σε χρυσῶν πολήςιον ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτῆς, γέμον βδελυγμάτων καὶ τὰ ἀκαθάρια τῆς 5 πορνείας αὐτῆς. Καὶ ἐπὶ το μέτωπον αυτ της όνομα γείραμμένον" Μυςήριον ΒαΕιλὼν ἡ μεγάλη, ἡ μήτης τῶν πορνῶν καὶ τῶν βδελυμά Ο των τῆς γῆς. Καὶ εἶδον τὴν γυναῖκα μεθύσσαν ἐκ τῶ απ μαία τῶν ἁγίων, καὶ ἐκ τῆ αι μαθε τῶν μας. τύρων Ἰηση· καὶ ἐθαύμασα, ἰδὼν αὐ τὴν, θαῦμα μέγα. 7 Καὶ εἶπέ μοι ὁ ἄγω γελΘ. Διατί ἐθαύ μασας; ἐγώ σοι ἐρῶ τὸ μυςήριον τῆς γυναικὸς, καὶ τὰ βα τάζονται αὐτὴν, τῆ ἔχοντὰ τὰς ἑπτὰ κεφαλὰς καὶ τὰ δέκα 8 κέρατα. Τὸ θηρίον, ὃ εἶδες, ἦν, καὶ ἐκ ἔςι· καὶ μέλλει ἀναβαί. κειν ἐκ τῆς ἀβύσσα, καὶ εἰς ἀπώλειαν ὑπαγειν· καὶ θαυμά σονται οἱ κατοικονίες ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὧν ἐ γέγραπίαι τὰ ὀνό μαία ἐπὶ τὸ βιβλίον τῆς ζωῆς ἀπὸ καλα βολῆς κόσμο, βλέ πολλων τὸ θηρίον, orned with gold, and en cup in her hand, BYLON THE MOTHER 6 THE EARTH! And I seven heads and the ten horus. The wildσε beast which thou be 66 66 holdest, was, and is not, and is about to "ascend from the bot"tomless deep, and to σε go into destruction. "And the inhabitants « of the earth shall "wo der, (they whose na nes are not written having a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations and filthiness of her fornica5 tion. And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BATHE GREAT, BY LON 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great ad7 miration. 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 8 and ten horns. The beast that thou sawest, was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder (whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world) when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and ὁ εἷς ἐσιν, ὁ ἄλλο ἔπω ἦλθε καὶ ὅταν ἔλθῃ, ὀλίγον αὐτόν 11 δεῖ μεῖναι. Καὶ τὸ θηρίον, ὃ ἦν, καὶ ἐκ ἴςι, καὶ αὐτὸς ὄγδούς ἐσι, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἑπλά ἔτι, καὶ εἰς ἀπώλειαν 12 υπάγει. Καὶ τὰ δέκα κέρατα, ἃ εἶδες, δέκα βασι λεῖς εἰσιν, οἵτινες βασιλείαν ἔπω ἔλα βον, ἀλλ ̓ ἐξεσίαν, ὡς βασιλεῖς, μίαν ὥραν λαμβάνεσι 13 μείὰ τῷ θηρία. Οτοι μίαν γνώμην ἔχεσι, καὶ τὴν δύνα μιν καὶ τὴν ἐξεσίαν ἑαυτῶν τῷ θηρίω 14 διδόασιν. Οὗτοι μετὰ τὸ ἀρνία που λεμήσεσι, καὶ τὸ αρ γίον νικήσει αὐτὲς, ὅτι ΚύριΘ κυρίων ἐςὶ καὶ Βασιλεὺς βασιλέων καὶ οἱ με αὐτῷ, κλητοί, καὶ ἐκλεκτοί, καὶ τσιςοί. 15 Καὶ λέγει μοι· Τὰ vdala, à rides, ἡ σύνη κάθηται, 9 yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the 10 woman silteth. And there are seven kings : five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. 11 And the beast, that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. 12 And the ten horns which thou sawest, are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength 14 unto the beast. 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 15 faithful. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sit teth, are peoples, and "and the Lamb shall "overcome them, (for "he is Lord of lords, "and King of kings); "and they who are "with him, called, chosen, and And he " and Tìm kỳ qua, xy| 15* faithful.” καλακαύσεσιν ἐν πυ 17pí. "O yàp Qròs Edwκεν εἰς τὰς καρδίας αὐτῶν ποιῆσαι τὴν γνώμην αὑτε, και ποι ῆσαι μίαν γνώμην, καὶ δῆναι τὴν βασι λείαν αὑτῶν τῷ θη ρίῳ, ἄχρι τελεσθήσονται οἱ λόγοι το 18 Θεῖ. Καὶ ἡ γυνὴ, ἂν εἶδες, ἔτιν ἡ πόλις ἡ μεγάλη ἡ ἔχεσα βασιλείαν ἐπὶ τῶν βασιλέων τῆς γῆς. saith unto me; The "waters which thou "didst see, where the "harlot is seated, are 66 peoples, and multi"tudes, and nations, 16" and languages: And "the ten horns which "thou didst see, and "the wild-beast, these "shall hate the harlot, "and shall make her "desolate and naked; 17" And shall eat her "flesh, and burn her utterly with fire: for, "God hath put into "their hearts to per"form his counsel, and "to perform one coun"sel, and to give their "dominion to the "beast, until the words "of God shall be ac 18" complished. And whom "thou didst see, is the 66 great city which hath "dominion over the 66 kings of the earth." multitudes, and na tions, 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 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God 18 shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest, is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. Ver. Ver. 1. One of the seven angels; &c.] This vision seems in some measure to be detached and separated from the rest. The scene is changed to a wilderness, for the purpose of its exhibition; and it appears like a sort of episode. Yet the matter of it will be found to be of high importance; it will be found to explain ma y passages in the preceding prophecy, but especially those of ch. xvi. 19, where Babylon is mentioned as "remembered." To exhibit this connection, the angel, who attends upon the prophet and explains this vision, is one of the seven who had been employed to pour out the Vials. This separate vision is therefore intitled by the angel, "the judgment of "the great harlot," who appears in the fifth verse of this chapter to have the name of Babylon. So, this Section, taken together with its continuation in ch. xviii. and xix. 1-11, will be found to contain the Vial or plague upon Babylon: but first, she is described. She is called "the great harlot," and "the great 'city*." These two names, in prophetical language, have the same meaning. A city, or kingdom, is frequently represented under the symbol of a woman. Babylon, ancient Babylon, is so represented t. And when it is the object of the prophecy to express the idolatry and corruptive wickedness of the city, she then appears as an harlot . All the imagery belonging to this form of speech, may be seen in complete allegory, in the sixteenth chapter of Ezekiel; where a forlorn female infant, under the fostering hand of Providence, grows up, and becomes "exceeding beautiful," and "pro spers into a kingdom;" but afterwards degenerates into an "idolatress and harlot §." The same imagery Isa. xlvii. 1-6. ⚫ Ver. 18. Isa. i. 21. appears appears again, in ch. xxi. of the Apocalypse; where, to Babylon, the harlot, is opposed the New Jerusalem, the Bride. This corrupt city, now exhibited, had acquired her greatness and celebrity under the character of harlot; for her power over the kings and inhabitants of the earth, is described as arising from her fornication with them; she is represented as beguiling them to drink of "the cup of her fornica"tions ;" and leading them, intoxicated, through all the impurities of her idolatry, to that extreme madness of iniquity, when she wallows in the innocent blood of saints and martyrs*. Possessing, by this influence, the riches of the kings, she appears arrayed in vestments of the utmost splendour. Purple and scarlet, the distinguishing regal colours in the ancient world, are employed to adorn her. She is decorated with gold and precious stones. She "sits "upon many waters;" which is afterwards explained to signify, (as indeed it generally signifies in prophetic language †,) that she has dominion over many nations. She has a mysterious name; a name ænigmatical; nov-it is "the great Babylon, the * Ver. 6. † See note, ch. i. 13. The word unpiov, mystery, does not appear to have been part of the inscription on the forehead of the woman; but to imply that her name, so written, was of the mysterious, ænigmatical kind. So it seems to have been understood in the ancient Latin text used by Primasius; et in fronte ejus nomen scriptum Sacramenti. (Primasius in loc.) See ch. i. 20. where spion is used to signify an ænigma, containing a spiritual truth concealed under a literal form. Agreeably to this, the angel says, "I will tell thee the mystery of the woman;" I will explain this symbolical appearance. And it must be in a mystical sense only that any city or political body can be now called Babylon: for, the literal Babylon has been long since sunk to nothing: and divine prophecy has declared of her, that she shall no more rise again. The city was a heap of ruins before this prophecy was delivered. Plin. Nat. Hist. lib. vi. 26. |