টীকা বর্তমানে শুধুমাত্র ইংরেজিতে উপলব্ধ। বাংলা অনুবাদ চলছে।
Revelation 17 — These Shall Make War With the Lamb, and the Lamb Shall Overcome Them
One of the seven angels shows John the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters. The kings of the earth committed fornication with her. The woman is on a scarlet beast, decked with gold and precious stones, a cup of abominations in her hand. MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS. She is drunk with the blood of the saints. The seven heads — seven mountains, seven kings. The ten horns — ten kings without a kingdom yet. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings.
“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.”
— Revelation 17:14
- v.1-6 The vision of the whore
- v.7-14 The beast and the ten kings
- v.15-18 The destruction of the whore
Drunken with the blood of the saints. The world-system that opposes Christ ends up bloody-handed. Religious-looking, glamorous, intoxicating — and a killer of Christians.
I wondered with great admiration. Even John was momentarily impressed. Babylon's glitter has a power to bewitch even the discerning. Watch the angel's explanation that follows; John needs it.
The decisive sentence of the chapter. The world's great war against Christ ends in His victory. He shall overcome them. It is not in doubt.
Lord of lords, and King of kings. The titles claimed by Babylon's allies are His. Whatever lord stands against the Lord is dwarfed by the chapter's last verse.
Verse 6's admonition is for the dazzled. The world's glamour is real; so is the blood under its rugs. Do not be enchanted by what God has labelled. Babylon's appeal is constant; the Christian's eye must learn to see what John saw — and pull back.
The chapter's closing line is the chapter's answer to the dragon-driven beast and the bloody whore — the Lamb shall overcome them. Whatever cultural Babylon is current, the Lamb is the One who will outlast it. The Christian's allegiance is to the One whose title is Lord of lords, and whose followers are called, and chosen, and faithful.
The name is a label, written for all to see. The system's identity is publicly stamped — mother of harlots, the source of the spiritual prostitution scattered across the world.
Babylon in Revelation is the rebellious world-system seducing the saints — a Christian-tempting culture that asks them to compromise. The name has changed across centuries; the operation is constant.