English · KJV

Bede

Late Patristic · AD 500–800 · 6,271 passages across 45 books

Commentary

5,901–5,920 of 6,271
Revelation 17:17 · 2 passages

For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

That they may give their kingdom to the beast, etc. That is, they obey the devil until the Scriptures are fulfilled, in which God said that the fourth kingdom would consume the earth, as we read in Daniel: The fourth kingdom shall be on the earth, which shall surpass all these kingdoms. And it shall devour the whole earth, and shall trample it down, and break it to pieces (Dan. 7).
For God has put it into their hearts, etc. God, he says, the just and mighty judge, who is always pleased with righteousness, has permitted the impious to act in such a manner as a punishment for their previous sins, for which he deservedly imposes the end of the entire world, as the Gospels testify happened with Sodom and the flood.
Revelation 17:18

And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

And the woman whom you saw is the great city, etc. Likewise, later he is commanded to behold the bride of the Lamb, and he saw the holy city descending from heaven. As he describes it: And the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it (Rev. 21). For there are two cities in the world: one arising from the abyss, the other from the heavens. Hence, the same impiety, which he had described under the guise of the harlot, now compared to the ruins of a deserted city.
Revelation 18:1

And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

After these things, I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, etc. This strong angel illuminating the earth can also be understood as the Lord incarnate and the doctors of the Church; who, endowed with heavenly light, proclaim the fall of the world, saying: The kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matt. 3, 4).
Revelation 18:2

And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, etc. Fear not, O Jerusalem, the power of the earthly city, which falls spiritually as it prevails over you with the infestation of wicked citizens. Isaiah also describes Babylon as inhabited by unclean monsters. For there is no city except that of the devil, which captures every unclean soul, in which all uncleanness resides throughout the world.
Revelation 18:3

For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

And the merchants of the earth have become rich through the power of her luxury. Those who are called rich in sins exchange their souls in an unhappy trade for temporal abundance. For the excess of luxury makes them poor rather than rich.
Revelation 18:4

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Come out of her, my people, etc. Likewise Isaiah: Depart from the midst of them, and touch no unclean thing. Be clean, you who bear the vessels of the Lord (Isa. 52). After predicting the fall of Babylon, he introduces the departure, which is the ruin of Babylon. For when Lot departed from Sodom, it was utterly destroyed.
Revelation 18:6 · 2 passages

Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.

And repay her double according to her works. So that she who enjoyed temporal pleasures may be tormented with eternal pains.
Repay her as she has repaid you. For visible and invisible plagues come forth from the Church into the world.
Revelation 18:7

How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

Because she says in her heart: I sit as queen, and I am no widow, etc. Because, delighted with present luxuries, she did not wish to avoid future retribution, she will be punished in a short time with both spiritual and bodily ruin. Conversely, the citizens of the heavenly homeland, who set Jerusalem at the height of their joy, do not wish to sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land (Psalm 137), that is, to receive in the present the joy owed to the future age.
Revelation 18:9 · 2 passages

And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

And the kings of the earth will weep and lament for her, etc. The weeping of the kings, merchants, and sailors of Babylon can be understood in two ways: either in the day of judgment, when all the glory of the world perishes, and the wicked are left only with the memories of their past life, saying: What has our pride profited us? Or what advantage has the boast of riches brought us? All those things have passed away like a shadow (Wis. 5). Or in the present, when the abundance of things ceases, and the destruction of various nations ensues, the opportunity for the wicked to indulge in carnal delights is taken away.
When they see the smoke of her burning. That is, the sign of destruction, because smoke precedes fire. For what is this rampage and destruction of the world other than the smoke of impending hell?
Revelation 18:10 · 2 passages

Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

Standing afar off for fear of her torment. Standing afar off not in body but in mind, while each one fears for himself what he sees another suffer through calumny and power.
Saying: Woe, woe, that great city Babylon, etc. The spirit names the city, but they mourn the world, intercepted by punishment in a very short time, and all their efforts stained with ruin.
Revelation 18:11

And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, etc. They mourn the fall of all the world’s pomp, and those things which are either pleasant to the bodily senses or suitable for external uses. For precious metals pertain to sight, perfumes to smell, ointments to touch, wine, wheat, and oil to taste. Under the term of beasts and slaves, other human aids are also understood to perish. This is understood in two ways, as I said: either because these things fail with the dying world, or because the wretched survivors mourn the destruction of those who left the world’s joys through death as if they were mourning the ruins of their own city, and hence they are said to stand afar off, fearing similar punishment.
Revelation 18:15

The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

Those who became rich by her will stand afar off. Wherever the Spirit speaks of those made rich by her, it signifies the riches of sins. For lower down, where it is the voice of the unjust saying: Woe, woe, that great city, in which all who had ships at sea were made rich, the riches of things are understood. For they believe they have been made rich by the cleverness of their faction.
Revelation 18:16

And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!

Which was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet. Is a city clothed in fine linen or purple, and not people? Thus, they mourn themselves, as they are stripped of the above-mentioned things.
Revelation 18:17

For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,

And every shipmaster, and all the sailors stood afar off, etc. Can all who sail the sea be present to see the burning of the city? But he means all the worshipers and workers of the world fear for themselves, seeing the ruin of their hope.
Revelation 18:18

And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

Revelation 18:19

And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

For in one hour she is made desolate. Note that each of the mourning persons not only bewails the loss of riches but also the sudden and unforeseen ruin of the deceitful world.

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