Revelation 17:18

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

The angel here takes up his interpretation anew, in order to give the explanation of certain features of the picture shown above: And he says to me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot is sitting, peoples and multitudes they are, and nations and tongues. The angel fittingly describes the Church of the Pope as the great harlot sitting on many waters, that is, as one occupying a proud throne over many peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues, ruling them by her power and seducing them into the fornication of her idolatry.

And now a peculiar fact is noted: And the ten horns which thou sawest and the beast, these will hate the harlot, and they will lay her waste and strip her naked; and they will eat her flesh, and they will burn her with fire; for God has given into their hearts to carry out His intention, and to execute their single purpose, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. It is a strange fact, but one borne out sufficiently well by many pages of history, that the very rulers and prince; who received power and authority with the beast, at certain times turned against the rule of Anti-Christ, especially as to his meddling in temporal affairs. Even before the Reformation, for more than a century, complaints were lodged against the usurpation of the Roman hierarchy, and a number of councils attempted to adjust matters. And since the Reformation many of the rulers of the world, in spite of their outward adherence to the Church of Rome, have plundered her institutions, stripped her of her worldly power and goods, and left her comparatively destitute and helpless. Even the Pope's own temporal kingdom, a strip of land in Italy, has been taken from him, and he now sits in his immense palace, the Vatican, calling himself a prisoner. That was one phase of God's judgment upon the antichristian beast; these rulers carried out the intention and purpose which He put into their hearts.

But the power of Anti-Christ is by no means exhausted: And the woman which thou sawest is the great city which has regal authority over the kingdoms of the earth. So the final Judgment has not yet come upon the Church of Rome, upon the kingdom of Anti-Christ. Rome still is a very powerful empire, which must be reckoned with; she still has kingly authority over many rulers of the world; she is still able to bedeck herself with the ornaments of her idolatrous and adulterous traffic, and many thousands there are that are impressed by this pomp and yield to her entreaties. May God mercifully hold His sheltering hand over all true Christians!

Summary

The Church of Anti-Christ is described in full in the picture of a great harlot, combining temporal and spiritual power in an authority extending even over the rulers of the world, in. spite of the fact that these vassals have repeatedly stripped her of power and wealth.