And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
The Interpretation of the Mystery, Rev 17:7-18
7. Wherefore didst thou marvel? ] Again the word should be wonder. For the angel’s surprise at the seer not comprehending at once, see on Rev 7:14.
I will tell thee ] The “I” is emphatic: “ I will tell thee, since thou findest it so strange.”
the mystery ] i.e. the mystical meaning: see on Rev 17:5.
of the woman, and of the beast ] The latter is explained first, Rev 17:8-14: the Woman is not clearly defined till Rev 17:18.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? – He was doubtless struck with the appearance of John as he stood fixed in astonishment. The question asked him, why he wondered, was designed to show him that the cause of his surprise would be removed or lessened, for that he would proceed so to explain this that he might have a correct view of its design.
I will tell thee the mystery of the woman – On the word mystery, see the notes on Rev 17:5. The sense is, I will explain what is meant by the symbol – the hidden meaning that is couched under it. That is, he would so far explain it that a just view might be obtained of its signification. The explanation follows, Rev 17:8-18.
And of the beast that carrieth her, … – Rev 17:3.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rev 17:7-14
I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her.
A picture of moral error
I. Its history is marvellous.
1. On account of the darkness that enfolds its introduction.
2. On account of the mask under which it works.
3. On account of the wonderful issues that will result from it.
II. Its course is lamentable.
1. It rises from the bottomless pit–the fathomless abysses of impure lusts, ravenous greed, burning ambition, sensual yearnings, impious irreverences, blasphemous assumptions, etc.
2. It leads to perdition–ruin.
III. Its supports are unstable. Many of the arguments that have sustained it from time to time have appeared as settled and imposing as mountains, as gorgeous and majestic as kings; but mountains have fallen and come to nought, and even imperial bulwarks have disappeared as visions of the night. So it has been, so it is, and so it must be to the end. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them.
War and conquest
I. The opposing forces. Look abroad upon the earth. What a pandemonium of vice and crime, injustice and cruelty, heathenism and superstition it is. Oh, how mighty and multiplied the antagonist hosts! They are mustered and marshalled; they are eager for the strife of the battle, they confront us at every step; and the great question is this, Can they be overcome? Must we lay down our arms in despair! Is the world to become no better?
II. The opposing forces vanquished. The Lamb will overcome them.
1. By the interpositions and changes of Providence. God has a purpose, the world is to be converted, and all things are working to accomplish that end; but Gods way is in the sea, and His path in the mighty waters; He is the real, though invisible, ruler, both of matter and of mind. The laws of providence are just as Divine in their appointments and results as the laws of nature. All things work to usher in the day predicted by the angels song, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.
2. By the preaching of His own truth and the outpouring of His Holy Spirit. Preaching is the appointment of heaven.
3. By the indomitable zeal and energy of His own followers. As the conflict advances, one shall chase a thousand and two shall put ten thousand to flight. In all ages God has carried on His work by the zeal, energy, and courage of His faithful servants. He did it even in the ages of miracles, He will do it till the world is saved; and why shrink from the task His benevolence appoints? Have we had no success? Did not Wesley and Whitfield arouse all England and North America to the worth of the gospel and the importance of eternal things? Are we faithful to the cause of the Lamb? Might He not reproach us for our doubts and fears? Where is the faith which wrought those moral wonders in the apostolic age? (W. S. Edwards.)
The Royal Christ
A Lamb, and yet Lord of lords, and King of kings. The ideas seem incongruous. How, then, is the Lamb this?
1. By rightful authority. Though Son of Man, He is also Son of God (cf. Psa 2:1-12.)
2. By virtue of His sacrifice (chap. 4.; cf. Php 3:1-21.), Therefore hath God highly exalted Him, and, etc.
3. By the might of meekness. See how at His nativity the shepherds were told they should see the Saviour, Christ the Lord. Meekness is might, sacrifice is sovereignty, losing life is gaining it; the cross creates the crown.
4. By the consent of conscience.
5. By the grace he imparted to His people. Their patient continuance in well-doing put to silence all their foes.
6. In His people. They that are with Him. The Revised Version rightly renders St. Johns words, They also shall overcome that are with Him, called, chosen, faithful. St. John does not teach that the Lamb was indebted to them for this victory as a general is indebted to his army. They are–
(1) Called.
(2) Chosen. But thus we may know if we be chosen:
(3) If we be of those who are faithful. Called we are; chosen we may be.
II. faithful, then we are of the chosen too; and this, and this only, is the proof. (C. Conway, B. A.)
The great moral campaign
I. The contending forces.
1. The one is represented as a beast. Emblem of the mighty aggregate of wrong in all its elements and operations: wrong in theories and in institutions, wrong in sentiments and habits, wrong as imposing as seven mountains and as majestic as kings or empires, wrong sitting as empress over all nations and peoples and tongues.
2. The other is represented as a Lamb–emblem of innocence, mildness, and purity.
II. The marvellous conquest.
1. The conqueror. The Lamb, though not a bellicose existence, is
(1) Invested with the highest authority.
(2) Followed by a noble army.
2. The conquered. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The overcoming Lamb
I. The person mentioned. He is not a lamb, but the Lamb. He is the great universal Lamb, causing the blood which He shed to spread itself, as it were, all over the world, so that every sinner might touch it and be saved from his sins.
II. What He shall overcome. All opposers, both nations and individuals.
III. How He shall overcome His opposers. There are two general methods–
1. That of using certain means to persuade rebellious hearts to become reconciled to God. His greatest effort has always been to overcome by the passion of His love.
2. That of final banishment from His presence. Oh, what can feeble man do against such an all-powerful being as Christ is? How utterly vain have been the threats of infidels, that they would banish Him from the world. (C. H. Wetherbe.)
And they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful.—
The army of the Lamb
This is a description of the best appointed army that was ever brought into the field–the army of Christ Jesus. It has been the presumptuous boast of many earthly generals that their soldiers were invincible–such as no enemy could overthrow. This may, however, be with truth affirmed of this army. They carry, as it were, this inscription on their banners, Conquering and to conquer!
I. The Captain of this host of the Lord. The success of every ordinary army depends mainly, under God, upon the skill and valour of its general. But of this spiritual army it may with truth be said that every hope of victory they have arises altogether from Him who leads them to the battle. They have an Almighty leader at their head, One whose presence insures victory to all His followers. In the former part of the verse this Captain of the Lords host is called by two different titles, which seem, at first sight, scarcely reconcilable.
1. One of these titles is, the Lamb–a name which might seem, at first, little suited to the leader of an army. But what does the term signify in the case of Him to whom it is applied? Not that He is weak and feeble as the tender animal which bears this name. But He is a Lamb in reference to the death He died for His people, when He was led as a Lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep is dumb before its shearers so He opened not His mouth. It is a title, too, of endearment. The Lamb is not more meek and gentle than He is to His faithful followers.
2. But if the epithet Lamb represents His gentleness and tenderness towards His people and the death which He has died for them, He has another name which describes, as strikingly, His majesty and power–Lord of lords and King of kings.
II. His soldiers. They that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
1. They are called–just as the soldiers of an earthly army are enlisted for the service. The soldiers of an earthly warfare were called into the ranks they fill from very different occupations: some from the shop, some from the plough. Christs soldiers, too, were very differently occupied when the call of grace was given them. They were then mere children of the world, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind–each busily occupied in his own favourite and cherished sins. Various, too, were the circumstances under which the call was given to them, and various the means employed by the great Captain of salvation to make them hear that call. But in every case it was the Saviours Follow Me! which brought His soldiers to His side.
2. They are not called only, but chosen. There is a difference, even in earthly armies, between being called and being chosen, between being merely enlisted and being what is called picked men, men in whom the general can place his confidence. Look at Gideons army (Jdg 7:1-7). Two-and-thirty thousand then were called; three hundred only chosen. It is just thus in the camp of Jesus. What multitudes flock into it! But how many of all these become in after life true soldiers of the Cross? Alas! but a small remnant; for many are called, but few are chosen. But they that are really with the Saviour, and who constitute His Church militant here on earth, are, all of them, picked men. Whatever exploits Christs soldiers may perform when they have entered on the fight of faith, by the grace of God they are what they are.
3. They are faithful. The word may be taken in two senses, in each of which it is equally applicable to the armies of the Living God.
(1) They are faithful inasmuch as they are full of faith and confidence in the Captain of their salvation. The soldiers of the Lamb of God place their entire confidence in the Commander whom they follow.
(2) A man is said to be faithful who lives up to his engagements, and who adheres with constancy and perseverance to the person whose service he has undertaken. Faithfulness, in this understanding of the word, is most essential to the character of a good soldier. One part of his faithfulness consists in his remaining true to his commander until he be disbanded or dismissed. To run from his colours, or desert the service of his king and country, is amongst the soldiers greatest crimes. In this point, too, the soldiers of the Lord are faithful. They follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth, and nothing shall ever separate them from His love and from His service. (A. Roberts, M. A.)
.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel! I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carried her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.] The apostle was greatly astonished, as well he might be, at the woman’s being drunk with the blood of the saints, when the beast which carried her abounded with sacred appellations, such as holy, most holy, most Christian, sacred, most sacred. The angel undertakes to explain to St. John the vision which had excited in him so great astonishment; and the explication is of such great importance, that, had it not been given, the mystery of the dragon and the beast could never have been satisfactorily explained in all its particulars. The angel begins with saying:-
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The angel promiseth to open this vision, it being the key of the former vision, and is the only vision expounded throughout this whole book.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the angel said unto me,…. The same as in Re 17:1
wherefore didst thou marvel? which is not said by way of reproof, as questions of this kind sometimes are, Ac 3:12 for John did not wonder at her with a sinful admiration, so as to have her in great veneration, and to do homage and worship to her, as the inhabitants of the world wondered after the beast, Re 13:3 but his admiration was an amazement, or stupefaction of mind, joined with indignation at her; and this is said by the angel to lead on to what he had to declare unto him.
I will tell thee the mystery of the woman; that is, what is mysteriously or mystically designed by her; for till it was made known to John by the angel, it was a mystery to him; and when it was revealed, the interpretation is given in such an obscure manner, that it is only understood by the mind that has spiritual wisdom; and still remains a mystery to carnal men, just as the Gospel itself does. The hidden meaning of this woman, or the mystery of her, is told by the angel in Re 17:18.
And of the beast that carried her, which hath the seven heads, and ten horns; the mystical sense of the beast, its heads and horns, and which is also delivered in a mysterious manner, is given in
Re 17:8.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Fall of Babylon. | A. D. 95. |
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. 9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. 10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. 11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. 12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
Here we have the mystery of this vision explained. The apostle wonders at the sight of this woman: the angel undertakes to open this vision to him, it being the key of the former visions; and he tells the apostle what was meant by the beast on which the woman sat; but it is so explained as still to need further explanation. 1. This beast was, and is not, and yet is; that is, it was a seat of idolatry and persecution; and is not, that is, not in the ancient form, which was pagan; and yet it is, it is truly the seat of idolatry and tyranny, though of another sort and form. It ascends out of the bottomless pit (idolatry and cruelty are the issue and product of hell), and it shall return thither and go into perdition. 2. This beast has seven heads, which have a double signification. (1.) Seven mountains–the seven hills on which Rome stands; and (2.) Seven kings–seven sorts of government. Rome was governed by kings, consuls, tribunes, decemviri, dictators, emperors who were pagan, and emperors who were Christian. Five of these were extinct when this prophecy was written; one was then in being, that is, the pagan emperor; and the other, that is, the Christian emperor, was yet to come, v. 10. This beast, the papacy, makes an eighth governor, and sets up idolatry again. 3. This beast had ten horns; which are said to be ten kings which have as yet received no kingdoms; as yet, that is, as some, shall not rise up till the Roman empire be broken in pieces; or, as others, shall not rise up till near the end of antichrist’s reign, and so shall reign but as it were one hour with her, but shall for that time be very unanimous and very zealous in that interest, and entirely devoted to it, divesting themselves of their prerogatives and revenues (things so dear to princes), out of an unaccountable fondness for the papacy.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
I will tell thee the mystery ( ). The angel gives his interpretation of the woman and the beast (17:7-18). is the future active of (defective verb), to tell, to say.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And the angel said unto me,” (kai eipen moi ho angelos) “and the angel inquired (to) me,” he questioned me in a rhetorical manner.
2) “Wherefore didst thou marvel?” (dia ti ethaumasas) on account of, or by what(reason) do you marvel?” There is no real reason, is there?
3) “I will tell thee the mystery of the woman,” (ego ero soi to musterion tes gunaikos) “I will disclose to you the mystery of the woman,” a mystery divinely disclosed or explained becomes a revelation; Mat 13:11. In eleven mysteries revealed in the New Testament each, when disclosed, still has a supernatural element. The first of those eleven mysteries is that of the church, called also “The kingdom of heaven,” Mat 3:2; Mat 13:11.
4) “And of the beast that carrieth her,” (kai tou theriou tou bastazontos auten) “and the mystery of the beast continually carrying (or supporting) her,” bearing her up, aiding and abetting her, Rev 17:1; Rev 17:3.
5) “Which hath the seven heads and ten horns,” (tou echontostas hepta kephalas kai ta deka kerata) “the beast which has the seven heads and ten horns,” The mystery of the beast is also about to become a Divine revelation; Neither the scarlet woman, (harlot) and mother of harlots, nor the beast she rides, consorts with in fornication, is a mystery in heaven. The usage of covert mystery has ever been a primary deceiving and deluding element in heathen, religious idolatry, and Roman Catholicism, Dan 7:7; Dan 7:20; Dan 7:24; Rev 12:3; Rev 13:1; Rev 17:3; Rev 12:16.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
‘And the angel said to me, “Why did you wonder? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast who carries her, who has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast which you saw was and is not, and is about to come up from the abyss and to go into perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will wonder, the one whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast how he was, and is not and shall come.’
The angel promises to reveal the mystery of both the woman and the Beast who carries her. He will first reveal the mystery of the Beast. The mystery of the woman will be revealed in the next chapter. ‘The beast — was, and is not and will come.’ He apes God, the One spoken of in Rev 1:4; Rev 1:8, and he fills the world with wonder. ‘He was’ because he has been present throughout history, in the Garden of Eden, in the activities of Cain, in the founding of Babel, in the great empires that fought against God and His people. ‘He is not’ because he is in the abyss. This again reminds us of Satan and his followers who are seen as chained in the abyss (Rev 9:1-2; Rev 9:11; Rev 20:2-3). This could not be said of Rome, nor does the scarlet beast represent emperors for the emperors are represented by his heads. It represents empire (and possibly the last ‘emperor’). Indeed it is important to remember that this is a manifestation of the monster of chapter 12, the essential beast, not the clone of chapter 13. It is a more real manifestation of Satan, and has existed almost from the beginning of time. The beast is first the embodiment of Satanically ruled empire, going back to the beginning, and secondly the great Satanically inspired ruler who will spring from this and vie for world leadership and control. But the woman is Rome, and yet she is more than Rome, for she has sat on the beast from the beginning, she is what Rome epitomised. She is ever the great idolatress, whether of religion or secularism, at the head of empires.
And Satan also will yet enjoy a final period of freedom from restraint before finally being sent to destruction, for the beast is a personification of Satan. Satan also ‘was, and is not (he is bound) and will come’. He is revealed through the beast.
The New Testament portrays Satan in two ways, it portrays him as active (e.g. Eph 6:16; 1Pe 5:8; 2Co 11:14) yet bound (Mat 12:28-29), powerful (1Pe 5:8; Jud 1:9) yet restrained (2Th 2:6-7; Jas 4:7), in the air (Eph 2:2) but fallen from heaven (Luk 10:18). He is limited in what he can do but is nevertheless like a roaring lion looking for those victims he is permitted to devour (1Pe 5:8 compare 2Ti 4:17). All these pictures are in human terms. However Satan is not human, nor confined to a human form, but is spirit, so we must not press the figures too literally. What is important is to realise that he is continually seen as acting, and yet acting under restraint. There is a limit beyond which he is not permitted to go.
Those ‘whose names are written in the book of life from the foundation of the world’ see him for what he is, but to those who dwell on earth (non-Christians) he is mysterious and powerful, attractive because of the mysteries of his ways, and very intriguing.
‘The one whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world.’ This is the one who believes in and follows the Beast. But the corollary is that the names of true Christians have been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. As Eph 1:4 says, ‘according as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world’. Here is where the confidence of God’s people lies, that each one of them has been chosen by God before the foundation of the world with their names recorded in the Lamb’s book of life (compare Rev 13:8). Each one of them has been ‘foreknown’ by Him, that is, He has entered into relationship with them from the beginning (Rom 8:29).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The mystery of the woman:
v. 7. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
v. 8. The beast that thou sawest was and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition; and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was and is not and yet is. The angel noticed the look of horrified wonder on the face of John, and hastened to enlighten him: And the angel said unto me, For what reason didst thou wonder? I shall tell thee the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her that has the seven heads and the ten horns. The angel himself undertakes to explain to the seer what he could not have guessed or explained, to reveal the mystery of the great harlot and of the beast that served as beast of burden for her shameless self and the abominations of her filth.
The angel now first explains the meaning of the beast: The beast that thou sawest was and is not, and will ascend out of the abyss and go into perdition; and they that live on the earth will marvel, whose name is not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that it was and is not, and yet is present. Here is the first step in the solution of the mystery which causes the harlot, the kingdom of Anti-Christ, to be connected with the beast, the Roman Empire. For it is the Roman Empire upon which the Church of Anti-Christ is sitting, in itself a continuation of the ancient Roman world empire. For the latter was before the kingdom of Anti-Christ; then it came to an end in 476, when the Germanic hordes conquered Rome; then, to the great surprise of all those that have its mark on their foreheads, it arose out of the abyss once more; it was revealed in all its hideousness by the Reformation and has lost its unlimited influence; and yet it is present to this day, being destined to eternal perdition on the last day.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Rev 17:7-14. And the angel said unto me, &c. It was not thought sufficient to represent these things only in vision, and therefore theangel undertakes to explain the mystery, the mystic sense or secret meaning of the woman and of the beast that carrieth her: and the angel’s interpretation is indeed the best key to the Revelations; the best clue to direct and conduct us through this intricate labyrinth. The mystery of the beast is first explained. The beast is considered first in general, Rev 17:8. under a threefold state or succession, as existing, and then ceasing to be, and then reviving again, so as to become another and the same:he was, and is not, and yet is, or, according to the Alexandrine and other copies, and shall come;shall ascend out of the bottomless pit. A beast, in the prophetic style, is an idolatrous, tyrannical empire: and the Roman empire was idolatrous under the heathen emperors; and then ceased to be so, for some time, under the Christian emperors; and then became idolatrous again under the Roman pontiffs, and so has continued ever since. It is the sameidolatrous power revived again, but only in another form; and all the corrupt part of mankind, whose names were not enrolled as good citizens in the registers of heaven, are pleased at the revival of it: but in this last form, it shall go into perdition; it shall not, as it did before, cease for a time, and revive again, but shall be destroyed for ever.
After the general account of the beast, follows an explanation of the particular emblems, with a short preface, intimating that they are deserving of the deepest attention, and are a proper exercise and trial of the understanding, Rev 17:9. See Rev 13:18. The seven heads have a double signification:they are, primarily, seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth,on which the capital city is seated, which all know to be the situation of Rome. It is observed too, that new Rome, or Constantinople, is situated on seven mountains, but these are very rarely mentioned, and mentioned only by obscure authors, in comparison of the others; and besides the seven mountains, other particulars also must coincide, which cannot be found in Constantinople. It is evident therefore, that the city seated on the seven mountains must be Rome; and a plainer description could not be given of it, without expressing the name, which there might be several wise reasons for concealing. As the seven heads signify seven mountains, so they also signify seven kings reigning over them: Rev 17:10-11. And they are seven kings, or kingdoms, or forms of government, as the word imports. Five are fallen; five of these forms of government are already past; and one is;the sixth is now subsisting. The five fallen, are kings, and consuls, and dictators, and decemvirs, and military tribunes with consular authority; as they are enumerated by the two greatest Roman historians, Livy and Tacitus:the sixth is the power of the Caesars or emperors, which was subsisting at the time of the vision. An end was put to the imperial name in the year 476, by Odoacer king of the Heruli: he and his successors assumed the title of kings of Italy; but though the name was changed, the power still continued much the same. This therefore cannot well be called a new form of government; it may rather be considered as a continuation of the imperial power, or as a renovation of the kingly authority. Consuls are reckoned but one form of government, though their office was frequently suspended, and after a time restored; and in the same manner kings may be counted but one form of government, though the name was resumed after an interval of so many years. A new form of government was not erected, till Rome fell under the obedience of the Eastern emperor; and the emperor’s lieutenant, the exarch of Ravenna, dissolved all the former magistracies, and constituted a duke of Rome, to govern the people, and to pay a tribute to the exarchate of Ravenna. Rome had never experienced this form of government; and this was, perhaps, the other, which, in the apostle’s days, was not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. For Rome was reduced to a dukedom, tributary to the exarch of Ravenna, by Longinus, who was sent exarch in the year 566, or 568; and the city revolted from the Eastern emperor to the Pope in the year 727, which is a short space, in comparison of the imperial power which preceded, and lasted above five hundred years; and in comparison of the papal power which followed, and has now continued above a thousand years. But still it may be doubted, whether this is properlya new form of government, Rome being still subject to the imperial power, by being subject to the Greek emperor’s deputy, the exarch of Ravenna; and according as you determine this point, the beast that was, and is not, (was, while idolatrous, and was not, while not idolatrous,) will appear to be the seventh or eighth. If you reckon this a new form of government, the beast that now is, is the eighth; if you do not reckon this a new form of government, the beast is of the seventh; but whether he be the seventh or eighth, he is the last form of government,and goeth into perdition. It appears evidently, that the sixth form of government, which was subsisting in St. John’s time, was the imperial; and what form of government has succeeded to that in Rome, and has continued for a long space of time, but the papal? The beast, therefore, upon which the woman rideth, is the Roman government in its last form: and this, all must acknowledge, is the papal, and not the imperial. Having thus explained the mystery of the seven heads, the angel proceeds to the explanation of the ten horns, which, says he, (Rev 17:12.) are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet; and consequently they were not in being at the time of the vision: and indeed theRoman empire was not divided into ten kingdoms, till some time after it was become Christian. But they receive power as kings one hour, or rather, at the same time, or for the same length of time with the beast. It is true in both senses, they rise and fall together with the beast; and, consequently, are not to be reckoned before the rise and establishment of the beast; and accordingly, when a catalogue was produced of these ten kings or kingdoms in the notes upon Daniel, they were exhibited as they stood in the eighth century, which is the time of the rise and establishment of the beast. Kingdoms they were before, but they were not before kingdoms or horns of the beast, till they embraced his religion, and submitted to his authority: and the beast strengthened them, as they again strengthened the beast. It is upon the seventh, or last head of the beast, that the horns were seen growing together, that is, upon the Roman empire in its seventh or last form of government; and they are not, like the heads, successive, but contemporary kingdoms:These, have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast; Rev 17:13. which is easily understood and applied to the princes and states in communion with the church of Rome. However they may differ in other respects,yet they agree in submitting implicitly to the authority of the Roman church, and in defending its rights and prerogatives against all opposers. But where were ever ten kings or kingdoms, who were all unanimous in their submission to the Roman empire, and voluntarily contributed their power and strength, their forces and riches, to support and maintain it? These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, Rev 17:14. They shall persecute the true church of Christ; but the true church shall in the end prevail and triumph over them; which particulars have been fulfilled in part already, and will be more fully accomplished hereafter.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Rev 17:7-14 . The question of the angel, , introduces the intended interpretation just as the question of the elders (Rev 7:13 ), only that here the angel expects no answer whatever of John, but immediately himself promises: , . . . This announcement marks that the two chief forms, the woman and the beast, which of course are explained each by themselves, as they symbolize subjects that are actually different, the world- city and the world- kingdom , nevertheless belong together essentially; there is but one mystery, the mystery “of the woman and of the beast.” Although the woman and the beast are distinguished, the present description remains, therefore, in essential agreement with that of ch 13. Nevertheless, the inner connection between the woman and the beast is expressed by the fact that the woman is seated upon the beast, ( . ., cf. Rev 17:3 .) In perfect harmony with this is the circumstance that the beast is first (Rev 17:8 ) explained, and only then, that which is more special, which is first received from that further conception, the form of the woman.
Of the beast which John saw (Rev 17:3 sqq.), it is said: , . . ., and this is again expressed as a foundation for the astonishment of the inhabitants of the earth: [3848] . This summary which simply means “shall be,” but in which an intimation of a parousia of the beast, to be opposed to the parousia of the Lord, [3849] dare be sought the less as the expression is lacking in the Apoc. briefly comprehends what was previously described in such a way that also the last end of the beast again coming forth might be designated therewith ( .
). Finally, the important point of the interpretation which, of course, is not itself without mystery, but is given after the manner of Rev 13:18 , because of which, also, just as there, the allusion (Rev 17:9 ) is justified, in that it here pertains to an understanding endowed with wisdom recurs for the third time in Rev 17:11 , where, notwithstanding the more minute determination that the beast is to return in the person of a true king, yet the identity of the subject is unmistakably designated by the formulas and . That explanation, therefore, is utterly mistaken, which understands the beast (Rev 17:11 ) differently from in Rev 17:8 (and Rev 17:3 ); in no way is the distinction possible that is at one time Satan himself, and directly afterwards antichrist. [3850] For the more accurate explanation of the subject; see on Rev 17:10 ; Rev 17:18 . In phraseology, the genitive in Rev 17:8 is remarkable. Entirely similar is the construction neither of Luk 8:20 , where the absolute gen. is in meaning construed with the impersonal , nor of Mat 1:18 , [3851] where the absolute genitive construction precedes, and then, by a variation of construction, the subject is derived entirely from the first member ( ), which is not modified by the parenthetical limitation . In this passage, however, the definite subject precedes, and the clause . . . explains what is predicated of those ( ), so that, according to the symmetry of the construction, only the nom. can be expected; but the gen. is occasioned by the gen. parenthetical clause , . . ., even though it dare not also be said that the , . . ., is expressly construed into the relative clause. [3852] The nearest indication given within ch. 17, which is also in harmony with ch. 13, for the understanding of what is said concerning the beast in Rev 17:8 (and Rev 17:11 ), lies in Rev 17:9 sq., where the seven heads of the beast are interpreted: “The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth, and there are seven kings.” [3853] The seven heads, therefore, which in Rev 12:3 , Rev 13:1 sqq., where they appeared adorned with crowns, indicated royal sovereigns, receive here a twofold reference: [3854] thereby both seven mountains and seven kings are to be understood. In connection with the heads appearing here without crowns, the first reference is without difficulty; while the other to the seven kings, which indeed is not indicated here by crowns, nevertheless finds an essentially identical foundation with Rev 13:1 sqq. in the description of the regal magnificence of the woman who sits upon the beast with seven heads. But at the same time, the reference to the seven mountains on which the woman sits serves to interpret the mystery of the woman and of the beast; for if, by the woman, the city mistress of the world (Rev 17:8 ), of the Gentile empire forcing all inhabitants of the earth beneath her, be meant, and this city is designated as lying on seven hills, this significant point of the interpretation can be referred only to “the seven-hilled city,” to Rome, just as what is said (Rev 17:8 ; Rev 17:10-11 ) concerning the relations of the , in complete harmony with Rev 12:3 , Rev 13:1 sqq., applies only to the Roman rulers of the world. Mysteriously, therefore, as this interpretation sounds, yet the first reference of the seven heads to the seven well-known mountains has been made prominent with the manifest intent to actually attest the interpretation promised in Rev 17:7 .
Accordingly the seven hills are not themselves taken into further consideration; the interpretation stops (Rev 17:10 sq.) with the seven kings. The transferal, already mentioned on Rev 12:3 and Rev 13:1 sqq., of the textual idea of seven , i.e., of seven persons who possess a kingdom, and that, too, the dominion of the world, to that of seven kingdoms or phases of the dominion of the world, depends, in Andr. and Beda, as well as in Hofmann, Ebrard, Hengstenb., and Auberlen, [3855] upon the presumption that the “temporal-historical” explanation of Hammond, Grot., Wetstein, Eichhorn, Ewald, Lcke, De Wette, Bleek, etc., removes the biblical conception of Apocalyptic prophecy. [3856] That this opposition is justified in one chief point, has been already referred to on Rev 13:3 ; but exegetically incorrect, and without foundation in a further theological respect to the idea of prophetical inspiration, is the opposition to the acknowledgment of the fact that the entire force of the context allows the to be regarded only as concrete personalities, and then, that the form in general of the antichristian world-power hovering before the prophetic gaze is that of the heathen-Roman Empire. The first has been correctly understood, e.g., by Coccejus, whom Auberlen certainly will not accuse of the “temporal-historical” exposition of the Apoc., and has turned it to the advantage of his “ecclesiastical-historical” exposition: “The seven kings,” says Coccejus, “are the primates of the churches of Alexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch, Constantinople, Rome, France, and Spain.” On the other hand, however, many “temporal-historical” expositors cross over into the sphere of the “ecclesiastical-historical,” by finding, especially in Rev 17:12 ; Rev 17:16 , predictions concerning the incursions of the Goths, etc. [3857] That the are actually, as the expression declares, [3858] seven persons invested with the , results especially from the description, Rev 17:10 (
), and most of all from Rev 17:11 , since here the entire sense depends upon the fact that the still future eight kings are contemplated as the human-personal manifestation of the whole beast.
Five of the seven kings “are fallen,” i.e., dead; “the one,” therefore the sixth in the series, “is,” i.e., he at present possesses the , “the other,” therefore the last of the seven, “is not yet come,” he is not yet in possession of the , he has not yet made his appearance as : but he shall come as the seventh, “and when he cometh, [3859] he must continue a short space;” i.e., his dominion shall soon come to an end. [3860] But the seventh is followed by yet another, the eighth (Rev 17:11 ), who cannot be symbolized by a particular head on the beast, [3861] because, although connected with the seven ( ), yet he has a different position from all those; he is not as one in their series, but in his person is the embodiment of the beast himself; he himself is the one in whom the beast rising out of the abyss, [3862] which now “is not,” shall again appear, of which also it shall then be said, just as Rev 17:8 of the beast as such: , i.e., by the judgment at the Lord’s coming, he shall be delivered to everlasting destruction, and thus with him, then, the beast himself shall perish.
Before the expressions made in Rev 17:8-11 concerning the beast and the seven (eight) kings are explained by their combination with one another, and with what is contained in Rev 13:1 sqq., the meaning of the phrase must be established. Hengstenb.’s explanation is incorrect: “His fate is that of the seven, viz., he must fall, he goes to ruin.” Too general is the explanation that the eighth the eighth kingdom, as it is said is to be of the same nature as the seven. [3863] But, on the other hand, the explanation which forms a decisive point in Ewald, De Wette, Volkm., Hilgenf., and the other expositors, who in the eighth king recognize the returned Nero, [3864] is not compatible with the words of the text. The formula is supposed to declare: “He is one of the seven.” He has thus, and that, too, as one of the five fallen, already once existed, and shall return as a true king. [3865] But the more peculiar the idea, the more necessary would its unambiguous expression have been; and this would have been very easy to John; he would have written, according to the linguistic usage altogether customary with him, [3866] . The fable of the return of Nero, which, in its actual foundations, must be regarded as far removed from Rev 13:3 , is also here unjustified in a simply exegetical respect. Grot., has shown the correct way, [3867] by explaining the with a comparison of Rom 9:10 ; Mat 1:3 ; Mat 1:5-6 ; Luk 1:27 : “The son of one of them.” It is noticeable also that Andr. was led by his cultivated Greek taste to what is at least in a formal respect a similar explanation: . Yet both explanations attempt too much by presupposing a text which must read: . All that is correct is the acknowledgment that the formula expresses “descent from the seven.” John does not lay emphasis upon the circumstance that the eighth arose from one of the seven, although this is in fact correct, but that he who to a certain extent, as the personification of the entire beast, corresponds to all seven, has himself his human-personal origin from these seven. The seven in their entirety are therefore contrasted with the eighth, which is the embodiment of the entire beast. [3868]
[3848] Cf. Rev 13:3 ; Rev 13:8 ; Rev 13:12 .
[3849] Beng.
[3850] Against Beda, Andr., etc.
[3851] Cf. Winer, p. 195.
[3852] Cf. De Wette.
[3853] On the Hebraistic combination of the relative with the demonstrative , cf. Rev 12:6 ; Rev 12:14 .
[3854] Incorrectly, Hengstenb.: “The mountains are here, as everywhere in the Apoc., meant symbolically, as a designation of kingdoms or reigns; so that consequently, by the one symbol, that of the heads, only another symbol, that of the mountains, is symbolized, and so that what is properly meant, viz., , should be designated.
[3855] Hofm. and Ebrard enumerate Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Macedonia, Antiochus Epiph., as the five fallen, the Roman as the present sixth kingdom. Hengstenb. and Auberlen enumerate as fallen, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece; they also regard the present sixth kingdom as the Roman. At all events, in order to correspond somewhat better with the text (Luthardt), besides the first five kingdoms, their representative sovereigns may also be named (Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Alexander the Great, Antiochus Epiphanes). But already in the sixth place, Luth. does not mention a definite person, but only “the Roman emperor,” and then in the seventh period necessarily finds prefigured “the present period of the European system of governments.” Klief. explains upon the basis of Auberlen and Hengstenb., interpreting according to Daniel, the seven reigns as the kingdom of ten, with antichrist arising therefrom. This is the Germano-Christian kingdom of ten, by which the Roman Empire, wounded to death, is dissolved, from whose dismemberment then antichrist develops.
[3856] Cf. Introduction, p. 32 sqq.
[3857] Cf. Grot., etc.
[3858] Cf. also Rev 17:12 sqq.: .
[3859] ; cf. Rev 12:4 .
[3860] On the , cf. Rev 1:1 .
[3861] Against Vitr., who maintains that there is a true head of a beast, and against Hengstenb., who (as also Klief., p. 218) in the seventh head finds at the same time the eighth.
[3862] Cf. Rev 11:7 .
[3863] Primas: “Lest you regard him of another class, it has been added, ‘He is of the seven.’ ” Beng. Cf. also Vitr., etc.
[3864] Cf. Hofm., who refers it to the return of Antiochus Epiphanes; also Luthardt and Ebrard, who, abandoning the idea of any express personality, substitute the restoration of the dynasty of the Seleucidae.
[3865] Cf. Rev 13:3 .
[3866] Cf. Rev 5:5 , Rev 6:1 , Rev 7:13 , Rev 13:3 , Rev 17:1 , Rev 21:9 . Cf. also Joh 11:49 ; Joh 13:21 .
[3867] Cf. also Hammond.
[3868] Also against Hilgenf.
The historical illustration of Rev 17:8-11 depends upon the presumption undoubtedly given by the context from ch. 13, ay, already from ch. 12, that the beast is a symbol of the heathen-Roman secular power, and that the symbolized by the heads of the beast are not kingdoms, but royal persons, viz., Roman emperors. How these are to be reckoned, is shown from Rev 17:8 and Rev 17:10 , with a comparison of Rev 13:3 . Ch. 17 (Rev 17:3 ; Rev 17:7 ) also recalls the significant distinction between the numbers seven of the heads and ten of the horns, even though a new application be made here of the ten horns. Ch. 17, however, perfectly harmonizes with ch. 13 in the description of the seven heads in themselves, and their relation to the beast. That the beast “that was,” at present “is not,” [3869] and yet is, in so far as at present one of his heads, i.e., the sixth , “is,” after the five “are fallen,” harmonizes with what is said in Rev 13:3 , that one of the heads was wounded to death, but was again healed. But hereby we reach the standpoint from which, looking backward, we enumerate the five fallen rulers with certainty, and at the same time, looking forward, can recognize the seventh and eighth rulers. The enumerations of Hammond and Grotius, [3870] of Wetst., [3871] and of Rinck, [3872] are, apart from other reasons, incorrect, partly because the subject considered is, in no way, under what individual emperor the Roman secular power shall for the first time be hostilely opposed to the Christians, [3873] and partly because among the seven heads, the three usurpers, Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, indicated by horns, [3874] dare not be reckoned
The enumeration of Roman secular rulers, intended by the writer of the Apocalypse, is not to be determined from the first, so that it could be doubtful whether the series is to be begun with Caesar [3875] or with Augustus, [3876] but from the fifth and sixth, i.e., from the point of time designated as present, in which the mortal wound of one head (viz., the fifth) appears healed, or in which, after five sovereigns have fallen, the sixth is now there. But this description [3877] corresponds with the situation in which the Roman Empire was when Vespasian undertook its control, although he was not yet in indisputable possession of it. Vespasian is therefore the sixth sovereign; before him five have fallen,
Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero; Titus follows as the seventh; the eighth, in whom the beast himself is embodied, is Domitian.
[3869] Incorrect are all interpretations whereby the concrete historical references to the relations of the Roman Empire are avoided; as, e.g., Andr., who by the (Rev 17:8 ) understands Satan, and explains: by the manifestation, especially by the death, of Christ, the beast is annihilaied. Cf. Beda, C. a Lap., Zeger, etc. Marlorat. and other Protestants interpret: “Heathen Rome is gone; Papal Rome is here, but its secular dominion is in itself nothing” ( ). Cf. Luther’s gloss: “The Roman Empire is, and yet is not; for it is not the whole, but, since its fall, has been reproduced by the Pope.” He interprets the “one” (Rev 17:10 ) as referring to Germany; the “short space,” to Spain; the beast (Rev 17:11 ), to Rome; and the ten kings (Rev 17:12 ), to Hungary, etc. In violation of the context, Weiss, p. 44, explains the idea of the being, with respect to the not being, by the designation of the antichristian nature and power, whence then what is erroneous is inferred.”
[3870] 1. Claudius. 2. Nero. 3. Galba. 4. Otho. 5. Vitellius. 6. Vespasian. 7. Titus. 8. Domitian.
[3871] 1. Caesar. 2. Augustus. 3. Tiberius. 4. Caligula. 5. Claudius. 6. Nero. 7. Galba. 8. Otho.
[3872] 1. Caligula. 2. Claudius. 3. Nero. 4. Vespasian. 5. Titus. 6. Domitian. 7. Nero. “And this applies likewise as a prophetic indefinite ‘one’ to the succeeding emperors until the downfall of the Roman Empire.”
[3873] Against Hamm., Grot., Rinck.
[3874] Cf. Rev 12:3 , Rev 13:1 .
[3875] Cf. Sueton., Vitae XII. Caesarum .
[3876] Cf. Tacit., Ann ., I. i.; Hist ., I. i. Lcke, p. 839.
[3877] Cf. on Rev 13:3 .
There is presented, therefore, in Rev 17:10 sqq. a prediction, which definitely announces beforehand certain historical circumstances. For its understanding, [3878] it is to be remarked: 1. The chief points of the prediction viz., that Vespasian should be succeeded by his two sons, Titus as the seventh, Domitian as the eighth ruler; that Titus will remain for a short time; and that Domitian will come forth as a personification of the entire beast have developed upon the basis of temporal relations present in the prophet in such a way that the prophecy directed to special facts has yet nothing magical or mantic, but remains of an ethical nature. The natural presupposition and accommodation for the ethical genesis of the prophecy was in John the same as in Josephus, as the latter promised the government to Vespasian and his son Tiberius, even before Vespasian had decided to assume the empire. [3879] How extraordinarily Vespasian, and the sons of such men like Otho and Vitellius, were esteemed in every respect, was manifest already ever since the expedition to Britain: [3880] the Syrian expedition had still further increased the reputation and authority of the Flavians. But for the points of the prophecy that Titus, as successor of his father, would reign but for a short time, and that Domitian, proceeding from the seven, a son of Vespasian, would come forth from the abyss as an incarnation of the beast, the natural foundation was already present. Domitian’s insolent, barbarous, and imperious disposition manifested itself already during the Vitellian war: [3881] it was naturally to be expected that he would be just such a sovereign as he actually afterwards showed himself to be. [3882] John, in prophesying a short reign for Titus, possibly expected what was always impending during his reign; [3883] viz., that Domitian would soon dethrone his brother Titus, and assume the government himself. 2. John erred in the expectation, that, with Domitian, the Roman Empire would perish. The singular error proves, of course, a certain imperfection of prophetic character in the writer of the Apocalypse, yet by no means entirely annihilates it. [See Note LXX., p. 386, on ch. Rev 13:2 .]
[3878] Cf. Introduction, p. 33 sqq., 39 sqq.
[3879] Josephus, Jewish War , iii. 8.
[3880] Cf. Dio Cassius, Hist. Rom ., ed. Jo. Leunclav., p. 736.
[3881] Cf. Sueton., Domit ., I.: “But he exercised the entire power of his dominion so licentiously, as then already to show what he was to be.”
[3882] “A pernicions tyrant,” Eutrop., II. Rom ., VIII. 1; “A portion of Nero as to cruelty,” Tertullian, Apolog. , 5.
[3883] Sueton., Tit ., 9: “His brother, i.e., Domitian, not ceasing to lay plots for him, but almost avowedly inciting the army, he did venture meditating flight, either to slay or to banish, or to have even in less honor, but, as from the first day of his reign, continued to attest that he was his associate and successor, sometimes beseeching him secretly with tears and prayers, that he at length wished to live in mutual affection with him.”
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
Rev 17:7-18 . The interpretation of the angel (Rev 17:1 ) as to how the vision (Rev 17:1 ; Rev 17:6 ) has manifested two chief figures, follows in two paragraphs (Rev 17:7-14 and Rev 17:15-18 ), which are separated by the formula , [3847] repeated in Rev 17:15 .
[3847] Cf. the ., Rev 17:7 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
(7) And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. (8) The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. (9) And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. (10) And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. (11) And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. (12) And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. (13) These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
There can be no doubt, but that when the whole of this blessed book of prophecy comes to be unfolded, every minute circumstance concerning it, will appear to the Church, as plain, that we shall only wonder at our dullness of apprehension, in not having discovered it before. But certain it is, that what is here said is not rendered so perfectly clear at present, as that the whole is level to our thoughts. That the seven kings are those that worship the beast, we can easily conceive, and that both those that receive the mark of the beast, as well as the beast and false prophet, shall finally be cast into the bottomless pit, these are truths we can readily apprehend. But concerning the beast that was, and is not, and yet is, and the eighth that shall arise and go into perdition, together with those other ten kings, who receive power for one hour with the beast, these things have called forth a great variety of opinions, but there are none on which we can lean with a certainty of assurance, that they are correct. I therefore pass them all by, and desire not to, be wise above what is written.
In the place therefore of writing upon mere conjecture and supposition, I would beg to offer a short observation which the present moment seems to furnish, and which, if I am correct, may be profitable. I assume for granted, (what I venture to conclude, none but the worshippers of the beast will deny,) that the woman which John saw sitting upon the great waters, is Papal Rome, and if so, the late wonderful events very clearly manifest, that the Lord’s purpose concerning this heresy, hath undergone a great change within the last thirty years! To what a humiliating state was this Anti-Christian power brought, before a late change raised her up again. Now, the prophet Daniel, speaks of the scattering of the power of the holy people, and then all these things shall be finished, Dan 12:7 .
And that Daniel had one and the same object in view, and John and Daniel were both taught by the same Holy Spirit is most certain, by comparing Dan 12:7 with Rev 12:14 . Hence, therefore, I am inclined to believe that the late humbling of this Anti-Christian power, is only preparatory to a greater extent of power than she hath ever yet had, and as the language she useth in the next Chapter, seems to imply. And, thus, just before her final overthrow, she shall exult in her security, and seem to bid defiance to heaven and earth. She saith in her heart, I sit as a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow, Rev 18:7 . This appears to me to be her present language, in consequence of the recent lifting up, after her former depression. I shall rejoice, if it be the Lord’s will, and for the Lord’s glory, that I am mistaken in my expectation, and that she will not arise higher. But the scattering of the power of the holy people, which the Prophet speaks of, hath not in my view taken place, neither are the two witnesses slain, neither hath the sixth vial been as yet been poured out. All these events appear to me, to be first expected, before that this intoxicated woman will have her plagues come upon her in one hour; and her everlasting destruction follow. And here for the present I leave this subject.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
Ver. 7. Wherefore didst thou marvel? ] Nil admirari prope res est una, Numici. We wonder at things out of ignorance of the causes of them. Hinc admiratio peperit philosophiam.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
7 18 .] Explanation by the angel of the mystery of the woman and of the beast . And first, 7 14 .] of the beast . And the angel said to me, Wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell to thee the mystery (which, be it noted, is but one) of the woman and of the wild-beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns. The beast which thou sawest, was, and is not, and shall come up out of the abyss and goeth to perdition (these words have been a very battle-field for apocalyptic expositors, whose principal differing interpretations are far too long to be given at all intelligibly here, but will be seen best in their own works, and compendiously but fairly stated in the notices in Mr. Elliott’s fourth volume. What is here required, is that I should give a consistent account of that solution which I have been myself led to adopt. 1) It will not be supposed, with the general view which I have taken of the beast as the secular persecuting power, that I am prepared to accede to that line of interpretation which makes the whole vision merely descriptive of the Seer’s own time, and of the Roman emperors then past, present, and expected. Against such a view it seems to me the whole imagery and diction of the vision protest: and this it will be my endeavour to shew as each of their details comes under my notice. If, as universally acknowledged, our prophecy be a taking up and continuation of that of Daniel, then we are dealing with larger matters and on a wider scale than such a limited interpretation would imply. 2) Nor again, after the meaning assigned above to the harlot and her title, will it be expected that I should agree with those who take her as, according to the letter of our Rev 17:18 , strictly confined in meaning to the material city of Rome. She is that city: but she is also . She is herself a harlot, an apostate and faithless church; but she is also a mother : from her spring, of her nature partake, with her shall be destroyed, all the fornications and abominations of the earth, though they be not in Rome, though they be not called by her name, though in outward semblance they quarrel with and oppose her. 3) The above remarks will lead their intelligent reader to expect, that the present words of our text, which are in the main reproductive of the imagery of ch. Rev 13:1-4 , will be interpreted as those were interpreted, not of mere passing events and persons, but of world-wide and world-long empires and changes. 4) Having thus indicated the line of interpretation which I shall follow, I reserve the details for Rev 17:10 , where they necessarily come before us): and they shall wonder who dwell upon the earth, of whom the name is not written upon (the accus. as so often in this book) the book of life from the foundation of the world (these latter words, even in ordinary N. T. Greek, would belong to , and the art. would be wanted to connect them with . But it is by no means certain, in the loose Greek of the Apocalypse, whether these accuracies must be insisted on. Judging by the analogy of ch. Rev 13:8 (see note there), . belongs to that which immediately precedes it: as indeed it does in every place where it occurs in which its connexion might be ambiguous. I prefer therefore to follow analogy, rather than to insist on philological accuracy in a book where its rules are manifestly not observed), seeing (the reader expects , to agree with : but instead, we have , agreeing with by attraction) the beast that he was and is not and shall come again (see for full explanation, below on Rev 17:9-10 ). Here ( is ) the mind that hath wisdom (by these words, as in ch. Rev 13:18 , attention is bespoken, and spiritual discernment challenged, for that which follows). The seven heads are seven mountains, where (= , on which) the woman sitteth ( upon them ) ( , the well-known Hebraistic redundancy of construction after , here expressed by .
By these words, no less plainly than by Rev 17:18 , Rome is pointed out. Propertius, iii. 11. 57, by a remarkable coincidence, unites both descriptions in one line: “Septem urbs alta jugis, toto qu prsidet orbi.” The more remarkable out of the very many testimonies to Rome being thus known, are those of Horace, Carmen Seculare, 7, “Di quibus septem placuere colles:” Virg. n. vi. 782, “Illa inclyta Roma Imperium terris, animos quabit Olympo, Septemque una sibi muro circumdabit arces:” where Servius annotates, “alii dicunt breves septem colliculos a Romulo inclusos, qui tamen aliis nominibus appellabantur: alii volunt hos ipsos qui nunc sunt a Romulo inclusos, hoc est Palatinum, Quirinalem, Aventinum, Clium, Viminalem, squilinum, et Janicularem.” See also Georg. ii. 534: Cicero, ad Att. vi. 5, : Martial iv. 64, speaking of Julius Martial’s gardens on the Janiculum, “Hinc septem dominos videre montes, Et totam licet stimare Romam:” Varro de L. L. iv., “Dies Septimontium nominatus ab his septem montibus in queis sita Roma est:” and so Plutarch, Probl. Rom. p. 280 D, , . See very many more in Wetst., and a copious catena of citations in Bp. Wordsworth’s Letters to M. Gondon on the Church of Rome, Let. xi. Also the coin of Vespasian figured in Elliott, vol. iv. p. 30): and they are seven kings (let us weigh well the significance of this indication furnished by the angel. The seven heads have a reference to the woman , who sits upon the beast to whom they belong: and, as far as this reference is concerned, they are hills, on which she sits . But they have also another reference to the beast, of which they are the heads: and as far as this other reference is concerned, they are kings . Not, be it noticed, kings over the woman, nor kings of the city symbolized by her: but kings in a totally different relation, viz. that to the beast, of which they are heads. So that to interpret these kings as emperors of Rome , or as successive forms of government over Rome , is to miss the propriety of the symbolism and to introduce utter confusion. They belong to the beast , which is not Rome, nor the Roman Empire, but a general symbol of secular antichristian power. They are in substance the same seven crowned heads which we saw on the dragon in ch. Rev 12:3 ; the same which we saw, with names of blasphemy on them, on the beast of ch. Rev 13:1 , to whom the dragon gave his power and his throne). The five (i. e. the first five out of the seven) fell (Angl., “are fallen.” Of whom is this word used? Is it one likely to be chosen to describe the mere passing away of king after king in an empire more or less settled? One appropriate to Augustus and Tiberius, who died in their beds? Or again is it one which could well be predicated of the government by consuls, which had been absorbed into the imperial power, or of that by dictators, which had merely ceased ad tempus sumi , because it had become perpetual in the person of one man? Had Roman emperors been meant by the seven kings, or successive stages of government over Rome (even supposing these last made out, which they never have been), we should in vain have sought any precedent, or any appropriate meaning, for this : “have passed away” would be its constrained and unexampled sense. But let the analogy of Scripture and of this book itself guide us, and our way will be clear enough. is the cry over Babylon herself. is used in the LXX constantly, and by Theod. in ref. Dan., of the violent fall, the overthrow, either of kings or of kingdoms: it is a word belonging to domination overthrown, to glory ruined, to empire superseded. If I understand these five of individual successive kings, if I understand them of forms of government adopted and laid down on occasion, I can give no account of this verb: but if I understand them of forms of empire, one after another heading the antichristian secular power, one after another violently overthrown and done away, I have this verb in its right place and appropriate sense. Egypt is fallen, the first head of the beast that persecuted God’s people, Ezekiel 29, 30; Nineveh is fallen, the bloody city, Nah 3:1-19 ; Babylon is fallen, the great enemy of Israel, Isa 21:9 ; Jeremiah 50, 51, al.: Persia is fallen, Dan 10:13 ; Dan 11:2 ; Grcia is fallen, Dan 11:3-4 . Thus, and as it seems to me thus only, can we do justice to the expression. Nor is any force done thus to , but on the contrary it is kept to its strict prophetic import, and to the analogy of that portion of prophecy which is here especially in view. For in Dan 7:17 we read these great beasts which are four are four kings, ; not , as LXX and Theodotion), the one is (the Roman ), the other (required to complete the seven) is not yet come (I agree with Auberlen, der Prophet Daniel, pp. 304 ff., in regarding this seventh as the Christian empire beginning with Constantine: during whose time the beast in his proper essence, in his fulness of opposition to God and His saints, ceases to be), and when he shall come he must remain a little time (certainly the impression we derive from these words is not as Dsterd., al., that his empire is to be of very short continuance, but the , as in ref. 1 Pet., gives the idea of some space not assigned, but vaguely thus stated as “some little time.” The idea given is rather that of duration than of non-duration. Herodotus, iv. 81, says of the river Exampus, , but it was twenty-nine chapters back. See for the usage of this book itself, ch. Rev 2:14 , Rev 3:4 ; not Rev 12:12 , where the context decides to be emphatic. Here, the stress is on , and not on : on the fact of some endurance, not on its being but short). And the beast, which was and is not (as in Rev 17:8 , whose peculiar power and essence seem suspended while the empire is Christian by profession. But observe, the seventh is for all that a veritable head, and like the others carries names of blasphemy. The beast is not actually put out of existence, but has only received a deadly wound which is again healed, see ch. Rev 13:3 , notes), he himself (or, this ) also is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth unto perdition (this eighth, the last and worst phase of the beast, is not represented as any one of his heads, but as being the beast himself in actual embodiment. He is , not, “ one of the seven,” but, the successor and result of the seven, following and springing out of them. And he does not fall like the others, but goes on and meets his own destruction at the hand of the Lord Himself. There can be little doubt in the mind of the student of prophecy, who is thus described: that it is the ultimate antichristian power, prefigured by the little horn in Daniel, and expressly announced by St. Paul, 2Th 2:3 ff., as , as , , ). And the ten horns which thou sawest, are ten kings (not necessarily personal kings: see on Rev 17:10 above: but kingdoms, regarded as summed up in their kings) which ( , kings of that kind who) have not yet received a kingdom, but receive power as kings (the is somewhat enigmatical. Auberlen suggests, whether the kingly power itself may not have passed away from these realms in the days of antichristian misrule, and thus their power be only . But this seems inconsistent with their being called . Rather I would say the represents the reservation of their kingly rights in their alliance with the beast) one hour (i. e. during the space of one hour: just as in ch. Rev 8:1 is during the space of half an hour. Some, e. g. Vitringa and Elliott, have upheld the meaning, for , of “at one and the same time with.” From the use of in ch. Rev 3:3 , we might concede such usage to be within the bare limits of possibility; though even thus the , for “one and the same with,” is a hard saying. But we are not to enquire in our exegesis, what may possibly be , but what probably is . And I venture to say that but for a preconceived opinion, no one would ever have thought of any other meaning for these words than the ordinary one, “for the space of one hour.” And thus accordingly we will take them, as signifying some definite space, unknown to us, thus designated: analogous in position to the above) together with (i. e. in conjunction with, allied with: their power will be associated with his power) the beast (who are these? The answer seems to be furnished us in Dan 7:23 ff. They are ten kingdoms which shall arise out of the fourth great kingdom there: ten European powers, which in the last time, in concert with and subjection to the antichristian power, shall make war against Christ. In the precise number and form here indicated, they have not yet arisen. It would not be difficult to point out the elements and already consolidating shapes of most of them: but in precise number we have them not as yet. What changes in Europe may bring them into the required tale and form, it is not for us to say). These have (the present is used in describing them, though they have not yet arisen) one mind (one and the same view and intent and consent), and give their might and their power to the beast (becoming his allies and moving at his beck). These shall war with the Lamb (in concert with the beast, ch. Rev 19:19 ), and the Lamb shall conquer them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and they who are with Him ( also: the verb is implied in above) called and chosen (all the called are not chosen, Matt. (Mat 20:16 ,) Rev 22:14 ; but all that are chosen are first called, 2Pe 1:10 ) and faithful (this way of taking this clause is far better than with Bengel to make . . . . into predicate, “and they that are with him are called and chosen and faithful.” For 1) it can clearly be no co-ordinate reason with the other assigned for the Lamb’s victory, that His followers are , &c., and 2) the arrangement of the sentence seems against this view, seeing that in the former case the predicate is put forward, and in this we should have expected it also: . . . . ).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rev 17:7-18 . An explanation of the vision, cautiously but clearly outlining the Nero-saga.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
marvel. As “wonder”, verses: Rev 17:6, Rev 17:8.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
7-18.] Explanation by the angel of the mystery of the woman and of the beast. And first, 7-14.] of the beast. And the angel said to me, Wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell to thee the mystery (which, be it noted, is but one) of the woman and of the wild-beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns. The beast which thou sawest, was, and is not, and shall come up out of the abyss and goeth to perdition (these words have been a very battle-field for apocalyptic expositors, whose principal differing interpretations are far too long to be given at all intelligibly here, but will be seen best in their own works, and compendiously but fairly stated in the notices in Mr. Elliotts fourth volume. What is here required, is that I should give a consistent account of that solution which I have been myself led to adopt. 1) It will not be supposed, with the general view which I have taken of the beast as the secular persecuting power, that I am prepared to accede to that line of interpretation which makes the whole vision merely descriptive of the Seers own time, and of the Roman emperors then past, present, and expected. Against such a view it seems to me the whole imagery and diction of the vision protest: and this it will be my endeavour to shew as each of their details comes under my notice. If, as universally acknowledged, our prophecy be a taking up and continuation of that of Daniel, then we are dealing with larger matters and on a wider scale than such a limited interpretation would imply. 2) Nor again, after the meaning assigned above to the harlot and her title, will it be expected that I should agree with those who take her as, according to the letter of our Rev 17:18, strictly confined in meaning to the material city of Rome. She is that city: but she is also . She is herself a harlot, an apostate and faithless church; but she is also a mother: from her spring, of her nature partake, with her shall be destroyed, all the fornications and abominations of the earth, though they be not in Rome, though they be not called by her name, though in outward semblance they quarrel with and oppose her. 3) The above remarks will lead their intelligent reader to expect, that the present words of our text, which are in the main reproductive of the imagery of ch. Rev 13:1-4, will be interpreted as those were interpreted, not of mere passing events and persons, but of world-wide and world-long empires and changes. 4) Having thus indicated the line of interpretation which I shall follow, I reserve the details for Rev 17:10, where they necessarily come before us): and they shall wonder who dwell upon the earth, of whom the name is not written upon (the accus. as so often in this book) the book of life from the foundation of the world (these latter words, even in ordinary N. T. Greek, would belong to , and the art. would be wanted to connect them with . But it is by no means certain, in the loose Greek of the Apocalypse, whether these accuracies must be insisted on. Judging by the analogy of ch. Rev 13:8 (see note there), . belongs to that which immediately precedes it: as indeed it does in every place where it occurs in which its connexion might be ambiguous. I prefer therefore to follow analogy, rather than to insist on philological accuracy in a book where its rules are manifestly not observed), seeing (the reader expects , to agree with : but instead, we have , agreeing with by attraction) the beast that he was and is not and shall come again (see for full explanation, below on Rev 17:9-10). Here (is) the mind that hath wisdom (by these words, as in ch. Rev 13:18, attention is bespoken, and spiritual discernment challenged, for that which follows). The seven heads are seven mountains, where (= , on which) the woman sitteth (upon them) ( , the well-known Hebraistic redundancy of construction after , here expressed by .
By these words, no less plainly than by Rev 17:18, Rome is pointed out. Propertius, iii. 11. 57, by a remarkable coincidence, unites both descriptions in one line: Septem urbs alta jugis, toto qu prsidet orbi. The more remarkable out of the very many testimonies to Rome being thus known, are those of Horace, Carmen Seculare, 7, Di quibus septem placuere colles: Virg. n. vi. 782, Illa inclyta Roma Imperium terris, animos quabit Olympo, Septemque una sibi muro circumdabit arces: where Servius annotates, alii dicunt breves septem colliculos a Romulo inclusos, qui tamen aliis nominibus appellabantur: alii volunt hos ipsos qui nunc sunt a Romulo inclusos, hoc est Palatinum, Quirinalem, Aventinum, Clium, Viminalem, squilinum, et Janicularem. See also Georg. ii. 534: Cicero, ad Att. vi. 5, : Martial iv. 64, speaking of Julius Martials gardens on the Janiculum, Hinc septem dominos videre montes, Et totam licet stimare Romam: Varro de L. L. iv., Dies Septimontium nominatus ab his septem montibus in queis sita Roma est:-and so Plutarch, Probl. Rom. p. 280 D, , . See very many more in Wetst., and a copious catena of citations in Bp. Wordsworths Letters to M. Gondon on the Church of Rome, Let. xi. Also the coin of Vespasian figured in Elliott, vol. iv. p. 30): and they are seven kings (let us weigh well the significance of this indication furnished by the angel. The seven heads have a reference to the woman, who sits upon the beast to whom they belong: and, as far as this reference is concerned, they are hills, on which she sits. But they have also another reference-to the beast, of which they are the heads: and as far as this other reference is concerned, they are kings. Not, be it noticed, kings over the woman, nor kings of the city symbolized by her: but kings in a totally different relation, viz. that to the beast, of which they are heads. So that to interpret these kings as emperors of Rome, or as successive forms of government over Rome, is to miss the propriety of the symbolism and to introduce utter confusion. They belong to the beast, which is not Rome, nor the Roman Empire, but a general symbol of secular antichristian power. They are in substance the same seven crowned heads which we saw on the dragon in ch. Rev 12:3; the same which we saw, with names of blasphemy on them, on the beast of ch. Rev 13:1, to whom the dragon gave his power and his throne). The five (i. e. the first five out of the seven) fell (Angl., are fallen. Of whom is this word used? Is it one likely to be chosen to describe the mere passing away of king after king in an empire more or less settled? One appropriate to Augustus and Tiberius, who died in their beds? Or again is it one which could well be predicated of the government by consuls, which had been absorbed into the imperial power, or of that by dictators, which had merely ceased ad tempus sumi, because it had become perpetual in the person of one man? Had Roman emperors been meant by the seven kings, or successive stages of government over Rome (even supposing these last made out, which they never have been), we should in vain have sought any precedent, or any appropriate meaning, for this : have passed away would be its constrained and unexampled sense. But let the analogy of Scripture and of this book itself guide us, and our way will be clear enough. is the cry over Babylon herself. is used in the LXX constantly, and by Theod. in ref. Dan., of the violent fall, the overthrow, either of kings or of kingdoms: it is a word belonging to domination overthrown, to glory ruined, to empire superseded. If I understand these five of individual successive kings, if I understand them of forms of government adopted and laid down on occasion, I can give no account of this verb: but if I understand them of forms of empire, one after another heading the antichristian secular power, one after another violently overthrown and done away, I have this verb in its right place and appropriate sense. Egypt is fallen, the first head of the beast that persecuted Gods people, Ezekiel 29, 30; Nineveh is fallen, the bloody city, Nah 3:1-19; Babylon is fallen, the great enemy of Israel, Isa 21:9; Jeremiah 50, 51, al.: Persia is fallen, Dan 10:13; Dan 11:2; Grcia is fallen, Dan 11:3-4. Thus, and as it seems to me thus only, can we do justice to the expression. Nor is any force done thus to , but on the contrary it is kept to its strict prophetic import, and to the analogy of that portion of prophecy which is here especially in view. For in Dan 7:17 we read these great beasts which are four are four kings, ; not , as LXX and Theodotion), the one is (the Roman), the other (required to complete the seven) is not yet come (I agree with Auberlen, der Prophet Daniel, pp. 304 ff., in regarding this seventh as the Christian empire beginning with Constantine: during whose time the beast in his proper essence, in his fulness of opposition to God and His saints, ceases to be), and when he shall come he must remain a little time (certainly the impression we derive from these words is not as Dsterd., al., that his empire is to be of very short continuance, but the , as in ref. 1 Pet., gives the idea of some space not assigned, but vaguely thus stated as some little time. The idea given is rather that of duration than of non-duration. Herodotus, iv. 81, says of the river Exampus, , but it was twenty-nine chapters back. See for the usage of this book itself, ch. Rev 2:14, Rev 3:4; not Rev 12:12, where the context decides to be emphatic. Here, the stress is on , and not on : on the fact of some endurance, not on its being but short). And the beast, which was and is not (as in Rev 17:8, whose peculiar power and essence seem suspended while the empire is Christian by profession. But observe, the seventh is for all that a veritable head, and like the others carries names of blasphemy. The beast is not actually put out of existence, but has only received a deadly wound which is again healed, see ch. Rev 13:3, notes), he himself (or, this) also is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth unto perdition (this eighth, the last and worst phase of the beast, is not represented as any one of his heads, but as being the beast himself in actual embodiment. He is ,-not, one of the seven, but, the successor and result of the seven, following and springing out of them. And he -does not fall like the others, but goes on and meets his own destruction at the hand of the Lord Himself. There can be little doubt in the mind of the student of prophecy, who is thus described: that it is the ultimate antichristian power, prefigured by the little horn in Daniel, and expressly announced by St. Paul, 2Th 2:3 ff., as ,-as , , ). And the ten horns which thou sawest, are ten kings (not necessarily personal kings: see on Rev 17:10 above: but kingdoms, regarded as summed up in their kings) which (, kings of that kind who) have not yet received a kingdom, but receive power as kings (the is somewhat enigmatical. Auberlen suggests, whether the kingly power itself may not have passed away from these realms in the days of antichristian misrule, and thus their power be only . But this seems inconsistent with their being called . Rather I would say the represents the reservation of their kingly rights in their alliance with the beast) one hour (i. e. during the space of one hour: just as in ch. Rev 8:1 is during the space of half an hour. Some, e. g. Vitringa and Elliott, have upheld the meaning, for , of at one and the same time with. From the use of in ch. Rev 3:3, we might concede such usage to be within the bare limits of possibility; though even thus the , for one and the same with, is a hard saying. But we are not to enquire in our exegesis, what may possibly be, but what probably is. And I venture to say that but for a preconceived opinion, no one would ever have thought of any other meaning for these words than the ordinary one, for the space of one hour. And thus accordingly we will take them, as signifying some definite space, unknown to us, thus designated: analogous in position to the above) together with (i. e. in conjunction with, allied with: their power will be associated with his power) the beast (who are these? The answer seems to be furnished us in Dan 7:23 ff. They are ten kingdoms which shall arise out of the fourth great kingdom there: ten European powers, which in the last time, in concert with and subjection to the antichristian power, shall make war against Christ. In the precise number and form here indicated, they have not yet arisen. It would not be difficult to point out the elements and already consolidating shapes of most of them: but in precise number we have them not as yet. What changes in Europe may bring them into the required tale and form, it is not for us to say). These have (the present is used in describing them, though they have not yet arisen) one mind (one and the same view and intent and consent), and give their might and their power to the beast (becoming his allies and moving at his beck). These shall war with the Lamb (in concert with the beast, ch. Rev 19:19), and the Lamb shall conquer them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and they who are with Him ( also: the verb is implied in above) called and chosen (all the called are not chosen, Matt. (Mat 20:16,) Rev 22:14; but all that are chosen are first called, 2Pe 1:10) and faithful (this way of taking this clause is far better than with Bengel to make . . . . into predicate, and they that are with him are called and chosen and faithful. For 1) it can clearly be no co-ordinate reason with the other assigned for the Lambs victory, that His followers are, &c., and 2) the arrangement of the sentence seems against this view, seeing that in the former case the predicate is put forward, and in this we should have expected it also: . . . . ).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rev 17:7. – , of the woman-of the beast) There follows, by Chiasmus, a discussion concerning the beast, Rev 17:8-14; and, with a repetition of the short preface, and he saith to me, a discussion concerning the woman, Rev 17:15-18.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Rev 17:7-14
2. THE MYSTERY OF THE BEAST EXPLAINED
Rev 17:7-14
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell thee of the mystery of the woman, and of thebeast that carrieth her,–The angel’s question shows he knew what was in John’s mind, and his promise to explain is assurance that we are to receive a correct application of the symbol, as it applies to both the woman and the beast.
which hath the seven heads and the ten horns.–See notes on verses 10-12.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition.–The language here means that the wicked power represented by the .beast John saw had existed, did not exist, but would come into existence again. This thought is repeated at the close of this verse and is referred to in verse 11. See notes on verse 10 for full explanation. The word “abyss” refers to the abode of Satan (see Rev 9:1-2), and here the thought is that, when the beast returned in a new form, its power and presence should be attributed to Satan–that is, he would be the cause of its existence and the source of its power. The encouraging fact is here stated that this beast power would be destroyed, but when is not mentioned. On that point 2Th 2:8 shows it will be at the Lord’s coming.
And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, they whose name hath not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall come.–The events described would be so remarkable as to create surprise, challenge admiration. and lead to belief in the beast’s power, except by those written in the book of life. Those who were faithful servants of Christ and worthy of everlasting life would not be deceived. See notes on Rev 13:8. The text indicates that the thing which would cause men to wonder was the fact that a power once formidable had become practically extinct, and yet was revived with terrific strength
9 Here is the mind that hath wisdom.–This may mean either of the following: here is a symbol that will require wisdom to explain, or the explanation here given is a matter of divine wisdom. “Here is a meaning which compriseth wisdom,” is the way Moses Stuart renders the expression. This implies that the explanation given by the angel might be understood some time.
The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth:–This language continues the description of the beast mentioned in verse 3. The similarity of the description here with that of the first beast in chapter thirteen (verses 1-10) seems to render it certain that the same power is meant in both passages. The difference in the visions of the two chapters is this: the second beast (Rev 13:11-18) represents papal Rome or the apostate church; in chapter 17 this church is represented by the drunken woman. In the former case two beasts appear in the vision; in the latter, one beast and a woman. The beast shows the rapacious nature of the church ; the woman indicates the wiles with which the ignorant would be deceived. The visions vary; the facts are the same. The appearance of a drunken harlot sitting on the beast was to show the close relationship of the religious and political powers, and indicates that the apostate church was controlling the state, and operating through the means it supplied. This fact is evident from 13:12 where it is stated that the second beast “exerciseth all the authority of the first beast,” and required men to worship an image of the first beast. That the papacy claims the right to exercise or direct both religious and secular power, and did so during the time indicated by this symbol, is a matter of common knowledge that will hardly be denied. Elliott’s commentary (Vol. III, p. 131) quotes the following from Flavio Blondus, a papal writer of the fifteenth century
“The princes of the world now adore and worship as perpetual dictator the successor, no: of Caesar, but of the fisherman, Peter ; that is, the supreme Pontiff, the substitute of the afore-mentioned Emperor.”
The Encyclopedia Britannica says the fourth Lateral council (A.D. 1215), presided over by Pope Innocent III, passed the following law against heretics
“It was there decreed that all rulers should promise to tolerate no heretics within their dominions, and that any prince who should refuse to comply with an injunction of the church to purge his dominions of heresy was to be punished with excommunication, and in case of contumacy to be deposed, if necessary by force by arms.” (Vol. 13, p. 84, ninth edition.)
In November, 1302, Boniface VIII enunciated the doctrine of “papal supremacy,” affirming “that the temporal sword wielded by the monarch was borne only at the will and by the permission of the Pontiff.” (Ibid., Vol. 19, p. 501.) This is enough to show that the apostate church claims the divine right to control and direct state rulers. Hence, it fits this phase of the symbol.
Since the beast here refers to imperial or political Rome, it is not improbable that the seven hills upon which the city was built may have suggested the idea of representing the seven heads as seven mountains. The mountains could hardly Ise taken literally for the reason that the next verse says five have fallen and one was yet to come. This could not be true of literal mountains. Isaiah (Isa 2:2) described the kingdom Christ would establish as the “mountain of Jehovah’s house” ; Jeremiah (Jer 51:25) represented Babylon as a “destroying mountain.” Kingdoms or governments, then, are called mountains, but the Lord’s mountain (kingdom) is superior to all earthly governments. The language, therefore, means seven different forms of government. On the surface the words seem to say that the woman was sitting upon all seven heads at one time, but verse 10 precludes this idea by saying that five had fallen when John saw the vision. The only sense in which she could have sat on all the heads at once was that following consecutively the last one included elements of all the preceding. In this sense, of course, it was a fact.
10 and they are seven kings; –This means that the seven heads also represent seven kings–that is, they are symbolical of kings as well as mountains. But Dan 7:17; Dan 7:23 shows that prophetically king and kingdom mean the same. The king as supreme ruler represents the kingdom. This would be another way of saying the heads are emblems of seven kinds of royal governments.
the five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come;–Expositors present the widest variation of views on this verse; we have not space even to state them all. We mention three that appear to have received the most endorsements. (1) The beast is considered as the Satanic spirit of opposition as manifested in wicked kingdoms, beginning with Egypt, which was the first nation to persecute God’s people. With some variation of opinion the others are thought to be Assyria, Babylonia, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and Rome reconstituted after its fall. (2) Others take it literally and apply to the emperors individually. The same persons are not put in the list by all expositors who accept this theory. (3) Others think the heads mean different forms of the Roman government. Regardless of which theory may be accepted, those represented by the seven heads persecuted God’s people and were instigated to do so by Satan. If the “woman” represents the papal apostate church, the position here taken, then it seems that the imagery applies to Rome in its various forms. This will eliminate the second theory, for this theory applies the seven heads tothe imperial form exclusively. On the whole the third position seems most likely to be the correct view. There are two reasons that may be assigned for this: one is, that the imagery presents the struggle of the church against opposing powers, and Rome was in existence when the church was established; the other is that the picture of a beast with seven heads naturally signifies the same nation under different forms rather than different nations.
The different forms of the Roman government from its beginning till the establishment of the church are these: Kings, Consuls, Dictators, Decemvirs, Military Tribunes, and Emperors. The first five had passed away when John wrote; the imperial form, the sixth, was then in existence. This harmonizes perfectly with the language of the text; and, being the facts concerning the Roman nation, would easily be so understood by John’s contemporaries.
The seventh head to rise in the future from John’s day is not so easily located. If the woman (papacy) is to be distinguished from the beast upon which she sat (and the imagery seems to require it), then the seventh and eighth heads should both be forms of political Rome.
and when he cometh, he must continue a little while.–The sixth head being the imperial form of Rome, the seventh could not arise till that fell. This occurred when pagan Rome ended in A.D. 476. The eighth head would necessarily have to be so-called Christianized Rome dominated by the apostate church. We have already seen that the papacy became a fully established institution in the sixth century. See notes on 11:4. Whatever form of government controlled the Roman nations between A.D. 476 and the time the papal church began to dominate the political rulers was the time of the seventh head. Barnes’ commentary (p. 430) applies the seventh head to the Dukedom under the Exarchate of Ravenna, and quotes Gibbon as saying that during this period “eighteen successive exarchs were invested in the decline of the empire with the full remains of civil, of military, and even of ecclesiastical power.” Whether this be true or not, whatever form of government existed at that time would fit the demands of the symbol. Such a form continued only a little while as compared with the preceding forms or that represented by the eighth head. Here is agreement again.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goeth into perdition.–The thought here seems to be that the eighth head represents another form of government which prolonged the Roman world. Being “of the seven” means a head of the same beast of which the seven had been heads. Under the first six heads the beast had been different forms of paganism. In that form the beast ended in A.D. 476. After the “little while” of the seventh form of government, the Roman Empire was restored, being dominated by the papacy–hence, a politico-ecclesiastical power. On this point Elliott (Vol. III, p. 131) quotes Augustin Steucus, a Catholic writer, as follows
“The empire having been overthrown, unless God has raised up the Pontificate, Rome, resuscitated and restored by none, would have become uninhabitable, and been a most foul habitation thenceforward of cattle. But in the Pontificate it revived as with a second birth, its empire being in magnitude indeed not equal to the old one, but in kind not very dissimilar; because all nations, from the east to west, venerate the Pope not otherwise than they before obeyed the emperor.”
Surely a true picture of the woman directing the beast. The “mystery of lawlessness” that led to the “man of sin” in the sixth century began in Paul’s day; the religious power that was finally so perverted as to create that apostasy began its open influence on the Roman Empire in the time of Constantine in the fourth century.
The promise that the eighth head form would go to perdition may mean either that it would be finally destroyed or that it would lose much of its power when nations supporting it turned from it. The latter has already occurred through the Reformation work; the former will happen when the Lord comes.
12 And the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet; –As the text defines “horns” to mean kings, this explanation must be accepted. The word king, as shown in Dan 7:17; Dan 7:23, sometimes is used in the sense of kingdom–the ruler standing for the whole institution. Doubtless that is the sense of the word here, and means that minor kingdoms would come under subjection to the Roman power. These kingdoms had not come into that subjection when John wrote, for the reason that the papacy and the eighth head form of Rome had neither come into existence.
As usual expositors disagree on what kingdoms are meant here. Several accept the list made out by Sir Isaac Newton as follows: The Vandals, the Visigoths, the Suevi, the Allans, the Burgundians, the Franks, the Britons, the Huns, the Lombards, and the kingdom of Ravenna. Others accept the idea that “ten” is here a symbolic number–definite for an indefinite–meaning completeness and signifies the extensive and full sway which Rome would exercise over subordinate nations. This is probably the meaning. If so, it is unnecessary to find just ten kingdoms. Those mentioned, however, might be in the list; others also might be; or there might be more
but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour.–This means that in their operation as kingdoms they were subject to the papal Roman Empire, received their authority from it. “One hour,” of course, cannot be taken literally in such connection. As a symbol it indicates a short time and is similar to the “little while” in verse 10. This is a common use of the Greek word for hour. See 2Co 7:8; Gal 2:5; 1Th 2:17. It is a short time in comparison with the whole existence of the Roman kingdom, and indicates further that the beast power over these nations must end.
13 These have one mind, and they give their power and authority unto the beast.–Having one mind shows that whatever differences may have existed among these ten-horn nations, however they may have warred against each other, they were all Roman Catholics, and recognized her spiritual authority as the supreme power of government. The papacy received their endorsement and support.
14 These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them,–This shows that when these nations combined their power with Rome they would be fighting against the Lamb–that is, Christ. This, of course, was done in opposing Christ’s true teaching, and persecuting his followers. The “Lamb shall overcome them” means that he will ultimately win a victory over them. This, in a measure was accomplished when these nations turned away from Rome through the Protestant Reformation; it will be fully completed when the Lord comes, at which time the “man of sin” will be destroyed. (2Th 2:8.)
for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; –That Christ is now, in his present position of head of the church, both Lamb and Lord is admitted without question; the Scriptures are too plain to be denied. That he is supreme above all earthly lords is also conceded by all. His present kingship is just as plainly stated and should be admitted. The church figuratively described is the kingdom. If Christ is the head of the body (church), then it must be true to facts to say that he is now a reigning king.
and they also shall overcome that are with him, called and chosen and faithful.–Naturally those who overcome will be those with Christ–those willing to suffer and endure as he did. Their success in overcoming will be proof that they have been called by him. Their faithfulness in meeting bitter sorrows and intense persecutions is unquestioned evidence that they were chosen. Jesus said: “If a man love me, he will keep my word.” (Joh 14:23.)
Commentary on Rev 17:7-14 by Foy E. Wallace
An angel cryptologist in verse seven appeared to decode the symbols which concealed in a mystery the vision of the beast upon which the woman sat. The enigmatic significance of the mystic symbolism which surrounded both the woman and the beast involved their respective destinies –the destruction of the woman (Jerusalem), and the perdition of the beast (the persecutor). The angel interpreter, proposing an explanation of the cryptic vision, repeated the wonder of the woman sitting on the seven heads and ten horns of the beast. It was a continued repetition in description of the Roman Empire, as previously shown, and of Jerusalem the apostate metropolis of Judaism.
An element of the mystery in the code description of the beast, in Rev 17:8, was in the unusual saying: the beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition. Prevailing in those days was the Neronic myth that Nero was dead, but was incarnated in Belial the idolatrous prince and head of the heathen world; and hence, the belief that he lived.
The myth could have been the basis of the symbol, which undoubtedly means the persecutor had apparently granted surcease of the persecutions, but it was only a lull–the beast that was, and is not, should again appear without warnings, ascending as it were from the unfathomable depths of diabolical abode. This was the same beast described in previous chapters as appearing in heaven-defined as the realm of political authorities and government, hence in visible personification. After his disappearance, or lull in persecution, he was returning from his invisible demonic habitat, as from nowhere, to revive the persecutions– hence, the beast was, and is not, and yet is. This verse is comparable to the code six hundred and sixty-six of Rev 13:18 and referred to the same composite beast –the Roman Empire, personified in the persecuting emperor.
The reappearance of the beast in the display of power again caused wonderment amongthe dwellers of the earth whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world–that is, all of the people of the heathen and Roman world who were not the people of God, and had never been so reckoned, held the worldly pomp and power of the Roman emperor in great admiration. But this inhibition of the presence and power of the persecuting beast was not for long. His reappearance as a persecutor was also characterized as a final disappearance when his defeat and destiny should be accomplished–he would eventually go into perdition. It should be remembered that the destiny of the beast did not refer to the destruction of the empire itself but to the destruction of the persecuting power which the beast represented.
The symbols have the same force and application as Isaiahs description of the decease of the wicked lords of Babylon–referring not to the literal demise of the Babylonian empire, but to the wicked dominion over the people of God.
There is a continuous reinforcement of the parallels between the apocalypses of the fortunes of Old Testament Israel through exile to their return and the destruction of Babylonian lordship, represented by Isaiah, in Isa 66:22, as their new heavens and the new earth; and the apocalypses of Revelation dealing with the persecutions of the New Testament church, the destruction of the old Jerusalem, and the symbolic new heaven and new earth of Rev 21:1 –a delineation of the grandeurs and glories of the New Jerusalem.
(3) The great wonder comprehended-Rev 17:9-11.
And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: fire are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
The mind which hath wisdom referred to the deep mystical import of these symbols which were here merely projected but not fully explained or interpreted–the full meaning is reserved for the following chapter.
Everything in the visions revolves around the Jerusalem of the Jews, Rome being only collateral to the accomplishment of the visions. The reference to the seven mountains was not subject to a literal application any more than the literalizing of the woman. Mountains were ordinarily the symbols of the seats and positions of political and governmental authority, where power was concentrated. And while that was true of Rome, surrounded literally by seven hills; it was true also that Jerusalem was the city where apostasy in the realm of religious power was concentrated; and Jerusalem was also surrounded by seven literal mountains: Zion, Acra, Moriah, Bezetha, Millo, Ophel and Antonio; all of which are mentioned in the history of Josephus in connection with the war against Jerusalem (Book 5, Section 5, 8). The application of these symbols to Jerusalem finds consistency in the context.
The seven kings of Rev 17:10 were the imperial Caesars, of which Nero was sixth in succession from Julius. The seven mountains cannot be representative of the seven kings, since the text does not read they are seven kings, but there are seven kings. The text further states that five are fallen, and one is and the other is not yet come. Though Julius Caesar was the head of the Roman Republic, it merged into the empire; and the Roman emperors derived the official title Caesar from Julius.
There can be no reason in fact or history to justify omitting Julius from the count of the Caesars of Rome, and only the demands of a theory to provide a later date for Revelation has caused it to be done.
The seven kings, five of which had fallen, followed the count from Julius Caesar, the first-then, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, the five which had fallen– and Nero, the sixth. He was referred to in the phrase and one is–that is, the reigning emperor. It is further stated that the other, or the seventh, is not yet.
The five Caesars had passed before John wrote this apocalypse; and Nero, the sixth Caesar, was reigning at the time Revelation was written. The apocalypse belonged to the Neronic period. Omitting quite properly the subordinates, or mock rulers, Domitian was the seventh Caesar; and the text specifically stated that he had not come. It is difficult to account for a theory that fixes the chronology of Revelation in the latter part of the Domitian reign when he, the seventh, had not come. The rectification of the traditional chronological error attached to the Book of Revelation will automatically correct the future prophecy theories so fullof mis-concepts.
The text stated that the seventh king, or emperor, must continue a short space–that is, the persecutions would not end with Nero, but would continue to be prosecuted in reigns of short duration of the successive emperors.
It is stated in Rev 17:11 that the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seventh, and goeth into perdition. There is a repetition here of Rev 17:8, to which the reader may refer, concerning was, is not, and yet is.
But Rev 17:11 affirms the affinity and continuity of the imperial beasts. From the sixth to the seventh the vision was extended, in Rev 17:10; and Rev 17:11 presents the eighth as having the same genus, the spirit of the persecuting beast appearing in one emperor after another until their course was run.
To the church at Smyrna the Lord said: And ye shall have tribulation ten days. This undoubtedly referred to the period of the ten persecuting emperors from Nero to Diocletian, who vowed to obliterate the name Christian from the Roman Empire; and it fixes the time period of these apocalyptic disclosures from Nero to Diocletian, the tenth emperor from Nero–thus assigning the date of Revelation to the early part of Neros reign, before the siege and destruction of Jerusalem; and its symbols to the Nero-Diocletian period of persecution.
(4) The coordination of the ten kings-Rev 17:12-18 :
The ten kings of the beast in Rev 17:12 had received no kingdom as yet; but receive power one hour with the beast. These mock rulers of the Roman tributaries had no independent rule; they were the contemporary subordinate rulers with the beast for one hour–that is, a temporary exercise of a delegated power in conjunction with Rome, but of short duration as persecutors; their power would continue no longer than the accomplishment of Gods will in the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of Judaism.
It is stated in Rev 17:13 that these ten kings had one mind. The overshadowing personage of Nero was pictured as standing behind; but the single aim and common purpose was the destruction of Jerusalem, the devastation of Judea to rid the empire of Judaism, and the subsequent war against Christianity in the full power and strength of the coalition of the kings with the emperor against the church. Jerusalem was destroyed, Judaism perished, but the church survived.
The vision in the preceding chapters of the great red dragons war against the Christ is continued in Rev 17:14; but the Lamb would overcome all assailants and assaults against his church, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings–over all kings and emperors of the earth –and because his followers are called, and chosen and faithful. Such fidelity cannot be extinguished by the trials of persecution.
Commentary on Rev 17:7-14 by Walter Scott
THE MYSTERY OF THE WOMAN AND THE BEAST EXPLAINED (Rev 17:7-18).
Rev 17:7. – And the angel said to me, Why hast thou wondered? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the Beast which carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. We have had the mystery of Christ and the Church (Eph 5:1-33), now the angel is going to explain to the Seer, and through him to us, the mystery of the woman and the Beast.
THE BEAST: FOUR PHASES OF ITS HISTORY.
Rev 17:8. – The Beast which thou sawest was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss, and go into destruction: and they who dwell on the earth, whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, shall wonder, seeing the Beast, that it was, and is not, and shall be present. Here we have the history of the greatest empire the world has ever beheld compressed into four crisp sentences, as remarkable for their brevity as for their truth. Two of them are yet future. The woman and the Beast are distinct. The former is the ecclesiastical power: the latter the civil authority. Both are viewed as wicked and apostate. The woman is viewed in the vision as in the zenith of her prosperity, proud, seductive, and murderous. She is on the highest pinnacle of pride and power just previous to her downfall. The Beast is viewed as about to enter on the third phase of its history – coming out of the abyss. This most awful feature is to be added to its human rise and history – Satan brings it out of the prison-house of demons, out of the darkness and wickedness of that domain where his authority reigns supreme.
The angel turns from the woman to the Beast when the vision is explained. John would cease to wonder at the appalling picture.
(1) The ancient empire beheld in vision was; that is, it existed in its imperial form in Johns day, and on till its destruction in A.D. 476.
(2) And is not. It has no present political existence. The kingdoms which composed it of course remain, but the empire as such no longer exists. Modern Europe, with its many conflicting interests, jealousies, and separate kingdoms, is the result of the complete break-up of the once undivided empire of the Caesars. The western part of the empire, which fell last, is by far the guiltiest, as being the scene of Christian light and grace. These two phases of the empire are simple matters of history, but the remaining features are prophetic, and are only written in the pages of the Sacred Volume. God lifts the veil, and we see, after the lapse of many centuries, the empire once more filling the gaze of men – an astonishment to an apostate Christendom.
(3) Is about to come up out of the abyss. Satan will revive the empire, and then stamp his own character upon it. The human rise of the Beast must be carefully distinguished from its satanic revival in the midst of the seventieth prophetic week at the epoch of Satans expulsion from Heaven (Rev 12:1-17). The Seer beholds it in vision on the eve of its revival. Is about to come up. The abyss produces this monster of iniquity – the Beast. Heaven opens and gives forth the Church – the bride of the Lamb.
(4) Go into destruction. This is the final phase of Gentile power. Rome came into existence 753 B.C. It passed through many trials, weathered many political storms, till it reached the zenith of its glory in the time of Christ. Its connection with Christ and Judah is the great crisis in the history of the empire. The Beast in its representative crucified the Lord after thrice declaring His innocence. Subsequently the blood of the people was shed in such multitudes that millions were involved in the most awful slaughter recorded in history, while the miserable remnants were either sold in such numbers that the slave markets were glutted with the human merchandise, and purchasers could not be found, or dispersed throughout the world. God remembers these deeds. The hour of vengeance has arrived. The Beast is consigned to the lake of fire. Final destruction overtakes the once mighty empire of the Caesars.
SATANIC REAPPEARANCE OF THE EMPIRE
When the empire reappears in its last and satanic form it will be an object of universal wonder, save to the redeemed. What a state of things we have arrived at! Satan brings out of the darkness of the pit a power which he fashions and controls, outwardly like the empire, yet diabolically featured. Men then will wonder and worship both Satan and his human instruments (Rev 13:4; Rev 13:12). The elect had their names written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. Ah! these future times were all thought of and provided for in the foresight of God. This book is the same as that of Rev 13:8, only there we are told that the book belongs to the slain Lamb. We read of another book of life in Rev 3:5; there, however, it is the book of Christian profession, true and false, hence some names will be erased and others stand. But in our chapter the book, or register of life, is that of reality, hence no name can be blotted out. All within the wide domain of Christendom shall be carried away in wonder at the reappearance of this marvellous phenomena – all save the elect. To such the true character of the Beast will be apparent.
MYSTERY OF THE BEAST.
Rev 17:9-13. – Here is the mind that has wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains, whereon the woman sits. And there are seven kings: five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes he must remain (only) a little while. And the Beast that was, and is not, he also is an eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into destruction. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have not yet received a kingdom, but receive authority as kings one hour with the Beast. These have one mind, and give their power and authority to the Beast. Of all the subjects embraced within the circle of Biblical revelation we know of none which has so occupied unintelligent minds, and produced such a wild crop of the merest conjecture as that of prophecy. Surely in all that concerns the future sobriety of thought is needful. In the domain of prophecy human learning is nigh useless. Human wisdom which would deduce facts and principles from the past or present is of no avail here. The future is alone unfolded in the Holy Scriptures. The gravest mistakes in the interpretation of the prophecies have been made, not by the ignorant multitude, but by learned men. We are absolutely dependent on the teaching of the Holy Scriptures for any knowledge we possess of coming events. God alone can unfold the future (Isa 41:21-23). Hence the force of the prefatory words, Here is the mind that has wisdom. True wisdom takes its stand at the threshold of prophetic inquiry, and reverently asks, What is written? (Of the dark parts of Revelation, says Warburton, there are two sorts: one which may be cleared up by the studious application of well-employed talents; the other, which will always reside within the shadow of Gods throne, where it would be impiety to intrude. History is open to the natural man. Prophecy can alone be understood by the spiritually wise.) and to that, and that only, yields implicit subjection. To the further explanation of the vision the wise are now directed. The two prominent features of the Beast which carried the woman are its seven heads and ten horns (Rev 17:3; Rev 17:7), which occupy the chief place in the explanation. The heads are first named. There is a double application of the symbol seven heads.
ROME AND THE PAPACY.
(1) The seven heads are seven mountains, whereon the woman sits. The seven-hilled city of Rome (The seven-hilled city is a term common enough in the history of Rome, especially in its earliest ages. It was one familiar in the social intercourse of the people, as also in its literature. Roman historians and poets seemed proud in so designating their city. Says Wordsworth, The unanimous voice of Roman poetry during more than five hundred years, beginning with the age of John, proclaimed Rome as the seven-hilled city. He also adds, On the imperial medals of that age, which are still preserved, we see Rome figured as a woman on seven hills, precisely as she is represented in the Apocalypse.) is here indicated as the seat and center of the womans almost universal authority and influence. It is where the papacy has been located and has flourished, more or less, for 1500 years. The papacy is now slowly recovering from the wounds inflicted upon it; first in the sixteenth century, and then in our own times stripped of its temporal power. Its vitality is wonderful. Its energies are now concentrated in winning back to its fold the nations of Europe. The conversion of England is a dazzling project, and an event to be expected within a measurable time – so thinks and says the papacy. That the peoples of modern enlightened Europe will ultimately be gathered under the sway of the woman seems an evident truth from our chapter, if a sad and sorrowful one. The mighty work of the Reformation in its general and outward results is disappearing, while the acceptance of Romish principles and practices is steadily gaining ground. The persistent and insidious advance of popery in every department of life – political, social, and religious – is an alarming factor in the present situation. Protestantism as a whole is supremely indifferent. The old war cry, No popery, cannot now rouse the nation. It is asleep. The higher critics with their infidel and destructive criticism have undermined faith in the Holy Scriptures; while the efforts of true Christians to stem the torrent of popish error are paralyzed owing, in the first place, to the multiplicity of sects, in which combined action is rendered impossible, and, further, because of the growing indifference to what is of God.
POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE BEAST.
(2) And there are seven kings, i.e., heads, or forms of civil and political government. The local reference to Rome in verse 9 is undoubted. But a further and additional explanation is offered. The seven heads on the Beast represent seven successive forms of government from the rise of the fourth universal empire on through its history till its end.
Rev 17:10. – Five have fallen. (Fallen, or fell, intimates the ruin or destruction of a system or kingdom (Rev 14:8; Rev 16:19). The death of an individual ruler would not be so spoken of. Hence the term kings in our passage signifies the ruling authority for the time being. The four beasts of Dan 7:1-28 are said to be four kings (v. 17). Thus the term kings must not be confined in its application to royal personages. The context in each case must determine.) These are Kings, Consuls, Dictators, Decemvirs, and Military Tribunes.
Rev 17:10 – One is. This is the sixth, or imperial form of government set up by Julius Caesar, and under which John was banished to Patmos under Domitian. The previous forms of authority had ceased. The first emperor, Julius, absorbed the power covered by the old names under which Rome had been governed, and commenced the long and imperial line which became extinct in the year A.D. 476.
Rev 17:10 – The other has not yet come. Thus between the dissolution of the empire and its future diabolic reappearance many centuries have elapsed. When he comes he must remain (only) a little while. This is the seventh head. It is the rise of the fallen empire under new conditions as presented in chapter 13: 1. When the Beast next comes upon the scene it will be characterised by the completeness of administrative authority of a blasphemous kind, and will be formed of ten kingdoms, each having its separate monarch, yet all in subordination to the great Gentile chief who will control the empire and hold all with a firm grasp. The brief continuance of this special form of government is plainly stated. A little while marks the duration of the anomalous condition of things under the revived empire, yet worse is to follow.
Rev 17:11. – And the beast that was, and is not, he also is an eighth, and is of the seven. The gigantic confederation of Rome is here regarded in its essential features as ever the same. He is an eighth. We have here an advance upon the historical revival of the Beast (Rev 13:1). For the three years and a half preceding the Advent of the Lord in power and glory the Beast is dominated and controlled by Satan. He had revived it out of the abyss. The Beast in its last and worst state comes out of the abyss, as distinct from its rise at the first (Dan 7:1-28. l), or its future human revival (Rev 13:1). It thus presents a complete picture by itself, and is thereby entitled to the appellation an eighth. Its diabolical character as revived by Satan accounts for the use of the ordinal. We have the human reappearance of the empire in Rev 13:1-18, and its hellish revival in Rev 17:1-18.
Rev 17:11 – Is of the seven. There will be certain features peculiar to the Beast in the last two stages of its history. Probably the form of power under the seventh head will be continued, and in some other respects the last holder of Gentile power will tread in the steps of his predecessor. Thus he will be of the seven, yet an eighth as a distinctive person. We may here remark that the Beast and its personal ruler are so vitally connected that the two are spoken of in interchangeable terms; thus the Beast perishes and is thrown, in the person of its last great chief, into the lake of fire. The last sovereign ruler stamps his own character upon the empire. They can be regarded separately as in Dan 7:1-28, or identical as in our chapter.
Rev 17:11. – Goes into destruction, or perdition. This is accomplished at the commencement of the millennial reign, and is graphically described in Rev 19:17-21. The fowls of Heaven are summoned to the supper of the great God. They are called to feed and feast upon the great and mighty of the earth. The two great chiefs, heads respectively of the secular and religious powers, are consigned alive to the lake of fire; their subordinates and armies everlastingly perish. The first five heads fell in succession. Then the sixth came to a violent end; the seventh is merged in the eighth, which suffers a judgment more awful than history records. This head is identified with the Beast itself, and hence if it is destroyed the Beast must go into utter ruin (compare with Dan 7:11).
Having had the seven heads explained, we are now informed as to the ten horns (Rev 17:12). These horns refer to royal persons. The term horn denotes power in the abstract (v. 6; Lam 2:3); but as used here it refers to kings. The ten horns therefore represent as many distinct royal personages or their kingdoms. Another has tersely said: The ten kingdoms shall be contemporaneous in contradistinction to the seven heads which were successive. But the ten kingdoms which existed as to actual territory are here viewed as coming into power with the Beast. See also verse 16, not the ten horns upon the beast, but the ten horns and the beast (R.V.). They do not exist as separate kingdoms or nationalities. There are ten, but they are coexistent with the reign of the Beast. They received authority as kings one hour with the Beast. When the Beast reappears on the arena of history it will do so in a ten-kingdom form. It disappeared in A.D. 476, but will next come up in a form hitherto unknown in history. The revived empire will consist of ten kingdoms with their respective chiefs. The duration of the reign of these kings is measured by the reign of the Beast. But not only are these kingdoms in existence during the time that the Beast plays his terrible role, but they are subordinate to him. Willingly they place themselves in absolute subjection to the Beast. These have one mind, and give their power and authority to the Beast. The Beast and the horns are contemporary, but the latter bow implicitly to the will of the former. When the empire was broken up, separate kingdoms were constituted – historical fact – but our prophecy demands the existence of the Beast and the ten kingdoms, the latter subservient to the former.
WAR WITH THE LAMB.
Rev 17:14. – These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for He is Lord of lords and King of kings: and they that are with Him called, and chosen, and faithful. Here is recorded the final public act of the Beast and his allies. The conflict itself is fully described in Rev 19:19-21. The angel here simply notes the fact, passing over many intervening events. The war has not been actually entered upon, but it is anticipated. Its issue is in no wise doubtful. The Lamb shall overcome them. Victory is assured ere the conflict is entered upon, for the mighty Conqueror is King of all who reign, and Lord of all who exercise authority. He is supreme. All power in Heaven and on earth is His (Mat 28:18). Oh, what madness and folly for men and governments to enter the lists with Gods Lamb Who will publicly wield the authority of Jehovahs throne! How touching the blessed association of the Lamb with the mighty King – tenderness and power combined (Rev 5:5-6).
Rev 17:14 – They that are with Him. The militant hosts, the heavenly armies, consist of all the redeemed then in Heaven. There will be other companies of saved persons in Heaven besides the Church (Heb 12:23). The whole body of heavenly saints accompany their Lord through the opened Heaven, and down to crush the confederated opposition to the rights of the Lamb. For this universal gathering of heavenly saints see Jud 1:14; Zec 14:5; Rev 19:14. In the morning of the Lords triumphal return all the holy angels shall swell His triumph (Mat 25:31; Heb 1:6). But they that are with Him must be confined to saints only. Angels have their part in the war in Heaven (Rev 12:7). Saints alone form the conquering army of the Lamb.
Those who take part in this conflict and who serve under such a renowned Leader are each and all spoken of as called, and chosen, and faithful. Called in time (2Ti 1:9); chosen in eternity (Eph 1:4); and proved faithful in all and every relation of life, and that even unto death (Mat 25:21-23; Rev 2:10). These epithets, called, chosen, and faithful can only strictly apply to saints.
Commentary on Rev 17:7-14 by E.M. Zerr
Rev 17:7. Wherefore didst thou marvel? This question indicates that the amazed expression on the face of John was mixed with that of being puzzled over the whole phenomenon. The angel promises to explain to him all about the mystery involving the woman, the beast and the seven heads and ten horns that the beast had. The passage deviates from the usual manner of the book. When the symbols are described we are generally left to figure out (by the help of history) what the interpretation is. This time the angel will tell to what institutions and persons the symbols refer. Not that he will specify the personal items of application, but he will describe it so that a student of the Bible and history should have no uncertainty about it.
Rev 17:8, Was and is not refers to Pagan Rome which ceased to be such an institution (on the surface) after the time of Constantine. Ascend out of the bottomless pit. The last two words mean that part of the intermediate state where evil men and angels are kept until the judgment day. It is the place where the wicked rich man went as recorded in Luk 16:23 where the word is “hell” but comes from a different Greek term. Since the members of Pagan Rome were wicked it was necessary to show them as ascending from this pit. But we should take notice that the vision leaps across all the intervening years for the moment to predict the final destiny of those members of the beast that had been in the bottomless pit. After the intermediate state is no longer needed, these wicked persons will ascend out of that pit and go into perdition, which means they will be cast into the lake of fire. Having shown a brief picture of the fate of this beast, the vision at once resumes the events and appearances that are to take place before the final day of perdition. The vision is so unusual that the uninformed shall wonder at it. That is the same word used in verse 6 which was seen to mean that one is puzzled with amazement, and it would have that meaning especially with the uninformed. By that word I mean the ones described by John as those whose names are not written in the book of life. Chapter 13:8 shows this italicized statement means those who are not faithful servants of Christ. Their names (of the faithful) are said to have been written in the book from the foundation of the world or before the human family had become an orderly group of human beings. The beast that was and is not and yet is was that which caused the astonishment spoken of above. The beast was Pagan Rome outwardly until the time of Constantine, who caused the union of church and state to take place. That put an end to Pagan Rome as far as outward profession was concerned, and it is in that sense that John says the beast is ‘not. But In reality Papal Rome retained so much of the doctrines and wicked practices of the original empire, that it could truly be said of Papal Rome that it was Pagan Rome in disguise or in another form. It is in that sense that John says the institution yet is, which caused the uninformed of the world to be amazed and puzzled. But the righteous did not have to be in such a state of mind because they had always been respectful hearers of what inspired men had said. For instance, if they had only-read and considered what Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2, they would have expected such revolutions to take place as these affairs of Rome.
Rev 17:9. The seven mountains have no special significance except as an item of geography and history by which to identify the city of Rome. On whieh the woman sitteth means that the apostate church rested upon the government of Rome for support.
Rev 17:10. In some previous verses and in Rev 17:12 below the text plainly says the ten horns represent ten kings or kingdoms that were inferior units of the Roman Empire. Hence the seven kings of this verse must have another meaning, and I believe they refer to important men who were leaders in the affairs of state right in the capital city. It is merely a coincidence that the Lord had seven of those prominent men in mind which is also the number of the geographical hills or “mountains” that comprised the city of Rome. It is clearly shown in Roman history that leading men in the Empire often vied with each other for power and the vision shows such a conflict.
Rev 17:11. The beast that was has been already shown to be Pagan Rome. The apostle says this beast is the eighth; not merely one more beast that would count up to eight, but it was the eighth and of the seven. This denotes that it was in the same line, or bore some fact in common with the others. And the phrase goeth into perdition strengthens that conclusion, for we learned in verse 8 that it was Pagan Rome that was to go into perdition. (Not that Papal Rome will escape perdition, but that is not under consideration at present.) The vision means that Pagan Rome as a whole must take her place in the count with all those individual “kings” or chief men in the corrupt institution, and all go down as a unit into the lake of perdition.
Rev 17:12. These ten kings (or small kingdoms) are named at Rev 13:1. It says they had received no kingdom as yet. The meaning is they were not in rightful control of their kingdoms although they were acting as kings. But the phrase also indicates that they will finally be kings in their own right after Papal Rome has been put down even as Pagan Rome was, then each nation will have its own chosen form of government. But for the time being they may only act as kings. One hour with the beast is a figure of speech meaning that the time for continued oppression of Rome was to be comparatively short. The reader should bear in mind that the vision goes from the days of Pagan Rome in verse 11 to those of Papal Rome in the present verse. On that basis the beast now is Papal Rome in conjunction with the state.
Rev 17:13. These means the ten kings of the preceding verse and until they have had their eyes opened by receiving the Bible back again, they will not know any better than to give their power and strength unto the beast (church and state).
Rev 17:14. These again means the ten kings just mentioned. While they were still under the control of Papal Rome and blinded by the false doctrines of that corrupt beast, they were opposed to the Lamb of God and made (religious) war with Him. The Lamb shall overcome them. This will be accomplished by the Reformation, for that movement will give the Bible back to the people in their native tongue. When that is done the Lamb shall overcome them which means He will subdue their opposition to the word of God and to the true church that is regulated by that word. Lord of lords puts Christ above all other rulers, and King of kings means He is greater than the ten kings who fought against Him. Christ does not conduct the conflict directly but does it by His great army. The army is composed of those who are called (by the Gospel), and they are chosen because they have qualified themselves by being faithful.
Commentary on Rev 17:7-14 by Burton Coffman
Rev 17:7
And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns.
Wherefore didst thou wonder … The terrible thing that astounded John was “that a portion of the church is one with the hostile world.”[31] The angel seems to have wondered at John’s wonderment, because “there were sufficient marks to identify the harlot,”[32] Very similar descriptions of Judah, a type of the church, in Jeremiah 2 and Jeremiah 3 should have made it plain to John. He should have been able to read in the vision the truth that just as the old Israel had apostatized and crucified the Christ, the church of Christ also, in the lapse of years, would fall from her high calling and become an ally of Satan. “The hint of this slumbered in the vision.”[33]
I will tell thee the mystery of the woman … and of the beast … In revealing this, the angel would unveil the woman’s true identity with the land-beast and the sea-beast both! Particularly, however, she must be tied more conspicuously to the land-beast. She rides the sea-beast; she is the land-beast!
[31] A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 416.
[32] Ibid.
[33] ?
Rev 17:8
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, they whose name hath not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall come.
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss … As Beckwith said:
It seems unquestionable that the idea expressed in these words (Rev 17:8) is the same as that denoted in the symbolical vision by the head smitten unto death and healed (Rev 13:3). They are described in closely parallel terms.[34]
This is an exceedingly important point, having the meaning that this woman herself is that “healed head” once smitten to death. Pagan Rome, the sixth of the seven heads (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome) was the one smitten to death, even as the previous “heads” had run their course and fallen; but the death of this sixth head (Rome) would be different; its “death” would not be the end of the persecuting state. The woman herself was to be the healing of the sixth head, its replacement; and the Great Harlot would succeed the persecuting empire of pagan Rome in the form of the persecuting power of “Christian” Rome. Did it happen? Who can deny that it did? Who needs any answer except the history of the past two millenniums?
In this, it is also clear what is meant by the land-beast making an image of the first (Rev 13:15). When the harlot, certainly the same as the land-beast, made an image of the beast, or to the beast, what is meant? Exactly the same thing that is meant when it is said that Tommy grew up and made an engineer! He became an engineer. The woman made an image of the beast which was persecuting pagan Rome, becoming herself persecuting “Christian” Rome. She herself was the image of the beast, the healed head, the replacement and successor to pagan Rome. Historically, this places her after 476 A.D., when the pagan empire fell, long after emperor worship had perished from the earth. Note that there is absolutely no reference whatever in Revelation to making an image “to Caesar,” or to “the emperor,” or “to one of the kings.” No! The image was “of the beast,” not of one of his heads, even if “heads” is misinterpreted to mean “emperors.”
And go into perdition … The ultimate destiny of all evil is never denied or thwarted by the riches and glory displayed in the present existence. These words are to keep that truth in focus.
And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder … This refers to the unregenerated, non-Christian world.
They whose name hath not been written in the book of life … See comment on this under Rev 13:8.
From the foundation of the world … Unlike the passage earlier (Rev 13:8), this phrase is here applied to the inscription of the names of the saints in the book of life. The eternal purpose of God is known by him from the beginning, regarding all things and all people. Of course, there are unfathomable mysteries about such things which we cannot understand; but the meaning of the words is clear enough as they regard the purpose in view, encouraging the redeemed. In whatever manner the entire world may be captured and enthralled by the charms of the satanic beast, the true Christian will not be deceived.
How that he was, and is not, and shall come … Note that in the Greek (ASV margin), the last words are “shall be present,” recalling Rev 13:3. See comment quoted above from Beckwith. As Hendriksen said, “The book of Daniel proves that these seven heads do not symbolize seven individual kings or emperors, but seven anti-Christian world powers.”[35] See under Rev 17:8 for a list of these, Rome being the head “that now is.” The use of the past tense “he that was” is a reference to the vision that John had seen (past tense) in Rev 13:3; but the head John had seen as existing there, is the same as the one that will be designated “one is” in Rev 17:10. Rev 17:8 refers to what John saw (past tense); and Rev 17:10 indicates the meaning (present tense) for John, explained by the angel.
[34] Isbon T. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1919), p. 696.
[35] William Hendriksen, More Than Conquerors (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1956), p. 204.
Rev 17:9
Here is the mind that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth:
Here is the mind that hath wisdom … These words seem to be addressed to any temptation of taking an easy, literal view of the prophecy. As Plummer warned, any literal application as to the seven hills of Rome must not be considered to be the full significance of these words, despite the fact that, “They may indeed be a partial fulfillment, but not the whole signification.”[36]
The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth … In this there is a subtle extension of the harlot’s stature, for she is represented as gathering up in herself all the authority and power of the first beast (Rev 13:1), even as did the second beast (Rev 13:12). “The seven heads” are here called seven mountains, just as they will be called seven kings in the next verse. Heads, mountains, kings … they all mean the same thing. Oh yes, to be sure, Rome sat on seven hills, and it was quite natural to think of Rome in this context, for that was correct, in that Rome was indeed the sixth of the mountains, and the sixth of the kings, and the sixth of the heads. No mere “hills” are in view here.
“Rome dwells on her seven hills, but the Great Harlot in the vision sits among the great empires that have arisen, like mountains, in the history of the world.”[37] This understanding completely clears up the perplexity mentioned by Ladd: “John immediately goes on to say in the next verse that they are also seven kings. It is difficult to see any connection between the seven hills of Rome and seven of its emperors.”[38] Of course, there is not any connection, for the seven “hills” are not in it at all. There are no “mountains” in Rome. The seven mountains mean exactly the same thing as the seven heads and seven kings.
The seven mountains, kings, or kingdoms mentioned in this paragraph are seven manifestations of the beast in the successive eras of persecution suffered by God’s people: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome, the latter being the “one is” when John wrote; and the seventh appeared after Rome fell.[39]
Roberson fully agreed with this: “The seven mountains, or seven kings, are manifestations of the beast in successive eras of oppression suffered by the people of God.”[40]
[36] A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 417.
[37] W. Boyd Carpenter, op. cit., p. 612.
[38] George Eldon Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1972), p. 227.
[39] Frank L. Cox, op. cit.. p. 102.
[40] Charles H. Roberson, Studies in Revelation (Tyler, Texas; P. D. Wilmeth, P.O. Box 3305,1957), p. 130.
Rev 17:10
and they are seven kings; the five are fallen, the one the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a little while.
And they are seven kings … See under preceding verse for identification of these as seven successive world powers which persecuted God’s people.
Five are fallen … Please note that if the death of five successive emperors had been meant, the word would have been that “five are dead.” “Fallen” is a ridiculous word for describing the death of Augustus Caesar; he did not “fall”; he died. This has no reference at all to the death of certain emperors, whether by suicide or other means. What is meant is that Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greece, the first five successive heads of the beast, have passed from history as persecuting powers, or world empires.
The one is … This, of course, is Rome, the great worldwide power when John wrote.
The other is yet to come … Alas, there is to be another; and it will come just like all the others came, that is, after its predecessor has fallen, in this case, after the fall of Rome. The significance of this is that the seventh head (the Great Harlot) will not fully appear until after Rome has fallen. This makes it impossible to identify this seventh head as the emperor cult, Nero Redivivus, or any other such thing.
And when he cometh, he must continue a little while … The entire Christian dispensation is meant by this. The word continue means remain; and Hendriksen declared that the emphasis is on remain.”[41] “In the language of the Apocalypse, this entire gospel age is but a little while (Rev 11:2-3; Rev 12:6; Rev 12:14; Rev 13:5).”[42] This dispensation is indeed only “a little while” as it relates to eternity and to all the things of God. Plummer also agreed that, “This short space (as in KJV) describes the remainder of the time of the world’s existence.”[43]
One thing that must commend this interpretation is the fact of its being in full and complete harmony with what is known, historically, to have happened since it was written. See more on this under Rev 17:11.
[41] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 204.
[42] Ibid.
[43] A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 417.
Rev 17:11
And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goeth into perdition.
As we see it, the Apostate Church, together with many harlot daughters and countless spiritual developments flowing out of it and accompanying it, is the seventh head that succeeded the pagan empire. This head will continue throughout the dispensation, but itself also will be succeeded by an eighth, which we believe to be the era of the “ten horns” (Rev 17:12). The Harlot will finally lose her power to persecute, a development which, in the principal part, has already occurred; but she will nevertheless continue to the very end. See under Rev 17:12. The eighth beast will be far more wicked than any of the seven preceding ones; and it may be that he should be identified with Paul’s “Lawless One” (2Th 2:8), who is apparently to be slain by the personal Advent of Christ himself.
This eighth beast will not even be able to endure Apostate Christianity, but will totally deny God, enthrone himself, demand the worship of the whole world, and will spiritually enslave all people except the elect. As this deals with events yet future, we do not dare to propose any explanation of just how all this may come about, or of how long such a condition may prevail. One thing does seem clear enough: the Apostate Christianity itself shall be hated, persecuted, and consumed by this eighth beast. Some construe the meaning of the words “of the seven” as being “of the seventh,” indicating that, if this meaning is allowed, the rise of the eighth beast shall be a development from within the Apostasy itself. We believe the true meaning to be “of the seven,” as in ASV, because the ten horns next mentioned are connected with the whole beast, not merely with the seventh head; and, as already noted above, the ten horns are here interpreted as that eighth beast, or eighth head of the beast.
NERO REDIVIVUS
The interpretation of these verses which relies for their explanation upon the myth of Nero Redivivus is as scandalous an interpretation of sacred Scripture as was ever offered. It is unreasonable, illogical, incorrect, unbelievable, and also absolutely contradictory of the New Testament. First, we shall try to explain what the interpretation is:
The heads of the beast mentioned in these verses are held to be the emperors in succession who ruled over the pagan empire. The mention of “one is, is not, and is to come” refers to Nero who was reigning when John wrote, who died, and came alive again (redivivus) and became the eighth emperor after the death of the seventh emperor who had succeeded to the throne after Nero’s death!
See our introduction to Revelation 13, above, under “The Mortal Wound that did not Heal,” for a very perceptive quotation from Albertus Pieters who declared that the acceptance of this interpretation (of Nero redivivus) denies the book of Revelation as “a genuine prophecy.” If this is what John prophesied, he prophesied a lie, for it never happened. This interpretation is almost totally worthless, but some particular attention is demanded by it, because, as Pieters said, “At present it is the popular theory among those whom we may call the “Left Wing’ Preterists.”
An alleged myth is cited as proof that John’s prophecy refers to Nero and that his resurrection was generally expected! “The beast that is” is Nero … “and is not” refers to his suicide … “and is te come” means he reappeared reincarnated (!) as Domitian. “John saw in Domitian the reincarnation of Nero!”[44] It is contrary, of course, to the Scriptures and to all reason, to suppose for an instant that one of the holy apostles of Jesus believed in reincarnation. In the first place, current research denies that Domitian was in any sense even similar to Nero. “His reputation (Domitian’s, as being a persecutor) rests on a very modest historical foundation.”[45]
This theory would make Domitian the eighth Roman emperor, an outright falsehood, no matter how the emperors are counted. Look at the “lists of emperors” various Left Wing scholars have posted in their vain efforts to support this; not a single one of them is accurate. As even Moffatt admitted, “There is certainly some awkwardness in this!”[46] Awkwardness indeed! A Jersey cow sitting in the top of a sycamore tree singing Richard Wagner’s “Song to the Evening Star” from Tannhauser is pure grace compared to this Nero Redivivus hypothesis of interpretation. Here is a list of the Roman emperors during the first century and beginning from the death of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., as compiled by Caird:[47]
JULIUS CAESAR
AUGUSTUS
TIBERIUS
GAIUS (CALIGULA)
CLAUDIUS
NERO
GALBA
OTHO
VITELLIUS
VESPASIAN
TITUS
DOMITIAN (81-96 A.D.)
Well, how does one make Nero the eighth emperor in that list? Many devices have been tried: (1) Identify Nero redivivus with Domitian; that won’t do it. (2) Skip Galba and Otho; that won’t work. (3) Skip Galba, Otho and Vitellius; that doesn’t work either. (4) Start counting with Augustus; that doesn’t get it. (5) Count only the deified emperors; this cannot be accurately determined, etc. As Ladd said, “This is a rather violent way of treating history and does not really solve the problem.”[48]
The thing that amazes us the most is that the scholars adopting this view reject its most obvious corollary, that if Nero “now is” when John wrote Revelation, then it had to be written between the years 54-68 A.D., the dates usually assigned to Nero, and also that if John wrote while Nero was still reigning, then no myth regarding Nero’s resurrection (an essential part of this interpretation) could possibly have appeared before he died! What kind of a contortion is needed to solve that? Here it is: John, writing forty years after Nero’s death, “sets himself back in time to the period of Vespasian and gives in the form of prophecy events of history that had already happened!”[49] This, of course, is equivalent to making the whole book of Revelation a fraud, and fully justifies Pieters’ comment, above, that this theory of interpretation is wholly incompatible with any believing acceptance of Revelation as genuine prophecy.[50]
This interpretation makes Domitian the sixth emperor, because (in this interpretation) five are fallen and “one is”; and it is impossible to do this. There has never been a list of emperors that would make Domitian the sixth. They have tried omitting Julius Caesar, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, either singly or in pairs, or collectively; but failure cannot be hidden. It is time that the Left Wing gave up this nonsense about Nero Redivivus. “No method of calculation satisfactorily leads to Domitian as the reigning emperor when John wrote.”[51] It is also true that absolutely nothing in history identifies Domitian as “another Nero.” Even if he was a vicious persecutor and tyrant, how does that make him another Nero; why not another Caligula? another Herod? The false allegation that the sacred New Testament prophesied either the resurrection or the reincarnation of Nero is as pagan an idea as was ever imported into the New Testament.
The above brief summary of some of the intricacies and inconsistencies of this mythical interpretation is only the tip of the iceberg; but enough has been given to show the prodigious labors that have been expended for one purpose alone, it seems to us. The very persistence and cleverness of those who have pushed this bastard interpretation betray their knowledge of what this chapter really teaches and their determination to have it otherwise. A wild animal carefully extricates the bait from the trap, but his clever methods show his accurate knowledge of what he wishes to avoid.
[44] William Barclay, The Revelation of John (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1976), p. 141.
[45] F. F. Bruce, A New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing Company, 1969), p. 658.
[46] James Moffatt, Expositor’s Greek New Testament, Vol. V (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1967), p. 453.
[47] G. B. Caird, The Revelation of St. John the Divine (New York: Harper and Row, 1966), p. 217.
[48] George Eldon Ladd, op. cit., p. 229.
[49] Isbon T. Beckwith. op. cit., p. 705.
[50] Albertus Pieters. op. cit., p. 222.
[51] George Eldon Ladd, op. cit., p. 229.
Rev 17:12
And the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet; but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour.
These ten kings are the eighth “head” of the beast, and their being presented here as “ten kings” instead of a single king, as in the previous seven heads, is due to the fact of worldwide government not any longer having the monolithic structure which marked the great dominions of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and the Man of Sin.
The ten horns … These are ten kingdoms to arise historically at a time long after John wrote, who “had received no kingdom as yet” and whose duration would be comparatively brief, “one hour” as compared with the much longer endurance of the successive world kingdoms symbolized by the “seven heads.” “Ten” here is a symbolical number for an indefinite multiplicity, and it would be pointless to attempt any exhaustive definition of these. However, we may hazard the guess that this is the period of history in which the world at this time finds itself; and Russia, China, and other godless states would appear to be typical of what is meant here by the ten horns. The divine foresight of the mighty prophet who wrote Revelation is proved by this verse. Rome indeed fell (476 A.D.); and she was succeeded by “an image” of herself in the form of the Apostate Christianity exercising a worldwide dominion implemented by spiritual controls; but the secular state itself broke up into many kingdoms, “ten kings,” among which the great modern nations of Europe are surely included. Remember how long ago Revelation was written.
Receive authority with the beast … Yes, the beast in the form of its seventh head still continued; but, at this time, there were to be multiple kingdoms, not a monolith; and the Great Harlot, for a time, would be in league with all of them.
Rev 17:13
These have one mind, and they give their power and authority unto the beast.
And these give their power and authority to the beast … This would appear to be an accurate picture of Medieval times, long after the fall of Rome, and during the ascendancy of the seventh head (The Man of Sin, etc.), during which the great nations that arose upon the ruins of the ancient pagan empire cooperated fully with the Apostate Power still ruling from Rome; the religious beast was actually the ruler during this period. There are many historical fulfillments of this prophecy, but the Spanish Inquisition is the classical example, and no other need be cited; but this “honeymoon” between the religious head of the beast and the “ten horn” kingdoms was prophesied not to last. It would end in a far different state of affairs (see Rev 17:16); but this condition would continue for a long time, during which war would be waged against God and his truth.
Rev 17:14
These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they also shall overcome that are with him, called and chosen and faithful.
These shall war against the Lamb … The widespread persecutions of this era referred to earlier are indicated by this. The arrogance, pride, ambition, and greed of the harlot-beast would make the world itself a hostile environment for any who received the authority of the New Testament and attempted to follow it. It might have seemed a hopeless struggle for those caught up in it.
And the Lamb shall overcome them … Did it happen? Who can deny that it did? There came the time when one housewife with a New Testament in her hand was more than a match for all the clerical army of the harlot-beast. The New Testament once more appeared in the hands of earth’s populations. The strong angel of chapter 10 held it open!
Commentary on Rev 17:7-14 by Manly Luscombe
7 But the angel said to me, Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. The angel with John noticed his reaction. Why did you marvel? Then the angel assures John it will all become clear. All of this is now a mystery but it will be revealed and explained. What will happen to the woman? What will happen to the beast that carries her? What will happen to the (individual leaders) heads and horns?
8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. The immoral Babylon is riding on a beast. This best was, and is not. This is similar to the beast in Rev 13:3. The beast is seen as suffering a deadly wound, but is later healed. Verse 10 also must be considered here. Let me give you some explanations offered by some commentaries. Burton Coffman claims that the seven heads represent the seven major world empires, including Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. He says there will be a seventh. This seventh will be the Holy Roman Empire, which includes one of the above, which died and was raised to life again. Lonnie Woodruff says that the number seven represents divine completeness. There have been seven worldwide kingdoms. Paul Rogers believes that this verse is in reference to Nero. There is a belief that Nero promised to return from the dead. The Romans saw Domitian as the reincarnation of Nero. Ray Summers states the view of Nero redivivus myth which claimed that Domitian is Nero reincarnation. The common view of the futurists is that the literal city of Babylon will be restored in the last days. The typical view of the continuous-historical group believes that this is the Roman Catholic Church.
In trying to be consistent, I believe the following makes sense.
1. We know the beast represents persecuting governments. At some point this beast seems to lose its power, and is later revived.
2. We have the advantage of being able to look back, study history, and see what actually happened. The Roman Empire fell in 476. On Christmas Day, 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as emperor. This new, revived government is known as the Holy Roman Empire. It was an empire of both religious and civil powers working together. This is what is seen in chapter 13.
3. Here the angel explains that there will come a time when it seems that the persecuting government is dead – 476. Dont plan a party to celebrate yet. There will be a new, revived government, combined with false religion, which will renew the persecution of faithful Christians.
4. Now, you add to that partnership immorality. You have a three-pronged attack on the people of God. Gods people are suffering – a) Persecution from the civil authorities; b) Persecution from false religions; and c) Being led astray by immorality.
9 Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. Wisdom is needed here. Seek to understand these things. The seven heads are mountains. Some see this as a clear reference to Rome, a city that sits on seven hills. These seek to make the mountains literal. This view does not consider that one of the heads died and was revived. None of the hills on which Rome was built has died and been revived. Others see this as the Coffman view above. The mountains represent major world kingdoms, like Egypt, Greece and Rome. Still others see the seven heads as seven individual rulers. If this were true, then one of the rulers would have to die and be reincarnated. It is unmistakable to me that the mountains are emblematic of kingdoms. My view, expressed in the previous verse is consistent with the rest of the book, especially the parallel statements in chapter 13.
10 There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. Some seek to translate this, And they are seven kings. This is an attempt to make the seven heads represent individual rulers. The NKJV says, There are ALSO seven kings. That is, in addition to the seven heads / mountains, there are also seven kings. The kings are not the heads / mountains. They are in addition to them. Five have fallen – Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greece. One is – Rome. The other – the Holy Roman Empire – has not yet come. He, the last one, will last a short time.
11 The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition. The civil government that was, then was not, is the eighth. But his eighth is not a new one. It is one of the original seven. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome and Holy Roman Empire are the seven. This verse refers to a power that was at one time a great power. It lost that power, then returned to power. Woodruff says, This is the same kingdom as the one is in verse 10. The kingdom in power during the time of Johns recording of Revelation was the Roman Empire. Therefore, the one that was, and is not is the Roman Empire. (1, 303). The only credible explanation is that this eighth is the Roman Catholic Church. It has worldwide power, even today. It is headquartered in Rome. This is the eighth beast.
12 The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. Remember the number ten represents human completeness. There are ten kings, but they do not have a kingdom. They seem to have power delegated from the beast. These ten kings represent all governmental power, which came out of the world situation when there was not one major power in control. Many nations developed. The term one hour indicates that all of these kings are in power at the same time. This is not a succession of kings. There will be simultaneous kingdoms over the earth. These many nations, (governments) will co-exist with the beast (false religions). It is implied that these governments will not persecute. They will seek to cooperate with others who do persecute Christians. Today this situation remains. Do we cooperate with China while they imprison anyone who has a Bible? Do we send economic aid to Laos while Christians are sent to prison for having a home Bible study? Many Islamic nations outlaw any preaching of the gospel or any attempt to convert people to Christianity; but we buy their oil! In some nations, failure to convert to Islam is ground for punishment.
13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. They all share power with the beast. False religions seek the support and backing of the governments. While living in Russia, the government, at the request and direction of the Russian Orthodox Church, passed a law that restricted mission work. They rescinded all legal churchs registration and rights. While some parts of this law have been overturned, other restrictions remain. This is a classic case of a false religion riding on the back of the civil government to persecute Christians. In effect these governments are recognizing their dependence on the religious leaders to remain in power.
14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful. It is this dangerous alliance of government and false religions that will become the frontline of the war against Gods people. There is a relentless battle being waged. While those who suffer are Christians, the real enemy is the Lamb. The Lamb will win. He is King over all kings. He is Lord over all lords. His army is comprised of the called, chosen and faithful. These terms simply mean faithful Christians.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
angel (See Scofield “Heb 1:4”)
mystery (See Scofield “Mat 13:11”)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
I will: Rev 17:1-6, Rev 17:8
Reciprocal: Ecc 5:8 – marvel Dan 7:7 – and it had ten 1Co 4:9 – and to men 2Th 2:7 – the mystery 1Ti 3:16 – the mystery 1Jo 3:13 – Marvel not Rev 12:3 – ten Rev 13:1 – having Rev 16:6 – they have Rev 17:9 – The seven
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rev 17:7. Wherefore didst thou marvel? This question indicates that the amazed expression on the face of John was mixed with that of being puzzled over the whole phenomenon. The angel promises to explain to him all about the mystery involving the woman, the beast and the seven heads and ten horns that the beast had. The passage deviates from the usual manner of the book. When the symbols are described we are generally left to figure out (by the help of history) what the interpretation is. This time the angel will tell to what institutions and persons the symbols refer. Not that he will specify the personal items of application, but he will describe it so that a student of the Bible and history should have no uncertainty about it.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verse 7.
An angel cryptologist in verse seven appeared to decode the symbols which concealed in a mystery the vision of the beast upon which the woman sat. The enigmatic significance of the mystic symbolism which surrounded both the woman and the beast involved their respective destinies –the destruction of the woman (Jerusalem), and the perdition of the beast (the persecutor). The angel interpreter, proposing an explanation of the cryptic vision, repeated the wonder of the woman sitting on the seven heads and ten horns of the beast. It was a continued repetition in description of the Roman Empire, as previously shown, and of Jerusalem the apostate metropolis of Judaism.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 17:7. The angel proceeds to explain what St. John had seen, taking the two parts of the vision in inverted order; first, the beast (Rev 17:8-14), and secondly, the woman (Rev 17:15-18).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
The angel asks John why he was awed and says he will tell who the woman and the beast are.
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
17:7 {11} And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
(11) The second part or place as I said in See Geneva “Rev 17:1”. The narration of the vision promised in the verse following. Now there is delivered first a narration of the beast and his story, to verse fourteen. After, of the harlot, to the end of the chapter.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Further revelation about the beast 17:7-14
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The angel promised to interpret these revelations that were so baffling to John, particularly the mystery concerning the woman and the beast. More information about the beast follows in Rev 17:7-14 and more about the woman in Rev 17:15-18. The beast supplied the woman’s power and purpose. He had seven heads and 10 horns, which the angel explained later (Rev 17:9-10).