remain for only a brief time. 17:11 The beast that was, and is not, is himself an eighth king and yet is one of the seven, and is going to destruction. 17:12 The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive ruling authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 17:13 These kings have a single intent, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 17:14 They will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those accompanying the Lamb are the called, chosen, and faithful.” 17:15 Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw (where the prostitute is seated) are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. 17:16 The ten horns that you saw, and the beast– these will hate the prostitute and make her desolate and naked. They will consume her flesh and burn her up with fire. 17:17 For God has put into their minds to carry out his purpose by making a decision to give their royal power to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. 17:18 As for the woman you saw, she is the great city that has sovereignty over the kings of the earth.”

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Robertson: Rev 17:1 - I will show thee

I will show thee ( deixō soi ).

Future active of deiknumi . It is fitting that one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls should explain the judgment on Babylon (Rev 16:19) already pronounced (Rev 14:8). That is now done in chapters Rev 17; 18.

Robertson: Rev 17:1 - The judgment of the great harlot

The judgment of the great harlot ( to krima tēs pornēs tēs megalēs ).

The word krima is the one used about the doom of Babylon in Jer 51:9. Already in Rev 14:8 Babylon is called the harlot. Pornēs is the objective genitive, "the judgment on the great harlot."

Robertson: Rev 17:1 - That sitteth upon many waters

That sitteth upon many waters ( tēs kathēmenēs epi hudatōn pollōn ).

Note triple use of the article tēs . In Jer 51:13 we have eph' hudasi pollois (locative in place of genitive as here). Babylon got its wealth by means of the Euphrates and the numerous canals for irrigation. Rome does not have such a system of canals, but this item is taken and applied to the New Babylon in Rev 17:15. Nahum (Nah 3:4) calls Nineveh a harlot, as Isaiah (Isa 23:16.) does Tyre.

Robertson: Rev 17:2 - The kings of the earth

The kings of the earth ( hoi basileis tēs gēs ).

Repeated in Rev 1:5; Rev 6:15; Rev 17:18; Rev 18:3, Rev 18:9; Rev 19:19; Rev 21:24 and "the kings of the inhabited earth"(Rev 16:14) either for human rulers in general or the vassal kings absorbed by the Roman Empire.

Robertson: Rev 17:2 - Committed fornication

Committed fornication ( eporneusan ).

First aorist active indicative of porneuō . "In purchasing the favour of Rome by accepting her suzerainty and with it her vices and idolatries"(Swete).

Robertson: Rev 17:2 - Were made drunken

Were made drunken ( emethusthēsan ).

First aorist passive indicative of methuskō , old verb (from methu ), as in Luk 12:45, here only in the Apocalypse. Cf. Isa 51:7 and pepotiken in Rev 14:8. See Rev 18:3.

Robertson: Rev 17:3 - He carried me away

He carried me away ( apēnegken me ).

Second aorist active indicative of apopherō , to bear away, prophetic aorist. This verb is used of angels at death (Luk 16:22) or in an ecstasy (Rev 21:10 and here).

Robertson: Rev 17:3 - In the Spirit

In the Spirit ( en pneumati ).

Probably his own spirit, though the Holy Spirit is possible (Rev 1:10; Rev 4:2; Rev 21:10), without Paul’ s uncertainty (2Co 12:2). Cf. Eze 3:14.; Eze 8:3; Eze 11:24.

Robertson: Rev 17:3 - Into a wilderness

Into a wilderness ( eis erēmon ).

In Isa 21:1 there is to horama tēs erēmou (the vision of the deserted one, Babylon), and in Isa 14:23 Babylon is called erēmon . John may here picture this to be the fate of Rome or it may be that he himself, in the wilderness (desert) this side of Babylon, sees her fate. In Rev 21:10 he sees the New Jerusalem from a high mountain.

Robertson: Rev 17:3 - Sitting

Sitting ( kathēmenēn ).

Present middle participle of kathēmai as in Rev 17:1. "To manage and guide the beast"(Vincent).

Robertson: Rev 17:3 - Upon a scarlet-coloured beast

Upon a scarlet-coloured beast ( epi thērion kokkinon ).

Accusative with epi here, though genitive in Rev 17:1. Late adjective (from kokkos , a parasite of the ilex coccifera ), a crimson tint for splendour, in Rev 17:3, Rev 17:4; Rev 18:12, Rev 18:16; Mat 27:28; Heb 9:19.

Robertson: Rev 17:3 - Full of names of blasphemy

Full of names of blasphemy ( gemonta onomata blasphēmias ).

See Rev 13:1 for "names of blasphemy"on the seven heads of the beast, but here they cover the whole body of the beast (the first beast of Rev 13:1; Rev 19:20). The harlot city (Rome) sits astride this beast with seven heads and ten horns (Roman world power). The beast is here personified with masculine participles instead of neuter, like thērion (gemonta accusative singular, echōn nominative singular, though some MSS. read echonta ), construction according to sense in both instances. The verb gemō always has the genitive after it in the Apocalypse (Rev 4:6, Rev 4:8; Rev 5:8; Rev 15:7; Rev 17:4; Rev 21:9) save here and apparently once in Rev 17:4.

Robertson: Rev 17:4 - Was arrayed

Was arrayed ( ēn peribeblēmenē ).

Periphrastic past perfect indicative of periballō , to fling round one.

Robertson: Rev 17:4 - In purple and scarlet

In purple and scarlet ( porphuroun kai kokkinon ).

Accusative retained after this passive verb of clothing, as so often. Porphurous is old adjective for purple (from porphura ), in N.T. only here and Joh 19:2, Joh 19:5. See preceding verse for kokkinos .

Robertson: Rev 17:4 - Decked

Decked ( kechrusōmenē ).

Perfect passive participle of chrusoō , old verb, to gild, to adorn with gold, here alone in N.T.

Robertson: Rev 17:4 - With gold and precious stone and pearls

With gold and precious stone and pearls ( chrusiōi kai lithōi timiōi kai margaritais ).

Instrumental case. Chrusiōi is cognate with the participle. Lithōi timiōi is collective (Rev 18:12, Rev 18:16; Rev 21:19). There is a zeugma also with margaritais (Rev 18:12, Rev 18:16; Rev 21:21), for which word see Mat 7:6. Probably John is thinking of the finery of the temple prostitutes in Asia Minor.

Robertson: Rev 17:4 - Full of abominations

Full of abominations ( gemon bdelugmatōn ).

Agreeing with potērion , "cup"(neuter singular accusative). Some MSS. read gemōn (nominative masculine like echōn in Rev 17:3, quite irregular). For bdelugmatōn (genitive after gemon ) see Mat 24:15; (Mar 13:14), common in the lxx for idol worship and its defilements (from bdelussō , to render foul), both ceremonial and moral. See Jer 15:7.

Robertson: Rev 17:4 - Even the unclean things of her fornication

Even the unclean things of her fornication ( kai ta akatharta tēs porneias autēs ).

Either the accusative after gemon as in Rev 17:3 (and full of the unclean things of her fornication) or the object of echousa , like potērion .

Robertson: Rev 17:5 - Upon her forehead a name written

Upon her forehead a name written ( epi to metōpon autēs onoma gegrammenon ).

Roman harlots wore a label with their names on their brows (Seneca, Rhet. I. 2. 7; Juvenal VI. 122f.), and so here. In Rev 19:16 Christ has a name on his garments and on his thigh, while in Rev 14:1; Rev 22:4 the redeemed have the name of God on their foreheads. There is undoubtedly a contrast between this woman here and the woman in chapter Rev 12.

Robertson: Rev 17:5 - Mystery

Mystery ( mustērion ).

Either in apposition with onoma or as part of the inscription on her forehead. In either case the meaning is the same, that the name Babylon is to be interpreted mystically or spiritually (cf. pneumatikōs Rev 11:8) for Rome.

Robertson: Rev 17:5 - The Mother of the Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth

The Mother of the Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth ( Hē Mētēr tōn Pornōn kai tōn Bdelugmatōn tēs Gēs ).

The Metropolis of the Empire is the mother of harlotry and of the world’ s idolatries. Charles quotes Tacitus ( Ann. XV. 44) about Rome as the city " quo cuncta undique atrocia aut pudenda confluunt celebranturque ."

Robertson: Rev 17:6 - Drunken with the blood of the saints

Drunken with the blood of the saints ( methuousan ek tou haimatos tōn hagiōn ).

Present active feminine accusative singular participle of methuō , old verb, to be drunk (Mat 24:49).

Robertson: Rev 17:6 - Of the martyrs of Jesus

Of the martyrs of Jesus ( tōn marturōn Iēsou ).

"Witnesses"(Rev 2:13) for Jesus (objective genitive) unto blood (Rev 16:6; Rev 18:24) and so martyrs in the modern sense of the word. "Drunk with blood"is a common idea with the ancients (Euripides, Josephus, Philo, Cicero, Pliny).

Robertson: Rev 17:6 - With a great wonder

With a great wonder ( thauma mega ).

Cognate accusative with ethaumasa .

Robertson: Rev 17:7 - I will tell thee the mystery

I will tell thee the mystery ( egō erō soi to mustērion ).

The angel gives his interpretation of the woman and the beast (Rev 17:7-18). Erō is the future active of eipon (defective verb), to tell, to say.

Robertson: Rev 17:8 - Was and is not

Was and is not ( ēn kai ouk estin ).

Imperfect and present of eimi , an apparent antithesis to ho ēn kai ho ōn of Rev 1:4. This is a picture of the beast of Rev 13:1. which the woman is riding, but no longer just the empire, but one of the emperors who died (ouk estin , is not).

Robertson: Rev 17:8 - And is about to come up out of the abyss

And is about to come up out of the abyss ( kai mellei anabainein ek tēs abussou ).

That is, he is going to come to life again.

Robertson: Rev 17:8 - And to go into perdition

And to go into perdition ( kai eis apōleian hupagei ).

So (and he goes into perdition) the best MSS. read rather than the infinitive hupagein . Most interpreters see here an allusion to the "Nero redivivus "expectancy realized in Domitian, who was ruling when John wrote and who was called Nero redivivus .

Robertson: Rev 17:8 - Shall wonder

Shall wonder ( thaumasthēsontai ).

First future passive (deponent) of thaumazō , with which compare ethaumasthē in Rev 13:3. John had wondered (ethaumasa ) in Rev 17:6 "with the amazement of a horrible surprise; the world will wonder and admire"(Swete).

Robertson: Rev 17:8 - Whose name

Whose name ( hōn onoma ).

Singular onoma , like ptōma in Rev 11:8. See Rev 13:8 for the same description of those who worship the beast, and see note for discussion of details.

Robertson: Rev 17:8 - When they behold

When they behold ( blepontōn ).

Genitive plural of the present active participle of blepō , agreeing with hōn (genitive relative) rather than with hoi katoikountes (nominative just before hōn ).

Robertson: Rev 17:8 - How that

How that ( hoti ).

"Namely that."

Robertson: Rev 17:8 - He was, and is not, and shall come

He was, and is not, and shall come ( ēn kai ouk estin kai parestai ).

Repetition of what is in Rev 17:7 with parestai (future of pareimi , from which parousia comes) in place of mellei , "parody of the divine name"(Charles) in Rev 1:4, Rev 1:8; Rev 4:8, "as the hellish antitype of Christ."The Neronic Antichrist has also a parousia .

Robertson: Rev 17:9 - Here is the mind which hath wisdom

Here is the mind which hath wisdom ( Hōde ho nous ho echōn sophian ).

"Here is the intelligence which has wisdom"(Charles). A variation of Rev 13:18, but the same idea.

Robertson: Rev 17:9 - Seven mountains

Seven mountains ( hepta orē ).

Rome was known as the city on seven hills (Vergil, Horace, Ovid, Cicero, etc.).

Robertson: Rev 17:9 - On which

On which ( hopou - ep' autōn ).

"Where - upon them."Pleonasm like hopou - ekei in Rev 12:6. In Rev 13:1. it is the beast that has the seven heads, while here the woman riding the beast has seven heads, a slight change in the symbolism, and the heads are further identified as kings.

Robertson: Rev 17:10 - Seven kings

Seven kings ( basileis hepta ).

This is another change in the symbolism. The identification of these seven kings is one of the puzzles of the book.

Robertson: Rev 17:10 - The five are fallen

The five are fallen ( hoi pente epesan ).

Second aorist active indicative of piptō with the ̇an ending. Common for the downfall of kings (Eze 29:5; Eze 30:6; Isa 21:9, etc.). See 2Sa 3:38.

Robertson: Rev 17:10 - The one is

The one is ( ho heis estin ).

The one when this vision is dated.

Robertson: Rev 17:10 - The other is not yet come

The other is not yet come ( ho allos oupō ēlthen ).

Prophetic second aorist active of erchomai . Charles takes this as the date of this "source"or part of the Apocalypse. But John could himself have used this language in the time of Domitian even if he was the one who had not yet come. The difficulty about counting these emperors is that Galba, Otho, Vitellius reigned so briefly that they hardly merit being included.

Robertson: Rev 17:10 - When he cometh

When he cometh ( hotan elthēi ).

Indefinite temporal clause for the future, with hotan and the second aorist active subjunctive of erchomai , "whenever he comes."

Robertson: Rev 17:10 - He must continue a little while

He must continue a little while ( oligon auton dei meinai ).

Swete takes this to be Titus, who died September 13, 81, after a short reign.

Robertson: Rev 17:11 - Is himself also an eighth and is of the seven

Is himself also an eighth and is of the seven ( kai autos ogdoos kai ek tōn hepta ).

This is the angel’ s interpretation and it looks like a reference to Domitian as the eighth, who is regarded as one of the seven because he was considered a second Nero (Nero redivivus ). For ek tōn hepta see Act 21:8. John may have used ek tōn instead of heis ek tōn to avoid absolute identity between Domitian and Nero (Beckwith).

Robertson: Rev 17:11 - And he goeth unto perdition

And he goeth unto perdition ( kai eis apōleian hupagei ).

As in Rev 17:8. "Domitian was assassinated (September 18, 96), after a terrible struggle with his murderers. The tyrant’ s end was a symbol of the end to which the Beast which he personated was hastening"(Swete). Cf. Rev 19:11-21.

Robertson: Rev 17:12 - Which have received no kingdom as yet

Which have received no kingdom as yet ( hoitines basileian oupō elabon ).

Second aorist (proleptic and prophetic) active indicative of lambanō . The heads are emperors and the horns are kings (both called basileis ).

Robertson: Rev 17:12 - As kings

As kings ( hōs basileis ).

Compared to kings (see hōs in Rev 1:10; Rev 4:6; Rev 9:7; Rev 13:3; Rev 14:3; Rev 16:21) without identification with the emperors, though succeeding them with "quasi-imperial powers"with the beast.

Robertson: Rev 17:12 - For one hour

For one hour ( mian hōran ).

Accusative of extent of time, and that a brief time (Rev 18:10, Rev 18:16, Rev 18:19) in comparison with the beast (Rev 13:2).

Robertson: Rev 17:13 - Have one mind

Have one mind ( mian gnōmēn echousin ).

"One purpose"(gnōmē from ginōskō ) as in Act 20:3; 1Co 1:10. The new powers are allies of the beast.

Robertson: Rev 17:13 - They give their power and authority unto the beast

They give their power and authority unto the beast ( tēn dunamin kai tēn exousian autōn tōi thēriōi didoasin ).

Present active indicative of didōmi . Just as the dragon gave both power and authority to the beast (Rev 13:2), so they are wholly at the service of the beast.

Robertson: Rev 17:14 - These

These ( houtoi ).

These ten kings.

Robertson: Rev 17:14 - Shall war against the Lamb

Shall war against the Lamb ( meta tou thēriou polemēsousin ).

Future active of polemeo , to war. As allies of the beast (the servant of the dragon, Rev 12:7) they will wage war with the Lamb (the enemy of the dragon). These kings gather for battle as in Rev 16:13.

Robertson: Rev 17:14 - And the Lamb shall overcome them

And the Lamb shall overcome them ( kai to arnion nikēsei autous ).

Future active of nikaō . This is the glorious outcome, victory by the Lamb over the coalition of kings as against the beast before.

Robertson: Rev 17:14 - For he is Lord of lords and King of kings

For he is Lord of lords and King of kings ( hoti Kurios kuriōn estin kai Basileus basileōn ).

The same words are again descriptive of Christ in Rev 19:16, as of God in Deu 10:17 (God of gods and Lord of lords) and Dan 10:17 (God of gods and Lord of kings). Cf. also 1Ti 6:15; Rev 1:5. Crowned heads are Christ’ s subjects.

Robertson: Rev 17:14 - And they also shall overcome that are with him

And they also shall overcome that are with him ( kai hoi met' autou ).

"And those with him shall also overcome"(supply nikēsousin , not eisin ). They will share in the triumph of the Lamb, as they shared in the conflict. Cf. meta tou thēriou in Rev 17:12.

Robertson: Rev 17:14 - Called and chosen and faithful

Called and chosen and faithful ( klētoi kai eklektoi kai pistoi ).

These are the three notes of those who share in the victory. For klētos and eklektos see Mat 22:14 (contrasted); Rom 8:28.; 2Pe 1:10; Rev 2:10, Rev 2:13. The elect are called and prove faithful.

Robertson: Rev 17:15 - Where the harlot sitteth

Where the harlot sitteth ( hou hē pornos kathētai ).

Relative adverb hou (where) referring to the waters (hudata ) of Rev 17:1 on which the harlot sits. Present middle indicative of kathēmai .

Robertson: Rev 17:15 - Are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues

Are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues ( laoi kai ochloi eisin kai ethnē kai glōssai ).

The O.T. uses "waters"as symbol for "peoples"(Isa 8:7; Jer 47:2; Psa 29:10, etc.). "Rome’ s greatest danger lay in the multitudes which were under her sway"(Swete).

Robertson: Rev 17:16 - These shall hate the harlot

These shall hate the harlot ( houtoi misēsousin tēn pornēn ).

Future active of miseō . Houtoi is resumptive demonstrative pronoun (masculine) referring to the ten horns and the beast (neuter); construction according to sense. The downfall of Rome will come from the sudden change in subject peoples.

Robertson: Rev 17:16 - Shall make her desolate and naked

Shall make her desolate and naked ( ērēmōmenēn poiēsousin autēn kai gumnēn ).

Future active of poieō and perfect passive predicate accusative participle of erēmoō , old verb (from erēmos desolate), again in Rev 18:16, Rev 18:19. Gumnēn (naked) is predicate adjective.

Robertson: Rev 17:16 - Shall eat her flesh

Shall eat her flesh ( tas sarkas autēs phagontai ).

Future middle of the defective verb esthiō , to eat. Note plural sarkas , portions of flesh (Jam 5:3) as in Psa 27:2; Mic 3:3.

Robertson: Rev 17:16 - Shall burn her utterly with fire

Shall burn her utterly with fire ( autēn katakausousin en puri ).

Future active of katakaiō , to burn down (perfective use of kaiō ). John wrote before the days of Alaric, Genseric, Ricimer, Totila, with their hordes which devastated Rome and the west in the fifth and sixth centuries. "No reader of the Decline and Fall can be at a loss for materials which will at once illustrate and justify the general trend of St. John’ s prophecy"(Swete).

Robertson: Rev 17:17 - Did put

Did put ( edōken ).

"Did give"(first aorist active of didōmi .

Robertson: Rev 17:17 - To do his mind

To do his mind ( poiēsai tēn gnōmēn autou ).

Epexegetic first aorist active infinitive of poieō after edōken , as often in this book. They are of one mind (Rev 17:13) because God put them up to it, clear statement of God’ s over-ruling hand among the nations.

Robertson: Rev 17:17 - Until the words of God should be accomplished

Until the words of God should be accomplished ( achri telesthēsontai hoi logoi tou theou ).

Temporal clause about the future with achri (like heōs ), with the future indicative of teleō , but with aorist passive subjunctive telesthōsin in Rev 15:8. For teleō see also Rev 10:7. For "the words of God"see Rev 19:9. They will be fulfilled.

Robertson: Rev 17:18 - The woman

The woman ( hē gunē ).

She is now explained after the beast has been interpreted. Rev 17:9 made it plain enough, but this verse demonstrates that the woman is the city of Rome "which reigneth (hē echousa basileian , the one having a kingdom) over the kings of the earth (epi tōn basileōn tēs gēs )."Rome followed Babylon, and other cities may follow in their train.

Vincent: Rev 17:1 - Sitteth upon many waters

Sitteth upon many waters

Said of Babylon, Jer 51:13; the wealth of Babylon being caused both by the Euphrates and by a vast system of canals. The symbol is interpreted by some commentators as signifying Babylon, by others pagan Rome, Papal Rome, Jerusalem. Dante alludes to this passage in his address to the shade of Pope Nicholas III., in the Bolgia of the Simonists.

" The Evangelist you pastors had in mind,

When she who sitteth upon many waters

To fornicate with kings by him was seen.

The same who with the seven heads was born,

And power and strength from the ten horns received,

So long as virtue to her spouse was pleasing."

" Inferno ," xix ., 106-110 .

Vincent: Rev 17:2 - Have committed fornication

Have committed fornication

The figure of a harlot committing fornication with kings and peoples occurs frequently in the prophets, representing the defection of God's Church and its attachment to others. See Isa 1:21; Jer 2:20; Jer 3:1, Jer 3:6, Jer 3:8; Eze 16:15, Eze 16:16, Eze 16:28, Eze 16:31, Eze 16:35, Eze 16:41; Eze 23:5, Eze 23:19, Eze 23:44; Hos 2:5; Hos 3:3; Hos 4:14. The word is applied to heathen cities in three places only: to Tyre, Isa 23:15, Isa 23:16, Isa 23:17; to Nineveh, Nah 3:4; and here.

Vincent: Rev 17:3 - Sitting

Sitting

To manage and guide the beast.

Vincent: Rev 17:3 - A scarlet-colored beast

A scarlet-colored beast

The same as in Rev 13:1. This beast is ever after mentioned as τὸ θηρίον the beast . For scarlet , see on Mat 27:6.

Vincent: Rev 17:4 - Purple

Purple ( πορφύρουν )

See on Luk 16:19.

Vincent: Rev 17:4 - Decked

Decked ( κεχρυσωμένη )

Lit., gilded .

Vincent: Rev 17:4 - Precious stones

Precious stones ( λίθῳ τιμίῳ )

Lit., precious stone .

Vincent: Rev 17:4 - Golden cup

Golden cup

Compare Jer 51:7.

Vincent: Rev 17:4 - Abominations

Abominations ( βδελυγμάτων )

See on Mat 24:15.

Vincent: Rev 17:5 - Upon her forehead a name

Upon her forehead a name

As was customary with harlots, who had their names inscribed on a ticket. Seneca, addressing a wanton priestess, " Nomen tuum pependit a fronte," thy name hung from thy forehead . See Juvenal, Satire vi., 123 sqq., of the profligate Messalina, " having falsely assumed the ticket of Lycisca."

Vincent: Rev 17:5 - Mystery

Mystery

Some understand this as a part of the name, others as implying that the name is to be interpreted symbolically.

Vincent: Rev 17:5 - Babylon

Babylon

See on 1Pe 5:13. Tertullian, Irenaeus, and Jerome use Babylon as representing the Roman Empire. In the Middle Ages Rome is frequently styled the Western Babylon . The sect of the Fraticelli, an eremitical organization from the Franciscans in the fourteenth century, who carried the vow of poverty to the extreme and taught that they were possessed of the Holy Spirit and exempt from sin - first familiarized the common mind with the notion that Rome was the Babylon, the great harlot of the Apocalypse (see Milligan, " Latin Christianity," Book xii., ch. vi.). On the passage cited from Dante (v. i.), Dean Plumptre remarks: " The words have the interest of being a medieval interpretation of Rev 17:1-15, in which, however, the harlot and the beast seem somewhat strangely blended. The harlot is the corrupted Church of Rome; the seven heads are the seven hills on which the city is built; or perhaps, with an entirely different exegesis, the seven gifts of the Spirit, or the seven sacraments with which that Church had, in its outset, been endowed: the ten horns are the ten commandments. As long as the Church was faithful to her spouse, she had the moral strength which came from those gifts, and the divine law which she represented. When that failed, she became as a harlot, and her whoredom with kings was the symbol of her alliance with secular powers for the oppression of the nations" (On " Inferno," xix., 110).

Vincent: Rev 17:6 - Saints - martyrs

Saints - martyrs

The saints include the martyrs or witnesses, but the latter word emphasizes the testimony of the saints which has been the cause of their death. For martyr ; see on 1Pe 5:1.

Vincent: Rev 17:8 - To go into perdition

To go into perdition ( ὑπάγειν )

Some good texts read ὑπάγει , goeth. For the verb, see on Joh 6:21; see on Joh 8:21.

Vincent: Rev 17:8 - In the book

In the book ( ἐπί )

Lit., upon .

Vincent: Rev 17:8 - From the foundation of the world

From the foundation of the world

In ordinary New Testament Greek these words would belong to are written . construe with the words immediately preceding. Compare Rev 13:8, and Mat 25:34.

Vincent: Rev 17:8 - And yet is

And yet is ( καίπερ ἐστίν )

Read καὶ πάρεσται , and shall come. Lit., shall be present.

Vincent: Rev 17:9 - Here is

Here is ( ὧδε )

Bespeaking attention and spiritual discernment for that which follows. See on Rev 13:18.

Vincent: Rev 17:9 - The mind

The mind ( ὁ νοῦς )

I. Νοῦς is the organ of mental perception and apprehension - of conscious life, the mind , comprising the faculties of perceiving and understanding, of feeling, judging, determining.

(a) The intellectual faculty or understanding (Luk 24:45). So here, according to some.

(b) The reason , regarded as the faculty of perceiving divine things: of recognizing goodness and hating evil (Rom 1:28; Rom 7:23; Eph 4:17).

(c) The power of calm and impartial judgment (2Th 2:2).

II. Νοῦς is a particular mode of thinking and judging: moral consciousness as a habit of mind or opinion . Hence thoughts , feelings , purposes (Rom 14:5; 1Co 1:10). Some render here meaning .

Vincent: Rev 17:9 - Seven mountains

Seven mountains

Many interpreters regard this as conclusively defining the reference of the woman to Rome, which was built upon seven hills. Others deny the local reference, and understand the principle of worldly greatness and ambition. Others again claim that many cities besides Rome can boast of their seven hills, as Constantinople, Brussels, and especially Jerusalem.

Vincent: Rev 17:9 - Upon them

Upon them

Redundant, the idea being already expressed by where . A Hebraism.

Vincent: Rev 17:10 - Are fallen

Are fallen ( ἔπεσαν )

Lit., fell . Constantly used in the Septuagint of the violent fall or overthrow of kings or kingdoms. See Eze 29:5; Eze 30:6; Isa 21:9; Jer 50:15; Jer 51:8.

Vincent: Rev 17:12 - Kings which

Kings which ( οἵτινες )

The compound relative classifying: " of the kind which."

Vincent: Rev 17:13 - Mind

Mind ( γνώμην )

Meaning primarily the faculty of knowing , mind , reason ; then that which is thought or known; opinion , purpose . See Act 20:3; 1Co 7:25; Phm 1:14.

Vincent: Rev 17:13 - Shall give

Shall give ( διαδιδώσουσιν )

διδόασιν , the present tense, give . The force of διά is over; give over .

Vincent: Rev 17:13 - Power and authority

Power and authority ( δύναμιν καὶ ἐξουσίαν )

For the distinction, see on 2Pe 2:11.

Vincent: Rev 17:15 - The waters

The waters

The explanation of the symbol given here is in accordance with Isa 8:7; Psa 18:4, Psa 18:16; Psa 124:4.

Vincent: Rev 17:15 - Peoples and multitudes, etc

Peoples and multitudes, etc.

See on 1Pe 2:9; see on Mar 12:37.

Vincent: Rev 17:16 - Upon the beast

Upon the beast ( ἐπί )

Read καὶ and: " the ten horns - and the beast."

Vincent: Rev 17:16 - Desolate

Desolate ( ἠρημωμένην )

Lit., desolated , the verb being in the perfect participle.

Vincent: Rev 17:16 - Shall eat her flesh

Shall eat her flesh

A token of extreme hostility. See Psa 27:2; Mic 3:3. Xenophon, speaking of the hatred between the pure Spartans and the Helots, says that no one of the pure Spartans could conceal his readiness to eat the Helot raw. Notice the plural σάρκας flesh , and see on Jam 5:3.

Vincent: Rev 17:16 - Burn

Burn ( κατακαύσουσιν )

Rev., giving the force of κατά down , burn utterly . According to some interpreters the figure is changed from the woman to a city; but this is unnecessary, as the language is probably taken from the punishment of fornication on the part of a priest's daughter (Lev 21:9; compare Lev 20:14).

Vincent: Rev 17:17 - Hath put

Hath put ( ἔδωκεν )

Rev., with stricter rendering of the aorist, did put . Lit., did give .

Vincent: Rev 17:17 - To fulfill His will

To fulfill His will ( ποιῆσαι τὴν γνώμην αὐτοῦ )

See on Rev 17:13. Rev., more literally, to do his mind .

Vincent: Rev 17:17 - To agree

To agree ( ποιήσαι μίαν γνώμην )

Lit., to make one mind . Rev., come to one mind .

Vincent: Rev 17:17 - The words

The words ( τὰ ῥήματα )

But read οἱ λόγοι the prophetic words . For the distinction, see on Luk 1:37.

Vincent: Rev 17:18 - Reigneth

Reigneth ( ἔχουσα βαοιλείαν )

Lit., hath a kingdom .

Wesley: Rev 17:1 - And there came one of the seven angels, saying, Come hither

This relation concerning the great whore, and that concerning the wife of the Lamb, Rev 21:9-10, have the same introduction, in token of the exact opposition between them.

Wesley: Rev 17:1 - I will show thee the judgment of the great whore

Which is now circumstantially described.

Wesley: Rev 17:1 - That sitteth as a queen

In pomp, power, ease, and luxury.

Wesley: Rev 17:1 - Upon many waters

Many people and nations, Rev 17:15.

Wesley: Rev 17:2 - With whom the kings of the earth

Both ancient and modern, for many ages.

Wesley: Rev 17:2 - Have committed fornication

By partaking of her idolatry and various wickedness.

Wesley: Rev 17:2 - And the inhabitants of the earth

The common people.

Wesley: Rev 17:2 - Have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication

No wine can more thoroughly intoxicate those who drink it, than false zeal does the followers of the great whore.

Wesley: Rev 17:3 - And he carried me away

In the vision.

Wesley: Rev 17:3 - Into a wilderness

The campagna di Roma, the country round about Rome, is now a wilderness, compared to what it was once.

Wesley: Rev 17:3 - And I saw a woman

Both the scripture and other writers frequently represent a city under this emblem.

Wesley: Rev 17:3 - Sitting upon a scarlet wild beast

The same which is described in Rev. 13:1-18. But he was there described as he carried on his own designs only: here, as he is connected with the whore. There is, indeed, a very close connexion between them; the seven heads of the beast being "seven hills on which the woman sitteth." And yet there is a very remarkable difference between them, - between the papal power and the city of Rome. This woman is the city of Rome, with its buildings and inhabitants; especially the nobles. The beast, which is now scarlet - coloured, (bearing the bloody livery, as well as the person, of the woman,) appears very different from before. Therefore St. John says at first sight, I saw a beast, not the beast, full of names of blasphemy - He had' before "a name of blasphemy upon his head," Rev 13:1; now he has many. From the time of Hildebrand, the blasphemous titles of the Pope have been abundantly multiplied.

Wesley: Rev 17:3 - Having seven heads

Which reach in a succession from his ascent out of the sea to his being cast into the lake of fire.

Wesley: Rev 17:3 - And ten horns

Which are contemporary with each other, and belong to his last period.

Wesley: Rev 17:4 - And the woman was arrayed

With the utmost pomp and magnificence.

Wesley: Rev 17:4 - In purple and scarlet

These were the colours of the imperial habit: the purple, in times of peace; and the scarlet, in times of war.

Wesley: Rev 17:4 - Having in her hand a golden cup

Like the ancient Babylon, Jer 51:7.

Wesley: Rev 17:4 - Full of abominations

The most abominable doctrines as well as practices.

Wesley: Rev 17:5 - And on her forehead a name written

Whereas the saints have the name of God and the Lamb on their foreheads.

Wesley: Rev 17:5 - Mystery

This very word was inscribed on the front of the Pope's mitre, till some of the Reformers took public notice of it.

Wesley: Rev 17:5 - Babylon the great

Benedict XIII., in his proclamation of the jubilee, A.D. 1725, explains this sufficiently. His words are, "To this holy city, famous for the memory of so many holy martyrs, run with religious alacrity. Hasten to the place which the Lord hath chose. Ascend to this new Jerusalem, whence the law of the Lord and the light of evangelical truth hath flowed forth into all nations, from the very first beginning of the church: the city most rightfully called 'The Palace,' placed for the pride of all ages, the city of the Lord, the Sion of the Holy One of Israel. This catholic and apostolical Roman church is the head of the world, the mother of all believers, the faithful interpreter of God and mistress of all churches." But God somewhat varies the style.

Wesley: Rev 17:5 - The mother of harlots

The parent, ringleader, patroness, and nourisher of many daughters, that losely copy after her.

Wesley: Rev 17:5 - And abominations

Of every kind, spiritual and fleshly.

Wesley: Rev 17:5 - Of the earth

In all lands. In this respect she is indeed catholic or universal.

Wesley: Rev 17:6 - And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints

So that Rome may well be called, "The slaughter - house of the martyrs." She hath shed much Christian blood in every age; but at length she is even drunk with it, at the time to which this vision refers.

Wesley: Rev 17:6 - The witnesses of Jesus

The preachers of his word.

Wesley: Rev 17:6 - And I wondered exceedingly

At her cruelty and the patience of God.

Wesley: Rev 17:7 - I will tell thee the mystery

The hidden meaning of this.

Wesley: Rev 17:8 - The beast which thou sawest (namely, Rev 17:3) was, &c.

_This is a very observable and punctual description of the beast, Rev 17:8, Rev 17:10-11. His whole duration is here divided into three periods, which are expressed in a fourfold manner. He, 1. Was; 2 And is not; 3. And will ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition. He, 1. Was; 2. And is not; 3. And will be again. The seven heads are seven hills and seven kings: 1. Five are fallen; 2. One is; 3. The other is not come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. He, 1. Was; 2. And is not; 3 Even he is the eighth, and is one of the seven, and goeth into perdition. The first of these three is described in Rev. 13:1-18. This was past when the angel spoke to St. John. The second was then in its course; the third woe to come.

Wesley: Rev 17:8 - And is not

The fifth phial brought darkness upon his kingdom: the woman took this advantage to seat herself upon him. Then it might be said, He is not.

Wesley: Rev 17:8 - Yet shall he afterwards ascend out of the bottomless pit

Arise again with diabolical strength and fury. But he will not reign long: soon after his ascent he goeth into perdition for ever.

Wesley: Rev 17:9 - Here is the mind that hath wisdom

Only those who are wise will understand this. The seven heads are seven hills.

Wesley: Rev 17:10 - And they are seven kings

Anciently there were royal palaces on all the seven Roman bills. These were the Palatine, Capitoline, Coelian, Exquiline, Viminal, Quirinal, Aventine hills. But the prophecy respects the seven hills at the time of the beast, when the Palatine was deserted and the Vatican in use. Not that the seven heads mean hills distinct from kings; but they have a compound meaning, implying both together. Perhaps the first head of the beast is the Coelian hill, and on it the Lateran, with Gregory VII. and his successors; the second, the Vatican with the church of St. Peter, chosen by Boniface VIII. the third, the Quirinal, with the church of St. Mark, and the Quirinal palace built by Paul II. and the fourth, the Exquiline hill, with the temple of St. Maria Maggiore, where Paul V. reigned. The fifth will be added hereafter. Accordingly, in the papal register, four periods are observable since Gregory VII. In the first almost all the bulls made in the city are dated in the Lateran; in the second, at St. Peter's; in the third, at St. Mark's, or in the Quirinal; in the fourth, at St. Maria Maggiore. But no fifth, sixth, or seventh hill has yet been the residence of any Pope. Not that the hill was deserted, when another was made the papal residence; but a new one was added to the other sacred palaces. Perhaps the times hitherto mentioned might be fixed thus: 1058 Wings are given to the woman. 1077 The beast ascends out of the sea.

Wesley: Rev 17:10 - 1143 The forty

two months begin.

Wesley: Rev 17:10 - 1810 The forty

two months end. 1832 The beast ascends out of the bottomless pit. 1836 The beast finally overthrown.

JFB: Rev 17:1 - unto me

A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic omit.

JFB: Rev 17:1 - many

So A. But B, "the many waters" (Jer 51:13); Rev 17:15, below, explains the sense. The whore is the apostate Church, just as "the woman" (Rev 12:1-6) is the Church while faithful. Satan having failed by violence, tries too successfully to seduce her by the allurements of the world; unlike her Lord, she was overcome by this temptation; hence she is seen sitting on the scarlet-colored beast, no longer the wife, but the harlot; no longer Jerusalem, but spiritually Sodom (Rev 11:8).

JFB: Rev 17:2 - drunk with

Greek, "owing to." It cannot be pagan Rome, but papal Rome, if a particular seat of error be meant, but I incline to think that the judgment (Rev 18:2) and the spiritual fornication (Rev 18:3), though finding their culmination in Rome, are not restricted to it, but comprise the whole apostate Church, Roman, Greek, and even Protestant, so far as it has been seduced from its "first love" (Rev 2:4) to Christ, the heavenly Bridegroom, and given its affections to worldly pomps and idols. The woman (Rev 12:1) is the congregation of God in its purity under the Old and New Testament, and appears again as the Bride of the Lamb, the transfigured Church prepared for the marriage feast. The woman, the invisible Church, is latent in the apostate Church, and is the Church militant; the Bride is the Church triumphant.

JFB: Rev 17:3 - the wilderness

Contrast her in Rev 12:6, Rev 12:14, having a place in the wilderness-world, but not a home; a sojourner here, looking for the city to come. Now, on the contrary, she is contented to have her portion in this moral wilderness.

JFB: Rev 17:3 - upon a scarlet . . . beast

The same as in Rev 13:1, who there is described as here, "having seven heads and ten horns (therein betraying that he is representative of the dragon, Rev 12:3), and upon his heads names (so the oldest manuscripts read) of blasphemy"; compare also Rev 17:12-14, below, with Rev 19:19-20, and Rev 17:13-14, Rev 17:16. Rome, resting on the world power and ruling it by the claim of supremacy, is the chief, though not the exclusive, representative of this symbol. As the dragon is fiery-red, so the beast is blood-red in color; implying its blood-guiltiness, and also deep-dyed sin. The scarlet is also the symbol of kingly authority.

JFB: Rev 17:3 - full

All over; not merely "on his heads," as in Rev 13:1, for its opposition to God is now about to develop itself in all its intensity. Under the harlot's superintendence, the world power puts forth blasphemous pretensions worse than in pagan days. So the Pope is placed by the cardinals in God's temple on the altar to sit there, and the cardinals kiss the feet of the Pope. This ceremony is called in Romish writers "the adoration." [Historie de Clerge, Amsterd., 1716; and LETTENBURGH'S Notitia Curiæ Romanæ, 1683, p. 125; HEIDEGGER, Myst. Bab., 1, 511, 514, 537]; a papal coin [Numismata Pontificum, Paris, 1679, p. 5] has the blasphemous legend, "Quem creant, adorant." Kneeling and kissing are the worship meant by John's word nine times used in respect to the rival of God (Greek, "proskunein"). Abomination, too, is the scriptural term for an idol, or any creature worshipped with the homage due to the Creator. Still, there is some check on the God-opposed world power while ridden by the harlot; the consummated Antichrist will be when, having destroyed her, the beast shall be revealed as the concentration and incarnation of all the self-deifying God-opposed principles which have appeared in various forms and degrees heretofore. "The Church has gained outward recognition by leaning on the world power which in its turn uses the Church for its own objects; such is the picture here of Christendom ripe for judgment" [AUBERLEN]. The seven heads in the view of many are the seven successive forms of government of Rome: kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, military tribunes, emperors, the German emperors [WORDSWORTH], of whom Napoleon is the successor (Rev 17:11). But see the view given, see on Rev 17:9-10, which I prefer. The crowns formerly on the ten horns (Rev 13:1) have now disappeared, perhaps an indication that the ten kingdoms into which the Germanic-Slavonic world [the old Roman empire, including the East as well as the West, the two legs of the image with five toes on each, that is, ten in all] is to be divided, will lose their monarchical form in the end [AUBERLEN]; but see Rev 17:12, which seems to imply crowned kings.

JFB: Rev 17:4

The color scarlet, it is remarkable, is that reserved for popes and cardinals. Paul II made it penal for anyone but cardinals to wear hats of scarlet; compare Roman Ceremonial [3.5.5]. This book was compiled several centuries ago by MARCELLUS, a Romish archbishop, and dedicated to Leo X. In it are enumerated five different articles of dress of scarlet color. A vest is mentioned studded with pearls. The Pope's miter is of gold and precious stones. These are the very characteristics outwardly which Revelation thrice assigns to the harlot or Babylon. So Joachim an abbot from Calabria, about A.D. 1200, when asked by Richard of England, who had summoned him to Palestine, concerning Antichrist, replied that "he was born long ago at Rome, and is now exalting himself above all that is called God." ROGER HOVEDEN [Annals, 1.2], and elsewhere, wrote, "The harlot arrayed in gold is the Church of Rome." Whenever and wherever (not in Rome alone) the Church, instead of being "clothed (as at first, Rev 12:1) with the sun" of heaven, is arrayed in earthly meretricious gauds, compromising the truth of God through fear, or flattery, of the world's power, science, or wealth, she becomes the harlot seated on the beast, and doomed in righteous retribution to be judged by the beast (Rev 17:16). Soon, like Rome, and like the Jews of Christ's and the apostles' time leagued with the heathen Rome, she will then become the persecutor of the saints (Rev 17:6). Instead of drinking her Lord's "cup" of suffering, she has "a cup full of abominations and filthinesses." Rome, in her medals, represents herself holding a cup with the self-condemning inscription, "Sedet super universum." Meanwhile the world power gives up its hostility and accepts Christianity externally; the beast gives up its God-opposed character, the woman gives up her divine one. They meet halfway by mutual concessions; Christianity becomes worldly, the world becomes Christianized. The gainer is the world; the loser is the Church. The beast for a time receives a deadly wound (Rev 13:3), but is not really transfigured; he will return worse than ever (Rev 17:11-14). The Lord alone by His coming can make the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ. The "purple" is the badge of empire; even as in mockery it was put on our Lord.

JFB: Rev 17:4 - decked

Literally, "gilded."

JFB: Rev 17:4 - stones

Greek, "stone."

JFB: Rev 17:4 - filthiness

A, B, and ANDREAS read, "the filthy (impure) things."

JFB: Rev 17:5 - upon . . . forehead . . . name

As harlots usually had. What a contrast to "HOLINESS TO THE LORD," inscribed on the miter on the high priest's forehead!

JFB: Rev 17:5 - mystery

Implying a spiritual fact heretofore hidden, and incapable of discovery by mere reason, but now revealed. As the union of Christ and the Church is a "great mystery" (a spiritual truth of momentous interest, once hidden, now revealed, Eph 5:31-32), so the Church conforming to the world and thereby becoming a harlot is a counter "mystery" (or spiritual truth, symbolically now revealed). As iniquity in the harlot is a leaven working in "mystery," and therefore called "the mystery of iniquity," so when she is destroyed, the iniquity heretofore working (comparatively) latently in her, shall be revealed in the man of iniquity, the open embodiment of all previous evil. Contrast the "mystery of God" and "godliness," Rev 10:7; 1Ti 3:16. It was Rome that crucified Christ; that destroyed Jerusalem and scattered the Jews; that persecuted the early Christians in pagan times, and Protestant Christians in papal times; and probably shall be again restored to its pristine grandeur, such as it had under the Cæsars, just before the burning of the harlot and of itself with her. So HIPPOLYTUS [On Antichrist] (who lived in the second century), thought. Popery cannot be at one and the same time the "mystery of iniquity," and the manifested or revealed Antichrist. Probably it will compromise for political power (Rev 17:3) the portion of Christianity still in its creed, and thus shall prepare the way for Antichrist's manifestation. The name Babylon, which in the image, Dan 2:32, Dan 2:38, is given to the head, is here given to the harlot, which marks her as being connected with the fourth kingdom, Rome, the last part of the image. Benedict XIII, in his indiction for a jubilee, A.D. 1725, called Rome "the mother of all believers, and the mistress of all churches" (harlots like herself). The correspondence of syllables and accents in Greek is striking; "He porne kai to therion; He numphe kai to arnion." "The whore and the beast; the Bride and the Lamb."

JFB: Rev 17:5 - of harlots

Greek, "of the harlots and of the abominations." Not merely Rome, but Christendom as a whole, even as formerly Israel as a whole, has become a harlot. The invisible Church of true believers is hidden and dispersed in the visible Church. The boundary lines which separate harlot and woman are not denominational nor drawn externally, but can only be spiritually discerned. If Rome were the only seat of Babylon, much of the spiritual profit of Revelation would be lost to us; but the harlot "sitteth upon many waters" (Rev 17:1), and "ALL nations have drunk of the wine of her fornication" (Rev 17:2; Rev 18:3; "the earth," Rev 19:2). External extensiveness over the whole world and internal conformity to the world--worldliness in extent and contents--is symbolized by the name of the world city, "Babylon." As the sun shines on all the earth, thus the woman clothed with the sun is to let her light penetrate to the uttermost parts of the earth. But she, in externally Christianizing the world, permits herself to be seduced by the world; thus her universality or catholicity is not that of the Jerusalem which we look for ("the MOTHER of us all," Rev 21:2; Isa 2:2-4; Gal 4:26), but that of Babylon, the world-wide but harlot city! (As Babylon was destroyed, and the Jews restored to Jerusalem by Cyrus, so our Cyrus--a Persian name meaning the sun--the Sun of righteousness, shall bring Israel, literal and spiritual, to the holy Jerusalem at His coming. Babylon and Jerusalem are the two opposite poles of the spiritual world). Still, the Romish Church is not only accidentally and as a matter of fact, but in virtue of its very PRINCIPLE, a harlot, the metropolis of whoredom, "the mother of harlots"; whereas the evangelical Protestant Church is, according to her principle and fundamental creed, a chaste woman; the Reformation was a protest of the woman against the harlot. The spirit of the heathen world kingdom Rome had, before the Reformation, changed the Church in the West into a Church-State, Rome; and in the East, into a State-Church, fettered by the world power, having its center in Byzantium; the Roman and Greek churches have thus fallen from the invisible spiritual essence of the Gospel into the elements of the world [AUBERLEN]. Compare with the "woman" called "Babylon" here, the woman named "wickedness," or "lawlessness," "iniquity" (Zec 5:7-8, Zec 5:11), carried to Babylon: compare "the mystery of iniquity" and "the man of sin," "that wicked one," literally, "the lawless one" (2Th 2:7-8; also Mat 24:12).

JFB: Rev 17:6 - martyrs

Witnesses.

JFB: Rev 17:6 - I wondered with great admiration

As the Greek is the same in the verb and the noun, translate the latter "wonder." John certainly did not admire her in the modern English sense. Elsewhere (Rev 17:8; Rev 13:3), all the earthly-minded ("they that dwell on the earth") wonder in admiration of the beast. Here only is John's wonder called forth; not the beast, but the woman sunken into the harlot, the Church become a world-loving apostate, moves his sorrowful astonishment at so awful a change. That the world should be beastly is natural, but that the faithful bride should become the whore is monstrous, and excites the same amazement in him as the same awful change in Israel excited in Isaiah and Jeremiah. "Horrible thing" in them answers to "abominations" here. "Corruptio optimi pessima"; when the Church falls, she sinks lower than the godless world, in proportion as her right place is higher than the world. It is striking that in Rev 17:3, "woman" has not the article, "the woman," as if she had been before mentioned: for though identical in one sense with the woman, Rev 12:1-6, in another sense she is not. The elect are never perverted into apostates, and still remain as the true woman invisibly contained in the harlot; yet Christendom regarded as the woman has apostatized from its first faith.

JFB: Rev 17:8 - beast . . . was, and is not

(Compare Rev 17:11). The time when the beast "is not" is the time during which it has "the deadly wound"; the time of the seventh head becoming Christian externally, when its beast-like character was put into suspension temporarily. The healing of its wound answers to its ascending out of the bottomless pit. The beast, or Antichristian world power, returns worse than ever, with satanic powers from hell (Rev 11:7), not merely from the sea of convulsed nations (Rev 13:1). Christian civilization gives the beast only a temporary wound, whence the deadly wound is always mentioned in connection with its being healed up the non-existence of the beast in connection with its reappearance; and Daniel does not even notice any change in the world power effected by Christianity. We are endangered on one side by the spurious Christianity of the harlot, on the other by the open Antichristianity of the beast; the third class is Christ's little flock."

JFB: Rev 17:8 - go

So B, Vulgate, and ANDREAS read the future tense. But A and IRENÆUS, "goeth."

JFB: Rev 17:8 - into perdition

The continuance of this revived seventh (that is, the eighth) head is short: it is therefore called "the son of perdition," who is essentially doomed to it almost immediately after his appearance.

JFB: Rev 17:8 - names were

So Vulgate and ANDREAS. But A, B, Syriac, and Coptic read the singular, "name is."

JFB: Rev 17:8 - written in

Greek, "upon."

JFB: Rev 17:8 - which

Rather, "when they behold the beast that it was," &c. So Vulgate.

JFB: Rev 17:8 - was, and is not, and yet is

A, B, and ANDREAS read, "and shall come" (literally, "be present," namely, again: Greek, "kai parestai"). The Hebrew, "tetragrammaton," or sacred four letters in Jehovah, "who is, who was, and who is to come," the believer's object of worship, has its contrasted counterpart in the beast "who was, and is not, and shall be present," the object of the earth's worship [BENGEL]. They exult with wonder in seeing that the beast which had seemed to have received its death blow from Christianity, is on the eve of reviving with greater power than ever on the ruins of that religion which tormented them (Rev 11:10).

JFB: Rev 17:9

Compare Rev 13:18; Dan 12:10, where similarly spiritual discernment is put forward as needed in order to understand the symbolical prophecy.

JFB: Rev 17:9 - seven heads and seven mountains

The connection between mountains and kings must be deeper than the mere outward fact to which incidental allusion is made, that Rome (the then world city) is on seven hills (whence heathen Rome had a national festival called Septimontium, the feast of the seven-hilled city [PLUTARCH]; and on the imperial coins, just as here, she is represented as a woman seated on seven hills. Coin of Vespasian, described by CAPTAIN SMYTH [Roman Coins, p. 310; ACKERMAN, 1, p. 87]). The seven heads can hardly be at once seven kings or kingdoms (Rev 17:10), and seven geographical mountains. The true connection is, as the head is the prominent part of the body, so the mountain is prominent in the land. Like "sea" and "earth"and "waters . . . peoples" (Rev 17:15), so "mountains" have a symbolical meaning, namely, prominent seats of power. Especially such as are prominent hindrances to the cause of God (Psa 68:16-17; Isa 40:4; Isa 41:15; Isa 49:11; Eze 35:2); especially Babylon (which geographically was in a plain, but spiritually is called a destroying mountain, Jer 51:25), in majestic contrast to which stands Mount Zion, "the mountain of the Lord's house" (Isa 2:2), and the heavenly mount; Rev 21:10, "a great and high mountain . . . and that great city, the holy Jerusalem." So in Dan 2:35, the stone becomes a mountain--Messiah's universal kingdom supplanting the previous world kingdoms. As nature shadows forth the great realities of the spiritual world, so seven-hilled Rome is a representative of the seven-headed world power of which the dragon has been, and is the prince. The "seven kings" are hereby distinguished from the "ten kings" (Rev 17:12): the former are what the latter are not, "mountains," great seats of the world power. The seven universal God-opposed monarchies are Egypt (the first world power which came into collision with God's people,) Assyria, Babylon, Greece, Medo-Persia, Rome, the Germanic-Slavonic empire (the clay of the fourth kingdom mixed with its iron in Nebuchadnezzar's image, a fifth material, Dan 2:33-34, Dan 2:42-43, symbolizing this last head). These seven might seem not to accord with the seven heads in Dan 7:4-7, one head on the first beast (Babylon), one on the second (Medo-Persia), four on the third (Greece; namely, Egypt, Syria, Thrace with Bithynia, and Greece with Macedon): but Egypt and Greece are in both lists. Syria answers to Assyria (from which the name Syria is abbreviated), and Thrace with Bithynia answers to the Gothic-Germanic-Slavonic hordes which, pouring down on Rome from the North, founded the Germanic-Slavonic empire. The woman sitting on the seven hills implies the Old and New Testament Church conforming to, and resting on, the world power, that is, on all the seven world kingdoms. Abraham and Isaac dissembling as to their wives through fear of the kings of Egypt foreshadowed this. Compare Eze. 16:1-63; Eze. 23:1-49, on Israel's whoredoms with Egypt, Assyria, Babylon; and Mat 7:24; Mat 24:10-12, Mat 24:23-26, on the characteristics of the New Testament Church's harlotry, namely, distrust, suspicion, hatred, treachery, divisions into parties, false doctrine.

JFB: Rev 17:10 - there are

Translate, "they (the seven heads) are seven kings."

JFB: Rev 17:10 - five . . . one

Greek, "the five . . . the one"; the first five of the seven are fallen (a word applicable not to forms of government passing away, but to the fall of once powerful empires: Egypt, Eze. 29:1-30:26; Assyria and Nineveh, Nah. 3:1-19; Babylon, Rev 18:2; Jer. 50:1-51:64; Medo-Persia, Dan 8:3-7, Dan 8:20-22; Dan 10:13; Dan 11:2; Greece, Dan 11:4). Rome was "the one" existing in John's days. "Kings" is the Scripture phrase for kingdoms, because these kingdoms are generally represented in character by some one prominent head, as Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, Medo-Persia by Cyrus, Greece by Alexander, &c.

JFB: Rev 17:10 - the other is not yet come

Not as ALFORD, inaccurately representing AUBERLEN, the Christian empire beginning with Constantine; but, the Germanic-Slavonic empire beginning and continuing in its beast-like, that is, HEATHEN Antichristian character for only "a short space." The time when it is said of it, "it is not" (Rev 17:11), is the time during which it is "wounded to death," and has the "deadly wound" (Rev 13:3). The external Christianization of the migrating hordes from the North which descended on Rome, is the wound to the beast answering to the earth swallowing up the flood (heathen tribes) sent by the dragon, Satan, to drown the woman, the Church. The emphasis palpably is on "a short space," which therefore comes first in the Greek, not on "he must continue," as if his continuance for some [considerable] time were implied, as ALFORD wrongly thinks. The time of external Christianization (while the beast's wound continues) has lasted for centuries, ever since Constantine. Rome and the Greek Church have partially healed the wound by image worship.

JFB: Rev 17:11 - beast that . . . is not

His beastly character being kept down by outward Christianization of the state until he starts up to life again as "the eighth" king, his "wound being healed" (Rev 13:3), Antichrist manifested in fullest and most intense opposition to God. The "he" is emphatic in the Greek. He, peculiarly and pre-eminently: answering to "the little horn" with eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things, before whom three of the ten horns were plucked up by the roots, and to whom the whole ten "give their power and strength" (Rev 17:12-13, Rev 17:17). That a personal Antichrist will stand at the head of the Antichristian kingdom, is likely from the analogy of Antiochus Epiphanes, the Old Testament Antichrist, "the little horn" in Dan 8:9-12; also, "the man of sin, son of perdition" (2Th 2:3-8), answers here to "goeth into perdition," and is applied to an individual, namely, Judas, in the only other passage where the phrase occurs (Joh 17:12). He is essentially a child of destruction, and hence he has but a little time ascended out of the bottomless pit, when he "goes into perdition" (Rev 17:8, Rev 17:11). "While the Church passes through death of the flesh to glory of the Spirit, the beast passes through the glory of the flesh to death" [AUBERLEN].

JFB: Rev 17:11 - is of the seven

Rather "springs out of the seven." The eighth is not merely one of the seven restored, but a new power or person proceeding out of the seven, and at the same time embodying all the God-opposed features of the previous seven concentrated and consummated; for which reason there are said to be not eight, but only seven heads, for the eighth is the embodiment of all the seven. In the birth-pangs which prepare the "regeneration" there are wars, earthquakes, and disturbances [AUBERLEN], wherein Antichrist takes his rise ("sea," Rev 13:1; Mar 13:8; Luk 21:9-11). He does not fall like the other seven (Rev 17:10), but is destroyed, going to his own perdition, by the Lord in person.

JFB: Rev 17:12 - ten kings . . . received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings . . . with the beast

Hence and from Rev 17:14, Rev 17:16, it seems that these ten kings or kingdoms, are to be contemporaries with the beast in its last or eighth form, namely, Antichrist. Compare Dan 2:34, Dan 2:44, "the stone smote the image upon his feet," that is, upon the ten toes, which are, in Dan 2:41-44, interpreted to be "kings." The ten kingdoms are not, therefore, ten which arose in the overthrow of Rome (heathen), but are to rise out of the last state of the fourth kingdom under the eighth head. I agree with ALFORD that the phrase "as kings," implies that they reserve their kingly rights in their alliance with the beast, wherein "they give their power and strength unto" him (Rev 17:13). They have the name of kings, but not with undivided kingly power [WORDSWORTH]. See AUBERLEN'S not so probable view, see on Rev 17:3.

JFB: Rev 17:12 - one hour

A definite time of short duration, during which "the devil is come down to the inhabitant of the earth and of the sea, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." Probably the three and a half years (Rev 11:2-3; Rev 13:5). Antichrist is in existence long before the fall of Babylon; but it is only at its fail he obtains the vassalage of the ten kings. He in the first instance imposes on the Jews as the Messiah, coming in his own name; then persecutes those of them who refuse his blasphemous pretensions. Not until the sixth vial, in the latter part of his reign, does he associate the ten kings with him in war with the Lamb, having gained them over by the aid of the spirits of devils working miracles. His connection with Israel appears from his sitting "in the temple of God" (2Th 2:4), and as the antitypical "abomination of desolation standing in the Holy place" (Dan 9:27; Dan 12:11; Mat 24:15), and "in the city where our Lord was crucified" (Rev 11:8). It is remarkable that IRENÆUS [Against Heresies, 5:25] and CYRIL OF JERUSALEM [RUFINUS, Historia Monachorum, 10.37] prophesied that Antichrist would have his seat at Jerusalem and would restore the kingdom of the Jews. JULIAN the apostate, long after, took part with the Jews, and aided in building their temple, herein being Antichrist's forerunner.

JFB: Rev 17:13 - one mind

One sentiment.

JFB: Rev 17:13 - shall give

So Coptic. But A, B, and Syriac, "give."

JFB: Rev 17:13 - strength

Greek, "authority." They become his dependent allies (Rev 17:14). Thus Antichrist sets up to be King of kings, but scarcely has he put forth his claim when the true KING OF KINGS appears and dashes him down in a moment to destruction.

JFB: Rev 17:14 - These shall . . . war with the Lamb

In league with the beast. This is a summary anticipation of Rev 19:19. This shall not be till after they have first executed judgment on the harlot (Rev 17:15-16).

JFB: Rev 17:14 - Lord of lords, &c.

Anticipating Rev 19:16.

JFB: Rev 17:14 - are

Not in the Greek. Therefore translate, "And they that are with Him, called chosen, and faithful (shall overcome them, namely, the beast and his allied kings)." These have been with Christ in heaven unseen, but now appear with Him.

JFB: Rev 17:15

(Rev 17:1; Isa 8:7.) An impious parody of Jehovah who "sitteth upon the flood" [ALFORD]. Also, contrast the "many waters" Rev 19:6, "Alleluia."

JFB: Rev 17:15 - peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues

The "peoples," &c., here mark the universality of the spiritual fornication of the Church. The "tongues" remind us of the original Babel, the confusion of tongues, the beginning of Babylon, and the first commencement of idolatrous apostasy after the flood, as the tower was doubtless dedicated to the deified heavens. Thus, Babylon is the appropriate name of the harlot. The Pope, as the chief representative of the harlot, claims a double supremacy over all peoples, typified by the "two swords" according to the interpretation of Boniface VIII in the Bull, "Unam Sanctam," and represented by the two keys: spiritual as the universal bishop, whence he is crowned with the miter; and temporal, whence he is also crowned with the tiara in token of his imperial supremacy. Contrast with the Pope's diadems the "many diadems" of Him who alone has claim to, and shall exercise when He shall come, the twofold dominion (Rev 19:12).

JFB: Rev 17:16 - upon the beast

But A, B, Vulgate, and Syriac read, "and the beast."

JFB: Rev 17:16 - shall make her desolate

Having first dismounted her from her seat on the beast (Rev 17:3).

JFB: Rev 17:16 - naked

Stripped of all her gaud (Rev 17:4). As Jerusalem used the world power to crucify her Saviour, and then was destroyed by that very power, Rome; so the Church, having apostatized to the world, shall have judgment executed on her first by the world power, the beast and his allies; and these afterwards shall have judgment executed on them by Christ Himself in person. So Israel leaning on Egypt, a broken reed, is pierced by it; and then Egypt itself is punished. So Israel's whoredom with Assyria and Babylon was punished by the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities. So the Church when it goes a-whoring after the word as if it were the reality, instead of witnessing against its apostasy from God, is false to its profession. Being no longer a reality itself, but a sham, the Church is rightly judged by that world which for a time had used the Church to further its own ends, while all the while "hating" Christ's unworldly religion, but which now no longer wants the Church's aid.

JFB: Rev 17:16 - eat her flesh

Greek plural, "masses of flesh," that is, "carnal possessions"; implying the fulness of carnality into which the Church is sunk. The judgment on the harlot is again and again described (Rev 18:1; Rev 19:5); first by an "angel having great power" (Rev 18:1), then by "another voice from heaven" (Rev. 18:4-20), then by "a mighty angel" (Rev 18:21-24). Compare Eze 16:37-44, originally said of Israel, but further applicable to the New Testament Church when fallen into spiritual fornication. On the phrase, "eat . . . flesh" for prey upon one's property, and injure the character and person, compare Psa 14:4; Psa 27:2; Jer 10:25; Mic 3:3. The First Napoleon's Edict published at Rome in 1809, confiscating the papal dominions and joining them to France, and later the severance of large portions of the Pope's territory from his sway and the union of them to the dominions of the king of Italy, virtually through Louis Napoleon, are a first instalment of the full realization of this prophecy of the whore's destruction. "Her flesh" seems to point to her temporal dignities and resources, as distinguished from "herself" (Greek). How striking a retribution, that having obtained her first temporal dominions, the exarchate of Ravenna, the kingdom of the LOMBARDs, and the state of Rome, by recognizing the usurper Pepin as lawful king of France, she should be stripped of her dominions by another usurper of France, the Napoleonic dynasty!

JFB: Rev 17:16 - burn . . . with fire

The legal punishment of an abominable fornication.

JFB: Rev 17:17 - hath put

The prophetical past tense for the future.

JFB: Rev 17:17 - fulfil

Greek, "do," or "accomplish." The Greek, "poiesai," is distinct from that which is translated, "fulfilled," Greek, "telesthesontai," below.

JFB: Rev 17:17 - his will

Greek, "his mind," or purpose; while they think only of doing their own purpose.

JFB: Rev 17:17 - to agree

Literally, "to do" (or accomplish) one mind" or "purpose." A and Vulgate omit this clause, but B supports it.

JFB: Rev 17:17 - the words of God

Foretelling the rise and downfall of the beast; Greek, "hoi logoi," in A, B, and ANDREAS. English Version reading is Greek, "ta rhemata," which is not well supported. No mere articulate utterances, but the efficient words of Him who is the Word: Greek, "logos."

JFB: Rev 17:17 - fulfilled

(Rev 10:7).

JFB: Rev 17:18 - reigneth

Literally, "hath kingship over the kings." The harlot cannot be a mere city literally, but is called so in a spiritual sense (Rev 11:8). Also the beast cannot represent a spiritual power, but a world power. In this verse the harlot is presented before us ripe for judgment. The eighteenth chapter details that judgment.

Clarke: Rev 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 show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters

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 - That idolatrous worship is frequently represented in Scripture under the character of a whore or whoredom, is evident from numerous passages which it is unnecessary to quote. See 1Ch 5:25; Ezekiel 16:1-63; 23:1-49, etc. The woman mentioned here is called a great whore, to denote her excessive depravity, and the artful nature of her idolatry. She is also represented as sitting upon many waters, to show the vast extent of her influence. See on Rev 17:13 (note).

Clarke: Rev 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

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 - What an awful picture this is of the state of the religion of the world in subjection to this whore! Kings have committed spiritual fornication with her, and their subjects have drunk deep, dreadfully deep, into the doctrine of her abominable errors.

Clarke: Rev 17:3 - So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness

So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness - This wilderness into which the apostle was carried is the desolate state of the true Church of Christ, in one of the wings of the once mighty Roman empire. It was a truly awful sight, a terrible desert, a waste howling wilderness; for when he came hither he: -

Saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns - No doubt can now be entertained that this woman is the Latin Church, for she sits upon the beast with seven heads and ten horns, which has been already proved to be the Latin empire, because this empire alone contains the number 666. See on Rev 13:18 (note). This is a representation of the Latin Church in her highest state of antichristian prosperity, for she Sits Upon the scarlet coloured beast, a striking emblem of her complete domination over the secular Latin empire. The state of the Latin Church from the commencement of the fourteenth century to the time of the Reformation may be considered that which corresponds to this prophetic description in the most literal and extensive sense of the words; for during this period she was at her highest pitch of worldly grandeur and temporal authority. The beast is full of names of blasphemy; and it is well known that the nations, in support of the Latin or Romish Church, have abounded in blasphemous appellations, and have not blushed to attribute to themselves and to their Church the most sacred titles, not only blaspheming by the improper use of sacred names, but even by applying to its bishop those names which alone belong to God; for God hath expressly declared that he will not give his glory to another, neither his praise to graven images.

Clarke: Rev 17:4 - And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, 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 arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication - This strikingly represents the most pompous and costly manner in which the Latin Church has held forth to the nations the rites and ceremonies of its idolatrous and corrupt worship.

Clarke: Rev 17:5 - And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots, and Abominations of the Earth

And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots, and Abominations of the Earth - This inscription being written upon her forehead is intended to show that she is not ashamed of her doctrines, but publicly professes and glories in them before the nations: she has indeed a whore’ s forehead, she has refused to be ashamed. The inscription upon her forehead is exactly the portraiture of the Latin Church. This Church is, as Bishop Newton well expresses it, A Mystery of iniquity. This woman is also called Babylon the Great; she is the exact antitype of the ancient Babylon in her idolatry and cruelty, but the ancient city called Babylon is only a drawing of her in miniature. This is indeed Babylon The Great. "She affects the style and title of our Holy Mother, the Church; but she is, in truth, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth."

Clarke: Rev 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 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 - How exactly the cruelties exercised by the Latin Church against all it has denominated heretics correspond with this description, the reader need not be informed.

Clarke: Rev 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, which hath the seven heads and ten horns

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, which hath the seven heads and ten horns - The apostle was greatly astonished, as well he might be, at the woman’ s being drunk with the blood of the saints, when the beast which carried her abounded with sacred appellations, such as holy, most holy, most Christian, sacred, most sacred. The angel undertakes to explain to St. John the vision which had excited in him so great astonishment; and the explication is of such great importance, that, had it not been given, the mystery of the dragon and the beast could never have been satisfactorily explained in all its particulars. The angel begins with saying: -

Clarke: Rev 17:8 - The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition

The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition - The beast is the Latin kingdom; ( Ἡ Λατινη βασιλεια ); consequently the beast was, that is, was in existence previously to the time of St. John; (for Latinus was the first king of the Latins, and Numitor the last); is not now, because the Latin nation has ceased long ago to be an independent power, and is now under the dominion of the Romans; but shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, that is, the Latin kingdom, the antichristian power, or that which ascendeth out of the abyss or bottomless pit, is yet in futurity. But it is added: -

And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names there 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 - By the earth is here meant the Latin world; therefore the meaning is, that all who dwell in the Latin world shall adhere to the idolatrous and blasphemous religion of the Latin Church, which is supported by the Latin empire, except those who abide by the sacred Scriptures, receiving them as the only rule of faith and practice. These believe in the true Sacrifice, and keep themselves unspotted from the corruption that is in the world. But the inhabitants of the Latin world, under the dominion of the Romish religion, shall wonder when they behold the beast, or Latin empire; that is, as Lord Napier remarks, "shall have in great admiration, reverence, and estimation, this great monarchie."They shall wonder at it, by considering it the most sacred empire in the world, that in which God peculiarly delights; but those that so wonder have not their names written in the book of life, but are such as prefer councils to Divine revelation, and take their religion from missals, rituals, and legends, instead of the sacred oracles: hence they are corrupt and idolatrous, and no idolater hath inheritance in the kingdom of God. In the preceding part of the verse the beast is considered in three states, as that which was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit; here a fourth is introduced, and yet is. This is added to show that, though the Latins were subjugated by the Romans, nevertheless the Romans themselves were Latins; for Romulus the founder of their monarchy, was a Latin; consequently that denominated in St. John’ s days the Roman empire was, in reality, the Latin kingdom; for the very language of the empire was the Latin, and the Greek writers, who lived in the time of the Roman empire, expressly tell us that those formerly called Latins are now named Romans. The meaning of the whole verse is therefore as follows: The corrupt part of mankind shall have in great admiration the Latin empire yet in futurity, which has already been, but is now extinct, the Romans having conquered it; and yet is still in being; for, though the Latin nation has been subjugated, its conquerors are themselves Latins. But it may be objected against the interpretation here given, that these phrases are spoken of the beast upon which the apostle saw the woman, or Latin Church, sit; for the angel says, The beast that Thou Sawest was, and is not, etc.; what reference, therefore, can the Latin empire, which supports the Latin Church, have to the Latin kingdom which subsisted before St. John’ s time, or to the Roman empire which might properly be so denominated! This objection has very great weight at first sight, and cannot be answered satisfactorily till the angel’ s explanation of the heads and horns of the beast have been examined; therefore it is added: -

Clarke: Rev 17:9 - Here is the mind which hath wisdom

Here is the mind which hath wisdom - It was said before, Rev 13:18, Here is wisdom. Let him that hath A Mind, or understanding, ( νουν ), count the number of the beast. Wisdom, therefore, here means a correct view of what is intended by the number 666; consequently the parallel passage, Here is The Mind which hath Wisdom, is a declaration that the number of the beast must first be understood, before the angel’ s interpretation of the vision concerning the whore and the beast can admit of a satisfactory explanation

Clarke: Rev 17:9 - The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth

The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth - This verse has been almost universally considered to allude to the seven hills upon which Rome originally stood. But it has been objected that modern Rome is not thus situated, and that, consequently, pagan Rome is intended in the prophecy. This is certainly a very formidable objection against the generally received opinion among Protestants, that papal Rome is the city meant by the woman sitting upon seven mountains. It has been already shown that the woman here mentioned is an emblem of the Latin Church in her highest state of antichristian prosperity; and therefore the city of Rome, seated upon seven mountains, is not at all designed in the prophecy. In order to understand this scripture aright, the word mountains must be taken in a figurative and not a literal sense, as in Rev 6:14; Rev 16:20. See also Isa 2:2, Isa 2:14; Jer 51:25; Dan 2:35, etc.; in which it is unequivocally the emblem of great and mighty power. The mountains upon which the woman sitteth must be, therefore, seven great powers; and as the mountains are heads of the beast, they must be the seven Greatest eminences of the Latin world. As no other power was acknowledged at the head of the Latin empire but that of Germany, how can it be said that the beast has seven heads? This question can only be solved by the feudal constitution of the late Germanic league, the history of which is briefly as follows: At first kings alone granted fiefs. They granted them to laymen only, and to such only who were free; and the vassal had no power to alienate them. Every freeman, and particularly the feudal tenants, were subject to the obligation of military duty, and appointed to guard their sovereign’ s life, member, mind, and right honor. Soon after, or perhaps a little before, the extinction of the Carlovingian dynasty in France, by the accession of the Capetian line, and in Germany by the accession of the house of Saxony, fiefs, which had been entirely at the disposal of the sovereign, became hereditary. Even the offices of duke, count, margrave, etc., were transmitted in the course of hereditary descent; and not long after, the right of primogeniture was universally established. The crown vassals usurped the sovereign property of the land, with civil and military authority over the inhabitants. The possession thus usurped they granted out to their immediate tenants; and these granted them over to others in like manner. Thus the principal vassals gradually obtained every royal prerogative; they promulgated laws, exercised the power of life and death, coined money, fixed the standard of weights and measures, granted safeguards, entertained a military force, and imposed taxes, with every right supposed to be annexed to royalty. In their titles they styled themselves dukes, etc., Dei gratis , by the grace of God; a prerogative avowedly confined to sovereign power. It was even admitted that, if the king refused to do the lord justice, the lord might make war upon him. The tenants, in their turn, made themselves independent of their vassal lords, by which was introduced an ulterior state of vassalage. The king was called the sovereign lord, his immediate vassal was called the suzereign, and the tenants holding of him were called the arrere vassals. See Butler’ s Revolutions of the Germanic Empire, pp. 54-66. Thus the power of the emperors of Germany, which was so very considerable in the ninth century, was gradually diminished by the means of the feudal system; and during the anarchy of the long interregnum, occasioned by the interference of the popes in the election of the emperors, (from 1256 to 1273), the imperial power was reduced almost to nothing. Rudolph of Hapsburg, the founder of the house of Austria, was at length elected emperor, because his territories and influence were so inconsiderable as to excite no jealously in the German princes, who were willing to preserve the forms of constitution, the power and vigor of which they had destroyed. See Robertson’ s Introduction to his History of Charles V. Before the dissolution of the empire in 1806, Germany "presented a complex association of principalities more or less powerful, and more or less connected with a nominal sovereignty in the emperor, as its supreme feudal chief.""There were about three hundred princes of the empire, each sovereign in his own country, who might enter into alliances, and pursue by all political measures his own private interest, as other sovereigns do; for if even an imperial war were declared he might remain neuter, if the safety of the empire were not at stake. Here then was an empire of a construction, without exception, the most singular and intricate that ever appeared in the world; for the emperor was only the chief of the Germanic confederation."Germany was, therefore, speaking in the figurative language of Scripture, a country abounding in hills, or containing an immense number of distinct principalities. But the different German states (as has been before observed) did not each possess an equal share of power and influence; some were more eminent than others. Among them were also a few which might, with the greatest propriety, be denominated mountains, or states possessing a very high degree of political importance. But the seven mountains on which the woman sits must have their elevations above all the other eminences in the whole Latin world; consequently, they can be no other than the Seven Electorates of the German empire. These were, indeed, mountains of vast eminence; for in their sovereigns was vested the sole poorer of electing the head of the empire. But this was not all; for besides the power of electing an emperor, the electors had a right to capitulate with the new head of the empire, to dictate the conditions on which he was to reign, and to depose him if he broke those conditions. They actually deposed Adolphus of Nassau in 1298, and Wenceslaus in 1400. They were sovereign and independent princes in their respective dominions, had the privilegium de non appellando illimitatum , that of making war, coining, and exercising every act of sovereignty; they formed a separate college in the diet of the empire, and had among themselves a particular covenant or league called Kur verein; they had precedence of all the other princes of the empire, and even ranked with kings. The heads of the beast understood in this way, is one of the finest emblems of the German constitution which can possibly be conceived; for as the Roman empire of Germany had the precedence of all the other monarchies of which the Latin empire was composed, the seven mountains very fitly denote the seven Principal powers of what has been named the holy Roman empire. And also, as each electorate, by virtue of its union with the Germanic body, was more powerful than any other Roman Catholic state of Europe not so united; so was each electorate, in the most proper sense of the word, one of the highest elevations in the Latin world. The time when the seven electorates of the empire were first instituted is very uncertain. The most probable opinion appears to be that which places their origin some time in the thirteenth century. The uncertainty, however, in this respect, does not in the least weaken the evidence of the mountains being the seven electorates, but rather confirms it; for, as we have already observed, the representation of the woman sitting upon the beast is a figure of the Latin Church in the period of her greatest authority, spiritual and temporal; this we know did not take place before the commencement of the fourteenth century, a period subsequent to the institution of the seven electorates. Therefore the woman sits upon the seven mountains, or the German empire in its elective aristocratical state; she is said to sit upon them, to denote that she has the whole German empire under her direction and authority, and also that it is her chief support and strength. Supported by Germany, she is under no apprehension of being successfully opposed by any other power: she sits upon the seven mountains, therefore she is higher than the seven highest eminences of the Latin world; she must therefore have the secular Latin empire under her complete subjection. But this state of eminence did not continue above two or three centuries; the visible declension of the papal power in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, occasioned partly by the removal of the papal see from Rome to Avignon, and more particularly by the great schism from 1377 to 1417, though considered one of the remote causes of the Reformation, was at first the means of merely transferring the supreme power from the pope to a general council, while the dominion of the Latin Church remained much the same. At the council of Constance, March 30, 1415, it was decreed "that the synod being lawfully assembled in the name of the Holy Ghost, which constituted the general council, and represented the whole Catholic Church militant, had its power immediately from Jesus Christ; and that every person, of whatsoever state or dignity, Even the Pope Himself is obliged to obey it in what concerns the faith, the extirpation of schism, and the general reformation of the Church in its head and members."The council of Basil of 1432 decreed "that every one of whatever dignity or condition, Not Excepting the Pope Himself, who shall refuse to obey the ordinances and decrees of this general council, or any other, shall be put under penance, and punished. It is also declared that the pope has no power to dissolve the general council without the consent and decree of the assembly."See the third tome of Du Pin’ s Ecclesiastical History. But what gave the death blow to the temporal sovereignty of the Latin Church was the light of the glorious reformation which first broke out in Germany in 1517, and in a very few years gained its way, not only over several of the great principalities in Germany, but was also made the established religion of other popish countries. Consequently, in the sixteenth century, the woman no longer sat upon the seven mountains, the electorates not only having refused to be ruled by her, but some of them having also despised and abandoned her doctrines. The changes, therefore, which were made in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, in the number of the electorates, will not affect in the least the interpretation of the seven mountains already given. The seven electors were the archbishops of Mentz, Cologne, and Triers, the count palatine of the Rhine, the duke of Saxony, the marquis of Brandenburgh, and the king of Bohemia. But the heads of the beast have a double signification; for the angel says: -

Clarke: Rev 17:10 - And there are seven kings

And there are seven kings - Και βασιλεις ἑπτα εισιν· They are also seven kings. Before, it was said, they are seven mountains; here, they are also seven kings, which is a demonstration that kingdoms are not here meant by mountains: and this is a farther argument that the seven electorates are represented by seven mountains, for though the sovereigns of these states ranked with kings, they were not kings: that is to say, they were not absolute and sole lords of the territories they possessed, independently of the emperor, for their states formed a part of the Germanic body. But the seven heads of the beast are also seven kings, that is to say, the Latin empire has had seven supreme forms of government; for king is used in the prophetical writings for any supreme governor of a state or people, as is evident from Deu 33:5, where Moses is called a king. Of these seven kings, or supreme forms of Latin government, the angel informs St. John: -

Five are fallen, and one is - It is well known that the first form of Latin government was that of kings, which continued after the death of Latinus 428 years, till the building of Rome, b.c. 753. After Numitor’ s decease the Albans or Latins instituted the form of a republic, and were governed by dictators. We have only the names of two, viz., Cluilius and Metius Fufetius or Suffetius; but as the dictatorship continued at least eighty-eight years, there might have been others, though their names and actions are unknown. In the year before Christ 665 Alba, the metropolis of the Latin nation, was destroyed by Tullus Hostilius, the third king of the Romans, and the inhabitants carried to Rome. This put an end to the monarchical republic of the Latins; and the Latins elected two annual magistrates, whom Licinius calls dictators, but who are called praetors by other writers. This form of government continued till the time of P. Decius Mus, the Roman consul; for Festus, in his fourteenth book, informs us "that the Albans enjoyed prosperity till the time of King Tullus; but that, Alba being then destroyed, the consuls, till the time of P. Decius Mus, held a consultation with the Latins at the head of Ferentina, and the empire was governed by the council of both nations."The Latin nation was entirely subjugated by the Romans b.c. 336, which put an end to the government by praetors, after it had continued upwards of three hundred years. The Latins from this time ceased to be a nation, as it respects the name; therefore the three forms of government already mentioned were those which the Latins had during that period which the angel speaks of, when he says, The beast which thou sawest Was. But as five heads, or forms of government, had fallen before St. John’ s time, it is evident that the two other forms of government which had fallen must be among those of the Romans; first, because though the Latin nation so called, was deprived of all authority by the Romans, yet the Latin power continued to exist, for the very conquerors of the Latin nation were Latins; and, consequently the Latins, though a conquered people, continued to have a Latin government. Secondly, the angel expressly says, when speaking to St. John, that one is, that is, the sixth head, or Latin form of government, was then in existence; which could be no other than the imperial power, this being the only independent form of Latin government in the apostolic age. It therefore necessarily follows, that the Roman forms of government by which Latium was ruled must be the remaining heads of the beast. Before the subjugation of the Latins by the Romans four of the Roman or draconic forms of government had fallen, the regal power, the dictatorship, the decemvirate, and the consular power of the military tribunes, the last of which was abolished about 366 years before the commencement of the Christian era; none of these, therefore, ruled over the Whole Latin nation. But as the Latins were finally subdued about 336 b.c., the consular government of the Romans, which was then the supreme power in the state, must be the fourth head of the beast. This form of government continued, with very little interruption, till the rising up of the triumvirate, the fifth head of the beast, b.c. 43. The dictatorship of Sylla and Julius Caesar could not be considered a new head of the beast, as the Latins had already been ruled by it in the persons of Cluilius and Fufetius. The sixth head of the beast, or that which existed in the time of St. John, was consequently, as we have already proved, the imperial power of the heathen Caesars, or the seventh draconic form of government

Clarke: Rev 17:10 - And the other is not yet come

And the other is not yet come - Bishop Newton considers the Roman dutchy, under the eastern emperor’ s lieutenant, the exarch of Ravenna, the seventh head of the beast. But this cannot be the form of government signified by the seventh head, for a head of the beast as we have already shown, is a supreme, independent form of Latin government; consequently the Roman dutchy cannot be the seventh head, as it was dependent upon the exarchate of Ravenna; and the exarchate cannot be the head, as it was itself in subjection to the Greek empire. The Rev. G. Faber has ascertained the truth exactly in denominating the Carlovingian patriciate the seventh head of the beast. That this was a supreme, independent form of government, is evident from history. Gibbon, in speaking of the patriciate, observes that "the decrees of the senate and people successively invested Charles Martel and his posterity with the honors of patrician of Rome. The leaders of a powerful nation would have disdained a servile title and subordinate office; but the reign of the Greek emperors was suspended, and in the vacancy of the empire they derived a more glorious commission from the pope and the republic. The Roman ambassadors presented these patricians with the keys of the shrine of St. Peter as a pledge and symbol of sovereignty, and with a holy banner, which it was their right and duty to unfurl in defense of the Church and city. In the time of Charles Martel and of Pepin, the interposition of the Lombard kingdom covered the freedom, while it threatened the safety of Rome; and the patriciate represented only the title, the service, the alliance, of these distant protectors. The power and policy of Charlemagne annihilated an enemy, and imposed a master. In his first visit to the capital he was received with all the honors which had formerly been paid to the exarch, the representative of the emperor; and these honors obtained some new decorations from the joy and gratitude of Pope Adrian I. In the portico Adrian expected him at the head of his clergy; they embraced as friends and equals; but in their march to the altar, the king, or patrician, assumed the right hand of the pope. Nor was the Frank content with these vain and empty demonstrations of respect. In the twenty-six years that elapsed between the conquest of Lombardy and his imperial coronation, Rome, which had been delivered by the sword, was subject, as his own, to the scepter of Charlemagne. The people swore allegiance to his person and family, in his name money was coined and justice was administered, and the election of the popes was examined and confirmed by his authority. Except an original and self-inherent claim of sovereignty, there was not any prerogative remaining which the title of emperor could add to the patrician of Rome."The seven heads of the beast are therefore the following: The regal power, the dictatorship, the power of the praetors, the consulate, the triumvirate, the imperial power, and the patriciate

Clarke: Rev 17:10 - And when he cometh, he must continue a short space

And when he cometh, he must continue a short space - The seventh form of government was only to remain a short time, which was actually the case; for from its first rise to independent power to its utter extinction, there passed only about forty-five years, a short time in comparison to the duration of several of the preceding forms of government; for the primitive regal government continued at least four hundred and twenty-eight years, the dictatorship was in power about eighty-eight years, the power of the praetors was in being for upwards of three hundred years, the consulate lasted about two hundred and eighty years, and the imperial power continued upwards of five hundred years.

Clarke: Rev 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 the beast, that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition - That is to say, the Latin kingdom that has already been, but is now no longer nominally in existence, shall immediately follow the dissolution of the seventh form of Latin government; and this dominion is called ογδοος, an eighth, because it succeeds to the seventh. Yet it is not an eighth head of the beast, because the beast has only seven heads; for to constitute a new head of the beast the form of government must not only differ in nature, but also in name. This head of the beast is, therefore, εκ των ἑπτα, One of the seven. Consequently the form of government represented by this head is the restoration of one of the preceding seven. The restored head can be therefore no other than the regal state of the Latins, or in other words the Latin kingdom, ( Ἡ Λατινη βασιλεια ), which followed the patriciate or seventh head of Latin government. But the beast in his eighth state, or under his first head restored, goeth into perdition. No other form of Latin government shall succeed; but the beast in his last or antichristian condition shall be taken together with the false prophet that wrought miracles in his sight, "and cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

It is observable that the eighth Latin power is called by the angel the beast, and also one of his heads. This apparent discordance arises from the double signification of the heads, for if we take the beast upon which the woman sits to be merely a representation of that secular power which supports the Latin Church, then the seven heads will represent the seven electorates of the Germanic empire; but if by the beast we understand the general Latin empire from first to last, then what is, according to the angel’ s first interpretation of the heads, called the beast, is in this case only one of his heads. See on Rev 17:18 (note).

Clarke: Rev 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 kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast - The meaning of horns has already been defined when speaking of those of the dragon. The meaning is therefore as follows: Though the Latin empire be now in existence, the ten horns refer to ten Latin kingdoms yet in futurity, and consequently they have received no dominion As Yet; for that part of the Latin domination now in power is the sixth head, or imperial government of the heathen Caesars. But the ten states of the Latins receive dominion as monarchies μιαν ὡραν, one time, (as it may be properly translated), i.e., at the same time with the beast, or that which ascendeth out of the bottomless pit; consequently, the Latin empire here intended is the one which was in futurity in the apostolic age.

Clarke: Rev 17:13 - These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast

These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast - Therefore the ten horns must constitute the principal strength of the Latin empire; that is to say, this empire is to be composed of the dominions of ten monarchs independent of each other in every other sense except in their implicit obedience to the Latin Church. The beast in this and the preceding verse is distinguished from its horns, as the Whole Latin empire is distinguished in history from its constituent powers. See on Rev 17:16 (note).

Clarke: Rev 17:14 - 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

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 - The ten powers of the beast must compose the secular kingdom of antichrist, for they make war with the Lamb, who is Christ Jesus. This is perfectly true of all popish states, for they have constantly opposed, as long as they have had any secular power, the progress of pure Christianity. They make war with the Lamb by persecuting his followers; but the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is the Lord of lords, and King of kings - all lords have their authority from him, and no king can reign without him; therefore the ten Latin kings are God’ s ministers to execute his vengeance upon the idolatrous nations. But when these antichristian monarchies have executed the Divine purpose, those that are with the Lamb - the called, the chosen, and the faithful, those who have kept The Truth in the love of it, shall prevail against all their adversaries, because their battles are fought by the Lamb, who is their God and Deliverer. See Rev 19:19, Rev 19:20.

Clarke: Rev 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 the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues - " So many words,"Bishop Newton observes, "in the plural number, fitly denote the great extensiveness of her power and jurisdiction. She herself glories in the title of the Catholic Church, and exults in the number of her votaries as a certain proof of the true religion. Cardinal Bellarmin’ s first note of the true Church is, the very name of the Catholic Church; and his fourth note is, amplitude, or multitude, and variety of believers; for the truly Catholic Church, says he, ought not only to comprehend all ages, but likewise all places, all nations, all kinds of men."

Clarke: Rev 17:16 - And the ten horns which thou sowest 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 horns which thou sowest 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 - Here is a clue to lead us to the right interpretation of the horns of the beast. It is said the Ten horns shall hate the whore; by which is evidently meant, when connected with what follows, that the whole of the ten kingdoms in the interest of the Latin Church shall finally despise her doctrines, be reformed from popery, assist in depriving her of all influence and in exposing her follies, and in the end consign her to utter destruction. From this it follows that no Roman Catholic power which did not exist so late as the Reformation can be numbered among the horns of the beast; the horns must, therefore, be found among the great states of Europe at the commencement of the Reformation. These were exactly ten, viz., France, Spain, England, Scotland, The Empire, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Hungary, and Portugal. In these were comprehended most of the minor states not styled monarchies, and which, from their first rise to the period of the Reformation, had been subdued by one or more of the ten grand Roman Catholic powers already named. Consequently, these ten constituted the power and strength of the beast; and each minor state is considered a part of that monarchy under the authority of which it was finally reduced previously to the Reformation

But it may be asked, How could the empire, which was the revived head of the beast, have been at the same time one of its horns? The answer is as follows: Horns of an animal, in the language of prophecy, represent the powers of which that empire or kingdom symbolized by the animal is composed. Thus the angel, in his interpretation of Daniel’ s vision of the ram and he-goat expressly informs us that "the ram with two horns are the kings of Media and Persia."One of the horns of the ram, therefore, represented the kingdom of Media, and the other the kingdom of Persia; and their union in one animal denoted the united kingdom of Media and Persia, viz., the Medo-Persian empire. In like manner the beast with ten horns denotes that the empire represented by the beast is composed of ten distinct powers, and the ten horns being united in one beast very appropriately show that the monarchies symbolized by these horns are united together to form one empire; for we have already shown, in the notes on Rev 13:1, that a beast is the symbol of an empire. Therefore, as the horns of an animal, agreeably to the angel’ s explanation, (and we can have no higher authority), represent all the powers of which that domination symbolized by the animal is composed, the Roman empire of Germany, as one of those monarchies which gave their power and strength to the Latin empire, must consequently have been A Horn of the beast. But the Germanic empire was not only a Latin power, but at the same time was acknowledged by all Europe to have precedency of all the others. Therefore, as it is not possible to express these two circumstances by one symbol, it necessarily follows, from the nature of symbolical language, that what has been named the holy Roman empire must have a double representation. Hence the empire, as one of the powers of the Latin monarchy, was a horn of the beast, and in having precedency of all the others was its revived head. See a similar explanation of the tail of the dragon in the notes on Rev 12:4.

Clarke: Rev 17:17 - For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled

For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled - Let no one imagine that these ten Latin kingdoms, because they support an idolatrous worship, have been raised up merely by the power of man or the chances of war. No kingdom or state can exist without the will of God; therefore let the inhabitants of the world tremble when they see a wicked monarchy rise to power, and let them consider that it is raised up by the Lord to execute his vengeance upon the idolatries and profligacies of the times. It is said of the kings in communion with the Church of Rome, that God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will. How is this Divine will accomplished? In the most awful and afflictive manner! In causing ten Latin kings to unite their dominions into one mighty empire for the defense of the Latin Church. Here is a dreadful dispensation of Jehovah; but it is such as the nations have most righteously deserved, because when they had the truth they lived not according to its most holy requisitions, but loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Therefore hath "the Lord sent them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they might all be damned who believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness."But this deplorable state of the world is not perpetual, it can only continue till every word of God is fulfilled upon his enemies; and when this time arrives, (which will be that of Christ’ s second advent), then shall the Son of God slay that wicked "with the spirit of his mouth, and shall consume him with the brightness of His Coming."

Clarke: Rev 17:18 - And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth

And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth - It has already been shown that the woman sitting upon the seven-headed beast is a representation of the Latin Church; here we have the greatest assurance that it is so, because the woman is called a city, which is a much plainer emblem of a Church, as the word is used unequivocally in this sense in so many parts of Scripture that we cannot well mistake its meaning. See Rev 3:12; Rev 11:2; Rev 21:10; Rev 22:19; and also Psa 46:4; Psa 87:3; Heb 12:22, etc. The woman therefore must be the Latin Church; and as the apostle saw her sitting upon the beast, this must signify that ἡ εχουσα βασιλειαν, she hath A Kingdom over the kings of the earth, i.e., over the kings of the Latin world, for that this is the meaning of earth has been shown before in numerous instances. That Kingdom which the woman has over the kings of the Latin world, or secular Latin empire, or in other words The Kingdom of the Latin Church, is the numbered Latin kingdom or Romish hierarchy. See on Rev 13:18 (note). The woman is also called a Great city, to denote the very great extent of her jurisdiction; for she has comprehended within her walls the subjects of the mighty dominations of France, Spain, England, Scotland, The Empire, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Hungary, and Portugal. What an extensive city was this! Surely such as to justify the prophetic denomination, that Great city

Having now gone through the whole of the angel’ s interpretation of St. John’ s vision of a whore sitting upon the seven-headed and ten-horned beast, it will be essentially necessary to examine a little more attentively the eighth verse of this chapter. It has already been shown that the phrases, was, is not, shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and yet is, refer to the Latin kingdom which existed before the building of Rome, to the Roman empire in the time of St. John, and to the Latin empire which was in futurity in the apostolic age. But as the words was, is not, etc., are spoken of the beast upon which the apostle saw the woman, or Latin Church, sit; how can it be said of this beast that it had an existence before the date of the Apocalypse, when the woman whom it carried was not in being till long after this period? And what connection has the Latin empire of the middle ages with that which derived its name from Latinus, king of the Aborigines, and was subjugated by the ancient Romans; or even with that which existed in the time of the apostle? The answer is as follows: St. John saw the beast upon which the woman sat with all his seven heads and ten horns. Consequently, as the angel expressly says that five of these seven heads had already fallen in the time of the vision, it therefore necessarily follows that the apostle must have seen that part of the Latin empire represented by the seven-headed beast which had already been under the emblem of five heads. Therefore the woman sat upon the beast that Was. But it is plain from the angel’ s interpretation that the whole of the seven heads fell, before the beast upon which the woman sat arose; and yet the woman is represented as sitting upon the seven-headed beast to denote, as we have before observed, that it is the Latin kingdom in its last estate, or under one of its heads restored, which is the secular kingdom of antichrist. The beast is also said not to have any existence in the time of the vision; from which it is evident that the monarchy of the Latins, and not that of the Romans, is here intended; because the latter was in the time of the vision. Again, the beast which St. John saw had not ascended out of the bottomless pit in his time; consequently the whole seven heads and ten horns were in futurity, for all these heads and horns rose up out of the abyss at the same time with the beast. How is this apparent contradiction reconciled? In the most plain and satisfactory manner, by means of the angel’ s double interpretation of the heads; for if the seven heads be taken in the sense of seven mountains, (head in the Scripture style being a symbol of precedency as well as supremacy), then the beast with all its heads and horns was altogether in futurity in the apostle’ s time, for the seven heads are the seven electorates of the German empire, and the ten horns the ten monarchies in the interest of the Latin Church. Finally, the beast is said to exist in the time of the vision; therefore the Roman empire, which governed the world, must be here alluded to; and consequently the phrase and yet is is a proof that, as the beast is the Latin kingdom, and this beast is said to have an existence in the time of the apostle, the empire of the Caesars, though generally known by the name of the Roman, is in a very proper sense the Latin kingdom, as the Latin was the language which prevailed in it. Hence the seven-headed and ten-horned beast is at once the representation of the ancient Latin power, of the Roman empire which succeeded it, and of the Latin empire which supports the Latin Church. Here is then the connection of the ancient Latin and Roman powers with that upon which the woman sits. She sits upon the beast that was and is not, because three of his heads represent the three forms of government which the ancient Latins had before they were subjugated by the Romans, viz., the regal power, the dictatorship, and the power of the praetors. She sits upon the beast which Shall Ascend out of the bottomless pit, because all his seven heads, taken in the sense of mountains were in futurity in the apostolic age. She sits upon the beast that yet is, because four of his heads represent four forms of government of the Roman or Latin empire now in existence, viz., the consulate, the triumvirate, the imperial power, and the patriciate. It is hence evident that the beast, in the largest acceptation of this term, is a symbol of the Latin power in general, from its commencement in Latinus to the end of time; his seven heads denoting seven kings or supreme forms of Latin government, during this period, king or kingdom, as we have already observed, being a general term in the prophetical writings for any kind of supreme governor or government, no matter by what particular name such may have been designated among men. Thus the Latin power from the time of Latinus to the death of Numitor was the beast under the dominion of his first head; from the death of Numitor to the destruction of Alba it was the beast under the dominion of his second head; from the destruction of Alba to the final subjugation of the Latins by the Romans the beast under the dominion of his third head. And as the four Roman forms of government which were subsequent to the final conquest of the Latins, were also Latin dominations, the Latin power under these forms of government was the beast under the dominion of his fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh heads. The beast of the bottomless pit, which followed the fall of all the heads of the sea beast or general Latin empire, is, according to the angel’ s interpretation, ογδοος, ( βασιλευς ), an Eighth king, i.e., an eighth species of Latin power, or, in other words, a supreme form of Latin government essentially differing from all the foregoing; yet, as it is nominally the same with one of the preceding seven, it is not accounted an eighth head of the beast. The first beast of Rev 13:1 is a description of the eighth or last condition of the General Latin empire, and is said to arise εκ της θαλασσης, out of the sea, because the heads are there taken in a double sense, sea being a general term to express the origin of every great empire which is raised up by the sword; but when (as in Rev 17:11) one of the heads of the sea beast (viz., that secular power which is still in being, and has supported the Latin Church for more than a thousand years) is peculiarly styled The Beast, the Holy Ghost, speaking of this secular Latin empire exclusively, declares it to be εκ της αβυσσου, From the bottomless pit

John Edward Clarke.

Defender: Rev 17:1 - great whore

The "great whore" is obviously a symbolic woman, since she is riding on a symbolic "beast" (Rev 17:3), who is said to be sitting on "many waters," which are explained as "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (Rev 17:15). Thus, both the waters and the beast represent the nations of the world, upon which the great whore rides into prominence and influence.

The word "whore" is the Greek porne (also rendered "harlot" in Rev 17:5) and is closely related to porneia ("fornication") and pornos ("fornicator" or "whoremonger"). It refers to anyone involved in sex outside of marriage. Often it is used in a symbolic sense to refer to anyone who worships and serves other "gods" rather than the true God and Creator. The latter is the primary theme here, although the two - that is physical fornication and spiritual fornication - commonly go together."

Defender: Rev 17:3 - in the spirit

John had been carried "in the spirit" forward in time and upward in space to the heavenly throne as it will be set after the future rapture of believers (Rev 1:10; Rev 4:2). Now once again, he is translated "in the spirit" far backward in time to the immediate post-Flood world, when the whole world was still a barren "wilderness," devastated by the flood waters. He is also translated in space to a region where the first post-Flood city, Babel, was being erected in the wilderness, under the direction of Nimrod (Gen 10:8-10). The wilderness itself had emerged literally out of many waters, but the wilderness soon became nations, of whom Babel was the mother, for she had founded all the earliest nations (Accad, Nineveh, Sumer, etc.), which eventually became the mighty Assyro-Babylonian empire.

Defender: Rev 17:3 - scarlet colored beast

The "scarlet colored beast," on which the great whore is riding, seems, as John watches, to become merged with the beast of Rev 13:1 who will become the great world ruler of the last days, culminating the succession of the seven great kingdoms of history and embodying the ten kingdoms of the end times (see Rev 12:3, note; Rev 13:1-3, note)."

Defender: Rev 17:5 - BABYLON THE GREAT

Babylon is referred to several times in Revelation as an actual city (Rev 14:8; Rev 16:19; Rev 18:10), and there is no reason to call it "Rome" or "Catholicism" or something else, as many have done. Babylon was still a city at the time John wrote, and would remain so for several more centuries, so why would he call it Babylon if it wasn't Babylon? If he meant Rome, he would certainly have called it Rome. Babylon eventually fell mostly into ruins, though never entirely abandoned, and it will eventually be rebuilt to rival its former glory (see notes on Zec 5:5-11). The city is now in Iraq, and the Iraqi government has, indeed, been working on its restoration for many years, with ambitions to make it a capital of Islam and a center of world influence. Eventually the Beast will probably take over the whole region and make Babylon his own capital. It is ideally situated to be the global center of government, religion, commerce and communication, since it is very near to the actual geographical center of the world's land areas.

Defender: Rev 17:5 - ABOMINATIONS

The Babel of Nimrod, not the Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar, is actually the "mother of harlots and abominations." The word "abominations" is commonly used for "idols." It was Nimrod, later deified as "Merodach" or "Marduk" (whose worship was revived by Nebuchadnezzar), who really introduced false religion into the post-Flood world, probably at the instigation of Satan himself. When the people were scattered from Babel by God (Gen 11:9), they all had different tongues but the same basic religion, as taught to them by Nimrod. This is why all the world's non-monotheistic religions - whether ancient (Egyptian, Greek, Roman) or modern (Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism) - are all pantheistic, polytheistic, idolatrous, spiritistic, humanistic and evolutionistic. None of them permit belief in a transcendent Creator God. Even modern scientific evolutionism is essentially a somewhat sophisticated variation of the ancient Babel religion. The same is even more true of modern New Age evolutionism with its plethora of movements. Thus, the first Babel was literally "the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth." However, it is only in this verse that she is called, "Mystery, Babylon." Even though she is clearly the great city of Babylon, evidently revived and restored as the great world capital, "Mystery Babylon" is more than that. She is nothing less than the great syncretistic religious system of the whole world, comprising the evolutionistic faith originated by Satan (see note on Rev 12:9) which he taught Nimrod to enable the latter to justify his rebellion. It was then scattered around the whole world at the time of the dispersion and continues in one form or another as the religion of the God-rejecting world, right up to the time of the end."

Defender: Rev 17:6 - martyrs of Jesus

See Jer 51:7 and Isa 47:5. Like many Old Testament prophecies, these had both near and far fulfillments. They applied directly to the Babylon of their own day, with its conquest by Persia and Greece then ultimately to end-time Babylon, which will finally see the ancient prophecies completely fulfilled (Jer 51:63, Jer 51:64).

Defender: Rev 17:6 - admiration

"Admiration" should be understood in the sense of "amazement," rather than "approval.""

Defender: Rev 17:8 - shall ascend

This identification is enigmatic, but it seems to refer both to the beast as a man (Rev 11:7) and the beast as a kingdom (Rev 13:3, Rev 13:12). As a kingdom, the restoration of Babylon fits the description; as a man, an apparent resurrection of the man known as the son of perdition could be engineered by Satan through deep hypnosis, suspended animation and induced pseudo-memory. Only Christ could actually raise the dead, since only He is the Creator of life and only He has the keys of death (Rev 1:18)."

Defender: Rev 17:9 - seven mountains

Many commentators have alleged the "seven heads" to be the seven-hilled city of Rome, hence deducing the great harlot to be the Roman Catholic Church. However, such identification is impossible. Many cities have seven hills, and Rome actually has more. Besides, the Catholic Church does not sit on the hills of Rome, for its headquarters are in Vatican City. Furthermore, a "hill" (Greek bounos) is not a "mountain" (Greek oros). The seven "mountains" are quite clearly expounded in the next verse as seven kings and/or kingdoms."

Defender: Rev 17:10 - not yet come

Since one of the kings "is," the five fallen kings can refer only to earlier history, before John's time. Rome, as the world's greatest kingdom during the apostolic period, was in existence during John's life as well as throughout the Gentile church age. Though Rome did not continue as a great empire, she continued to exist in Italy, with a paramount influence on the cultural, legal and religious realms of all the western nations. Thus, the five earlier "heads" on the beast must be Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia and Greece. Sumeria, or Babel, the first head on the dragon (see note on Rev 13:2), has apparently been taken from its position, possibly because the spirit and influence of that first Babel live on in the great whore herself, now riding on the beast and all its seven heads. The one "not yet come" must be the ten-kingdom federation represented by the ten horns on the beast (see notes on Rev 13:1). This kingdom will continue only "a short space," possibly the first 3 1/2 year period of the tribulation, before they cede all their kingdoms to the beast (Rev 17:12, Rev 17:13) for the last 3 1/2 years."

Defender: Rev 17:11 - the eighth

The "eighth" kingdom can only be that of the beast himself. It encompasses of all the evil characteristics of the seven before it, but especially of the founder of all seven, the first Babel, whose very physical existence itself the beast will finish restoring and then designate as capital of his world empire."

Defender: Rev 17:14 - Lamb shall overcome them

This is a key verse of Scripture. All the armies of the world, following all the hosts of Satan, are on their way to Armageddon to "make war with the Lamb," but He shall defeat them merely "with the spirit of his mouth" (2Th 2:8).

Defender: Rev 17:14 - King of kings

How incredibly presumptuous it is for Satan (or any man or creature of the earth) to think he can vanquish his Creator (1Ti 6:15; Rev 19:15)."

Defender: Rev 17:16 - shall hate the whore

The great whore is Mystery Babylon, the erstwhile ally of political Babylon. She has incorporated all the anti-Christian and pseudo-Christian religions under her control, and probably all educational and cultural and sociological systems as well, in a vast syncretistic pseudo-religion designed to promote worship of the beast and Satan as the god of this world. Once that is accomplished, however, the political powers will have no further use for her and will appropriate all her vast holdings for themselves, destroying everything they cannot use."

TSK: Rev 17:1 - one // talked // I will // the great // that sitteth

one : Rev 15:1, Rev 15:6, 17:1-17, Rev 21:9

talked : Rev 4:1, Rev 21:15; Luk 9:30, Luk 24:32

I will : Rev 16:19, Rev 18:16-19

the great : Rev 17:4, Rev 17:5, Rev 17:15, Rev 17:16, Rev 19:2; Isa 57:3; Nah 3:4, Nah 3:5

that sitteth : Rev 17:15; Jer 51:13

TSK: Rev 17:2

Rev 17:13, Rev 17:17, Rev 14:8, Rev 18:3, Rev 18:9, Rev 18:23; Jer 51:7

TSK: Rev 17:3 - he carried // into // a woman // full // having

he carried : Rev 1:10, Rev 4:2, Rev 21:10; 1Ki 18:12; 2Ki 2:16; Eze 3:12, Eze 8:3, Eze 11:24; Act 8:39

into : Rev 12:6, Rev 12:14; Son 8:5

a woman : Rev 17:4, Rev 17:6, Rev 17:18, Rev 12:3

full : Rev 13:1-6; Dan 7:8, Dan 7:20,Dan 7:25, Dan 11:36; 2Th 2:4

having : Rev 17:9-12, Rev 12:3, Rev 13:1

TSK: Rev 17:4 - arrayed // decked // golden // abominations // filthiness

arrayed : Rev 18:7, Rev 18:12, Rev 18:16

decked : Gr. gilded, Dan 11:38

golden : Rev 14:8, Rev 18:6, Rev 19:2; Jer 51:7; 2Th 2:3-10

abominations : Deu 29:17; 1Ki 14:24; 2Ki 21:2; Isa 66:3; Eze 20:30; Hos 9:10

filthiness : Ezr 9:11; Lam 1:9; Eze 24:11, Eze 24:13, Eze 36:25

TSK: Rev 17:5 - upon // mystery // Babylon // the Mother // harlots

upon : Rev 7:3; Isa 3:9; Phi 3:19

mystery : 2Th 2:7; 2Ti 3:1-5

Babylon : Rev 11:8, Rev 14:8, Rev 16:19, Rev 18:2, Rev 18:10,Rev 18:21; Jer 51:47, Jer 51:48

the Mother : Rev 18:9, Rev 19:2

harlots : or, fornications

TSK: Rev 17:6 - drunken // the martyrs // I wondered

drunken : Rev 13:7, Rev 13:15, Rev 16:6, Rev 18:20-24; Dan 7:21, Dan 7:25

the martyrs : Rev 2:13, Rev 6:9, Rev 6:10, Rev 12:11; Act 22:20

I wondered : Hab 1:13

TSK: Rev 17:7 - I will

I will : Rev 17:1-6, Rev 17:8

TSK: Rev 17:8 - beast that thou // go // shall wonder // whose // from // the beast that was

beast that thou : The Roman empire was the beast, or idolatrous persecuting power, when under the Pagan emperors; it ceased to be so when it became Christian; and became so again under the Roman pontiffs, and shall ""go into perdition.""Rev 9:2, Rev 11:7, Rev 13:1-11

go : Rev 17:11, Rev 14:8-20, 16:1-18:24, Rev 19:15-21, Rev 20:10; Dan 7:11, Dan 7:26, Dan 11:45; 2Th 2:3-8

shall wonder : Rev 13:3, Rev 13:4

whose : Rev 13:8, Rev 20:12, Rev 20:15

from : Mat 25:34; Joh 17:24; Act 15:18; Eph 1:4; Tit 1:2; 1Pe 1:20

the beast that was : Rev 13:1-4, Rev 13:11, Rev 13:12

TSK: Rev 17:9 - here // The seven

here : Rev 13:18; Dan 12:4, Dan 12:8-10; Hos 14:9; Mat 13:11, Mat 24:15

The seven : Rev 17:3, Rev 17:7, Rev 17:18, Rev 13:1

TSK: Rev 17:11 - that was

that was : Rev 17:8

TSK: Rev 17:12 - the ten

the ten : Rev 12:3, Rev 13:1; Dan 2:40-43, Dan 7:7, Dan 7:8, Dan 7:20,Dan 7:24; Zec 1:18-21

TSK: Rev 17:13 - one // shall

one : Phi 1:27, Phi 2:2

shall : Rev 17:17; Isa 10:5-7; Eze 38:10; Act 4:28

TSK: Rev 17:14 - shall make // the Lamb shall // Lord // and they // and faithful

shall make : Rev 11:7, Rev 8:6, Rev 8:7, Rev 16:14, Rev 19:15-21; Dan 7:21, Dan 7:25, Dan 11:9-12, Dan 11:24, Dan 11:25; Zec 2:8; Mat 25:40; Act 9:4, Act 9:5

the Lamb shall : Rev 6:12-17; Psa 2:8, Psa 2:9, Psa 21:8-12, Psa 110:5; Jer 50:44; Dan 2:44, Dan 7:26, Dan 7:27; 1Co 15:24

Lord : Rev 1:5, Rev 19:16; Deu 10:17; Psa 136:2, Psa 136:3; Pro 8:15, Pro 8:16; Dan 2:47; 1Ti 6:15

and they : Rev 14:1-4, Rev 19:14; Psa 149:5-9; Jer 1:15, Jer 1:19; Mic 5:7-9; Joh 15:16; Rom 8:30, Rom 8:37; 2Ti 2:4; Heb 3:1, Heb 3:2; 1Pe 2:9

and faithful : Rev 2:10

TSK: Rev 17:15 - The waters // are

The waters : Rev 17:1; Psa 18:4, Psa 65:7, Psa 93:3-4; Isa 8:7, Isa 8:8; Jer 51:13, Jer 51:42, Jer 51:55

are : Rev 10:11, Rev 11:9, Rev 13:7, Rev 13:8

TSK: Rev 17:16 - the ten // these // and naked // eat // and burn

the ten : Rev 17:2, Rev 17:10,Rev 17:12

these : The ten horns, which the angel explained of ""ten kings""or kingdoms, and which once exalted and supported her ecclesiastical tyranny, will hate, desolate, strip, and devour her. They will be the principal instruments in the destruction of popery and the ruin of Rome itself. Rev 17:1, Rev 17:2, Rev 17:13, Rev 16:12; Isa 13:17, Isa 13:18; Jer 50:41, Jer 50:42

and naked : Rev 18:16, Rev 18:17; Eze 16:37-44, Eze 23:45-49

eat : Job 31:31; Psa 27:2; Dan 7:5

and burn : Rev 18:8, Rev 18:16; Lev 21:9

TSK: Rev 17:17 - God hath // put // to fulfil // until

God hath : Rev 17:13; Act 4:27, Act 4:28

put : Ezr 7:27; Psa 105:25; Pro 21:1; Jer 32:40; 2Th 2:10-12; Jam 1:13-17

to fulfil : Luk 22:3, Luk 22:22, Luk 22:37; Joh 13:2, Joh 13:18

until : Rev 6:11, Rev 10:7, Rev 15:1; Pro 19:21; Isa 45:17, Isa 46:10,Isa 46:11; Jer 27:6, Jer 27:7; Eze 38:16, Eze 38:17; Dan 12:7; Joh 10:35, Joh 12:39, Joh 12:40, Joh 19:24, Joh 19:28

TSK: Rev 17:18 - the woman // which reigneth

the woman : Rev 16:19, Rev 18:2; Dan 2:40,Dan 2:41, Dan 7:23; Luk 2:1

which reigneth : The city which, at the time of the vision, ""reigned over the kings of the earth,""was undoubtedly Rome; and from its foundation, it has, in different ways, accomplished this object to the present time. Rev 12:4

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Rev 17:1 - great whore

Rev 17:1-4 John’ s vision of the great whore, sitting upon the

scarlet coloured beast, arrayed in

purple and scarlet, with a golden cup in her hand.

Rev 17:5 Her name.

Rev 17:6 She is drunken with the blood of saints.

Rev 17:7-17 The interpretation of the mystery of the beast, and

of his seven heads and ten horns,

Rev 17:18 and of the woman.

This whole verse is but a preface to a new vision which John had; not new, as to the matter revealed in it; for it plainly revealeth matters relating to antichrist; and the matter of it contemporizeth with the three last vials, about the final ruin of antichrist, who was before described under the notion of a beast, here under the notion of a

great whore A whore properly signifies one that is married, and is false to her husband’ s bed; and so very well suits the Church of Rome, (if they yet deserve that name), whose faith was formerly spoken of throughout the world, Rom 1:8 , but is long since turned idolatrous (idolatry, in the prophetic style, being quite through the Scripture called whoredom). She is said to

sit upon many waters either because she exerciseth a jurisdiction over much people, or with allusion to old Babylon, (which gave her her name), which was situated near Euphrates, a river in which there was a great collection of waters. John is called to hear the counsels of God concerning her destruction, which though more generally and shortly revealed before, yet God here designs to reveal to John more fully, particularly, and plainly.

Poole: Rev 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

With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication with which great whore several princes of the world have committed spiritual fornication, receiving her idolatrous worship, yielding to her authority, and following her example.

And the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with, the wine of her fornication and not the kings only of the earth, but the generality of the people, have been influenced with a mad heat, and with the wine of her fornication, that is, with that wine by which she enticed them to commit idolatry with her. By this wine are meant honours, riches, preferments, pleasure, the gaudery of her worship, the magnificence of the apostolic see, their pretended antiquity, unity; in short, whatsoever specious arguments papists use to entice persons into the idolatrous communion of their church.

Poole: Rev 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 // See Poole on "Rev 13:1" // woman

So he carried me away in the spirit that is, being in an ecstasy; see Rev 4:2 ; whether in the body or out of the body he could not tell, as Paul expresseth it, 2Co 12:2 .

Into the wilderness a place not, or not much, inhabited, either as fittest for contemplation. or to signify that this great whore, which had driven the spouse of Christ into the wilderness, should shortly herself come into her state, according to the fate of old Babylon, Jer 1:13 .

And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast the great whore, mentioned Rev 17:1 , upheld by the Roman emperors.

Full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns the same which is mentioned Rev 13:1 :

See Poole on "Rev 13:1" . Here a great question ariseth, who this

woman is, or, (which is the same, as appeareth by Rev 17:5 ), what city is meant by Babylon, mentioned Rev 17:5 ; a question (as Mr. Pool noteth) of high concernment; for whoever this woman is, or whatsoever this Babylon signifieth, the people of God are upon pain of damnation admonished to avoid any communion with her, and to come out of her, Rev 14:9,10 . Mr. Pool hath diligently collected into his Latin Synopsis all opinions about it, and showed what is to be said for or against them; I will give my reader the sum of what he saith.

1. Some would have it to be the whole world of wicked men. Against this it is said:

(1.) That John speaks here of a certain great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth, Rev 17:18 : this cannot be meant of the wicked world.

(2.) The world of wicked men are those inhabitants of the earth, whom this woman made drunk with the wine of her fornication: now she that made them drunk, and those that were made drunk, cannot be the same.

(3.) This woman sitteth on seven mountains, Rev 17:9 , and so do not all the wicked of the world.

(4.) We are commanded to come out of this Babylon, but we are not obliged to go out of the world.

2. Others would have this woman, or this Babylon, to be the old Chaldean Babylon. But:

(1.) Where then is the mystery, mentioned Rev 17:5 ?

(2.) The Babylon here mentioned, is by all agreed to be the seat of antichrist; so was that never.

3. The generality agree it to be Rome. Amongst the ancients, Tertullian, Jerome, Ambrose, CEcumenius, Augustine, Eusebius: of later writers, Beda, Aquinas, Salmeron, Pererius, Bellarmine, Lapide, Ribera, (all papists), besides a multitude of protestant writers.

(1.) That city is also like old Babylon for power and greatness, for oppression and tyranny of and over God’ s Israel; besides, the city here mentioned is described by two characters, agreeing to none but Rome, Rev 17:9 , dwelling upon seven hills.

(2.) Reigning over the kings of the earth: for the first Rome is the only city in the world founded upon seven hills, and famed for it by its old poets, Ovid, Virgil, Horace, Propertius, &c. It is attested to be so founded by Plutarch, Pliny, Dionysius, Halicarnassaeus. The names of these hills are known: Palatinus, Quirinalis, Aventinus, Celius, Veminalis, Esquilinus, Capitolinus. Both papist and protestant writers agree that here by Babylon Rome is meant; but they are divided, whether it be to be understood of Rome in its old pagan state, or in its present state, or in a state yet to come.

4. Some would have it to be Rome in its pagan state; of this mind are Grotius, and Dr. Hammond, and some others. But against this many things are said:

(1.) It is manifest that God here describes Rome not as under its sixth head, viz. the pagan emperors, but as it was under its last head, the eighth king, Rev 17:11 , as it should ascend out of the bottomless pit, Rev 17:8 .

(2.) What John saw herein mentioned as a secret about the blood of the saints, which he wondered at; now the pagan emperors’ spilling the blood of saints was a thing long since done.

(3.) The desolation of the Babylon here mentioned was to be final, never to be repaired, as appears by Rev 18:21-23 ; but pagan Rome was never made so desolate.

(4.) If Rome pagan be here meant, then, after its fall, Rome Christian was the habitation of devils, Rev 18:2 .

(5.) Rome pagan fell upon our saints with downright blows, not with allurements, making them drunk with the wine of her fornication, as Rev 17:2 .

5. The papists, who grant that by Babylon Rome is meant, would have it to be Rome toward the end of the world, when, they say, Rome shall apostatize from the pope to paganism again; but for this opinion there is no foundation in Scripture, nor the judgment of the ancients, and some of the papists themselves reject it as improbable and detestable.

6. The generality and best of protestant writers understand by Babylon, and by this woman, Rome, as it is at this day under the conduct of the pope, for which they give these reasons.

(1.) Because it cannot be understood of Rome in either of the other notions, as hath been proved.

(2.) Because antichrist is to sit in the temple of God, 2Th 2:4 , as God, therefore not in any pagan city. The mystery of iniquity was working in the apostle’ s time, but, Rev 17:7 , the Roman empire hindered the appearance of antichrist till the popes had wrung Rome out of their hands, and were the sole rulers there; then antichrist showed himself.

(3.) Because there is nothing said of this great whore, or this Babylon, but admirably agreeth to Rome in its present state.

Poole: Rev 17:4 - And the woman was arrayed in a purple and scarlet colour // Scarlet // 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 arrayed in a purple and scarlet colour purple was the colour of kings and princes: this woman, Rev 18:7 , said she was queen.

Scarlet also was a rich and noble colour, anciently most used in a time of war. How much it is in use with the pope and his cardinals, is sufficiently known.

And decked with gold and precious stones and pearls this shows the worldly riches of the papacy.

Having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication alluring and tempting persons to idolatry, as whores use to do with their philters, or enchanted cups, allure and provoke men to sensual satisfactions.

Poole: Rev 17:5 - And upon her forehead was a name written // Mystery // Babylon the great // The mother of harlots // And abominations of the earth

And upon her forehead was a name written as public harlots were wont to write their names, some upon the fronts of their houses, some upon their foreheads: it denotes the open guilt and impudence of this spiritual harlot.

Mystery that is, there is a mystery in what follows in her name.

Babylon the great not to be understood of the Chaldean Babylon, but of a city or polity under the gospel; as, Rev 11:8 , she was called spiritually Sodom and Egypt, so also in a spiritual or mystical sense she is called Babylon, because a city like to Babylon for idolatry and persecution of God’ s Israel.

The mother of harlots not it mere harlot but one that bred up harlots, and nursed up idolatry, communicating it to others. This is the true name of Rome instead of "holy mother church."

And abominations of the earth a place in which not only idolatry reigneth, but all abominable things committed in the world; carnal whoredom tolerated by them, and sodomy, &c.

Poole: Rev 17:6 - And I saw the woman // And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration

And I saw the woman the papacy, drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus filled with the blood of those holy ones, which she caused to be slain for bearing testimony to Jesus Christ.

And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration which he would not have done had it been a pagan Rome he had seen in this vision. But that any that owned Christ, and called themselves the holy church, should kill men for bearing testimony to Christ, and adherence to his rule of faith and life, this caused in John a just wonderment.

Poole: Rev 17:7

The angel promiseth to open this vision, it being the key of the former vision, and is the only vision expounded throughout this whole book.

Poole: Rev 17:8 - The beast that thou sawest // Was, and is not // and yet is // And shall ascend out of the bottomless pit // And go into perdition // And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, &c.

The beast that thou sawest this beast was the Roman empire, the scarlet coloured beast which carried the whore, Rev 17:3 .

Was, and is not ; was of old, in Rome’ s pagan state, and is not, not in that form, not now pagan;

and yet is (as is said in the close of the verse) the same in another form, idolatrous and persecuting.

And shall ascend out of the bottomless pit either, out of the sea, which signifies a multitude of people; or, from hell; the word signifies both.

And go into perdition and shall certainly be destroyed.

And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, &c.: but before he goes into perdition he shall so cheat the world, that the generality of the people shall wonder at the beast, see Rev 8:8setting aside those who are chosen of God to eternal salvation; the one hundred and forty-four thousand, mentioned Rev 14:3 . I conceive that which hath made interpreters so divided in their notions about this beast is, because those words, and yet is, are not added in the beginning of the verse, which being understood, there appears no difficulty considerable; for it is certain the Roman empire was from before Christ, and continued pagan till the year 310; then was not pagan, but Christian, yet after some years was again as idolatrous and bloody against Christians, as the old pagan empire was; especially when swallowed up by the pope, the beast with two horns like a lamb. This is the beast with seven heads and ten horns, Rev 13:1 .

Poole: Rev 17:9 - And here is the mind which hath wisdom // The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth

And here is the mind which hath wisdom that is, here is that which requireth a mind endued with spiritual wisdom.

The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth the seven heads which he saw the beast with, signified seven mountains or hills upon which Rome is situated; they were named before: See Poole on "Rev 17:3" . They tell us now Rome is situated in Campo Martio. Resp. Whatever it now is, certain it is, that in St. John’ s time it was situated upon them, and they are now within the compass of Rome.

Poole: Rev 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 there are seven kings the seven heads do not only signify seven hills or mountains, but also seven kings, that is, (according to the best interpretation I meet with), seven forms of government which ruled Rome; the term kings, it Scripture, signifying rulers, whether the government was in single persons, or more, as Deu 33:5 . Rome was governed:

1. By kings.

2. By consuls.

3. Tribunes.

4. Decemvirs.

5. Dictators.

6. Emperors that were pagans.

7. Emperors that were Christians.

Five are fallen five of these were fallen, extinguishied before John’ s time, viz. the government by kings, consuls, tribunes, decemvirs, dictators.

And one is the government by pagan emperors was at that time in being.

And the other is not yet come the government by Christian emperors was not yet in being.

And when he cometh, he must continue a short space and when it came, it held but a little time before the bishops of Rome wrested the government of Italy out of their hands. This to me seemeth the most probable interpretation of this difficult text.

Poole: Rev 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 the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth this made the eighth succession of governments in the Roman empire.

And is of the seven this was of the seventh head; for although this was the eighth government in order as we have counted them, yet one of these, viz. the seventh, (which was that of true Christian emperors), must not be counted as one of the seven heads, which were all idolatrous: so though this was the eighth government, yet he was one of the seven heads, i.e. idolatrous governments.

And goeth into perdition and to be destroyed as they were.

Poole: Rev 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 kings: possibly by ten kings here are not meant monarchs, but governments.

Which have received no kingdom as yet which were not in being in John’ s time, nor in many years after.

But receive power as kings one hour with the beast but should, during some time of the beast’ s reign, have power with the papacy, employing their power with his to establish his idolatry. But who these ten monarchs are, or what these ten governmts are, I must confess myself at a loss to determine. It is plain they should be:

1. Such as should be contemporaneous with the reign of the beast.

2. Such as employed their power in conjunction with his.

3. Such as should afterwards be instruments to ruin the papacy, Rev 17:16,17 .

The beast’ s reign being twelve hundred and sixty years, there hath been, and will be, such a variety of princes and governments, as it is very hard to determine who they shall be. But their being contemporaneous with the beast, makes me think it cannot be understood either of any that were in the world before the year 606, when the beast’ s reign began (though the mystery of iniquity was working, and the image of the beast was making, long before); as also that the ten barbarous nations that disturbed Italy from the year 410 till near 600 could not be meant, being all before antichrist came to any reign; nor did they ever show any great love or hatred to the pope; sometimes serving, sometimes opposing him, as suited their respective civil interests. I am very inclinable to think the prophecy to concern some kings nearer the end of antichrist’ s reign, who though for a while they served the papacy, yet shall at last be instruments to ruin him; but who they are shall do this, or when it shall be, I cannot determine.

Poole: Rev 17:13

They shall all be papists, and for a while shall employ all their power and strength to uphold the popish religion.

Poole: Rev 17:14 - 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

These shall make war with the Lamb these ten kings shall a while oppose themselves to the gospel, taking part with antichrist.

And the Lamb shall overcome them Christ shall overcome them by the power of is gospel, or some of them that way; others, that will not be converted, shall be confounded, some way or other brought to ruin.

For he is Lord of lords and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful for he hath a power above others, and knows how to fit instruments for his purpose; so as those whom he shall make use of in this work, shall be chosen persons, and faithful in discharge of the trust committed to them.

Poole: Rev 17:15

John saw the great whore sitting upon seven mountains, Rev 17:9 , and upon many waters, Rev 17:1 ; these signified her dominion and jurisdiction over many people.

Poole: Rev 17:16 - And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast // These shall hate the whore, &c

And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast: see Rev 17:3,12 .

These shall hate the whore, &c. the ten kings shall apostatize from the papacy, and be great instruments of God to ruin it. When we see some other kingdoms, now in vassalage to the pope, do as much as hath been done in England, and Scotland, and Sweden, and some other places, we may possibly understand this prophecy better than we yet do.

Poole: Rev 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 put in their hearts to fulfil his will that is, what he hath determined shall be done; not what he commandeth men to do, or approveth their doing of; his permissive will.

And to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast for God puts malice against himself and his Son into the hearts of none, which is the cause of any persons’ assisting the beast.

Until the words of God shall be fulfilled nor shall they do this any longer than till the forty-two months be expired, which he by his word hath declared he hath allowed to these mongrel Gentiles, to tread down the outward court: but till that time be expired, these kingdoms will agree to give their power to the beast, whom about the expiration of that time they shall hate, and help to destroy.

Poole: Rev 17:18 - And the woman which thou sawest // Is that great city // Which reigneth over the kings of the earth

And the woman which thou sawest: see Rev 17:3 .

Is that great city that is, signifieth that great city, Babylon the great: see Rev 17:5 .

Which reigneth over the kings of the earth commanding and punishing them as she pleaseth. To what person or power that either now is, or ever was, upon the earth, is this applicable, but to the pope, who makes emperors hold his stirrup, sends his edicts to princes to execute, excommunicates them, and interdicts their subjects, and arms them against them if they refuse? So that if the pope sits upon seven hills, or Rome he built upon them; if the papacy hath allured the inhabitants of the earth to idolatry; if in her idolatries she be the image of the old pagan idolaters; if to her many princes have given their power and strength; if she reigneth over the kings of the earth; and these things be applicable to no other person or government; there is no more doubt, whether the pope be antichrist, and Rome mystical Babylon, which shall certainly be destroyed for her idolatries and shedding the blood of God’ s holy ones, than there is of what we have Rev 1:1,2 , that this book contains The Revelation of Jesus Christ, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; which he sent and signified by his angel unto his servant John; who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

PBC: Rev 17:1

The Judgment of the great whore, called Babylon and Jerusalem {Re 17:1-6}

Re 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:

God gave a commandment to Israel concerning prostitution and whoredom. " Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness." {Le 19:29}

The reputation of this " great Whore" had gone out to all the nations roundabout Jerusalem. She is the daughter of God in the respect that she remains under the judgment of God. Ezekiel gives us great insight concerning Jerusalem. " Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied." {Eze 16:28-45} He continues by saying that she had multiplied her fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea. He says this is the work of an imperious whorish woman. She is as a wife that commits adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband! We understand this to be speaking to Israel before she was taken into captivity. Yet, like so many of today who have forgotten the goodness of God, Israel had not learned. Her heart remained adamant. Because of all these things, God pronounced Judgment on her. " Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD: Israel shall be judged as women that break wedlock and shed blood. I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy." {Eze 16:35} Jerusalem’s sins were as bad in John’s vision as when Ezekiel wrote of them. The prophecy seemed identical. " And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare. They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords. And they shall burn thine houses with fire." {Eze 16:39-41} —Eld. Charles Taylor

PBC: Rev 17:2

Fornication is described by the Greek word porneuo, to act the harlot, i.e., indulge unlawful lust (of either sex), or practice idolatry, commit (fornication). Porneuo is used in the parable of the prodigal son who had wasted his inheritance among harlots.

The kings of the earth knew Jerusalem’s idolatry. Jesus said to the Pharisees, " Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves." {Mt 23:15}

Some might argue that this could not be Jerusalem because the verse ends with " the great whore that sitteth upon many waters." Let the Scripture be its own interpreter. " And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." {Re 17:15} The Jews were scattered abroad among all nations. Many of these were still faithful to Jerusalem. On the day of Pentecost there were " dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven." {Ac 2:5} This indicates strongly that this great whore is indeed Jerusalem. These Jews had gathered for the celebration of Pentecost commanded under the law.— Eld. Charles Taylor

PBC: Rev 17:3

This woman, who was situated spiritually in a wilderness,[1] is still identified as Jerusalem. She is the same as the one identified in Re 13:1. The scarlet coloured beast on which she sat is still the same as in Re 13:2. This beast, which seems to be the fourth world empire, is Rome. It has incorporated all the terrors of the evil empires which had gone before. All of the evil which the Roman Empire spewed from its mouth was derived from the dragon (Satan) which John saw rising out of the earth.— Eld. Charles Taylor

[1] eremos, er’-ay-mos; of uncertain. affinity.; lonesome, i.e. (by implication) waste (usually as a noun, being implied)—desert, desolate, solitary, wilderness.

PBC: Rev 17:4

Re 17:4

The clothing of the woman

Re 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:

This woman is the same as the great whore. The clothing with which she is arrayed is the same as clothing designated for " Temple attire." Let us examine this in the light of Scripture. Beginning with Ex 28:4, we find the Temple attire of Aaron and his sons; " And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office." {Ex 28:4} This attire would be of gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. It would have shoulder pieces of onyx stones engraved with the names of the children of Israel. They would also have on a breastplate with the names of Israel engraved thereon. These would be fastened together with golden chains. This woman (Jerusalem) would still bear the outward appearance of those who worshiped God. However, their hearts would be far from Him. Although Jerusalem still carried out the work of priestly observance, this was only in the fulfillment of the letter of the law.— Eld. Charles Taylor

PBC: Rev 17:5

Like those who would wear the number of the beast upon their forehead and in the palm of their hands, so would this woman be identified by the working of her mind. Babylon[1] the great. This woman has not changed identification. It must be concluded that she is either Rome, or she is Jerusalem. She does not switch identification. In Re 11:8, she is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, " where also our Lord was crucified." This is the terrible condition of Jerusalem that she should be called the mother of harlots. Spiritually, she is in the same league with Sodom and Egypt. Wickedness prevailed at every turn, so much so that Jesus called her religious leaders hypocrites.

Jeremiah spoke of Babylon and the golden cup, " Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad." {Jer 51:7} This and Re 17:4 are the only passages that speak of Babylon and the golden cup in the same context. It would not be truthful to say that Jeremiah was speaking of Jerusalem. He was not. The Babylon of Jeremiah’s writing was speaking of the Babylonian empire of which the Children of Israel were in bondage. Now Jerusalem is in the same league.— Eld. Charles Taylor

[1] Babulon, bab-oo-lone’;of Hebrew or. Babel; Babylon, the capital of Chaldaea (lititurally or figuratively [as a type of tyranny])—Babylon

PBC: Rev 17:6

Re 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.[1]

In Jeremiah, Babylon had made all the earth drunken with the wine which represents her wickedness. Now we see the woman of Revelation drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. We again identify this last part with Jerusalem as Jesus said " That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar." {Mt 23:35} She is charged with that blood because of her demeanor. Ever more she became enthralled and drunken by taking the lives of those who were followers of Christ.

We know that Peter wrote of Babylon. Some who say that Babylon was Rome also declare that Peter wrote his epistles from Rome. Therefore, they deduct the theory that he was referring to Babylon as being Rome. We realize this is a very hard question to settle. We have no Biblical record that Peter was ever in Rome. However, he did receive great persecution in Judea. Again, let the Scriptures speak of this bloodthirsty area. " Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread)." {Ac 12:1-3} The phrase in parentheses gives us the clue to the location of this persecution. The time was the feast of Passover and the feast of unleavened bread. Exodus describes it as the feast of Unleavened Bread following immediately, and connected to the Passover. This was one of three feasts which the Mosaic Law enjoined to be attended by all male Jews who were physically able and ceremonially clean. Peter and the other apostles were in Jerusalem at that time.[2]  So Peter could rightly say " The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son." {1Pe 5:13} It would be fair and we believe truthful to say that Peter was speaking of Jerusalem. Since we are dealing with figurative terminologies, it is highly probable that Jerusalem, with her wickedness, was easily comparable with Babylon of Jeremiah’s time.— Eld. Charles Taylor

[1] theaomai, theh-ah’-om-ahee; a form of a primary. verb; to look closely at, i.e. (by implication) to perceive (literakky or figuratively); by extens. to visit—behold,

[2] God’s time calendar still prevailing to prove His truths! See Ex 23:17 and De 16:16.

PBC: Rev 17:7

Re 17:7

The Beast Which Carried the Woman

Re 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 carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

Certainly the woman is a mystery. It takes spiritual interpretation to find the identity of this woman. We have spent quite a bit of time in bringing to light what we believe to be Biblical interpretation. She must be Jerusalem. How then can we fit into the picture this beast which has seven heads and ten horns. We must see that it is the beast which carries the woman, Jerusalem. So the beast is predominant in our identification. We have already identified the beast as being Rome. Rome was the power which carried, or propelled Jerusalem in all of her ungodly acts. Rome was delighted when Herod Antipas reached forth the sword in persecution of the early church.— Eld. Charles Taylor

PBC: Rev 17:8

These words were spoken to John on Patmos. The beast is explained to him as having been in power, yet at this time is not in power but shall ascend out of the pit and shall again practice the acts of perdition which once were practiced. What were these terrible acts which God hated?

Idolatry was practiced in Judea in the act of Caesar worship. Temples were built for the purpose of worshiping the Caesars as gods. However, this was not the meaning of this verse. We must go back to Nero, A.D. 55-68, who was the most evil of the emperors up to his time. He was the fifth Emperor of Rome. He is described figuratively by John as " the beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition." History verifies that this was the belief of some who believed that Nero would reappear. The character and disposition of Nero re-appeared in the Emperor Domitian. — Eld. Charles Taylor

PBC: Rev 17:9

These seven heads are the seven hills upon which Rome sits. " And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority." {Re 13:2} Let us go to the vision of Daniel to find this beast.

In Da 7:3-7 we find a vision of four great beasts who come out of the sea. These beasts are the symbols of the great empires which had held world power. The first three empires were the Babylonian (Lion with an eagle’s wings), the Medo-Persian (Like a bear), and the Grecian (Leopard with four wings). These powers (three world empires) were so savage and cruel and inhuman that they could be typified and symbolized with nothing but bestial figures. The fourth beast of Daniel’s vision was diverse from all the rest: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: " and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns." In John’s vision these first three beasts were combined. This beast in Re 13:2 is like a leopard with bear’s feet and a lion’s mouth. This beast, which is the fourth world empire, is Rome. It has incorporated all the terrors of the evil empires which had gone before. All of the evil which the Roman Empire spewed from its mouth was derived from the great red Dragon, (which is Satan). We read in Re 13:4, " And they worshiped the dragon[1] which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?" History tells us " The peoples of the empire worshiped the Pax Romana[2] [Roman Peace] as a goddess. Everywhere, people showed their appreciation by worshiping the emperors and the Pax Romana, by desiring Roman citizenship, and by imitating Roman ways." This worshiping of emperors and the Pax Romana certainly was of Satan. And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast.— Eld. Charles Taylor

[1] This is the great red Dragon (Satan) of Re 12:3.

[2] Excerpts from Magoffin and Duncalf, pp-358-369

PBC: Rev 17:10

To interpret this verse we must bypass the Emperors, Galba, Otho, and Vitellius who were never really emperors. They were placed in office by the Roman army. They never really exercised any power, but were more or less figure heads. The entire time of the reign of Galba, Otho, and Vitellius spanned only one year, A.D. 68-A.D. 69.

Following these was Vespasian, who was appointed Emperor and reigned from A.D. 69-A.D. 79. He was the one who reigned when Jerusalem was destroyed by Titus, his son. Vespasian would be considered this one spoken of by John in Re 17:10 as being " and one is." He is the sixth, " and the other is not yet come and when he cometh, he must continue a short space." Titus followed his father, Vespasian, and remained in power a short space of time, A.D. 79-A.D. 81. This makes Titus the seventh. There is logic in this reasoning as we will see during the explanation of the next verse.— Eld. Charles Taylor

PBC: Rev 17:11

Domitian, who was Emperor from A.D. 81-A.D. 96 would be counted as the eighth. How could he be of the seven? How could he be the " beast that was, and is not?" If we view this through the eyes of the Romans of that time, maybe we can interpret this as John saw it.

We have already studied the life of Nero, who was the fifth Emperor of the Roman Empire. He was looked upon as the incarnated Satan because of his madness and cruelty. Certainly we could say that Nero was one of the seven. John was condemned to the isle of Patmos during the persecution of Nero. John was very well acquainted with the ways of Nero. Now he speaks of this one who is to come (the eighth) which is of the seven. This was Domitian[1] who was the brother of Titus, and the eighth Emperor (excluding Galba, Otho, and Vitellius) who reigned during the time of emperor worship. At first, Domitian was an excellent ruler. He rebuilt much that had been destroyed by rebellion. According to records,[2] in A.D. 86, Domitian’s army suffered a defeat at the hands of the Dacians.[3]  This was the dividing line between his better and worse sides. " He filled the Capitol with statues of himself, announced the divinity of his father, brother, wife, and sisters as well as his own, organized a new order of priests, the Flaviales, to tend the worship of these new deities, and required officials to speak of him, in their documents, as Dominus et Deus Noster -’Our Lord and God.’ He sat on a throne, encouraged visitors to embrace his knees, and established in his ornate palace the etiquette of an Oriental court." He banished from Italy all who refused to adore the godhead of Domitian, and among these were Jews and Christians. It is said that no citizen of any prominence could feel safe from spies, even in his home. They killed and tortured many, even by having " fire inserted into their private parts."

In this respect, Domitian could be figuratively called Nero, or that one who would go into perdition. Domitian was the last of those History calls the evil emperors. He was assassinated in A.D.96.— Eld. Charles Taylor

[1] Review the explanation of Re 17:8 (See PB: Re 17:8.) Domitian would become as bad, if not worse than Nero. These rulers were described as being beastly and bestial. This would allow them to carry the name of " beast."

[2] " Caesar and Christ," Pages 289-294 -A History or Roman Civilization and of Christianity From Their Beginning to A.D. 325 Simon & Shuster

[3] Dacia -Rumania (Romania).

PBC: Rev 17:12

Re 17:12

Ten Horns are Ten Kings

Re 17:12-13 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. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

We are brought back to the interpretation of the ten kings. We can only do this by looking at the time period of emperor worship. These ten[1] who are mentioned as beginning with Tiberius and ending with Domitian are absolute. They include the three (Galba, Otho, and Vitellius) who are not mentioned in the seven of Re 17:10-11. Although these three were emperors for a season, their kingdoms were unstable. They possessed none in their own right. It was during the reign of Augustus Caesar that Christ was born. It was permissible under his rule for Herod to seek to kill the Christ Child. As we come through the reigning periods of the ten emperors, we find great persecution and murder being experienced by all who will not worship the beast. This great whore was under the command of Rome for a season. Together, with Rome they made war with the Lamb. Jesus said, " But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me." {Joh 15:21} Again Jesus said as He prayed to the Father, " I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." {Joh 17:14} —Eld. Charles Taylor

[1] Seven of these ten Emperors met a violent end; nearly all of them were unhappy, surrounded by conspiracy, dishonesty, and intrigue, trying to govern a world from the anarchy of a home. They indulged their appetites because they knew how brief was their omnipotence; they lived in the daily horror of men condemned to an early and sudden death. They went under because they were above the law; they became less than men because power had made them gods. -from " Caesar and Christ" -by Will Durant -A History of Roman Civilization and of Christianity from Their Beginning, Simon & Shuster..

PBC: Rev 17:14

Here is a promise to all that are with him and are called, and chosen and faithful. This fulfillment and finality is realized in Re 19:11,13-14,16. " And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.... And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God—And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean—.And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

The Lord of Lords directed the armies of Rome against Jerusalem, " And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer." {Re 6:2} —Eld. Charles Taylor

PBC: Rev 17:15

This is referring us to Jerusalem " the great whore that sitteth upon many waters." {Re 17:1} The seven vials are poured out on Jerusalem. She is this whore who will receive the terrible judgment of God.— Eld. Charles Taylor

PBC: Rev 17:16

The ten horns with ten crowns stand for the emperors of Rome while Caesar worship was prevalent. These hated Jerusalem and in their zeal they devoured, " ate the flesh" of these because Jerusalem had dared to rebel against their great power.— Eld. Charles Taylor

PBC: Rev 17:17

God is sovereign in His will. He has a perfect right to turn the evil thoughts, works, and ways of wicked men to perform the foreordained things of God. Peter told those wicked Jews on the day of Pentecost, speaking of Christ, " Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." {Ac 2:23} Also we find it recorded in Paul’s letter to the Church at Rome, concerning Pharaoh. " For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth." {Ro 9:17-18} —Eld. Charles Taylor

PBC: Rev 17:18

How did Jerusalem reign over the kings of the earth? To reign means possessing, and using power to rule. Jerusalem ruled over these kings in an economic respect. When she was alive and well these kings were indebted to her because they furnished her with the rich furnishings of the temple. Therefore, these kings did her bidding. This is proven by their actions as they saw Babylon (Jerusalem) fall. " And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." {Re 14:8} —Eld. Charles Taylor

Haydock: Rev 17:1 - Of the great harlot // Come, I will show thee the condemnation of the great harlot,...Babylon....the mother of the fornications // The beast // The seven heads

I must repeat what I have already taken notice of, both in the preface to the Apocalypse, and sometimes in the annotations, that there are three ways of expounding all the visions of this revelation, from the end of chap. iii. to the end of ver. 10. chap. xx. all of which seem grounded on the opinions of the ancient Fathers. According to the first, all these visions are only to be fulfilled in antichrist's time, a little before the end of the world. According to the second, the visions may be applied to particular events, which happened in the first three or four ages [centuries], under the persecuting heathens, till by Constantine, and the succeeding Christian emperors, idolatry by degrees was extirpated, and the faith of Christ triumphed over all its enemies, whether Jews or pagans. According to the third, by the great city of Babylon, is mystically and metaphorically signified all wicked great cities in the world, all the multitude of the wicked dispersed in all nations, their short and vain happiness, their persecutions and oppressions of the good and faithful servants of God, who live piously in this world, and who are called to be citizens of the celestial Jerusalem in the kingdom of God, where he reigneth for ever with his Angels and saints, and where they all reign with him, happy in his sight and enjoyment. I am more and more inclined to this third exposition, by reading this 17th chapter, with the contents of the 18th, 19th, and 20th chapters, till the 11th verse, and by reading what St. Jerome says in general terms, in his epistle to Marcella, tom. 4, part 1, p. 166, Nov. edit. " that all this book (of the Apocalypse) is either to be expounded spiritually, or if we follow a carnal interpretation, we must content ourselves with Jewish fables. And especially by reading what St. Augustine has delivered us upon the chief difficulties of the Apocalypse, in his 20th book de Civ. Dei [The City of God], from chap. vi. to chap. xvi. and from p. 578. to p. 594. tom. 7. Nov. edit. To expound then these chapters together according to this third interpretation. (Witham) ---

Of the great harlot. Nothing can be better applied than this epithet to ancient Rome, which had conquered almost all the kingdoms of the known world, as it is said in ver. 18. she is the great city, a kingdom, which hath dominion over the kings of the earth; ver. 9. it was built upon seven mountains ; ver. 6. was watered with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus Christ; and in fine, ver. 5. it was the great Babylon, as St. Peter, in his first epistle, pleases to call it. (Calmet) ---

Come, I will show thee the condemnation of the great harlot,...Babylon....the mother of the fornications . By this harlot, and this Babylon, is signified the multitude of all the wicked of all times and places, who have abandoned themselves to sensual pleasures, and sought for their happiness in riches and worldly grandeur; for this reason she is said to carry on her forehead this inscription, a mystery; that is, to be understood in a mystical sense of all the wicked, who make up as it were one city, as St. Augustine observes, which may be called Babylon, the city of confusion, the city of idolatry, and of all manner of vices. ---

The beast, that is, the devil, carries her, whose suggestions the wicked follow. He comes out from the bottomless pit. He was, i.e. had a much greater and more extensive power over the wicked world before Christ's coming and incarnation; and he is not, i.e. according to St. Augustine, his power hath been much extenuated and lessened since that time. He is bound or chained up for a thousand years, as it is said, chap. xx. 2. By which may be understood all the time from Christ's coming, and the establishing of his Christian Church, till the last and severest persecution under antichrist. See St. Augustine, lib. xx. de Civ. Dei. chap. vii. And when he shall come again, and be let loose, as it were, in antichrist's time, he must continue a short while: for all the ancient fathers agree, by the interpretations they give to the Scripture, that antichrist, and consequently the devil with antichrist, must reign but a short time. The scarlet coloured beast, the devil, called the prince of this world, on whom the harlot gilded with gold sat; that is, all the wicked, and particularly all wicked kings and princes, with their worldly greatness, who were drunk with the wine of her prostitution; that is, who abandoned themselves and indulged their passions with all sensual pleasures, and contented themselves with the vain and deceitful happiness of this life; to be convinced of which, the Angel is said to have taken St. John in spirit into a wilderness from the company of the wicked world, the better to see and contemplate the vanity of their short and false happiness. This woman , the harlot, this Babylon, this multitude of the wicked, especially the heathen persecuting emperors at Rome, and in all other places, (and they who acted against the Christians under them) are said to be drunk with the blood of the saints, and the blood of the martyrs, by putting the Christians, the Catholics and the servants of God to death, from the foundation of the world to its consummation, by the instigation of the beast, the devil. The beast, the devil, is represented with seven heads and ten horns; that is, with many heads and many horns, signified by the numbers seven and ten. See St. Augustine, chap. xxiii. p. 606. ---

The seven heads, as it is said, ver. 9, are seven mountains and seven kings, i.e. a great many. And also the ten horns, (ver. 12.) are ten kings. (Witham)

Haydock: Rev 17:4 - Cup....full of the abomination

Cup....full of the abomination, &c. These are common scriptural expressions for the abominations of idolatry, with which ancient Rome had notoriously polluted herself. For not content with worshipping her own heathenish gods, she adopted those of all the countries and nations she had subdued. In Rome itself there were no less than 420 heathenish temples, so that one of their most famous poets, Ovid, (lib. i. Trist.) says: Sed quæ de septem totum circumspicit orbem,

mortibus Imperii, Roma, Deumque locus.

Haydock: Rev 17:5 - A mystery // Babylon

A mystery. That is, a secret, because what follows of the name and title of the great harlot is to be taken in a mystical sense. ---

Babylon. Either the city of the devil in general; or, if this place be to be understood of any particular city, pagan Rome, which then and for 300 years persecuted the Church, and was the principal seat both of empire and idolatry. (Challoner)

Haydock: Rev 17:6 - Drunk with the blood of the saints

Drunk with the blood of the saints. Such was pagan Rome, for innumerable were the martyrs she put to death, both throughout the extent of her vast dominions, and even in her own bosom, the city itself. These were the victims of the ten persecutions raised by Rome against the Christians. Such was the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. (Pastorini)

Haydock: Rev 17:8 - The beast which thou sawest

The beast which thou sawest. This beast, which supports Babylon, may signify the power of the devil; which was, and is not, being much limited by the coming of Christ, but shall again exert itself under antichrist. The seven heads of this beast are seven mountains or empires, instruments of his tyranny; of which five were then fallen, as above, chap. xiii. ver. 1. The beast itself is said to be the eighth, and is of the seventh; because they all act under the devil, and by his instigation, so that his power is in them all, yet so as to make up, as it were, an eighth empire distinct from them all. (Challoner)

Haydock: Rev 17:9 - Seven mountains // The seven heads....are seven kings // Five

Seven mountains . We have already observed that ancient Rome stood upon seven mountains. The same cannot be said of modern Rome, as some of the hills are not inhabited. ---

The seven heads....are seven kings, or seven Roman emperors, who were particularly distinguished as the chief supporters of idolatry, and the most virulent persecutors of the Christian religion. Their names were Nero, Domitian, Severus, Decius, Valerian, Dioclesian and Antichrist. ---

Five of them are fallen or gone, viz. Nero, Domitian, Severus, Decius, Valerian, who supported the idolatrous empire for a time; one is, viz. Dioclesian, with whom the reign of idolatry falls; and the other is not yet come, that is, antichrist.

Haydock: Rev 17:10 - Five are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet

Five are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet. The meaning of this is obscure. And perhaps it were better to own with St. Augustine that we do not know the meaning, than to advance suspicions and conjectures. But it is not improbable that by these seven kings may be understood the collection of kings, in what are called the seven ages of the world, from its creations to its consummation. The first age, is reckoned from Adam to Noe [Noah], and the deluge: the second age, from Noe to Abraham; the third, from Abraham to Moses; the fourth, from Moses to David; the fifth, from David to Christ. These five were past, and fallen, when St. John wrote. The sixth is, and is to last from Christ to antichrist. And another, the seventh, is not, being the time of antichrist, and only a short time. See Cornelius a Lapide on this verse. (Witham)

Haydock: Rev 17:11 - The beast that was, and is not

The beast that was, and is not: is the eighth: and is of seven. The devil reigns with the kings in all these ages: he is of the seven, because he is the prince under whom reign the wicked in all ages: he is also the eighth, inasmuch as he is their prince, and they are only his instruments. (Witham)

Haydock: Rev 17:12 - The ten horns // Ten horns // Ten kings

The ten horns, or ten kings, which thou sawest, as yet have received no kingdom, but shall receive power as kings one hour after the beast; or, as it is in the Greek, with the beast. According to the common interpretation, this must be referred to ten, or many kings, who are different from all the wicked kings that had been, and who should follow and live at the same time with the beast, by which here seems to be signified antichrist. Or, if by these ten kings we understand all the wicked kings, who were to come after St. John wrote, to the end of the world, they had not yet kingdoms, but the kingdoms which they should have, and all their vain happiness, would be very short, and at the same time they would be under the beast, and subject to him. (Witham) ---

Ten horns. These denote ten kings or ten powers; namely, Goths, Huns, Alans, Vandals, Saxons, Burgundians, Franks, Heruli, Suevi, &c. the chief of the barbarians that invaded the Roman empire in the fifth century. ---

They shall receive power as kings one hour after the beast ; that is, they will serve under their own leaders, to assist pagan Rome a little against its enemies; and their one design is afterwards to take the fruitful provinces of Rome to themselves, which we know they did. (Pastorini) ---

Ten kings. Ten lesser kingdoms, enemies also of the Church of Christ; which nevertheless shall be made instruments of the justice of God, for the punishment of Babylon. Some understand this of the Goths, Vandals, Huns, and other barbarous nations that destroyed the empire of Rome. (Challoner)

Haydock: Rev 17:13 - These have one design

These have one design, to make themselves as happy as they can in this world: and their power they shall give to the beast, being always slaves of the devil. (Witham)

Haydock: Rev 17:14 - These shall fight with the Lamb

These shall fight with the Lamb. There actions and affections being always led away with the love of this world, which is an enemy to Christ and his doctrine: but the Lamb, Christ, shall overcome them, and punish them, when he pleases: for he, Christ, God and man, is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and as St. John says again, (chap. xix. 16,) has written on his thigh, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, to signify to us his divinity, or divine nature. (Witham) ---

All these different people were either heathens or heretics, and of course were bitter enemies to the Catholic religion; but the Lamb overcame them, by turning their hearts, and converting them to Christianity.

Haydock: Rev 17:15 - The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth // And the ten horns....shall hate the harlot // These shall hate the harlot // For God hath // The beast was taken

The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth , signify the different nations, in all which is a multitude of wicked, especially among the great ones of this world. (Witham) ---

And the ten horns....shall hate the harlot. That is, ancient Rome; they will make her desolate, by laying waste all her provinces; they will make her....naked, by stripping her of her shining ornaments, her gaudy palaces, Egyptian obelisks, magnificent temples, theatres, triumphal arches, &c. ---

They will eat her flesh, by plundering her of her wealth and riches, with which she has fed herself by plundering the rest of the world; and lastly, they will burn her with fire; all which we know has been accomplished, even to a tittle. (Pastorini) ---

Alaric, the Goth, in 410, took the city, pillaged it, and delivered it over to fire and the plunder of his soldiers for three days. The only privileged places that escaped were the churches. (Calmet) ---

Genseric plundered it for fourteen days, in 455, and set fire to it. Odoacer took it, and deposed the emperor, in 476; and Totila, in 546, burnt it, and reduced it to a solitude. Procopius says he left not one human creature in the city. (Pastorini) ---

These shall hate the harlot. There is no true love or friendship among them: the wicked hate, envy, make war against the wicked, though they make alliances sometimes one with another. ---

For God hath put it into their hearts, permits them, and makes use of them as instruments of his justice, against one another: and they give their kingdom to the beast: the wicked reign under the prince of this world, the devil, as long as God pleases, and till his words and judgments are fulfilled. All the contents of the following chapters agree with this exposition. When the Angels cries, (chap. xviii.) Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, the false happiness of the wicked is come to its last period; though St. John speaks sometimes by anticipation, especially when the rejoicings of the saints are represented, and the miseries and consternation of the wicked, to encourage the servants of God to patience and perseverance under their trials and persecutions in this mortal life. Babylon will in a short time be the habitation of devils: and therefore the good are admonished by these words, go out of her, my people, avoid and detest her wicked ways. Almighty God hath remembered her iniquities, the provocations of the wicked, nor can they escape the hand of his justice. They lived as if they were never to be called to an account. Babylon, blinded with sensual delights, pride, and vanity, said in her heart, I sit as a queen above others, and sorrow I shall not see; like the wicked in the psalmist, who is Lord over us? (Psalm xi.) But all her plagues (chap. xviii. 8.) come in one day, at the day of death, or the day of judgment. Then are represented the weeping and mourning of all the accomplices of the wicked, like the disappointment of merchants by the burning and destruction of a great city, where they found so great profit in disposing and selling their merchandise. After this, in the 19th chapter, the blessed in heaven sing Alleluia, &c. the God Almighty hath reigned, or is about to reign. At the latter end of the 19th chapter, ver. 17, it is said, I saw an Angel standing in the sun; saying to all the birds, &c. Here are represented God's judgments on the wicked, as it were after a great battle, in which kings and many noblemen are slain, so that the birds are invited to drink of their blood. ---

The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet. We may take this as spoken by anticipation of antichrist, and his great impostor, or false prophet. For still after this, (chap. xx. 7,) is foretold, according to St. Augustine, the last persecution by the devil, and by antichrist, with Gog and Magog; for it is then that fire came down from heaven, and was to devour them; and there it is expressed that the devil, who seduced them, and all the wicked, was cast into the lake of fire, into hell, where also the beast, antichrist, and the false prophet shall be tormented for ever and ever. Now to give a short account of the two other expositions. The first of them, followed by a great many, (as may be seen in Alcazar and Cornelius a Lapide) holds that all these visions will come to pass in the short reign of antichrist, a little while before the end of the world. These interpreters are divided about the signification of Babylon: some understand Babylon the metropolis of Chaldea, where they think that antichrist will begin to reign; others understand Constantinople, the seat of the Turkish empire, which is also built upon seven hills: but many understand Rome, not Christian Rome, but Rome that was a heathen city in the first ages [centuries], and which they think will be heathen Rome again in antichrist's time. See a great number of the Fathers and interpreters for this opinion cited by Cornelius a Lapide. By the beast that carries her with her idolatry and vices, they understand the devil; and by the seven heads and ten horns, kings, who shall be in the time of antichrist, and submit themselves to him. All these kings and persecutors will receive their power one hour after, or with the beast, by which they rather understand antichrist, whose reign shall be short, as shall be that of the devil, who shall be let loose, and have greater power for a little while. By the eighth, who is of the seven, they understand the devil, because all the seven will be as it were his instruments. The same kings who committed fornication with the harlot, are also said to hate her, and burn her, says Gagneius, by being the cause of her damnation and destruction: for none are greater enemies than sinners' accomplices. As to the other exposition, (for which see Alcazar, the bishop of Meaux, &c.) they look upon all these visions till the last persecution under antichrist, (chap. xx. 7. 10.) to be already fulfilled by the destruction of the heathen Roman empire, as they are also expounded by Dr. Hammond. Babylon is the ancient heathen Rome, mother of fornication, i.e. of idolatry and of all kind of vices, sitting upon a scarlet beast, supported by the pagan emperors in all their grandeur, pomp, and vanity. When it is said of her, that she was, and is not, this is not to be taken with regard to the visions one after another represented to St. John, nor with a regard to the time when he wrote under Domitian. She is said to come again out of the bottomless pit, when the same heathen worship was again renewed by Julian the apostate, who had a design and endeavoured to destroy the Christian religion. The seven heads are ingeniously applied to Dioclesian, Maximian Herculeus, Constantius Chlorus, Maximus, and Maxentius, which in a vision of St. John, are said to be the five that are fallen. One, to wit, Maximinus, is the sixth, represented as then in being; and another, the seventh, it is said is not yet come; to with, Licinius, whose persecution but a short time. The eighth, who is called also one of the seven, they take to be Maximian Heruleus, who had laid down the empire with Dioclesian, but took it up again, and so was the eighth, but of the seven mentioned before. The ten horns represented as not yet having a kingdom, but who are to receive power as kings, one hour after the beast, or at the fall of the empire, are those kings and princes by whom the Roman empire was destroyed; as the Goths, Vandals, Lombards, Burgundians, Franks, Huns, Alans, Suevi, also Persians and Saracens, who invaded and dismembered different parts of the empire: but no great stress need be laid on the exact number ten; which, as St. Augustine says, may be taken for a great many. They all come with the same design, (ver. 13.) to enrich and settle themselves in the dominions of the empire; yet afterwards they gave their power to the beast, by entering into alliances with the emperors, as Alaric, the Goth, and others did. They at first fought with the Lamb, being then heathens, and afterwards many of them Arians, till the Lamb overcame them, and brought them to the true Christian faith. They are said to have hated the harlot, making her destitute by pillaging Rome and divers other cities: they devoured her flesh, her treasures, God putting it into their hearts, making use of them as instruments to punish these wicked persecuting idolaters; yet they afterwards sometimes agreed to give her their strength by agreements and alliances, till the time that God decreed the empire should be in a manner destroyed. These interpreters conclude that by Babylon must necessarily be understood Rome, because it is said that seven heads, upon which the woman sitteth, are seven mountains; and it is well known that Rome is built upon seven hills; and secondly, because the woman is said to be the city, which hath dominion over the kings of the earth. But first, those seven mountains are also called seven kings; secondly, Constantinople is also built upon seven hills; thirdly, seven may be taken for many. And I cannot but take notice, that some expressions in this and in the next chapter, seem to agree better with that exposition, which takes Babylon for the multitude of all the wicked: as when we read, (chap. xviii. 3.) that all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication; (ver. 23.) that all nations were deceived by her sorceries; (ver. 24.) that in her was formed the blood of the prophets, and of the saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. For though the Roman empire was of so large an extent, yet a greater part of the world was never subject to the Romans: many apostles and martyrs were not put to death at Rome, nor by the Romans, but by the Persians, and in India, &c. so these general expressions are more easily expounded, if by the great city of Babylon we understand the multitude of the wicked in all parts of the world: not but that these visions may also regard heathen Rome as the chief place where such persecutions were acted, and where all kind of vices were practices. ---

N. B. Some have taken notice, that the English Protestants print the 5th verse of this chapter in capital letters: Mystery Babylon the great, the mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth. I will suppose that these words are only printed in this manner, because they contain an inscription; as when it is said, that he who was called the word of God, had written upon him, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, which words are also printed in great letters: but if our adversaries do this, to make the Church of Rome to be looked upon as the whore of Babylon, and the pope as antichrist, nothing can be more unfair, nothing more ridiculous, as I may shew on the following chapters. (Witham)

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Gill: Rev 17:1 - And there came one of the seven angels that 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

And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven vials,.... It may be the first of them, since one of the four beasts designs the first of them, in Rev 6:1 though Brightman thinks the fifth angel is meant, because he poured out his vial on the seat of the beast, who is by this angel described; but rather this is the seventh and last angel, concerned in the utter destruction of antichrist: and therefore proposes to John to show him the judgment of the great whore:

and talked with me, saying unto me, come hither: he conversed with him in a friendly manner, see Zec 1:9 and desires him to come nearer to him, and go along with him, adding,

I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore; that noted and famous one, known before to John by the names of Jezabel and Babylon, who taught and caused many to commit fornication, Rev 2:20 Rev 14:8 and is no other than Rome Papal; for that a city or state is meant is clear from Rev 17:18 and it is usual for idolatrous or apostate cities to be called whores or harlots, see Isa 1:21 Eze 23:2 and she is called a "great" one, because of the largeness of the Papal see; and because of the multitude of persons, the kings of the earth, and the inhabitants of it, with whom the Romish antichrist has committed spiritual fornication, or idolatry: her "judgment" signifies either her sin and wickedness; in which sense the word is used in Rom 5:16 and which is exposed, Rev 17:5 namely, her idolatry and cruelty; or else her condemnation, and the execution of it, suggested in Rev 17:8 and more largely described in the following chapter:

that sitteth upon many waters; which in Rev 17:15 are interpreted of people, multitudes, nations, and tongues, subject to the jurisdiction of Rome; and so several antichristian states are in the preceding chapter signified by the sea, and by rivers and fountains of water: and this is said in reference to Babylon, an emblem of the Romish harlot, which was situated upon the river Euphrates, and is therefore said to dwell upon many waters, Jer 51:13 her sitting here may be in allusion to the posture of harlots plying of men; or may denote her ease, rest, and grandeur, sitting as a queen; and is chiefly expressive of her power and dominion over the kings and nations of the earth, Rev 17:18.

Gill: Rev 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

With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,.... These are the ten kings, who being of the same mind, and of one religion, the Popish religion, gave their power, strength, and kingdom to the beast, Rev 17:12 and have been enticed by the whore of Rome to commit spiritual fornication with her; that is, idolatry, to worship, as that church enjoins, idols of gold, silver, brass, and wood, the images of the virgin Mary, and other saints; hence this whore appears to be no mean strumpet, but one of great note, and in much vogue, being sought after and made use of by the great men of the earth;

and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication; that is, the inhabitants of the Roman empire, or earthly minded men, mere carnal persons, have been drawn into idolatrous practices by the allurements of the church of Rome; such as riches, honours, pleasures, lying miracles, and great pretensions to devotion and religion; whereby they have been intoxicated as men with wine, and have been filled with a blind zeal for that church, and the false doctrines and worship of it, and with madness and fury against the true professors of religion.

Gill: Rev 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 carried me away in the spirit,.... Not in body, as if he was removed from the isle of Patmos to some other place; but in a visionary way, just as Ezekiel was carried between earth and heaven, in the visions of God, to Jerusalem, Eze 8:3. It was represented to the mind of John, to his spirit, or soul, as if he had been taken up by the angel and carried through the air:

into the wilderness; by which may be meant either the wilderness of the people, the world, the church hereafter described, being a worldly one, and consisting of worldly men; or Gentilism, the Gentile world is often in the prophecies of the Old Testament called a wilderness; the Romish church having much of Heathen worship, and Heathen customs and practices in it, hence its votaries are called Gentiles, Rev 11:2 or this circumstance may be mentioned, and the thing so represented to John, because that a wilderness is a solitary place, and fit for retirement and meditation; and where he might, without any interruption, take a full view of the following sight, and make proper observations upon it; and it is worth notice, that this is the place where the true church and became out of sight, in the room of which this apostate church appears: or, as others have thought, John is had into the wilderness, where the true church was hid and nourished, and the false one is there shown him, that seeing both together, he might compare them, and observe the difference between them; to all which may be added, that a wilderness is a fit place for such a beast as hereafter described to be seen in:

and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast; the beast is the same with that in Rev 13:1 as the description shows, and is no other than the Roman empire as Papal; the "scarlet" colour is expressive of its imperial dignity, its power and authority, it received from the dragon; and also of this beast's cruelty and tyranny, and of its shedding the blood of the saints: the woman sitting upon it is the great city of Rome, as is manifest from Rev 17:18 or the Romish antichrist, the apostate church of Rome, represented by a woman, as the true church is, Rev 12:1 but in a very different form, and is the same with the second beast in Rev 13:11 and the false prophet; and as the two beasts respect the same, under different considerations, namely, the Papacy, in its civil and ecclesiastic capacity, so this strange phenomenon, a woman sitting on such a beast, means one and the same thing as the horse and his rider in the seals, though in different views; the woman designs the Romish church, with the pope at the head of it, and the beast the Roman Papal empire as civil, by which the former is supported and upheld, bore up on high, and exalted in the manner it has been: moreover, as purple and scarlet are the colours of garments wore by the pope, and cardinals, hence the woman in the next verse is said to be "arrayed in purple and scarlet colour", so even the very beasts on which they rode were covered with scarlet. Platina ^h says that Pope Paul the Second

"ordered by a public decree, on pain or punishment, that no man should wear a scarlet cap but cardinals; to whom also, in the first year of his popedom, he gave cloth of the same colour, to put upon their horses and mules when they rode; and besides, would have put into the decree, that the cardinals' hats should be of scarlet silk:''

upon which Du Maulin ⁱ makes this remark;

"Pope Paul the Second was the first that gave scarlet to the cardinals, as well for themselves as for their mules, to the end that this prophecy, which agreeth in general with the see of Rome, might likewise appertain particularly to everyone of the pillars of the said see, which is to be set upon a "scarlet coloured beast".''

It follows,

full of names of blasphemy: that is, the beast, or Roman Papal empire, was full of them; in Rev 13:1 a name of blasphemy is said to be upon his head, and he to have a mouth speaking blasphemy; but here his whole body is represented as full of them, and may refer to the blasphemous doctrines of worshipping of images, of pardons and indulgences, of transubstantiation, &c. and to the multitude of images, of the virgin Mary, and other saints, in the antichristian state, in every part of it; and to those blaspheming persons, the cardinals, priests, and Jesuits, which abound in it; as well as to those blasphemous names and titles which are given to the pope, the head of it, or assumed by him; such as God on earth, the vicar of Christ, the head, and husband, and foundation of the church, with many others:

having seven heads, and ten horns: the seven heads are the seven mountains, on which the city of Rome, the metropolis of the empire, is seated; and the seven kings, or seven forms of government, under which it has been, as appears from Rev 17:9; see Gill on Rev 13:1 and the "ten horns" signify the ten kings over the ten kingdoms, into which the empire was divided, when overrun by the Goths and Vandals; and which ten kings gave their kingdoms to the beast, the Romish antichrist; they gave their strength and power to him, being of his religion, and have been his horns, his defenders and supporters, ever since, as may be gathered from Rev 17:12.

Gill: Rev 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 arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,.... Which may be expressive of her grandeur, authority, and power, sitting as a queen, and sovereign in the empire, ruling over kingdoms and nations in it; and also of her bloody disposition to the saints, with whose blood she is afterwards said to be drunk;

and decked with gold and precious stones, and pearls; which may denote her hypocrisy, she being gilded with these things, as the word signifies, when she was inwardly rotten, corrupt, and filthy; and may point out the things by which persons have been enticed into the communion of the church of Rome, and to comply with her idolatrous worship and practices; and may also respect the prodigious riches, which have, by various methods, been brought into the pope's coffers; these, with other things, are reckoned among the merchandise of Babylon, Rev 18:12 and particularly this may have reference to the adorning of their temples, or churches, and the decking of their images, with those things; which gaudy pompous shows strike the minds of carnal men, amuse them, and engage their attention. So Philo ^k the Jew describes an whore as arrayed in purple, and adorned with gold and precious stones; see Pro 7:10.

Having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication; in allusion to Babylon, Jer 51:7 and also to harlots, who give philters or love potions to men, to excite lust, and draw their affections to them; and this being a golden cup may design the external lustre and splendour of the worship of the church of Rome, by which many have been drawn into a compliance with it, which is attended with many abominable, filthy, and idolatrous practices: and perhaps some regard may be had to the golden chalice, in which, it is pretended, is the very blood of Christ, which the priests take as such, and worship and adore, and is no other than an abominable and filthy piece of idolatry; and such are the persons that partake of it; like the Pharisees of old, they make clean the outside of the cup and platter; glister, and make a great show of devotion, but within are full of extortion and excess.

Gill: Rev 17:5 - And upon her forehead was a name written // mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth // And the mother of harlots

And upon her forehead was a name written,.... As the high priest had on his mitre upon his forehead written, holiness to the Lord, Exo 28:36 only a different inscription from that; the allusion is thought to be to harlots, who not only used to put their names over their doors, but some of them upon their foreheads, that all might know who they were; of which Mr. Daubuz has given proofs out of Seneca, Martial, Juvenal, and Petronius; and such might be said to have an whore's forehead indeed: and this is expressive of the openness and impudence of the church of Rome, in her idolatrous worship; she openly declares it, and pleads for it, and invites and ensnares persons to join with her in it: the name follows,

mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth; her name is "mystery"; not the mystery of godliness, that she dislikes and opposes, but the mystery of iniquity; which is the name antichrist went by in the Apostle Paul's time, when he was but in embryo, 2Th 2:7. Some reference may be had to the mystery of the Mass, in which the Papists pretend are the very body and blood of Christ; to their seven sacraments, for wherever almost they find the word mystery, they make a sacrament of that to which it is applied; and to their unwritten traditions, and the sense of the Scriptures, which are locked up in the pope's breast: and it is very remarkable what has been observed by some, that the word "mystery" was formerly upon the frontlet of the pope's mitre, and was removed by Pope Julius the Third, when it was observed that the Protestants made use of this passage of Scripture, and applied it to the Romish antichrist. Joseph Scaliger ^l affirms, that he saw mitres at Rome with this inscription on them. Though others think that this is not any part of the name, but only signifies that this woman was, in a mysterious or mystical sense, called Babylon, &c. just as the great city is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, Rev 11:8 but to me it seems to be a part of the name, as well as what follows, "Babylon the great"; that is, the great city, Rev 14:8 by which name the church of Rome may well be called, because of the signification of it, confusion, Gen 11:9 its doctrine and worship being a confused mixture of Paganism, Judaism, and Christianity; and because of the pride and haughtiness of it, its tyranny and cruelty, and its sorceries and idolatry; see Isa 14:12.

And the mother of harlots, of all antichristian states and kingdoms; and is different from the heavenly Jerusalem, the Gospel church, which is the mother of true believers, Gal 4:26 or the "mother of fornications": as some copies read, and the Vulgate Latin and eastern versions render it; that is, the author and encourager of them, as the church of Rome has been; of corporeal fornication, by commanding celibacy, and forbidding marriage to priests, and setting up of brothel houses; and of spiritual fornication or idolatry, everywhere required and encouraged by it: and of "the abominations of the earth"; of abominable doctrines and practices; all manner of wickedness that is to be found in the earth, as murder, adultery, sodomy, perjury, &c. these, with everything that is vile and wicked, are practised and connived at by her.

Gill: Rev 17:6 - And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints // and of the martyrs of Jesus // And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration

And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints,.... To see a woman drunk is a shameful sight; but to see one drunk, not with wine, but with blood, is monstrous, cruel, and shocking; the sword, when it devours, and is satiate, is said to be drunk with blood, Jer 46:10 but for a woman to be so is unexampled; and not with her own blood, as she will be, Isa 49:26 but with the blood of others; and not with the blood of wicked men, but with the blood of saints; such as God the Father has set apart from everlasting, and chosen to be holy; whom Christ has sanctified by his blood, or whose sins he has expiated, and to whom he is made sanctification; and who have principles of grace and holiness wrought in them by the Spirit of God, and live holy lives and conversations:

and of the martyrs of Jesus; the saints, whose blood is shed by antichrist, are martyrs also; but they seem to design the common people, and these the ministers of the Gospel, who are the martyrs of Jesus, both in life and death; they are his martyrs or witnesses, by their doctrine and ministry, bearing testimony to him as Jesus, a Saviour; testifying that he is the only Saviour, that there is salvation in no other, in opposition to the antichristian doctrines of merit, penance, purgatory, &c. for which they have been cruelly put to death, and in great numbers, and so have sealed their doctrine by their blood. Now the woman being drunk with their blood, denotes the blood thirstiness of the church of Rome, her greedy aud insatiable desire after the blood of the saints, and her delight in it, being exceeding mad against them; and the multitude of it shed by her, as the slaughters of the Waldenses and Albigenses, the butcheries of the duke d'Alva in the Low Countries, the massacres in France, Ireland, and other places, the burning of the martyrs in Queen Mary's days here, with numerous other instances, show.

And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration; not at the sight of the beast, which he had seen before, but at the sight of the woman, as, upon the beast; he wondered that one of her sex, generally timorous and fearful, should ride on such a monstrous creature; he was amazed at her dress, and grand appearance, whereas the church in his time consisted of poor persons, meanly arrayed; it was astonishing to him that one bearing the name of a Christian church should rise to such grandeur; and he wondered at the name upon her forehead, what the whole of that inscription should mean; but, above all, at her drunkenness with the blood of the saints; at her inhumanity and cruelty, being as savage as the beast she rode on; and also at God's forbearance of her, that he, who is a pure and holy Being, a lover of his saints, an avenger of his elect, should suffer such a brutish, barbarous, and blood thirsty creature, to live upon earth; see Hab 1:13.

Gill: Rev 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, which hath the seven heads, and ten horns

And the angel said unto me,.... The same as in Rev 17:1

wherefore didst thou marvel? which is not said by way of reproof, as questions of this kind sometimes are, Act 3:12 for John did not wonder at her with a sinful admiration, so as to have her in great veneration, and to do homage and worship to her, as the inhabitants of the world wondered after the beast, Rev 13:3 but his admiration was an amazement, or stupefaction of mind, joined with indignation at her; and this is said by the angel to lead on to what he had to declare unto him.

I will tell thee the mystery of the woman; that is, what is mysteriously or mystically designed by her; for till it was made known to John by the angel, it was a mystery to him; and when it was revealed, the interpretation is given in such an obscure manner, that it is only understood by the mind that has spiritual wisdom; and still remains a mystery to carnal men, just as the Gospel itself does. The hidden meaning of this woman, or the mystery of her, is told by the angel in Rev 17:18.

And of the beast that carried her, which hath the seven heads, and ten horns; the mystical sense of the beast, its heads and horns, and which is also delivered in a mysterious manner, is given in Rev 17:8.

Gill: Rev 17:8 - The beast which 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 beheld the beast that was, and is not, and yet is // and yet is

The beast which thou sawest was, and is not,.... It is added at the end of the verse where the same description is given, "and yet is"; this beast is to be understood not of the devil, who "was" the god of this world, "is not", being cast out by Christ, and yet is in being; for he, the dragon, is distinguished from this beast, and indeed from him the beast has his seat, power, and authority, Rev 13:1 nor any particular emperor, as Domitian, a cruel and savage one, who was in power in Vespasian's time, when he was abroad, and then was out of it upon his return, and yet afterwards was in again, being as one sent from hell, and went at last into perdition; but the Roman empire itself is intended, as we have seen, which carried and supported the Papacy; and variously may this be interpreted; as that it was in the hands of the Romans originally, and long continued with them, but now "is not", in John's time, being in the hands of Trajan, a Spaniard, "and yet is" in being, Rome being the metropolis of it: it was a very powerful and flourishing empire, "and is not", being destroyed by the Goths and Vandals, "and yet is" a large empire under the jurisdiction of antichrist; it was an idolatrous empire, which encouraged the worshipping of Heathen gods, "and is not" guilty of the same idolatrous practices it was, as the worshipping of Jupiter, Mars, &c. "and yet is" much given to idolatry in another way, worshipping the virgin Mary, and other saints; it "was" under kings, consuls, dictators, tribunes, decemvirs, and emperors, it "is not" in such a form of government, "and yet is" under its seventh head the pope; "Rome was", but "is not" the same it has been, in some respects, and yet is the same, for idolatry, cruelty, &c. it has the image of old Rome, when Pagan, and under the power of the dragon; and though antichrist was not risen up in the empire to an head, to supreme power yet it was in being in the apostles' times, and began to work, and by degrees to show itself. In short, the meaning is, that this beast "was" the Roman empire, as Pagan, described by a dragon with seven heads, and ten horns, with crowns on the heads, but is not as yet in the Apostle John's time, as Papal, described with seven heads, and ten horns, and crowns on the horns.

And shall ascend out of the bottomless pit: out of hell, from whence the antichristian beast has its power; see Rev 11:8 otherwise all civil power is from God, but not antichristian power, that is from the devil:

and go into perdition; everlasting destruction, the lake which burns with fire and brimstone; this will be the end of the beast, Rev 19:20.

and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder; the inhabitants of the Roman empire, earthly minded men, shall have the beast in great veneration, and follow and worship him; see Rev 13:3

whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world; none but reprobates, not any of the elect of God, are the admirers and worshippers of antichrist; See Gill on Rev 13:8.

when they beheld the beast that was, and is not, and yet is; the Roman empire in glory, under the emperors, destroyed by the Goths, and revived in the Papacy. The Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions leave out the last clause,

and yet is.

Gill: Rev 17:9 - And here is the mind which hath wisdom // the seven heads are seven mountains of which the woman sitteth

And here is the mind which hath wisdom,.... This refers either to what goes before, concerning the beast, his various states, rise, and ruin, and his admirers; or to what follows after, concerning the meaning of his heads and horns, or to both; and the sense is, that notwithstanding the interpretation of these things by the angel, yet it requires a large share of wisdom to understand them; and here is enough to exercise the mind that is ever so well stored with knowledge and understanding; and so the Arabic version renders it, "here it is required that one should have judgment and wisdom"; for to a man that has not, the affair will still be obscure and unintelligible. The words may be rendered, "here is the mind, he that hath wisdom"; that is, let him make use of it, as in Rev 13:18 and so the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "and this is the sense, he that hath wisdom"; this is the sense of the beast, and of his heads and horns; and he that has wisdom, let him consider it, and take it in, and apply it to proper persons, things, and times; and so the Ethiopic version, "he that has wisdom and understanding, let him know this"; or take cognizance of it, it being a matter of importance, and attended with difficulty:

the seven heads are seven mountains of which the woman sitteth that is, they signify seven mountains, or are symbolical representations of them; just as the seven good kine, and seven good ears, in Pharoah's dream, signified seven years of plenty, and seven thin kine, and seven empty ears, seven years of famine, Gen 41:26. As the woman is a city, Rev 17:18 these seven mountains, on which she sits, must be so many mountains on which the city is built; and what city can this be but Rome, which is so famous for being built on seven hills? This is taken notice of by Virgil ^m, Horace ⁿ, Ovid ^o, Claudian ^p, Starius ^q, Martial ^r, and others; and indeed there is scarce a poet that speaks of Rome but observes it: hence it has been sometimes called, by writers, the seven hilled city, and sometimes Septiceps, the seven headed city, which comes near to the language here: the names of the seven mountains were these, Capitolinus, Palatinus, Aventinus, Esquilinus, Coelius, Viminalis, and Quirinalis; the four first of these were taken in by Romulus, the first founder of it, and the three last by Servius Tullius, when he enlarged it; and upon the addition of the seventh mountain there was a feast kept, called Septimontium; and which was kept in seven places in the city ^s; and was annually observed; and in this situation it was in John's time; for Pliny ^t, who was contemporary with him, expressly says, that in his time it took in seven mountains; and that this refers to a city in John's time, then reigning over the kings of the earth, is certain from Rev 17:18. Now there was no imperial city, so built in his time, but Rome: for though Constantinople is built on seven hills, yet this was not in being in John's time, but was built by Constantine many years after, in imitation of Rome; and though the situation is much altered now, being in Campus Martius, it being greatly reduced, and in a less compass, yet this hinders not but that it is the same city here designed: and this confirms that the beast before spoken of, on whom the woman sat, is the Roman empire, since she is here said to sit on the seven mountains, on which Rome, the metropolis of that empire, was built; and this shows the pope of Rome to be antichrist, the great whore, Babylon, the mother of harlots, since no other has his seat at Rome but he.

Gill: Rev 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 there are seven kings,.... The Arabic version renders it, "who are seven kings"; and it should be rendered, as it is by the Vulgate Latin, Syriac and Ethiopic versions, "and they are seven kings"; that is, the seven heads signify seven kings also, for they have in them a double representation, first of seven mountains, and then of seven kings; by which are meant not seven ages of the world, as from Adam to Noah; from Noah to Abraham; from Abraham to David; from David to the Babylonish captivity; from the Babylonish captivity to Christ; from Christ to antichrist; and from antichrist to the end of the world; the five first of which were gone in John's time, the sixth was then in being, and when the seventh shall come it will continue for a short time: this is a foolish and absurd interpretation of the Papists, who make the beast to be the devil, and these his seven heads; whereas he rather is the head, or god of the world: nor are seven emperors of Rome intended, which are differently reckoned, according to the different times John is supposed to have had this revelation. Grotius, who is followed by Hammond, supposes this was written in the times of Vespasian, and reckons them thus; Clandius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, and Titus; the first five of these were dead in John's time, one was then, the sixth, Vespasian, the then reigning emperor, and the other, Titus, was yet to come to the empire; and when he came to it, continued but a short time, two years and two mouths: others, who more rightly judge that John wrote in Domitian's time, reckon them after this manner; Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian, and Nerva; the first five of these were dead; Domitian was then living, and Nerva, the other that was to come and succeed him, reigned but a little while, not quite two years; but to this sense must be objected, that there were other emperors before either Galba or Claudius; and before John's time there were more than five fallen or dead; according to the first account, there must be nine dead, and according to the latter eleven; for before Claudius there were Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, and Caius: besides, if these were the seven heads of the beast, the beast must have been long ago without any head, and consequently must have expired; whereas it is still in being, and will be under the fifth, sixth, and seventh vials, which are yet to come; it will be at the battle of Armageddon, and will be taken then, and cast alive into the lake of fire; to which may be added, that the beast, in the form in which John now saw it, was not yet risen in the times of these emperors; but by the seven heads are meant so many forms of government which took place successively in the Roman empire, and were all of them idolatrous heads, as kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, tribunes, emperors, and popes; it being usual for any sort of governors, or governments and monarchies, to be called kings, Deu 33:5.

Five are fallen; or ceased, are no longer in being as kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, and tribunes; at least, the supreme power was not lodged in any bearing either of these names in John's time:

and one is; the Pagan emperors; an Heathen emperor, Domitian, then reigning, when John had this vision; and these continued to the opening of the sixth seal, which put an end to that succession, as Pagan, and till the woman brought forth the man child, or till Constantine's time:

and the other is not yet come; which some understand of the Christian emperors, who immediately succeeded the Pagan ones, and were another, and different from them, as to religion, though the form of government was the same, and were not another head; for they were not an idolatrous head, on which were names of blasphemy, but another king; for from the following verse it appears, that there are eight kings, and but seven heads, and therefore one of them should seem not to be a head; and these, when they came, continued but a short time in comparison of the Heathen emperors that reigned before them, and of the hope, or antichrist, who was to reign after them 1260 years; for they reigned not, put them all together, more than 150 years; and especially at Rome their stay was short, for Constantine removed from thence to Constantinople, in the nineteenth year of his empire. But these emperors, though in religion they differed from the others, yet their form of government and title were the same, and therefore must be included in the sixth head: according to some, Theodoricus the Ostrogoth, and his successors, are meant, who continued about an hundred years; others have thought that the exarchs of Ravenna, who rose up upon the destruction of the western empire, are intended, and who continued but a short time; but then these had not their seat at Rome, which it seems necessary each head of this beast should have; it is better, therefore, to understand this of the popes of Rome, the seventh and last head of the Roman empire; these were not yet come, in John's time, to their supreme dignity and authority:

and when he cometh he must continue a short space; forty two months, or 1260 days; that is, so many years, which, though a long time in itself, and in the account of man, yet with God, with whom a thousand years is as one day, and in comparison of the everlasting kingdom of Christ, and his people, it is but a short space; and so the reign of the beast, and of the ten kings with him, is said to be one hour, Rev 17:12 and this is said for the comfort of the saints, and to keep up their faith and patience under their sufferings in antichristian states. Mr. Daubuz makes these seven heads, or kings, signified by seven mountains, seven capital cities, which by degrees came to belong to the Roman empire; as first Rome itself, the capital of Italy; next Carthage, the capital of Africa; then Aege, the capital of Macedonia; after that Antiochia, the capital of the east; then Augustodunum, the capital of the Gauls; and Alexandria, the capital of Egypt; five of these six, with the monarchies belonging to them, were fallen; one, or the first of them now, was the mistress of all; and the other seventh was to come, namely, Byzantium, or Contantinople, which continued not long. This passage is so interpreted, as also the seven heads, in Rev 13:1 by this writer.

Gill: Rev 17:11 - And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth // and is of the seven // and goes into perdition

And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth,.... That was in embryo in John's time, and yet was not come to its power and grandeur, is the eighth king; and this is the Papacy, which takes the name of the beast, because it is the head of the beast, and the only surviving head of the beast, or Roman empire, now become Papal:

and is of the seven; one of the seven heads, and the last of them, and is an idolatrous one, as the rest were, requiring and encouraging the worship of angels, of the virgin Mary, and saints parted: the pope of Rome is the eighth king, and seventh head, the latter with respect to his temporal power, and the former with respect to his ecclesiastical authority; for his government is quite of a different sort from the rest, being of a mixed kind, partly civil, and partly ecclesiastical, and therefore is signified by two beasts in the thirteenth chapter:

and goes into perdition; being the son of perdition, and is justly deserving of it; See Gill on Rev 17:8.

Gill: Rev 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 their power shall be of one hour

And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings,.... Not ten Christian emperors, which are reckoned up by Brightman from Constantine to Theodosius; for these did not reign with the beast, or give their kingdoms to him, and much less did they make war with the Lamb; they are rather the angels of Michael, that fought for him, the Lamb, against the dragon, and his angels, Rev 12:7 nor ten kings that will rise up and divide the Roman empire between them, towards the end of the world, which is a sense devised by Papists to obscure and hide from men the true meaning of the passage; but the ten kingdoms which rose up, and into which the Roman empire was divided upon its being ruined, and torn to pieces by the Goths, Huns, and Vandals. They are the same with the "ten toes" of Nebuchadnezzar's image, and the "ten horns" of the fourth beast, or kingdom, in Dan 2:42. These are differently reckoned up by interpreters: by Napier thus; Spain, France, Lombardy, England, Scotland, Denmark, Sweden, Hungary, Italy, and the exarchate of Ravenna: by Mr. Mede after this manner; the Britains in Britain, under Vortimer their king; the Saxons in the same place, under Hengist; the Franks in Gallia Belgica, or Celtics, under Childeric; the Burgundians in another part of France, under Gunderic; the Wisigoths in Aquitain, and part of Spain, under Theodoric; the Sueves and Alans in Gallaecia and Portugal, under Riciarius; the Vandals in Spain and Africa, under Genseric; the Almains in that part of Germany called Rhetia, under Sumanus; the Ostrogoths in Pannonia, and after in Italy, under Theodomir; and the Greeks in the rest of the empire, under Marcianus: and by another ^u writer they are accounted for in this way; the Almains in both the Rhetia, and in Pannonia, who rose in the year 356; the Ostrogoths, first in Pannonia, and then in Italy, in 377; the Wisigoths in Pannonia, and then in Italy, afterwards in France, and last of all in Spain, in 378; the Huns in Pannonia, and for some time throughout all Europe, in 378; the Britian Romans in Britain, and afterwards the Saxons, in 406; the Sueves, first in France, and then in Spain, in 407; the Alans, first in France, and then in Spain, in 407; the Vandals, first in France, then in Spain, afterwards in Africa, in 407; the Burgundians in France, in 407; the Franks in France, in 410. And it is generally thought all these ten kingdoms were up by the year 450 at least. Though Dr. Allix makes the epocha of them A. D. 486, when the western empire was taken from the Romans, and fixes them in the following order; the Almains in Rhetia and Pannonia; the Franks in Belgica; the Anglo-Saxons in Britain; the Wisigoths in Gallia Aquitania and Hispania Tarraconensis; the Sueves and Alans in Portugal; the Vandals in Africa; the Burgundians in Gallia Sequanensis; the Ostrogoths in Pannonia, and afterwards in Italy; the Lombards in Pannonia, and the Heruli and Turcilingi, who conquered Augustulus: and though these kingdoms were thrown into different forms and shapes afterwards, yet it is remarkable they were just of this number; as, 1. Italy and Germany; 2. France; 3. Spain; 4. England with Ireland; 5. Scotland; 6. Hungary; 7. Poland with Lithuania; 8. Denmark, with Sweden and Norway, Sweden being since divided; 9. Portugal; 10. The Grecian empire seized by the Ottomans. And as these kings cannot be understood of single persons at the head of these kingdoms, or of so many kings succeeding one another; so neither is it necessary to consider these kingdoms as being in the same state, and made up of the same sort of people always; it is enough that they are in the same place, and within the empire; for we, may observe, that different things, at different times, are ascribed to them, or at least to some. They all are at first of one mind, and give their kingdom to the beast; then they, at least some of them, hate the whore, and burn her with fire; and yet others lament the destruction and burning of Rome, Rev 17:16.

Which have received no kingdom as yet: in John's time, when the Pagan empire was in being, and the beast was not risen, with whom they were to reign; hence these horns have no crowns on them, Rev 12:3.

But receive power as kings one hour with the beast; as soon as he was risen; and therefore the horns are represented with crowns upon them, Rev 13:1. Their rise was with the Papal beast, who rose not to his supreme power and dignity until the western emperor, which let and hindered, was removed out of the way; which was done by the barbarous nations, who set up these kingdoms, which made way for the lordly and tyrannical government of the pope of Rome; so that he and they rose up together: and this may he meant by the "one hour"; namely, that at one and the same hour or season he came to his supreme authority and grandeur, and they received their kingly power with him; or this may denote the time of their continuance in their honour and greatness; it was but for an hour, or a short time, as that phrase sometimes signifies, Phm 1:15 and so the Ethiopic version renders it, "for one hour"; to which agrees the Arabic version,

and their power shall be of one hour: and this shall be "as kings"; for they only have the title of kings, but not sovereign power; they are vassals to the beast, the pope, who reigns over them, Rev 17:18 and sets up kings in these kingdoms, and deposes them at pleasure; exalting himself above all that is called God, or above all civil magistrates; so that these have only the name, not the thing; they are as kings, and look like such, but are not really so; though what power they have, they receive not from the beast, but from God; the beast receives his power and authority, as well as seat, from the dragon; but civil power and magistracy is from God, who suffers these princes, and gives them up to such stupidity as to give their kingdom to the beast, and to exercise their power as he directs.

Gill: Rev 17:13 - These have one mind // and shall give their power and strength unto the beast

These have one mind,.... The princes of these kingdoms, and their subjects, become, in time, of one religion; first they were Arians, and then Papists; and for a long series of time there was great unity between them, with respect to religious sentiments, being zealously attached to the church of Rome, its principles and practices:

and shall give their power and strength unto the beast; the Papal antichrist, the eighth king, and seventh head; to him they have given power to exercise all ecclesiastical authority in their kingdoms; as to ordain bishops, and deliver the pall to whom they will; to excommunicate offenders, and even lay their kingdoms under an interdict when they pleased; and have assisted and defended the popes of Rome with all their force, with all their might and main, and to the utmost of their power, and have engaged in what have been called the holy wars, at their motion; they have given their riches and wealth, which are called the forces of strength, Job 36:19 which they have, by various methods, drained them of; hence the whore of Rome came to be decked with gold, and pearls, and precious stones; yea, they have given them their kingdoms, and have received them from them, and become tributary to them.

Gill: Rev 17:14 - 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

These shall make war with the Lamb,.... The Lord Jesus Christ, so often spoken of in this book under this character, Rev 5:6. And this war is not to be understood of a war with him personally, or of that last and decisive, battle at Armageddon, in which will be the kings of the earth; but of a war with his members, of their persecuting of the saints, and faithful witnesses of Christ in all ages, within their jurisdictions, being instigated to it by the beast, under whose influence they are:

and the Lamb shall overcome them: partly through the constancy of his people, who will not love their lives to the death, but freely lay them down for him; nor can anything separate them from the love of Christ, or prevail upon them to desert him, his truths and ordinances, cause and interest, but are more than conquerors through him, and so he overcomes in them; and partly through a reformation which he effects, as in some of those kingdoms already, as Sweden, Denmark, England, Scotland, and Ireland, and others, and will do in others hereafter; see Rev 17:16

for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; he is so by nature, as God and Creator, to whom the kingdom of nature and providence belongs; and by office, as Mediator, being made higher than the kings of the earth; hence he is more than a match for them, they cannot stand before him; this is a reason why he overcomes them, and it cannot be thought it should be otherwise: this Lamb is the lion of the tribe of Judah, and when he rouses himself, and stirs up his wrath, and exerts his power, kings and great men flee from him; see Rev 6:15. This is a proof of Christ's proper deity, the same titles being given to him, the Word and Son of God, as to God himself, Rev 19:16.

And they that are with him: his servants and his soldiers, that fight under him, and abide by him,

are called, and chosen, and faithful; they are chosen in Christ from all eternity, to grace here, and glory hereafter, and so stand opposed to the admirers of the beast, whose names are not written in the book of life, Rev 17:8 for this is to be understood of their eternal election, and not of their separation by the effectual calling in time, for that is expressed by their being "called"; and though their calling is here set before election, as in 2Pe 1:10 yet it does not precede it; the Arabic version reads, "chosen, called, faithful"; first "chosen" by God the Father, then "called", not with the bare external call by the ministry of the word, for, so, many are called, and not chosen; but by special grace to special benefits, and with an holy and heavenly calling, and which is irresistible, and without repentance; and being called they remain "faithful": the meaning is, either that they have faith, or are believers in Christ; which faith they have bestowed on them in the effectual calling, as a fruit of electing grace; and by this they overcome the world: or else, that they are persons of integrity and uprightness, that are on the side of Christ; they are the faithful in the Lord, and are made so by him; and they are faithful to him, and abide by his Gospel and ordinances, and in his cause and interest, even unto death; and so this character is expressive of the perseverance of those who are chosen and called, even unto the end.

Gill: Rev 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,.... That is, the angel, who proposed to give John the interpretation of the vision, he went on with it as follows:

the waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth; see Gill on Rev 17:1,

are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues; denoting the vast multitude of people, of which the several kingdoms, of divers languages, consist, which belong to the jurisdiction of Rome Papal: it is an eastern way of speaking, and is particularly used to express the various kingdoms, and infinite number of people belonging to the Babylonish monarchy, which was an emblem of the antichristian state, Dan 3:4 and these are compared to waters, to many waters; which phrase sometimes is used for the sea, Psa 107:23 because of the vast numbers of them; the whole world wondered after the beast, and the kings and inhabitants of the earth have been subject to the see of Rome; and because of their overbearing force, carrying all before them; see Isa 8:7 Rev 13:3 and because, like waters, they are continually upon the flux, one generation succeeding another; and because of their instability, fickleness, and inconstancy, as in religion, so in their constitution, they will hate the whore they love; and as they frequently change and alter in their form, at last they will utterly cease: so the Jews ^w interpret many waters, in Son 8:7 of all people, and of the kings of the earth, and of the nations of the world; and they say, that many waters never signify any other than all the nations, and those that are appointed over them ^x. So, "he drew me out of many waters", Psa 18:16 is by the Targum on the place explained, he delivered me from many people. And so Psa 46:4 is paraphrased by the Targumist;

"people, "as rivers", and their streams, shall come, and make glad the city of the Lord;''

see the Targum on Isa 8:7 and in Eze 32:2 where it is observed kingdoms are compared to waters ^y.

Gill: Rev 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 horns which thou sawest upon the beast,.... Rev 17:3 and which are interpreted of ten kings, Rev 17:12. The Alexandrian copy, the Complutensian edition, and the Syriac Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, read, "and the beast"; and then the sense is, that the ten kings and states in particular, who have defended antichrist, and the whole empire in general, which has bore up and supported the whore of Rome:

these shall hate the whore; her principles and sentiments, her doctrines, which are doctrines of devils, her wicked practices, her idolatries, adulteries, murders, and thefts; they will repent of their fornications with her, and cease from them; their love will be turned to hatred, and the latter will be greater than ever the former was, like Amnon's to Tamar; and as it usually is with men towards harlots, when they see their follies, and how they have been deceived and abused by them:

and shall make her desolate; leave her, quit her communion; no more commit fornication with her, or join with her in her idolatrous worship; but come out from that apostate church, and renounce all fellowship with her, and persuade and engage as many as they can influence to do the same:

and naked; strip her of her purple, scarlet colour, gold, pearls, and precious stones; cease to give their power and strength, withhold their taxes and tribute, deprive her of her power and authority, civil and ecclesiastical, in their realms, and take away even her patrimony from her; and not only so, but expose her shame and filthiness, her abominable principles and practices, to all the world; which has been in part done already:

and shall eat her flesh; not literally, but mystically; not out of love, but hatred; they shall take that to themselves, and make use of, which have fattened her, as bishoprics, and other benefices, lands, endowments belonging to abbeys, and monasteries, and other religious houses; an instance and example of which we have in King Henry the Eighth's time; so some understand this phrase of devouring the substance of others, in Psa 27:2. So the Targumists often interpret "flesh and fatness"; by "riches, goods", or substance; the phrase in Isa 17:4 "the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean", is paraphrased, עותר יקריה, "the riches of his glory shall be carried away"; and the words in Mic 3:3 who shall also eat the flesh of my people", &c. are rendered, "and they who spoil" נכסי עמי, "the goods", or "substance of my people, and take away their precious mammon, or money, from them. And again, Zec 11:9 "let the rest eat, everyone the flesh of another", is in the Targum, "let a man spoil" נכסי, "the goods or substance of his neighbour"; and in Rev 17:16 he shall eat the flesh of the fat; the paraphrase is, "he shall" spoil נכסי, "the goods or substance of the rich".

And burn her with fire: alluding to the law in Lev 21:9 which required that the daughter of a priest, that played the whore, should be burnt with fire; and this is to be understood literally of burning the city of Rome, the seat of the whore, with fire; of which see Rev 18:8. It has been very near being burnt in times past, as by Alaricus the Goth, Attila the Hun, Genseric the Vandal, and by Totilas, and in later times by Charles the Fifth; and would have been, had they not been dissuaded or diverted from it; and which were so many preludes and warnings of its future fate: and we may learn from hence, that Rome, and the Romish antichrist, will not be destroyed by the Turks, but by the Christians; and by the same states, and kingdoms, and princes, by which the whore of Rome has been supported in her grandeur, power, and authority, who will revolt from Popery, and embrace the pure Gospel of Christ: and this shows, that the ten horns, or kingdoms, into which the Roman empire has been divided, will subsist in this form at the destruction of Rome; wherefore, it has been rightly observed by some, that not one of these kingdoms shall ever be able to rise to universal monarchy. France has been for many years attempting it, but in vain; and we may sit down easy and satisfied, assuring ourselves with the greatest confidence, that all attempts this way will be fruitless; there never will be another universal monarchy on earth but that of Christ's; see Dan 2:37.

Gill: Rev 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 put in their hearts to fulfil his will,.... By doing the preceding things to the whore of Rome, whose destruction is according to the will of God; it is his approving will, what he likes of, and will be well pleased with; it is his will of command, what he will order to be done, Rev 18:6 and it is his determining will, his will of purpose, his decree, what he has resolved shall be done; he has fixed the time of her reign, and longer than that she shall not continue: and these kings, in destroying her, will not do so much their own will, as the will of God, and God will put it into their hearts to do it; he will work in them both to will and to do; he will fill them with hatred to her; he will incline their minds to do the above things, as it will be in the power of their hands to do them; he who has the hearts of all men, and even of kings in his hands, and can turn them as rivers of water, will move them hereunto, Pro 21:1 he that turned the hearts of the Egyptians to hate his people Israel, Psa 105:25 will turn the hearts of these kings to hate the whore, and do unto her as is here predicted; and the same God will do this, who has, on the other hand, already put into their hearts to do the following things:

and to agree: this clause is wanting in the Alexandrian copy, and in the Vulgate Latin version, and is the same with that of having one mind, Rev 17:13 that is, being of the same religion; God giving them up to a reprobate mind, to believe a lie, that they might be damned; which must be understood not of the same individuals, but of their predecessors; unless this is to be interpreted of their agreeing together against the whore, to pull her down, and set up the pure worship and service of God; for this is a blessing of grace from God, who gives his people one heart and one way, that they may fear him, Jer 32:39 but the former sense seems best, since it follows,

and give their kingdom unto the beast; the eighth king, and seventh head, the pope of Rome; to whom they have given their power and strength in things civil and ecclesiastical, their wealth and riches; and have received their crowns from him, and have held their kingdoms by him, and become tributary to him: and this is done, and will be,

until the words of God shall be fulfilled; concerning the afflictions of his church and people, and the reign of antichrist, for the space of forty and two months, Rev 11:2 all which while they are fulfilling the secret will of God, unknown to them, and yet act against his revealed will, and break his commands; just as the Jews, ignorant of the prophecies of the Old Testament, fulfilled them in condemning Christ, Act 13:27. That God should put it into the hearts of these kings to fulfil his will, in destroying the whore of Rome, is easily received; but there seems some difficulty that he should put it into their hearts to agree and give their kingdom to the beast, which was sinful: now this he did, not by infusing sin into them, which is contrary to his pure and holy nature; but by leaving them, and giving them up to their own hearts' lusts; stirring up, and moving upon their minds, and directing the motions of it, to such and such objects, which they readily and voluntarily fell in with; and yet the concern of God herein does not, nor do his decrees about sin infringe the liberty of the will in acting, or excuse the sinfulness of the action, or make God the author of sin; as the instances of selling of Joseph by his brethren, and the crucifixion of Christ by the Jews, show.

Gill: Rev 17:18 - And the woman which thou sawest // is that great city

And the woman which thou sawest,.... Rev 17:3 as there described,

is that great city, often mentioned in this book; great Babylon, the city of Rome, Rev 11:8 which reigneth over the kings of the earth; which then reigned in John's time over the kings of the earth; and this clearly points out the city of Rome, for there was no other city then, but that, which reigned over the kings of the earth; that was then the metropolis of the Roman empire, to which the whole world was subject; and therefore it is called all the world, Luk 2:1 and since, all the kings of the empire have been under the jurisdiction of Rome Papal. It was formerly called Urbs Regum, a "city of kings" ^z, either for the reason in the text, or because its inhabitants looked like kings.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Ayat / Catatan Kaki

NET Notes: Rev 17:1

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

² tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”

³ tn Here one Greek term, κρίμα (krima), has been translated by the two English terms “condemnation” and “punishment.” See BDAG 567 s.v. 4.b, “mostly in an unfavorable sense, of the condemnatory verdict and sometimes the subsequent punishment itself 2 Pt 2:3; Jd 4…τὸ κ. τῆς πόρνης the condemnation and punishment of the prostitute Rv 17:1.”

NET Notes: Rev 17:2

¹ tn This is the same word translated “sexual immorality” earlier in the verse, but here the qualifier “sexual” has not been repeated for stylistic reasons.

NET Notes: Rev 17:3

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s invitation to witness the fate of the prostitute.

² tn Or “in the spirit.” “Spirit” could refer either to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but in either case John was in “a state of spiritual exaltation best described as a trance” (R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 75).

³ tn Or “desert.”

⁴ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.

NET Notes: Rev 17:4

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the detailed description of the woman, which is somewhat parenthetical in nature.

² tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.

³ tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).

⁴ tn Grk “pearls, having in her hand.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁵ tc Several mss (including 1611 1854 2053 Ï^K pc) read “sexual immorality on/of the earth” (πορνείας τῆς γῆς, porneia" th" gh") instead of “her sexual immorality.” Other mss (א sy^h** [co]) read “her sexual immorality and the earth’s” (πορνείας αὐτῆς καὶ τῆς γῆς, porneia" aujth" kai th" gh"). The translation is a rendering of πορνείας αὐτῆς, found in {A 1006 2344 al}. It seems that the first reading “sexuality immorality on/of the earth” was a scribal mistake in which letters may have been confused (auths would have been read as thsghs), or was perhaps influenced by the presence of “of the world” (τῆς γῆς) at the end of v. 5. The original wording seems to be “her sexual immorality”; codex א has conflated the two readings.

NET Notes: Rev 17:5

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn Some translations consider the word μυστήριον (musthrion, “mystery”) a part of the name written (“Mystery Babylon the Great,” so KJV, NIV), but the gender of both ὄνομα (onoma, “name”) and μυστήριον are neuter, while the gender of “Babylon” is feminine. This strongly suggests that μυστήριον should be understood as an appositive to ὄνομα (“a name, i.e., a mystery”).

NET Notes: Rev 17:6

¹ tn Or “of the witnesses to Jesus.” Here the genitive ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou) is taken as an objective genitive; Jesus is the object of their testimony.

² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

³ tn Grk “I marveled a great marvel” (an idiom for great astonishment).

NET Notes: Rev 17:7

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

² tn Grk “I will tell you,” but since what follows is the angel’s interpretation of the vision, “interpret for you” is the preferred translation here.

NET Notes: Rev 17:8

¹ tn On this term BDAG 2 s.v. ἄβυσσος 2 states, “netherworld, abyss, esp. the abode of the dead Ro 10:7 (Ps 106:26) and of demons Lk 8:31; dungeon where the devil is kept Rv 20:3; abode of the θηρίον, the Antichrist 11:7; 17:8; of ᾿Αβαδδών (q.v.), the angel of the underworld 9:11…φρέαρ τῆς ἀ. 9:1f; capable of being sealed 9:1; 20:1, 3.”

² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

³ tn Some translations take the ὅτι (Joti) here as causal: “because he was, and is not, but is to come” (so NIV, NRSV), but it is much more likely that the subject of the ὅτι clause has been assimilated into the main clause: “when they see the beast, that he was…” = “when they see that the beast was” (so BDAG 732 s.v. ὅτι 1.f, where Rev 17:8 is listed).

NET Notes: Rev 17:9

¹ tn Grk “Here is the mind that has wisdom.”

² tn It is important to note that the height of “mountains” versus “hills” or other topographical terms is somewhat relative. In terms of Palestinian topography, Mount Tabor (traditionally regarded as the mount of transfiguration) is some 1,800 ft (550 m) above sea level, while the Mount of Olives is only some 100 ft (30 m) higher than Jerusalem.

NET Notes: Rev 17:10

¹ tn That is, one currently reigns.

NET Notes: Rev 17:11

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

NET Notes: Rev 17:12

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

NET Notes: Rev 17:13

¹ tn The word “kings” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to clarify the referent.

NET Notes: Rev 17:14

¹ tn See BDAG 636 s.v. μετά A.2.a.α.

NET Notes: Rev 17:15

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Grk “and multitudes,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here and before the following term since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

NET Notes: Rev 17:16

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn A new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

³ tn The final clause could also be turned into an adverbial clause of means: “They will consume her flesh by burning her with fire.”

NET Notes: Rev 17:17

¹ tn Grk “hearts.”

² tn Or “his intent.”

³ tn The infinitive ποιῆσαι (poihsai) was translated here as giving the logical means by which God’s purpose was carried out.

⁴ tn On this term BDAG 203 s.v. γνώμη 4 states, “declaration, decision, resolution…of God Rv 17:17.”

⁵ tn For this translation see BDAG 168 s.v. βασιλεία 1.a, “kingship, royal power, royal rule.”

⁶ tn Or “completed.”

NET Notes: Rev 17:18

¹ tn Grk “And.” Because this remark is somewhat resumptive in nature, “as for” is used in the translation.

Geneva Bible: Rev 17:1

And ^{( 1 )} 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 ^{( 2 )} thee the ^{( a )} judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

^{( 1 )} The state of the Church militant being declared, now follows the state of the church overcoming and getting victory, as I showed before in the beginning of the tenth chapter. This state is set forth in four chapters. As in the place before I noted, that in that history the order of time was not always exactly observed so the same is to be understood in this history, that it is distinguished according to the people of which it speaks, and that the stories of the people are observed in the time of it. For first is delivered the story of Babylon destroyed in this and the next chapter (for this Babylon out of all doubt, shall perish before the two beasts and the dragon). Secondly, is delivered the destruction of both the two beasts, chapter nineteen and lastly of the dragon, chapter eighteen. In the story of the spiritual Babylon, are distinctly set forth the state of it in this chapter, and the overthrow done from the first argument, consisting of the particular calling of the prophet (as often before) and a general proposition. ^{( 2 )} That is, that damnable harlot, by a figure of speech called "hyppalage". For John as yet had not seen her. Although another interpretation may be thought of, yet I like this better.

^{( a )} The sentence that is pronounce against this harlot.

Geneva Bible: Rev 17:3

^{( 3 )} So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a ^{( b )} scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

^{( 3 )} Henceforth is propounded the type of Babylon, and the state of it, in four verses. After, a declaration of the type, in the rest of this chapter. In the type are described two things, the beast (of whom chapter thirteen speaks), in this verse and the woman that sits on the beast in (Rev 17:4-6). The beast in process of time has gotten somewhat more than was expressed in the former vision. First in that it is not read before that he was apparelled in scarlet, a robe imperial and of triumph. Secondly, in that this is full of names of blasphemy: the other carried the name of blasphemy only in his heads. So God teaches that this beast is much increased in impiety and injustice and does in this last age, triumph in both these more insolently and proudly then ever before.

^{( b )} A scarlet colour, that is, with a red and purple garment: and surely it was not without cause the romish clergy were so much delighted with this colour.

Geneva Bible: Rev 17:4

And ^{( 4 )} the woman was arrayed ^{( 5 )} in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having ^{( 6 )} a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

^{( 4 )} That harlot, the spiritual Babylon, which is Rome. She is described by her attire, profession, and deeds. ^{( 5 )} In attire most glorious, triumphant, most rich, and most gorgeous. ^{( 6 )} In profession the nourisher of all, in this verse and teaching her mysteries to all, (Rev 17:5) setting forth all things most magnificently: but indeed fatally besetting miserable men with her cup, and brings upon them a deadly giddiness.

Geneva Bible: Rev 17:5

^{( 7 )} And upon her forehead [was] a name written, MYSTERY, ^{( 8 )} BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

^{( 7 )} Deceiving with the title of religion, and public inscription of mystery: which the beast in times past did not bear. ^{( 8 )} An exposition: in which John declares what manner of woman this is.

Geneva Bible: Rev 17:6

^{( 9 )} And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: ^{( 10 )} and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

^{( 9 )} In manner of deeds: She is red with blood, and sheds it most licentiously, and therefore is coloured with the blood of the saints, as on the contrary part, Christ is set forth imbued with the blood of her enemies; (Isa 63:1).

^{( 10 )} A passage to the second part of this chapter, by occasion given of John, as the words of the angel do show in the next verse.

Geneva Bible: Rev 17:7

^{( 11 )} 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.

^{( 11 )} The second part or place as I said in See Rev 17:1. The narration of the vision promised in the verse following. Now there is delivered first a narration of the beast and his story, to verse fourteen. After, of the harlot, to the end of the chapter.

Geneva Bible: Rev 17:8

^{( 12 )} The beast that thou sawest ^{( 13 )} was, and is not; and ^{( 14 )} 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, ^{( 15 )} when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

^{( 12 )} The story of the beast has a triple description of him. The first is a distinction of this beast from all that ever have been at any time: which distinction is contained in this verse: The second is a delineation or painting out of the beast by things present, by which he might even at that time be known by the godly: and this delineation is according to his heads in (Rev 17:12-14). This beast is that empire of Rome, of which I spoke in See Rev 13:11 according to the mutations and changes of which then had already happened, the Holy Spirit has distinguished and set out the same. The apostle distinguishes this beast from all others in these words "the beast which thou saw, was and is not." For so I expound the words of the apostle for the evidence's sake, as I will further declare in the notes following.

^{( 13 )} The meaning is, that beast which you saw before in (Rev 13:1) and which you have now seen, was (was I say) from Julius Caesar in respect to beginning, rising up, station, glory, dominion, manner and family, from the house of Julius: and yet is not now the same, if you look to the house and family: for the dominion of this family was translated to another, after the death of Nero from that other to a third, from a third to a fourth, and so on, was varied and altered by innumerable changes. Finally, the Empire is one, as it were one beast: but exceedingly varied by kindreds, families, and persons. It was therefore (says John) in the kindred or house of Julius: and now it is not in that kindred, but translated to another.

^{( 14 )} As if he should say, "Also this same that is, shall shortly not be: but shall ascend out of the depth, or out of the sea" (as was said) in (Rev 13:1) that is, shall be a new stock from among the nations without difference and shall in the same state go to into destruction, or run and perish: and so shall successively new princes or emperors come and go, arise and fall, the body of the beast remaining still, but tossed with many frequent alterations, as no man can but marvel that this beast was able to stand and hold out, in so many mutations, verily no empire that ever was tossed with so many changes, and as it were with so many tempests of the sea, ever continued so long.

Geneva Bible: Rev 17:9

^{( 16 )} And here [is] the mind which hath wisdom. The ^{( c )} seven heads ^{( 17 )} are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

^{( 16 )} An exhortation preparing for the readers in the same argument, as that of Christ "He that hath ears to hear let him hear". I would rather read in this passage "Let there be here a mind, etc". So the angel passes to the second place of this description.

^{( c )} Children know what the seven hilled city is, which is so much spoken of, and where of Virgil thus reports, "And compasses seven towers in one wall", that city it is, which when John wrote these things, had rule over the kings of the earth. It was and is not, and yet it remains to this day, but it is declining to destruction.

^{( 17 )} This is the description of the beast by things present (as I said before) by which John endeavoured to describe the same, that he might be both known of the godly in that age, and be further observed and marked of posterity afterwards. This delineation has one tip, that is, his heads, but a double description or application of the type: one permanent, from the nature itself, the other changeable, by the working of men. The description permanent, is by the seven hills, in this verse, the other that flees, is from the seven kings, (Rev 17:10-11). Here it is worthy to be observed, that one type has sometime two or more applications, as seems good to the Holy Spirit to express, either one thing by various types, or various things by one type. So I noted before of the seven spirits in See Rev 1:4. Now this woman that sits on seven hills, is the city of Rome, called in times past by the Greeks, "upon a hill" i. of seven tops or crests and by Varro, "septiceps" i. of her seven heads (as here) of seven heads, and by others, "septem collis" i. standing upon seven hills.

Geneva Bible: Rev 17:10

^{( 18 )} And there are seven kings: ^{( 19 )} five are fallen, ^{( 20 )} and one is, ^{( 21 )} [and] the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

^{( 18 )} The beginning of these kings or emperors is almost the same as the beginning of the Church of Christ, which I showed before in See Rev 11:1. Namely from the 25th year after the passion of Christ, at which time the temple and church of the Jews was overthrown. In this year it came to pass by the providence of God, that that saying "The beast was, and is not" was fulfilled before the destruction of the Jews immediately following, came to pass. That was 809 years from the building of the city of Rome at which time John counted the emperors who had been, when he wrote these things, and foretells two others next to come: and with this purpose, that when this particular prediction of things to come should take effect, the truth of all other predictions in the Church, might be the more confirmed. God in ancient times mentioned this sign in the Law and Jeremiah confirmed it in (Deu. 18:1-22; Jer 28:8).

^{( 19 )} Whose names are these: the first, Servius Sulpitius Galba, who was the seventh emperor of the people of Rome, the second Marcus Salvius Otho, the third Avlus Vitellius, the fourth, Titus Flavius Vespasianus, the fifth, Titus Vespasianus his son, of his own name.

^{( 20 )} Flavius Domitian, son of the first Vespasian. For in the latter end of his days John wrote these things, as witnesses Irenaus; Lib. 5 adversus hareses.

^{( 21 )} Nerua, The empire being now translated from the family of Flavius. This man reigned only one year, four months and nine days, as the history writers tell.

Geneva Bible: Rev 17:11

^{( 22 )} And the beast that was, and is not, even he is ^{( 23 )} the eighth, and is ^{( 24 )} of the seven, ^{( 25 )} and goeth into perdition.

^{( 22 )} This is spoken by synecdoche, as if to say, as that head of the beast which was and is not, because it is cut off, and Nerua in so short time extinguished. How many heads there were, so many beasts there seemed to be in one. See a similar speech in (Rev 13:3).

^{( 23 )} Nerua Traianus, who in various respects is called here the seventh and the eighth.

^{( 24 )} Though in number and order of succession he is the eighth yet he is counted with one of these heads, because Nerua and he were one head. For this man obtained authority together with Nerua and was Consul with him, when Nerua died.

^{( 25 )} Namely, to persecute the Churches of Christ, as history agrees, and I have briefly noted See Rev 2:10.

Geneva Bible: Rev 17:12

^{( 26 )} And the ten horns which thou sawest are ^{( 27 )} ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings ^{( 28 )} one hour with the beast.

^{( 26 )} The third place of this description, as I said in See Rev 17:8 is a prophetical prediction of things to come, which the beast should do, as in the words following John does not obscurely signify, saying, "which have not yet received the kingdom, etc". For there is an antithesis or opposition between these kings, and those that went before. First the persons are described in this verse, then their deeds, in the two verses following.

^{( 27 )} That is, arising with their kingdoms out of that Roman beast: at such time as that political empire began to fall by the plotting of the popes.

^{( 28 )} Namely, with that second beast, whom we called before a false prophet, who ascending out of the earth, got to himself all the authority and power of the first beast, and exercised the same before his face, as was said in (Rev 14:11-12). For when the political empire of the west began to bow downwards, there arose those ten kings, and the second beast took the opportunity offered to usurp for himself all the power of the former beast. These kings long ago, many have numbered and described to be ten, and a great part of the events plainly testifies the same in this our age.

Geneva Bible: Rev 17:13

^{( 29 )} These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

^{( 29 )} That is, by consent and agreement, that they may conspire with the beast, and depend on his call. Their story is divided into three parts, counsels, acts, and events. The counsellors some of them consist in communicating of judgments and affections: and some in communicating of power, which they are said to have given to this beast, in this verse.

Geneva Bible: Rev 17:14

These shall make war with the ^{( 30 )} 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.

^{( 30 )} With Christ and his Church, as the reason following declares, and here are mentioned the facts and events which followed for Christ's sake, and for the grace of God the Father towards those that are elected, called, and are his faithful ones in Christ.

Geneva Bible: Rev 17:15

^{( 31 )} And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, ^{( 32 )} are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

^{( 31 )} This is the other part of the narration, as I said in See Rev 17:7 belonging to the harlot, showed in the vision, (Rev 17:3). In this history of the harlot, these three things are distinctly propounded, what is her magnificence, in this verse, what is her fall, and by whom it shall happen to her, in (Rev 17:16-17): and lastly, who that harlot is, in (Rev 17:18). This passage which by order of nature should have been the first, is therefore made the last, because it was more fit to be joined with the next chapter.

^{( 32 )} That is, as changing and variable as the waters. Upon this foundation sits this harlot as queen, a vain person, on that which is vain.

Geneva Bible: Rev 17:16

And the ten ^{( 33 )} 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.

^{( 33 )} The ten kings, as (Rev 17:12). The accomplishment of this fact and event is daily increased in this our age by the singular providence and most mighty government of God. Therefore the facts are propounded in this verse, and the cause of them in the verses following.

Geneva Bible: Rev 17:17

^{( 34 )} 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.

^{( 34 )} A reason rendered from the chief efficient cause, which is the providence of God, by which alone John by inversion of order affirms to have come to pass, both that the kings should execute on the harlot that which pleased God, and which he declared in the verse before: and also that by one consent and counsel, they should give their kingdom to the beast, etc. (Rev 17:13-14) for as these being blinded have before depended on the call of the beast that lifts up the harlot, so it is said, that afterward it shall come to pass, that they shall turn back, and shall fall away from her, when their hearts shall be turned into better state by the grace and mercy of God.

Geneva Bible: Rev 17:18

And the woman which thou sawest is that ^{( 35 )} great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

^{( 35 )} That is, Rome that great city, or only city (as Justinian calls it) the king and head of which was then the emperor, but now the pope, since the condition of the beast was changed.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Rentang Ayat

MHCC: Rev 17:1-6

Rome clearly appears to be meant in this chapter. Pagan Rome subdued and ruled with military power, not by art and flatteries. She left the nations in general to their ancient usages and worship. But it is well known that by crafty and politic management, with all kinds of deceit of unrighteousness, papal Rome has obtained and kept her rule over kings and nations. Here were allurements of worldly honour and riches, pomp and pride, suited to sensual and worldly minds. Prosperity, pomp, and splendour, feed the pride and lusts of the human heart, but are no security against the Divine vengeance. The golden cup represents the allurements, and delusions, by which this mystical Babylon has obtained and kept her influence, and seduced others to join her abominations. She is named, from her infamous practices, a mother of harlots; training them up to idolatry and all sorts of wickedness. She filled herself with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus. She intoxicated herself with it; and it was so pleasant to her, that she never was satisfied. We cannot but wonder at the oceans of Christian blood shed by men called Christians; yet when we consider these prophecies, these awful deeds testify to the truth of the gospel. And let all beware of a splendid, gainful, or fashionable religion. Let us avoid the mysteries of iniquity, and study diligently the great mystery of godliness, that we may learn humility and gratitude from the example of Christ. The more we seek to resemble him, the less we shall be liable to be deceived by antichrist.

MHCC: Rev 17:7-14

The beast on which the woman sat was, and is not, and yet is. It was a seat of idolatry and persecution, and is not; not in the ancient form, which was pagan: yet it is; it is truly the seat of idolatry and tyranny, though of another sort and form. It would deceive into stupid and blind submission all the inhabitants of the earth within its influence, except the remnant of the elect. This beast was seven heads, seven mountains, the seven hills on which Rome stands; and seven kings, seven sorts of government. Five were gone by when this prophecy was written; one was then in being; the other was yet to come. This beast, directed by the papacy, makes an eighth governor, and sets up idolatry again. It had ten horns, which are said to be ten kings who had as yet no kingdoms; they should not rise up till the Roman empire was broken; but should for a time be very zealous in her interest. Christ must reign till all enemies be put under his feet. The reason of the victory is, that he is the King of kings, and Lord of lords. He has supreme dominion and power over all things; all the powers of earth and hell are subject to his control. His followers are called to this warfare, are fitted for it, and will be faithful in it.

MHCC: Rev 17:15-18

God so ruled the hearts of these kings, by his power over them, and by his providence, that they did those things, without intending it, which he purposed and foretold. They shall see their folly, and how they have been bewitched and enslaved by the harlot, and be made instruments in her destruction. She was that great city which reigned over the kings of the earth, when John had this vision; and every one knows Rome to be that city. Believers will be received to the glory of the Lord, when wicked men will be destroyed in a most awful manner; their joining together in sin, will be turned to hatred and rage, and they will eagerly assist in tormenting each other. But the Lord's portion is his people; his counsel shall stand, and he will do all his pleasure, to his glory, and the happiness of all his servants.

Matthew Henry: Rev 17:1-6

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, etc. 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, etc., Rev 17:1. 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, Rev 17:4. 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.

Matthew Henry: Rev 17:7-13

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, Rev 17:10. 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.

Matthew Henry: Rev 17:14-18

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, Rev 17:15, Rev 17:18. 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.

Barclay: Rev 17:1-2 - "THE CITY WHICH BECAME A HARLOT"

In these two verses Rome is described as the great harlot. More than once in the Old Testament heathen and disobedient cities are described as harlots. It is thus that Nahum describes Nineveh, when he speaks of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favoured harlot (Nah 3:4). It is thus that Isaiah describes Tyre (Isa 23:16-17). Even Jerusalem can be so described. "How the faithful city has become a harlot!" mourns Isaiah (Isa 1:21). And the charge of Ezekiel is: "You trusted in your beauty and played the harlot" (Eze 16:15).

It is a way of speaking which is strange to modern ears; but there is great symbolism behind it.

(i) Behind it is the idea of God as the lover of the souls of his people. Primasius, the old Latin commentator, says that Rome is called a harlot, because "she left her Creator and prostituted herself with devils." When we turn our backs upon God, it is not so much a sin against law as a sin against love.

(ii) There is another idea behind this. Beckwith suggests that Rome is called the great harlot, because she is "an allurement to godlessness and immorality." The sin of the harlot is not only that she sins herself, but also that she deliberately persuades others into sin. God will never hold guiltless the man who seduces others into sin.

Barclay: Rev 17:3 - "THE VISION IN THE WILDERNESS"

John says that he was carried away in the Spirit to a desert place.

The prophet is a man who lives in the Spirit. "The Spirit," said Ezekiel, "lifted me up and took me away" (Eze 3:14). "The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem" (Eze 8:3). "And the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea to the exiles" (Eze 11:24). It is not that the Spirit physically moves a man about from place to place; but, when a man lives in the Spirit, his horizons are widened; he may live in time, but he becomes a spectator of eternity. The prophets could see the trends of history ahead because they lived in the Spirit.

One of the ever-recurring features of the Bible story is that it was in the desert that the great men of God saw their visions. It was in the wilderness that Moses met God (Exo 3:1). It was when he had gone a day's journey into the wilderness that Elijah met God and regained his courage and his faith (1Ki 19:4). It was in the wilderness that John the Baptist grew to manhood and it was there that he received his message from God (Luk 1:80). It was to the wilderness that Jesus went to settle the way he would take before he set out to preach and teach and die for men and for God (Mat 4:1).

It may well be that there is not enough quietness in our lives for us to receive the message which God is eager to give.

Barclay: Rev 17:4-5 - "THE GREAT HARLOT"

These verses give us a vivid picture of the great harlot. She is clothed in purple and scarlet, the royal colours, the colours of luxury and splendour. She is bedecked with gold and precious stones and pearls. She has the golden cup with which she makes her lovers drunk. She has the harlot's frontlet on her forehead with her name. The name is a mystery. In Greek a musterion (3466) is not necessarily something abstruse; it is something quite unintelligible to the uninitiated but crystal clear to the initiated. The mystery in this case is that Babylon means Rome; the thing which the stranger does not know, but which the Christian reader does know, is that while the story is told under the name of Babylon everything relates to Rome.

(i) John may have got this picture from the temple prostitutes of Asia Minor. One of the strange features of ancient religion was that to many temples there were attached sacred prostitutes; there were, for instance, a thousand of them attached to the Temple of Aphrodite at Corinth. To have intercourse with them was an act of worship which paid homage to the life force.

(ii) John possibly had in mind the most notorious of all the Roman Empresses, Messalina. She was the wife of the weak and almost imbecile Claudius; and it is related of her that at nights she would go down to the public brothels and serve there like any common prostitute. Juvenal paints the picture in vivid terms (Satire 6: 114-132): "Hear what Claudius endured. As soon as his wife perceived that her husband was asleep, this august harlot was shameless enough to prefer a common mat to the imperial couch. Assuming a night-cowl, and attended by a single maid she issued forth; then, having concealed her raven locks under a light-coloured peruque, she took her place in a brothel reeking with long-used coverlets. Entering an empty cell reserved for herself, she there took her stand, under the feigned name of Lycisca, her nipples bare and gilded, and exposed to view the womb that bore thee, O nobly-born Britannicus. Here she graciously received all comers, asking from each his fee; and when at length the keeper dismissed the girls, she remained to the very last before closing her cell, and with passion still raging hot within her went sorrowfully away. Then, exhausted by men but unsatisfied, with soiled cheeks, and begrimed by the smoke of the lamps, she took back to the imperial pillow all the odours of the stews."

When even an empress stooped to this, is there any wonder that John thought of Rome as a harlot?

The cup of the harlot Rome is full of unclean things. Lest it be thought that this is the verdict of some narrow-minded Christian, let it be remembered that Tacitus called Rome "the place into which from all over the world all atrocious and shameful things flow and where they are most popular," and Seneca called her "a filthy sewer." John's picture of Rome is actually restrained in comparison with some of the pictures which the Romans themselves drew. This was the civilization into which Christianity came; and it was out of this that men were converted to chastity. We may well speak of the miracles of the Cross.

Barclay: Rev 17:6 - "DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF THE SAINTS AND THE MARTYRS"

As we have already pointed out in the general introduction to this chapter, the way in which John describes Roman persecution is very significant. He says that Rome is drunk with the blood of the saints and the martyrs. The implication is that Rome did not simply persecute the Christians as a legal necessity but took fiendish delight in hounding Christians to death.

No doubt John is thinking of the persecution which took place under Nero. The Neronic persecution sprang from the great fire in A.D. 64 which burned for a week and devastated Rome. The people of Rome were convinced that the fire was no accident; they were also convinced that those who tried to extinguish it were hindered and that when it died down, it was deliberately rekindled; and they were also convinced that the instigator of the fire was Nero. Nero had a passion for building, and the people believed that he had deliberately burned down the city in order to rebuild it.

Nero had to find a scapegoat to divert suspicion from himself; and he fixed on the Christians. This was the first great persecution and in many ways the most savage of all. We quote Tacitus' description in full because it is one of the few passages in pagan literature where the name of Christ occurs (Tacitus: Annals 15: 44):

All human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor (Nero), and

the propitiations of the gods, did not banish the sinister belief

that the conflagration was the result of an order. Consequently to

get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the

most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations,

called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name

had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of

Tiberius, at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus,

and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment,

again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil,

but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every

part of the world find their centre and become popular.

Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty;

then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted,

not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred of

mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered

with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs, and perished, or

were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burned,

to serve as a nightly illumination when daylight had expired....

Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary

punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion, for it was not,

as it seemed for the public good, but to glut one man's cruelty

that they were being destroyed.

Barclay: Rev 17:7-11 - "THE REINCARNATION OF EVIL"

In the introduction to this chapter we have already seen that the likeliest explanation is that John is projecting himself backwards into the reign of Vespasian. The five who have been are Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero; the one who is is Vespasian; the one who is to come and who is to last for only a very short time is Titus; the one who is to be the equivalent of the head wounded and restored, who is to be Nero all over again, is Domitian, the man of savage cruelty. Lying behind all this imagery are three permanent truths.

(i) Even when Nero died, his wickedness lived on and John sees it re-emerging in Domitian, the new Nero. Everyone leaves something behind in this world. It may be a memory which is a helper of all that is fine and good; it may be an evil influence which lays a trail of trouble for many generations to come. Every man's life points somewhere; he must see that it points to goodness and to God.

(ii) In Rev 17:8we read that those whose names have not been written in the Book of Life will be dazzled at the coming of the evil one. There are always those who can be dazzled by evil. The one way to avoid its fascination is to keep our eyes on Jesus Christ. Then evil is seen for what it is.

(iii) In Rev 17:11we read that the beast is on his way to destruction. However great the success of evil may be, it has in it the seeds of self-destruction. He who allies himself with evil has chosen the losing side.

Barclay: Rev 17:12-18 - "THE PURPOSES OF MAN AND THE PURPOSES OF GOD"

This passage speaks of the ten kings whom the ten horns represent. It is likely that the ten kings are the satraps of the East and of Parthia whom the resurrected Nero, the Antichrist, is to lead against Rome. Or they may simply stand for all the world powers which in the end will turn against Rome and destroy her. We note certain things in this passage.

(i) In Rev 17:14we read that these world powers war with the Lamb but the Lamb destroys them; and the called, the chosen and the loyal share in the victory of the Lamb. One of the great conceptions of Jewish thought was that the saints and the martyrs would share in God's final triumph. "Sinners," says Enoch, "shall be delivered into the hands of the righteous" (Enoch 91:12). "Be hopeful, ye righteous," says Enoch again, "for suddenly shall the sinners perish before you, and ye shall have lordship over them according to your desires" (Enoch 96:1). In a grim passage the same book says: "Woe to you who love the deeds of unrighteousness.... Know that you shall be delivered into the hands of the righteous, and they shall cut off your necks and slay you, and have no mercy upon you" (Enoch 98:12). In the Wisdom of Solomon there is the same promise to those who have lived and suffered and died for God. "Having borne a little chastening, they shall receive great good, because God made trial of them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace he proved them, and as a whole burnt-offering he accepted them. And in the time of their visitation they shall shine forth, and as sparks among the stubble they shall run to and fro. They shall judge nations and have dominion over peoples" (Wis 3:5-8). It is no doubt this belief that was in the minds of James and John when they came and asked Jesus for the places on his right and his left when he entered into his kingdom (Mat 20:21; Mar 10:37).

This Jewish thought has two aspects, one noble and one subchristian. The subchristian one is that there were times when this became nothing other than a thirst for vengeance; but who shall blame the persecuted for longing for the day when the world's roles will be reversed in eternity? The noble idea is that the saints and martyrs will aid Christ to win his triumph and share in the glory. It is an affirmation that for us, too, after the Cross comes the crown.

(ii) Rev 17:16gives a picture of the ten horns rising violently against the harlot who had been their mistress. They will devour her flesh. In the Old Testament that is the action of a most savage and powerful enemy. It is the complaint of the Psalmist that the wicked ate up his flesh (Psa 27:2; King James Version). The wicked in Israel, with their grasping oppression, eat the flesh of the people of God (Mic 3:3). This is a picture of terrible vengeance. They will burn her in the fire. This is the punishment for the most heinous sin (Lev 20:14), and above all the punishment for the daughter of a priest who has been guilty of sexual immorality (Lev 21:9).

It is to be noted that the harlot's previous lovers turned against her. Evil has in it a divisive power.

(iii) In Rev 17:12-13we read of the ten kings making common purpose with the beast; and in Rev 17:17we read that God put this into their hearts that his purposes might be carried out and his words fulfilled. Here is a strange thing. These evil powers thought they were working out their own purposes but they were, in fact, working out the purposes of God. R. H. Charles says: "Even the wrath of men is made to praise God." The truth behind this is that God never loses control of human affairs. In the last analysis God is always working things together for good.

Constable: Rev 4:1--22:6

III. THE REVELATION OF THE FUTURE 4:1--22:5

John recorded the rest of this book to reveal those aspects of the future that God wanted His people to know (cf. 1:19). He revealed the events in chapters 4-18 to enable the readers to understand events leading up to Jesus Christ's second coming.

"The closest modern parallel to this mode of communication is the political cartoon, which has gained an established place in the popular press all over the world."¹⁹⁴

Scholars have proposed many interpretations of the remaining chapters (4-22), but the only ones that make much sense of the text are those that see them as predicting events yet future. This is the futuristic approach. Other approaches are the following. The idealist (or allegorical) approach sees these chapters as containing the story of the conflict between God and Satan in the present age with a symbolic presentation of God's ultimate victory. The preterist approach sees these chapters as a picture of conflicts that took place in the early history of the church. Some preterist interpreters see these chapters as a symbolic revelation of God's principles of dealing with humankind throughout history. The historical approach interprets these chapters as a history of the church from Jesus Christ's first advent to His second advent. A major problem with the approaches just named is that their advocates do not agree with one another on the interpretation of individual passages. Only the futuristic approach has resulted in consistency in the interpretation of the major interpretive problems. This approach also has the support of 1:19 that promises a revelation of things yet future.

Whereas chapters 4-18 present events culminating in Jesus Christ's second coming, there are clues in the text that not everything in these chapters is in chronological order. I will point out these clues in the exposition to follow. There is also evidence in the text that as the time of Christ's return approaches predicted events will occur more closely together. The revelation of these events becomes correspondingly fuller. Jesus' second coming is the true climax of this section of the book and is the true climax of history on planet earth.

Constable: Rev 17:1--18:24

K. Supplementary revelation of the judgment of ungodly systems in the Great Tribulation chs. 17-18

Further revelation concerning the destruction of Babylon follows in chapters 17 and 18. Both chapters are parenthetic in that they do not advance the revelation chronologically. They give further supplementary information about matters referred to in the chronological sections (as do 7:1-17; 10:1-11:14; and 12:1-15:8). Babylon in chapters 17 and 18 represents the head of Gentile world power. For this reason many interpreters take the city and empire in view as referring to Rome (cf. 1 Pet. 5:13). Daniel saw Babylon as the gold head of an image that represented Gentile world powers in Daniel 2.

The focus of attention in chapter 17 is on the religious system that God identified with Babylon in Scripture, and that of chapter 18 is on the commercial system He identified with it. Babylon is not just the name of a city in the Middle East. It is also a name that symbolizes the chief characteristics of that city throughout history, which have been a certain religious system and a certain commercial system. We need to keep this double use of the name as a real city and as a symbol in mind as we study these chapters. In a similar way "Rome" may mean the Roman Catholic Church as well as the city of Rome in Italy, and the name "Hollywood" represents both a town and an industry associated with that town.

"She [Babylon] stands for civilized man apart from God, man in organized but godless community."⁵⁵⁰

"The ancient Babylon is better understood here as the archetypal head of all entrenched worldly resistance to God. Babylon is a trans-historical reality including idolatrous kingdoms as diverse as Sodom, Gomorrah, Egypt, Babylon, Tyre, Nineveh, and Rome. Babylon is an eschatological symbol of satanic deception and power; it is a divine mystery that can never be wholly reducible to empirical earthly institutions. It may be said that Babylon represents the total culture of the world apart from God, while the divine system is depicted by the New Jerusalem. Rome is simply one manifestation of the total system."⁵⁵¹

Constable: Rev 17:1-18

1. Religion in the Great Tribulation ch. 17

The Lord gave the revelation of the divine destruction of the religious system identified with Babylon to enable the readers to understand God's plans for this system more exactly.

Constable: Rev 17:1-2

The invitation of the angel 17:1-2

17:1 The fact that this chapter describes the judgment of Babylon referred to in 14:8 and 16:19 seems clear. It was one of the angels who poured out the bowl judgments who served as John's guide as he viewed these events in his vision. The "great harlot" (Gr. pornes tes megales) is Babylon (v. 5).⁵⁵² She is the personification of spiritual fornication or idolatry (cf. Isa. 23:15-17; Jer. 2:20-31; 13:27; Ezek. 16:17-19; Hos. 2:5; Nah. 3:4).⁵⁵³

"In OT prophetic discourse the imagery of the harlot is commonly used to denote religious apostasy."⁵⁵⁴

It is probably better to translate epi as "beside" rather than "on" many waters since she sits astride the beast (v. v. 3). Evidently the beast and she were on the shore in John's vision (cf. John 21:1). The "many waters" represent humankind (v. 15), not a specific geographical site. This fact indicates that it is Babylon as a symbol that is in view here rather than the physical city. Babylon dominates humankind. It is also true, however, that literal Babylon stood beside many waters; it was built on a network of canals (Jer. 51:13). This helps to make the identification more certain.

"She leads the world in the pursuit of false religion whether it be paganism or perverted revealed religion. She is the symbol for a system that reaches back to the tower of Babel (Gen. 10:9-10; 11:1-9) and extends into the future when it will peak under the regime of the beast."⁵⁵⁵

There is similarity between this angel's invitation to John and the one in 21:9. This is the first of many clues that the New Jerusalem (21:9-22:5) is the divine counterpart of humanistic Babylon.⁵⁵⁶

17:2 The "kings of the earth" are world leaders who personify kingdoms (16:14; et al.). They committed immorality (fornication) with Babylon by uniting with the system she symbolizes.

"Religious compromise necessitated in this kind of association is totally incompatible with the worship of the one true God, and so amounts to spiritual prostitution."⁵⁵⁷

This system made all earth-dwellers, not just kings, "drunk," that is, it had a controlling influence on them. When people reject the truth, they will believe lies (cf. 2 Thess. 2:10-11). Obviously this harlot is different from the woman in chapter 12 and the bride in chapters 19, 21, and 22.

Constable: Rev 17:3-6

The vision of the system 17:3-6

17:3 The angel carried John away in the Spirit to a wilderness area (cf. 1:10; 4:1; 21:10). This wilderness may refer to the desert near literal Babylon,⁵⁵⁸ or it may anticipate the desolate condition of the harlot.⁵⁵⁹ There he saw a woman, the harlot of verse 1, sitting on a beast.⁵⁶⁰ The description of this animal is exactly the same as Antichrist in 13:1 except that it is scarlet here, probably symbolizing luxury and splendor ( cf. 14:8-11; Isa. 1:18; Matt. 27:28-29). She sat in a position of control over Antichrist, and he supported her.

17:4 The woman's clothing was purple, symbolic of royalty, and scarlet, representing luxury (v. 3; cf. Matt. 27:28; Mark 15:17, 20; John 19:2, 5). Her ornaments included gold, precious stones, and pearls, jewelry that made her look like a queen.⁵⁶¹ The cup in her hand added to her royal appearance, but it contained idolatrous abominations (cf. Deut. 18:9; 29:17; 32:16; Jer. 51:7; et al.), namely, unclean things connected with her spiritual immorality. The harlot wore expensive, attractive garments and accessories that made her externally appealing, but she is a counterfeit beauty. What is inside her is unclean.

17:5 It was customary in John's day for Roman prostitutes to wear their names on their headbands.⁵⁶² However, it is not clear whether this woman's name was on a headband or on her forehead (cf. 7:3; 9:4; 13:16-18; 14:1; Jer. 3:3). Her name was a "mystery," namely, something not previously revealed but now made clear. A name in Scripture represents everything about the person who bears it, often the person's reputation. The content of the mystery about this Babylonian system is what John revealed here, especially the new revelation about its evil character and judgment (vv. 17-18).⁵⁶³ The harlot represents Babylon that is a "mother of harlots," not just one herself but the fountainhead of many other evil religious systems and everything anti-Christian (cf. Gen. 10:9-10; 11:1-9).⁵⁶⁴ God attributed all kinds of abominations to her.

"In our day the ecumenical church has faced a lot of problems. It seems that they have recognized psychological differences in people and that it is impossible to water down theologies and practices to suit everyone. So each group will come into this great world ecumenical system but retain some of its peculiarities. For example, those who want to immerse will immerse. Those who want to sprinkle will sprinkle. Those who want elaborate ritual will have it, and those who want no ritual will have that. You see, there is going to be more than the mother harlot--there will be a whole lot of harlots, a regular brothel."⁵⁶⁵

Many writers have traced the religiously apostate system of worship begun in Babylon and carried on through history through Roman Catholicism and the modern Christian ecumenical movement.⁵⁶⁶ However, this description of Babylonianism encompasses all forms of paganism including perversions of Christianity and non-Christian religions.

17:6 She had drunk the blood of believers, the saints generally and witnesses to Jesus Christ specifically (cf. 11:10; 13:7, 15). This system had destroyed true believers and rejoiced in their deaths. This revelation amazed John. A system purporting to honor God was killing His faithful followers!⁵⁶⁷ In his day the Roman Empire was the great manifestation of Babylonianism.

Constable: Rev 17:7-14

Further revelation of the beast 17:7-14

17:7 The angel promised to interpret these revelations that were so baffling to John, particularly the mystery concerning the woman and the beast. More information about the beast follows in verses 7-14 and more about the woman in verses 15-18. The beast supplied the woman's power and purpose. He had seven heads and 10 horns, which the angel explained later (vv. 9-10).

17:8 The beast, as we have already seen, is Antichrist (13:1-3). Here the angel referred to his resuscitation of a formerly dead nation (cf. 13:3, 12, 14).⁵⁶⁸ Evidently this resuscitation will happen at the middle of the Tribulation.⁵⁶⁹ The beast comes out of the abyss, the home of Satan (11:7) and the hold of his demons (9:1-2, 11), when he revives this nation. This suggests that Satan will give him supernatural powers when he does this. Finally Jesus Christ will destroy him forever (19:20).

The beast's resuscitation of this nation will greatly impress earth-dwellers (i.e., unbelievers; cf. 13:3). They will conclude that he is a divine savior, but really he will be a demonic slaughterer. He will deceive everyone but the elect (i.e., believers; cf. 13:8; Matt. 24:24; Mark 13:22).

17:9 The angel prefaced his identification of the beast's seven heads with a statement that understanding this part of the revelation requires wisdom (cf. 13:18). Evidently many would incorrectly identify these seven heads. Indeed various writers have suggested a multitude of different interpretations. The most popular of these include seven Roman emperors,⁵⁷⁰ the seven hills of Rome,⁵⁷¹ and various non-literal views, such as the following.

"By his use of seven, he indicates completeness or wholeness. The seven heads of the beast symbolize fullness of blasphemy and evil. It is much like our English idiom the seven seas,' i.e., all the seas of the world."⁵⁷²

Verses 9-11 are an exposition or clarification of verse 8. The text is always its own best interpreter. The seven heads are "seven kings" (v. 10). They are the heads and personifications of seven empires (cf. Dan. 7:17, 23). The angel also referred to them as "mountains" (v. 9). In the Bible a mountain is a symbol of a prominent government (cf. Ps. 30:7; 68:15-16; Isa. 2:2; 41:15; Jer. 51:25; Dan. 2:35, 44; Hab. 3:6, 10; Zech. 4:7).

"The call for special wisdom in v. 9a probably has in view the ability to grasp this double meaning of the mountains [i.e., as individuals and kingdoms]."⁵⁷³

The woman sits over the seven rulers and empires, but she is not one of them. She exercises authority over them.

17:10 The seven kings are rulers over seven kingdoms. The prominent one in John's day that "is" was certainly the Roman Empire. The five most prominent world powers preceding Rome that had fallen are probably Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greece.⁵⁷⁴ The Old Babylonian Empire may have been the first (Gen. 10:8-10). The seventh kingdom that was yet to come and would remain a little while is the beast's kingdom (13:3; 17:8).⁵⁷⁵ All of these kingdoms have persecuted or will persecute God's people (cf. Ezek. 29-30; Nah. 3:1-19; Isa. 21:9; Jer. 50-51; Dan. 10:13; 11:2-4). Another common view is that the number seven is symbolic and stands for the power of the Roman Empire as a whole.⁵⁷⁶

17:11 Evidently the beast is one of the seven in the sense that his first kingdom is on a par with the seven major empires just mentioned. He is the eighth in that he establishes an eighth major empire with a worldwide government after he revives a previously dead nation having received supernatural powers from Satan. This explanation views the beast's kingdom before his revival as the seventh kingdom and his kingdom after these events as the eighth.⁵⁷⁷ A variation of this view sees the seventh kingdom as the revived Roman Empire and the eighth as the beast's kingdom, which comprises the revived Roman Empire and all other nations.⁵⁷⁸

Jesus Christ will destroy the beast and his (eighth) kingdom when He returns to the earth. It will not just "fall" as the other major empires did.

17:12 The specific identity of the 10 horns (other kings but without kingdoms when John wrote) is not yet clear.⁵⁷⁹ They will be allies of the beast and serve under him in his worldwide government during the Great Tribulation (Dan. 7:23-24). Each of them will rule a kingdom simultaneously with one another and with the beast (cf. Dan. 7:7-8, 24).⁵⁸⁰ They will have authority to rule "for one hour," only very briefly during the Great Tribulation (cf. 18:10, 17, 19). Evidently their short, independent rule will immediately precede the return of Jesus Christ to the earth (v. 14). The beast will give them their authority, but God will permit him to do so.

17:13 The single purpose of these end-time kingdoms is to rule the world (v. 14). The 10 rulers will submit to the Antichrist's leadership to achieve this end. Evidently he will have to put down three of them who revolt against him (Dan. 7:24; cf. Rev. 12:3; 13:1; 17:3).

17:14 At the very end of the Tribulation these kings will fight against Jesus Christ as He returns to earth (cf. 16:14, 16; 19:19-21). The Lamb will defeat them and will prove to be Lord of lords and King of kings (19:16), the title Antichrist seeks to claim in his worldwide empire.

Those with Christ accompany Him from heaven (cf. 19:14). They are the called, the elect, and the faithful. These are probably three terms for the same group, namely, believers, rather than three different groups of believers. The three terms become progressively more specific. Those chosen for salvation are elected by the Father (cf. Eph. 1:4-5). They are the same ones who then respond to God's grace by faithfully believing on Him. These believers who accompany Christ from heaven will be Christians and Tribulation martyrs.

Constable: Rev 17:15-18

The judgment of the harlot 17:15-18

17:15 The angel next helped John understand the identity of the waters (v. 1). Water is a common symbol for people in the Old Testament (e.g., Ps. 18:4, 16; 124:4; Isa. 8:7; Jer. 47:2). The harlot exercises a controlling influence over the population of the world, both the faithful (cf. 5:9; 7:9) and the rebellious (cf. 10:11; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6). There will be one religious system that will encompass all nations and peoples during the Tribulation (cf. vv. 1-2).

17:16 The beast and his allies will eventually throw off the harlot and thoroughly destroy her. They will plunder her wealth, expose her corruption, and utterly consume her, as dogs ate Jezebel's flesh (1 Kings 21:23-24; 2 Kings 9:30-37; cf. Ps. 27:2; Jer. 10:25; Mic. 3:3; Zeph. 3:3). They will completely desecrate her, as the Israelites burned the bodies of people who committed detestable fornication (cf. Lev. 20:14; 21:9; Josh. 7:15, 25). This will probably occur in the middle of the Tribulation when Antichrist breaks his covenant with Israel and demands that everyone on earth worship him or die (Dan. 9:27; 11:26-38; Matt. 24:15; 2 Thess. 2:4; Rev. 13:8, 15). Satan's kingdom will divide and turn against itself, the sure sign that it cannot endure (cf. Mark 3:23-26).⁵⁸¹

17:17 The ultimate cause of this action is God's sovereign purpose. God has used the forces of evil for His own purposes before (cf. 16:13-14, 16; Judg. 7:22; 1 Sam. 14:20; 2 Chron. 20:23; Jer. 25:9-11; Ezek. 38:21; Hag. 2:2; Zech. 14:14). Nevertheless the sinner is always responsible for his or her actions.

"This verse denies the existence of any ultimate dualism in the world. In the final analysis the powers of evil serve the purposes of God."⁵⁸²

The "common purpose" in view in this verse is world domination (v. 13). The allied kings will submit to the beast's leadership because this will help them achieve their goal of attaining universal power and resisting God. This situation will continue until the end of the age, until all God's words about rebellion against Him in the Tribulation have come to fulfillment (cf. 10:7).

17:18 The woman represents "the great city." In the context this undoubtedly refers to Babylon. It is the only city referred to specifically in this chapter (v. 5; cf. 16:18; 14:8). As a system of apostate religion, which Babylon originated (Gen. 10-11) and symbolizes, it reigned over the leaders and kingdoms of the world. Though religion has always guided the decisions of political rulers, this is very clear during the Middle Ages in Europe. Then the popes wielded great influence over the political leaders of the Holy Roman Empire. The influence of Jezebel over King Ahab is a striking parallel in biblical history.

The focus of the revelation in this chapter is the age-old apostate religious system and its relation to government during the seven-year Tribulation period. During the first half of the Tribulation it will be an ecumenical, worldwide body that will stand above government and will be aggressively hostile to true believers in God. At the end of the Great Tribulation, Antichrist will terminate it and demand universal worship of himself.

"In view of the fact that there does not seem to be any religious opposition to the woman, and her sway seems to be complete except for individual saints whom she persecutes, the evidence seems to support the fact that the woman represents an ecumenical or worldwide church embracing all of Christianity religiously, and therefore including not only the Roman Catholic Church but Protestant and Greek Orthodox as well. . . .

"The final form of world religion will not even be Christian in name, and will actually be an atheistic, humanistic, satanic system which denies everything related to the true God, and is the persecutor of all who fail to worship the political ruler."⁵⁸³

College: Rev 17:1-18

REVELATION 17

f. God's Final Judgment against Babylon (17:1-19:4)

We now turn to John's vision of the final judgment against Babylon in Revelation 17:1-19:4. As we will see, "Babylon" symbolizes Rome. However, the vision has broader application, for the condemnation of Rome is representative of the condemnation that awaits any human authority that opposes God. We begin by examining the symbols of the "great prostitute" and the "scarlet beast" in chapter 17.

¹ One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. ² With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries."

³ Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. ⁵ This title was written on her forehead:

MYSTERY

BABYLON THE GREAT

THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES

AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

⁶ I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.

When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. ⁷ Then the angel said to me: "Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. ⁸ The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come.

⁹"This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. ¹⁰ They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. ¹¹ The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.

¹²"The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. ¹³ They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴ They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings-and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."

¹⁵ Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. ¹⁶ The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. ¹⁷ For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled. ¹⁸ The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth."

17:1a One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute . . . ."

(1) The Great Prostitute (17:1-18). The angel announces a vision of "the punishment of the great prostitute." This is the subject of 17:1-19:4. Who exactly is this "great prostitute"? The angel identifies her in verse 18.

17:18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.

The prostitute is Rome, the "great city" of Italy that ruled over the entire Mediterranean world. In John's time, the Roman Empire stretched from what is now France and Belgium in the north to Egypt in the south, and from Spain and Portugal in the west to the Caspian Sea in the east.

By picturing Rome as a woman, John may simply be following the Old Testament tradition of portraying cities as females. However, his intention may be to picture the city as the goddess Roma, the patron goddess and "mother" of the Roman Empire. John's "astonishment" at seeing the woman (v. 6) is a typical human reaction to an encounter with deity.

17:1b,4a,15 the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. . . . The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand . . . . Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages."

The image of the woman straddling "many waters" refers to Rome's dominance of the Mediterranean basin. Through organizational genius, naval supremacy, and brutal military force, the Romans grew rich on tribute from the surrounding nations. The woman's fine clothing, jewelry, and golden cup reflect this fabulous wealth.

At the same time, the "many waters," the "golden cup," and the great wealth link Rome with the prophecy found in Jeremiah 51:6-14:

Flee from Babylon!

Run for your lives!

Do not be destroyed because of her sins.

It is time for the LORD's vengeance;

he will pay her what she deserves.

Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD's hand;

she made the whole earth drunk.

The nations drank her wine;

therefore they have now gone mad.

Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken

Wail over her!

Get balm for her pain;

perhaps she can be healed.

"We would have healed Babylon,

but she cannot be healed;

let us leave her and each go to his own land,

for her judgment reaches to the skies,

it rises as high as the clouds."

"The LORD has vindicated us;

come, let us tell in Zion

what the LORD our God has done."

Sharpen the arrows,

take up the shields!

The LORD has stirred up the kings of the Medes,

because his purpose is to destroy Babylon.

The LORD will take vengeance,

vengeance for his temple.

Lift up a banner against the walls of Babylon!

Reinforce the guard,

station the watchmen,

prepare an ambush!

The LORD will carry out his purpose,

his decree against the people of Babylon.

You who live by many waters [a reference to the Euphrates River, which passed through the city of Babylon, and to the Tigris River, which passed nearby]

and are rich in treasures ,

your end has come,

the time for you to be cut off.

The LORD Almighty has sworn by himself:

I will surely fill you with men, as with a swarm of locusts,

and they will shout in triumph over you.

By describing Rome using language from this prophecy, John communicates at least two truths concerning that great empire: First, Rome is a "Second Babylon." As Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish temple in 587 B.C. (an event alluded to in Jer 51:11), so did Rome destroy the same city and temple in A.D. 70. Furthermore, Rome has persecuted and killed Christians. Like Babylon, Rome has been an enemy of the covenant people of God.

Second, the prophecy speaks of Babylon as the object of God's wrath and judgment. By identifying the prostitute with Babylon, John predicts that Rome, too, will perish in the wrath of God's final judgment.

17:2,4b-6 With [the great prostitute] the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries." . . . She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. This title was written on her forehead: MYSTERY / BABYLON THE GREAT / THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES / AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.

John presents the Empire as a beautiful, attractive, seductive woman, bedecked with gold, jewels, and rich garments. But then he tells his readers that dear "mother Rome" is a whore! (If this is the sort of thing John was saying in his preaching in Asia Minor, then it is no wonder that the Romans exiled him to Patmos!) The prophet is laying the groundwork for contrasting the adulterous prostitute "Babylon" with the pure, chaste "New Jerusalem" or "Bride of Christ" described in chapters 19-22.

We have seen that, throughout the Book of Revelation, prostitution, adultery and other forms of sexual immorality symbolize idolatry or unfaithfulness to God. As adulterers break their marriage covenants with their spouses, so do idolaters break covenant with God. The prostitute Rome seduces "the kings of the earth" to "commit adultery" with her. In other words, she promotes emperor worship and other forms of pagan idolatry among the various subject peoples that make up the Empire. She uses her power, her influence, and her position of world leadership to turn other nations away from God.

The "title" on the whore's forehead emphasizes this truth. The first words of this title are: "Mystery: Babylon the Great." In apocalyptic literature, the term "mystery" tends to refer to "something once hidden that is now revealed (through God's prophets)." The term is also used of "symbols," which are not to be taken literally but which communicate a hidden truth. Here in Revelation 17, John identifies the title "Babylon the Great" as a "mystery" or symbol. He thus emphasizes that the "great prostitute" should not be understood as literally referring to Babylon. Instead, she represents the "Second Babylon," the City of Rome (see above).

He calls Rome "the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth." In this context, "prostitutes" refer to idolaters, who refuse to recognize the true and living God. "Abominations" are things that God finds hateful or disgusting.

The phrase "mother of" may be interpreted in two ways, both of which make good sense in Revelation 17. First, a mother is the source of her children in the sense that they come forth from her womb. Rome is the source of idolaters and things detestable to God in the sense that she promotes sin and idolatry among the nations (see above). Second, a mother is a full-grown, adult version of her offspring. If John is thinking of the "prostitute" in this second sense, then he is saying that Rome is the biggest idolater and abominator on earth.

What sort of "abominations" does Rome commit? To find out, we must look in her cup: "She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries." What is the whore drinking? "The blood of the saints"! This is the filthy "wine of her adulteries" - the cup that her idolatry leads her to drink. And Rome does not merely sip from the cup. Instead, she is " drunk with the blood of the saints;" she gorges herself with the lives of martyred Christians. Furthermore, she passes the cup to others, encouraging them to drink as well. As a result, "the inhabitants of the earth" are also "intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries." Chapters 18 and 19 will show that, to the Lord God Almighty, the murder of his faithful servants is an "abomination" for which Rome will pay with her life.

When John sees the prostitute, he is "greatly astonished." As noted above, this statement may be intended to show that John is viewing a "deity" - the goddess Roma. However, it may be that John is simply taken aback at seeing the true nature of the Empire that is admired and worshiped by so many .

(2) The Scarlet Beast (17:1-18). In John's vision, the "great prostitute" is mounted on a "scarlet beast." The beast's appearance resembles that of the "beast coming out of the sea" described in Revelation 13:1-8. We have seen that the beast from the sea symbolizes political powers used by Satan to make war on the saints. These political authorities include, but are not limited to Rome and its Caesars. The symbol of the "scarlet beast" also points to Rome, but it moves beyond the symbol of the beast from the sea to communicate additional truths.

17:3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.

Like the beast from the sea, the scarlet beast has "seven heads." These seven heads immediately evoke images of Leviathan, the seven-headed sea serpent that symbolizes the forces of evil and chaos. However, verses 9-11 show that John also intends for the heads on the scarlet beast to symbolize "seven kings" (see below).

Like the beast from the sea, the scarlet beast also has "ten horns" and wears "blasphemous names." These symbols are drawn from Daniel 7, where the "ten horns" represent individual kings and the "blasphemies" are spoken by Antiochus Epiphanes. The political powers symbolized by the scarlet beast are "covered with blasphemous names" in this sense: They take for themselves names that rightfully belong only to God and to Christ ("God," "Lord," "Son of God," etc.). They put themselves in the place of the Deity. John interprets the "ten horns" in verses 12-14 and 16-17 (see below).

17:7-11 Then the angel said to me: "Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come.

"This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction."

According to verse 9, "the seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits." This statement identifies the scarlet beast as the city of Rome, which was widely known to be built on seven hills.

According to verse 10, the seven heads "are also seven kings" - that is, seven emperors of the Roman Empire. Note the flexibility of the imagery: Both the prostitute and the scarlet beast she rides represent Rome in its various aspects - Rome as city ("Babylon," "the great city"), geographical location ("seven hills"), empire ("sits on many waters," "peoples, multitudes, nations and languages," "rules over the kings of the earth"), goddess ("woman"), emperors ("ten horns," "seven kings," "an eighth king"), and promoter of idolatry ("prostitute," "adulterer"). Again, apocalyptic symbolism is polyvalent, capable of communicating multiple meanings simultaneously.

Concerning the seven kings, John writes:

Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while (Rev 17:10).

Some scholars think John is referring to eight specific Roman emperors, with the sixth being the ruling emperor at the time Revelation is written ("one is"). This approach is problematical because John's description of the eight kings does not seem to match what we know about Roman emperors from historical sources. However, if we read the prophet's numbers as symbolic, apocalyptic numbers, then the text yields its meaning.

Since "seven" is the symbolic number for "completeness," the phrase "seven kings" refers to the entire series of Roman emperors from beginning to end - whatever the literal number may be. When John writes, "Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come," he is saying that he and his first readers live during the time of the sixth emperor. "Six," being one less than "seven," is the symbolic number for "incompleteness." If John is writing during the reign of the "sixth" emperor, then the end or "completion" of the Roman Empire has not yet come.

John speaks of an "eighth king" in verses 8 and 11:

The [scarlet] beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come (Rev 17:8).

The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction (Rev 17:11).

Who is this "eighth king"? He "belongs to the seven," which shows that he is part of the complete line of Roman emperors. He "comes up out of the Abyss," the reservoir of evil and place of demons, which shows that he is a tool of Satan. Furthermore, the eighth king is a "beast," or a particular manifestation of political evil (see above).

The emperor of whom John speaks is an "eighth king." This symbolic number identifies him as a parody of Christ, whose number is also "eight." This evil emperor is someone who tries to put himself in the place of Christ, usurping his heavenly throne.

John also describes the eighth king as someone who "once was, now is not, and yet will come." In the context of Revelation, this description carries two meanings: First, John identifies the eighth king as a parody of God, whom the prophet elsewhere describes as him "who is, and who was, and who is to come" (Rev 1:8). Second, John identifies the eighth king as Nero redivivus . Nero supposedly died and then returned to life. Likewise, the eighth king dies ("once was, now is not") and then returns to life ("yet will come"), causing non-Christians who see him to be "astonished" as in the presence of a god. The eighth king is like Nero returned from the dead - that is, he is a great persecutor of the church. As a rival to God and persecutor of his people, the eighth king will eventually go "to his destruction." He will endure the wrath of God's final judgment.

Who, then, is the "eighth king"? If John has a particular individual in mind, then the most logical choice would be Domitian, the emperor on the throne at the time John wrote Revelation. As an emperor who claimed to be divine, and a persecutor of Christians, Domitian fits every element in John's description of the "eighth king." However, John may intend for the "eighth king" to represent any future ruler who tries to put himself in the place of Christ.

17:12-14,16-17 "The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings-and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."

". . . The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled."

The scarlet beast's "ten horns" represent rulers of various nations, who are subservient to Rome and who cooperate with Rome in "making war against the Lamb" and his followers. Two examples from John's past would be Herod Antipas and Herod Agrippa I. Both served as "King of the Jews" in Palestine, and both cooperated with the Roman authorities in crucifying Jesus, beheading the Apostle James, and imprisoning the Apostle Peter. In Revelation 17 John is speaking of future rulers ("kings who have not yet received a kingdom") who will behave in a similar manner.

In verses 16-17 John predicts that such kings will eventually turn against Rome and destroy her. They "accomplish [the Lord's] purpose" by carrying out God's judgment against Rome for her sins. In the fifth century, Rome finally did fall to foreign invaders. John had already predicted it in the first century.

In destroying Rome, the "ten horns" will have help from the "beast" itself. Strangely enough, the "beast," which symbolizes Rome (see v. 9), will destroy the "prostitute," which also symbolizes Rome (see v. 18). This is an image of the self-destructive power of evil. We see this power at work in individuals every day. For example, those who center their lives on alcohol, drugs, illicit sex, hatred, and violence, often destroy themselves by their sinful behavior. Romans 1:18-32 shows that one instrument God will use to carry out his judgment against sinners is sinners themselves. He will "give them over" to their sinful desires, allowing them to reap the consequences of their own behavior:

The wrath of God is [presently] being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth [about God] by their wickedness, . . . .

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. . . .

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them (Rom 1:18,24,26-32).

As it is with individuals, so it is with empires. One of the ways God exercises his righteous judgment against sinful nations is by letting them have their own way - by "giving them over" to themselves. This is God's "punishment of the great prostitute" (Rev 17:1). The only escape comes through repentance, righteousness, abandoning idolatry, and a seeking after God. The Lord says to Israel in 1 Chronicles 7:14:

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

Pendahuluan / Garis Besar

Robertson: Revelation (Pendahuluan Kitab)

THE REVELATION OF JOHN

ABOUT a.d. 95

By Way of Introduction

Difficulty in the Problem

Perhaps no single book in the New Testament presents so many and so formidable problems as the Apocalypse of John. These difficulties concern the authorship, the date, the apocalyptic method, the relation to the other Johannine books, the purpose, the historical environment, the reception of the book in the New Testament canon, the use and misuse of the book through the ages, etc. In the eastern churches the recognition of the Apocalypse of John was slower than in the west, since it was not in the Peshitta Syriac Version. Caius of Rome attributed the book to Cerinthus the Gnostic, but he was ably answered by Hippolytus, who attributed it to the Apostle John. The Council of Laodicea (about a.d. 360) omitted it, but the third Council of Carthage (a.d. 397) accepted it. The dispute about millenarianism led Dionysius of Alexandria (middle of the third century, a.d.) to deny the authorship to the Apostle John, though he accepted it as canonical. Eusebius suggested a second John as the author. But finally the book was accepted in the east as Hebrews was in the west after a period of doubt.

Poor State of the Text

There are only five uncials that give the text of John’s Apocalypse (Aleph A C P Q). Of these Aleph belongs to the fourth century, A and C to the fifth, Q (really B2 , B ending with Heb_9:13, both in the Vatican Library) to the eighth, P to the ninth. Only Aleph A Q (= B2 ) are complete, C lacking Rev_1:1, 3:19-5:14, Rev_7:14-17, 8:5-9:16, 10:10-11:3, 14:13-18:2, 19:5-21, P lacking Rev 16:12 - 17:1, 19:21-20:9, 22:6-21. Both C and P are palimpsests. In the 400 verses of the book " over 1,600 variants have been counted" (Moffatt). Erasmus had only one cursive (of the twelfth century numbered Ir) for his first edition, and the last six verses of the Apocalypse, save Rev_22:20, were a translation from the Vulgate. The result is that the versions are of special importance for the text of the book, since in no single MS. or group of MSS. do we have a fairly accurate text, though Aleph A C and A C Vulgate are the best two groups.

The Apocalyptic Style

The book claims to be an apocalypse (Rev_1:1) and has to be treated as such. It is an unveiling ( apokalupsis , from apokaluptō ) or revelation of Jesus Christ, a prophecy, in other words, of a special type, like Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel in the Old Testament. There was a considerable Jewish apocalyptic literature by this time when John wrote, much of it b.c., some of it a.d., like the Book of Enoch, the Apocalypse of Baruch, the Book of Jubilees, the Assumption of Moses, the Psalms of Solomon, the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Sibylline Oracles, some of them evidently " worked over by Christian hands" (Swete). Jesus himself used the apocalyptic style at times (Mark 13; Matt 24, 25; Luke 21). Paul in 1 Cor 14 spoke of the unpremeditated apocalyptic utterances in the Christian meetings and suggested restraints concerning them. " The Revelation of John is the only written apocalypse, as it is the only written prophecy of the Apostolic age.... The first Christian apocalypse came on the crest of this long wave of apocalyptic effort" (Swete). The reason for this style of writing is usually severe persecution and the desire to deliver a message in symbolic form. The effort of Antiochus Epiphanes, who claimed to be " a god manifest," to hellenize the Jews aroused violent opposition and occasioned many apocalypses to cheer the persecuted Jews.

Emperor Worship as the Occasion for John’s Apocalypse

There is no doubt at all that the emperor cult (emperor worship) played a main part in the persecution of the Christians that was the occasion for this great Christian apocalypse. The book itself bears ample witness to this fact, if the two beasts refer to the Roman power as the agent of Satan. It is not possible to single out each individual emperor in the graphic picture. Most would take the dragon to be Satan and the first and the second beasts to be the imperial and provincial Roman power. The Roman emperors posed as gods and did the work of Satan. In particular there were two persecuting emperors (Nero and Domitian) who were responsible for many martyrs for Christ. But emperor worship began before Nero. Julius Caesar was worshipped in the provinces. Octavius was called Augustus ( Sebastos , Reverend). The crazy Emperor Caius Caligula not simply claimed to be divine, but actually demanded that his statue be set up for worship in the Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem. He was killed in January a.d. 41 before he could execute his dire purpose. But the madcap Nero likewise demanded worship and blamed in a.d. 64 the burning of Rome on the Christians, though guilty of it himself. He set the style for persecuting Christians, which slumbered on and burst into flames again under Domitian, who had himself commonly termed Dominus ac Deus noster (Our Lord and God). The worship of the emperor did not disturb the worshippers of other gods save the Jews and the Christians, and in particular the Christians were persecuted after the burning of Rome when they were distinguished from the Jews. Up till then Christians were regarded (as by Gallio in Corinth) as a variety of Jews and so entitled to tolerance as a religio licita , but they had no standing in law by themselves and their refusal to worship the emperor early gave offence, as Paul indicates in 1Co_12:3. It was Kurios Iēsous or Kurios Kaisar . On this very issue Polycarp lost his life. The emperors as a rule were tolerant about it, save Nero and Domitian, who was called Nero redivivus , or Nero back again. Trajan in his famous letter to Pliny advised tolerance except in stubborn cases, when the Christians had to be put to death. After Nero it was a crime to be a Christian and all sorts of slanders about them were circulated. We have seen already in 2Th_2:3., the man of sin who sets himself above God as the object of worship. We have seen also in 1Jo_2:18, 1Jo_2:22; 1Jo_4:3; 2Jo_1:7 the term antichrist applied apparently to Gnostic heretics. One may wonder if, as Beckwith argues, in the Apocalypse the man of sin and the antichrist are united in the beast.

The Author

The writer calls himself John (Rev_1:1, Rev_1:4, Rev_1:9; Rev_22:8). But what John? The book can hardly be pseudonymous, though, with the exception of the Shepherd of Hermas, that is the rule with apocalypses. There would have been a clearer claim than just the name. The traditional and obvious way to understand the name is the Apostle John, though Dionysius of Alexandria mentions John Mark as held by some and he himself suggests another John, like the so-called Presbyter John of Papias as quoted by Eusebius. The uncertain language of Papias has raised a deal of questioning. Swete thinks that the majority of modern critics ascribe the Apocalypse to this Presbyter John, to whom Moffatt assigns probably 2 John and 3 John. Irenaeus represents the Apostle John as having lived to the time of Trajan, at least to a.d. 98. Most ancient writers agree with this extreme old age of John. Justin Martyr states expressly that the Apostle John wrote the Apocalypse. Irenaeus called it the work of a disciple of Jesus. In the ninth century lived Georgius Hamartolus, and a MS. of his alleges that Papias says that John the son of Zebedee was beheaded by the Jews and there is an extract in an Oxford MS. of the seventh century which alleges that Papias says John and James were put to death by the Jews. On the basis of this slim evidence some today argue that John did not live to the end of the century and so did not write any of the Johannine books. But a respectable number of modern scholars still hold to the ancient view that the Apocalypse of John is the work of the Apostle and Beloved Disciple, the son of Zebedee.

Relation to the Fourth Gospel

Here scholars divide again. Many who deny the Johannine authorship of the Fourth Gospel and the Epistles accept the apostolic authorship of the Apocalypse, Baur, for instance. Hort, Lightfoot, and Westcott argued for the Johannine authorship on the ground that the Apocalypse was written early (time of Nero or Vespasian) when John did not know Greek so well as when the Epistles and the Gospel were written. There are numerous grammatical laxities in the Apocalypse, termed by Charles a veritable grammar of its own. They are chiefly retention of the nominative case in appositional words or phrases, particularly participles, many of them sheer Hebraisms, many of them clearly intentional (as in Rev_1:4), all of them on purpose according to Milligan ( Revelation in Schaff’s Pop. Comm.) and Heinrici ( Der Litterarische Charakter der neutest. Schriften , p. 85). Radermacher ( Neutestamentliche Grammatik , p. 3) calls it " the most uncultured literary production that has come down to us from antiquity," and one finds frequent parallels to the linguistic peculiarities in later illiterate papyri. J. H. Moulton ( Grammar , Vol. II, Part I, p. 3) says: " Its grammar is perpetually stumbling, its idiom is that of a foreign language, its whole style that of a writer who neither knows nor cares for literary form." But we shall see that the best evidence is for a date in Domitian’s reign and not much later than the Fourth Gospel. It is worth noting that in Act_4:13 Peter and John are both termed by the Sanhedrin agrammatoi kai idiōtai (unlettered and unofficial men). We have seen the possibility that 2 Peter represents Peter’s real style or at least that of a different amanuensis from Silvanus in 1Pe_5:12. It seems clear that the Fourth Gospel underwent careful scrutiny and possibly by the elders in Ephesus (Joh_21:24). If John wrote the Apocalypse while in Patmos and so away from Ephesus, it seems quite possible that here we have John’s own uncorrected style more than in the Gospel and Epistles. There is also the added consideration that the excitement of the visions played a part along with a certain element of intentional variations from normal grammatical sequence. An old man’s excitement would bring back his early style. There are numerous coincidences in vocabulary and style between the Fourth Gospel and the Apocalypse.

The Unity of the Apocalypse

Repeated efforts have been made to show that the Apocalypse of John is not the work of one man, but a series of Jewish and Christian apocalypses pieced together in a more or less bungling fashion. Spitta argued for this in 1889. Vischer was followed by Harnack in the view there was a Jewish apocalypse worked over by a Christian. Gunkel ( Creation and Chaos , 1895) argued for a secret apocalyptic tradition of Babylonian origin. In 1904 J. Weiss carried on the argument for sources behind the Apocalypse. Many of the Jewish apocalypses do show composite authorship. There was a current eschatology which may have been drawn on without its being a written source. It is in chapter Rev 12 where the supposed Jewish source is urged more vigorously about the woman, the dragon, and the man child. There are no differences in language (vocabulary or grammar) that argue for varied sources. The author may indeed make use of events in the reign of Nero as well as in the reign of Domitian, but the essential unity of the book has stood the test of the keenest criticism.

The Date

There are two chief theories, the Neronic, soon after Nero’s death, the other in the reign of Domitian. Irenaeus is quoted by Eusebius as saying expressly that the Apocalypse of John was written at the close of the reign of Domitian. This testimony is concurred in by Clement of Alexandria, by Origen, by Eusebius, by Jerome. In harmony with this clear testimony the severity of the persecutions suit the later date better than the earlier one. There is, besides, in Rev_17:11. an apparent reference to the story that Nero would return again. The fifth king who is one of the seven is an eighth. There was a Nero legend, to be sure, that Nero either was not dead but was in Parthia, or would be redivivus after death. Juvenal termed Domitian " a bald Nero" and others called Domitian " a second Nero." But in spite of all this Hort, Lightfoot, Sanday, Westcott have argued strongly for the Neronic era. Peake is willing to admit allusions to the Neronic period as Swete is also, but both consider the Domitianic date the best supported. Moffatt considers any earlier date than Domitian " almost impossible."

The Visions

No theory of authorship, sources, or date should ignore the fact that the author claims to have had a series of visions in Patmos. It does not follow that he wrote them down at once and without reflection, but it seems hardly congruous to think that he waited till he had returned from exile in Patmos to Ephesus before writing them out. In fact, there is a note of sustained excitement all through the book, combined with high literary skill in the structure of the book in spite of the numerous grammatical lapses. The series of sevens bear a relation to one another, but more in the fashion of a kaleidoscope than of a chronological panorama. And yet there is progress and power in the arrangement and the total effect. There is constant use of Old Testament language and imagery, almost a mosaic, but without a single formal quotation. There is constant repetition of words and phrases in true Johannine style. Each of the messages to the seven churches picks out a metaphor in the first picture of Christ in chapter 1 and there are frequent other allusions to the language in this picture. In fact there is genuine artistic skill in the structure of the book, in spite of the deflections from ordinary linguistic standards. In the visions and all through the book there is constant use of symbols, as is the fashion in apocalypses like the beasts, the scorpions, the horses, etc. These symbols probably were understood by the first readers of the book, though the key to them is lost to us. Even the numbers in the book (3 ½, 7, 3, 4, 12, 24, 1000) cannot be pressed, though some do so. Even Harnack called the Apocalypse the plainest book in the New Testament, by using Harnack’s key for the symbols.

Theories of Interpretation

They are literally many. There are those who make the book a chart of Christian and even of human history even to the end. These divide into two groups, the continuous and the synchronous. The continuous historical theory takes each vision and symbol in succession as an unfolding panorama. Under the influence of this theory there have been all sorts of fantastic identifications of men and events. The synchronous theory takes the series of sevens (seals, trumpets, bowls) as parallel with each other, each time going up to the end. But in neither case can any satisfactory program be arranged. Another historical interpretation takes it all as over and done, the preterist theory. This theory again breaks into two, one finding the fulfilment all in the Neronic period, the other in the Domitianic era. Something can be said for each view, but neither satisfies the whole picture by any means. Roman Catholic scholars have been fond of the preterist view to escape the Protestant interpretation of the second beast in chapter Rev 13 as papal Rome. There is still another interpretation, the futurist, which keeps the fulfilment all in the future and which can be neither proved nor disproved. There is also the purely spiritual theory which finds no historical allusion anywhere. This again can be neither proved nor disproved. One of the lines of cleavage is the millennium in chapter Rev_20:1-15. Those who take the thousand years literally are either pre-millennialists who look for the second coming of Christ to be followed by a thousand years of personal reign here on earth or the postmillennialists who place the thousand years before the second coming. There are others who turn to 2Pe_3:8 and wonder if, after all, in a book of symbols this thousand years has any numerical value at all. There seems abundant evidence to believe that this apocalypse, written during the stress and storm of Domitian’s persecution, was intended to cheer the persecuted Christians with a view of certain victory at last, but with no scheme of history in view.

A Practical Purpose

So considered, this vision of the Reigning Christ in heaven with a constant eye on the suffering saints and martyrs is a guarantee of certain triumph in heaven and ultimate triumph on earth. The picture of Christ in heaven is a glorious one. He is the Lamb that was slain, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Word of God, the Victor over his enemies, worshipped in heaven like the Father, the Light and Life of men. Instead of trying to fit the various symbols on particular individuals one will do better to see the same application to times of persecution from time to time through the ages. The same Christ who was the Captain of salvation in the time of Domitian is the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith today. The Apocalypse of John gives glimpses of heaven as well as of hell. Hope is the word that it brings to God’s people at all times.

The Readers of the Book

The whole book is sent to the seven churches in Asia (Rev_1:4). There is a special message to each of the seven (chapters Rev 2; 3), suited to the peculiar needs of each church and with a direct reference to the geography and history of each church and city, so Ramsay holds ( The Letters to the Seven Churches ). The book is to be read aloud in each church (Rev_1:3). One can imagine the intense interest that the book would arouse in each church. Children are charmed to hear the Apocalypse read. They do not understand the symbols, but they see the pictures in the unfolding panorama. There were other churches in the Province of Asia besides these seven, but these form a circle from Ephesus where John had lived and wrought. They do present a variety of churches, not necessarily all types, and by no means a chart of seven dispensations of Christian history.

JFB: Revelation (Pendahuluan Kitab)

AUTHENTICITY.--The author calls himself John (Rev 1:1, Rev 1:4, Rev 1:9; Rev 2:8). JUSTIN MARTYR [Dialogue with Trypho, p. 308] (A.D. 139-161) quotes from the Apocalypse, as John the apostle's work, the prophecy of the millennium of the saints, to be followed by the general resurrection and judgment. This testimony of JUSTIN is referred to also by EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 4.18]. JUSTIN MARTYR, in the early part of the second century, held his controversy with TRYPHO, a learned Jew, at Ephesus, where John had been living thirty or thirty-five years before: he says that "the Revelation had been given to John, one of the twelve apostles of Christ." MELITO, bishop of Sardis (about A.D. 171), one of the seven churches addressed, a successor, therefore, of one of the seven angels, is said by EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 4.26] to have written treatises on the Apocalypse of John. The testimony of the bishop of Sardis is the more impartial, as Sardis is one of the churches severely reproved (Rev 3:1). So also THEOPHILUS OF ANTIOCH (about A.D. 180), according to EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 4.26], quoted testimonies from the Apocalypse of John. EUSEBIUS says the same of Apollonius, who lived in Asia Minor in the end of the second century. IRENÆUS (about A.D. 180), a hearer of POLYCARP, the disciple of John, and supposed by ARCHBISHOP USHER to be the angel of the Church of Smyrna, is most decided again and again in quoting the Apocalypse as the work of the apostle John [Against Heresies, 4.20.11; 4.21.3; 4.30.4; 5.36.1; 5.30.3; 5.35.2]. In [5.30.1], alluding to the mystical number of the beast, six hundred sixty-six (Rev 13:18), found in all old copies, he says, "We do not hazard a confident theory as to the name of Antichrist; for if it had been necessary that his name should be proclaimed openly at the present time, it would have been declared by him who saw the apocalyptic vision; for it was seen at no long time back, but almost in our generation, towards the end of Domitian's reign." In his work Against Heresies, published ten years after Polycarp's martyrdom, he quotes the Apocalypse twenty times, and makes long extracts from it, as inspired Scripture. These testimonies of persons contemporary with John's immediate successors, and more or less connected with the region of the seven churches to which Revelation is addressed, are most convincing. TERTULLIAN, of North Africa (about A.D. 220), [Against Marcion, 3.14], quotes the apostle John's descriptions in the Apocalypse of the sword proceeding out of the Lord's mouth (Rev 19:15), and of the heavenly city (Rev. 21:1-27). Compare On the Resurrection of the Flesh [27]; A Treatise on the Soul, [8, 9, &c.]; The Prescription Against Heretics, [33]. The MURATORI fragment of the canon (about A.D. 200) refers to John the apostle writing to the seven churches. HIPPOLYTUS, bishop of Ostia, near Rome (about A.D. 240) [On Antichrist, p. 67], quotes Rev. 17:1-18, as the writing of John the apostle. Among HIPPOLYTUS' works, there is specified in the catalogue on his statue, a treatise "on the Apocalypse and Gospel according to John." CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA (about A.D. 200) [Miscellanies, 6.13], alludes to the twenty-four seats on which the elders sit as mentioned by John in the Apocalypse (Rev 4:5); also, [Who Is the Rich Man Who Shall Be Saved? 42], he mentions John's return from Patmos to Ephesus on the death of the Roman tyrant. ORIGEN (about A.D. 233), [Commentary on Matthew, in EUSEBIUS Ecclesiastical History, 6.25], mentions John as the author of the Apocalypse, without expressing any doubts as to its authenticity; also, in Commentary on Matthew, [16.6], he quotes Rev 1:9, and says, "John seems to have beheld the Apocalypse in the island of Patmos." VICTORINUS, bishop of Pettau in Pannonia, who suffered martyrdom under Diocletian in A.D. 303, wrote the earliest extant commentary on the Apocalypse. Though the Old Syriac Peschito version does not contain the Apocalypse, yet EPHREM THE SYRIAN (about A.D. 378) frequently quotes the Apocalypse as canonical, and ascribes it to John.

Its canonicity and inspiration (according to a scholium of ANDREAS OF CAPPADOCIA) are attested by PAPIAS, a hearer of John, and associate of POLYCARP. PAPIAS was bishop of Hierapolis, near Laodicea, one of the seven churches. WORDSWORTH conjectures that a feeling of shame, on account of the rebukes of Laodicea in Revelation, may have operated on the Council of Laodicea, so as to omit Revelation from its list of books to be read publicly (?). The Epistle of the churches of Lyons and Vienne to the churches of Asia and Phrygia (in EUSEBIUS, [Ecclesiastical History, 5.1-3]), in the persecution under Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 77) quotes Rev 1:5; Rev 3:14; Rev 14:4; Rev 22:11, as Scripture. CYPRIAN (about A.D. 250) also, in Epistle 13, quotes Rev 2:5 as Scripture; and in Epistle 25 he quotes Rev 3:21, as of the same authority as the Gospel. (For other instances, see ALFORD'S Prolegomena, from whom mainly this summary of evidence has been derived). ATHANASIUS, in his Festival Epistle, enumerates the Apocalypse among the canonical Scriptures, to which none must add, and from which none must take away. JEROME [Epistle to Paulinus] includes in the canon the Apocalypse, adding, "It has as many mysteries as words. All praise falls short of its merits. In each of its words lie hid manifold senses." Thus an unbroken chain of testimony down from the apostolic period confirms its canonicity and authenticity.

The ALOGI [EPIPHANIUS, Heresies, 51] and CAIUS the Roman presbyter [EUSEBIUS, Ecclesiastical History, 3.28], towards the end of the second and beginning of the third century, rejected John's Apocalypse on mere captious grounds. CAIUS, according to JEROME [On Illustrious Men], about A.D. 210, attributed it to Cerinthus, on the ground of its supporting the millennial reign on earth. DIONYSIUS OF ALEXANDRIA mentions many before his time who rejected it because of its obscurity and because it seemed to support Cerinthus' dogma of an earthly and carnal kingdom; whence they attributed it to Cerinthus. This DIONYSIUS, scholar of ORIGEN, and bishop of Alexandria (A.D. 247), admits its inspiration (in EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 7.10]), but attributes it to some John distinct from John the apostle, on the ground of its difference of style and character, as compared with John's Gospel and Epistle, as also because the name John is several times mentioned in the Apocalypse, which is always kept back in both the Gospel and Epistle; moreover, neither does the Epistle make any allusion to the Apocalypse, nor the Apocalypse to the Epistle; and the style is not pure Greek, but abounds in barbarisms and solecisms. EUSEBIUS wavers in opinion [Ecclesiastical History, 24.39] as to whether it is, or is not, to be ranked among the undoubtedly canonical Scriptures. His antipathy to the millennial doctrine would give an unconscious bias to his judgment on the Apocalypse. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM (A.D. 386), [Catechetical Lectures, 4.35,36], omits the Apocalypse in enumerating the New Testament Scriptures to be read privately as well as publicly. "Whatever is not read in the churches, that do not even read by thyself; the apostles and ancient bishops of the Church who transmitted them to us were far wiser than thou art." Hence, we see that, in his day, the Apocalypse was not read in the churches. Yet in Catechetical Lectures, 1.4 he quotes Rev 2:7, Rev 2:17; and in Catechetical Lectures, 1; 15.13 he draws the prophetical statement from Rev 17:11, that the king who is to humble the three kings (Dan 7:8, Dan 7:20) is the eighth king. In Catechetical Lectures, 15 and 27, he similarly quotes from Rev 12:3-4. ALFORD conjectures that CYRIL had at some time changed his opinion, and that these references to the Apocalypse were slips of memory whereby he retained phraseology which belonged to his former, not his subsequent views. The sixtieth canon (if genuine) of the Laodicean Council in the middle of the fourth century omits the Apocalypse from the canonical books. The Eastern Church in part doubted, the Western Church, after the fifth century, universally recognized, the Apocalypse. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA [On Worship, 146], though implying the fact of some doubting its genuineness, himself undoubtedly accepts it as the work of St. John. ANDREAS OF CÆSAREA, in Cappadocia, recognized as genuine and canonical, and wrote the first entire and connected commentary on, the Apocalypse. The sources of doubt seem to have been, (1) the antagonism of many to the millennium, which is set forth in it; (2) its obscurity and symbolism having caused it not to be read in the churches, or to be taught to the young. But the most primitive tradition is unequivocal in its favor. In a word, the objective evidence is decidedly for it; the only arguments against it seem to have been subjective.

The personal notices of John in the Apocalypse occur Rev 1:1, Rev 1:4, Rev 1:9; Rev 22:8. Moreover, the writer's addresses to the churches of Proconsular Asia (Rev 2:1) accord with the concurrent tradition, that after John's return from his exile in Patmos, at the death of Domitian, under Nerva, he resided for long, and died at last in Ephesus, in the time of Trajan [EUSEBIUS, Ecclesiastical History, 3.20,23]. If the Apocalypse were not the inspired work of John, purporting as it does to be an address from their superior to the seven churches of Proconsular Asia, it would have assuredly been rejected in that region; whereas the earliest testimonies in those churches are all in its favor. One person alone was entitled to use language of authority such as is addressed to the seven angels of the churches--namely, John, as the last surviving apostle and superintendent of all the churches. Also, it accords with John's manner to assert the accuracy of his testimony both at the beginning and end of his book (compare Rev 1:2-3, and Rev 22:8, with Joh 1:14; Joh 21:24; 1Jo 1:1-2). Again, it accords with the view of the writer being an inspired apostle that he addresses the angels or presidents of the several churches in the tone of a superior addressing inferiors. Also, he commends the Church of Ephesus for trying and convicting "them which say they are apostles, and are not," by which he implies his own undoubted claim to apostolic inspiration (Rev 2:2), as declaring in the seven epistles Christ's will revealed through him.

As to the difference of style, as compared with the Gospel and Epistle, the difference of subject in part accounts for it, the visions of the seer, transported as he was above the region of sense, appropriately taking a form of expression abrupt, and unbound by the grammatical laws which governed his writings of a calmer and more deliberate character. Moreover, as being a Galilean Hebrew, John, in writing a Revelation akin to the Old Testament prophecies, naturally reverted to their Hebraistic style. ALFORD notices, among the features of resemblance between the styles of the Apocalypse and John's Gospel and Epistle: (1) the characteristic appellation of our Lord, peculiar to John exclusively, "the Word of God" (Rev 19:13; compare Joh 1:1; 1Jo 1:1). (2) the phrase, "he that overcometh" (Rev 2:7, Rev 2:11, Rev 2:17; Rev 3:5, Rev 3:12, Rev 3:21; Rev 12:11; Rev 15:2; Rev 17:14; Rev 21:7; compare Joh 16:33 1Jo 2:13-14; 1Jo 4:4; 1Jo 5:4-5). (3) The Greek term (alethinos) for "true," as opposed to that which is shadowy and unreal (Rev 3:7, Rev 3:14; Rev 6:10; Rev 15:3; Rev 16:7; Rev 19:2, Rev 19:9, Rev 19:11; Rev 21:5; Rev 22:6). This term, found only once in Luke (Luk 16:11), four times in Paul (1Th 1:9; Heb 8:2; Heb 9:24; Heb 10:22), is found nine times in John's Gospel (Joh 1:9; Joh 4:23, Joh 4:37; Joh 6:32; Joh 7:28; Joh 8:16; Joh 15:1 Joh 17:3; Joh 19:3, Joh 19:5), twice in John's First Epistle (1Jo 2:8; 1Jo 5:20), and ten times in Revelation (Rev 3:7, Rev 3:14; Rev 6:10; Rev 15:3; Rev 16:7; Rev 19:2, Rev 19:9, Rev 19:11; Rev 21:5 Rev 22:6). (4) The Greek diminutive for "Lamb" (arnion, literally, "lambkin") occurs twenty-nine times in the Apocalypse, and the only other place where it occurs is Joh 21:15. In John's writings alone is Christ called directly "the Lamb" (Joh 1:29, Joh 1:36). In 1Pe 1:19, He is called "as a lamb without blemish," in allusion to Isa 53:7. So the use of "witness," or "testimony" (Rev 1:2, Rev 1:9; Rev 6:9; Rev 11:7, &c.; compare Joh 1:7-8, Joh 1:15, Joh 1:19, Joh 1:32; 1Jo 1:2; 1Jo 4:14; 1Jo 5:6-11). "Keep the word," or "commandments" (Rev 3:8, Rev 3:10; Rev 12:17; compare Joh 8:51, Joh 8:55; Joh 14:15). The assertion of the same thing positively and negatively (Rev 2:2, Rev 2:6, Rev 2:8, Rev 2:13; Rev 3:8, Rev 3:17-18; compare Joh 1:3, Joh 1:6-7, Joh 1:20; 1Jo 2:27-28). Compare also 1Jo 2:20, 1Jo 2:27 with Rev 3:18, as to the spiritual anointing. The seeming solecisms of style are attributable to that,inspired elevation which is above mere grammatical rules, and are designed to arrest the reader's attention by the peculiarity of the phrase, so as to pause and search into some deep truth lying beneath. The vivid earnestness of the inspired writer, handling a subject so transcending all others, raises him above all servile adherence to ordinary rules, so that at times he abruptly passes from one grammatical construction to another, as he graphically sets the thing described before the eye of the reader. This is not due to ignorance of grammar, for he "has displayed a knowledge of grammatical rules in other much more difficult constructions" [WINER]. The connection of thought is more attended to than mere grammatical connection. Another consideration to be taken into account is that two-fifths of the whole being the recorded language of others, he moulds his style accordingly. Compare TREGELLES' Introduction to Revelation from Heathen Authorities.

TREGELLES well says [New Testament Historic Evidence], "There is no book of the New Testament for which we have such clear, ample, and numerous testimonies in the second century as we have in favor of the Apocalypse. The more closely the witnesses were connected with the apostle John (as was the case with IRENÆUS), the more explicit is their testimony. That doubts should prevail in after ages must have originated either in ignorance of the earlier testimony, or else from some supposed intuition of what an apostle ought to have written. The objections on the ground of internal style can weigh nothing against the actual evidence. It is in vain to argue, a priori, that John could not have written this book when we have the evidence of several competent witnesses that he did write it."

RELATION OF THE APOCALYPSE TO THE REST OF THE CANON.--GREGORY OF NYSSA [tom. 3, p. 601], calls Revelation "the last book of grace." It completes the volume of inspiration, so that we are to look for no further revelation till Christ Himself shall come. Appropriately the last book completing the canon was written by John, the last survivor of the apostles. The New Testament is composed of the historical books, the Gospels and Acts, the doctrinal Epistles, and the one prophetical book, Revelation. The same apostle wrote the last of the Gospels, and probably the last of the Epistles, and the only prophetical book of the New Testament. All the books of the New Testament had been written, and were read in the Church assemblies, some years before John's death. His life was providentially prolonged that he might give the final attestation to Scripture. About the year A.D. 100, the bishops of Asia (the angels of the seven churches) came to John at EPHESUS, bringing him copies of the three Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and desired of him a statement of his apostolical judgment concerning them; whereupon he pronounced them authentic, genuine, and inspired, and at their request added his own Gospel to complete the fourfold aspect of the Gospel of Christ (compare MURATORI [Fragment on the Canon of Scripture]; EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 3.24]; JEROME [Commentary on Matthew]; VICTORINUS on the Apocalypse; THEODORET [Ecclesiastical History, 39]). A Greek divine, quoted in ALLATIUS, calls Revelation "the seal of the whole Bible." The canon would be incomplete without Revelation. Scripture is a complete whole, its component books, written in a period ranging over one thousand five hundred years, being mutually connected. Unity of aim and spirit pervades the entire, so that the end is the necessary sequence of the middle, and the middle of the beginning. Genesis presents before us man and his bride in innocence and blessedness, followed by man's fall through Satan's subtlety, and man's consequent misery, his exclusion from Paradise and its tree of life and delightful rivers. Revelation presents, in reverse order, man first liable to sin and death, but afterwards made conqueror through the blood of the Lamb; the first Adam and Eve, represented by the second Adam, Christ, and the Church. His spotless bride, in Paradise, with free access to the tree of life and the crystal water of life that flows from the throne of God. As Genesis foretold the bruising of the serpent's head by the woman's seed (Gen 3:15), so Revelation declares the final accomplishment of that prediction (Rev. 19:1-20:15).

PLACE AND TIME OF WRITING.--The best authorities among the Fathers state that John was exiled under Domitian (IRENÆUS [Against Heresies, 5; 30]; CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA; EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 3.20]). VICTORINUS says that he had to labor in the mines of Patmos. At Domitian's death, A.D. 95, he returned to Ephesus under the Emperor Nerva. Probably it was immediately after his return that he wrote, under divine inspiration, the account of the visions vouchsafed to him in Patmos (Rev 1:2, Rev 1:9). However, Rev 10:4 seems to imply that he wrote the visions immediately after seeing them. Patmos is one of the Sporades. Its circumference is about thirty miles. "It was fitting that when forbidden to go beyond certain bounds of the earth's lands, he was permitted to penetrate the secrets of heaven" [BEDE, Explanation of the Apocalypse on chap. 1]. The following arguments favor an earlier date, namely, under Nero: (1) EUSEBIUS [Demonstration of the Gospel] unites in the same sentence John's banishment with the stoning of James and the beheading of Paul, which were under Nero. (2) CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA'S'S story of the robber reclaimed by John, after he had pursued, and with difficulty overtaken him, accords better with John then being a younger man than under Domitian, when he was one hundred years old. Arethas, in the sixth century, applies the sixth seal to the destruction of Jerusalem (A.D. 70), adding that the Apocalypse was written before that event. So the Syriac version states he was banished by Nero the Cæsar. Laodicea was overthrown by an earthquake (A.D. 60) but was immediately rebuilt, so that its being called "rich and increased with goods" is not incompatible with this book having been written under the Neronian persecution (A.D. 64). But the possible allusions to it in Heb 10:37; compare Rev 1:4, Rev 1:8; Rev 4:8; Rev 22:12; Heb 11:10; compare Rev 21:14; Heb 12:22-23; compare Rev 14:1; Heb 8:1-2; compare Rev 11:19; Rev 15:5; Rev 21:3; Heb 4:12; compare Rev 1:16; Rev 2:12, Rev 2:16; Rev 19:13, Rev 19:15; Heb 4:9; compare Rev 20:1-15; also 1Pe 1:7, 1Pe 1:13; 1Pe 4:13, with Rev 1:1; 1Pe 2:9 with Rev 5:10; 2Ti 4:8, with Rev 2:26-27; Rev 3:21; Rev 11:18; Eph 6:12, with Rev 12:7-12; Phi 4:3, with Rev 3:5; Rev 13:8; Rev 17:8; Rev 20:12, Rev 20:15; Col 1:18, with Rev 1:5; 1Co 15:52, with Rev 10:7; Rev 11:15-18, make a date before the destruction of Laodicea possible. Cerinthus is stated to have died before John; as then he borrowed much in his Pseudo-Apocalypse from John's, it is likely the latter was at an earlier date than Domitian's reign. See TILLOCH'S Introduction to Apocalypse. But the Pauline benediction (Rev 1:4) implies it was written after Paul's death under Nero.

TO WHAT READERS ADDRESSED.--The inscription states that it is addressed to the seven churches of Asia, that is, Proconsular Asia. John's reason for fixing on the number seven (for there were more than seven churches in the region meant by "Asia," for instance, Magnesia and Tralles) was doubtless because seven is the sacred number implying totality and universality: so it is implied that John, through the medium of the seven churches, addresses in the Spirit the Church of all places and ages. The Church in its various states of spiritual life or deadness, in all ages and places, is represented by the seven churches, and is addressed with words of consolation or warning accordingly. Smyrna and Philadelphia alone of the seven are honored with unmixed praise, as faithful in tribulation and rich in good works. Heresies of a decided kind had by this time arisen in the churches of Asia, and the love of many had waxed cold, while others had advanced to greater zeal, and one had sealed his testimony with his blood.

OBJECT.--It begins with admonitory addresses to the seven churches from the divine Son of man, whom John saw in vision, after a brief introduction which sets forth the main subject of the book, namely, to "show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass" (the first through third chapters). From the fourth chapter to the end is mainly prophecy, with practical exhortations and consolations, however, interspersed, similar to those addressed to the seven churches (the representatives of the universal Church of every age), and so connecting the body of the book with its beginning, which therefore forms its appropriate introduction. Three schools of interpreters exist: (1) The Preterists, who hold that almost the whole has been fulfilled. (2) The Historical Interpreters, who hold that it comprises the history of the Church from John's time to the end of the world, the seals being chronologically succeeded, by the trumpets and the trumpets by the vials. (3) The Futurists, who consider almost the whole as yet future, and to be fulfilled immediately before Christ's second coming. The first theory was not held by any of the earliest Fathers, and is only held now by Rationalists, who limit John's vision to things within his own horizon, pagan Rome's persecutions of Christians, and its consequently anticipated destruction. The Futurist school is open to this great objection: it would leave the Church of Christ unprovided with prophetical guidance or support under her fiery trials for 1700 or 1800 years. Now God has said, "Surely He will do nothing, but He revealeth His secrets unto His servants the prophets" (Amo 3:7). The Jews had a succession of prophets who guided them with the light of prophecy: what their prophets were to them, that the apocalyptic Scriptures have been, and are, to us.

ALFORD, following ISAAC WILLIAMS, draws attention to the parallel connection between the Apocalypse and Christ's discourse on the Mount of Olives, recorded in Mat. 24:4-28. The seals plainly bring us down to the second coming of Christ, just as the trumpets also do (compare Rev 6:12-17; Rev 8:1, &c.; Rev 11:15), and as the vials also do (Rev 16:17): all three run parallel, and end in the same point. Certain "catchwords" (as WORDSWORTH calls them) connect the three series of symbols together. They do not succeed one to the other in historical and chronological sequence, but move side by side, the subsequent series filling up in detail the same picture which the preceding series had drawn in outline. So VICTORINUS (on Rev 7:2), the earliest commentator on the Apocalypse, says, "The order of the things said is not to be regarded, since often the Holy Spirit, when He has run to the end of the last time, again returns to the same times, and supplies what He has less fully expressed." And PRIMASIUS [Commentary on the Apocalypse], "In the trumpets he gives a description by a pleasing repetition, as is his custom."

At the very beginning, John hastens, by anticipation (as was the tendency of all the prophets), to the grand consummation. Rev 1:7, "Behold, He cometh with clouds," &c. Rev 1:8, Rev 1:17, "I am the beginning and the ending . . . the first and the last." So the seven epistles exhibit the same anticipation of the end. Rev 3:12, "Him that overcometh, I will write upon Him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven"; compare at the close, Rev 21:2. So also Rev 2:28, "I will give him the morning star"; compare at the close, Rev 22:16, "I am the bright and morning star."

Again, the earthquake that ensues on the opening of the sixth seal is one of the catchwords, that is, a link connecting chronologically this sixth seal with the sixth trumpet (Rev 9:13; Rev 11:13): compare also the seventh vial, Rev 16:17-18. The concomitants of the opening of the sixth seal, it is plain, in no full and exhaustive sense apply to any event, save the terrors which shall overwhelm the ungodly just before the coming of the Judge.

Again, the beast out of the bottomless pit (Rev 11:7), between the sixth and seventh trumpets, connects this series with the section, twelfth through fourteenth chapters, concerning the Church and her adversaries.

Again, the sealing of the 144,000 under the sixth seal connects this seal with the section, the twelfth through fourteenth chapters.

Again, the loosing of the four winds by the four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, under the sixth seal, answers to the loosing of the four angels at the Euphrates, under the sixth trumpet.

Moreover, links occur in the Apocalypse connecting it with the Old Testament. For instance, the "mouth speaking great things" (Dan 7:8 Rev 13:5), connects the beast that blasphemes against God, and makes war against the saints, with the little horn (Dan 7:21; Rev 13:6-7), or at last king, who, arising after the ten kings, shall speak against the Most High, and wear out the saints (Dan 7:25); also, compare the "forty-two months" (Rev 13:5), or "a thousand two hundred and threescore days" (Rev 12:6), with the "time, times, and the dividing of time," of Dan 7:25. Moreover, the "forty-two months," Rev 11:2, answering to Rev 12:6; Rev 13:5, link together the period under the sixth trumpet to the section, Rev. 12:1-14:20.

AUBERLEN observes, "The history of salvation is mysteriously governed by holy numbers. They are the scaffolding of the organic edifice. They are not merely outward indications of time, but indications of nature and essence. Not only nature, but history, is based in numbers. Scripture and antiquity put numbers as the fundamental forms of things, where we put ideas." As number is the regulator of the relations and proportions of the natural world, so does it enter most frequently into the revelations of the Apocalypse, which sets forth the harmonies of the supernatural, the immediately Divine. Thus the most supernatural revelation leads us the farthest into the natural, as was to be expected, seeing the God of nature and of revelation is one. Seven is the number for perfection (compare Rev 1:4; Rev 4:5, the seven Spirits before the throne; also, Rev 5:6, the Lamb's seven horns and seven eyes). Thus the seven churches represent the Church catholic in its totality. The seven seals (Rev 5:1), the seven trumpets (Rev 8:2), and the seven vials (Rev 17:1), are severally a complete series each in itself, fulfilling perfectly the divine course of judgments. Three and a half implies a number opposed to the divine (seven), but broken in itself, and which, in the moment of its highest triumph, is overwhelmed by judgment and utter ruin. Four is the number of the world's extension; seven is the number of God's revelation in the world. In the four beasts of Daniel (Dan 7:3) there is a recognition of some power above them, at the same time that there is a mimicry of the four cherubs of Ezekiel (Eze 10:9), the heavenly symbols of all creation in its due subjection to God (Rev 4:6-8). So the four corners of the earth, the four winds, the four angels loosed from the Euphrates, and Jerusalem lying "foursquare" (Rev 21:16), represent world-wide extension. The sevenfoldness of the Spirits on the part of God corresponds with the fourfold cherubim on the part of the created. John, seeing more deeply into the essentially God-opposed character of the world, presents to us, not the four beasts of Daniel, but the seven heads of the beast, whereby it arrogates to itself the sevenfold perfection of the Spirits of God; at the same time that, with characteristic self-contradiction, it has ten horns, the number peculiar to the world power. Its unjust usurpation of the sacred number seven is marked by the addition of an eighth to the seven heads, and also by the beast's own number, six hundred sixty-six, which in units, tens, and hundreds, verges upon, but falls short of, seven. The judgments on the world are complete in six: after the sixth seal and the sixth trumpet, there is a pause. When seven comes, there comes "the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ." Six is the number of the world given to judgment. Moreover, six is half of twelve, as three and a half is the half of seven. Twelve is the number of the Church: compare the twelve tribes of Israel, the twelve stars on the woman's head (Rev 12:1), the twelve gates of new Jerusalem (Rev 21:12, Rev 21:21). Six thus symbolizes the world broken, and without solid foundation. Twice twelve is the number of the heavenly elders; twelve times twelve thousand the number of the sealed elect (Rev 7:4): the tree of life yields twelve manner of fruits. Doubtless, besides this symbolic force, there is a special chronological meaning in the numbers; but as yet, though a commanded subject of investigation, they have received no solution which we can be sure is the true one. They are intended to stimulate reverent inquiry, not to gratify idle speculative curiosity; and when the event shall have been fulfilled, they will show the divine wisdom of God, who ordered all things in minutely harmonious relations, and left neither the times nor the ways haphazard.

The arguments for the year-day theory are as follows: Dan 9:24, "Seventy weeks are determined upon," where the Hebrew may be seventy sevens; but MEDE observes, the Hebrew word means always seven of days, and never seven of years (Lev 12:5; Deu 16:9-10, Deu 16:16). Again, the number of years' wandering of the Israelites was made to correspond to the number of days in which the spies searched the land, namely, forty: compare "each day for a year," Num 14:33-34. So in Eze 4:5-6, "I have laid up on thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days . . . forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year." John, in Revelation itself, uses days in a sense which can hardly be literal. Rev 2:10, "Ye shall have tribulation ten days": the persecution of ten years recorded by EUSEBIUS seems to correspond to it. In the year-day theory there is still quite enough of obscurity to exercise the patience and probation of faith, for we cannot say precisely when the 1260 years begin: so that this theory is quite compatible with Christ's words, "Of that day and hour knoweth no man" [Mat 24:36; Mar 13:32]. However, it is a difficulty in this theory that "a thousand years," in Rev 20:6-7, can hardly mean one thousand by three hundred sixty days, that is, three hundred sixty thousand years. The first resurrection there must be literal, even as Rev 20:5 must be taken literally, "the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished" (Rev 20:5). To interpret the former spiritually would entail the need of interpreting the latter so, which would be most improbable; for it would imply that "the rest of the (spiritually) dead lived not (spiritually)" until the end of the thousand years, and then that they did come spiritually to life. 1Co 15:23, "they that are Christ's at His coming," confirms the literal view.

JFB: Revelation (Garis Besar)

• TITLE: SOURCE AND OBJECT OF THIS REVELATION: BLESSING ON THE READER AND KEEPER OF IT, AS THE TIME IS NEAR: INSCRIPTION TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES: APOSTOLIC GREETING: KEYNOTE, "BEHOLD HE COMETH" (Compare at the close, Rev 22:20, "Surely I come quickly"): INTRODUCTORY VISION OF THE SON OF MAN IN GLORY, AMIDST THE SEVEN CANDLESTICKS, WITH SEVEN STARS IN HIS RIGHT HAND. (Rev. 1:1-20)
• EPISTLES TO EPHESUS, SMYRNA, PERGAMOS, THYATIRA. (Rev. 2:1-29)
• THE EPISTLES TO SARDIS, PHILADELPHIA, AND LAODICEA. (Rev. 3:1-22)
• VISION OF GOD'S THRONE IN HEAVEN; THE FOUR AND TWENTY ELDERS; THE FOUR LIVING CREATURES. (Rev 4:1-11)
• THE BOOK WITH SEVEN SEALS: NONE WORTHY TO OPEN IT BUT THE LAMB: HE TAKES IT AMIDST THE PRAISES OF THE REDEEMED, AND OF THE WHOLE HEAVENLY HOST. (Rev 5:1-14)
• THE OPENING OF THE FIRST SIX OF THE SEVEN SEALS. (Rev. 6:1-17)
• SEALING OF THE ELECT OF ISRAEL. THE COUNTLESS MULTITUDE OF THE GENTILE ELECT. (Rev. 7:1-17)
• SEVENTH SEAL. PREPARATION FOR THE SEVEN TRUMPETS. THE FIRST FOUR AND THE CONSEQUENT PLAGUES. (Rev 8:1-13)
• THE FIFTH TRUMPET: THE FALLEN STAR OPENS THE ABYSS WHENCE ISSUE LOCUSTS. THE SIXTH TRUMPET. FOUR ANGELS AT THE EUPHRATES LOOSED. (Rev. 9:1-21) The last three trumpets of the seven are called, from Rev 8:13, the woe-trumpets.
• VISION OF THE LITTLE BOOK. (Rev 10:1-11)
• MEASUREMENT OF THE TEMPLE. THE TWO WITNESSES' TESTIMONY: THEIR DEATH, RESURRECTION, AND ASCENSION: THE EARTHQUAKE: THE THIRD WOE: THE SEVENTH TRUMPET USHERS IN CHRIST'S KINGDOM. THANKSGIVING OF THE TWENTY-FOUR ELDERS. (Rev. 11:1-19)
• VISION OF THE WOMAN, HER CHILD, AND THE PERSECUTING DRAGON. (Rev. 12:1-17) This episode (Rev. 12:1-15:8) describes in detail the persecution of Israel and the elect Church by the beast, which had been summarily noticed, Rev 11:7-10, and the triumph of the faithful, and torment of the unfaithful. So also the sixteenth through twentieth chapters are the description in detail of the judgment on the beast, &c., summarily noticed in Rev 11:13, Rev 11:18. The beast in Rev 12:3, &c., is shown not to be alone, but to be the instrument in the hand of a greater power of darkness, Satan. That this is so, appears from the time of the eleventh chapter being the period also in which the events of the twelfth and thirteenth chapters take place, namely, 1260 days (Rev 12:6, Rev 12:14; Rev 13:5; compare Rev 11:2-3).
• VISION OF THE BEAST THAT CAME OUT OF THE SEA: THE SECOND BEAST, OUT OF THE EARTH, EXERCISING THE POWER OF THE FIRST BEAST, AND CAUSING THE EARTH TO WORSHIP HIM. (Rev. 13:1-18)
• THE LAMB SEEN ON ZION WITH THE 144,000. THEIR SONG. THE GOSPEL PROCLAIMED BEFORE THE END BY ONE ANGEL: THE FALL OF BABYLON, BY ANOTHER: THE DOOM OF THE BEAST WORSHIPPERS, BY A THIRD. THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE DEAD IN THE LORD. THE HARVEST. THE VINTAGE. (Rev. 14:1-20)
• THE LAST SEVEN VIALS OF PLAGUES: SONG OF THE VICTORS OVER THE BEAST. (Rev 15:1-8)
• THE SEVEN VIALS AND THE CONSEQUENT PLAGUES. (Rev. 16:1-21)
• THE HARLOT BABYLON'S GAUD: THE BEAST ON WHICH SHE RIDES, HAVING SEVEN HEADS AND TEN HORNS, SHALL BE THE INSTRUMENT OF JUDGMENT ON HER. (Rev. 17:1-18)
• BABYLON'S FALL: GOD'S PEOPLE CALLED OUT OF HER: THE KINGS AND MERCHANTS OF THE EARTH MOURN, WHILE THE SAINTS REJOICE AT HER FALL. (Rev. 18:1-24)
• THE CHURCH'S THANKSGIVING IN HEAVEN FOR THE JUDGMENT ON THE HARLOT. THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB: THE SUPPER: THE BRIDE'S PREPARATION: JOHN IS FORBIDDEN TO WORSHIP THE ANGEL: THE LORD AND HIS HOSTS COME FORTH FOR WAR: THE BEAST AND THE FALSE PROPHET CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE: THE KINGS AND THEIR FOLLOWERS SLAIN BY THE SWORD OUT OF CHRIST'S MOUTH. (Rev. 19:1-21) As in the case of the opening of the prophecy, Rev 4:8; Rev 5:9, &c.; so now, at one of the great closing events seen in vision, the judgment on the harlot (described in Rev. 18:1-24), there is a song of praise in heaven to God: compare Rev 7:10, &c., toward the close of the seals, and Rev 11:15-18, at the close of the trumpets: Rev 15:3, at the saints' victory over the beast.
• SATAN BOUND, AND THE FIRST-RISEN SAINTS REIGN WITH CHRIST, A THOUSAND YEARS; SATAN LOOSED, GATHERS THE NATIONS, GOG AND MAGOG, ROUND THE CAMP OF THE SAINTS, AND IS FINALLY CONSIGNED TO THE LAKE OF FIRE; THE GENERAL RESURRECTION AND LAST JUDGMENT. (Rev 20:1-15) The destruction of his representatives, the beast and the false prophet, to whom he had given his power, throne, and authority, is followed by the binding of Satan himself for a thousand years.
• THE NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH: NEW JERUSALEM OUT OF HEAVEN. (Rev. 21:1-27)
• THE RIVER OF LIFE: THE TREE OF LIFE: THE OTHER BLESSEDNESSES OF THE REDEEMED. JOHN FORBIDDEN TO WORSHIP THE ANGEL. NEARNESS OF CHRIST'S COMING TO FIX MAN'S ETERNAL STATE. TESTIMONY OF JESUS, HIS SPIRIT, AND THE BRIDE, ANY ADDITION TO WHICH, OR SUBTRACTION FROM WHICH, SHALL BE ETERNALLY PUNISHED. CLOSING BENEDICTION. (Rev. 22:1-21)

TSK: Revelation (Pendahuluan Kitab)

The obscurity of this prophecy, which has been urged against its genuineness, necessarily results from the highly figurative and symbolical language in which it is delivered, and is, in fact, a strong internal proof of its authenticity and divine original. " For it is a part of this prophecy," as Sir Isaac Newton justly remarks, " that it should not be understood before the last age of the world; and therefore it makes for the credit of the prophecy that it is not yet understood. The folly of interpreters has been to foretell times and things by this prophecy, as if God designed to make them prophets. By this rashness they have not only exposed themselves, but brought the prophecy also into contempt. The design of God was much otherwise. He gave this, and the prophecies of the Old Testament, not to gratify men’s curiosities by enabling them to foreknow things, but that, after that they were fulfilled, they might be interpreted by the event; and his own providence, not the interpreter’s, be then manifested thereby to the world. For the event of things, predicted many ages before, will then be a convincing argument that the world is governed by Providence. For, as the few and obscure prophecies concerning Christ’s first coming were for setting up the Christian religion, which all nations have since corrupted, so the many and clear prophecies concerning the things to be done at Christ’s second coming, are not only for predicting, but also for effecting a recovery and re-establishment of the long-lost truth, and setting up a kingdom wherein dwells righteousness. The event will prove the Apocalypse; and this prophecy, thus proved and understood, will open the old prophets; and all together will make known the true religion, and establish it. There is already so much of the prophecy fulfilled, that as many as will take pains in this study may see sufficient instances of God’s promise; but then, the signal revolutions predicted by all the holy prophets, will at once both turn men’s eyes upon considering the predictions, and plainly interpret them. Till then we must content ourselves with interpreting what hath already been fulfilled." And, as Mr. Weston observes, " if we were in possession of a complete and particular history of Asia, not only of great events, without person or place, names or dates, but of the exactest biography, geography, topography, and chronology, we might, perhaps, still be able to explain and appropriate more circumstances recorded in the Revelation, under the emperors of the East and the West, and in Arabia, Persia, Tartary, and Asia, the seat of the most important revolutions with which the history of Christianity has ever been interwoven and closely connected." History is the great interpreter of prophecy. " Prophecy is, as I may say," observes Bp. Newton, " history anticipated and contracted; history is prophecy accomplished and dilated; and the prophecies of Scripture contain the fate of the most considerable nations, and the substance of the most memorable transactions in the world, from the earliest to the latest times. Daniel and St. John, with regard to those latter times, are more copious and particular than the other prophets. They exhibit a series and succession of the most important events from the first of the four great empires to the consummation of all things. Their prophecies may really be said to be a summary of the history of the world; and the history of the world is the best comment upon their prophecies....and the more you know of ancient and modern times, and the farther you search into the truth of history, the more you will be satisfied of the truth of prophecy." The Revelation was designed to supply the place of that continued succession of prophets, which demonstrated the continued providence of God to the patriarchal and Jewish churches. " The majority of commentators on the Apocalypse," says Mr. Townsend, " generally acted on these principles of interpretation. They discover in this Book certain predictions of events which were fulfilled soon after they were announced; they trace in the history of later years various coincidences, which so fully agree with the various parts of the Apocalypse, that they are justly entitled to consider them as the fulfilment of its prophecies; and, by thus tracing the one God of revelation through the clouds of the dark ages, through the storms of revolutions and wars, through the mighty convulsions which at various periods have agitated the world, their interpretations, even when they are most contradictory, when they venture to speculate concerning the future, are founded on so much undoubted truth that they have materially confirmed the wavering faith of thousands. Clouds and darkness must cover the brightness of the throne of God, till it shall please him to enable us to bear the brighter beams of his glory. In the mean time, we trace his footsteps in the sea of the Gentile world, his path in the mighty waters of the ambitions and clashing passions of man. We rejoice to anticipate the day when the bondage of Rome, which would perpetuate the intellectual and spiritual slavery of man, shall be overthrown, and day-spring of united knowledge and holiness bless the world."

TSK: Revelation 17 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

Overview

Rev 17:1, A woman arrayed in purple and scarlet, with a golden cup in her hand sits upon the beast; Rev 17:5, which is great Babylon, the mother of all abominations; Rev 17:9, The interpretation of the seven heads; Rev 17:12, and the ten horns; Rev 17:14, The victory of the Lamb; Rev 17:16, The punishment of the whore.

Poole: Revelation 17 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

CHAPTER 17

MHCC: Revelation (Pendahuluan Kitab)

The Book of the Revelation of St. John consists of two principal divisions. 1. Relates to " the things which are," that is, the then present state of the church, and contains the epistle of John to the seven churches, and his account of the appearance of the Lord Jesus, and his direction to the apostle to write what he beheld, Rev 1:9-20. Also the addresses or epistles to seven churches of Asia. These, doubtless, had reference to the state of the respective churches, as they then existed, but contain excellent precepts and exhortations, commendations and reproofs, promises and threatenings, suitable to instruct the Christian church at all times. 2. Contains a prophecy of " the things which shall be hereafter," and describes the future state of the church, from the time when the apostle beheld the visions here recorded. It is intended for our spiritual improvement; to warn the careless sinner, point out the way of salvation to the awakened inquirer, build up the weak believer, comfort the afflicted and tempted Christian, and, we may especially add, to strengthen the martyr of Christ, under the cruel persecutions and sufferings inflicted by Satan and his followers.

MHCC: Revelation 17 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

(Rev 17:1-6) One of the angels who had the vials, explains the meaning of the former vision of the antichristian beast that was to reign 1260 years, and then to be destroyed.

(Rev 17:7-18) And interprets the mystery of the woman, and the beast that had seven heads and ten horns.

Matthew Henry: Revelation (Pendahuluan Kitab)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Revelation of St. John the Divine

It ought to be no prejudice to the credit and authority of this book that it has been rejected by men of corrupt minds, such as Cerdon and Marcion, and doubted of by men of a better character; for this has been the lot of other parts of holy writ, and of the divine Author of the scripture himself. The image and superscription of this book are truly sacred and divine, and the matter of it agreeable with other prophetical books, particularly Ezekiel and Daniel; the church of God has generally received it, and found good counsel and great comfort in it. From the beginning, the church of God has been blessed with prophecy. That glorious prediction of breaking the serpent's head was the stay and support of the patriarchal age; and the many prophecies there were concerning the Messiah to come were the gospel of the Old Testament. Christ himself prophesied of the destruction of Jerusalem; and, about the time in which that was accomplished, he entrusted the apostle John with this book of revelation, to deliver it to the church as a prediction of the most important events that should happen to it to the end of time, for the support of the faith of his people and the direction of their hope. It is called the Revelation, because God therein discovers those things which could never have been sifted out by the reasonings of human understanding, those deep things of God which no man knows, but the Spirit of God, and those to whom he reveals them.

Matthew Henry: Revelation 17 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

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 (Rev 17:1, Rev 17:2). II. He tells us what an appearance she made (Rev 17:3-6). III. The mystery of it is explained to him (Rev 17:7-12). And, IV. Her ruin foretold (Rev 17:13, etc.).

Barclay: Revelation (Pendahuluan Kitab)

INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF JOHN

The Strange Book

When a student of the New Testament embarks upon the study of the Revelation he feels himself projected into a different world. Here is something quite unlike the rest of the New Testament. Not only is the Revelation different; it is also notoriously difficult for a modern mind to understand. The result is that it has sometimes been abandoned as quite unintelligible and it has sometimes become the playground of religious eccentrics, who use it to map out celestial time-tables of what is to come or find in it evidence for their own eccentricities. One despairing commentator said that there are as many riddles in the Revelation as there are words, and another that the study of the Revelation either finds or leaves a man mad.

Luther would have denied the Revelation a place in the New Testament. Along with James, Jude, Second Peter and Hebrews he relegated it to a separate list at the end of his New Testament. He declared that in it there are only images and visions such as are found nowhere else in the Bible. He complained that, notwithstanding the obscurity of his writing, the writer had the boldness to add threats and promises for those who kept or disobeyed his words, unintelligible though they were. In it, said Luther, Christ is neither taught nor acknowledged; and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is not perceptible in it. Zwingli is equally hostile to the Revelation. "With the Apocalypse," he writes, "we have no concern, for it is not a biblical book.... The Apocalypse has no savour of the mouth or the mind of John. I can, if I so will, reject its testimonies." Most voices have stressed the unintelligibility of the Revelation and not a few have questioned its right to a place in the New Testament.

On the other hand there are those in every generation who have loved this book. T. S. Kepler quotes the verdict of Philip Carrington and makes it his own: "In the case of the Revelation we are dealing with an artist greater than Stevenson or Coleridge or Bach. St. John has a better sense of the right word than Stevenson; he has a greater command of unearthly supernatural loveliness than Coleridge; he has a richer sense of melody and rhythm and composition than Bach.... It is the only masterpiece of pure art in the New Testament.... Its fullness and richness and harmonic variety place it far above Greek tragedy."

We shall no doubt find this book difficult and bewildering; but doubtless, too, we shall find it infinitely worthwhile to wrestle with it until it gives us its blessing and opens its riches to us.

Apocalyptic Literature

In any study of the Revelation we must begin by remembering the basic fact that although unique in the New Testament, it is nonetheless representative of a kind of literature which was the commonest of all between the Old and the New Testaments. The Revelation is commonly called the Apocalypse, being in Greek Apokalupsis. Between the Old and the New Testaments there grew up a great mass of what is called Apocalyptic literature, the product of an indestructible Jewish hope.

The Jews could not forget that they were the chosen people of God. To them that involved the certainty that some day they would arrive at world supremacy. In their early history they looked forward to the coming of a king of Davidline who would unite the nation and lead them to greatness. There was to come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse (Isa_11:1 , Isa_11:10 ). God would raise up a righteous branch for David (Jer_23:5 ). Some day the people would serve David their king (Jer_30:9 ). David would be their shepherd and their king (Eze_34:23 ; Eze_37:24 ). The booth of David would be repaired (Amo_9:11 ); out of Bethlehem there would come a ruler who would be great to the ends of the earth (Mic_5:2-4 ).

But the whole history of Israel gave the lie to these hopes. After the death of Solomon, the kingdom, small enough to begin with, split into two under Rehoboam and Jeroboam and so lost its unity. The northern kingdom, with its capital at Samaria, vanished in the last quarter of the eighth century B.C. before the assault of the Assyrians, never again reappeared in history and is now the lost ten tribes. The southern kingdom, with its capital at Jerusalem, was reduced to slavery and exile by the Babylonians in the early part of the sixth century B.C. It was later the subject state of the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans. History for the Jews was a catalogue of disasters from which it became clear that no human deliverer could rescue them.

The Two Ages

Jewish thought stubbornly held to the conviction of the chosenness of the Jews but had to adjust itself to the facts of history. It did so by working out a scheme of history. The Jews divided all time into two ages. There was this present age, which is wholly bad and beyond redemption. For it there can be nothing but total destruction. The Jews, therefore, waited for the end of things as they are. There was the age which is to come which was to be wholly good, the golden age of God in which would be peace, prosperity and righteousness and Godchosen people would at last be vindicated and receive the place that was theirs by right.

How was this present age to become the age which is to come? The Jews believed that the change could never be brought about by human agency and, therefore, looked for the direct intervention of God. He would come striding on to the stage of history to blast this present world out of existence and bring in his golden time. The day of the coming of God was called The Day of the Lord and was to be a terrible time of terror and destruction and judgment which would be the birthpangs of the new age.

All apocalyptic literature deals with these events, the sin of the present age, the terrors of the time between, and the blessings of the time to come. It is entirely composed of dreams and visions of the end. That means that all apocalyptic literature is necessarily cryptic. It is continually attempting to describe the indescribable, to say the unsayable, to paint the unpaintable.

This is further complicated by another fact. It was only natural that these apocalyptic visions should flame the more brightly in the minds of men living under tyranny and oppression. The more some alien power held them down, the more they dreamed of the destruction of that power and of their own vindication. But it would only have worsened the situation, if the oppressing power could have understood these dreams. Such writings would have seemed the works of rebellious revolutionaries. Such books, therefore, were frequently written in code, deliberately couched in language which was unintelligible to the outsider; and there are many cases in which they must remain unintelligible because the key to the code no longer exists. But the more we know about the historical background of such books, the better we can interpret them.

The Revelation

All this is the precise picture of our Revelation. There are any number of Jewish Apocalypses--Enoch, The Sibylline Oracles, The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, The Ascension of Isaiah, The Assumption of Moses, The Apocalypse of Baruch, Fourth Ezra. Our Revelation is a Christian Apocalypse. It is the only one in the New Testament, although there were many others which did not gain admission. It is written exactly on the Jewish pattern and follows the basic conception of the two ages. The only difference is that for the day of the Lord it substitutes the coming in power of Jesus Christ. Not only the pattern but the details are the same. The Jewish apocalypses had a standard apparatus of events which were to happen at the last time; these events all have their place in Revelation.

Before we go on to outline that pattern of events, another question arises. Both apocalyptic and prophecy deal with the events which are to come. What, then, is the difference between them?

Apocalyptic And Prophecy

The difference between the prophets and the apocalyptists was very real. There were two main differences, one of message and one of method.

(i) The prophet thought in terms of this present world. His message was often a cry for social, economic and political justice; and was always a summons to obey and serve God within this present world. To the prophet it was this world which was to be reformed and in which Godkingdom would come. This has been expressed by saying that the prophet believed in history. He believed that in the events of history Godpurpose was being worked out. In one sense the prophet was an optimist, for, however sternly he condemned things as they were, he nonetheless believed that they could be mended, if men would accept the will of God. To the apocalyptist the world was beyond mending. He believed, not in the reformation, but in the dissolution of this present world. He looked forward to the creation of a new world, when this one had been shattered by the avenging wrath of God. In one sense, therefore, the apocalyptist was a pessimist, for he did not believe that things as they were could ever be cured. True, he was quite certain that the golden age would come, but only after this world had been destroyed.

(ii) The prophetmessage was spoken; the message of the apocalyptist was always written. Apocalyptic is a literary production. Had it been delivered by word of mouth, men would never have understood it. It is difficult, involved, often unintelligible; it has to be pored over before it can be understood. Further, the prophet always spoke under his own name; all apocalyptic writings--except our New Testament one--are pseudonymous. They are put into the mouths of great ones of the past, like Noah, Enoch, Isaiah, Moses, The Twelve Patriarchs, Ezra and Baruch. There is something pathetic about this. The men who wrote the apocalyptic literature had the feeling that greatness was gone from the earth; they were too self-distrusting to put their names to their works and attributed them to the great figures of the past, thereby seeking to give them an authority greater than their own names could have given. As Julicher put it: "Apocalyptic is prophecy turned senile."

The Apparatus Of Apocalyptic

Apocalyptic literature has a pattern; it seeks to describe the things which will happen at the last times and the blessedness which will follow; and the same pictures occur over and over again. It always, so to speak, worked with the same materials; and these materials find their place in our Book of the Revelation.

(i) In apocalyptic literature the Messiah was a divine, preexistent, otherworldly figure of power and glory, waiting to descend into the world to begin his all-conquering career. He existed in heaven before the creation of the world, before the sun and the stars were made, and he is preserved in the presence of the Almighty (Enoch 48:3, 6; 62:7; 4Ezra 13:25-26). He will come to put down the mighty from their seats, to dethrone the kings of the earth, and to break the teeth of sinners (Enoch 42:2-6; 48:2-9; 62:5-9; 69:26-29). In apocalyptic there was nothing human or gentle about the Messiah; he was a divine figure of avenging power and glory before whom the earth trembled in terror.

(ii) The coming of the Messiah was to be preceded by the return of Elijah who would prepare the way for him (Mal_4:5-6 ). Elijah was to stand upon the hills of Israel, so the Rabbis said, and announce the coming of the Messiah with a voice so great that it would sound from one end of the earth to the other.

(iii) The last terrible times were known as "the travail of the Messiah." The coming of the Messianic age would be like the agony of birth. In the Gospels Jesus is depicted as foretelling the signs of the end and is reported as saying: "All these things are the beginnings of sorrows" (Mat_24:8 ; Mar_13:8 ). The word for sorrows is odinai (G5604), and it literally means birthpangs.

(iv) The last days will be a time of terror. Even the mighty men will cry bitterly (Zep_1:14 ); the inhabitants of the land shall tremble (Joe_2:1 ); men will be affrighted with fear and will seek some place to hide and will find none (Enoch 102:1,3).

(v) The last days will be a time when the world will be shattered, a time of cosmic upheaval when the universe, as men know it, will be disintegrated. The stars will be extinguished; the sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood (Isa_13:10 ; Joe_2:30-31 ; Joe_3:15 ). The firmament will crash in ruins; there will be a cataract of raging fire, and creation will become a molten mass (Sibylline Oracles 3: 83-89). The seasons will lose their order, and there will be neither night nor dawn (Sibylline Oracles 3: 796-806).

(vi) The last days will be a time when human relationships will be destroyed. Hatred and enmity will reign upon the earth. Every manhand will be against his neighbour (Zec_14:13 ). Brothers will kill each other; parents will murder their own children; from dawn to sunset they shall slay one another (Enoch 100:1-2). Honour will be turned into shame, and strength into humiliation, and beauty into ugliness. The man of humility will become the man of envy; and passion will hold sway over the man who once was peaceful (Bar 48:31-37).

(vii) The last days will be a time of judgment. God will come like a refinerfire, and who can endure the day of his coming? (Mal_3:1-3 ). It is by the fire and the sword that God will plead with men (Isa_66:15-16 ). The Son of Man will destroy sinners from the earth (Enoch 69:27), and the smell of brimstone will pervade all things (Sibylline Oracles 3: 58-61). The sinners will be burned up as Sodom was long ago (Jubilees 36:10-11).

(viii) In all these visions the Gentiles have their place, but it is not always the same place.

(a) Sometimes the vision is that the Gentiles will be totally destroyed. Babylon will become such a desolation that there will be no place for the wandering Arab to plant his tent among the ruins, no place for the shepherd to graze his sheep; it will be nothing more than a desert inhabited by the beasts (Isa_13:19-22 ). God will tread down the Gentiles in his anger (Isa_63:6 ). The Gentiles will come over in chains to Israel (Isa_45:14 ).

(b) Sometimes there is depicted one last gathering of the Gentiles against Jerusalem, and one last battle in which they are destroyed (Eze_38:14-23 ; Eze_39:1-16 ; Zec_14:1-11 ). The kings of the nations will throw themselves against Jerusalem; they will seek to ravage the shrine of the Holy One; they will place their thrones in a ring round the city, with their infidel people with them; but it will be only for their final destruction (Sibylline Oracles 3: 663-672).

(c) Sometimes there is the picture of the conversion of the Gentiles through Israel. God has given Israel for a light to the Gentiles, that she may be Godsalvation to the ends of the earth (Isa_49:6 ). The isles wait upon God (Isa_51:5 ); the ends of the earth are invited to look to God and be saved (Isa_45:20-22 ). The Son of Man will be a light to the Gentiles (Enoch 48:4-5). Nations shall come from the ends of the earth to Jerusalem to see the glory of God (Wis 17:34).

Of all the pictures in connection with the Gentiles the commonest is that of the destruction of the Gentiles and the exaltation of Israel.

(ix) In the last days the Jews who have been scattered throughout the earth will be ingathered to the Holy City again. They will come back from Assyria and from Egypt and will worship the Lord in his holy mountain (Isa_27:12-13 ). The hills will be removed and the valleys will be filled in, and even the trees will gather to give them shade, as they come back (Bar 5:5-9). Even those who died as exiles in far countries will be brought back.

(x) In the last days the New Jerusalem, which is already prepared in heaven with God (4Ezra 10:44-59; 4Ezra 2Baruch 4Ezra 4:2-6), will come down among men. It will be beautiful beyond compare with foundations of sapphires, and pinnacles of agate, and gates of carbuncles, on borders of pleasant stones (Isa_54:12-13 ; Tob 13:16-17). The glory of the latter house will be greater than the glory of the former (Hag 2:7-9).

(xi) An essential part of the apocalyptic picture of the last days was the resurrection of the dead. "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Dan_12:2-3 ). Sheol and the grave will give back that which has been entrusted to them (Enoch 51:1). The scope of the resurrection of the dead varied. Sometimes it was to apply only to the righteous in Israel; sometimes to all Israel; and sometimes to all men everywhere. Whichever form it took, it is true to say that now for the first time we see emerging a strong hope of a life beyond the grave.

(xii) There were differences as to how long the Messianic kingdom was to last. The most natural--and the most usual--view was to think of it as lasting for ever. The kingdom of the saints is an everlasting kingdom (Dan_7:27 ). Some believed that the reign of the Messiah would last for 400 years. They arrived at this figure from a comparison of Gen_15:13 and Psa_90:15 . In Genesis Abraham is told that the period of affliction of the children of Israel will be 400 years; the psalmistprayer is that God will make the nation glad according to the days wherein he has afflicted them and the years wherein they have seen evil. In the Revelation the view is that there is to be a reign of the saints for a thousand years; then the final battle with the assembled powers of evil; then the golden age of God.

Such were the events which the apocalyptic writers pictured in the last days; and practically all of them find their place in the pictures of the Revelation. To complete the picture we may briefly summarize the blessings of the coming age.

The Blessings Of The Age To Come

(i) The divided kingdom will be united again. The house of Judah will walk again with the house of Israel (Jer_3:18 ; Isa_11:13 ; Hos_1:11 ). The old divisions will be healed and the people of God will be one.

(ii) There will be in the world an amazing fertility. The wilderness will become a field (Isa_32:15 ), it will become like the garden of Eden (Isa_51:3 ); the desert will rejoice and blossom like the crocus (Isa_35:1 ). The earth will yield its fruit ten thousandfold; on each vine will be a thousand branches, on each branch a thousand clusters, in each cluster a thousand grapes, and each grape will give a cor (120 gallons) of wine (2 Baruch 29:5-8). There will be a plenty such as the world has never known and the hungry will rejoice.

(iii) A consistent part of the dream of the new age was that in it all wars would cease. The swords will be beaten into ploughshares and the spears into pruning-hooks (Isa_2:4 ). There will be no sword or battle-din. There will be a common law for all men and a great peace throughout the earth, and king will be friendly with king (Sibylline Oracles 3: 751-760).

(iv) One of the loveliest ideas concerning the new age was that in it there would be no more enmity between the beasts or between man and the beasts. The leopard and the kid, the cow and the bear, the lion and the falling will play and lie down together (Isa_11:6-9 ; Isa_65:25 ). There will be a new covenant between man and the beasts of the field (Hos_2:18 ). Even a child will be able to play where the poisonous reptiles have their holes and their dens (Isa_11:6-9 ; Isa 2Baruch Isa_73:6 ). In all nature there will be a universal reign of friendship in which none will wish to do another any harm.

(v) The coming age will bring the end of weariness, of sorrow and of pain. The people will not sorrow any more (Jer_31:12 ); everlasting joy will be upon their heads (Isa_35:10 ). There will be no such thing as an untimely death (Isa_65:20-22 ); no man will say: "I am sick" (Isa_33:24 ); death will be swallowed up in victory and God will wipe tears from all faces (Isa_25:8 ). Disease will withdraw; anxiety, anguish and lamentation will pass away; childbirth will have no pain; the reaper will not grow weary and the builder will not be toilworn (Bar 73:2-74:4). The age to come will be one when what Virgil called "the tears of things" will be no more.

(vi) The age to come will be an age of righteousness. There will be perfect holiness among men. Mankind will be a good generation, living in the fear of the Lord in the days of mercy (Wis 17:28-49; Wis 18:9-10).

The Revelation is the New Testament representative of all these apocalyptic works which tell of the terrors before the end of time and of the blessings of the age to come; and it uses all the familiar imagery. It may often be difficult and even unintelligible to us, but for the most part it was using pictures and ideas which those who read it would know and understand.

The Author Of The Revelation

(i) The Revelation was written by a man called John. He begins by saying that God sent the visions he is going to relate to his servant John (Rev_1:1 ). He begins the body of his book by saying that it is from John to the Seven Churches in Asia (Rev_1:4 ). He speaks of himself as John the brother and companion in tribulation of those to whom he writes (Rev_1:9 ). "I John," he says, "am he who heard and saw these things" (Rev_22:8 ).

(ii) This John was a Christian who lived in Asia in the same sphere as the Christians of the Seven Churches. He calls himself the brother of those to whom he writes; and he says he too shares in the tribulations through which they are passing (Rev_1:9 ).

(iii) He was most probably a Jew of Palestine who had come to Asia Minor late in life. We can deduce that from the kind of Greek he writes. It is vivid, powerful, and pictorial; but from the point of view of grammar it is easily the worst Greek in the New Testament. He makes mistakes which no schoolboy who knew Greek could make. Greek is certainly not his native language; and it is often clear that he is writing in Greek and thinking in Hebrew. He is steeped in the Old Testament. He quotes it or alludes to it 245 times. These quotations come from about twenty Old Testament books; his favourites are Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Psalms, Exodus, Jeremiah, Zechariah. Not only does he know the Old Testament intimately; he is also familiar with the apocalyptic books written between the Testaments.

(iv) His claim for himself is that he is a prophet, and it is on that fact that he rests his right to speak. The command of the Risen Christ to him is that he must prophesy (Rev_10:11 ). It is through the spirit of prophecy that Jesus gives his witness to the Church (Rev_19:10 ). God is the God of the holy prophets and sends his angel to show his servants what is going to happen in the world (Rev_22:6 ). The angel speaks to him of his brothers the prophets (Rev_22:9 ). His book is characteristically prophecy or the words of prophecy (Rev_22:7 , Rev_22:10 ; Rev_22:18-19 ).

It is here that Johnauthority lies. He does not call himself an apostle, as Paul does when he wishes to underline his right to speak. He has no "official" or administrative position in the Church; he is a prophet. He writes what he sees; and since what he sees comes from God, his word is faithful and true (Rev_1:11 , Rev_1:19 ).

When John was writing, the prophets had a very special place in the Church. He was writing, as we shall see, about A.D. 90. By that time the Church had two kinds of ministry. There was the local ministry; those engaged in it were settled permanently in one congregation, the elders, the deacons and the teachers. And there was the itinerant ministry of those whose sphere of labour was not confined to any one congregation. In it were the apostles, whose writ ran throughout the whole Church; and there were the prophets, who were wandering preachers. The prophets were greatly respected; to question the words of a true prophet was to sin against the Holy Spirit, the Didache says (Rev_11:7 ). The accepted order of service for the celebration of the Eucharist is laid down in the Didache, but at the end comes the sentence: "But allow the prophets to hold the Eucharist as they will" (Rev_10:7 ). The prophets were regarded as uniquely the men of God, and John was a prophet.

(v) It is not likely that he was an apostle. Otherwise he would hardly have so stressed the fact that he was a prophet. Further, he speaks of the apostles as if he was looking back on them as the great foundations of the Church. He speaks of the twelve foundations of the wall of the Holy City and then says, "and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Rev_21:14 ). He would scarcely have spoken of the apostles like that if he himself was one of them.

This conclusion is rendered even more likely by the title of the book. In the King James and English Revised Versions it is called The Revelation of St. John the Divine. In the Revised Standard Version and in Moffattand in J. B. Phillipsranslations the Divine is omitted, because it is absent from the majority of the oldest Greek manuscripts; but it does go very far back. The Greek is theologos (G2312 and the word is here used in the sense in which we speak of "the Puritan divines" and means, not John the saintly but John the theologian; and the very addition of that title seems to distinguish this John from the John who was the apostle.

As long ago as A.D. 250 Dionysius, the great scholar who was head of the Christian school at Alexandria, saw that it was well nigh impossible that the same man could have written the Revelation and the Fourth Gospel, if for no other reason than that the Greek is so different. The Greek of the Fourth Gospel is simple but correct; the Greek of the Revelation is rugged and vivid, but notoriously incorrect. Further, the writer of the Fourth Gospel studiously avoids any mention of his own name; the John of the Revelation repeatedly mentions it. Still further, the ideas of the two books are different. The great ideas of the Fourth Gospel, light, life, truth and grace, do not dominate the Revelation. At the same time there are enough resemblances in thought and language to make it clear that both books come from the same centre and from the same world of thought.

The Date Of The Revelation

We have two sources which enable us to fix the date.

(i) There is the account which tradition gives to us. The consistent tradition is that John was banished to Patmos in the time of Domitian; that he saw his visions there; at the death of Domitian was liberated and came back to Ephesus; and there set down the visions he had seen. Victorinus, who wrote towards the end of the third century A.D., says in his commentary on the Revelation: "John, when he saw these things, was in the island of Patmos, condemned to the mines by Domitian the Emperor. There, therefore, he saw the revelation... When he was afterwards set free from the mines, he handed down this revelation which he had received from God." Jerome is even more detailed: "In the fourteenth year after the persecution of Nero, John was banished to the island of Patmos, and there wrote the Revelation... Upon the death of Domitian, and upon the repeal of his acts by the senate, because of their excessive cruelty, he returned to Ephesus, when Nerva was emperor." Eusebius says: "The apostle and evangelist John related these things to the Churches, when he had returned from exile in the island after the death of Domitian." Tradition makes it certain that John saw his visions in exile in Patmos; the only thing that is doubtful--and it is not important--is whether he wrote them down during the time of his banishment or when he returned to Ephesus. On this evidence we will not be wrong if we date the Revelation about A.D. 95.

(ii) The second line of evidence is the material in the book. There is a completely new attitude to Rome and to the Roman Empire.

In Acts the tribunal of the Roman magistrate was often the safest refuge of the Christian missionaries against the hatred of the Jews and the fury of the mob. Paul was proud that he was a Roman citizen and again and again claimed the rights to which every Roman citizen was entitled. In Philippi he brought the local magistrates to heel by revealing his citizenship (Act_16:36-40 ). In Corinth Gallio dismissed the complaints against him with impartial Roman justice (Act_18:1-17 ). In Ephesus the Roman authorities were careful for his safety against the rioting mob (Act_19:13-41 ). In Jerusalem the Roman tribune rescued him from what might have become a lynching (Act_21:30-40 ). When the Roman tribune in Jerusalem heard that there was to be an attempt on Paullift on the way to Caesarea, he took every possible step to ensure his safety (Act_23:12-31 ). When Paul despaired of justice in Palestine, he exercised his right as a citizen and appealed direct to Caesar (Act_25:10-11 ). When he wrote to the Romans, he urged upon them obedience to the powers that be, because they were ordained by God and were a terror only to the evil, and not to the good (Rom_13:1-7 ). Peteradvice is exactly the same. Governors and kings are to be obeyed, for their task is given them by God. It is a Christianduty to fear God and honour the emperor (1Pe_2:12-17 ). In writing to the Thessalonians it is likely that Paul points to the power of Rome as the one thing which is controlling the threatening chaos of the world (2Th_2:7 ).

In the Revelation there is nothing but blazing hatred for Rome. Rome is a Babylon, the mother of harlots, drunk with the blood of the saints and the martyrs (Rev_17:5-6 ). John hopes for nothing but her total destruction.

The explanation of this change in attitude lies in the wide development of Caesar worship which, with its accompanying persecution, is the background of the Revelation.

By the time of the Revelation Caesar worship was the one religion which covered the whole Roman Empire; and it was because of their refusal to conform to its demands that Christians were persecuted and killed. Its essence was that the reigning Roman Emperor, as embodying the spirit of Rome, was divine. Once a year everyone in the Empire had to appear before the magistrates to burn a pinch of incense to the god-head of Caesar and to say: "Caesar is Lord." After he had done that, a man might go away and worship any god or goddess he liked, so long as that worship did not infringe decency and good order; but he must go through this ceremony in which he acknowledged the Emperordivinity.

The reason was very simple. Rome had a vast heterogeneous empire, stretching from one end of the known world to another. It had in it many tongues, races and traditions. The problem was how to weld this varied mass into a self-conscious unity. There is no unifying force like that of a common religion but none of the national religions could conceivably have become universal. Caesar worship could. It was the one common act and belief which turned the Empire into a unity. To refuse to burn the pinch of incense and to say: "Caesar is Lord," was not an act of irreligion; it was an act of political disloyalty. That is why the Romans dealt with the utmost severity with the man who would not say: "Caesar is Lord." And no Christian could give the title Lord to any other than Jesus Christ. This was the centre of his creed.

We must see how this Caesar worship developed and how it was at its peak when the Revelation was written

One basic fact must be noted. Caesar worship was not imposed on the people from above. It arose from the people; it might even be said that it arose in spite of efforts by the early emperors to stop it, or at least to curb it. And it is to be noted that of all the people in the Empire only the Jews were exempt from it.

Caesar worship began as a spontaneous outburst of gratitude to Rome. The people of the provinces well knew what they owed to Rome. Impartial Roman justice had taken the place of capricious and tyrannical oppression. Security had taken the place of insecurity. The great Roman roads spanned the world; and the roads were safe from brigands and the seas were clear of pirates. The pax Romana, the Roman peace, was the greatest thing which ever happened to the ancient world. As Virgil had it, Rome felt her destiny to be "to spare the fallen and to cast down the proud." Life had a new order about it. E. J. Goodspeed writes: "This was the pax Romana. The provincial under Roman sway found himself in a position to conduct his business, provide for his family, send his letters, and make his journeys in security, thanks to the strong hand of Rome."

Caesar worship did not begin with the deification of the Emperor. It began with the deification of Rome. The spirit of the Empire was deified under the name of the goddess Roma. Roma stood for all the strong and benevolent power of the Empire. The first temple to Roma was erected in Smyrna as far back as 195 B.C. It was no great step to think of the spirit of Rome being incarnated in one man, the Emperor. The worship of the Emperor began with the worship of Julius Caesar after his death. In 29 B.C. the Emperor Augustus granted to the provinces of Asia and Bithynia permission to erect temples in Ephesus and Nicaea for the joint worship of the goddess Roma and the deified Julius Caesar. At these shrines Roman citizens were encouraged and even exhorted to worship. Then another step was taken. To provincials who were not Roman citizens Augustus gave permission to erect temples in Pergamum in Asia and in Nicomedia in Bithynia, for the worship of Roma and himself. At first the worship of the reigning Emperor was considered to be something permissible for provincial non-citizens, but not for those who had the dignity of the citizenship.

There was an inevitable development. It is human to worship a god who can be seen rather than a spirit. Gradually men began more and more to worship the Emperor himself instead of the goddess Roma. It still required special permission from the senate to erect a temple to the living Emperor, but by the middle of the first century that permission was more and more freely given. Caesar worship was becoming the universal religion of the Roman Empire. A priesthood developed and the worship was organized into presbyteries, whose officials were held in the highest honour.

This worship was never intended to wipe out other religions. Rome was essentially tolerant. A man might worship Caesar and his own god. But more and more Caesar worship became a test of political loyalty; it became, as has been said, the recognition of the dominion of Caesar over a manlife and soul. Let us, then trace the development of this worship up to, and immediately beyond, the writing of the Revelation.

(i) Augustus, who died in A.D. 14, allowed the worship of Julius Caesar, his great predecessor. He allowed non-citizens in the provinces to worship himself but he did not permit citizens to do so; and he made no attempt to enforce this worship.

(ii) Tiberius (A.D. 14-37) could not halt Caesar worship. He forbade temples to be built and priests to be appointed for his own worship; and in a letter to Gython, a Laconian city, he definitely refused divine honours for himself. So far from enforcing Caesar worship, he actively discouraged it.

(iii) Caligula (A.D. 37-41), the next Emperor, was an epileptic, a madman and a megalomaniac. He insisted on divine honours. He attempted to enforce Caesar worship even on the Jews, who had always been and who always were to remain exempt from it. He planned to place his own image in the Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem, a step which would certainly have provoked unyielding rebellion. Mercifully he died before he could carry out his plans. But in his reign we have an episode when Caesar worship became an imperial demand.

(iv) Caligula was succeeded by Claudius (A.D. 41-54) who completely reversed his insane policy. He wrote to the governor of Egypt--there were a million Jews in Alexandria--fully approving the Jewish refusal to call the Emperor a god and granting them full liberty to enjoy their own worship. On his accession to the throne, he wrote to Alexandria saying: "I deprecate the appointment of a High Priest to me and the erection of temples, for I do not wish to be offensive to my contemporaries, and I hold that sacred fanes and the like have been by all ages attributed to the immortal gods as peculiar honours."

(v) Nero (A.D. 54-68) did not take his own divinity seriously and did nothing to insist on Caesar worship. It is true that he persecuted the Christians; but this was not because they would not worship him, but because he had to find scapegoats for the great fire of Rome.

(vi) On the death of Nero there were three Emperors in eighteen months--Galba, Otto and Vitellius, and in such a time of chaos the question of Caesar worship did not arise.

(vii) The next two Emperors, Vespasian (A.D. 69-79) and Titus (A.D. 79-81), were wise rulers, who made no insistence on Caesar worship.

(viii) The coming of Domitian (A.D. 81-96) brought a complete change. He was a devil. He was the worst of all things--a cold-blooded persecutor. With the exception of Caligula, he in as the first Emperor to take his divinity seriously and to demand Caesar worship. The difference was that Caligula was an insane devil; Domitian was a sane devil, which is much more terrifying. He erected a monument to "the deified Titus son of the deified Vespasian." He began a campaign of bitter persecution against all who would not worship the ancient gods--"the atheists" as he called them. In particular he launched his hatred against the Jews and the Christians. When he arrived in the theatre with his empress, the crowd were urged to rise and shout: "All hail to our Lord and his Lady!" He enacted that he himself was a god. He informed all provincial governors that government announcements and proclamations must begin: "Our Lord and God Domitian commands..." Everyone who addressed him in speech or in writing must begin: "Lord and God."

Here is the background of the Revelation. All over the Empire men and women must call Domitian god--or die. Caesar worship was the deliberate policy; all must say: "Caesar is Lord." There was no escape.

What were the Christians to do? What hope had they? They had not many wise and not many mighty. They had no influence or prestige. Against them had risen the might of Rome which no nation had ever resisted. They were confronted with the choice--Caesar or Christ. It was to encourage men in such times that the Revelation was written. John did not shut his eyes to the terrors; he saw dreadful things and he saw still more dreadful things on the way; but beyond them he saw glory for those who defied Caesar for the love of Christ. The Revelation comes from one of the most heroic ages in all the history of the Christian Church. It is true that Domitiansuccessor Nerva (A.D. 96-98) repealed the savage laws; but the damage was done, the Christians were outlaws, and the Revelation is a clarion call to be faithful unto death in order to win the crown of life.

b The Book Worth Studying

No one can shut his eyes to the difficulty of the Revelation. It is the most difficult book in the Bible; but it is infinitely worth studying, for it contains the blazing faith of the Christian Church in the days when life was an agony and men expected the end of the heavens and the earth as they knew them but still believed that beyond the terror was the glory and above the raging of men was the power of God.

FURTHER READING

Revelation

G. B. Caird, The Revelation of Saint John the Divine (ACB; E)

R. H. Charles, Revelation (ICC; G)

T. S. Kepler, The Book of Revelation

H. B. Swete, The Apocalypse of St John (MmC; G)

Abbreviations

ACB: A. and C. Black New Testament Commentary

ICC: International Critical Commentary

MmC: Macmillan Commentary

E: English Text

G: Greek Text

Barclay: Revelation 17 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

Nature At War (Rev_16:17-21)

The Fall Of Rome (Rev_17:1-18)

17:1-18 1 One of the seven angels, who had the seven bowls, came and spoke with me. "Come here," he said, "and I will show you the judgment of the great harlot, who sits upon many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication and with the wine of whose adultery those who inhabit the earth have become drunken." 3 He carried me away in the Spirit to a desert place, and I saw a woman, seated upon a scarlet beast, which was full of names which were insults to God, and which had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet and bedizened with gold and jewellery and pearls. She had in her hand a golden cup, full of abominations and the unclean things of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead there was written a name with a meaning which was secret except to those who knew its meaning: "Babylon, the great, the mother of the harlots and the abominations of the earth." I saw the woman, drunk 6 with the blood of God's dedicated people and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her I was stricken 7 with a great wonder. The angel said to me: "Why are you moved to wonder? I will tell you the secret meaning of the woman and of the beast who bears her and has the seven 8 heads and the ten horns. The beast, which you saw, was and is not, and is about to come up from the abyss, and is on the way to destruction; and the inhabitants of the earth, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will be stricken with wonder, when they see the beast, because it was, and is not, and 9 will come. Here there is need for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They 10 are also seven kings. Five have fallen; one at present exists; another has not yet come, and, when he shall come, he 11 must remain for a short time. The beast, which was and is not, is itself the eighth. It proceeds from the series of the seven and it is on the way to destruction. 12 The ten heads you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received their royal authority, but they are to receive authority as kings 13 for one hour in the company of the beast. They have one mind in common and they hand over power and authority to the beast. 14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, because he is the Lord of lords and the King of kings, and the called, the chosen and the loyal will share his victory." 15 And he went on to say to me: "The waters which you saw, on which the harlot is seated, are peoples and crowds and nations and tongues. 16 The ten horns, which you saw, and the beast will hate the harlot, and will make her desolate and naked, and will devour her flesh, and will burn her in the fire; for it is God who 17 has put it into their minds to perform his purpose, and to be of one mind to give their royal power to the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. 18 And the woman which you saw is the great city which has dominion over the kings of the earth."

(1) The Woman On The Beast

The woman is Babylon, that is to say, Rome. The woman is said (Rev_17:1) to sit upon many waters. In this picture of Rome, John was using many of the things said by the prophets about ancient Babylon. In Jer_51:13 Babylon is addressed as: "O you who dwell by many waters." The river Euphrates actually ran through the midst of Babylon; and she was also the centre of a system of irrigation canals, spreading out in every direction. When this description is applied to Rome, it does not make sense. Later in Rev_17:15, John realizes this and gives the waters a symbolic interpretation as the many nations and peoples and tongues over whom Rome rules. For this way of speaking, also, we must look to the Old Testament. When Isaiah is forecasting the invasion of Palestine by Assyria, he writes: "Therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory; and it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks; and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck" (Isa_8:7-8). Again, when Jeremiah is prophesying the coming invasion, he uses the same picture: "Behold, waters are rising out of the north, and shall become an overflowing torrent; they shall overflow the land, and all that fills it" (Jer_7:2). In Rev_17:4 the woman is said to be clothed in purple and scarlet and decked with all kinds of ornaments. This is symbolic of the luxury of Rome and of the meretricious and lustful way in which it was used, the picture of a wealthy courtesan, decked out in all her finery to seduce men. The woman is said to have in her hand a golden cup, full of abominations. Here we have another picture of Babylon taken direct from the prophetic condemnation of the Old Testament. Jeremiah said: "Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord's hand, making all the earth drunken; the nations drank of her wine; therefore the nations went mad" (Jer_51:7). So Rome is said to hold the golden cup in which is that power of seduction which has spread immorality over all the earth. The woman is said to have a name on her forehead (Rev_17:5). In Rome the prostitutes in the public brothels wore upon their foreheads a frontlet giving their names. This is another vivid detail in the picture of Rome as the great corrupting prostitute among the nations. In Rev_17:6 the woman is said to be drunk with the blood of God's dedicated people and with the blood of the martyrs. This is a reference to the persecution of the Christians in the Roman Empire. But it does more than simply stamp Rome as the great persecutor. She is glutted with slaughter; and she has revelled in that slaughter as a drunken man revels in wine. In Rev_17:16 she is to be destroyed by the invasion of the ten kings. This we shall discuss more fully when we come to discuss the symbolism of the beast. It is sufficient to say just now that it foretells the destruction of Rome by the rising against her of her subject nations. It is as if to say that the great prostitute will in the end be destroyed by her lovers turning against her.

(2) The Beast

It is much harder to fix the meaning of the beast than of the woman, mainly because the meaning of the beast does not stay steady. The beast has a series of interconnected meanings, whose point of union is that they are all closely connected with Rome and with her empire. (i) The woman sits on the beast and the beast is filled with blasphemous names which are all insults to God (Rev_17:3). If the woman is Rome, clearly the beast is the Roman Empire. It is full of blasphemous names. This includes two things. First, it is a reference to the many gods of which the Roman Empire was full. All these names are insults to God, for they are all infringements of his supreme and unique authority. No one has the right to the name of god save only the true God. Second, it is a reference to many of the titles of the emperor. The emperor was Sebastos, or Augustus, which means to be reverenced; and reverence belongs to God alone. The emperor was divus or theios (G2304), which, the first in Latin and the second in Greek, mean divine; and to God alone belongs that adjective. Many of the emperors were called soter (G4990), saviour, which is uniquely the title of Jesus Christ. Most common of all, the emperor was in Latin dominus and in Greek kurios (G2962), lord, which is the very name of God. (ii) The beast has seven heads and ten horns (Rev_17:3). This is a repetition of what is said of the beast in Rev_13:1, and we shall very soon return to its meaning here. (iii) The beast was, and is not, and is about to come (Rev_17:8). This goes back to Rev_13:3; Rev_13:12; Rev_13:14 and is a clear reference to the Nero redivivus legend, which is never far from the mind of John. We have already seen that the ideas of Nero resurrected and of Antichrist had become inseparably connected. Therefore, in this passage the beast stands for Antichrist. (iv) The beast has seven heads. These are doubly explained. (a) In Rev_17:9 the seven heads are seven hills. Here we have an easy identification. Rome was the city upon seven hills; this once again identifies the beast with Rome. (b) The second identification is one of the riddles of the Revelation (Rev_17:10-11). They (the heads) are also seven kings. Five have fallen; one at present exists; another has not yet come, and, when he shall come, he must remain for a short time. The beast, which was and is not, is itself the eighth. It proceeds from the series of the seven, and it is on its way to destruction. Five have fallen. The Roman Empire began with Augustus; and the first five emperors were Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. These, then, are the five who have fallen. We have already seen that after the death of Nero there were two years of chaos in which Galba, Otho and Vitellius followed each other in quick succession. They were not in any real sense emperors and cannot be included in any list. One at present exists. This must be Vespasian, the first emperor to bring back stability to the empire, after the chaos following the death of Nero; he reigned from A.D. 69-79. Another has not yet come, and, when he shall come, he must remain for a short time. Vespasian was succeeded by Titus, whose reign lasted for only two years from 79-81. The beast which was, and is not, is itself the eighth. It proceeds from the series of the seven, and is on its way to destruction. This can only mean that the emperor who followed Titus is being identified with Nero redivivus and Antichrist; and the emperor who followed Titus was Domitian. Can Domitian reasonably be identified with the evil force which Nero redivivus personified? We turn to the life of Domitian written by Suetonius the Roman biographer, remembering that Suetonius was not a Christian. Domitian, as Suetonius tells, was an object of terror and hatred to all. We get a grim picture of him at the beginning of his reign. "He used to spend hours in seclusion every day, doing nothing but catch flies and stab them with a keenly-sharpened stylus." Any psychologist would find that a curiously revealing picture. He was insanely jealous and insanely suspicious. He formed a homosexual attachment for a famous actor called Paris. One of the pupils of Paris so much resembled his teacher that it was not unreasonable to suppose that he was his son; the lad was promptly murdered. Hermogenes, the historian, wrote things which Domitian did not like; he was executed, and the scribe who had copied the manuscript was crucified. Senators were slaughtered right and left. Sallustius Lucullus, governor of Britain, was executed because he allowed a new type of lance to be called Lucullan. Domitian revived the old punishment of having his victims stripped naked, fixed by the neck in a fork of wood and beaten to death with rods. He put down a civil war that broke out in the provinces. Suetonius goes on: "After his victory in the civil war he became even more cruel, and, to discover any conspirators who were in hiding, tortured many of the opposite party by a new form of inquisition, inserting fire in their privates; and he cut off the hands of some of them." Early in his reign he appeared wearing a golden crown with the figures of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva in it, while the priest of Jupiter sat by his side. When he received back his divorced wife, he announced that she had returned to the divine couch. When he entered the amphitheatre, he loved to be greeted with the cry: "Good fortune attend our lord and his lady." He began his official edicts: "Our lord and god bids this to be done." Soon that was the only way in which he might be addressed. He was so suspicious that he never gave prisoners a hearing in private, and, even when he heard them with his guards present, they were chained. He so feared for his own life that he had the passages and colonnades through which he moved tiled with phlengite stone, which is like a mirror, so that he could see anyone who was moving behind him. Finally, on 18 September, A.D. 96, he was murdered in the bloodiest circumstances. To all this we may add a final fact; it was Domitian who first made Caesar worship compulsory and who was, therefore, responsible for unloosing the flood-tides of persecution on the Christian Church. It might well be that John saw in Domitian the reincarnation of Nero. Others did precisely the same. Juvenal spoke of Rome being "enslaved to a bald-headed Nero" (Domitian was bald) and was exiled and finally murdered for his temerity. Tertullian called Domitian "a man of Nero's type of cruelty," and "a sub-Nero," a verdict which Eusebius repeated. The one difficulty is that it makes it look as if John wrote in the reign of Vespasian; and we know that John in fact wrote under Domitian. Two possibilities may explain this. John may have written this particular vision years before in the time of Vespasian, lived to see it come terribly true and incorporated it in his final draft of the Revelation. Or he may have written it all in the reign of Domitian, and, projected himself back into the time of Vespasian to trace in retrospect the terrible lines that history had taken. However we explain it, the picture is satisfied if we hold that John saw in Domitian the reincarnation of Nero, the supreme embodiment of Roman wickedness and defiance of God; we need not go on to say that he identified Domitian with Antichrist. There remains one problem in identification and it is less susceptible of definite solution than the others. In Rev_17:12-17 it is said that the ten horns are ten kings who have not yet received their power. They will receive it, and when they do, two things will happen. They will unanimously agree to hand over their own power to the beast; and with him they will rise against the harlot and make war with the Lamb and finally be defeated. By far the likeliest interpretation of this is that the ten kings are the satraps of the Parthian hosts, who will make common cause with Nero redivivus and under him fight the last battle in which Rome will be destroyed and the Lamb will subdue every hostile force in the universe.

The City Which Became A Harlot (Rev_17:1-2)

The Vision In The Wilderness (Rev_17:3)

The Great Harlot (Rev_17:4-5)

Drunk With The Blood Of The Saints And The Martyrs (Rev_17:6)

The Reincarnation Of Evil (Rev_17:7-11)

The Purposes Of Man And The Purposes Of God (Rev_17:12-18)

Constable: Revelation (Pendahuluan Kitab)

Introduction

Historical background

The opening verses of the book state that "John" wrote it (1:1, 4, 9; cf. 22:8). >From the first century to the present day almost all orthodox scholars have concluded that this means the Apostle John.¹ Two noteworthy exceptions were Luther and Zwingli.² Today many scholars who accept the divine inspiration of the book believe the Apostle John wrote it.

Some of the early church fathers (Clement of Alexandria, Eusebius, Irenaeus, and Victorinus) wrote that the Apostle John experienced exile on the island of Patmos during Domitian's reign.³ They wrote that the government allowed John to return to Ephesus after this emperor died. Domitian died in A.D. 96. Consequently many conservative interpreters date the writing of this book near A.D. 95 or 96.

"Perhaps more than any other book in the NT, the Apocalypse enjoyed wide distribution and early recognition."⁴

Where did John get the revelation that he wrote down in this book? He said that he received it from Jesus Christ through angelic mediation (1:1). Most of the details of this revelation were undoubtedly new to John. However there are remarkable parallels between this revelation and the Lord Jesus' teaching in the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24-25; Mark 13; Luke 21). The Book of Revelation clearly builds on that foundation.⁵ The apocalyptic sections of certain books of the Old Testament--particularly Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Psalms--contain former revelation that God gave His prophets about the end times.⁶ The revelation that Jesus gave in the Olivet Discourse and later to John on Patmos supplements that earlier revelation.

"Jesus in His [Olivet] discourse was clearly anticipating what He was to show John in much greater detail more than six decades later here on the island of Patmos."⁷

Message⁸

The subject of the Book of Revelation is Jesus Christ (1:1). It is an unveiling ("revelation") of Him. What does this book reveal about Christ? The Book of Revelation is the unveiling of the person of Jesus Christ, the power of Jesus Christ, and the program of Jesus Christ.

First, it is a revelation of the person of Jesus Christ. It unveils who He is and what He is. This book is the climax of Scriptural Christology.

Notice first what the Book reveals about who Jesus Christ is. Three emphases in the book clarify His essential being.

1. He is the same human Jesus Christ who was born on earth at His first coming. He is the same Jesus on whose chest John reclined (1:1, 2, 5). He is a "son of man," possessing a full human nature (1:13). Moreover He will always be that (22:20).

2. He is also fully divine, one with the Father (1:12-18; 3:14). He reveals God fully (19:13). He will share the throne of the universe with the Father eventually (22:1, 3).

3. He is the eternal God (1:8; 21:6; 22:13).

Notice also what the book of Revelation reveals about what Jesus Christ is. Seven titles give us a fuller appreciation of His place in history.

1. In the past He proved to be the Root of David, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the promised Messiah (3:7; 5:5; 22:16). This became clear at His baptism (Matt. 3:17).

2. In the past, also at His first advent, He proved to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (5:6, 12-13; 6:1). This became clear at His death.

3. In the past He proved to be the First-born from the dead, the victor over death and Hades (1:5-6, 2:8). This became clear at His resurrection.

4. In the present He is the Lord of the churches (2:1; 3:1; cf. 22:20).

5. In the future He will prove to be the Judge of all mankind (2:12, 18; 3:14; 6:1; et al.). This is His primary role during the Great Tribulation.

6. In the future He will prove to be King of kings and Lord of lords (1:5; 17:14; 19:16). This is His primary role during the Millennium.

7. In the future He will prove to be the Morning Star (22:16; cf. 2:28). His second coming will signal the dawning of a new day in history. This will find its clearest revelation in the new heavens and earth. The Millennium will only be a foretaste of that day.

This book is also a revelation of the power of Jesus Christ. Individuals have various kinds of power. Jesus Christ has all kinds of power and all power of all kinds.

He has all personal power.

1. He has inherent power. We see this in His control of all other beings and forces (e.g., believers, unbelievers, Satan, the beasts, human armies, etc.). He wields the power Himself.

2. He also has acquired power. His Father has given Him this power (5:1, 6-7; cf. Matt. 28:18). He exercises all the power of the Godhead.

Second, He has all instrumental power. That is He has authority over all things as He executes His power. All things are His instruments or tools.

1. He has power over all material objects and forces. He controls the physical universe. We can see this in His using individuals, storms, earthquakes, and even the heavenly bodies to accomplish His will.

2. He also has power over all spiritual entities and authorities. He controls the angels, demons, and Satan. Every power in the universe is under His control (e.g., 13:15).

Third, He has all effectual power. That is He has power to accomplish anything. He can affect any changes He desires.

1. He has all destructive power. He can destroy anything that exists: individuals, systems (e.g., Babylonianism), objects, even the heavens and earth.

2. He also has all constructive power. He can create new human bodies (by resurrection), new systems (new religious and economic orders), and new cities (the new Jerusalem). He will even create new heavens and a new earth.

The Book of Revelation also reveals the program of Jesus Christ (1:19). It gives us much detail about God's program and how it will unfold in the future. However let me point out God's purposes that this program unveils.

Christ's immediate purpose is to defeat and destroy Satan and sin.

We see Him doing this in the church age in Revelation as He deals with believers in the seven churches (chs. 2-3). His purpose is to purify to Himself a people who will be a kingdom and priests to God (1:6).

We also see Him doing this in the Tribulation in Revelation. We see it in His judgment of those who have not believed on Him (chs. 4-18). His purpose is to pour out God's wrath on His enemies for their refusal to receive His grace (16:1).

Christ's ultimate purpose is to dwell among His people and experience intimate fellowship with them.

We see Him doing this in the Millennium to an extent never before attained in history (20:6).

We see Him doing this in the new earth perfectly and eternally (22:3-5). This has always been God's ultimate purpose (e.g., Adam, Noah, the patriarchs, Israel, the church, the Millennium). He will achieve it completely in the new earth.

The Book of Revelation then is an unveiling of Jesus Christ--His person, His power, and His program--for the rest of history. This is the message statement. We must never forget that He is the subject of this book as we seek to understand what He has revealed here.

Constable: Revelation (Garis Besar)

Outline

I. The preparation of the prophet ch. 1

A. The prologue of the book 1:1-8

1. The preface 1:1-3

2. The address and doxology 1:4-6

3. The theme 1:7-8

B. The commission of the prophet 1:9-20

1. The first commission to write 1:9-11

2. The source of the commission 1:12-16

3. The amplification of the commission 1:17-20

II. The letters to the seven churches chs. 2-3

A. The letter to the church in Ephesus 2:1-7

1. Destination and description of Christ 2:1

2. Commendation 2:2-3

3. Rebuke 2:4

4. Exhortation 2:5-6

5. Promise 2:7

B. The letter to the church in Smyrna 2:8-11

1. Destination and description of Christ 2:8

2. Commendation 2:9

3. Exhortation 2:10a

4. Promise 2:10b-11

C. The letter to the church in Pergamum 2:12-17

1. Destination and description of Christ 2:12

2. Commendation 2:13

3. Rebuke 2:14-15

4. Exhortation 2:16

5. Promise 2:17

D. The letter to the church in Thyatira 2:18-29

1. Destination and description of Christ 2:18

2. Commendation 2:19

3. Rebuke 2:20-23

4. Exhortation 2:24-25

5. Promise 2:26-29

E. The letter to the church in Sardis 3:1-6

1. Destination and description of Christ 3:1a-b

2. Commendation and rebuke 3:1c, 2b

3. Exhortation 3:2a, 3

4. Promise 3:4-6

F. The letter to the church in Philadelphia 3:7-13

1. Destination and description of Christ 3:7

2. Commendation 3:8

3. Promise 3:9-11a, 12

4. Exhortation 3:11b, 13

G. The letter to the church in Laodicea 3:14-22

1. Destination and description of Christ 3:14

2. Rebuke 3:15-17

3. Exhortation 3:18-19

4. Promise 3:20-22

III. The revelation of the future 4:1-22:5

A. Introduction to the judgments of the Tribulation chs. 4-5

1. The throne in heaven ch. 4

2. The Lamb on the throne ch. 5

B. The first six seal judgments ch. 6

1. The first seal 6:1-2

2. The second seal 6:3-4

3. The third seal 6:5-6

4. The fourth seal 6:7-8

5. The fifth seal 6:9-11

6. The sixth seal 6:12-17

C. Supplementary revelation of salvation in the Great Tribulation ch. 7

1. The sealing of 144,000 Israelites 7:1-8

2. The salvation of the great multitude 7:9-17

D. The first six trumpet judgments chs. 8-9

1. The first four trumpet judgments ch. 8

2. The fifth and sixth trumpet judgments ch. 9

E. Supplementary revelation of John's preparation for recording the remaining judgments in the Great Tribulation ch. 10

1. The appearance of the mighty angel 10:1-4

2. The announcement of the mighty angel 10:5-7

3. The instruction of the mighty angel 10:8-11

F. Supplementary revelation of the two witnesses in the Great Tribulation 11:1-14

1. The temple in Jerusalem 11:1-2

2. The ministry of the two witnesses 11:3-6

3. The death of the two witnesses 11:7-10

4. The resurrection of the two witnesses 11:11-13

5. The end of the second woe 11:14

G. The seventh trumpet judgment 11:15-19

H. Supplementary revelation of Satan's activity in the Great Tribulation chs. 12-13

1. The activity of Satan himself ch. 12

2. The activity of Satan's agents ch. 13

I. Supplementary revelation of preparations for the final judgments in the Great Tribulation chs. 14-15

1. Judgment at the end of the Great Tribulation ch. 14

2. Preparation for the bowl judgments ch. 15

J. The seven bowl judgments ch. 16

1. The commencement of the bowl judgments 16:1

2. The first bowl 16:2

3. The second bowl 16:3

4. The third bowl 16:4

5. Ascriptions of angelic and martyr praise 16:5-7

6. The fourth bowl 16:8-9

7. The fifth bowl 16:10-11

8. The sixth bowl 16:12-16

9. The seventh bowl 16:17-21

K. Supplementary revelation of the judgment of ungodly systems in the Great Tribulation chs. 17-18

1. Religion in the Great Tribulation ch. 17

2. Commerce in the Great Tribulation ch. 18

L. The Second Coming of Christ ch. 19

1. The praise of God in heaven 19:1-10

2. The return of Christ to earth 19:11-16

3. The destruction of the wicked on earth 19:17-21

M. The millennial reign of Christ ch. 20

1. The binding of Satan 20:1-3

2. The resurrection of tribulation martyrs 20:4-6

3. The final judgment of Satan 20:7-10

4. The judgment of the wicked 20:11-15

N. The eternal state 21:1-22:5

1. The vision of the new heaven and earth 21:1

2. John's first vision of the New Jerusalem 21:2-8

3. John's second vision of the New Jerusalem 21:9-22:5

IV. The epilogue to the book 22:6-21

A. The testimony of the angel 22:6-7

B. The testimony of John 22:8-11

C. The testimony of Jesus and John's response 22:12-20

D. The final benediction 22:21

Constable: Revelation

Revelation

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Mackay, Thomas W. "Early Christian Millenarianist Interpretation of the Two Witnesses in John's Apoclaypse, 11:3-13." In By Study and Also by Faith, pp. 252-65. Edited by John M. Lundquist and Stephen D. Ricks. Salt Lake City: Deseret, 1990.

MacLeod, David J. "The Fifth Last Thing': The Relese of Satan and Man's Final Rebellion (Rev. 20:7-10)." Bibliotheca Sacra 157:626 (April-June 2000):200-14.

_____. "The First Last Thing': The Second Coming of Christ (Rev. 19:11-16)." Bibliotheca Sacra 156:622 (April-June 1999):203-20.

_____. "The Fourth Last Thing': The Millennial Kingdom of Christ (Rev. 20:4-6)." Bibliotheca Sacra 157:625 (January-March 2000):44-67.

_____. "Heaven's Hallelujah Chorus: An Introduction to the Seven Last Things' (Rev. 19:1-10)." Bibliotheca Sacra 156:621 (January-March 1999):72-84.

_____. "The Second Last Thing': The Defeat of Antichrist." Bibliotheca Sacra 156:623 (July-September 1999):325-35.

_____. "The Sixth Last Thing': The Last Judgment and the End of the World (Rev. 20:11-15)." Bibliotheca Sacra 157:627 (July-September 2000):315-30.

_____. "The Third Last Thing': The Binding of Satan (Rev. 20:1-3)." Bibliotheca Sacra 156:624 (October-December 1999):469-86.

Manahan, R. E. "Overcomes the World'--I John 5:4." M.Div. Thesis, Grace Theological Seminary, 1970.

Manley, G. T. The Return of Jesus Christ. Great Doctrines of the Bible series. Chicago: Inter-Varsity Press, 1960.

Mathewson, Dave. "A Re-examination of the Millennium in Rev 20:1-6: Consummation and Recapitulation." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 44:2 (June 2001)237-51.

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_____. "Problems in Rebuilding the Tribulation Temple." Bibliotheca Sacra 129:513 (January-March 1972):75-80.

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_____. Through the Bible with J. Vernon McGee. 5 vols. Pasadena, Calif.: Thru the Bible Radio, 1983.

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_____. "The Seventieth Week of Daniel 9:27 as a Literary Key for Understanding the Structure of the Apocalypse of John." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1990.

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_____. Living Messages of the Books of the Bible. 2 vols. New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1912.

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_____. "Semitic Influence on the Use of Some Prepositions in the Book of Revelation." Bible Translator 37:3 (July 1986):328-34.

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_____. "A Traditionalist Response to John Stott's Arguments for Annihilationism." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 37:4 (December 1994):553-68.

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_____. "Genre and Hermeneutics in Rev 20:1-6." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 36:1 (March 1993):41-54.

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_____. Dispensationalism. Chicago: Moody Press, 1995.

_____. Dispensationalism Today. Chicago: Moody Press, 1965.

_____. Revelation. Everyman's Bible Commentary series. Chicago: Moody Press, 1968.

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Scott, Walter. Exposition of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. London: Pickering and Inglis, Ltd., n.d.

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Smith, Charles R. "The Book of Life." Grace Theological Journal 6:2 (Fall 1985):219-30.

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Spurgeon, W. A. The Conquering Christ. Muncie, Ind.: By the Author, 1936.

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_____. "A Review of The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church." Bibliotheca Sacra 148:589 (January-March 1991):90-111.

Stauffer, Ethelbert. Christ and the Caesars. London: SCM, 1965.

Stott, John R. W. What Christ Thinks of the Church. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,1959.

Strauss, Lehman. The Book of the Revelation. Neptune: N.J.: Loizeaux Brothers, 1964.

_____. Life After Death. Condensed Books series. Condensation of We Live Forever. New York: Loizeaux Brothers, 1947; condensed ed., Westchester, Ill.: Good News Publishers, 1961.

_____. Prophetic Mysteries Revealed. Neptune, N.J.: Loizeaux Brothers, 1980.

Stuart, Moses. A Commentary on the Apocalypse. Edinburgh: Macmachlan, Stewart, 1847.

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Sweet, J. P. M. Revelation. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, Pelican Books, 1979.

Swete, Henry Barclay. The Apocalypse of St. John. 2nd ed. London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1907.

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Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. S.v. "Lampo . . .," by A Oepke.

_____. S.v. "Onoma," by H. Beitenhard.

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_____. "The Glorified Christ on Patmos." Bibliotheca Sacra 122:487 (July-September 1965):241-47.

_____. "The Imprecatory Prayers of the Apocalypse." Bibliotheca Sacra 125:502 (April-June 1969):123-31.

_____. "John's Apocalyptic Outline." Bibliotheca Sacra 123:492 (October- December 1966):334-41.

_____. Revelation 1-7: An Exegetical Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1992.

_____. Revelation 8-22: An Exegetical Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1995.

_____. "The Spiritual Gift of Prophecy in Rev 22:18." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 32:2 (June 1989):201-16.

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_____. Armageddon, Oil and the Middle East Crisis. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1974.

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_____. The Nations in Prophecy. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Co., 1967.

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_____. "Making Sense of Rev 20:1-10? Harold Hoehner Versus Recapitulation." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 37:4 (December 1994):539-51.

_____. "Reexamining the Evidence for Recapitulation in Rev 20:1-10." Westminster Theological Journal 51 (1989):319-44.

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_____. "Who Are The Outsiders? Revelation 22:14-17." Grace Evangelical Society News 8:6 (November-December 1993):2-3.

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_____. "The Two Witnesses in Revelation 11." Bibliotheca Sacra 154:615 (July-September 1997):344-54.

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_____. "Cultural Aspects of Marriage in the Ancient World." Bibliotheca Sacra 135:539 (July-September 1978):241-52.

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Revelation (Pendahuluan Kitab)

THE

APOCALYPSE OF ST. JOHN,

THE APOSTLE.

INTRODUCTION.

Though some in the first ages [centuries] doubted whether this book was canonical, and who was the author of it, (see Eusebius, lib. 7, History of the Church, chap. xxv.) yet it is certain much the part of the ancient fathers acknowledged both that it was a part of the canon, and that it was written by St. John, the apostle and evangelist. See Tillemont, in his ninth note upon St. John, where he cites St. Justin Martyr, St. Irenæus, St. Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, St. Cyprian, St. Athanasius., Eusebius, St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, &c. It was written in Greek to the churches in Asia [Asia Minor], under Domitian, about the year 96 or 97, long after the destruction of Jerusalem, when St. John was banished to the island of Patmos, in the Ægean Sea. It is by some called the prophecy of the New Testament, and the accomplishment of the predictions of all other prophets, by the first coming of Christ at his incarnation, and by his second coming at the end of the world. As to the time when the chief predictions should come to pass, we have no certainty, as appears by the different opinions, both of the ancient fathers, and late interpreters. Many think that most things set down from the fourth chapter to the end, will not be fulfilled till a little time before the end of the world. Others are of an opinion, that a great part of them, and particularly the fall of the wicked Babylon, happened at the destruction of paganism, by the destruction of heathen Rome, and its persecuting heathen emperors. Of these interpretations, see Alcazar in his long commentary, the learned Bossuet, bishop of Meaux, in his treatise on this book, and P. Alleman, in his notes on the same Apocalypse, tom. xii, who, in his preface, says, that this is in a great measure may be now looked upon as the opinion followed by the learned men. In fine, others think St. John's design was in a mystical way, by metaphors and allegories, to represent the attempts and persecutions of the wicked against the servants of God, the punishments that should in a short time fall upon Babylon, that is, upon all the wicked in general; the eternal happiness and reward which God had reserved for the pious inhabitants of Jerusalem, that is, for his faithful servants, after their short trials and tribulations of this mortal life. In the mean time we meet with many profitable instructions and admonitions, which we may easily enough understand; but we have no certainty, when we apply these predictions to particular events; for as St. Jerome takes notice, the Apocalypse has as many mysteries as words, or rather mysteries in every word. Apocalypsis Joannis tot habet sacramenta quot verba....parum dixi, in verbis singulus multiplices latent intelligentiæ . (Ep. ad Paulin. t. iv., p. 574. Edit. Benedict.) (Witham) --- In the first, second, and third chapters of this book are contained instructions and admonitions which St. John was commanded to write to the seven bishops of the churches in Asia. And in the following chapters, to the end, are contained prophecies of things that are to come to pass in the Church of Christ, particularly towards the end of the world, in the time of antichrist. It was written in Greek, in the island of Patmos, where St. John was in banishment by order of the cruel emperor Domitian, about sixty-four years after our Lord's ascension. (Challoner) --- This is the last in order of the sacred writings, and contains, in twenty-two chapters, revelations, as the name imports, extremely obscure, it must be acknowledged, yet undoubtedly of utmost importance to the Christian Church, if we may judge from the dignity of the author, who is the beloved disciple, or the grandeur and majesty of the ideas, which pervade every chapter of the work. Being a sealed book, or a hidden mystery, in the beginning of the Church, when nothing of this important prophecy had yet been fulfilled, it is no wonder we are deprived of the usual lights which we have hitherto followed in expounding the Scripture, viz. the works of the fathers. So little was it indeed understood at that time, that by many it was long considered as a reverie, and an extravagant composition, though the most learned always looked upon it as an inspired work. One reason, which may have led the faithful to class this among the apocryphal works, was the number of fables and illusions published by the misguided piety of the ignorant. We know at least, that on account of the heresy of Cerinthus, which was filled up with illusion and fanaticism, this book was not circulated among the faithful: a few copies were kept with care in the archives of the Churches, to be perused only by the bishop, or such as he thought not likely to abuse it. With regard to the interpretation of it, it will not be expected that it should be attempted in a work of this kind. We shall therefore only give a short account of the principal commentators, and their plans, that the enlightened reader may consult their works, if he wish to enter deeper into the subject. But it should never be forgotten, that the connection of sublime and prophetical ideas which compose this work, has at all times been a labyrinth, in which the greatest geniuses have lost themselves, and a rock on which most commentators have split, the great Sir Isaac Newton not excepted. Hence Scaliger's praise of Calvin; Calvinus sapuit, quia non scripsit in Apocalypsim. 1. The fathers living before the accomplishment of the events, have of course given us no interpretation. Those, therefore, who have written on it at all, have explained it in a mere moral sense, and drawn from it useful parables and instructions. None of them have given a regular systematic explanation. It must, however, be observed, as a circumstance of some moment, that many of them, particularly Sts. Augustine and Jerome, thought the Apocalypse contained prophecies regarding the whole time of the existence of the Church of Christ, till its triumphant state in the new Jerusalem. 2. Among the moderns we have abundant interpreters of the Apocalypse in all the reformed Churches. It has indeed grown into a mania among them, the only difference being their respective degrees of absurdity. This has been to all of them the common quarry, whence they have hewn the stones to cast at their mother Church. For to this day they have continued to disgrace themselves and Christianity, by depicting the Church of Rome as the scarlet whore of Babylon, popery the beast, and the pope antichrist. We must, however, except Grotius and Hammond, who have given historical interpretations, and some few others. 3. Among Catholic expositors stands eminently conspicuous the learned bishop of Meaux, Bosseut. This light of the Galican Church has improved upon and filled up the outlines which Grotius had only sketched. The first three chapters, according to him, regard only the Churches of Asia, to which they are addressed; the other chapters, to nineteen, have been fulfilled in the persecutions which the Church endured under the pagan emperors. The last three are merely allegorical of the triumphs which the Church finally gained over her persecutors. 4. Du Pin has taken a wider range. The last three chapters regard the final judgment, and the establishment of the Church in heaven. And all the chapters between the first three and last three, are mere general descriptions of persecutions, fall of tyrants, heresies, &c. which shall happen in the Church; represented under the various figures which the rich imagination of St. John supplied. This system certainly removes all difficulties at once, by saving the trouble of comparing each figure with corresponding historical facts; but substitutes a vague and indeterminate sense, which we do not expect in prophecy. 5. Calmet does not vary a great deal in the outlines with Bossuet; but their applications of the text to the history are in many points widely different. He conceives the intermediate chapters between the first three and last three to have been fulfilled in the general persecution begun by Diocletian, in 303, and the destruction of Rome, in 410, by Alaric. The last three chapters give the triumph of the martyrs at that period, as well as many things, which are to take place at the coming of antichrist, and the dissolution of the world. 6. Conceiving that all the above commentators had too much contracted the time for the accomplishment of the prophecy, by limiting it to the establishment of Christianity, Monsieur de la Chetardie established a new system upon the supposition that the Apocalypse includes the whole history of Christ's Church upon earth. In doing this, he had the authority of St. Augustine, and other fathers. Observing, therefore, upon an attentive perusal of this work, that there were seven seals, seven trumpets, seven vials, and that at the opening of such seals a new revelation was made, he ingeniously concluded, that the history of the whole Church was divided into seven periods or ages, and that to each period belonged one seal, one trumpet, and one vial. Six of these periods he conceives to be already accomplished, the seventh yet remains concealed in the womb of futurity. 7. Ingenious as is this system of Chetardie, it was not adopted, since Calmet, who wrote after him, preferred his own, which resembled that of Bossuet. It has, however, been renewed by this late bishop Walmsley, under the name of Signor Pastorini, who has taken up the idea and general outline from Chetardie, but illustrated the same with his own interpretation and application to historical facts. The erudition with which the latter author has clothed this system, and the striking aptness of his comparisons of the words of the prophecy to the events which have passed, have gained a very general approbation, and he is almost exclusively followed in the interpretation of this sealed book. How far he has succeeded in his explanation of the seventh age of the Church, cannot be determined by us, since it is shut up in the dark recess of futurity. Posterity will decide. To him we refer the English reader for any further information on the subject, convinced that his researches will be amply gratified, his education wonderfully improved. For, says the illustrious prelate Bossuet, "notwithstanding the obscurities of this book, we experience in its perusal an impression so sweet, and at the same time so magnificent, of the majesty of God; such sublime ideas present themselves of the mystery of Jesus Christ, such noble images of his victories and his reign, and such terrible effects of his judgment, that the soul is quite moved and penetrated. All the beauties of the Scriptures are collected in this book. Whatever there is melting, lively, and majestic in either the law or the prophets, acquires in this book an additional lustre." O truly adorable truths contained herein! of which God is the plentitude and eternal source; of which Jesus Christ is the prophet, the teacher and master; truths which have the angels for servants and ministers; the apostles and bishops for witnesses and depositaries; and all faithful souls, ver. 3. for children and disciples. Let us prepare our hearts to hear Jesus Christ arisen from the dead, discovering to us the mysteries of his kingdom, and the truths of the gospel of his glory. Let us hear his warning voice, and prepare for his speedy coming by a strict observance of every duty. Happy, thrice happy that Christian whom the death of sin, and the sleep of tepidity shall not render deaf to this voice!

====================

Gill: Revelation (Pendahuluan Kitab)

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION

That this book was written by the Apostle and Evangelist John, is clear not only from the express mention of his name, and from his office, a servant of Jesus Christ, Rev 1:1; but also from the character this writer gives of himself, Rev 1:2; as being an eyewitness of the essential Logos, or Word of God, and who bore a faithful record of him as such, as John did in his Gospel, in a very peculiar and remarkable manner, and from this writer's being in the isle of Patmos when he wrote, Rev 1:9; for of what other John can this be said? to which may be added the testimonies of the ancient writers, as Justin Martyr ^a, who lived within fifty years of the apostle, and Irenaeus ^b, who was the disciple of Polycarp, an hearer of this apostle, and Clemens Alexandrinus ^c, Tertullian ^d, Origen ^e, and others, who ascribe it to him. It was a most monstrously stupid notion of Caius, Dionysius of Alexandria mentions ^f, that it was written by Cerinthus the heretic, when his heresies concerning the divinity and humanity of Christ are most strongly refuted in it. What seems to have led to such a thought is, that the account of the thousand years' reign, and the descent of the new Jerusalem from heaven, seemed to favour the judaism of this man, and his carnal notions of an earthly paradise, whereas they have no such tendency. And as for its being written by another John, who is said to be presbyter at Ephesus, after the apostle, it is not certain there ever was such a man; and if there was, he must be too late to be the writer of this book; nor to him can the above characters agree. What is observed in favour of him, that the penman of this book is called, in the title, John the divine, and not the evangelist, or apostle, will do him no service; for to whom does this character so well agree, as to the Evangelist John, who wrote of divine things in so divine a manner, and particularly concerning the divinity of Christ? hence this book was sometimes called yeologia, "Divinity" ^g: besides, the title of the book is not original, but is what has been affixed to it by others, and varies; for in the Complutensian edition it runs thus,

"the Revelation of the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Divine.''

In the Vulgate Latin version it is called the Apocalypse of the blessed John the Apostle; and in the Syriac version, the Revelation which was made to John the Evangelist; and in the Arabic version, the Vision of John, the Apostle and Evangelist, to wit, the Apocalypse. All which acknowledge the Apostle John to be the writer of it, and show the sense of the ancients concerning it. Nor is it of any moment what is alleged, that this writer makes mention of his name several times, whereas it was usual with John, both in his Gospel and epistles, to conceal his name; since there is a wide difference between writing an history and epistles to friends, and prophecy which requires the author's name, on whom the authority and truth of the prophecy greatly depend: and so likewise the disagreement of style observed in this book, with the other writings of John, has no force in it; since the prophetic style is always different from an historical and epistolary one; and yet, after all, in many things, there is an agreement; John in this, as in his other writings, speaks of Christ as the Word and Son of God and under the character of the Lamb; and likewise the following: passages may be compared together, as Rev 1:2 with Joh 19:35 and 1Jo 1:1, Rev 1:5 with 1Jo 1:7. All which being observed there no room to doubt, neither of the writer nor of the authority of this book; especially when the agreement of the doctrine contained in it with other parts of the Scripture, the majesty of its style, and above all the many prophecies of things to come to pass in it, several of which have been already fulfilled, are considered; and though it was called in question and rejected by some heretical men, because some things in it did not suit with their tenets, yet we have not the least reason to doubt of its being authentic who have lived to see so much of it already accomplished and which could come from no other but God. As for the time of its writing this is not agreed upon on all hands; the place where, seems to be the isle of Patmos, which yet some question. Some think it was written in the times of Claudius Caesar ^h, before the destruction of Jerusalem. In the title of the Syriac version, this revelation is said to be made to John in the isle of Patmos, into which he was cast by Nero Caesar. But the more commonly received opinion is, that he had this vision there, at the latter end of Domitian's reign ⁱ by whom he was there banished, about the year 95, or 96. But be this as it will, the book is certainly of divine authority, and exceeding useful and instructive; and contains in it the most momentous and important doctrines of the Gospel, concerning a trinity of persons in the Godhead, the deity and sonship of Christ, the divinity and personality of the Spirit, the offices of Christ, the state and condition of man by nature, justification, pardon, and reconciliation by the blood of Christ; and it recommends the several duties of religion, and encourages to the exercise of every grace and gives a very particular account of the rise, power, and fall of antichrist, and of the state of the church of Christ in all the periods of time to the end of the world. And though it is written in an uncommon style, yet may be understood, by the use of proper means, as by prayer and meditation, by comparing it with other prophetic writings, and the history of past times, by which many things in it will appear to have had their accomplishment; and it ought to be observed, that it is a revelation, and not a hidden thing; that it is now not a sealed book, but an open one; and that such are pronounced blessed that read and hear it, and observe the things in it, Rev 1:3; and which is no small encouragement to attempt an explanation of it.

Gill: Revelation 17 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 17

This chapter contains a vision of a beast, and a woman on it, and the interpretation of it; one of the seven angels that had the seven vials proposes to John to show him the whore of Babylon, the Jezabel before spoken of, who sits on many waters, with whom the kings and inhabitants of the earth have committed fornication, being intoxicated by her, Rev 17:1 in order to which he carries him into the wilderness, and there he sees a woman, who is described by the beast she sat on, of a scarlet colour, full of blasphemous names, with seven heads and ten horns; by her array, in purple and scarlet, decked with gold, pearls, and precious stones; by a cup she had in her hand, full of abominable filth; by a name written on her forehead, given at large, and by the condition she was in, drunk with the blood of the saints; which sight filled John with great wonder and admiration, Rev 17:3 wherefore, to remove his astonishment, the angel proposes to explain to him the mystery of the woman, and the beast she sat on, Rev 17:7 and first the mystery of the beast is explained, by its several states, past, present, and to come; by its original and end, ascending out of the bottomless pit, and going into perdition; by the veneration it would be had in by the reprobate part of the world, Rev 17:8 its seven heads are interpreted of the seven mountains on which the city of Rome, designed by the woman, stood, and of seven kings, or forms of government, five of which had ceased, and one was in being in John's time, another was to come, which should not continue long, and the beast would be an eighth, Rev 17:9 its ten horns are explained of ten kings, described by their kingdom they had not as yet received, and which they should have one hour with the beast; by their agreement in mind and conduct; and by their war with the Lamb, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, and those that are with him, the called, chosen, and faithful, and the issue of it, Rev 17:12 the waters on which the whore sat are interpreted of a multitude of people, nations, and tongues, Rev 17:15 the hatred and destruction of her by the ten kings, and the manner of it, are declared, Rev 17:16 which is owing to the will of God, who put it into their hearts to agree to give their kingdom to the beast till the prophecies and promises were fulfilled respecting this matter, and now to destroy the whore that sat upon it, Rev 17:17 which woman is explained of the great city of Rome, that reigns over the kings of the earth, Rev 17:18.

College: Revelation (Pendahuluan Kitab)

PREFACE

This commentary on the Revelation of John has been prepared for general readers of the Bible who desire to deepen their understanding of God's inspired word. It is not a technical commentary, although it draws on the best in current biblical scholarship. It is not a devotional commentary, although the reader will find that Revelation certainly speaks to our day. My primary aim has been to provide a clear, concise explanation of what the biblical text means, showing the evidence on which my conclusions are based.

Extensive cross-referencing makes this volume a convenient reference tool for those seeking insight into a particular passage. However, I strongly recommend that users read through the entire commentary from beginning to end, considering each text in its broader context. It is particularly important to read the Introduction. There I define key terms ("kingdom of God," "labor pains," "apocalypse," etc.) and explain the historical, literary, and theological setting for John's work. Readers who truly desire to understand Revelation will find this approach most productive.

For many years I have taught Revelation at Minnesota Bible College and in other settings. Therefore most of the research for writing this commentary was already done. Nevertheless, completing this project on a tight deadline has been a major undertaking. Many people have provided assistance and support to make this book possible. MBC's President, Mr. Robert Cash, relieved me from certain duties as Vice President of Academics and Professor of New Testament so that I could make a research trip to Virginia. Dr. Mark Mangano, MBC's Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages, took over one of my classes to reduce my teaching load. The elders of the Meadow Park Church of Christ in Rochester, Minnesota, granted me a leave of absence from elders' duties so I could devote more time to writing. Dr. Harold Mahan, Director of the G.H. Cachiaras Memorial Library at MBC, provided research assistance. Dr. John Trotti and Mr. Roger Pittard, of Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, also provided library support. My dear wife Cathy read the entire manuscript and provided secretarial assistance. The series editors, Dr. Jack Cottrell and Dr. Tony Ash, also read the manuscript and offered helpful suggestions. Mr. John Hunter of College Press guided me through the publication process. My students and colleagues at MBC, my family members, and so many others offered help and encouragement along the way. The women of the Disciple's Prayer Life Sunday School class have bathed this entire project in prayer. To all these brothers and sisters in Christ, I offer my sincere thanks.

Christopher A. Davis

Rochester, Minnesota

July 2, 2000

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

INTRODUCTION

I. INTENDED TO REVEAL NOT TO CONCEAL

The Revelation of John is one of the most often read, but least understood books of the Bible. The first three words of the Greek text of Revelation are ajpokavluyi" =Ihsou' Cristou' (apokalypsis Içsou Christou), or "apocalypse from Jesus Christ." Apokalypsis is a combination of two Greek terms: The noun kaluvptra ( kalyptra ) refers to some sort of "covering," particularly a woman's "veil." The preposition ajpov ( apo ) communicates the idea of "movement away from" or "removing" something from one location to another. The term apokalypsis literally means, then, "the removal of that which conceals" or "the removal of the veil" (so that one may see what is under it). In English, the term is usually translated "revelation" - something that does not "conceal" or "cover," but which "unveils" or "reveals." So John's own title for his book is "Apocalypse from Jesus Christ" or "Revelation from Jesus Christ."

Beginning with the very first word of the book, the author claims to be revealing something. John expects that his Christian readers will not be puzzled, but able to comprehend his meaning. He does not intend the Revelation to be an enigma, but to be understood . For centuries, however, the book's mysterious symbolism has served to hide more than it reveals. Anyone who reads interpretations of Revelation - from Irenaeus in the second century, to Joachim of Fiore in the twelfth century, to Hal Lindsey in the twentieth century - finds very little agreement regarding what the book means. The reason is that Revelation is so unusual, so unique in the New Testament, that many Bible students simply do not know how to approach it. They lack the "key" for unlocking the secrets John intends to share.

II. APPROACH TO REVELATION

A. AN HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL APPROACH

A breakthrough has come in our own time. Before the mid-1800s, the Bible was viewed as little more than a vast collection of proof texts that could be taken apart and used to support the doctrinal systems of the various churches. No serious effort was made to understand each book as a whole or to seek insight into the meaning of the biblical books by examining the historical circumstances in which they were written. Beginning with Ferdinand Christian Baur in the mid-nineteenth century, a new group of scholars has urged a different approach to Scripture - an historical and critical approach. This is the kind of approach to Revelation adopted in this commentary.

By "critical" we do not mean mere "faultfinding." Instead, being "critical" involves asking questions, weighing evidence, and forming judgments. If we ask no questions of Revelation, then we get no answers. Since we wish to understand this word from God, we ask the same kinds of penetrating questions of it that we ask of any other piece of literature, whether it be the orations of Cicero, the plays of Shakespeare, or the novels of Mark Twain. We ask questions such as: Who wrote this book? When? Where? How? For what purpose? To what audience? In what circumstances? Using what sources? Why is the book structured in the way it is? What did the terminology used by the author mean to the readers of his time? What literary techniques does he employ?

We take an "historical" approach to Revelation because we believe that the Bible should not be studied in a vacuum as if it had no relationship to the events surrounding its writing. One of the primary convictions of the Christian faith is that God does not reveal himself in a vacuum, but in history. He is not just "God." He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of Moses and the Exodus; the God who made an eternal covenant with King David; the God who came among us in the person of Jesus Christ in history. For this reason, one of the best ways to gain an understanding of the Bible is to learn something about the historical settings in which it was produced.

In this commentary, we uncover the meaning of Revelation by asking an historical question: What did this book communicate to its first readers? What did Revelation reveal to the Christians for whom John wrote? How would they have understood its message? In order to answer this question, we must learn all we can about who the first readers were. We must acquaint ourselves with their time, their location, their circumstances, their language, their literature, and their culture. Only then will we be able to discern what Revelation meant to the believers for whom it was intended. Only then will we begin to work out an accurate interpretation of Revelation in its historical context. We will find that most of the truths Christ revealed to the first readers are applicable to his modern-day disciples as well.

B. RESOURCES FOR THE STUDY OF REVELATION

What resources from the ancient world assist us in our efforts to correctly understand and interpret Revelation? Primary texts include:

1. The Hebrew Old Testament

The Old Testament contains history and theological reflection regarding God's covenant relationship with the people of Israel. Christians consider the Old Testament and New Testament (see below) to be the inspired, authoritative word of God.

2. The Septuagint

The Septuagint is a Greek version of the Old Testament. This translation was begun in the third century B.C. after Alexander the Great made Greek the common language uniting his empire. According to legend, seventy Jewish scholars independently produced identical translations of the Hebrew Scriptures, thus attesting to divine inspiration of the Greek text. For this reason, "LXX" (the Roman numeral for "70") serves as the common abbreviation designating the Septuagint translation. The Septuagint was the "Bible" of most of the first Christians, who lived in the Greek-speaking eastern half of the Roman Empire. Nearly every line of Revelation contains allusions to either the Septuagint or the Hebrew Old Testament. The Septuagint also includes the Apocrypha.

3. The Old Testament Apocrypha

The Apocrypha is a collection of Jewish writings, most of which date from the second century B.C. through the first century A.D. Christians from the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox traditions consider them part of the authoritative Christian canon. Most Protestants view the Apocrypha as useful, edifying works, but do not give them a status equal to that of the Old and New Testaments.

4. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha

The Pseudepigrapha is a collection of Jewish and Christian documents, with the majority dating from the third century B.C. through the second century A.D. About one-third are called "apocalypses" because they resemble the Revelation of John in their language, style, use of symbolism, and/or shared concepts. Since they represent the same literary type, or "genre," they prove an invaluable aid to the study of John's vision (as discussed below in Part III). James H. Charlesworth has edited a two-volume collection of these writings in English.

5. Ancient Near Eastern Texts

Texts surviving from the Ancient Near East shed light on the cultural roots of ideas found in Revelation. To illustrate, the Babylonian Creation Myth offers insights into the symbolic meaning of the "sea" and the "sea monster" in John's vision. J.B. Pritchard has edited a useful collection of such texts in English translation.

6. The Dead Sea Scrolls

Called "the greatest manuscript discovery in modern times" by W.F. Albright, the Scrolls were produced by a Jewish community at Qumran on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. Some of the texts are biblical manuscripts, while others describe the beliefs and rules of the Qumran sect. Dating from the end of third century B.C. to A.D. 70, the Dead Sea Scrolls shed light on Palestinian Judaism in the years prior to the writing of Revelation.

7. The New Testament

Written in the first century A.D., the New Testament draws together writings of the very first Christian communities. As such, it represents our earliest and most precious witness to Jesus and the church he founded.

8. Josephus

A contemporary of John, Flavius Josephus composed valuable histories of the Jewish people. He provides us, for example, with a vivid, first-hand description of the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 - an event alluded to in Revelation.

9. The New Testament Apocrypha

The New Testament Apocrypha is a collection of extracanonical Christian writings (some from Gnostic or other heretical groups) from the second century A.D. and beyond. It provides us with additional samples of early Christian apocalypses.

10. Early Christian Fathers

Writings of Christian leaders from the post-New Testament period cast light on the circumstances surrounding Revelation's composition. To illustrate, Eusebius's History of the Church (ca. A.D. 325) identifies the author and date of Revelation. Eusebius also describes two great persecutions suffered by first-century believers - events that play a role in John's vision.

11. Rabbinical Writings

Although most date to the post-New Testament period, teachings of ancient Jewish rabbis (Mishnah, Talmud, Midrashim, etc.) sometimes illuminate the biblical text. We turn to them, for example, when interpreting the symbolism of the four living creatures in Revelation 4.

12. Classical Greek and Latin Literature

Ancient Greek and Latin writers open a door to the world of the first readers of Revelation. To illustrate, Suetonius has left us biographies of the first twelve Roman emperors, some of whom play a role in Revelation. The correspondence of Governor Pliny and the Emperor Trajan explains Roman policy toward Christians in the early second century. The nearly five hundred volumes of the Loeb Classical Library (Harvard University Press) make this wealth of knowledge available to English readers.

We will utilize all these resources and more as we interpret the Revelation of John. We study other ancient writings not because we consider them to be inspired or authoritative - not because we place them on an equal level with the Bible. Rather, we study them because they help us to enter the thought world of John's first readers, so that we may understand Revelation as they understood it.

C. STRENGTHS OF THE HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL

APPROACH TO REVELATION

The weakness of alternative approaches to Revelation is seen in their failure to create a consensus regarding the meaning of the book. There have been nearly as many interpretations of Revelation as there have been interpreters. The weakness of alternative approaches is further highlighted by the erroneous predictions made on the basis of those approaches. To illustrate, when the former Soviet Union disintegrated, many scholars' interpretations of Revelation perished with it.

The strength of an historical and critical approach to Revelation is demonstrated by several facts: First, there is a great deal of agreement among historical and critical scholars regarding the meaning of John's vision. They have found the key to interpreting Revelation, while others must rely heavily on guesswork. Second, an historical and critical interpretation of Revelation makes sense today, and it would have made sense to the first-century Christians for whom the book was written. Third, an historical and critical interpretation reveals that the message of Revelation is wholly compatible and consistent with the message of the rest of the New Testament. Finally, the accuracy of an historical and critical interpretation of Revelation can be demonstrated with objective evidence drawn from other ancient writings. It does not rest on subjective speculation.

III. APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE

Other New Testament writers communicate through narrative or epistle, but in Revelation John employs striking imagery and vivid symbolism. Although Revelation is unique in the New Testament, it was not at all unique in John's time. Revelation belongs to a genre, or type of literature, that was most popular in Palestine from the second century B.C. through the second century A.D. Such writings are called "apocalypses," or "apocalyptic literature," partly because they are revelatory in nature and partly because they resemble the Apocalypse of John (see Part I above).

A. JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN APOCALYPSES

The only apocalyptic writing in the Old Testament is the Book of Daniel. Some believe that Daniel is the oldest apocalypse and that later writers imitate its style. Others argue that the Book of the Watchers ( = 1 Enoch 1-36) is older. Whatever the case, Jewish theologians found apocalyptic to be a powerful tool for expressing their convictions concerning God and his dealings with the world. The most important Jewish apocalypses for our purposes are 1 Enoch (a compilation of five originally independent works dating from the second or third century B.C. to the first century A.D.), 2 Enoch (late first century A.D.), 2 Baruch (ca. A.D. 100), 3 Baruch (first to third century A.D.), 4 Ezra (ca. A.D. 100), the Apocalypse of Abraham (ca. A.D. 100), and the Apocalypse of Zephaniah (first century B.C. to first century A.D.). Beyond the apocalypses themselves, other writings from the period contain apocalyptic sections or features. Two examples are the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (second century B.C.) and the Sibylline Oracles (second century B.C. through seventh century A.D.). All of these writings are preserved in the Pseudepigrapha (described above in Part II.B.4).

Early Christian apocalypses include, for example, the Shepherd of Hermas, 5 Ezra, and the Apocalypse of Peter (all dating to the second century A.D.). The Revelation of John appears to be the first Christian apocalypse - the first Christian adaptation of the apocalyptic form. Other New Testament writings certainly contain apocalyptic ideas, but in Revelation alone do we find a fully developed apocalyptic vision. Since John's Christian apocalypse builds on the earlier Jewish apocalyptic tradition, those Jewish documents serve as one of the most valuable resources for understanding the nature and meaning of Revelation.

B. CHARACTERISTICS OF APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE

But what exactly is an "apocalypse"? What sets these books apart and leads us to place them in a special class? First, Jewish apocalyptic literature is characterized by a particular kind of theology - a particular understanding of who God is and how he deals with his creation. Apocalyptic theology is rooted in the Jewish Scriptures since apocalyptic was initially a Jewish phenomenon. Christian apocalyptic writers later modified this theology in significant ways due to their encounter with Jesus Christ (see below).

Second, apocalyptic writers utilize a particular manner of communicating that theology - a distinctive form or style of writing . For example, they tend to make heavy use of symbolism.

So apocalyptic theology is a certain network of beliefs about God and the apocalyptic form is a certain means of expressing those beliefs. It is possible to have a message containing apocalyptic theology that is not communicated in the apocalyptic style. (An example would be the gospel preached by the Apostle Paul, which J. Christiaan Beker rightly describes as an "apocalyptic interpretation of the Christ-event.) However, true apocalypses - like the Revelation of John - display both apocalyptic form and apocalyptic theology.

1. Common Characteristics of the Apocalyptic Form

Some of the most common characteristics of the apocalyptic form are described below. Not every apocalypse includes every feature.

a. Visions or Revelations

Apocalypses take the form of visions or revelations from God. Whereas Old Testament prophets experience God directly ("The word of the Lord came to me" or "In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord"), the apocalyptic seers receive their revelations through an intermediary - often an angel. Their visions usually concern the future, giving apocalyptic a strong "eschatological" element.

b. Symbolism

Apocalyptic visions are filled with vivid symbolism. Over time, as various apocalyptists adopted and adapted the images used by others, a set of common symbols was developed. For example, the sea typically represents the forces of evil and chaos. Stars often represent angels. Beasts symbolize political powers opposed to God and his people. If we read Revelation alone (as so many do), then we may find John's symbolism puzzling and impenetrable. However, if we study other apocalypses as well, then we begin to see the patterns and Revelation becomes less intimidating.

c. Esoteric Elements

Apocalyptic writings are esoteric; they contain an element of mystery or secrecy. They are not meant for the general public, but for "insiders" who are acquainted, for example, with the meaning of the conventional apocalyptic symbols. John apparently considers his readers to be insiders able to grasp his meaning. By acquainting ourselves with their literature and culture, we can become insiders too.

d. Symbolic Numbers

Apocalyptic writers place symbolic meaning in numbers. Here, too, a set of conventional symbols emerge:

Two is the number of valid witness. Its Jewish roots are found in Deuteronomy 19:15 where the Lord requires at least two witnesses for a matter to be established in a court of law.

Three often relates to God. This symbol also has Old Testament roots in passages such as Isaiah 6:3 where the Lord receives the threefold worship of the seraphim: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty." Christian writers tend to see Trinitarian connotations in this number since the Lord has revealed himself to us as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Four often symbolizes the world, or God's creation. This goes back to the idea that the "four corners of the earth" (Ezek 7:2; cf. Rev 7:1), the "four quarters of the earth" (Isa 11:12), or the "four winds" (Jer 49:36; Ezek 7:9; Zech 6:5; Dan 7:2; cf. Matt 24:31//Mark 13:27; Rev 7:1) - i.e., north, south, east, and west - together encompass the whole of creation.

Five, the number of fingers on the human hand, describes a "handful" or a "few."

Ten - two "handfuls" - represents "several." Neither ten nor five should necessarily be interpreted literally in apocalyptic writings.

Seven is the number of "fullness," "completeness," "perfection." In some texts this number carries connotations of goodness or morality, for the author is thinking of persons or things being "complete" in the sense of being everything God intends them to be. However, the dominant meaning for seven is not "perfection" in the sense of being morally faultless, but "perfection" in the sense of being "complete" or "whole." We may trace the origin of this symbol to Old Testament texts such as Genesis 1-2, where seven days form a "complete" week.

Six is one less than seven; it does not "measure up" to seven or attain to the fullness of seven. Six, then, symbolizes "incompleteness," "imperfection," and sometimes evil.

Eight, in Christian apocalypses, symbolizes Jesus Christ. For an explanation, see the comments on Revelation 13:18.

Twelve tends to represent the people of God - those who love him and serve him faithfully (i.e., Law-keeping Jews in Jewish apocalypses and faithful Christians in Christian apocalypses). The idea no doubt comes from the Old Testament, where the twelve tribes of Israel together form the covenant community of God.

Multiples of these numbers typically represent the "fullness" or complete number of the thing symbolized. For example, the 144,000 (12 12 1000) in Revelation 7 represent the full number of the people of God. Other symbolic numbers used in Revelation will be explained at appropriate points in the commentary.

e. Pseudonymity

Rather than writing in their own names, apocalyptists typically employ pseudonyms, or false names. They attribute their works to an ancient hero such as Abraham, Jacob, or Ezra. What is the reason for this practice? Various theories have been put forward.

Many apocalypses (including Revelation) were composed in times of persecution. Some suggest that the pseudonyms and mysterious symbols are aimed at hiding the author's identity and message from hostile political authorities. One may question how successful this tactic would have been. Could any of John's neighbors read his description of the Whore of Babylon (Revelation 17) without seeing in it a criticism of Rome?

Apocalyptic literature became popular during the first and second centuries B.C., as Jewish prophecy declined and the Old Testament canon was being finalized. At the same time, Greco-Roman society tended to devalue the present and glorify the past. All of these factors would have made it difficult for newer theologians to gain a hearing. Perhaps they attributed their works to respected ancient luminaries in order to deceive their readers and add authority to their message. They pretended to predict events leading up to their own time, and thereby added credibility to their real predictions concerning the readers' future. The difficulty with this theory is that it assumes a great deal of gullibility on the part of the readers. Would many people really believe that writings of Enoch, the seventh descendant of Adam (Gen 5:18-24), had suddenly appeared in the second century B.C.?

It seems more likely that pseudonymity was openly used as a literary device. In other words, the readers knew very well that the writer was not Jacob or Moses or Ezra. Attributing a book to one of these Jewish heroes was a way of saying: What you are about to read is an apocalypse, so read and understand it as such. The "pen name" was chosen according to the subject matter of the apocalypse. For example, Baruch was the secretary of the prophet Jeremiah, who interprets the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in the sixth century B.C. (Jer 32:12-16; 36; 43:1-6; 45:1-2). Similarly, the author of the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch writes of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70. He presents himself as a "second Baruch" helping his readers understand why God again allowed the holy city to fall.

Whereas most apocalypses are pseudonymous, Revelation proves the exception to the rule. As we will see below (Part IV), John writes in his own name.

2. Common Features of Apocalyptic Theology

In addition to sharing a distinctive form of writing, Jewish and Christian apocalyptists tend to hold a number of common convictions concerning God and his ways with the world. This distinctive apocalyptic theology, or worldview, is rooted in the Old Testament. At the risk of oversimplifying a complex matter, we will trace the historical development of the apocalyptic worldview through three primary, overlapping stages: the Old Testament period, the intertestamental period, and the New Testament period.

a. Roots of Apocalyptic Theology in the Old Testament Period

(1) Genesis 1-5. Several key elements of apocalyptic theology appear in the opening chapters of Genesis, the foundational book of the Old Testament. First, God exists and he is the creator of all that is, including human beings. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen 1:1). God made humankind, both male and female, in his own image and his own likeness (Gen 1:26-27).

Second, by virtue of the fact that he is creator, God is also the owner, the king, the sovereign Lord over all creation. This truth is implicit in Genesis but is made explicit elsewhere in the Old Testament. For example, the Psalms proclaim that

The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters (Ps 24:1-2).

God is the King of all the earth (Ps 47:7).

As creator and king, God alone has the right to decide what his world should be - what he considers "good" in his creation and what he considers "evil."

Third, as sovereign Lord, God created the world good. "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good" (Gen 1:31) - that is, pleasing to God, perfectly conforming to his will.

Fourth, Genesis does not state that human beings are immortal by nature. Instead, the first humans, Adam and Eve, were created mortal and their lives were sustained only by God's provision. God placed the tree of life in the center of the garden so that, by eating its fruit, the man and the woman could potentially live forever (Gen 2:9; 3:22). Life is the gift of God and is sustained by God alone at his good pleasure.

Fifth, God's creatures have rebelled against his sovereign will, thus introducing "sin" or "evil" into God's "good" creation. According to Genesis 2:16-17, God issued one command to Adam:

You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.

Chapter 3 describes how one of God's creatures, the serpent (discussed below), tempted Eve to sin - that is, to "be like God" by deciding good and evil for herself (Gen 3:5). (Note that the Book of Genesis implies a rebellion against God on the part of the serpent that preceded the rebellion of Adam and Eve.) As a result, she and Adam disobeyed God, ate the forbidden fruit, and thus introduced sin into the human race (Gen 3:6).

Sixth, God has responded to the sin of his creatures by pronouncing several terrible judgments: He cursed the serpent and promised that the woman's "offspring" would crush its head and thereby destroy it (Gen 3:14-15). He condemned the woman to pains in childbearing and domination by her husband (Gen 3:16). He cursed the ground so that it would resist Adam's efforts to cultivate it and would bear fruit only through painful toil (Gen 3:17-19). Finally, God kept the promise made in Genesis 2:17 by condemning Adam and Eve to death. Genesis 3:22-24 reads:

And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Separated from the tree of life, "nature" took its course: Adam and Eve - and their descendants after them - eventually died (see Gen 5:5-31).

Note that, within the framework of Genesis, death is the destruction of God's creation. Furthermore, it is God's penalty for sin, for the idolatrous effort to be one's own "god" by deciding good and evil for oneself. Human beings die as a result of their own sin (e.g., Adam and Eve themselves) and/or as a result of their ancestor's sin (Adam and Eve's descendants - including, for example, innocent babies who sometimes die not because they have rebelled against God on their own, but because they have been cut off from the tree of life due to the sin of their ancestors) and as a result of the serpent's sin (since the serpent played a role in the fall of Adam and Eve, which led to their death and that of their descendants). As the Apostle Paul would later phrase it, "the wages of sin is death" (Rom 6:23).

(2) Promised Salvation from Sin and Death. However, throughout the Old Testament, God, in his grace and mercy, declares that he will not allow sin and death to have the last word. For example, he vows that Adam and Eve's "offspring" will crush the serpent's head (Gen 3:14-15). He swears to the nomad Abraham that "all people on earth will be blessed through you" (Gen 12:3). He promises King David that, "when your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom . . . forever" (2 Sam 7:12-13). To the prophet Isaiah God reveals his future plans: "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind" (Isa 65:17).

b. Development of Jewish Apocalyptic Theology in the Intertestamental Period

(1) Rebellion in Heaven . In reading the Old Testament and attempting to discern the truths contained in it, Jewish apocalyptists draw the logical conclusion that the serpent of Genesis 3 must have been an angel who rebelled against God. After all, the Scripture says that, "in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen 1:1). The "heavens and earth" include everything that exists - both the natural, "earthly" realities and the supernatural, "heavenly" realities. Therefore the serpent must have been some sort of creature of God.

This talking "serpent" was certainly unlike other serpents; it apparently did not belong to the natural sphere. Therefore it must have been some sort of supernatural creature - a heavenly or angelic being.

Genesis states that " all that [God] had made" was "very good" (Gen 1:31), and yet the serpent reveals itself to be very evil by tempting humans to sin. Apparently, the "serpent" was an angel who had fallen away from God - a heavenly creature who had surrendered its original goodness and rebelled against the creator. Jewish apocalyptists conclude, then, that the "serpent" must have been a supernatural, angelic being (known to Christians as the "devil" or "Satan"), and that rebellion against God in the heavenly sphere must have preceded Adam and Eve's rebellion against God in the earthly sphere.

This type of interpretation of the Genesis story is found, for example, in 2 Enoch, a Jewish apocalypse dating to the late first century A.D.:

But [Satanail] from the order of the archangels deviated, together with the division [of angels] that was under his authority. He thought up the impossible idea, that he might place his throne higher than the clouds which are above the earth, and that he might become equal to my [i.e., God's] power.

And I hurled him out from the height, together with his angels [to the earthly sphere] . . . . And he will become a demon, because he fled from heaven; Sotona, because his name was Satanail. In this way he did become different from the angels. His nature did not change, [but] his thought did, since his consciousness of righteous and sinful things changed. And he became aware of his condemnation and of the sin which he sinned previously. And that is why he thought up the scheme against Adam. In such a form he entered paradise, and corrupted Eve (2 Enoch 29:4-5 and 31:4-6 [J]).

This passage from 2 Enoch also illustrates another important aspect of apocalyptic theology: While there was a rebellion against God in the heavenly sphere, this rebellion did not succeed. The rebels were put down and God maintained his sovereignty. Apocalyptic writers often express this conviction by speaking of God binding the devil and his angels in prison (e.g., 1 Enoch 10:4-6; cf. 18:12-19:1; 21:1-6; Test. Levi 18:12; Mark 3:26-27; 2 Pet 2:4; Jude 6) or casting them out of heaven onto the earth (as in the passage quoted above). Defeated on the supernatural plane, they continue their warfare on the natural plane by inciting human beings to join their fight against God.

(2) The Present Evil Age and the Kingdom of Satan . As noted above, Genesis 3 attributes pains in childbearing, painful toil, and human death to God's judgment against the sin of Adam and Eve. Jewish apocalyptists read the Scripture, consider the outcome of the Fall, and draw this conclusion: The sin of Adam and Eve caused the world to be afflicted not only with the judgments mentioned above, but with all manner of evils. To illustrate, 2 Baruch (ca. A.D. 100) maintains that

When [Adam] transgressed, untimely death came into being, mourning was mentioned, affliction was prepared, illness was created, labor accomplished, pride began to come into existence, the realm of death began to ask to be renewed with blood, the conception of children came about, the passion of the parents was produced, the loftiness of men was humiliated, and goodness vanished (2 Apoc. Bar. 56 @ :6).

Realizing that the entire human race has been adversely affected by Adam's sin, the author of 4 Ezra (ca. A.D. 100) comes close to despair:

It would have been better if the earth had not produced Adam, or else, when it had produced him, had restrained him from sinning. . . . O Adam, what have you done? For though it was you who sinned, the fall was not yours alone, but ours also who are your descendants (4 Ezra 7:46[116], 48[118]).

Yet Adam does not shoulder the whole blame for warping God's creation. All creatures (both human and angelic) who choose evil over the good, who ally themselves with Satan against God, contribute toward the ruin of God's handiwork. Second Baruch declares:

. . . although Adam sinned first and has brought death upon all who were not in his own time, yet each of them who has been born from him has prepared for himself the coming torment [i.e., the coming judgment/punishment for sin]. . . . Adam is, therefore, not the cause [of "destruction," or "retribution"], except only for himself, but each of us has become our own Adam (2 Apoc. Bar. 54:15a, 19).

Jewish apocalyptists and other writers of their era refer to this world corrupted with evils, this world marred by death, this world fallen away from its original goodness, using a number of different terms. For example, they call it "the present evil age" - they claim that the "present age" is characterized by "evil." They describe this fallen world as the "kingdom of Satan" - that is, a world where Satan and his allies (both human and angelic) exercise a degree of "kingdom" or "kingship" or "rule," a degree of power and influence. Human beings have collaborated with Satan to transform God's good creation into the "present evil age," the "kingdom of Satan," a world twisted and ruined by evil and death.

(3) The Eschatological Age and the Kingdom of God . The Jewish apocalyptists are hardheaded realists who see more clearly than most the nature and pervasiveness of evil in the created order. Still, they do not despair, for they believe the Old Testament promises of redemption. Though extremely pessimistic about the ability of human beings to purge the world of evil, they are extremely optimistic that God will prove true to his word. They trust that God will someday break into history and radically transform the cosmos, that he will "create new heavens and a new earth" through his promised Redeemer. Then sickness and death will be no more. No more will the untamed forces of nature maim and destroy. God will wipe away all tears and restore broken relationships. He will put an end to sin and evil and demonic activity in the world. Death will give way to eternal life. Now evil is tolerated, but then God will suffer evil no more. Now we are living in the "present evil age," but then God will inaugurate a "new age" or "last age" or "eschatological age" (from the Greek term e[scato" [ eschatos ], which means "last"). Now we know only the perversion of creation, but then God will make a "new creation." Now the world is the "kingdom of Satan," but then he will transform it into the "kingdom of God."

(4) The Shift of the Ages. Through what sequence of events will this radical reconfiguration of all things come about? In general, the Jewish apocalyptists anticipate that the world will first undergo a time of terrible "distress" or "tribulation" as Satan and his allies make one last attempt to overcome God and his people. They liken this period of turmoil to the "woes" or "birth pains" that a woman endures in childbirth. In their minds, this time of suffering for God's people will be the "labor pains" preceding the "birth" of the "new creation."

Second, God will send the promised Savior and Redeemer, the Messiah and Christ, the Son of David and Son of Abraham.

Third, they predict that the "labor pains" and the coming of the Messiah will be followed by a great day (sometimes called the "day of the Lord") in which God will suddenly raise the dead (either all the dead or only the servants of God, depending on the writer) to new life.

Fourth, the Messiah will carry out God's final judgment against all his enemies. In other words, God, through his Messiah, will set all wrongs right and put an end to the evil that pollutes his creation. Satan, his angels, and humans allied with them will either be annihilated or forced to suffer an eternal punishment (depending on the writer).

The end result will be a "new age" or "new creation" in which every aspect will conform to God's good and perfect will - the "consummation" of the kingdom of God, or the coming of God's sovereign rule in its fullness.

Who will participate in this new world? Virtually all the Jewish apocalyptists agree that only righteous, covenant-keeping Jews who obey the Law of Moses (not Gentiles) will inherit a place in the consummated kingdom of God.

These sorts of expectations are characteristic features of Jewish apocalyptic theology - common elements of the apocalyptists' understanding of God and his dealings with the world. To illustrate, most are found in two passages from the book of Daniel, a Jewish apocalypse included in the Christian canon.

In Daniel 2, King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream in which he sees an enormous statue with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet made partly of iron and partly of baked clay. As the king watches, a rock "cut out, but not by human hands" (i.e., cut out by God) strikes the statue and shatters it to dust. Then the rock becomes a huge mountain that fills the whole earth (see Dan 2:31-35). In verses 36-45 Daniel interprets the vision, telling Nebuchadnezzar:

. . . You, O king, are the king of kings. . . . You are that head of gold.

After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron - for iron breaks and smashes everything - and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. . . .

In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.

Daniel predicts that a series of temporal, human kingdoms (represented by the statue) will be replaced (on the "day of the Lord" at the "final judgment") by the eternal kingdom of God (represented by the rock).

Other common elements of Jewish apocalyptic theology appear in Daniel 12:1-3:

At that time [the archangel] Michael, the great prince who protects your people [ = the Jews], will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then [ = the period of "labor pains"]. But at that time your people - everyone whose name is found written in the book - will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake [ = the resurrection]: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt [ = the division made between the righteous and unrighteous at the final judgment]. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness [ = obedience to the Mosaic Law], like the stars for ever and ever.

(5) Apocalyptic Transcendence, Dualism, and Pessimism. We have seen that the Jewish apocalyptists hold a transcendent worldview. They believe that beyond the visible, material, earthly, physical realities, there lie invisible, immaterial, heavenly, spiritual realities. Spiritual powers influence the material universe in significant ways. The apocalyptic worldview makes room for the supernatural.

Since some angels and some humans oppose God, apocalyptic theology also includes a strong element of dualism. In other words, there are two opposing powers in the world - the evil and the good. What we are witnessing in history is a struggle between the forces of good (God, his angels, his righteous servants) and the forces of evil (Satan, demonic powers, unrighteous persons who do not submit to the Lord). Apocalyptists do not believe in an absolute dualism, for the power of Satan and his allies is not equal to that of the creator and Lord of all. However, evil powers do exercise a degree of influence in the world because the sovereign God - for the time being - permits it. One of the reasons the righteous suffer is that they are being attacked and persecuted by the enemies of God, both human and demonic.

Most apocalypses come out of communities experiencing such persecution firsthand. Their prolonged struggle with evil has led them to a certain kind of pessimism. The Old Testament prophets look for God's good purposes to be worked out within the historical process - in the world as we know it. In contrast, Jewish apocalyptists do not expect the world to improve. They doubt that human beings will ever overcome evil to build a good, just, and godly society on their own.

(6) Apocalyptic Optimism, Determinism, and Triumph. Although they are pessimistic about humanity's ability to redeem a fallen world, the apocalyptists are optimistic that God will do just that. From the Old Testament, they know that God is good, just, powerful, and true. If he is good, then he will not allow evil to stand forever. If he is just, then he will punish the wicked and reward the righteous. If he is powerful, then he can do it; and if he can do it, then he will do it. But if this is so, then why do so many of God's faithful servants suffer hardship, poverty, and even violent death? If this is so, then why do so many of the wicked live prosperous lives and then die peacefully in bed? With remarkable faith, apocalyptic writers conclude that God will be true to himself and true to his promises. He will punish evildoers and vindicate his holy people - if not before death then after death, if not in this life then in another, if not in this world then in a new world created just for them. History has a goal predetermined by God: The Sovereign Lord will redeem his fallen creation, purging it from evil and bringing every detail into conformity with his good and perfect will. The Lord will indeed triumph; his kingdom will come.

c. Development of Christian Apocalyptic Theology in the New Testament Period

Against this background, we now turn our attention to the New Testament period. When the German theologian Ernst Käsemann identifies Jewish apocalyptic as "the mother of Christian theology," he is not far off the mark. When Jesus of Nazareth arrives on the scene, he confirms that much of the apocalyptists' interpretation of the Old Testament is correct. Influenced by Jesus and the first disciples taught by him, New Testament writers introduce many elements of Jewish apocalyptic theology into the Christian Bible. Some elements they adopt wholesale; others they modify or transform as their insight into God's purpose - enacted through Christ - surpasses that of their predecessors. Christian theology, then, is largely apocalyptic theology.

(1) Supernatural Forces of Evil . New Testament writers share the apocalyptists' belief in both the earthly and heavenly, the natural and supernatural spheres. Behind the evils plaguing this world - behind the deeply rooted systemic wickedness, behind the sophisticated lies that have for centuries held entire civilizations captive under false worldviews - lies an intelligence, a power beside and beyond that of mere human beings. As Paul says,

Our struggle is not against flesh and blood [i.e., human beings - creatures of the earthly, natural sphere], but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly [supernatural] realms (Eph 6:12).

(2) Adam and the Present Evil Age. New Testament writers also hold to the notion of the "kingdom of Satan" or "present evil age" - an era marred by sin and death that begins with the rebellion of Adam and ends with the consummation of God's kingdom. To illustrate, Paul maintains that

. . . sin entered the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, . . . many died by the trespass of the one man . . . . The judgment [of God] followed one sin and brought condemnation . . . . by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man . . . (Rom 5:12,15,16,17).

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed [at the resurrection]. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay [including death] and brought into the glorious freedom [from decay] of the children of God (Rom 8:19-21).

(3) The Kingdom of God and the Ministry of Jesus . Working from within this kind of apocalyptic worldview, New Testament writers show that Jesus - in his words and even more so in his deeds - claimed to be the promised Messiah, the one sent by God to annihilate the kingdom of Satan and inaugurate the kingdom of God. As 1 John 3:8 words it, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work."

That this was Jesus' purpose and mission is seen in every aspect of his ministry. For example, the coming of God's kingdom was the subject of Jesus' preaching, as shown by the summary of his message found in Mark 1:14-15:

After John [the Baptist] was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news [or "gospel"] of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

Note that the "gospel" message, according to Jesus, is the proclamation of the "good news" - the apocalyptic promise - that God will soon annihilate evil and transform the entire cosmos to conform to his will.

God's coming kingdom was also the focus of Jesus' teaching. For example, in teaching his disciples to pray, Jesus tells them:

This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt 6:9-10).

When Jesus calls on people to repent and "leave your life of sin" (John 8:11), he is urging them to turn away from evil - to renounce their alliance with Satan (whether conscious or unconscious) and conform their lives to the coming "kingdom" or "rule" or "Lordship" of God. When Jesus forgives sins as only God can (see, e.g., Luke 5:17-26), he shows that God - through his Messiah Jesus - is in the process of doing away with evil, in the process of wiping away the sin that has corrupted his creation for so long. When Jesus gathers disciples to himself and commands them to "love each other as I have loved you" (see, e.g., John 15:12), then he is beginning to form the community of the "eschatological age," when men and women from all nations will live together in peace forever under the beneficent kingship of God.

Jesus' miracles also proclaim the "good news" of God's emerging kingdom. They show that, in the person of Jesus the Christ, God has entered into his sinful, fallen, perverted creation in order to set things right - to reestablish his kingdom rule over it. For example, by healing the sick, Jesus shows that God is going to put an end to the pain and suffering and misery that have warped his good creation. This is why Jesus, in Luke 10:8-9, gives these instructions to his disciples when he sends them out with authority to preach and heal in his name:

When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, "The kingdom of God is near you" (italics added for emphasis here and throughout the commentary).

He says, when you heal the sick, you must not forget to tell them what it means - what it signifies. The healings are intended to show that the kingdom or lordship of God is near - that it is becoming a reality through the Messiah Jesus (here working through his disciples).

When Jesus exorcises demons, he shows that God is in the process of destroying the kingdom of Satan and establishing the kingdom of God. To illustrate, Luke 11:14-20 recounts how, on one occasion,

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. But some of them said, "By Beelzebub [another name for Satan], the prince of demons, he is driving out demons." Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God [i.e., by the power of God], then the kingdom of God has [already] come to you."

When Jesus calms the storm and walks on water (see Matt 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52; John 6:16-21), he shows that even the forces of nature - all God's creation - will be brought under his lordship so that they bend to his will and no longer hurt and destroy. When Jesus resuscitates the dead (e.g., Lazarus in John 11), he points forward to the day when all God's people will be raised up to eternal life in his consummated kingdom.

(4) The Kingdom of God and the Death of Jesus . What is the relationship between Jesus' death on the cross and the kingdom of God? During the Old Testament period, covenants - i.e., formal relationships between two parties - were established or sealed through animal sacrifices. To illustrate, Exodus 24:1-11 describes how God established a covenant with the people of Israel that was mediated by Moses (the so-called "Mosaic Covenant"). The Law of the Lord was read to the people, specifying the behavior that would be required of them in their new relationship with God. Israel then "responded with one voice, 'Everything the Lord has said we will do'" ( vv. 3,7). They agreed to enter into the type of covenantal relationship with God described by the Law. Next, animals were sacrificed and Moses sealed the covenant with blood: He "took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, 'This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you'" ( v. 8) - i.e., the sacrificial blood that seals or establishes the Mosaic Covenant. Finally, the elders of Israel, on behalf of the entire nation, ascended Mount Sinai, saw God, and ate and drank with him. They shared a "covenant meal" celebrating the new relationship with God Israel now enjoyed through the blood sacrifices.

During his last meal with his disciples - on the evening before his crucifixion - Jesus took simple bread and a cup of wine, and he used them to offer the most detailed explanation of his death in the Gospels:

When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfilllment in the kingdom of God."

After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."

In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" (Luke 22:14-20).

Jesus says, "This is my body given for you (uJpeÉr uJmw'n, hyper hymôn) . . . . my blood, which is poured out for you (hyper hymôn)." Although not readily apparent in English translation, this is sacrificial language from the Greek version of the Old Testament. Jesus is saying that his impending death will be a sacrifice. But what kind of sacrifice? The Lord tells them: "This cup is the new covenant in my blood." He uses language nearly identical to that employed in Exodus 24:8 ("This is the blood of the covenant") to identify his death precisely as the kind of sacrifice that establishes a covenant. What covenant? Not the Mosaic Covenant, but a "new covenant." What, then, is the significance of the ritual meal of bread and wine - the "Eucharist" or "Lord's Supper" Jesus commands his disciples to observe "in remembrance of me"? It is the "covenant meal" celebrating the establishment of the "new covenant" through Jesus' sacrifice. Who participates in this "new covenant"? God, who sent Jesus to establish the covenant, and Jesus' disciples - those from "all nations" (see Matt 28:19), Jews and Gentiles alike , who accept God's lordship over their lives as exercised through his Messiah. In other words, those persons to whom the "covenant meal" is offered. Finally, when may Jesus' disciples participate in this "new covenant" relationship with God? The answer is: Both now and, more completely, in the future. The "new covenant" was established in the past by Jesus' sacrificial death. It is in place now, in the present , so that Jesus' disciples - who were once "God's enemies" - are now at "peace with God" and "reconciled to him through the death of his Son" (Rom 5:1,10). Yet disciples of Christ will experience this new relationship with God on an even deeper, more intimate level, in the future - when they are raised from the dead, when they "see him as he is" (1 John 3:2), when the new covenant "finds fulfilllment in the [consummated] kingdom of God."

Who participates in the Kingdom of God - the coming "new creation" in which every detail will conform to the will of God? All those who share in the "new covenant." And who participates in the "new covenant"? All those who choose to be disciples of Jesus. All those who conform to the will of God as he makes that will known through his Messiah. All those who embrace God's kingdom rule over their lives in Christ. In essence, Jesus offers "all nations" a place in the kingdom of God now in the form of the "new covenant" established by his sacrificial death. This truth is extremely important: Jesus' death on the cross forgives sins not merely in the sense that, through it, God pardons wrong deeds. (The sinner receiving such a pardon would still be trapped in a fallen world and doomed to death.) Jesus' death forgives sins in the sense that it provides an escape from the "present evil age" - and entrance into the emerging kingdom of God - in the form of a "new covenant" relationship with God. By his sacrificial death, Jesus shattered the kingdom of Satan, the powers of sin and death, and thus established the kingdom of God. The New Testament writers testify to this wonderful truth:

. . . the Lord Jesus Christ . . . gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father . . . (Gal 1:3-4).

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death (Heb 2:14-15).

[God] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col 1:13-14).

. . . our Savior, Christ Jesus, . . . has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Tim 1:10).

Since death came through a man [Adam], the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man [Jesus Christ] (1 Cor 15:21).

Jesus is the full realization of the Old Testament and apocalyptic hopes. He is the "son of Adam" who crushes the serpent's head for his disciples by dying to make a place for them in God's kingdom. He is the "Son of Abraham" who offers this blessing to "all people on earth." He is the "Son of David" who rules over an eternal Kingdom - not through military force, but by dying as a sacrifice for his people. He is the promised one who freely offers "new heavens and a new earth" to all who desire it - to everyone willing to live as his disciple, willing to accept the beneficent rule of God over his or her life.

(5) The Kingdom of God and the Resurrection of Jesus . Jesus died on the cross, and on the third day - much to the surprise of his disciples - God raised him from the dead. What is the meaning and significance of his resurrection? Many answers to that question are found in the New Testament, but we shall mention only four: First, the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead means that he is our contemporary, that he continues to live and work among us. His Spirit is continuously present with us today in accordance with the promise he gave to his first disciples: "Surely I am with you always, to the consummation of the age" (Matt 28:20).

Second, Jesus' return from the grave shows that life after death is possible. Furthermore, such life takes the form of resurrection, by which the biblical writers mean transformed, bodily existence in the eschatological age . Resurrection is a bodily form of existence in the sense that, like the risen Jesus, raised persons possess bodies (sw'ma, sôma). They are not ghosts or disembodied spirits. Like Jesus, they also retain their memories, their personalities, their identities - everything that made them who they were before death, everything that made them some body . (The Greek idea of the sôma includes both the "body" in the sense of the "physical frame" and the "body" in the sense of the "person.") Resurrection is a transformed kind of existence in the sense that, like Jesus, raised persons enjoy a better, higher, more glorious, more exalted, more lasting form of existence than they knew before death. Resurrection is existence in the eschatological age in the sense described below.

Third, the resurrection of Jesus marks the beginning of the general resurrection of the righteous anticipated by the apocalyptists. Thus Paul calls Christ "the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor 15:20) and "the firstborn from among the dead" (Col 1:18) - that is, the first of many to rise from death to eternal life. This is why Christ's resurrection was more than an anomaly, why it gives Christians sure hope for their own resurrection. Jesus' emergence from the tomb shows that the apocalyptists' hopes were not misplaced - that there is indeed such a thing as the resurrection, that it has begun, and that we should expect for many more to be raised in the future. When will this "general resurrection" take place? Jesus indicated that it would occur at his "Second Coming" or "Parousia" (from the Greek term parousiva for "coming," "arrival" or "appearing"), when he returns to carry out the final judgment and consummate the kingdom of God. Paul describes this event in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming [ parousia ] of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words (1 Thess 4:13-18).

From that time forward, "there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Rev 21:4).

Fourth, the resurrection of Jesus marks the beginning of the eschatological age and the kingdom of God. The Jewish apocalyptists had predicted that the resurrection of the dead would announce the coming of God's kingdom (see above). The resurrection of Jesus, "the firstborn from among the dead," showed his first disciples that the anticipated event had begun - that God was beginning to fulfilll his eschatological promises, that the kingdom of God had arrived. At the same time, the fact that sin and evil continued to mar the world, the fact that human beings continued to die, demonstrated to first century Christians that the kingdom of Satan had not yet entirely passed away. In light of these two undeniable realities (the continued presence of evil in the world and the eschatological event of Christ's resurrection), they concluded that God's intention must be to establish his kingdom more gradually than the Jewish apocalyptists had anticipated. In other words, the "present evil age" and the "eschatological age" would coexist - or "overlap" - for a time.

Day of the

Sin of Adam Lord

& Eve

PRESENT EVIL AGE

(Kingdom of Satan)

Eternal life for

"Labor pains" righteous Jews and Gentiles

Rebellion ("overlap" of the ages)

in heaven

ESCHATOLOGICAL AGE

(Kingdom of God)

Creation Messiah comes Messiah returns

Resurrection

Final Judgment

Fig. 2. The Shape of Christian Apocalyptic Theology

In the recent past, the kingdom of God had invaded the kingdom of Satan with the coming, the ministry, the death, and the resurrection of the Messiah. In the present (which becomes the period of "labor pains" in Christian theology - see below), God is allowing the two kingdoms, the two realities, to coexist. The "new covenant" is in place and Christians are embracing the kingdom of God over their lives; but death, the "last enemy," has not yet been completely "destroyed." In the future, however, Christ will return a second time to annihilate the kingdom of Satan and consummate the kingdom of God. In this way, Jesus' resurrection from the dead gave Christian theology its distinctive shape as compared to Jewish apocalyptic theology (compare Fig. 2 with Fig. 1).

Romans 13:11-14 shows that the Apostle Paul arrived at this understanding of God's actions in Christ. In this text, he compares the kingdom of Satan to the darkness or nighttime and the kingdom of God to the light or daytime:

And do this [i.e., live as kingdom people by obeying Christ's command to "love one another"], understanding the present time [oJ nu'n kairov" ( ho nyn kairos ), Paul's technical term for the "overlap" of the ages]. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber [i.e., act as if the daytime/kingdom of God has arrived and the nighttime/kingdom of Satan has ended], because our salvation [i.e., our resurrection to eternal life in the consummated kingdom of God] is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over [i.e., the kingdom of Satan has not entirely ended, but its days are numbered]; the day is almost here [i.e., the kingdom of God has not yet completely arrived, but it has "dawned"]. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime [i.e., as if God's kingdom rule had already fully come], not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

That the "overlap" of the ages was Jesus' own understanding of God's plan is shown by his masterful Parable of the Weeds:

Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven [ = the kingdom of God - the sovereignty God exercises from the heavenly sphere, rather than any human sovereignty exercised from the earthly sphere] is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'

"'An enemy did this,' he replied.

"The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'

"'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together [ = the "overlap" of the ages when the kingdom of Satan and kingdom of God coexist - see the interpretation of the parable given below] until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'"

Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."

He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man [i.e., Jesus, the Messiah, who inaugurates the kingdom of God by preaching the gospel and dying as the sacrifice that makes it possible for people to become disciples/participants in the "new covenant"/"sons of the kingdom"]. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age [i.e., the final judgment when a division is made between the wicked and the righteous, when the "present evil age" is ended and the "eschatological age" comes in its fullness], and the harvesters are angels.

"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. [Note that Jesus considers the field/world to be his kingdom. God has never surrendered his good creation to the evil one, but at the final judgment will root out and destroy his evil works.] They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth [i.e., eschatological condemnation for the wicked]. Then the righteous will shine like the sun [i.e., the radiant glory of the resurrection body] in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear" (Matt 13:24-30,36-43).

d. Major Differences between Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic Theology

Jewish apocalyptic is indeed "the mother of Christian theology." The first Christians interpret Jesus in apocalyptic terms, as the Lord himself taught them to do. However, while Jesus does fulfill apocalyptic expectations, he does not do it in the way most Jews expect. Consequently, their first-hand experience with God's Messiah leads the early Christians to recast apocalyptic theology in several significant ways (again, compare Fig. 1 with Fig. 2).

(1) Identity of the Messiah . Christian apocalyptic writers name Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah who destroys the kingdom of Satan and establishes the kingdom of God. Non-Christian Jewish apocalyptists do not, of course, make that identification.

(2) The Coming of God's Kingdom. From the point of view of Jewish apocalyptists, the coming of God's kingdom rule lies in the future, at the long-anticipated "Day of the Lord." In contrast, Jesus' first disciples see the kingdom as both a present and a future reality. They proclaim not that God has made promises that he will someday fulfill, but that he has made promises that he has already begun to fulfill in their own lifetime. The kingdom of God has begun to appear with the first coming of Jesus. With his Second Coming it will reach its sudden and swift consummation. In other words, for Jewish apocalyptists the kingdom of God comes suddenly in the future. For Christian apocalyptists it comes more gradually, in two stages.

Scholars sometimes refer to this idea as "the already, but not yet" of Christian theology. The kingdom of God has already broken into history with the coming of Jesus, but it has not yet come in its fullness. Another way of saying this is that Christian theology contains a strong element of "realized eschatology." This is the belief that many of the eschatological events (e.g., the "labor pains," the coming of the Messiah, the resurrection, the coming of God's kingdom) are already, to some extent, being "realized" or experienced in the present.

(3) The "Labor Pains." Jewish apocalyptists view the period immediately preceding the consummation of God's kingdom as the "labor pains" - a time of intense suffering and persecution for God's people. Christian writers agree that the "labor pains" precede the consummation. However, they differ from their predecessors by identifying the "labor pains" with the period between Christ's first and second comings - the "overlap" of the ages.

(4) Participants in God's Kingdom . Both Jewish and Christian apocalyptists agree that resurrection to eternal life in the consummated kingdom of God is for the "righteous" - that is, for covenant-keepers. They disagree regarding which covenant leads to this salvation. Jewish apocalyptists reserve resurrection to life for persons who participate in the Mosaic covenant and obey the Mosaic Law. In most cases, this limits salvation to Jews, since the Mosaic Law was given to the Jewish people. Christian apocalyptists believe that salvation comes to those who share in the new covenant established by Christ's sacrificial death. This new covenant is based not on Jewish descent, but on "faith" or commitment to God/Christ as Lord. It therefore opens the way for both Jews and Gentiles to enter the rule of God.

(5) Expectation and Fulfillment. The gap between Jewish expectation and the actual fulfilllment of God's promises proved a stumbling block to many Jews of the first century. Luke shows that even John the Baptist was bewildered by the way in which Jesus carried out his messianic mission:

John's disciples told him about all these things [Jesus was doing]. Calling two of them, he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"

When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?'"

At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. [As we have seen, all these activities are manifestations of the end of Satan's rule and the coming of God's rule through Jesus the Messiah.] Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me" (Luke 7:18-23//Matt 11:2-6).

In other words, blessed is the one who does not miss the coming of the Messiah and God's kingdom because Jesus does not fulfill the apocalyptic prophecies in the way that most Jews expect.

The Revelation of John is an expression of Christian apocalyptic theology in the apocalyptic form. For this reason, its message goes far beyond that of non-Christian apocalypses. Christian theology is rooted in Jewish apocalyptic theology, but Jesus Christ transforms apocalyptic expectation in significant ways.

IV. AUTHOR, DATE, PLACE OF WRITING,

OCCASION, AND FIRST READERS

Before examining the message of Revelation, we must first address several important introductory questions concerning this book: Who is the author? When was the book written? Where was the author when he wrote the book? To whom was Revelation written? What occasion or situation does the author address? In seeking answers to these questions, we will examine both internal evidence (i.e., answers found within Revelation itself) and external evidence (i.e., clues to the origin of Revelation from outside the book).

A. INTERNAL EVIDENCE

In the first chapter of Revelation, the author provides us with important information concerning himself and his intended readers:

John,

To the seven churches in the province of Asia: (Rev 1:4)

I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea" (Rev 1:9-11).

1. First Readers

The author identifies his audience as "the seven churches in the province of Asia" - specifically the Christian congregations in the cities of "Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea." The Roman "province of Asia" made up the western third of Asia Minor (modern Turkey), with Ephesus serving as the provincial capital. The churches here had historical ties to the Apostle Paul, who established several congregations in this region during the late 40s and early 50s. For two or three years, Paul used Ephesus as his base of operations for training leaders and evangelizing the whole province (see Acts 19:8-10). John's "seven churches" may refer to seven literal churches. However, since the number "seven" tends to symbolize "completeness" in apocalyptic literature, these churches probably represent the whole of the Christian community in Asia.

The Asian churches were mixed bodies of Gentile and Jewish believers, reflecting the ethnic diversity of the province. By the late first century, about one million Jews made their homes in Asia Minor where they established more than fifty synagogues. Some had migrated to Asia from Palestine after the Jewish revolt against Rome in A.D. 66-73. Jewish Christians from Palestine would have been familiar with apocalyptic, for many apocalypses were produced in Palestine during this period.

2. Author

The author's name is "John." He calls himself a "brother" - that is, a Christian. He functions as a prophet or spokesman for God.

Revelation contains several indications that the author was a Palestinian Jew: First, the name "John" (=Iwavnnh", Iôannçs), a Greek form of the Hebrew "Johanan" (meaning "the LORD is gracious"), was common among first century Jews. Second, the structure and phrasing of Revelation suggest that the author thought in Hebrew (the original language of the Jewish Scriptures) and/or Aramaic (the closely related language spoken by ethnic Jews in Palestine). He spoke Greek only as a second language. Third, through over one hundred allusions to the Scriptures, the author demonstrates extensive knowledge of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, as well as the Greek. Fourth, John writes in the apocalyptic genre, which was most popular in Jewish circles in Palestine. Finally, symbols such as Armageddon (Rev 16:16), the new Jerusalem (21:2), and the temple (11:1-2) are based on actual places located in Palestine (although such knowledge could have been drawn not from firsthand exposure but from the Old Testament). It may be, then, that the author of Revelation was one of the Jewish Christians who moved to Asia from Palestine due to the war with Rome. Who this "John" was cannot be determined from the book of Revelation in itself.

3. Occasion and Place of Writing

John identifies with his readers by describing himself as their "companion in suffering . . . and patient endurance." John himself has been exiled to the island of Patmos, just off the western coast of Asia, "because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus." Other portions of Revelation (particularly the letters to the seven churches in chs. 2-3) show that at least some of John's readers are also being persecuted for their faith. To Ephesus and Smyrna the Lord writes:

You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary (Rev 2:3).

I know your afflictions and your poverty - yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life (Rev 2:9-10).

Christ mentions past afflictions, hardships, poverty, and slanders from Jews. When he speaks of "what you are about to suffer," he anticipates still more difficulties to come - persecution, imprisonment, and perhaps even death.

The Lord addresses these words to the church in Pergamum:

I know where you live - where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city - where Satan lives (Rev 2:13).

At the time when John writes Revelation, Christians in Asia are under intense pressure to renounce their faith in Christ. At least one martyrdom (Antipas) has already occurred.

Philadelphia and Laodicea receive these assurances:

I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first (Rev 2:19).

I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars - I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth (Rev 3:8-10).

Again we see pressure to deny Christ, troubles with Jews, and an expectation of further hardships to come ("the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world").

The vision of the fifth seal describes multiple Christian martyrs, whose numbers will continue to grow:

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed (Rev 6:9-11).

John later sees a woman symbolizing Rome, with a golden cup, "drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus" (Rev 17:6). She has not merely sipped from her gruesome cup; she has gorged herself with the blood of God's people to the point of intoxication. Numerous Christians are being murdered for their loyalty to Christ.

4. Summary

Internal evidence suggests that Revelation was written by a Jewish Christian from Palestine named "John." John received the Revelation on the island of Patmos, where he had been banished for witnessing to Christ. The book addresses all the churches in the Roman province of Asia. Together with John, these believers are being harassed and persecuted because of their commitment to Christ - some to the point of death. At the time of writing, the author expects the suffering to continue and the number of martyrs to grow.

B. EXTERNAL EVIDENCE

Revelation itself gives us a good start in discovering the origins of this book. Yet important questions remain unanswered: When was Revelation written? Precisely why were the first readers being persecuted and killed? Who is John? For insights into these issues, we turn to "external evidence" from outside the New Testament.

1. Author

Regarding the identity of "John," three possibilities seem most likely: First, the author could be John the Apostle, brother of James and son of Zebedee, one of the original Twelve disciples of Jesus (see Matt 10:2). Second, he could be someone writing in the name of John the Apostle, in which case Revelation would be pseudonymous like so many other apocalypses. Third, the writer could be some other person named "John" writing in his own name.

a. "John" a Pseudonym?

Of these three possibilities, we may eliminate the second immediately. Revelation is certainly not pseudonymous - not because such a practice would be unthinkable in a Christian apocalypse, but because the evidence makes this theory untenable. The author of Revelation never gives any indication that he is an Apostle. He simply calls himself a "servant" of God (21:1) and "your brother" (21:9). He recounts no stories or sayings from the ministry of Jesus, nor does he give any other indication that he had known Jesus during his earthly ministry. Many scholars (this writer not included) think that the author actually distinguishes himself from the Apostles in Revelation 21:14: "The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" - that is, the past founders of the people of God.

If the author of Revelation is someone other than John the Apostle, then this easily explains why he does not identify himself as the Apostle. If the author actually is John the Apostle, then we could attribute his silence to modesty. (The author of the Gospel and letters attributed to John displays similar modesty, being more interested in telling others about Jesus than in telling them about himself.) However, if what we have in Revelation is someone who wants to present himself as John the Apostle, then he fails miserably by never clearly identifying himself as that hero of the faith. The theory of pseudonymity seems quite implausible in the case of Revelation.

b. Evidence from the Early Christian Fathers

We are left, then, with two possibilities: Is the author of Revelation John the Apostle, or is he some other "John" entirely? Perhaps the Early Christian Fathers can help us with this question. As leaders of the Church in the postapostolic period, they were certainly closer to John in time and space than we are. What do they tell us regarding the origin of Revelation?

(1) Timeline. Before we put the Fathers on the "witness stand," we should acquaint ourselves with the time period in question. Revelation - like all New Testament books - was written during the first century A.D. Thirteen Roman emperors reigned during that century, as outlined below:

Augustus (30 B.C.-A.D 14) was emperor at the time of Jesus' birth (which took place in 4-6 B.C. - see Luke 2:1) and also during his boyhood.

Tiberius (A.D. 14-37) ruled throughout the period of Jesus' adulthood, his public ministry (see Luke 3:1), and his death and resurrection (which occurred in A.D. 33).

Caligula, Claudius (mentioned in Acts 11:28

Caligula (37-41) and 18:2), and Nero reigned during the period when the Apostle Paul carried out

Claudius (41-54) his mission to the Gentiles and Christianity spread across the Mediterranean world.

Nero (54-68) According to the Church Fathers, both Peter and Paul died under a persecution of Christians sparked by Nero.

Galba, Otho, and Vitellius (68-69) held power only briefly as the Empire suffered through a period of murder, intrigue, and civil war.

Vespasian (69-79) was the Roman general charged with putting down the Jewish revolt that began in A.D. 66. When his forces defeated Vitellius and made him emperor, Vespasian left the siege of Jerusalem to return to Rome.

Titus (79-81), the son of Vespasian, took over his father's command and destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70. He later succeeded his father as emperor.

Domitian (81-96) According to the Church Fathers, Domitian (another son of Vespasian), Nerva, and Trajan

Nerva (96-98) played a role in the events surrounding the writing of Revelation (see below).

Trajan (98-117)

Against this background, what do the Church Fathers tell us about "John" and the writing of Revelation? Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Eusebius prove particularly helpful to our inquiry.

(2) The Testimony of Justin Martyr. Our earliest evidence that Revelation was written by John the Apostle comes from Justin Martyr, a teacher of the church at Rome in the mid-second century. In his Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, Justin recalls:

. . . a man among us [Christians] named John, one of Christ's Apostles, received a revelation and foretold that the followers of Christ would dwell in Jerusalem for a thousand years, and that afterwards the universal and, in short, everlasting resurrection and judgment would take place. (Justin refers to John's vision in Rev 20:4-22:5.)

As we will see, some of Justin's fellow believers agree that the Apostle wrote Revelation, while others have their doubts.

(3) The Testimony of Irenaeus. During the late second century, Irenaeus served as bishop of Lyons in what is now France. In Against Heresies (ca. 180), a refutation of Gnosticism, he defends the apostolic origin of the Christian gospel. In the process, he provides details concerning the later life of John the Apostle.

For we learned the plan of our salvation from no others than from those through whom the gospel came to us. They first preached it abroad, and then later by the will of God handed it down to us in Writings, to be the foundation and pillar of our faith. For it is not right to say that they preached before they had come to perfect knowledge, as some [Gnostics] dare to say, boasting that they are the correctors of the apostles. For after our Lord had risen from the dead, and they were enclothed with the power from on high when the Holy Spirit came upon them, they were filled with all things and had perfect knowledge. They went out to the ends of the earth, preaching the good things that come to us from God, and proclaiming peace from heaven to men, all and each of them equally being in possession of the gospel of God. So Matthew among the Hebrews issued a Writing of the gospel in their own tongue, while Peter and Paul were preaching the gospel at Rome, and founding the Church. After their decease Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, also handed down to us in writing what Peter had preached. Then Luke, the follower of Paul, recorded in a book the gospel as it was preached by him. Finally John, the disciple of the Lord, who had also lain on his breast, published the Gospel, while he was residing at Ephesus in Asia. All of these handed down to us that there is one God, maker of heaven and earth, proclaimed by the Law and the Prophets, and one Christ the Son of God. If anyone does not agree with them he despises the companions of the Lord, he despises Christ the Lord himself, he even despises the Father, and he is self-condemned, resisting and refusing his own salvation, as all the heretics do.

Note that, according to Irenaeus, the Fourth Gospel was written by the Apostle John (whom he identifies with the "disciple whom Jesus loved," who reclined next to the Lord at the "Last Supper" - see John 13:23). The bishop also identifies John's home at the time of the writing as Ephesus in the Roman province of Asia.

Elsewhere in Against Heresies , Irenaeus writes:

The church in Ephesus also, which was founded by Paul, and where John survived until the time of Trajan, is a true witness of the tradition of the apostles.

Here the writer again locates John at Ephesus. Furthermore, he dates John's death to the reign of Trajan (A.D. 98-117). If John was as young as fifteen when called to be Jesus' disciple in about A.D. 30, then the Apostle would have been eighty-three years old when Trajan's reign began in A.D. 98. The Apostle John could have been in his nineties - or even one hundred years old - when he died (hence the rumors that he would not die mentioned in John 21).

(4) The Testimony of Eusebius, Origen, and Papias. Eusebius was bishop of Caesarea in Palestine and a confidant of Constantine, the first Christian emperor of Rome. After Constantine legalized Christianity, Eusebius wrote a History of the Church from its origins with Jesus and the Apostles to his own time in A.D. 325. In constructing this history, he used a number of sources, including the writings of Origen (Christian teacher in Caesarea active during the first half of the third century) and Papias (a bishop from Phyrgia who lived in the early second century). In several passages, Eusebius discusses the authorship of Revelation.

Meanwhile the holy apostles and disciples of our Saviour were scattered over the whole world. Thomas, tradition tells us, was chosen for Parthia, Andrew for Scythia, John for Asia, where he remained till his death at Ephesus. Peter seems to have preached in Pontus, Galatia and Bithynia, Cappadocia and Asia, to the Jews of the Dispersion. Finally, he came to Rome where he was crucified, head downwards at his own request. What need be said of Paul, who from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum preached in all its fulness the gospel of Christ, and later was martyred in Rome under Nero? This is exactly what Origen tells us in Volume III of his Commentary on Genesis.

Note that Peter and Paul were martyred at Rome during the reign of Nero, who persecuted Christians there. Furthermore, Eusebius - like Irenaeus - places John's death at Ephesus.

Elsewhere Eusebius describes a later persecution carried out against Christians by another emperor after Nero:

Many were victims of Domitian's appalling cruelty. At Rome great numbers of men distinguished by birth and attainments were executed without a fair trial, and countless other eminent men were for no reason at all banished from the country and their property confiscated. Finally, he showed himself the successor of Nero in enmity and hostility to God. He was, in fact, the second to organize persecution against us, though his father Vespasian had had no mischievous designs against us.

There is ample evidence that at that time the apostle and evangelist John was still alive, and because of his testimony to the word of God was sentenced to confinement on the island of Patmos. Writing about the number of the name given to antichrist in what is called the Revelation of John, Irenaeus has this to say about John in Book V of his Heresies Answered :

Had there been any need for his name to be openly announced at the present time, it would have been stated by the one who saw the actual revelation. For it was seen not a long time back, but almost in my own lifetime, at the end of Domitian's reign. . . .

After fifteen years of Domitian's rule Nerva succeeded to the throne. By vote of the Roman senate Domitian's honours were removed, and those unjustly banished returned to their homes and had their property restored to them. This is noted by the chroniclers of the period. At that time too the apostle John, after his exile on the island, resumed residence at Ephesus, as early Christian tradition records.

According to Eusebius, Domitian carried out an organized persecution against Christians involving confiscation of property, banishment, and executions. He was the second Roman emperor to persecute Christians after Nero. During this time, John the Apostle was exiled to the island of Patmos. There he wrote the Revelation "at the end of Domitian's reign" (i.e., A.D. 95-96). After Domitian's death and during the reign of Nerva (A.D. 96-98), John was released from Patmos and allowed to return to his home at Ephesus.

The author of Revelation identifies himself as "John" (Rev 1:1,4, 9). Eusebius quotes Irenaeus, who suggests that this was probably ("ample evidence") the same John who wrote the Fourth Gospel - that is, John the Apostle. Irenaeus also says that the "antichrist" mentioned in Revelation refers to Domitian, and that his identity would have been clear to anyone living at that time.

If Eusebius' information is correct, then we have the author, date, occasion, and an important key to understanding the book of Revelation here in his History of the Church . We will see, however, that Eusebius and other Christians of his time were not certain that this tradition was entirely accurate.

The bishop continues:

Now let me indicate the unquestioned writings of this apostle [John]. Obviously his gospel, recognized as it is by all the churches in the world, must first be acknowledged. . . .

Of John's writings, besides the gospel, the first of the epistles has been accepted as unquestionably his by scholars both of the present and of a much earlier period: the other two are disputed. As to the Revelation, the views of most people to this day are evenly divided.

Note that, by A.D. 325 (when Eusebius writes his History ), the fourth Gospel and 1 John are generally considered compositions of John the Apostle. However, the authorship of 2-3 John and Revelation are still disputed. Many Christians doubt the "ample evidence" given by Irenaeus and the other Church Fathers.

Eusebius therefore suggests an alternative theory:

Papias has left us five volumes entitled The Sayings of the Lord Explained . These are mentioned by Irenaeus as the only works from his pen:

To these things Papias, who had listened to John and was later a companion of Polycarp, and who lived at a very early date, bears written testimony in the fourth of his books; he composed five.

That is what Irenaeus says; but Papias himself in the preface of his work makes it clear that he was never a hearer or eyewitness of the holy apostles, and tells us that he learnt the essentials of the Faith from their former pupils:

I shall not hesitate to furnish you, along with the interpretations, with all that in days gone by I carefully learnt from the presbyters and have carefully recalled, for I can guarantee its truth. Unlike most people, I felt at home not with those who had a great deal to say, but with those who taught the truth; not with those who appeal to commandments from other sources but with those who appeal to the commandments given by the Lord to faith and coming to us from truth itself. And whenever anyone came who had been a follower of the presbyters, I inquired into the words of the presbyters, what Andrew or Peter had said, or Philip or Thomas or James or John or Matthew, or any other disciple of the Lord, and what Aristion [the reputed author of the present ending of the Second Gospel - i.e., Mark 16:9-20] and the presbyter John, disciples of the Lord, were still saying. For I did not imagine that things out of books would help me as much as the utterances of a living and abiding voice.

Here it should be observed that he twice includes the name of John. The first John he puts in the same list as Peter, James, Matthew, and the rest of the apostles, obviously with the evangelist in mind; the second, with a changed form of expression, he places in a second group outside the number of the apostles, giving precedence to Aristion and clearly calling John a presbyter. He thus confirms the truth of the story that two men in Asia had the same name, and that there were two tombs in Ephesus, each of which is still called John's. This is highly significant, for it is likely that the second - if we cannot accept the first - saw the Revelation that bears the name of John. Papias, whom we are now discussing, owns that he learnt the words of the apostles from their former followers, but says that he listened to Aristion and the presbyter John with his own ears. Certainly he often mentions them by name, and reproduces their teachings in his writings.

Eusebius raises the possibility that there were two Christian leaders, living in Ephesus, who shared the name "John" - namely, John the Apostle and John the Presbyter. He suggests that perhaps John the Presbyter is the "John" who was exiled to Patmos and who wrote the Revelation.

c. Conclusions

We possess significant external evidence from the Early Christian Fathers that John the Apostle wrote Revelation. Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen, Papias, and others, together suggest that, later in life, the Apostle moved from Palestine to Ephesus in the Roman province of Asia. There he wrote the fourth Gospel and three New Testament epistles (1-3 John). During the persecution carried out by Domitian, he was exiled to the island of Patmos, where he received the Revelation. After Domitian's death, during the reign of Nerva, John returned to Ephesus. He died during the reign of Trajan after living an unusually long life. The external evidence meshes well with internal evidence suggesting that the author was a Palestinian Jew, exiled to Patmos, writing to Christians in Asia during a time of severe persecution. That John the Apostle wrote Revelation has been the traditional view of the church for centuries.

However, we have seen that - even in ancient times - there were many Christians who doubted this conclusion. As late as A.D. 325, when Eusebius wrote his History of the Church , opinions regarding the apostolic origin of Revelation were "evenly divided." As far back as A.D. 250, Dionysius of Alexandria questioned whether the same person who composed the simple yet profound language of the fourth Gospel and Johannine Epistles could have written the complicated prose of Revelation. (Of course, some of the differences must be attributed to the radically different genre of an apocalypse.) The controversy over whether or not Revelation should be included in the Christian canon was not finally settled until the Councils of Hippo (A.D. 393) and Carthage (A.D. 397).

Did early Church Fathers, such as Justin and Irenaeus, attribute the Revelation to John because they had solid, reliable information that the Apostle did indeed write the book? Or were they making an intelligent (but not necessarily correct) guess based on what evidence they had? For example, did they say that the Apostle John moved to Asia because they knew that he did? Or did they assume that the "John" who wrote Revelation was the Apostle, take note that this "John" was in Asia, and therefore assume that John the Apostle moved to Asia?

The fact that the authorship of Revelation was still heavily debated in Eusebius's time indicates that the early Church lacked solid proof one way or the other. For this reason, we must acknowledge the very real possibility that Revelation was written by someone other than John the Apostle - perhaps by John the Presbyter. We possess very good evidence that Revelation was written by John the Apostle, but not conclusive evidence.

2. Date

According to Irenaeus (see above), John wrote Revelation at the end of Domitian's reign - that is, about A.D. 95 or 96. This date is almost certainly accurate for the reasons given below.

We have already seen that Revelation was written at a time when Christians were beginning to be persecuted and killed by Roman authorities in Asia. The author expected the harassment and killings to escalate. We have also seen that, according to the Church Fathers, second century Christians possessed an historical recollection of two great persecutions during the first century. The earliest occurred during the reign of Nero in A.D. 64 or 65. At that time there was a great fire in Rome. Rumor had it that Nero wanted to build some new buildings, so he had the fire started in order to burn down a lower class part of town to make room for new construction. The fire burned out of control and destroyed a large portion of the city. Nero first tried to use the Jews as scapegoats. When that tactic failed, he blamed the Christians. Large numbers were executed with tortures that sickened even the Romans. Tacitus, a Roman historian writing about fifty years later, describes that terrible time:

But neither human help, nor imperial munificence, nor all the modes of placating Heaven, could stifle scandal or dispel the belief that the fire had taken place by order [of Nero]. Therefore, to scotch the rumor, Nero substituted as culprits, and punished with the utmost refinements of cruelty, a class of men, loathed for their vices, whom the crowd styled Christians. Christus, the founder of the name, had undergone the death penalty in the reign of Tiberius, by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate, and the pernicious superstition was checked for a moment, only to break out once more, not merely in Judaea, the home of the disease, but in the capital itself, where all things horrible or shameful in the world collect and find a vogue. First, then, the confessed members of the sect were arrested; next, on their disclosures, vast numbers were convicted, not so much on the count of arson as for hatred of the human race. And derision accompanied their end: they were covered with wild beasts' skins and torn to death by dogs; or they were fastened on crosses, and, when daylight failed were burned to serve as lamps by night. Nero had offered his Gardens for the spectacle, and gave an exhibition in his Circus, mixing with the crowd in the habit of a charioteer, or mounted on his car[riage]. Hence, in spite of a guilt which had earned the most exemplary punishment, there arose a sentiment of pity, due to the impression that they were being sacrificed not for the welfare of the state but to the ferocity of a single man.

Christians remembered Nero as a bloodthirsty "beast" from this time forward.

The second systematic persecution of Christians occurred late in the reign of Domitian, in A.D. 95-96. Roman historians leave no clear record of Domitian himself ever ordering such a persecution. However, church leaders such as Irenaeus and Eusebius testify to at least a localized persecution, in the province of Asia, carried out in Domitian's name (see above). The question, then, is which persecution prompted the writing of Revelation?

Revelation was probably written during the persecution of Domitian, rather than during the persecution of Nero, for the following reasons: First, John (like the authors of 1 Peter, 4 Ezra, and 2 Baruch) uses "Babylon" as a symbol for Rome. He views Rome as a second "Babylon" because, just as Babylon had destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 587 B.C., so did Rome destroy Jerusalem and its temple in A.D. 70. At the time of Nero's reign (A.D. 54-68) the temple was still standing, so Rome had not yet become "Babylon." However, by Domitian's rule (A.D. 81-96), this potent symbol had become available to John.

Second, Revelation contains many allusions to Roman emperor worship (discussed below in Part 3). As we shall see, such worship was much more prevalent during the reign of Domitian than it was during the reign of Nero.

Third, Revelation frequently portrays Roman political authorities as Nero redivivus ("Nero revivified" or "Nero come back to life") because, like Nero before them, they persecute Christ's church. If he speaks of "Nero come back to life," then John must be writing after Nero's death rather than during the persecution he instigated. Nero redivivus imagery, then, is a symbolic way of referring to Domitian and his deadly agents. (For a fuller explanation of the Nero redivivus idea in Revelation, see the comments on 13:3.)

Finally, the Church Fathers say that John wrote Revelation late in the reign of Domitian (see above), which dates John's Apocalypse to A.D. 95-96.

3. Occasion: Persecution Related to

Emperor Worship in Asia Minor

Domitian's persecution of the church was partly due to the Christians' refusal to engage in emperor worship. What were the issues at stake in this practice, and how did believers respond to it?

a. Historical Background

Although worshiping kings as deities had a long history in the east, the practice did not enter the western world until the time of Alexander the Great (late fourth century B.C.). As the young ruler won victory after victory over Babylonia, Persia, and other eastern lands, the conquered peoples began to proclaim him a god. Alexander encouraged such worship because he thought it would help to unify the diverse peoples making up his empire.

Following his assassination on March 15, 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was declared a god by the Roman Senate. Afterwards it became customary to honor dead emperors in this way. On his deathbed Vespasian announced sarcastically, "I am already becoming a god!"

Tiberius and Claudius discouraged worship of living emperors. However, Nero, Vespasian, and Titus tolerated the practice for its political benefits. Caligula, who suffered from mental illness, was the first emperor who actually believed himself divine.

Domitian insisted on being worshiped as a god during his lifetime, which scandalized his biographer Suetonius:

When [Domitian] became emperor, he did not hesitate to boast in the senate that he had conferred their power on both his father (Vespasian) and his brother (Titus), and that they had but returned him his own; nor on taking back his wife after their divorce, that he had "recalled her to his divine couch." He delighted to hear the people in the amphitheatre shout on his feast day: "Good Fortune attend our Lord [ Dominus ] and Mistress.". . . With no less arrogance he began as follows in issuing a circular letter in the name of his procurators, "Our Master [ Dominus ] and our God [ Deus ] bids that this be done." And so the custom arose of henceforth addressing him in no other way even in writing or in conversation. He suffered no statues to be set up in his honour in the Capitol, except of gold and silver and of a fixed weight. He erected so many and such huge vaulted passage-ways and arches in the various regions of the city, adorned with chariots and triumphal emblems, that on one of them someone wrote in Greek: "It is enough."

During Domitian's reign, at least three of the seven cities to which John addressed the Revelation had temples dedicated to the worship of Caesar - namely, Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamum. Since 29 B.C., Pergamum (called "the place where Satan has his throne" in Rev 2:13) had been the official center of emperor worship in Asia.

b. Emperor Worship in Daily Life

By the late first century, emperor worship touched many aspects of Roman life, embracing the political, the economic, and the social. Civic events and legal transactions included pledges of allegiance to Caesar as "Lord" and "God" (i.e., dominus and deus in Latin, or kuvrio" ( kyrios ) and qeov" ( theos ) in Greek - the biblical titles Christians used for God the Creator and his Son Jesus Christ). As they entered the theater, sporting competitions, gladiatorial games, or public festivals, citizens tossed a pinch of incense on a small altar as a sacrifice to the "divine Caesar." When animals were slaughtered to provide meat for the marketplace, a small portion was set aside as a sacrifice for the gods. Collegia (private men's clubs) and trade guilds (similar clubs made up of people who practiced the same vocation) held banquets honoring the emperor and their patron gods as silent guests.

Such practices were not necessarily taken seriously as major religious events. Rather, they were expressions of patriotism, national unity, and gratitude for the benevolent rule of the Roman emperor. They were the equivalent of saluting the flag or removing one's hat at the playing of the national anthem. However, refusal to participate called into question one's loyalty to the emperor, and this could lead to the most severe of consequences.

c. Exemptions for Jews and Christians

The only groups really troubled by such practices were Jews and Christians, who were monotheists believing in one God alone. To them, honoring Caesar (a mere man) as "Lord and God" was idolatry. To avoid this sin, Jews of the first century B.C. worked out an agreement that convinced the Romans of their loyalty to the empire: They agreed to pray for the emperor, but not to him. In the temple at Jerusalem they offered sacrifices for the benefit of Caesar, but not to Caesar. This arrangement satisfied the Romans that the Jews were not dangerous rebels, and it was preferable to fighting a war against irrational religious zealots. So Jews were exempted from worship of the Roman gods - including the emperor - and permitted to practice their own religion. Titus instituted a two-drachma tax on each Jew for continuing this special privilege.

At first, the Romans viewed Christians as simply another variety of Jew - messianic Jews. Christians therefore enjoyed the same exemption from emperor worship given to other Jews. Over time, several events altered their status: First, through the successful missionary activity of Paul and others, Christianity became a predominantly Gentile faith. Second, when Jews rebelled against Rome in A.D. 66-73, Christians began to distinguish themselves from that group in order to keep themselves out of trouble. Finally, after the war, Judaism closed ranks and expelled "heretics" such as Christians from the synagogues. Jews quit saying that the Christians were part of their community, which removed the churches' exemption from emperor worship.

d. Christian Responses to the Emperor Cult

How did Christians respond to this situation? Some favored acknowledging the emperor as "Lord," offering sacrifice to his image, and eating with the collegia as harmless expressions of patriotism. After all, they could hail Caesar as "god," giving him that title of honor, without really believing that he was a deity in the literal sense. Did not Jesus himself command us to "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" (Matt 22:21)? Did not our beloved Apostle Paul teach us to "Submit to the governing authorities" (Rom 13:1)? Should we give up our social life, invite financial ruin, and even risk death over a pinch of incense that means nothing?!

Others argued that confessing Caesar as "Lord and god," and offering sacrifice to the "divine Caesar," was rank idolatry. And did not Christ also say, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only" (Matt 4:10)? Did not Paul also say that "for us there is but one God ( theos ) . . . and there is but one Lord ( kyrios )"? John belonged to this latter camp that wanted nothing to do with worshiping the emperor or the other Roman gods. He has harsh words for compromisers in Revelation 2-3.

To avoid committing idolatry, Christians tended to withdraw from much of the social life of the city. Over time, they gained a reputation for being a rather strange and suspicious group, antisocial and lacking community spirit. Eventually the gossip mill started up, and vicious rumors spread:

These Christians are so unpatriotic! They refuse to honor the emperor! And what do they do in those secret meetings of theirs? You don't suppose they are plotting some sort of rebellion, do you? Hmmm . . . wasn't their own leader, Christos, crucified for claiming to be a king?

I heard that those "love feasts" of theirs are incestuous orgies. They say Christos taught them to love their "brothers" and "sisters"!

It's even worse! I heard them talking about eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the "Son." They are sacrificing babies and practicing cannibalism!

These "Christ people" are impious atheists! They say idols are not real and refuse to worship any of our gods.

As their neighbors turned against them, Christians became subject to social and economic discrimination, pressures and harassment, unofficial mob violence, and the plundering of their property. Later books of the New Testament mention these kinds of persecution (see, e.g., Heb 10:34; 13:3; 1 Pet 4:14-16; 5:9).

Tensions focused on Christians' refusal to worship the emperor, for this was not simply a religious infraction but apparent political subversion. Domitian, who had once said, "Not good is a number of rulers," prosecuted this crime without mercy. A possible reference to Christians being punished for such transgressions appears in Dio Cassius' Roman History :

. . . the same year (i.e., A.D. 95) Domitian slew, along with many others, Flavius Clemens the consul, although he was a cousin and had to wife Flavia Domitilla, who was also a relative of the emperor's. The charge brought against them both was that of atheism (i.e., refusal to worship the Roman gods - including the emperor?), a charge on which many others who drifted into Jewish ways (i.e., many Christians?) were condemned . Some of these were put to death, and the rest were at least deprived of their property. Domitilla was merely banished to [the island of] Pandateria.

Note that Dio describes events of the year 95, the very time period in which John wrote Revelation. Note also the kinds of penalties Domitian prescribed for "atheism" - namely, confiscation of property, banishment to an island (as John was exiled to Patmos), and death (as Antipas was killed in Pergamum).

There were political, social, and economic benefits to be gained by turning Christians over to the Roman authorities. For example, if there were two silversmiths in a city, and one was a Christian, then the other could eliminate his competitor by accusing the "disloyal" Christian. Jews could purge their synagogues of "heretics" by reporting that Christians were not true Jews and therefore not entitled to exemption from emperor worship. One's social or political rivals could be removed by posting an anonymous notice exposing them as Christians. The emperor cult handed a deadly weapon to anyone with a grudge or petty jealousy against any Christian.

e. The Correspondence of Pliny and Trajan

Unfortunately, we have no historical documents from Domitian's reign detailing governmental policy toward Christians in Asia. However, we do possess a series of official letters exchanged by Pliny Secundus, the Roman governor of Bithynia, and the Emperor Trajan. Bithynia was just north of Asia, and the letters were written only fifteen or sixteen years after Revelation, in A.D. 111-112. So this correspondence may offer a glimpse into the kinds of pressures faced by Christians during John's time.

Pliny to the Emperor Trajan

It is my custom to refer all my difficulties to you, Sir, for no one is better able to resolve my doubts and to inform my ignorance.

I have never been present at an examination of Christians. Consequently, I do not know the nature or the extent of the punishments usually meted out to them, nor the grounds for starting an investigation and how far it should be pressed. Nor am I at all sure whether any distinction should be made between them on the grounds of age, or if young people and adults should be treated alike; whether a pardon ought to be granted to anyone retracting his beliefs, or if he has once professed Christianity, he shall gain nothing by renouncing it; and whether it is the mere name of Christian which is punishable, even if innocent of crime, or rather the crimes associated with the name.

For the moment this is the line I have taken with all persons brought before me on the charge of being Christians. I have asked them in person if they are Christians, and if they admit it, I repeat the question a second and third time, with a warning of the punishment awaiting them. If they persist, I order them to be led away for execution; for, whatever the nature of their admission, I am convinced that their stubbornness and unshakeable obstinacy ought not to go unpunished. There have been others similarly fanatical who are Roman citizens. I have entered them on the list of persons to be sent to Rome for trial.

Now that I have begun to deal with this problem, as so often happens, the charges are becoming more widespread and increasing in variety. An anonymous pamphlet has been circulated which contains the names of a number of accused persons. Among these I considered that I should dismiss any who denied that they were or ever had been Christians when they had repeated after me a formula of invocation to the gods and had made offerings of wine and incense to your statue (which I had ordered to be brought into court for this purpose along with the images of the gods), and furthermore had reviled the name of Christ: none of which things, I understand, any genuine Christian can be induced to do.

Others, whose names were given to me by an informer, first admitted the charge and then denied it; they said that they had ceased to be Christians two or more years previously, and some of them even twenty years ago. They all did reverence to your statue and the images of the gods in the same way as the others, and reviled the name of Christ. They also declared that the sum total of their guilt or error amounted to no more than this: they had met regularly before dawn on a fixed day to chant verses alternately among themselves in honour of Christ as if to a god, and also to bind themselves by oath, not for any criminal purpose, but to abstain from theft, robbery and adultery, to commit no breach of trust and not to deny a deposit when called upon to restore it. After this ceremony it had been their custom to disperse and reassemble later to take food of an ordinary, harmless kind; but they had in fact given up this practice since my edict, issued on your instructions, which banned all political societies. This made me decide it was all the more necessary to extract the truth by torture from two slave-women, whom they call deaconesses. I found nothing but a degenerate sort of cult carried to extravagant lengths. I have therefore postponed any further examination and hastened to consult you. The question seems to me to be worthy of your consideration, especially in view of the number of persons endangered; for a great many individuals of every age and class, both men and women, are being brought to trial, and this is likely to continue. It is not only the towns, but villages and rural districts too which are infected through contact with this wretched cult. I think though that it is still possible for it to be checked and directed to better ends, for there is no doubt that people have begun to throng the temples which had been almost entirely deserted for a long time; the sacred rites which had been allowed to lapse are being performed again, and flesh of sacrificial victims is on sale everywhere, though up till recently scarcely anyone could be found to buy it. It is easy to infer from this that a great many people could be reformed if they were given an opportunity to repent.

Trajan's Reply to Pliny

You have followed the right course of procedure, my dear Pliny, in your examination of the cases of persons charged with being Christians, for it is impossible to lay down a general rule to a fixed formula. These people must not be hunted out; if they are brought before you and the charge against them is proved, they must be punished, but in the case of anyone who denies that he is a Christian, and makes it clear that he is not by offering prayers to our gods, he is to be pardoned as a result of his repentance however suspect his past conduct may be. But pamphlets circulated anonymously must play no part in any accusation. They create the worst sort of precedent and are quite out of keeping with the spirit of our age.

The Pliny/Trajan correspondence illustrates that, if Christians were hauled before a Roman magistrate, they were required to prove their patriotism in three basic ways: They must sacrifice wine and incense to images of Caesar and the other Roman gods. They must declare Kyrios Kaisaros ("Caesar is Lord," an exact counterpart to the basic Christian confession "Jesus is Lord"). They must "repent" of their faith and curse Christ. If they refused, they would be executed.

f. The Christians' Choice

In such a terrible circumstance, what choices did Christians have? Dr. Boring summarizes them nicely: They could surrender their faith in Christ, but for John this would be to surrender "the crown of life" (see Rev 2:10). They could lie about their loyalty to Christ, but John reserves a place in the "fiery lake of burning sulfur" for liars (see Rev 21:8). They could try to change the laws, but this was not possible since Rome was not a democracy and Domitian would never accept a rival "Lord." They could fight the Roman government, but this was not practical. They could "adjust" by confessing Caesar as "god" without meaning it, but John rejects even feigned idolatry as unworthy of Christ. Finally, they could die, as Jesus himself had died. John affirms death for Christ's sake as the only truly "Christian" response. There is no other way.

He who has an ear, let him hear: If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. Here is the patient endurance and the faithfulness of the saints. (Rev 13:10)

This is the challenge faced by the churches of Asia when John writes Revelation. It is a terribly hard book for terribly hard times.

V. THE STRUCTURE OF REVELATION

In Part III of the Introduction we identify Revelation as a Christian apocalypse - probably the first Christian apocalypse. Such writings often incorporate elements of other genres. For example, Daniel 1-6 consists largely of a narrative prologue to the apocalypse proper found in chapters 7-12. In the case of Revelation, John's apocalyptic vision is presented within the framework of a first-century letter.

A. THE FIRST CENTURY HELLENISTIC

LETTER FORM IN REVELATION

Letters written today generally bear certain standard features that conform to cultural norms (e.g., the name and address of the sender and receiver, a greeting formula such as "Dear Sir," and a closing formula such as "Sincerely yours"). New Testament epistles likewise conform to the standard Hellenistic letter form used in the Roman world of the first century A.D. The elements of this common letter form are listed below, along with examples of each element from Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians and his Letter to Philemon:

The name of the sender(s) (see 1 Cor 1:1; Phlm 1a)

The name of the recipient(s) (see 1 Cor 1:2; Phlm 1b-2)

The prescript , which is a greeting formula (see 1 Cor 1:3; Phlm 3)

The proem , which is a word of thanks, praise, or petition to a god (see 1 Cor 1:4-9; Phlm 4-7).

The introductory formula , which serves as the transition into the primary subject matter of the letter (see 1 Cor 1:10; Phlm 8-9).

The main body of the letter (see 1 Cor 1:11-16:18; Phlm 10-22)

Greetings (see 1 Cor 16:19-20; Phlm 23-24)

Benedictory wishes in the sender's own hand (rather than that of a secretary, if used), which serve to personalize the letter (see 1 Cor 16:21-24; Phlm 25)

Revelation bears most of the features of a first century Hellenistic letter, as shown below. This observation is important because it explains why certain elements appear in Revelation and why they are arranged as they are. John is simply following the conventions of his culture.

Name of Sender (Rev 1:4a):

John

Name of Recipient(s) (Rev 1:4b):

To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Prescript (Rev 1:4c-5a):

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

Proem (Rev1:5b-6): In this part of the letter, a pagan would often call upon the gods to grant good health and prosperity to the addressee(s). John Christianizes this portion of the standard letter form and transforms it into a doxology of praise to God:

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father - to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

Introductory Formula (Rev 1:9):

I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

Main Body of the Letter (Rev 1:10-22:20)

Greetings are not found in Revelation.

Benedictory Wishes in the Sender's Own Hand (Rev 22:21):

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.

B. THE STRUCTURE OF JOHN'S VISION

Within the Hellenistic letter form, John structures Revelation in four main parts, as a careful examination clearly shows. The book begins with a Prologue (1:1-20) in which the author describes how Christ commissioned him to deliver a revelation to the seven churches of Asia. Near the end of this Prologue, in 1:19, the Lord summarizes the contents of the revelation itself:

Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.

Notice that the vision contains two main elements: First, there is a revelation of the present - a revelation of "what is now." The "present," of course, refers to "what is now" from John's perspective. Christ offers John a vision of the late first century A.D. in Asia. Second, the Lord promises a revelation of the future - a vision of "what will take place later." Again, this is the "future" from John's point of view - the period from A.D. 95-96 through Christ's return and the consummation of the kingdom of God.

Which part of the book reveals John's "present" and which part reveals the "future"? John treats these two subjects in the order in which they are mentioned. His discussion of the "present" appears in 2:1-3:22 and takes the form of seven letters to the churches of Asia. This part of the vision describes the "present" circumstances of the Asian churches from Christ's point of view.

The Lord's revelation of the "future" appears in 4:1-22:6, as the structure of the passage makes clear. The first verse of this section (4:1) reads:

After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."

The initial phrase "After this," in and of itself, marks a transition - the end of one discussion and the beginning of another. Christ then introduces the next major portion of the book when he says, "I will show you what must take place after this" - that is, "after" the "present" described in chapters 2 and 3. Revelation 4:1 marks the beginning of the promised vision of "what will take place later."

Where does the vision of the future end? After a long series of images we come to Revelation 22:6:

The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place ."

This verse marks the end of John's discussion of the future. The remainder of the book (22:7-21) consists of a short Epilogue.

By far the largest portion of Revelation describes John's vision of the future (4:1-22:6). How has the author structured this important part of the book? The revelation of "what will take place later" begins with an introduction (4:1-5:14) in which John describes his new vantage point in heaven ("Come up here , and I will show you"). The prophet will see the future from God's point of view.

The rest of the section (6:1-22:6) contains the revelation of the future itself. However, a careful reading shows that John does not receive one long, sequential vision of the future. Instead, he receives three separate revelations of the complete future from John's time through the consummation of the kingdom of God . John describes how the future unfolds in 6:1-8:1. Then he starts over and describes the same period again in 8:2-11:19. Then he reviews the same period a third time in 12:1-22:6. The approach is cyclical, with each vision examining the future from a slightly different angle, and the third vision offering the most detail.

In view of these considerations, we outline Revelation as follows. The Commentary is structured accordingly.

I. Prologue (1:1-20)

II. The Revelation of "What Is Now" (2:1-3:22)

III. The Revelation of "What Will Take Place Later" (4:1-22:6)

A. Introduction: John's Heavenly Vantage Point (4:1-5:14)

B. The First Vision of the Future (6:1-8:1)

C. The Second Vision of the Future (8:2-11:19)

D. The Third Vision of the Future (12:1-22:6)

IV. Epilogue (22:7-21)

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE

Barr, J. "Jewish Apocalyptic in Recent Scholarly Study." Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester 58 (1975): 9-35.

Charlesworth, James H., ed. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Volume 1 - Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments . Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1983.

Collins, John J., ed. "Apocalypse: The Morphology of a Genre." Semeia 14. Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1979.

. The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to the Jewish Matrix of Christianity . 2 ^nd ed. The Biblical Resource Series. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.

. "Apocalyptic Literature." In Early Judaism and Its Modern Interpreters. Eds. Robert A. Kraft and George W.E. Nickelsburg, 345-370. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986.

Collins, John J., and James H. Charlesworth, eds. Mysteries and Revelations: Apocalyptic Studies Since the Uppsala Colloquium. Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Supplement Series, 9. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1991.

Funk, Robert W., ed. Journal for Theology and the Church 6 (1969) [issue on "Apocalypticism"].

Hanson, Paul D. The Dawn of Apocalyptic . Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975.

. Old Testament Apocalyptic . Interpreting Biblical Texts. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1987.

Hellholm, David, ed. Apocalypticism in the Mediterranean World and the Near East: Proceedings of the International Colloquium on Apocalypticism, Uppsala, August 12-17, 1979. Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1983.

Koch, Klaus. The Rediscovery of Apocalyptic: A Polemical Work on a Neglected Area of Biblical Studies and Its Damaging Effects on Theology and Philosophy . Studies in Biblical Theology, Second Series, 22. London: SCM Press Ltd, 1972.

Marcus, Joel, and Marion L. Soards, eds. Apocalyptic and the New Testament: Essays in Honor of J. Louis Martyn . Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series, 24. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1989.

Minear, Paul S. New Testament Apocalyptic . Interpreting Biblical Texts. Nashville: Abingdon, 1981.

Morris, Leon. Apocalyptic . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972.

Murphy, Frederick J. "Apocalypses and Apocalypticism: The State of the Question." Currents in Research: Biblical Studies 2 (1994): 147-179.

Rowley, H.H. The Relevance of Apocalyptic: A Study of Jewish and Christian Apocalypses from Daniel to the Revelation . New York: Association Press, 1964.

Russell, D.S. Divine Disclosure: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992.

. The Method and Message of Jewish Apocalyptic: 200 B.C.-A.D. 100. The Old Testament Library. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1964.

Yarbro-Collins, Adela, ed. Early Christian Apocalypticism: Genre and Social Setting . Semeia 36. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986.

THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN

Aune, David. Revelation . 3 Vols. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, 1997-98.

Barclay, William. Letters to the Seven Churches . New York: Abingdon Press, 1957.

. The Revelation of John . 2 Vols. The Daily Bible Study Series. Rev. ed. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1976.

Bauckham, Richard. The Theology of the Book of Revelation . New Testament Theology. Cambridge: University Press, 1993.

Boring, M. Eugene. Revelation . Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1989.

Caird, G.B. The Revelation of St. John the Divine . Harper's New Testament Commentaries. New York and Evanston: Harper & Row, 1966.

Hemer, Colin J. The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting . Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series, 11. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1986.

Murphy, Frederick J. "The Book of Revelation." Currents in Research: Biblical Studies 2 (1994): 181-225.

Pilch, John J. What Are They Saying about the Book of Revelation? New York: Paulist Press, 1978.

Ramsay, W.M. The Letters to the Seven Churches . Updated ed. Edited by Mark W. Wilson. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

College: Revelation (Garis Besar)

OUTLINE

I. PROLOGUE - 1:1-20

A. Introduction to the Prophecy - 1:1-3

B. Sender - 1:4a

C. Recipients - 1:4b

D. Prescript - 1:4c-5a

E. Proem - 1:5b-6

F. Prophetic Pronouncement - 1:7

G. The Lord's Self-Introduction - 1:8

H. John's Vision of the Lord - 1:9-20

1. John's Circumstances - 1:9-11

2. John's Vision - 1:12-20

a. Christ's Voice and His Appearance - 1:12-16

b. Christ's Words - 1:17-20

c. Summary: John's Portrait of Christ in Revelation - 1:9-20

II. THE REVELATION OF "WHAT IS NOW" - 2:1-3:22

A. The Seven Churches

B. The Structure of the Letters to the Seven Churches

1. Addressed to the Angels of the Seven Churches

2. A Renewal of the New Covenant

a. Typical Elements of Covenants

b. Covenantal Elements in the Letters to the Seven Churches

c. The Letter to Ephesus - 2:1-7

d. The Letter to Smyrna - 2:8-11

e. The Letter to Pergamum - 2:12-17

f. The Letter to Thyatira - 2:18-29

g. The Letter to Sardis - 3:1-6

h. The Letter to Philadelphia - 3:7-13

i. The Letter to Laodicea - 3:14-22

C. Pressures and Opposition in Asia

1. Pressures and Opposition from Within the Christian Community

a. False Apostles and the Nicolaitans - 2:2,6

b. The Teaching of Balaam - 2:14

c. The Sins of Jezebel - 2:20-25

d. Assessment

2. Pressures and Opposition from Outside the Christian Community

D. "Overcomers" in Revelation

1. Satan as "Overcomer"

2. Christ as "Overcomer"

a. Whom Jesus "Overcomes"

b. How Jesus "Overcomes"

c. The Results of Jesus' "Overcoming"

3. Christians as "Overcomers"

a. Whom Christians "Overcome"

b. How Christians "Overcome"

c. The Result of Christians' "Overcoming"

E. Christ's Promises to "Him Who Overcomes"

1. The Tree of Life - 2:7

2. Escape from the Second Death - 2:11

3. The Hidden Manna, White Stone, and Secret Name - 2:17

a. The Hidden Manna, the Messianic Banquet, Behemoth and Leviathan

b. The White Stone

c. The Secret Name

4. Authority over the Nations and the Morning Star - 2:26-28

5. White Garments and the Book of Life - 3:4-5

6. A Pillar in God's Temple - 3:12

7. A Place on Christ's Throne - 3:21

III. THE REVELATION OF "WHAT WILL TAKE PLACE LATER - 4:1-22:6

A. Introduction: John's Heavenly Vantage Point - 4:1-5:14

1. Transition to the Threefold Vision of the Future - 4:1

2. The Throne of God and the Twenty-Four Elders - 4:2-6a

3. The Four Living Creatures - 4:6b-8

4. The Heavenly Worship - 4:9-11

5. The Scroll with Seven Seals - 5:1

6. The Lion of Judah and the Root of David - 5:2-5

7. The Lamb Who Was Slain - 5:6-14

B. The First Vision of the Future - 6:1-8:1

1. The "Labor Pains:" Seals One through Five - 6:1-11

a. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - 6:1-8

b. The Souls of the Martyrs - 6:9-11

2. The Final Judgment: Seal Six - 6:12-17

3. Summary of Revelation 6 (Seals 1-6) and Comparison with Matthew 24

4. Interlude: The 144,000 Sealed for Salvation - 7:1-17

a. The Sealing of the 144,000 - 7:1-8

b. A Song of Salvation - 7:9-17

5. The Consummation of God's Kingdom: Seal Seven - 8:1

6. Summary: John's First Vision of the Future - 6:1-8:1

C. The Second Vision of the Future - 8:2-11:19

1. The Structure of the Second Vision

a. Seven Trumpets versus Seven Seals

b. Major Elements of the Vision

c. The Dominant Image: God's Coming Kingdom as a "Second Exodus" for His People

d. Subordinate Imagery in Revelation 8:2-9:21

2. The "Present Evil Age/Labor Pains": Trumpets One through Six - 8:2-9:21

a. Hail, Blood, Bitter Waters, Darkness, Locusts, and Death: The "Present Evil Age" and "Labor Pains" as Eschatological "Plagues"

1) Present Evils as "Plagues"

2) The First Trumpet - 8:6-7

3) The Second Trumpet - 8:8-9

4) The Third Trumpet - 8:10-11

5) The Fourth Trumpet - 8:12

6) The Fifth Trumpet - 8:13-9:12

7) The Sixth Trumpet - 9:13-21

8) Heightened Imagery Portraying Eschatological Events

9) Partial Destruction versus Total Destruction

b. Earth, Trees, Grass, Springs, Rivers, Sea, and Sea Creatures: The Effect of the "Present Evil Age" and "Labor Pains" on the Natural World

c. The "Present Evil Age" and "Labor Pains" as God's Judgment on Sin and Call to Repentance

d. The "Present Evil Age" and "Labor Pains" as a Source of Hope and a Call to Perseverance

e. The Blazing Mountain, Falling Stars, Wormwood, Demon Locusts from the Abyss, Abaddon, Apollyon, and a Demon Army: The "Present Evil Age" and "Labor Pains" as God's Unleashing Demonic Forces on the Earth

f. Fire from the Altar: The "Present Evil Age" and "Labor Pains" as an Answer to Prayer

g. The Sounding of Seven Trumpets: The "Present Evil Age" and "Labor Pains" as the Announcement of the Day of the Lord

h. The Eagle and the Three "Woes"

3. Interlude: The Mighty Angel and the Two Witnesses - 10:1-11:14

a. The Mighty Angel with the Little Scroll - 10:1-11

1) The Angel's Appearance

2) The Angel's Voice

3) The Little Scroll

4) Comparison with Daniel 12

b. The Measuring of the Temple and the Two Witnesses - 11:1-14

1) A Note on the "Rapture"

2) A Note on the "Protection" of the "New Israel" from the "Plagues"

4. The Final Judgment and Consummation of God's Kingdom: Trumpet Seven - 11:15-19

5. Summary: John's Second Vision of the Future - 8:2-11:19

D. The Third Vision of the Future - 12:1-22:6

1. The Structure of the Third Vision

2. The "Labor Pains": The Dragon's War against the Saints - 12:1-13:18

a. The Dragon, the Woman, and the Male Child - 12:1-17

1) The Identity of the Male Child

2) The Identity of the Red Dragon

3) Five Theories Regarding the Identity of the Woman

4) A Sixth Theory: John's Adaptation of the Apollo Myth

5) Interpretation of Revelation 12

b. The Beast from the Sea - 13:1-10

c. The Beast from the Land - 13:11-18

d. Satan's Parody of Christ

e. Summary of Revelation 12-13: The "Labor Pains"

3. The Final Judgment and Consummation of God's Kingdom - 14:1-22:6

a. The Relationship between Salvation and Condemnation, Final Judgment and Consummation

b. The Structure of Revelation 14:1-22:6

c. Announcement of the Final Judgment - 14:1-13

1) The 144,000 - 14:1-5

2) Threefold Announcement of the Judgment - 14:6-13

d. The Harvest of the Earth - 14:14-20

e. The Seven Last Plagues or Seven Bowls of God's Wrath - 15:1-16:21

1) The Structure of Revelation 15-16

2) The Sea of Glass and Fire - 15:1-4

3) The Heavenly Tabernacle - 15:5-8

4) The Meaning of the Seven Bowls of God's Wrath - 16:1

5) The First Bowl of Wrath - 16:2

6) The Second Bowl of Wrath - 16:3

7) The Third Bowl of Wrath - 16:4-7

8) The Fourth Bowl of Wrath - 16:8-9

9) The Fifth Bowl of Wrath - 16:10-11

10) The Sixth Bowl of Wrath - 16:12-14,16

11) Interlude - 16:15

12) The Seventh Bowl of Wrath - 16:17-21

f. God's Final Judgment against Babylon - 17:1-19:4

1) The Great Prostitute - 17:1-18

2) The Scarlet Beast - 17:1-18

3) The Fall of Babylon - 18:1-19:4

g. Announcement of the Wedding Supper of the Lamb - 19:5-10

1) The Wedding of the Lamb - 19:5-9

2) The Testimony of Jesus - 19:10

h. The Victorious Christ - 19:11-21

1) The King of Kings - 19:11-16

2) The Great Supper of God - 19:17-21

i. Deliverance from Babylonian Captivity - 20:1-22:6

1) Element One: The Binding of Satan - 20:1-3

2) Element Two: The Resurrection of Christian Martyrs - 20:4a

3) Element Three: The Millennial Reign of Christ - 20:4b-6

4) Element Four: God's Judgment of Gog and Magog - 20:7-15

5) Element Five: The New Jerusalem - 21:1-22:5

6) Comparison of Revelation 20:1-22:5 with Ezekiel 37-48

7) Conclusions Regarding the Meaning of Revelation 20:1-22:5

8) Climax: The Consummated Kingdom of God - 21:1-22:5

9) Conclusion of the Third Vision of the Future - 22:6

IV. EPILOGUE - 22:7-21

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV