Revelation 17:1; Come Hither
Revelation 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
In the highly dramatic chapters we are now to consider, Christ as the Conqueror moves swiftly in the subjugation of all His foes. What fast-moving action we have in this section. How majestic is the scene of omnipotent Lord taking to Himself His power and reigning supreme! Once He rises to deal with all antagonistic forces, none will be able to withstand His might. With a rod of iron He will break the strongest enemy. Proud, arrogant rulers, both hellish and human, are to be dashed in pieces as a potter’s vessel. Whether systems, cities, or citizens, everything and everyone contrary to His will and rule is to fall before His withering look and judgments. Although He is the gentle Lamb, Christ now reveals His lionlike power.
Tyrant thrones and idol shrines,
Let them from their place be hurled;
Enter on Thy better reign,
Wear the crown of this plow world!
[John Page Hopps, “Father, Let Thy Kingdom Come,” 1911]
What a memorable occasion that was when Jesus went into the synagogue at Nazareth, took the Old Testament scroll from the minister, and read from Isaiah the passage He related to His own ministry:
Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Then, He closed the book without finishing the quotation from Isaiah, namely, “… the day of vengeance of our God” (Isaiah 61:2).
“The acceptable year” covers our Lord coming as the Saviour, as well as the dispensation of grace during the church age – Revelation 1-3 – “The day of vengeance of our God” belongs to what follows the day of salvation, the day of judgment during the great tribulation – Revelation 4-20. With flaming fire, the righteous God takes vengeance on the ungodly.
2 Thessalonians 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
This is a reason why love is mentioned in this judgment section of Revelation. Because the love of the Lamb is rejected, the day of His wrath comes upon all who love and make a lie.
[Herbert Lockyer, Revelation – Drama of the Ages, Whitaker House, 2012, 258]