The Mystery of Ephraim

Chapters 17 and 18 contain a vision of a beast, and a woman on it, and their riddles and interpretations for each; one of the seven angels that had the seven vials proposes to John to show him the whore of Babylon, named after ancient Babylon, which was seated upon the great river Euphrates.

Described as Mystery, Babylon the Great, Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth, and her harlotry daughters, who all sit on many waters, with whom the kings and inhabitants of the earth have committed fornication, have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication, intoxicated by either her or by one of her protesting daughters.

Revelation 17

¹ And there came one of the seven angels, who had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, “Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgement upon the great whore who sitteth upon many waters, — that sitteth upon many waters; which in Revelation 17:15 are interpreted of people, multitudes, nations, and tongues, subject to the jurisdiction of Rome; and so several apostate states are in the preceding chapter signified by the sea, and by rivers and fountains of water:

— and this is said in reference to Babylon, an emblem of the Romish harlot, which was situated upon the river Euphrates, and is therefore said to dwell upon many waters.

² with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” — still more concerning this great whore, which the dragon gave his own power and his throne and great authority to him;

— and quid pro quo in response for its favour, the Roman Church incorporates the ‘Holy Ghost’ into the Godhead so that he could be like the Most High; today most professing Christians are drunk with many other pagan practices like her idolatrous worship: Easters; Christmas; either from the Babylonians or from the Egyptians.

³ So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, and having seven heads and ten horns. — these are the ten kings, who being of the same mind, and of one religion, the Popish religion, gave their power, strength, and kingdom to the beast;

— the “scarlet” colour is expressive of its imperial dignity, its power and authority, it received from the dragon; on occasion of public festivals and processions, scarlet is suspended from the windows of the houses along which processions the pope pass. The inner color of the cloak of the pope is scarlet; his carriage is scarlet; the carpet on which he treads is scarlet.

⁴ And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and bedecked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication; — the golden chalice, in which, it is pretended, is the very blood of Christ; and this Roman Papacy was proven to be the Great Whore of Babylon of whom most of her doctrines were later adopted by her harlotry daughters;

— and the golden cup represents the allurements, and delusions, by which this mystical Babylon has obtained and kept her influence, and seduced others to join her abominations.

⁵ and upon her forehead was a name written: Mystery, Babylon the Great, Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth. — the Romanists boast that theirs is the catholic church, and universal empire with universal values; Gregorian calendar become universal calendar, Sunday the accepted and standard day of rest; Easter and Christmas become the irresistible holidays worldwide;

— and virtually all these Great Whore doctrines and practises are now adopted by all her protesting harlotry daughters; at her drunkenness with the blood of the saints; at her inhumanity and cruelty, being as savage as the beast she rode on;

⁶ And I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with great amazement. — the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints; the blood of the woman’s seed, Revelation 12:17;

— Benson: that in the war with the Albigenses and Waldenses, there perished of these poor creatures in France alone a million! From the first institution of the Jesuits to AD 1480, that is, in little more than thirty years, nine hundred thousand orthodox Christians were slain (for more details, click here).

⁸ 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, whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, shall wonder when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. — the beast that thou sawest; this beast was the Roman empire, the scarlet coloured beast which carried the whore;

— “and yet is” much given to idolatry in another way, worshipping the Sun and various “saints” it “was” under kings, consuls, dictators, tribunes, and emperors, it “is not” in such a form of government, “and yet is” under its head the pope;

— “Rome was” but “is not” the same it has been, in some respects, and yet is the same, for idolatry and whoredom; it has the image of old Rome, and under the power of the dragon and though idolatry but has not yet risen up in the empire to its head.

⁹ “And here is the mind which hath wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth.

¹⁰ And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other has not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. — and when he cometh he must continue a short space; forty two months, or 1260 days;

— that is, so many years, which, though a long time in itself, and in the account of man, yet with God, with whom a thousand years is as one day, and in comparison of the everlasting kingdom of Christ, it is a short space; and so the reign of the beast, and of the ten kings with him, is said to be one hour, Revelation 17:12.

¹¹ And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, yet is one of the seven and goeth into perdition.

¹² And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet, but will receive power as kings for one hour with the beast. — the seven heads are seven mountains, where the woman sits on them; the city of seven hills Rome is called, and so this reference to the Church of Rome; for Rome was the seat of the Pope from the beginning, and all the adherents of papacy recognize Rome as the capital of their empire.

¹³ These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. — these have one mind; the princes of these kingdoms, and their subjects, become, in time, of one calendar, one religion; first they were Romans;

— and after a long series of time there was great unity between the Great Whore and her Protesting daughters, even those kingdoms as Sweden, Denmark, England, Scotland, and Ireland, and others; in respect to religious sentiments, being zealously attached to the church of Rome, its principles and practices; now happily one family.

¹⁴ 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 faithful.” — for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; as God and Creator,

— to whom the kingdom of nature and providence belongs; for this is a reason why he overcomes them: this Lamb is the lion of the tribe of Judah, and when he rouses himself, and stirs up his wrath, and exerts his power, kings and great men flee from him; this is the Word and Son of God, as to God himself, “King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords” Revelation 19:16.

¹⁵ And he saith unto me, “The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples and multitudes, and nations and tongues. — are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues; denoting the vast multitude of people, of which the several kingdoms, of divers languages, all belonging to the jurisdiction of Papal Rome: and these are compared to waters, to many waters; which phrase sometimes is used for the sea.

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. — and the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, Revelation 17:3; these are ten powers or kingdoms represented by those horns;

— these ten horns will hate the Whore, and shall make her desolate and naked; and shall be burnt with fire; and this is to be understood literally of burning the city of Rome, and the seat of Papacy and of the whore, with fire; of which see Revelation below:

“Therefore shall her plagues come in one day: death and mourning and famine, and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her” Revelation 18:8.

— and they will eat her flesh, and they will burn her with fire; for God has given into their hearts to carry out his intention, and to execute their single purpose, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.

¹⁷ For God hath put into their hearts to fulfill His will and to agree, and to give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. — and the ten horns which thou sawest and the beast, these will hate the harlot, and they will lay her waste and strip her naked;

— until the words of God shall be fulfilled; concerning the afflictions of his church and people, and the reign of the Great Whore for the space of forty and two months, Revelation 11:2 all which while they are fulfilling the secret will of God;

¹⁸ And the woman whom thou sawest is that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” — which reigneth over the kings of the earth; Rome would of course be understood by this language in the time of John, and all the circumstances, as we have seen, combined to show that Rome, in some form of its dominion is intended.

Revelation 18

¹ And after these things, I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened by his glory. — this chapter gives an account of the fall of Babylon, and of the lamentation of many; which account is announced by an angel, having great power or authority, who descended from heaven; to proclaim:

² And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. — that’s what the Roman Church is, an habitation of devils, the hold of every foul spirit, a cage of every unclean and hateful bird; now on plain sight.

³ For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication; and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have waxed rich through the abundance of her indulgences pleasures.”

— all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication; that is, all the nations of the Roman empire, the European nations, the Americas and much of Africa and Asia; and being made to drink by her, and made drunk with her idolatries.

⁴ And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues; — and this Roman Papacy was proven to be the Great Whore of Babylon of whom most of her doctrines were later adopted by her harlotry daughters:

⁵ for her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. —fFor her sins have reached unto heaven; her iniquities include having the world accepting the Gregorian calendar as universal calendar, instead of the Hebrew Calendar given by Him; Sunday the standard day of rest instead of his Sabbath; Easter and Christmas as standard holidays instead of God’s annual feast days.

⁶ Reward her even as she has rewarded you, and unto her double according to her works; in the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double. — and as she had stripped them naked of their clothes, and spoiled them of their worldly goods and substance, so now they should strip her naked of her harlot’s attire, of her gold, silver and precious stones, and make her and her territories desolate;

— and as she has burnt many of the precious saints in flames, so now they shall utterly burn her with fire; and as she has shed the blood of the righteous, and drank it, and been drunk with it, they shall give her blood to drink; and as she hath killed multitudes with the sword, so now shall they kill her and her children.

⁷ How much she hath glorified herself and lived in luxury! That much torment and sorrow give back to her; for she saith in her heart, ‘I sit a queen and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.’

— and those involved in the papacy lived in a very luxuriant manner, as the popes, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, monks, and friars have done; some being clothed in purple and scarlet, others in gold and silver, and all living upon the fat of the land, and in rioting and drunkenness, in chambering and wantonness:

— so much torment and sorrow give her: by pulling down her pride, which goes before a fall, than which nothing could more torment and afflict her; by stripping her of her fine clothes and rich apparel; and by taking away her fat benefices from her, which will cut her to the heart; and by burning her with fire, which will be very excruciating:

— for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen; a lady of kingdoms, as in Isaiah 47:5 to which the reference is; having a temporal power and authority over the kings of the earth, and jurisdiction over all churches, apostate ones, being the mother of harlots; and her “sitting” as such, as it well agrees with the whore on many waters, and the woman on the scarlet coloured beast and seven mountains.

⁸ Therefore shall her plagues come in one day; death, mourning and famine, and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. — therefore shall her plagues come in one day; the seven last plagues which will take very little time to execute her, one after another, if not all together; see Isaiah 47:9.

⁹ “And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived wantonly with her, shall bewail her and lament for her when they shall see the smoke of her burning, — so the same rulers and kings that have commercialism with the great harlot shall mourn and by various gestures outwardly express their sorrow at her desolation;

— and lived deliciously with her; Revelation 18:3 joining with her in her sensual, as well as in her idolatrous practices; when they shall see the smoke of her burning: as Abraham saw the smoke of Sodom and Gomorrah go up like the smoke of a furnace; by which they will perceive that her judgement is come, and her ruin begun.

¹⁰ standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas! Alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour has thy judgement come.’ — the time of her punishment is fixed by God; but the sense is, this is the judgement of the great whore, which the angel proposed to show to John, Revelation 17:1.

¹¹ “And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: — the reason of their weeping and mourning follows that no man buyeth their merchandise any more; for such commodities, if they do not sell at one place, will not also at another; and the decline of trade in one city will slow or stop business all the world over.

¹² the merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls; and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet; all scented wood, all manner of vessels of ivory and most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble;

— the merchandise of gold and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls; things for treasure and ornament, and with which the great whore is said to be decked, Revelation 17:4 and, literally understood, may indicate the vast riches which these spiritual merchants, or factors for Rome, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests and monks bring into their own coffers and the pope’s.

— the “purple, silk”, and “scarlet” were for the popes, cardinals, archbishops, and bishops so the woman on the scarlet coloured beast is said to be arrayed in purple and scarlet.

¹³ and cinnamon, and perfumes, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat; and cattle, and sheep, and horses, and chariots; and slaves, and the souls of men. — and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense; these are things for delight and pleasure, for the gratifying of the senses; cinnamon, and odours were used for perfume.

¹⁴ “And the fruits that thy soul lusted after have departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly have departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. — cinnamon, perfumes, ointments and frankincense, wine and oil, thou shalt find them no more at all; for this will be an utter destruction;

— these desirable things will be taken from her in all nations, sinking the whore into an outward show and form, will be wholly given back to the nations, and they will have these things in their hands again before Rome’s utter destruction.

¹⁵ The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing — shall stand afar off for fear of her torment; as the kings of the earth before, being conscious to themselves of being partners in crimes, and so might justly fear they should share in her punishment;

— and it may be, they will outwardly deny they are now of her religion, and will distance themselves; though they will still be inwardly weeping and wailing for the destruction of Rome, and the loss of their merchandise and goodly things.

¹⁶ and saying, ‘Alas! Alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and bedecked with gold and precious stones and pearls! — that was clothed in fine linen and purple, in scarlet and decked with gold, precious stones and pearls;

— see a parallel in Ezekiel: And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee and lament over thee, saying, “What city is like Tyre, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea?” Ezekiel 27:32.

¹⁷ For in one hour such great riches have come to nought!’ “And every shipmaster and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off; — in one hour so great riches is come to nought; that is, in a very short time, expressing the suddenness and speediness of Rome’s destruction.

¹⁸ and they cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like unto this great city!’ — for her magnificence and grandeur, so now for sorrow, desolation and ruin; nor was any city like it for power and authority, for pride and luxury, for idolatry and superstition, blasphemy and impenitence.

¹⁹ And they cast dust on their heads and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, ‘Alas! Alas, that great city, wherein all that had ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her extravagances! For in one hour is she made desolate!’ — alas! alas! that great city; the lament is parallel with the laments of the kings and the merchants;

— saying, what city is like unto this great city? as before for magnificence and grandeur, so now for sorrow, desolation, and ruin; nor was any city like it for power and authority, for pride and luxury, for idolatry and superstition, blasphemy and impenitence; like the sailors say of Tyre, Ezekiel 27:30.

²⁰ Rejoice over her, thou heaven and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on her.” — having called upon the saints to come out of Babylon, and to take vengeance on her, now calls upon all good men to rejoice at her ruin, while others were weeping and wailing.

²¹ Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. — which is expressive of the utter destruction of Rome, of her violence, force, and power, and of the suddenness and swiftness of her destruction.

²² And the voice of harpers and musicians, and of pipers and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; — players on stringed instruments and musicians;

— the voice of harpists, minstrels, flutists and trumpeters shall no more be heard in thee, and all craftsmen of every craft shall no more be found in thee, and the light of a lamp shall no more shine in thee, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall no more be heard in thee.

²³ and the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee. For thy merchants were the great men of the earth, for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. — a day of lamentation;

— for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived; meaning her false doctrines, traditions, idolatry, superstition, and will worship, with which the whore has bewitched, allured, and deceived the nations of the empire, and the kings thereof, Revelation 18:3.

²⁴ And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.” — for she will now be found guilty of slaying God’s witnesses, who are meant by the prophets and saints, that have been from the beginning of the apostasy.

~ by Joel Huan on January 18, 2023.

Posted in Revelation