Revelation 17:1 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

REVELATION CHAPTER 17 Revelation 17:1-4 John's vision of the great whore, sitting upon the scarlet coloured beast, arrayed in purple and scarlet, with a golden cup in her hand. Revelation 17:5 Her name. Revelation 17:6 She is drunken with the blood of saints. Revelation 17:7-17 The interpretation of the mystery of the beast, and of his seven heads and ten horns, Revelation 17:18 and of the woman. This whole verse is but a preface to a new vision which John had; not new, as to the matter revealed in it; for it plainly revealeth matters relating to antichrist; and the matter of it contemporizeth with the three last vials, about the final ruin of antichrist, who was before described under the notion of a beast, here under the notion of a great whore. A whore properly signifies one that is married, and is false to her husband's bed; and so very well suits the Church of Rome, (if they yet deserve that name), whose faith was formerly spoken of throughout the world, Romans 1:8, but is long since turned idolatrous (idolatry, in the prophetic style, being quite through the Scripture called whoredom). She is said to sit upon many waters, either because she exerciseth a jurisdiction over much people, or with allusion to old Babylon, (which gave her her name), which was situated near Euphrates, a river in which there was a great collection of waters. John is called to hear the counsels of God concerning her destruction, which though more generally and shortly revealed before, yet God here designs to reveal to John more fully, particularly, and plainly.