_And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials_ Most probably this was the seventh angel; for, under the seventh vial, _great Babylon came in remembrance before God_, and now St. John is called upon to see her condemnation and execution; _saying, Come hither, I will show thee the... [ Continue Reading ]
_So he carried me away_, &c. Namely, in the vision. As Ezekiel, while he was a captive in Chaldea, was conveyed by the Spirit to Jerusalem, (Ezekiel 8:3,) so John is carried away in the Spirit into the wilderness; for there the scene is laid, being a scene of desolation. When the woman, the true chu... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the woman was arrayed_ With the utmost pomp and magnificence; _in purple and scarlet_ Which were the colours of the imperial habit, the purple in times of peace, and the scarlet in times of war: and the scarlet is the colour of the popes and cardinals, as it used to be that of the Roman emperor... [ Continue Reading ]
_I saw the woman_, &c. Infamous as the woman is for her idolatry, she is no less detestable for her cruelty, which are the two principal characters of the antichristian empire. She is _drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs_ Or witnesses; _of Jesus_ So that Rome may... [ Continue Reading ]
_The beast that thou sawest_, &c. The mystery of the beast is first explained, and _the beast_ is considered first in general, (Revelation 17:8,) under a threefold state or succession, as existing, and then ceasing to be, and then reviving again, so as to become another and the same. He _was_, _and... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest where the whore sitteth are peoples_, &c. In the former part of this description, (Revelation 17:1,) _the whore_ is represented like ancient Babylon, _sitting upon many waters;_ and these waters are here, Revelation 17:15, said expressly to signify... [ Continue Reading ]