Introductory remarks:
In the next two chapters we will identify the two 'Babylons' that is, ecclesiastical Babylon and commercial Babylon; the beast will destroy ecclesiastical Babylon, while commercial Babylon will be destroyed at the second coming of Christ. The next few chapters will be an unfolding of the final judgments of God.
The Great Harlot and the Beast
Verse 1, "And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:"
LGT "And one came out of the seven angels who had the seven bowls and spoke with me saying, Here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot the one sitting upon many waters:"
"And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials,"
In the last chapter we were introduced to these seven angels with their particular bowls of the wrath of God that will be poured out on unbelieving mankind during the last half of the Great Tribulation. It is immaterial which one of the seven angels is mentioned here. After they had poured out their bowls, they evidently kept the bowls in their hands.
"And talked with me, saying, Come hither;"
The angel approaches John in a friendly manner assuring John that he will explain in detail what these judgments on Babylon mean. The phrase 'come hither' in Greek is Deuro an adverb meaning, 'here, let me explain'. The angel was not asking John to leave the place where he was; it was just an exclamation to John that he was about to speak with him about what had occurred.
"I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore"
The great whore is ecclesiastical Babylon, that is, apostate religion. McGee says that the great whore is that part of the church that will remain after the Rapture. The problem with this is that the church is all believers, and not an organization of ecclesiastics or members of denominations. What McGee should have said is 'the Great whore is that part of religion that will remain after the Rapture.
"That sitteth upon many waters:"
The 'many waters' represent the great masses of people. This whore will be in control of the whole world, and being the religious whore, it seems more than likely that this is referring to Papal Rome, the apostate Catholic Church.
Verse 2, "With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication."
LGT "With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and they that dwell on the earth were made drunk from the wine of her fornication."
"With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,"
"This phrase points out the spiritual fornication in the word eporneusan a first aorist active indicative of porneuo, from which we get our English word 'pornography'. The meaning of this spiritual adultery here is, that Papal Rome, unfaithful to God, and idolatrous and corrupt, had seduced the rulers of the earth, and led them into the same kind of unfaithfulness, idolatry, and corruption. Comp. Jer. 3:8, 9; vs. 7; 13:27; 23:14; Ezek. 16:32; 23:37; Hosea 2:2; 4:2. How true this is in history need not be stated. All the princes and kings of Europe in the dark ages, and for many centuries were, and not a few of them are now, entirely under the influence of Papal Rome" (Barnes notes on Revelation).
"And the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication."
The word 'inhabitants' in the Greek is katoikountes, a participle meaning 'one who dwells or inhabits', so it means ones dwelling on the earth. These earth dwellers will become intoxicated with a one worldism that will prevail at this time. We can see our world fast coming to a one-world society. "The movement in our day of bringing all religions together certainly falls into the pattern of this false church which is to appear - and Scripture doesn't even dignify it by the name of church, although I am sure it will call itself that. I believe that this movement is more dangerous to our own country than is any foreign political system and that it is more dangerous than the so-called new morality. I believe that it is more dangerous than any other movement. It will become a power-bloc that will dazzle the unthinking mob. It will bring the world under the influence of the wild Beast out of the sea and the wild Beast out of the earth. They will use the apostate church to control the masses, and the church will yield to this arrangement for political preferment and power" (McGee).
Verse 3, "So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns."
LGT "And he carried me away into a wilderness in [the] spirit. And I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns."
"So he carried me away in the spirit in to the wilderness:"
John was carried away 'in the spirit'. This probably refers to the fact that what John is about to disclose is in the form of a vision; however, it could also refer to his being carried away by the Holy Spirit; either way, John is speaking of a vision. The 'spirit' pneumati does not have the article, so I assume it is referring to his natural spirit.
"And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast,"
The woman is the 'harlot' which is depicted as Babylon of old and during the Tribulation will be the revived Roman Empire in the form of apostate religious Rome.
"The color scarlet was the color of the Old Roman Empire - here it represents the revived Roman Empire of the Tribulation. Sitting represents dominion over - so here religion dominates the empire. Examples in the past have been the Catholic Church in the Dark Ages and the Islamic Arab countries today - religion dominates the country and there is no freedom" (Theime).
Full of names of blasphemy,"
This shows how far apostate religions today have fallen - Theime says, and I believe rightly, that this represents false doctrines. The churches of today, or I should say 'denominations' are only concerned with social issues and not teaching sound doctrine.
"Having seven heads and ten horns."
The seven heads represent the seven empires influencing Israel, and the ten horns represent the ten-nation confederacy.
Verse 4, "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication."
LGT "And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet and gilded with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden drinking cup in her hand full of abominations and of uncleanness of her fornication."
"And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color,"
The 'woman' being the apostate religion of the Tribulation. "Purple was the predominate color of Roman imperialism. Every senator and consul wore a purple stripe as a badge of his position, and the emperor's robes were purple. Scarlet is the color adopted by Roman Catholicism" (McGee). So you see; this is a union of the church and state.
"And decked with gold and precious stones and pearls,"
All of these glittering gold and fine stones represent the wealth of the woman [apostate church]. "Perhaps John is thinking of the temple prostitutes in this vision" (Robertson). How the Roman Church is so wealthy while at the same time its people, on the whole, are very, very poor, and is 'conspicuous consumption' of the very grossest sort.
"Having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication."
The Greek word for 'cup' is poterion, meaning 'a vessel used for drinking', that is, and a cup. Her cup is filled with abominations and all uncleanness of her false teachings; she is filled to the brim with abominable heresies. The world looks for these false religions with their damnable heresy in order that they may drink the false gospel and become intoxicated with this sham. "The image here is that of Papal Rome, represented as an abandoned woman in gorgeous attire, alluring by her arts the nations of the earth, and seducing them into all kinds of pollution and abomination. It is a most remarkable fact that the Papacy, as if designing to furnish a fulfillment of this prophecy, has chosen to represent itself almost precisely in this manner - as a female extending an alluring cup to passers by. Apostate churches, and guilty nations, often furnish the very proofs necessary to confirm the truth of the Scriptures" (Barnes).
Verse 5, "And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
LGT "And upon her forehead a name written, Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth."
"And upon her forehead was a name written,"
"Roman harlots wore a label with their names on their brows, and so here. In 19:16 Christ has a name on His garments and on His thigh, while in 14:1 and 22:4 the redeemed have the name of God on their foreheads. There is undoubtedly a contrast between this woman here and the woman in chapter 12" (Robertson).
"Mystery,"
The word 'mystery' is in the Greek NT, musterion. "Musterion was a word that came from the fraternities of the Hellenistic Greeks. The secrets of the fraternity were told to the new member in the initiation process. Paul used it to describe all the Church Age doctrines that were not revealed to Old Testament believers - the Royal Priesthood, the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit, on and on" (Theime).
"Babylon the Great,"
The ecumenical religion during the Tribulation - this is an amalgamation of the Catholic Churches - The Anglican, Roman and Greek.
"The Mother of Harlots"
"(a) Of that spiritual apostasy from God which, in the language of the prophets, might be called adultery. (b) The promoter of lewdness by her institutions. In both these senses, there never was a more expressive or appropriate title than the one here employed" (Barnes). "The Mother of prostitutes is referring to the fact that Satan has been influential in starting all 'world religions' since Satan became the ruler of this world - Christianity is not a religion - it is a relationship with God based on the Son's work on the cross" (Theime).
"And Abomination of the Earth."
This worldwide ecumenical abomination is spread over the entire world. Christianity is the invisible Church - the body of Christ - hidden inside the visible church ecumenical organization. One can find true believers in every denomination today, and these true believers are what make up the true Church of God.
Verse 6, "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus; and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration."
LGT "And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus; And I wondered having seen her, with a great wonder."
"And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus;"
"The meaning here is, that the persecuting power referred to had shed the blood of the saints; and that, in its fury, it had, as it were, drunk the blood of the slain, and had become, by drinking that blood, intoxicated and infuriated. No one need say how applicable this has been to the Papacy. How applicable this is to the Papacy, let the blood shed in the valleys of Piedmont; the blood shed in the Low Countries by the Duke of Alva; the blood shed on St. Bartholomew's Day; and the blood shed in the inquisition, testify" (Barnes).
"And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration."
The word 'admiration' is an unfortunate use of the term by the King James translators. The word in the Greek is thauma mega meaning 'a great wonder'. John is saying that he is really shocked at the woman and her obscenities. In no way does John admire anything about her or the beast she sat upon.
Verse 7, "And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns."
LGT "And the angel said to me, Why did you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and the beast, the one carrying her, the one having the seven heads and the ten horns."
"And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel?"
The angel says to John, Why are you shocked? The angel assures John that he is there to explain the entire vision.
"I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns."
The angel sees John standing there hypnotized by the sight in front of him, says to him, relax, I will tell you the mystery of this vision so you will understand completely. The angel proceeds to explain it to John in verses 8-18.
Verse 8, "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."
LGT "The beast which you saw was and is not and is about up out of the abyss and to go into destruction, and the ones dwelling on the earth will wonder, whose names are not written upon the Book of Life from [the] foundation of [the] world, seeing the beast that was, and is not, and will be present."
"The beast that thou sawest was, and is not;"
The interpretation of the beast begins in this verse and concludes in verse 11. The Beast that John 'saw' (chapter 13:1-10) is the revived Roman Empire. The phrase 'and is not' refers to the Fall of the Roman Empire in 476 a.d. The Roman Empire is fragmented today but will be revived by the Antichrist during the Tribulation. "Many have attempted to put the Roman Empire back together again but have never been successful. Charlemagne tried it, Napoleon tried it, Hitler tried it, Mussolini tried it, and at the time I am writing this [1988], the United Nations is trying it, but they, too, are failing. The wild Beast, who is the Antichrist, will be the one who puts the Roman Empire back together again" (McGee).
"And shall ascend out of the bottomless pit,"
Satan himself empowering the Antichrist will revive the Roman Empire.
"And go into perdition:"
The final future of the beast will be the 'Lake of Fire' [Rev. 19:20] at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder,"
The people who inhabit the earth during the Tribulation will be amazed, and stand in marvel at the beast and his trickery.
"Whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world,"
From this it seems as though only the unbelievers will marvel; the believers are under the watch care of the Holy Spirit, so the beast will not deceive them.
When they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."
The Roman Empire 'that was' is the past 'Glory of Rome', the term 'and is not' is the fallen state of Rome, and 'and yet is' refers to the revived Empire under Antichrist. "That is, the power that once was mighty; that had declined to such a state that it became, as it were, extinct; and that was revived again with so much of its original strength, that it might be said that it still exists. The fact of its being revived in this manner, as well as the nature of the power itself, seemed fitted to excite this admiration" (Barnes).
Verse 9, "And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth."
LGT "Here [is] the mind, the one having wisdom. The seven heads are mountains, where the woman sits upon them. And there are seven kings:"
"And here is the mind which has wisdom,"
"The Greek word for ' the mind' is o nous. Nous is the organ of mental perception and apprehension - of conscious life, the mind, comprising the faculties of perceiving and understanding, of feeling, judging, determining.
The intellective faculty or understanding (Luke 24:45).
The reason, regarded as the faculty of perceiving divine things: of recognizing goodness and hating evil (Rom. 1:28; 7:23; Eph. 4:17).
The power of calm and impartial judgment (2 Thess. 2:2).
Nous is a particular mode of thinking and judging: moral consciousness as a habit of mind or opinion. Hence thoughts, feelings, purposes (Rom. 14:5; 1 Cor. 1:10). Some render here meaning" (Vincent).
"The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth."
Most of the commentators I have read, including Robertson, believe these seven mountains to be Rome, and I tend to agree. It seems that at the time John is writing this book, Diocletian was the emperor and a cruel one he was. The church went through amazing persecution under his reign. It wasn't until Constantine published the Edict of Milan in 312 AD that the persecution ceased. Some believe as Theime and C.I. Scofield, that these mountains are 5-nations of the past; Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia –Chaldea, Historical Roman Empire. Either way, all agree this is the revived Tribulational Roman Empire, on which the woman rides. The woman is identified as false religion that teaches false doctrine.
I am going to explain the correct method to use in interpreting the Scriptures. From the second century on there have been two popular methods of interpretation (1) the 'allegorical' method and (2) the 'historical - grammatical' method. The allegorical method is one of spiritualizing the Scriptures that leaves the meaning of difficult passages up to the caprice [whim] of the interpreter. This method was made popular in the second century by Origen, and was passed on to the School in Alexandria, and picked up by Augustine, and it became the method adopted and still used by the Roman Catholic Church. You can see the problem it causes, because it tends toward eisegesis, reading into the Scriptures, to support any pre-conceived doctrine; whereas the historical - grammatical method is the accurate method of exegesis, reading out of the Scriptures considering the historical setting and the original language used, and this was the method adopted by the School at Antioch, and later by the 'Reformers' during and then after maintained by the fundamental denominations, if there is such a thing. Now we reject the idea of a progressive Revelation, as a whole, that is, when it involves basic doctrines of God's Grace; every believer of every age from Adam and Eve on know everything necessary for 'eternal salvation', but when it comes to 'prophecy' I believe that we will know more and more as the time becomes short for our Lord's perousia.
Verse 10, "And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space."
LGT "The five fell, the one is, the other is not yet come, and whenever he comes, he must remain a little while."
"And there are seven kings:
These are the dictators of the Roman Empire, according to many good commentators
"Five are fallen,"
McGee quotes Govett in giving his list of fallen kings:
5.Julius Caesar - assassinated
6.Tiberius - poisoned or smothered
7.Caligula - assassinated
8.Claudius - poisoned
9.Nero - committed suicide
"The one is,"
This is the Emperor that was in power at the time of John's exile to the Island Patmos. Domitian was one of the worst of all the emperors that persecuted the church.
"And the other is not yet come;"
This is prophetical, that is, it represents the revived Roman Empire during the Tribulation, led by the Antichrist.
"And when he cometh, he must continue a short space."
The Antichrist's reign will not be cut short as the others, but will end with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ at His second advent. The Antichrist will be destroyed from off the earth and turned into the Lake of Fire.
Verse 11, "And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition."
LGT "And the beast which was and is not, he also is an eighth and is out of the seven, and he goes into destruction."
"And the beast that was,"
The historical Roman Empire at the time of John.
"And is not,"
"This phrase is referring to the fall of Rome in 476 AD" (Theime).
"Even he is the eighth,"
The eighth is the Antichrist who will reign out of the revived Roman Empire. "Now here the Antichrist is designated. He is the 'Little Horn' in the vision that God gave to the prophet Daniel. The 'Little Horn' puts down three other horns - that is - when he comes to power. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things . . . And ten horns out of this kingdom that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and shall subdue three kings (Dan 7:8, 24)" (McGee).
"And is of the seven,"
The Antichrist will rise up out of the revived Roman Empire during the first half of the Tribulation. The Antichrist is the 'Little Horn' of Daniel chapter seven; he rises up out of the seven.
"And goeth into perdition."
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself will destroy the Antichrist and he will be turned into the Lake of Fire.
Verse 12, "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast."
LGT "And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, which have received not yet a kingdom, but receive authority as kings one hour with the beast."
"And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings,"
These ten horns are the same as the ten horns in Daniel 7; these are ten kings who will serve the little horn, the Antichrist. Some very good commentators think these ten kings are the European Common Market. This is the confederation of the revived Roman Empire.
"Which have received no kingdom as yet;"
"That is, they were not in existence when John wrote. It is implied, that during the period under review they would arise, and would become connected, in an important sense, with the power here represented by the 'beast', the Antichrist" (Barnes).
"But receive power as kings one hour with the beast."
This phrase is literally, but receive 'authority' one hour. The time of their authority is very short compared to the beast. Theime says this 'one-hour' refers to the last half of the Tribulation. I believe it is silly to try and connect this prophecy with European governments of the past, because there has never been any such cooperation, as we will see these ten kings have.
Verse 13, "These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast."
LGT "These have one mind, and their power and authority they will give to the beast."
"These have one mind,"
The Antichrist will be quite the politician; he will be so charismatic that he will convince the ten kings that he has the answers to all the world problems; there will be no United Nations to solve the world's problems. Those in the United States, who have any wisdom at all, know we should never have joined hands with the other nations of the world to keep peace, of course, these men are in the minority, and we will soon belong to a 'one-world political machine'. Woodrow Wilson was the first of the intellectual morons that formed the League of Nations in 1916, and this began this idea that world-peace is a possibility without Christ. We will see as we continue in Revelation that world-peace will come, but only under the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ.
"And shall give their power and strength unto the beast."
The Antichrist will convince the ten-nation confederacy to submit to him. "The ten horns are the same as the ten horns of Daniel 7:7. These ten kings will reign with the Antichrist but will be subservient to him. They willingly or unwillingly give over their authority to the Antichrist and become puppets" (McGee).
Verse 14, "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful."
LGT "These will make war with the Lamb and the Lamb will overcome them; because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and the ones with Him are called and chosen and faithful."
"These shall make war with the Lamb,"
The 'these' are the ten-nation confederacy under the dominion of the Antichrist. This is the first time that Christ is brought into direct out and out war with Satan.
"And the Lamb shall overcome them:"
John writes as if the victory is already accomplished. How futile to make war with the Lamb; this shows the power of the deception of the mind, in that, Satan has convinced himself, through some sort of self-hypnosis or whatever, that he is able to conquer the Lamb. Satan was defeated at the cross, as Thieme calls His 'strategic victory' and now at Armageddon 'the tactical victory'.
"For He is Lord of lords, and King of kings:"
This is literally, hoti, because He is Lord of lords, and King of kings. This statement alone is proof that Satan is impotent in regards to our Savior.
"And they that are with Him are called,"
The word 'called' in this context refers to the ones that have responded to His invitation; the entire world has been invited.
"And chosen,"
Christ has been chosen as our Redeemer before the foundation of the world, and everyone who responds to His invitation to eternal life are chosen in Him to that glorious position of His, Theime calls this the 'election of privilege.'
"And faithful."
These are the winners during this life and have become 'spiritually mature.'
Verse 15, "And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues."
LGT "And he says to me, The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations and tongues."
"And he saith unto me,"
This is the seventh angel of verse one.
"The waters which thou sawest,"
These waters are also the same waters as verse one; they represent the many peoples that are under the dominion of the Antichrist. The fact that the waters represent peoples is attested to in Isaiah 8:7: Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of river, strong and many, even the King of Assyria, and all his glory; and he shall come up over all its channels, and over all its banks.
Where the whore sitteth,"
As I mentioned before commenting on verse nine that the harlot is the false religion that the Antichrist will be willing to share his authority with during the first half of the Tribulation.
"Are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues."
This phrase includes all the ethnic groups that make up all the nations of the world. The reference here to tongues is the language barrier that separates the ethnic groups.
Verse 16, "And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire."
LGT "And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her wasted and naked, and will eat her flesh and burn up completely her with fire."
"And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast,"
"The ten horns are the ten kings (as told us in verse 12) who rule over the different divisions of the Roman Empire. They in turn give over to the beast their kingdoms. This solidifies the Roman Empire and enables the beast to lift himself up as a world dictator" (McGee).
"These shall hate the whore,"
The 'these' are the ten horns, that is, the ten divisions of the Roman Empire. The ten kings also join the Antichrist in hating the woman, which is the apostate religion.
"And shall make her desolate and naked,"
The Greek word for 'desolate' is eremomenen which is a perfect passive participle meaning 'completely wasted.' The idea behind 'making her naked' is stripping the apostate church of its appeal. So in this phrase we have the apostate church stripped of her power, making her desolate' and stripping her of her appeal, making her naked.
"And shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire."
The phrase 'eat her flesh' is symbolic of killing the false church's converts; and 'to burn her with fire' is her complete destruction.
"For a time the Beast (Antichrist) is willing to share his place of exaltation with the harlot, since she has also sought to advance his cause while dividing his glory. This he hates, and the ten kings are one with him in this. The Antichrist not only breaks his covenant with Israel, but he also breaks his relationship with the apostate church. This hatred against the apostate church is so violent that the reaction is described as the cannibalistic picking of her bones, then burning them with fire! This great hatred destroys the false church. This is what happens to the false church. It has no victory. It never comes into the presence of Christ. It is not raptured. Finally it is destroyed by the Antichrist" (McGee).
Verse 17, "For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled."
LGT "For God did give to their hearts to do His mind and to do one mind [agreement] and did give their kingdom to the beast until the Words of God should be accomplished."
"For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will,"
Nothing happens in this universe happens beyond the control of Almighty God. By the mighty hand of God, these kings agreed to give their power over to the Beast.
"And to agree, and give their kingdom unto the Beast,"
"Initially the Beast and the other heads of state will support the religion that dominates their countries. But eventually, they will come to hate the religion and destroy it and its supporters" (Theime).
"Until the Words of God shall be fulfilled."
The entire scene in the last half of the Tribulation is designed to complete God's will. As I said before, nothing happens beyond God's plans, because everything that is out of God's will, eventually will be burned with the everlasting fire.
Verse 18, "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth."
Babylon was called that 'Great City' in the Old Testament, but here in John's time most commentators agree that Rome is meant. This is the very end of the revived Roman Empire. "This is the frightful end of the apostate church. However, it does not improve the situation. Rather it introduces the darkest period for religion in the history of the world. The reign and religion of Antichrist is the darkest hour earth will know, and yet it is the inevitable end of the distrust, which began in the Garden of Eden when man failed to believe God. It was given new impetus at the tower of Babel, which was a rallying place for those against God. And finally it climaxed in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ when man rejected the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Having rejected the Truth, the only alternative left for man is to believe the big lie, the strong delusion. History will culminate in the catastrophic coming of Christ to this earth, as we shall see in chapter 19. This is the just retribution of error and evil" (McGee).
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