Chapter XVII.
(Vers. 1.)
(Version 1.) And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying: As mentioned earlier, under the sound of the trumpet of the seventh angel, summarizing the day of judgment, he returned to what he had previously omitted; and describing the holy Church under the image of a woman, clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet, he connects the sufferings she endured from the devil and those she will suffer from the Antichrist at the end of the world. In the same way, under the pouring out of the seventh angel's bowl, briefly touching on the day of judgment, he returns to what he omitted and, under the image of a prostitute woman, describes the city of the devil and reveals the punishments she will suffer for her crimes in the following. But holding a vial, he designates the holy preachers: but John holds the type of all the faithful; hence it is also added:
(Vers. 2.)
(Version 2.) I will show you the damnation of the great harlot who is seated upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have become drunk with the wine of her prostitution. This harlot, in some places, specifically represents Rome, which at that time persecuted the Church of God; but in a more general sense, it symbolizes the city of the devil, that is, the whole body of the reprobate. Therefore, the angel showed John the damnation of the great harlot, because holy preachers, both in their words and writings, reveal the punishments that the wicked suffer for their crimes, so that those who are terrified by these punishments may abstain from sin. She who is said to sit upon many waters; because from the multitude of peoples, which are designated by waters, the city of the devil is built: with which the kings of the earth are said to have fornicated; because they have increased the crimes of Babylon rather than destroying them. And all who inhabit the earth have become drunk from the wine of her prostitution. The wine of her prostitution is various errors, the diverse crimes of the impious city; for just as a prostitute offers herself to all who want to fornicate with her, so all the impious are subjected to demons, obeying their wicked suggestions, and fall into all kinds of crimes, as the prophet speaks to Jerusalem saying: And you have made your body like the earth, and like a road to passers-by (Isaiah 51:23). But the inhabitants of the earth are all called wicked; but drunkenness is the wickedness of Babylon: for just as a drunkard is filled with wine until he becomes alienated from his own mind: so the wicked fill themselves with all wickedness until they become alienated from their own minds, rejecting the fear of God and all goodness from themselves, as the blessed Job says, because they drink iniquity like water (Job 15:16).
(Vers. 3.)
(Verse 3.) And he carried me away into the desert in spirit: and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The desert signifies the multitude of the impious, because they have forsaken God and therefore have been abandoned by God. Therefore, in the desert, a prostitute woman is found, because the city of the devil consists of a multitude of wicked people. The beast, as he explains in the following, signifies the devil himself. The scarlet beast also has the color of blood, and often death is represented by blood. Therefore, the devil is bloodthirsty because he is the author of death and all destruction. This beast is said to be full of names of blasphemy because the devil himself is the author of all blasphemies. However, the angel explains in the following passages what the seven heads and ten horns are.
(Vers. 4.)
(Verse 4.) And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold, and precious stones, and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations and the uncleanliness of her fornication. Purple is dyed with blood, and scarlet has the color of blood, and they are royal garments, by which secular power is symbolized: but by blood, death is often symbolized. Therefore, purple and scarlet have the appearance of blood; because secular power is deadly, and brings eternal danger to those who embrace it more than heavenly glory. We can also understand through the bloodstained garments the works of the wicked, for which they will be condemned to eternal death. And what follows: And adorned with gold; wisdom is often symbolized by gold. Therefore, the woman was adorned with gold; because she possessed the wisdom of this age, which is foolishness in the eyes of God. But by gems and pearls, secular eloquence is symbolized: by the golden cup, which is said to have been held in her hand, the teaching of philosophers and poets is symbolized: which is said to be full of abominations and the filth of her fornication: because the teaching of philosophers and poets was full of lies, and composed of all errors to deceive the human race.
(Vers. 5.)
(Verse 5.) And on her forehead was written a name, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of fornications and abominations of the earth. By the forehead and face, a person is recognized; likewise, the wicked are understood by their deeds, as Solomon says: By his actions, a young man is known (Prov. 20:11). Therefore, by the forehead and face, the works of the wicked are identified; for they are understood by their deeds to be the children of the devil and citizens of the impious city.
(Vers. 6.)
(Ver. 6.) And I saw a woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. Did Babylon drink the blood of the saints? But she was drunk, that is, alienated from all spiritual reason: she was drunk; because the vengeance of the blood of the saints had made her so damnably wicked, and alien from the mercy of God, that she was not worthy to be able to contribute in any way to her own salvation. And I marveled when I saw her, with great admiration. The faithful are amazed when they see the reprobate so alienated from the fear of God that they freely commit many evils without any hesitation and immerse themselves in all sorts of vices, knowing that God does not leave any sin unpunished unless it has first been wiped out through repentance and other remedies by which sins are healed.
(Vers. 7.)
(Verse 7.) And the angel said to me, 'Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has seven heads and ten horns. The same meaning is held by the beast in this place, which as we said above, signifies the devil. But what the seven heads and ten horns signify, he himself, as we said, explains in the following. The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to destruction.' The beast, that is the devil, existed before the coming of Christ, possessing the human race; but now, that is, he does not possess the human race as before; because he has been expelled from the hearts of the elect by Christ: but he will ascend from the abyss; because in the times of the Antichrist, Satan will be released from his prison, and he will come out and deceive all nations, as the following events more fully reveal: and he will go to destruction; because he will be condemned to eternal punishment with all the reprobate whom he has deceived, and with all his followers.
(Vers. 8.)
(Verse 8) And the inhabitants of the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life since the foundation of the world, seeing the beast that was, and is not. The inhabitants of the earth are those whom we must understand to be lovers of the earth rather than of God, whom the Antichrist will easily deceive. Therefore, the reprobate, whose names are not written in the Book of Life, that is, those who are not predestined to eternal life, will marvel, seeing the beast, that is, the devil working signs through the Antichrist, and worshiping the devil in the Antichrist.
(Vers. 9.)
(Verse 9) And here is the meaning, which has wisdom: that is, in what follows, there is great obscurity, and the understanding must be very sharpened to comprehend it. And let us pray to the Lord, that He may open this obscurity to us.
(Vers. 10.)
(Verse 10) There are seven heads and seven mountains, on which the woman sits; and there are seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and another has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain for a short time. We have previously said that these seven heads of the dragon are designated as wicked, through whom the devil has deceived the human race, whom we have also divided into seven parts, just like the rest of the multitude of the wicked. And because this beast, of which we speak, has the same significance as the dragon, which we said it had; for they designate the devil: the same significance is also had by the seven heads of the beast, which we said the seven heads of the dragon had. They are called mountains because those who deceived others were more wicked than those who were deceived by them, as it is said in the following about Babylon: For her sins have reached unto heaven (Inf. c. 18). Nevertheless, they are also called seven kings because they led the others to destruction. Therefore, it is said that the prostitute sits upon these mountains because the city of the devil is influenced by them in all errors and crimes. For just as the apostles are called the foundation of the Church, so the inventors of errors are the foundation of the city of the devil. Therefore, out of those heads, or mountains, or kings, five fell, while one had not yet come. The first head of the devil had fallen, because those who existed before the flood, through whom those who were called the sons of God were deceived, had descended into the sewer of hell (Gen. 6:2). Similarly, the second who existed after the flood until the Law, were held in the same pit of destruction, sunk in darkness. And the third had fallen, who were urging the people of God, to whom the Law was given, to worship idols. Similarly, the false prophets, who are placed in the fourth place, had already fallen into the destruction of their perdition, because they had deceived the people of God. But the wicked Jews, who killed the Lord and persecuted his apostles, who are placed in the fifth place; at the time when this vision was shown to John, they had already been devastated by the Romans. So five heads of the beast had already fallen, which are called mountains and kings; because all the previous ones, and the wicked Jews who are placed in the fifth place, were already paying the punishments of their own destruction. One was left; because the pagans, namely those who persecuted the Church of God, who are also placed in the sixth place, were persecuting the Church of God at that time; for which reason this John was held in exile on the island of Patmos. Another had not yet come; because the Antichrist, who is placed in the seventh place, had not yet come: and when he comes, he must stay for a short time; because the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth, and will destroy him by the splendor of his coming, as he himself says in the Gospel: And unless the Lord had shortened those days, that is, the days of the persecution of the Antichrist, all flesh would not be saved (Mark 13:20); indicating only the chosen ones through every flesh.
(Vers. 11.)
(Ver. 11.) And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And the beast that was, which is the devil, ruled over the human race before the coming of Christ, and now does not hold that dominion as he did then, he is indeed the eighth beast. For the seven heads are the various wicked ones, and the eighth part is the devil with the other demons. He is of the seven, because demons arise from the society of the wicked ones, and just as they were authors of their destruction, so they will also be companions in their torments. And so it follows: And it goes towards destruction. These things that follow, up to the place where the Angel from heaven was seen descending, pertain specifically to the destruction of the Roman Empire.
(Vers. 12.)
(Verse 12) And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they will receive authority as kings for one hour after the beast. The four beasts that were shown to Daniel in the vision (Dan. 7:3) represent four kingdoms: the fourth beast, which was strong and terrifying, represents the Romans, and it is described as having ten horns, which symbolize the kings who destroyed the Roman Empire, as Saint Jerome explains following the assertion of some (Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 7). Therefore, the ten horns in this place have the same meaning as those that are said to have had; for they signify the kingdoms through which the Roman Empire was destroyed. First, they took away a part of Asia on their own; but later the Saracens subjected it entirely. The Vandals claimed Africa for themselves, the Goths Spain, the Lombards Italy, the Burgundians Gaul, the Franks Germany, and the Huns Pannonia. However, the Alans and Suebi devastated many places that were subject to their rule. Therefore, these kingdoms, at the time when this vision was shown to John, had not yet received power: but they received power as kings for one hour; because the power of each of these nations remained for a short time. After the beast, they received a kingdom, because the impious power of these nations was received after the kingdom of the devil was destroyed through Christ.
(Vers. 13, 14.)
(Verse 13, 14.) They will have one purpose, they have handed over their power and authority to the beast. They had one purpose, that is, one desire for evil. They handed over their power and authority to the beast; because their power and authority was devilish. They will fight against the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them. They fought against the Lamb, those who persecuted the Church of God and killed the people of God: But the Lamb will conquer them, because we know that these nations, except for a few, have already taken up the yoke of the faith of Christ. Since the King of kings is the Lord of lords, and those who are called, chosen, and faithful are with Him. Those who are kings and rulers are themselves chosen and faithful. Therefore, Christ is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, because He is the King and Lord of all the saints. And those who are called, chosen, and faithful are the same as the saints, who are called to remain with Him forever, chosen and faithful by right. For they are called reprobate, as the Lord says: Many are called, but few are chosen (Matt. 20:16). But the reprobate are called for this purpose, that they may be without excuse; but the chosen, that they may persevere with Him forever.
(Vers. 16.)
(Verse 16) And the ten horns that you saw on the beast: these will hate the whore. The whore is called Rome, which pursued its creator God for the defense of false gods. Therefore, the ten horns hated the whore, when the nations designated by the ten horns took up arms to destroy the Roman Empire. And they will make her desolate and naked. They made her desolate and naked when all the nations deprived her of power. And they ate its flesh. Because delicacies nourish the flesh, we can understand the riches of all nations through the flesh. They ate its flesh, when they received the wealth of all nations, which were brought to Rome, and they used it for themselves. And they will burn it with fire. We know that many cities, towns, and fortresses, which were subject to the Roman empire, were burned by these nations.
(Vers. 17.)
(Verse 17.) For God has put into their hearts to fulfill His purpose and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. God has put into their hearts, that is, He has allowed them to do what is pleasing to them and what has been predicted by His prophets and apostles, who foretold that the power of the Roman Empire would be destroyed by those nations. But they have given their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled; for according to the just permission of God, the temptations of the devil in perpetrating crimes of this age continue as long as the words of God are fulfilled, that is, until they are fulfilled, which have been predicted by God and His saints.
(Vers. 15.)
(Verse 15.) The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and languages. Through these waters, all the nations which the Romans had subjugated are represented.
(Vers. 18.)
(Verse 18.) And the woman whom you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth. This is clear; for we know that at that time the Romans ruled over all the kings of the earth. But someone might say: How are the Romans represented by a prostitute woman, when in those times, when these different nations brought various calamities upon the human race, the Romans became Christians? To which we respond that by the prostitute woman, not the chosen ones who were from the same nation are understood, and who for the love of heavenly glory despised the glory of the world: but rather the reprobate, whether they were pagans or Christians. So their power was destroyed by those nations who oppressed the human race with wicked domination.