VERSE 1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying (Kai. h=lqen ei-j evk tw/n e`pta. avgge,lwn tw/n evco,ntwn ta.j e`pta. fia,laj kai. evla,lhsen metV evmou/ le,gwn [conj kai + aor.act.ind.3s. erchomai come + adj.nom.m.s. eis one + prep ek from + art.w/adj.abl.m.p. hepta seven + noun abl.m.p. angelos angel + art.w/pres.act.part.abl.m.p. echo have + art.w/adj.acc.f.p. hepta seven + noun acc.f.p. phiale bowl, chalice + conj kai + aor.act.ind.3s. laleo speak + prep meta with + pro.gen.m.s. ego "me" + pres.act.part.nom.m.s. lego say], "Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters [Deu/ro( dei,xw soi to. kri,ma th/j po,rnhj th/j mega,lhj th/j kaqhme,nhj evpi. u`da,twn pollw/n [adv. Or aor.act.imper.2s. deuro here; used as an imperative "come here" + fut.act.ind.1s. deiknumi point out, show + pro.dat.m.s. su you + art.w/noun acc.nt.s. krima judgment + art.w/noun gen.f.s. porne prostitute, whore + art.w/adj.gen.f.s. megas great + art.w/pres.dep.part.gen.f.s. kathemai sit + prep epi upon + noun gen.nt.p. hudor water + adj.gen.nt.p. polus much, many]),

ANALYSIS: VERSE 1

1. This is the first appearance of an interpretative angel in Revelation.
2. In 7:13 we have one of the 24 elders supplying interpretative information to John regarding the identity of the great multitude in heaven.
3. The function of this angel in the vision is to make know to John the mystery of the two principal entities that comprise this chapter: the woman and the beast on which she sits.
4. This chapter and the next forms an excursus in the chronological flow of the prophecy.
5. In these two chapters we are informed with respects to two Babylons which come under divine wrath in the tribulation.
6. Essential interpretive clues come to John via one of the seven angels who administer the seven bowls of wrath.
7. The text does not say the last of the seven angels.
8. The angel initiates his conversation with John by his invitation to witness a judgment.
9. His words "come, and I will show you," are the very words this angel uses in 21:9 when introducing another woman of opposite character (e.g., "the bride, the wife of the Lamb").
10. The term "harlot" is indicative of her spiritual harlotry and representative of an ecclesiastical facet that is a counterfeit of the reality (e.g. body and bride of Jesus Christ).
11. Even Jerusalem acted the part of a harlot in her involvement with pagan idolatry (Isa. 1:21; Jer. 3:8-9).
12. She is a leader in the world of religious apostacy.
13. She is the final manifestation of a system that goes all the way back to the tower of Babel, where idolatry got its start in the post-deluvian world (Gen. 10:9-10; 11:1-9).
14. This woman represents a particular false religion, the one that has its headquarters in Rome, Italy.
15. The Roman Catholic system represents the apogee of apostate Christianity.
16. This harlot will be the object of a future judgment spelled out in verse 16.
17. Her very existence is a travesty to the true worship of God.
18. The system represented by this woman represents the ultimate corruption of the true worship of God.
19. Her fornication is her illegitimate involvement with the rulers of the nations as the Catholic system manipulates the politics of the nations to her own quest for world dominion.
20. Her position in the vision is that of a woman "who sits on many waters."
21. The "many waters" is representative of "peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues," according to verse 15.
22. These classifications represent the extent of her influence during the course of her history.
23. Since it is the beast system that brings to an end this system the two must of necessity be rivals.
24. Both systems are evil and satanic but the one ends the career of the other.
25. We know that the Beast will tolerate no religious rivals and seek to suppress and eliminate all other faiths (cf. 2Thess. 2:4; Dan. 11:38).
26. Hard core Satanism will destroy the RCC something in the first half of the tribulation.
27. Everything is this chapter dealing with the mystery of the woman dressed in scarlet fits the RCC like a glove!

Her Effect on Humanity (v.2)

VERSE 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality (meqV h`j evpo,rneusan oi` basilei/j th/j gh/j [prep meta with + pro.gen.f.s. hos who, what + aor.act.ind.3p. porneuo fornicate + art.w/noun nom.m.p. basileus king + art.w/noun gen.f.s. ge earth], and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality [kai. evmequ,sqhsan oi` katoikou/ntej th.n gh/n evk tou/ oi;nou th/j pornei,aj auvth/j [conj kai + aor.pass.ind.3p. katoikeo dwell; "inhabitants" + art.w/noun acc.f.s. ge earth + prep ek + art.w/noun abl.m.s. oinos wine + art.w/noun gen.f.s. porneia fornication + pro.gen.f.s. aute "her"])."

ANALYSIS: VERSE 2

1. In this verse the interpreting angel describes the effect of the whore, namely the RCC, upon humanity over the course of her history.
2. With the kings/leaders of the nations she has committed fornication.
3. The sexual sin of fornication is used to illustrate the woman’s evil actions in respect to divine institution number four.
4. The political maneuvering of the Roman Catholic Church relative to the nations of Europe and beyond is well documented.
5. Pretending to be the one and only true church of Jesus Christ she has used ecclesiastical and political clout to leverage the national rulers to bring other nations into the catholic fold.
6. This has been accomplished by a variety of means, including warfare, intrigue, assassination, and religious bullying.
7. In return the kings of the earth have been granted special favors buy embracing the catholic religion.
8. The relationship is akin to the act of fornication as the true church of Christ is to remain aloof from politics.
9. Christians living in the nations are to be law-abiding while avoiding a relationship with government that results in a favored status over other citizens.
10. No sect within Christendom should strive to be the favored by the central government.
11. The Catholic system, among others, has worked hard at seeing to it that non-Catholics are suppressed within those nations that entered into this illicit alliance with the Holy See in Rome.
12. The effect of apostate Christendom’s alliance with the politics of the nations has led to the intoxication of the masses living under the influence of the Vatican.
13. The sin of drunkenness, like the sin of fornication, is employed by the angel to describe the effect of catholic doctrine upon the citizens of the earth.
14. Those who embrace Catholic dogma are like someone who is under the influence of alcohol.
15. One the RCC gains a foothold in a nation the citizens are indoctrinated with her doctrines and made drunk, that is, they are unable to discern spiritual reality.
16. European history is the best example of this process of subversion, deception and bloodshed.
17. But other nations and places have been subjugated and indoctrinated by Catholic conquerors, such as Latin America.
18. In those places where the leaders have embraced the teachings and practices of the RCC, the effects of this fornication is the intoxication of the masses living under such rulers.
19. Only in American has the RCC failed to gain the control that she has elsewhere, but not through lack of effort.
20. Our constitutional provision of the right to religious freedom, freedom of association, assembly and speech has blunted the forces of oppression.

Her Career Symbolically Seen (v.3)

VERSE 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness (kai. avph,negke,n me eivj e;rhmon evn pneu,mati [conj kai + aor.act.ind.3s. apophero carry off, transport + pro.acc.s. ego "me" + prep eis into + noun acc.f.s. eremos desolate place, wilderness + prep en + noun loc.nt.s. pneuma spirit]; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast [kai. ei=don gunai/ka kaqhme,nhn evpi. qhri,on ko,kkinon [conj kai + aor.act.ind.1s. eidon see + noun acc.f.s. gune woman + pres.act.part.acc.f.s. kathemai sit + prep epi upon + noun acc.nt.s. therion beast + adj.acc.nt.s. kokkinos scarlet, crimson; kokkos is a scarlet "berry" actually the female of a scale insect with clings to oak leaves, dried and crushed to make red dye], full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns [ge,monÎtaÐ ovno,mata blasfhmi,aj( e;cwn kefala.j e`pta. kai. ke,rata de,ka [pres.act.part.acc.nt.s. gemo be full of + noun acc.nt.p. onoma name + noun gen.f.s. blasphemia blasphemy + pres.act.part.nom.m.s. echo have + noun acc.f.p. kephale head + adj.acc.f.p. hepta seven + conj kai + noun acc.nt.p. keras horn + adj.acc.nt.p. deka ten]).

ANALYSIS: VERSE 3

1. Following his introductory comments, the angelic interpreter transports John to a different environment where he gives him further insight into the harlot.
2. Very similar language describes John’s prophetic trance in 21:10.
3. This is the third of four instances in the Apocalypse of "in the spirit."
4. In the other three John finds himself on earth (1:10), in heaven (4:1), and on a mountain (21:10).
5. On this occasion the angel transports him to a region of barrenness and isolation.
6. The wilderness motif alludes to Isaiah’s "oracle concerning the wilderness" in the prophecy "fallen, fallen is Babylon."
7. It was in such a place that John the Baptist was schooled and from where he suddenly appeared to Israel (Mk. 1:3,4; Lk. 3:2,4; 7:24) and in the same place where Jesus faced temptation at the outset of His ministry (Mk. 1:12,13).
8. It was in such an environment that Israel wandered for forty years (Jn. 6:31).
9. Such places on the earth are largely empty of people and the land is not conducive to cultivation.
10. Wildernesses are places of peril to those who pass through.
11. Here the wilderness motif speaks to the spiritual desert the woman operates in.
12. She does not provide spiritual plenty to those who live under her rules.
13. From this new vantage point John sees a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, having seven heads and ten horns.
14. Her position astride the beast is quite apropos signifying the influence of the religious over the secular.
15. The scarlet beast the same one that appeared out of the sea in 13:1.
16. This citation does not mention the color but does mention the seven heads and ten horns and names of blasphemy.
17. The beast motif in prophetic literature denotes that which is wild, unpredictable and dangerous.
18. Certainly it does not suggest righteous rule but establishment rule that thrives on aggression and conquest.
19. This is true of the animal no matter who is in power (seven kings of antiquity beginning with Egypt and ending with the RRE or the four kingdoms of the day of the Lord specified in Daniel 7).
20. The scarlet red color is akin to the color of the "great red dragon" of 12:3 who likewise is pictured with seven heads and ten horns.
21. The color speaks to Satan’s murderous ways.
22. Regimes under his influences often, rather than not, resort to wars of aggression to further the policies of unprincipled men.
23. And the rider on the beast, in this case a woman, is a major contributor to the predations of the beast she more or less controls.
24. Military conquest of ancient regimes secured the blessing of the religious authority, the two being intertwined.
25. The beast is the empire and the head is the particular ruler (King, Pharaoh, Caesar, etc.) who embodies the spirit of the empire.
26. He controls the system, but the woman, namely the cult of the state, gives spiritual cohesion and justification to the political system.
27. The beast’s color (scarlet) matches part of the woman’s clothing (17:4).
28. This luxurious color symbolizes royalty.
29. Men mockingly placed a scarlet robe on Jesus before His crucifixion (Matt. 27:28-29).
30. The royal red and the royal purple is seen throughout history in connection with monarchy and royalty.
31. In chapter 19 a rider on a white horse will come with all his armies dressed in pure white.
32. The crimson on the beast’s body as noted above denotes bloodshed and murder as it does on the dragon in 12:3.
33. The crimson of the woman primarily denotes luxury and splendor.
34. The graffiti of blasphemy were on the seven heads in 13:1, but here they cover the beast’s body.
35. The masculine participle "full" has as its antecedent the neuter noun "beast" to represent the body politic within the various empires represented by the seven heads.
36. The body politic has no problem with the evil sponsored by the ruling classes and their leader, and the religious authority conditions the masses to accept this evil as the will of the gods or God as in the case of the RCC.
37. Rather than condemning and instructing the leader and the ruling classes in righteous behavior the corrupt pagan or apostate Christian system accommodates the secular power.
38. The graffiti on the heads denotes the doctrines the contradict God and His kingdom as it is espoused by the ruler, when the graffiti is seen on the body of the beast the idea is that these evil concepts are absorbed by the masses.
39. For instances, self-deification of the ruler is not questioned and the masses are inclined to regard the ruler as above the masses while he is living and after he dies he is regarded as a god.
40. Many other names signify things which are unworthy of God and sound doctrine (armies marched on crusades in the name of Christ and Mary, etc.).
41. The list of corrupt and blasphemous ideas is almost innumerable.
42. As noted before the ten horns are not distributed over the seven heads but for purposes of teaching Bible prophecy they reside on the seventh head.
43. They represent the ten leaders who constitute the ten nations of the Antichrist’s original cadre (cf. 17:12).
44. The relationship between this woman and the seven heads and the beast has existed throughout human history since the time of the origination of the mother-son cult way back to the tower of Babel.
45. Every nation and most certainly each of the seven empires signified by the seven heads (Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece and Rome) had this woman on its back.
46. She got here start in Nimrod’s day and her cult continues to the present time in the form of the Roman Catholic Church.
47. Satan has operated through evil individuals to hijack the promise to Eve that the seed of the woman would result in a savior.
48. She is referred to by the prophet Jeremiah as "the queen of heaven" (Jer. 7:18; 44:17,18,25), the very same designation that the RCC bestows upon Mary the mother of Jesus.
49. All of the abominations of the nations pretty much is connected to this cult, each having its own variations.

Her Identity Revealed (vv. 4-5)

VERSE 4 The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls (kai. h` gunh. h=n peribeblhme,nh porfurou/n kai. ko,kkinon kai. kecruswme,nh crusi,w| kai. li,qw| timi,w| kai. margari,taij [conj kai + art.w/noun nom.f.s. gune woman + imperf.act.ind.3s. eimi "was" + perf.mid.part.nom.f.s. periballo clothe onself + adj.acc.nt.s. porphurous purple + conj kai + adj.acc.nt.s. kokkinos scarlet, red + conj kai + perf.pass.part.nom.f.s. chrusoo made of gold, be gilded or adorned + noun dat.nt.s. chrusion gold jewelry + conj kai + noun dat.m.s. lithos stone + adj.dat.m.s. timios valuable, precious + conj kai + noun dat.m.p. margarites pearl], having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality [e;cousa poth,rion crusou/n evn th/| ceiri. auvth/j ge,mon bdelugma,twn kai. ta. avka,qarta th/j pornei,aj auvth/j [pres.act.part.nom.f.s. echo have + noun acc.nt.s. poterion cup + adj.acc.nt.s. chrusous golden + prep en + art.w/noun dat.f.s. cheir hand + pro.gen.f.s. aute her + pres.act.part.acc.nt.s. gemo be full + noun gen.nt.p. bdelugma abomination, detestable thing + conj kai + art.w/adj.acc.nt.p. akathartos unclean + art.w/noun gen.f.s. porneia fornication + pro.gen.f.s. aute her]),

ANALYSIS: VERSE 4

1. The extravagant and luxurious attire of the woman speaks to the wealth of the RCC and its clergy.
2. This extreme completely stands in contrast to the humble status of Jesus and His apostles.
3. Purple is the color of royalty and crimson is the color of splendor and luxury.
4. The Tyrian purple was gotten from shellfish harvested off the Phoenician coast.
5. The red or scarlet color was produced from the larvae of an insect (coccus).
6. One is reminded of the scarlet attire of the College of Cardinals.
7. The woman’s adornment with gold stands out because of ;the expression combining two cognates with the same idea (cf. Ex. 26:37, LXX).
8. She was "decked out with gold."
9. Precious stones and pearls enhance her attire even more.
10. Her appearance was like the greatest queen in order to impress and allure her lovers.
11. This extreme attention to her person may have reminded John of the temple prostitutes in Asia Minor, though prostitutes of all times tend to draw attention to their appearance (cf. Jer. 4:30).
12. This description is in contrast to the appearance of the bride of the Lamb whose apparel consists of "fine linen, bright and clean" speaking of the ultimate sanctification of the Royal Family at Christ’s coming (Rev. 19:8).
13. All of this point to the extreme wealth associated with the RCC and is on display in the formal attire of the Pope and his attendants, not to mention the wealth encrusted in the Vatican and the cathedrals around the world.
14. The priesthood associated with the mother-son cult was known in the nations for its display of luxury and wealth.
15. This display is beautifully rationalized by this corrupt system and feeds the approbation of the worshipers.
16. Regarding the robe of mockery placed upon Christ one NT writer describes it as scarlet (Matt. 27:28) and others says it was purple (Mk. 15:17,20; Jn. 19:2,5).
17. The final item mentioned is the golden cup in her hand.
18. This cup is pictured in the hand of a woman representing the RCC on a medal struck by Pope Leo XII (pg 6 "The Two Babylons" by Hislop).
19. The woman is portrayed with a cross in her left hand and a cup in her right hand with the inscription in Latin "The world is her seat."
20. She also wears a crown like the one on the woman on our Statue of Liberty.
21. The golden cup signifies her bogus claim to true spirituality while the contents suggest the very opposite.
22. The cup is said to be "full of abominations and of the unclean things of her fornication."
23. This refers to her corrupt and obnoxious doctrines/teachings.
24. In the ancient pagan incarnation the woman sponsored sacred prostitution among many other abominations.
25. The Catholic version sponsors celibacy of the clergy and salvation through marriage (one of the sacraments).
26. This woman entices the leaders of the nations to fornicate with her intoxicating both princes and commoners with her unclean doctrines.
27. All of the evil emanating from the head of this pseudo-church is in God’s eyes an abomination and those who buy into it are rendered unclean due to spiritual fornication.
28. Idolatry is spiritual fornication.
29. The worship of Mary and the crucifix is but a couple of examples.
30. All of the objects of adoration and there are many constitute idolatry in the name of Christ.
31. The Babylon of Rev. 18 is also portrayed as a golden cup in the hand of the Lord according to Jer. 51:7 intoxicating the nations who have elected to enter into various entanglements with this woman (USA).
32. Both of these women are known for their immense wealth.
33. God sees through the grandeur and labels the contents as "abominations" a term characteristic of idol worship in the OT (cf. Deut. 18:9; 29:17; 32:16; 1Kgs. 14:24; 2Kgs. 16:3; 21:2; 23:24; Ezek. 8:6,9,13,15,17; 11:18; 14:6; 16:2; 20:7,8).
34. "The unclean thins of her fornication" further defines those abominations.
35. The adjective "unclean" demonstrates the effect her doctrines have upon the masses that drink from the cup.
36. Her gross doctrines include transubstantiation, articular confession, salvation through the seven sacraments, papal infallibility, Mariolatry, prayers to the dead, adoration of the saints, purgatory, celibacy of the clergy, monasticism, penance, indulgences, et al.

VERSE 5 and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery (kai. evpi. to. me,twpon auvth/j o;noma gegramme,non( musth,rion (conj kai + prep epi upon + art.w/noun acc.nt.s. metopon forehead + pro.gen.f.s. aute her + noun nom.nt.s. onoma name + perf.pass.part.nom.nt.s. grapho write + noun nom.nt.s. musterion mystery], "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH [noun nom.f.s. Babulon Babylon + art.w/adj.nom.f.s. megas great + art.w/noun nom.f.s. meter mother + art.w/noun gen.f.p. porne prostitute, harlot, whore + conj kai + art.w/noun gen.nt.p. bdelugma abomination + art.w/noun gen.f.s. ge earth])."

ANALYSIS: VERSE 5

1. John also observed a label on the woman’s forehead, which provides a clue to her identity: "and upon her forehead a name was written, a mystery: "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." (and not "MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT…" as per the KJV).
2. Roman prostitutes had a trademark of wearing a band around their heads (cp. Jer. 3:3 "Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no rain. Yet you had a harlot’s forehead (e.g. defiance); you refused to be ashamed.").
3. The name or title is designated "a mystery."
4. This noun suggests that "Babylon" is a code for something.
5. This noun (musterion) occurs 28x in the NT and usually refers to a mystery to be revealed.
6. In other words, whatever is the object of the noun is hidden from some but revealed to others.
7. So here the true character and full identity of the woman are now the subjects of divine revelation.
8. The word implies a new revelation, not something that is beyond the understanding of men.
9. Outside the NT, for instance, it was used in connection with the mystery cults where only the initiates were privy to the teachings of a particular cult.
10. In the NT it is used of truths relative to the kingdom of God which are concealed from negative volition (Matt. 13:11//Mk. 4:11//Lk. 8:10).
11. One of its prominent subjects in the NT is the nature of the present dispensation (Rom. 11:25; 16:25; 1Cor. 2:7; 1Cor. 15:51; Eph. 1:9; 3:3,4,9; 5:32; Col. 1:26,27; 2:2; 4:3).
12. It is used once of the existence of Luciferianism (e.g. Illuminati) in 2Thess. 2:7 under the phrase "the mystery of lawlessness," the final manifestation of which is the appearance of the Antichrist.
13. It is used in connection with the gospel message as well as doctrine in general (1Cor. 2:1; 4:1; 13:2; 14:2; Eph. 6:19; Col. 4:3; 1Tim. 3:9, 16).
14. In Revelation it is used in connection with "the seven stars and the seven lampstands" (Rev. 1:20), the millennial age (10:7), and the woman and the beast on which she rides (17:5, 7).
15. With respect to the latter the angel tells John that he will reveal the mystery of the woman and the beast on which she rides.
16. A question about the syntactical function of musterion, whether it is in apposition to "name" or part of the inscription on the woman’s head is resolvable through a comparison with 14:8 and 18:2.
17. The woman’s name is "Babylon the Great," not Mystery Babylon the Great."
18. The noun musterion has a parenthetical independence favoring the rendering, "an inscription written, which is a mystery."
19. Here the mystery is to identity the entity (mother-son cult) with its corresponding evil (rank idolatry and superstition).
20. The system had its beginnings on the plains of Shinar (e.g. Babel) through the activities of Nimrod and his evil wife Semiramis.
21. Shinar is the OT designation for southern Mesopotamia, the alluvial plain between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.
22. The area was known by the Sumerians as Sumer and Akkad.
23. It later became known as Babylonia.
24. In two the eight references to Shinar in the OT it is called Babylonia in the LXX (Isa. 11:11; Zech. 5:11).
25. In Gen. 10:10 were are told that the great tyrant and empire builder Nimrod founded his kingdom in Babel, Erech (Sumerian Uruk), and Akkad (Agade) and Calneh in the land of Shinar.
26. From there he expanded his kingdom into Assyria.
27. It was here, in Shinar, that rebellious men built the well-known tower of Babel in defiance of God.
28. Nebuchadnezzar removes vessels from the temple of God to his temple in the land of Shinar according to Dan. 1:2.
29. According to Isa. 11:11 the land of Shinar is one of the places from which regathered Israel is brought back to the land of promise.
30. So Shinar or Babylon in Mesopotamia is the place where this system represented by this woman originated.
31. The deification of Nimrod (child) and the deification of Semiramis (mother goddess) after their deaths is the basis for the cult as is was spread around the globe.
32. "THE GREAT" signifies the tremendous influence this system of evil has had over the nations from antiquity to the present day.
33. It constitutes to this very day a gigantic system of moral and spiritual corruption (e.g. idolatry and superstition) unrivalled in the annuls of man.
34. "THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS" points to the replication of the system founded on the plains of Shinar among all nations, peoples and languages.
35. The Mother-Son cult found its way into the mainstream of empires and nations over the course of human history.
36. It spread from Babylon to Egypt and from there to other nations.
37. The nations founded as a result of the divisions of tongues were later introduced to the mythology of the mother, her special son, and her husband (both the son and the husband represented by Nimrod).
38. This seems the most likely way in which the cult was introduced to the nations.
39. The Chaldean mysteries can be traced back to Semiramis, that beautiful but abandoned queen, who lived only a few centuries after the Flood, who herself was a paragon of unbridled lust and immorality.
40. She had a hand in the formulation of the cult in which after her death she was worshipped as Rhea, the great "MOTHER" of the gods, with the gross immorality as identified with Venus (Greek), the MOTHER of all impurity..
41. She raised the great city to the grand seat of idolatry and consecrated prostitution.
42. This Chaldean queen is a fit prototype of the "Woman" in the Apocalypse, with the golden cup in her hand intoxicating the nations far and near and the name on her forehead "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
43. Again "MOTHER OF HARLOTS" points to origin and to progeny.
44. Babylon is the mother and her daughters are sisters in evil around the earth.
45. In Egypt the Mother and Child were worshipped under the names of Isis and Osiris, in India as Isi and Iswara (to this very day), in Greece as Irene, the goddess of Peace, with the boy Plutus in her arms, in pagan Rome as Fortuna and Jupiter, the boy; and even in Tibet, China, and Japan, the Jesuit missionaries were astonished to find the counterpart of Madonna and her child as devoutly worshipped as in Papal Rome itself; Shing Moo, the holy mother in China, being represented with a child in her arms, and a glory around her exactly as if a Roman artist had set her up.
46. It is of interest to note that according to Kennedy’s "Hindoo Mythology" (pg. 49) that though Iswara is the husband of Isi, he is also represented as an infant at her breast.
47. Baal was the name of the great male divinity in Babylon (and among the Canaanites) so the female was called Beltis.
48. This name found in Nineveh is applied to the "Mother of the gods."
49. Beltis is equivalent to "Baalti," which, in English is "My Lady," in Latin, "Mea Domini" and, in Italian, is corrupted into the well-known "Madonna."
50. In Greek this queen of heaven was "Hera," also designed "The Lady."
51. In the Attic dialect her name is Athena (cp. Athens, Greece).
52. The Catholic Madonna and the pagan goddess are both designated the "Queen of heaven" (cf. Jer. 7:18; 44:17,18,19,25; there is a song in a Catholic hymnal entitled "The Queen of Heaven").
53. In the propaganda the world is her seat (e.g. dominion) which corresponds to the prophetic imagery of a woman sitting on many waters.
54. The cult within the nations accounts for that part of the title on her forehead "THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS."
55. The "abominations" refers to all the idolatrous practices with their attendant immoralities and superstitions.
56. The "abominations" now refer to the doctrines (of demons; see 1Tim. 4:1ff.) and practices of Roman Catholicism that it large part were expropriated from pagan religion.
57. The high priest of paganism is now the office of the Pope (Pontifex Maximus).
58. He is said to sit in Saint Peter’s chair and is the supreme authority over all Christendom.
59. He is said to be infallible in matters of doctrine and faith.
60. The doctrine of salvation by works is seen in the seven sacraments.
61. The Mass is a corruption of the Lord’s Table where the blood and body of Christ are said to be literal under the doctrine of transubstantiation.
62. Idolatry is further seen in the worship of the cross and relics.
63. The system is at total odds with what we find in the NT canon.
64. The worship of Mary and the doctrine of perpetual virginity is well known.
65. Via this system Satan has hijacked the Scriptural teachings that go back to the Garden of Eden of a coming Messiah the seed of the woman which was the only faith on the earth immediately following the Flood.
66. The ringleaders of this apostasy were Cush (father of Nimrod), Nimrod and Semiramis.
67. All were defied and adopted by the nations around the globe, each adopting it to their particular cultures.
68. Babylon or Babel is the polluted fountain out of which idolatry arose.
69. Even the worship of the Sun, Moon and stars was the story of this evil trinity.
70. Catholicism is the morphing of the ancient idolatry using Biblical names to fool the masses.
71. This made it easy for pagans to convert to this form of Christianity as they had to give up little to keep their favorite practices.

 

 

Information Quoted Almost Verbatim From "The Two Babylons"

By Hislop

72. Babylon (Babel) is the primal source of the religious system of Egypt and Greece.
73. In all respects the "mysteries" in the different nations were the same.
74. Ancient authors say that arithmetic and astronomy came from Chaldea, noting that they were sacred sciences, and monopolized by the priests that is evidence that they must have derived their religion from the same quarter.
75. The statement of Bunsen is to the effect that the religious system of Egypt was derived from Asia, and "the primitive empire of Babel" (Bunsen’s Egypt, p. 34).
76. Layard speaking of the Chaldean Magi says, "Of the great antiquity of this primitive worship there is abundant evidence, and that it originated among the inhabitants of the Assyrian plains, we have the united testimony of sacred and profane history. It obtained the epithet of perfect, and was believed to be the most ancient of religious systems, having preceded that of the Egyptians (Egyptiis vero antiquiores esse MAGOS Aristolelea auctor est in printo de Philosophia libro—Theopompi Frag)." (Layard’s Ninevah and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 440).
77. He quotes the following from Birch on Babylonian cylinders and monuments: "The zodiacal signs…show unequivocally that the Greeks derived their notions and arrangements of the zodiac [and consequently their Mythology that was intertwined with it] from the Chaldees. The identity of Nimrod with the constellation Orion is not to be rejected." (Ibid. pp. 439, 440).
78. Now to the connections between ancient Babylonia and the Roman Catholic Church.
79. The ancient Babylonians, just as the modern Catholics, recognized in words the unity of the Godhead while worshipping innumerable minor deities, as possessed of certain influence upon human affairs, they distinctly acknowledged that there was ONE infinite and Almighty Creator, supreme over all (Jamblichus, sect. viii. chap. ii.; Macrobius, Saturnalia, p. 65).
80. Most other nations did the same.
81. "In the early ages of mankind," says Wilkinson in his "Ancient Egyptians," the existence of a sole and omnipotent Deity, who created all things, seems to have been the universal belief: and tradition taught men the same notions on this subject, which, in later times, have been adopted by all civilized nations." (Wilkerson, vol. iv. p. 179)
82. "The Gothic religion," says Mallet, "taught the being of a supreme God, Master of the Universe, to whom all things were submissive and obedient"─(Tacit. De Morib. Germ.).
83. The ancient Icelandic mythology calls him, "the Author of every living thing that exists, the eternal, the living, and awful Being; the searcher into concealed things, the Being that never changes" (Mallet’s Northern Antiquities, vol. i. pp. 7,8, 79).
84. It attributes to this deity "an infinite power, a boundless knowledge, and incorruptible justice."
85. We have evidence of the same having been the faith of ancient Hindostan.
86. Though modern Hinduism recognizes millions of gods, yet the Indian sacred books show that originally it has been far otherwise.
87. Major Moor, speaking of Brahma the supreme God of the Hindoos, says: "Of Him who’s Glory is so great, there is no image" (Veda).
88. He "illumines all, delights all, whence all proceeded; that by which they live when born, and that to which all must return" (Veda).
89. In the "Institutes of Menu," he is characterized as "He whom the mind alone can perceive; whose essence eludes the external organs, who has no visible parts, who exists from eternity… the soul of all beings, whom no being can comprehend."
90. The ancient Hindus exalted the ideas of the natural perfections of God, but there is evidence that they were well aware of the gracious character of God (e.g., God is love).
91. This is manifest from the very name Brahma which is just the Hebrew Rahm.
92. Rahm in the Hebrew signifies "the merciful or compassionate one" (Parkhurst’s Hebrew Lexicon).
93. But Rahm also signifies the bowels or the womb the seat of compassion.
94. We find the God Crishna, in one of the Hindu sacred books, when asserting his high divinity as his identity with the Supreme, using the words, "The great Brahma is my womb, and in it I place my foetus, and from it is the procreation of all nature. The great Brahma is the WOMB of all the various forms which are conceived in every natural womb." (Moor’s Pantheon "Crishna,’ p. 211).
95. Hislop writes, "How could such language ever have been applied to "the supreme Brahma, the most holy, the most high God, the Divine being, before all other gods; without birth, the mighty Lord, God of gods, the universal Lord," but from the connection between Rahm and "the womb" and Rahm "the merciful one?’"
96. "Here, then, we find that Brahma is just the same as "Er-Rahman," "the all-merciful one," ─ a title applied by the Turks to the Most High, and the Hindus, notwithstanding their deep religious degradation now, had once known that "the most holy and most high God," is also "the God of mercy," in other words, that he is "a just God and a Savior."
97. "In one of the Vedas speaking of Brahma, it is expressly stated that "ALL beings" are created from his MOUTH."
98. "After what has now been said, any one who consults the "Asiatic Researches" vol. vii. p. 293 may see that it is in great measure from a wicked perversion of this Divine title of the One Living and True God, a title (Brahma) that ought to have been so dear to sinful men, that all those moral abominations have come to make the symbols of the pagan temples of India so offensive to the eye of purity."
99. "In the unity of the one Only God of the Babylonians, there were three persons, and to symbolize that doctrine of the Trinity, they employed, as the discoveries of Layard prove, the equilateral triangle, just as it is well known in the Romish Church does at this day." (Layard’s Babylon and Ninevah, p. 605. The Egyptians use the triangle as a symbol of their "triform trinity." See Maurice’s Indian Antiquities, vol. iv. p. 445. London 1794.)
100. "The Papacy has in some of its churches, as, for instance, in the monastery of the so-called Trinitarians of Madrid, an image of the Triune God, with three heads on one body. The Babylonians had something of the same."
101. "Mr. Layard, in his last work, has given a specimen of such a triune divinity, worshipped in ancient Assyria."
102. "Of such another divinity, worshipped among the pagans of Siberia, is taken from medal in the Imperial Cabinet of St. Petersburg, and given in Parson’s "Japhet."
103. In India, the supreme divinity, in like manner, in one of the most ancient cave-temples is represented with three heads on one body, under the name of "Eko Deva Trimuritti," "One God, three forms."
104. In Japan, the Buddhists worship their great divinity, Buddah, with three heads, in the very same form, under the name "San Pao Fuh." (Gillespie’s Sinim, p. 60.)
105. All these have existed from most ancient times, while overlaid with idolatry, the recognition of the Trinity was universal in all the ancient nations of the world, proving how deep-seated in the human race was the primeval doctrine on the subject, which comes out so distinctly in Genesis (e.g. the threefold invocation of the sacred name in the blessing of Jacob bestowed on the sons of Joseph is very striking (Gen. 48:15-16). If the angel here referred to had not been God, Jacob could never have invoked him as on equality with God. In Hosea 12:3-8, "The Angel who redeemed" Jacob is expressly called God.).
106. All such attempts to portray the Trinity fall under the condemnation of Isa. 40:18 "To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?"
107. All such attempts are repugnant and blasphemous.
108. A circle in Chaldea was SERO; and sero was also signified "the seed" in the mystic system founded on double meanings.
109. Now, viewed in this light, the triune emblem of the supreme Assyrian divinity shows clearly what had been the true patriarchal faith.
110. First there is the head of an old man; next, there is the zero, or circle for "the seed" (2^nd Person), and lastly, the wings and tail of the bird or dove; showing though blasphemously, the unity of the Father, Seed, and Holy Spirit (Hislop, fig. 3, p. 17).
111. This depiction comes from Sennacherib’s time.
112. Hislop contends that over time "the first Person in the Godhead was practically overlooked. As the Great Invisible, taking no immediate concern in human affairs, he was "to be worshipped through silence alone," that is, in point of fact, he was not to be worshipped by the multitude at all (Jamblichus, On the Mysteries sect. vii. chap. ii).
113. In India according to the sacred books Brahma is the first person of the Hindu Triad, and the religion of Hindustan is called by his name, yet he is never worshipped, and there is scarcely a single Temple in all India now in existence of those that were formerly erected to his honor (Ward’s View of the Hindus opud Kennedy’s Researches into Ancient and Modern Mythology, p. 195).
114. "So it is in those countries of Europe where the Papal system is most completely developed."
115. "In Papal Italy, as travelers universally admit, all appearances of worshipping the King Eternal and Invisible are almost extinct, while the Mother and the Child are the grand objects of worship."
116. "The Babylonians in their popular religion supremely worshipped a Goddess Mother and a Son, who was represented in the pictures and in images as an infant or a child in his mother’s arms. (Figs. 5 and 6).
117. "In Egypt, the Mother and the Child were worshipped under the names of Isis and Osiris; in India, even to this day, as Isi and Iswara; in Asia, as Cybele and Deoius; in pagan Rome as Fortuna and Jupiter, the boy; in Greece as Ceres, the goddess of Peace, with the boy Plutus in her arms; and even in Tibet, in China, and Japan, the Jesuit missionaries were astonished to find the counterpart of Madonna and her child as devoutly worshipped as in Papal Rome itself; Shing Moo, the Holy Mother in China, being represented with a child in her arms and a glory around her, exactly as if a Roman Catholic artist had been employed to set her up." (Crabb’s Mythology, p. 120).
118. The original of that mother, so widely worshipped, there is reason to believe, was Semiramis, who was worshipped by the Babylonians, and other eastern nations under the name Rhea, the great goddess "Mother."
119. It was from her son, however, that she derived all her glory and claims to deification.
120. That son, though represented as a child in his mother’s arms, was a person of immense physical prowess (cf. Gen. 10:8).
121. He is referred to in Ezek 8:14 under the name Tammuz, commonly known among classical writers as Bacchus, "the Lamented One."
122. Bacchus is more commonly associated with drunken orgies.
123. In all the abominations that attended his drunken revelries their grand design was "the purification of souls," and that from the guilt and defilement of sin (Servius, in Georg., lib. i. vol. ii. p. 197, and in AEneid, lib. vi. vol. i. p. 400).
124. This lamented one, exhibited and adored as a little child in his mother’s arms, seems, in point of fact, to have been the husband of Semiramis, whose name is Ninus, by which he is commonly known in classical history as "the Son."
125. As Semiramis, the wife, was worshipped as Rhea, who distinguishing character was that of the great goddess "Mother," the conjunction with her "husband" under the name of Ninus, or "the Son," was sufficient to originate the peculiar worship of the Mother and Son," so extensively diffused among the nations of antiquity; and this , no doubt, is the explanation of the fact which has so much puzzled the inquirers into ancient history, that Ninus is sometimes called the husband, and sometimes the son of Semiramis (Layard’s Ninevah and its Remains, vol.ii. p. 480).
126. This accounts for the very same confusion of relationship between Isis and Osiris, the mother and child of the Egyptians; for as Bunsen shows, Osiris was represented in Egypt as the at once the son and husband of his mother; and actually bore, as one of his titles of dignity and honor, the name "Husband of the Mother." (Bunsen, vol. i. pp. 438, 439).
127. The Indian god Iswara is represented as being at the breast of his own wife, Isi or Parvati.
128. Ninus, or "Son," borne in the arms of the Babylonian Madonna, is clearly linked with Nimrod.
129. "Ninus, king of the Assyrians," says Trogua Pompeius, epitomized by Justin, "first of all changed contented moderation of ancient manners, incited by a new passion, the desire of conquest. He was the first who carried on war against his neighbors, and he conquered all nations from Assyria to Lybia, as they were yet unacquainted with the arts of war." (Justin’s Tergus Pompeius, Hist. Rom. Script. vol. ii. p. 615).
130. The account of Diodorus Siculus entirely agrees with it, and adds another trait: "Ninus, the most ancient of Assyrian kings mentioned in history, performed great actions. Being naturally of a warlike disposition, and ambitious of glory that results from valor, he armed a considerable number of young men that were brave and vigorous like himself, trained them up a long time in laborious exercises and hardships, and by that means accustomed them to bear the fatigues of war, and to face dangers with intrepidity." (Diodorus, Bibliotheca, lib. ii. p. 63).
131. This quotation reflects that part of Nimrod’s career as seen in Gen. 10:9.
132. The conclusions deduced from the testimonies of ancient history regarding this first king of Nineveh (Assyria) finds support in the correct translation of Gen. 10:11-12 (NAS "From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh (which means "residence of Ninus) and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah and Resen between Ninevah and Calah; that is a great city."
133. Nimrod (Ninus) was the original builder of the famous city of Ninevah (one of the chief ruins of Nineveh is Nimroud; Layard vol. i. p. 7).
134. Ninus is said to be the son of Bel, and Bel is said to be the founder of Babylon.
135. If Ninus was in reality the first king of Babylon (Gen. 10:11), how could his father be said to be the founder of it?
136. Hislop concludes that Bel is the deity behind the historical Cush, the father of Nimrod and son of Ham; and Cush is represented as being a ringleader in the great apostasy after the Flood.
137. As the son of Ham, Cush was Hermes (or Mercury), for Hermes is just an Egyptian synonym for "the son of Ham."
138. As such Hermes was the great prototype prophet of idolatry ("Her" is in Chaldee equal to Ham, "the burnt one." The name Ham was the basis for covertly identifying Ham with the "sun" and so deifying the patriarch, in fact Egypt was dubbed "the land of Ham" or "Khem." [Bunsen]. "Her" is equal to Horus. Further "Mes" or "Me" means "to bring forth." So Hermes (the interpreter of the gods) means "son of Ham" the burnt one, that is, Cush).
139. Gesenius identifies him (Cush) with the Babylonian Nebo, the prophetic god; then there is the statement of Hyginus that shows he was identified as the agent which produced the division of tongues.
140. His words are: "For many ages men lived under the government of Jove [evidently not the Roman Jupiter, but Yahweh of the Hebrews], without cities and without laws, and all speaking one language."
141. It is reasonable to assume that Cush founded Babylon (Babel).
142. In the Babylonian pantheon he is known as Bel (a deity mentioned only 3x in OT: Isa. 46:1; Jer. 50:2, 51:44).
143. The founder of the city of Babylon (Babel in land of Shinar) is one Nimrod (Gen. 10:8-12).
144. Nimrod was not just a physically endowed man; he was a tyrannical leader of men.
145. The phrase "a mighty hunter before the LORD" suggests in context someone who used his hunting prowess as a training ground for his military conquests to enslave the early post-deluvian civilization residing in Mesopotamia.

Her Murderous Ways (v.6)

VERSE 6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints (kai. ei=don th.n gunai/ka mequ,ousan evk tou/ ai[matoj tw/n a`gi,wn [conj kai + aor.act.ind.1s. eidon saw + art.w/noun acc.f.s. gune woman + pres.act.part.acc.f.s. methuo get drunk + prep ek + art.w/noun abl.nt.s. haima blood + art.w/adj./noun gen.m.p. hagios saint], and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus [kai. evk tou/ ai[matoj tw/n martu,rwn VIhsou/. [conj kai + prep ek + art.w/noun abl.nt.s. haima blood + art.w/noun gen.f.p. martus witness; martyr + noun gen.m.s. Jesus]).

When I saw her, I wondered greatly (Kai. evqau,masa ivdw.n auvth.n qau/ma me,ga [conj kai + aor.act.ind.1s. thaumazo be amazed/astonished + aor.act.part.nom.m.s. eidon saw + pro.acc.f.s. aute her + noun acc.nt.s. thauma astonishment + adj.acc.nt.s. megas great, much; exceedingly]).

ANALYSIS: VERSE 6

1. Having been transported into a wilderness John sees a woman astride a scarlet colored beast (v.3) clothed in elaborate a expensive attire having a cup in her hand (v.4) with an inscription on her forehead establishing her identity (v.5).
2. In this verse she is described as drunk with blood.
3. It is not said how John knew she was drunk much less what it was that made her drunk.
4. Not only does she intoxicate others with the enticements (or incitements) of her lust; she herself is intoxicated with blood lust.
5. Among the ancients being drunk with blood alluded to lust for violence and mass slaughter, and the maddening effect such murderous actions had on the perpetrators.
6. John lived in an empire that had slaughtered many Christians at the behest of the state and the religious cult centered in Rome.
7. This woman had done all of this during her association with the sixth head (Roman Empire).
8. A series of state sponsored pogroms against Christians spanned the first century AD.
9. The one sponsored by Nero took the lives of Peter and Paul.
10. Her murderous ways were made possible by complicent rulers from Roman times to the present.
11. Various of these rulers were fanatical Roman Catholics who at the Woman’s instigation slaughter and martyred many true believers in Jesus Christ.
12. The Inquisition is a case in point.
13. Had it not been for the cooperation and muscle of the Queen of Spain the Inquisition would not have happened.
14. Believers who would not bow the knee to the Papacy were targeted in those domains that were Roman Catholic.
15. Church history is replete with the slaughter of non-conformist saints.
16. The doctrine that she adheres to is the doctrine that it is legitimate to kill heretics and nonconformists.
17. Any and all who dared to worship according to their own conscience were brutally attacked.
18. Jesus warned his disciples that they would be called upon to suffer at the hands of religious fanaticism (Jn. 16:2).
19. Christians first suffered under Jewish sponsored persecution, then under pagan rulers, and then under Papal attacks.
20. John sees in the drunken woman attacks against the saints which are sponsored by so-called Christians.
21. The Church has no such mandate, and certainly it does not have the authority to influence rulers to commit such crimes.
22. Confiscation of property, torture, abducting children of Christians and placing them in Catholic institutions, and the outright execution of believers by burning them alive was commonplace.
23. John’s amazement at what he saw provides a natural transition to the angel’s explanation with respect to the beast and the Woman that follows in verses 8 through 18.
24. The literal translation of John’s reaction to this grotesque scene is as follows: "And I was astonished with a great astonishment at having seen her."
25. The language points to total amazement.
26. John saw her for what she really was versus the public persona seen by the cosmos.
27. The precise reason for his great amazement is unstated.
28. It probably was a combination of things that blew his mind.
29. Perhaps it was her incredible wickedness that belied her splendid attire, or it could have been that fact he did not fully understand what he was seeing.
30. His thoughts were no doubt reeling as he tried to understand what this Woman and the beast she rode signified in terms of future developments.
31. This Woman and the cult she is identified with morphed into a false Christian system known at the Roman Catholic Church.

A Rhetorical Question (v.7)

VERSE 7 And the angel said to me, "Why do you wonder (kai. ei=pe,n moi o` a;ggeloj( Dia. ti, evqau,masaj [conj kai + aor.act.ind.3s. lego say + pro.dat.m.s. ego "to me" + art.w/noun nom.m.s. angelos angel + prep dia because + indef.pro.acc.nt.s. tis why + aor.act.ind.2s. thaumazo wonder, marvel, be amazed])?

I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her [evgw. evrw/ soi to. musth,rion th/j gunaiko.j kai. tou/ qhri,ou tou/ basta,zontoj auvth,n [pro.nom.s. ego I + fut.act.ind.1s. lego say, tell + pro.dat.m.s. su you + art.w/noun acc.nt.s. musterion mystery, secret + art.w/noun gen.f.s. gune woman + conj kai + art.w/noun gen.nt.s. therion beast + art/w.pres.act.part.gen.nt.s. bastazon carry, transport + pro.acc.f.s. aute her], which has the seven heads and the ten horns [tou/ e;contoj ta.j e`pta. kefala.j kai. ta. de,ka ke,rata [art.w/pres.act.part.gen.nt.s. echo have + art.w/adj.acc.f.p. hepta seven + noun acc.nt.p. kephale head + conj kai + art.w/adj.acc.f.p. hepta seven + noun acc.nt.p. keras horn]).

ANALYSIS: VERSE 7

1. Until John was granted insight into the mystery of the Woman and the Beast he was on shaky ground as to the significance of what he had just seen.
2. This, along with the horrific evil of the Woman, accounts for his mental state.
3. He was in a mental spin unable to put it all together.
4. The angel poses a question and proceeds to supply the necessary clues so John can cope with what he has just witnessed.
5. The visual experience had him in a spin which was remedied by the interpretative data of verses 8 through 18.
6. There is no substitute for hard facts to settle the mind when confronted with a mystery.
7. In other words, the angel is telling him that there is no need for mental anxiety as this "mystery" is about to be laid bare.
8. John was supplied with the essential data so he could have reasonable confidence as to the identity of the Woman and the Beast.
9. The visual minus the understanding led to his unhealthy state of mind.
10. It is one thing to be amazed by a phenomena and another not to understand what is behind it.
11. Understanding goes a long way to calming the emotions.
12. The noun mystery means essentially "the secret."
13. The objective is to come to a realization of who and what the two entities represent in historical terms.
14. John will be given clues and easily recognizable symbols so he can solve the mystery.
15. Given the information to follow there is no excuse not to understand the vision.
16. John probably did not foresee the morphing of the Woman into a corrupt Christian manifestation we know as the RCC.
17. Observing John’s astonishment the angel asks him a rhetorical question: "Why do you keep on being astonished?"
18. The angel, not waiting for an answer, proceeds to announce his intention to supply John with "the mystery (secret) of the woman and the beast that carriers her."
19. Actually there is two entities that are to be revealed.
20. The mystery is singular with two parts.
21. The angel begins with a much more detailed exposition of the identity of the beast (vv. 8-17) and a less extensive one for the woman (vv. 9, 18).
22. What has been hidden to the seer will now be revealed in a deductive fashion rather than a direct approach.
23. Certain keys are given that open the door to identification.
24. It is up to the student to connect the dots (cf. v. 9).
25. The information relative to the identity of the beast has several parts: the beast himself (vv. 8-11), the seven heads (vv. 9-11), and the ten horns (vv. 16-17).

The Identity of the Beast (v. 8)

VERSE 8 "The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction (to. qhri,on o] ei=dej h=n kai. ouvk e;stin kai. me,llei avnabai,nein evk th/j avbu,ssou kai. eivj avpw,leian [art.w/noun nom.nt.s. therion beast + pro.acc.nt.s. ho which + aor.act.ind.2s. eidon see + imperf.act.ind.3s. eimi "was" + conj kai + neg ouk not + pres.act.ind.3s. eimi "is" + conj kai + pres.act.ind.3s. mello be about + pres.act.inf. anabaino ascend, go up + prep ek fron + art.w/noun abl.f.s. abussos abyss, underworld + conj kai + prep eis to + noun acc.f.s. apoleia destruction + pres.act.ind.3s. hupago go away]).

And those who dwell on the earth (kai. qaumasqh,sontai oi` katoikou/ntej evpi. th/j gh/j [conj kai + fut.pass.ind.3p. thaumazo be astonished + art.w/pres.act.part.nom.m.p. katoikeo dwell, settle down + prep epi upon + art.w/noun gen.f.s. ge earth], whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world [w-n ouv ge,graptai to. o;noma evpi. to. bibli,on th/j zwh/j avpo. katabolh/j ko,smou [pro.gen.m.p. hos "whose" + neg ou not + perf.pass.ind.3s. grapho write + art.w/noun onoma name + prep epi on + art.w/noun acc.nt.s. biblion book, scroll + art/noun gen.f.s. zoe life + prep apo from + noun gen.f.s. katabole foundation + noun gen.m.s. kosmos world], will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come [blepo,ntwn to. qhri,on o[ti h=n kai. ouvk e;stin kai. pare,stai [pres.act.part.gen.m.p. blepo see + art.w/noun acc.nt.s. therion beast + conj hoti that + imperf.act.ind.3s. eimi "was" + conj kai + neg ouk not + pres.act.ind.3s. eimi "is" conj kai + fut.mid.ind.3s. pareimi be present, be here, show up]).

ANALYSIS: VERSE 8

1. In explaining the mystery of the beast the angel supplies introductory clues as to the identity.
2. John is told the amazing fact that the beast "was and is not."
3. In other words the beast is an individual (cf. 11:7 and 13:3-7) who in John’s day "was and is not."
4. "Was" refers to some indefinite time period in the past from the perspective of John’s day.
5. "Is not" refers to John’s historical context, namely the rule of the 6^th head, that being the Roman Empire (cf. v.10).
6. Each of the seven heads of the beast is a precursor to the coming beast with respect to satanic influence over the kingdoms.
7. The phrase "is not" would exclude the 6^th head/beast from the imperfect indicative translated correctly "was."
8. This will be further clarified in verse 10.
9. The beast that "is not" must therefore be some future ruler presiding over and empire.
10. Again, this individual must have had an existence prior to the "and is not" represented by the 6^th head.
11. The seven heads represent seven kingdoms/empires symbolically portrayed as mountains (v.9).
12. The ruler(s) of each of these empires is also symbolized in successive heads (v.10).
13. As to the mystery of someone who "was and is not" the solution is made transparent in the words of the angel "and is about to come up out of the abyss."
14. We know now where this mysterious future ruler is, he is in the underworld as signified by the term "abyss."
15. His ascent will be from the realm of the underworld when the time is right.
16. This noun occurs 9x in the NT: Lk. 8:31; Rom. 10:7; Rev. 9:1,2,11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1,3.
17. It is a general term like Sheol for the place of the departed dead (cf. Rom. 10:7).
18. Satan will be cast down to this realm at the outset of the 1000 years (Rev. 20:1,3).
19. Demon hordes will come out of this place in connection with 5^th trumpet judgment (Rev. 9:1,2).
20. Two verses are devoted to the place from whence the Antichrist makes his appearance (Rev. 11:7; 17:8).
21. Consistency in interpretation demands that we take the term here and in 11:7 to be an actual place as in the other verses cited.
22. Some say that the coming to life again of the Beast or Antichrist is in reference to his assassination mentioned in 13:14.
23. The problem with this is that the angel tells John that "he was" indicating his existence prior to John’s day.
24. Some interpreters take "was" to indicate kinship with the rulers of the past; namely that they share a common spiritual legacy.
25. Problem with that are the words "is not."
26. Why wouldn’t he have a kinship with head number six?
27. The words "he is not" correspond to the "one is" of verse 10.
28. Clearly the Beast is an unbeliever who "will ascend out of the abyss," that is, out of hell.
29. The beast, the 7^th head, and the odd or 11^th horn on the 7^th head all refer to the one and the same personage.
30. With regard to his tribulational career not only will he ascend on the world scene from his place in hell, he will "go to destruction."
31. The preposition phrase "go to destruction" occurs 5x in the NT; two of which refer to the sin unto death (Acts 8:20; Heb. 10:39) and three of which refer to the second death (Rom. 9:22; Rev. 17:8,11).
32. The noun apoleia is used of the eternal loss of unbelievers as per Matt. 7:13; Phil. 1:28 Jn. 17:12 (Judas); Rom. 9:22; 2Thess. 2:3 (title for Antichrist); 2Pet. 2:1,3,16).
33. The connotation of this noun is total destruction of a thing or person (cf. Mk. 14:4).
34. It is used in connection with the loss and shame facing the reversionistic believer (Phil. 3:19).
35. From what we learn from Rev. 19:20 is refers, in our present verse 8, to the Lake of Fire.
36. Verse 8b records the reaction on the part of the world of unbelievers to the supernatural arrival of this man on the world stage.
37. Unbelievers are described here as those who name(s) are not recorded on the most important register of them all.
38. While believers live alongside unbelievers in the world of the tribulation (as now), throughout the Book of Revelation the unsaved are referred to as "those who dwell on the earth" (cf. Rev. 3:10; 6:10; 11:10; 13:14; 14:6; 17:8).
39. The implication is that this life is the end all and be all for those who are without hope.
40. Both here and in 13:8 we see that unbelievers are characterized by those whose name are not recorded in the Book of Life (cf. 20:15).
41. Names are prewritten in the Book of Life based on foreknowledge.
42. The thing that especially wows the negative volition in the world is stated in the same terms as in verse 8a, namely, "that he was and is not and will come."
43. This would be inappropriate especially in light of "will come" the future indicative of pareimi (will arrive).
44. When this famous man from antiquity arrives on the scene in such a fashion as to prove who he is the human race will experience extreme soulish excitement.
45. What is it that causes them to marvel "when they see (i.e., perceive) that he was, and is not and will come."
46. The human race will see, not through the eye-gate, but through the eyes of the intellect that this man preexisted Roman times and somehow has made a reappearance as the same person he once was only in a modern persona.
47. The only conclusion that satisfies the data in this verse and in verse 10 is that he will have to be resuscitated and only God can do that.
48. The smartest people in the world and those in the best position to examine his claims will objectively and scientifically be convinced of his claims.
49. Probably this will require such things as a DNA test and the discovery of his remains in time for his resurrection from the dead.
50. God will make his appearance a reality in accord with 2Thess. 2:11: "And for this reason God will send them a deluding influence so that they will believe the lie."
51. The assassination of the Antichrist in the first half of the tribulation and his immediate recovery will add to the frenzy (cf. 13:3).
52. If God can do it once, He can do it twice.
53. Upon his return Satan will throw his total support behind this man who is willing to worship Lucifer (Rev. 13:2b: "And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.").

Toward Identifying the Man of Lawlessness

(vv. 9-11)

VERSE 9 "Here is the mind which has wisdom (w-de o` nou/j o` e;cwn sofi,an [adv hode here + art.w/noun nom.m.s. nous mind, intellect + art.w/pres.act.part.nom.m.s. echo have + noun acc.f.s. sophia]).

The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits (ai` e`pta. kefalai. e`pta. o;rh eivsi,n( o[pou h` gunh. ka,qhtai evpV auvtw/nÅ [art.w/adj.nom.f.p. hepta seven + noun nom.f.p. kephale head + adj.nom.nt.p. hepta seven + noun nom.nt.p. horos mountain + pres.act.ind.3p. eimi "are" + adv opou where; "on which" + art.w/noun nom.f.s. gune woman + pres.dep.ind.3s. kathemai sit + prep epi + pro.gen.nt.p. autos "on them"]),

VERSE 10 "and they are seven kings (kai. basilei/j e`pta, eivsin [conj and + noun nom.m.p. basileus king + adj.nom.m.p. hepta seven + pres.act.ind.3p. eimi "are"]; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come [oi` pe,nte e;pesan( o` ei-j e;stin( o` a;lloj ou;pw h=lqen [art.w/adj.nom.m.p. pente five + aor.act.ind.3p. pipto fall + art.w/adj.nom.m.s. eis one + pres.act.ind.3s. eimi "is" + art.w/adj.nom.m.s. allos another (same kind) + adv oupo not yet + aor.act.ind.3s. erchomai come]; and when he comes, he must remain a little while [kai. o[tan e;lqh| ovli,gon auvto.n dei/ mei/nai [conj kai + adv hotan when + aor.act.subj.3s. erchomai come + adj.\adv oligon little + pro.acc.m.s. autos here in oblique sense referring to an expressed or implied antecedent + pres.act.ind.3s. dei to bind; must + aor.act.infin. meno abide, remain])

ANALYSIS: VERSES 9-10

1. The header for this section to the end of the chapter is supplied by the angel as: "Here is the mind which has wisdom."
2. Acquiring wisdom (e.g. divine viewpoint) is the first principal of wisdom (cf. Prov. 4:7 "The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding." Cf. also Prov. 1:7; 2:2, 6,7; 3:13; 8:1-14; 9:10; 10:31; 11:2; 15:33; 16:16; 18:1).
3. This header constitutes and offer or invitation to John and all who would contemplate these matters.
4. In 13:18 a similar expression is used after the prophetic data is presented while here it comes before the exposition.
5. Only those who latch on to the divine identification of the details can it be said that they have wisdom.
6. The mind/intellect that grasps the intended meaning of these symbols is the mind that has fellowship with the One who is the Author of these things.
7. What follows to the end of this chapter is not in the form of a vision.
8. These verses are rather an explanation or commentary on the vision.
9. The key to wisdom with respect to the seven heads is that they are seven mountains on which the woman sits.
10. This has been the subject of much debate.
11. To say that the seven heads are seven emperors makes no sense in light of verse 10 where five have fallen and one is.
12. The emperor when John wrote in c. 96AD was Domitian the last of the Flavian Emperors and counting back five emperors from him we come to Galba, which leaves out all of the Julio-Claudian line (Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero).
13. Even if we dispense with Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, who ruled briefly we would have to leave out Tiberius and Augustus.
14. The only way we could make this fit is to redate the Book of Revelation to the reign of Nero of which there is no support.
15. Not to mention the fact that there were many emperors that followed Domitian (e.g. Nerva and Trajan, etc.).
16. The view that finds a geographical significance in the seven hills on which the city of Rome was built has had wide appeal.
17. Seven hills were the nucleus of the city on the left bank of the Tiber River.
18. Roman coinage and literature has made much of the city’s topography.
19. This view is made nonsensical as there is no connection between seven hills in Rome and seven Roman emperors in the next verse.
20. This view gives the heads a double meaning, one geographical and the other political, but its most obvious flaw is its failure to make a distinction between the woman and the beast.
21. The view that has no such difficulties is the one that says the seven heads and mountains represent seven successive empires, headed by the seven kings of verse 10.
22. Each king is a personification of the many rulers who occupied the throne of these seven empires.
23. The first six kingdoms working backward is Rome (the "one is"), Greece, Medo-Persia, Babylon, Assyria and Egypt.
24. The seventh is the kingdom of the Beast which happens to be Rome revived according to Dan. 7:7-8, 19-24 (cf. 9:26).
25. The view that serves the text is that the seven kings represent seven literal Gentile kingdoms/empires that follow one another in succession.
26. Verse 10 provides confirmation of this match as seen in the words "five have fallen."
27. The five kingdoms of the past are five kingdoms who interacted with the Chosen People.
28. So the angel’s clarifying word to John about the seven heads spans essentially the entire history of the Chosen People onward to the Church Age.
29. The future and final leader and his empire will have a short life span according to verse 10: "the other has not yet come. And when he comes he must remain a little while."
30. The "little while" constitutes the seven years of the Tribulation, which is a brief rule by any standard.
31. One more thing before we move on: the woman is said to sit on the seven mountains, indicating here presence as far back as at least the Egyptian dominance (1^st head or mountain).
32. As noted many times mountains are employed in Biblical symbolism for major world powers while hills are used to illustrate lesser entities (Jer. 16:16; 50:6; 51:25).
33. The future kingdom of Christ is likened to a mountain (Isa. 2:2; Dan. 2:35, 45).
34. We have seen the woman as sitting on many waters (Rev. 17:1); astride the beast with seven heads and ten horns (17:3) and here sitting on seven mountains suggesting here continuity from the ancient past into the prophetic future.
35. Here the woman is said to be sitting on seven mountains which corresponds to sitting on a beast having seven heads.
36. The seven mountains constitute six ancient empires plus a future kingdom/empire, the empire of the Beast or Antichrist.
37. Again, the seven in order are Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece, Rome and the Revived Roman Empire, known today as the European Union.
38. The seven mountains or heads correspond to seven series of autocrats/kings.
39. The various Pharaohs for instances constitute king or head number one, and so on.
40. The phrase "five are fallen" (oi` pe,nte e;pesan) is to be taken from the perspective of John’s era when Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia and Greece had ceased as the dominant Gentile world power.
41. And, "the one is" (o` ei-j e;stin) corresponds to the Roman Empire, head number six.
42. Finally, the third phrase, "the other has not yet come" (o` a;lloj ou;pw h=lqen) corresponds to the ascendancy of the Antichrist over the EU during the seven year tribulation.
43. Seven years is as very short time hence the words "and when he comes, he must remain a little while."
44. The seven year tribulation satisfies this assertion.

The Beast’s Career Relative to the Ten Horns

(vv. 11-12)

VERSE 11 "The beast which was and is not (kai. to. qhri,on o] h=n kai. ouvk e;stin [conj kai + art.w/noun nom.nt.s. therion beast (wild) + rel.pro.nom.nt.s. ho which + imperf.act.ind. eimi "was" + conj kai + neg ouk not + pres.act.ind.3s. eimi "is"], is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction [kai. auvto.j o;gdoo,j evstin kai. evk tw/n e`pta, evstin( kai. eivj avpw,leian u`pa,gei [conj kai also + pro.nom.m.s. autos himself + adj.nom.m.s. ogdoos eighth + pres.act.ind.3s. "is" + conj kai + art.w/adj.gen.m.p. hepta seven + pres.act.ind.3s. eimi "is" + conj kai + prep eis into, to + noun acc.f.s. apoleia destruction, ruin + pres.act.ind.3s. hupago go, go away]).

VERSE 12 "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom [kai. ta. de,ka ke,rata a] ei=dej de,ka basilei/j eivsin( oi[tinej basilei,an ou;pw e;labon [conj kai + art.w/adj.nom.nt.p. deka ten + noun nom.nt.p. keras horn + pro.acc.nt.p. ho which + aor.act.ind.2s. eidon see + adj.nom.m.p. deka ten + noun nom.m.p. basileus king + pres.act.ind.3p. eimi "are" + pro.nom.m.p. hostis who + noun acc.f.s. basileia kingdom + adv oupo not yet + aor.act.ind.3p. lambano receive], but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour [avlla. evxousi,an w`j basilei/j mi,an w[ran lamba,nousin meta. tou/ qhri,ou [conj alla but + noun acc.f.s. ekousia authority + conj hos as + noun nom.m.p. basileus king + adj.acc.f.s. mia one + noun acc.f.s. hora hour + pres.act.ind.3p. lambano receive + prep meta with + art.w/noun gen.nt.s. therion beast]).

ANALYSIS: VERSES 11-12

1. The final antagonist, the Antichrist, or Beast, as he is referred to in the Apocalypse, is for the third and final time referenced as "the beast which was and is not" (cf. Rev. 17:8 where this occurs 2x).
2. This man is further referenced as "an eighth," which expands on his career.
3. "An eighth" is unintelligible apart from Dan. 7:8 "While I was contemplating the horns (ten in number), behold, another horn (an 11^th), a little one, came up among them, and three of the first (i.e., ten) were pulled out by the roots before it (horn eleven), and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things."
4. This is further validated in Dan. 7:24 "As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom (EU) ten kings will arise, and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings."
5. Nowhere in Revelation is there a direct statement about the overthrow of three of the ten.
6. Only here with the enigmatic "an eighth" do we have a echo of Dan. 7:14.
7. Without directly saying that the Beast or "little horn" is "an eleventh" that is the obvious indication of Dan. 7:20 "and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn (11^th) which came up, and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth speaking great things and which was larger in appearance than its associates."
8. This is the list of verses referencing the ten horns: Dan. 7:7, 20, 24; Rev. 12:3; 13:1; 17:3, 7, 12, 16.
9. The ten horns are located on the 7^th head of the dragon (12:3) and on the 7^th head of the scarlet beast (13:1; 17:3).
10. So ten plus one minus three equals eight.
11. The words "and is one of the seven" must refer to the seven heads and not the ten horns to make any sense.
12. Literally, he "is from the seven," which identifies the Antichrist with those who preceded him.
13. When we compare the phrases "was and is not" and "five have fallen" with the verses pertaining to his ascent from the afterlife (Rev. 11:7; 17:8) we are driven to the conclusion that the Beast and his identity must be confined to one of the rulers arising in connection with heads one through five.
14. Wording backward we are immediately struck with the personality of Alexander the Great, the greatest single ruler among the first six heads, and for that matter the sixth head, the one that "is not."
15. He is a European (Greek) and this fits with the king of the west and the statement in Dan. 9:26 which reads: "and the people (Romans) of the prince who is to come (Alexander a Greek) will destroy the city and the sanctuary (70 AD)."
16. The final Antichrist cannot be a Roman because of the words "was and is not."
17. Both the Greeks and the Romans descended from a common ancestor in the Genesis table of nations, namely, Javan (Gen. 10:2, 4).
18. The Greeks and the Romans were cousins.
19. Rome was the greater empire and Alexander was the greatest and most storied leader of the empires of antiquity.
20. Both here and in verse 8 the Beast’s end is associated with the word "destruction."
21. The exact nature of that destruction is specified in Rev. 19:20: "And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image; these two men were thrown alive in the lake of fire which burns with brimstone."
22. By comparison Satan at this time in cast into the abyss beneath from whence the Beast will ascend (cf. Rev. 20:1-3; cp. 11:7; 17:8).
23. The noun translated "destruction" is used the epitaph of Judas Iscariot in Jn. 17:12 as well as that of the Antichrist in 2Thess. 2:3.
24. It is used in connection with eternal damnation in Rom. 9:22 and 2Pet. 3:7.
25. Verse 12 affirms that the original ten kings and the man called "the beast" has a future history beyond John’s day.
26. This corresponds to the words "and is not."
27. The very limited duration of that rule is presented in cryptic terms familiar to students of Revelation as being "for one hour."
28. A sixty minute period is viewed as two equal halves of thirty minutes.
29. So the seven year tribulation is viewed as two halves of three and one half years.
30. The Beast will control Jerusalem for the second half of the seven years (cf. Dan. 7:25 and 12:7).
31. The Jewish remnant saved during the first half of the tribulation will flee to a place of refuge for the last half of the seven years (Rev. 12:14).
32. So the "one hour" refers to the entire period.

Statement Regarding the Coalition (v. 13)

VERSE 13 "These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast (ou-toi mi,an gnw,mhn e;cousin kai. th.n du,namin kai. evxousi,an auvtw/n tw/| qhri,w| dido,asin [adj.nom.m.p houtos this; "these" + adj.acc.f.s. mia one + noun acc.f.s. gnome intention, disposition + pres.act.ind.3p. echo have + conj kai + art.w/noun acc.f.s. dunamai power + conj + art.w/noun acc.f.s. exousia authority + pro.gen.m.p. autos "their" + art.w/noun dat.nt.s. therion beast + pres.act.ind.3p. didomi give]).

ANALYSIS: VERSE 13

1. The support of the ten kings for the beast is unanimous.
2. Once the Antichrist is placed in power the ten men who are the heads of ten European nations will openly grant the beast full allegiance.
3. This verse expands on the words "with the beast" of verse 12.
4. Their unity of purpose here relates specifically to warfare as seen in verse 14 and 16.
5. The present tense of the verb "have" anticipates the future tribulation.
6. The noun "purpose" also occurs in 1 Cor.1:10 where Paul exhorts the Corinthians to unity.
7. They enter a pact with the beast granting him their "power and authority."
8. Power relates to physical resources with particular emphasis on military assets.
9. Authority relates to total submission to the beast’s directives.
10. The dragon having conferred power and authority to the beast (13:2), will through deception bring these ten Europeans into his web of destruction.
11. The sense on gets from this verse is that these ten individuals to a man support the beast in every way it is possible to support another person.

A Digression (v.14)

VERSE 14 These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them (ou-toi meta. tou/ avrni,ou polemh,sousin kai. to. avrni,on nikh,sei auvtou,j [pro.nom.m.p. houtos "these" + prep meta with + art.w/noun gen.nt.p. arnion lamb; metaphorically of Christ the Lamb of God + fut.act.ind.3p. polemeo wage war + conj kai + art.w/noun nom.nt.s. arnion lamb + fut.act.ind.3s. nikao conquer + pro.acc.m.p. autos "them"], because He is Lord of lords and King of kings [o[ti ku,rioj kuri,wn evsti.n kai. basileu.j basile,wn [conj hoti because (reason) + noun nom.m.s. kurios lord + noun gen.m.p. kurios lord + pres.act.ind.3s. eimi is + conj kai + noun nom.m.s. basileus king + noun gen.m.p. basileus king], and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful [kai. oi` metV auvtou/ klhtoi. kai. evklektoi. kai. pistoi, [conj kai + art.nom.m.p. "those" + prep meta with + pro.gen.m.s. autos "him" + adj.nom.m.p. kletos called, invited + conj adj.nom.m.p. eklektos chosen + conj kai + adj.nom.m.p. pistos faithful, trustworthy])."

ANALYSIS: VERSE 14

1. The angel’s teaching jumps forward to the very end of the tribulation to illustrate the kind of support the ten accord the beast as well as demonstrating the level of hostility these eleven men share in their hatred of God.
2. The single-mindedness of the ten is ultimately their total undoing.
3. The will at Armageddon face a crushing military defeat at the hands of the true Christ.
4. The conflict anticipated in this parenthetical statement is "the battle of the great day of God Almighty" (16:14).
5. As supporters of the beast they will be called upon to invade the land of promise in an attempt to thwart the 2^nd coming of Christ.
6. This is the same battle prophesied in chapter 19 verses 19-21.
7. Other world leaders will fight against God and His Anointed One as the king of the west is but one of several powers that will march into the Land of Promise (cf. 19:19).
8. The "because" clause assigns the reason for their collective defeat.
9. The title "Lord of lords, and King of kings" suggests someone who has no peers and is sovereign over all who rule in the earth.
10. Paul applies this title to God the Son in 1Tim. 6:15, and in Revelation this title occurs at 17:14 and 19:16.
11. Nebuchadnezzar designates Daniel’s God "a God of gods and a Lord of kings" in Dan. 2:47 (cf. Deut. 10:17).
12. Also see Ps. 136:3 and Rev. 1:5.
13. The reality behind this title precludes anything but utter defeat for the beast and his coalition.
14. He will not be alone in His triumph.
15. Those described by the three adjectives "called and chosen and faithful" must be the same as "the armies which are in heaven" of Rev. 19:14.
16. "The armies in heaven" include both saints and angels.
17. But here the threefold designation is confined to saints/believers.
18. "Called," "chosen," and "faithful" can only apply to saints, not to angels.
19. "Called" and "chosen" occur together in Matt. 22:14, in Jesus’ statement "Many are called, but few are chosen."
20. To be called is to be invited to the eternal plan via the Gospel.
21. All who are called (i.e. evangelized) are not chosen due to the fact that there are many who hear the good news but do not believe.
22. Those who do accept the message of salvation are granted the title of "the called."
23. They are also designated "the chosen" of "the elect."
24. Eternal election is based of divine foreknowledge (Rom. 8:29; cp. 1Pet. 1-2 "who are chosen, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…").
25. The first two titles for the accompanying saints points exclusively to the salvation adjustment.
26. The third title "faithful" is confined to experiential devotion to the plan of God.
27. It is strictly based on faithfulness in Phase 2 resulting in the attainment of the crown.
28. Not all and not many believers will attain to the crown.
29. In fact, very few out of the millions and millions who are "called" and "chosen" will enjoy the accolade "Well done, good and faithful servant, you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master." (Matt. 25:21).
30. While in context this refers to Ph 2 achievers coming out of the tribulation, it equally applies to saints of the present dispensation.
31. To suggest that all believers achieve Ph2 distinction is to fly in the face of many Scriptures that warn against coming up short in terms of eternal reward.
32. "The faithful" along with the many who failed to attain the crown and its attendant glory will return with the King of kings and Lord of lords as spectators in the great battle of God Almighty.
33. Our (e.g. Church Age saints) appearance in the heavens will add to the shock and awe on the ground level.
34. Christ, the glorified God-Man will fight against the armies of the cosmos alone (cf. Isa. 63:1-6).

The Judgment of the Great Whore (vv. 15-16)

VERSE 15 And he said to me, "The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues (Kai. le,gei moi( Ta. u[data a] ei=dej ou- h` po,rnh ka,qhtai( laoi. kai. o;cloi eivsi.n kai. e;qnh kai. glw/ssai [conj kai + pres.act.ind.3s. lego say + prep.dat.m.s. ego "me" + art/noun nom.nt.p. hudor water + rel.pro.acc.nt.p. ho "which" + aor.act.ind.2s. eidon "saw" + adv hou where + art.w/noun f.s. porne whore + pres.dep.ind. 3s. kathemai sit + noun nom.m.p. laos people; population + conj kai + noun nom.m.p. crowd, multitude + pres.act.ind.3s. eimi "are" + conj kai + noun nom.nt.p. ethnos nation + conj kai + nom.f.p. glossa language]).

ANALYSIS: VERSE 15

1. The subject shifts to the Woman/Whore who sits on many waters.
2. Usually water refers in Scripture and in Revelation to literal water.
3. Here as in certain verses in the OT it is used figuratively for humanity (cf. Pss. 18:4,16; 124:4; Isa. 8:7; Jer. 47:2).
4. The reference is to 17:1 which shows the harlot’s position atop the waters.
5. From her position of preeminence she adversely influences humanity.
6. The beast facilitates her movement around the world where she dispenses the contents of the golden cup, that is, Catholic dogma which makes the masses drunk with "the wine of her fornication."
7. The fourfold classification of humanity matches that of the beast’s dominion seen in 13:7 (cp. 13:1) except "multitudes" is substituted for the more familiar "tribes" of Rev. 11:9.
8. This verse supplies the interpretative link to verse 1.
9. The identification of the water symbol shows that the details in prophetic symbolism have a corresponding reality in the real world.
10. After all, a primary purpose of this experience was so believers might know the secret of the beast and the woman.

VERSE 16 "And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast (kai. ta. de,ka ke,rata a] ei=dej kai. to. qhri,on [conj kai + art.w/adj.nom.nt.p. deka ten + noun nom.nt.p. keras horn (nominative absolute) + rel.pro.acc.nt.p. ho "which" + aor.act.ind.2s. eidon see + conj kai + art.w/noun nom.nt.s. therion (nominative absolute) beast], these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked [ou-toi mish,sousin th.n po,rnhn kai. hvrhmwme,nhn poih,sousin auvth.n kai. gumnh,n [pro.nom.m.p. houtos "these" (has two neuter nouns as its antecedent; so "horns" and "beast" are persons, so this agreement is according to sense rather than strict grammatical agreement) + fut.act.ind.3p. miseo hate + art.w/noun acc.f.s. porne whore + conj kai + perf.pass.part.acc.f.s. eremoo become desolate + fut.act.ind.3p. poieo make + pro.acc.f.s. aute her + adj.acc.f.s. gumnos naked], and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire [kai. ta.j sa,rkaj auvth/j fa,gontai kai. auvth.n katakau,sousin evn puri, [conj kai + art.w/noun acc.f.p. sarx flesh + pro.acc.f.s. aute her + fut.dep.ind.3p. esthio eat + conj kai + pro.acc.f.s. aute her + fut.act.ind.3p. katakaio burn up + prep en + noun instr.nt.s. pur fire]).

ANALYSIS: VERSE 16

1. The prophetic promise of verse one is now announced to the prophet John.
2. The ten kings/leaders in obedience to the beast launch an attack of the great whore (RCC) at some point in the tribulation.
3. This decision to neutralize the Catholic Church in Europe is motivated by hatred.
4. The destruction of Roman Catholicism is in line with the beast’s religion that all other faiths are to be banished (cf. 2Thess. 2:4 "who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God (revived temple worship in Jerusalem), displaying himself that he is God.").
5. This is in accord with Dan. 11:38 "but instead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god (e.g., Lucifer) whom his fathers (Greek ancestors) did not know; he will honor him with gold, silver, costly stone (gems) and treasures (art, etc.)."
6. Horns are used to symbol military power.
7. The ten horns under a directive from the Antichrist will systematically assault all Catholic institutions, plundering the immense wealth of this super pseudo church.
8. The end will result is that the whore will find herself "desolate and naked."
9. She will no longer from that day forward be a factor in the religious and political cosmos.
10. "Naked" suggests the stripping of Catholic assests.
11. The Vatican alone houses tremendous treasures.
12. This will greatly add to the beast’s war chest.
13. Alexander the Great plundered and burned all Persian palaces.
14. Alexander’s army was financed on the march.
15. It will be standard policy for the Antichrist to plunder all who oppose him which is a throw back to ancient warfare.
16. The question now had to do with "eating her flesh."
17. What does that signify?
18. Does it refer to the slaughter of the priesthood and those who inhabit the monastic orders?
19. The figure recalls the eating of Jezebel’s flesh by dogs (1Kgs. 21:23-24; 2Kgs. 9:30-37).
20. This is what beast’s do to corpses, and so it becomes a vivid way of describing the utter destruction of men by other men.
21. All of this is expressive of extreme vengeance with sharp hostility.
22. The Catholic Church has historically been opposed to the Illuminati and vice versa.
23. The burning of what remains has to do with the destruction of the great cathedrals in Europe.
24. This will be a shocking development to say the least as the world watches on.
25. The timing for this event is before the need to uproot three of the ten horns.
26. I place it shortly before the destruction of economic Babylon spoken of in chapter 18.
27. The oppressors and murderer of millions will find herself on the receiving end.
28. The gates of hell will prevail against the Woman who has seduced the rulers of the earth.
29. This is poetic justice.
30. To be burned up with fire comes from a legal system that condemns those guilty of specific sex sins (cf. Lev. 20:14; 21:9; Josh. 7:15,25).

God is the Initiator of Her Demise (v. 17)

VERSE 17 "For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose (o` ga.r qeo.j e;dwken eivj ta.j kardi,aj auvtw/n poih/sai th.n gnw,mhn auvtou/ kai. poih/sai mi,an gnw,mhn [art.w/noun nom.m.s. theos God + conj gar for + aor.act.ind.3s. didomi give; place, put (proleptic aorist) + prep eis into + art.w/noun acc.f.p. kardia heart + pro.gen.m.p. autos "their" + aor.act.infin. poieo do; "execute" + adj.acc.f.s. mia one + noun acc.f.s. gnome mind; cp. v.13], and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled [kai. dou/nai th.n basilei,an auvtw/n tw/| qhri,w| a;cri telesqh,sontai oi` lo,goi tou/ qeou/ [conj kai + aor.act.infin. didomi give + art.w/noun acc.f.s. basileus kingdom + pro.gen.m.p. autos "their" + art.w/noun dat.nt.s. therion beast + adv achri until + fut.pass.ind.3p. teleo complete, carry out, finish + art.w/noun nom.m.p. logos word + art.w/noun gen.m.s. theos God]).

ANALYSIS: VERSE 17

1. The supreme impetus behind the total elimination of this evil entity from the planet is the sovereign purpose of God.
2. The immediate cause of her demise is the antipathy the Antichrist cult has for all rival faiths.
3. No doubt the cult has a particular hatred of the RCC as it retains features that are Christian and are antagonistic to Satan and his works even though the RCC sponsors all sorts of satanic evil.
4. The cult hopes to eradicate all memory of things Christian from the collective memory.
5. The ultimate cause behind "judgment of the great whore who sits on many waters" (v.1) is the divine attributes of righteousness and justice.
6. God will put this into the hearts of the ten men and the beast to annihilate the Woman.
7. The phrase "has put into their hearts" is a Hebrew expression (cf. Neh. 7:5; Jer. 32:40; Heb. 8:10).
8. The aorist tense of "has put" is proleptic, viewing this from a perspective after the prophecy takes place.
9. Not only can God affect the though process of His own children, but He is more than capable of influencing the decision making of those who are His enemies.
10. He in no way manipulates human free will but He can and does create circumstances which He knows will produce results that are in the interest of His plan.
11. A classic example of this is His dealing with the Pharaoh of the Exodus.
12. His hardening of Pharaoh’s heart was accomplished by setting in place miracles that would induce the king to act in a certain fashion.
13. Many, many other examples to the intersection of good with evil could be cited.
14. Divine omniscience is a key to the accomplishment of God’s purposes.
15. Even Satan becomes a pawn in serving providential purposes.
16. Humans do calculated things to induce desired results on the part of others.
17. But when God does something it is always in accordance with righteousness and truth.
18. In verse 13 where the words "one mind" also occurs there is the entertainment of a purpose, while here it is the execution of that purpose.
19. The beast and the ten kings become unwitting actors fulfilling divine justice.
20. They imagine that they are doing their plans, but the reality is they are agents acting in the interests of God!
21. Negative volition plays into the hands of God every time.
22. God sets people up who are not willing to line up with His directive will.
23. He gives them all the rope they need to hang themselves.
24. Their stubbornness, dishonesty and arrogance are their undoing.
25. The ten kings set their course when they gave themselves over to unconditional allegiance to the beast.
26. And so, the words, "to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast."
27. Their tribulational careers were set in stone when they make this fatal decision to join the cult for glory and gain.
28. Those who serve their STA will reap corruption and go to ruin, whether it is some ambitious unbeliever or some rebellious believer.
29. Certain STA driven decisions place the individual on the path to doom.
30. Prior warnings are designed to give pause, but those who betray themselves go on to ruination.
31. These men will enjoy success until such time as they decided to make war with the Lamb (cf. vv. 13-14).
32. That final and fateful decision is preceded by the decision to join at the hip with the man of lawlessness.
33. The insane unity with the beast continues "until the words of God are fulfilled."
34. The "words of God" (verse word of God) refer to the prophecies that deal with the events concluding in the beast going to destruction.
35. This final statement in v.18 recalls the words of the angel in 10:7 regarding the fulfillment of the mystery of God.
36. God permits evil to advance forward until the overruling will of God stops the acts of rebellion in the world.
37. God’s words are the definitive factor not the power and scheming of negative volition.
38. Evil will be swept from the earth in the tribulational and post tribulational judgments fulfilling to the letter "all God’s words."

Bonus Clue (v. 18)

VERSE 18 "The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth (kai. h` gunh. h]n ei=dej e;stin h` po,lij h` mega,lh h` e;cousa basilei,an evpi. tw/n basile,wn th/j gh/j [conj kai + art.w/noun nom.f.s. gune woman + rel.pro.acc.f.s. he + aor.act.ind.2s. eidon see + pres.act.ind.3s. eimi + art.w/adj.nom.m.s. megas great + art.w/noun nom.f.s. polis city + art.w/pres.act.part.nom.f.s. echo have + noun acc.f.s. basileia kingdom "reigns" + prep epi over + art.w/noun gen.m.p. basileus king + art.w/noun gen.f.s. ge earth])."

ANALYSIS: VERSE 18

1. This final clue as to the woman’s identity points to a literal city in a specific geographical location.
2. The city that fits is the same city that the harlot was connected with in John’s day, namely Rome.
3. Every since John’s time the Woman has had as her governing city the city of what is known today as Papal Rome.
4. Modern Rome constitutes a city within a city.
5. Vatican City is a entity within the larger secular city of Rome, Italy.
6. There is not another city in all the world in which a religious entity holds sway over national leaders.
7. The Papal kingdom survived the fall of the 6^th head Rome in the 5^th century AD.
8. At one juncture the Papacy was split into two, the other entity was located in France, hence the wine from Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
9. Interpreters avoid this identification like the plague.
10. Some idealize the city but that provides no definitive clue as to the mystery/secret of the woman.
11. Some think this refers to Babylon on the Euphrates.
12. But the angel signifies that the Woman "is" (present active indicative) "the great city…," which rules out the defunct city of Babylon.
13. "Is" must be taken from the perspective of John maintaining consistency with the phrase "and is not" (vv. 8, 11).
14. Babylon on the Euphrates is a archaeological ruin in modern Iraq and plays no role in the tribulation.
15. The Babylon of chapter 18 is the leading economic power of the last days, which is clearly no other than the United States of America.

January, 2008