Revelation of John 17:3-6
Summary for Rev 17:3-4: 17:3-4 a John is carried in the Spirit into the wilderness, his way of describing a visionary experience (see 1:10 b; 4:2 c). He sees a depiction of Rome’s moral corruption and excessive luxury (see 18:12-13 d, 16 e) that illustrates how such wealth can become an abomination to God.• The beast here is like the second figure in the evil trinity (see 13:1-4 f).
• blasphemies against God: See 13:5-6 g.
• purple and scarlet: Clothing in these two colors indicated royalty and carnality, respectively.
• a gold goblet: See Jer 51:7 h.
17:5 i Using code language, John was probably referring to Rome (see 17:9 j) as Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes. Babylon was a symbol of the idolatries and demonic obscenities of the world. As Mother, she had produced offspring who copied her character. Rome, like Babylon, prostituted herself to false gods and led other nations into adultery and idolatry.
17:6 k God’s holy people ... were witnesses for Jesus to the point of shedding their blood (see 16:6 l; Heb 12:4 m). In John’s time, Rome was responsible for this persecution.
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