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

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 under a variety of images. Rome has already been characterized by the names of spiritual Egypt, and of Babylon; and having seen how her plagues resemble those of Egypt, we shall now see her fall compared to that of Babylon. It was declared in general, Babylon is fallen, &c. ch. Revelation 14:8. but this is a catastrophe deserving a more particular description, both for warning to some, and for consolation to others. But before the description of her fall and destruction, there is premised an account of her state and condition, that there may be no mistake in the application. Rome was meant, as all, both Papists and Protestants, agree; and among the Papists are no less names than those of Baronius, Bellarmine, &c. and it appears almost to demonstration, that not Pagan but Christian, not imperial but papal Rome, was here intended. One of the seven angels calleth to St. John, Revelation 17:1. Most probably this was the seventh angel; for under the seventh vial great Babylon came into remembrance before God, ch. Revelation 16:19. and now St. John is called upon to see her condemnation and execution:—Come hither, &c. So ancient Babylon, which was seated on the great river Euphrates, is described, Jeremiah 51:13. and from thence the phrase of sitting upon many waters is in some measure taken; and signifies, according to the angel's own explanation, ver.15. ruling over many people and nations. Neither was this an ordinary prostitute; she was the great whore, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, Revelation 17:2. as the prophet says of Tyre, Isaiah 23:17. Nay, not only the kings, but inferior persons, the inhabitants of the earth, have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication; as it was said of ancient Babylon, Jeremiah 51:7. Fornication, in the usual style of scripture, is idolatry; but if it be taken even literally, it is true that modern Rome openly allows the one, as well as practises the other. Ancient Rome does in no respect so well answer the character; for she ruled more with a rod of iron, than with the wine of fornication. Her ambition was for extending her empire, and not her religion. She permitted even the conquered nations to continue in the religion of their ancestors. She may be said rather to have been corrupted by the importation of foreign vices and superstitions, than to have established her own in other countries. As Ezekiel was conveyedby the Spirit to Jerusalem, (ch. viii 3.) so St. John is carried away in the Spirit into the wilderness, (Revelation 17:3.) for there the scene is laid, being a scene of desolation. When the woman,—the true church,—was persecuted and afflicted, she was said to fly into the wilderness, ch. Revelation 12:14. and, in like manner, when the woman, the false church, is to be destroyed, the vision is presented in the wilderness. A woman sitting upon a beast, is a lively and significative emblem of a church or city directing and governing an empire. Inpainting and sculpture, as well as in prophetic language, cities are often represented in the form of women; and Rome itself is exhibited in ancient coins as a woman sitting upon a lion. Here the beast is a scarlet-coloured beast, for the same reason that the dragon is called the red dragon, ch. Revelation 12:3. to denote his cruelty, and in allusion to the distinguishing colour of the Roman emperors and magistrates. The beast is also full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns; so that this is the very same beast which was described in the former part of ch. 13 and the woman in some measure answers to the two horned beast or false prophet; and consequently the woman is Christian, not Pagan Rome, because Rome was become Christian before the beast had completely seven heads and ten horns; that is, before the Roman empire was divided into ten kingdoms. The woman was arrayed too in purple and scarlet colour, (Revelation 17:4.) this being the colour of the popes and cardinals, as well as of the emperors and senators of Rome. Nay, the mules and horses which carry the popes and cardinals are covered with scarlet cloth; so that they may properly be said to ride upon a scarlet coloured beast. The woman is also decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls: and who can sufficiently describe the pride, and grandeur, and magnificence of the church of Rome in her vestments and ornaments of all kinds? The mitre of Paul II. which was set with diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, chrysolites, jaspers, and precious stones of all sorts, is one instance; and another conspicuous instance was in the Lady of Loretto, the riches of whose holy image, and house, and treasury, were far beyond the reach ofdescription. There silver could scarcely find an admission; and gold itself looked but poorly among such an incredible number of precious stones. Moreover, the woman, like other harlots, who give philtres and love potions to inflame their lovers, has a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations, and filthiness of her fornications; to signify the specious and alluring arts wherewith she bewitches and entices men to idolatry, which is abomination and spiritual fornication. It is an image similar to that in Jeremiah 51:7. Yet farther to distinguish the woman, she has her name inscribed upon her forehead, (Revelation 17:5.) in allusion to the practice of some notorious prostitutes, who had their names written on a label upon their foreheads, as may be collected from ancient authors. The inscription is so very particular, that we cannot easily mistake the person;—Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of harlots, or rather, of fornications and abominations of the earth. Her name Mystery can imply no less than that she deals in mysteries; her religion is a mystery, a mystery of iniquity; and the herself is mystically and spiritually Babylon the great. But the title of mystery is in no respect proper to ancient Rome, more than to any other city; neither is there any mystery in substituting one heathen, idolatrous, persecuting city for another; but it is indeed a mystery, that a Christian city, professing and boasting herself to be the city of God, should prove another Babylon in idolatry, and in cruelty to the people of God. She glories in the name of Roman Catholic; well therefore may she be called Babylon the Great: she affects the style and title of Our holy Mother Church; but she is, in truth, the mother of fornications, and abominations of the earth. Neither can this character, with any propriety, be applied to ancient Rome; for she was rather a learner of foreign superstitions, than the mystery of idolatry to other nations; as appears in various instances. It may be concluded therefore, that this part of the prophesy is sufficiently fulfilled, though there should be reason to question the truth of what is asserted by some writers, that the word MYSTERY was formerly written in gold upon the forepart of the pope's mitre. Scaliger affirms it, upon the authority of the Duke de Montmorency: Francis Le Moyne and Brocardus confirm it, appealing to ocular inspection; and when King James objected this, Lessius could not deny it. If the thing be true, it is a wonderful coincidence of the event with the letter of the prophesy; but it has been much controverted. It is much more certain, (and none of that communion can deny it,) that the ancient mitres were usuallyadorned with inscriptions. Infamous as the woman is for her idolatry, she is no less detestable for her cruelty: which are two principal characteristics of the antichristian empire she is drunken with the blood of the saints, (Revelation 17:6.) This may indeed be applied to pagan and to Christian Rome; for both have, in their turns, cruelly persecuted the saints and martyrs of Jesus; but the latter is more deserving the character, as she has far exceeded the former, both in the degree and duration of her persecutions. It is very true, as has been hinted before, that if pagan Rome has destroyed her thousands of innocent Christians, Christian Rome has slain her ten thousands. For, not to mention other outrageous slaughters and barbarities, the croisades against the Waldenses and Albigenses, the murders committed by the Duke of Alva in the Netherlands, the massacres in France and Ireland, will probably amount to above ten times the number of all the Christians slain in all the ten persecutions of the Roman emperors put together. St. John's admiration also plainly evinces that Christian Rome was intended; for it could be no matter of surprize to him, that a heathen city should persecute the Christians, when he himself had seen and suffered persecution under Nero: but, that a city professedly Christian, should wanton and riot in the blood of Christians, was a subject of astonishment indeed; and well might he, as it is emphatically expressed, wonder with great wonder.