14 these with the Lamb shall make war, and the Lamb shall overcome them, because Lord of lords he is, and King of kings, and those with him are called, and choice, and stedfast.'
which in His own times He shall shew -- the blessed and only potentate, the King of the kings and Lord of the lords,
for they are spirits of demons, doing signs -- which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to bring them together to the battle of that great day of God the Almighty; --
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born out of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth; to him who did love us, and did bathe us from our sins in his blood,
He who is overcoming -- I will give to him to sit with me in my throne, as I also did overcome and did sit down with my Father in His throne.
no one serving as a soldier did entangle himself with the affairs of life, that him who did enlist him he may please;
for Jehovah your God -- He `is' God of the gods, and Lord of the lords; God, the great, the mighty, and the fearful; who accepteth not persons, nor taketh a bribe;
but in all these we more than conquer, through him who loved us;
then -- the end, when he may deliver up the reign to God, even the Father, when he may have made useless all rule, and all authority and power --
And I saw, and lo, a Lamb having stood upon the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty-four thousands, having the name of his Father written upon their foreheads; and I heard a voice out of the heaven, as a voice of many waters, and as a voice of great thunder, and a voice I heard of harpers harping with their harps, and they sing, as it were, a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures, and the elders, and no one was able to learn the song except the hundred forty-four thousands, who have been bought from the earth; these are they who with women were not defiled, for they are virgin; these are they who are following the Lamb whithersoever he may go; these were bought from among men -- a first-fruit to God and to the Lamb --
And the armies in the heaven were following him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen -- white and pure; and out of his mouth doth proceed a sharp sword, that with it he may smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he doth tread the press of the wine of the wrath and the anger of God the Almighty, and he hath upon the garment and upon his thigh the name written, `King of kings, and Lord of lords.' And I saw one messenger standing in the sun, and he cried, a great voice, saying to all the birds that are flying in mid-heaven, `Come and be gathered together to the supper of the great God, that ye may eat flesh of kings, and flesh of chiefs of thousands, and flesh of strong men, and flesh of horses, and of those sitting on them, and the flesh of all -- freemen and servants -- both small and great.' And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, having been gathered together to make war with him who is sitting upon the horse, and with his army; and the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who did the signs before him, in which he led astray those who did receive the mark of the beast, and those who did bow before his image; living they were cast -- the two -- to the lake of the fire, that is burning with brimstone; and the rest were killed with the sword of him who is sitting on the horse, which `sword' is proceeding out of his mouth, and all the birds were filled out of their flesh.
And the seven messengers who are having the seven trumpets did prepare themselves that they may sound; and the first messenger did sound, and there came hail and fire, mingled with blood, and it was cast to the land, and the third of the trees was burnt up, and all the green grass was burnt up.
And I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and lo, a great earthquake came, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, and the stars of the heaven fell to the earth -- as a fig-tree doth cast her winter figs, by a great wind being shaken -- and heaven departed as a scroll rolled up, and every mountain and island -- out of their places they were moved; and the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich, and the chiefs of thousands, and the mighty, and every servant, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains, and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, `Fall upon us, and hide us from the face of Him who is sitting upon the throne, and from the anger of the Lamb,' because come did the great day of His anger, and who is able to stand?
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the apostle and chief priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, being stedfast to Him who did appoint him, as also Moses in all his house,
and whom He did fore-appoint, these also He did call; and whom He did call, these also He declared righteous; and whom He declared righteous, these also He did glorify.
Ask of Me and I give nations -- thy inheritance, And thy possession -- the ends of earth. Thou dost rule them with a sceptre of iron, As a vessel of a potter Thou dost crush them.'
Thy hand cometh to all Thine enemies, Thy right hand doth find Thy haters. Thou makest them as a furnace of fire, At the time of Thy presence. Jehovah in His anger doth swallow them, And fire doth devour them. Their fruit from earth Thou destroyest, And their seed from the sons of men. For they stretched out against Thee evil, They devised a wicked device, they prevail not, For Thou makest them a butt, When Thy strings Thou preparest against their faces.
Give ye thanks to the God of gods, For to the age `is' His kindness. Give ye thanks to the Lord of lords, For to the age `is' His kindness.
Exult do saints in honour, They sing aloud on their beds. The exaltation of God `is' in their throat, And a two-edged sword in their hand. To do vengeance among nations, Punishments among the peoples. To bind their kings with chains, And their honoured ones with fetters of iron, To do among them the judgment written, An honour it `is' for all his saints. Praise ye Jah!
For, lo, I am calling for all families of the kingdoms of the north, -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- and they have come, and put each his throne at the opening of the gates of Jerusalem, and by its walls round about, and by all cities of Judah.
and they have fought against thee, and they prevail not against thee; for with thee `am' I, -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- to deliver thee.
Lo, as a lion he cometh up, Because of the rising of the Jordan, Unto the enduring habitation, But I cause to rest, I cause them to run from off her. And who is chosen? on her I lay a charge, For who `is' like Me? And who doth convene Me? And who `is' this shepherd who standeth before Me?
`I was seeing, and this horn is making war with the saints, and hath prevailed over them,
and words as an adversary of the Most High it doth speak, and the saints of the Most High it doth wear out, and it hopeth to change seasons and law; and they are given into its hand, till a time, and times, and a division of a time. `And the Judge is seated, and its dominion they cause to pass away, to cut off, and to destroy -- unto the end; and the kingdom, and the dominion, even the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heavens, is given to the people -- the saints of the Most High, His kingdom `is' a kingdom age-during, and all dominions do serve and obey Him.
Peaceably even into the fertile places of the province He cometh, and he hath done that which his fathers did not, nor his fathers' fathers; prey, and spoil, and substance, to them he scattereth, and against fenced places he deviseth his devices, even for a time. `And he stirreth up his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great force, and the king of the south stirreth himself up to battle with a very great and mighty force, and standeth not, for they devise devices against him,
And the remnant of Jacob hath been in the midst of many peoples, As dew from Jehovah -- as showers on the herb, That waiteth not for man, nor stayeth for the sons of men. Yea, the remnant of Jacob hath been among nations, In the midst of many peoples, As a lion among beasts of a forest, As a young lion among ranks of a flock, Which if it hath passed through, Hath both trodden down and hath torn, And there is no deliverer. High is thy hand above thine adversaries, And all thine enemies are cut off.
For thus said Jehovah of Hosts: After honour He hath sent me unto the nations who are spoiling you, For he who is coming against you, Is coming against the daughter of His eye.
And having come near, Jesus spake to them, saying, `Given to me was all authority in heaven and on earth;
`Ye did not choose out me, but I chose out you, and did appoint you, that ye might go away, and might bear fruit, and your fruit might remain, that whatever ye may ask of the Father in my name, He may give you.
`And the king of the south hath come into the kingdom, and turned back unto his own land; and his sons stir themselves up, and have gathered a multitude of great forces, and he hath certainly come in, and overflowed, and passed through, and he turneth back, and they stir themselves up unto his stronghold. And the king of the south doth become embittered, and hath gone forth and fought with him, with the king of the north, and hath caused a great multitude to stand, and the multitude hath been given into his hand, and he hath carried away the multitude, his heart is high, and he hath caused myriads to fall, and he doth not become strong.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Revelation 17
Commentary on Revelation 17 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 17
This chapter contains another representation of those things that had been revealed before concerning the wickedness and ruin of antichrist. This antichrist had been before represented as a beast, and is now described as a great whore. And here,
Rev 17:1-6
Here we have a new vision, not as to the matter of it, for that is contemporary with what came under the three last vials; but as to the manner of description, etc. Observe,
Rev 17:7-13
Here we have the mystery of this vision explained. The apostle wonders at the sight of this woman: the angel undertakes to open this vision to him, it being the key of the former visions; and he tells the apostle what was meant by the beast on which the woman sat; but it is so explained as still to need further explanation.
Rev 17:14-18
Here we have some account of the downfall of Babylon, to be more fully described in the following chapter.