With the wine of her fornication.—The mixed doctrines, part truth and part error, that originally led to the union of church and state,—the spiritual harlotry.—Jer. 51:7; Rev. 2:20; 17:5; 18:3; 19:2.
17:3. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness.—“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.”—D. 27.
And I saw a woman.—The Roman Catholic Church.
Sit upon a scarlet colored beast.—Pagan Rome, and its successors.
Full of names of blasphemy.—“From Ferraris' Ecclesiastical Dictionary, a standard Roman Catholic authority, we [pg 260] quote the following condensed outline of papal power as given under the word papa, article 2nd: ‘The pope is of such dignity and highness that he is not simply a man but, as it were, God, and the vicar [representative] of God.... Hence the pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven, of earth and of hell. Nay, the pope's excellence and power are not only about heavenly, terrestrial and infernal things, but he is also above angels, and is their superior; so that if it were possible that angels could err from the faith, or entertain sentiments contrary thereto, they could be judged and excommunicated by the pope.... He is of such great dignity and power that he occupies one and the same tribunal with Christ; so that whatsoever the pope does seem to proceed from the mouth of God.... The pope is, as it were, God on earth, the only prince of the faithful of Christ, the greatest king of all kings, possessing the plenitude of power; to whom the government of the earthly and heavenly kingdom is entrusted.’ He further adds: ‘The pope is of so great authority and power that he can modify, declare or interpret the Divine Law.’ ‘The pope can sometimes counteract the Divine Law by limiting, explaining, etc.’ ”—B. 310.
Having seven heads and ten horns.—See Rev. 12:3; 13:1: 17:9-12; Dan. 7:7, 20; Rev. 5:6; 1 Sam. 2:10; Deut. 33:17; 1 Ki. 22:11.
17:4. And the woman was arrayed in purple.—Symbolizing the apostate church's claim to royalty. “I sit a queen and am no widow.”—Rev. 18:7, 12, 16.
And scarlet color.—Symbolizing her claims to share in Christ's work of sacrifice, in the doctrine of the mass.
And decked with gold.—Symbolizing her claim that she includes in her membership all the true Church of God, those who shall ultimately attain the Divine nature.
And precious stones.—Symbolizing her claim that she is the sole custodian of the Lord's precious jewels of truth and character.—1 Cor. 3:12; Mal. 3:17.