Revelation 17:5 NIV

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Revelation 17:5

MYSTERY. See App-193 and App-1 :20. The verse should be read, "And upon her forehead (she had) a name written, a secret symbol ( musterion ), BABYLON THE GREAT, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth". The name of the woman is therefore a secret sign or symbol of "that great city" which she personifies (Revelation 17:18 ). HARLOTS = the harlots. OF THE EARTH. Babylon is the fountain-head of all idolatry and systems of false worship. This is the "mystery of iniquity"... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Revelation 17:5

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 head a name written ... In the culture of those times, harlots customarily "wore on their brows labels inscribed with their names; this whore is thus in character."[26]; MYSTERY; BABYLON THE GREAT ... See under Revelation 17:1 for identification of the three Babylons. The comma after MYSTERY should be omitted, as her name is not BABYLON, but MYSTERY... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Revelation 17:1-6

Revelation 17:1-6. And there came one of the seven angels, &c.— As the seventh seal, and the seventh trumpet, contained more particulars than any of the former seals or trumpets; so theseventh vial contains more thanany of the former vials: and the more you consider, the more admirable you will find the structure of this book in all its parts. The destruction of the antichristian empire is a subject of such importance and consequence, that the Holy Spirit has thought fit to represent it... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Revelation 17:5

5. upon . . . forehead . . . name—as harlots usually had. What a contrast to "HOLINESS TO THE LORD," inscribed on the miter on the high priest's forehead! mystery—implying a spiritual fact heretofore hidden, and incapable of discovery by mere reason, but now revealed. As the union of Christ and the Church is a "great mystery" (a spiritual truth of momentous interest, once hidden, now revealed, Ephesians 5:31; Ephesians 5:32), so the Church conforming to the world and thereby becoming a harlot... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Revelation 17:3-6

The vision of the system 17:3-6 read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Revelation 17:5

It was customary in John’s day for Roman prostitutes to wear their names on their headbands. [Note: Swete, p. 214.] However, it is not clear whether this woman’s name was on a headband or on her forehead (cf. Revelation 7:3; Revelation 9:4; Revelation 13:16-18; Revelation 14:1; Jeremiah 3:3). Her name was a "mystery," namely, something not previously revealed but now made clear. A name in Scripture represents everything about the person who bears it, often the person’s reputation. The content... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 17:1-18

Babylon the great HarlotThe judgment on Rome, which had been announced before, is now shown in detail. The identification of ’Babylon’ with Rome, here and elsewhere in Rev., is supported (HDB.) by the following considerations:—The name Babylon in Revelation 17:5; ’is described as mystery, i.e. a name to be allegorically interpreted... B. is described (1) as “the harlot” the supreme antithesis of “the bride,” “the holy city,” “the new Jerus.” (2) as the centre and ruler of the nations,... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Revelation 17:5-8

(5) And upon her forehead . . .—It was usual with harlots to wear their name on the forehead; but the name here is more than a name. Like the name impressed upon the foreheads of the saints, it is “the expression of her nature”—“MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”The word “mystery” is, perhaps, part of the name; it is, at any rate, a prefix which tells us that the name is not literal, but symbolical. Something lies behind, which will be... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Revelation 17:1-18

Revelation 17:6 Mercy and love are sins in Rome and hell. Beaumont and Fletcher, 'Bonduca,' Act iv. Scene 4. The Lamb's War with the Beast Revelation 17:14 It is strange that the most mysterious book of the Bible should be especially singled out as the Revelation. Yet though no book is less patient of a detailed and pedantic exposition, none is more full of the triumph and the tears of God's Word, none is richer in lessons to guide us in the stern and fluctuating conflict of our Lord with... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Revelation 17:1-18

CHAPTER XIIITHE BEAST AND BABYLOST.Revelation 17:1-18AT the close of chap. 16, we reached the end of the three great series of judgments which constitute the chief contents of the Revelation of St. John, - the series of the Seals, the Trumpets, and the Bowls. It cannot surprise us, however, that at this point other visions of judgment are to follow. Already we had reached the end at Revelation 6:17, and again at Revelation 11:18; yet on both occasions the same general subject was immediately... read more

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Revelation 17:5

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Revelation 17:5

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Revelation 17:1-6

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Revelation 17:5

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Revelation 17:3-6

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Revelation 17:5

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 17:1-18

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Revelation 17:5-8

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Revelation 17:1-18

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Revelation 17:1-18

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