‘And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me saying, “Come with me. I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of h... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SCARLET WOMAN AND THE BEAST (REVELATION 17:1). This is a remarkable chapter for in it John rises above himself and foresees the inevitable consequences of history. As with all the great prophets he ‘sees' beyond his own day to the final days when God will bring all things to conclusion. Each ca... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.' John is carried ‘in the Spirit'. Comparison with Revelation 1:10 shows that this means that time is irrelevant. He is carried... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, even the unclean things of her fornication.' What an absurd picture. While pretending piety in the wilderness her outward appearance tells a di... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And on her forehead a name written, a mystery, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.' Again we have confirmation that this is Babylon, but it is more than Babylon, it is Babylon as a symbol, as the mother of all idolatry and sexual perversion and of all... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of God's people (the saints) and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her I wondered with a great wonder.' The ancient empires from Babel onwards made war on the people of God, just as Rome was now doing and would do, and other great cit... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the angel said to me, “Why did you wonder? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast who carries her, who has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast which you saw was and is not, and is about to come up from the abyss and to go into perdition. And those who dwell on the... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. And they are seven kings, five are fallen, the one is and the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must continue a little while, and the beast that was and is not, is himself also an eighth and i... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the beast that was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is of the seven and goes into perdition.' But the Beast who arises is the eighth (not the same Beast as chapter 13, for he came out of the sea while this one is to come out of the abyss, which in Revelation is the prison of spirit bei... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.' The idea of the ten horns is taken from Daniel 7:7 where they represent ten rulers that arise from the great and terrible fourth beast before the judg... [ Continue Reading ]
‘These have one mind and they give their power and authority to the beast. These shall war against the Lamb and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of Lords, and King of Kings, and those who are with Him, called, chosen and faithful, will also overcome.' Note the emphasis on the fact that th... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he says to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations and tongues. And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her utterly with f... [ Continue Reading ]
‘For God did put it in their hearts to do his mind, and to come to one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God should be accomplished.' ‘God did put it in their hearts.' So even in this there is the hand of God. Idolatry and commercialism will be forcibly stamped out by... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the woman whom you saw is the great city which controls (literally ‘has a kingdom over') over the kings of the earth.' Here is the explanation of the mystery of the woman. As we have seen the woman is an idea, a symbol, she is Babylon the Great, and as such she is also Rome, for Rome was the m... [ Continue Reading ]