Revelation 18:7 Commentary and Bible Study

She believes in its vanity that a woman such as herself deserves to be elevated above the ordinary, and to be admired by all. How the harlot glorifies herself! Nothing is too good for her. She must be adorned with the finest that this world has to offer her. Though she is worthless, she has judged herself to be the most special of all women. Her vanity knows no bounds. But every false thought will be repaid in proportion. Her self-assigned glory will be met by a God imposed humiliation. Her false evaluation of herself and what she deserves will be contradicted by God’s true evaluation of her as worthless. By contrast the people of God humble themselves in this life and God will exalt them up to glory high above the harlot. It will be to their great honour that they waited patiently for the Lord to lift them up. By doing so, they have purged themselves of the pride which is in the heart of every son of Adam and God will also purge them.John is told how she evaluates herself. Amazingly she is full of self-confidence and believes that she is beyond the reach of harm. What she has gained in the way of riches and glory she will keep forever. The words, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow’ means that, in her estimation, she has the characteristics not only of an attractive woman whose beauty the people of the earth and especially the kings seek after, but of a queen ruling over the kings of the earth to whom they submit. She rules over them because this is the condition that she imposes on them in exchange for her pleasures. She will never be a widow, she believes, because she will never cease to be attractive to her paramours. This is the pride of her heart. But pride can only exist in the hearts of rational beings. Whose mind is represented by these words? They originate in the mind of the devil. It is his pride that drives this woman forward. But pride is also found in the hearts of individual men and women who collectively constitute the system that is this world, a world of human beings in opposition to God. Worldlings think that their objectives are the sure route to happiness and fulfilment. They believe they are invulnerable and will never be brought down. ‘I sit as queen’, she says. She is so confident she thinks she can afford to ignore God. ‘Therefore shall her plagues come in one day’; this is the final judgement. Because of the haughtiness of her heart God will judge her suddenly. The pride of man invites the judgment of the Lord. Though God waits long, when he acts his judgment takes into account all the disdain men showed towards his patience. We should be afraid to boast even in the secrecy of our own thoughts, for the Lord scrutinises every heart. Every arrogant thought is a challenge to his glory. In comparison to God man is nothing, yet we dare to lift ourselves up in our imagination. But under his government, every creature must take its rightful place. Pride angers the Lord because it is such a lie. She will be utterly burned with fire. What is before attributed to ten horns is now attributed to God, for he overrules all events, who makes one nation to rise up against another nation and to be a scourge to punish those he is angry with. So now it is his will to crush the harlot who has for so long boasted of her beauty and attractiveness in the eyes of mankind. The Lord is strong who judges her and since he has appointed the time of her punishment, then all her charms will not allow her to escape.