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Revelation 17:5
Verse
Context
The Woman on the Beast
4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. 5And on her forehead a mysterious name was written: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Sermons
A.W. Tozer
John Daniel
Dwight Pentecost
Zac Poonen
S. Lewis JohnsonZac PoonenSummary
Commentary
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots, and Abominations of the Earth - This inscription being written upon her forehead is intended to show that she is not ashamed of her doctrines, but publicly professes and glories in them before the nations: she has indeed a whore's forehead, she has refused to be ashamed. The inscription upon her forehead is exactly the portraiture of the Latin Church. This Church is, as Bishop Newton well expresses it, A Mystery of iniquity. This woman is also called Babylon the Great; she is the exact antitype of the ancient Babylon in her idolatry and cruelty, but the ancient city called Babylon is only a drawing of her in miniature. This is indeed Babylon The Great. "She affects the style and title of our Holy Mother, the Church; but she is, in truth, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth."
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
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, Eph 5:31-32), so the Church conforming to the world and thereby becoming a harlot is a counter "mystery" (or spiritual truth, symbolically now revealed). As iniquity in the harlot is a leaven working in "mystery," and therefore called "the mystery of iniquity," so when she is destroyed, the iniquity heretofore working (comparatively) latently in her, shall be revealed in the man of iniquity, the open embodiment of all previous evil. Contrast the "mystery of God" and "godliness," Rev 10:7; Ti1 3:16. It was Rome that crucified Christ; that destroyed Jerusalem and scattered the Jews; that persecuted the early Christians in pagan times, and Protestant Christians in papal times; and probably shall be again restored to its pristine grandeur, such as it had under the CÃ&brvbrsars, just before the burning of the harlot and of itself with her. So HIPPOLYTUS [On Antichrist] (who lived in the second century), thought. Popery cannot be at one and the same time the "mystery of iniquity," and the manifested or revealed Antichrist. Probably it will compromise for political power (Rev 17:3) the portion of Christianity still in its creed, and thus shall prepare the way for Antichrist's manifestation. The name Babylon, which in the image, Dan 2:32, Dan 2:38, is given to the head, is here given to the harlot, which marks her as being connected with the fourth kingdom, Rome, the last part of the image. Benedict XIII, in his indiction for a jubilee, A.D. 1725, called Rome "the mother of all believers, and the mistress of all churches" (harlots like herself). The correspondence of syllables and accents in Greek is striking; "He porne kai to therion; He numphe kai to arnion." "The whore and the beast; the Bride and the Lamb." of harlots--Greek, "of the harlots and of the abominations." Not merely Rome, but Christendom as a whole, even as formerly Israel as a whole, has become a harlot. The invisible Church of true believers is hidden and dispersed in the visible Church. The boundary lines which separate harlot and woman are not denominational nor drawn externally, but can only be spiritually discerned. If Rome were the only seat of Babylon, much of the spiritual profit of Revelation would be lost to us; but the harlot "sitteth upon many waters" (Rev 17:1), and "ALL nations have drunk of the wine of her fornication" (Rev 17:2; Rev 18:3; "the earth," Rev 19:2). External extensiveness over the whole world and internal conformity to the world--worldliness in extent and contents--is symbolized by the name of the world city, "Babylon." As the sun shines on all the earth, thus the woman clothed with the sun is to let her light penetrate to the uttermost parts of the earth. But she, in externally Christianizing the world, permits herself to be seduced by the world; thus her universality or catholicity is not that of the Jerusalem which we look for ("the MOTHER of us all," Rev 21:2; Isa 2:2-4; Gal 4:26), but that of Babylon, the world-wide but harlot city! (As Babylon was destroyed, and the Jews restored to Jerusalem by Cyrus, so our Cyrus--a Persian name meaning the sun--the Sun of righteousness, shall bring Israel, literal and spiritual, to the holy Jerusalem at His coming. Babylon and Jerusalem are the two opposite poles of the spiritual world). Still, the Romish Church is not only accidentally and as a matter of fact, but in virtue of its very PRINCIPLE, a harlot, the metropolis of whoredom, "the mother of harlots"; whereas the evangelical Protestant Church is, according to her principle and fundamental creed, a chaste woman; the Reformation was a protest of the woman against the harlot. The spirit of the heathen world kingdom Rome had, before the Reformation, changed the Church in the West into a Church-State, Rome; and in the East, into a State-Church, fettered by the world power, having its center in Byzantium; the Roman and Greek churches have thus fallen from the invisible spiritual essence of the Gospel into the elements of the world [AUBERLEN]. Compare with the "woman" called "Babylon" here, the woman named "wickedness," or "lawlessness," "iniquity" (Zac 5:7-8, Zac 5:11), carried to Babylon: compare "the mystery of iniquity" and "the man of sin," "that wicked one," literally, "the lawless one" (Th2 2:7-8; also Mat 24:12).
John Gill Bible Commentary
And upon her forehead was a name written,.... As the high priest had on his mitre upon his forehead written, holiness to the Lord, Exo 28:36 only a different inscription from that; the allusion is thought to be to harlots, who not only used to put their names over their doors, but some of them upon their foreheads, that all might know who they were; of which Mr. Daubuz has given proofs out of Seneca, Martial, Juvenal, and Petronius; and such might be said to have an whore's forehead indeed: and this is expressive of the openness and impudence of the church of Rome, in her idolatrous worship; she openly declares it, and pleads for it, and invites and ensnares persons to join with her in it: the name follows, mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth; her name is "mystery"; not the mystery of godliness, that she dislikes and opposes, but the mystery of iniquity; which is the name antichrist went by in the Apostle Paul's time, when he was but in embryo, Th2 2:7. Some reference may be had to the mystery of the Mass, in which the Papists pretend are the very body and blood of Christ; to their seven sacraments, for wherever almost they find the word mystery, they make a sacrament of that to which it is applied; and to their unwritten traditions, and the sense of the Scriptures, which are locked up in the pope's breast: and it is very remarkable what has been observed by some, that the word "mystery" was formerly upon the frontlet of the pope's mitre, and was removed by Pope Julius the Third, when it was observed that the Protestants made use of this passage of Scripture, and applied it to the Romish antichrist. Joseph Scaliger (l) affirms, that he saw mitres at Rome with this inscription on them. Though others think that this is not any part of the name, but only signifies that this woman was, in a mysterious or mystical sense, called Babylon, &c. just as the great city is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, Rev 11:8 but to me it seems to be a part of the name, as well as what follows, "Babylon the great"; that is, the great city, Rev 14:8 by which name the church of Rome may well be called, because of the signification of it, confusion, Gen 11:9 its doctrine and worship being a confused mixture of Paganism, Judaism, and Christianity; and because of the pride and haughtiness of it, its tyranny and cruelty, and its sorceries and idolatry; see Isa 14:12. And the mother of harlots, of all antichristian states and kingdoms; and is different from the heavenly Jerusalem, the Gospel church, which is the mother of true believers, Gal 4:26 or the "mother of fornications": as some copies read, and the Vulgate Latin and eastern versions render it; that is, the author and encourager of them, as the church of Rome has been; of corporeal fornication, by commanding celibacy, and forbidding marriage to priests, and setting up of brothel houses; and of spiritual fornication or idolatry, everywhere required and encouraged by it: and of "the abominations of the earth"; of abominable doctrines and practices; all manner of wickedness that is to be found in the earth, as murder, adultery, sodomy, perjury, &c. these, with everything that is vile and wicked, are practised and connived at by her. (l) In Scaligeran.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
17:5 Using code language, John was probably referring to Rome (see 17:9) as Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes. Babylon was a symbol of the idolatries and demonic obscenities of the world. As Mother, she had produced offspring who copied her character. Rome, like Babylon, prostituted herself to false gods and led other nations into adultery and idolatry.
Revelation 17:5
The Woman on the Beast
4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. 5And on her forehead a mysterious name was written: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
Ecumenical Movement
By A.W. Tozer4.4K40:28Ecumenical MovementJER 20:9MAT 18:12REV 17:5In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of being conscious of Christ's presence in our lives. He encourages the congregation to become Christ-conscious and church-loving, leading to a transformation of their lives and hearts. The preacher advises against joining any group or belief system that questions the truth of the Bible. He uses an illustration of a man and a girl in love, separated by distance but connected by looking at the same moon, to illustrate the idea of believers looking at Jesus and being united in Him.
The History of Free Masonry - Part 1
By John Daniel2.9K58:47Free MasonryECC 1:9JER 50:1REV 17:5REV 18:4In this sermon, Dr. Stan discusses the battle for the survival of Western civilization and emphasizes the importance of reality over illusion or delusion. He introduces his guest, John Daniel, who has written a book called "Scarlet and the Beast" which explores the spiritual battle described in Revelation 17 and 18. John traces the movement of Mystery Babylon and the One World Empire throughout history, highlighting the role of secret societies and mystery religions. He emphasizes the need to understand the past in order to comprehend the present and warns against repeating history's mistakes.
Week of Meetings-08 Rome-Religion-and the Second Advent
By Dwight Pentecost1.9K59:401TI 4:12TI 3:1REV 2:22REV 3:20REV 17:5REV 17:18In this sermon, the speaker focuses on a specific verse from the Bible, Revelation 17:3, which describes a woman riding a beast. The woman represents a powerful entity that has gained control over the Roman Kingdom or the Federated States of Europe. She is depicted as wearing royal robes, symbolizing her authority. The speaker emphasizes that discussing this topic can be challenging in today's society, as it may be seen as narrow-minded or bigoted. However, the speaker believes it is important to understand the biblical prophecy and warns against the rise of Romanism, stating that it is a greater concern than communism.
(The Last Days and the Lord's Coming) Two Churches-Babylon and Jerusalem
By Zac Poonen1.9K57:57Last DaysGEN 3:15MAT 7:24LUK 6:46JHN 14:23JAS 1:22REV 17:5REV 18:4In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes that Jesus died not only to save us from our sins but also to deliver us from the corrupt world system. He references Galatians 1:4, which states that Jesus gave himself for our sins in order to rescue us from this present evil age. The preacher warns against being friendly with the world system and urges believers to boast only in the cross of Jesus Christ. He highlights the importance of coming out of a corrupt Christianity that prioritizes worldly pursuits and challenges believers to be devoted to Christ above all else.
Two Churches: Babylon and Jerusalem
By Zac Poonen1.7K57:57LUK 16:13JAS 4:4REV 17:5REV 18:4
This sermon delves into the concept of Babylon as a corrupt system that infiltrates Christianity, leading believers astray with worldliness, materialism, and false doctrines. It emphasizes the need to come out of this corrupt Christianity, focusing on devotion to Christ, obedience to God's word, and avoiding the traps of money, politics, and music that can lead to spiritual downfall. The message highlights the importance of being part of the true bride of Christ, ready in simplicity and purity of devotion.
(Genesis) 21 - the Spirit of Man and the Sovereignty of God
By S. Lewis Johnson1.6K45:53Sovereignty Of GodGEN 11:1ACT 2:1ACT 2:41EPH 4:4REV 17:5In this sermon, the preacher focuses on the story of the Tower of Babel from Genesis chapter 11. He explains that the incident marks the end of the general history of mankind and the beginning of the focus on one of Noah's sons, Shem. The people of Babylon, who all spoke the same language, decided to build a city and a tower that would reach into heaven. However, their intentions were seen as a defiance of God's will, and as a result, God confused their languages and scattered them across the earth. The preacher emphasizes that this story serves as a reminder of the innate sinfulness of humanity and the need for God's intervention in our lives.
Coming Out of Babylon
By Zac Poonen1.5K58:25MAL 1:101CO 11:16JAS 4:4REV 17:5REV 18:4REV 19:2
This sermon emphasizes the need for a pure and holy church, contrasting it with the corrupt system of Babylon. It highlights the dangers of backsliding, divisions, politics, money-driven motives, and the misuse of spiritual gifts in churches. The call to 'Come out of Babylon' is emphasized, urging God's people to separate from worldly influences and seek a genuine, spirit-led relationship with Christ. The ultimate goal is to be part of a pure virgin church, devoted to Christ and free from the trappings of the world.
The Pure Heart #5
By Milton Green9611:01:05ISA 29:13MAT 13:11REV 14:1REV 17:5REV 18:4
This sermon emphasizes the importance of repentance, turning away from idols and sins, and seeking God with a pure heart. It warns against following false teachings and doctrines of demons, highlighting the need to cleanse oneself from all rebellion and defilement. The message calls for a return to God, following His word, and being marked with His name on the forehead as a sign of purity and allegiance.
The Importance of Godly Leadership in Church
By Zac Poonen85034:20MAL 1:11MAT 23:8JHN 14:6JHN 17:9HEB 11:6REV 17:5
This sermon emphasizes the shift from an external righteousness based on the Old Covenant mentality to an inward righteousness of the New Covenant. It highlights the importance of seeking purity, inner transformation, and a wholehearted pursuit of God's kingdom. The speaker challenges the focus on external appearances, titles, and traditions, urging believers to prioritize their inner life, motives, and consistency in following Jesus.
The True Church and Babylon
By Zac Poonen4221:06:38GEN 13:10MAT 6:24LUK 16:13REV 17:5
This sermon emphasizes the importance of proclaiming the full purpose of God, focusing on the dangers of serving both God and money. It delves into the concept of Babylon as a system driven by political and financial influences, contrasting it with the true essence of the Church as a unified body serving God. The speaker highlights the need to prioritize God over wealth, address debts, resolve conflicts, and care for one's family before giving offerings. The sermon stresses the significance of building a church that mirrors the selfless nature of Jesus Christ, free from the love of money and dedicated to serving God wholeheartedly.
Political Events
By Arno Clemens Gaebelein0JER 6:14MAT 24:61TH 5:3REV 17:5REV 19:19Arno Clemens Gaebelein preaches about the deceptive cry for peace in the days of Jeremiah, paralleling it to the false sense of peace and progress preached in modern times. He highlights the impending divine judgment over Jerusalem due to the people's self-deception. Gaebelein draws attention to the ominous signs of impending troubles and the popular belief in universal peace, contrasting it with the warnings of great statesmen like Balfour and Lord Rosebery about the looming threat of war in Europe. He emphasizes the need for true peace through surrender to Jesus Christ, as the world prepares for war and unrest.
How the World Got Wrong on Baptism
By John R. Rice0MAT 26:26JHN 3:5ACT 8:38ACT 9:18ACT 16:33ROM 6:4EPH 5:26COL 2:121TI 3:2TIT 1:6TIT 3:5REV 17:5John R. Rice delivers a sermon focusing on Revelation 17:5, interpreting the evil woman as a representation of Roman Catholicism, highlighting the false doctrines, heresies, and religious abominations that have come into Christianity through this institution. Rice discusses how Roman Catholics officially changed practices like baptism to sprinkling, claiming the authority of the church over the Word of God. He provides historical evidence of the shift from baptism by immersion to sprinkling within Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, and other denominations, emphasizing the departure from the Bible's teachings. Rice urges listeners to study the Bible diligently, encouraging a return to the scriptural practice of baptism by immersion.
Genesis 11:1
By Chuck Smith0The Nature of ReligionHuman Efforts vs. Divine GraceGEN 11:1MAT 11:28JHN 3:16HEB 4:9REV 17:5Chuck Smith discusses the human tendency to seek God through self-made efforts, likening it to building towers to heaven. He emphasizes that despite man's attempts through various religions, these efforts ultimately lead to confusion and failure, as they cannot bridge the gap to God. Smith contrasts this with the message of Christianity, which is not about man's work but rather God's finished work through Jesus Christ, offering true rest and salvation. He highlights that while religions may provide temporary excitement, they ultimately leave individuals unfulfilled. The sermon concludes with the assurance that God has reached out to humanity, inviting them to rest in His grace.
Mystery of Godliness and Mystery of Iniquity
By Zac Poonen0EPH 5:312TH 2:71TI 3:161JN 2:6REV 10:7REV 17:5Zac Poonen delves into the 'mystery of God' as mentioned in Revelation 10:7, explaining that it will be revealed when the seventh trumpet is sounded. He breaks down the mysteries of godliness and iniquity found in the New Testament, emphasizing the importance of understanding these secrets that only God can reveal. Poonen highlights the truth of Christ's manifestation in the flesh and the call for believers to walk in purity and holiness, contrasting it with the deception of Satan manifesting as the Antichrist and leading many astray with the lie that sin goes unpunished.
Notes on the Revelation
By John Nelson Darby0The Structure of RevelationChrist's Authority and JudgmentREV 1:8REV 4:2REV 5:6REV 6:11REV 7:14REV 11:15REV 12:10REV 17:5REV 19:1REV 20:10John Nelson Darby discusses the structure of the Book of Revelation, dividing it into three main parts: the personal glory of Christ, His judgment of the seven churches, and events following the church's removal. He emphasizes the continuity of responsibility from the early church to the present, highlighting the significance of the throne in heaven and the roles of cherubim and seraphim in God's governance. Darby also explores the implications of the judgments and the nature of the everlasting gospel, asserting that the church's current state reflects a departure from its original calling. He concludes with a focus on the ultimate triumph of Christ and the establishment of His kingdom.
(Living as Jesus Lived) 9. the Bride of Christ
By Zac Poonen0The Bride of ChristObedience vs. DisobedienceEXO 25:8JER 51:58MAT 7:242TI 3:5HEB 12:22JAS 4:41JN 2:6REV 17:5REV 18:4REV 21:2Zac Poonen emphasizes the stark contrast between the Bride of Christ and the Harlot church, illustrating how the Holy Spirit's work results in a glorious, holy city, while Satan's counterfeit leads to spiritual adultery and destruction. He highlights that true Christianity is marked by obedience to God's will, as seen in the lives of those who build their faith on the rock of Christ, in contrast to those who rely on human wisdom and ultimately perish. Poonen warns against the false security of those who claim to follow Christ without genuine obedience, urging believers to heed the call to separate from the worldly system of Babylon and embrace the holiness of Jerusalem. The sermon calls for a life that reflects the divine nature and purpose of God, culminating in the eternal glory of His grace.
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots, and Abominations of the Earth - This inscription being written upon her forehead is intended to show that she is not ashamed of her doctrines, but publicly professes and glories in them before the nations: she has indeed a whore's forehead, she has refused to be ashamed. The inscription upon her forehead is exactly the portraiture of the Latin Church. This Church is, as Bishop Newton well expresses it, A Mystery of iniquity. This woman is also called Babylon the Great; she is the exact antitype of the ancient Babylon in her idolatry and cruelty, but the ancient city called Babylon is only a drawing of her in miniature. This is indeed Babylon The Great. "She affects the style and title of our Holy Mother, the Church; but she is, in truth, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth."
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
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, Eph 5:31-32), so the Church conforming to the world and thereby becoming a harlot is a counter "mystery" (or spiritual truth, symbolically now revealed). As iniquity in the harlot is a leaven working in "mystery," and therefore called "the mystery of iniquity," so when she is destroyed, the iniquity heretofore working (comparatively) latently in her, shall be revealed in the man of iniquity, the open embodiment of all previous evil. Contrast the "mystery of God" and "godliness," Rev 10:7; Ti1 3:16. It was Rome that crucified Christ; that destroyed Jerusalem and scattered the Jews; that persecuted the early Christians in pagan times, and Protestant Christians in papal times; and probably shall be again restored to its pristine grandeur, such as it had under the CÃ&brvbrsars, just before the burning of the harlot and of itself with her. So HIPPOLYTUS [On Antichrist] (who lived in the second century), thought. Popery cannot be at one and the same time the "mystery of iniquity," and the manifested or revealed Antichrist. Probably it will compromise for political power (Rev 17:3) the portion of Christianity still in its creed, and thus shall prepare the way for Antichrist's manifestation. The name Babylon, which in the image, Dan 2:32, Dan 2:38, is given to the head, is here given to the harlot, which marks her as being connected with the fourth kingdom, Rome, the last part of the image. Benedict XIII, in his indiction for a jubilee, A.D. 1725, called Rome "the mother of all believers, and the mistress of all churches" (harlots like herself). The correspondence of syllables and accents in Greek is striking; "He porne kai to therion; He numphe kai to arnion." "The whore and the beast; the Bride and the Lamb." of harlots--Greek, "of the harlots and of the abominations." Not merely Rome, but Christendom as a whole, even as formerly Israel as a whole, has become a harlot. The invisible Church of true believers is hidden and dispersed in the visible Church. The boundary lines which separate harlot and woman are not denominational nor drawn externally, but can only be spiritually discerned. If Rome were the only seat of Babylon, much of the spiritual profit of Revelation would be lost to us; but the harlot "sitteth upon many waters" (Rev 17:1), and "ALL nations have drunk of the wine of her fornication" (Rev 17:2; Rev 18:3; "the earth," Rev 19:2). External extensiveness over the whole world and internal conformity to the world--worldliness in extent and contents--is symbolized by the name of the world city, "Babylon." As the sun shines on all the earth, thus the woman clothed with the sun is to let her light penetrate to the uttermost parts of the earth. But she, in externally Christianizing the world, permits herself to be seduced by the world; thus her universality or catholicity is not that of the Jerusalem which we look for ("the MOTHER of us all," Rev 21:2; Isa 2:2-4; Gal 4:26), but that of Babylon, the world-wide but harlot city! (As Babylon was destroyed, and the Jews restored to Jerusalem by Cyrus, so our Cyrus--a Persian name meaning the sun--the Sun of righteousness, shall bring Israel, literal and spiritual, to the holy Jerusalem at His coming. Babylon and Jerusalem are the two opposite poles of the spiritual world). Still, the Romish Church is not only accidentally and as a matter of fact, but in virtue of its very PRINCIPLE, a harlot, the metropolis of whoredom, "the mother of harlots"; whereas the evangelical Protestant Church is, according to her principle and fundamental creed, a chaste woman; the Reformation was a protest of the woman against the harlot. The spirit of the heathen world kingdom Rome had, before the Reformation, changed the Church in the West into a Church-State, Rome; and in the East, into a State-Church, fettered by the world power, having its center in Byzantium; the Roman and Greek churches have thus fallen from the invisible spiritual essence of the Gospel into the elements of the world [AUBERLEN]. Compare with the "woman" called "Babylon" here, the woman named "wickedness," or "lawlessness," "iniquity" (Zac 5:7-8, Zac 5:11), carried to Babylon: compare "the mystery of iniquity" and "the man of sin," "that wicked one," literally, "the lawless one" (Th2 2:7-8; also Mat 24:12).
John Gill Bible Commentary
And upon her forehead was a name written,.... As the high priest had on his mitre upon his forehead written, holiness to the Lord, Exo 28:36 only a different inscription from that; the allusion is thought to be to harlots, who not only used to put their names over their doors, but some of them upon their foreheads, that all might know who they were; of which Mr. Daubuz has given proofs out of Seneca, Martial, Juvenal, and Petronius; and such might be said to have an whore's forehead indeed: and this is expressive of the openness and impudence of the church of Rome, in her idolatrous worship; she openly declares it, and pleads for it, and invites and ensnares persons to join with her in it: the name follows, mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth; her name is "mystery"; not the mystery of godliness, that she dislikes and opposes, but the mystery of iniquity; which is the name antichrist went by in the Apostle Paul's time, when he was but in embryo, Th2 2:7. Some reference may be had to the mystery of the Mass, in which the Papists pretend are the very body and blood of Christ; to their seven sacraments, for wherever almost they find the word mystery, they make a sacrament of that to which it is applied; and to their unwritten traditions, and the sense of the Scriptures, which are locked up in the pope's breast: and it is very remarkable what has been observed by some, that the word "mystery" was formerly upon the frontlet of the pope's mitre, and was removed by Pope Julius the Third, when it was observed that the Protestants made use of this passage of Scripture, and applied it to the Romish antichrist. Joseph Scaliger (l) affirms, that he saw mitres at Rome with this inscription on them. Though others think that this is not any part of the name, but only signifies that this woman was, in a mysterious or mystical sense, called Babylon, &c. just as the great city is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, Rev 11:8 but to me it seems to be a part of the name, as well as what follows, "Babylon the great"; that is, the great city, Rev 14:8 by which name the church of Rome may well be called, because of the signification of it, confusion, Gen 11:9 its doctrine and worship being a confused mixture of Paganism, Judaism, and Christianity; and because of the pride and haughtiness of it, its tyranny and cruelty, and its sorceries and idolatry; see Isa 14:12. And the mother of harlots, of all antichristian states and kingdoms; and is different from the heavenly Jerusalem, the Gospel church, which is the mother of true believers, Gal 4:26 or the "mother of fornications": as some copies read, and the Vulgate Latin and eastern versions render it; that is, the author and encourager of them, as the church of Rome has been; of corporeal fornication, by commanding celibacy, and forbidding marriage to priests, and setting up of brothel houses; and of spiritual fornication or idolatry, everywhere required and encouraged by it: and of "the abominations of the earth"; of abominable doctrines and practices; all manner of wickedness that is to be found in the earth, as murder, adultery, sodomy, perjury, &c. these, with everything that is vile and wicked, are practised and connived at by her. (l) In Scaligeran.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
17:5 Using code language, John was probably referring to Rome (see 17:9) as Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes. Babylon was a symbol of the idolatries and demonic obscenities of the world. As Mother, she had produced offspring who copied her character. Rome, like Babylon, prostituted herself to false gods and led other nations into adultery and idolatry.