Woman on the beast
Revelation 17
r17T
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.Re 17:1 ¶ And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:   Talked with me The message is serious. "With" is from meta implying a close relationship. Compare v3.
  Judgment Note 1a.
  Whore Or "prostitute" as seen in the next verse.
  Sitteth ... waters Note 1b.
.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.   Kings ... have committed At this point in time they have already formed a wicked alliance with the woman – the end-time false church, note 2a.
  In habitants ... drunk Note 2b.
  Wine Note 2c.
.3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.   Wilderness Note 3a.
  Beast ... blasphemy Note 3b.
.4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:   Arrayed See note 4.
  Cup Not an appealing brew.
.5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.   Forehead ... a name written We see her character, note 5.
.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 admiration.   Drunken ... saints ... martyrs Twice guilty, note 6.
 7 ¶ 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 and ten horns.   Wherefore ... marvel? We will learn about the mystery, note 7a.
.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 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 yet is.   Beast ... was and is not This is the situation when the woman rides the beast. See note 8a.
  They ... shall wonder See note 8b.
  See a table showing how we may understand this puzzle.
 9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.   Seven heads are seven mountains See note 9.
 10 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.   Seven kings Explained at note 10.
 11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.   Beast ...eighth ... of the seven This strange situation is discussed in note 11.
 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 unto the beast.
  Horns for the beast Note 12.
  Give power Note 13.
.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.   War with the Lamb Ever Satan's objective, note 14a, re1919.
  They ... with him ... chosen 14b.
.15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues   Waters ... whore sitteth Note 15.
.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.   Horns ... hate ... The horns joined to the woman turn on her, note 16. They eat her!
 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 shall be fulfilled.   God ... fulfill his will Note 17.
 18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.   Great city Babylon the great, note 18.
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