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About one of the seven holy Angels, who showed Blessed John the destruction of the city of the harlot, and about the seven heads and ten horns Rev.17:1. And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me and said to me: Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters; Rev.17:2. The kings of the earth committed fornication with her, and those who dwell on the earth were drunk with the wine of her fornication. Rev.17:3. And he led me in spirit into the desert; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. Some considered ancient Rome to be a “harlot”, as located on seven hills; and the “seven horns of the beast” on which she sat were the seven most wicked kings who persecuted the Church, from Domitian to Diocletian. But we, in order to be consistent with the sequence of events, think that by a harlot we generally need to understand an earthly kingdom, represented as if in one body, or a city that will dominate others until the Antichrist, because ancient Rome has already lost its power, unless we assume that it will return to it again. But if we assume the latter, then the city that now dominates will remain without explanation, for the apostle says: “Woman, thou hast seen that there is a great city, which shall have a kingdom over the kings of the earth” (Apoc. 17:18). But God willing, we will talk about this further. Now let us explain what needs to be understood by the “desert” into which the seer was led by the spirit. In the spiritual sense, we consider as a desert any city or human society that is hated by the Lord for spiritual blindness, adultery and other vices. But this can be understood in another way, namely, that the Apostle John saw and contemplated the desolation of this harlot, who is represented under the image of a woman to show her inclination and weakness to sin. She sat “on the scarlet beast,” because with her evil deeds she seems to be resting on the devil, who rejoices in murder and blood, and through her blasphemies becomes, as it were, the helper of an apostate. The crimson color of the beast indicates its cruelty and tendency to kill. What seven heads and ten horns mean, we will learn about this, with God’s help, from the further words of the Angel. Rev.17:4. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, “The woman was clothed in scarlet and purple” - symbols and signs of power over everyone; that is why it is decorated with precious stones and beads. and she held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominations and the uncleanness of her fornication; The “cup” indicates the sweetness of evil before tasting it, and the gold indicates its tempting nature. It is said about Job that he “drank reproach like water” (Job 34:7), and here it is indicated that the wife does evil not for satiation, but out of a desire for destruction. That is why she was “filled with abominations” that a sin-loving society feeds on, reveling in sin and lustful defilement like a sweet drink. Rev.17:5. and on her forehead was written a name: mystery, Babylon the great, mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. “The mark on the forehead” testifies to the shamelessness of untruth, fullness of sin and heart confusion; She is a “mother” because in the cities under her command she directs spiritual fornication and encourages them to commit iniquities that are abominable before God. Article fifty-four About how the Angel interpreted the secret he saw Rev.17:6. I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the witnesses of Jesus, and seeing her, I was amazed with great surprise. Rev.17:7. And the Angel said to me: Why are you marveling? I will tell you the secret of this woman and of the beast that bears her, which has seven heads and ten horns. The names of the cities are given in the Holy Scripture, as can be seen from many of its places, in accordance with their life and deeds. That is why ancient Babylon is called the rejoicing (that is, having fun with her fornication) harlot, the mistress of sorcerers and magicians, and about Jerusalem it is said: “The face of the harlot’s wife was revealed to you” (Jer. 3:3), and in the epistle of Peter ancient Rome is called Babylon (1 Pet. 5:13). But, of course, the most correct name is Babylon for the city that was in power under the Persians, and then for every other city that amuses itself with blood and murder. The Evangelist was horrified when he saw one of these cities, but learned from the Angel that this city - the ruler of the world - at his death will be punished for its iniquities, no matter what city we mean by it: Persian, or Rome, which received ancient power, or a new one, or in general the world kingdoms, by their nature taken for one. For they are all full of sins and stained with the blood of saints, although not in the same way - some more, others less. Who, for example, will measure the blood of martyrs since the time of Diocletian or those martyred in Persian soil? Readers can know from history what happened, for example, under Aelian, or about the persecution of Christians by the Arians in the new Rome. Rev.17:8. The beast that you saw was and is not, and will come out of the abyss and go to destruction; This beast is Satan, killed by the Cross of Christ; he will come to life again at the end of the world and will try to overthrow the Cross with false signs and wonders of the Antichrist. He acted before the Cross, but now he is gone, for he is weakened by the sufferings of the Savior and deprived of his dominion over the nations, which he had over them through their idolatry. Having emerged at the end of the world from the abyss or from the place where he was imprisoned by his condemnation and where the demons asked Christ not to send them, but rather to throw them into the herd of swine, he will appear in the world. Or he will appear from real life, which allegorically is also called the abyss because of the depth of sin and the agitation of passions on the sea of ​​life. From here the Antichrist will also come out - Satan’s instrument to ensnare people, for which he will be condemned to destruction in the next century. and those who dwell on the earth, whose names were not written in the book of life from the beginning of the world, will be surprised, seeing that the beast was, and is not, and will appear. Those whose names are not written in the book of the eternally living and who did not guess the Antichrist according to Christ’s predictions will be surprised at the coming of the beast and his false miracles, they will be surprised, not understanding why he received his former power again. Rev.17:9. Here is a mind that has wisdom. Spiritual wisdom is needed to understand what is said spiritually. The seven heads are the seven mountains on which the woman sits, Rev. 17:10. and seven kings, We think that the seven heads and seven mountains indicate seven places that surpassed others in their power and strength and in which world kingdoms were founded at different times. The first of them is the kingdom of Assyria, the second is the rule of the Medes in Ecbatana, whose king Arbak, according to history, killed the Assyrian king Sardanapalus; then Nebuchadnezzar established the Chaldean kingdom in Babylon, and Cyrus, having defeated this kingdom, restored the Persian kingdom in Susa. Alexander the Great destroyed it and founded Macedonian. After these kingdoms in ancient Rome, after its first kings and consuls, under Caesar Augustus, the Roman Empire became a world empire, which was supported by its wicked kings until the Great Constantine. The seven kings must be understood in the same way, and the difference in the gender of the words heads, mountains and kings should not prevent them from being interpreted the same way. For in the Holy Scriptures, names are often given completely indifferently - male instead of female, and vice versa, for example: Ephraim is a butting youth, and in another place: Ephraim is a dove without a heart (Hos. 10:6, 7:11), and according to the Apostle Theologian: “three are he who testifies on the earth, spirit and water and blood: and three are one” (1 John 5:8), and according to Solomon: a goat, a rooster and a king who speaks to the people (Proverbs 30:31, 32). Thus, seven heads mean cities, seven mountains - seven states, when at times they surpassed other areas of the earth not in population, but in glory, and kings in the same way mean either glorified places, like the residence of the king, or the first kings in each of the mentioned places, after whose names their kingdoms are called. Namely: the name of Nina is the Assyrian kingdom, Arbacus is the Median kingdom, Nebuchadnezzar is the Babylonian kingdom, Alexander is the Macedonian kingdom, Romulus is the ancient Roman kingdom and Constantine is the modern Roman kingdom. of which five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come, and when he comes, he will not be long. Blessed Hippolytus means by the name of the five kings who fell from among the seven centuries, of which five have passed, the sixth, in which this vision to the apostle was, continues now, but the seventh has not yet come and when it comes, it will be short. And if, according to Blessed Irenaeus, seven days, seven heavens and seven ranks of angels were created, having power over others, then, having accepted this opinion, we must agree with our interpretation that the seven kingdoms are those that existed from the creation of the world until now; five of them have already died, the sixth, in which this revelation took place, was in ancient Rome, and the seventh, which has not yet occurred, will be in new Rome. It would be a good explanation to consider the dominion of universal Babylon as the continuous reign of one city until the coming of the Antichrist, and the last kingdom as the torment of the Antichrist, which will last a week in comparison with the previous kingdoms, which ruled for up to five hundred and thousand years. In addition, any temporary number of years is generally insignificant in comparison with the future endless Kingdom of the saints. Rev.17:11. And the beast that was and is not, is the eighth, and from among the seven, and will go to destruction. “The Beast” is the Antichrist; he is called the eighth because he will rise to deceive people and devastate the earth after the seven kingdoms; he is from seven, because he will come out of one of these kingdoms. And he will come as the king of Rome, and not from any of the mentioned nations, to the destruction and torment of those who do not submit to him, and then he himself will go to Gehenna. Rev. 17:12. And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received the kingdom, but will take power with the beast as kings for one hour. Daniel also saw the “ten horns” that preceded the Antichrist, of which one destroyed three and subjugated the rest. “One hour” means either a short time, or one part of the year, that is, three months, after which the kings will submit to the Antichrist as their master. Rev. 17:13. They have the same thoughts and will transfer their strength and power to the beast. Rev. 17:14. They will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them; for He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and the chosen and the faithful. “These have one will.” And rightly so, because “no one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). Therefore, those who are like-minded in evil and have submitted to the Antichrist resist the true Christ. But the Lamb of God, slain for our sake, will defeat them and give His Kingdom to the chosen ones, since even after the Incarnation He still had the Kingdom and dominion over all. Rev. 17:15. And he says to me: The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are people and peoples and nations and languages. Rev. 17:16. And the ten horns that you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, and will destroy her, and make her naked, and eat her flesh, and burn her with fire; Rev. 17:17. because God put it on their hearts to do His will, to do one will, and to give their kingdom to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. Rev. 17:18. The woman whom you saw is a great city, reigning over the kings of the earth. “And I said: “Waters, even as you saw, where the fornicator sits, people and peoples are, and nations and heathens.” Since these words were explained by the Angel, it is unnecessary to talk about them in detail. But it seems amazing to me how the enemy and avenger the devil will help the ten horns subordinate to him to rise up and arm themselves against the lover of virtues, Christ our God, and devastate a crowded city, seduced by him and departing from the commandments of God, and then fill himself with his blood like a beast. I am also amazed at how he, for whom desolation serves as joy and the killing of people as food, strife and disagreement, as a consolation, will give his consent to the ten apostate horns? But the assumption that the wife is a great city ruling over the kings of the earth makes plausible the prediction of the suffering of the then world kingdom. May God deliver us from the trial of these calamities and may He settle us in the city on high - heavenly Jerusalem, in which, as the Apostle says, He Himself is all and in all, when He abolishes all (apostate) rulers, authority and power, and places those who serve Him faithfully with Him and serves them, that is, delights them with the blessings prepared for them from the foundation of the world. May we also be worthy of this delight in Christ, our Savior and Redeemer; To Him and the Father be glory and power, together with the Holy and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. You might be interested in: