CHAPTER 17

(A.D. 96)

THE GREAT WHORE

¹And there came one of the seven Angels which had the seven Vials, and talked with me (probably is the seventh Angel; however, we actually have no way of truly knowing), saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto you the judgment of the great whore who sits upon many waters (the great whore refers to all the religions of the world that ever have been, which are devised by men as a substitute for Jesus Christ and Him Crucified; Gods Way is Christ and Him Crucified Alone; as well, the many waters are a symbol for multitudes of people [Vs. 15]):

²With whom (the great whore, i.e., all type of religions) the kings of the earth (from the very beginning, most nations have been ruled by some type of religion) have committed fornication (all religions devised by men, and even the parts of Christianity that have been corrupted, are labeled by the Lord as spiritual fornication [Rom. 7:1-4]), and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication (proclaims the addiction of religion; the doing of religion is the most powerful narcotic there is).

³So he (the Angel) carried me (John) away in the spirit (a vision) into the wilderness (every religious effort that attempts to take the place of the Cross is a spiritual wilderness): and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast (the woman is organized religion; by that we mean any religion or form of religion claiming to have a way of Salvation or victory other than the Cross; the scarlet color indicates blood and pertains to great persecution), full of names of blasphemy (refers to this woman opposing the Plan of God in every capacity), having seven heads and ten horns. (This pertains to the scarlet colored beast, not the woman. The seven heads represent seven Empires that persecuted Israel in the past, with the last one yet future. They are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. The ten horns represent ten nations that will arise out of the old Roman Empire territory and persecute Israel, and is yet future. These ten nations make up the seventh head. The Roman Empire, which made up the sixth head, was the last of the Empires that persecuted Israel before her destruction as a nation in A.D. 70. When the ten-horned kingdom arises, which it will shortly, it will persecute Israel as well.)

⁴And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour (all of this pertains to Israel, but with a carry over into the Church Age; the purple represents the dominion of these religions over nations, with the scarlet color representing the persecution of Israel), and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls (these religions have always been very rich; a case in point is Islam, which controls some 60% of the oil reserves of the world), having a golden cup in her hand (all of these religions have an allurement, symbolized by the cup being golden) full of abominations and filthiness of her for nication (proclaims what this cup holds, despite its outward attractiveness):

⁵And upon her forehead was a name written (the forehead symbolizes the fact that all these religions are devised by man, and not by God), MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT (the word mystery separates spiritual Babylon from literal Babylon; it is great in the eyes of the world, but not in the eyes of God), THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. (This proclaims the actual content of this golden cup, even though it looks wonderful on the outside. If its not Jesus Christ and Him Crucified, then it is labeled by the Lord as harlots and abominations. Regrettably that includes much of modern Christianity as well.)

⁶And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the Saints (refers to these Empires and their false religions, which persecuted Israel during Old Testament times, actually up to the time of Christ), and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus (points to the millions in the Church Age who gave their lives for the Cause of Christ; the Roman Empire began these persecutions of Christians, and was followed by the Catholic Church): and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration (John is amazed at seeing all of this).

⁷And the Angel said unto me, Wherefore did you marvel? (The Angel knew John would marvel at the scene that unfolded before his eyes, and would need an explanation.) I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns.

⁸The beast who you saw was (represents a fallen Angel who helped the leaders of these Empires of the past in their efforts to destroy Israel), and is not (was not active during the time of John); and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit (this powerful, fallen Angel was confined to the bottomless pit about 2,300 years ago and remains there still, but will be released soon to help the Antichrist), and go into perdition (means that after his escapade of helping the Antichrist on Earth, he will be consigned to the Lake of Fire [20:10]): and they who dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world (presents the fact that all the unsaved people on Earth during the time of the Great Tribulation will be startled and amazed as they observe the Antichrist, who will do things no other man has ever done; this will be because this fallen Angel is helping him, but of which he is not aware), when they behold the beast who was, and is not (was not functioning during Johns day), and yet is (will be released out of the bottomless pit to help the Antichrist).

⁹And here is the mind which has wisdom (is the mind that knows and believes the Word of God). The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits (represents these seven Empires which were controlled by false religions, i.e., demon spirits).

¹⁰And there are seven kings (actually refers to the seven heads, speaking of the leaders of these Empires, whomever they may have been): five are fallen (five of the Empires were fallen during Johns day; they are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece), and one is (refers to the Roman Empire, which was in existence during Johns day, and could, therefore, be spoken of in the present tense), and the other is not yet come (refers to the ten nation confederation symbolized by the ten horns, which in Johns day had not yet come, and, in fact, has not come even yet); and when he comes, he must continue a short space. (The ten horns will be the seventh head, and refers to ten nations that will arise shortly and persecute Israel, which will probably take place in the first half of the Great Tribulation, a time span of about three and one half years.)

¹¹And the beast (fallen Angel) that was, and is not, even he is the eighth (this fallen Angel will help the Antichrist, and will head up the eighth Empire to persecute Israel), and is of the seven (refers to the fact that he helped all the Empires of the past, with the exception of Rome, in their efforts to persecute Israel; but this fallen Angel gave the greatest help to Alexander the Great, who headed up the Grecian Empire; we know this because John, in his Vision, said, and the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, with that animal being one of the symbols of ancient Greece [Rev. 13:2; Dan. 7:6]), and goes into perdition (refers to the fact that irrespective of his power and plans, Eternal Hell will be the due of this Satanic Prince; the same goes for Satan, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, every fallen Angel, every demon spirit, and, in fact, all the unredeemed who have ever lived).

¹²And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings (Dan. 7:7), which have received no kingdom as yet (refers to Johns day); but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. (These ten nations will come to power before the Antichrist, making up the seventh head. Then they will be taken over by the Antichrist, who is referred to by Daniel as the little horn [Dan. 7:8]. The one hour refers to the short space this confederation of the ten kings and the Antichrist will hold together. It will last for approximately three and one half years, and will be destroyed by the Second Coming of Christ [Dan. 2:34-35].)

¹³These have one mind (this ten nation confederation, making up the seventh head, will all be in agreement respecting their joining with the Antichrist because they dont have the power to successfully oppose him), and shall give their power and strength unto the beast (refers to the Antichrist now coming to full power, and making up the eighth kingdom as described in Verse 11).

¹⁴These shall make war with the Lamb (has to do with the Antichrist attacking Israel as it regards the Battle of Armageddon; Satan hates Israel for many varied reasons, but above all because of Jesus; so, to attack Israel is to attack the Lamb), and the Lamb shall overcome them (speaks of the Second Coming, but also speaks to the fact that Jesus is worthy to administer Judgment and Justice because of what He did at the Cross): for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings (proclaims the fact that this Lamb is King of all and Lord of all, and all because of the Cross): and they who are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful. (Every Saint of God who has ever lived, both Jews and Gentiles, will come back with Christ at the Second Coming.)

¹⁵And he (the Angel) said unto me (John), The waters which you saw (refers back to Verse 1, and presents the word waters being used as a symbolism), where the whore sits (if its not Jesus Christ and Him Crucified [I Cor. 1:23; 2:2], then God refers to it as the Great Whore), are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. (This covers the entirety of the world, and tells us that billions have died and gone to hell as a result of following false religions.)

¹⁶And the ten horns which you saw upon the beast (pertains to the ten nation confederation, which will make up the seventh head), these shall hate the whore (at least some, if not all, of the ten nation confederation will come out of the Middle East; Islam rules this part of the world, and it is a rule which has all but destroyed these countries; the implication is the religion of Islam will be put down by this confederacy), and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. (This proclaims the fact that the ten nations under the Antichrist will institute and carry out a campaign of elimination as it regards the religion of Islam, and, in fact, any other religions in his domain. All of these religions will be replaced by beast worship.)

¹⁷For God has put in their hearts to fulfil His Will (while the ten nations have their own agenda, God will use it to bring about His Will), and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast (the ten leaders of these nations will give their authority to the beast, i.e., the Antichrist), until the Words of God shall be fulfilled. (This will last until the Great Tribulation has ended, which will be at the Battle of Armageddon in which these nations will be totally destroyed [Dan. 2:34-35].)

¹⁸And the woman which you saw is that great city (refers to rebuilt Babylon portrayed in Rev., Chpt. 18), which reigns over the kings of the earth. (Rebuilt Babylon will not only be one of the commercial centers of the world, but as well the religious center. The Antichrist will have replaced Islam and other religions with himself as the one being worshiped. It all began at Babylon, and it will all end there [Gen. 11:1-9; Rev. 18:10].)