Rev. 17 Rev. 17:1–4 John’s vision of the great whore, sitting upon the scarlet coloured beast, arrayed in purple and scarlet, with a golden cup in her hand. Rev. 17:5 Her name. Rev. 17:6 She is drunken with the blood of saints. Rev.

This whole verse is but a preface to a new vision which John had; not new, as to the matter revealed in it; for it plainly revealeth matters relating to antichrist; and the matter of it contemporizeth with the three last vials, about the final ruin of antichrist, who was before described under the…

With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication; with which great whore several princes of the world have committed spiritual fornication, receiving her idolatrous worship, yielding to her authority, and following her example.

So he carried me away in the spirit; that is, being in an ecstasy; see Rev. 4:2; whether in the body or out of the body he could not tell, as Paul expresseth it, 2 Cor. 12:2. Into the wilderness; a place not, or not much, inhabited, either as fittest for contemplation.

And the woman was arrayed in a purple and scarlet colour; purple was the colour of kings and princes: this woman, Rev. 18:7, said she was queen. Scarlet also was a rich and noble colour, anciently most used in a time of war.

And upon her forehead was a name written; as public harlots were wont to write their names, some upon the fronts of their houses, some upon their foreheads: it denotes the open guilt and impudence of this spiritual harlot. Mystery; that is, there is a mystery in what follows in her name.

And I saw the woman, the papacy, drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus; filled with the blood of those holy ones, which she caused to be slain for bearing testimony to Jesus Christ.

The angel promiseth to open this vision, it being the key of the former vision, and is the only vision expounded throughout this whole book.

The beast that thou sawest; this beast was the Roman empire, the scarlet coloured beast which carried the whore, Rev. 17:3. Was, and is not; was of old, in Rome’s pagan state, and is not, not in that form, not now pagan; and yet is (as is said in the close of the verse) the same in another form,…

And here is the mind which hath wisdom; that is, here is that which requireth a mind endued with spiritual wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth; the seven heads which he saw the beast with, signified seven mountains or hills upon which Rome is situated; they were…

And there are seven kings; the seven heads do not only signify seven hills or mountains, but also seven kings, that is, (according to the best interpretation I meet with), seven forms of government which ruled Rome; the term kings, it Scripture, signifying rulers, whether the government was in…

And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth; this made the eighth succession of governments in the Roman empire. And is of the seven; this was of the seventh head; for although this was the eighth government in order as we have counted them, yet one of these, viz.

And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings: possibly by ten kings here are not meant monarchs, but governments. Which have received no kingdom as yet; which were not in being in John’s time, nor in many years after.

They shall all be papists, and for a while shall employ all their power and strength to uphold the popish religion.

These shall make war with the Lamb; these ten kings shall a while oppose themselves to the gospel, taking part with antichrist. And the Lamb shall overcome them; Christ shall overcome them by the power of is gospel, or some of them that way; others, that will not be converted, shall be confounded,…

John saw the great whore sitting upon seven mountains, Rev. 17:9, and upon many waters, Rev. 17:1; these signified her dominion and jurisdiction over many people.

And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast: see Rev. 17:3, Rev. 17:12. These shall hate the whore, &c. the ten kings shall apostatize from the papacy, and be great instruments of God to ruin it.

For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will; that is, what he hath determined shall be done; not what he commandeth men to do, or approveth their doing of; his permissive will.

And the woman which thou sawest: see Rev. 17:3. Is that great city; that is, signifieth that great city, Babylon the great: see Rev. 17:5. Which reigneth over the kings of the earth, commanding and punishing them as she pleaseth.