Historical Sources — EGW Writings Search Results¶
Search 1: "great harlot Babylon Revelation seventeen"¶
4SP 233.1 (Ellen G. White)¶
"In Revelation 17, Babylon is represented as a woman, a figure which is used in the Scriptures as the symbol of a church. A virtuous woman represents a pure church, a vile woman an apostate church. Babylon is said to be a harlot; and the prophet beheld her drunken with the blood of saints and martyrs. The Babylon thus described represents Rome, that apostate church which has so cruelly persecuted the followers of Christ. But Babylon the harlot is the mother of daughters who follow her example of..."
GC 382.2 (Ellen G. White — Great Controversy)¶
"The woman (Babylon) of Revelation 17 is described as 'arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness:...and upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots.' Says the prophet: 'I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.' Babylon is further declared to be 'that great city, which reigneth over the..."
PFF3 53.2 (LeRoy E. Froom)¶
Williams' closing paragraphs on the final desolation of the church of Rome (Revelation 17 and 18) by "her great lovers," and the perplexity of many as to just how this will be accomplished. The great Harlot had robbed kings and nations of their power and strength. Their love shall turn into hatred and make her desolate.
PFF1 708.2 (LeRoy E. Froom)¶
"The Harlot of Revelation 17 is understood as Rome, in the sense of all the reprobate who blaspheme the church of the just—Jerusalem—who sojourns among them. She is not only the city of Rome; or all of it—far from it—but the whole multitude of wicked men... In the seven heads of the scarlet beast..."
GUINNESS 867 (H. Grattan Guinness)¶
"A perusal of the 17th and 18th chapters of the Book of Revelation, shows that 'Babylon the Great' represents a system which should last long, exert a subtle and extensive influence, and be guilty of exceeding iniquity and cruelty."
Search 2: "seven heads mountains Rome papal"¶
PFF3 350 (LeRoy E. Froom)¶
Topic: "PAPAL BABYLON on SEVEN HILLS"
PFF3 37.1 (LeRoy E. Froom — quoting historical interpreters)¶
"The seven heads are seven Mountaines on which the Woman sitteth, which are the mountaines of the City of Rome, it is built upon seven hills, and the seven heads are also seven Kings, that is, seven Kingly governments, sovereign governments: The first were Kings, then Consuls, then Decemvins, then Dictators, then Tribunes, and then the Caesars: Five were fallen, that is, were past in John's time, the sixth were then extant, and they were Caesars; the Pope he makes the seventh."
CLARKE 129873 (Adam Clarke)¶
"The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. This verse has been almost universally considered to allude to the seven hills upon which Rome originally stood. But it has been objected that modern Rome is not thus situated..."
BRIGHTMAN 4179 (Thomas Brightman)¶
"For the seventh Head, that seemed then to be perished, was both a Mountain and a King, that is, Rome, or the Empire of Rome, and the Pope, Rev. 17.9."
Search 3: "ten horns kings divided Roman empire"¶
OFH1 99.3 (Ellen G. White)¶
"The ten horns. Between the years A.D. 356 and 483, the Roman empire was divided into ten kingdoms, as noticed in remarks on chapter 2. Thus the ten horns are ten kings (kingdoms) that arose out of this empire."
BR-ASI9 140.8 (Ellen G. White)¶
"The ten horns, as already shown, arose when Rome, the fourth kingdom, was divided into ten kingdoms. This division was completed by A.D. 476. The little-horn power which was to arise after them and before whom three of the other kings—the Heruli, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths—fell, was the Papacy."
TBI 42.1 (Uriah Smith — The Biblical Institute)¶
"The fourth great and terrible beast had ten horns. These are declared to be ten kingdoms which should arise out of this empire. Daniel 7:24. These correspond to the ten toes of the image. Rome was divided into ten kingdoms between the years A.D. 356 and 483, as follows: Huns, A.D.356, Ostrogoths, 377, Visigoths, 378, Franks, 407, Vandals, 407, Suevi, 407, Burgundians, 407, Heruli, 476, Anglo-Saxons, 476, Lombards, 483."
RRTSE 26.2 (William Miller)¶
"The ten horns are a representation of the ten kingdoms that would arise out of the division of the old Roman empire... These kingdoms would, for the time, give unto the false Church of Rome their power and strength. Yet after the time appointed of her reign over the kings of the earth, 1260 years, these kingdoms would hate the supreme power of the Roman church, and would strip her of her benefices..."
Search 4: "mystery Babylon mother harlots abominations"¶
GUINNESS 936 (H. Grattan Guinness)¶
"The title emblazoned on the brow of this mystic woman, is not only 'Babylon the great'; but 'mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.' This word 'abominations' designates, as is well known, idols."
PFF3 513.1 (LeRoy E. Froom — quoting historical interpreter)¶
"Can we be at any loss, then, in recognizing Daniel's little horn, and Paul's Man of sin, in the woman enthroned in the midst of the mystical Babylon? What ecclesiastical domination has Rome ever known, save that of the papacy? What heresy has ever so copied the trappings of the harlot, or so beguiled the rulers and the people of the earth into the practice of irreligious and idolatrous devices?"
Search 5: "scarlet beast perdition bottomless pit abyss"¶
ELLIOTT3 81 (E.B. Elliott — Horae Apocalypticae)¶
Topic: "BEAST FROM THE ABYSS"
PFF2 779 (LeRoy E. Froom)¶
Topic: "BEAST FROM ABYSS THE CENTRAL FIGURE"
Search 6: "woman drunk blood saints martyrs persecution papacy"¶
GUINNESS 932 (H. Grattan Guinness)¶
"That the Church of Rome deserves pre-eminently to be stigmatized as 'drunk with the blood of saints,' cannot be disputed. What other church ever established an Inquisition, instigated a St. Bartholomew, and gloried in her shame in having done so? What other Christian church has slain fifty millions of Christians for no crime but Christianity, as she has done?"
BARNESREV 1246 (Albert Barnes)¶
"And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints. A reeling, intoxicated harlot, for that is the image which is kept up all along. In regard to the phrase 'drunken with blood,' comp. Jer. xlvi. 10."
Search 7: "purple scarlet priestly garments counterfeit"¶
BARNESREV 1241 (Albert Barnes)¶
"And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour... The purple colour—πορφύρα—was obtained from a species of shell-fish found on the coasts of the Mediterranean, which yielded a reddish-purple dye, much prized by the ancients."
BARNESREV 1239 (Albert Barnes)¶
"I caused this inquiry to be made of an intelligent gentleman who had passed much time in Rome... what would strike a stranger on visiting Rome... and he unhesitatingly replied, 'The scarlet colour.' This is the colour of the dress of the cardinals—their hats, and cloaks, and stockings being always of this colour. It is the colour of the carriages of the cardinals..."
Search 8: "two women Revelation pure church apostate church"¶
DAR 509.3 / DAR1909 543.3 (Uriah Smith)¶
"A woman, the true church. A corrupt woman is used to represent an apostate or corrupt church. Ezekiel 23:2-4; Revelation 17:3-6, 15, 18. By parity of reasoning, a pure woman, as in this instance, would represent the true church."
PFF1 33.2 (LeRoy E. Froom)¶
"A chaste woman, arrayed in pure white (Revelation 12), indicating a pure church; and a fallen woman, garbed in suggestive scarlet (Revelation 17), portraying a fallen or apostate church. In logical harmony with the figure the impure woman is called a 'harlot,' or a 'whore.'"
Search 9: "man of sin son of perdition sitting temple"¶
GUINNESS 77 / 980 (H. Grattan Guinness)¶
Topic: "The Man of Sin, or Antichrist."
CLARKE 119975 (Adam Clarke)¶
"The son of perdition is also the denomination of the traitor Judas, John xvii. 12, which implies that the man of sin should be, like Judas, a false apostle; like him, betray Christ; and, like him, be devoted to destruction. Who opposeth, &c., is manifestly copied from Daniel, He shall exalt himself, &c."
Search 10: "mother of harlots daughter churches Protestant apostate Babylon fallen"¶
GC 382.3 (Ellen G. White — Great Controversy)¶
"Babylon is said to be 'the mother of harlots.' By her daughters must be symbolized churches that cling to her doctrines and traditions, and follow her example of sacrificing the truth and the approval of God, in order to form an unlawful alliance with the world. The message of Revelation 14, announcing the fall of Babylon must apply to religious bodies that were once pure and have become corrupt. Since this message follows the warning of the judgment, it must be given in the last days; therefore it cannot refer to the Roman Church alone, for that church has been in a fallen condition for many centuries."
DAR 601.3 / DAR1909 649.2 (Uriah Smith)¶
"Babylon is not confined to the Romish Church. That this church is a very prominent component part of great Babylon, is not denied. The descriptions of chapter 17 seem to apply very particularly to that church. But the name which she bears on her forehead, 'Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth,' reveals other family connections. If this church is the mother, who are the daughters?"
BR-ASI9 180.3 (Ellen G. White)¶
"The authoritative Creed of Pope Pius IV says in Article 10: 'I acknowledge the Holy Catholic Apostolic Church for the mother and mistress of all churches.' When professed Protestant churches repudiate the fundamental principle of Protestantism by accepting human speculation, tradition, or political power, in place of the authority and power of God's word, they may be regarded as daughters of Babylon."