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John Calvin

Geneva Study Bible - Revelation 17:15

17:15 {31} And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, {32} are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.(31) This is the other part of the narration, as I said in see Geneva "Revelation 17:7" belonging to the harlot, showed in the vision, Revelation 17:3 . In this history of the harlot, these three things are distinctly propounded, what is her magnificence, in this verse, what is her fall, and by whom it shall happen to her, in Revelation 17:16-17 :... read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 17:1-18

Great Babylon Exposed in View of Judgment The next two chapters (17 and 18) deal with great Babylon, her character, her self-exaltation and her judgment. This emphasizes the solemnity of God's view of the corruption of Christianity. One of the seven angels of Revelation 16:1-21 bids John to come and see the judgment of this great harlot who sits on many waters-who has strong influence over many nations (v. 1). This is the final form of Roman Catholicism, yet then including many others who had... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Revelation 17:1-18

THE SEVEN DOOMS The seven dooms are those of Babylon, the beast, the false prophet, the kings, the dragon, gog, and the dead. This lesson will be limited to chapters 17-18, both of which speak of Babylon but in different ways, and to understand which, it is necessary to keep in mind that every city may be conceived of from two points of view, material and moral. The streets and parks, the buildings, the docks and market places, these are Chicago; but her politics and government, her commerce... read more

Robert Hawker

Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - Revelation 17:14-18

(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. (15) And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. (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. (17)... read more

George Haydock

George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary - Revelation 17:15

The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth , signify the different nations, in all which is a multitude of wicked, especially among the great ones of this world. (Witham) --- And the ten horns....shall hate the harlot. That is, ancient Rome; they will make her desolate, by laying waste all her provinces; they will make her....naked, by stripping her of her shining ornaments, her gaudy palaces, Egyptian obelisks, magnificent temples, theatres, triumphal arches, &c. --- They... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 17:15-18

15-18 God so ruled the hearts of these kings, by his power over them, and by his providence, that they did those things, without intending it, which he purposed and foretold. They shall see their folly, and how they have been bewitched and enslaved by the harlot, and be made instruments in her destruction. She was that great city which reigned over the kings of the earth, when John had this vision; and every one knows Rome to be that city. Believers will be received to the glory of the Lord,... read more

Frank Binford Hole

F. B. Hole's Old and New Testament Commentary - Revelation 17:1-99

Revelation 17 CHAPTERS 17 AND 18 give us with full details the judgment of Babylon. We shall find it helpful to read Rev_21:9 Rev_22:5 , by way of contrast. Having done this, we shall note that in both cases, the vision is introduced by one of the angels who had the vials, and that what is seen is figured as a woman and as a city. The similarity ceases with this: all else is in sharpest contrast. There we view “the bride, the Lamb’s wife;” here, “the great whore.” There we have the true... read more

Paul E. Kretzmann

The Popular Commentary by Paul E. Kretzmann - Revelation 17:15-18

The conclusion of the explanation: v. 15. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. v. 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. v. 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... read more

Johann Peter Lange

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Critical, Doctrinal and Homiletical - Revelation 17:1-18

SPECIAL DOCTRINO-ETHICAL AND HOMILETICAL NOTES (ADDENDUM)Section FourteenthFirst Special End-Judgment: The Judgment upon Babylon, as a Heaven-picture. (Ch. 17)General.—Babylon, in the wider sense of the term, is the entire anti-Godly world, conceived of in its concentration; Babylon, in the narrower sense of the term, is the secularized, ungodly and anti-Godly, external Church; a birth-place of Antichristianity, in which the Antichristian essence often appears very undisguisedly, though the... read more

Frederick Brotherton Meyer

F.B. Meyer's 'Through the Bible' Commentary - Revelation 17:1-18

the Great World City Overthrown Revelation 17:1-18 This scarlet-attired woman is that miserable attempt made in every age to counterfeit the true Church of the living God. Man does not like the religion of the cross, of faith, of self-denial, and each age has witnessed some false system from which all these objectionable elements are eliminated. Surely a meretricious system has revealed itself successively in Babylon, Jerusalem, Rome, London, New York, and other great centers. Fashion smiles... read more

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