The Revelation of Jesus Christ - The Herald

"And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me,
saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that
sitteth upon many waters; 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."--
Rev. 17:1,2.
It would appear from these words, "I will show thee the judgment of that great harlot,"
etc., spoken by the revealing angel to St. John, that this woman, designated the great
harlot, had been seen in visions by St. John before. The fact that the name Babylon had
been mentioned in connection with preceding visions (Rev. 14:8; 16:19), and that this name
was emblazoned on the forehead of the great "Mother of Harlots" (Rev. 17:5), together
with the fact that the actions or deeds of the harlot are mentioned in the past tense, would
seem to establish the conclusion that in some way the Revelator's attention had already
been drawn to this symbolic woman. This fact has been noted by commentators; one of
them has observed:
"It is apparent from the representation, that the woman had already been beheld by the
Apostle sitting where there were seven mountains and many waters; that she was
exhibited in that scene in a vision which is not recorded, and for the reason doubtless that
her agency with the kings, who were exhibited in connection with her, was unsuitable for
description."
We shall be confined in this chapter chiefly to a consideration of the harlot woman. Let us
note first the significance of the words of verse 3: "And he [the angel] conducted me, in
spirit, into a desert." The spirit that St. John is represented as being in, and the desert or
wilderness into which he was conducted, are doubtless symbolical and have special
reference to the state and viewpoint necessary for one in order to understand the vision.
The significance of this expression has thus been noted:
"And this fact is recognized by the Revelator, who shows that all who would get a true
view of Babylon must, in spirit, take their position with the true people of God 'in the
wilderness'--in the condition of separation from the world and worldly ideas and mere
forms of godliness, and in the condition of entire consecration and faithfulness to and
dependence upon God alone. 'So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness; and
I saw a woman, . . . Babylon.'--Rev. 17:1-5."
That St. John seeing the vision is symbolical of the Church seeing the fulfillment is thus
suggested:
"The vision of this chapter 17 is one introductory to the judgments of Babylon, and
explanatory to St. John (to St. John as the symbolic man) of its causes and reasonableness.
Such is God's usual method, when about to execute any very notable act of vengeance. He
shows His Church its justice beforehand; thereby at once vindicating His own honor, and
giving warning to such of His people as may thus far have been deceived by the offending
party, to separate from it, and so escape its imminent doom."