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Rev. 17:1,2:  And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I shall show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality."
         Babylon, you must be condemned and destroyed. There is no more postponing. You are the one that sits on multitudes of sins as on "many waters"; you are resting on pleasures that are changing and flowing like the water. You are the great whore; you were created to be united to the will of God, and submitted to Him, You withdrew from your lawful Bridegroom to prostitute yourself to self, which used you to have iniquity with the whole world. You are living by sin, and feed on the wickednesses that cause your rebellion. You find your rest in the stir and the instability of waters; the torrents of iniquity have overflowed through you and your corruption has spread throughout the whole earth. (Editor's reference: "The Mystery of Babylon" by Ray and Doris Prinzing. End of reference).
         With you the kings of the earth have become corrupt, those who had been created to reign, for all men would have been kings if they had submitted to God. But because of you, wretched Babylon, the kings have become corrupt and slaves; and instead of tasting the everlasting delights for which they were created, delights that were pure and decent, you let them go astray, binding them to brutish and disgraceful pleasures by which they lose the delights of the Spirit. The whole earth is now full of this corruption and depravity. But you are condemned to die with the same drink you gave others. The wine you gave others to establish your kingdom, God will use to destroy you. .

Rev. 17:3:  And he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.
         Self-will is a woman, but an adulterous one, who has separated herself to prostitute herself; she who was intended to sanctify the earth, corrupted it. She dwells as in "the wilderness" because she cannot be adapted to any good. She sits on love of self which is scarlet colored because it mimics pure love. Isn't she manufacturing all sins, being the instrument of love of self!
         Without her, there is no sin. These sins are red like scarlet because of their malice. She takes the liberty to commit all crimes because she wants everything which she likes. Although she is so wicked, and the source of all sin, at times she hides so well, that you cannot find her.
         She is full of names of blasphemy because without ceasing she takes from God His attributes to ascribe them to herself. She is always rebellious and opposed to God. All say about her wickedness is not even a semblance of what she is. Self-will is worse than all the devils. The sins on which, she stands are not as evil as she is and the monster on which she sits has only the wickedness she imparts to him. Oh, self and wicked will!
         If I could describe you, there is not a soul who would not hate you.

Rev. 17:4: And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, ...
         This wretched will, in spite of her malevolence, has a dreadful shrewdness to hide herself and in this very thing she is most malignant. She hides her self with the appearance of all the virtues. She uses everything to reign. She is truly malignant. She holds "a gold cup...full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality." The good cup does not prevent the malevolence of her poison. This malevolence is less strong and is in proportion to the self-will in the soul

Rev. 17:5,6: ...and upon her forehead a name was written, a mystery, "Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth. And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered greatly.
         This self-will is indeed a mystery that can hardly be discovered in most souls. She will even allow one to be quite severe in disciplining himself if only self is left in peace.
         She feeds on everything, unconcerned and at her heart's content. She is not opposed to the outward practice of certain virtues; she survives and feeds on everything. What mystery! However, she is the mother of harlots because her actions (good in themselves when they come from God, their lawful Father) she transforms into bastards. She is the mother of abominations. God abominates all that comes from her. The martyrs have fought her. All the torments which God had them bear have only been to destroy her!
         When there is no more self-will in the world, there will be no more sin.

Rev. 17:7,8: And the angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I shall tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. The beast that you saw was and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth will wonder, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come."
         God must have this mystery explained. As soon as this monster has been destroyed, sin will be completely destroyed. This beast ascends out of the bottomless pit, because sin rose from hell to earth through the serpent, but it rose to die pitifully, through the redemption of Jesus Christ Who destroyed sin, and re-established grace with more happiness than ever before. The lost ones and the devils shall wonder seeing this beast-self-love-is gone! They are lost because she is no more on earth. The lost will be desolate, and jealous of those who remain on earth. The Devil will have no power to tempt the faithful when self-will is banished from earth.
         This self-will is rightly compared to Babylon on account of the trouble and confusion it brings in the soul. A will which is in concert with the will of God is like the ark which saves from the flood; it is the center of peace and rest. (Editor's reference: "The Mystery of God's Will" by Ray and Doris Prinzing. End of reference).
         How many souls there are who believe themselves to be without their own will, and are thought so by leaders, and in reality they are full of their own will! The self-will knows how to hide under the cover of an assumed obedience. When God places the soul in any condition pleasing to Him and it does not offer the least resistance, however  terrible and amazing this condition may be, that soul stays abandoned to its God for all that He wills. In all the evils, he has no will or resistance. When the soul is not in a complete nothingness and loss, self may have some resistance though the will is submissive; but when self is really dead, there is no more resistance.
         Often we are surprised that self resists more in the middle of the Christian life than in the start. In the beginning obedience is very easy. It seems we are in a perfect submission to all of God's will and to every trial. However, after a while, we feel the contrary. Self-will, at the beginning of the conversion, is still completely in the heart. Through conversion, its rebellion is taken away. On the other hand, in the sinner, self-will is entirely opposed to God's will. After conversion, though he has not this sinful rebellion, a Christian continues to have a thousand wishes that are opposed to God's. It is true he has not the will to rebel against God and to openly war against Him. After his conversion God has the soul entering a knowledge and a conscious love of His will. He does this with such kindness and gentleness that the senses and the outward life are sweetly drawn to do God's will. Strong desires of doing God's will come.
         What, then, does self-will do? It goes deeper into the soul and does not appear at all outwardly, because self-will finds delights in the conscious desires of the will of God. This is not yet dangerous. Self-will hides, deep in the soul, feeding on delights; self-will is not fought against, and is at peace.
         The soul, feeling this condition and finding no resistance within, thinks it has no will and does only God's will. The soul has no outward will, but has one inwardly, stronger than it ever was. When self-will leaves the outward life, it establishes itself within...with more strength. The more the soul believes itself to be exempt from self-will, the more that soul has a deep, hidden will.
 However, though it survives in all its strength, we assume there is no more rebellion. But what does God do? He Who has not given so many graces to a soul to allow this horrible monster to live within ...He will not allow this state to remain.
         He takes all sweetness from the spiritual senses. He comes within this soul as an armed, strong man, to go after this will which is entrenched there. Then comes the suffering which has earlier been described. Self-will, which appeared dead and destroyed, is felt more than ever! Being hunted and chased its fury increases. The soul of the believer does not see God, but only his wicked will, getting worse every day. But the will becomes less dangerous the more it is uncovered. Self-will forsakes the deep, inner place of the believer and surfaces, appearing completely outward. Then she becomes rebellious again, as before conversion. Those who see these strange revolts and so little submission to God and His creatures are surprised, not understanding the mystery of self-will.
       Finally, self-will is hunted so much that it has to depart!
         The soul does not find any trace of it. The will of God is substituted and the soul has no will of her own any more. The soul is in possession of God's will, but only feels this when it resists God, or some of His wishes. She thinks this is self-will returned, again.
         It is good, here, to warn the believer about some terrible dangers for the souls that are not entirely dead and brought to nothingness. One may think he is in such a state because he wishes to be so! Their will is very much alive, though hidden. It begins to appear, evidenced by this person's inclinations to follow his own desires, his nature, and thus strengthen his self-will. The self is not lost, but stronger. Thinking he follows the will of God, he follows his own and is drawn into strange sufferings which have no remedy, because he is persuaded he follows God's will. (Editor's note: There is always a remedy, "where sin abounds GRACE much more abounds," and the consuming fire of God's Love  will purge any and all impurities, in order that correction can manifest God's will. End of note).
         There is another danger. Religious leaders adopt ideas on grace that suit the common rules ...their way to God is based on their dealings with those who have only the slightest desire to follow God. They know nothing when they meet a believer whose soul is perfectly brought to nought! The religious leader wants to oblige this one to go against his leadings (which are God's will for him). This ignorant religious leader places the Christian in a suffering which goes beyond all the torments which can be suffered on earth. When the religious leader finally sees that God works in him (or her), the leader esteems him less than a beginner! (Editor's note: This book was written and dated on September 23, 1683. The carnal Church existed then as it does today; not much has changed. There is hope. The carnal church will be "shaken" and from God's purging the true Church of the Spirit will appear: Guyon makes this statement when she sees the end of self-will, "At last it is burned in the fire of God's love." End of note ).
         Now a religious worker may say, "How can I know if this soul is one broken and one who has come to nothing...or just a simple and pliable beginner? In one self is followed, in the other grace. Yet both have the same expressions."
         Ah! How easy it is to know! You will see that the soul in nothingness is pliable in the hand of God in everything; he does not change his behavior in the face of the cross, which is the very opposite of others. He is always in the same submission. God has tried him though the cross and through blessings. A soul whom you see always supple and yielding for all God wants and is ready to agree always to His will, this soul must have experienced all deaths, all oppositions, all rebellions from the will, and is dead at last to every choice.
         For others, on the contrary, they just come out of their pleasing and conscious state. They are full of themselves and can not long bear a cross. They do God's will only when it is their own, otherwise they openly resist His will.
         Go, Christian worker-- with all your might, against self-will; otherwise you will lose these believers without finding any remedy. You will see that your opposition to their self-will shall-in truth-hurt  them...but afterwards it will bring them peace.

Rev. 17:9,10: "Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while."
         Self-will rests in the soul on seven mountains where it exercises its dominion. There are seven kings which desire thrones but the will is their sovereign. The seven mountains and the seven kings are ruled and captivated by her all at the same time. These seven mountains are intelligence, reason, judgment, discernment, wisdom, strength, and deliberation or choice. All appear to be the nobleness and the magnificence of the soul, the excellence of the mind. However, all these are subject to that will which rules them all. She leads them and directs everything. Jesus Christ said in His Gospel that if a blind man leads another, they both will fall in the ditch. The blind will also blinds the mind and drags it into her ditch with herself. She takes from man all his intelligence and eclipses his reason. She overthrows her judgment, darkens her discernment, destroys her wisdom.
         Then, these become the "five kings that are fallen". One remains, which is strength. The power of deliberation and the power of choice represent the one who did not fall. His time has not arrived. He remains, the last of all.
         When God wants to destroy self-will, He attacks the same things that self-will attacked when wanting to bring Him down from His throne. First He gives the light of intelligence, given with a great brightness and then extinguished. He gives keen judgment so as to condemn self-righteousness and to show that the will of God must be followed. But then He lets her lose this judgment. A clear discernment is given. Wisdom is given, but it appears to self-will as folly.  At last self-will is dragged into blindness and the soul is reduced. The soul has no more choice left in it, and instinct seems to lead.

Rev. 17:11: "And the beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction."
         The beast is the self-will in person. It was because it survived in these things and it is not as soon as these things are destroyed. It is the eighth because everything flows to him and he is the end of all these negative things. He is numbered with the seven because he is in all these seven ones, and particularly in the choice or deliberation, for this is his main feature.

Rev. 17.12. "And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom,  but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour."
         These ten horns are the ten passions which, joined with the beast, are eleven. This one is self-love, the beast. Till now, the revolt of passions had not yet come, but when they see the destruction of self-will and their own loss approaching, revolt comes. They all reside in the will, their seat. These passions appear for a little while only, with fury, and they will last as long as self-love is yet surviving. When self-will sees that will dying, he is like a lamp which, as it goes out, gives more light.

Rev. 17:13: "These have one purpose and they give their power and authority to the beast."
         Altogether they have only one mind, Self-love has all strength and power, so that it has all the ability to do what all the others cannot do among themselves.

Rev. 17:14: "These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."
         Carnality with all his followers fights "against the Lamb" with all his strength, which means that the fight is against the Spirit of Jesus Christ, His reign and kingdom.
         What is happening in the soul to establish the kingdom of Jesus Christ must happen in the whole Church to establish this kingdom!
         After a strange fight and a terrible opposition from self-love, self-mind, self-will, and carnality against the Spirit of Jesus Christ, His reign and kingdom has the upper hand, finally, He overcomes and overrules the passions, changing them to His glory. Love will be changed to pure love. Love will be the Captain and will devote to God all passions. Pure love will consecrate  the enjoyment of even God which will be, for the soul, an untold delight. The desire will be all for God and His glory, the hatred for all that is opposed to God. Anger will be turned into zeal. Our Lord will overcome in this manner, and will use the same weapons that have been used against Him! He will confirm the soul in His love, giving it an unchangeable faithfulness.

Rev. 17:16: "And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire."
         Jesus Christ uses the same weapons to fight that have been used to fight Him.
         These shall hate the whore; hatred and anger rise against her, and make her desolate. As self-love ruled, self-will had the power and devoured all the good in the soul. Likewise as pure love rules, the will of God takes the place of self-will and devours it. At last it is burned in the fire of God's love.
         Ah, wicked will, who will be able to understand all the evil that is in you! It goes beyond all that can be said about it. If you were not limited, we could say that you are as wicked as God is good. All I can say is that you are sovereign evil, the source and origin of all evils. I would prefer hell without you than heaven with you.

Rev. 17:17,18: "For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God should be fulfilled. And the woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth."
         God has put in their hearts these passions to do whatever He pleases to destroy and bring to nought this self-will. Then God gives up the passions for a while to an apparent confusion and disorder, and in this manner they destroy the self-will and strip from it all the garments it uses to cover itself. Then self-love seeing that the self-will is about to be destroyed and that if this happens, self-love will die too unless it finds some other pasture, this self-love takes all the power it has. What does it do? For self-preservation, it follows fast after the will, till at last the Word of God finds the time to fulfill all these things. When He comes, He destroys this self-love. Self-love purified by; pure love is used of God as the rest.
         This is the wonderful economy of the grace of redemption in Jesus Christ and it has cost Jesus Christ infinitely more than it costs the soul.
         Self-will is the great Babylon reigning over the kings of the earth. It is fittingly compared to a great city, for it encloses noise, tumult, passions, sins and the commerce of people.
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^{(1) Guyon, Mme. Jeanne, CHRIST OUR REVELATION, Gardiner, Main, Reprinted 1987 Christian Books Publishing House ( Book in now out of print)}

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