Revelation 17:10

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Revelation 17:7-13

Here we have the mystery of this vision explained. The apostle wonders at the sight of this woman: the angel undertakes to open this vision to him, it being the key of the former visions; and he tells the apostle what was meant by the beast on which the woman sat; but it is so explained as still to need further explanation. 1. This beast was, and is not, and yet is; that is, it was a seat of idolatry and persecution; and is not, that is, not in the ancient form, which was pagan; and yet it is,... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 17:1-18

17:1-18 1 One of the seven angels, who had the seven bowls, came and spoke with me. "Come here," he said, "and I will show you the judgment of the great harlot, who sits upon many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication and with the wine of whose adultery those who inhabit the earth have become drunken." 3 He carried me away in the Spirit to a desert place, and I saw a woman, seated upon a scarlet beast, which was full of names which were insults to God, and which had... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 17:10

And there are seven kings ,.... The Arabic version renders it, "who are seven kings"; and it should be rendered, as it is by the Vulgate Latin, Syriac and Ethiopic versions, "and they are seven kings"; that is, the seven heads signify seven kings also, for they have in them a double representation, first of seven mountains, and then of seven kings; by which are meant not seven ages of the world, as from Adam to Noah; from Noah to Abraham; from Abraham to David; from David to the Babylonish... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 17:10

And there are seven kings - Και βασιλεις ἑπτα εισιν· They are also seven kings. Before, it was said, they are seven mountains; here, they are also seven kings, which is a demonstration that kingdoms are not here meant by mountains: and this is a farther argument that the seven electorates are represented by seven mountains, for though the sovereigns of these states ranked with kings, they were not kings: that is to say, they were not absolute and sole lords of the territories they... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 17:1-18

"Babylon the great." Our aim in this homily will be to show to what form of evil the name "Babylon the great" specially seems to point. The complexity and difficulty which have gathered round this chapter seem to the writer to arise rather from the enormous incubus of human interpretation which has pressed it down. In this passage we are shown rather a twisted rope than a tangled web. If we untwist the threads and lay them side by side, we shall not have much difficulty, specially if we... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 17:7-13

A picture of moral error. "And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns," etc. Whilst to the eye of the Infinite the greatest cities of the world, the mightiest empires, the most stupendous productions of human art are as nothing, and less than nothing, "vanity," those great moral principles which are the expressions of his own nature, the laws that control... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 17:10

And there are seven kings; and they are. Here we have the same idea (cf. Revelation 17:9 ), with a somewhat different aspect. The phrase in Revelation 17:9 , "seven mountains," regarded the world power as one universal indivisible whole, without respect to particular times or modes in which it might be exhibited. In this phrase, "seven kings," we have the same world power viewed in its successive exhibitions by different nations; though here again we must be on our guard not to... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Revelation 17:10

And there are seven kings - That is, seven in all, as they are enumerated in this verse and the next. An eighth is mentioned in Revelation 17:11, but it is, at the same time, said that this one so pertains to the seven, or is so properly in one sense of the number seven, though, in another sense, to be regarded as an eighth, that it may be properly reckoned as the seventh. The word “kings” - βασιλεῖς basileis - may be understood, so far as the meaning of the word is concerned:(a)Literally, as... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Revelation 17:8-14

Revelation 17:8-14. 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 is not Καιπερ εστιν , and yet is, or, according to other copies, και παρεσται , and shall come, shall ascend out of the bottomless pit A beast in the prophetic style,... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Revelation 17:7-14

Power of the beast (17:7-14)The angel now explains the meaning of the beast and the prostitute. The antichrist, empowered by Satan, controls human society, using his power to fight against the authority of God. His attacks on God’s people may die down for a period, but after he gains fresh life and strength the attacks will be renewed. In the end God will destroy him (7-8; cf. 13:3-4). (For believers of John’s time this illustration was full of meaning. The calm that followed Nero’s death was... read more

Group of Brands