Chapter 17:
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Johnson
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| McGee
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Jude Genesis
Revelation 17
Verse 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, chap. xxi, 9, 10, have the same introduction, in
token of the exact opposition between them. I will show thee the
judgment of the great whore - Which is now circumstantially
described. That sitteth as a queen - In pomp, power, ease, and
luxury. Upon many waters - Many people and nations, verse 15.
chap. xvii, 15
Verse
2. With whom the kings of the earth - Both ancient and modern,
for many ages. Have committed fornication - By partaking of her
idolatry and various wickedness. And the inhabitants of the earth -
The common people. 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.
Verse
3. And he carried me away - In the vision. Into a wilderness - The
campagna di Romansa, the country round about Rome, is now a
wilderness, compared to what it was once. And I saw a woman -
Both the scripture and other writers frequently represent a city
under this emblem. Sitting upon a scarlet wild beast - The same
which is described in the thirteenth chapter. chap. xiii, 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 connection 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," chap. xiii, i, now he has many. From
the time of Hildebrand, the blasphemous titles of the Pope have
been abundantly multiplied. Having seven heads - Which reach in
a succession from his ascent out of the sea to his being cast into
the lake of fire. And ten horns - Which are contemporary with
each other, and belong to his last period.
Verse
4. And the woman was arrayed - With the utmost pomp and
magnificence. 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. Having in her hand a golden cup - Like the ancient
Babylon, Jer. li, 7. Full of abominations - The most abominable
doctrines as well as practices.
Verse
5. And on her forehead a name written - Whereas the saints have
the name of God and the Lamb on their foreheads. Mystery - This
very word was inscribed on the front of the Pope's mitre, till some
of the Reformers took public notice of it. 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. The mother of
harlots - The parent, ringleader, patroness, and nourisher of many
daughters, that losely copy after her. And abominations - Of every
kind, spiritual and fleshly. Of the earth - In all lands. In this
respect she is indeed catholic or universal.
Verse
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. The witnesses of Jesus - The preachers of his word. And I
wondered exceedingly - At her cruelty and the patience of God.
Verse
7. I will tell thee the mystery - The hidden meaning of this.
Verse
8. The beast which thou sawest (namely, verse 3) chap. xvii, 3
was, &c. This is a very observable and punctual description of the
beast, verses 8, 10, 11. chap. xvii, 8, 10, 11 His whole duration is here divided
into three periods, which are expressed in a fourfold manner.
I. He,
1. Was;
2. And is not;
3. And will ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition.
II. He,
1. Was;
2. And is not;
3. And will be again.
III. 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.
IV. 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 the
thirteenth chapter. chap. xiii, 1-18 This was past when the angel
spoke to St. John. The second was then in its course; the third woe
to come. 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. 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.
Verse
9. Here is the mind that hath wisdom - Only those who are wise
will understand this. The seven heads are seven hills.
Verse
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.
1143. The forty-
two months begin.
1810. The forty-two months end.
1832. The
beast ascends out of the bottomless pit.
1836. The beast finally
overthrown. The fall of those five kings seems to imply, not only
the death of the Popes who reigned on those hills, but also such a
disannulling of all they had done there, that it will be said, The
beast is not; the royal power, which had so long been lodged in
the Pope, being then transferred to the city. One is, the other is not
yet come - These two are remarkably distinguished from the five
preceding, whom they succeed in their turns. The former of them
will continue not a short space, as may be gathered from what is
said of the latter: the former is under the government of Babylon;
the latter is with the beast. In this second period, one is, at the
same time that the beast is not. Even then there will be a Pope,
though not with the power which his predecessors had. And he
will reside on one of the remaining hills, leaving the seventh for
his successor.
Verse
11. And the wild beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth -
When the time of his not being is over. The beast consists, as it
were, of eight parts. The seven heads are seven of them; and the
eighth is his whole body, or the beast himself. Yet the beast
himself, though he is in a sense termed the eighth, is of the seven,
yea, contains them all. The whole succession of Popes from
Gregory VII. are undoubtedly antichrist. Yet this hinders not, but
that the last Pope in this succession will be more eminently the
antichrist, the man of sin, adding to that of his predecessors a
peculiar degree of wickedness from the bottomless pit. This
individual person, as Pope, is the seventh head of the beast; as the
man of sin, he is the eighth, or the beast himself.
Verse
12. The ten horns are ten kings - It is nowhere said that these
horns are on the beast, or on his heads. And he is said to have
them, not as he is one of the seven, but as he is the eighth. They
are ten secular potentates, contemporary with, not succeeding,
each other, who receive authority as kings with the beast,
probably in some convention, which, after a very short space, they
will deliver up to the beast. Because of their short continuance,
only authority as kings, not a kingdom, is ascribed to them. While
they retain this authority together with the beast, he will be
stronger than ever before; but far stronger still, when their power
is also transferred to him.
Verse
13. In the thirteenth and fourteenth verses chap. xvii, 13, 14 is
summed up what is afterwards mentioned, concerning the horns
and the beast, in this and the two following chapters. These have
one mind, and give - They all, with one consent, give their warlike
power and royal authority to the wild beast.
Verse
14. These - Kings with the beast. He is Lord of lords - Rightful
sovereign of all, and ruling all things well. And King of kings - As
a king he fights with and conquers all his enemies. And they that
are with him - Beholding his victory, are such as were, while in
the body, called, by his word and Spirit. And chosen - Taken out
of the world, when they were enabled to believe in him. And
faithful - Unto death.
Verse
15. People, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues - It is not
said tribes: for Israel hath nothing to do with Rome in particular.
Verse
16. And shall eat her flesh - Devour her immense riches.
Verse
17. For God hath put it into their heart - Which indeed no less
than almighty power could have effected. To execute his sentence
- till the words of God - Touching the overthrow of all his
enemies, should be fulfilled.
Verse
18. The woman is the great city, which reigneth - Namely, while
the beast "is not," and the woman "sitteth upon him."
Chapter 17:
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Johnson
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| McGee
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Jude Genesis
This version of Wesley's Notes on the Bible is a derivative of an electronic version, Copyright 1997, by Sulu D. Kelley. All rights reserved. Used by permission. It may not be modified or used commercially without permission of Wesleyan Heritage Publishing and Sulu Kelley. A special thanks to Mr. Kelley and Wesleyan Heritage Publishing for permission to create and post this version of Wesley's Notes on the Bible.
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