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Revelation 17:6
Verse
Context
Sermons
Brother Andrew
Paris Reidhead
George FoxSummary
Commentary
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
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 admiration - How exactly the cruelties exercised by the Latin Church against all it has denominated heretics correspond with this description, the reader need not be informed.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
martyrs--witnesses. I wondered with great admiration--As the Greek is the same in the verb and the noun, translate the latter "wonder." John certainly did not admire her in the modern English sense. Elsewhere (Rev 17:8; Rev 13:3), all the earthly-minded ("they that dwell on the earth") wonder in admiration of the beast. Here only is John's wonder called forth; not the beast, but the woman sunken into the harlot, the Church become a world-loving apostate, moves his sorrowful astonishment at so awful a change. That the world should be beastly is natural, but that the faithful bride should become the whore is monstrous, and excites the same amazement in him as the same awful change in Israel excited in Isaiah and Jeremiah. "Horrible thing" in them answers to "abominations" here. "Corruptio optimi pessima"; when the Church falls, she sinks lower than the godless world, in proportion as her right place is higher than the world. It is striking that in Rev 17:3, "woman" has not the article, "the woman," as if she had been before mentioned: for though identical in one sense with the woman, Rev 12:1-6, in another sense she is not. The elect are never perverted into apostates, and still remain as the true woman invisibly contained in the harlot; yet Christendom regarded as the woman has apostatized from its first faith.
John Gill Bible Commentary
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints,.... To see a woman drunk is a shameful sight; but to see one drunk, not with wine, but with blood, is monstrous, cruel, and shocking; the sword, when it devours, and is satiate, is said to be drunk with blood, Jer 46:10 but for a woman to be so is unexampled; and not with her own blood, as she will be, Isa 49:26 but with the blood of others; and not with the blood of wicked men, but with the blood of saints; such as God the Father has set apart from everlasting, and chosen to be holy; whom Christ has sanctified by his blood, or whose sins he has expiated, and to whom he is made sanctification; and who have principles of grace and holiness wrought in them by the Spirit of God, and live holy lives and conversations: and of the martyrs of Jesus; the saints, whose blood is shed by antichrist, are martyrs also; but they seem to design the common people, and these the ministers of the Gospel, who are the martyrs of Jesus, both in life and death; they are his martyrs or witnesses, by their doctrine and ministry, bearing testimony to him as Jesus, a Saviour; testifying that he is the only Saviour, that there is salvation in no other, in opposition to the antichristian doctrines of merit, penance, purgatory, &c. for which they have been cruelly put to death, and in great numbers, and so have sealed their doctrine by their blood. Now the woman being drunk with their blood, denotes the blood thirstiness of the church of Rome, her greedy aud insatiable desire after the blood of the saints, and her delight in it, being exceeding mad against them; and the multitude of it shed by her, as the slaughters of the Waldenses and Albigenses, the butcheries of the duke d'Alva in the Low Countries, the massacres in France, Ireland, and other places, the burning of the martyrs in Queen Mary's days here, with numerous other instances, show. And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration; not at the sight of the beast, which he had seen before, but at the sight of the woman, as, upon the beast; he wondered that one of her sex, generally timorous and fearful, should ride on such a monstrous creature; he was amazed at her dress, and grand appearance, whereas the church in his time consisted of poor persons, meanly arrayed; it was astonishing to him that one bearing the name of a Christian church should rise to such grandeur; and he wondered at the name upon her forehead, what the whole of that inscription should mean; but, above all, at her drunkenness with the blood of the saints; at her inhumanity and cruelty, being as savage as the beast she rode on; and also at God's forbearance of her, that he, who is a pure and holy Being, a lover of his saints, an avenger of his elect, should suffer such a brutish, barbarous, and blood thirsty creature, to live upon earth; see Hab 1:13.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
17:6 God’s holy people . . . were witnesses for Jesus to the point of shedding their blood (see 16:6; Heb 12:4). In John’s time, Rome was responsible for this persecution.
Revelation 17:6
The Mystery Explained
5And on her forehead a mysterious name was written: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.6I could see that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses for Jesus. And I was utterly amazed at the sight of her.
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
Things God Wants Us to Know - Part 1
By Brother Andrew5.2K30:40RevelationMAT 6:33JHN 3:16ACT 4:12ROM 10:9REV 17:6REV 20:15REV 22:19In this sermon, Brother Andrew shares four things that God wants us to know. He emphasizes the importance of prayer and the impact it can have, as demonstrated by the story of a man in a Russian prison who found Jesus through a gospel track given to him years earlier. Brother Andrew also discusses the high demand for scriptures in countries like Russia and the need for the Bible Society to keep up with this demand. He highlights the injustice and suffering faced by believers, such as Galina, who endured three years in a concentration camp for her faith. The sermon encourages listeners to be aware of these realities and to use every opportunity to share the Word of God.
Are You One of the Chosen Ones?
By Paris Reidhead28156:43ChosenMAT 6:33REV 17:1REV 17:6REV 17:8REV 17:14REV 18:2In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of understanding the influence of ideas and philosophy in shaping our society. He points out that in today's generation, there is a strong obsession with amusement and pleasure. The preacher urges the audience to turn away from idols and serve the living God, promising forgiveness and transformation. He also highlights the seductive power of worldly influences and encourages those who feel enticed to seek God and raise their hand in acknowledgment of their need for freedom.
Epistle 34
By George Fox0JER 23:18JHN 1:9JHN 3:19JHN 8:12JHN 11:9ROM 3:272CO 4:62TI 3:5REV 17:6George Fox emphasizes the importance of staying true to the light of Christ within each individual, warning against speaking presumptuously about God out of fear or pride. He urges the congregation to wait in the light, love it, and allow it to guide them away from wicked ways and false teachings. Those who turn away from the light and deny it, even if they profess the words of scripture, are condemned. Fox highlights the distinction between those who walk in the light of Christ and those who turn from it, likening the latter to harlots who deceive and persecute true believers.
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
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 admiration - How exactly the cruelties exercised by the Latin Church against all it has denominated heretics correspond with this description, the reader need not be informed.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
martyrs--witnesses. I wondered with great admiration--As the Greek is the same in the verb and the noun, translate the latter "wonder." John certainly did not admire her in the modern English sense. Elsewhere (Rev 17:8; Rev 13:3), all the earthly-minded ("they that dwell on the earth") wonder in admiration of the beast. Here only is John's wonder called forth; not the beast, but the woman sunken into the harlot, the Church become a world-loving apostate, moves his sorrowful astonishment at so awful a change. That the world should be beastly is natural, but that the faithful bride should become the whore is monstrous, and excites the same amazement in him as the same awful change in Israel excited in Isaiah and Jeremiah. "Horrible thing" in them answers to "abominations" here. "Corruptio optimi pessima"; when the Church falls, she sinks lower than the godless world, in proportion as her right place is higher than the world. It is striking that in Rev 17:3, "woman" has not the article, "the woman," as if she had been before mentioned: for though identical in one sense with the woman, Rev 12:1-6, in another sense she is not. The elect are never perverted into apostates, and still remain as the true woman invisibly contained in the harlot; yet Christendom regarded as the woman has apostatized from its first faith.
John Gill Bible Commentary
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints,.... To see a woman drunk is a shameful sight; but to see one drunk, not with wine, but with blood, is monstrous, cruel, and shocking; the sword, when it devours, and is satiate, is said to be drunk with blood, Jer 46:10 but for a woman to be so is unexampled; and not with her own blood, as she will be, Isa 49:26 but with the blood of others; and not with the blood of wicked men, but with the blood of saints; such as God the Father has set apart from everlasting, and chosen to be holy; whom Christ has sanctified by his blood, or whose sins he has expiated, and to whom he is made sanctification; and who have principles of grace and holiness wrought in them by the Spirit of God, and live holy lives and conversations: and of the martyrs of Jesus; the saints, whose blood is shed by antichrist, are martyrs also; but they seem to design the common people, and these the ministers of the Gospel, who are the martyrs of Jesus, both in life and death; they are his martyrs or witnesses, by their doctrine and ministry, bearing testimony to him as Jesus, a Saviour; testifying that he is the only Saviour, that there is salvation in no other, in opposition to the antichristian doctrines of merit, penance, purgatory, &c. for which they have been cruelly put to death, and in great numbers, and so have sealed their doctrine by their blood. Now the woman being drunk with their blood, denotes the blood thirstiness of the church of Rome, her greedy aud insatiable desire after the blood of the saints, and her delight in it, being exceeding mad against them; and the multitude of it shed by her, as the slaughters of the Waldenses and Albigenses, the butcheries of the duke d'Alva in the Low Countries, the massacres in France, Ireland, and other places, the burning of the martyrs in Queen Mary's days here, with numerous other instances, show. And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration; not at the sight of the beast, which he had seen before, but at the sight of the woman, as, upon the beast; he wondered that one of her sex, generally timorous and fearful, should ride on such a monstrous creature; he was amazed at her dress, and grand appearance, whereas the church in his time consisted of poor persons, meanly arrayed; it was astonishing to him that one bearing the name of a Christian church should rise to such grandeur; and he wondered at the name upon her forehead, what the whole of that inscription should mean; but, above all, at her drunkenness with the blood of the saints; at her inhumanity and cruelty, being as savage as the beast she rode on; and also at God's forbearance of her, that he, who is a pure and holy Being, a lover of his saints, an avenger of his elect, should suffer such a brutish, barbarous, and blood thirsty creature, to live upon earth; see Hab 1:13.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
17:6 God’s holy people . . . were witnesses for Jesus to the point of shedding their blood (see 16:6; Heb 12:4). In John’s time, Rome was responsible for this persecution.