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... [ Continue Reading ]
(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,... [ Continue Reading ]
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, pro... [ Continue Reading ]
(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 wha... [ Continue Reading ]
(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,... [ Continue Reading ]
(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 Revelation 17:1. The narration of the vision promised in the verse fo... [ Continue Reading ]
(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, an... [ Continue Reading ]
(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... [ Continue Reading ]
(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... [ Continue Reading ]
(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 hea... [ Continue Reading ]
(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 Revelation 17:8 is a prophetical prediction of things to come, which the beast shou... [ Continue Reading ]
(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 commu... [ Continue Reading ]
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 wh... [ Continue Reading ]
(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 Revelation 17:7 belonging to the harlot, showed in the vision, (Revelation 17:3). In this histo... [ Continue Reading ]
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 (Revelation 17:12). The accomplishment of this fact and event is daily increased in this our age by the... [ Continue Reading ]
(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... [ Continue Reading ]
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.... [ Continue Reading ]