THE WOMAN and The RESURRECTED BEAST

THE WOMAN and the RESURRECTED BEAST.
Why is the seventh Head

numbered 8 ?
The Mysteries of Revelation 17 Solved.

by
Chapter Page
LOUIS F. WERE 1952
Foreword
CONTENTS
1. Jesus-Almighty God; the Great "I AM"; "Equal with God." A Great Truth Essential in Understanding the
Apocalypse-and Particularly Revelation 17. 9
2. Jesus Claimed to be God: His Works and His Teachings Support His Claim. 20
3. Jesus-Jehovah of the Old Testament. 28
4. Jesus is Jehovah, "The Almighty" - the Sublime Declaration of the Apocalypse. 33
5. Jesus as Jehovah Keeps His Covenant with His People: The Most Important Message of Revelation 17:
The Lord's Assurance of His Intimate Knowledge of Each Member of the Remnant Church and the
Assurance of His Protection . 39
6. "The Mystery of Godliness" and "The Mystery of Iniquity" Their Vital Relationship to the Correct
Interpretation of Revelation 17. 48
The Woman and the Beast

7. The Resurrection of the Beast: An Imitation of the Resurrection of Jesus. "The Mystery of the Beast
that . . . is About to Come Up Out of the Abyss" (R.V.) 55
8. "Divinity Did Not Die" - The Mystery of Christ's Death and Resurrection: Great is the Mystery of God
Manifest in the Flesh. The Spirit of Satan Does Not Die Until the End of the Millennium. 67
9. Why God Gave the Prophecy of Revelation 17: His Message Concerning the Coming World Crisis and
the Complete Victory of His Remnant Church. 76
10. Revelation 17: An Enlargement of the Picture of the World's Crisis Presented in Revelation 16. 86
11. Why Does Jesus "The Wonderful Numberer" (Dan. 8:13) Urge Us in Both Revelation 13: 18 and
Revelation 17:9-11 to Count Numbers in Reference to the Beast? The Impossibility of Fully
Understanding Facts Concerning the 7th Head Without Heeding the Saviour's
12. Why the 7th Head of the Beast is Numbered Eight
113
13. Does Revelation 17:11 Indicate that the Beast John Saw in Vision Was Exclusively the Eighth at the
Time He Saw It?
129
14. The Two Beasts From the Bottomless Pit: Is "the Beast that Ascendeth Out of the Bottomless Pit" of
Revelation 11:7 the Same as "the Beast that ... Shall Ascend Out of the Bottomless Pit" Mentioned in
Revelation 17:8? Because the Former Symbolises the Rise of Organized Atheism Must the Latter Refer
Also to Organized Atheism? 131
15. What is Meant by "The Bottomless Pit"?
139
16. The Burning and Desolating of the Babylonian Whore (Rev. 17:16) is the Same as the Burning of the
Babylonian City Described in Revelation 18. The Necessity of Understanding Revelation 17 and 18 as an
Enlargement of the Concluding Phases of the Final Conflict Depicted in Revelation Chapters 12 to 16.
144
17. The Upsurging Power of Evil Met By the Descending Power From Heaven. 148
18. "The Kings of the Earth, Made Drunk With the Wine of Her Fornication." False Doctrines Cause the
Persecuting Beast "to Come Up Out of the Abyss" (R.V.). The Importance of True Doctrine in Receiving
the Power of the Latter Rain
153
19. What is the Relationship Between the Beast of Revelation 13 and the Woman and the Beast of
Revelation 17? 164
20. "The Ten Kings . . . Give Their Power and Strength Unto the Beast" Does This Indicate That They Do
Not Give Their Power Unto the Woman Who Rides and Guides the Beast? What is the Significance of
This Wording? 172
21. Revelation 17 Depicts the Last Conflict in the Long Controversy Between the Forces of Good and Evil.
The Beast and the 7 Heads Are Not Symbols Depicting Only Roman Power
180
22. Could the United States of America be Depicted by the 6th or Any Other Head of the Beast? .. 189
23. "They Are Seven Kings: Five are Fallen, and One Is." The 6th Head "IS" During the Period When the
Beast "IS NOT." The Mystery of the 6th and 7th Heads and the "IS NOT" Period of the Beast Explained in
the Light of "The Mystery of Godliness" 195
24. "They Are Seven Kings: Five Are Fallen, and One Is." Who Were the Five Who Had Fallen?
25. Does the 6th Head Refer to Rome?-Pagan and Papal?
201
207
http://www.temcat.com =^..^= http://www.remnant-prophecy.com

26. In Vision John Was Carried to Our Day When the Beast "is About to Come Up Out of the Abyss." The
1260 Days of Papal Supremacy Are Not Mentioned in Revelation 17. What is the Significance of This
Omission?
215
27. Why Was John Carried Into the Wilderness to See the Woman Sitting Upon the Beast?
218
28. "When He - the 7th Head - Cometh, He Must Continue a Short Space" 221 29. The Application of
Revelation 17 to the Events Before, and After, the Millennium: "He Must Continue a Little While" (Rev.
17:10, R.V.); "He Must Be Loosed For a Little Time" (Rev. 20:3, R.V.) 225
FOREWORD
Many Seventh-day Adventist Bible students in the world field have of recent date been stirred to
enquire anew into the significance of the symbols of Revelation 17.
That this chapter contains vital information concerning the coming world's crisis, is now generally
recognized. World-shaking events are therein depicted that are of the greatest importance to God's
people. The importance of such passages as Rev. 12:17, 14:6-14, and the latter part of Rev. 13 is clearly
understood by all Seventh-day Adventists who give any consideration to the prophetic word. These
portions of the Apocalypse have become familiar to us all. However, other portions of the Revelation
have been relegated to a place of secondary importance; they are automatically or unthinkingly
regarded as being of no vital interest. It should be stressed that some of the less-known parts of the
Apocalypse contain information of equal importance with those better known.
There are reasons why some passages of Holy Writ become better known than others. Sometimes
certain passages are written especially for a particular crisis hour; they are reserved, so to speak, for that
hour in a special sense, and when that hour draws near the Lord causes His people to give more careful
study to the hitherto apparently neglected parts of prophecy. Such is the category to which Rev. 17
belongs; it contains a message sent by our Lord for His people to meet the coming world crisis.
It sometimes happens that the vital importance of some portions of the prophetic word is not clearly
discerned because of erroneous conceptions held in regard to the symbols therein employed, or
because of misinterpretation of that portion immediately preceding it. It has been thus with regard to
Rev. 17. Now, however, clearer perceptions of the significance of those portions dealing with the 6th
and 7th plagues have thrown a blaze of light upon Rev. 17 which has a definite relationship with the
events occurring under the 6th and 7th plagues. It is a custom of the Revelator to bring the reader's
attention to a crisis hour and then commence in the next vision or prophecy to enlarge upon that crisis.
The 6th and 7th plagues bring the forces comprising Babylon to the time of their last hour when they
will receive the full weight of God's righteous anger. Revelation 17 was written to explain the events
leading up to that time of the vengeance of God on behalf of His people against their enemies.
Revelation 17 justifies the severity of the wrath of God upon the forces of Babylon: they have
persecuted His people through all the ages, and in the very last days seek to extirpate completely every
vestige of the family of God from the earth.
With the advent of the spirit of democracy and the rise of nations espousing the principles of civil and
religious liberty, particularly as exemplified in the United States of America, there seemed hope that the
spirit of persecution could never again be revived. But when that citadel of democracy itself falls before
the victorious hosts of Babylon, and that nation, having grown to such prodigious strength that it has a
commanding influence over the entire globe, exercises that mighty power against the people of God, all
hope of preserving the Cause of righteousness in the earth disappears. Only by God's almighty power
being dramatically exercised on behalf of His people, could such colossal power be restrained from

doing the great evil it contemplates doing, namely, destroying the people of God wherever they may be
found on the earth.
Revelation 17 was written to warn God's people of the coming calamitous period when it would appear
that the forces of Babylon would triumph over the Israel of God; it was written so that the remnant
church would know the Lord's assurances that He will be with them in that crisis hour and give them
complete victory
4
over the world forces to be arrayed against them. Revelation 17 is of the greatest importance to the
people of God, and, because of that, Satan will seek to obscure its glorious message; he is sure to
oppose the clear presentation of any part of the Apocalypse-see GC. 341, 342.
To those who love the Lord Jesus and who seek to experience His fellowship day by day, it will be
sufficient to point out that it is in Rev. 17: 14 that we are informed of the blessed companionship of the
Lord in the great conflict. So allied is He with His people that the kings who unite with the beast and the
woman "to make war with the remnant" church (Rev. 12: 17) are said to "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 are
called, and chosen, and faithful." To Jesus, His bride is a precious possession, and when "the great
whore" urges on her evil associates to destroy the saints, He intervenes with His almighty power and
brings complete destruction to the forces of Babylon. The following pages have been written to
encourage a confiding trust in the Saviour's keeping power; to stimulate faith in the certainty of His love
for His people, and to foster a calm restfulness in the knowledge that He will never forsake His loved
ones in the hour of trial.
LOUIS F. WERE,
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. June, 1952.
HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE MYSTERIES OF THE

BOOK OF REVELATION
"I will tell thee the mystery of the woman and the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads
and the ten horns" (Rev. 17: 7.)
"This book demands close, prayerful study, lest it be interpreted according to the ideas of men, and false
construction be given to the sacred word of the Lord, which in its symbols and figures means so much to
us. There is so much that we positively must, understand in order that we may shape our course of
action so that we shall not receive the plagues which are coming upon the world. In the Revelation the
deep things of God are portrayed." (January 27th, 1900) - Ellen G. White, Letter 16, 1900.
"St. Jerome says that the Apocalypse 'has as many mysteries as words.' And Henry More observes 'that
there never was a book penned with that artifice as this of the Apocalypse, as if every word were
weighed in a balance before it was set down.' Those remarkable specimens of careful composition in its
earlier chapters may have been designed to remind the reader, that every sentence of it is pregnant
with meaning, and that in order to understand its Visions, the best method is to examine diligently every
word of the Apocalypse." Bishop Wordsworth.
"The Revelation was not written without tears, neither without tears will it be understood."-Benson.
"Only those who love and fear God can understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven."- (PK. 516.)
"The perception and appreciation of truth, He [Jesus] said, depends less upon the mind than upon the
heart . . . its reception depends upon the renunciation of every sin that the Spirit of God reveals . . .To

those who thus yield selves to God, having an honest desire to know and to do His will, the truth is
revealed as the power of God for their salvation." (DA. 455.)
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do His
Commandments." (Ps. 119:10.)
"The soul that turns to God for its help . . . by daily, earnest prayer will have noble aspirations, clear
perceptions of truth amid dam." (MB. 127.)
"If any man will do His will, he shall know' of the doctrine."(John 7:17.)
"The only way to understand the difficult parts of the Bible is first to read and o y the easy ones.'' John
Ruskin.
KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS
1T.I.
Testimonies, Vol. I, page 1.
GC. 9, 10. The Great Controversy, pages 9 and 10.
EW. 34 Early Writings, page 34.
TM
Testimonies to Ministers.
DA
The Desire of Ages.
PP
Patriarchs and Prophets.
PK
Prophets and Kings.
SC
Steps to Christ.
EW
Early Writings.
RH
Review and Herald.
MB
Mount of Blessing.
CHAPTER ONE
JESUS-ALMIGHTY GOD; THE GREAT "I AM"; "EQUAL WITH GOD."
A GREAT TRUTH ESSENTIAL IN UNDERSTANDING THE APOCALYPSE AND PARTICULARLY
REVELATION 17.
The Book of Revelation is, indeed, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" (Rev. 1: 1): it not only reveals Jesus in
His heavenly ministry, in His power to save His people and to destroy their enemies, but He is revealed
therein as God Almighty. Without a knowledge of the fact that Jesus is indeed God Almighty, the great "I
AM," the "equal with God," it is impossible to completely comprehend the majesty of the Apocalypse;
without that knowledge it is impossible to understand certain mysterious passages mentioned in Rev.
17. We repeat our positive declaration that a clear understanding of the unlimited Divinity of our Lord
Jesus is absolutely necessary in order to elucidate the meaning of important symbols presented in the
prophecy of Rev. 17. It is because of this absolute necessity that we present an abundance of evidence
to prove the unlimited Divinity of our Lord Jesus. Some of our people may feel that there is no necessity
for much emphasis upon this teaching, feeling that such emphasis is surely unnecessary. Fortunate
indeed are those who see Jesus as sharing with His Father the august designation of "God Almighty", for
this belief lies at the very foundation of our faithonly a Saviour Who is An Almighty God can save us.
Our Lord Jesus claimed to be the great "I AM", the great Jehovah, of the Old Testament: this
unspeakably sublime truth is unfolded in the New Testament with increasing splendour until the
Apocalypse scintillates with a divine effulgence in the revelation that Jesus, indeed, is no other than the
second Person of the infinite Trinity and as such shares with the Father the title of "God Almighty".

Perhaps there is no truth which is so highly exalted and so frequently mentioned in the writings of the
Spirit of Prophecy as the unlimited Divinity of our Lord. We Seventh-day Adventists who have inherited
such a wealth of light upon this inspiring theme are debtors to God for the fulness of the light that now
shines upon us through this inspired channel. We surely can enter sympathetically into the experience
of some of our spiritual fathers, upon whose pathway there shone much light, yet a light which did not
shine so clearly concerning the unlimited Divinity of our Lord as we now understand through the servant
of the Lord. "It is a matter of record that Uriah Smith once believed that Christ was a created being, see
Thoughts on the Revelation (1865), p. 91. But later he revised his belief and teaching to the effect that
Christ was begotten sometime back in eternity before the creation of the world. Since his day, later
books of the Spirit of Prophecy, such as Desire of Ages, came out in the nineties and later on, making
clear with the support of the Scriptures that Christ is co-eternal with the Father"Statement made by
Pastor W. E. Howell, Chairman of the "Daniel and the Revelation Revision Committee," reported in "The
Ministry," May, 1945.
In his excellent book, "Looking Unto Jesus," pp. 10-17, Foreword written in July, 1898, Uriah Smith again
made statements indicating that the fulness of the Light such as we have today through the Spirit of
Prophecy concerning the eternity of Christ, had not been understood by him. He said:
"God alone is without beginning. At the earliest epoch when a beginning could bea period so remote
that to finite minds it is essentially eternityappeared the Word . . . His beginning was not like that of
any other being in the universe . . . Thus it appears that by some divine impulse or process, not creation,
known only to Omniscience, and possible only to Omnipotence, the Son of God appeared. And then the
Holy Spirit . . . was in existence also. . . . no work of creation was accomplished till after Christ became an
active agent upon the scene. . . With the Son, the evolution of Deity, as deity ceased. . . as related to all
else, animate and inanimate, He antedated them all, as in uncreated being, derived from God, He took
His place, as 'the only begotten Son'.... In point of existence He was thus before them all. And then began
creation, of which a was 'beginner'." (Emphasis mine.)
Thus it may be seen that our Brother Uriah Smith had not understood the Spirit of Prophecy teaching
concerning the eternity of Christ. Our interpretation of certain Scriptures and especially concerning our
understanding of Rev. 17 will be according to our ideas of the Godhead, as will be seen in the following
chapters. It is for this reason only that we pause at the commencement of our study of Rev. 17 to show
how Uriah Smith's views of the Godhead affected his interpretation. For instance, in his notes on Rev.
1:4 ("Daniel and the Revelation," edition 1891) he says:
"'From Him which is, and which was, and which is to come,' or is to be-an expression which signifies
complete eternity, past and future, and can be applicable to the Father only. This language, we believe is
never applied to Christ (emphasis mine.)
In the light of what is taught in the Spirit of Prophecy, the revisers of "Daniel and Revelation" have
naturally deleted from the revised book this declaration concerning the non-eternity of Christ. In his
comments upon Rev. 1:8, Uriah Smith's conception of the non-eternity of Christ caused him to apply
these words exclusively to the Father. Rev. 1:8 reads: "I am Alpha
10
and Omega the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come,
the Almighty"; Uriah Smith's comment is:
"Who is it who here speaks must be determined, therefore, by the terms used. Here we again have the
expression, 'Which is, and which was, and which is to come', which has already been noticed as referring
exclusively to God. But it may be asked, Does not the word Lord denote that it was Christ?

In his endeavor to read this verse according to his conception of the non-eternity of Christ, he suggests
that God might be substituted for the word Lord. The revised edition of "Daniel and Revelation" rightly
deletes the old comments based upon the belief on the non-eternity of Christ and applies v. 8, as it
should be applied, to Christ. Thus we read: "In declaring who He is, He uses two of the same
characterizations, 'Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending', as are found in Revelation 22:13,
where according to verses 12 and 16 of that chapter, it is plainly Christ who is speaking. We conclude,
then, that it is Christ who is speaking in verse 8." (Emphasis mine.)
Thus we have shown that one's conception of the Godhead will influence one's interpretation of certain
passages of Scripture including the interpretation of Rev. 17. To grasp the essential ideas expressed in
that chapter it is positively necessary to grasp fundamental teachings concerning the Godhead: what
was involved in the death of Jesus on Calvary; how it affected or did not affect His position as a member
of the Trinity; Christ's almighty power exercised in the life of each believer-the death of the old nature
and the new life from Christ; the understanding of "The Mystery of Iniquity" in the light of "The Mystery
of Godliness". Therefore, before commencing to enter into our consideration of the significance of the
apparently mysterious passages found in Rev. 17, we must first make very plain to our readers the Bible
and Spirit of Prophecy teaching concerning the Deity of Christ and associated themes, a knowledge of
which is absolutely necessary to an adequate understanding of Rev. 17.
Those of our readers who are clear on such subjects as the eternity of Christ will rejoice to have at hand
Scriptural facts and Spirit of Prophecy extracts relative to this grand theme, and will be happy to read
again arguments and statements with which they are familiar. But the attention of the reader is
requested because later expositions concerning Rev. 17 are the outworking of the principles involved in
the teachings concerning the Deity of our Lord and His work of salvation in the hearts of His children.
It is most important that each believer obtains a clear understanding concerning the Deity of Jesus, that
He is the Creator of all life and all worlds and that He employs His almighty power in His redemptive
work for mankind. It is repeatedly stressed in
11
the Scriptures that the Creator is the Redeemer, and in those passages where this truth is stated the
emphasis is particularly upon the fact that His ability to redeem is such cause He, as the Creator, has the
almighty power necessary to do the work of redemption. See Isa. 43:1-3, 11-14; 44:6, 24; 45:11-13, 17,
18; John 1:1-3, 12-14; Col. 1:14-20; Heb. 1:1-3; etc. After having declared that Jesus created all "the
worlds" and upheld "all things by the word of His power", Paul showed how Jesus, employing His
almighty, creative power in His work of redemption, was thus "able to succour them that are tempted"
(Heb. 2:18); and "able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him." (7:25).
The Lord's servant has revealed one of the important reasons why many fail to receive greater blessing
in their Christian experience. She says: "The meagre views so many have had of the exalted character
and office of Christ have narrowed their religious experience, and have greatly hindered their progress
in the divine life. Personal religion among us as a people is at a low ebb" (5T. 743). Thus we see the vital
connection between our beliefs concerning Jesus as Creator and Redeemer and our own advancement
in Christian experience-and also our understanding of the Scriptures. We quote again from the pen of
God's servant: "Christ's humanity was, united with divinity.... And He came to make us partakers of the
divine nature.... God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast hold upon the divinity of
Christ, that we may attain to perfection of character" (DA. 123). Therefore let it be clearly understood
that our conceptions of the divinity of Christ will influence our Christian experience, and will also
influence our interpretation of the Scriptures. "The Divinity of Christ is the believer's assurance of

eternal life. (DA. 530). Our Lord claimed to be the great "I AM" the eternal, self-existent Oneand also
declared that our salvation depends upon this mighty truth.
The importance of this subject may be seen by observing that Jesus declared: "I am the Light of the
World . . . if ye believe not that I AM ['he' is not in the Greek; as indicated by it being in italics], ye shall
die in your sins" (John 8:24). Here we have the statement of our Lord that our salvation depends upon
the truthfulness of His claim to be the "I AM". This truth is sustained by the teaching of the Spirit of
Prophecy which says: "Jesus declared, I am the resurrection, and the life.' In Christ is life, original,
unborrowed, underived. `He that hath the Son hath life.' The divinity of Christ is the believer's,
assurance of eternal life" (DA. 530).
12
Later in this same chapter (8) of John's gospel, Jesus repeated His claim of being the "I AM", the
Almighty Jehovah of the Old Testament: "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before
Abraham was, I AM." The Jews did not misunderstand His claim, for immediately "took they up stones to
cast at Him: but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so
passed vs. 58, 59). By His declaration of being the "I AM", Jesus was seeking to ring the Jewish nation to
the point of decision: either they accept Him as the God of Israel, their God, now incarnate in human
form, or reject Him. The Lord today also desires His people to accept Him as the God of Israel, and as
such to trust wholly in His almighty power and the certainty of the fulfilment of His promises as the
covenant-keeping God of His people.
Jesus could have prevented the Jews' attempt to stone Him, but instead of attempting to alter in any
way the colossal claim He had made, He performed a miracle to enable His safe passage through their
midst so that they could not slay Him before the completion of His earthly ministry. The Jews could not
treat with indifference this claim made by Jesus, for if His claim was sustained they knew that they
would be obliged to obey the Old Testament declaration: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God." On the
other hand, the teaching of the Old Testament was equally explicit: "He that blasphemeth the Name of
the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him. ' (Lev.
24:16). They were thus compelled to do one or the other: accept Jesus as the God of Israel, their God,
their Saviour, their covenant-keeping God, the Almighty God, the I AM; or they had to stone Him as a
blasphemer. A simple sentence on the part of Jesus to the effect that they had misunderstood Him and
that He did not mean to convey such a meaning would have prevented their endeavour to stone Him to
death. But Jesus made no attempt to make any such statement; instead, He performed a miracle to
preserve His life a little longer until His work on earth was all accomplished. Thus Jesus' claim to be the
great "I AM" is made doubly certain.
Commenting upon this experience in the life of our blessed Lord, the Spirit of Prophecy says: "Through
his own suffering, Abraham was enabled to behold the Saviour's mission of sacrifice. But Israel would
not understand that which was so unwelcome to their proud hearts. Christ's words concerning Abraham
conveyed to His hearers no deep significance. The Pharisees saw in them only fresh ground for caviling.
They retorted with a sneer, as if they would prove Jesus to be a madman, 'Thou art not yet fifty years
old, and hast Thou seen Abraham?' With solemn
13
dignity Jesus answered, 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.' Silence fell upon the
vast assembly. The name of God, given to Moses to express the idea of the eternal presence, had been
claimed as His own by this Galilean rabbi. He had announced Himself to be the self-existent One, He
Who had been promised to Israel, 'Whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of
eternity.'" (DA. 469, 470).

"Here Christ shows that, although they might reckon His life to be less than fifty years, yet His divine life
could not be reckoned by human computation. The existence of Christ before His incarnation is not to
be measured by figures" Signs o f the Times, May 3, 1899.
"'Before Abraham was, I AM.' Christ is the pre-existent, self-existent Son of God. The message He gave
to Moses to give to the children of Israel was, 'Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath
sent you.'" Signs of the Times, Aug. 29, 1900.
In the Old Testament, "God Almighty", "Jehovah", and the "I AM", refer to the same Beingcompare
Gen. 17:1; 35:11; 48:3 with Ex. 6:2, 3, margin; 3:6, 13, 14, 15. Many, many times the Old Testament
Scriptures record the manifestation of "God Almighty", "Jehovah", the "I AM", to the patriarchs, to the
prophets and to Israel, and in all these manifestations may be discerned the Person Whom later we
know as Jesus. God's servant says:
"All through the pages of sacred history, where the dealings of God with His chosen people are
recorded, there are burning traces of the great I AM.... In all these revelations of the divine presence,
the glory of God was manifested through Christ. . All the communion between heaven and the fallen
race has been through Christ. It was the Son of God that gave to our first parents the promise of
redemption. It was He Who revealed Himself to the patriarchs....
"Christ was not only the leader of the Hebrews in the wilderness-the Angel in Whom was the name of
Jehovah, and Who, vailed in the cloudy pillar, went before the host-but it was He Who gave the law to
Israel. Amid the awful glory of Sinai, Christ declared in the hearing of all the people the ten precepts of
His Father's law" (P.P. 366).
The glorious manifestations of sublime majesty and terrifying splendour revealed at Mt. Sinai, and the
powerful voice which spoke the ten Commandments were those of our Lord. Both in the Scriptural
records and in the Spirit of Prophecy it is God, Jehovah, Who thus reveals Himself. The Lord's servant
says:
" ... the voice of God was heard. Speaking out of the thick darkness that enshrouded Him, as He stood
upon the mount, surrounded by a retinue of angels, the Lord made known His law. Moses, describing
the scene, says : 'The Lord came from Sinai . . . and He came with ten thousands of saints'. . . . Jehovah
revealed Himself, not alone in the awful majesty of the judge and lawgiver, but as the compassionate
guardian of His people : 'I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt'. . . . 'Thou
shalt have no other gods before Me'. Jehovah, the eternal, self-existent, untreated One, Himself the
source and the sustainer of all, is alone entitled to supreme reverence and worship." (P.P. 303, 304.)
When Jesus declared, "Before Abraham was I AM", He claimed more than pre-existence-He claimed selfsubsistence: not only that He existed more than 1500 years previously, not only that He existed before
Abraham was born and that it was He Who appeared unto Abraham as "the Almighty" (Gen. 17:1), but
He claimed that His existence was neither derived nor attained. It was His by right. This is the meaning
of the title "I AM""the self-existent One" (DA. 470) Thus Jesus unhesitatingly claimed to be the eternal,
living God Whose existence was derived from no one. It is not to be wondered at that the Jews, who
rejected Jesus' claim to this august title, should hasten, according to the explicit command given in
Israel's law by Jehovah, Israel's Almighty God, to stone Jesus Whom they would rather reject than
worship.
As is well known, the Gospel of John was written to prove that Jesus, by nature, is equal with His Father.
The introductory words of this gospel declare: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him;
and without Him was not anything made that was made ... and the Word was made flesh, and dwelt

among us" (John 1:1-3, 10, 14). Commenting on verse 1, Dr. Albert Barnes says: "'Was God.' In the
previous phrase John had said that the Word was with God. Lest it should be supposed that He was a
different and inferior being he here states that He was God. There is no more unequivocal declaration in
the Bible than this, and there could be no stronger proof that the sacred writer meant to affirm that the
Son of God was equal with the Father."
The Lord's servant says: "From the days of eternity the Lord Jesus was one with the Father" (DA. 19). "He
was equal with God" (2T. 200). From eternity He possessed all the attributes, prerogatives and power of
Deity. In form and appearance He is the image of God: "The express image of His person" (Heb. 1:3);
"The image of the invisible God" (Col. 1:15). "Being in the form of God, [He] thought it not robbery to be
equal with God" (Phil. 2:6), or as the Revised Version has it, "Who being in the form of God, counted it
not a prize to be on an equality with God." He would not count it a prize to be on an equality with God
for that was His normal estate.
Throughout Johns gospel appears evidence of the Godhead of the Saviour. After healing the impotent
man, Jesus said: "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill
Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making
Himself equal with God" (John 5:17, 18). There can be no doubt as to how the Jews understood His
words or of how Jesus desired them to understand their meaning.
On yet another occasion Jesus declared that He was God in human form, and again the Jews sought to
stone Him in accordance with the Mosaic law, because they could do no other when they rejected Him
as their Lord and Saviour. Jesus said: "I and My Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to
stone Him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from My Father; for which of
these do ye stone Me? The Jews answered Him, saying, For a good work we stone Thee not; but for
blasphemy; and because that Thou, being a man, makest thyself God" (John 10:30-33).
There are about fourteen references to attempts on the life of the Lord Jesus in John's Gospel alone; and
yet He sat daily in the Temple teaching; but no man laid hands on Him-until He had completed His
earthly ministry, and then He permitted them to kill Him. The only conclusion is that though they sought
to slay Him because He claimed to be God, they could not do so because He was God.
Before Pilate, the Jewish leaders reiterated their charge against Jesus: "The Jews answered him [Pilate],
We have a law, and by our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God" (John 19:7).
Now that His earthly work was nearing its full accomplishment, the Lord permitted the designs of these
deluded, crafty men to be realised; He knew that the time had come for Him to die to save all those who
would believe. Thus we observe that the chief charge (which they maintained until they succeeded in
bringing about His death) the Jewish leaders had against Christ was that He made Himself "equal with
God."
In one of His forceful parables, the Lord revealed that the Jews rejected Him and that they declared,
"We will not have this man to reign over us." In that same parable, the Lord also showed the rate
awaiting those who reject Him as their King, saying: "But those mine enemies, which would not that I
should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before Me" (Luke 19:14, 27). Sin had its origin in
heaven with Lucifer's rebellion against "the supremacy of Christ"; against the supremacy of Him Who by
nature was "equal with God" (see P.P. 34-38). The fallen angels
16
led by Lucifer, "rebelled against the authority of the Son... .
Satan wished to conquer the Son of God, and those who were submissive to His will" (EW. 145, 146).
This was the test with Lucifer and all the angels, and also the test with the Jewish nation; and this is the
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test of all judgment-bound creatures. The acceptance of the Deity of Christ and obedience to His will is
the supreme test of every finite being. Everything stands or falls by its relationship to this sublime truth.
The Apostle Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write more than half the books of the New
Testament: He was chosen as a special agent of the Lord Jesus to make clear to the church those truths
which it is imperative for His people to understand. Observe how Paul discourses at great length on the
glory of Christ's essential Deity and pre-existence; observe how he brackets Christ's name with those of
God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, and declares that, "By Him were all things created that are in
heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or principalities, or powers;
all things were created by Him, and for Him; and He is before all things and by Him all things consist"
(Col. 1:16, 17).
In this same epistle, the apostle Paul declared: "For in Him [Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power" (Col. 2: 9,
10). In commenting upon v. 9 Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown say, "The Greek (Theotes) means the
ESSENCE and NATURE of the Godhead, not merely the divine perfections and attributes of Divinity
(Greek, Theiotes). He, as man, was not merely God-like, but in the fullest sense, GOD "
In the book of Hebrews Paul began his revelation concerning the heavenly ministry of our Lord in the
heavenly temple, applying in an anti-typical sense the Jewish sanctuary services explained fully in the
Old Testament, by declaring that Jesus was not only the Creator, but also the Sustainer of all the worlds.
see Heb. 1:1-3. This wonderful truth Paul seeks to point out is absolutely necessary in His work as
Saviour, for no one less than the Creator and the Sustainer of the universe could be capable of doing
what is required in the plan of redemption. How could anyone but an infinite God hear simultaneously
thousands of prayers offered in hundreds of different languages and know all the intricacies involved in
each petition and be able to give a faithful answer and a true judgment? Think of the circumstance often
involved in a single request; the answer of each petition may well involve the petitioners whole future,
and other people will also be affected by the answer. What care needs to be taken with the correct
answer to only one solitary request! And how quickly comes the answer! Christians are urged to have
fellowship and communion with their ascended Lord all through the day"moment by moment"and
they are assured that their Lord will never be found too busy to hear their every request, but He will
carefully weigh everything that pertains to their lives here in material things as well as in regard to their
spiritual interests. What an amazingly intricate problem is involved, and yet everyone who has had
fellowship with Jesus knows that He has never failed them once: every Christian knows that every detail
of his life is under the constant supervision of the Lord Jesus, and from actual experience has seen the
outworking of a providence that takes into account the smallest detail.
A moment's consideration will reveal the absurdity, the impossibility, of thinking that anyone but an
infinite Saviour could actually do the work required to save numbers of people simultaneously and
perform that service continuously for thousands of years; it necessitates not only almighty power but
also infinite wisdom. Thank God, Jesus our Lord possesses all this power and wisdom which He employs
so freely in the salvation of all those who come unto God by Him.
In enlarging upon the foundation of his exposition concerning the ability of Jesus to save the lost, Paul
says of Him: "Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding
all things by the word of His power, when He had purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the
Majesty on high" (Heb. 1:1-3). In other words, Paul declares that this Almighty Saviour Who created the
worlds and Who still sustains them has "sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" to employ
all that Almighty power and infinite wisdom in connection with the work of redemption. In other
epistles Paul inculcates the exultant worship of the Lord Jesus on the ground that He is God, the Son
from everlasting to everlasting,." He wrote: "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever"
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(Heb. 13:8). To Jesus the Son of God belong, as well as to the Father, the words: "Before the mountains
were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to
everlasting, Thou art God" (Ps. 90:2 .
The belief that Jesus is the Son of God, Possessor of the nature and all the attributes and power of Deity,
is the foundation of the Christian church, see Matt. 16:16-18; 1 Cor. 3:11; 1 Pet. 2:5-8; etc. The New
Testament declares that Jesus was no other than the Creatornot only of this planet, but of everything
in the vast, illimitable universe. From the tiny specks which float in the sunbeam to the ponderous orbs
which wheel across the arching heavensJesus is the Creator of them all. It was the hand of
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Jesus which fashioned our world; that adorned the face of nature with the pretty, nodding variegated
faces of thousands of forms of flowers and vegetation. He it was Who laid down the living carpet of
green. It was by His skill that the birds were endowed with the ability to cleave the heavens in swift and
graceful flight. The ten thousand wonders which bedeck this earth in such glorious profusion are all the
product of His beautiful mind, "all things were made by Him", and "by Him all things consist." It was by
the Almighty power of Jesus that all came into existence, and it is by His power that "all things consist"
or hold together and function as they do. He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and
hangeth the earth upon nothing" (Job 26:7). Our earth moves in spaceso do all the heavenly bodies
which glitter and shine in the stellar realms. Supported in space and held together by what?-"gravitation"! What is gravitation? Only a name given by men to the almighty power of our Lord; for it is
He Who upholdeth "all things by the word of His power" (Heb. 1:1-3).
CHAPTER TWO
JESUS CLAIMED TO BE GOD: HIS WORKS AND HIS
TEACHINGS SUPPORT HIS CLAIM.
Jesus not only declared plainly that He was God, but the whole of His ministry on earth cannot be
explained on any other ground. By His words He showed that He knew all things; God and man; life and
death; angels and devils; time and eternity. Concerning everything, He spoke as One having authority
and possessing all knowledge. He never uttered one speculation, He never merely expressed an opinion,
He never hesitated, He never had to alter or retract any of His words. By His works and His miracles He
showed unhesitating mastery of sea and land, body and soul, life and death. He declared that His works
proved His Divinitysee John 10:25, 32, 33, 36-39. As shown in these verses, the Jews sought to
apprehend Him for blasphemy.
Claiming to be the same in Person, nature, and attributes, as His Father, Jesus said: "If ye had known
Me, ye should have known the Father also: and henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him ... He that
hath seen Me hath seen the Father" (John 14:7-11). When we read the Record of what Jesus actually
said about Himself we cannot help being profoundly impressed with the staggering nature of His claims.
And we are compelled to conclude that He is either what He declared Himself to be or the greatest fraud
the world has ever known. He says: "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth." He either
possesses all this omnipotent power, and hence is quite able to fulfil all His wonderful promises, or else
He has deceived those who have trusted in Him. The multiplied millions who have placed their all into
His hands were terribly deceived if He is not the Almighty Son of God. He could not be called "a good
man" if He has been such a deceiver. But thanks be to God "we have not followed cunningly devised
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fables, when we made known unto you the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 1:16).
He is all that He claimed to be. He is "the Christ, the Son of the living God."
God the Father addressed His Son as "God" and "Lord"-see Heb. 1:8-10. The prophet Isaiah declared that
the virgin's Son would be called "Immanuel", a name which is interpreted by an angel of God to mean,
"God with us" (Matt. 1:21). Isaiah also prophesied that this same Child to be born into the human family
is "The mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of
20
Peace" (Isa. 9:6). Paul declares that Jesus was "God manifest in the flesh" (1 Tim. 3:16). He declared that
this was the Almighty God Who led the children of Israel from Egypt through the wilderness to the
Promised Land-see 1 Cor. 10:4, margin.
While upon the earth Jesus openly exercised the prerogative of God, namely, to be able to forgive sins
(Mark 2:5-11; Luke 7:48-50.) The Jews were right in saying: "Who can forgive sins but God only?",
because Jesus was God incarnate. Jesus claims to be able to be present "where two or three are
gathered together in His name". No matter where Christians gather for worship, Jesus says: "There am I
in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20). See also John 3:13 for further thought-provoking study concerning
the omnipresence of Christ-by His Spirit. When Jesus was many miles away He knew all that was
happening at the home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary (John 11:11-14). When Nathanael thought no one
was looking, and quietly and secretly slipped under a fig tree to pray, Jesus saw Him. Jesus said: "When
thou wast under the fig tree I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith unto Him, Rabbi, Thou are the
Son of God" (John 1:48). Nathanael was astounded that Jesus knew anything about him. When Jesus
approached him the Master told him his character. In reply Nathanael exclaimed: "Whence knowest
Thou me?" Jesus knew all about this man and his secret prayers under the fig tree, though humanly they
had never before met face to face.
The Lord's omniscience is further indicated in many passages of Scripture. One of these is John 2: 24, 25:
"But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because He knew all men, and needed not that any
should testify of man: for He knew what was in man."
There can be no doubt that Christ's Omniscience is brought to view in the incident of the woman taken
in sin and brought before Jesus by her accusers. When Jesus "stooped down, and wrote on the ground",
these hypocrites "went out one by one". Jesus revealed to them that He knew their innermost thoughts.
They were before their infinite judge, with their secret sins laid bare before them by One Who knew all
about them. They disappeared before the thunders of His wrath broke over them-see John 8:3-9.
Jesus professed to have the power to give eternal life to all those upon whom He, with His infinite
wisdom, saw fit to bestow this priceless gift. "The Son quickeneth whom He will. For the Father judgeth
no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: that all men should honour the Son, even as
they honour the Father" (John 5:21-23). He revealed that He had complete
21
mastery over nature, and possessed creative power-see Luke 9:16, 17; John 2:9; 10: 28; Mark 2:5-12;
etc.
Jesus received worship which belongs only to the Deity. The angelseven the highest who stand before
the throne of God and who have been used as God's special messengersrefuse worship. John, when
the mightiest angel in heaven had revealed to him the secrets of the eternal One, says: "And I fell at his
feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not . . . worship God" (Rev. 19:10; 22:8, 3).
Satan had the audacity to tempt our blessed Lord, saying: "All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt
13

fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt
worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve" (Matt. 4:9, 10). Yet Jesus received approvingly
the worship that was offered Him. -After the incident of the miraculous draught of fishes Peter "fell
down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, 0 Lord" (Luke 5:8). Concerning this
miracle, the Lord's servant says: "This miracle, above any other he had ever witnessed, was to him a
manifestation of Divine power. In Jesus he saw One who held all nature under His control. The presence
of Divinity revealed his own unholiness" (DA. 246).
After Jesus had calmed the raging of the elements and spoken the words which stilled the angry sea,
"Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped Him, saying, Of a truth Thou art the Son of God"
(Matt. 14:33). Jesus also received the worship of the man healed of his life-long blindness. On that
occasion Jesus asked him: "Dost thou believe on the Son God? . . . And he said, Lord, I believe. And he
worshipped Him (John 9:35-38). He also permitted His followers to worship Him on the day of His
resurrection (Matt. 28:9). Our incomparable Lord approved of the confession and testimony of Thomas,
who said: "My Lord and my God" (John 20:27-29). Jesus gently reproved him that such recognition was
belated. John states that the only reason for which he wrote his gospel was that we might believe Jesus
to be the Almighty Son of God, Possessor of all the power and splendours of the Deity-see John 20:31.
Here are a few of the many texts which reveal that Jesus claimed to be equal in power with God the
Father, possessing the same attributes:
John 5: 23The same honour as the Father.
21-The same power as the Father.
17-The same work as the Father.
18"equal with God". See also Phil. 2:6.
John 8:51-59He existed before Abraham and is the "I AM", the Almighty Jehovah Who liberated the
Israelites from Egypt.
22
John 10:30"I and My Father are one."
33"Makest thyself God."
36"I am the Son of God."
38"The Father is in Me, and I in Him."
17, 18No man could take away His life. "I lay down My life..no man taketh it from Me, but I lay
it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again."
Luke 7:39, 40Jesus could read their innermost thoughts (Matt. 9:4; 2:24, 25).
John 1:47-50Jesus sees those who pray in secret.
John 6:64Jesus from the very beginning knew the future actions of all His followers.
John 18:5, 6When Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane declared Himself to be the I AM, His
opponents "went backward, and fell to the ground."
Matt. 5:20, 22, 26, 28, etc.--His word is law.
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Matt. 10:37, 38Jesus claimed Kingship over the lives and souls of men. Matt. 11: 27-He claimed to
know God in a way no one else can know Him. John 6: 47-He declared that if we believe on Him we shall
have everlasting life.
51Eternal life is dependent upon believing on Him.
John 6:39, 40The resurrection of the dead depends upon Him. John 5: 26, 27-He is to be the judge of all
men.
Matt. 25:31-36In the great day of judgment all nations will be gathered before His throne.
John 12:48"The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."
John 8:46Jesus claimed to be sinless.
John 8:24He claimed that unless we believe in Him as the Divine One, we will perish.
It would be utterly impossible for Jesus merely to be a good man and make such claims. No other good
man ever made such professions. Was He a blasphemer, or was He God in the flesh? Was He the
greatest imposter the world has ever seen, or incarnate Deity? Was He the worst or the best of men?
Should He be hated or worshipped? He is all He claimed to be or He is not. We must either reject Him,
stone Him, or accept Him and worship Him.
Horace Bushnell states:
"Certain it is that no man could take the same attitude of supremacy toward the race, and inherent
affinity or oneness with God, without fatally shocking the confidence of the world by his effrontery.
Imagine a human creature saying to the world, 'I came forth from the Father'; 'Ye are from beneath, I
am from above'; facing all the intelligence and even the philosophy of the world, and saying, in bold
assurance, 'Behold, a greater than Solomon is here' ; 'I am the Light of the World', 'the way, the truth,
and the life'; publishing to all peoples and religions, 'No man cometh to the Father, but by Me';
promising openly in his death, 'I will draw all men unto me'; addressing the infinite Majesty, and
testifying, 'I have glorified Thee on earth'; calling to the human race, 'Come unto Me', 'follow Me'; laying
his hand upon all the dearest and most intimate affections of life, and demanding a precedent love, 'He
that loveth father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me'. Was there ever displayed an example
of effrontery and spiritual conceit so preposterous? Was there ever a man that dared put himself on the
world in such pretensions-as if all light was in Him, as if to follow Him and be worthy of Him was to be
the conclusive or chief excellence of mankind! What but mockery and disgust does He challenge as the
certain reward of his audacity! But no one is offended with Jesus on this account, and, what is a sure
test of His success, it is remarkable that, of all the readers of the Gospel, it probably never even occurs
to one in a
23
hundred thousand to blame His conceit or the egregious vanity of His pretensions.
`Nor is there anything disputable in these pretensions, least of all any trace of myth or fabulous
tradition. They enter into the very web of his ministry, so that if they are extracted and nothing left
transcending mere humanity, nothing at all is left." Nature and the Supernatural, pp. 289, 290.
Practically everything recorded of Jesus in the New Testament testifies to His Divinity. It is not a matter
of selecting some special verses which can be manipulated to bolster up some belief of His Divinitythis
fact enters into the very warp and the woof of every narrative and all doctrine and instruction. The Bible
teachings on creation, on redemption, the heavenly ministry, the judgment, the second advent, the
resurrection, immortality, the home of the saved, the destruction of the wicked, the ministry of the Holy
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Spirit, of the angels, of the church on earth-all of these and any others that may come to mind, are
inseparable from the Almighty power and infinite wisdom of the Lord Jesus. The Gospel commission
reads: "Go ye therefore, and teach [make followers of Christ in all nations-see margin], baptizing them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you, alway, even unto the end of the world"
(Matt. 28:18-20). Only One equal with God and the Holy Spirit could give such a commission and make
such a promise. The benedictions coming from the Godhead through inspired men corroborate the fact
that Jesus is equal with God and is Godsee Num. 6:24-26; 2 Cor. 13:14; Rev. 22:21; etc.
At His birth into this world the angels declared His divinity. He could feed multitudes from a few pieces
of bread. The bread multiplied in His hands. He turned water into wine without the media of grapevines.
He could have turned stone into bread, or otherwise Satan's temptation would have been meaningless.
At His word storms hushed their angry voices, and the heaving deep sank to rest at His behest. When He
spoke the blind received their sight, the lame ran as the deer, the deaf heard, the grave gave up its
dead.
Soon the opening heavens will reveal Him at the head of a vast retinue of heavenly beings. "And on His
thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS" Rev. 19: 11-16). Then, as His Almighty word
rings round the world, numberless multitudes of sleeping saints rise to meet Him in the air (1 Thess.
4:16-18; John 5:28, 29, etc.).
One of Paul's favourite expressions concerning Jesus was: "God our Saviour' (Titus 2:10, 13; 3:4, 6).
The Deity of Jesus, the Almighty Son of God, is not only one of the grand teachings of the Bible, but it is a
very necessary truth for all Christians, and particularly for those who will pass through
21
the dark days of the coming conflict, to grasp thoroughly and tenaciously. They, especially, will need to
know that that Almighty God their Saviour will be with them all along the difficulties of the way; they
will need to know from an experience born of heaven that Jesus is almighty and infinite and can save
unto the uttermost all them that come unto God by Him. With Thomas they will be able to say to Jesus
with warmth and fervour: "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28).
Further Extracts from the Spirit of Prophecy Concerning The Deity of Jesus.
"The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the
Father. He was the surpassing glory of heaven. He was the commander of the heavenly intelligences,
and the adoring homage of the angels was received by Him as His right. This was no robbery of God."
Rev. & Her., April 5, 1906.
"From the days of eternity the Lord Jesus Christ was one with the Father; He was 'the image of God', the
image of His greatness and majesty, 'the outshining of His glory. He came ... to be 'God with us' (DA.
19).
"The personality of the Father and the Son, also the unity that exists between them are presented in the
seventeenth chapter of John, in the prayer of Christ for His disciples ... that they all may be one, as Thou,
Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they may be one in us.... They are one in purpose, in mind, in
character, but not in person) It is thus that God and Christ are one. (Min. o f Healing, 441, 442)
"When Christ passed within the heavenly gates, He was enthroned amidst the adoration of the angels.
As soon as this ceremony was completed, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in rich currents,
and Christ was indeed glorified, even with the glory which He had with the Father from all eternity."(AA.
38, 39).
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"In speaking of His pre-existence, Christ carries the mind back through the dateless ages. He assures us
that there never was a time when He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God. He to whose
voice the Jews were then listening had been with God as one brought up with Him" (Signs of the Times,
Aug. 29, 1900).
"Here Christ shows them that, although they might reckon His life to be less than fifty years, yet His
divine life could not be reckoned by human computation. The existence of Christ before His incarnation
is not measured by figures." (Signs of the Times, May 3, 1899.)
"Christ, the Word, the only begotten of the Father, was one with the eternal Fatherone in nature, in
character, in purposethe only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God. 'His
name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of
Peace' (Isa. 9:6). His 'goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting', Micah 5:2" (P.P. 34).
"Jesus is not only our Shepherd ; He is our 'everlasting Father'. And He says, 'I know Mine own, and Mine
own know Me, even as the Father knoweth Me, and I know My Father'. What a statement is this!--the
only-begotten Son, He Who is in the bosom of the Father, He Whom God has declared to be 'the Man
that is My fellow',the communion between Him and the eternal God is taken to represent the
communion between Christ and His children on earth!" (DA. 483.)
"The only way in which the fallen race could be restored was through the gift of His Son, equal with
Himself, possessing the attributes of God. Though so highly exalted, Christ consented to assume human
nature, that He might work in behalf of man and reconcile to God His disloyal subject. When man
rebelled, Christ pleaded His merit in his behalf, and became man's substitute and surety" (Rev. & Her.,
Nov. 8, 1892).
"All created beings live by the will and power of God. They are the recipients of the life of the Son of
God. However able and talented, however large their
25
capacities, they are replenished with life from the source of all life. He is the spring, the fountain of life.
Only He who alone hath immortality, dwelling in light and life, should say, 'I have power to lay down My
life, and I have power to take it again"' (Youth's Instructor, Aug. 4, 1898).
"His divinity was veiled with humanity . . . revealed God . . the Deity ... the Infinite. . . The all-merciful
God.. He was the incarnate God, the light of heaven and earth. His glory was veiled, His greatness and
majesty were hidden, that He might draw near to sorrowful, tempted men" (DA. 23).
"By His humanity, Christ touched humanity; by His divinity, He lays hold upon the throne of God.... It was
Christ who from the bush on Mount Horeb spoke to Moses saying, 'I AM THAT I AM . .. Thus shalt thou
say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you'. This was the pledge of Israel's deliverance.
So when He came 'in the likeness of men', He declared Himself the I AM. The Child of Bethlehem, the
meek and lowly Saviour, is God 'manifest in the flesh'. And to us He says, 'I AM the good Shepherd' 'I AM
the living Bread'. 'I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life'.... 'I AM the assurance of every promise.' 'I AM ;
be not afraid.' 'God with us' is the surety of our deliverance. . . . It is the 'Son of Man' whose name shall
be called 'Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace'. The I AM
is the Daysman between God and humanity, laying His hand upon both" (DA. 24, 25).
"And through endless ages as the redeemed walk in the light of the Lord, they will praise Him for His
unspeakable GiftImmanuel, God with us. (DA. 26).
"The babe ... was the Majesty of Heaven, the King of Glory.... He did not think that this babe was He
Whose glory Moses had asked to see ... in the Child of Bethlehem was veiled the glory before which
17

angels bow.... This was Shiloh, the peace-giver. It was He who declared Himself to Moses as the I AM. It
was He who in the pillar of cloud and of fire, had been the guide of Israel" (DA. 52).
"He did not employ His divine power to lessen His burdens" (DA. 72). "Divinity flashed through
humanity" (DA. 162).
"Even the demon had testified to the divine power of the Saviour" (DA. 256).
"The Majesty of heaven.... The wisdom by which He escaped the snares set for His feet, being a new
evidence of His divinity, added fuel to their wrath" (DA. 594, 595).
"Christ had not ceased to be God when He became man. Though He had humbled Himself to humanity,
the Godhead was still His own" (DA. 663-4).
"The miracles of Christ are a proof of His divinity" (DA. 799).
"Over the rent sepulchre of Joseph, Christ had proclaimed in triumph, 'I am the resurrection and the
life'. These words could be spoken only by the Deity.... 'Only He who is one with God could say, I have
power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it again. In His divinity, Christ possessed the power
to break the bonds of death" (DA. 785).
"He [Peter] now [after the Lord's resurrection] loved Him as God" (DA. 816).
"The second temple . . honoured . . with the living presence of One in whom dwelt the fullness of the
Godhead bodilywho was God Himself manifest in the flesh" (GC 24)
"The hand that sustains the worlds in space, the hand that holds in their orderly arrangement and
tireless activity all things throughout the universe of God, is the hand that was nailed to the cross for us"
(Education, 132).
"Christ's last and crowning miracle was the raising of Lazarus of Bethany, after he had been dead four
days. The Jews were given this wonderful evidence of the Saviour's divinity. (C.O.L. 265).
"Christ, the light of the world, veiled the dazzling splendour of His divinity, and came to live as a man
among men, that they might, without being consumed, become acquainted with their Creator" (Min. of
Healing, 419).
"That God Who walked with Enoch was our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He was the light of the world
then just as He is now" (6T. 392).
"Christ was a real man; He gave proof of His humility in becoming a man, Yet He was God in the flesh"Youth's Instructor, Oct. 13, 1898.
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"The world was made by Him, 'and without Him was not anything made that was made'. If Christ made
all things, He existed before all things. The words spoken in regard to this are so decisive that no one
need to be left in doubt. Christ was o essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all
eternity, God over all, blessed forevermore." Rev. & Her., April 5, 1906.
It was the Lord Jesus in His pre-incarnate days Who made gracious promises to Abraham and confirmed
those promises with an oath. Paul says "For when God made promise to Abraham, because He could
swear by no greater, He sware by Himself" (Heb. 6:13). This is one of many such passages strewn
throughout the Scriptures which, when examined closely, reveal that Jesus as a member of the Godhead
was equal with His Father. When Jesus took an oath by Himself because He could swear by no greater,
this is tantamount to saying that He is equal with His Father. That this promise to Abraham was made by
Christ is obvious in the light of the following extracts:
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"In all these revelations of the divine presence, the glory of God was manifested through Christ. . . All
communion between heaven and the fallen race has been through Christ" (PP. 366).
"The Father has given the world into the hands of His Son for Him to redeem from the curse and
disgrace of Adam's failure and fall. Through Christ alone can man now find access to God. And through
Christ alone will the Lord old communion with man" (RT. p. 17).
"The world's Redeemer was equal with God. His authority was as the authority of God. He declared that
He had no separate existence from the Father. The authority by which He spoke, and wrought miracles
was expressly His own, yet He assures us that He and the Father are one." Signs of the Times, No. 1, Jan.
7, 1890.
"The Lord appeared of old time to Abraham, and said, 'I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.'
This is the reward of all who follow Christ. Jehovah Emmanuel-He 'in Whom are hid all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge', in Whom dwells 'all the fullness of the Godhead bodily'to be brought into
sympathy with Him . . to possess the unsearchable riches of Christ . . . 'to know the love of Christ ... that
ye might be filled with all the fullness of God"'-Mount of Blessing, p. 57.
CHAPTER THREE
JESUS - JEHOVAH OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
The New Testament clearly teaches that Jesus revealed in the New Testament, is Jehovah Who is
revealed in the Old Testament, as the Deliverer of His people. As we have already shown, "God
Almighty", "Jehovah", and the "I AM" mentioned in the Old Testament refer to the same Beingcompare
Gen. 17:1; 35:11; 48:3 with Ex. 6:2, margin; 3:6, 13-15. The Lord's servant definitely declares that Jesus
claimed to be the I AM. see DA. 469, 470. The Lord's servant also wrote concerning the manifestations
of the Divine Presence: "In all these revelations of the divine presence, the glory of God was manifested
through Christ.... All the communion between heaven and the fallen race has been through Christ....
Christ was not only the Leader of the Hebrews in the wildernessthe Angel in whom was the name of
Jehovah, and who, veiled in the cloudy pillar, went before the hostbut it was He Who gave the law to
Israel. Amid the awful glory of Sinai, Christ declared in the hearing of all the people the ten precepts of
His Father's law. It was He Who gave to Moses the law engraved upon the tables of stone." (PP. 366).
We are directed to the Appendix for a further explanatory note. It reads thus: "That the One Who spoke
the law, that called Moses into the mount and talked with him, was our Lord Jesus Christ, is evident
from the following considerations: Christ is the One through Whom Gods at all times revealed Himself to
man. 'But there is but One God, the Father, of Whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus
Christ, by Whom are all things, and we by Him' (1 Cor. 8:6). `This is he (Moses) that was in the church in
the wilderness, with the Angel which spake to him in the Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; who
received the lively oracles to give unto us' (Acts 7:38). This Angel was the Angel of God's presence (Isa.
63:9), the Angel in Whom was the name of the great Jehovah (Ex. 23:20-23). The expression can refer to
no other than the Son of God."
It will be observed that Ex. 6:2 reads: "God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord" and the
margin explains that "the Lord" means "Jehovah". It would be helpful in our reading of the Authorized
Version if we always remembered that while Jehovah is occasionally given as the translation of the
original Hebrew, the translators have presented it almost without exception as LORD. In an article in
"The Ministry", December, 1951,
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Julia Neuffer, Research Assistant to the Book Editor, Review and Herald, says: "Thus to get the actual
force of the original we may read Jehovah whenever we see LORD, in the Authorized Version or the
British Revised Version. Jehovah, indeed, is what we find printed in the American Standard Version (the
Standard American Edition of the Revised Version of the Bible). To us the Lord' sounds adequate to
express the meaning `God', since we are steeped in the concept of only one God as Lord of all. But in the
Old Testament setting, with 'gods many and lords many' contesting the supremacy of the one God of the
Hebrews, the personal name of the true God is often much stronger than 'the Lord'. The Israelites on
Mount Carmel, witnessing the defeat of Baal (whose name also means Lord) before Elijah's blazing altar,
were no doubt at all as to which lord they meant when they shouted, `The Lord, He is the God!' They
were saying, `Jehovah, He is God!' Not Baal, but Jehovah.
God thus personally identified Himself in the preface to the Ten Commandments: 'I am Jehovah thy God,
which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.'
"'I Jehovah thy God,' is what He really says in the second commandment.
" `Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain.
. . . The seventh day is the Sabbath of Jehovah thy God ... for in six days Jehovah made heaven and
earth.'
"'I am Jehovah: that is My name,' He declares to Isaiah (Isa. 42:8)."
It was Jehovah Who proclaimed the Ten Commandments from the rugged heights of Mt. Sinai amid
awful grandeur, and, as we have already quoted from the pen of the Lord's servant: "Amid the awful
glory of Sinai, Christ declared ... the ten precepts" (PP. 366).
It was Jehovah Who created the heavens and the earth in six days and set aside the seventh day of the
week as the memorial of His almighty power. The New Testament clearly teaches that Christ is the
Creator (John 1:1-4; Col. 1:16, 17; Heb. 1:1-3; etc.). Thus Jesus is presented in the New Testament as the
Jehovah of the Old Testament. In the book of Revelation wherein this mighty truth is further revealed
the Sabbath is said to be "the Lord's Day" (Rev. 1:10). Why not give it the name of "the Sabbath"?
Because John's burden was not to point primarily to the Sabbath but to the Deity of the Lord. While
Sabbath keeping is revealed in the Apocalypse as the sign of loyalty to the government of Heaven, a
higher purpose even than that is revealed in the Revelationto exalt Jesus as "the Almighty" Who made
the heavens and the earth in six days and rested the Sabbath day and
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made that day His Sabbath day. The emphasis is upon the fact that Jesus is the Lord Who made that day;
it is "the Lord's Day".
Wherever prophet or apostle sought to show the prerogative of the true God he appealed to the people
to worship the Creator. (Jer. 10:10-12; Acts 14:15; Rev. 14:6, 7. 1 John 5:20 . And in this last text Jesus is
expressly mentioned as the true God: "And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an
understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus
Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
Many ways of proving that Jesus is the Jehovah of the Old Testament may be found by comparison of
verses from the Old and the New Testaments. For instance, in Jer. 23:5, 6 the Lord presents a prophecy
concerning the coming of the Saviour Who would be born of the lineage of David, and says: "This is His
name whereby He shall be called THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." As shown in the margin, the Hebrew
reads: "Jehovah-tsidkenu". The New Testament teaches that Jesus is our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30; 2
Cor. 5:21). Therefore Jesus is Jehovah. We will present but one more example of how the New
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Testament applies in relation to Jesus, statements made in the Old Testament concerning Jehovah.
Isaiah prophesied concerning the coming Messiah, saying: "The voice of him that crieth in the
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God." Isaiah
40:3. This was the passage to which John the Baptist pointed in connection with his workhe was
preparing "the way of the Lord", or Jehovah, and making "straight in the desert a highway for our God".
The angel Gabriel in bringing to the father of John the Baptist the news that he should have a son,
outlined the work that that son would do. He said: "And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to
the Lord their God. And he shall go before Him ['the Lord their God] ... to make ready a people
prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1:16, 17). Thus it can be readily discerned that the New Testament
teaching is that Jesus is Jehovah.
Writing with reference to the meaning of the name Jehovah, James Sprunt says: "This title occurs about
7,000 times, but it is generally rendered `the Lord', and only occasionally 'Jehovah'. The signification is,
He that always was, that always is, and that ever is to come. In Revelation 1:8 it is thus translated: 'I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,' saith Jehovah, 'which is, and which was, and which is
to come, the Almighty.' This title speaks of Him Who is `the same yesterday' (past), 'to
day' (present), ànd forever' (future). Heb. 13:8. 'Who created'
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(past) àll things' (Col. 1:16); Who ùpholds' (present) 'all things' (Heb. 1:3); and 'for Whom' (future) 'all
things were created' (Col. 1:16). It speaks of Him Who in the past 'appeared to put away sin', and now
àppears in the presence of God for us', and will yet 'appear a second time apart from sin unto
salvation'" (Heb. 9:24-28).
"LORD, printed in our Bibles with capitals, is the translation of Jehovah; and Lord, in small letters, is the
translation of the word Adon, which means Lord, Master, Possessor, or Proprietor. This distinction is
important. (See Ps. 90:1.).
" `Jehovah' expresses the covenant relationship of God with His people. See Exodus 6:2-8, where God
speaks unto Moses, saying, 'I am Jehovah', 'I have established My covenant', 'I have remembered My
covenant', 'I will bring you out', 'I will rid you of bondage', I will redeem you', 'I will take you to Me', 'I
will be to you a God', 'I will bring you in', 'I will give you the land for a heritage', 'I am Jehovah'. As one
has said, 'It was all that He would do, as founded upon what He was'.
"The question has sometimes been asked, `How can Exodus 6:3 be true, when we read of Abram in Gen.
15 addressing the Lord as 'Lord God' (Adohnay Jehovah)? To this we can only reply, that God's name in
relationship to the patriarchs was El Shaddai (God Almighty), just as now His name is 'Father'. Jehovah
was not the special name of God to Abram as it was to Israel in Ex. 6:3, whereas God Almighty was.
Bishop Wordsworth thus writes on this subject: `The name Jehovah is a word of higher import (than
Elohim); it is derived from the old verb havah; to be, and signifies self-existence. Its proper meaning
seems to be, He Is. (See Gesenius, p. 337) It was rarely uttered by the Jews on account of their
reverence and awe for the Divine Being, the Everlasting ... but in its stead, they uttered the word
Adonai.
"The name, so precious to the children of GodJESUS-means 'Jehovah the Saviour'. It is the Greek form
of Joshua, which itself is a contraction of Jehoshua, that is, 'the help of Jehovah', or 'the salvation of
Jehovah', or `Jehovah the Saviour'. This name was given by divine command (see Matt. 1:21), and it is
His only name, all other names being titles." Jehovah Titles, pp. 11-13.
The Lord's servant has written: "But while God's Word speaks of the humanity of Christ when upon this
earth, it also speaks decidedly regarding His pre-existence. The Word existed as a divine Being, even as
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the eternal Son of God, in union and oneness with His Father. From everlasting He was the Mediator of
the covenant, the One in Whom all nations of the earth, both Jews and Gentiles, if they accepted Him,
were to be blessed. 'The
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Word was with God, and the Word was God.' Before men and angels were created, the Word was with
God, and was God.
"The world was made by Him, ànd without Him was not anything made that was made'. If Christ made
all things, He existed before all things. The words spoken in regard to this are so decisive that no one
need be left in doubt. Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all
eternity, God over all, blessed forevermore....
There are light and glory in the truth that Christ was one with the Father before the foundation of the
world was laid. This is the light shining in a dark place, making it resplendent with divine, original glory.
This truth, infinitely mysterious in itself, explains other mysterious an otherwise unexplainable truths,
while it is enshrined in light, unapproachable and incomprehensible. Review an Herald, April 5, 1906.
CHAPTER FOUR
JESUS IS JEHOVAH, "THE ALMIGHTY"
THE SUBLIME DECLARATION OF THE APOCALYPSE.
The book of Revelation is "the Revelation of Jesus Christ", and this book contains the explicit teaching
that our Lord is, in the fullest degree possible, the Possessor of all the attributes of Deity; that He is in
very truth "The Almighty". As we have already seen, Jesus is Jehovah of the Old Testament. The name
Jehovah bears the significance of God as the self-existent One, the One in Whom life is "original,
unborrowed, underived", and Who could say in the Past or the present or the future, I AM. And in Rev.
1:8 the wonderful truth is conveyed to us that the Lord Jesus is the Lord, which is, and which was, and
which is to come, (the Almighty".' This is a definite reference to the meaning of the name Jehovah, and
as we have already seen, the names Jehovah and the Almighty were mentioned together particularly in
connection with the Lord's covenant-keeping assurances that He would deliver the Israelites from their
Egyptian bondage. Later, the name Jehovah was also employed in connection with His assurances to His
people that He would deliver them from their Babylonian captivity. Thus by His reference to the name
Jehovah in the opening verses of the Apocalypse, the Lord obviously intends that His people will take
comfort from the knowledge that their covenant-keeping Lord, the great Jehovah, remembers His
covenant, and with His Almighty power will certainly deliver them from all the forces of Egypt or of
Babylon.
As Jehovah and the Almighty are linked together at the commencement of the Apocalypse, it is
obviously intended that throughout the Revelation where the Almighty is mentioned it will be
understood as referring to the Almighty power of the great Jehovah, the covenant-keeping God, being
employed on behalf of His blood-bought people. In Rev. 11:17. we have the association again of the Lord
God Almighty with the meaning of Jehovah as the "I AM" in the three tenses: "which art, and wast, and
art to come", and thanks are given by representatives of the church "because Thou hast taken to Thee
Thy great power, and hast reigned", which is a reference to the fact that when the church is threatened
with death at the hand of the Babylonian king of the north, Michael stands up (or commences to reign)
"for the children of thy people" (Dan. 12:1).
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From the foregoing it will be readily seen that "Armageddon" "the battle of that great day of God
Almighty" cannot be understood aright except as a conflict in which Jesus the Almighty Jehovah employs
His infinite power on behalf of His people. Those who love the Lord will rejoice to know that by His
references to "Armageddon" "the battle ... of God Almighty", when Jesus "treadeth the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of Almighty God" '(Rev. 19:15), the Lord is thus giving His people assurances that
He will keep His covenant with them and deliver them from their Babylonian enemies.
Sometimes Rev. 1:8 has been applied exclusively to the Father, but this interpretation contradicts the
plain teachings of the Apocalypse. He Who speaks in verse 8 is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He
says: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and
which is to come, the Almighty." The same speaker says in v. 11: "I AM Alpha and Omega, the first and
the last: and what thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches ... and I turned to see
the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw ... one like unto the Son of man.... And when I saw
Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I AM the
first and the last: I AM He that liveth [present], and was [past] dead; and, behold, I AM alive for
evermore [future], Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." (Observe the use of "I AM" with "the
first and the last" in Isa. 41:4; 44:6; 48:12.)
That our Saviour is the One portrayed in the Revelation as "the Almighty", "the first and the last", is also
declared in Rev. 2:8 where again we read: "These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and
is alive." And if further evidence were required, we read in Rev. 22:12-16: "Behold, I come quickly.... I
am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last... I Jesus have sent mine angel to
testify these things in the churches." That these verses refer to the Lord Jesus is beyond dispute.
The book of Revelation reveals the important truth, yes, the positively necessary truth that our Lord is
"the Almighty". How could anyone inferior to Deity be the Saviour, when all the attributes and power of
the Godhead are imperative to man's salvation? In Rev. 5:6 the Redeemer is symbolized as "a Lamb as it
had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes"; that is, that He has All power and is All seeing. Let
this mighty truth be shouted from the housetop so that all saints may hear it: "The Saviour is Almighty,
Omnipotent, and He is Omniscient." It should be noted that this infinite power and wisdom are symbolized
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in connection with His redemptive work, for the seven horns and the seven eyes are represented as
being upon the "Lamb as it had been slain".
Is not this same truth declared by the apostle Paul in Heb. 4:13-16? Paul, in referring to the power and
the discernment employed in the plan of salvation, says: "Neither is there any creature that is not
manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with Whom we have to
do. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God,
let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling
of our infirmities. . . . Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy,
and find grace to help in time of need." Paul commenced the book of Hebrews, which he wrote to
explain concerning the heavenly ministry of our Saviour, by informing us that the Lord was the Creator
of all the worlds and that He is also the Sustainer of those worlds; therefore "He is able to succour them
that are tempted" (Heb. 1:1-3; 2:18).
The apostle John also commenced his gospel with the grand teaching concerning the Deity and
Creatorship of Jesus. Later in his book, he records the prayer our Lord offered to His Father on behalf of
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His church. In this we see illustrated the work of Jesus in His heavenly ministry, for at that time He stood
at the threshold of that heavenly mediation.
As every Seventh-day Adventist knows, the heart of the book of Daniel concerns the sanctuary and its
services: it commences with the destruction of Solomon's temple by the Babylonians, and, later, refers
to the vessels of the sanctuary being employed blasphemously by the king of Babylon in his praise of the
gods of Babylon. Later chapters-.cannot be understood unless they portray the conflict between the
forces of Babylon and those of Israel concerning the sanctuary teachings: they show that subsequent to
the cessation of the sanctuary services on earth they have been transferred to the heavenly realms,
while a blasphemous counterfeit system of mediation would be practised upon the earth. In this book in
which the true Priesthood of our Lord is portrayed, we find that Jesus is pictured in all His almighty
power and regal glory (Dan. 10:5, 6). In "The King of the North at Jerusalem", p. 103, the writer stated:
"The importance of Daniel's last prophecy and its relationship to the book of Revelation will be
recognized by noting that both commence with a `revelation of Jesus Christ' (compare Dan. 10:6 and
Rev. 1:14-17). In both, the glory of His person fills Daniel and John with awe and fear. In both, Jesus
comforts His faithful servants
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with the knowledge that while He possesses Almighty power, His power is used to show Himself strong
on behalf of those whose hearts are perfect toward Him. How fitting that both Daniel's last prophecy
and the Revelation, which is the enlargement of that prophecy, should commence with a description of
Jesus in His purity and power, and also in the capacity of the High Priest interceding on behalf of His
people. If the display of His power filled His loyal subjects with fear, how will His adversaries fare when
that Almighty power is used on behalf of His persecuted people! "
Daniel points to the time when Michael stands up to avenge His people, and to frustrate the purpose of
the king of the north as he goes "forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many", even
all the people of God. The Revelator also points to that same time: "And the seventh angel sounded . .
the kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord" (Rev. 11:15 R.V.). Then, the sovereignty
over the world will be our Lord's. Then, "He shall show Who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King
of kings, and Lord of lords." (1 Tim. 6:15). The Revelator says that at that time the representatives of the
human family who have associated with their Lord in His heavenly ministry, express the gratitude in the
hearts of His people on earth who have just faced death for His name: "We give thanks, 0 Lord God
Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and
hast reigned" (Rev. 11:17). Thus the fact that the Lord Jesus is God and as such possesses Almighty
power which He employs on behalf of His people against their enemies, is ever kept before us in the
book of Revelation.
That our Lord desires this important truth to be recognized by His people especially in view of the
coming days of bitter persecution against His people, is obvious when we observe that in Rev. 17: 12-17,
where the Revelator presents the formidable combination of the powers of earth to be amassed against
the people of God, we are informed that that mighty combination of the forces of Babylon will be
overthrown by "the Lamb". Notice how the Scripture reads: " . . . And the Lamb shall overcome them:
for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings". Remember that Paul in I Tim. 6:15 declares that it is the
explicit intention of the Lord Jesus to `shew Who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King, of king's,
and Lord of lords". Now when Rev. 17:14 employs the same phrase when referring to the events of the
same time, we know that the use of that majestic phrase at the time the forces of Babylon are overcome
as they fail in their endeavour to slay the people of God, is intended to convey to the
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remnant church before the final conflict reaches its fury, a sense of security in the knowledge that their
Almighty King will bring to nought the evil machinations of the combined forces which, will be arrayed in
formidable strength against them.
The term "King of kings, and Lord of lords" is employed three times only in the Scriptures and each time
refers to the overthrow of His enemies at the end of time. The last time it occurs is in Rev. 19:16. The
setting of this verse is as follows: The first part of the chapter describes the judgments of God that have
fallen upon "the great whore" which is brought into the prophecy in Rev. 17 thus we see the
connection between the events of Rev. 17 and those of Rev. 19. The vast multitudes of the saved of all
ages have gathered to "the marriage supper of the Lamb", "and as the voice of mighty thunderings" they
say "Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth". A comparison of this verse and its context with
that of Rev. 11:15-17 suggests that this acclamation of praise as recorded in the Revelation is intended
to exalt Jesus as the One to Whom that praise is offered by the redeemed hosts. This is also suggested
by the pen of the servant of the Lord, for in the chapter in "Christ's Object Lessons" entitled, "To Meet
the Bridegroom", which exalts the glory of the Lord Jesus, this passage is quoted with reference to the
Lord. And immediately after having quoted this passage, the Lord's servant quotes Rev. 17:14 which noone will doubt applies definitely to Jesus at the time of His overthrow of the forces of Babylon. These
same passages are also quoted together in PK. 721.
In giving a fuller picture of "the battle of that great day of God Almighty" (Rev. 16:14), which, in Rev.
17:14, is said to be fought by "the Lamb", the Revelator, in Rev. 19:11-21, describes the glory of the Lord
Jesus as He destroys His enemies in this Armageddon" slaughter. He says: He doth judge and make
war ... and out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall
rule them with a rod of iron [i.e. destroy them, see Rev. 2:26, 27]: and He treadeth the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written,
KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel ... he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the
fowls ... Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God."
Thus by comparing Rev. 16:14 with Rev. 17:14 we learn that the battle ... of God Almighty" is fought by
"the Lamb", and then when compared with Rev. 19:11-21, where a fuller picture of the same battle is
presented, we learn that it is the Lord Jesus, "called the Word of God", Who smites "the nations" and
rules them "with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the
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fierceness and wrath of God Almighty"; the birds are invited "to the supper of the great God"-the supper
pictured as being provided by the Lord Jesus, Who is definitely declared to be the destroyer of the
Babylonian forces that have sought to slay His people. Thus we see that throughout the Apocalypse, our
blessed Lord Jesus is declared to be "the Almighty", and His Almighty power He employs as Jehovah in
keeping His covenant to protect and deliver His people and to destroy their enemies.
CHAPTER FIVE
JESUS AS JEHOVAH KEEPS HIS COVENANT WITH HIS PEOPLE: THE MOST IMPORTANT
MESSAGE OF REVELATION 17: GOD'S ASSURANCE OF HIS INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF
EACH MEMBER OF THE REMNANT CHURCH AND THE ASSURANCE OF HIS PROTECTION.
In "The Moral Purpose of Prophecy" the writer has shown that the Revelation, in the ultimate, is written
for individual members of the church of the Lord Jesus. This fact is again brought to view in the study of
Rev. 17. The glorious promise of victory given in each of the messages to the seven churches, is
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addressed to the individual: "To him that overcometh" (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21). Seven times in
chapters two an three we read: "He that hath an ear, let him hear." It should be carefully observed that
we do not read this expression anywhere else in the Apocalypse except in Rev. 13:9. That the messages
to the seven churches are of the utmost importance none will dispute, a fact which we point to in order
to confirm our belief that Rev. 13:9 also contains an important message for the individual believer at the
time to which we are directed in that prophecy.
The Revelator employs this expression, calling upon each believer to give ear to what is being said, in
connection with his solemn statement that "all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose
names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man
have an ear, let him hear" (Rev. 13:8, 9). The connection between this prophecy and that given in Rev.
17 may be readily discerned by comparing Rev. 13:8, 9 with Rev. 17:8. For the sake of clarity we place
them together so that it may be readily seen that the two passages are almost identical.
Rev. 13:
Rev. 17:
V. 8-"And all that dwell upon the earth shall V. 8-"And they that dwell on the earth shall
wonder, whose names are not written in the book worship him, whose names were not written in the
of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the book of life from the foundation of the world."
world."
Thus it will be seen at a glance that the Lord's appeal to the listening ear of each individual is especially
directed to those who will live through that period of intense conflict which will exist when all the world,
wondering after the beast, joins in with this cruel, rapacious monster, in persecuting the people of God.
Thus the study of Rev. 17 becomes one of intense interest to the remnant church, being of special
importance to each believer.
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Why does the Lord so obviously arrest the attention of all His people to give careful study to the
prophecy of Rev. 17 with particular reference to the time when the beast's deadly wound is healed and
all the world wonder after the beast? An analysis of the connection the Lord makes between Rev. 17
and Rev. 13 reveals that the main emphasis in Rev. 17 is upon the restoration of the persecuting power
of the beast when God's people will face the full fury of the combined forces of all earthly powers. When
this solemn fact is realized, the loving reason for the Lord's special mention of each member having his
name recorded in the Book of Life is seen to be the outbreathing of His loving interest and care over
each one. Before considering the significance of the Lord's loving mention that each one of His faithful
children in the last days has his name written in the Book of Life, we present brief extracts from the pen
of the Lord's servant concerning the greatness of the coining struggle: "It is often the case that trouble is
greater in anticipation than in reality; but this is not true of the crisis before us. The
most
vivid
representation cannot reach the magnitude of the ordeal. In that time of trial, every soul must stand for
himself before God" (GC. 622). "The scenes to be enacted in our world are not yet even dreamed of"
(5T. 753).
"The great controversy between good and evil will increase in intensity to the very close of time. . . . All
the depths of Satanic skill and subtlety acquired, all the cruelty developed, during these struggles of the
ages, will be brought to bear against God's people in the final conflict.... The coming struggle will be
marked with a terrible intensity such as the world has never witnessed" (GC.9, 10).
For His children who will pass through this coming, unprecedented conflict, the Lord has written the
message of His love, assuring each individual member of His remnant church that, far from being
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overlooked (as the temptation might come in the darkness of the hour and the fierceness of the storm),
each name is written in the Book of Life. Furthermore, each name is not only written in the Book of Life,
but it has been written there "from the foundation of the world", (Rev. 17:8). The hymn writer says:
"When Jesus hung on Calvary
He thought of you and me;
'Twas love that held Him there to be
A Sacrifice for you, for me.
He thought of you, He thought of me,
While hanging there in agony."
There does not seem any reason for thinking this statement
40
that our Lord thought of each of us while hanging on the cross of Calvary to be anything else than a calm
statement of fact. The text we are considering (Rev. 17:8), however, goes beyond the cross of Calvary to
the very "foundation of the world", where Jesus, as the Omnipotent Lord, thought of those Whom His
precious blood would eventually redeem.
A comparison of Rev. 13:8 and Rev. 17:8 suggests that when Adam sinned, and the death of the Lord
Jesus became necessary (in the execution of the plan of redemption previously conceived in the sublime
counsels of the blessed Trinity), at that time were written in the Book of Life the names of those who
would be saved as the result of the unfolding of the plan of redemption. Rev 13:8 refers to names being
"written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world", while Rev. 17:8 refers
to those "whose names" were "written in the book of life from the foundation of the world". In Rev.
13:8 the emphasis is upon the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world"; in Rev. 17:8 the emphasis
is upon the people "whose names" "were written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world".
Seventh-day Adventist Bible students have no need for any consideration to be given here to the theme
of predestination. We all know that the names recorded in the Book of Life from the foundation of the
world were not placed there arbitrarily, but simply that the Lord foresaw those who would avail
themselves of the provisions of the plan of salvation. From the very beginning the Lord has known who
would be savedthis grand fact was given for the encouragement of His children, and was certainly not
given to engender human assumption and pride.
Incidentally, perhaps it should be pointed out that all who make a profession of faith in Jesus will have
their names recorded in the Book of Life as candidates for eternity, and that the investigative judgment
considers these names. All who have not maintained their profession of faith, those who have not
endured unto the end, have their names blotted out (see Ex. 32:33; Rev. 3:5) after which those that are
left will be those that the Lords foreknowledge enabled Him to know would be saved "from the
foundation of the world".
The Lord says: "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands; thy walls are continually before
Me." A careful study of the context of this statement found in the book of Isaiah will reveal that the Lord
gave this message in a special sense for His remnant church (though of course it has had a message for
His people from the very day it was written); it was written especially to counteract the possibility of
discouragements in days of darkness. "But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord
41
hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget he, sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the
so, of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the
27

palms of My hands; thy walls are continually before Me" (Isa. 49:14-16). Here we have a parallel verse to
that of Rev. 17:8 in which we are told definitely the reason why the Lord has given this message: He has
given it as an assurance that He knows all about each person; that He knows each name, and knows
everythingall the circumstances, etc. pertaining to each one, and declares that it is utterly impossible
for Him to forget those who accept the provisions He has made for their salvation. A mother's love is
proverbial, but "they may forget, yet will I not forget thee".
Thus in a special sense Rev. 17:8 contains a loving message to each of His people to pay careful attention
to His assurance that under no circumstance are they to think that He has forgotten or overlooked
them. His care over them will be infinite, and to prove it He declares that He even thought of them away
back at the foundation of the world and has had their salvation in mind down through all the
millenniums, and that Calvary confirms this fact. Therefore, would He be likely to forget or overlook
them right in the very hour when they needed Him most?
In "The Fall of Babylon in Type and Antitype", we have shown that prophecies given by such prophets as
Isaiah and Jeremiah concerning the overthrow of ancient Babylon were of a typical character: they
applied to both ancient and modern Babylon. In that presentation it was pointed out that the Lord, in
giving promises to ancient Israel concerning their deliverance from their Babylonian oppressors also, at
that time and in those same promises gave assurance to His people at the end of time that they would
also be delivered from their Babylonian oppressors in the last days. To those who have not given serious
study to these ancient prophecies it comes as an amazing revelation to learn how the Lord away back in
those days made a clear presentation of the many details concerning the persecution, peril and
deliverance of His people in the very last days of earth's history. The details are really amazing. And a
careful study of those ancient prophecies gives one a lively sense of the microscopic survey the Lord's
infinite Mind has made of the final conflict. As one considers that that microscopic survey of the very
last days was done thousands of years ago, there dawns the sweet consciousness that God knows all
about everything and that no sudden emergency can overwhelm any one of His children for which He
has not made ample provision.
Employing the same principle of type and antitype which is
42
employed throughout the New Testament (1 Cor. 10:5, 11, margins, etc.), it is possible to examine the
Old Testament records of Israel's experiences and from them learn the most astonishing details
concerning the experiences of modern Israel from the rise of the Advent Movement in 1844 until the
second coming of Christ. Some of these antitypical applications are well known among us, but many,
many more are among the lesser known examples that could be quoted while pointing out that all these
things tell of the Lord's infinite foreknowledge of the experiences of His people down to the very end of
time. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" Rom. 10:17 .
By living in constant communication with the Mind of God through the continual study of the Scriptures,
one can enter into an inner sanctum and there glimpse the fact that the Lord knows the end from the
beginning; that not one detail misses His all-seeing eye. Many Scriptures, of course, teach that the Lord's
eye sees everything. see Ps. 139; etc. However, that which brings strong consolation and cheer to the
pilgrim ever seeking to walk in the ways of God is not only that He sees everything day by day, but that
God foresaw all these things thousands of years ago and that He has accordingly made ample provisions
to meet all of life's emergencies. A careful study of the prophecies and types of the Old Testament
cannot fail to impress one with the knowledge that every detail of the future of His people has been
known by the Lord for thousands of years. Such a realization engenders faith and trust and restfulness in
the arms of His infinite knowledge and power. It was to inculcate this confidence in Him by the remnant
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church, that the Lord has written the message concerning His foreknowledge in Rev. 17:8. Thus the
Lord's love and consideration for His church is clearly revealed.
The Lord's tender solicitude for His people may be seen in His words of encouragement spoken to the
disciples on the night of His betrayal. He had informed them of His departure and sought to prepare
their minds for the ordeal before them. He said: "Let not your heart be troubled," and proceeded to
impart loving words of heavenly counsel for them in view of the deepening shadows already falling
about them. He pointed them to the mansions He would prepare for them; He told them He would
return and that then they would always be with Him. He proceeded to tell them that He would not leave
them "orphans" (John 14:18, margin), for they would still have His presence with them through the
almighty Holy Spirit, Whom Jesus called "another Comforter". In His tender love for His earth-born
children, He also told them how the Father loved them and that His presence would be always with
them (see vs. 16-23). Thus
43
the Lord manifested His thoughtfulness and His care for those who had accepted Him as their Saviour.
He gave those messages, which today by His followers are esteemed as the best words the Master ever
spoke. Jesus poured out His most encouraging words to meet the exigency of that terrible crisis hour
when the faith of the disciples was tested to the utmost. The remnant church is to pass through a
terrible hour of darkness similar to that through which the disciples passed, and as the Lord was constrained to impart special instruction and to give special words of assurance for them in that hour of
trial, so the Lord has given precious words of comfort for the remnant church in order to strengthen His
people to pass through the greatest time of test ever to come to the people of God in all the annals of
church history.
The gospel prophet Isaiah, pointing to the closing scenes in the great controversy between Christ and
Satan, declared that the message, which will be borne by God's faithful messengers facing that great
hour of test, will be, "Thy God reigneth" (Isa. 52:7, 8). While evidences of disintegration will be seen on
all hands, and when it will seem that only disaster could come to the church of the Lord Jesus, the
impelling presence of the Spirit of God will unfold the Holy Scriptures to faithful men, thus giving them
the assurance that God's almighty hand is upon the helm and that everything is under His infinite
control.
The servant of the Lord has assured us that the books of Daniel and the Revelation will be "better
understood", thus leading to eat revival". Again, the pen of God's servant declares:
When the books of Daniel and the Revelation are better understood, believers will have an entirely
different religious experience . . . One thing will certainly be understood from the study of Revelationthat the connection between God and His people is close and decided" (TM. 113, 114).
Thus we are definitely informed that "the one thing" the big lessonwhich will be learned "when the
books of Daniel and Revelation are better understood", is that God has an infinite love and care over His
people. As this is the most important feature brought to view in the prophecy of Rev. 17, it is obvious
that this once-misunderstood chapter will be "better understood" and its essential lesson learned by
those who will pass through the perilous period therein described.
To strengthen the faith of "the Father of all them that believe", God condescended to make a covenant
with Abraham in which He took an oaththis, according to the custom of those ancient days, was
equivalent to staking His existence upon the fulfilment of His promise. Why did God thus deign to enter
into this the
44
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most solemn form of oath known to the ancients? Paul says: "For when God made promise to Abraham,
because He could swear by no greater, He sware by Himself.... For men verily swear by the greater: and
an oath for confirmation is to them an end o f all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew
unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath" (Heb. 6:13-20). Why
did God thus enter into this solemn oath? Because He loved Abraham, and loves those who exercise
faith in the plan of salvation, ever seeking to take away any element of fear or of uncertainty, and to
give them peace and joy as they rest their cares upon His almighty arm. It is the love of God that
prompts Him to make these assurances to His children. He wants us to love Him and to trust in His
goodness and kindness. It is for this reason that He caused John to pen the wonderful words found in
Rev. 17:8.
Down through the long corridors of human time the voice of God has continually urged His children
onward to the everlasting Home, whispering ever and anon, "Let not your heart be troubled", "I am with
you alway, even unto the end of the world". One's faith (Rom. 10:17) in God's love for His people is
increased in the reading of the Old Testament records of the various crises that have come to them
along the highway to the celestial city. The Lord preserved Israel from the plagues which were visited
upon the Egyptians; He led them through the Red Sea; fed them with manna; caused the flinty rock to
gush forth with copious cooling streams of water, and spread over them a cloud which sheltered them
from the burning heat of the day and gave them light at night. Through the swollen Jordan He led them
into the promised land. The walls of Jericho fell before their armies, and in all their history He revealed
His loving care over them.
The prophet Isaiah presents a resume of Israel's history, saying:
"I will mention the lovingkindness of the Lord ... and the great goodness toward the house of Israel. . . In
all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in His pity
He redeemed them; and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old" (Isa. 63:7-9).
The Lord hearkened unto the voice of Joshua, and for Israel's sake He caused the sun and moon to stand
still in the heavens. In the days of Hezekiah He turned the earth back upon its axis so that "the sun
returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down". This latter miracle was performed in
fulfilment of the Lord's blessed assurance given earlier in the book of Isaiah that the Lord would deliver
them from their foes. It was at that time that the name "Immanuel" first appears in the sacred
Scriptures (Isa. 7:14; 8:8); this name is interpreted in Matt. 1:23 to mean "God with us".
45
This promise, given to Israel in the hour of one of her many crises, is the essence of the message given
to God's people down through the murky passages of the great conflict. This is the essence of the
message given in Rev: 17: 8 for the remnant people of God as they face the darkest hours of all earthly
time. Is there a better message that can be delivered to any trusting child of God in any hour of sorrow
or of trial than this: "God is with us." How safe little children feel when father is with them. How much
more does each child of God step out with confidence into the darkness of the stormy night when there
is in his heart a calm realization that the Almighty Father is at hand and that His almighty power is
exercised to protect and deliver him from all life's alarms.
In a previous publication, "God Speaks-and Israel Triumphs", the writer sought to point out that all the
details of prophecy relating to the last hours of the great conflict are all outlined for us by God in His
great love for His people. It is because God loves His people that He informs them concerning the
enforcement of Sunday laws being a sign of the imminence of the close of probation; it is His love for His
people that causes Him to tell them that the death decree will be proclaimed against them and that that
decree will be followed probably in less than twelve months by their wonderful deliverance; it is His love
30

for them that causes Him to point forward to that great hour of triumph when those who have died in
the message will be resurrected so that they will share in that hour of triumph and be living to witness
the coming of the Lord; it is His love which causes Him to tell His people at that time the day and the
hour when the coming of Christ will occur.
The prophet Daniel, pointing down to the time when the remnant church will be faced with death at the
hands of the infuriated king of the north Dan. 11:44), says: "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the
great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people" (Dan. 12:1). The Lord Jesus, seeing the peril
facing His people, closes the door of mercy that He may deal with their merciless enemies without
mercy; He stands up, or commences His reign, to exercise His almighty power on behalf of His people.
The servant of the Lord says: "God's judgments will be visited upon those who are seeking to oppress
and destroy His people" (GC. 627). The seven last plagues are poured out upon those who seek to harm
the Lord's people, and when the plagues are studied with this thought in mind they will be seen as
proofs of the love of God exercised on behalf of His people.
46
This is the "one thing" which the servant of the Lord says will be made clear to the remnant church
"when the books of Daniel and the Revelation are better understood" (TM. 114) When the prophecies of
Daniel and the Revelation are studied as expressions of God's love for His people and that all that is
recorded therein is for their sake, a sense of the fellowship with the Eternal will dawn upon their
consciousness and give them strength to face the future with confidence, trusting in the certainty of the
love of God that will cause Him to exercise His mighty power on their behalf to the dismay of their
enemies. This is the most important message contained in the prophecy of Rev. 17.
CHAPTER SIX
"THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS" AND "THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY"- THEIR VITAL
RELATIONSHIP TO THE CORRECT INTERPRETATION OF REVELATION 17.
Mysteries regarding iniquity are mentioned in Rev. 17. There is the name of the Babylonian "whore":
"Upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT." Later, the angel said unto
John: "I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her" (vs. 5, 7). Thus there
are two parties at least involved in "the mystery of iniquity": the woman and also the beast; and
obviously a spotlight focused upon the stage would clear up the mystery surrounding both these actors
in the gripping drama portrayed in this prophecy.
Two great mysteries are revealed in the Scriptures: (1) "The Mystery of Godliness" (1 Tim. 3:16); (2) "The
Mystery of Iniquity (2 Thess. 2:7). In order to show their vital relationship to the mysteries of Rev. 17, it
is necessary to point out the underlying principle governing the understanding of such passages in the
book of Revelation. We have shown the connection between Jesus, Jehovah, and the Almighty, in the
Revelation; that is, that wherever the designation "The Almighty" is employed, it is intended that
automatically God's people will know that it refers to the Almighty power Jesus employs in keeping His
covenant in behalf of His people. Similarly, when "the mystery of iniquity" is referred to it is intended
that the people of God will automatically consider the bearing it has upon "the mystery of Godliness".
The Apocalypse places the contending forces in opposition, and this is done in such a way that when one
is under consideration the other will naturally present itself to the thoughtful reader.
The essence of "the mystery of iniquity is deception: to make wrong look right; to make error appear
truth; to make rebellion counterfeit obedience. Jesus declared of Satan: "He . . . abode not in the truth,
31

because there is no truth in him ... for he is a liar, and the father of it" (John 8:44).. Lucifer began his
rebellion "with mysterious secrecy, and for a time concealed his real purpose under an appearance of
reverence for God.... If this prince of angels could attain to his true, exalted position, great good would
accrue to the entire host of heaven; for it was his object to secure freedom for all. . . . By disguising
himself in a cloak of falsehood, he had gained an advantage. Until fully developed,
48
it could not be made appear the evil thing it was; his disaffection would not be seen to be rebellion.
Even the loyal angels could not fully discern his character, or see to what his work was leading.... Had he
been immediately blotted out of existence, some would have served God from fear rather than from
love. a influence of the deceiver would not have been fully destroyed, nor would the spirit of rebellion
have been utterly eradicated. For the good of the entire universe through ceaseless ages, he must more
fully develop his principles" (PP. 37-42).
"Satan had, at first, concealed his work under a specious profession of loyalty a to God. He claimed to be
seeking to promote the honour of God, the stability of His government, and the good of all the
inhabitants of Heaven. While instilling discontent into the minds of the angels under him, he had artfully
made it appear that he was seeking to remove dissatisfaction. When he urged that changes be made in
the order and laws of God's government it was under the pretence that these were necessary in order
to preserve harmony in Heaven." (GC 497, 498)
In Eden, Satan brought Eve on to his side through deception and subtlety: "the serpent beguiled Eve
through his subtlety" (2 Cor. 11:3). He has employed guile and deceit down through all ages. When he
tempted our Lord in the wilderness, he appeared as "one in the guise of an angel from heaven. He
claimed to have a commission from God to declare that Christ's fast was at an end.... Though he
appeared as an angel of light, these first words betrayed his character. (DA 118)
In the closing scenes of the great drama of evil, Satan will work more speciously than ever under the
guise of a benefactor while leading the world to its doom. "While appearing to the children of men as a
great physician who can en all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are
reduced to ruin and desolation. . And then the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve
God are causing these evils" (GC. 589, 590).
Satan's "masterpiece of deception" (GC. 561, 2) will be when he, appearing as Christ, will, under this
guise and by his deceptions, lead the world to fight against God and His people.
The Lord's servant says: "As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will
personate Christ.... Now the great deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In different parts of
the earth, Satan will manifest himself among men as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling
the description of the Son of God given by John in the Revelation. (Rev. 1:13-15) The glory that
surrounds him is unsurpassed by anything that mortal eyes have yet beheld. The shout of triumph rings
out upon the air, `Christ has come ! Christ has come!' The people prostrate themselves in adoration
before him while he lifts up his hands and pronounces a blessing upon them. . .His voice is soft and
subdued, yet full of melody. In gentle, compassionate tones he presents some of the gracious, heavenly
truths which the Saviour uttered; he heals the diseases of the people, and then, in his assumed
character of Christ, he claims to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday and commands all to hallow the
day which he has blessed. He declares that those who persist in keeping holy the seventh day are
blaspheming his name by refusing to listen to his angels sent to them with light and truth" (GC. 624).
99
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The Revelator emphasizes that it is by deception that the world is led to war against God and seek to
slay His people. see Rev. 13:13-17; 16:13, 14; 19:20. John also emphasizes that after the 1000 years,
when the wicked are resurrected, the same work of deception continues. He says that Satan "shall go
out to deceive the nations . . . to gather them together to battle" against God and His people within the
New Jerusalem, which has then come down from heaven (Rev. 20:8). Writing of that time, the Lord's
servant says: "Now Satan prepares for a last mighty struggle for the supremacy. . . . Yet, true to his early
cunning, he does not acknowledge himself to be Satan. He claims to be the Prince who is the rightful
owner of the world, and whose inheritance has been unlawfully wrested from him. He represents
himself to his deluded subjects as a redeemer, assuring them that his power has brought them forth
from the most cruel tyranny" (GC. 663).
To fully comprehend the meaning of the mysteries mentioned or alluded to in Rev. 17, it is necessary to
remember the outworking of "the mystery of iniquity" from its commencement in heaven until it comes
to its end after the millennium.
Early in the Apocalypse, attention is directed to those who are deceived into thinking that they are
disciples of Christ when they are in reality serving Satan. Christ says: "I know the blasphemy of them
which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan" (Rev. 2:9). Again, in Rev. 3:9 the
Lord mentions this same deception, saying: "Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which
say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet,
and to know that I have loved thee" (Rev. 3:9). (This verse is applied in EW. 15, GC. 655) by God's
servant in, connection with the final conflict.)
In Rev. 2:20-24, the Lord employs the symbol of `jezebel' to portray the apostasy of the Papal power. As
indicated in this prophecy, the success which came to the apostate church, was due to the fact that she
professed to be "a prophetess' assuming the garments of the servant of the Lord caused many in the
past, in the present, and particularly in the near future, to be deceived by her false teachings. The
expression employed in Rev. 2:20: "To teach and to seduce My servants" implies the teaching of error as
though it were the truth. It is in this way that the beast has "opened his mouth in blasphemy against
God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven" (Rev. 13:6). To claim
to be representing Christ whilst working contrary to the Bible is to commit blasphemy-especially when
making the claim of being the Vicar of the Son of God, and at the same time persecuting the people of
God!
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In Heaven, Lucifer "concealed his work under a specious profession of loyalty to God". Satan
counterfeits the things of Christ and pretends to be working for Christ while he works against Him. It is
to his counterfeiting system of religion that we are directed by the term "Babylon". And it is in Rev. 17:5
that this system is branded as the counterfeiter of the things of Christ. Observe how Babylon's title is
written in large capital letters: "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER HARLOTS AND
ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." Why is her title thus written? Because she is the counter of the things
of Christ Whose title also is written in the same large capital letters: "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF
LORDS' (Rev. 19:16).
Because Satan's kingdom is a counterfeit of the Lord's kingdom, the things pertaining to Babylon are
described in similar language to those pertaining to the Lord's kingdom centred in Jerusalemthe
church. This instance cited above, in which the titles of both the Lord and His blasphemous counterfeiter
are written in large capital letters, is but one of many such scattered throughout the Apocalypse, and it
is obviously intended that when reading the title of Babylon or anything else by which it is designated,
the reader will loathingly turn away from the counterfeiting system unto the Lord; away from Satan and
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his errors to Christ. It is not the purpose of the Revelator merely to describe the evil system, but to point
to it as the opposite of Christ. That this is the basis of the imagery employed in the Revelation is obvious
from the declarations concerning God and His people, and the imitating counterparts descriptive of
Satan and his Babylonian kingdom. Carefully observe the following facts:
GOD AND ISRAEL.
SATAN AND BABYLON.
Rev. 1:4, 5. The Trinity-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Rev. 12; 13; 16:13, 19. False trinity - dragon, beast,

false prophet.
Rev. 1:1; 6:2. God commissions His Son, and gives Rev. 13:2. The dragon gave the beast his "power,
Him authority and power.
and his seat, and great authority."
Matt. 9:17; etc. Wine-true doctrine.
Rev. 14:8 ; 17:2; 18:3. Wine False doctrine.
Rev. 5:6. Christ is likened to a Lamb with seven Rev. 13:11. False prophet has two horns like a
horns-all power in heaven and on earth.
lamb, but speaks later as a dragon-political power
controlled by church.
Rev. 22:16. Jesus means Saviour.
Rev. 9:11. Apollyon or Destroyer.

Rev. 12:7-9; 20:2. Satan or Adversary.
Rev. 5:6. The Lamb (used 27 times in the Rev. 13. The Beast.
Revelation concerning Christ). 14:1.
Rev. 14:7. Worship the Creator. "Worship" is Rev. 14:9, 11. Not to worship the beast. "Worship"
mentioned 24 times in the Apocalypse 12 times is mentioned 12 times concerning Satan's people.
concerning the Lord's people.
Rev. 22:16. Jesus, in the Greek, numbers 888.
Rev. 13:17, 18. The Pope's title, in Latin, numbers

666.
Rev. 12. The "woman" - Christ's church - is Rev. 17:4. The "woman"-Satan's church - is
mentioned 8 times.
mentioned 6 times.
Rev. 19:16. The Lord's title written in large capital Rev. 17:5. Babylon's title written in large capital
letters.
letters.
Rev. 1:18; 3:7. Keys of death and of hades.
Rev. 9:1. Key to Bottomless pit.
Rev. 3:21. Christ's "throne".
Rev. 2:13; 16:10. "Throne" of Satan.
Ps. 113: 5; Isa. 40:18. "Who is like unto the Lord?"
Rev. 13: 4. "Who is like unto the beast?"
Rev. 5:6. "A Lamb as it had been slain."
Rev. 13:3. One of the heads of the beast "as

though it had been slain". See margin.
Rev. 1:18; 2: 8. Christ died and lived again.
Rev. 13:14. Beast received stroke of death "and
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lived". R.V.
Rev. 1:8. Jesus: "He which is, and which was, and Rev. 17:8. Beast "was, and is not", and is about to
which is to come."
come out of the bottomless pit.
Rev. 11:17. R.V. drops last term of the above Rev. 17:11. Last term of above description is
description.
dropped.
Rev. 6:16. The wrath of the Lamb-comes down Rev. 12:12. The wrath of the dragon -comes down
with "great wrath".
with great wrath.
Rev. 7:2. God's seal.
Rev. 13:17. Beast's mark.
Rev. 7:3. Seal in forehead.
Rev. 13:16; 20:4. Mark in forehead or the hand.
Rev. 14:1. Contains the name of God.
Rev. 13:17. Contains the name of the beast.
Rev. 7:4. The tribes of Israel.
Rev. 1:7. The tribes of the earth.
Rev. 16:12. The kings of the east.
Rev. 16:14 The kings of the earth and of the whole

world.
Rev. 19:11-14. The armies of heaven.
Rev. 19:19. The armies of earth.
Rev. 21:24-26. Nations saved.
Rev. 16:19; 20:8. Nations destroyed.
Rev. 14:14-16. Harvest of grain for Heaven.
Rev. 14:17-20. Harvest of grapes for destruction.
Rev. 12:7; 16:14, 16; 19:11. The "war" or "battle" Rev. 12:17; 17:14; 20:8. The "war" or "battle"
against Satan and his followers.
against Christ and His people.
Rev. 7:1-4; 14:6-17. Christ's messengers come Rev. 11:7; 13:1, 11. Satan's messengers come "up"
"down" from heaven "above". See John 3: 3, 7, from the earth "beneath". See John 8: 23, etc.
margins ; v. 31, etc.
Rev. 18:1. "Come down from heaven."
Rev. 17:8. "Come up out of the abyss". (R.V.)
Rev. 14:7. "Fear God."
Rev. 14:8; 18:3. "The wrath of her fornications" nations support Babylon through fear; boycott;
persecution, etc.
Rev. 19:9. The marriage supper of the Lamb; the Rev. 19:17-20. The supper of the birds; the defeat
triumph and joy of Israel.
and death of Israel's enemies.
Rev. 12:17. God's remnant.
Rev. 19: 21. Babylon's remnant.
Rev. 12; 21:10. The Lamb's wife. Rev. 19: 7.
Rev. 17:1, 5, 18. The harlot of Babylon.
Rev. 2:1, etc. The Lord's church.
Rev. 2:9; 3:9. The synagogue of Satan.
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Rev. 21:14. Apostles of the Lamb.
Rev. 2:2. False apostles.
Rev. 11:2; 14:20. The holy city, Jerusalem-God's Rev. 14:8; 16:19; 18:2; etc. The unholy city,
church.
Babylon - Satan's church.
Rev. 18:1. Holy fire from heaven.
Rev. 13:13. False fire from the heavens.
Rev. 21:10. "That great city, the holy Jerusalem."
Rev. 18:10, 21. "That great city Babylon."
John 18:12, 24. Jesus bound.
Rev. 20:2. Satan bound.
Rev. 1:18; Matt. 27:60, 66. Jesus' tomb sealed.
Rev. 20:3. Satan sealed in the bottomless pit.
Rev. 14:1; 17:14. With Jesus.
Rev. 19:20; 13:14. Do before beast. In his sight.
The foregoing, which reveal the principle of contrasts by which the things pertaining to "the mystery of
Godliness" and those pertaining to "the mystery of Iniquity" are designated, enable us to understand the
significance of several statements in Rev. 17. Thus the beast is said to "ascend out of the bottomless pit"
or "the abyss", to indicate the emergence of a Satanic power, in contrast to the heavenly messengers
which "come down from Heaven" (Rev. 18:1): the power thus represented will be actuated by the spirit
which has possessed Satan from the inception of His rebellion against God: hostility toward God and
those loyal to Him but camouflaged with religious garb and pious persecution.
The harlot of Babylon, described in Rev. 17, is set forth in contrast to the bride of Christ, described in
Rev. 12. In Rev. 12:17 this "woman" obeys the Commandments of God and has the testimony of Jesus
Christ. Thus, by the principle of contrasts, we know that "the great whore", while professing to be the
bride of Christ, does not keep the Commandments of God and does not have the testimony of Jesus
Christ; on the contrary, she persecutes those who do obey God and thus bears evidence that she is led
by Satan into hatred for Christ and His people.
"The mystery of Godliness: God was manifest in the flesh" (1 Tim. 3:16). Jesus, the One equal with God,
came down to this world to set an example of perfect obedience to the will of God. That mystery of
Godliness is continued in the lives of all who, though buffeted by Satanic hatred, obey all of Heaven's
holy Commandments, through the mysterious union of the Divine in the human soul-see Mark 4:11;
Ephes. 3:9; 6:19; Col. 1:26, 27; 4:3; 2:2; etc. How men born to sin can be changed to cease from sinning,
is a divine mystery.
"The mystery of iniquity", we know from the principle of contrasts revealed in the Apocalypse, refers to
those who continue the state of rebellion which prompted Lucifer to wage war against God, His
Commandments, and those who are loyal to the government of Heaven. As "the mystery of Godliness"
is "God manifest in the flesh", whether of Jesus the incarnate Son of God, or of each believer, who is
born of the Holy Spirit and feeds that Divine life within through prayer and the study of the Word of
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God (see 1 Pet. 1:23; 2:2; Matt. 4:4), so "the mystery of iniquity" thus designates those who, like Satan,
permit the continuance of his rebellion in their flesh. This rebellion, however, is made to appear holy.
Describing "the mystery of lawlessness" (R.V.), Paul says: "The man of sin, the son of perdition; who
opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God
sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is
36

God" (2 Thess. 2:3, 4). Sitting as God, or representing God, in the church of Jesus, yet deceived into
believing he can change the Divine Commandments and substitute a human invention-truly "the
mystery of lawlessness". Jesus exemplified the principle of the Government of Heavenstrict compliance
with the will and Law of God. The man of sin has exemplified the principle of Lucifer's rebellion-setting
aside any part of God's Law to suit the selfish choice of a finite mind.
In Rev. 17, both the woman and the beast are associated with mysterythey are agencies through which
Satan continues "the mystery of iniquity".
There is yet another contrast of the things of Christ with those of Satan, to which special attention must
be drawn, but its importance in the understanding of Rev. 17 demands that we reserve it for fuller
consideration in our next chapter.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE RESURRECTION OF THE BEAST: AN IMITATION
OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS. "THE MYSTERY OF
THE BEAST THAT . . . IS ABOUT TO COME UP OUT OF THE ABYSS" (R.V.)
The coming of the beast "out of the bottomless pit", or "out of the abyss" (R.V.), is one of the important
features in this prophecy. The understanding of this part of the prophecy will throw tight upon the two
mysteries of the Bible: "The mystery of Godliness" and "the mystery of iniquity", for, according to the
principle we enunciated in the previous chapter, the mystery associated with the beast in Rev. 17 will be
found to have a definite relationship to "the mystery of Godliness". What part of the mystery of
Godliness is here referred to? Among the many contrasting items concerning the two mysteries which
we have listed in the previous chapter, we included those which show that the death and the
resurrection of the beast are set forth as imitations of those of Jesus. Here we present further details
concerning these:
"THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS"
Rev. 5:6. "A Lamb as it had been slain."
"THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY"

Rev. 13:3. One of the heads of the beast "as
though it had been slain." See margin.
Rev. 1:18. "I am He that liveth, and was dead ... I Rev. 13:3. "His death-stroke was healed" (R.V.).
am alive for ever more."
Rev. 2:8. "Was dead, and is alive."
Rev. 13:12. "Whose death-stroke was healed"

(R.V.).
Rom. 6:9. "Christ being raised from the dead dieth Rev. 13:14. Beast received stroke of death "and
no more."
lived" (R.V.).
Rev. 1:8. Jesus: Jehovah: "He which is, and which Rev. 17:8. "The beast that ... was, and is not; and is
was, and which is to come."
about to come up out of the abyss ... when they
behold the beast, how he was, and is not, and shall
come."
Rev. 11:17. "0 Lord God Almighty [Jesus], which Rev. 17:11. "The beast that was, and is not."
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art, and wast" ["and art to come" not in R.V., etc.].
From the above comparisons it will be readily seen that the expressions found in Rev. 17 are mentioned
with obvious reference to that which has been declared concerning the Lord Jesus. The Babylonian
system counterfeits the things of Christ, and by this unique method of repeating the same phrases
which have been employed in revealing the glory of the Person and the work of Christ, the
counterfeiting principle is glaringly exposed; for no
55
matter how many or how great the similarities in some superficial things, there are seen, glaringly so,
the vital differences between "the mystery of Godliness" and "the mystery of iniquity". We hasten o
draw attention to one example: this beast that is to come out of the abyss as Jesus came out of the
tomb, but, in contrast to Jesus Who is alive forevermore and Who "dieth no more", this beast rises
from the dead "to go into perdition"; a fact which is stated in both verses 8 and 11 of Rev. 17. Thus, as
the resurrection of Jesus to life evermore is repeated in the Apocalypse (Rev. 1:18; 2:8), so the
resurrection of this beast to go into perdition is repeated. What a theme for serious thought! A religion
that is like that of Christ's in many superficial ways, but lacking the vital power of the Omnipotent Lord.
It has some vitality, some power, but it is Satanic and goes into perdition; while believers in the faith of
Jesus, though subjected to the first death, rise to die no more.
By the principle we have shown to operate in the understanding of the Apocalypse, we thus see that
one of the important parts of this prophecy is the resurrection of this beast. This is not a feature that is
mentioned casually or incidentally; it is one that is very conspicuous. A failure to grasp this important
teaching will prevent anyone from grasping the essential parts of this prophecy. It will be observed that
in Rev. 13:3, 12, 14 where mention is made of the beast receiving "the death-stroke", the main point
disclosed is not the beast receiving "the death-stroke" but the healing of that "deadly wound".
The following extract from `The Revelation of St. John", p.p. 143-145, by William Milligan, D.D., will
clearly state what is intended by the beast receiving a "death-stroke" and the significance of its
resurrection after thus being slain. Professor Milligan says:
"Observe the words of chap. 13:3, 'And I saw one of his heads as though it had been smitten unto death;
and his death-stroke was healed'. . . . it speaks distinctly of death and of resurrection from the dead. The
words of the original are unfortunately translated in our English version, 'and I saw one of his heads as it
were wounded to death'. They are better, but not adequately, translated in the R.V., in which for
'wounded to death' we read 'smitten unto death' - with the margin 'slain' for 'smitten'. The true
translation is slaughtered unto death, for the Greek word used occurs, in addition to the present
instance, seven times in the Apocalypse, in every one of which it must be translated 'slain', or
'slaughtered', or 'killed'. How can it be otherwise translated here? ... The whole representation, in short,
of the beast implies that it had not merely died as Christ had died, but that it had also
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risen as He had; and it is not simply as the beast 'slaughtered unto death', but as the beast with ìts
death-stroke healed', that in chap. 13:3 it receives the homage of the world."
The emphasis is not on the beast receiving the "death-stroke" but upon its resurrection from the dead.
The healing of the "death-stroke" looms large in Rev. 13 and it is this feature that is emphasized in Rev.
17. The world wonders after the beast when it emerges from "the abyss".
The failure to grasp the essential fact that the prophecy of Rev. 13 emphasizes the healing of "the deathstroke", or the resurrection of the power of the beast, has caused Protestants generally to be blind to
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the importance of God's last-day Message of warning against the restored power of the beast which is
to be re-inforced by apostate Protestantism. Protestants during the last century have been expecting all
the time to see the Papacy gradually peter away and eventually become defunct, or, without being of
much further consequence, to be overthrown by God, or some such belief. Even Uriah Smith's excellent
commentary shows evidence that this was his idea. We draw attention to this most sympathetically, for
no doubt that without explicit guidance from Heaven that would have been the natural conclusion to be
drawn from circumstances then in existence. We cite but two extracts in order to make it clear that it
would be natural for anyone believing that the Papacy had reached the pinnacle of its power during the
1260 years of its long supremacy and that it would never again be a tremendous power in the world, to
fail to grasp the significance of those parts of the prophecies of Rev. 13 and 17 wherein the restoration
of Papal power, even though for "a short space", to even higher heights is proclaimed with clarion tones.
Uriah Smith believed that the prophecy of Dan. 7:26, respecting the judgment sitting, "and they shall
take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end", began to be fulfilled shortly after
1844. In his notes given in connection with this verse, he says:
"'The pope's temporal power was thus [in 1870] wholly taken away, nevermore, said Victor Emmanuel,
to be restored.... His dominion was to be consumed unto the end, implying that when his power as civil
ruler should be wholly destroyed, the end would not be far off.... All, in this line of prophecy, has now
been fully accomplished except the closing scene. Next, comes the last, crowning, finishing act in the
drama, when the beast will be given to the burning flame, and the saints of the Most High take the
kingdom" (Daniel and the Revelation). 146, 147 (ed. 1891). (Emphasis mine.)
Uriah Smith wrote concerning the healing of "the deathstroke":
"In 1800 another pope was elected; his palace and temporal dominion were restored, and every
prerogative except, as Mr. Croly says, that of a systematic persecutor, was again under his control; and
thus the wound was healed." (p. 145).
57
The revised edition reads, "the 'deadly wound' was beginning to be healed', which, of course, is a wise
revision. In his notes on Rev. 13, he said: "But the deadly wound was healed when the papacy was reestablished, though with a diminution of its former power by the election of a new pope, March 14,
1800" (p. 538).
Again, in his notes on Rev. 17:12, 13, he says:
"This language must refer to the past, when the kingdoms of Europe were unanimous in giving their
support to the Papacy. . it cannot apply to the future; for after the commencement of the time of the
end, they were to take away its power, and consume and destroy it to the end (Dan. 7:26); and the
treatment which these kingdoms are finally to bestow upon the Papacy, is expressed in verse 16, where
it is said that they shall hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh, and burn her with
fire. A part of this work the nations have been doing for years" (p. 728, ed. 1891). (Emphasis mine.)
Distinguishing between the two beasts of Rev. 13 the symbols for the Papacy and Protestant AmericaUriah Smith reasons that the lamb-like beast could not be interpreted in association with the leopard
beast "to constitute the Papacy" because the leopard beast is the one "that has a head that is wounded
to death, which is afterwards healed; that beast that the whole world wonders after ... and all this
before the succeeding power, the two-horned beast, comes upon the stage of action at all" (pp. 535,
536, ed. 1891).
Thus the healing of the deadly wound, and all the world wondering after the beast is applied as having
been fulfilled in the long ago. But that is not the teaching of the Spirit of Prophecy, which says: "The
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influence of Rome in the countries that once acknowledged her dominion, is still far from being
destroyed. And prophecy foretells a restoration of her power. 'I saw one of his heads as it were wounded
to death; and his deadly wound was healed; and all the world wondered after the beast.' The infliction
of the deadly wound points to the abolition of the 'Papacy in 1798- After this, says the prophet, 'His
deadly wound was healed; and all the world wondered after the beast.' Paul states plainly that the man
of sin will continue until the second advent. To the very close of time he will carry forward his work of
deception (2 Thess. 2:8). And the Revelator declares, also referring to the Papacy, 'All that dwell upon
the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life' (Rev. 13:8). In both the Old
and the New World, Papacy will receive homage in the honour paid to the Sunday institution, that rests
solely upon the authority of the Romish church" (GC. 579).
It will be observed that the Lord's servant applies to the future the verses declaring that the whole world
will wonder after the beast. Uriah Smith, on the other hand, referred the fulfillment of these verses in
the past and could not see how they could have
58
a future fulfillment. Therefore, as the healing of the deadly wound refers to a future resurrection of
Papal power and the consequent wondering of the world after the beast, it was thus impossible for
Uriah Smith to understand the full import of the symbolism employed in Rev. 17, which was given
especially to make this truth stand out boldly as a solemn warning to the people of God who must pass
through the world's crisis portrayed in Rev. 17.
Without a clear grasp of the prophetic symbolism depicting the resurrection of Papal power and the
consequent furious struggle for life among liberty-loving people, it is impossible to understand the full
import of the Revelator's portrayal of the final conflictthe main parties being the beast and the false
prophet against the remnant churchwhich, ends in "Armageddon"the destruction of all those who
have sought to slay the remnant people of God.
The Papal beast had been permitted by God to employ political power with which to persecute the
saints; and the period allotted to it for this nefarious work is stated in Dan. 7: 25; Rev. 11: 2; 12: 6, 14;
13: 5 to be 1260 years, which ended in 1798. We will not attempt to deal with the events associated
with f~ the cessation of the Papacy by the intervention of political power i ~ a in 1798, thus fulfilling Rev.
13: 10. We mention this date, only that we might point out that even in Rev. 13: 3, which might be
considered as pointing to the coming of the time (i.e. of events leading up to 1798) when the Papal head
would be wounded, the paramount part of the revelation is concerned with the healing of the "deadly
wound" and with those things that will follow because of that wound being healed. The Revelator,
having pointed to the wounding of one of the heads of the beast, immediately passes to the healing of
this wound, and saying: "All the world wondered after the beast."
It is the healing of "the death-stroke" that is again mentioned in Rev. 13:12 in connection with those
great events that will occur when this healing takes place. In v. 14 the emphasis again is placed, not on
the wounding, but the healing of "the deathstroke". The vitality, the power of this beast is such that
people are awed by its resurrection, and this causes them to say "that they should make an image to the
beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live", or, as in the R.V., "and lived". As the resurrection
from the dead proved Jesus to be of God (Acts 2:24; 3:15; Rom. 1:4; etc.), so the resurrection of this
beast will lead people to conclude that it is of God. As the Christian's hope lies in Christ's resurrection
power so the world will be led to conceive that the uprising of this beast from the state of death will
brim the world into a state of "peace and safety".
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40

Three times in Rev. 13 (vs. 3, 12, 14) the healing of the death-stroke is mentioned; three times it is said
that the beast though having apparently died, will live again, and then precipitate the saints and the
world into the final scenes. Three times also in Rev. 17 (vs. 8twice in this verseand 11) we are directed
to the world-shaking events that will follow the resurrection of this beast. The emphasis in Rev. 17, as
we have seen that it is in Rev. 13, is upon the living of the beast after receiving its death-stroke, that is
the resurrection of the beast. Notice verse 8, R.V.: "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is
about to come up out of e abyss ... when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall
come". Thus twice in v. 8 our attention is directed to the beast after a period when it is not in a state of
death; when it "is about to come up out of the abyss ... is to come" (A.R.V.). Verse 11 also points us to
the "is not" or the period of death which is followed by its resurrection to life again, then it will be in
another "is" period. After its resurrection from the "is not" or state of death period, the verse says:
"even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition". In v. 8 he is said to go into
perdition after he has ascended out of the bottomless pit, or the abyss, so when the same expression is
employed in v. 11 following its "is not" period when it is said that "he is the eighth, and is of the seven",
we know that this term has reference to the period a to its resurrection. Later, we shall deal more fully
with this third mention in this chapter (Rev. 17) of the period of this beast's resurrection life when it is
said to be "the eighth", for as we shall then show this number is employed here only because of its great
significance in connection with its resurrection life. As we shall later show, this is the final and
completely sufficient evidence that the Lord is directing our minds to the period when this beast will
emerge from its state of death and work mightily its great work of evil in the strength of resurrection
power.
In the list of similar terms applicable to both "the mystery of Godliness" and "the mystery of iniquity",
we observed that what is said of the beast in Rev. 17:11 .parallels what is said of Jesus as Lord God
Almighty in Rev. 11:17. In Rev. 11:17 the phrase "and art to come" is not given in the Revised Version
and is also omitted by many authorities. If these words were not actually in the original when penned by
John, it would lend further force to the principle of similarities and contrasts employed in the Revelation
concerning the two mysteries: "of Godliness" and "of iniquity". There can be no doubt that what is said
of the beast in Rev. 17:11 is meant to be a reminder of what is declared concerning the Lord Jesus in
Rev. 11:17. As shown above, reference
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is made to both the Lord Jesus and the beast in the two tenses: past and present. If the Revisers and
other authorities are correct in the the omission of "and art to come" from Rev. 11:17, then in both it
and in Rev. 17:11 no explicit mention is made of either the Lord Jesus or the beast in the future tense;
but, it should be noted carefully, this omission of the future tense in these two verses serves all the
more to emphasize their existence beyond the grave and of the particular time referred to, by the work
which they are portrayed as doing at the time indicated in each of the verses.
When probation closes, the Lord Jesus will then exercise His almighty power on behalf of His persecuted
people. This time is in the future, and it is to this time after the close of probation to which we are
directed when it will be said of the Lord Jesus: "We give thanks, 0 Lord God Almighty ... because Thou
hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned." His actions then, in the time now future, will
reveal that He exists for the salvation of His people even as He does now in the present tense. Then, at
that time, the emphasis will not be upon His existing in the eternity beyond, but that He is "a very
present help in trouble" (Ps. 46:1). The actions which He will perform in the future on behalf of His
people render it unnecessary to declare that at that time He will be in existence. Similarly, the emphasis
in Rev. 17:11 need not be upon the mere mention of the fact that the beast will be in existence in the
future, as if it would merely be an existence. The emphasis is placed upon the great activity, the worldhttp://www.temcat.com =^..^= http://www.remnant-prophecy.com
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shaking actions to be accomplished b the beast after it emerges from the bottomless pit: its future
actions will be very solid and woeful evidence that the beast is alive. Christ lives in the three tenses to
bless and to save; to bring light and joy to His people. The beast's existence in the three tenses is to
curse and to destroy; to bring pain and sorrow to God's people. In both Rev. 11:17 and Rev. 17:11 the
emphasis is upon the great activity of both Jesus and the beast at the future time referred to in each of
those verses; actions will prove the existence of either.
The prophet Daniel described the world-shaking events that will follow the healing of the wound given
to the king of the north in 1798. Daniel 11:40 mentions the wounding of this king, of the north by the
forces of atheism (represented-by the term the king of the south' in GC. 269 Egypt" is said to be the
symbol of "atheism"). but here, as in Rev. 13 and 17, the emphasis is not upon the wounding, but the
recovery of the king of the north from that wounding and his subsequent actions which reveal that he
has been resurrected. As Jesus was resurrected by
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Divine power so the beast will be resurrected by Satanic power. Jesus was "declared to be the Son of
God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead" (Rom. 1:4). The
beast of persecution will be resurrected by Satanic power to accomplish its work of unholiness.
Dan. 11:40-45 reveals the gigantic strides that will be made by the king of the north when he has fully
recovered from the death-stroke Country after country will fall before his triumphant marching to
power. Nothing earthly can stop his progress to victory. And, as indicated in Rev. 17:12-17, the Lord will
permit this last terrific burst of resurrected power to be revealed by the beast in order to bring the great
controversy between good and evil to its final consummation, when every person on the planet must be
brought to a point of decision. After having described the king of the north as country after country falls
before his victorious forces until he is about to slay the people of God, Daniel then unfolds before the
enthralling gaze of the saints the mighty working of Jesus as He intervenes on behalf of His peoplesee
Dan. 12:1.
As we have shown in the Revelation, Jesus is presented as the great Jehovah of the Old Testament, and
as such He is the self-existent God in the three tenses: past, present and the future (Rev. 1:8, etc.). The
mystery of iniquity is represented by the beast who is also portrayed in Rev. 17:8, 11 with references to
the three tenses. These same three tenses also are implied in Rev. 13:3, 12, 14 where the beast exists
before it received its death-stroke; experiences a period when it suffers from its death-stroke; and then
a period following the healing of that wound. Jesus' work while upon the earth was limited to Palestine,
but following His resurrection His work has encompassed the entire world. Similarly, the earlier
experiences of the beast, great as they were, were limited mainly to Europe, but the prophecy points to
the time when, following its resurrection, the beast will exercise power which will encompass the whole
world.
As the resurrection of Jesus convinced His people that He was the true Messiah, and this mighty event
led them to go forth in His resurrection power, so the prophecy informs us that the resurrection of the
beast and the great things that herald this mighty event, will deceive multitudes in the world to obey the
behest of the beast. John says concerning the beast that when "his wound was healed all the world
wondered after the beast . . . saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"
(Rev. 13:3, 4). It is to this feature that we are again directed in Rev. 17:8: "The beast that thou sawest
was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss.... And they that
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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 he was, and is not, and shall come" (R.V.), or
"shall be present", or "is at hand, is nearby". Thus the prophecy of Rev. 17 focuses the spotlight upon
the time when the beast is rising to power, and the growth of its power is such that it awes earth's
multitudes, stupefies democratic forces, and eventually, through deception, receives their support in the
supposedly-beneficial plan of Sunday enforcement for the salvation of the world from the forces of
materialism. It is "when they behold the beast, how he was, and is not, and is at hand, or shall be
present" that those whose names have not been written in the book of Life "shall wonder" "after the
beast". Note that we have combined two texts: Rev. 13:3 and Rev. 17:8. Rev. 13:3 says that when "his
deadly wound was healed all the world wondered after the beast". Thus we are able to double check
our findings as to the actual meaning of the Greek words employed in Rev. 17:8, for here we again read
regarding the world wondering after the beast. That Rev. 17 was written to throw light upon the time
when the beast's wound would be healed is perfectly obvious by comparing the key verses in both Rev.
13 and 17. Notice the following comparisons:
Rev. 17.
Rev. 17.
v. 1. Beast with 7 heads and 10 horns.
v. 3. Beast with 7 heads and 10 horns.
v. 1. "Names of blasphemy", margin.
v. 3. "Full of names of blasphemy."
vs. 3, 12, 14. Receives "death-stroke" and for a vs. 8, 11. Receives "death-stroke" and for a period
period is in a state of death.
"is not", i.e. is dead.
vs. 3, 12, 14. "Death-stroke" healed comes back to vs. 8, 11. Comes back to life: "ascends out of the
life.
bottomless pit."
vs. 3, 12, 14. "All the world wondered after the v. 8. "They that dwell on the earth shall wonder ...
beast", after the "death stroke" is healed.
when they behold , the beast that ... shall be
present", after it "ascends out of the abyss".
v. 8. "All that dwell upon the earth shall worship v. 8. "They that dwell on the earth fu shall wonder,
him, whose names are not written in the book of whose names were not written in the book of Life
Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the from the foundation of the world."
world."
v. 18. "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath v. 9. "Here is the mind that hath wisdom. The
understanding count the number of the beast . . . seven heads are seven mountains ... seven kings :
666."
five are fallen, and one is [equals 6], and the other
... the 8th, and is of the seven."
The above comparisons not only positively prove that Rev. 17 deals with the same powers as those
brought into the prophetic limelight in Rev. 13, but these verses also clearly reveal that the main burden
of Rev. 17 is to portray the events to transpire at the time when the beast's "death-stroke" is healed and
all the world, except those whose names are written in the book of Life, will wonder after the beast.
Those whose names are written in the book of Life, as shown by a comparison of Rev. 21:27 with Rev.
22:14, are those who keep the Commandments of God: that is, the remnant church mentioned in Rev.
12:17 as those "who keep the Commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus". Thus proving in yet
another way that Rev. 17 is a portrayal of the mighty conflict, involving the Sabbath-keeping remnant
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people of God, which will result from the ascending of the beast from its state of death back on to the
stage of action again, when it will go forth with even greater fury against the people of God-a fury
sustained by all the mighty power of Satan as he would imitate the resurrection of the Lord and reveal a
mightier power than ever before manifested by him.
The apostle Paul, pointing to the last days, prophesied concerning "the working of Satan with all power
and signs and lying wonders. And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness" (2 Thess. 2:9, 10). The
servant of the Lord also pointed to this coming conflict, saying: "The last great conflict between truth
and, error is but the final struggle of the long-standing controversy concerning the law of God. Upon this
battle we are now entering a battle between the laws of men and the precepts of Jehovah, between
the religion of the Bible and the religion of fable and tradition" (GC. 582). And God's servant has also
warned of the unprecedented nature of the coming conflict, saying: "The great controversy between
good and evil will increase in intensity to the very close of time.... And all the depths of Satanic skill and
subtlety acquired, all the cruelty developed, during these struggles of the ages, will be brought to bear
against God's people in the final conflict" (GC. 9, 10).
In both Rev. 13 and Rev. 17 one of the prominent aspects of the inspired Word is that the world
wonders after the beast following its resurrection from its state of death. Even John wonders, when
beholding the woman seated upon the beast. He said: "And when I saw her, I wondered with a great
wonder. 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" (Rev. 17:6, 7, R.V.) The people of the world wonder at the
manifestation of political power that supports this woman as she guides the beast attack upon the
people of God. But John sees beyond the manifestation of political power to the Babylonian principles,
the tenets of religious belief, that give the woman such, control over the civil power.
What cause for wonder even by saint John: how a woman so vile could be supported by the beast; how
this notorious woman that had led the forces of evil against the people of God down through all the
ages and in so doing had brought endless trouble to her supporters as the judgments of God had been
poured out upon them; how this woman, who had been ensconced upon the saddle of this beast in
former days and had been forced to dismount from the beast when it had received its "death-stroke",
should again be permitted by the beast to regain her seat when she had been the cause of its death
these things caused John to wonder! Well might any person who sees the activities of human society in
the light shining from the throne, wonder that kings and governors who have known of the terrible state
of affairs that operated in the Dark Ages when the woman controlled the governments of Europe should
be so utter foolish as to permit this woman to mount again onto the back of the Statethis time in a
world-wide wayto be guided her principles. It surely is incredible that intelligent men and women who
know the history of the vile and cruel days when the apostate church dictated to the State, men and
women who have experienced the blessings of the period of liberty and democracy which has given
freedom from the bitter persecution of the Dark Ages, should, with all this knowledge amply
demonstrated before them, permit themselves to be deluded into parting with their blood-bought
heritage, to part with democratic forms of government, and to permit the State to be saddled again with
the Babylonian principle of the union of church and State. Surely John, wondering at this turn of events,
expresses the sense of wonderment in the hearts of all God's people today as they see the world fast
approaching this crisis hour portrayed in the amazing prophecy of Rev. 17.
With what amazement God's people today witness the inglorious spectacle of Protestant politicians
fawning before princes of the Papacy in order to obtain the votes from the Catholic bloc. The balance of
power today is largely in the hands of the Roman Catholic church, for though they represent a minority
group in democratic countries, yet the evenness of the balance between the Government and the
Opposition presents a unique opportunity for power-craving bishops and the hierarchy of Rome to
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bargain with vote-hunting politicians. Here and these concessions are made; a little here and a little
there the pressure exerted by the Roman Catholic church has results: the thin edge of the wedge, of the
uniting of Church and State under one pretext or another is today being driven into the foundations of
houses of Parliament. Already, through constant reiteration concerning the supposed injustice of Roman
Catholics paying taxes to support State schools and also their own church schools, and through other
ways of exerting political pressure upon vote-catching Protestant politicians, the way is being paved for
the progress of Papal power even in democratic countries. The Lord's servant says:
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"The Roman Church is far-reaching in her plans and modes of operation. She is employing every device
to extend her influence and increase her power in preparation for a fierce and determined conflict to
control of the world, to re-establish persecution and to undo all that Protestantism has done . . .
Protestants little know what they are doing when they propose to accept the aid of Rome in the work of
Sunday exaltation. While they are bent upon the accomplishment of their purpose, Rome is aiming to
re-establish her power, to recover her lost supremacy. . . Let the principle be established in the United
States, that the church may employ or control the power of the State; that observances maybe enforced
by secular laws, in short, that the authority of the church and state is to dominate the conscience, and
the triumph of Rome in this country is assured. God's Word has given warning of the impending danger;
let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only
when it is too late to escape the snare.... Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to
further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage-ground,
and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman
element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the Word of God will thereby incur reproach and
persecution. (GC 565, 581).
CHAPTER EIGHT
"DIVINITY DID NOT DIE" THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST'S DEATH AND RESURRECTION:
GREAT IS THE MYSTERY OF GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH. THE SPIRIT
OF SATAN DOES NOT DIE UNTIL THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM.
There are incomprehensible mysteries associated with the plan of redemption. "Great is the mystery of
Godliness: God was manifest in the flesh" (1 Tim. 3:16). The Lord's servant says:
"It is impossible for the finite minds of men to fully comprehend the character or the works of the
Infinite One. . . To the keenest intellect, to the most powerful and educated mind, that holy Being must
ever remain clothed in mystery. The apostle Paul exclaims, '0 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom
and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!' . . .
"The word of God, like the character of its divine Author, presents mysteries which can never be fully
comprehended by finite beings.... The entrance of sin into the world, the incarnation of Christ,
regeneration, the resurrection and many other subjects presented in the Bible, are mysteries too deep
for the human mind to explain, or even to fully comprehend . . . yet behind these truths, so easily
understood, lie mysteries which are the hiding of His glorymysteries which overpower the mind in its
research, yet inspire the sincere seeker for truth with reverence and faith. . . .
"There are mysteries in the plan of redemption, . . And these will be the study of the redeemed through
eternal ages. As, they contemplate the work of God in creation and redemption new truth will
continually unfold to the wondering and delighted mind" (5T 698-702).
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Who is there among Christian philosophers that has exhausted all the mysteries connected with the
incarnation of the Almighty Son of God? Who can adequately answer all the questions that rush into
one's mind in contemplation of One possessing all the essence and attributes of Deity; One Who is God,
equal with His Father, and possessing all the Omniscience, Omnipotence and Omnipresence and eternal
majesty of the Godhead, becoming what one might imagine it necessary for Him to become in order to
grow normally into a human baby as the scriptural records indicate? Observe the following statement
from the Spirit of Prophecy:
"In contemplating the incarnation of Christ in humanity. we stand baffled, before an unfathomable
mystery that the human mine cannot comprehend. The more we reflect upon it, the more amazing
does it appear. How wide is the contrast between the divinity of Christ and the helpless infant in
Bethlehem's manger! How can we span the distance between the mighty God and the helpless child?
And yet the Creator of the worlds, He in Whom was the fullness of the Godhead bodily, was manifest in
the helpless babe in the manger. Far higher than any of the angels, equal with the Father in dignity and
glory, and yet wearing the garb of humanity. Divinity and humanity were mysteriously combined, and
man and God became one. It is in this union that we find the hope of our fallen race. Looking upon
Christ in humanity, we look upon God, and
67
see in Him the brightness of His glory, the express image of His Person."Signs of the Times, July 30, 1896.
Who can philosophically combine or divide Christ's dual nature of God and man; for the Scriptures
declare that during His earthly pilgrimage He was truly God and truly man? "Christ was the Son of God,
equal with the Father; and yet He was abused, ridiculed, scourged, and crucified." Signs of the Times,
Nov. 25, 1889.
" 'He was made in the likeness of man; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and
became obedient unto death.' He voluntarily assumed human nature. It was His own act, and by His
Own consent. He was all the while as God, but He did not appear as God. He veiled the demonstrations
of Deity which had commanded the homage, and called forth the admiration of the universe of God. He
was God while here upon earth, but He divested Himself of the form of God, and in its stead took the
form and fashion of man." Rev. & Her., Sept. 4, 1900.
"But although Christ's glory was for a time veiled and eclipsed by His assuming humanity, yet He did not
cease to be God when He became man.. The human did not take the place of the divine, nor the divine
of the human. This is the mystery of Godliness." Rev. & Her., Jan. 7, 1890.
"As the human was upon Him, He felt His need of strength from His Father.... His humanity made prayer
a necessity and privilege." (2T. 201, 202 .
"But while bearing human nature He was dependent upon the Omnipotent for His life. In His humanity,
He laid hold of the divinity of God. Signs of the Times, June 17, 1897.
"He veiled His divinity with the garb of humanity, but He did not part with His divinity. A divine-human
Saviour . . . Rev. & Her., June 15, 1905.
"Jesus was the Commander of heaven, One equal with God', and yet condescended to lay aside His
kingly crown, His royal robe, and clothe His divinity with humanity. The incarnation of Christ in human
flesh is a mystery." Signs of the Times, July 30, 1896.
"Christ was God manifested in the flesh. In Him divinity and humanity were united. In Him dwelt all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily." Signs of the Times, April 26, 1905.
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"Christ had two natures, the nature of man and the nature of God. In Him divinity and humanity were
combined . . .He exhibited a perfect humanity, combined with Deity. -General Conference Bulletin, 4th
Quarter, 1899, para. 20.
"Equal with the Father, yet His divinity clothed with humanity. . One with the Father in dignity and
power, yet in His humanity tempted in all points like as we are tempted!" Signs of the Times, April 26,
1905.
The incarnation of the Son of God in human form is certainly a "great mystery"; but the mystery of
Godliness is not limited to the birth of the Saviour, for the cross of Calvary presents a mystery equally as
profound.
Who is able to know all the mysteries connected with the death and the resurrection of this God-man;
for the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy declare that since His death and His resurrection He still is God
and He still is man. One of the mysteries which lie beyond the ken of human comprehension is how
Jesus could lay down His life at will and then take it up again. Listen to His
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calm declaration: "I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it
down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again" (John 10:17, 18). The
inspired comment upon these verses contributes to our comprehension of this divine mystery. The
Lord's servant says:
"When the voice of the mighty angel was heard at Christ's tomb, saying, 'Thy Father calls Thee', the
Saviour came forth from the grave by the life that was in Himself. Now was proved the truth of His
Words, 'I lay down My Life that might take it again.... I have power to lay it down and I have power to
take it again'. Now was fulfilled the prophecy He had spoken to the priests and rulers, 'Destroy this
temple, and in three days I will raise it up' (John 2: 19).
"Over the rent sepulchre of Joseph, Christ had proclaimed in triumph I am the resurrection and the life'.
These words could be spoken only by the Deity. All created beings live by the will and power of God.
They are dependent recipients of the life of God. From the highest seraph to the humblest animate
being, all are replenished from the Source of Life. Only He Who is one with God could say, I have power
to lay down My life and I have power to take it again. In His divinity, Christ possessed the power to break
the bonds of death." (DA. 785).
Further illumination concerning the profound mystery of the death and the resurrection of our Lord
comes to us from the pen of God's servant:
"'I am the resurrection and the life.' He Who has said, 'I lay down My life, that I may take it again', came
forth from the grave by the life that was in Himself. Humanity died: divinity did not die. In His divinity,
Christ possessed The power to break the bonds of death. He declares that He has life in Himself to
quicken whom He will." "The Youth's Instructor," Aug. 4, 1895.
Another clarifying statement reads:
"While as a member of the human family, He was mortal, as God He was the fountain of life. He could
have withstood the advances of death, and refused to come under its dominion; but voluntarily He laid
down His life, that He might bring life and immortality to light. DA. 483, 484).
"He had power to lay down His life and to take it up again. . It was no marvel to the heavenly host that
He Who controlled the power of death, and had life in Himself, should awaken from the sleep of the
grave." Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. III, p. 204.
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"Whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that He should be
holden of it" (Acts 2:24).
For Christ also hath suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being
put to death in the flesh, but quickened in the Spirit" (1 Pet. 3:18).
"The body crucified upon the cross did not detract from His divinity, His power of God to save, through
the human sacrifice, all who accept His righteousness" (Ms. 84a, 1897).
"When Christ was crucified, it was His human nature that died. Deity did not die; that would have been
impossible" (Ms. B 280, 1904, pp. 4, 5).
"Jesus Christ laid off His royal robe, His kingly crown, and clothed His divinity with humanity, in order to
become a substitute and surety for humanity, that dying in humanity, He might by His death destroy him
who had the power of death He could not have done this as God, but by coming as man, Christ could
die. . . . Christ lived as a man, that He might be God both of the living and the dead" (Ms. B 9-98, pp. 5,
6).
"He Who said, 'I lay down My life, that I might take it again', came forth from the grave to life that is inHimself. Humanity died; divinity did not die. In His divinity, Christ possessed the power to break the
bonds of death. He
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declares that He has life in Himself to quicken whom He will." Youth's Instructor, Aug. 4, 1898.
Jesus said to Mary, `Touch Me not: for I am not yet ascended to My Father'. When He closed His eyes in
death upon the cross, the soul of Christ did not go to Heaven.... The Spirit of Jesus slept in the tomb with
His body and did not wing its way to heaven, there to maintain a separate existence, and to look down
upon the mourning disciples embalming His body from which it had taken its flight. All that comprised
the life and intelligence of Jesus, remained with His body in the sepulchre: and when He came forth it
was the whole being; He did not have to summon His spirit from heaven. He had power to lay down His
life and to take it up again. . . It was no marvel to the heavenly host that He Who controlled the power
of death and had life in Himself, should awaken from the sleep of the grave. But it was a marvel to them
that their loved Commander should die for rebellious men." Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. III, pp. 203, 204.
"Christ was invested with the right to give immortality. The life He laid down in humanity, He again took
up and gave to humanity." Youth's Instructor, Aug. 4, 1898.
The Bible teaches that Christ diedsee 1 Cor. 15:3; Rom. 5:8; etc. And yet the Scriptures just as clearly
declare that Jesus is still God and still shares the glory of the Godhead with His Father, see John 17:5, 24;
etc. The fact that humanity died, and "divinity did not die" is a mystery, indeed.
In this book we cannot consider at length the theme of the nature of the eternal sacrifice of Jesus.
Suffice to say, though still God, yet He will always be a "Son of Man". "In taking our nature, the Saviour
has bound Himself to humanity by a tie that is never to be broken. Through the eternal ages He is linked
with us. . . . God gave His only begotten Son to become one of the human family, forever to retain His
human nature. . . . God has adopted human nature in the person of His Son, and has carried the same
into the highest heaven. It is the Son of Man who shares the throne of the universe. It is the, `Son of
Man' whose name shall be called, `Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the
Prince of Peace.' The I AM is the Daysman between God and humanity, laying His hand upon both. He . .
. is not ashamed to call us brethren. In Christ the family of earth and the family of heaven are bound
together. Christ glorified is our brother. Heaven is enshrined in humanity, and humanity is enfolded in
the bosom of Infinite Love" (DA. 25, 26). For further thought-provoking study see also page 669 (DA.).
48
The Spirit of Satan Does Not Die Until the End of the Millennium
As we have already shown, one of the principles employed in the Revelation is that of revealing Jesus in
the fullness of His glory and the majesty of His redemptive work. In order to show that Satan and his
false system of religion is a blasphemous counterfeit, the Revelator employs similar language when
referring to the mystery of iniquity as he does when extolling the
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wonders of Jesus as the great Jehovah and Saviour of His people. The designations thus employed are
fittingly descriptive of Jesus as the true Saviour and Redeemer; those same or similar designations when
descriptive of the mystery of iniquity reveal a superficial similarity, but they also cause the peerless
majesty of the eternal God to stand out in marked and glorious contrast to the puny make-believe
imitations of the fallen and finite hosts of evil.
There must remain mysteries too great for our complete comprehension regarding the incarnation, the
death and the resurrection of Jesus the Almighty Creator, the all-powerful Jehovah, the great I AM, yet
one fact is clear: namely, He is still God, possessing Almighty power and infinite wisdom. Not only in
such verses as Rev. 1:8 does Jesus declare Himself to be "the Almighty", the One Who "was dead, and is
alive" (Rev. 1:17, 18; 2:8), but Rev. 5:6 pictures Him, after His death and His resurrection in His heavenly
ministry before the Father's throne, as "a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns &and seven
eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all earth". He is thus pictured in the symbolism of
the Revelation as One possessing perfect and complete power and perfect and complete wisdom:
Almighty in power and Infinite in wisdom.
"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8). "This same Jesus ... shall so come
in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). Jesus is the unalterable God; the great
convenant-keeping Jehovah Who, through His Deity, is able to fulfill all His promises. "I am the Lord, I
change not" Mal. 3:6).
One of the ways in which Satan is like God is that he, too, cannot changehis character is fixed as the
eternal hills. He will retain his fallen, Satanic nature until he ends his existence in the lake of fire at the
end of the millennium. For a time, through the intervention of God on behalf of His people and His work,
Satan may be forced to work less effectively in his evil machinations; but, when the Lord permits, he will
gladly avail himself of the divine permission to press forward his dastardly work with his utmost vigour.
The greatest weapon which he employs in active warfare against the Lord's people is to unite his
counterfeiting church with the State. During the 1260 years of Papal supremacy he employed this awful
combination of worldly power so effectively that if the Lord had not intervened "there should no flesh
be saved" (Matt. 24:22). But then, according to the Lord's blueprint for the ages, Jesus intervened and
caused circumstances to arise in the world that brought about democratic forms of government.
The founding of the American nation considerably advanced the cause of freedom in religious and civil
life. For a long period
71
of time now, the world has enjoyed the precious fruitage of the principles of religious liberty. But the
prophecy of Rev. 17 was written to show that the forces of Babylon"the synagogue of Satan"though in
a state of enforced quiescence, being still the same in character and purpose, though apparently in a
state of death, will, in imitation of the Lord's resurrection, rise from the grave to renewed activity. When
Jesus came forth from His grave He was still God, still the unchanged and the unchanging Jehovah
Whose divine energies are devoted to the salvation of His people. When the beast of Rev. 17 rises from
the bottomless pit it is still the same beast, still the unchanged and unchanging Satanic system whose
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energies are devoted to the destruction of the people of God. It is to make this fact clear: both in
relation to the Lord's covenant-keeping power and assurances to His people, and also in relation to the
unchanging hatred of evil for good: that the beast, in imitation of the Lord's death and resurrection, is
said to be slain with a "death-stroke" and for a period be in a state of death; but later it will rise and
reveal its unchanging animosity toward the church of Jesus, even as Jesus arose and revealed His
unchanging purposethe salvation of His people.
Rev. 17 shows how that as long as the evil principles exist that caused Lucifer to launch his subtle,
camouflaged attack upon God's Government, so long will there be trouble. As long as there exists a
germ of the belief that God's law should be and can be changed in any degree, whether supposedly for
the glory of God or for the supposed happiness of His creatures, that germ, permitted by infinite wisdom
to develop, will grow into its true fruitage as a great evil resulting in discord, misery, and ultimate selfdestruction. To conceive of altering any one of the Divine precepts, particularly one of the explicitlydeclared Ten Commandments, is an impious thought which reflects upon the character and the wisdom
of an Infinite Creator. This thought is the very essence of Satan's revolt against the Government of
Heaven. And as this belief has found acceptance among those who profess to be Christians, followers of
the Lord Jesus, He must afford it an opportunity to reveal itself to be an evil thing, which will result in
hatred toward those who love God and trust implicitly in His love and goodness, believing that His
righteousness is expressed in His holy Law and must remain unchanged because God's character is
unalterable.
Protestantism rose up in protest against the iniquitous practices of the church of Rome, and repudiated
the persecutions of that apostate church, which employed the strong arm of the State to enforce its
dogmas upon the populace. But Protestantism,
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generally, came out of the apostate church still retaining a germ of Papal teaching, namely, that God's
Law could be changed and has been changed in the substitution of the first day of the week for the
seventh day as the day of rest; and this, too, in direct opposition to the clearly-expressed will of God to
"Remember the seventh day" to keep it holy. This substitution, it has been declared, has been done out
of loyalty to Christ, in honouring His resurrection. In the past, many noble men and women have
religiously observed Sunday, thinking it to be the Sabbath, but the Bible prophecies have pointed out
that there will be a call from God, a call which is now going throughout the world, for all the children of
the Lord to return to the observance of the day anciently set aside by infinite love and wisdom by which
to remember the Creator, even Jesus our Lord. The seventh day is "the Lord's Day". Those who do love
their Lord will heed His call to return to His plan for their holiness and their happiness.
However, the prophecies also make it clear that those who reject this call will maintain the original
thought that the change in God's Law has been changed for the glory of God and for the benefit of
mankind. In His infinite wisdom, the Lord will permit this camouflaged rebellion against His
Commandments to grow to maturity and to reveal itself to be actuated by the prince of darkness. Under
the profession of honouring Christ they will be led to seek the strong arm of the State in the
enforcement of this day that is supposed to signalize "liberty", that we are not "under law but under
grace". Their rebellion against God's Government will not only be revealed by following Romes principle
of the union of church and State, but also by following Rome's principle of seeking to destroy those who
will not fall in line with their alteration of a clearly-stated Commandment of the Decalogue.
Rev. 17 shows that so long as any belief is heldit matters not by whom or how high the professionthat
God's Law can be altered and should not be implicitly obeyed, so long will such thoughts result in
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persecution of those who are loyal to God's Government, and that until all those who hold that germ of
belief are destroyed they will be a menace to the happiness of His eternal kingdom.
What does it matter if death apparently lays those principles (or the institutions or persons holding
them) low for a time? The moment they rise again they recommence their evil work. The death and the
resurrection of Jesus did not alter His character nor His unalterable design to save those who look unto
Him for salvation. It is to further illustrate this solemn fact that the Lord will destroy the whole of
mankind at His second advent. For a thousand ears this earth will be the prison house of Satan and
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his evil hordes. When the 1,000 years expire and the wicked are resurrected it will be revealed that,
because those evil principles still exist in the fallen and fixed characters of the evil angels, they
immediately operate as they did during the 6,000 years experience of sin in this world. The Revelator
says that when Satan's state of incarceration ceases with the resurrection of the wicked at the end of
the millennium, he goes "out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and
Magog, to gather them to battle. . . . And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the
camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and
devoured them (Rev. 20:1-9).
Thus it is revealed that until the utter destruction of Satan and all the hosts of evil; until the principles of
Lucifer's rebellion are extirpated by the annihilation of those who have those principles inwrought in
their characters, sin with its horrors must continue. The following extract from the pen of the Lord's
servant shows that right until the end Satan pursues his work of deception and until the end there is
revealed the hatred or lack of love controlling the unsaved which necessitates their utter destruction:
"Now Satan prepares for a last mighty struggle for the supremacy. While deprived of his power, and cut
off from his work of deception, the prince of evil was miserable and dejected; but as the wicked are
raised, and he sees multitudes upon his side, his hopes revive, and he determines not to yield the great
controversy. . . the wicked are Satan's captives. They are ready to receive his suggestions and to do his
bidding. Yet, true to his early cunning, he does not acknowledge himself to be Satan. He claims to be the
Prince who, is the rightful owner of g the world and whose inheritance has been unlawfully wrested
from him. He represents himself to his deluded subjects as a redeemer assuring them that his power has
brought them forth from their graves, and that he is about to rescue them from the most cruel tyranny.
The presence of Christ having been removed, Satan works wonders to support his claims [as he does
before the millennium.] He makes the weak strong, and inspires all with his own spirit and energy [this,
he also does before the millennium. as revealed in Rev. 17]. He proposes to lead them against the camp
of the saints [this, too, he does before the 1,000 years]."
Note how the servant of the Lord draws attention to the fixity of the character of the lost: "In death
these experienced no change. As they come up from the grave, they resume the current of their
thoughts just where it ceased. They are actuated by the, same desire to conquer that ruled them when
they fell." Again we read:
"For thousands of years this chief of conspiracy has palmed off falsehood for truth. But the time has
come when the rebellion is to be finally defeated, and the history and character of Satan disclosed. In his
last great effort to dethrone Christ, destroy His people, and take possession of the city of God, the archdeceiver has been fully unmasked. Those who have united with him see the total failure of his cause. . . .
He rushes into the midst of his subjects, and endeavours to inspire them with his own fury, and arouse
them to instant battle. But of all the countless millions whom he has allured into rebellion, there are
none now to acknowledge his supremacy. His power is at an end.
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The wicked are filled with the same hatred of God that inspires Satan; but they
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see that their case is hopeless, that they cannot prevail against Jehovah. Their rage is kindled against
Satan and those who have been his agents in deception, and with the fury of demons they turn upon
them" (GC. 663-672).
Before the millennium, when the wicked are prevented by the Lord's intervention from slaying the
people of God, they turn upon their religious leaders who have been Satan's "agents in deception" (see
GC.. 655, 666). Thus there are precisely the same principles at work before and after the millennium.
The writer has given an extended consideration of this important feature of prophetical exposition in
"The Certainty of the Third Angel's Message: Proved by Important Principles of Prophetic Interpretation;
also ArmageddonBefore and After the Millennium." In that larger book we have shown that all last-day
prophecies are so written that they have an application to events before and also after the millennium.
And it is important that this principle be not lost sight of, for by it there is a considerable clarification of
the details of, and an added significance seen in, the prophetic word.
As long as God exists, so long will righteousness remain. As long as Satan exists, so long will evil remain
hatred of God and those who are loyal to Him. By God's intervention, Satan and his Babylonian forces
have for a time been unable to employ political power in persecuting God's people. Their enforced state
of inactivity may be likened to a state of death, but through God's mysterious providences they will be
permitted to rise to power again to reveal that, until utterly destroyed, they will continue their hatred
and attempted murder of the people of God. This is the significance of the beast rising from the
bottomless pit.
CHAPTER NINE
WHY GOD GAVE THE PROPHECY OF REVELATION 17:
HIS MESSAGE CONCERNING THE COMING WORLD
CRISIS AND THE COMPLETE VICTORY OF HIS REMNANT CHURCH.
The prophecy of Revelation 17 is God's message of love for His remnant church. "The church is the one
object upon which God bestows His supreme regard" (AA. 12). "To John were opened scenes of deep
and thrilling interest in the experience of the church. He saw the position, dangers, conflicts, and final
deliverance of the people of God.... Subjects of vast importance were revealed to him, especially for the
last church, that those who should turn from error to truth might be instructed concerning the perils
and conflicts before them. None need be in darkness in regard to what is coming upon the earth" (GC.
341, 342).
"When the books of Daniel and Revelation are better understood, believers will have an entirely
different religious experience.... One thing will certainly be understood from the study of Revelationthat the connection between God and His people is close and decided" (TM. 114).
"The burden of every book and every passage of the Bible is the unfolding of this wondrous thememan's uplifting-the power of God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ'. He who
grasps this thought has before him an infinite field for study. He has the key that will unlock to him the
whole treasure-house of God's word" (Education, 125, 126).
This inspired instruction urges us to study Revelation 17 as a prophecy which reveals God's love for His
people; it is for their sake that He has given this chapter that they may know what is coming on the
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earth and how they are to prepare for it; it also contains God's assurance that He will be with His people
in their hour of test and will bring them through it victoriously.
The seventeenth chapter of Revelation commences with "one of the seven angels which had the seven
vials" talking with John, saying: "Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore
that sitteth upon many waters: with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the
inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication." (Rev. 17:1, 2). At first
glance it may be thought that this chapter does not concern the church but rather concerns the
judgments of God upon "the great whore". However, the angel immediately discloses the greatness of
the evil committed by this "great whore", for which she is specifically condemned to receive the seven
last plaguesand especially the 6th and 7th plagues. Her great sin that especially provokes the wrath of
God, is that of Persecuting His people and seeking to destroy them. She
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employs the "many waters" upon which she sits to drown God's dear saints. She has illicit association
with "the kings of the earth" and employs their power against the Lord's people.
That Revelation 17 was given to show that God's judgment will fall upon the Babylonian whore because
she employs kings to persecute His people is shown in the opening verses. It should be remembered
that often John comes to the climax of his theme at the commencement of a prophecy and then
proceeds to present the circumstances leading up to that climax. Observe how he follows this principle
in Rev. 1:7: "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced
Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him." It will be noted that before the Revelator
reveals even one of the many events which later he declares will occur through history until the second
advent, he portrays the wailing of the lost as every eye beholds Jesus coming upon the clouds of power
and glory. That is, he presents the climax before he unfolds the events leading up to it.
We cite another illustration. After briefly introducing the beast of Rev. 13, giving just sufficient details
necessary for identification, John immediately says: "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to
death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast" (Rev. 13:3). That
is, as soon as John introduces this beast he hastens to mention regarding it receiving a death stroke
which is healed and resulting in the world bowing before the power of this resurrected beast. The
wounding of this beast (v. 3) at the commencement of John's description of the activities of this beast is
identical with its being led into captivity mentioned in v. 11 at the conclusion of John's description of the
beast's activities down to the end of the forty-two months. The healing of the death stroke and the
consequent wondering of the world after the beast mentioned in v. 3 is enlarged upon in John's vivid
portrayal of the lamb-like beast that assists the first beast to regain its lost supremacy and causes the
world to wonder after the beast through the enforcement of "the mark of the beast." see vs. 11-17.
The same principle of mentioning the climax at the introduction of a theme is again illustrated in Rev.
13:11. Here John describes the rise of the United States as the highest expression of Protestantism with
its cardinal principle of separation of church and state, of religious and civil liberty, and then immediately passes to the climax of the activities of this lamb-like beast, saying: "And he spake as a dragon" (v.
11). How the lamb-like beast speaks as a dragon is shown in his imitating the ways of the first beast and
threatening death to all who refuse to obey church
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dogmas enforced by the power of the State. Those who decide to obey the Law of God that enjoins the
observance of the 7th day of the week as the Sabbath of the Lord and who refuse to keep the first day of
the week as the Sabbath as declared by the Papacy, will be threatened with death. Thus the crisis over
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the enforcement of the mark of the beastthe threat of death to the people of Godis mentioned
immediately the lamb-like beast is introduced into the prophecy.
As soon as John introduces this lamb-like beast as the one that will cause "the earth and them that dwell
therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed", he then immediately points to the
climax of efforts put forth to persuade people to believe that the mark of the beast is of heavenly origin,
saying: "And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in
the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he
had power to do in sight of the beast" (Rev. 13:12-14). This calling down of fire from heaven is done to
convince people of the supposed sanctity of Sunday observancethe mark of the beastsee Rev. 19:20.
But, it should be noted, as yet the mark of the beast has not been mentioned in the prophecy! Thus the
climax of deception is presented before mentioning the mark of the beast; to attempt to prove the
sanctity of which causes deceptions to reach their climax in the greatest of all time. "Satan also works
with lying wonders, even bringing down fire from heaven in the sight of men. Thus the inhabitants of the
earth will be brought to take their stand " (GC. 612).
Now with this guiding principle before us, of carefully noting how John presents the climax at the
introduction of his theme, we turn again to Rev. 17:2 and notice that the first feature of the prophet's
outline of "the great whore" is that it is she "with whom the ((kings of the earth) have committed
fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication".
That is, the union of Church and Statewith the Church leading the Statewill be, a practising belief of
the governments of earth. This deception being also imbibed as a doctrine by the people who are drunk
with "the wine of her fornication"that is, those who believe this to be the teaching of the Scriptures.
When governments and people are united in the supposed righteousness of the enforcement of the
mark of the beast by the State, they will also regard dissenters, who stand firmly for God's Sabbath and
for the Bible principle of separation of Church and State, "as enemies of law and order, as breaking
down the moral restraint of society, causing anarchy and corruption, and calling down the judgments of
God.
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Their conscientious scruples will be pronounced obstinacy, stubbornness, and contempt of authority.
They will be accused of disaffection toward the government. Ministers who deny the obligation of the
divine law will present from the pulpit the duty of yielding obedience to the civil authorities as ordained
of God. In legislative halls and courts of justice commandment-keepers will be misrepresented and
condemned. A false colouring will be given to their words; the worst construction will be put upon their
motives. . . . The dignitaries of Church and State will unite to bribe, persuade, or compel, all classes to
honour the Sunday. . . Liberty of conscience, which has cost so great a sacrifice, will no longer be
respected. In the soon-coming conflict we shall see exemplified the prophet's words: 'The dragon was
wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the
commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ"' (GC. 592).
Employing the same principle of observing the introduction of the actors in the moving drama of the
conflict between the forces of good and evil, we cannot fail to be impressed with the dramatic way in
which the saints come into the prophetic picture of Rev. 17. John says: "And I saw the woman drunken
with the blood of saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus" (Rev. 17:6). This "great whore" is
the murderess of the saints of God. The saints are thus introduced into this vision as the victims of this
blood-thirsty whore; the objects of fiery persecution as she employs the power of kings and governors
to execute her cruel designs upon the true servants of the Lord.
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Thus there can be no mistaking the purpose for which this prophecy was given: it was given to reveal
vital information for the Lord's loyal people, information concerning their perilous plight when "the
great whore" becomes the mistress of the governments of earth, and when the populace give their
assent to this unholy union. Earlier in the book of Revelation the apostate church is designated "that
woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess". In that same communication, the Lord of glory
denounced her illicit association with the powers of earth, saying: "I gave her space to repent of her
fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with
her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death" (Rev.
2:20-23).
Jezebel was "the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians" and led king Ahab into the worship of Baal.
Ahab "reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a
grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that
were before him" (I Kings 16:31-33).
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Ahab became a tool in the hand of this wicked woman; at her instigation death became the portion of
the servants of God. "Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord. . . . Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord"
(1 Kings 18:4, 13). Obviously Jezebel did not herself slay these servants of the Most High God; she
employed the power of the State. Elijah, the prophet of the Lord, who is employed in the Scriptures as a
type of God's last-day messengers, was used powerfully to counteract the iniquity of the union of Israel
with the idolatry of Baal worship. With the irresistible power of Heaven resting upon him, he challenged
the false teachings of Baal worship and revealed to the people the iniquity brought into Israel by Jezebel
working through king Ahab. Baal means Lord. Baal-worship was sunworship: a subtle, Satanic philosophy
that placed God's creation in the place of the Creator; a religious philosophy that placed great power in
the hands of a false priesthood (1 Kings 16:32, 33; 18:22-40).
The situation and circumstances which prevailed in Israel in Jezebel's time bear a remarkable similarity
with those which existed during the Dark Ages and are to be particularly prevalent in the closing scenes
of the great conflict between truth and error. The parallels of the events of those days and those to
occur in the very last days of earth's history are such that one can readily see why the Lord has
employed Elijah as a type of those who proclaim the last great warning message against the iniquitous
work of the modern Jezebel, who will employ the kings of earth to persecute and seek to slay the
servants of God. (For a further consideration of the times and circumstances concerning Jezebel and
Elijah and their antitypical application in connection with last-day events, the reader is directed to
previous publications: "The Fall of Babylon in Type and Antitype", and "Christ Conquers! or Why Christ
Rose on Sunday".)
Those who serve the Lord in this dark world of sin, where His holy principles are challenged either
outwardly or by subtlety, are precious in His sight; they are "the apple of His eye" (Zech. 2:8). The Lord
Jesus Who gave His royal blood to save His people, says: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the
least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me" (Matt. 25:40). To wound one of His children is to
"sin against Christ" (1 Cor. 8:12). The Lord says: "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which
believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were
drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matt. 18:7). "His saints are lovely in His sight." They are never hidden
from His sight (Heb. 4:13). Christ warns those who feel that they can harm His children with
80
impunity: "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones" (Matt. 18:10). To His trusting children
the Lord says: "Whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.... No weapon that is
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formed against thee shall prosper" (Isa. 54:15, 17). Today, as anciently God encouraged His people, the
Lord assures His remnant church: "As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending
also He will deliver it; and pass in over He will preserve it" (Isa. 31:5). The Psalm which was particularly
penned for the perils of earth's closing scenes, says: "He shall cover the with His feathers, and under His
wings shalt thou trust" Ps. 91:4).
The prophecy of Rev. 17 is given to portray "the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many
waters"; judgment which falls upon her from Heaven because of employing the kings of the earth (with
whom she has unholy alliance) to persecute the people of God. This is the purpose for which this
prophecy was given; and everything in this portrayal must be seen as contributing toward that purpose
and thus justifying God in his dealings with this dissolute woman. It is also written in order to encourage
God's people with the knowledge that the Lord has taken full cognizance of the fury of her wrath against
His people and thus find comfort in knowing that the Lord will deal with her e and bring deliverance to
His oppressed people.
The angel who is commissioned to reveal to John "the judgment of the great whore is definitely said to
be "one of the seven angels which had the seven vials" (Rev. 17:1). Thus we are directed back to the
description of the outpouring of God's unmingled wrath upon those who had rejected the warning
message proclaimed by the people of God. The third angel's message (Rev. 14:8-11) warned against the
worship of "the beast and, his image" and the reception of "the mark of the beast. The beast
persecuted the people of God in the Dark Ages; the image of the beast is also a last-day combination of
Church and State which persecutes the people of God. "When the leading churches of the United States
... shall influence the State to enforce their decrees, and to sustain their institutions, (then) Protestant
America will have formed an image to the Roman hierarchy, and the infliction of civil penalties upon
dissenters will inevitably result....The ìmage to the beast' represents that form of apostate
Protestantism which will be developed when the Protestant churches shall seek the aid of the civil
power for the enforcement of their dogmas" (GC. 445).
The warning against this last great apostasy when Church and State unite to enforce the mark of the
beast, will be proclaimed with the, mightiest demonstration of Divine power ever revealed
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in connection with the work of God on the earth. John said: "I saw another angel come down from
heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a
strong voice, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen ... for all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of
her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her" (Rev. 18:1-3). With
what courage the Lord will invest His people that will enable them to proclaim this solemn warning
against such national apostasy! Those who reject the warning will be stirred with bitter resentment and
anger; their natural passions will be inflamed by the evil spirits into a white heat. Pointing, to this time,
the Lord's servant says: "We were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the
Sabbath more fully. This enraged the churches and nominal Adventists, as they could not refute the
Sabbath truth" (EW 33). Again the Lord's servant points to this final crisis hour among the nations,
saying: "I was pointed down to the time when the third angel's message was closing. The power of God
had rested upon His people.... The last great warning had sounded everywhere, and it had stirred up and
enraged the inhabitants of the earth who would not receive the message" EW. 279 . It is to this time
when the loud cry will be given with such mighty power that Daniel's last prophecy points: the loud cry
will be given with such a mighty power that the king of the north will become greatly troubled thereby;
"therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many". To accomplish
his designs he encamps about the spiritual "holy city", but the Lord intervenes to deliver His peoplethis
is the teaching of Dan. 11:44, 45; 12:1.
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As we have shown in a previous publication ("The King of the North at Jerusalem. God's People
Delivered"), there are three stages of the final conflict to which we are directed in Daniel's last
prophecy: (1) The king of the north invades the land of Israel which he does when he brings about the
union of church and state and thus, violating the principle of religious freedom, he enters the domain of
the conscience which belongs exclusively to God; (2) Sunday laws have increased in severity until a
death penalty is attached to their violationto be executed after a period of time. "At that time when
the threat of death is passed upon all Sabbath keepers who refuse to bow to the image of the beast
"shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people"; (3) "At that
time" (the second time this expression is employed in Dan. 12:1)when the time period in the death
decree is about to expire and thus death is to be meted out to God's people, at the time of the 6th and
7th plagues"At that time thy people shall be delivered."
It is at the time the people of God are threatened with death
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in the decree which gives them a limited period in which to relinquish their Sabbath keepingthat
Michael, even our Lord and Saviour stands up and the reason for His standing, or commencing His reign
after closing the door of mercy, is declared to be because He "standeth for the children of thy people.
The forces of evil threaten to destroy His peoplethat is enough! This provokes Him to wrath! He arises
and closes mercy's door so that He may with unmingled wrath deal with the persecutors of His people.
He will deliver His people! to do this He pours out plague after plague. Never should the plagues be
studied without seeing behind their outpouring the great love of the Lord Jesus for His ransomed
people: it is for their sake, mainly, they are poured-out.
The Lord's servant says:
"I saw the leading men of the earth consulting together, and Satan and his angels busy around them. I
saw a writing, copies of which were scattered in different parts of the land, giving orders, that unless the
saints should yield their peculiar faith, give up the Sabbath and observe the first day of the week, the
people were at liberty after a certain time, to put them to death. Satan wished to have the privilege of
destroying the saints of the Most High; but Jesus bade His angels watch over them. God would be
honoured by making a covenant with those who had kept His law, in the sight of the heathen round
about them; and Jesus would be honoured by translating without their seeing death, the faithful,
waiting ones who had so long expected Him, . . . God would not suffer His name to be reproached
among the heathen. The time had nearly come when He was to manifest His mighty power, and
gloriously deliver His saints. For His name's glory He would deliver every one of those who had patiently
waited for Him, and whose names were written in the book" (EW. 283, 4.
Thus the Lord's servant connects up the death threatened by the king of the north, as he goes "forth
with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many" (Dan. 11:44), and the deliverance of the
people of God, "every one that shall be found written in the book" (Dan. 12:1).
The deliverance of the people of God, is brought about by the voice of God (see 1T. 354, 184; EW. 37,
285; GC. 635, 6), which the Revelator locates in point of time at the opening of the 7th plague (Rev.
16:17). Daniel says that the king of the north comes to his end at the time of the deliverance of the
saints. John says that the deliverance of the saints by the voice of God occurs at the opening of the 7th
plague. The king of the north is described as being just about to slay the faints when the Lord brings
them deliverance-and the king of the north comes to his end, none being able to help him for the Lord
Almighty has determined upon his utter extinction in the battle of that great day of God Almighty
Armageddon" meaning "the mountain of slaughter". Scripture and logic demand that the Revelator
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(who follows the order of events outlined by Daniel in his last prophecy) in his description of the drying
up of the waters of
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Babylon's river, the Euphrates, must also be referring to the time when the world, will have united with
"the great whore that sitteth upon many waters--the Euphrates, see Jer. 51:13 and compare with Rev.
17:1in the determination to slay the people of God. The drying up of the waters threatening to engulf
God's people, refers to the intervention of God on behalf of His people.
The invasion of Palestine by the Assyrians was likened by Isaiah to the overflowing of the Euphrates. The
Assyrian armies marched across the land of Immanuel"God with us", Matt. 1:23 - until everything
seemed submerged by the flooding Euphrates. Like a man with head only above the swirling waters, so
Jerusalem was surrounded and threatened with deathsee the impressive figure presented by the
prophet Isaiah, chapter 8:7, 8. At that time the Lord declared: "Surely as I have thought, so shall it come
to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand; that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon My
mountains tread him under foot.... This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is
the hand that is stretched out upon all nations" (Isa. 14:24-26).
Thus the invasion of the land of Israel by the Assyrians, likened unto the overflowing of the Euphrates, is
coupled up with God's purpose "upon the whole earth ... upon all the nations" at the time of the
deliverance of God's people. Then, God defended the city of Jerusalem and delivered and preserved it
(Isa. 31:5), destroying the Assyrian that surrounded itsee Isa. 38:35, 36. In the chapter (30)
"Deliverance from Assyria." the Lord's servant in "Prophets and Kings", says: "The rise and fall of the,
Assyrian Empire is rich in lessons or the nation of earth today. ... The pride of Assyria and its fall are to
serve as an object lesson to the end of time" (pp. 362, 366).
In Isa. 30: 27-31 the Lord couples up the defeat of the Assyrian army around Jerusalem, as the Lord then
intervened on behalf of His people, with the deliverance of God's people in the last days when "the Lord
shall cause His glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of His arm, with the
indignation of His anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and
hailstones. For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down". This is the passage of
Scripture which the Lord's servant employs when depicting the deliverance of God's people by the voice
of God at the opening of the 7th plaguesee GC. 635, 6.
Thus we see why the drying up of the waters of the Euphrates under the 6th plague is associated with
the deliverance of the people of God at the opening of the 7th plague. (For fuller consideration see
other books of the writer's which deal with this theme, such as "God Speaks-and Israel Triumphs".)
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The Lord, by informing us that the angel who delivers to John the vision of Rev. 17 is one of the seven
angels who pour out the seven last plagues upon the forces of Babylon, would thus have us study the
significance of Rev. 17 in the light of what is revealed concerning the outpouring of the seven last
plagues, such as we have briefly considered in the foregoing paragraphs.
The first plague is poured out "upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which
worshipped [or obeyed] his image" (Rev. 16:2). That is, the plagues are poured out upon those who have
subscribed to the Papal-Protestant-union of Church and State; those who know that such legislation
must bring great distress and suffering to Sabbath keepers. In another publication where we have given
a fuller analysis of the plagues, we have shown that all the plagues are poured out upon those who have
rejected Gods last-day Message and who are seeking to slay the people of God. The death decree is to
be executed at the time of the 6th plague, or as the Bible states, the 6th plague is poured out upon the
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waters of the river EuphratesBabylon's riverbecause those waters, which are distinctly declared by
the angel to be the "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" doing the bidding of "the great
whore" (Rev. 17:1, 15), threaten to drown the people of God.
The foregoing facts, with others to be presented in the following pages, clearly show why the Lord gave
John the important revelation contained in Rev. 17: it concerns the crisis that will come upon the people
of God in all parts of the world when the powers of earth will unite for the extirpation of Sabbath
keepers: it reveals that complete victory will come to Christ's faithful people and complete destruction
to their enemies.
CHAPTER TEN
REVELATION 17: AN ENLARGEMENT OF THE PICTURE
OF THE WORLD'S CRISIS PRESENTED IN REVELATION 16.
Revelation 16 throws light upon Revelation 17, and Revelation 17 throws light upon Rev. 16-they are
parts of one presentation. The same powers, the same conflict, the same judgments, the same results
are seen in both these chapters. The additional features are those which show the guilt of "the great
whore" and account for the severity of God's judgments. Also there appears further presentation on
how the forces are united in their opposition to the people of Godby the doctrines of Babylon; the
wine that intoxicates kings and people and causes them to make wrong decisions-and how the unity
thus formed is violently broken up by the intervention of God on behalf of His people. As the complete
unity of "the kings of the earth and of the whole world" to slay the people of God is not fully reached
until the time of the outpouring of the 6th plague, and Rev. 17 is given to show how that unity is
achieved among "the kings" that "have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the
beast", we see that Rev. 17 deals in a special sense with events leading up to and at the time of the 6th
plague.
In furtherance of this thought we show the connection between the disunity of the forces of Babylon
brought to view in Rev. 16:19, at the time of the 7th plague, and that same disunity brought to view in
Rev. 17:16. In Rev. 16:17-19 we read of the judgment in which it is particularly declared that "great
Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His
wrath". The climax or the main feature resulting from the voice of God which brings deliverance to the
people of God from their Babylonian persecutors, is mentioned first by John as he describes the results
which come to the forces of Babylon from the intervention of God on behalf of His people. He says:
"And the great city [Babylon] was divided into three parts"the same three parts which are mentioned
in Rev. 16: 13 as uniting in their common purpose of slaying the saints of God.
Revelation 16 merely states that the forces of Babylon will be "divided into three parts". Those "three
parts" are mentioned in v. 13 as being "the dragon ... the beast ... the false prophet", but no suggestion
is given as to how that state of disunity will
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operate. However, Rev. 17 has been given to show how the state of disunity referred to in Rev. 16:19
will be brought about and with what results. In Rev. 17:16 John informs us what occurs when the voice
of God brings deliverance to His people and also brings confusion to their enemies. He says: "An the ten
horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and
naked, and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire."
Thus it is clear that Rev. 17 has been given with particular reference to the way the nations of the world
will be led to unite in the enforcement of stringent Sunday laws that bring God's people into conflict
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with the powers of earth; how those nations are led to unite in their determination to annihilate all
Sabbath keepers, and how God, under the 6th plague, turns the waters of the Euphrates so that they no
longer serve the purpose of Babylon to slay the saints. Rev. 17 also shows that the people of Babylon,
brought into confusion when God's voice brings deliverance to His people, turn upon their religious
leaders and slay them with the swords with which they had armed themselves to slay the saints. Thus it
is perfectly obvious that Rev. 17 has been given to provide further details on how the forces of Babylon
become united, thus leading to a concerted action to destroy God's people at the time of the 6th
plague; it also provides further details on how that unity is broken up and the forces which had become
united to destroy the saints are confused and divided and turn upon each other with mutual strife and
slaughter. Therefore, as this is undoubtedly the purpose for which this chapter was given, all that is
mentioned in it should be interpreted accordingly.
That Rev. 17 was given to enlarge upon events occurring before and at the time of the 6th and 7th
plagues, mentioned in chapter 16, may also be seen by observing that Rev. 17 deals specifically with the
symbols and events mentioned under the 6th and 7th plagues. Rev. 16:12 says that the 6th vial of God's
wrath is poured out "upon the great river Euphrates [Babylon's river], and the water thereof was dried
up". As indicated by the margin, this is a quotation from Jer. 50:38, which predicted that the waters of
the Euphrates upon which Babylon was built would be "dried up". Now this is the very first feature
brought to view in Rev. 17 with respect to the Babylonian whore. The angel told John: "I will shew thee
the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters" (Rev. 17:1). As again indicated by the
margin, this is a direct quotation from Jer. 51:13 which describes the ancient city of Babylon as dwelling
"upon many waters", that is, the Euphrates. The angel provides the meaning of the waters of the
Euphrates upon which this "great whore sitteth".
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He says: "The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are, people, and multitudes, and
nations, and tongues" (Rev. 17:15).
Having thus explained what is meant by the waters of the Euphrates: they represent the peoples,
multitudes, nations, and tongues that do the bidding of "the great whore"; the drying up of the
Euphrates could only mean that when God pours out His vial of judgment in the 6th plague those people
who had previously been obedient to the wishes and designs of the Babylonian whore now refuse any
longer to execute her nefarious designs; but, instead, turn upon her to destroy her. This is not merely a
matter of logic, for the angel, after explaining the meaning of the waters of the river Euphrates to refer
to the nations and people doing the bidding of the Babylonian whore, immediately proceeds to state
what the drying up of the waters of the Euphrates refers to. He says: And the ten horns which thou
sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat
her flesh, and burn her with fire."
As the angel conveying this information to John is said to be "one of the angels which had the seven
vials" (Rev. 17:1), and as the main feature of Rev. 17 concerns the nations represented by the waters of
the Euphrates doing the bidding of the Babylonian whore, and their subsequent refusal to any longer do
her bidding, and, instead, hate her and destroy her, it would appear that it is the angel that pours out
the vial upon the Euphrates who thus imparts this instruction to John.
That Rev. 17 is enlargement of the picture presented in Rev. 16 concerning the events transpiring under
the 6th and 7th plagues becomes more and more evident the more closely the two chapters are
compared. Observe the relationship between "the kings of the earth and of the whole world" united to
make war against God in that "battle of that great day of God Almighty", described in Rev. 16:12-16, and
the enlargement of that conflict which is described in Rev. 17:12-17. In Rev. 16 "the kings of the earth
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and of the whole world" make war against God; in Rev. 17:12-14 the "kings" "shall make war with the
Lamb". In Rev. 16:14, 16 the "kings" meet their doom at "Armageddon"that word in the Hebrew, to
which our attention is directed (Rev. 16:16), means "the mountain of slaughter"and in Rev. 17:14 we
read that "the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords and King of kings". This glorious title
here mentioned in connection with the Lamb overcoming these "kings" is also brought to view in Rev.
19:11-21 where occurs a further enlargement upon this picture of the destruction of the "kings" in
connection with the "war" "the King of kings" makes upon the armies of earth.
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In the "war" brought to view in Rev. 19 John describes the "armies" who have been deceived to fight
against their Maker in their attempt to slay the saints. He says: "I saw the beast, and the kings of the
earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against
his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him,
with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his
image" (Rev. 19:19, 20). Thus we perceive that the "war" or "battle" is the same in Rev. 16:12-16 and
also in Rev. 17: 14 and again in Rev. 19:11-21. As it is obvious that nothing of a literal military nature is
intended in the conflict portrayed in the "war" of Rev. 19:11-21, but concerns that conflict over "the
mark of the beast" (Rev. 19:20), and as everything of a military nature is obviously ruled out of all
consideration in the picture of the war against the Lamb and those that are "with Him", described in
Rev. 17:14, it demonstrates that the same conflict described in Rev. 16:12-16 has no specific reference
to anything of a military character.
Had the very definite connection between Rev. 16 and Rev. 17 been always observed; had the very next
chapter to 16 been employed as it was intended to be, namely, the explanation of Rev. 16, and with
special reference to the events coming under the 6th and 7th plagues, there could never have arisen
man-made interpretations of the sacred Scriptures. Belief that Rev. 16:12-16 describes a military war
among nations to occur in Palestine could not fail to diminish the greatness of the deliverance of the
people of God and the routing of their enemies described under the 7th plague; and such a military
conception of the eloquent description of the final scenes in the great conflict between the forces of
good and evil could not help but cause a failure to grasp the vital connection between Rev. 16 and Rev.
17, and thus prevent realization that Rev. 17 is the explanation of the symbols and circumstances
mentioned in connection with the 6th and 7th plagues.
One's understanding of Revelation 16particularly with reference to the 6th and 7th plagues-will largely
influence one's understanding of Revelation 17. Viewing "Armageddon" (Rev. 16:12-16) as a military
conflict of nations in Palestine prevents a proper appreciation of the deliverance of the saints by the
voice of God brought to view in connection with the opening of the 7th plague, and thus throws the
prophetic picture out of alignment. In Rev. 16 the prophet describes a conflict between Christ and the
nations of the world who are united in their purpose of persecuting the people of God. T he Lord sends
plague after plague
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to deflect them from this avowed purpose, until at the time of the 6th plague the kings of the earth and
of the whole world" have determined to slay the people of God.,
In "The Great Controversy", pp. 627 to 644, the servant of the Lord describes the events to transpire
during the outpouring of the seven last plagues. Events under the first four plagues are described in a
few pages. Then the pen of the servant of the Lord deals particularly and at great length with those
events coming, under the 6th and 7th plagues. Before the opening of the 7th plague, when God's people
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are delivered by the voice of God (see GC. 635. 6), the Spirit of Prophecy describes the events which
occur before and at the time of the 6th plague:
"When the protection of human laws shall be withdrawn from those who honour the law of God, there
will be, in different lands, a simultaneous movement for their destruction. As the time appointed in the
decree draws near, the people will conspire to root out the hated sect. It will be determined to strike in
one night a decisive blow, which shall utterly silence the voice of dissent and reproof. The people of God
... still plead for divine protection, while in every quarter companies of armed men, urged on by evil
angels [note Rev. 16:13, 14], are preparing for the work of death. It is now in the hour of utmost
extremity that the God of Israel will interpose for the deliverance of His chosen ... 'And the Lord shall
cause His glorious voice to be heard' (Isa. 30:29, 30). With shouts of triumph, jeering, and imprecations,
throngs of evil men are about to rush upon their prey, when lo, a dense darkness deeper than the
darkness of night, falls upon the earth. Then a rainbow, shining with the glory from the
40
throne of God, spans the heavens, and seems to encircle each praying company. The angry multitudes
are suddenly arrested. Their mocking cries die away. The objects of their murderous rage are forgotten.
With fearful forebodings they gaze upon the symbol of God's covenant, and long to be shielded from its
overpowering brightness. . It is at midnight that God manifests His power for the deliverance of His
people. . . In the midst of the angry heavens is one clear space of indescribable glory, whence comes the
voice of God . . . saying, 'It is done' (Rev. 16:17, 18). That voice shakes the heavens and the earth" (GC.
635, 6).
Thus the Spirit of Prophecy couples together as one dramatic picture, the events of the 5th, 6th and 7th
plagues. Wrenching the 6th plague out of its setting to interpret it as describing a supposed military war
in Palestine does a gross injustice to the inspired Word, by bringing in something totally irrelevant right
at the crucial point, thus bringing confusion to the understanding of that glorious message of triumph
which the Lord has given for the comfort and guidance of His remnant people.
In order that it will be readily seen that Rev. 17 is the explanation of Rev. 16, and with particular
reference to the 6th and 7th plagues, observe by the following comparisons the same powers, the same
conflict, the same judgments, and the same results are mentioned in both chapters, and observe too.
that Rev. 17 contains the enlargement or explanation of the symbols and events mentioned under the
6th and 7th plagues. 90
Revelation 17
Revelation 16
Rev. 18:4, 8. The seven last plagues "her Rev. 17:1, 5. Deals with God's judgment upon
Babylon.
[Babylon's] plagues".
Rev. 16:12, 19. The 6th and 7th plagues are both Rev. 17:1; Jer. 51:13. The waters of the Euphrates.
poured out specifically on Babylon's river and
upon Babylon herself.
Rev. 16:12. The waters of the Euphrates.
Rev. 17:1, 15. The waters of the Euphrates here

explained to be the peoples, multitude, nations,
and tongues who have previously done Babylon's
bidding, now turn and hate Babylon and make her
desolate. This shows what is meant by the drying
up of the waters of the Euphrates mentioned in
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Rev. 16:12.
Rev. 16:12. The waters of the Euphrates dried up - Rev. 17:15, 16. After having interpreted the waters
the great event that commences the complete of the Euphrates upon which the whore sitteth (v.
destruction of Babylon.
1) to refer to the nations and people who did her
bidding, and having brought us to the time of the
drying up of those waters, the very next verse (15,
16) naturally passes on to deal with what is meant
by the drying of those waters -the nations and
people ceasing to support and obey the whore,
but instead they hate her and make her desolate.
Rev. 16:13. The uniting of the three divisions of Rev. 17:10-13, 17; 2 Thess. 2:11. The uniting of the
Babylon.
three divisions of Babylon.
Rev. 16:14. Deceived into uniting by miracles.
Rev. 17:17; 19:19, 20. Deceived into uniting by

miracles concerning the mark of the beast.
Rev. 16:14. Spirits of devils working miracles to Rev. 17:13, 14, 17; 13:14; 2 Thess. 2:9-12; Matt.
deceive concerning the mark of the beast.
24: 24. Spirits of devils work miracles thus bringing
about unity among the three divisions of Babylon.
Rev. 16:14. Thus "the kings of the earth and of the
whole world" are led to make war against God Almighty. "They find that they have been fighting
against God" (GC. 640).
Rev. 17:14. "These", by giving their power and

strength unto the beast, "shall make war with the
Lamb" ("in the person of His witnesses", 7T. 182).
In Rev. 1:8 Jesus claims to be "the Almighty".
Rev. 16:16. They are thus gathered to their

destruction-"Armageddon" means "the mountain
of slaughter", referring to the destruction of all the
wicked who will have joined in the united war
against the remnant.
Rev. 17:14. "And the Lamb shall overcome them :

for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings"-in contrast to the king of Babylon "a king of kings" (Dan.
2:37).
Rev. 16:17. God's voice, saying, "It is done" brings Rev. 17:17. "For God hath put into their heart to
us to the time when the unity of Babylon is broken fulfil His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom
up.
unto the beast, until the words of God shall be
fulfilled". When God says, "It is done", all that has
been written concerning the work of the forces of
Babylon will have been fulfilled, just as all to be
fulfilled by Jesus had been fulfilled when Jesus
cried out on the cross, "It is finished"note John
19:28-30.
Rev. 16:19. "The great city [Babylon] was divided Rev. 17:16. Babylon's unity broken up when the
into three parts."
waters of the Euphrates are dried up, i.e., when
the religious leaders, terrified by the display of
God's almighty power, confess to their deceiving
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of the people, the people turn and rend them.
The Lord's servant, describing events associated with the voice of God that brings deliverance to His
people, says: After the saints had been delivered by the voice of God, the wicked multitude turned
their rage upon each other. The earth seemed to be deluged with blood, and dead bodies were from
one end of it to the other" (EW. 290).
"Now, in their despair, these teachers confess before the world their work of deception. The multitudes
are filled with fury. 'We are lost!' they cry, 'and you are the cause of our ruin'; and they turn upon the
false shepherds. The very ones that once admired them most, will pronounce the most dreadful curses
upon them. The very hands that once crowned them with laurels will be raised for their destruction. The
swords which were to slay, God's people are now employed to destroy their enemies. Everywhere there
is strife and bloodshed. . . the work of destruction begins among those who have professed to be the
spiritual guardians of the people. The false watchmen are the first to fall. (GC. 655, 656).
Then the Lord's servant quotes Zech. 14:12, 13, to which we draw the reader's attention in order to
point out the state of disunity which is brought about when the Lord rises to fight against the forces of
Babylon that will then be arrayed against God's people in "the battle of that great day of God Almighty".
She says:
"'And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all people that have fought against
Jerusalem: Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall
consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall come to
pass in that day that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every
one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour'. In the
mad strife of their own fierce passions, and by the awful outpouring of God's unmingled wrath, fall the
wicked inhabitants of the earthpriests, rulers, and people" (GC. 657).
We will present one more instance where it is obvious that Rev. 17 was given as an explanation of the
events brought to view in Rev. 16, particularly with reference to the events of the 6th and 7th plagues.
By introducing "the great whore" as sitting upon "many waters" (Rev. 17:1), which elsewhere we have
shown refers to the waters of the Euphrates, we are thus directed to the important part the Euphrates
plays in connection with the unity of Babylon and also in connection with the disunity brought
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about by the outpouring of the 6th plague upon those waters so that they will no longer serve Babylon,
but, instead, become a menace to her.
The drying up of the waters of the Euphrates by the 6th plague is followed, in the Revelator's portrayal
in ch. 16, by Babylon being "divided" (16:12, 19). In Rev. 17:1, 15, 16 the waters of the Euphrates are
mentioned in connection with (1) the apparent safety of "the great whore" sitting upon those waters
the waters support and help herand the state of agreement (vs. 12-17) among the supporters of
Babylon, and (2) the waters being dried up and thus no longer supporting and helping her, leading to a
state of division and conflict among those who had previously obeyed the behest of the Babylonian
whore. Thus in both Rev. 16 and enlarged upon in Rev. 17, the waters of the Euphrates re resent the
unity existing among those who serve the Babylonian whore, and the drying up of the waters of the
Euphrates refers to the state of disunity and consequent strife among the ranks of the Babylonian world.
Thus a correct understanding of the events of the 6th and 7th plagues requires a correct understanding
of the symbolic significance of the symbol of the waters of the Euphrates and their being dried up by the
intervention of God on behalf of His people.
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The waters of the Euphrates are said to be dried up "that the way of the kings of the east might be
prepared". In order to clarify the meaning of this statement in its relationship to the drying up of the
waters of the Euphrates, we submit the following thoughts:
Revelation 16
Revelation 17
Rev. 16:12. The waters of the Euphrates dried up: Rev. 17:12-17. The waters of the Euphrates: those
"that the way of the kings of the east might be who do the bidding of their religious leaders. The
prepared".
drying up of the waters of the Euphrates: the
multitudes who cease persecuting God's people
and who, then hating their false spiritual guardians
slay them, followed by the multitudes, slaying each
other. Christ with His heavenly armies will not
come until after this crisis hour when Babylon is
divided: theythe "kings" of earth "agree to give
their kingdom unto the beast until the words of
God [concerning the world attempting to slay His
people] shall be fulfilled."
Infinite wisdom has decreed that the coming of the kings from the eastChrist leading forth His armies
from heavenwill not occur until after the drying up of the waters of the Euphrates. The more this
aspect is considered the more heavenly wisdom is thus revealed.
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It should be remembered first of all, that the drying up of the waters of the Euphrates does not occur at
the coming of Christ, but some days before that majestic event (see "God Speaks-and Israel Triumphs" .
Earthly nations or people do not have to be taken out of the way because they would prevent the
coming of the heavenly armies. Obviously neither men nor demons could possibly prevent the
omnipotent Lord from cleaving the skies to gather His people. He could do that now, but He does not
because in His programme certain things must first transpire.
To finally establish His kingdom on a basis of confidence and trust, God deemed it necessary to let
certain events develop to His glory and to the revealing of the true character and work of Satan. For
6,000 years God has permitted Satan to work his evil in the world-He could have destroyed Satan at any
time during those six millenniums. Similarly, Christ could destroy the forces of Babylon before the time
of the 6th and 7th plagues. But in His infinite wisdom the Lord has withheld His hand until Satan's seed
sowing grows into a frightful harvest and bears enough baleful fruit to condemn itself. Similarly, the
harvest from Babylon's seed sowing must be permitted to bear such fruitage that it will stand
condemned before the universe. Professing to be anxious to save the world from "Godlessness", and
enforcing Sunday observance to save civilization and to save the masses from corruption, etc., Babylon
will apparently exalt Christ and the law of the land as the law of God while actually working contrary to
the true teachings of the Bible. Deceived into believing that they have found the secret of success they
say "Peace and Safety"; but, instead, "sudden destruction cometh upon them ... and they shall not
escape" (I Thess. 5:3).
For the last time, and this time, in all the world simultaneously, it will be abundantly shown that a
government based upon the true teachings of God-based upon the exact conformity to the very words
of God's holy Lawalone can endure. For a brief period the world will unite in its determination to slay
the people of God under the pretext of saving the world from ruin, only to find that such a procedure
will precipitate the very thing they have sought to avoid. Thus it was in the days of our Lord. God
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permitted Satan to reveal his bitterness toward Jesus to reveal the true character of Satan. "Nothing
could so effectually have uprooted Satan from the affections of the heavenly angels and the whole loyal
universe as did this cruel warfare upon the world's Redeemer.... Now the guilt of Satan stood forth
without excuse. He had revealed his true character as a liar and a murderer.. . He had claimed that the
transgression of God's law would bring
94
liberty and exaltation; but it was seen to result in bondage and degradation. (GC 502)
Pointing to the final conflict, the Lord's servant says:
"The Satanic zeal with which the prince of evil will inspire them for the accomplishment of his malignant
designs, will bear the resemblance of zeal for God. . . It will be urged that the few who stand in
opposition to an institution of the Church and a law of the State, ought not to be tolerated; that it is
better for them to suffer than for whole nations to be thrown into confusion and lawlessness. The same
argument eighteen hundred years ago was brought against Christ by the rulers of the people; It is
expedient for us, said the wily Caiaphas, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole
nation perish not' (John 11:50.) This argument will appear conclusive; and a decree will finally be issued
against those who hallow the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, denouncing them as deserving of
the severest punishment, and giving the people liberty, after a certain time, to put them to death" (GC.
615).
The kings from the east will not come until that pretence of piety be unmasked; Christ and His angels
will not return until the unity of Babylon, which will be brought about by a supposed reverence for the
so-called "Lord's Day" the observance of Sunday, introduced by the Papacy as the token of her power
and authorityis broken up and the true character of all is revealed. The religious leaders will, "in their
despair, confess before the world their work of deception", and their professedly pious supporters will
then reveal the hatred in their hearts by slaying their false spiritual guardians, and also by their turning
upon each other with mutual hate, until the world is one vast battlefield of contending parties.
Circumstances brought about by the intervention of God on behalf of His people, causing the forces of
Babylon to discard their deceptive exterior, bring to view the principles of Satan that have been hidden
under the guise of religious zeal.
Christ and His heavenly armies will not come until the character of the people of Babylon is clearly
revealed: the kings from the east will not come until the waters of Babylon are turned from serving
Babylon, and instead become one of the means of bringing about her destruction. Anciently, probably
due to Cyrus interfering with the natural course of the river and deflecting the waters of the Euphrates,
Babylon became "a possession for the bittern, and pools of water" (Isa. 14:22, 23). Jeremiah had prophesied: "The sea is come upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. . . .
Because the Lord hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do
roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered: Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon
Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the Lord God of
recompenses shall surely requite." (Jer. 51:42, 55, 56).
"Reward her even as she rewarded you" (Rev. 18:6). The multitudes she let loose upon God's people will
then turn upon her.
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There are some things which "must" occur as the result of sinGod's justice and His wisdom declare
that sin must be dealt with and its true character revealed. Sin made it necessary for either man to die,
or the Saviour; " ... even so must the Son of Man be lifted up" (John 3:14). Writing of God's programme
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of events, the Revelator declared that those things of which he wrote "must shortly come to pass" (Rev.
1:1). Before the wicked are destroyed they "must" acknowledge the justice of God. Just as God plans
that the destruction of Satan at the end of the Millennium will not take place until Satan has
acknowledged his rebellion before those whom he has deceived (GC. 669, 672), so God will not send
Jesus (Acts 3:20)"the way of the kings of the east" will not be "prepared"until God's providences bring
about the exposure of the deceptions practised by the religious leaders, their acknowledgment of these
deceptions before all, and the voluntary rejection, and destruction by the populace of their false
shepherds.
Satan's accusations against God have necessitated the acknowledgment by all that His ways are "just
and true" (Rev. 15:3). God says: "I have sworn by Myself, the word is gone forth out of My mouth in
righteousness, and shall not return, That unto Me ever knee shall bow and every tongue swear." (Isa
45:23)
will not send His Son until this confession has been made by the false shepherds who will have misled
their flocks to believe that, by enforcing "the mark of the beast", world conditions would improve, but
which, instead, provoked the wrath of God and produced a world of indescribable misery.
Cyrus and the other lesser "kings" (see Jer. 51:11, 28) "from the east" (Isa. 41:2, 25; 46:11) waited until
the waters of the Euphrates had been deflected from the river bed"that the way of the kings of the
east might be prepared"before they marched into the heart of Babylon to bring about its compete
overthrow. Christ, the angels, and the saints (who are now said to be "kings and priests" (Rev. 1:6; 5:10)
and who assist Christ in His heavenly ministry) who will accompany Him at His second advent will not be
seen in the eastern heavens before the exposure and the acknowledgment of the false shepherds takes
place. When the waters of Babylon, which hitherto had given her support and protection, are turned
from their usual Euphratean bedwhen the people by God's overruling providences see that they have
been deceived by their religious leaders and then turn on them in fury, as graphically described in GC.
654-657; EW 282"the way of the kings of the east will be prepared".
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The Euphrates, previously a bulwark and support to Babylon, by becoming a way of entrance for the
armies of Cyrus into that proud city was, the opening means whereby Babylon was overthrown. The
drying up of the waters of the Euphrates became the signal for the disaster which subsequently befell
ancient Babylon. The Revelator, making the antitypical application, shows that the uniting of "the kings
of the earth and of the whole world" in their determination to destroy the remnant church causes the
Lord's anger to be poured out for the complete destruction of Babylon: the drying up of the waters of
the Euphrates being the signal for the commencement of this destruction; this will be but the
preparatory work to the greater destruction to follow.
The fratricidal slaughter over the entire globe continues for the remaining few days following God's
intervention to save His people from death at the hands of their Babylonian persecutors until the second
advent when "the kings of the east"the heavenly armiescome to bring complete destruction to the
entire Babylonian world.
That a great slaughter occurs among the previously united ranks of Babylon's "armies" (depicted in Rev.
19:11-21 as being at "war" with "the armies of heaven") during the few days between the drying up of
the waters of the Euphrates and the second advent, is indicated by the fact that Rev. 19:11-21, in
describing the result of the battle of the "armies" of Babylon against "the armies of heaven", concludes
by saying: "And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which
proceedeth out of His mouth." (We have shown in other publications that Rev. 19:11-21 is referred to by
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God's servant as a description of "the battle of Armageddon"E. G. White, MS. 172, 1899; Rev. & Her.,
May 13, 1902; 6T. 406; etc.)
At His second advent, the Lord destroys "the remnant" of the wicked who are left; for, from the time of
the drying up of the waters of the Euphratesthe judgment of God that commences the period of
Babylon's utter destructionthe wicked are thrown into utter confusion, and commence their
destruction of each other until, at the coming of Christ, there is but a "remnant" remaining to be slain by
the actual coming of Christ.
Rightly understood, every major crisis and every deliverance which came to ancient Israel and recorded
significantly in the Holy Scriptures typifies the final crisis and the Final deliverance of the people of
God (GC 341) It has been God's method in days gone by in bringing deliverance to His people, to
overthrow the united enemies of His people by bringing confusion into their ranks and causing them to
turn and slay each other.--See Judg. 7:22;
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1 Sam. 14:20; 2 Chron. 20, 32; Ezek. 38:21; Zech. 14:13. "Every man's sword shall he against his brother."
(Ezek. 38:21); "I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms ... the horses and the riders shall come down,
every one, by the sword of his brother" (Haggai 2:21, 22).
The prophet Ezekiel in his graphic portrayal of the mighty, combined forces of the armies of Gog
gathered to attack the Israel of God, describes how God's anger will be unleashed upon that mighty,
world combination who have determined upon the slaughter of His people. The burden of Ezek 38:1423, is to portray the vast combination of the forces of BabyIon that will gather against Israel, and to
fully describe the overthrow of those forces by the intervention of God. Ezek. 38:14-23 undoubtedly
deals with the events of the 6th and 7th plague; verses 18-23 particularly dealing with the events under
the 7th plaguethis can easily be observed by comparing Ezekiel's description with that of the Revelator's
(Rev. 16:17-21 and again enlarged upon in Rev. 19:17, 18, 21). The marginal references connect these
descriptions together. However, a mere glance at the wording of these two descriptions will not leave
any doubt that the same events are therein depicted. When the combined forces of Gog are about to
attack Israel, or, as stated by the Revelator, when "the kings of the whole world" are united in their
determination to slay the Israel of God, the prophet Ezekiel says:"And it shall come to pass at that same
time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel [the king of the north invades the land of Israel and
surrounds "the glorious holy mountain", "the camp of the saints", to slay the saints], saith the Lord God,
that My fury shall come up in My face. For in My jealousy [for His church] and in the fire of My wrath
have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking [His voice causes the greatest earthquake
the earth will have ever experienced, Rev. 16:17-21 and note Ezek. 38:20] ... And I will call for a sword
against him throughout all My mountains, saith the Lord God: every man's sword shall be against his
brother.... And I will rain ... great hailstones" (Ezek. 38: 18-22).
By placing together all the many details which are given of the events outlined to occur under the 6th
and 7th plagues an amazingly clear picture is presented in which all the details may be dovetailed to
form one complete picture. Merely studying one of these presentations alone cannot give that
complete, balanced understanding which may be obtained from considering all that the Lord has given
throughout His Holy Word.
In this description presented by Ezekiel of events occurring in connection with the 6th and 7th plagues,
he mentions concerning the great shaking that occurs at the utterance of the voice of God
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at the opening of the 7th plague, which brings deliverance to His people. At this time of the deliverance
of His people, the Lord calls "for a sword against him [Gog, referring first to the religious leaders, see
some of my other publications] throughout all My mountains, saith the Lord God: every man's sword
shall be against his brother".
Jeremiah, in ch. 25:30-38, when writing of the same time and the same events, says that God's voice,
which brings deliverance to His people, will bring terror and confusion into the ranks of the forces of
Babylon (see vs. 12-14). "The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter His voice from His holy habitation;
He shall mightily roar upon His habitation; He shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all
the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a
controversy with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword,
saith the Lord.... And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from- one end of the earth even unto the
other end of the earth." By comparing this passage with that of Ezekiel's already given we know that the
wicked being given to the sword means that they will slaughter each other, as well as meaning that at
the second advent "the remnant" who are left from this frightful welter of bloodshed will be "slain by
the sword of Him that sat upon the horse" (Rev 19:21).
The prophet Zechariah, describing the same events occurring under the 6th and 7th plagues, says: "And
this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem;
their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in
their holes, and their tongue [see Rev. 16:10] shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall come to
pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every
one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour" (Zech.
14: 12, 13)
In the Scriptures which portray the events coming under the 6th and 7th plagues, all present the
intervention of God on behalf of His people which results in the confusion, division and consequent
slaughter among the would-be murderers of His people. The servant of the Lord quotes the passage
from Zechariah to which we have just drawn attention when describing the fate which will befall the
forces of Babylon who will have sought to slay the saints, and then says: "In the mad strife of their own
fierce passions, and by awful outpouring of God's unmingled wrath, fall the wicked inhabitants of the
earthpriests, rulers, and people, rich and poor, high and low. 'And the slain of the
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Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not
be lamented, neither gathered nor buried. At the coming of Christ the wild are blotted from the face of
the whole earth" (GC-657)
Thus the servant of the Lord shows that the order of events is as follows: (1) A united attack to slay
God's people; (2) God's intervention on their behalf; (3) Babylon's forces becoming divided, each
commences slaughtering the other, which terrible work of destruction continues until (4) Jesus, as King
of kings, and Lord of lords, descends the eastern heavens and completes the work of destruction.
Thus the judgment of God commencing with the outpouring of the 6th plague, will be reducing the
depth or quantity of the waters of the Euphrates as Christ and His royal hosts are descending the
eastern heavens to bring complete destruction to Babylonsimilarly, the waters of the Euphrates
diminished while Cyrus and the other "kings" "from the east" were marching into the heart of Babylon
to bring about its complete overthrow. Thus we see how closely parallels the antitype with the ancient
type. When all things are considered we can do nothing but marvel at the accuracy of the Revelator's
application of the type: as Cyrus drying up the Euphrates as the commencement of the overthrow of
ancient Babylon, so the drying up of the waters of the Euphrates by the intervention of God to save His
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people from being destroyed by "the kings of the earth and of the whole world", commences that
period during which Babylon is divided" (Rev. 16:19)their period of agreeing, mentioned in Rev. 1:1217, endsand each turns with hatred upon the other in mutual slaughter.
Revelation 17 is given to His people so that they may become intelligent on how the unity of Bab ylon
will be brought about through miracles being performed with the aid of evil spirits, masquerading as
those sent of God to convince people concerning Sunday observance, and the consequent hatred stirred
up against those who remain loyal to God's unalterable lawand how that unity will be broken up and
the period of agreeing with a common purpose of slaying God's people will end in the utter confusion
and the consequent slaughter of the forces of Babylon.
Revelation 17 was written to give God's people the blessed assurance that the Lord will be with them
and they with Him; that the war will not merely be against them, but "that these [kings etc.] shall
make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them" Rev. 17:12-14). Thus panoplied with the
precious promises of their almighty Saviour, the remnant people of God will be enabled to face the
perils of the final conflict in
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the full knowledge that the Lord will be with them and that victory is assured every trusting child of God.
Revelation 17 portrays the utter defeat that will come to the apparently triumphant forces of Babylon,
and the glorious victory awaiting the remnant people of God.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
WHY DOES JESUS "THE WONDERFUL NUMBERER"
(DAN. 8:13) URGE US IN BOTH REVELATION 13:18 AND
REVELATION 17:9-11 TO COUNT NUMBERS IN REFERENCE TO THE BEAST? THE
IMPOSSIBILITY OF FULLY UNDERSTANDING FACTS CONCERNING THE 7th
HEAD OF THE BEAST WITHOUT HEEDING THE SAVIOUR'S COUNSEL.
The Book of Revelation is literally studded with numbers; they are interwoven with the structure and
the prophetic imagery. But this should not occasion any surprise; rather we should have been surprised
if the Almighty Architect of the Universe, Who is the Author of this book (see Rev. 22:16), and Who is
described in connection with the 2,300 days' prophecy as "The Wonderful Numberer" (Dan. 8:13,
margin), had not employed numbers in this wonderful revelation. Is there anything in His vast creation
that was created without reference to numbers? As He has gone on creating the various suns and their
systems He has numbered each one: "He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their
names (Ps. 147:4). "Lift up your eyes on high, and behold Who hath created these things, that bringeth
out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might" (Isa. 40:28).
From the mighty orbs that act as luminous hands in the heavenly chronometer, moving with faultless
precision, according to a mathematically determined speed, across the vaulted dome, to the minutiae
on this planet, all things are governed by a mathematical law. We know that the times for the rising and
setting of the sun, moon, and stars, the ebb and flow of tides, seasons coming and going, and the whole
course of nature, whether of animal or plant life, all are governed by definite mathematical laws.
Horticulturists know that the growth of the seed, the leaves and the branches on plants and trees is
governed by definite mathematical laws. The gardener knows when to plant his seeds, and when they
will grow to maturity. The ornithologist knows the various times it will take for different species of eggs
to hatch. A septenary law governs the growth of insect, bird, and animal life.
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The law of resonance, or vibration, to which the ears and eyes are adapted by the Creator, governs all
the lovely and wonderful things men see and hear, as well as the rays invisible and inaudible to man.
This mathematical law of sevens is universal.
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As never before, men now see that everything in nature is controlled by mathematical laws or
principles. Chemists, botanists, horticulturists, ornithologists, biologists, zoologists, scientists working in
all branches of natural research, who have spent much time and energy in discovering the laws with
which God has endowed nature, have in these last days testified that the Creator sustains His vast and
complicated creation by mathematical laws. Added significance may now be seen in the emphasis upon
"the seventh day" as the memorial of God's creative ability, for this number seven is found throughout
nature and is positively indispensable to all forms of life, and especially to human beings.
Everything that Jesus the Creator"Palmoni, the Wonderful Numberer" (Dan. 8:13, margin)has made, is
subject to definite mathematical laws. Sir James Jeans in his book "The Mysterious Universe", in delving
into the deeper things of science, says: "The essential fact is simply that all the pictures which science
now draws of nature, and which alone seem capable of according with observational fact, are
mathematical pictures, [emphasis his].... And what we are finding, in a whole torrent of surprising new
knowledge, is that the way which explains them more clearly, more fully and more naturally than any
other is the mathematical way, the explanation in terms of mathematical concepts. It is true, in a sense
somewhat different from that intended by Galileo, that 'Nature's great book is written in mathematical
language'. So true is it that no one except a mathematician need ever hope fully to understand those
branches of science which try to unravel the fundamental nature of the universe.
"A scientific study of the actions of the universe has suggested a conclusion which may be summed up,
though very crudely, and quite inadequately, because we have no language at our command except that
derived from our terrestrial concepts and experiences, in the statement that the universe appears to
have been designed by a pure mathematician." (Emphasis mine.)
This brilliant scientist, whose death came as a great loss to the world of science, continues in his book,
from which we are quoting, to point out that our ancestors failed to comprehend much in nature
through seeking to interpret nature without recourse to mathematical laws. He then says: "On the other
hand, our efforts to interpret nature in terms of the concepts of pure mathematics have, so far, proved
brilliantly successful.... Our contention is that the universe now appears to be mathematical in a sense
different from any which Kant contemplated.... In one sense it may be argued that everything is
mathematical. The simplest form of mathematics is arithmetic, the science of numbers and quantities
and these permeate the whole of life. . . . From the intrinsic evidence of His creation, the Great Architect
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of the Universe now begins to appear as a pure mathematician." (Emphasis mine.)
As everything in nature bears the imprint of carefully used numbers, and as the Bible has been inspired
by God (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21; etc.), is it not reasonable to believe that in the Scriptures also will be
found numbers that the all-wise Creator has employed in order that we might obtain a true
understanding of His will expressed therein It would be a rare thing indeed, if God's Word, which the
Psalmist declares is magnified above all God's name (Ps. 138:2), bears no mathematical manifestations
when everything else of His creation bears that indispensable imprint!
Those thoughtful Seventh-day students of Holy Writ who have studied the foundations of God's last-day
Message, will not be surprised to learn that a vast, complicated system of numbers runs throughout the
entire Bible; for in the books of Daniel and Revelation occur those time periodsthe 1260, 1290, 1335,
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2300 dayswhich must be understood in order to obtain a clear understanding of the third angel's
Message. It is not possible to be able to proclaim the first angel's Message: "Fear God and give glory to
Him for the hour of His judgment is come" (Rev. 14:6, 7), without employing a sanctified use of
mathematics. There must be ascertained the date when the decree was issued for the Jews to return
from Babylon to Jerusalem, and from thence, according to the prophecy of Dan. 9:24-27, count 7 weeks,
then count another 62 weeks "unto the Messiah the Prince"; then after His baptism, another week of
years must be added to reach unto the end of the probation allotted to the Jewish nation. Then the
remainder1810of the 2300 year prophecy must be added on to A.D. 34, when the Jewish probation
closed, and then (1844) would come the time for the proclamation of God's Judgment-hour Message.
The time periods concerning the rise and the supremacy and the ending of Papal power to use the
power of the State in the persecution of God's people, are repeated in various ways in Daniel and the
Revelation, but by the mathematical formula of a day for a year (mentioned in Ezek. 4:6;, Num. 14:34)
these otherwise enigmatical phrases become simple and clear.
The heart of this Message is the proclamation of the Ten Commandments, and a closer investigation
reveals that emphasis is to be made upon the seventh day. Thus it will be readily seen that the essential
features of the Creator's last-day Message are all based upon numbers. And this is merely pointing out
facts which no one can deny. But surely "the Wonderful Numberer" whose numbering system is to be
seen everywhere one turns in the natural world, does not confine His use of numbers to these obvious
ones? These are intended to be but indications that
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numbers abound in the Scriptures. The writer has, in some of his other publications, considered some of
the numbers employed with undoubted great significance in the Bible. This is not the place for an
extended discussion on the question of the right use of Bible numbers, for such consideration could only
be adequately dealt with in a book of several hundreds of pages. After studying Bible numbers for over
thirty years, the writer is of the opinion that had this line of Bible research been more closely followed
among us as a people the prophecy of Rev. 17, and particularly with reference to the seventh head
being numbered eight would have been more generally understood. Without a knowledge of the
mathematical formulae the Almighty Creator, even Jesus our Lord, the Great Architect of the Universe,
has revealed within His Word, it is impossible to grasp the full significance of the numeric utterances
employed in the prophecies.
In the book or Revelation we read of 7 churches, 7 seals. 7 trumpets, 7 Spirits, 7 earthquakes, 7
thunders, 7 vials 7 angels, 7 mountains, 7 heads upon the beasts used in symbols. The majority of critics
see a seven-fold structure in the Apocalypse, as they also see in the Gospel of John. The words "seven"
or "seventh" are found at least 59 time in the Revelation, but the number 7 is used in many ways not
seen by the casual reader. The number of times certain words, phrases, etc., are used is often governed
by the number 7, being either mentioned 7 times or a multiple of sevens, or in other ways related to the
number 7. As pointed out elsewhere, the 7 horns and 7 eyes of the Lamb (Rev. 5:6) representing Jesus,
symbolically teach that our Lord possesses Almighty power, and Infinite wisdom. By this obvious
example we point out that the right use of the numbers brought to view in the Apocalypse is of
immense help in the understanding of the truths of that book.
Not only are the names employed in the Revelation of symbolical import, but the numbers also are
employed to teach spiritual truths. The Lord's servant says: "The names of the seven churches are
symbolic of the church in different periods of the Christian era. The
number
seven
indicates
completeness, and is symbolic of the fact that the messages extend to the end of time, while the
symbols used reveal the condition of the church at different periods in the history of the world" (AA.
585).
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By applying this principle of symbolic significance to the use of the numbers employed in the
Apocalypse, we find a flood of light shining forth from them to the glory of the Lord Jesus. However, we
cannot here continue this absorbing theme, but we would direct the reader to several of my other
publications where references are made to the interpretation of Bible numbers as an aid in
corroborating the understanding of the Scriptures which we
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have obtained by comparing Scripture with Scripture.
Our Lord assures us that "the very hairs of your heads are all numbered" (Matt. 10:30). In the plan of
salvation, the Lord has determined upon a certain number to be saved out of this world of sin, and time
will continue until that number is made up; or, stated in another way, probation will close when that
number is made up. Observe that the work of redemption closes when the angel in charge of the sealing
work reports the completion of his task. The Lord's servant says:
"An angel with a writer's inkhorn by his side, returned from the Bart. And reported to Jesus that his work
was done and the saints were numbered and sealed. Then I saw Jesus throe down the censer. He raised
His hands and with a loud voice said, It is done. . . . The subjects of the kingdom were made up. (EW
279, 280) Nearly identical language is employed in GC 613 and in this reference it is more clearly stated
that "the number of His subjects is made up."
This teaching is implied in Rev. 17:8, for obviously when the names of the saved were written in the
book of Life at the very foundation of the world, a certain number would be written there. That the Lord
definitely intended us to do some thinking concerning numbers when He inspired John to write Rev. 17
is again obvious from v. 9, which reads: "And here is the mind that hath wisdom." Previously, in Rev.
13:18, occurs this same appeal for us to use our wisdom in connection with numbers, and that, too, in
connection with the number of beast: "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the
number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."
Thus we observe that the Lord's appeal to us to employ our minds with reference to numbers occurs in
both Rev. 13 and Rev. 17; two chapters which we have already shown, by comparisons of their contents,
to be parallel prophecies: Rev. 17 being given to enlarge upon the events to transpire when the "deathstroke" and its complete healing occurs. Rev. 13 declares that the healing of the "death-stroke" will
result in all the world wondering after the beast; Rev. 17 reveals that when that occurs the devil's
trinitythe dragon, the beast, and the false prophetwill seek to slay the saints, and thus be at war with
the Lamb Who will protect His people.
As it is commonplace today for Seventh-day Bible students to point to the Pope's title of Vicarius Filii
DeiVicar of the Son of Godwhich in Latin numbers 666 so the Lord obviously desires His people to be
just as familiar with the reason why the 7th head of the beast is numbered eight. In "Christ Conquers, or
Why Christ Rose on Sunday", the writer has shown that there is a numbering system employed
throughout the Bible, and according to this system, the number six is shown to be a brand the Lord has
placed upon the things of Babylon. Not only is the name
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'Babylon' found six times in the Revelation (see Rev. 14:8;, 16:19; 17:5; 18:2, 10, 21), but many things
pertaining to Babylon are also mentioned six times. We do not desire to become too deeply involved in
this book in pointing out that the number six has been employed by our Lord Jesus, "the Wonderful
Numberer", because we have previously published facts in this regard. We touch the fringes of the
subject in order to clarify our presentation regarding Rev. 17, which is a parallel chapter to Rev. 13. In
Rev. 13 we are admonished to exercise our minds mathematically in counting the number of the beast
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which is declared to be three sixes. In Rev. 17 we are again urged to consider the mathematical
indications brought to view in this chapter and the number eight, is the most significantly employed
number in this chapter. Thus, having heeded the Lord's counsel given in Rev. 13 to count the number of
the beast and noting that the number six is employed throughout the Apocalypse as a brand given by
Heaven upon the Babylonian system, we then are prepared to heed the Heavenly counsel of our Lord to
exercise wisdom in observing the numbers mentioned in Rev. 17, particularly the number eight. When
we give consideration to this number it will readily be seen just why this number eight should be
mentioned in Rev. 17; a chapter we have already shown is written to bring to light the work of the Lord
as God and Saviour of His people and to reveal Satan working deceivingly through the Babylonian
system, the counterfeiter of the Lord, and the destroyer of the people of God.
The book of Revelation cannot be understood aright when read with narrow, limited views. This book
reaches the pinnacles of grandeur, and depicts the great struggle between Christ and Satan in terms that
embrace the world. Any attempt to cramp its fuller meaning to mere localities, to limited events and
only at certain times, will cause its prophetic imagery to be misunderstood. It is the capstone of
prophecy. As it is made up so largely of quotations from the Old Testament it becomes obvious that it is
better understood when read as the interpreter and the consummation of the Old Testament. The
Revelation does not stand on its own as an independent book, but rather as the supplement and complement of all preceding books. So when we read concerning the number 6 or the number 8 in the
Apocalypse we know that they have a bearing on the use of those numbers in other books of the Bible.
For instance, we draw attention to the very first table of genealogy given in the book of Genesis,
namely, that of Cain'ssee Gen. 4:17, 18. Here, it will be observed, six names are mentioned: Cain,
Enoch, Irad, Mehujael, Methusael, Lamech. Now, anyone who has learned to know that things
mentioned in the Revelation have a bearing upon the age-long controversy between
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Christ and Satan, and observes how Jesus "the Wonderful Numberer" has drawn our attention to the
significant use of the number six, knows that there is a significant reason why Cain's genealogy should
contain the names of only six persons. Cain's line of descent numbered more than six, but only six
names are mentioned in this table of genealogy. Therefore, believing that the Lord's appeal to us to
consider the number 6 in Revelation and knowing that things in that book have a bearing upon other
books in the Bible, we look for the reason why only these six names are given in Cain's genealogical
table. And it does not take long when one's mind is alerted by heeding the divine call for us to use
wisdom with reference to the number 6 to discover that this table of genealogy begins and ends with a
murdererCain and Lamech.
It will be observed that the murder of Abel by Cain is the big thing before this table of lineage, for it fills
the inspired Record from v. 8 to v. 16. Then it will be observed that the limelight is focused upon
Lamech, for the murder of another "young man" by Lamech, the first polygamist and the second
murderer, fills the Record from v. 19 to v. 24. Thus the table of genealogy mentioned in only two verses
appears between two long accounts concerning the two murderers who commence and end this
genealogy. Surely Cain's descendants stand out branded with the number 6, a number which, from then
on through the Holy Scriptures, is employed when pointing out the followers of Satan, whose rebellion
against God is camouflaged by religious services. Was not Cain a religious person? Did he not offer a
sacrifice unto the Lord (see Gen. 4:3), and was it not because of his man-made, his self-made system of
worship, that he became jealous of his brother whose offering was accepted by the Lord? Was not Abel
murdered by Cain because Abel implicitly obeyed the voice of His God with regard to the divine method
of worship and restoration to the favour of Heaven? Is this not the very thing that is brought to view in
Rev. 13, where the false system of worship is branded with the number six; a system that seeks like Cain
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to slay those who offer their sacrifices in exactly the way laid down by infinite Wisdom; a system that
begins and ends with murder or attempted murder? Rev. 17 was written to point out that this evil
system, still rebelling against the exact commands of God but doing so under a garb of religious zeal for
God, is yet to arise again to power to control the governments of earth to attempt to murder the people
of God. Thus, as Cain's line began and ended with murder, so this wicked system, though apparently
zealous for God, is Satan's fell instrument by which he seeks to destroy the saints of the Most High; it
will come to its end in its final attempt to slay the people of God; this being the portent also of
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the prophecy concerning the ending of the king of the north and the deliverance of God's people (Dan.
11:44, 45; 12:1).
The first time that one of God's children"the Father of all them that believe"was asked to "count" it
was in reference to the number of his seed who would be as plentiful as the stars (Gen. 15:5). The
children of Abraham are asked to "count" in reference to the number of the beast, which, as we have
observed, is 666, that number employed throughout Scripture from the genealogy of Cain recorded in
Gen. 4, to designate those who follow that false system of worship and seek to slay the children of
Abraham, who worship God according to Heaven's plan.
As we have already shown at some length, the beast of Rev. 13. representing the Babylonian system of
worship, counterfeits the things of God., This feature is again brought to view by the fact that it is not
only numbered 6 but also 666. That is, that this man-made, Satan-led system has the daring effrontery
to place itself among the Trinity, for the number three is employed, throughout Scripture as the symbol
of the Trinity. By its attempted change of God's Law, this power has thus sought to exalt itself above all
that is called God (2 Thess. 2:3-8; Dan. 7:25; 11:36, 37).
It is because "the kings of the earth and of the whole world" (Rev. 16:14; 17:12, 13) join with this beast
in the attempt to slay the people of God that the earth will be desolated and remain thus for the
millennium. It is because the whole world follows the principles of Babylon in its religious camouflage
under which it seeks to slay God's people, that the 1,000 years of the earth's desolation is mentioned 6
times in the Revelationsee ch. 20:1-7. As we have already mentioned, the name "Babylon" is
mentioned 6 times in the Revelation, and it should be noted that when it is mentioned for the 6th time
in Rev. 18:21, it becomes the occasion for the angel to proclaim a time of rejoicing for the forces of
righteousness that the long-threatened doom of Babylon has now come to pass: here, where the 6th
and the last time that the name Babylon is mentioned in the Apocalypse, we are informed 6 times that
the things of Babylon will "be found no more at all. see Rev. 18:21-23.
The emphasis in this the last time the name Babylon occurs in the Revelation is thus upon "no more at
all", which, in the light of Rev. 17, is of special significance. In Rev. 17 one of the main features of the
prophecy is the resurrection of the beast from a state of death; it emerges from the bottomless pit on to
the stage wherein the great conflict is being waged between Christ and Satan, and the beast's
resurrection is a surprise; it makes the people, and even John, wonder. And the surprising thing about its
resurrection is that it comes forth far stronger than ever before,
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and, panoplied with a far greater manifestation of life and energy, employs all of its renewed powers to
persecute the people of God. Thus the beast in Rev. 17 does come back to life again, when it looked as if
it had gone for good. Therefore the natural question for anyone to be concerned with after this
surprising resurrection from the dead, would be to wonder if it would thus come forth after its next
"death-stroke" to again annoy the people of God. Thus the explicit promise of God to His people that
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this time, the last time the name Babylon is mentioned in the Revelation, Babylon goes down to death
and infamy and will never again rise to persecute the people of God. The same promise was made
through the prophet Nahum: "What do ye imagine against the Lord? He will make an utter end:
affliction shall not rise up the second time" (Nah. 1:9).
The rising of Papal power in the world today has mystified Protestants who have not the light of the
third angel's Message; its further rise will astound them, for their belief is that the Papacy being the evil
thing that it is and under the curse of God, is destined to make way for the progress of the gospel. From
the time the deadly wound was inflicted upon the Papacy (in 1798) and down to 1870 when it lost its
temporal possessions, and in the years that have followed, Protestants have regarded the Papacy as on
the slippery downgrade and on the way out and off the stage of action. When Uriah Smith wrote his
excellent commentary on "The Book of Daniel and the Revelation", the then humiliated position of the
Papacy, and world conditions generally, naturally led to that conclusion. Being then about threequarters of a century prior to the final conflict, instead of as anticipated "but a few months" (comments
on Dan. 11:45, p. 298 of 1883 edition), it was easy to follow popular but erroneous Protestant
conceptions regarding the Papacy having lost its power to menace the people of God, especially on a
world scale.
Uriah Smith's interpretation of Rev. 17 was determined by his belief concerning the waning power of the
Papacy and by his misinterpretation of "Armageddon" (mentioned in the latter portion of Rev. 16) as a
military conflict. In his comments upon Rev. 17:12-14, he says: "This language must refer to the past,
when the kingdoms of Europe were, unanimous in giving their support to the Papacy, and upholding its
pretensions. It cannot apply to the future." (Emphasis mine.) Believing that the Papacy was then shorn of
its power, and not being able to envisage a time when that power would be restored in the sense
required to fulfill prophecy, he declared that the fulfillment of v. 16, regarding the king's hating the
harlot and making her desolate and eating her flesh and burning her with fire, had been partly fulfilled.
He said: "A part of this work the nations of Europe have been doing for years."
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That such an eminent commentator, even with a knowledge of so much that pertained to the third
Angel's Message, could not envisage the rising of the Papacy again from a state of death, is in itself an
indication of the source of wonderment engendered by the present resurgence of Papal power. Despite
the prophetic word, it seemed unbelievable, and men interpreted the Scriptures accordingly. And those
today who read Uriah Smith's commentary on Daniel and the Revelation, should always remember that
this erroneous conception caused him to misinterpret those parts of Daniel's and the Revelator's books
relating to the resurrection of the Papal power in the last days, which would lead the whole world to
war against God and against His people in the events leading up to and including the battle of
Armageddon. We believe that if Uriah Smith were with us today he would re-write those parts of his
book based upon that faulty premise, and correctly interpret those parts of the prophecies of Daniel and
Revelation depicting the resurrection of the Papacy to a position of great political power among the
nations which result in the persecution of the people of God.
Having mistakenly arrived at the conclusion that the political power of the Papacy was practically
defunct and that it would never thus rise again to any marked degree, it is understandable that he
should also have a wrong conception concerning the application of Rev. 18 to "another great branch of
Babylon, namely, the harlot daughters". However, as we are endeavoring to point out, the very words
employed in Rev. 18:21-23 indicate that it refers back to the resurrection of the Papal-Babylonian beast
of persecution mentioned in Rev. 17, though the assistance rendered by Protestants is included. "No
more at all" indicates that it had come to life from the deadthere had been "some more" of this
persecuting beast when it seemed dead and buried. However, the assurance is given that after this final
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rising from a state of inactivity it will "be found no more at all". As we have already intimated, even this
expression has a modified application after the millennium, for all the forces of Babylon will again be
resurrected, but that resurrection will not occasion the saints any further pain from persecution, for
they will be safe within the ample protection of the massive walls of the New Jerusalem. Then, after the
destruction of all Satan's hosts, will be seen the larger fulfillment of these significant words, as may be
seen of all such prophetic pronouncements, that, after suffering extermination in the cleansing fires of
that final day, the wicked will "be found no more at all".
It has been necessary for us to point out by a few illustrations that the Lord's appeal in Rev. 13:18 for us
to count the number
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of the beast means more than merely to count the Latin numerals in the title of the Pope; it involves a
study of the use of the number 6 throughout the Scriptures, a number which brands the Babylonian
system as a counterfeiter of the truth and a persecutor of the people of God. Thus there should be no
effort made to separate Babylon mentioned in Rev. 18 from Babylon mentioned in Rev. 17; nor should
any effort be put forth to separate the destruction of Babylon at the hands of the Lamb (Who intervenes
to save His people from the kings employed by the Babylonian whore, mentioned in Rev. 17) from the
destruction of Babylon mentioned in Rev. 18: both refer to the same thing. Rev. 17 emphasises that
destruction under the burning of a harlotthe fate of a priest's daughter who played "the whore", see
Lev. 21:9-and Rev. 18 pictures that same destruction under the figure of the burning of a city devoted to
destruction.
Thus we see from the foregoing facts that it is impossible for anyone to fully grasp the significance of the
Lord's call for His people to count the number of the beast in Rev. 13 and also count with respect to the
beast and its 7th head which is numbered eight, without a consideration of the numbering system the
Lord has employed throughout the Scriptures and particularly in the Apocalypse.
CHAPTER TWELVE
WHY THE 7th HEAD OF THE BEAST IS
NUMBERED EIGHT.
The beast of Rev. 12, 13 and 17 has only 7 heads, and to look for an actual eighth head betrays a failure
to grasp the essential feature of the remarkable prophecy of Rev. 17. There is not to be an eighth head;
the 7th head is numbered eighth because of its symbolic meaning.
Having shown that much is involved in the Lord's call in Rev. 13 for His people to count the number of
the beast, we shall now proceed to show that much is also involved in the Lord's call in Rev. 17 for us to
exercise wisdom in counting with reference to the 7th head being numbered eight. We stress again the
fact that in both Rev. 13 and Rev. 17, the Lord has arrested our attention and urges us to employ our
minds mathematically in counting the number of the beast and also regarding the 7th head of the beast
being numbered eight. We have had occasion, repeatedly, to observe that the interpretation of the
symbols employed in Rev. 17 is on the principle of the things of Babylon being a counterfeit of the things
of Christ. So accordingly we apply that principle with reference to the number 6 mentioned in Rev. 13:
18 and the number eight mentioned in Rev. 17:11. The number of the beast is brought to view in
connection with "the name of the beast"-note carefully Rev. 13:17, 18. Now it is an interesting and
important fact that as the Pope's official title numbers 666, so the Lord's name JESUS, in the numerals of
the Greek language, numbers 888. (Jesus name is mentioned a number of times in the Apocalypse.)
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Thus by following the principle that Rev. 17 particularly mentions the things of Babylon as they relate to
Jesus, we now see that the number eight used in relation to the coming of the beast out of its state of
death in a likeness to the resurrection of Jesus, also emerges with a further resemblance to Jesus, even
with the number eight which is the number expressed i n the name of Jesus, Who rightfully is a member
of the Trinity, 888.
As with the number 6, which we find significantly employed throughout many places of Holy Writ, so the
number eight is also employed significantly in the Scriptures as the symbol of the Lord's resurrection and
triumph over His enemies. This fact is well-known to those who have given consideration to the numeric
system, which is clearly revealed in the Bible. By knowing that
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the number 8 is the Bible symbol of the Lord's resurrection and triumph over His enemies, we can grasp
the meaning of Rev. 17:11, which reads: "And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth and is
of the seven, and goes into perdition" The beast that received a "death-stroke" and whose deadly
wound is to healed and all the world wonder after it, according to Rev. 13, Ascribed in Rev. 17 as having
a resurrection: thus imitating the death and resurrection of Jesus. As Jesus triumphed over His enemies
and arose in glorious power to use that power to save His people, so this beast will emerge from its
place of death to a position of even greater power, which it will seek to employ for the destruction of
the people of God. Rev. 17:11 refers to "the beast that was [i.e. had life and power], and is not [lost life
and power for a time], even he is the eighth [i.e. it is to have a resurrection to life and power] . . . and
goeth into perdition." The servant of the Lord says: "The influence of Rome in the countries that once
acknowledged her dominion, is still far from being destroyed, And prophecy foretells a restoration of
her power. (GC 579.)
Guided by Bible principles which I have dealt with in "The Certainty of the Third Angel's Message", we
know that this, resurrection to power before the millennium is a spiritual resurrection, that is, a
resurgence of the Papa system and not the resurrection of the same people who controlled that system
in days gone by; whereas it will be a literal resurrection at the end of the millennium of all the people
who have comprised Babylon down through the ages. The Apocalypse is written upon the principle of
the enlargement of the past until it reaches its climax with the destruction of the wicked. By this
principle we see that Rev. 17 can have an application to events in Europe during the Dark Ages when
kings in Europe did lend their power and strength to the Papacy, but that is to be duplicated in a worldwide manner in the final conflict. The same application is also to be made of the French Revolution
mentioned in Rev. 11, which was largely a revolt against the Papal church. The scenes enacted during
that revolution are also to occur in a world-wide manner at the end when the kings and the people that
have supported the whore turn upon her and rend her asunder, as portrayed in Rev. 17.
Before turning to Scriptural examples of the use of the number eight as the symbol of the Lord's
resurrection and triumph over His enemies, we pause a moment to show that there is a connection
between the numbers 6 and 8 in the Apocalypse. Sin reigns upon this earth for 6,000 years before the
second advent.--see GC. 659, 673. Then comes the 1,000 years of Rev. 20. Thus at the end of 7,000 years
from creation we come to the fuller and
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final application of those prophecies depicting the final conflicta principle which I have considerably
enlarged upon in "The Certainty of the Third Angel's Message". Then, at the end of 7,000 years from
creation, the commencement of the 8th millennium brings us to the final triumph of the Lord over His
enemies, a triumph shared by all the redeemed.
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Christ's resurrection on the first day of the week made a certainty of the destruction of His enemies at
the end of millennium. His resurrection proved that He conquers His enemies by His divine, Almighty
power and changeless character, and it foreshadows the complete conquest of all the wicked, and
points to the new world which will arise from the ruins of the old at the commencement of the 8th
millennium. The baptism of each believer declares the same thing, for baptism is a symbolical repetition
of the Lord's death and resurrection. And the believer, dying with the Lord, experiences the power of His
resurrected life. As stated by the apostle Paul: "So many of us as are [margin] baptised into Jesus Christ
are baptised into His death. Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ
was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness o f life.
For if we be planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His
resurrection" (Rom. 6:3, 4). Now the New Testament connects circumcision with baptism. Observe the
following: "In Whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off
the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: buried with Him in baptism, wherein also
ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, Who hath raised Him from the dead.
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with
Him" (Col. 2:11-13).
The significance of Christ's resurrection and its symbolical repetition in the baptism of each believer in
connection with the number eight, may be observed when it is remembered that the Wonderful
Numberer" specifically commanded that circumcision be attended to on the 8th day (Gen. 17: 121. It
should be fully noted also that the inspired record states: "And when days were accomplished for the
circumcision of the child, ` is name was called JESUS" (Luke 2:21). Thus the name JESUS, which means
"Jehovah the Saviour was given to our Lord when He was circumcised on the 8th day. It is because He is
Jehovah and possesses almighty power that each believer is quickened after dying with Him and
experiences a resurrection life, an experience which is symbolized by baptism. By the rite of
circumcision, not only was the individual consecrated to God, but it was a sign that future life would
belong to the Lord: not only the new life of the
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baby but the children to follow were thus dedicated to God. The number eight from ancient times has
been the Lord's chosen number to symbolize new life.
The foregoing facts enable us to understand why Peter connects baptism with the waters of the flood.
He says: "Once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing,
wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also
now save us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 3:20, 21). The flood brought about a complete
separation between the old and the new world; baptism also makes a complete separation between the
old and the new life. The 8 souls who were saved from the old world by the flood waters were saved to
walk a new life in a new world; baptism thus signifies not only the living of a new life in this world made
spiritually new by the power of an indwelling Saviour, but it also points forward to the new world where
there will be an eternal separation between it and the old world of evil destroyed in the fiery billows of
the lake of fire. As we have already seen, baptism, in Col. 2:11-13, is connected up with circumcision
which was to be done on the 8th day and was a symbol of the dedication of the new life to God. The
name "Jesus", in the Greek, numbers 888, and He received it when He was circumcised on the 8th day.
Why the First Day of the Week is Mentioned Eight Times in the New Testament.
God's enemy, in his endeavor to have Sunday observed as a holy day, makes a wrong use of the
significance of the number 8 (as he does with other things of God) in connection with the resurrection of
Christ. He has sought to have Sunday of each week called "the eighth day", and has laboured to make
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the reference to the "eight days" of John 20:26 refer to the first day of the week. Satan's effort to label
Sunday, the first day of the week, as an eighth day, is an attempt to literalize the number 8, which is
used in Scripture as the symbol of the Lord's triumph over His foes. The errors taught under Satan's
tuition frequently contain some degree of truth, but in a counterfeit. Christ's resurrection is definitely
connected up in the Scriptures with the number 8. For instance, the first day of the week is mentioned 8
times in the New Testament: Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9 Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2.
Thus, the resurrection day of our Lord is mentioned 8 times, because it was the day when He arose in
triumph, to a new life. Satan takes the fact of the symbolic use of the number 8 in connection with
Christ's resurrection on the first day of the week and uses it to foster his rebellion against God.
However, the point to notice is that, while Christ's resurrection
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day is mentioned 8 times in the New Testament, we are nowhere enjoined to observe that day as a holy
day, or to honour that day ever week. The resurrection fell upon a Jewish annual feast-day, and there
was no need to thrust aside the positive commandment to keep holy the 7th day in order to honour
Christ's resurrection every week. The service in the old ceremony, which typified the resurrection (the
waving of the first fruits), was enacted once each year; whereas, sacrifices representing the death of
Jesus were slain daily. As orthodox Christian churches see fit to commemorate Christ's death annually,
surely an annual event would have been sufficient to commemorate an event which was only prefigured
by one annual service in the old economy; whereas the death of Jesus, which they commemorate once a
year, was set forth daily in the Mosaic economy!
However, the fact remains that the first day of the week is mentioned 8 times in the New Testament
not that the first day each week might be regarded as an eighth day, but because the number 8 is the
Bible symbol for Christ's resurrection and triumph over His foes and points to His eternal triumph in
recreatingresurrecting a new world out of the ruins of the old world, at the commencement of the 8th
millennium from creation.
The New Testament, wherein is recorded the resurrection of Jesus (and the teachings of the gospel
regarding the new life in Christ, based upon that wonderful fact), was written by 8 different writersMatthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter, Jude.
The Lord's church is symbolized in Rev. 12 as a pure "woman". This church not only believes historically
in the resurrection of her Master, but has experienced resurrection power surging through her life, and
has found victory over Satan and sin. Therefore, the symbolthe womanof the church of Jesus is
mentioned 8 times in Rev. 12. See verses 1, 4, 6, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. Thus, the number 8 is a symbol
which, with the symbol of the woman, serves as a double check upon our study of this chapter. By this
number 8 we know that our conclusions concerning the other features associated with this pure woman
are correct. Futurists say that this woman symbolizes literal Israel (see Scofield's Bible). But that belief
will not harmonize with the number system of Scripture, without considering all the other factors with
which it is at variance. The number 8 is not a symbol of literal Israel but is the symbol of those who
believe in, and experience, the power of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and who, through
Him, triumph over their spiritual foes.
As the church of the resurrected One is symbolized by a woman, so the counterfeit church, "the
synagogue of Satan" (Rev. 2:9), is symbolized by a woman, but, in contrast to the 8 times the church of
the resurrected Saviour is symbolized by the pure
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"woman" of Rev 12, the Babylonian impure "woman" of Rev. 17 is mentioned therein 6 times. See
verses 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 18.
Thus, the numeric system of the Bible guides us in our study of the Scriptures.
The gospel of John sets forth the new life which is to be found in the "Son of God". "Life""everlasting
life"is one of the keywords of John. The expression "Son of God" is mentioned 8 times in John's gospel.
But the only way this new life in Jesus could come to the sons of men was by the "Son of God" becoming
the "Son of man". The term "Son of Man" is applied to Jesus 88 times in the New Testament.
David, a type of Jesus, was the 8th son of Jesse. Solomon, also a type of Jesus, was the 8th son of David.
There are 8 steps into the new kingdom:
Faith Patience
Virtue Godliness
Knowledge Brotherly kindness
Temperance Charity
"For if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly
into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ." 2 Pet. 1:5-11. There are 8 "things"
mentioned as being in the new kingdom. See Col. 1:16-20. Eight times Jesus is said to be "in the midst"the 8th being when the saints are gathered into the new kingdom: Luke 2:46, 47; 4:30; Matt. 18:20; John
19:17-19; Rev. 1:10-13; 5:6; 7:11-17.
The Sabbath and the Number Eight
The Book of Acts shows the church filled with the new life which came to it following Pentecost. That
new life was shown in the mighty works they did by the Creator's power-the sign of which is the
Sabbath. The Sabbath is mentioned 8 times in the Acts 13:14, 27, 42, 44; 15:2,1; 16:13; 17:1-3; 18:4.
The adult members of the generation of the Israelites who came out of Egypt failed to enter into their
Canaan rest after their toil through the wilderness. When they could have entered the promised land,
their hearts were filled with unbelief. From this, Paul, in Heb. 4, in a deeply spiritual application presents
the relation that exists between the weekly walk of life and the Sabbath rest at the end of the week,
with the pilgrimage of life which ends (to the enduring, trusting believer) in the eternal rest of the
everlasting Canaan. Those who learn to rest in the Lord every day of the week are the ones to enter into
the proper spirit of Sabbath rest at the end of the week. Those who rest in the Lord throughout the
whole of life's desert pilgrimage, will surely enter into the eternal rest after toiling across the wilderness
of life.
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In writing to the Hebrews of that eternal "rest", Paul uses the Greek word "Katapausis" 8 times, The
eighth time points us to the new world, which will be after the resurrection. "Let us labour therefore to
enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." v. 11.
In the book of Hebrews there are 8 "better" things:
1. Heb. 6:9 Things.
2. Heb. 7:19 Hope.
3. Heb. 8:6 Covenant.
4. Heb. 8:6 Promises.
5. Heb. 9:23 Sacrifices.
6. Heb. 10:34 Substance.
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7. Heb. 11:16 Country.
8. Heb. 11:35 Resurrection.
Thus, it is seen that the eighth "better" thing in Hebrews is the resurrection.
Seven days were occupied in the consecration of the priesthood, and, on the 8th day, they entered upon
their work. See Lev. 8:33; 9:1; 14:10, 11. With the cleansing of the leper, too, the 8th day marked a new
beginning, for on that day he was presented by the priest before the Lord. Lev. 14:9-11.
In Luke 9, we have the record of what Jesus told His disciples of His coming sufferings, and then of a day
when He would come in all His glory, v. 26. Then the Sacred narrative presents an inspiring description
of the transfiguration of the Lord in the presence of Peter, James and John, who were privileged to see a
wonderful outshining of that predicted glory. Verse 28 says that this took place about "an eight days
after". Jesus looked past his sufferings to the new kingdom illustrated by the transfiguration.
Jehovah made 8 covenants with Abraham: seven before Isaac was offered up, and the eighth when he
had received Isaac " in a figure" from the dead. See Gen. 12:1-3, 7; 13:14-17; 15:13-21; 17:1-22; 18:9-15;
21:12; 22:15-18.
Elijah performed 8 miracles:
1. The shutting up of heaven, 1 Kings 17:1; James 5:17; Luke 4:25.
2. Multiplying the widow's meal, 1 Kings 17:14-16.
3. Raising the widow's son, vv. 17-23.
4. Causing fire to come down from heaven, 1 Kings 18:37, 38.
5. Causing rain to come down from heaven, vv. 41-45.
6. Causing fire to come down from heaven, 2 Kings 1:10. 7. The same, v. 12.
8. Dividing the Jordan, 2 Kings 2:8.
Typical Experiences and the Number Eight
In previous publications we have shown that the whole of the experiences of Israel were typical of the
experiences of spiritual Israel. This, of course, is what is explicitly taught in 1 Cor. 10:6, margin, 11,
margin; etc. Their passage across the Jordan has long been seen as the symbol of death-the dividing line
between the wilderness journey and the entrance into the everlasting Canaan, which, we know,
depends upon the resurrection at the second coming of Christ. It will be observed that Elijah's eighth
miracle
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was the dividing of the Jordan after which he was translated to heaven. Elijah is typical of the people
who will preach the closing message of God, and who will live till the coming of the Lord. Before God's
dear saints are taken to glory the Jordan must first be dividedthe power of death must be brokenand
then will follow the entrance into Canaan's fair land, to ever be with the Lord.
The Feast of Tabernacles, in the old typical economy, was the only feast which was kept eight days. The
eighth is distinguished from the seventh. See Lev. 23:39, and compare verses 34-36; Num. 29:39; and
Neh. 8:18. As we all know, the Feast of Tabernacles typifies the gathering of all the saved in the New
Jerusalem, after the world's harvest has been reaped. "Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month,
when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the
first day shall be a Sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath." Lev. 23:39. Thus, in the typical
service, the first and the eighth days (which, recurring annually; would come on different days of the
week) of the Feast of Tabernacles were Sabbaths. They were not, typical of the first day of every week,
for the were entirely independent of, and bore no relation to, the weekly cycle. The anti-type of this
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typical service belongs to the new world-after the harvest which is reaped at the end of the world. See
Matt. 13:30, 39; Rev. 14:14-16. The eight-day Feast of Tabernacles will have its fuller application when
sin has been entirely banished (as it will be at the end of the Millennium) and the new world begun at
the commencement of the 8th millennium from creation.
Gathering in the Heirs of the New World
There are 8 miracles, or "signs", in the book of John, namely:

1. Water turned into wine.
2. Nobleman's son healed.
3. Impotent man healed.
4. Feeding the multitude.
5. Walking on the water.
6. Blind man healed.
7. Lazarus raised.
8. The miraculous catching of 153 fishes, which took place after Christ's resurrection. This prefigures the
gathering in of all the fish caught in the gospel net. See also Matt. 4:18-20; 13:47-49. According to the
latter reference, the fish caught in the gospel net are gathered to the eternal shores at the second
Coming of Christafter the resurrection. 1 Thess. 4:16-18.
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Eight times Genesis, Chapter 5, records "And he died"verses 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 27, 31. Death is the
prominent feature in "the book of the generation of Adam", verse 1. The only other time that this same
expression"the book of the generation of" is used in the Bible is Matt. 1:1, where we read of "The Book
of the generation of Jesus Christ". Here we do not read "and he died", as in Adam's table of genealogy,
but, instead, we find that the word "begat" is repeated 39 times. Not death, as in the book of the first
Adam, but lifenew lifeis stamped throughout the book of "the last Adam". "The last Adam was made a
quickening spirit." 1 Cor. 15:45. In "the book of the generation of Jesus Christ", given in the first chapter
of Matthew, the fortieth time a new life is born it is that of Jesus. Forty, of course, is 5 times 8.
Bethlehem, the place where Jesus was born, is mentioned 8 times in the New Testament.
As we have shown, there are eight miracles brought to view in John's Gospel; the eighth being
performed by Christ after His resurrection. This miraculous draught of fishes when the disciples dragged
their net to the shore, symbolizes the time when the Gospel net will bring to the eternal shore all that
have Teen saved by those who have been fishers of men. When Jesus proclaimed the Beatitudes He also
emphasized the number 8 with reference to the eternal kingdom. By observing carefully Matt. 5:3-10 it
will be seen that the expression "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" occurs in only the first and the
eighth Beatitudes.
With these facts before the reader he will not be surprised to learn that while the number eight is
mentioned but once in the Revelation in regard to pre-millennial events, and that too in reference to the
seventh head being numbered "the eighth", yet the number is often brought to view by a closer study of
the Apocalypse. The use of the number 8 in reference to the beast is, as we have shown, a counterfeit,
an imitation of that which pertains to the Lord. The stamp of 8 upon this resurrected beast thus reveals
this power as one that not only imitates our Lord but anticipates the conditions of peace and security to
exist in the new world. Speaking of the time when the miracles of Spiritualism will unite the world in its
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opposition to the truth of God, the Lord's servant says: "Papists, Protestants, and worldlings will alike
accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for
the conversion of the world, the ushering in of the long-erected millennium." (GC. 588, 589.) It is also
because this persecuting beast will profess to bring about peace and safety through the enforcement of
Sunday observance, that it is stamped with the resurrection number; the number that belongs to the
new world.
The silence, outwardly, of the Revelation in dealing with pre-millennium
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events regarding the number 8 except in this instance concerning the beast, obviously points to its rising
from a state of death and also to its professing to bring about conditions that actually will not exist upon
this planet until the commencement of the 8th millennium. The use of the number 7 throughout the
Revelation, especially in those prophecies running through the centuries from the first coming of Christ
until the second coming of Christ and in a fuller sense at the end of the millennium, are all intended to
point to the coming of the 8th millennium when the new world will be established. This background may
be seen throughout the Revelation. We draw attention to the first chapter to show the employment of
the number eight even in places where it is not outwardly prominent.
In Rev. 1:5-16 are to be found 8 quotations from Old Testament books, and the order of these books
from which those quotations are taken, is as follows: (1) Isaiah, (2) Daniel, (3) Zechariah, (4) Isaiah, (5)
Isaiah, (6) Zechariah, (7) Daniel, (8) Isaiah. In order to clarify the presentation of the quotations
concerned, we will give the main word or words quoted and the Old Testament book from which each is
quoted. Observe the following:
No. Rev. I
Quotation Concerns
O.T. Book and Verse Quoted
(1) V.5
Witness
Isa. 55:4
(2) v.7
He cometh with clouds
Dan. 7:13
(3) v.7
They pierced Him. . . they wail
Zech. 12:10
(4) v.8
I AM the First and the Last
Isa. 41:4; 44:6; 48:12
(5) v.11
I AM the First and the Last
Isa. 41:4; 44:6; 48:12
(6) v.12
Candlesticks
Zech. 4:2
(7) v.13-15
Description of Christ as Priest
Dan. 7:9, 13, 22; 10:5, 6
(8) v.16
Sharp sword
Isa. 49:2
It is important to remember that these are the first 8 quotations employed in the book of Revelation, a
book that is practically a vast mosaic of notations from the Old Testament. It is estimated that at least
550 direct quotations from the Old Testament are found in the book of Revelation, though references to
the Old Testament are not confined to actual quotations. The following extract from "The Revelation of
St. John", by Prof. W. Milligan, D.D., p. 72, states briefly the situation that presents itself in a serious
study of the Apocalypse. Prof. Milligan says: "The Book is absolutely steeped in the memories, the
incidents, the thoughts, and the language of the church's past. To such an extent is this the case that it
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may be doubted whether it contains a single figure not drawn from the Old Testament, or a single
complete sentence not more or less built up of materials from the same source. Nothing can convey a
full and adequate impression upon the point, except the careful study of the book itself in this particular
aspect of its contents."
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The fact that the Revelation employs so many quotations from the Old Testament adds interest to
discover, if possible, from the first 8 of those quotations, the principle underlying their use. Therefore let
us give closer attention to these quotations. First of all it will be observed that no quotations occur
between v. 8 and v. 11, but mention is made of "the Lord's Day", which, as every Seventh-day Adventist
knows, is the 7th day Sabbath. Later chapters of the Revelation reveal that the great controversy
between good and evil is a mighty conflict raging around two persons: Jesus and Satan. Jesus is Satan's
personal enemy. The conflict began with Lucifer's jealousy toward the Son of God, and it was brought to
a head by Lucifer not being included in the counsels of the Godhead concerning the creation of this
world (PP. 34-38). Because Jesus created this world (He had also created all other worlds) He became in
a special sense the object of Satan's malevolence. As shown in the book of Revelation, the final conflict
will be centred around the keeping of the Seventh-day Sabbath, "the Lord's Day".
Sometimes the question is raised as to why this expression "the Lord's Day" is employed in Rev. 1:10
instead of "the Sabbath of the Lord thy God". In the Revelation, which is a book largely made up of
quotations from the Old Testament, it is all the more remarkable that a somewhat new term (its
equivalent being used elsewhere) is employed by which to designate the Sabbath instead of many
quotations which could be obtained from the Old Testament. However, it should be remembered that
one of the main purposes of the Apocalypse is not to argue which day is the Sabbath, but to reveal Jesus
as the Jehovah of the Old Testament and the Creator of all things. In this book that reveals Jesus as Lord
or Jehovah, it is more to the point that Jesus be exalted as that Lord than to raise any question
respecting which day is the Sabbath of the Lord. In the fourth Commandment, three times the name
Jehovah is employed when emphasizing the 7th day is the Sabbath of Jehovah thy God. Therefore when
the Revelation proves that Jesus is Jehovah, it automatically determines that the 7th day is the Sabbath
of Jesus the Jehovah.
A study of the Old Testament sanctuary services is that the whole of these services revolved around the
Ten Commandments; They were the centre of the whole Jewish economy. Now it is a fact that by actual
count of the words of the Commandments, the phrase the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Jehovah
thy God occupies the very centre of the Decalogue. Thus everything in the Old Testament economy
centered in the 7th day Sabbath and the name Jehovah. Now this is the same truth brought to view in
the first 8 quotations brought into the structure of the book of Revelation.
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As will be seen by those quotations referred to above, the mention of "the Lord's [or Jehovah's] Day" is
also right in their centre.
But that is not the only significance brought to view in an analysis of those quotations, for by looking a
little closer it will be observed that the quotations immediately before and immediately after the
mention of "the Lord's day" declare that Jesus is the great "I AM" and also "the First and the Last". At
first glance it would seem merely to be a repetition to quote from Isaiah concerning "the First and the
Last" in verse 8 and then again in verse 11 of Rev. 1. Why does Jesus say in verse 8 "I AM Alpha and
Omega [the first and the last letters in the Greek alphabet]), the beginning and the ending, saith the
Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty",, and then repeat again in v. 11, "I
AM Alpha and Omega, the first and the last". Jesus, Who warned against "vain repetitions", doubtless
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had some wise reason for this repetition. What then is the reason for this repetition? Jesus has deemed
it necessary for the salvation of His people to make Himself known as the Creator, the great I AM, Who,
in the verses in Isaiah from which the quotations in verses 8 and 11 are obtained, is said to be the "I
AM", "Jehovah of hosts", "Jehovah the King of Israel", "his Redeemer", "the First and the Last" besides
Whom "there is no God"see Isa. 44:6, etc. The three tenses brought to view in Rev. 1:8, as we have
previously shown, contain the significance of the name Jehovahthe self-existent One, the I AM of the
past, and of the present, and of the future. We have also stated that the name Jesus means Jehovah the
Saviour".
How fitting, indeed, that the three passages in Isaiah which refer to the Creator-Redeemer-King of Israel,
the First and the Last, the I AM, Jehovah, should be quoted before and after the mention of "the Lord's
Day", for the 7th day Sabbath is the memorial of the creative power of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
and that almighty power He exercises on behalf of those who look to Him for salvation. Three passages
in Isaiah declare that the Jehovah Creator is the First and the Last; 3 times Jehovah is mentioned in the
Sabbath Commandment. A further analysis of the first 8 quotations employed in the Apocalypse reveals
that they point to their centre: Jesus as Jehovah Whose Sabbath day is the sign of His Lordship as the
Almighty God. Observe that these 8 quotations are so employed as to form an Epanados, which is
defined by Webster as "a figure of speech in which the parts of a sentence or clause are repeated in
inverse order". These verses may rightly be designated an Epanados because of the repetition of the
books but in inverse order. As shown above, the 8 books are quoted in this order:
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(1) Isaiah, (2) Daniel, (3) Zechariah, (4) Isaiah, (5) Isaiah, (6) Zechariah, (7) Daniel (8) Isaiah.
There is an alteration of the order of the books of Daniel and Zechariah in the latter four quotations. The
same books are quoted but in inverse order. In the first half Daniel precedes Zechariah; in the latter half
Zechariah precedes Daniel. By this arrangement it will be seen that they work to the centre, which is
Jehovah and His Sabbath day, the sign of sanctification and redemption in the plan of salvation. The two
central verses, being those in which Jesus declares Himself to be the I AM, the First and the Last; and
working to either end from this centre the books are in precisely the same order: (1) Isaiah, (2) Zechariah, (3) Daniel, (4) Isaiah. The books of course are in the same order also if the order of the books is
reckoned from either end. In order to simplify the thoughts expressed the reader is requested to
observe the following:
(1) Isa. 55:4 quoted in Rev. 1:6.
(2) Dan. 7:13 quoted in Rev. 1:7.
(3) Zech. 12:10-14 quoted in Rev. 1:7.
(4) Isa. 41:4; 44:6; 48: 12 quoted in Rev. 1:8.
I AM Jehovah, Creator, God Almighty.
Rev. 1:10, "The Lord's Day" - Jesus' sign of Almighty power.
(4) Isa. 41; 44:6; 48:12 quoted in Rev. 1:11.
(3) Zech. 4:2 quoted in Rev. 1:12.
(2) Dan. 7:9, 13, 22; 10:5, 6 quoted in Rev. 1:13-15.
(1) Isa. 49:2 quoted in Rev. 1:16.
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By this unique arrangement of these first 8 quotations employed in the Revelation we are pointed to
Jesus, the great I AM, Jehovah the Creator, Who exercises all His Almighty power in the salvation of His
people. Law and grace, and glory and power, meet in the person of our Saviour. By this arrangement of
these first 8 quotations we are pointed to the very centre around which Satan's controversy rages; later
chapters in the Revelation being the enlargement of what is thus presented in the opening verses of this
wonderful Revelation.
By a glance at the arrangement of the verses as set forth above, it will be seen that the reference to the
first and the last has an added significance, for not only are the first and the last verses from the same
bookIsaiahbut it will also be observed that quotations from either end operate upon the same
principle; that is, the second from the first and the second from the last are from the same book; the
third from the same book as the third from the last. Thus the principle of the first and the last runs
throughout these 8 quotations which point as an arrow to their centre even to Jesus the Creator and
Saviour.
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That the number 8 is intended to be of special importance in the study of the Revelation may also be
seen by turning to the second quotation from the Old Testament, which, as we have seen above, is
"Behold, He cometh with clouds." Working through the same 8 quotations we have already dealt with in
the first group of 8, and moving along another one at the end of that original 8, thus forming another
group of 8, we come to the description of the face of our Lord: "And His countenance was as the sun
shineth in his strength" (v. 16). This is a quotation from Dan. 10:6. This description of our Lord's face
given in Rev. 1:16 is referred to in GC. 641 where the servant of the Lord outlines a vivid description of
the Saviour's second advent. She says: "His countenance outshines the dazzling brightness of the
noonday sun." Thus by commencing with the second quotation from the Old Testament employed in the
Apocalypse and proceeding down to the 8th from that one, we find that both the first and last of this
group of 8 quotations picture the Lord as He descends the heavens in all His regal glory. The writer
desires to quote these two versesthe first and the last of the second group of 8 quotationstogether,
and then compare them with the statement made by God's servant in GC. 641. They are as follows:
Rev. 1:7, 16: "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him. His countenance was as the
sun shineth in his strength."
GC. 641: "The firmament seems filled with radiant forms.... As the living cloud comes nearer, every eye
beholds the Prince of life.... His countenance outshines the dazzling brightness of the noonday sun."
In other words, by combining these two versesRev. 1:7, 16at the commencement and the ending of
the second group of 8 quotations, we have precisely the same combination of verses as presented by
the servant of the Lord in describing the second advent! The writer has had occasion hundreds of times
in observing the astonishing accuracy of the Spirit of Prophecy in its citation of Scriptures, some of which
we have mentioned in previous publications.
We will cite another instance of how the number 8 is employed significantly in the Apocalypse. Still
making use of the verses already referred to, we point out that there is an 8-fold description of Jesus as
"the Son of man". Notice the following drawn from Rev. 1:13-16:
(1) His Clothing
(2) His Head and Hair
(3) His Eyes
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(4) His Feet
(5) His Voice
(6) His Right Hand
(7) His Mouth
(8) His Countenance
This 8th reference to the person of "the Son of Man" is the 8th in the second group of 8 quotations
(beginning and ending with the second advent), and the 88th time that the term "the Son of Man" (as a
designation of Jesus Christ) occurs in the New Testament, is found in Rev. 14:14 where John again
describes Jesus coming as "the Son of Man": "Behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud One sat like
unto the Son of Man." In that and succeeding verses, John depicts Jesus coming to reap the harvest of
this world when earth's long reign of sin will be over and immortal life begins in the new kingdom. "The
harvest" which Jesus comes to reap at that time"Ho therimos" in the Greekhas the numeric value, in
the gematria of the letters, of 704, which is 8 times 88. We cannot take further space to continue this
most interesting line of study but, from what has been presented, one thing is certainthe number 8 is
the resurrection number, the number for the new life.
Our final reference to the number 8 pertaining to Rev. 17 (where the 7th head is numbered 8 because
the persecuting beast rises from a state of inactivity) is in connection with "the Book of life" which is
mentioned in connection with the rising of this beast whose 7th head is numbered 8. All the world will
wonder after this resurrected beast, except those "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 is to come, or is
at hand" (Rev. 17:8).
"The Book of Life" is mentioned 8 times in the New Testamentsee Phil. 4:3; Rev. 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12,
15; 21:27; 22:19. The New Testament was written by 8 different writers, who wrote of the first day of
the week 8 timesthe resurrection day! "The Book of Life" contains the names of those who will inherit
the new world. Then, the earth will be restored back to its primeval glory-but it will be far more
honoured, and more glorious: for "the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it".
This principle of coming back to where a thing commences is clearly outlined in the Scriptures, and by its
use we are able to simplify the understanding of the prophecies dealing with the closing scenes of
earth's history. In the musical world this principle is represented by the octave. The octave brings us
back to begin againonly an octave higheron the same note. This note, which is 8 above the same note
below, has so many more vibrations.
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By the use of the number 7 on the surface throughout the Apocalypse we are directed to the second
coming of Christ when earth's harvest will be reaped and a new kingdom be entered into by the
righteous. The number 8 though not on the surface, is nevertheless kept ever before us in connection
with our Lord Jesus and the kingdom we shall share with Him after the resurrection.
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CHAPTER THIRTEEN
DOES REV. 17:11 INDICATE THAT THE BEAST JOHN
SAW IN VISION WAS EXCLUSIVELY THE EIGHTH AT
THE TIME HE SAW IT?
The answer to this question belongs to later chapters when we consider more fully the problem of the
time when the angel could say that the beast "was" (i.e. in the past tense) but now (in the present
tense) "is not"; and at what time John could look into the past and say "I saw the woman drunk with the
blood of saints, and with the martyrs of the blood of Jesus"; and at that time when the angel could
remind John of what he had seen, saying: "The beast that thou sawest was [past], and is not" (present
tense). We deal with this question at this juncture because of its connection with the number 8 which
we have considered in our previous chapter, and also because it is a question which, once answered,
need not concern us any further.
Verse 11 reads: "And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven. It has
been suggested that, when compared with verse 8, verse 11 indicates that the beast John saw in vision
was exclusively the eighth at the time he saw it. At first glance the expression "he is the eighth" might be
misunderstood to convey the thought that John was then beholding (in the present tense) the 8th head
of the beast. But such a view is at variance with the rest of the facts brought to view in Rev. 17. The
question raised is probably best answered by studying a statement which is repeated three times with
variations-the variation, it will be noted, occurs with the last part of the sentence; that part that has to
do with the future activities of the beast. Omitting all irrelevant words we read:
V. 8 (first part)
"The beast was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss" (R.V.).
V. 8 (last part)
"The beast was, and is not, and shall come" (R.V.). V. 11
"The beast was, and is not, even he is the eighth" (R.V.).
By comparing these three variations of the same statement it is readily seen that the last part of each
sentence deals with the future of the beast, and, the "is not" is that part of the sentence which deals
with the present. In other words, the angel gave this vision to John during the "is not" period of the
beast, and especially toward the close of that "is not" period, for the angel
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told John that the beast was "about to come up out of the abyss". Further aspects of the time John
carried to in his vision will be presented later. Applying ourselves again to the three statements given
with variation in the last part of each sentence, we observe that by placing them under each other they
provide us with the meaning of the statement that "he is the eighth".
"And is about to come up out of the abyss.
And shall come."
"Even he is the eighth."
That is when he shall have "come out of the abyss"; when he has "come" he is the eighth". The "is in the
last statement does not belong to the time that John was shown the vision but to that period when the
beast will have been resurrected and will then employ his restored persecuting powers. That the
expression "he is the eight" has reference to the future activities of the beast from the time John was
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shown the vision, is further sustained by observing the immediate context of the verse. The angel talks
with John concerning the 7 heads, how that 5 had fallen, and says:
And one remains. While one is not yet come, [note he is talking about the coming of the 7th head,
which is future.] When he comes [note again what he is talking about], he must stay for a little while. So
must the beast that was, and is not. He counts as an eighth king, although he is one of the seven, and is
on his way to destruction (20th Cent. N.T.). Thus it will be observed that when the angel commences
counting the heads and reaches the present tense with the 6th one which then existed"one is"he then
commences to talk about the 7th head, and he says more about that 7th head than he does of all the
others: "the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space ... even he is
the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition" (A.V.).
Thus it is clearly seen that when pointing to the coming of the 7th head which he does for the third time
the angel says of that time when the 7th head has risen to life, "even he is the eighth", or "he counts as
an eighth.
It cannot be stressed too much with regard to the interpretation of Rev. 17, that there are only seven
heads upon the beast depicted in Rev. 12, 13 and 17, and looking for an actual eighth head betrays a
failure to grasp the essential fact of the prophecy, that the 7th head is numbered with the symbol
number 8, specifically to point to the fact that it is the head that had received the "death-stroke" that is
to be resurrected to life and activity again.
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CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE TWO BEASTS FROM THE BOTTOMLESS PIT: IS
"THE BEAST THAT ASCENDETH OUT OF THE BOTTOMLESS PIT" OF REVELATION 11: 7
THE SAME AS "THE BEAST THAT ... SHALL ASCEND OUT OF THE
BOTTOMLESS PIT" MENTIONED IN REVELATION 17:8? BECAUSE THE FORMER
SYMBOLIZES THE RISE OF ORGANIZED ATHEISM MUST THE LATTER REFER
ALSO TO ORGANIZED ATHEISM?
The thought has been expressed that because the beast of Rev. 11 and also the beast of Rev. 17 both
come out of the bottomless pit that they must refer to the same power. However, it is unsatisfactory to
base hasty conclusions upon one similarity that can be accounted for on other groundsespecially
should such conclusions not be drawn from one similarity when there are a number of similar
characteristics of the beast in Rev. 17 with the beast of Rev. 13, It is not the similarities alone which
must be considered, for should there be dissimilarities, they will reveal definitely that the two symbols
could not refer to the same thing. To illustrate this fact we will present, briefly, the salient features of
two of the Lord's parables. First we will present the Similarities:
Matt. 25:14-29
Luke 19:12-26
Parable.
Parable.
Far country.
Far country.
Man.
Nobleman.
Away some time, and returns.
Away some time, and returns.
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Called servants to give account.
Called servants to give account.
Commended 2.
Commended 2.
Condemned 1.
Condemned 1.
One man with one talent at fault.
One man with one pound at fault.
Said Lord was "an hard man."
Said Lord was "an austere man."
His one talent given to the servant
His one pound given to the servant
with ten talents.
with ten pounds.
Severely punished.
Severely punished.
Parable followed by-"For unto everyone that hath Parable followed by-"For unto everyone that hath
shall be given," etc.
shall be given," etc.
Because of this number of similarities, some have concluded that they pertain to the same parable anyslight difference being merely the way it was recorded by Matthew and Luke. However, the
dissimilarities quickly reveal that these parables are not the same. Observe now the Dissimilarities:
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Talents.
Pounds.
Three servants.
Ten servants.
First servant, began with five talents,
First servant, began with one pound,
ended up with ten.
ended up with ten.
Second servant, began with two
Second servant, began with one
talents, ended up with four.
pound, ended up with five.
Third servant, began with one talent,
Third servant, began with one pound,
ended up with one unused, said Lord was an "hard ended up with one unused, said Lord was an
man".
"austere man".
Were we to leave the comparison of these two parables when we had studied merely the similarities we
would feel justified in being emphatic that these two parables are the one and the same. But it is when
we look for further details, wherein the differences appear, that we know immediately that our earlier
conclusion was based upon outward resemblances. The same way, a close analysis of the beast of Rev.
11 and the beast of Rev. 17 reveals that they represent two inherent powers both however coming out
of the bottomless pit.
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In chapter 7 we have presented 7 positively identical characteristics of the beast of Rev. 13 and the
beast of Rev. 17. Those identification marks are such as to make it impossible to come to any other
conclusion that the Lord desires His people to see these resemblances and to know that the same power
is thus represented. The outstanding addition in Rev. 17 to the picture presented in Rev. 13 is that of the
woman sitting upon the beast. However, instead of this woman detracting from the fact that the same
beast is referred to, her presence on that beast serves to emphasize the conclusion that the two beasts
are the same, but the Lord has seen it necessary to make a distinction between Church and State, which
are combined in the beast of Rev. 13. We will leave further consideration of this fact until later when we
deal with the woman more specifically.
The beasts pictured in Rev. 12, Rev. 13 and Rev. 17 have characteristics so similar that it would seem
impossible to misunderstand that in the Revelator's prophetic picture gallery these 3 beasts are
designed to illustrate the continuity of Satan's efforts down the ages working through various
governments to oppose the work of Christ upon earth. On these three beasts(are) the same 7 heads and
10 horns. In Rev. 12:3 the crowns are upon the heads the horns having no crowns; in Rev. 13:1 the
crowns are upon the horns, and in Rev. 17:3 the beast has no crowns upon either heads or horns. The
variation on the crowns is due apparently to the emphasis placed upon the time element introduced in
the prophecies. The crowns being upon the heads of the dragon thus emphasize the fact that that beast
represents the governments which Satan has employed against the Lord's
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people down through the ages. In this chapter we are taken back to the war in heaven between Christ
and Satan, and step by step we are brought down from that time through Satan's persecution of the
church during the days of Papal supremacy until his final conflict with the remnant church. It will be
observed that it is the same dragon that persecutes down through all the ages. It is the dragon that
fought against Jesus in glory (vs. 7-9). It is the same dragon that sought to slay Christ when He was born
into this world (v. 4). It is the same dragon that persecutes the church during the days of Papal
supremacy (vs. 6, 13-16). It is the same dragon that persecutes the remnant church (v. 17). Irrespective
of the government that existed at the various times when Satan's fury was particularly manifested, it
was the same Dragon. Thus the crowns upon the heads indicated that the emphasis was upon the
various governments down the ages that have lent their power to further the purposes of Satan in
persecuting the church.
In Rev. 13 the crowns are upon the horns because that prophecy, focuses upon the time of Papal
supremacy in the dark ages when the nations of Europe obeyed the behest of the beast and made war
upon the saints (Rev. 13:5). However, this prophecy, after pointing us to the wounding of the Papacy at
the ending of the 1260 years (vs. 3, 10, etc.), then presents a picture of how the final conflict will be
precipitated through the work and influence of the lamblike beastvs. 11-17. Protestant countries will
forsake their principles of religious liberty, being deceived concerning the mark of the beast. In Rev. 17
no crowns are upon the heads or the horns because the emphasis is upon the final conflict and in that
chapter the kings are said not to have received their power as kings to join with the beast in persecuting
the people of God until a certain time, when, however, they would "receive power as kings one hour
with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast" (vs. 12,
13). To distinguish between the persecution of the saints during the 1260 days of Papal supremacy
pictured in Rev. 13 and the final conflict over the mark of the beast specifically brought to view in Rev.
the crowns which appear upon the horns in Rev. 13, are not brought to view in the vision of Rev. 17.
It will help to simplify the significance of the three beasts of Rev. 12, Rev. 13, and Rev. 17, if it is
remembered that the beast of Rev. 12 with the crowns upon the heads of the dragon represents the
governments of earth down through all the ages that have been employed by Satan to persecute God's
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people including the governments of earth in the last days; this is the interpretation given in the Spirit of
prophecy (see TM. 39) This is the significance of the dragon being mentioned in Rev. 16:13
Then the beasts of Rev. 13 and Rev. 17 are designed to enlarge
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upon the two period of time when professing Christian powers would employ the power of the States to
persecute the saints, namely, in the Dark Ages, and in the closing scenes of earth's history. Two specific
times of persecution are brought to view during the long life of the dragon of Rev. 12: (1) during the
1260 years (vs. 6, 14, 15), and (2) in the final conflict with the remnant church (v. 17). In between v. 15,
where the dragon puts forth his greatest effort to destroy God's people, and v. 17, is the
pronouncement that "the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up
the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth" (v. 16). In between these verses takes place the of the
United States and the spread of Protestant principles of religious and civil liberty.
Then by the fact that the dragon (the same dragon of governmental persecution) again makes war upon
the saints in the persons of the remnant we know that this dragon does not represent any particular
Government but rather the governments down the ages who have been employed by Satan and those
church people he uses at any time to force God's people into his ranks. In between the persecutions of
the Dark Ages pictured in vs. 13-15 and the final conflict mentioned in v. 17, the earth helps the woman
by giving her a period of comparative calm before the scene changes and she is afflicted again by the
dragon. It is to enlarge upon these persecutions of (1) the Dark Ages that Rev. 13 was given with the
crowns upon the horns signifying the nations assisting the Papacy in her persecution during the 1260
years of her supremacy, and (2) the final conflict over the Sabbath, that Rev. 17 was specifically given.
The period of comparative calm brought to view briefly in Rev. 12:16 between the two persecutions is
enlarged upon in Rev. 13 with the rise of the Lamb-like beast that brings about the spread of democratic
principles among the governments of the earth, and the temporary peace afforded to the church, which
is intimated in Rev. 12:16, is also again referred to in Rev. 17 where the persecuting beast is said to be in
a state of inactivity, seemingly dead and buried. Thus we see that Rev. 13 and Rev. 17 are but
enlargements of the two periods of persecution brought to view in Rev. 12; the former the persecution
in the Dark Ages, the latter in the final conflict over the Sabbath.
The dragon represents the persecuting Governments, the beast and the false prophets are resenting
Papal and protestant divisions of professing Christians. These three make up the three parts of Babylon
mentioned in Rev. 16:13, 19. These are the three always spoken of by the servant of the Lord when
writing concerning the final conflict.
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The beast of Rev. 17 is definitely linked all the way through with the beast of Rev. 12 and particularly the
beast of Rev. 13, and not with the beast of Rev. 11. The beast of Rev. 11 represents the forces of
atheism. It comes into the prophetic picture at about the time of the termination of the 1260 years of
Papal persecution, see vs. 2, 3. In these verses the Lord has outlined the persecution of the saints during
this period of Papal supremacy; a period which the Lord had declared would "be shortened" "for the
elect's sake" (see Matt. 24:21, 22)) would the Lord shorten "those days"? By causing the earth to help
the woman. People of this world, men who make no profession of religion and even oppose religion
"anti-clericals"atheists, would rise to oppose Papal power. Thus by the Lord's mysterious providences
He would cause two opposing elements to be at war with each other so that His church would find a
period of comparative peace. In Dan. 11:40 the Lord had stated that the king of the south", Egypt, would
wound the king of the north, Babylon. It was by the wounding of the king of the north, that the Lord
brought about the cessation of persecution.
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That is the significance of the wounding of the king of the north by the king of the south in Dan. 11
(compare Dan. 11:40 and Dan. 12:7, etc.); the same significance is shown in the way the period of Papal
persecution is mentioned in Rev. 11:2, 3 and the rise of a power to oppose the Papacy toward the close
of her period of supremacy.
That the same power is referred to in both Dan. 11:40 and in Rev. 11:7, 8 may also be seen in the fact
that in Rev. 11 reference is made to "the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt". Thus
the king of the south, or Egypt, that wounded the king of the north Babylon in Dan. 11 is again brought
to view in this prophecy as also wounding the Papacy at the time its period of 1260 years of supremacy
draws to its close. The inspired comments of the servant of the Lord are worthy of our special attention
in this regard: "This is atheism; and the nation represented by Egypt would give voice to a similar denial
of the claims of the living God and would manifest a like spirit of unbelief and defiance.... According to
the words of the prophet, then, a little before the year 1798 some power of Satanic origin and character
would rise to make war upon the Bible. This Prophecy has received a most exact and striking fulfillment
in the history of France. During the Revolution of 1793 .. . " (GC 269)
This power represented the forces of "atheism" which is a power of Satanic origin and character".
Because of this, it is represented as coming out of "the bottomless pit". For the' same reason that the
Babylonian system is of "Satanic origin and
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character" it is also represented as coming out of "the bottomless pit". Both atheism, and false religion
masquerading as the true religion and employing the power of the State to persecute God's people, are
of Satanic origin. False religion helps Satan turn many from Christianity to atheism. They are two
channels through which Satan works. The Lord's servant says: "In many of the nations of Europe the
powers that ruled in Church and State had for centuries been controlled Satan, through the medium of
the Papacy. But here is brought to view a new manifestation of Satanic power" (GC. 268).
No, the beast from "the bottomless pit" mentioned in Rev. 11 is not the same as the beast from "the
bottomless pit" mentioned in Rev. 17. Both are of Satanic originthat is why they are both pictured as
coming out of "the bottomless pit". Communism is largely an outgrowth of a revolt against the
oppressions and tyranny of false religious teachings and practices. In countries today where
Communism is strong people have witnessed false religion vaunting its power above the interests of the
people until men have revolted against what they have been taught was Christianity. Both the false
religious beliefs and system of Papalism and atheistic Communism are of Satanic originthey both rise
out of the bottomless it. This is the only similarity between the two beasts: that of Rev. 11 and that of
Rev. 17. Apart from depicting the fact that they are of the same evil source, namely, Satan, these two
beasts, represent forces that are today striving for world supremacy; a contest which such prophecies as
Dan. 11:40-45; Rev. 13, an 17 plainly declare will at first be won by the Papal beast as it leads the whole
world against the people of God. But at the very end, the very last few days of earthly history, the forces
of anti-clericalism will rise to destroy the false leaders of religion.
One of the outstanding objections to the interpretation that the beast from the bottomless pit refers to
a recrudescence of the papal hierarchy, is the fact that this beast hates Babylon and burns her with fire
(Rev. 17:16). It is thought that this creates an irreconcilable contradiction, for, it is said, how could a
recrudescent papacy hate itself and burn itself with fire? That argument would be unanswerable if the
prophecy did not depict a woman sitting upon the beast, thus separating the secular from the
ecclesiastical. While the beast of Rev. 13 combines Church and State in thus symbolizing the Papacy, yet
in order to point out how the States (which at one time had given their power and strength unto the
woman to persecute the saints) which had ceased to assist the woman will be influenced to again do her
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bidding, Rev. 17 depicts the Church by the woman and the States by the beast upon which she sits. Thus
the argument would need
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to be applied to the woman hating and burning herselfwhich of course the prophecy does not say. The
prophecy does not say that the beast, upon emerging from the bottomless pit, discovered the woman
sitting upon him and immediately in his hate for her burned her with fire. The woman had sat upon that
beast before, and the beast does not prevent her from mounting him again. The prophecy and its
context indicate, as we have shown, that it is while the beast is satisfied to carry the woman; while the
woman, the beast and the kings are getting along famously together, that something occur that causes
the beast and the kings to hate the woman and to then 'burn her with fire. That something is, as we
have shown, the intervention of God on behalf of His people, which is intimated in Rev. 17:14, and
which causes the drying up of the waters of the Euphrates mentioned in the next verse (15). The beast
and the kings see the Babylonian whore in all her hideousness, and then, and not until then, they hate
her and burn her.
Then the beast from the bottomless pit in Rev. 17 becomes the same as the beast of Rev. 11. The people
and powers represented by this beast turn loathingly upon the ecclesiastical frauds who have so basely
used their powers for selfish gains. The beast of Rev. 11 represented the anti-clerical forces which then
caused "the tenth part of the city [of Babylon]" to fall (Rev. 11:13). The same cause and effect will also
occur in the last days. When the secular powers and the common people see the Babylonian whore,
representing specifically the religious leaders, in her true colours, they will turn loathingly upon those
spiritual fraudsthus the beast and the kings will hate the whore and burn her with fire.
The beast that arises from the bottomless pit in Rev. 11 has no previous existence so far as being
symbolized in the prophecy itself: it emerges there-from hating the religious deceivers and doing
violence to them. But the beast of Rev. 17, has had a previous existence; it has previously obliged the
woman by permitting her to ride and guide him. When the papacy lost its power to use the State as a
tool with which to make war upon the saints, the States still continued to live, but in a powerless
condition so far as persecuting the saints was concernedand it is this aspect that is thus presented in
the prophecy. The beast of Rev. 17 represent the States who have been influenced by the woman to
reassert their powers of persecution upon the saints until the Lamb makes war upon them and causes
the united condition of the forces of Babylon to be brought into a state of disunity by the drying up of
the waters of the Euphrates. Then, and not until then, is there any similarity between the beast from the
bottomless pit mentioned in Rev. 11 and the beast mentioned
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in Rev. 17 as also coming from the abyss. But there can be no question that what the beast of Rev. 11
didattacking the ecclesiastical leaders and causing "the tenth part of the city [of Babylon]" to fall
illustrates what will occur at the time of the 6th and 7th plagues when the time comes for God to expose
the false spiritual leaders. Then the secular beast that had been previously willing to do the bidding of
the Babylonian whore, becomes enraged at being deceived by her and, hating her and burning her with
fire, causes the whole of the city of Babylon to fall.
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CHAPTER FIFTEEN
WHAT IS MEANT BY "THE BOTTOMLESS PIT"?
The bottomless pit, or "the abyss" (R.V.), is the place from whence come both the beasts of Rev. 11 and
17; this does not indicate that in both places the same power is referred to, but that both are of "Satanic
origin and character" (GC. 268, 9). The abyss symbolizes the power of Satan. Jesus came to this earth
"that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 2:14).
Paul, in Rom. 10:7, uses the Greek word abussos (the word which is translated "the bottomless pit", or
"the abyss") to refer to the grave, or to the state of death. He says: "Who shall descend into the deep?
(that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead)". The word "deep", in the Greek, is abussos. Thus this
word is employed in no unmistakable way to represent the grave or the state o f death which is spoken
of as being beneath, for the figure employed by Paul in this text is that of bringing "up Christ again from
the dead". As Satan is said to possess "the power of death" and that is said to be "beneath", therefore
any power of "Satanic origin and character" would naturally be symbolized as coming "up out of the
abyss", as in Rev. 11:7, and also in Rev. 17:8. When referring to "infidelity and spiritualism" no religion
and false religionthe Lord's servant says: "A power from beneath is Leading men to war against
Heaven. Human beings have confederated with satanic agencies to make void the law of God. 9T. 4
When studying a Bible theme it is always advisable to view it in as broad a manner as possible in order
to avoid arriving at restricted ideas on the subject. We feel that the above thoughts are adequate to
explain the significance of the abyss as it pertains to our study of Rev. 17, but we present the following
additional thoughts in order that the reader may again see that expressions employed in the Apocalypse
often crystallize in a few words teachings that are found in a number of places in other portions of the
Scriptures, particularly the Old Testament.
While the expression "The Bottomless Pit" is peculiar to the Apocalypse, its equivalents are by no means
foreign to other portions of Holy Writ. In the Septuagint version the same word (abussos) is used in Gen.
1:2 (where we have "deep" in the English), as in Revelation where it is translated "bottomless pit", both
referring to this world.
In the twenty-fourth chapter of Isaiah is presented a vivid portrayal of conditions prevailing immediately
prior to, and
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synchronous with, the coming of the Son of God, as He returns to this planet according to His gracious
promises. The twenty-first verse informs us that "in that day the Lord shall punish the host of the high
ones that are on high [see Eph. 6:12, margin, i.e., Satan and his hosts] and the kings of the earth upon
the earth". Verse 22 shows that "the pit"the place of imprisonment and finally of punishmentis this
earth. So that the "pit" of Isaiah 24 is the same as the "bottomless pit" of Revelation 20; and the many
days" of Isa. 24:22 refer to the same period as the 1,000 years of Revelation 20, during which time Satan
is bound , as expressed in Revelation 20, or shut up as given in Isaiah 24.
By reference to the Scripture use o this term, abyss rendered "bottomless pit", we find the very idea of
Lev. 16:21, 22 carried out, for it is literally a desert waste, void, or land not inhabited.
"The pit" is used in the Old Testament to refer to the gravethe place of death and darkness. See Isa.
38:18; 14:19; Ps. 28:1; 88:3-12. How natural, then, for the last of the sacred writers, when referring to
the time when this earth will be without human inhabitants, depopulated by the second advent, to use
the same term to express its desolate and uninhabitable condition.
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It was this truth that Christ had in mind when He made the statement recorded in Matt. 12:29: "How
can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and
then he will spoil his house." Satan is the "strong man" in his house-this world, of which he is "god" or
"prince" (John 12:31; 2 Cor. 4:4); and Christ is the one stronger (thank heaven for this fact), who will,
when He comes, bind Satan in his own house, and will open the prison in which he has imprisoned God's
people (Isa. 12:14-17. with "the keys" wrested from the evil gaoler. See Rev. 1:18. The abyssthis world
in a state of death during the 1,000 years-will then be Satans prison"see Rev. 20:3, 7. The
resurrection is the time of the opening of Satan's "house", prison", or pit". These appellations or terms
are used in Scripture descriptively of this poor, storm-swept planet, where the work of evil has been
manifested. Sorrowing parents who have been bereft of their children, are encouraged by the assurance
that "they shall come again from the land of the enemy", i.e., the grave. Jer. 31:15-17.
The charge is made against Lucifer in Isa. 14:12, 17, that "he openeth not the house of his prisoners". He
is responsible for the sins which have sent so many to their graves; but he is impotent to open them
again and to bring out alive those who sleep in the silent tomb. Thank God that there is a Stronger than
he! "They shall come again from the land of the enemy", is the promise of love which the omnipotent
power of the Son of God will fulfill in the rosy-tinted morn when He comes to awaken the resting ones.
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When the happy resurrected ones are clad with the spotless garments of immortality, they sing: "0
death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" Thus the "land of the enemy" is the grave.
Notice that in the margin "hell" . is given as the synonym for grave. I Cor. 15:55, and vice versa in Rev.
20:13. So it helps us to understand why the Scripture always pictures Satan's "land", etc., as being
"beneath". See Isa. 14:9. Notice the contrasts: "The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart
from hell beneath." Prov. 15:24.
The greatest harm that can be done by Satan to a true child of God is to put him into a grave; but Christ
speaks of the superiority of the church over the adversary of souls through their being resurrected by
Him. "Upon this rock [Himself as the Son of the living God as revealed in Peter's confessionMatt. 16:16]
I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). In Job 38:17 the
question is asked, "Have the gates of death been opened unto thee?" Again in Ps. 9:13 reference is
made to "the gates of death". See also Ps. 107:18. Let us here make application to Cruden's
Concordance, article "Gates": "The word is sometimes put to signify power or dominion. God promises
Abraham that his posterity should posses the gates of their enemies, their towns, their fortresses.
Genesis 22, They should conquer them, they should have dominion over them. The gates of hell shall
not prevail against the churchMatt. 16:18. That is, neither the power nor policy of the devil and his
instruments. For the gates of cities were the places both of jurisdiction or judicature, and of fortification
and chief strength in war (Judges 5:8; Ps. 147:13)." So that in a wide sense the grave is a synonym for
the power of the devil.
In studying Bible phraseology, it is needful to remember the principles behind technical terms. The
lesser is always included in the greater in Biblical exegesis. All Satan's might is included in such a term as
"grave", "gates of hell", or its equivalent or parallel, "gates of death". Different terms come under this
heading, "house", "land", "bottomless pit", and are spoken of as being beneath.
When the forces and purity of the heavenly kingdom are contrasted with the power and antagonism of
Satan, the expressions, "above" and "beneath" are used. Thus we are to be "born from above" (John 3:3,
7, margin). Our natural birth is "earthly" or "beneath", meaning carnal, because of our being born in the
land of God's enemy. Look up 1 Cor. 15:47-49, and observe the contrast of the "earthly" with the
"heavenly".
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141
Said the Saviour of Himself, "He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly,
and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all" (John 3:31). Jesus, speaking plainly
to His audience, gives the key to many a passage in the Bible and certainly to man in the Book of
Revelation. He said: "Ye are from beneath, I am from above; ye are of this world; I am not of this world"
(John 8:23). To be from "beneath" is to be "of this world" --sinful; to be from "above" indicates purity, of
heavenly origin.
James also uses terms which reveal the same principle: "This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is
earthly, sensual, devilish." That which is referred to as being from "beneath" is "not from above", and "is
earthly, sensual, devilish". Again the contrast is given: "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure"
(James 3:15, 17).
From the foregoing it will be readily seen that the power and operations of God are represented as
being and coming from above, whereas Satan's dominion is pictured as being beneath.
Now any power of Satanic origin, or dominated by the cohorts of evil, is spoken of as coming from the
bottomless pit.--See also Rev. 9:1-11.
When God desires to picture a messenger or people of heavenly Inspiration He does not picture them as
coming up or ascending out of the earth, as in the cases cited, or as did the devil impersonating Samuel
(1 Sam. 28:8-11, 13-15), but as angels coming from above.--see Rev. 14:6-9; 18:1.
Thus in our summary we arrive at the certain conclusion that the term "bottomless pit" in the
Apocalypse and its synonyms throughout the Scriptures, is used, first, of this world, which is Satan's
dominion till it becomes "the kingdom of our Lord" (Rev. 11:15, R.V.); and, secondly, as a condition
which is "earthly, sensual, devilish"; and, thirdly, as a synonym for the grave, the place of death,
symbolizing the power of Satan who has "the power of death".
God calls us from the kingdom of sin and darkness, which are ours by the natural birth, to enjoy the pure
experience of the "new birth" "from above". Paul gave "thanks unto the Father ... who hath delivered us
from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son" (Col. 1:12, 13).
May God grant, dear reader, that when Jesus comes to bind the prince of this bottomless pit (Rev. 20:13) in his own house (Matt. 12:49), we shall be trophies of our Lord's redeeming love and be taken from
"the land of the enemy" (Jer. 31: 15-17) to be honoured as citizens of the kingdom which "is not of this
world" (John 18:36).
"Our citizenship is in heaven" and the "church is enrolled in heaven" (Phil. 3:20; Heb. 12:23, margin).
This is to be the Christian's reminder and encouragement.
By turning back to Old Testament texts, which are brought into the Revelation, we can often see more
clearly the fuller significance intended in the symbolism of the Apocalypse.
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CHAPTER SIXTEEN
THE BURNING AND DESOLATING OF THE BABYLONIAN WHORE (Rev. 17:16) IS THE
SAME AS THE BURNING OF THE BABYLONIAN CITY DESCRIBED IN
REVELATION 18. THE NECESSITY OF UNDERSTANDING REVELATION 17 AND 18 AS AN
ENLARGEMENT OF THE (CONCLUDING PHASES) OF THE FINAL
CONFLICT DEPICTED IN REVELATION, CHAPTERS 12 TO 16.
Chapters 12 to 19 of the Apocalypse deal with the great controversy from its inception in heaven until
the desolation of the earth at the second advent. Rev. 12 presents the controversy from its
commencement in heaven until the final conflict involving the remnant people of God who keep the
commandments of God. Succeeding chapters are enlargements upon the concluding sections of the
previous ones. That is, to illustrate our meaning, Rev. 12 traces the conflict down the ages until v. 17
focuses upon the final phase of that long-drawn-out conflict. Then Rev. 13 goes back to trace the origin
of the Papacy: its doctrines from Babylon, its imperialism and worldly splendour from pagan Rome; its
war upon the saints during the 1260 years of her supremacy at the end of which it receives its deathstroke and which is healed-then further details are given on how the war against the saints in the last
days will be brought about by the support to be given to the beast by the lamb-like beast. Rev, 13 closes
with details of the conflict intimated in Rev. 12:17. Before giving details of how that conflict will end
with the destruction of the enemies of God and His people, Rev. 14 and 15 deal with the warning
message and the close of probation. Then Rev. 16 enlarges upon the events to occur after the close of
probation.
Thus there is seen an unfolding of details concerning the final conflict briefly introduced in Rev. 12:17
each section ends with further details of that same conflict. Rev. 16 portrays graphically the fate of
those who have sought to compel God's people to receive the mark of the beast and worship the image
of the beast. Rev. 16 closes with special emphasis upon the 6th and 7th plaguesfive plagues are
described from v 2 to v: 11, ten verses in all; but it requires ten verses to describe the 6th and 7th
plagues. Rev. 17 is, as we have shown in an earlier chapter, an enlargement of the world's crisis which is
brought to a head under the 6th and 7th plagues. We now wish to show that Rev. 18 is a further
enlargement of the destruction to come to the Babylonian whore (mentioned in Rev. 17:16)
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under the figure of the burning of the Babylonian city. Thus there may be seen an orderly unfolding of
details concerning the final conflict and fate of those who have made war upon God's people; en` the 19
chapter leads to the final description of the rewards of the faithful, and of those who have made war
upon them.
As Bible students know, it is not until the same principle of repetition with enlargement is applied to the
book of Daniel, that the prophecy of Dan. 2 is seen as the skeleton outline of world history from ancient
Babylon until the end of modern Babylon, and that subsequent chapters enlarge upon the essential
features of that outline. When that principle is understood, not only does light shine forth from each
succeeding chapter in turn, but that principle clearly establishes beyond question that the forces of
Babylon are the only powers which could possibly be designated by the term "the king of the north".
Not understanding the principles of repetition and enlargement (principles employed throughout
Scripture) employed in the books of Daniel and Revelation, causes men to unwittingly spoil the grand
sweep of these prophecies by bringing in something that is entirely foreign to the purpose for which
these books were written.
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So by following the principle that succeeding chapters repeat and enlarge upon the theme mentioned
earlier, all the chapters from Rev. 12 are seen as enlargements of the skeleton outline presented in Rev.
12.
It follows that the battle of Armageddon (when interpreted as a battle between Heaven and earth, and
not as a military battle of earthly armies fighting each other in Palestine) is not something foreign to the
revelation in the proceeding (or succeeding) chapters concerning the dragon, the beast, and the false
prophet, but rather shows how the three are involved in the climax of the great drama. Also Rev. 17 is
not segregated from the events of Rev. 16 but rather Rev. 17 is seen as throwing clearer and fuller light
upon the climax of the final conflict which is the consummation of the outpouring of the 7 plagues.
Similarly, the contents of Rev. 18 will not be separate from the contents of Rev. 17, but rather
appreciated as an enlargement of those things portrayed so graphically in Rev. 17.
Dividing the Bible into chapters and verses has been a great help in memorizing places where certain
texts are found, and for general reference; but this convenience is apt to break the continuity of certain
prophecies. The division of the chaptersDan. 11:44, 45 and 12:1may have helped to hide from some
Bible students the vital connection between the king of the north going fort with great fury to slay many
(resulting in his coming to his end) and the deliverance of God's people.
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The division of Rev. 17 and 18 into two chapters also serves to hide the fact that these two chapters
belong together. The failure to grasp this essential fact has caused some to differentiate between the
Babylon of Rev. 17 and that of Rev. 18. In his comments on Rev. 17, Uriah Smith says:
"This chapter has, we think, more especial reference to the old mother, or Catholic Babylon. In the next
chapter, if we mistake not, we find brought to view the character and destiny of another great branch of
Babylon, namely, the harlot daughters." In his comments on Rev. 18, he says : "And since the fall here
introduced is a moral one, it must apply to some branch of Babylon besides, or outside of, the pagan or
papal divisions" (pp. 729, 731, ed. 1891; pp. 713, 715 of Revised ed.).
A somewhat rigid adherence to this man-made division of Rev. 17 and 18 into two chapters has resulted
in a failure to grasp the full meaning of Rev. 17 in relation to the final conflict. Concerning that part of
Rev. 17 which specifically portrays the manner in which the kings of earth assist the persecuting beast in
making war upon God's remnant church, Uriah Smith says:
"Thus language must refer to, the past, when the kingdoms of Europe were unanimous in giving their
support to the Papacy. . . . It cannot apply to the future,"
Concerning the burning and desolating of the Babylonian whore described in v. 16, he says:
"A part of this work the nations of Europe have been doing for years. The completion of it, burning her
with fire, will be accomplished when Rev. 18:8 is fulfilled."
Thus it will be observed that he applied the major part of Rev. 17 to the past experience of the Papacy
and was inclined to believe that Rev. 18 pertained mainly to the future with reference to apostate
Protestantism, though he did see some connection between the burning of the whore (Rev. 17) and the
burning of the city described in Rev. 18. However, had he understood that Rev. 17 is an enlargement
particularly of the events associated with the concluding phases of the final conflict, especially of the 6th
and 7th plagues, and had he applied the principle of repetition and enlargement, he would have seen the
obvious fuller revelation concerning the burning of the whore (Rev. 17:16) in Rev. 18.
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We will now proceed to point out that Babylon of Rev. 17 and Babylon of Rev. 18 are one and the same
Rev. 17:5 makes it clear that Babylon includes mother and her daughters, and the same is meant in Rev.
18. Notice the following comparisons:
The Woman Babylon of Rev. 17
The City Babylon of Rev. 18
v. 5. "Babylon the Great."
vs. 2, 10, 18, 21. "Babylon the Great."
v. 2. "With whom kings have committed v. 3. "Kings have committed fornication with her."
fornication."
v. 2. "Drunk with the wine of her fornication."
v. 3. "Drunk of the wine of her fornication."
v.4. "The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet v. 16. "That great city that was clothed in fine
colour, and decked with gold and precious stones linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with
and pearls."
gold, and precious stones, and pearls.
v. 6. "Drunken with the blood of saints, and with v. 24. "In her was found the blood of prophets, and
the blood of the martyrs of Jesus."
of saints, and of all that were slain upon the
earth."
v. 1. I will shew thee the judgment of the great v. 8. "Death, and mourning, and famine; and she
whore."
shall be utterly burned with fire."
v. 16. "These [kings] shall hate the whore, and v. 9. "Kings ... see the smoke of her burning."
shall make her desolate and naked . . . and burn
her with fire."
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As we have pointed out elsewhere, the destruction which befalls Babylon under the figure of the
destruction of "Babylon the great ... that great city Babylon" (Rev. 18:2, 10, 18, 21) that has influenced
or governed the spiritual and civil powers, is the same destruction which is meted out to Babylon under
the figure of "the whore" in Rev. 17:16. Before the Lord presents to John the description of the loud cry
calling God's people to come out of "Babylon the great ... that great city Babylon", He is careful to show
the connection between the woman of Rev. 17 and the city of Rev. 18: they are one and the same. He
informed John:
And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth" Rev.
17:18). Thus the connection between the contents of Rev. 17 and those of Rev. 18 is definitely linked by
the Lord's own clear statement. In Rev. 17:5 the Babylonian whore has "upon her forehead a name
written. MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT" and in v- 18 this same whore is said to be that great city. In
Rev. 18 it is still the same "Babylon the great ... that great city ... that great city . . . this great city . . . that
great city" vs. 2, 10, 16, 18, 21. The expression "the great whore" mentioned in Rev. 19:2 also carries
forward the linking of the same theme concerning the same actors into Rev. 19.
The fact that the name "Babylon" is mentioned times in the Revelation in various chaptersRev. 14; 16;
17; 18and on the 6th occasion (18:21-23) it is repeated 6 time's that the things of Babylon would "be
found no more at all", shows that it is the same Babylon meant throughout. But this is only one of a
number of things to be found in the Revelator's description concerning the work of Babylon and her
overthrow that indicates that the various chapters in which the work and doom of Babylon are depicted
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should be read as a whole. Many items could be enumerated to show that the Revelator's numeric
system corroborates our viewpoint that chapters 12 to 19 are to be understood as one description,
which is developed by repetition and enlargement in each succeeding chapter until the grand climax is
reached in a final, fuller description of the complete destruction of the forces of Babylon in the events
associated with the second coming of our Lord.
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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
THE UPSURGING POWER OF EVIL MET BY THE
DESCENDING POWER FROM HEAVEN.
Having shown the vital connection between Rev. 17 and 18, we are now better prepared to observe the
connection between the rising of the beast from the abyss and the angel who comes down from heaven
with mighty power proclaiming the "loud cry".
As we have shown in a previous chapter, the rising of the beast from the abyss envisages the return to
life of the beast of persecution. As Jesus emerged from the tomb a mighty Conqueror over His foes, and,
endowed with "all power ... in heaven and in earth" (Matt. 28:18), "He went forth conquering, and to
conquer" (Rev. 6:2). We have also shown that the basis of understanding Rev. 17, is the portrayal of the
forces of Babylon as a counterfeit of the Lord and His work of salvation. So the rising of the beast from a
state of death pictures the resurrection of religious tyranny when "kings, and rulers, and governors" will
again, and next time in a world-wide manner, give their power and strength for the persecution of the
saints. The following statement from the pen of God's servant is of special interest in this connection:
"Kings, and rulers, and governors have placed upon themselves the brand of antichrist, and are
represented as the dragon who goes to make war with the saintswith those who keep the
commandments of God, and who have the faith of Jesus. In their enmity against the people of God, they
show themselves guilty also of the choice of Barabbas instead of Christ" (TM. 39). Observe that this
statement connects up Rev. 12:17 with Rev. 17:12-17: Rev. 12:17 declares that the dragon will make war
upon God's remnant people, whereas Rev. 17:12-17 declares that the "kings" will give their strength to
the persecuting beast in making war upon God's people. This shows that Rev. 12 presents the dragon as
the symbol of the persecutions of all ages, ending with the final conflict over the Sabbath, and that Rev.
13 and Rev. 17 present the two segments of that long controversy: namely, that of the Dark Ages
(pointing also to the final conflict), and that of the final conflict (Rev. 17) which is briefly touched upon in
Rev. 12:17.
When Rev. 17 is seen to throw fuller light upon the climax of the final conflict over the Sabbath, leading
to the time when the wicked seek to slay the saints but cannot owing to God's intervention on behalf of
His people, described under the 6th and 7th plagues, and when Rev. 18 is seen as an enlargement of
that same
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conflict and of the fate to befall Babylon, it immediately shows the vital connection between the beast
rising from the abyss and the coming of the mighty angel down from heaven to meet the rising of the
powers of evil from beneath. Heaven accepts what will be the last challenge of Satan against the work
and people of God.
Rev. 17 portrays the resurgence of the beast of persecution and religious tyranny working through the
Statethe combination of the Church and the State. Now is this not the very feature which is so
forcefully brought before us in Rev. 18? Is not the warning of the "loud cry" against this very evil of the
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combination of the Church and State? Does not the Revelator say that the mighty angel comes from
heaven panoplied with extra power to meet this very exigency? The Revelator says:
"And after these things [or in connection with these things as an explanation] I saw another angel come
down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried
mightily with a strong voice, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils,
and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk
of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with
her.... And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her My people, that ye be not
partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven"
(Rev. 18:1-4).
Thus we are directed to the time when "all nations"; when "the kings" of earth will have committed
fornication with this Babylonian whore who is the chief actor in Rev. 17. As will be seen at a glance, the
loud cry refers back to the evils of the kings and nations committing fornication with the Babylonian
whore and of them having been made drunk with "the wine of the wrath of her fornication". This, of
course, repeats facts that are disclosed in Rev. 17:2, 4; facts also that are mentioned in Rev. 14:8 and
18:9. Thus the "loud cry" can be understood only in the light that a special message comes down from
heaven warning the world of the grave consequences of joining up with this spiritual harlot in the
persecution of the people of God. Rev. 17 points to this calamitous union of Church and State; Rev. 18
points to the message that warns against this monstrous evil: the two chapters must be understood as
parts of one whole and not read as two separate chapters containing two separate prophecies.
In commenting upon the term "Babylon" employed in chapters 14, 17 and 18, the messenger of the Lord
has written:
"Not yet, however, can it be said that `Babylon is fallen ... because she made all nations [emphasis in GC]
drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. She has not yet made all nations do this. . . . But the
work of apostasy has not yet reached its culmination . . . Not until this condition shall be reached, and
the union of the church with the world shall be fully accomplished, throughout Christendom, will the fall
of Babylon be complete. The change is a progressive one, and the perfect fulfilment of Rev. 14:8 is yet
future....
"Revelation 18 points to the time when, as the result of rejecting the three
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fold warning of Rev. 14:6-12, the church will have fully reach the condition foretold by the second angel,
and the people of God, still in Babylon, will be called upon to separate from her communion" (GC. 389,
390).
After quoting Rev. 18:1-4, the Lord's servant says:
"This Scripture points forward to a time when the announcement of the fall of Babylon, as made by the
second angel of Revelation 14, is to be repeated, with the additional mention of the corruptions which
have been entering the various organizations that constitute Babylon, since that message was first
given, in the summer of 1844. A terrible condition of the religious world is here described. With every
rejection of truth, the minds of the people will become darker, their hearts more stubborn, until they
are entrenched in an infidel hardihood. In defiance of the warnings which God has given, they will
continue to trample upon one of the precepts of the Decalogue, until they are led to persecute those
who hold it sacred. . .
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Of Babylon, at the time brought to view in this prophecy, it is declared, 'Her sins have reached unto
heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.' She has filled up the measure of her guilt, and
destruction is about to fall upon her.... Fearful is the issue to which the world is to be brought. The
powers of earth, uniting to war against the commandments of God, will decree that all, 'both small and
great, rich and poor, free and bond' (Rev. 13:16) shall conform to the customs of the church by the
observance of the false sabbath." (GC. 603)
'Thus God's servant definitely links together as one great portrayal of the same conflict, Rev. 13, 14, 17
and 18. The loud cry is shown to be Heaven's warning against the union of Church and State depicted in
Rev. 17. Rev. 12:17 points to that time. Rev. 13:11-17 also points to that same time, and so does Rev.
14:8-11 and Rev. 17. As will be observed in the Scriptures and also in the comments given of them by
the Lord's servant, there is a repetition and an enlargement of the themes introduced in Rev. 12 and 13
until the climax of the revelation concerning the same actors and the same conflict is reached in Rev. 19.
Having thus proved this from the Scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy we now point out the significance
of the beast rising from beneath, whose resurrection to life brings about this woeful state of affairs, thus
necessitating the loud cry. As we have repeatedly had occasion to point out, those designations
employed in Rev. 17 by which to depict the forces of Babylon must be seen as they relate to the work of
Jesus. As we have shown, while counterfeiting the work of our Lord Jesus, the forces of Babylon are set
in opposition to the forces of righteousness. As it said that "Babylon ... made all nations drink of the
wine of the wrath of her fornication" (Rev. 14:8); "For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of
her fornication" (Rev. 18:3), so it also said that "the same shall drink of the wine o f the wrath of God"
(Rev. 14:10); "to give unto her [Babylon] the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath" (Rev. 16:19);
"the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God" (Rev. 19:15). The fear of Babylon's reprisals
for failing to render her homage is set forth in contrast with the fear of God and with the threatened
judgments which will be poured out upon those who fear man rather than God.
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In the same way, the beast that comes up from beneath is set forth in contrast to the angel coming
down from heaven proclaiming the loud cry. The beast rising from beneath represents the power of evil
that enters upon earth's stage for the last act in the great drama of sin. The servant of the Lord
describes it in these words: "A power from beneath is leading men to war against Heaven. Human
behave confederated with satanic agencies to make void the law of God." In the previous paragraph the
Lord's servant says: "The followers of Christ [represented by the angel coming down from heaven] are to
combine in a strong effort to call the attention of the world to the fast-fulfilling prophecies of the word
of God. Shall those to whom great light has been given be cold and faithless now?" Then, still in the
same article, the Lord's servant urges God's people to give the message, saying, "The church will see the
providential working of the Lord of hosts. The light of truth will shine forth in clear, strong rays. . . . The
earth will be lighted with the glory of the Lord" (9T. 43, 46). Thus the Lord's servant couples up the
"power from beneath" (Rev. 17:8-11) with the earth being lighted with the glory of the angel giving the
loud cry, and this angel is said to "come down from heaven, having great power".
The beast ascending out of the abyss is set forth in contrast to the angel messenger coming down from
heaven: one represents the power of evil, particularly of religious persecution, rising in strength until
the whole world is taken in the snare; the other represents special power which Heaven will pour upon
the remnant church in order to meet the rising power of evil. Throughout the Spirit of Prophecy are to
be found many vivid descriptions of the greatness of that time, and the intensity with which the two
powersone from heaven and the other from beneathwill contest in that final conflict. The Lord's
servant says:
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"I point you to the aggressive movements now being made for the restriction of religious liberty. God's
sanctified memorial has been torn down, and in its place a false Sabbath, bearing no sanctity, stands
before the world. And while the powers of darkness are stirring up the elements from beneath, the Lord
of heaven is sending power from above to meet the emergency by arousing His living agencies to exalt
the law of heaven. Now, just now, is our time to work in foreign countries. As America, the land of
religious liberty, shall unite with the papacy in forcing the conscience and compelling men to honour the
false Sabbath, the people of every country on the globe will be led to follow her example" (6T. 18).
So we see that when America leads the world to enforce Sunday observance"while the powers of
darkness are stirring up the elements from beneath", then "the Lord of heaven" will send "power from
above to meet the emergency by arousing His living agencies to exalt the law of heaven".
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It will be observed that this is precisely what we have been able to discern from our study of the beast
emerging from the abyss which is met by the power of God in the loud cry represented by the angel
coming down from heaven having great power.
Again the Lord's servant says:
"Satan is a diligent Bible student. He knows that the time is short, and he seeks at every point to
counteract the work of the Lord upon this earth. It is impossible to give any idea of the experience of the
people of God who shall be alive upon the earth when celestial glory [the earth lightened by the angel
who comes down from heaven] and a repetition of the persecutions of the past [the persecuting beast
from the abyss] are blended. They will walk in the light proceeding from the throne of God. By means of
the angels there will be constant communication between heaven and earth. And Satan, surrounded by
evil angels, and claiming to be God, will work miracles of all kinds, to deceive, if possible, the very elect.
(9 T. 16).
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
"THE KINGS OF THE EARTH ... MADE DRUNK WITH
THE WINE OF HER FORNICATION.;" FALSE DOCTRINES
CAUSE THE PERSECUTING BEAST "TO COME UP OUT
OF THE ABYSS" (R.V.). THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUE
DOCTRINE IN RECEIVING THE POWER OF THE LATTER RAIN.
Still working upon the principle that the things of Babylon are mentioned in the Apocalypse as
counterfeits of the things of Christ, we have occasion to note yet another item mentioned because it is a
counterfeit of the true, namely, the wine given by Babylon that makes the nations and the people of
earth drunksee Rev. 14:8; 17:2; 18:3. Wine is employed in Scripture as a symbol of doctrine-see Matt.
9:17; etc. Fermented wine represents false doctrines; doctrines that have poison in them similar .to
alcohol in fermented wine; doctrines that becloud the brain and benumb the moral sensibilities of those
who imbibe them. This is the wine that the Babylonian whore gives to the kings and people of earth.
"Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath
of her fornication" (Rev. 14:8); "And the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of
her fornication" (Rev. 17:2); "For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication"
(Rev. 18:3). Thus emphasis is placed upon the potency of the wine that Babylon gives to the people of
the world to drink, that stupefies their spiritual perceptions and poisons their thoughts, making them
moral inebriates, and causing the beast of persecution "to come up out of the abyss" (R.V.).
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The Apocalypse is a book of opposites: light and darkness; truth and error; good and evil; Christ and
Satan; the Lamb and the beast; the Lord's church and the synagogue of Satan; the forces of Heaven and
the forces of earth; Messengers from on high and messengers from beneath; Movements from above
and movements from the bottomless pit; the health-begetting wines of true doctrine and the corrupting
wines of false doctrine. The Apocalypse places the opposing forces in opposition, and this is done in such
a way that when one is under consideration the other will naturally present itself to the thoughtful
reader. Error should not be seen in a purely negative way; it should be viewed as the opposite of truth.
Satan conceives error as a means of hiding the truth. No one who has his mind darkened with the errors
Satan
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prepares is able to see the truth. Writing of those "that are lost", Paul says: "In whom the god of this
world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
Who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (2 Cor. 4:3, 4). Men are deluded when they "hold the
truth in unrighteousness" (Rom. 1:18). They "hold the truth" but in such a way that it is ineffectual, for it
is covered with "unrighteousness". Satan's most successful method is that of deception. He mixes error
with truth. "Error is never harmless. It never sanctifies, but always brings confusion and dissension. It is
always dangerous. The enemy has great power over minds that are not thoroughly fortified by prayer
and established in Bible truth" (5T. 292).
Error warps the mind and prepares the way for Satan's power, just as the power of God goes with truth.
Notice the following from the pen of the Lord's servant:
"The Comforter is called `the Spirit of truth.' His work is to define and maintain truth. He first dwells in
the heart as the Spirit of truth, and thus He becomes the Comforter. There is peace and comfort in the
truth, but no real peace or comfort can be found in falsehood. It is through false theories and traditions
that Satan gains his power over the mind. By directing men to false standards he misshapes the
character. Through the Scriptures the Holy Spirit speaks to the mind, and impresses truth upon the
head. Thus He exposes error, and expels it from the soul. It. is by the Spirit of truth working through the
Word of God, that Christ subdues His chosen people to Himself" (DA. 671). The Lord's servant says: "The
perfection of character He requires can be "obtained only by becoming familiar with His Word"
(Counsels to Teachers, P. 455).
In the following extract from the "Medical Ministry", p. 89, God warns against the exceeding
deceitfulness of error:
"The mind in which error has once taken possession can never expand freely to truth, even after
investigation. The old theories will claim recognition. The understanding of things that are true and
elevated and sanctifying will be confused. Superstitious ideas will enter the mind, to mingle with the
true, and these ideas are always debasing in their influence. . . Cleave to the word, It is written. Cast
out of the mind the dangerous, obtrusive theories which, if entertained, will hold the mind in bondage,
so that the man shall not become a new creature in Christ. The mind must be constantly restrained and
guarded."
Satan's most successful method is that of deceptionhe mixes error with truth. Paul declared: "For such
are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no
marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his
ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness" (2 Cor. 11:13-15).
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In previous chapters we have shown that the Babylonian system counterfeits the things of Christ; this
Satanic organization is bitterly opposed to Christ but hides its enmity under the guise of reverence for
Christ. The servant of the Lord says: "Satan is Christ's personal enemy, but in his opposition to Christ he
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counterfeits the Saviour's work: "Satan has ever been ambitious to counterfeit the work of Christ, and
establish his own power and claims. He does not generally do this openly and boldly. He is artful, and
knows that the most effectual way for him to accomplish his work, is to come to poor, fallen man in the
form of an angel of light. Satan came to Christ in the wilderness in the form of a beautiful young man
more like a monarch than a fallen angel,with scripture in his mouth" (1T. 293).
Jesus "breathed on" the disciples, "and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost" (John 20:22). The
Lord's servant says: "I saw that Satan was working through agents in a number of ways . . . not by the
power of the Holy Ghost, but by the power of Satan breathed upon these agents, and through them to
the people. . . . God will work in power for His people; and Satan will be permitted to work also" (EW.
43, 44). When those who know the truth regarding the ministry of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary "pray,
'My Father, give us Thy Spirit', then Jesus would breathe upon them the Holy Ghost". Describing those
who have not followed the light, the Lord's servant says that "Satan would then breathe upon them an
unholy influence" (EW. 55, 56).
"Satan himself abode not in the truth; he is the mystery of iniquity. Through his subtlety he gives to his
soul-destroying errors the appearance of truth. Herein is his power to deceive. It is because they are a
counterfeit of the truth that spiritualism, theosophy, and the like deceptions gain such power over the
minds of men. Herein is the masterly working of Satan. He pretends to be the saviour of man, the
benefactor of the human race, and thus he more readily lures his victims to destruction" (TM. 365).
"As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ" (GC. 624).
"And Satan, surrounded by evil angels, and claiming to be God, will work miracles of all kinds, to
deceive, if possible the very elect" (9T. 16). See also 5T. 80.
"Satan has long been preparing for his final effort to deceive the world... . Little by little he has prepared
the way for his masterpiece of deception in the development of Spiritualism" (GC. 562). Every sermon
on the immortality of the soul is thus preparing for this gigantic delusion. Those who reject the Sabbath
truth will maintain "that the fast-spreading corruption is largely attributable to the desecration of the
so-called `Christian Sabbath', and that the enforcement of Sunday observance would greatly improve
the morals of society . . .
"Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul, and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the
people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of Spiritualism, the latter creates a
bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their
hands across the gulf to grasp the hands of Spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands
with the Roman power; and under the influence of this three-fold union, this country will follow in the
steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.
"He [Satan] will appear in the character of an angel of light. Through the agency of Spiritualism, miracles
will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and many undeniable wonders will be performed. And as the
spirits will profess faith in the Bible, and manifest respect for the institutions of the church, their work
will be accepted as a manifestation of divine power. . .
"Communications from the spirits will declare that God has sent them to convince the rejecters of
Sunday of their error, affirming that the laws of the land should be obeyed as the law of God. They will
lament the great wickedness
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in the world, and second the testimony of religious teachers, that the degraded state of morals is caused
by the desecration of Sunday. Great will be the indignation against all who refuse to accept their
testimony . . . while Satan seeks to destroy those who honour God`s law he will cause them to be
accused as law-breakers, as men who are dishonouring God, and bringing judgments upon the world ...
he works through both religious and secular authorities, moving them to the enforcement of human
laws in defiance of the law of God. Those who honour the Bible Sabbath will be denounced as enemies
of law and order. . . They will, be accused of disaffection toward the government. Ministers who deny
the obligation of the divine law will present from the pulpit the duty of yielding obedience to the civil
authorities as ordained of God. In legislative halls and courts of justice, commandment-keepers will be
misrepresented and condemned...
"The dignitaries of church and State will unite to bribe, persuade, or compel all classes to honour the
Sunday" (GC. 587-592).
"Her [Rome's] doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts
of men ... her former persecutions will be repeated" (GC. 581).
Thus by the wine of Babylon earth's multitudes and the kings of the earth are being made drunk and
making it possible for the persecuting beast "to come up out of the abyss".
"The last great delusion is soon to open before us. Antichrist is to perform his marvellous works in our
sight. So closely will the counterfeit resemble the true, that it will be impossible to distinguish between
them except by the Holy Scriptures.... None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the
Bible will stand through the last great conflict" (GC. 593).
What people are now doing and thinking is preparing the way for the persecuting beast to emerge from
his place of inactivity. This is the import of Rev. 17. We have shown that the loud cry of Rev. 18,
represented by an angel coming down from heaven having great power, is mentioned in opposition to
the beast pictured in Rev. 17 as ascending out of the bottomless pit. Observe that the Lord's servant
after quoting Rev. 18:1-4, says: "With every rejection of truth, the minds of the people will become
darker, their hearts more stubborn, until they are entrenched in an infidel hardihood" (GC. 603). Thus,
by accepting or rejecting the truths of the Bible, people either join the movement represented by the
angel coming down from heaven or of aiding and abetting the resurrection of the persecuting beast
from beneath.
Commenting upon "the woman, Babylon, of Revelation 17. . . having a golden cup in her hand full of
abominations and filthiness", the Lord's servant says:
"Babylon is said to be 'the mother of harlots'. By her daughters must be symbolized churches that cling
to her doctrines and traditions and follow her example of sacrificing the truth and the approval of God,
in order to form an unlawful alliance with the world.. .
"Many of the Protestant churches are following Rome's example of iniquitous connection with 'the kings
of the earth'; the State churches, by their relation to secular governments, and other denominations by
seeking the world. And the term Babylonconfusionmay be appropriately applied to these bodies" (GC.
382, 3).
Believing that Sunday observance should be enforced by the State, the churches will eventually believe
that the persecution of
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God's people is a right and proper thing to do (see GC. 603, 615, etc.).
It will be observed that wherever God's servant describes the persecution that will come to the remnant
church, emphasis is given to the fact that that persecution is brought about by the Church working
through the State. To this end observe the following extracts which are examples of many more that
could be quoted:
"Fearful is the issue to which the world is to be brought. The powers of earth, uniting to war against the
commandments of God, will decree that all 'both small and great' shall conform to the customs of the
church by the observance of the false Sabbath. All who refuse compliance will be visited with civil
penalties, and it will finally be declared that they are deserving of death... . With the issue thus clearly
brought before him, whoever shall trample upon Gods law to obey a human enactment, receives the
mark of the beast....
"While the observance of the false Sabbath in compliance with the law of the State, contrary to the
fourth Commandment, will be an avowal of allegiance to a power that is in opposition to God, the
keeping of the true Sabbath, in obedience to God's law, is an evidence of loyalty to the Creator. While
one class, by accepting the sign of submission to earthly powers, receive the mark of the beast, the
other, choosing the token of allegiance to divine authority, receive the seal of God....
"Their [God's people] predictions that religious intolerance would gain control in the United States, that
church and State would unite to persecute those who keep the Commandments of God, have been
pronounced groundless and absurd.... But as the question of enforcing Sunday observance is widely
agitated, the event so long doubted and disbelieved is seen to be approaching, and the third angel's
message will produce an effect which it could not have had before" (GC. 604, 605).
The church appeals to the strong-arm of civil power, and in this work, papists and Protestants unite.
(GC 607)
The statements quoted above from the pen of God's servant are given in the chapter "The Final
Warning" which commences by quoting Rev. 18:1-4. In other words, this warning message is to point
out the evil of this union of Church and State; and no doubt the exposition we are at present
endeavouring to make clear, will be employed in pointing out that this very state of things was pictured
in Rev. 17 by the coming of the beast of persecution from its place of inactivity, and declaring that the
Lord in His Word has pictured His last warning message as an angel coming down from heaven
protesting against this "iniquitous connection" of the professing church "with 'the kings of the earth' ".
The Lord's servant has explicitly informed us that those who give the last warning message are
"symbolized by the angel coming down from Heaven, lightening the earth with his glory, and crying
mightily with a strong voice, announcing the sins of Babylon" (GC. 04). What will be particularly declared
in that denunciation is also stated:
"The sins of Babylon will be laid open. The fearful results of enforcing the observances of the church by
civil authority, the inroads of Spiritualism, the stealthy but rapid progress of the Papal power-all will he
unmasked.; By these solemn warnings the people will be stirred. Thousands upon thousands will listen
who have never heard words like these. In amazement they hear the
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testimony that Babylon is the church, fallen because of her errors and sing, because of her rejection of
the truth sent to her from heaven. (GC. 606).
As Rev. 17 teaches that the persecuting beast ascends out of the abyss through the union of Church and
State, and as that is one of the main burdens of the loud cry depicted in Rev. 18 as an angel coming
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down from Heaven, we are thus able to see that the loud cry will point to the prophecy of Rev. 17 as
describing the conditions then prevailing; even as today we point to Rev. 14:6-14 being fulfilled in the
judgment-hour message at present being given to the world.
The Lord's servant has given definite counsel as to what constitutes the wine of Babylon. She says;
"The fallen denominational churches are Babylon. Babylon has been fostering poisonous doctrines, the
wine of error. This wine of error is made up of false doctrines, such as the natural immortality of the
soul, the eternal torment of the wicked, the denial of the pre-existence of Christ prior to His birth in
Bethlehem, and advocating and exalting the first day of the week above God's holy and sanctified day.
These and kindred errors are presented to the world by the various churches, and thus the Scriptures
are fulfilled that say, 'For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.' It is a wrath
which is created by false doctrines, and when kings and presidents drink this wine of the wrath of her
fornication, they stirred with anger against those who will not come into harmony with the false and
satanic heresies which exalt the false Sabbath, and lead men to trample underfoot God' s memorial."
(TM. 62).
As the wine of Babylon, imbibed by the kings of the earth and the multitudes, who unthinkingly accept
the deceptive teachings of apostasy, produces degeneracy and corruption, so the good, wholesome
wine of Heaven revivifies and strengthens God's people to proclaim the loud cry. As the Word of God is
the "seed" which, with the operation of the Holy Spirit, generates the new life (1 Pet. 1:23), that life is
revived and strengthened as often as the Word of God is read and received into the soul. "When ye
received the word of God ... ye received it ... as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh
in you that believe" (1 Thess. 2:13). The Word of God has sanctifying, creative power:"Sanctify them
through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth" (John 17:17). "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
Word of God" (Rom. 10:17). Man lives "by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt.
4:4). "A divine element combines with the human when the soul reaches out after God" (Thoughts From
the Mount of Blessing, p. 35). "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed ['the germ of
life,' Weymouth] remaineth in him" (1 John 3:9). One of the evidences that the miracle of the new birth
has been wrought in the soul is the desire to know the Word of God better in order to grow: "As
newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby" (1 Pet. 2:2). From his
own experience Peter had found that human weakness could be overcome through assimilating the life
of God found in His
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Holy Word. This is again made clear from his second epistle. He said: "Grace and peace be multiplied
unto you through a knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord [this knowledge is obtained through the
Word of God, plus faith exercised in a daily experience]. . . . Whereby are given unto us exceeding great
and precious promises [i.e. in the Word of God]: that these ye might be partakers of the divine
nature". He then presents his well-known ladder of Christian virtues: "Add to your faith virtue; and to
virtue knowledge"; etc. See 2 Pet. 1:2-8. Thus he shows that by continual study of the Word of God
there is advancement along the Christian highway until eventually "an entrance shall be ministered unto
you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom" (v. 11). He concludes his epistle by declaring that "they
that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own
destruction. Thus a correct understanding of the Scriptures is not only a safeguard from falling from
grace, but builds one up in the holy faith. His closing words are: "Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know
these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own
steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Pet.
3:16-18).
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Peter exalted the great value of the prophetic word declaring that in it "we have also a more sure word
of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until
the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture
is of any private interpretation" (2 Pet. 1:19 20). "Private interpretations are those superficial
conclusions drawn from a mere surface reading of isolated texts; such do not build up the character.
Peter was not the only apostle to warn against being led into "error", into apostasy, by a superficial
study of the Bible, for the apostle Paul also, in warning the elders in the meeting at Ephesus of the
coming apostasy, said: "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among
you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things.... And now,
brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you-up, and to give
you an inheritance among al them which are sanctified" (Acts 20:29-32).
One who heeds Scriptural injunctions, will "bring forth out of his treasure things new and old" (Matt.
13:52). Jesus admonished: "Search the Scriptures" (John 5:39). "These [the Bereans] were more noble
than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the
Scriptures daily, whether those things were so" (Acts 17:11).
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Hearing that which was new to them, the Bereans, in their wisdom and nobility, searched the Scriptures
to obtain therein the answer to their question, "Are these things true?" Those who follow the
instructions given in the Bible, search the Scriptures daily and thus obtain their "daily bread", and it is
this constancy of supply that is necessary for growth in a normal child or adult in the Christian walk,
even as it is necessary in the natural life. As one progresses in Bible study, one can more readily understand Paul's admonition: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15).
"As knowledge is progressive, so will love, reverence and happiness increase" (GC. 678). Crystal-clear
waters are found in running, streams. Stagnation spells decay and death. Jesus says: "Every branch that
beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.... Herein is My Father glorified, that ye
bear much fruit" (John 15:2, 8). The river seen in Ezekiel's vision (Ezek. 47) deepens as it lengthens. The
third angel's Message is calling a people to come out of Babylon to "the faith of Jesus". "These are they
which were not defiled with women" (Rev. 14:4)that is, not defiled with any of the teachings of
apostate churches. The third angel's Message calls for purity of heart and purity of doctrine. Only "the
pure in heart ... shall see God" (Matt. 5:8; Heb. 12:8). Purity of heart seeks purity of doctrine; purity of
doctrine upholds and develops purity of heart. "Ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth" (1 Pet.
1:22). God has ordained that by prayer and the study of His Word we shall be "changed ... from glory to
glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Cor. 3:18).
"The word of God is the seed. Every seed has in itself a germinating principle. In it the life of the plant is
enfolded. So there is life in God's word....In every command any in every promise of the word of God is
the power, the very life of God, by which the command may be fulfilled and the promise realized. He
who by faith receives the word is receiving the very life and character of God.(C.O.L. 38).
We have seen that The persecuting beast from the abyss rises as the result of kings and multitudes
drinking the wine of Babylon. Now we are able to see from the foregoing that the glory of the light of
the angel with the loud cry comes as the result of a deepening of Christian experience among the people
of God, which comes as the result of a better understanding, a better application, of the mighty truths
contained in all the prophecies. There is abundant reason for believing that an impetus to a more
diligent searching of the Scriptures will come about through light shining from some prophecies that
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have hitherto been misunderstood. Thus it was at Pentecost. We have shown in previous publications,
such as "The Moral Purpose of Prophecy", it was
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when the disciples understood following the death and resurrection of Christ, and doubtless His
personal tuition during the forty days He sojourned with them on earth after His resurrection (see Acts
1:3), the spiritual significance of the prophecies pertaining to Israel, in relation to Jesus reigning in the
church, that Pentecostal power came to them. We shall not commence to state again here what we
have stated in other publications in regard to this important feature. However, we do wish to state that
the latter rain or the loud cry (the same thingsee EW. 27) will be brought about when the church
develops spiritual discernment through a closer, heart-searching study of Scriptures and applies such in
a closer walk with God in the prayer life and daily experience.
Then, as in the days of the early disciples, new light will shine forth from prophecies which today are
misunderstood, in exactly the same way that the disciples misunderstood them in their pre-pentecostal
days. Prophecies that seemed to require a literal fulfillment in or around Jerusalem, were then seen to
have a spiritual fulfillment in a world-wide manner in relation to the church. Similarly today, prophecies
that have been understood as depicting a military conflict in Palestine will be clearly understood as
depicting the final conflict. The light that clears up the misunderstanding concerning the significance of
the portrayal of events under the 6th and 7th plagues also throws a flood of light upon the whole of the
third angel's Message. As God's people see how much is involved in the understanding of the events
under the 6th and 7th plagues they will be amazed to see that practically every last-day prophecy is
involved in their true understanding. As one Scripture is seen to dovetail into all the others, there will
mount up in the heart a solid faith in the certainty of the third angel's Message; a faith that will endure
all the perils and privations of the last days because it will be founded upon the broad foundations of
the whole Bible.
The Lord's servant has repeatedly informed us that clearer light will come and that that clearer light will
result in a mighty revival. Observe the following extracts:
"When we as a people understand what this book means to us, there will be seen among us a great
revival. We do not understand fully the lessons it teaches, notwithstanding the injunction given us to
search and study . . . When the books of Daniel and the Revelation are better understood, believers will
have an entire different religious experience. . .
Those who eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of God will bring from the books of Daniel and
Revelation truth that is inspired by the Holy Spirit. They will start into action forces that can not be
repressed. The lips of children will be opened, to proclaim the mysteries that have been hidden from the
minds of men. . As we near the close of this world's history, the prophecies relating to the last days
especially demand our study. The last book of the New testament scriptures is full of truth that we need
to understand....Our own people need to have the light placed before them in clearer lines." (TM. 113)
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Thus we are informed that clearer light is to shine forth from the books of Daniel and Revelation and
that clearer light will result in "a great revival . . . an entirely different religious experience".
"There are mines of truth yet to be discovered" (5T. 704).
"There are glorious truths to come before the people of God" (8T. 322).
"We have only the glimmerings of the rays of the light yet to come to us" (Rev. and Her., June 3, 1890.)
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"There are old, yet new truths to be added to the treasures of our knowledge" (Rev. and Her., February
25, 1890 .
"There are bright and important truths of which we only discern the shadows" (Ellen G. White, Letter
147, 1897).
"Investigation of every point that has been received as truth will repay the searcher: he will find
precious gems. And in closely investigating every jot and tittle which we think is established truth, in
comparing Scripture with Scripture, we may discover errors in our interpretation of Scripture" (Mrs. E.
G. White, Rev. and Her, July 10, 1889)
"The fact that certain doctrines have been held as truth for many years by our people is not proof that
our ideas are infallible!" (Rev. and Her., December 20, 1892) .
"We cannot hold that a position once taken, an idea once advocated, is not, under any circumstances, to
be relinquished. There is but One Who is infallible He Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (TM
105)
"When God's people are at ease, and satisfied with their present enlightenment, we may be sure that
He will not favour them. It is His will that they should be ever moving forward, to receive the increased
and ever increasing light that is shining for them" (5T. 708, 709)
"New light will ever be revealed on the word of God to him who is in living connection with the Sun of
Righteousness.... The diligent seeker for truth will find precious rays of light yet to shine forth from the
Word of God.... Many gems are yet scattered that are to be gathered together to become the property
of the remnant people of God. . . Let no one come to the conclusion that there is no more truth to be
revealed.... There is no excuse for anyone in taking the position that there is no more truth to be
revealed. . . . We are not safe when we take the position that we will not accept anything else than that
upon which we have settled as truth" (Counsels on Sabbath School Work, p. 34).
Thus, by following all the light God sends His people, they will be led "unto the perfect day", for "the
path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day" (Prov. 4:18).
"Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: His going forth is prepared as the morning" (Hos.
6:3). "If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed" (John 8:31). "These are they which
follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. (Rev. 14:4).
"The loud cry of the third angel has already begun in the revelation of the righteousness of Christ, the
sin-pardoning Redeemer. This is the beginning of the light of the angel whose glory shall fill the whole
earth" (Rev. & Her., Nov. 22, 1892).
The teachings concerning the application of the righteousness of Christ to the heart of believers which
were brought to the people of God at the Minneapolis Conference in 1888, was "the beginning, of the
light of the angel whose glory shall fill the whole earth". Thus we see that by clearer light upon the Scriptures God's people will be led into the fullness of the light borne
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by the angel of Rev. 18:1, the glory of which illuminates the earththat light revealing the righteousness
of Christ will be seen in the lives of God's remnant church. This is the teaching found in so many places
in the Spirit of Prophecy.
The light of the angel of Rev. 18:1 comes from the revelation of the righteousness of Christ as revealed
first from the Word of God and from that Word in the lives of those who accept the truths contained in
the Scriptures. Describing the coming day of revival, the Lord's servant says:
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"In visions of the night representations passed before me of a great reformatory movement among
God's people. Many were praising God. The sick were healed, and other miracles were wrought....
Hundreds and thousands were seen visiting families and opening before them the Word of God. Hearts
were convicted by the power of the Holy Spirit, and a spirit of genuine conversion was manifest. On
every side doors were thrown open to the proclamation of the truth. The seemed to be lightened [Rev.
18:1] with the heavenly influence (9T. 126)
An explanation of Rev. 18: 1, 2, as given by the Spirit of Prophecy, should be carefully noted:
"I saw angels hurrying to and fro in heaven, descending to the earth, and again ascending to heaven,
preparing for the fulfillment of some important event. Then I saw another mighty angel commissioned
to descend to the earth, to unite his voice with the third angel and give power and force to his message.
Great power and glory were imparted to the angel, and as he descended the earth was lightened with
his glory. . The light which attended this angel penetrated everywhere, as he cried mightily, with a
strong voice 'Babylon is fallen'... .
The work of this angel comes in at the right time to join in the last great work of the third angel's
Message, as it swells to a loud cry. And the people of God are thus prepared to stand in the hour of
Temptation, which they are soon to meet. I saw a great light resting upon them, and the united to
fearlessly proclaim the third angels message. (EW 277)
CHAPTER NINETEEN
WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE BEAST
OF REVELATION 13 AND THE WOMAN AND THE
BEAST OF REVELATION 17?
An authoritative statement as to what is designated by the beast of Rev. 13 is given by the servant of the
Lord. She says
"Then to learn what the image is like, and how it is to be formed, we must study the characteristics of
the beast itself the papacy. When the early church became corrupted by departing from the simplicity
of the gospel, she lost the Spirit and power of God; and in order to control the consciences of the
people, she sought the support of the secular power. The result was the papacy, a church that
controlled the power of the State, and employed it to further her own ends, especially for the
punishment of `heresy'. In order for the United States to form an image of the beast, the religious power
must so control the civil government that the authority of the State will also be employed by the church
to accomplish her own ends.
"Whenever the church has obtained secular power, she has employed it to punish dissent from her
doctrines. . . . It was apostasy that led the early church to seek the aid of civil government, and this
prepared the way for the development of the papacythe beast... .
"When the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held by
them in common, shall influence the State to enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions; then
protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman Hierarchy, and the infliction of civil
penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result. . . . The image to the beast represents that form of
apostate Protestantism which will be developed when the Protestant churches shall seek the aid of the
civil power for the enforcement of their dogmas" (GC. 443, 445
Thus we have a clear statement as to what is designated by "the beast" and "an image to the beast". The
beast of Rev. 13 is plainly declared to be "the papacy, a church that controlled the power of the State,
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and employed it to her own end, especially for the punishment of 'heresy'". The image to the beast will
be formed "when the Protestant churches seek the aid of the civil power for the enforcement of their
dogmas". Because in Rev. 17 the woman sits upon the beast, thus representing the church controlling
the State, it is sometimes thought that the beast "from the abyss" (R.V.) cannot be exactly the
equivalent of the leopard beast of Rev. 13, for it takes the woman and the beast to do that. This has led
some to consider that this beast of Rev. 17 finds its counterpart, not in the beast of Rev. 13 but in the
beast of Rev. 11, which is also said to come from the abyss. In another chapter we have shown that the
beast of Rev. 11 does indeed represent a power emerging from the abyss just as it is said concerning the
beast of Rev. 17, but as we have shown, their coming from the abyss is to point to the fact that they are
both of Satanic origin. In Rev. 11 the beast represents the rise of an anti-clerical, atheistic
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power that made war upon the Papal-controlled system operating in France particularly. In Rev. 17 the
beast represents the civil power which does the bidding of the apostate church until the time of the 6th
and 7th plagues, after which it is very similar to the beast of Rev. 11 in its anti-clericalism. However, until
the time of the 6th and 7th plagues the beast of Rev. 17 represents the power of civil governments
which is controlled by the church.
The addition of a womanthe apostate churchto Rev. 17 should not convey the idea that there is a vast
difference between the beast of Rev. 13 and the one of Rev. 17. The beast of Rev. 13 we are informed
by God's servant, represents "the Papacy, a church that controlled the power of the State". That beast's
mouth is said to be "as the mouth of a lion" (the symbol for Babylon in Dan. 7.) Thus Babylon is said in
Rev. 13 to speak for the kingdoms included in the beast. Babylon also in Rev. 17 is pictured as controlling
the beast. Thus in the essential features, the two chapters deal with exactly the same things. By
picturing the woman sitting on beast truth is presented in a clearer, plainer way: the Church controls the
State. Any effort to differentiate between the beasts of Rev. 13 and 17 because in Rev. 17 a woman has
been added to the picture, misses the obvious reason why that woman is brought prominently to view,
namely, to stress the fact that is already indicated in Rev. 13, that the Church controls the State. There
are a number of similarities between the beasts of Rev. 13 and 17, such as both having ten horns, seven
heads, names of blasphemy on their heads, in both there is a death and resurrection, in both this is
followed by the world wondering after the beast.
The additional symbol of the woman in Rev. 17 must not conceal the similarities between the two
beasts. In both instance it represents the State hat becomes a part of the Babylonian system and
enforces Babylonian dogmas. The number and name of the beast ate not said to be the name and
number of the woman. The image of the beast is not said to be the image of the woman. The warning
message (Rev. 14:9-11) is not said to be against the worship of the woman, her image and the reception
of her mark. The beast of Rev. 13 combines both Church and State; in Rev. 17 there is still the same
combination of Church and State, but the woman is shown as a separate entity from the State in order
to make clearer the deceptive part that Babylonian teachings have in causing the States to persecute
God's people. In Rev. 19:19, 20 and 20:4 we do not find that the woman appears as well as the beast,
the Scripture merely refers to "the beast" in these instances which occur after Rev. 17. As we all know,
the beast in these references means the apostate church and the nations under her guidance; thus the
woman is
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again included (in Rev. 19:19, 20; 20:4) in the term "the beast", which shows that the mention of the
woman in addition to the beast in Rev. 17 was only for the purpose of revealing and emphasizing the
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part which the Babylonian teachings and system play in deceiving the world to war against God and His
people.
It would be foolish to seek to make a wide divergence between the woman and the beast when the
Scriptures before and after Rev. 17 employ the term "the beast" when portraying the same work which
is accomplished by the woman and the beast of Rev. 17. In Dan. 7 the "little horn" of "the beast" utters
great words against the Most High, and persecutes His saints "until a time, times, and the dividing of
time", which is the same as the 42 months of Rev. 13. In Rev. 13 it is "the beast" that blasphemes God
and makes war on His saints for 42 months. The "little horn" is said to do what "the beast" is said to do.
The difficulty of making a clear-cut distinction between the "little horn", or church aspect, and "the
beast", or civil aspect, is illustrated by the fact that in Dan. 7:11 we are informed that "the beast" will
continue until it is slain at the time of the second advent "and his body destroyed and given to the
burning flame". In Rev. 13 it is "the beast" whose head receives a "death-stroke"; it is "the beast" that is
"killed with the sword". In Rev. 17:8, 11 it is "the beast" that goes "into perdition", and yet in 2 Thess.
2:3, 4 it is "that man of sin"the Papacythat is called "the son of perdition".
We find the same designations and the same work and fate applied to "the beast", "the little horn", and
"the man of sin". As the Lord does not over-emphasize the distinction between the woman and the
beastthey are partners in the crimes they commit against God and His peopleit is obvious that any
attempt made by expositors to make a wide distinction will result in confusion and misinterpretation.
The little horn of Dan. 7 wears out the saints through the beast, his instrument, over which he reigns.
The beast in Rev. 13 represents the same combination of Church and State in the same symbol, the Lord
thus indicating the closeness of their association or the nearly indivisibility of their power and function.
The beast of Dan. 7, ruled by the little horn, is the same as the beast and the woman of Rev. 17, yet the
beast of, Rev. 13 does the same work, refers to the same powers as the little horn and the beast of Dan.
7, and the woman and the beast of Rev. 17.
The difficulty of differentiating between Church and State in such symbolism is rendered thus because
the same people are often involved in the two aspects of national life. That is to say, men who are kings,
rulers, politicians, or people who support them, are often also at the same time church people. It is the
same
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nation but in it are the throne or Parliament house and the cathedral; the same people hold an
allegiance to both the civil and religious life of the nation. Two separate nations are easily portrayed as
symbols entirely separate because different people and different territories are involved; but such clearcut distinction cannot be made between the civil and religious life of the same people and the same
territory. However, from these prophetic symbols involving Church and State it is made clear that the
apostate church with its assumptive claims to be "the" only true church, being founded upon "the
primacy of St. Peter", and claiming the right to use the strong arm of civil tower in the enforcement of
her dogmas, must have the power of the State as an agent of persecution. It is in this capacity that the
beast of Dan. 7 is shown as the agent of the little horn. The beast of Rev. 17 is also revealed as the agent
upon which the woman depends for the execution of her designs against the true church. While the
woman is said to be drunken with the blood of the saints (Rev. 17:6), the beast also is charged with
making "war with the saints" (Rev. 13:7). Thus the Scriptures do not make a wide distinction between
the woman and the beast, only when seeking to emphasize the important part that doctrines, false
teachings, have in leading the States to persecute the people of God.
The difficulty of differentiating widely between the woman and the beast is further illustrated by
comparing the following extracts from the pen of God's servant: "In the book of Revelation under the
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symbols of a great red dragon, a leopard-like beast, and a beast with lamblike horns are brought to view
those earthly governments which are especially engaged in trampling upon God's law, and persecuting
His people" (GC. 276, 1886 edition).
Having declared, that the lamblike beast is a government, the Lord's servant also applies the symbol of
the lamblike beast to "the churches represented by Babylon". Observe the following extract:
The churches, represented by Babylon are represented as having fallen from their spiritual state to
become a persecuting power against those who keep the commandments of God and have the
testimony of Jesus Christ. To John this persecuting power is represented as having horns like a lamb, but
as speaking like a dragon" (TM. 117).
Thus in the one extract the Lord's servant applies the symbol of the lamblike beast to the government of
the United States and in the other she applies the same symbol to "the churches represented by
Babylon". This is no contradiction, for surely churchmen, or those influenced by church teachings, had
much to do with drafting the original constitution of the United States, and the government today is
surely not devoid of those having some form of church affiliation. When the image to the beast is
formed
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does not the Lord's servant say that it will be "Protestant America" that will form that image? (see GC.
445). In a "Christian" nation where some of the law-makers are also members of churches, where State
and Church personnel commingle, and especially when church men and women exercise strong
influence over the legislators to enforce religious dogmas, it is not easy to exactly define their
boundaries or to make a clear-cut line of distinction between them.
We scarcely need to remind our readers that one of the principles employed in both Daniel and the
Apocalypse is that of "repeat and enlarge". Daniel two is repeated and enlarged upon in Dan. 7; Dan. 7
is also enlarged upon in succeeding chapters, which is also true of chapter 8. The same things are
mentioned with additional features which were intended to be understood in the earlier chapter or
chapters. Thus the woman and the beast mentioned separately in Rev. 17 are the same as the beast in
Rev. 13 which is a combination of the papal church working through the State. The reason why the two
are shown in almost a separate capacity in Rev. 17 is because one of the lessons Heaven seeks in that
chapter to teach the remnant church is that doctrines, the things men believe, determine their actions,
whether good or bad.
In Rev. 13 a church is portrayed as employing the power of the State to further her own ends, especially
with reference to the punishment of heretics. This is precisely what is taught in Rev. 17; the only
difference being that the church or doctrinal aspect is emphasized in order to draw attention to the fact
that it is the doctrines-the doctrines of evils, referred to in the previous chapter, see 16: 13, 14-that lead
the State authorities to be employed as tools in the hands of the Babylonian woman for the persecution
of God's people.
The miracles performed by the "unclean spirits" which enable them to "go forth unto the kings of the
earth and of the whole world" to deceive them into warring against their Maker in obeying His Heavensent Message and persecuting His people, are those performed to give support to the claim that Sunday,
should be observed as the holy day. Those miracles are done in connection with "the mark of the beast"see Rev. 19:20. As the Lord's servant has plainly declared: "The miracle-working power manifested
through Spiritualism will exert its influence against those who choose to obey God rather than men.
Communications from the spirits will declare that God has sent them to convince the rejectors of
Sunday of their error, affirming that the laws of the land should be obeyed as the law of God" (GC. 591).
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It is thus that "the kings of the earth and of the whole world" are gathered "to the battle. of that great
day of God Almighty". (For
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further study regarding this feature of the Revelator's description of e world's final crisis over the
Sabbath, see GC. 561, 562, 623, 656; TM. 465; and other extracts from the servant of the Lord quoted in
my publications dealing with the final conflict and Armageddon.)
The book of Zechariah is one of those books from which John quotes when describing the final conflict,
and there can be no doubt that in his reference to the "unclean spirits" (Rev. 16:13)"the spirits of devils"
(v. 14) who deceive the nations into warring against God and His peoplehe refers back to Zech. 13:2-7.
The work of the gospel (v. 1) is to teach people the truths regarding salvation through the work of Jesus;
those who heed God's Message will thus be freed from "the prophets and the unclean spirit" who have
hitherto deceived the people into believing that they were sent of God, whereas they were only false
prophets, false teachers; and, as such, the betrayers of the Lord Jesus, Who complains that He "was
wounded in the house of My friends" (v. 6) those who professed to serve Him but Who persecuted His
people. Thus we discern the fitness of the application by the Revelator of Zech. 13:2 regarding "the
prophets and the unclean spirit" who deceived Israel and who wounded Christ, when applying such in
reference to "the kings of the earth and of the whole world" being led by false teachers to accept the
false Sabbath because of the mighty miracles that will be wrought to sustain this false claim and who
urge the nations of the world to persecute those who remain loyal to the Sabbath of Jehovah, the sign
of obedience to all of Heaven's requirements.
That one of the outstanding features brought to view in Rev. 17 is the fact that doctrines, beliefs,
teachings determine people's action, is further shown when we remember that in Rev. 14 where the
three-fold message is depicted as warning against the worship of the beast and his image, the people
who give that message are said to 'keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus"
(Rev. 14:2). Because of their loyalty to Heaven's teachings, they are also said to be with Jesus on Mount
Sion, and it is also said of them that they "were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are
they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth" (vs. 1-4). These same people, the remnant people
of God, are specifically declared in Rev. 12:17 to be Commandment keepers, for which reason they are
persecuted. Rev. 12:17 says: "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with
the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus
Christ." Thus, as the woman of Rev. 12 is said to symbolize the people, the church, who obey God's
commandments, it is perfectly obvious in a book where the contending forces are contrasted, that as
the woman
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represents the followers of Jesus who are said to be Commandment keepers, so the woman described in
Rev. 17 must symbolize a church professing to serve and obey the Lord but which actually persecutes
those who obey Him. As all intelligent Protestants know, it is the false doctrines, the false assumptions
of power, the primacy of Peter and such-like superstitious and false teachings, that cause the apostate,
deceived church to afflict the people of God. And, alas, it is through the erroneous teachings concerning
Sunday being the supposed holy day, through belief in the immortality of the soul, and also by such false
conceptions that such beliefs should be enforced upon the people through the State, that Protestants
will join hands with the papal power in persecuting the people of God. To draw attention to the power
of false teachingfalse teaching supposedly based upon the Bible but in actuality opposed to itthe
church aspect of the forces of Babylon is presented somewhat separate from the political power. But
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while that doctrinal aspect is presented as a factor apart from the power of the State, yet even in this
prophecy it is clearly revealed as guiding and directing the State.
As Commandment keepers are represented as being with Christ in Rev. 14:1, 4, 12, so they are also
represented in Rev. 17:14 as being "with Him", as those who "are called, and chosen, and faithful". Rev.
17:8 declares that these people have had their names "written in the book of Life from the foundation
of the world". By comparing Rev. 21:27 with Rev. 22:14 we know that those whose names are written in
the book of Life are the ones who enter the holy city because "they do His commandments". Thus in
Rev. 17 we are shown that evil teachings lead to evil deeds; even leading professing Christians to make
war against God and His people. In this chapter it also shows that following right teachings leads to
persecution, to fellowship with Christ in His sufferings, but ultimate triumph with Him when He
overthrows Satan's evil system of false teaching. It is Babylon's wine, her false teachings, that make the
nations drunksee Rev. 17:2, 4; 18:3. When nations are deceived into believing that Sunday is the day to
be observed, and mighty miracles will apparently sustain that claim; and when nations are deceived into
believing it to be their religious duty to persecute those who refuse to fall into line with what they think
is Christian teaching, then they will be made "drunk with the wine of her fornication", that is, with
Babylon's illicit association with the powers of earth.
God has not empowered any church to increase her membership by uniting with the State; such, in
Bible parlance, is "fornication. Rev. 17 and Rev. 18:1-4, 9 reveal that through false teachings concerning
Sunday observance and the supposed duty of States to enforce this false Sabbath, all the nations of the
world will be
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led to persecute the people of God who remain loyal to the Government of Heaven. It is the womanthe
churchsitting upon the beast who is thus represented as leading the nations to war against God and His
people.
The woman is represented as sitting upon two things: in v. 1 we are informed that "the great whore
sitteth upon many waters", and in v. 3 we read: "And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast".
Verse 7 also speaks of "the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her". Verse 9 contains
a further explanation concerning the woman sitting on the beast, showing that she sat on the beast
during the 7 headsone existing at a time. The angel says: "The seven heads are seven mountains or
governmentssee Jer. 51:25; Dan. 2:35; etc.], on which the woman sitteth; they are seven kings."
Undoubtedly the many waters of the Euphrates upon which this whore sitteth are the same as the beast
upon which she is also said to sit. Now we are definitely informed that "the waters which thou sawest,
where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues". Thus we know that
this is what is also intended by the beast. The waters of the Euphrates refer to those people who do the
bidding of the Babylonian leaders in persecuting the people of God. Thus we are shown that, by the
captivation of Satanic delusions, false teachings that paralyse the spiritual sensibilities and darken the
understanding with reference to the things of God, Babylon sits upon the nations and guides them in
their war against God and His people, and gathers the nations to their doom.
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CHAPTER TWENTY
"THE TEN KINGS ... GIVE THEIR POWER AND STRENGTH UNTO THE BEAST"-DOES THIS
INDICATE THAT THEY DO NOT GIVE THEIR POWER UNTO THE WOMAN WHO RIDES AND
GUIDES THE BEAST? WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS WORDING?
The fact that the angel states concerning the kings that "these have one mind, and shall give their
strength unto the beast (Rev. 17:12, 13) has led some to conclude that there is a great difference
between them giving their strength unto the beast and their giving it unto the woman. But surely such
fail to see that the beast is under the control and guidance of the woman. What else is to be understood
by the prophetic symbolism of the woman sitting upon the beast upon whose 7th head are the ten
horns representing the kings? The whole picture presents the tremendous power of the womanshe
guides, controls, and dictates to the beast, and especially is this so regarding the 7th head and its ten
horns. The kings' gift of "power and strength unto the beast" is not intended to convey anything else
than that not only does the beast do the bidding of the woman but that she also influences the kings to
assist the beast in accomplishing her desires. The whole of this prophecy supports the view that these
kings give their power and strength unto the beast in accomplishing the will of the wily, wicked woman.
This is the explicit declaration of this chapter. Verse 18 read: 'And the woman which thou sawest is that
great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." Thus it is because this woman reigneth over
these kings of the earth" that they do her bidding and "give their power. and strength unto the beast".
The same fact is abundantly clear in the two verses which explain why the kings give their power and
strength unto the beast: "These have(one mind)and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
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 are called, and chosen, and faithful" (vs. 13, 14). That is, they
give their power and strength unto the beast in making war against Christ and His people. As stated by
the Spirit of Prophecy: Under one headthe Papal powerthe people will unite to oppose God in the
person of His witnesses" 7T. 182). Is this not the same conflict foretold in Rev. 12:17: "And the dragon
was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the
commandments of God, and have the
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testimony of Jesus". Commenting upon this verse, the Lord's Servant says:
"The dignitaries of church and State will unite to . . . compel all classes to honour the Sunday ...
oppressive enactments, . . . Liberty of conscience, which has cost so great a sacrifice, will no longer be
respected. In the soon-coming conflict we shall see exemplified the prophet's words : 'The dragon was
wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed"' (GC. 592). "The church
appeals [the woman on the beast guides and controls] to the strong arm of civil power, and in this work,
Papists and Protestants unite." (GC. 445). "When the churches of the United States ... shall influence the
State to enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions, then Protestant America will have formed
an image of the Roman hierarchy . . . when the Protestant churches shall seek the aid of the civil power
for the enforcement of their dogmas" (GC. 445).
"Satanic agencies have been moved from beneath, and they have inspired men to unite in a confederacy
of evil, that they may perplex, harass, and cause the people of God great distress. The whole world is to
be stirred with enmity against Seventh-day Adventists because they will not yield homage to the papacy,
by honouring Sunday, the institution of this anti-Christian power. It is the purpose of Satan to cause
them to be blotted from the earth, in order that his supremacy of the world may not be disputed... .
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"Kings and rulers and governors have placed upon themselves the brand of anti-christ, and are
represented as the dragon who goes to make war with the saints" (TM. 37, 39.)
Thus the servant of the Lord makes it clear that it is the church, the woman, who rides and guides the
beast of persecution. Again the Lord's servant says:
"The fallen denominational churches are Babylon. Babylon has been fostering poisonous doctrines, the
wine of error. . . These and kindred errors are presented to the world by the various churches, and
thus the Scriptures are fulfilled that say, 'For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her
fornication.' It is a wrath which is created by false doctrines, and when kings and presidents drink this
wine of the wrath of her fornication, they are stirred with anger against those who will not come into
harmony with the false and satanic heresies which exalt the false Sabbath, and lead men to trample
underfoot God's memorial.... But Omnipotence will interpose, and to the apostate churches that unite in
the exaltation of Satan, the sentence will go forth, 'Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death,
and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who
judgeth her"' (TM. 61, 62).
It will be observed that the Lord's servant places the blame for the persecution of God's people in the
last day by the kings of earth to the teaching of Papal errors by apostate Protestant churches. The
churches ride and guide the States to engage in war against the Lamb "in the person of His witnesses".
The kings give their power and strengths unto the beast of persecution because the woman has given
them the wine of false teachings: "For all nations have drunk of the wine of her fornication, and the
kings of the earth have committed fornication with her" see Rev. 17:2; 18:3, 9; 19:2. This is one of the
outstanding facts of this prophecy: "the great whore . . . with whom the kings of the earth have
committed fornication" (Rev. 17:2) "And the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her"
(Rev. 8:3); "And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her"
(v. 9); "the great whore
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which did corrupt the earth with her fornication" (Rev. 19:2). Of the kings who give their power and
strength unto the beast, it is repeatedly declared that they thus associate with the beast of persecution
in order to please the whore with whom they have illicit association. They give their power and strength
unto the beast because of the wine given them by the woman. Thus to suggest that when the kings give
their power and strength unto the beast they do not do so to the woman is surely to fail to grasp the
essence of this important feature of this prophecy.
It will be observed that in the extract given above (TM. 62), the Lord's servant, after showing how the
churches will influence the kings to enforce church dogmas which will result in the persecution of God's
people, then shows how the Lord will intervene to overthrow the Babylonian whore"the Lamb shall
overcome them" (Rev. 17:14)and quotes the prophecy, "And she shall be utterly burned with fire: for
strong is the Lord Who judgeth her". Thus the burning of Babylon, which is depicted in Rev. 17:16 as the
burning of the whore and in Rev. 18:8-18 as a city, and again in Rev. 19:2, 3 as the burning of the whore,
follows the Lord's intervention on behalf of His people at the time of the opening of the 7th plague.
Until then the beast and the ten kings do the bidding of the Babylonian whorethe kings give their
power and strength unto the beast to persecute the saints at the behest of the woman; this is the
teaching as outlined in the extracts given above from the pen of the servant of the Lord: "Kings, and
rulers, and governors have placed upon themselves the brand of antichrist, and are represented as the
dragon who goes to make war with the saints" (TM. 39)-at whose bidding do they do this? As the Lord's
servant has shown the persecution 's brought, about b the churches constituting "Babylon", "the various
churches", given the kings and nations "'the wine of the wrath of her fornication . It is a wrath which is
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created by false doctrines, and when kings and residents drink this wine Io the wrath of her fornication,
they are stirred with anger against those who will not come into harmony with the false and satanic
heresies which exalt the false sabbath" (TM. 62 Thus the Lord's servant teaches that the kings do give
their power and strength unto the woman when they assist the beast in persecuting God's people.
Had the prophecy stated that the kings would give their power and strength unto the woman it could
have been misunderstood to mean that in some way there was variance between the beast and the
kings, but the forcefulness of the wording is given thus to convey the unity that exists between the beast
and the kings in executing the will of the wicked woman. We have shown elsewhere in this book that
this picture of unity between the forces of
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Babylon is maintained until the opening of the 7th plague when, through the intervention of God on
behalf of His people, in the language of the Revelator, "the great city is divided into three parts" (Rev.
16:19). The unity between Roman Catholics, Protestants, and State authorities is brought about by false
teachings, particularly those relating to Sunday sacredness and the union of Church and State in order
to enforce church dogmas through the civil power. The union of Church and State is one of the main
features of this prophecy. The Babylonian whore became such when she had illicit association with State
powers, and the expression "Mother of harlots" points to the fact that her daughters the churches
which have come out of Rome following the Reformationbecame harlots also by having illicit
association with the States. Thus the prophecy focuses upon the very last days when the true church will
be brought into a position of peril through Roman Catholic and Protestant churches guiding the States to
enforce Sunday laws. Thus the beastthe civil power of those nations which already are largely Roman
Catholicwill be assisted by all other kings even protestant countries, to do the bidding of Papal and
Protestant churches.
We scarcely need to point out that it is futile to look for exactly ten kings who will thus serve the
interests of Babylon. The number ten is employed in Scripture in a comprehensive way: The Ten
Commandments comprehend all the moral laws ("If there be any other commandment, it is briefly
comprehended in this saying, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself"; this, Paul declared after having
quoted 5 of the 6 Commandments pertaining to man's duty to his fellowmen. Rom. 13:9). Jesus is said to
be "the chiefest among ten thousand" (Solomon's Song 5:10), surely meaning the chiefest of all. The
tenth or the tithe indicates that God is the owner of all we possess. Then when we compare passages in
the Apocalypse we discern that it is the same conflict that is described from Rev. 12 to Rev. 20 and in
that conflict it is "the kings of the earth and of the whole world" (Rev. 16:14); "the kings of the earth"
(Rev. 1:5; 6:15; 9:19) who are involved, not just ten. It is these same "kings of the earth" who commit
fornication with the whoresee Rev. 17:2; 18:3, 9. Thus there can be no question that when the kings
give their power and strength unto the beast they do so at the behest of the Babylonian whore. And
why do they give their power to the beast? The very next verse makes it clear by saying, These shall
make war with the Lamb" "in the person of His witnesses". Babylon's whore is spiteful against the
Lamb's bride, His church, the woman of Rev. 12, and she employs all the powers of earth against the
remnant churchshe guides the beast to do this deadly work and the ten horns, the kings of the earth,
give their power
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and strength unto the beast for this purpose.
Having thus made "war with the Lamb"the beast is set forth in opposition to the Lamb, as the
Babylonian woman is set forth in opposition to the true church depicted as a pure woman in Rev. 12the
Lamb makes war against the forces of Babylon (Rev. 17:14) and the first thing He does is to break up the
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unity of the trinity of evil. This He accomplishes when He utters His voice and thus brings deliverance to
His people and consternation to their enemies (Rev. 16:17, 18). The drying up of the waters of the
Euphrates which is mentioned in Rev. 16:12 is also intimated in Rev. 17:1, 15. It will be observed that
Rev. 17:14 brings us to the time when the kings associate with the beast who does the bidding of the
evil woman, and thus this evil trinity makes war against the Lamb, "and the Lamb shall overcome them".
This He accomplishes, first, by drying up the waters of the Euphrates which are explained in the very
next verse (15): "The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes,
and nations, and tongues". Here we see the worldwide wide scope of the symbol of the beast and the
ten horns. The woman is said to sit on two things: (1) "The great whore sitteth upon many waters" (Rev.
17:1) which, as indicated by the marginal reference, is a direct quotation from Jer. 51:13 concerning
ancient Babylon sitting upon the waters of the Euphrates. The woman is also said (2) to "sit upon a
scarlet coloured beast" (v. 3). Obviously the explanation given of the symbol of the waters of the
Euphrates covers also what is intended by the beast upon which she is also said to sit. Therefore as the
waters of the Euphrates are said to refer to "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues", so the
same is implied by the beast with the ten horns. The waters of the Euphrates served to make Babylon a
prosperous city; similarly the beast and the ten horns serve to make modern Babylon prosperous. Either
symbol serves the interests of Babylon.
When the Lord intervenes on behalf of His people, when "the Lamb shall overcome" the forces of
Babylon (v. 14) He dries up the waters of the Euphrates (v. 15) so that they no longer serve Babylon.
Then, the religious leaders, forced by the terrifying manifestations of God's almighty power, make
confession of their deceptions which have misled their followers to persecute God's people; then, as
shown in the next verse: "The ten horn which thou sawest and the beast, these shall hate the harlot,
and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her utterly with fire. For God
did put in their hearts to do His mind, and to come to one mind, and to give their kingdom unto the
beast, until the words of God should be fulfilled" (vs. 16, 17, R.V,). Thus by the 6th plague poured out
upon Babylon, her
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supporters cease aiding her. As Cyrus turned the waters aside and thus prevented them running
through the city of Babylon, and as that became a menace to her safety, so the Lord will turn aside the
support the people and nations have accorded Babylon and make that the first cause of her sudden loss
of power, followed by her destruction "The ten horns that you saw, and the Beastthey will all hate the
Prostitute, and cause her to become deserted and strip her bare" (20th Cent. N.T.).
An illustration of what will occur then has already been given in Rev. 11. Here an anti-clerical beast rises
from the bottomless pit"a new manifestation of Satanic power . . . some power of Satanic origin and
character" (GC. 268, 9)which attacks the Papacy that had been attacking the church of Jesus, which is
represented in v. 2 as "the holy city". Remember the principle of opposites we have shown to operate
throughout the Apocalypse concerning the opposing forces of good and evil. In Rev. 11 there are two
cities brought to view: (1) "The holy city" (v. 2), the symbol for "the true church", see GC. 266; and "the
great city", the designation employed in the Revelation for Babylon, the false church. Verses 2, 3 have
shown that the forces of Babylon trod "the holy city ... under foot forty and two months", but the Lord in
His infinite wisdom permitted the rise of anti-clerical forces, particularly in France, where Protestants
had suffered so shamefully through the connivance of Papal authorities.
"But the outworking of all this was widely different from what Rome had purposed. Instead of holding
the masses in a blind submission to her dogmas, her work resulted in making them infidels and
revolutionists. . . . They beheld the clergy as a party to their oppression. . . . Rome had ground down the
people under her iron heel; and now the masses, degraded and brutalized, in their recoil from her
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tyranny cast off all restraint. . . . Where France, under the influence of Romanism, had set up the first
stake at the opening of the Reformation, there the Revolution set up its first guillotine. . All too well the
people had learned the lessons of cruelty and torture which Rome had so diligently taught. A day of
retribution at last had come. . . . Unsparing Rome now felt the deadly power of those whom she had
trained to delight in deeds of blood the Roman Catholic clergy experienced all those woes which their
church had so freely inflicted on the gentle heretics" (GC. 281-283)
In that terrible time of retribution Rome reaped as she had sown: "There was a great earthquake and
the tenth part of the city fell." (Rev. 11:13). Then, it was only a "tenth part of the city [of Babylon] that
fell", but it was given by God as an indication of what will actually transpire all over the world when the
whole of the city of Babylon will fall. That, symbolic earthquake (GC. 286) marked the time for the
tenth part of the city" of Babylon to fall, and that is a pointer directing us to the great and mighty
earthquake which will shake the whole planet when the time has come for God to intervene on behalf
of His persecuted people. Directing us to that time, the Revelator says: "And the 7th angel poured out
his vial into the air; and there came a great
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voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done . . . and there was a great
earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
And the great city was divided into three parts" (Rev. 16:17-19).
Thus we see definitely linked together in the Revelation the retribution which befell the forces of
Babylon in France as an indication of what will occur in all the world when the hour comes for the Lord
to intervene on behalf of His people. Then, the State and the people who had served the Papacy became
her enemies bent upon her destruction. Thus will it be when the Lord brings confusion into the ranks of
Babylon in the last days. "The great city" will be "divided into three parts"; first the beast and the kings
hate the whore and destroy her, and then they turn upon each other with mutual hate and mutual
slaughter. One of the reasons for stating that the kings would give their power and strength unto the
beast is to indicate that they are united in their purpose to serve the Babylonian whore, and then, when
God intervenes and thus reveals to them that they have been deceived by the Babylonian whore, they
are united in their common objective to destroy in her. Thus in vs. 12, 13 they are pictured as being
united in serving the Babylonian whore before the waters of the Euphrates are dried up when the Lamb
makes war upon the forces of Babylon (vs. 14, 15); and then, after that, they are, united in their hatred
and slaughter of the whore. Thus the kings do give their power and strength unto the woman through
the beast which she rides and guides until after the 6th plague, when they join with the beast in
destroying her.
It may be noted that the kings destroy the Babylonian whore under the 7th plague, at which time the
Lord puts forth His hand to completely destroy Babylonsee Rev. 16:19. The 7th plague occupies but a
very brief space of timeonly a few days, we have shown in "God Speaksand Israel Triumphs".
Now, as the kings destroy the Babylonian whore under the 7th plague it shows that they have not
destroyed each other under the 6th plague in some supposed military conflict in far-away Palestine. The
beast and the ten horns are united in their determination to destroy the whorethis refers to events to
transpire under the 7th plague. However, after having destroyed the whore the kings engage then in
mutual slaughter of each other. It should be noted that the destruction of the spiritual leadersthe
Babylonian whoreand the slaughter among kings, rulers, governors, presidents and those in civil
administrationrepresented by the beast and the ten hornspictures the internal experiences of all
nations. For in each nation the religious leaders are slain by the multitudes who have been deceived by
them. And the picture always presented in the Spirit of Prophecy concerning
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178
those solemn days is that after the multitudes have turned with fury upon their false spiritual advisers,
they then turn upon each other to slay every man his neighbour with the swords which they have raised
to kill the people of God.--see GC. 655, 656; EW. 290.
Thus it can readily be seen that such a state of internal disruption, slaughter and utter chaos in each
nation would render it impossible for nations at that time to be organized for a supposed conflict in
Palestine. When it is remembered that God's wrath then being poured out causes the earth's surface to
be utterly broken up (see GC. 636-640), and that the unsaved are then terrorized by the fearful
demonstrations of the almighty power of God, each thinking of his own personal fate and of his
immediate surroundings, seeing no future for himself or for his nation, etc., the thought of a literal
gathering of all nations to Palestine under the 6th or 7th plagues is shown to be an absurdity.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
REVELATION 17 DEPICTS THE LAST CONFLICT IN THE LONG CONTROVERSY BETWEEN
THE FORCES OF GOOD AND EVIL, THE BEAST AND THE 7 HEADS ARE NOT SYMBOLS
DEPICTING ONLY ROMAN POWER.
The symbols employed in Rev. 17 cannot be limited to the power and circumstances associated with
Rome. Undoubtedly the things of papal Rome loom large in this chapter, but it has been a mistake for
commentators to arbitrarily confine their application to the things of Romeand a colossal blunder when
applied in relation to the literal city of Rome. The dragon of Rev. 12 symbolizes more than pagan Rome.
The seven heads and ten horns on the symbolic beasts of Rev. 12, 13, 17 are thus presented to express
the continuity of the evil powers depicted; so that a connection will be observed between these three
powers. Undoubtedly the seven heads denote the enemies of the people of God and are not intended to
refer to merely different forms of Roman government. The dragon existed before pagan Rome, though it
certainly continued in Rome. In this connection observe the following extract from Ellicott's
Commentary, notes on Revelation, p. 157:
The dragon is the emblem of the evil spirit; he devil, the persecutor of the Church in all ages,(compare
Ps. 74:1): just as the dragon is sometimes employed to represent the Egyptian power, the ancient foe of
Israel (Isa. 51:9; Ezek. 29:3).
"The serpent was used as an emblem of the evil principle (compare Gen. 3:1). But the head of the
ancient foe of man is now bruised: he is the devil" (ibid. p. 161, notes on Rev. 12:9).
The dragon, or serpent, is not here introduced as something new in the realm of Bible symbolismsuch
have already been employed in the Scriptures as symbols of the enemies of God and His church. Thus
this dragon, of Rev. 12 cannot be confined to Rome. The Apocalypse does not labour to present details
concerning the internal forms of merely the Roman government. To the contrary, John takes the many
details which are given in the Old Testament and concentrates them when giving his pictures. From
Ellicott's Commentary on Revelation, p. 266, I quote:
"It seems to the present writer that the genius of the Apocalypse is concentration; that which to earlier
prophets was seen in detail is to the Christian seer grouped. Daniel saw four beasts, uniting in himself all
the early, present, and future manifestations of that world-empire which has ever been hostile to the
spiritual kingdom."
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The 7 heads of the dragon (Rev. 12), the beast (Rev. 13), and the scarlet coloured beast of Rev. 17, have
been interpreted as referring to the 7 different forms of Roman governmentthe Kingly, Consular,
Decemvirate, Dictatorial, Triumvirate, Imperial, (Exarch of Ravennathe one which was to "continue a
short space", Rev. 17:10), and the Papal.
One objection to the belief that 7 heads represent 7 different forms of Roman government is that there
is a difference made between the kingly and the imperial forms of government. But the Scriptures do
not distinguish between kingly and imperial governments. The king of Persia, for example, was called
king, while his kingdom was termed an empire, see Esther 1:20. Then among the Jews the emperor of
Rome was styled "king" (John 19:15; 1 Pet. 2:17). As therefore the kingly and imperial forms of
government are one and the same in the Scriptures, no cognizance would be taken of them in the
prophetic symbolism. There would not be two heads representing what other parts of the Scripture
present as belonging to the same type of government.
Also it is most unlikely that such insignificant changes in an earthly government as those, for example,
from the government of triumvirs to that of decemvirs would be brought to view in such a book as
Revelation, which takes the whole worldthe mighty eventsinto its compass. This view is further
supported by the fact that no such insignificant change of government is noted in any prophetic
symbolism. The Revelator, instead of going into details, rather takes the details given in the Old
Testament and concentrates them in groups to form his imagery. Many texts from the Old Testament
are used in forming one of his pictures.
Then, again, the angel interprets the 7 heads as 7 "kings", and this word is used in Daniel (which is the
basis of the Apocalyptic references to the Roman beast with the ten horns) in respect to different
kingdoms, embracing other territories, and other subjects. To apply the "kings" to refer to governmental
adjustments of the same nation seems untenable in the light of other Scriptures. The necessity,
according to the teaching that makes the 7 heads refer to different forms of Roman Government, of
introducing the Exarch of Ravenna, which "for about the space of sixty years governed Rome" (Daniel
and the Revelation, p. 727, old edition), as the 7th head, and not counting it because of its brevity, is to
directly contradict the prophecy itself, for the prophecy says concerning the 7th head: "And when he
cometh, he must continue a short space", or "a little while" (R.V.). Thus the
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7th head is there, it is counted, and is the one head among all the others which comes in for special
mention. More is said of it than all the others combined. Instead of being passed over as if unimportant,
it is particularly selected because of the great part it will play in the closing scenes. A scheme of
interpretation which has to drop out altogether one of the heads, especially that 7th head which is
particularly pointed out, and which we know from the use of the number 7 in the prophecies of the
Revelation will continue until the time of the second advent, is not in accordance with correct exegesis
of the Book of Truth.
If the Exarch of Ravenna was depicted in the prophecy as the 7th form of Roman government, then the
Exarch of Ravenna was the 7th head of the persecuting beast. And if that were so then the 8th head
would be a revival of the Exarch of Ravennaand no one is likely to advance that idea. If the Exarch of
Ravenna is the 7th head, then the Papacy should be left out, for the beast has only 7 heads. Either the
Exarch of Ravenna is one of the headsthe 7th according to the theory under reviewor it is not.
Concerning the 7th head we read: "And when he cometh he must continue a short space", or "a little
while" (R.V.). It would seem a remarkable thing that this is the only one of the heads about which
anything is said with respect to its duration. This is an important feature in this prophecy, not only
because of its uniqueness in contrast to the silence of this feature regarding the other heads, but also
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because it has a bearing upon the statement made regarding the ten horns, or the ten kings, that
"receive power as kings one hour with the beast" (v. 12). Thus the "short space", or "little while" finds a
parallel in the time the ten kings enjoy power with this resurrected beast for "one hour". Now to wave
this important feature aside as of no importance reveals a failure to grasp the import of much of this
prophecy.
It is certainly most incongruous to reason in reference to the "short space", or "little while" which is
specifically and uniquely mentioned as the duration of the 7th head, that it refers to the Exarch of
Ravenna, whose rule "for about the space of sixty years" was of short duration in comparison with that
of the Imperial or of the Papal There is no intimation that this comparison is to be made with only two of
the heads (if Rome pagan and papal may be represented by two headsrespecting this, see a later
chapter) to the exclusion of the others. Those who make the comparison between the rule of the Exarch
of Ravenna and that of the Imperial and Papal forms of Roman government conveniently omit making a
similar comparison with all the forms of Roman government which they have thought represented by
the heads. The following extract from Tacitus, which is quoted in the Commentary on the Book of
Revelation, by Albert Barnes, will no doubt be helpful to the reader:
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"In the beginning, Rome was governed by Kings. Then L. Brutus gave her liberty and the Consulship. A
temporary power was conferred on the Dictators. The authority of the Decenivirs did not continue
beyond the space of two years: neither was the consular power of the Military Tribunes of long
duration. The rule of Cinna and Sylla was brief, and the power of Pompey and Crassus passed into the
hands of Caesar, and the arms of Lepidus and Antony were surrendered to Augustus, who united all
things broken by civil discord, under the name of Prince in the Imperial government'. Here Tacitus
distinctly mentions the six forms of administration that had prevailed in Rome, the last of which was the
Imperial."
Commenting upon what he thought might be the 7th head"some form of administration lying between
the decline of the Imperial and the rise of the Papal power", Barnes says:
"Now, there can be no difficulty, I think, in referring this to that form of administration over Romethat
'dukedom' under the exarchate of Ravenna, which succeeded the decline of the Imperial power, and
which preceded the rise of the Papal power; between the year 566 or 568, when Rome was reduced to a
dukedom, under exarchate of Ravenna, and the time when the city revolted from this authority and
became subject to the Pope, about the year 727. This period continued, according to Mr. Gibbon, about
two hundred years. He says: `During a period of two hundred years, Italy was unequally divided between
the kingdom of the Lombards and the exarchate of Ravenna. Dec. and Fall, III, 202....
"This was to `continue for a short space'for a little time. If this refers to the power to which in the
remarks above it is supposed to refer, it is easy to see the propriety of this statement. Compared with
the previous form of administrationthe Imperialit was of short duration; absolutely considered, it was
brief. Mr. Gibbon (III. 202) has marked it as extending through à period of two hundred years'; and if
this is compared with the form of administration which preceded it, extending to more than five
hundred years, and more especially with that which followedthe Papal formwhich has extended now
some twelve hundred years, it will be seen with what propriety this is spoken of as continuing for 'a
short space.' "
Godly men who wrote their commentaries a century ago presented such thoughts in the fear of God,
and we who live in these later years owe such men a debt of gratitude for their guidance in the
understanding of the Scriptures. When, through the increasing light the Lord has shone upon our
pathway to meet the coming storm, we observe a weakness in an argument employed by men who
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wrote so long ago, we undertake to point out that weakness with due deference to the nobility of the
men whose thoughts we review. In the interest of truth alone we point out that nowhere are we
directed to make comparison of the "short space" of time of the reign of the 7th head with the 6th, or
even with the supposed eighth head. Comparing the "two hundred years" quoted by Barnes from
Gibbon, or even "for the space of sixty years" stated by Uriah Smith, with that of the length of time
during which the Decemvirs exercised authority, which "did not continue beyond the space of two
years", such a line of reasoning is revealed as being incongruous. To quote 200 years or 60 years as
fulfilling the prescribed "short space", or "little while" of the 7th head because the one before it and the
one after it were longer is to advance a human argument that overlooks the fact that
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in comparison with the two years of the Decemvirs it was a very long period. Surely the Lord would have
made it clear that He meant the comparison of the duration of time to be occupied by the 7th head to
be only with the Imperial and Papal heads to the exclusion of any heads occupying a shorter space of
time!
Restricting the application of the persecuting beast to Rome, Uriah Smith interpreted the 7 heads to
different forms of Roman government. The three phases of the beast "was, and is not, and shall
ascend"he also interpreted as referring to (1) "Thus Rome in its pagan form was a persecuting power in
its relation to the people of God, during which time it constituted the beast that was"; (2) during the
transition from pagan to Papal Rome "it lost its ferocious and persecuting character, and then it could be
said of the beast that it was not"; (3) during the period of Papal persecution-"then it constituted the
beast that 'yet is', or in John's day was to be".
This line of reasoning fails in two respects: (1) In John's day it could not be said that the beast was", a
thing of the past, for John himself was suffering persecution at that very time from imperial, pagan
Rome; (2) the woman is pictured as sitting upon the beast during the period of the 7 heads, and if the
woman and the beast are taken to represent the Roman church and the 7 different forms of Roman
government, this would present the woman as representing the Roman church, which arose after the
different forms of pagan Roman government had passed away, sitting upon those various governments!
This of course is impossible, for a woman coming into being centuries afterwards cannot sit upon
different forms of government which existed centuries before her.
It was natural for Uriah Smith to limit the things of Rev. 17 to the things of pagan and papal Rome,
because he had not a clear understanding of the final conflict pictured in Rev. 16. Believing that the
Papacy had passed the peak of its power and was on the way out, as it looked at the time he wrote, he
interpreted the main features of this prophetic delineation as a portrayal of past papal power; whereas
the main features of this prophecy have been given to outline the fierceness of the final conflict brought
about by the resurrection of papal power, combined with the power of apostate Protestantism using the
power of the State for the enforcement of the Papal Sunday.
Borrowing thoughts from Protestant commentators (who did not understand that apostate
Protestantism shares Heaven's condemnation as being a part of the Babylonian system), brother Smith
applied the 7 heads of the beast to "the seven forms of government that have existed in the Roman
Empire". However, the committee appointed to revise "Daniel and the Revelation"
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were apparently unanimous that this exposition should be deleted from the revised edition, and so,
accordingly, it does not appear in the revised edition. Such an application as given in the previous
editions of U. Smith's commentary cannot be made to fit in with the facts of history. As the revisers of
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"Daniel and the Revelation" have shown by their deletion of this application from the revised edition
that they have rejected that application, we need not continue to point out the incongruities of that old
Protestant belief.
Undiscerning Protestants who interpreted "that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth"
(Rev. 17:18) to mean the literal city of Rome could not help but fail to grasp the magnitude of the events
depicted in this majestic prophecy. The angel specifically informed John that "the woman which thou
sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth". By that incongruous interpretation
of attempting to make it all fit in with the literal city of Rome, this woman is thus interpreted to mean
the city of Rome. If that were the interpretation intended, then when that woman is to be burned with
fire, that would mean the burning of the literal city of Rome! As the ten horns or ten kings are to "hate
the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire" (v.
16), that would then mean that such a fate is to befall the literal city of Rome!! That, of course, throws
the significance of this prophecy completely out of balance. This woman is said in v. 1 to sit upon many
waters, and those many waters are distinctly stated in v. 15 to mean "peoples, and multitudes, and
nations, and tongues"the same people to whom the three-fold message of Rev. 14:6-12 is heralded.
Thus an application of that woman and city to the city of Rome would mean that the third angel's
message is merely a message to be proclaimed in the city of Rome!! That woman in v. 5 is designated
"Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth". Have apostate Protestant
bodies come from the literal city of Rome or are they the offspring of Satan's principles of rebellion
which he fostered in ancient Babylon, and which have spread to the world? God's people are called out
of Babylondoes that mean that they are called out of the literal city of Rome? The wine of Babylon, and
the fall of Babylonare they limited to the literal city of Rome? The burning of Babylon described in Rev.
18. that Babylon that receives the wrath of Almighty God, is it the literal city of Rome?
"That great city" is employed in the Apocalypse to designate the false Babylonian system of worship. In
his pride, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, boasted of the "great Babylon" he had builtsee Dan. 4:30.
The Revelator builds up his prophetic imagery depicting the work and doom of modern Babylon by
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quotations from the Old Testament concerning the work and overthrow of ancient Babylon. Thus he
refers back to Daniel's account concerning the pride of the ancient king of Babylon when he repeatedly
employs that word "great" when describing modern Babylon. By that simple word alone, and there are
many such connecting links employed throughout the Apocalypse, we understand that the word
Babylon, "that great city", does not in any sense refer to the literal city of Rome, but to Satan's counterfeiting system of worship. Notice the following texts in which the emphasis is upon the word "great"
coupled with "Babylon": "Babylon . . . that great city" (Rev. 14:8); "great Babylon" (Rev. 16:19); "Babylon
the Great" (Rev. 17:5); "the woman ... that great city" (v. 18); "Babylon the great" (Rev. 18:2); "that great
city Babylon, that mighty city" (v. 10); "this great city" (v. 18); "that great city Babylon" (v. 21); "the great
whore" (Rev. 19:2). By that one word "great" we know that the literal city of Rome is not intended in
Rev. 17:18, but is a designation employed in the Apocalypse referring to Satan's world-wide false system
of worship which is contrasted with the world-wide Jerusalem, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That woman labeled "Babylon the Great" is a symbol of Satan's false system of religion which goes back
to ancient Babylon. This was the very first feature brought to view in the description of the beast in Rev.
13. In his description of the beast which arose out of the sea, John traces the power of the papacy back
to ancient Babylon. He refers back to the vision of Daniel 7 where the four beasts represented the four
world powers: Babylon (the lion), Medo-Persia (the bear), Grecia (the leopard), and Rome (the
nondescript beast). It will be observed in Rev. 13:2 that the beast John describes "was like a leopard
[Grecia], and his feet were as the feet of a bear [Medo-Persia], and his mouth as the mouth of a lion
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[Babylon]". Thus it will be seen that in the very first description of this beast, not only are we led back to
ancient Babylon, but we are distinctly informed that the part of the Papal power which speaksits
mouthis that of the lion's or Babylon's.
Two cities are brought prominently to view in the prophetic symbols of the Apocalypse: Jerusalem and
Babylon. Now it is perfectly obvious that any attempt to literalize the Revelator's references to Babylon
and make them apply in a limited sense to the literal city of Rome, requires that Jerusalem also be
limited to some such literal city. But we know that such an application would bring about hopeless
confusion in the understanding of the Apocalypse. In Rev. 11:2 "the holy city" undoubtedly means "the
true church", which is the interpretation given by the Spirit of Prophecysee GC. 266. Thus as Jerusalem
in the symbolism of the Apocalypse means "the true church", so "Babylon" in the
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Apocalypse can be employed only as a symbol of "the untrue church, the apostate church"see GC. 383,
603, 606; TM. 61; also my previous publication "The Fall of Babylon in Type and Antitype".
The woman in the symbolism of Rev. 12 refers to more than the Christian Church, or the church
subsequent to the ascension of Jesus to the heavenly courts to plead His precious blood on our behalf,
for this woman is introduced as wearing "a crown of twelve stars"the number of the 12 tribes of Israel.
She thus symbolizes the faithful of Old Testament times as well as those who are of the church with 12
apostles. This view is further maintained when it is observed that this woman has an existence before
the birth of her baby, which all will agree is Jesus our Lord. The faithful of the Old Testament times did
cry for the coming of the promised seedthe seed of the womanwhich was promised in Eden to our
first parents (see Gen. 3:15). While thus taking our minds back to the very first promise of the coming of
the world's Redeemer, given immediately after the fall of Adam and Eve in Eden, the Revelator at the
same time also directs our minds back to the commencement of Satan's evil machinations against the
government of God (vs. 3, 4, 7-9). Thus the Revelator traces the mighty conflict between the forces of
good and evil from its inception up in the courts of glory, through the initial stages of sin in this world
and down through the ages until the birth of Christ. Then he proceeds to unfold the development of that
conflict as a professing Christian church takes up its fight against the people of God, until the remnant of
that woman's seed face the roaring dragon in the final conflict over the Law of God. It is the same
woman down through all those ages, and it is the same dragon. As Rev. 17 depicts the same controversy
with special emphasis and enlargement upon the final conflict, which is intimated in Rev. 12:17, its
symbols must also be interpreted in the light of the age-long, world-wide controversy between the
forces of good and evil. Thus the woman of Rev. 17, like the woman of Rev. 12, must be understood as
symbolizing the false system of salvation which Satan has employed down through the ages to deceive
people and to employ them as the persecutors of the people of God. Thus, because they have
considered the broader aspects of this prophecy, our present Bible teachers repudiate the application of
the 7 heads to different forms of Roman government, but, instead, apply those 7 heads as a symbol of
different forms of government that have opposed God's people down the ages commencing with Egypt.
As stated in "Bible Readings", p. 265: "The seven heads of the dragon are interpreted . . . more broadly
to the seven great monarchies which have oppressed the people of God: namely Egypt, Assyria, Chaldea,
Persia, Greece, pagan Rome, and papal Rome."
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On page 269 we read:
"Allowing a very broad meaning to the symbol, the Duoay or Catholic Bible, in a note on Rev. 13:1,
explains the seven heads of this beast [i.e., the beast of Rev. 13] as follows: `The seven heads are seven
kings, that is, seven principal kingdoms or empires, which have exercised, or shall exercise, tyrannical
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power over the people of God: of these, five were then fallen, viz., the Egyptian, Assyrian, Chaldean,
Persian, and Grecian monarchies; one was present, viz., the empire of Rome; and the seventh and
chiefest was to come, viz., the great anti-Christ and his empire."'
The present writer is of the opinion that the number 7 is employed in reference to the heads in a
symbolical sense and that it is not incumbent to find an exact number of 7 enemies of the people of
God. The number 7 is employed in the Apocalypse in a symbolic sense for perfection or completeness.
The Lord's servant says: "The number seven indicates completeness, and is symbolic of the fact that the
messages extend to the end o time"' (AA. 585). Thus the 7 heads symbolize all the enemies of God's
people throughout all time until "the end of time". By this fact alone, and there are other reasons which
support it, we understand that the 7th head of the beast continues "to the end of time", and by that fact
it shows that there is not actually any eighth head, but the 7th head is numbered 8 because that is the
Bible symbol number for the resurrection.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
COULD THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BE
DEPICTED BY THE 6th OR ANY OTHER HEAD OF THE BEAST?
Some who apply the lamblike beast of Rev. 13 as one of the heads of the beast of Rev. 17 do so in an
endeavour to make up eight heads. Some apply the 6th head of the beast to the United States thinking
thus to solve the problem presented by the angel's explanation (vs. 8-11) that the 6th head "is" during
the period when the beast "is not". Some think that a power brought so prominently into the prophetic
picture in Rev. 13 should also come into the prophetic symbolism of Rev. 17 as one of the heads. This
latter thought of course is in harmony with the Bible principle of repeating in later chapters that which
has been mentioned in earlier ones. So the purpose for which the lamblike beast is mentioned in Rev. 13
should be looked for in a later chapter. The lamblike beast is brought into the prophetic picture in Rev.
13 to show how the beast will have its power restored; how the world will be led to wonder after the
beast-by the lamblike beast changing its lamblikeness to the likeness of a dragon.
The Revelator often mentions the crucial part, the pinnacle point, when introducing an actor in the
drama of the great controversy between the forces of good and evil. So when introducing this lamblike
beast, he says: "He had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon" (v. 11). What follows in his
description of this power leads to the world's crisis over the mark of the beast, a crisis which is brought
about by this power leading the world to "worship the beast, whose deadly wound was healed", and he
does this by compelling people to receive "the mark of the beast" (vs. 13-17). Thus Protestant America is
brought into the picture, not as a separate head engaging alone in persecuting the people of God, but as
an associate with the beast. Apostate Protestantism, through imbibing and promulgating the doctrines
of the beast, makes it possible for the death-stroke to be healed, and prepares the way for the
resurrection of the beast of persecution. Apostate Protestantism is pictured as being an associate with
the beast-not as a separate head, but as a part of that persecuting head. Observe the wording of Rev.
13:12, 13: "And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in
the sight of men. And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he
had power to do in the
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sight of the beast" Observe again in Rev. 19:20 how the false prophet is an assistant to the beast, not a
separate, independent head: "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought
miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them
that worshipped his image."
The Scriptures clearly indicate that the power of the Papacy will be restored and that apostate
Protestantism will unite with her in the work of persecuting God's people, and consequently is not to be
regarded as a separate head. Observe the following statements made by the servant of the Lord
declaring that Protestants will unite with the Papacy:
"As America, the land of religious liberty shall unite with the Papacy in forcing the conscience and
compelling men to honour the false Sabbath the people of every country on the globe will be led to
follow her example". (6T. 1
"The Protestant churches unite with the world and with the Papal power, against commandmentkeepers" (5T. 449).
The church appeals to the strong arm of civil power, and in this work, Papists and Protestants
(GC. 607).
unite.
Under one headthe Papal powerthe people will unite to oppose God in the person of His witness.
(7T. 182).
Thus there can be no question that both the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy point to the restoration of
Papal power with which the power of apostate Protestantism will be united; there will be but "one
headthe Papal power"under which "the people will unite to oppose God in the person of His
witnesses". There is no separate Protestant head.
In the endeavour to explain how one of the heads could exist without the body of the beastthe
problem suggested by the angel's statement that the 6th head "IS" during the period when the beast "IS
NOT"some have suggested that perhaps the lamblike beast constitutes the 6th head of the beast from
the time the Papacy received its death-stroke in 1798 until the spirit of oppression and terror rises again.
This may be thought a way of explaining the problem of how a head of the beast could exist without a
body, for the 6th head is said to be, or "IS", when the beast "IS NOT". Actually, however, such a view
creates several problems. Before presenting these we wish to make a brief statement concerning the
Papacy receiving its death-stroke. Before 1798 events occurred which indicated that the Papacy was
losing its supremacy. Before 1798 it had largely lost control of the secular power to persecute God's
people. The Saviour had stated in His second advent sermon that the tribulation of "those days should
be shortened" (Matt. 24:22; Mark 13:20, 24). "The 1260 days, or years, terminated in 1798. A quarter, of
a century earlier, persecution had almost wholly ceased" (GC. 306). However, the time period of Papal
supremacy mentioned in Daniel and Revelation did not expire until 1798 when the Pope was taken a
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prisoner and the Papacy then for the time being practically ceased to exist. What happened in 1798 was
really the climax of events which preceded it. As the Scriptures point to 1798 as the time of the loss of
the last vestige of Papal supremacy, we present that date as the time when the Papacy received its
death-stroke, though we recognize that that event was but the culmination of events which had
transpired in the political world reducing the power the Papacy among the nations.
In rejecting the suggestion that Protestant America is the head of the beast after the Papal head
received its death-stroke, we would point out that if the heads are assumed to be symbols of
persecuting powers (and there seems no reason for disbelieving this viewpoint which is generally
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accepted and there does not appear to be any other reason for their existence), it would appear most
incongruous to believe that the 6th head represented, not a persecuting power but one that has been a
mighty force in bringing to the world civil and religious liberty; a power that has been a mighty bulwark
against priestly and kingly tyranny. It would surely be illogical or contrary to the intent of this prophecy
to point to the heads of the beast as representing those powers that have persecuted God's people
down the ages, and then to point to the 6th and apply it to a power that has given God's people
freedom from the fury of intolerance and persecution.
If it be argued that the 6th head represents Protestant America that will eventually forsake its principles
of religious liberty and thus persecute God's people, we would point out that that argument fails in two
main essentials. When the United States becomes a persecuting power, the beast of persecution will
then have risen from "the bottomless pit", but the 6th head is said to exist before the beast emerges
from the abyss. And again, when the persecuting beast does rise from the abyss it then has not the 6th
but the 7th and last head. We are explicitly informed in Rev. 17:10, 11 that when the beast rises from
the abyss he then has the 7th head which is stamped with the symbol number 8. Thus it would be
impossible for Protestant America to be the 6th head from 1798 until the rise of persecution again,
because (1) the heads represent the persecutors of God's people and, during that time (from 1798 until
now) the United States has been a great bulwark in defense of religious liberty; and she could not be
represented by the 6th head when religious tyranny rises from the abyss because (2) the beast rises
from the abyss possessing the 7th head. The 6th head must exist (though in a wounded, practically
lifeless stateScriptural reasons supporting this important feature will be presented in the next chapter)
during the period from 1798 until the beast of persecution once more lifts its ugly head from the grave;
it cannot exist after that time because the
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beast then has the 7th head which is stamped with the symbol number 8. To apply the 6th head to
Protestant America during the time it shelters the church behind its mighty bulwark of religious freedom
would surely be most incongruous in view of the fact that the prophecy employs the 7 heads to depict
those who persecute God's people!
Some may think that the United States should be a separate head, perhaps on the basis that it is
especially brought into the prophetic picture in Rev. 13:11-17, but it should be noted that in these
verses Protestant America is not depicted as a separate head of the former beast which has seven
heads, but one who helps the beast to regain its power.
So far as the symbol of the lamblike beast is concerned, it is separate from the leopard-like beast, and
there is no suggestion in Rev. 13 that it is to be understood as being one of the 7 heads of the other
beast. Its lamblikenessindicates a separateness at least in its original character; a contrast, an
opposition to the persecuting beast. This, we know, is the actual fact. The principles of Protestantism
held aloft by the United States have been diametrically opposed to the totalitarian principles of the
Papacy. Thus Protestant America has been depicted as a separate entity to the persecuting beast which
symbolized the Papacy for many centuries. When the Papacy lost its power to persecute that
persecution was not continued by the United States; to the contrary the United States has stood for
principles which brought about the cessation of persecution at the hands of the Papacy. Thus the
lamblike beast is brought into the prophetic picture not because of its similarity to the beast but
because of its dissimilarity. Of course the prophecy hastens to inform us that the lamblike beast ceases
to be like a lamb, but becomes like a dragon. However, in this change of character it is not brought into
the prophetic picture as a separate persecuting power but one that is an assistant to the leopard-like
beast. It is brought into the prophecy. to reveal how this at-one-time antagonist of the beast would
entirely lose its lamblikeness, change its character, and assist in the healing of the head of the beast that
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had received a death-stroke. The prophecy dwells upon this astonishing fact that a virulent anti-Papal
power can so turn around as to actually aid in the restoration of the persecuting power of the Papal
head that had been apparently slain. But even in this role this lamblike then dragon-like beast is still only
an assistant to the leopard-like beast. It is not mentioned as a separate head, but a power that helps in
the healing of the death-stroke which befell one of the heads of the first and thus permits the rise once
more of religious intolerance and persecution. It is thus brought into the prophecy, not as a separate
head but a power that unites with the head that was
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wounded and which is healed of its death-stroke, and thus helps to form the 7th head of the persecuting
beast as it rises again to trouble the people of God.
The emphasis placed upon the healing of the death-stroke and the resurrection of the persecuting beast
would suggest that the 7th head is the 6th head healed of its death-stroke, and thus leaves no room for
another power to be one of these heads, and surely the last power to be sandwiched in between
persecuting heads would be the United States, which has stood so valiantly for religious freedom during
the time when the 6th head still exists, though the beast of persecution cannot exercise its power upon
the people of God.
And, further, if the United States is made a separate heada persecuting headwhen would it become
this head? As it is agreed that the Papacy is to be restored to its power, and assisted too by the United
States to regain its lost glory, when would there be time for the United States to be a separate
persecuting power? It has been understood by most if not all interpreters that the heads represent
successive powers; this is indicated by the word of the 2nd angel in Rev. 17:16, which reads: "They 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." We have already shown that there are only 7 heads altogether, the 7th one
numbered 8 because it is the Bible symbol for resurrection. Which, then, will be the 7th headthe
United States? or the Papacy? If reckoned separately they would make 8 heads when the beast has but
7, and as they both do their persecuting at the same time it would mean that if each is reckoned a head
then two heads would operate at the one time. This of course would contradict the plain statement of
the inspired Word which explicitly declares that the 6th and 7th heads function successively.
And, further still, how could the United States be a separate head when the work which is clearly
outlined for it to do is that of making "an image to the beast". This is the main feature brought to view in
the prophecythe lamblike beast becomes dragonlike and then makes "an image to the beast" by
compelling all to receive "the mark of the beast". Whatever power is the head is also the beast, for in
Rev. 13:3 it is the head that is wounded to death, whereas in verses 12 and 14 it is "the first beast ...
whose deadly wound was healed"; "the beast which had the wound by a sword and did live". It certainly
would be incongruous for the United States to be "the beast", as it would be if it were one of the heads,
and yet at the same time make "an image to the beast". There is nothing in the prophetic word to
indicate that the lamblike beast is to be regarded as a separate head on the persecuting beast.
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Another fact that should also be taken into consideration is that the lamblike beast in its broadest sense
represents more than the United States, it also includes all Protestants of other countries who subscribe
to the enforcement of Sunday laws through the power of the State. Observe carefully the following
extract from the servant of the Lord: "The churches, represented by Babylon, are represented as having
fallen from their spiritual state to become a persecuting power against those who keep the
commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. To John this persecuting power the
churches represented by Babylon" is represented as having, horns like a lamb, but as speaking like a
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dragon" (TM. 117). In GC. 383, 578, 592, 603, 606, 607, 615, 625; EW. 273, 277; TM. 61 the Lord's
servant applies the term Babylon to "the various organizations that constitute Babylon"; "the fallen
denominational churches are Babylon", etc., meaning Protestants anywhere who accept the principle of
the union of Church and State. This not only considerably broadens the significance of the symbol of the
lamblike beast with reference to Protestants anywhere (thus complicating matters so far as making the
United States a head), but the context of the passages referred to above make use of that term when
outlining the work done at the time the Papal head is restored. Apostate Protestantismnot merely
Protestants living in the United States, but including those in every nation-is represented as "the false
prophet" (Rev. 16:13; 19:20; 20:10) because Protestants teach such doctrines as Sunday sacredness, the
inherent immortality of the soul, etc., which they have received from the Papacy and which thus helps
to confirm the claims of the Papacy to be the true church or a leader of Christian teaching. Anciently,
false prophets led people to trust in their false conceptions of worship and teachings. Thus
Protestantism is pictured as "the false prophet" confirming the teachings of the beast. As the whole of
Protestantism-including those of all nations-is thus presented as an assistant to the beast, it further
illustrates the fact that no separate head of the beast would represent merely the Protestants of the
United States.
There can be no doubt that the 6th head was the one that received the "death-stroke" and the natural
corollary is that the 7th head is the resurrection of the 6th, and also that "the false prophet" by assisting
to restore the prestige and power of the beast is included in the 7th head that Satan employs for the
persecution of the remnant church.
There is but one application regarding the angel's statement that the 6th head "is" when the beast "is
not" that harmonizes with Scripture and logic, as will be seen in subsequent chapters.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
''THEY ARE SEVEN KINGS: FIVE ARE FALLEN, AND ONE IS." THE 6th HEAD "IS" DURING
THE PERIOD WHEN THE BEAST "IS NOT". THE MYSTERY OF THE
6th AND 7th HEADS AND THE "IS NOT" PERIOD OF THE
BEAST EXPLAINED IN THE LIGHT OF "THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS".
Where any element of uncertainty exists it is always wise to commence with something established, and
then work from the known to the unknown or uncertain. The known becomes a solid foundation upon
which to build our thought structure. In a storm, it is good to have a sheet anchor; something stable and
sure. Applying this principle to the consideration of the 6th and 7th heads there are several proven facts
that assist us materially in our search for the answer to the problems we have mentioned in this chapter
heading. The first fact is that the beast has only 7 heads, not eight; the 7th head is labeled 8 because of
its being the Bible symbol number for resurrection, and this beast of persecution has a resurrection to
life and power. This revived beast of persecution is the same as the 7th and last head and is said to be
"an eighth, and is of the seven"see R.V. and other translations. The Twentieth Century New Testament
reads: "He counts as an eighth, although he is one of the seven" (v. 11).
The 7th head is the persecuting beast resurrected to carry on its nefarious work against the church. The
7th head is the last head, the last form of persecuting power against God's people, for in the language
borrowed from the Spirit of Prophecy "the number seven indicates completeness, and is symbolic of the
fact that the messages [or here, persecutors and persecutions] extend to the end of time" (AA. 585).
This last or 7th head of the beast therefore includes the combined forces of Papal and apostate
Protestantism, which are so plainly revealed in the previous chapters.
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There would be no difficulty in our understanding the symbolism of Rev. 17 if we remembered the way
the Lord has already led us in our understanding of the previous chapters. Rev. 12 traces the whole
course of the great controversy between the forces of good and evil, terminating in v. 17 with the final
conflict involving the remnant church keeping the Commandments of God and having the testimony of
Jesus. Rev. 13 outlines the rise of the Papacy from the teachings of Babylon via the Roman Empire, and
also presents the rise of Protestant America whose mighty power
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and powerful influence(once employed to foster pure democratic principles) will be eventually
employed in support of undemocratic designs of the Papacy, bringing distress to the people of God over
the enforcement of the Papal Sunday, then to be indeed the mark of the beast. In this thirteenth
chapter we are informed concerning the wounding of one of the heads of the seven-headed beastthe
papal headand we are also informed that this head, though apparently dead, still has a spark of life left,
and that, toward the end, it will rise again to a greater power than it ever had before. That rise to power
will be brought about by Protestant America forsaking its wonderful democratic principles and joining
hands with the Papacy in bringing about a persecuting form of government, a government which
enforces religious dogmas, thus bringing hardships to the faithful people of God who will refuse to obey
the dictates of Rome that will be enforced via apostate Protestantism.
The 14th chapter of Revelation presents God's three-fold message; the third message particularly being
a warning against the beast and his mark and his image. In other words, this message specifically warns
against obedience to the dictates of the beast, especially against receiving the mark of the beast and the
image of the beast-that is, the keeping of the Papal Sunday which will then be enforced by so-called
Protestant countries, following the lead given by the United States.
The 16th chapter of Revelation outlines the plagues that will fall upon those who worship the beast and
who receive his mark and who fall into line with worldly governments which enforce the Papal Sunday.
The 6th plague deals with the finale of the world crisis that will come to the people of God when the
death decree passed upon all Sabbath keepers is about to be executed: that will be the time when God
will intervene to deliver His people from this threatened death. Instead of God's people suffering death
at the hands of their would-be murderers they are delivered while their would-be murderers meet the
almighty power of God: from that time the vengeance of God falls upon Babylon to completely destroy
it.--see Rev. 16:17-21.
Now God certainly intends us to enter into our study of Rev. 17 with these facts in our minds.
Consequently we may know for certain that the 7th headthe final, the last headof the resurrected
beast refers to the combined forces of Papalism and apostate Protestantism. Any attempt therefore to
make a separate head out of America would seem to the writer to bring in confusion where it should not
exist. The lamblike beast of Rev. 13:11-17 is brought into the prophetic picture not to play a separate
part but rather that its power may be seen as definitely contributing to the success of the beastthe
lamblike beast enforces the
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mark of the beast, makes an image to the beast, is an adjunct of the beast, and as such is not one of the
heads of the beast. The 7th head made up of the persecuting power of the Papacy and apostate
Protestantism has upon it the ten kings who represent the governments who assist the persecuting
beast by giving "their power and strength unto the beast"; that is, by employing their governmental
power to enforce the mark of the beast, thus bringing distress to God's people.
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The 7 heads are consecutive, in contrast to the ten horns being contemporaneous. Explaining the 7
heads, the angel informed John: "The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth:
and they are seven kings; the five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come; and when he cometh,
he must continue a little while" (R.V.). The ten horns, however, are contemporaneous, for they "receive
power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength
unto the beast". Thus these ten horns will exist together upon the 7th and last head of the beast which
is stamped with the number 8 to indicate that it is the power that was once wounded but has risen
again to continue its terrible work of opposing the work of Jesus in His remnant church.
Comprehension of the enigmas of Rev. 17 depends upon our understanding that the Revelator, when
describing matters pertaining to "the mystery of iniquity"-the counterfeiting system of false worshipemploys descriptive phrases which are understood in the light of `the mystery of Godliness". The Lord
Jesus died but rose again by His own inherent almighty power. "Divinity did not die", as declared by the
Spirit of Prophecy, which is based upon Scriptural statements. The believer also is to die daily (1 Cor.
15:31; 2 Cor. 4:10-16). However, the very fact that he dies every day shows that actually he was not all
dead the previous day, or if he did die some of the old man, the old nature, remained, for it has to be
put to death each day. In another passage Paul says: "Our old man is crucified with Him [Jesus], that the
body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed
from sin. . Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through
Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 6:6-11). Our Lord diedyet He possessed life in Himself to raise Himself
from deathHis "divinity did not die". The Christian's "old man", the old nature of sin, is crucified with
Jesus, "he is dead", but yet actually is only reckoned dead, for as the unwatchful Christian knows from
experience the old nature will come to life again in all its old power unless that crucifying of the old man
does not take place each day. We die daily in order that we may live unto God daily. Jesus said: "If any
man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23).
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"We need to be converted daily" (7T. 252) "Those who believe the truth are to be converted every day"
(TM. 248) If you will seek the Lord and be converted every day ... all your murmurings will be stilled, all
your difficulties will be removed, all the perplexing problems that now confront you will be solved."
(Mount of Blessing, 150).
Here we have light from "the mystery of Godliness" which w' have seen is the basis of our understanding
of the enigmas of Rev. 17 in which "the mystery of iniquity" is described in language that has a reference
to "the mystery of Godliness". "The old man" dies, is dead, is reckoned dead, but rises again at the first
opportunity to continue its life of sin. Similarly, the persecuting beast receives its death-stroke, is dead,
is reckoned dead, but rises again at the first opportunity to continue its work of persecuting the people
of God. Thus we are able to understand how it is when the persecuting beast "is not", or in a condition
of death, or is reckoned dead, that the 6th head "is". "The seven heads . . . are seven kings: five are
fallen, and one is." One of the headsthe 6th head, for the angel is careful to clearly explain this fact
exists during the time that the beast is reckoned dead, when its power to persecute has been taken
away from it by the "death-stroke", mentioned three times in Rev. 13.
The Papacy received a death-stroke but it has lived since then. Civil power has also continued, but its
persecuting nature is dead, or at least the Papacy has not been able to use it to persecute God's people
in any general organized way as it did in the past, and as it will in the future. We can see it beginning to
rear its head at the present time as in Spain and in parts of South America.
Taking a survey of the experiences of the Papacy during the long period of her history two facts stand
out as great mountains in a wide landscape, namely, the Papacy persecuted Gods people during the
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hundreds of years of her supremacy, that since 1798 she has lost that power to persecute. That the
Roman church for more than twelve centuries used the kingdoms of earth to punish those who opposed
her claims to be the true church and taught doctrines contrary to her creed, and that she does not now
possess that power is acknowledged in a Roman Catholic work entitled, "Half Hours with the Servants of
God":
For many ages after the conversion of Constantine it was easier for the church to repress heresy by
invoking the secular arms than by organizing tribunals of her own for the purpose....The bishops, as a
rule, had but to notify the appearance of heretics to the lay power, and the latter hastened to make
enquiry, and, if necessary, to repress and punish....
"The duties and powers of inquisitors are minutely laid down in the canon law, it being always assumed
that the civil power will favour, or can be compelled to favour, their proceedings. Thus it is laid down,
that they 'have power to constrain all magistrates, even secular magistrates, to cause the statute against
heretics to be observed,' and to require them to swear to do so; also
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that they cam `compel all magistrates and judges to execute their sentences, and these must obey on
pain of excommunication,' also that inquisitors in causes of heresy `can use the secular arm, and that
'all temporal rulers are bound to obey inquisitors in causes of faith. No such state of things as that here
assumed now exists in any part of Europe; nowhere does the State assist the church in putting down
heresy; it is therefore superfluous to describe regulations controlling jurisdiction, which has lost the
medium in which it could work and live" (pp. 58-60).
This is not only a testimony to the accuracy of the fulfilment of prophecy; concerning the days of Papal
supremacy, but it is also a, clear statement concerning the fact that the Papacy has lost the use of the
secular arm, the power of the State, and thus is unable to persecute the saints. It also serves to indicate
what may be expected when that power is restored. The States before the Papacy received its deadly
wound were compelled by spiritual tyranny to assist the church in punishing dissenters. This is the
power which is to be restored. As stated in GC. 579: "The influence of Rome in the countries that once
acknowledged her dominion, is still far from being destroyed. And prophecy foretells a restoration a
resurrection of her powerRev. 13:3."
"As America, the land of religious liberty, shall unite with the Papacy in forcing the conscience and
compelling men to honour the false Sabbath, the people of every country on the globe will be led to
follow her example" (6T. 18).
"For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast,
until the words of) God shall be fulfilled" (Rev. 17:17).
It would be foolish for anyone to attempt to explain Rev. 17 upon any other basis than it being an
explanation or a fuller revelation of the facts already given from Rev. 12. Throughout it is the same
seven-headed beast, with the ten horns. And it is perfectly obvious that the references to the beast's
persecuting powers being taken away from it followed by the restoration of those powers are an
enlargement upon on the same facts revealed , in Rev. 13. Three times in Rev. 13, it is stated that one of
the heads receives a death-stroke; three times it is also stated that that deadly wound will be healed,
which is followed by all the world wondering after the beast. Similarly, in Rev. 17 it is stated three times
regarding the beast that it receives a death-stroke that renders it powerless to persecute the people of
God, followed by its resurrection to power to again persecute the people of God, which fact is also, as in
Rev. 13, mentioned three times. Thus the connection between Rev. 13 and Rev. 17 is indisputably
settled.
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In Rev. 17:10 the angel plainly declares that it is the 6th head which existsthe "one" that "is"while the
beast's persecuting power is in a comatose state. This then is the head that received the "death-stroke"
according to Rev. 13. As we have already shown, according to terminology understandable in Christian
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experience, the Papal head receives a "death-stroke"i.e. it loses its power to persecute God's peopleyet the Papacy still exists, and during the period while the principles of Protestantismcivil and religious
liberty; the separation of Church and Stateoperate among the nations it cannot exercise its
malevolence toward the people of God. Such a condition finds a counterpart in Christian experience, for
as long as the believer looks to the Saviour through prayer and the study of the Bible he keeps the old
nature under in a powerless position. As long as the principles of true Protestantism operate, these
heavenly principles make it impossible for the Papacy to employ its power to persecute God's people.
When the believer does not avail himself of the power of Christ through prayer and Bible study, the old
nature reasserts itself, it has a resurrection to power. Jesus our Lord, speaking of such an experience,
says:
"When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding
none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept
and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they
enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.' (Luke 11:24-262.
Thus the professing Christian who does not maintain his experience goes from bad to worse. So does the
Papacy. It ceased its persecution of God's people because the Lord worked through human forces to
give it a death-stroke. It still exists, though in a powerless state as far as persecuting God's people in any
organized way through the States. But when the present period (during which heavenly principles of
democracy and religious freedom operate) ends and once again conditions permit, its power to
persecute will be redoubled.
From the foregoing we have shown that the 7th here represents the restoration of Papal power plus the
power of apostate Protestantism supported by "the kings of the earth and of the whole world". We have
also shown that during the time when the beast's persecuting power is held under by the power of God
working through truly Protestant principles, the 6th head exists in its wounded and powerless condition.
The Papacy still exists but cannot persecute. Thus there does not exist any mystery which cannot be
explained regarding the 6th and 7th heads and the "is not" period of the persecuting beast.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
"THEY ARE SEVEN KINGS: FIVE ARE FALLEN, AND ONE IS."
WHO WERE THE FIVE WHO HAD FALLEN?
Now there follows naturally the question: What of the five who are said by the angel to have "fallen"? If
we commence with Egypt, the first of the nations to ill-treat God's people who had themselves then
grown into a nation, that would make Assyria (2), Babylon (3), Medo-Persia (4), Grecia (5), and Rome (6).
While presenting the enemies of Israel in this order advanced by eminent Bible students, it should be
remembered that actually more than 7 nations have made war upon Israel. And after showing that this
is so, the writer desires to suggest a reason why it may be satisfactory to mention the enemies of Israel
in the manner and order already given. However, before discussing this aspect concerning a possible
successful enumeration of the powers intended in the 7 heads of the beast of Rev. 17 (and Rev. 12 and
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13 also), the writer desires to repeat what he stated in the previous chapter, namely, that he believes
that the seven heads denote the complete representation of all the enemies of God's people down,
through the ages, and as such it is not necessary that an actual number of 7 nations must be ascertained
in order for the prophetic symbolism to have a literal fulfilment. The number 7, as , we have shown from
the pen of the servant of the Lord, is symbolic", and as such it is not necessary to discover exactly 7
nations who persecuted Israel.
After escape from the armies of Pharaoh that sought to bring the Israelites back to the bondage of
Egypt, they were attacked by the Amalekites. "Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim"
(Ex. 17:8). This was the occasion when, through Moses, the Lord was able to give a demonstration of the
efficacy of the intercession of Jesus Who was typified by Moses on the top of the hill looking down at
the conflict raging below-the success or failure of the battle, as the record shows, depended upon the
intercession made by Moses above.
It was to this battle between Israel and the Amalekites that the Lord, through the unwilling lips of
Balaam, declared: "Amalek was the first of the nations that warred against Israel" (Num. 24:20, margin).
This was but the beginning of a long list of kings and nations who fought against Israel. The Lord had
forewarned Israel of the task before them, giving them assurance however that they would be
successful in their conflicts with "the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the
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Hivite, and the Jebusite" (Ex. 33:2; 34:11; etc.). Repeating this list of formidable foes, Moses also
mentioned the "Girgashites", saying: "seven nations greater and mightier than thou" (Deut. 7:1). In Josh.
12 there is a summary of the kings and nations with whom Israel fought up till that time. The chapter
heading reads: "The two kings whose countries Moses took and disposed of, and the thirty-one kings on
the other side Jordan which Joshua smote."
The Edomites, or Idumeans, were enemies of Israel, and, whenever opportunity afforded, attacked
Israelsee Num. 20:14-21; 2 Chron. 20:10, 11; Ps. 83:6; 137:7; Ezek. 25:12, 14; etc. Because of their
enmity and their opposition to Israel (see also Obad. 10-18, which presents a recapitulation of the
"violence" employed by the descendants of Esau against the Israelites; Jer. 49:7; Amos 1:11; etc.), they
are employed in the Scriptures as a type of those who hate and oppose Christ and His peoplesee Isa.
34:6-10; 63:1-6 and compare with Rev. 14:10, 11, 18-20, etc.
This does not by any means exhaust the list of those who have fought against Israel, for those familiar
with Old Testament history will immediately recall Israel's conflicts with the Syrians, the Ethiopians, the
Assyrians, the Babylonians, etc. Thus it will be seen that the Scriptural records reveal that kings and
nations who fought against Israel certainly numbered more than seven. While some of these enemies
were indeed formidable powers, yet it is possible that the 7 powers represented by the 7 heads are
selected because they come into the category of world powers, and also because they were a serious
threat to the existence of Israel as a nation. Egypt held Israel captive. Pharaoh's command to destroy all
the male children was a blow destined to cripple Israel from becoming a nation able to defend itself.
And Pharaoh's pursuit of Israel was to totally enslave that nation.
Assyria broke up the northern kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 17:6; 18:10, 11), as foretold by the prophet
Hosea (13:16). Isaiah also prophesied that the land of God's people would be invaded by the Assyrians,
but he was able to outline the defeat of this mighty nation that at that time held Babylon as a
dependant upon the Assyrian monarchy. As students of Holy Writ will recall, the Assyrian army
threatened Jerusalem. The figure drawn by the prophet Isaiah was that of the waters of Euphrates as a
mighty, raging, devastating flood threatening to engulf the people of Judah in the city of Jerusalem. As a
man in a raging flood just holds his head above water, so Jerusalem would be almost submerged by the
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raging torrent of Assyrians. The prophet Isaiah said: "Now, therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth upon
them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall
come up over all channels, and go
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over all his banks: and he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to
the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, 0 Immanuel" (Isa. 8:7, 8).
This threatened invasion did materialize in the days of Hezekiah, but as promised the trusting Hezekiah
and his people, the mighty army of the Assyrians was destroyed by the angel of the Lord.
It is not without its significance that this invasion of Judah by the Assyrians and their utter defeat and
destruction by God's intervention looms so large in the book of Isaiahwhole chapters being devoted to
this purpose, see Isa. 36; 37; 38:6. See also 2 Kings 17:3 to 19:37. This destruction of the Assyrians is
definitely employed in Isaiah to typify the attack upon God's people in the last days by the antitypical
Assyrianssee Isa. 10:12-34, where "Israel is comforted with promise of deliverance from Assyria", see
chapter heading. After outlining the doom of Babylon (the next enemy prophesied to afflict God's
people, according to Isaiah)see Isa. 13 and 14:1-23the Lord said: "The Lord of hosts hath sworn,
saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: that I
will break the Assyrian in My land, and upon My mountains tread him under foot. . . . This is the purpose
that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all nations" (vs.
24-26). Thus the Lord couples together, the doom of Babylon with the doom of the Assyrian army; that
invasion of the land of God's people that threatened to engulf them like the overflowing of the waters of
the Euphrates nearly submerging Jerusalem beneath its roaring, turgid waters. The Revelator partly has
this in mind when he prophesies concerning the overthrow of Babylon and the antitypical army of the
Assyrians at the time of the drying of the Euphrates under the 6th plague Rev. 16:12). In the chapter
"Deliverance from Assyria , the Lord's servant in "Prophets and Kings", pp. 349-366, makes a last-day
application of the overthrow o the Assyrians: "The God of the Hebrews had prevailed over the proud
Assyrian. The honour of God was vindicated The rise and fall of the Assyrian Empire is rich in lessons for
the nations of earth today." Isa. 30:29-31, quoted in PK. 36, is also quoted in GC. 635, and applied to the
deliverance of God's people at the opening of the 7th plague when the voice of God, mentioned in Isa.
30:30, brings deliverance to His people. Thus the deliverance from the Assyrians whose invasion of
Immanuel's land-where His people dwell, for He is ever with His people-which is likened to the waters of
the flooding Euphrates being dried up, is applied by the servant of the Lord to the deliverance of God's
people at the opening of the 7th plague which follows immediately (or in
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association with) the drying up of the waters of the Euphrates under the 6th plague. "For through the
voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down" (Isa. 30:31).
In the first five of the 7 last plagues there is a repetition of the plagues of Egypt. From other
considerations we can quite easily conceive the purpose for making Egypt one of the heads of the beast
that has assailed Israel, for in the might of her power she sought to destroy Israel from being a nation,
and to reduce her to impotence and slavery when it looked as if Israel might become free. God had to
afflict many of the people and destroy the Egyptian army and the firstborn, etc., when delivering His
people, and for these reasons Egypt typifies nations in the last days who will endeavour to destroy or
enslave the people of God. The overthrow of the invading Assyrian army typifies the overthrow of those
who will in the last days seek to destroy the remnant people of God. The doom of the Assyrians and also
of the Babylonians is coupled together in the book of Isaiah. Both these powers were overthrown after
they had exalted their false gods above the name of Jehovah.
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Thus there are Scriptural reasons for believing that these three great powers, because of having
exercised their enmity toward Israel, might well be represented by the three first heads on the beast
that opposes Christ and His people. They could be chosen as representing other hostile powers who
troubled Israel in her earlier days, and probably the reason they would be selected in preference to
others manifesting hostility in those days is because they were in the category of world powers and as
such would more fittingly represent the world confederation which will oppose God's people in the last
days. After having reached this conclusion by independent study, the writer was interested in reading
the following from Ellicott's New Testament Commentary, Rev. 17:
"The wild beast belongs to no one age, but is a power which has risen in every age; the seven heads
represent the successive culminations of the world-power . . . but two great powers had preceded
Babylon, viz., Egypt and Assyria: these figure in the ancient prophecies as forces hostile to the righteous
King. St. John, whose visions took the range of the world's drama, could not see the representative of
the ever-rising spirit of worldly hostility to God's chosen without seeing Egypt and Assyria included. The
voices of Moses and Isaiah called to him across the centuries that in these, the world principle of their
day found its clearest and strongest manifestations. In various empires, the world-power showed itself:
in Egypt, the house of bondage (Ex. 20:2); in Assyria, that exalted herself against God (Isa. 37:23); in
Babylon, the hammer of the whole earth (Jer. 50:23) ; in Persia, and in Grecia; and in succession these
kingdoms fell, only to be succeeded by anotherRome. Five fell ; the one is ... the seventh head must be
rather an aggregation of monarchies than a single universal empire."
A close analysis of the plagues will reveal why the first of the 7 last plagues refer back to Egypt, whereas
the 6th and 7th plagues
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particularly refer to the overthrow of Babylon. The drying up of the waters of the Euphrates is coupled in
the prophecies of Isaiah with the overthrow of the Assyrians, and also with the overthrow of the ancient
city of Babylon by Cyrus's strategy of drying up the waters of the Euphrates as a means of obtaining an
entrance into the heart of Babylon, thus bringing about the downfall of that world metropolis. As Egypt
preceded Assyria and Babylon, so the first of the 7 last plagues are similar to those which affected Egypt,
while the 6th plague has reference to the experiences which befell the Assyrian army when it sought to
destroy the people of God in Jerusalem; and the 6th plague also has reference to the overthrow of
Babylon by Cyrus drying up the waters of the Euphrates. In the experience of Assyria and Babylon is seen
more of the religious element-false gods versus the true God of Israel-than that revealed in the case of
Egypt. Thus in the 6th and 7th plagues there will be observed a greater significance pointing to the
overthrow of the religious elements; it is under these plagues that Babylon is destroyed-see Rev. 16: 19.
Therefore the burning of the Babylonian whore of Rev. 17 and the same thing represented in Rev. 18
under the figure of the burning of the city Babylon, takes place under the 6th and 7th plagues.
Those who have had some difficulty in understanding why the first of the 7 plagues seem to deal more
with literal things than does the 6th plague, will find their problem partly explained (we have given
other reasons in a previous publication) by the fact or the reference back to Egypt in the first of the 7
plagues, whereas the 6th) refers back to Assyria and Babylon. Egypt, at the time of the outpouring of the
plagues upon her, was governed, by a Pharaoh who boldly denied the existence of the living God, and
resisted His commands. No monarch ever ventured upon more open and high-handed rebellion against
the authority of Heaven than did the king of Egypt. When the message was brought him by Moses, in
the name of the Lord, Pharaoh proudly answered. `Who is Jehovah, that I should obey His voice to let
Israel go? I know not Jehovah, neither will I let Israel go' (Ex. 5:2). This is atheism, and the nation
represented by Egypt would give voice to a similar denial of the claims of the living God, and would,
manifest a like spirit of unbelief and defiance. (GC. 269) Thus the reference back to Egypt in the first of
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the plagues reveals the Lord's wrath upon nations and people who have participated in the enforcement
of the mark of the beast, believing that by so doing the nations of earth would enjoy peace and security.
God's people will be dealt with for "preventing their restoration to divine favour and temporal
prosperity" (GC. 590). "It will be urged ... it is better for them [God's people] to suffer than for whole
nations to be thrown into confusion and lawlessness" (GC. 269).
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Nations will deny the claims of Jehovah for economic reasons and for the sake of national or
international peace and prosperity, just as did Pharaoh when he thought of the national benefits
accruing by keeping Israel a nation of slaves to build up the glory of his kingdom. However, in the case of
the Assyrians and the Babylonians the contest was definitely between their gods, and Jehovah the God
of Israel. The Lord's servant has written with reference to the gods of Assyria:
"Not until some years later, toward the close of Hezekiah's reign was it to be demonstrated before the
nations of the world whether the gods of the heathen were finally to prevail." "The rulers of Assyria
pursued the fixed policy of causing all nations to acknowledge the supremacy of the gods of Nineveh
whom they exalted above the Most High. God had sent Jonah to them with a message of warning, and
for a season they humbled themselves before the Lord of hosts, and sought forgiveness. But soon they
turned again to idol worship, and to the conquest of the world." PK. 339,363).
It was while worshipping his false god that Sennacherib was slain Isa. 37: 38; 2 Kings 19:37, and Babylon
went down the night that Belshazzar and his lords "praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of
iron, of wood, and of stone." Dan. 5:4.
While the first of the 7 last plagues deal with events more of a national character, the 6th plague
pictures the time when Babylonthat false system of worship that has deceived the worldis to be
utterly destroyed, and the first to be dealt with will be the religious leaders who will be forced by the
demonstrations of God's almighty power to declare that they have deceived the people. The waters of
the Euphratesthe multitudescease to do the bidding of their Babylonian leaders, and, after hearing
the confession of their religious leaders, the multitudes turn and rend them, slaying them with the
swords with which they had intended slaying the righteous; then they commence slaying each other;
this slaughter continues all over the world until Jesus comes in glory to complete the work of
destruction upon the unsaved (Rev. 19:21).
The foregoing facts show Scriptural reasons for assuming that the first three of the heads upon the
beast of Rev. 12, 13 and 17 might well refer to the powerful kingdoms of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon. As
Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome are brought into the prophetic limelight as world powers, it is fairly safe
to assume that they make up the 6 heads of world powers to exist before the final combination of
Papalism, apostate Protestantism, and the kings of the earth (which, as we have shown, comprise the
7th and last head with the ten horns), and which will be in existence at the time of the battle of
Armageddon, when "the kings of the earth and of the whole world" will be led by Babylon's false
teachings to their doom. 206
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
DOES THE 6th HEAD REFER TO ROME-PAGAN AND PAPAL?
As we have seen, there is Scriptural reason for taking the 7 heads to refer to the 7 world powers: Egypt,
Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome, and the final combination of Papal and Protestant
powers and the kings of earth. Concerning the first 6 of these heads there will be little if any question,
for many noteworthy Bible students support this view. But not so many probably would be willing at
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first thought to accept the belief that both pagan and papal Rome come under the one head. However,
the writer desires to enlist the sympathetic attention of his readers as he endeavours to suggest reasons
why Rome in both its pagan and papal phases could well be designated by the 6th head.
In a previous chapter we worked backwards from the time of the second advent, showing that at that
time the combination of Papal and Protestant powers and the kings of the earth constituted the 7th
head. We also presented Scriptural reasons for believing that the head that was wounded was the 6th
head, namely, the papal head, which (in rising to become the 7th head) is restored to its persecuting
power and for that reason is stamped with the symbol number 8, the Bible number for resurrection to
life and power. Now we desire to advance reasons for believing that Rome in both its pagan and papal
phases is represented by the 6th head.
It is the Roman beast that exists until "slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame"
(Dan. 7:11). Bible students know that the same ground is passed over in Daniel chapters 2, 7, 8, and 1012, and in each of them the last form of government depicted is that of Rome.) This was the line of
argument employed by James White in condemning the view that Turkey was the power referred to in
Dan. 11:40-45. He wrote in an editorial in the "Review and Herald", November 29. 1877:
"Let us take a brief view of the line of prophecy four times spanned in the book of Daniel. It will be
admitted that the same ground is passed over in chapters two, seven, eight and eleven. . . . We first pass
down the great image of chapter 2 where Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome are represented by the
gold, the silver, the brass, and the iron. All agree that these feet are not Turkish but Roman. And as we
pass down to the lion, the bear, the leopard, and the beast with ten horns, representing the same as the
great image, again all will agree that it is not Turkey that is cast into the burning flame, but the
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Roman beast. So of chapter 8, all agree that the little horn that stood up against the Prince of princes is
not Turkey but Rome. In all these lines thus far Rome is the last form of government mentioned.
(Emphasis mine).
"Now comes the point in the argument upon which very much depends. Does the eleventh chapter of the
Prophecy of Daniel cover the ground measured by chapters two, seven and eight? If so, then the last
power mentioned in that chapter is Rome." (Emphasis his)
In the first of the prophecies outlining world kingdoms until the coming of Christ, we are informed that
the Roman kingdom would not be superseded by another kingdom, but would exist in a "divided" state
until the coming of Christ. The ten toes of the image and the ten horns of the Roman beast of Dan. 7
represent the divisions of the Roman kingdom. The point that is made clear in both the prophecies of
Daniel and Revelation is that, though in a divided state, these divisions are really the old Roman
kingdom still in existencefrom the territory of the Roman empire emerged the nations of Christendom.
The "Christian civilization" which the Roman power developed is still the dominating factor in the world,
and the prophecies make it clear that this form of civilization adopted by Rome and bequeathed to
those nations which had their origin in Roman territory, will dominate the world until Jesus comes to
destroy the false system of worship. The iron of Rome continues till the coming of Christ Dan. 2:34; 4145. The stone smites the iron of the toes. The Roman beast was to continue until the second advent and
be given to the burning flamethe same is said of the beast in Rev. 19:20; 20:10. The Papacy is said to be
"the son of perdition"; the beast that is resurrectedafter receiving the death-stroke mentioned in Rev.
13is said to be "of the seven, and goeth into perdition" (Rev. 17:11).
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Rome pagan controlled her politically united territory through military power; Rome papal exercises her
control of diverse nations through false teachings. As the world obeyed the Caesars, so the world is
destined to obey the dictates of the spiritual Caesar, when the Sunday laws are enforced.
We would ask the reader to bear with us as we present further reasons why Rome in both its pagan and
papal phases could well come under the onethe 6th-head.
It is obvious that the seven heads in Rev. 12, 13, and 17 represent powerful enemies of the people of
God. In the Old Testament times, from the time Israel became a nation and prophetic imagery became
based upon the fact of Israel being the nation bearing the will of God, in contradistinction to the Gentile
nations who opposed God's plan of redemption, 6 of those heads existed, the 6th being Rome. With
Rome we enter into New Testament times, and into the realm of the spiritual application of those Old
Testament literalities. That is, the church then
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becomes the Israel of God, and all the promises and the prophecies pertaining to Israel become the
precious heritage of the church, which is still represented as the "nation" (see Matt. 21:43; 1 Pet. 2:9;
etc.) of "Israel", see Gal. 6:16; Heb. 8:10; etc. Similarly, the Roman nation, the 6th nation to oppose
national Israel, finds its spiritual counterpart in the Roman church. The Papacy is always represented as
a part of Rome: what is said of the one is said of the other. As the writer has stated in an earlier
publication:
"Verses 23-25 of Daniel 8 use the same words to picture both pagan and papal Rome. What literal Rome
did nationally, spiritual Rome did, and does, in a spiritual sense. To the Hebrews, the literal Romans
spoke in `dark sentences' (compare Dan. 8:23 with Deut. 28:49), and spiritual Rome, by adhering to the
Latin tongue in her services, also speaks in `dark sentences'. To spiritual Hebrews their doctrines, also,
are `dark'. See Ps. 119:105, etc. 'His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power,' is equally true of
literal and spiritual Rome. Rome dominated most of the ancient world; spiritual Rome's power has been
mighty in the past, but is now reaching unto the uttermost parts of the earth. 'He shall destroy
wonderfully': both pagan and papal Rome have destroyed wonderfully. 50,000,000 martyrs testify to the
`double' application of this passage in relation to spiritual Rome. The words `shall prosper, and practice,
and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people', fit both literal and spiritual Rome. Pagan Rome
invaded the typical land, and destroyed the Jewish nation, slew many Jews, destroyed their city and
temple. Spiritual Rome invaded the spiritual land of Israel, and destroyed millions of the members of
spiritual Israel-the spiritual city and temple of God. The transition from literal to spiritual Rome
automatically takes place, in harmony with the established Bible principle.
"The transition is also seen when comparing Dan. 12:7 with Dan. 8:24. In Dan. 12:7 we read: `When they
have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people' (R.V.). The reference to the
destruction of `the holy people' has its origin in Dan. 7:25 and 8:24. That papal Rome, in addition to
pagan Rome, is described in Dan. 8:24 is evident from the fact that, in Dan. 12:7, this work of destroying
`the holy people', is said to occur during the 1260 years of Papal supremacy. When Jesus, in Matt. 24,
quotes from the prophecy of Daniel regarding the coming of `the abomination'the Roman armies (Luke
21:20; GC. 21, 26)to `destroy the city and the sanctuary' (Dan. 9:26, 27; Luke 21:20), and then passes,
without a break in His sermon, to depict the destruction of the saints during the dark ages (Matt. 24:1520 and notice 21, 22), He is following the principle used in the book of Daniel itself. Dan. 12:7 speaks of
papal Rome having
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power to 'scatter the power of the holy people', or, as given in the Revised Version, 'breaking in pieces
the power of the holy people'. The 'breaking in pieces' and scattering of the literal Jewish nation,
referred to by Jesus in Luke 21:24; Matt. 21:43, 44, etc., was the literal fulfillment: but in the dark ages
occurred the spiritual fulfillment, when papal Rome attacked the spiritual city and templethe church."
"The Certainty of the Third Angel's Message Proved by Important Principles of Prophetic Interpretation",
pp. 140, 141.
There are many reasons for suggesting that pagan and papal Rome could well be represented under the
same head, for when depicting the Roman power the Holy Spirit has often referred to pagan and papal
Rome as the same power. Consider for a moment further the Saviour's reference to "the abomination of
desolation". He said: "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel
the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand)"-see Matt. 24:15. In Dan. 9:26,
27 we read of the coming of the Romans who would "destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end
thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined . . . and for the
over-spreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even unto the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolator", see margin. "Abominations" is the word employed in
Scripture when referring to idolatrous worship. Commenting on Matt. 24:15, God's servant says:
"When the idolatrous standards of the Romans should be set up in the holy ground,which extended
some furlongs outside the city walls, then the followers of Christ were to find safety in flight" (GC: 26).
Not only are we given an interpretation of what is intended by "abominations"idolatry-but we are also
informed that the power referred to is that of Romein this instance, pagan Rome. But we see that the
same word is employed when describing papal Rome. In the book of Daniel the "abominations" are
mentioned three timesDan. 9:27; 11:31; 12:11. As we have just seen, the Lord's servant applies Dan.
9:27 to pagan Rome and as all Seventh-day Adventist Bible students know, papal Rome is referred to
when the same term is employed in Dan. 11:31; 12:11. We not only find that thus the Old Testament
designates both pagan and papal Rome with the same words, but the same applies also in the New
Testament, where the Greek word for "abomination" (bdelugma) occurs six (Babylon's number) timessee Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14; Luke 16:15; Rev. 17:4, 5; 21:27. Here again we find the same word
employed in designating both pagan
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and papal Rome. As we have seen, the Spirit of prophecy applies Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14 regarding "the
abomination of desolation" to pagan Rome, and the Revelator in describing the spiritual Roman power,
designates her "the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth" (Rev. 17:5). Both pagan and papal
Rome are designated by the same word.
The word "desolation", accompanying the word "abomination" in our Lord's prophecy of the coming of
the Roman army to destroy Jerusalem, is mentioned 7 times in Dan. 8:13; 9:17, 18, 26, 27; 11:31; 12:11.
("The desolate" of 9:27, and "the desolations" of 9:2 are from different words.) Dan. 11:31; 12:11 refer
to the Papal desolation. From these texts we again observe that the same word is employed for both
pagan and papal Rome.
Describing the distress occasioned by the invasion of Palestine by the Romans, Jesus spoke of "those
days". He employed the same term when referring to the distress occasioned by Papal persecutionssee
Matt. 24:19 and 22.
The Jewish nation and city were destroyed "with a flood" of Roman soldiers (Dan. 9:26). The same
expression is employed when depicting the work of destruction by papal Rome against the church of
Jesus in the dark agessee Rev. 12:15-17. It is to this picture of the Roman-Babylonian flooding of the
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waters of the Euphrates over the land of Israel that is the subject of such prophecies as Isa. 8:7, 8; Rev.
16:12; etc. Thus we see again that the same word is employed for both pagan and papal Rome.
We see the same fact by comparing Luke 21:20, 24 with Rev. 11:2. Luke 21:20, 24 depicts Jerusalem
being surrounded and taken by the Romans. Jesus prophesied: "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the
Gentiles." Now when the Revelator pictures the forces of papal Rome persecuting the saints in the dark
ages, he terms them "the Gentiles", and says: "And the holy city shall they ['the Gentiles] tread under
foot forty two months" (Rev. 11:2). Referring to pagan Rome, Jesus said that "Jerusalem shall be
trodden down of the Gentiles". Referring to papal Rome, John says that "the Gentiles" shall "tread under
foot" "the holy city". Thus the identical language is employed for both pagan and papal Rome. What
pagan Rome did literally to the Jewish nation and city provides the Revelator with the prophetic symbolism with which to depict the destructive work of the Papacy against God's people. And further, when
the servant of the Lord describes the world's crisis involving spiritual Israel in the last days, she employs
precisely the same figure. Observe the following extract:
"As the approach of the Roman armies was a sign to the disciples of the impending destruction of
Jerusalem, so may this apostasy [of Protestant America, and other countries, joining with Rome to
enforce the Papal Sunday]
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Be sign to us that the limit of God's forbearance is reached, that the measure of our nations iniquity is
full, and the angel of mercy is about to take her flight, never to return" 5T. 451).
Again the servant of the Lord employs the same figure to represent the attack of the modern Roman
armies-the combined forces of the Papacy and Protestantism-upon the people of God:
"As the siege of Jerusalem by the Roman armies was the signal for flight to the Judean Christians, so the
assumption of power on the part of our nation, in the decree enforcing the Papal Sabbath, will be a
warning to us" (5T. 464).
It will thus be observed that the attack upon Jerusalem by the Romans is still the figure employed by the
Revelator in describing the attack upon God's people in the dark ages, and still the same figure
employed by God's servant in describing the attack upon God's remnant people in the final conflict. It is
still the Roman armies attacking Israel throughout the Christian dispensation. This shows that even in
the 7th head, which is made of Papal and Protestant forces, it is still represented as if it were Roman
forces. Thus apostate Protestantism does not make up a head on its own, but is included with the
Roman armies. The more this is thought through the more it will appear logical and clear. The writer has
shown in "Europe and Armageddon" that all the nations of ChristendomNorth and South America,
Australia, South Africa, etc.--wherever they are found on the planet, are of European origin, but have
brought with them in their migration to distant lands, which they have colonized, "Christian civilization"or a religious belief which is nominally Christian. As Rome dominated these nations for so long a time,
many, if not all, of these nations took with them their understanding of Christianity which, of course, has
come out of the Roman mould. As Sunday observance emanated from Rome, the nations who enforce
that false Sabbath will of course be Romans; that is the view which is undoubtedly presented in the
prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation.
The student of the writings of God's servant cannot help being impressed with the number of times she
writes of Rome, when referring to the Papacy. We cite a few examples from the large number that could
be given:
"Many of the Protestant churches are following Rome's example of iniquitous connection with 'the kings
of the earth' . the churches that separated from Rome present other of her characteristics" (GC. 383).
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"Under the rule of Rome" (GC. 591). The reader is urged to read pages 577-581 (of GC.) as an example of
the great number of times the Lord's servant refers to "the influence of Rome"; "the Sunday institution
that rests solely upon the authority of the Romish church"; "the enmity of Rome toward the true
Sabbath and its defenders"; "Rome had trampled upon the Sabbath of God to exalt her own"; "the
despotic power of Rome"; "Rome's policy"; "the triumph of Rome"; "the purposes of Rome";
"Protestants ... accept the aid of Rome in the work of Sunday exaltation"; "We shall soon see and feel
what the purpose of the Roman element is"; etc. Commenting upon "the woman, Babylon, of Revelation
17", the Lord's servant says : "Babylon is further declared to be 'that great city, which
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reigneth over the kings of the earth' (Rev. 17:18). The power that for so many centuries maintained
despotic sway over the monarchs of Christendom, is Rome" (GC. 382).
Papal Rome is but the outgrowth of Pagan Rome. Papalism emerged from pagan Rome, and is spiritual
Rome. The same city and territory of Rome, the same regal splendours, the same idolatry with a change
of names.
"The Roman emperors, as high pontiffs, were paid divine honours; hence the alternative offered to the
early Christians, 'sacrifice to Caesar, or death'. But the homage paid to the pagan pontiff in every
country did not exceed that demanded and received by the popes in the plenitude of their power... .
"The last pontiff king of Pergamos was Attains III, who at his death bequeathed his dominions and
authority to the Roman people, 133 B.C., and from that time the two lines of Pontifex Maximus were
merged into the Roman one. Therefore, when Julius Caesar was elected Pontifex Maximus, he assumed
to himself the divinity claimed by the pontiff kings of Chaldea, and from henceforth the emperors of
Rome received divine honours.... But just as pagan Rome was the true offspring and successor of
Babylon, so is papal Rome the true offspring and successor of pagan Rome. When paganism was
nominally abolished in the Roman Empire, the head of the pagan hierarchy was also suppressed. Some
of the Christian emperors did indeed accept the title of Pontifex Maximus, while others, refusing it
themselves, appointed a pagan priest, until the reign of Gratian, who, refusing to do either, abolished
the office, 376 A.D. Two years afterwards ... he offered the title and office to Damascus, Bishop of Rome
... and from that time until now the title has been held by the popes of Rome." The True Christ and the
False Christ", J. Gamier, Vol. II, p. 85-96.
That the Papacy is the continuance of pagan Rome is also stated by eminent Roman Catholic writers.
Notice the following extracts:
"The crimes as well as the civilization of a thousand years were accumulated at Rome, and both were
swept away together by that overwhelming flood of fierce barbarians . . . to make room for the kingdom
of God which was to be enthroned upon its ruins; for such was the purpose of God that the very centre
of Christendom, the very throne of Christ. upon earth, on which He would visibly sit in the person of His
vicar, was there to be established, where the throne of the Caesars and the golden house of Nero had
been swept away in headlong ruin. . The substitution of Christendom for the civilized pagan world-the
setting up of the throne of the vicar of Christ upon the ruins of the palace of the Caesars.""The Church
and the Empire", by William H. W. Wilberforce, pp. 45, 46.
This author was one time editor of the Catholic Standard, and his book is preceded by a Memoir of the
author, by J. H. (Cardinal) Newman, D.D.
"St. Thomas ... says that the Roman Empire has not ceased, but is changed from the temporal into the
spiritual. . . . It was, then, the Apostolic Church, which, spreading throughout all nations, already
combined together by the power of the heathen empire of Rome, quickened them with a new life . . .
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the temporal power in the old heathen empire of Rome, and the spiritual power in the new supernatural
kingdom of God met together ... these two powers were blended and fused together; they became one
authority, the emperor ruling from his throne within the sphere of his earthly jurisdiction, and the
Supreme Pontiff ruling likewise from a throne of a higher sovereignty over the nations...... the material
power which once reigned in Rome (was) consecrated and sanctified by the investiture of the Vicar of
Jesus Christ with temporal sovereignty over the city where he dwelt....
"And now for these twelve hundred years the peace, the perpetuity and faithfulness of the Christian
civilization of Europe, has been owing solely in its principle to this consecration of the power and
authority of the great empire of
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Rome, taken up of old, perpetuated, preserved, as I have said, by the salt which had been sprinkled from
heaven, and continued in the person of the Supreme Pontiff, and in that order of Christian civilization of
which he has been the creator"The Temporal Power of the Vicar of Jesus Christ, by Cardinal Manning,
pp. 123-128.
"The interval between the failure of the empire in Italy and the confirmation of the Temporal
Sovereignty of the Pontiffs was an interregnum, nor was it of long duration. In the three hundred years
before the translation of the empire, a power had grown up far more imperial over the reason and will
of man than the iron despotism of the Roman ... was embodied in one person, the Bishop of Rome." id,
pp. 30, 31 of Preface.
One more quotation must suffice for our present purpose. We quote this time from the pen of William
Francis Barry, an eminent English Roman Catholic clergyman and educator:
"If we extend our view over the ruins of the Western Empire, such is the spectacle that meets us on
every side . . the Pax Romana has ceased ; it is universal confusion. But wherever a bishop holds his
court, religion protects all that is left of the ancient order. A new Rome ascends slowly above the
horizon. It is the heir of the religion which it has overthrown; it assumes the outward splendors of the
Caesars.... a Emperor is no more.... But the Pontifex Maxamus abides; he is now the Vicar of Christ,
offering the old civilization to the tribes of the north. He converts them to his creed, and they serve him
as their Father and judge supreme. This is the Papal Monarchy, which in its power and its decline
overshadows the history of Europe for a thousand years." The Papal Monarchy, W. F. Barry, D.D., pp. 45,
46.
Papal Rome teaches the old Babylonian mysteries which she receives via pagan Rome. Rising out of
pagan Rome, imitating or continuing the imperial power and worldly glory of pagan Rome, in the same
capital city of the old pagan Roman empire, how fitting that the Holy Spirit, in the sacred Scriptures,
should blend old Babylon with Rome-pagan and papal.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
IN VISION JOHN WAS CARRIED TO OUR DAY WHEN THE BEAST "IS ABOUT TO COME UP
OUT OF THE ABYSS". THE 1260 DAYS OF PAPAL SUPREMACY ARE
NOT MENTIONED IN REVELATION 17. WHAT IS THE
SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS OMISSION?
Both the beasts of Rev. 13 and 17 have seven heads and ten horns and have a number of similarities,
and refer to the same power. The woman and the beast of Rev. 17 we have shown is the same as the
beast of Rev. 13 where the church is included in the beast symbol. Apart from this there is one other
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difference, and that concerns the time element. The beast of Rev. 13 rose "up out of the sea", whereas
the beast of Rev. 17 comes "up out of the abyss" (R.V.). The former represents the beginning or birth of
the beast. In Dan. 7 the angel explained to Daniel that the four beasts which "came up from the sea"
meant that "four kings" would "arise out of the earth" (vs. 3, 17). Thus indicating their origin. However,
the beast of Rev. 17 does not come "up out of the sea" but "up out of the abyss", which we have shown
refers to the place of death. He must, therefore, have lived before and died. By this we know that the
prophecy of Rev. 17 focuses upon the time when the death-stroke received by one of the heads of the
beast of Rev. 13 is healed, and all the world will wonder after the beast. Thus one of the headsthe
Papal head of the beast of Rev. 13 has a resurrection. Only one head exists at a time, so the Papal head
that was slain is the one to be healed (Rev. 13) or resurrected (Rev. 17); then all the world will wonder
after the beast whose head is healed of its death-stroke. Therefore we know that Rev. 17 was given by
God so His people might become intelligent concerning the final conflict which will follow the
resurrection of the persecuting beast.
In furtherance of this thought we observe a significant omission of any mention or reference to the 1260
days of Papal supremacy. They are mentioned in Dan. 7, included in the 2300 days of Dan. 8 and 9; they
are referred to in Dan. 11:35, 40; 12:7, 11, 12 and in Rev. 11:2, 3; 12:6, 14 and 13:5; but not in Rev. 17.
Why? Obviously because the main application of this prophecy belongs to the time subsequent to the
completion of those days.
That John is carried forward in time to the period just before the beast is resurrected to power, in other
words to our own day, is perfectly obvious from the fact that the angel no less than three times in this
chapter emphatically states that the beast
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"was" and now "is not, and shall come". Three tenses are brought to view: one points to the past
activities of the beast before it received its deadly wound; another points to the future activities of the
beast; while the angel speaks of the presentthe "is not" period of the beast's activities when, through
receiving the deathstroke, he is unable to persecute the people of God. Observe the three times the
angel makes it clear that it is now, now when the beast cannot as yet lead the nations of the world to
persecute God's people because of its death-stroke that is not completely healed, now that the
prophecy is to have its message for God's people. Now, ere the persecuting beast fully emerges from his
state of death, now when the beast "is about to come up out of the abyss", this prophecy belongs. It
was to our day that John was carried and shown the soon-coming resurrection of the beast that is to
result in peril to the people of God; it was to now that he was carried to behold the unfolding of the
scenes of the last great conflict resulting in "the judgment of the great whore", which has been
mentioned in Rev. 16, but more fully described in Rev. 17:16, 17 and in Rev. 18.
Rev. 17: 8 reads: "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss."
Again in the same verse we read: " . . . when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and
shall come."
Again we read, in v. 11: "The beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth [i.e. when he comes]
and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition."
Thus John was carried forward in time to our day when he was able to look back on the beast of
persecution that "was", and as he stood in the period when the beast of persecution is in a state of
inactivity, an "is not" state, he looked to the near future when the beast "is about to come up out of the
abyss". From today he, with us, looked back to the time when the woman used the State to persecute
the saints, for he said: "I saw, the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of
the martyrs of Jesus" (v. 6). It is at this time that five of the heads have fallen and the 6th "one is", and
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only one more head of persecution is to be upon the beast. From today, looking back into the days of
Papal supremacy, John could describe the Papacy as the whore "with whom the kings of the earth have
committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her
fornication" (Rev. 17:2). As we have shown, this prophecy refers mainly to the final conflict which will be
a worldwide repetition of what occurred in Europe during the days of Papal supremacy. In a much
greater sense v. 2 is to be repeated for this is the feature which is particularly emphasized in the loud
cry. The angel comes down from heaven having mighty power,
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"And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen ... for all nations have drunk
of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with
her" (Rev. 18:1-3). Thus the time to which John was carried when he was shown "the judgment of the
great whore", the time when he was shown the awful fate to befall the Babylonian whore that has so
often in the past persecuted God's people, was between 1798 (when the beast's power to persecute
was completely taken away) and when the beast again comes to life in the near future. The woman,
having fully given kings and nations her poisonous wine, persuades the kings to please her by
persecuting the saints. The rising power of evil is met by the descending power of God as His servants
mightily proclaim the loud cry.
The prophet Ezekiel, while dwelling in Babylon, was carried by the Spirit and "brought in the visions of
God to Jerusalem" where he saw and described things as if he were bodily present at Jerusalem. From
Ezek. 8:7-18, without reading the introductory verses, one would come to wrong conclusions as to
where Ezekiel was at the time. Just as Ezekiel was lifted up and carried to another place by the Spirit, so
John in vision was carried forward to our day and he described what he saw of the past Papal
persecutions; he saw the wounding of the Papal head of the beast, and pointed to the things happening
in our day which are indications that the persecuting beast "is about to come up out of the abyss".
"And prophecy foretells, a restoration o f her power. 'I saw one of his heads wounded to death, and his
deadly wound was healed; and all the world wondered after the beast' . .. She is' silently, growing into
power" (GC. 579, 581).
Thus the study of Rev. 17 is destined to become more and more important to the people of God, for it
contains a message which will be more fully proclaimed as the evil days depicted therein draw nearer
and nearer, bringing God's people nearer to their supreme testing time when the Church and State will
combine for their destruction.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
WHY WAS JOHN CARRIED INTO THE WILDERNESS TO
SEE THE WOMAN SITTING UPON THE BEAST?
In Rev. 12 "the wilderness" is mentioned twice: "And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she
hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand and threescore days"; "And to
the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place,
where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent." Thus we
have already been informed concerning "the wilderness" where the church fled to escape some of the
fury of the persecution heaped upon her by the forces of Babylon. When John beholds the Babylonian
whore out in "the wilderness" (Rev. 17:3) sitting upon the scarlet coloured beast she is "drunken with
the blood of saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus" (Rev. 17: 6). She has done her dastardly
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work and is replete with the blood of the saints. This view therefore represents the woman after the
terrible persecutions of the Dark Ages.
As we have shown in another chapter, this prophecy pertains to events to transpire before the utter
destruction of this Babylonian whore. In the very first verse of this chapter we are informed by John that
"there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me,
Come hither [i.e. to the wilderness]; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore". Here we
are definitely told that this prophecy pertains to the events which lead up to the judgment of the
Babylonian whore. Why is she to be thus judged and condemned? Because of her persecution of the
saints in the dark ages and also because she is again seeking to destroy the people of God-this time to
utterly extirpate God's remnant people from off the whole world.
In Rev. 13:10 we read: "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the
sword must be killed with the sword." The power that made the church of Jesus fall by the sword also
fell by the sword. He that made the church flee before angry priest-dominated multitudes will also flee
before infuriated peoples when the hour comes for the utter destruction of the forces of Babylon. The
Babylonian whore that made Christ's precious bride flee into the wilderness, is destined to suffer the
vengeance of God and herself have a grim wilderness experience. That this is the significance of the
woman sitting upon the beast
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in the wilderness, as shown in the vision to John, becomes obvious by observing that the Greek word for
desolate (v. 16) is eremoo, which is derived from eremos the word for wilderness in v. 3. Thus, the
wilderness experience suffered by the true church is also to become the experience of the Babylonian
whore when the time comes for the ten kings to "hate the wore, and shall make her desolate and d
naked, and shalt eat her flesh, and burn her with fire."
As we have shown elsewhere, the desolating and burning of the whore is the same as the desolating and
burning of the city of Babylon, which is so graphically described in Rev. 18. As this sudden calamity
befalls this proud symbolic city, the statement is made: "for in one hour is she made desolate" (Rev. 18:
19)here the same word is employed as that which describes the desolation which is to befall the
whore, as declared in Rev. 17: 16.
Observe the thought of receiving the same treatment which she meted out to God's people: "Reward
her even as she rewarded you and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she
hath filled fill to her double" Rev. 18: 6). The Lord inspired Jeremiah to portray the doom of ancient
Babylon which is set forth in the Scriptures as the type of the doom awaiting modern Babylon: "Shout
against her round about: her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance
of the Lord: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.... Call together the archers against
Babylon ... let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she
hath done, do unto her; for she hath been proud against the Lord, the Holy One of Israel (Jer. 50:15, 29)
As we have pointed out in "The Fall of Babylon in Type and Antitype", it is because the Lord, through
Jeremiah, sought to emphasize this fact that Babylon must go through experiences similar to that which
she has made God's people pass through, that Jeremiah emphasizes that Babylon would be overthrown
by powers coming from the north, for Babylon came from the north to attack Israel. We would turn the
attention of our readers to the book just mentioned for fuller details of other statements made in the
book of Jeremiah showing that the fate outlined to befall Babylon repeats the things Babylon did to
God's people.
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Thus the Babylonian whore is pictured in the prophecy of Rev. 17 as being out in "the wilderness"
"drunken with the blood of saints" and receiving support from all earthly powers which she intends to
employ in the destruction of the remnant people of God. But, suddenly, when her success seemed to be
about assured, the tables are turned and she herself is desolated-made a wilderness. And then the
whole Babylonian world becomes one great desolate wilderness for the 1,000 years. And our analysis
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of this chapter will not be completed until we have shown the relationship between the events which
occur before that 1,000 years of wilderness and those events which transpire after that period of
desolation.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
"WHEN HE-THE 7th HEAD-COMETH, HE MUST
CONTINUE A SHORT SPACE."
In a previous chapter it was necessary to make mention concerning the 7th head, about which it was
declared: "And when he cometh he must continue a short space", or "little while" (R.V.). This is the only
occasion when mention is made regarding time concerning these 7 heads. Therefore the mention of the
duration of the 7th head in contrast to the complete silence regarding the time element in regard to the
other heads, would surely suggest its importance to the people of God. The application of this 7th head
to the Exarch of Ravenna caused those who adopted that interpretation to assume that because this
head was to operate for "a little while" it was therefore of such little importance that it need not be
counted as one of the heads! Thus the only head to have a time period mentioned in connection with it
was singularly selected to represent a power not worth considering. But surely by the very fact that this
7th head is selected from among all the others as the only one to have time connected with it indicates
its importance. We have already shown that the period covered by the Exarch of Ravenna, instead of
being "a little while" when compared with the short two years of the Decemvirs, was actually a very long
period by that comparison. But we need not consider that illogical view any further in this chapter as we
have already dealt with it previously.
As we have shown he 7th head is the last of the heads!the beast has but 7 headsand this beast in its
resurrected state is aided in its deadly work against the remnant church by the ten horns, or the ten
kings, that "receive power as kings one hour with the beast." (v. 12). Thus the "short space", or "little
while", finds a parallel in the time the ten kngs enjoy power with this resurrected beast for "one hour".
From the Greek word hora it is not possible to obtain an accurate idea of the actual length of time
intended. Dr. Strong says that this word means "day, hour, instant, season". While a certain
indefiniteness as to the actual length of time may result from the word itself, yet the context guides us
in our understanding of the significance the Lord thus sought to convey. Rev. 17 and 18 must be
understood as being supplementary and complementary to each other-the destruction of Babylon as a
city described in Rev. 18 pictures the same destruction of Babylon the destruction of the Babylonian
whore who is said to be
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"that great city"mentioned in the closing verses of Rev. 17. Three times in Rev. 18 the destruction
which is to befall Babylon after her brief hour of triumph, is said to come in "one hour": "Alas, alas, that
great city, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come" (v. 10) ; "For in one hour so great
riches is come to nought" (v. 17); "For in one hour is she made desolate" (v. 19) In a previous
publication"Before Probation Closes"we have had occasion to mention in detail the fact that Babylon
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controls the nations from the time of the enforcement of Sunday laws, occurring before probationcloses, until the outpouring of the 6th-plague, which quickly merges into the opening of the 7th plague.
Then, through God's intervention on behalf of His people, when His mighty voice is heard throughout
the whole world and is associated with astounding demonstrations of His almighty power on behalf of
His people, the false religious leaders make their confession of wrong-doing, which results in Babylon
being divided; each section turning with fury upon the other until the whole world becomes one vast
battlefield. As we have shown in "God Speaks-and Israel Triumphs", from the time that God determines
to utterly destroy the hitherto triumphant forces of Babylon at the opening of the 6th plague (note Rev.
16:19 and remember the significance of v. 12), until the coming of Christ is, in the words of the Spirit of
Prophecy, "a number of days"; "soon", "close upon" (for extracts see p. 72 of "God Speaks-and Israel
Triumphs").
From these facts we know that this "hour" for the destruction of Babylon can be no more than "a
number of daysthat is, when the entire length of time taken to completely destroy Babylon, from the
time of the 6th plague until the coming of Christ, is considered. The use of the word hour may also be
intended to convey the suddenness with which disaster overtakes Babylon. As the "one hour" of Rev.
17:12 is associated with the "one hour" of Rev. 18:10, 17, 19 one is justified in concluding that as the
hour mentioned in Rev. 18 refers to a very brief period, so also does the hour of Rev. 17. We have
shown that the 7th head is the last of the heads to persecute God's people and will continue from the
time Church and State unite in the last days to enforce the mark of the beast until that unity is broken
up at the time of the 6th and 7th plagues. Of the length of time this 7th head is to operate we are
informed: "And when he cometh, he must continue a short space", or "a little while" (R.V.). The Revised
Standard Version reads: "When he comes he must remain only a little while". Goodspeed's translation
reads: "The other is not yet come and when he comes his stay must be brief." The New Testament in
Modern English, by Montgomery, reads: "And
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when he does come he must remain a short time." James Moffatt's translation reads: "And when he
does arrive, he is only to stay a little while."
As the hour of Babylon's destruction is "only little while", "a short space", the period during which the
7th head will be permitted to carry out its persecution of the people of God will also be "one hour", "a
short space", "a little while", "only a little while"; "when he comes his stay must be brief"; "when he
does come he must remain a short time"; "when he does arrive, he is only to stay a little while". The
evident meaning is that the 7th head is to be limited to a short space of time when he appears, for it will
be observed that when this 7th head comes into beingwhen the 6th head that was wounded is healed
of its death-stroke and resurrected to life and power again (assisted thus by apostate Protestantism)
then it is said that the kings "have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast"
receiving "power as kings one hour with the beast". Thus the length of time the 7th head (which is
stamped 8 because of its being resurrected from a state of death) persecutes the people of God is
plainly declared to be "one hour", for that is the length of time the kings "receive power as kings one
hour with the beast"; that is, both the beast and the kings persecute God's people for "one Hour , "a
short space, "a little while", "only a little while"; for when the beast comes "his stay must be brief, "he
must remain a short time", "he is only to stay a little while".
The writer has already shown that this prophecy, as with some others, has had an earlier fulfillment. In
the Dark Ages the beast persecuted the people of God, and the kings of Europe gave their power and
strength unto the beast. Commenting upon the woman Babylon, of Revelation 17", the Lord's servant
says: "The power that for so many centuries maintained despotic sway over the monarchs of
Christendom, is Rome" (GC. 382) Thus an application of Rev. 17 to the days Papal tyranny in the Dark
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Ages is clearly made. Such an application of course is obvious from the chapter itself. Often one finds
instances of a fulfilment of prophecy in a general sense which is later repeated in a more specific sense;
fulfilled in a more world-wide sense. It is obviously thus with this prophecy. What Rome did during the
days of her supremacy when her power was confined mainly to the things of Europe, will be repeated
upon a world-wide scale. As the time draws near for the more specific and world-wide fulfilment the
more will the Holy Spirit reveal that larger fulfilment to the people of God, and thus prepare them for
the scenes therein depicted. The "hour" in the Dark Ages when the kings gave their power and strength
unto the beast could he said to be "an era",
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but as the events portrayed in the prophecies are to be accelerated greatly (as explicitly stated in a
number of prophecies) the "hour" is to be seen more explicitly as "a short space", "a little while"; it will
be understood in the light of the "hour" mentioned in Rev. 18 for the destruction of Babylon. That
destruction will be brought about suddenly in "a number of days", "soon". For "one hour""only a little
while"Babylon will persecute the people of God; for one brief hour she will be triumphant. But that
hour of triumph changes suddenly into the "hour" for her destruction.
God gave this message concerning the brevity of the time during which His people would be persecuted
over the Sunday-Sabbath issues, in order to encourage them. In "Before Probation Closes" and "God
Speaks-and Israel Triumphs", the writer has sought to present facts relative to the length of time
involved from the time Sunday laws commence being enforced in the United States until the deliverance
of God's people at the time of the 6th and 7th plagues, and from information therein revealed from the
Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy we were able to show that it will be indeed "only a little while". That
time will be terrible in its intensity, but the Lord has given His people assurance that it will be "only a
little while". In bringing the controversy to a head, the Lord will permit the power of Babylon to be
restored: "For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil His will, and to age, and give their kingdom unto the
beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled" (Rev. 17:17). That agreement, however, will last but "one
hour", "a little while", "only a little while", until the outpouring of the 6th plague. When Babylon's fury is
let loose, then God will speak to His people through such passages as Isa. 26:20: "Come, My people,
enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment,
until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the
inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity."
The truth that the storm of Satanic wrath against God's people in the last great conflict will last "as it
were for a 'little moment", only for "a short space", for "a little while", "only a little while", only for one
brief "hour", Satan has sought to hide under the application of the 7th head to the Exarch of Ravenna, or
by misapplying the 7th head to any other power than the one that will exist until the time of the 6th and
7th plagues.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
THE APPLICATION OF REVELATION 17 TO THE EVENTS BEFORE, AND AFTER, THE
MILLENNIUM: "HE MUST CONTINUE A LITTLE WHILE" (Rev. 17:10, R.V.); "HE MUST BE
LOOSED FOR A LITTLE TIME" (Rev. 20:3, R.V.).
The prophecies of Revelation are so written-particularly those of chapters 12 to 20-that they point to
events to transpire both before and after the millennium. We have shown this rather exhaustively in
"The Certainty .of the Third Angel's Message Revealed by Important Principles of Prophetic
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Interpretation: also Armageddon-Before and After the Millennium". We will not attempt in this book to
repeat what we wrote upon so extensively in that book. Here we must be content to present only those
things which bear definitely upon our analysis of Rev. 17. The reader is requested to bear with us as we
first deal with the principle of interpretation which must be understood in order to grasp the
significance and connection between the 7th head of the beast which is numbered 8, and the events to
occur at the end of the millennium.
The similarity of the language employed in Rev. 17:10 and Rev. 20:3 is sufficient to cause the careful
student of Holy Writ to examine the reason for such similarity. Rev. 17:10 says of the 7th head: "He
must continue a little while" (R.V.); Rev. 20:3 says: "He must be loosed for a Little Time" (R.V.). One
refers to the 7th head (stamped with the number 8 to symbolize its being resurrected) before the
millennium, the other refers to Satan after the millennium. We have clearly shown in the larger book
mentioned above (in which we have dealt with the principles governing the understanding of the
prophecies of Daniel, the Revelation, and all other last-day prophecies) that one of the underlying
principles is that before the millennium there is a spiritual, or symbolic, application concerning the
actors and factors in their relation to the centre (the Lord Jesus in His church) of the imagery depicting
the great conflict between the forces of good and evil; after the millennium, a literal application is made
in relation to the literal centrethe Lord Jesus in the literal New Jerusalem. For instance, to select one
example out of a great number, Rev. 14:20 reads: "And the wine press was trodden without the city".
Before the 1000 years, that verse depicts the awful carnage of the slaughter of all the wicked who have
gathered around the church to destroy the people of God; after the 1000
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years it depicts the greater destruction of all the wicked of all ages when they have gathered around the
holy city endeavouring to take it and to destroy the saints within (Rev. 20:7-9).
If the simple truth conveyed by these two texts were believed, every problem connected with the
understanding of last-day prophecies concerning the final conflict would automatically be settled.
Because wrong interpretations have been made with reference to "Armageddon"superficial, manmade interpretationsthe resultant confusion has spread a veil over the study of the Scriptures so that
what is plain and simple is rendered accordingly confused and disconnected. The simple statement
made by the servant of the Lord that "Christ is the centre of all true doctrine" ("Counsels to Teachers,"
p. 453), if believed, would throw a flood of light upon every last-day prophecy, for every last-day
prophecy depicts the last conflict as raging around Jerusalem, where Jesus reigns. Before the 1000 years
those prophecies depict a symbolic gathering of the nations to attack the people of God; after the 1000
years the same prophecies describe a literal gathering against the New Jerusalem, where Jesus reigns.
To correctly understand all the prophecies depicting the spiritual conflict, Jerusalem must be interpreted
as the centre of the battle between good and evil.
In the Old Testament, Jerusalem was the literal centre of national Israel, and many of Israel's national
enemies came against Jerusalem. As the things of ancient Israel are definitely declared in the New
Testament to be typical of the experiences of the church-spiritual Israel(1 Cor. 10:11, margin; 1 Pet.
2:9-11; etc.), we thus see envisioned the experiences of the people of God in New Testament times, and
particularly in the last days. In Rev. 11:2 the church is pictured as "the holy city" which was trodden
down by "the Gentiles" during the 1260 years of Papal supremacy. Because the church is thus
represented, all the rest of Scripture is automatically interpreted accordingly. Thus Babylon, the king of
the north, dwelling on the Euphrates "in the north country" (see Ezek. 26:7; Jer. 25:9; 46:6, 10; etc.),
which was to the literal north of the literal city of Jerusalem, in the New Testament is symbolically
represented as being north of the symbolic city of Jerusalem. When the Babylonian forces mentioned in
the book of Revelationthe dragon, beast, and false prophet; the Babylonian woman, the beast, and the
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kings-are said to gather against God and His people, that gathering must be understood as a symbolic
gathering before the 1000 years, and a literal gathering against Christ and His people after the 1000
years.
The very fact that the church is symbolically portrayed as "the holy city" in Rev. 11:2, and there attacked
by her enemies, and
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yet the New Jerusalem, "the holy city", described in Rev. 21, is understood in a literal sense, chows that
before the 1000 years Jerusalem has a symbolic significance and a literal meaning after the 1000 years.
And as everything is determined in the application of the prophecies in relation to Jerusalem it
automatically shows that there is a symbolic meaning before and a literal fulfillment after the 1000
years. Enemies of God's Old Testament people who literally gathered around and attacked ancient
Israel's literal city of Jerusalem, are brought into the spiritual imagery of the Revelation as types of the
enemies who gather around to attack the spiritual city of Israel. The Revelator carries this
representation through until the end of the 1000 years: then, all the literal enemies of ancient Israel and
all the enemies of the church will literally gather around the literal city in which reigns the visible Son of
God, the Prince of Peace, the Destroyer of the evil which makes "war" on Him and His people.
Prophecies depicting the final conflict over the Law of Godsuch as Dan. 11:40-45; Joel 3; Zech. 14; Ezek.
38; 39; Rev. 14:12; 16:12-16-employ the same phraseology as if Israel still dwells in "the Holy Land". The
language is the same, but the application is different: it does not refer to national, but spiritual Israel;
the land is not the literal but the symbolic land of Israel; the enemies do not literally gather against the
literal city of Jerusalem, but they are represented as if they did-for Jerusalem is a type of the church and
is thus applied in Rev. 11:2; 14:20; etc. These same prophecies apply before, and after, the millennium.
They may be summarized as follows: Before the millennium, Satan attacks Christ in His church, the
spiritual or symbolic Jerusalem; after the millennium, Satan attacks Christ and His church within the
literal Jerusalem: before the millennium, the "war" is a spiritual uniting, a symbolic gathering to attack
the church in "the land of Israel"; after the millennium, it will be a literal gathering and a literal attack
upon the literal holy city.
The "war", or "battle", which the Revelator describes from its commencement in heaven (Rev. 12:7-9)
until its close (Rev. 20:8), is "the war. between Christ and Satan depicted in "The Conflict of the Ag es"
series of the Spirit of Prophecy. The Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy teach that the "battle" (Rev. 20:8)
after the millennium is the same "battle" or "war'" (Rev 12:17, 16:14; 17:14; 19:11-21), as before the
millennium.
The final conflict will be waged "without the city" (Rev. 14:20). "The fugitives whom the Eternal calls
shall be inside Jerusalem" (Moffatt's Trans., Joel 2:32). This prophecy declares that "deliverance" will
come to "the remnant" "in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem". Joel 3 is the continuation of the same
prophecy: the
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gathering of the nations around Jerusalem and the "deliverance" of Israel "inside Jerusalem" can refer
only to the victory of God's Commandment-keeping "remnant" against whom Satan, through the
woman and the resurrected persecuting beast and the kings, is to make "war" in the last days (Rev.
12:17). This is precisely what is taught in the prophecy concerning the king of the north who will encamp
around Jerusalem (Dan. 11:45) with the intentions of destroying it, when he comes to his end by the
intervention of the Lord on behalf of His people.
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Before, and After, the Millennium
Observe the similarity of what occurs among the ranks of the wicked before and after the millennium:
before the 1000 years when the wicked, realizing that they are lost and that they have been deceived by
their religious leaders, turn upon them with fury (see GC. 655, 656); after the millennium the same
scene is repeated, only of course on a much more magnified scale. Of that time we read: "Their rage is
kindled against Satan and those who have been his agents in deception, and with the fury of demons
they turn upon them" (GC. 672). This is, of course, but one of a number of instances where events
before the 1000 years are repeated on a larger scale after the 1000 years, but all of them may be
discerned from the Scriptures when the general principle is employed, namely, what occurs before the
1000 years is presented spiritually or symbolically, and after the 1000 years it is to be understood in a
literal sense.
By this principle we know that the 7th head, which is numbered 8 because it refers to its resurrection
from the dead, is to have a spiritual or symbolic resurrection before the 1000 years, but a literal
resurrection after the 1000 years. This organization will have a spiritual, or symbolic, resurrection to
power to engage in a spiritual or symbolic gathering to attack Israel in "the holy city"; but, at the end of
the 1000 years, there will be a literal resurrection to life and power, a literal gathering of all the nations
of the lost around the New Jerusalem to engage in a literal conflict against Christ and His church.
The Bible teaching that the beast, the false prophet, and the kings of earth, will be united in their
warfare against the people of God, is clearly enunciated in the Spirit of Prophecy-see 5T. 449-452; GC.
592; 604, 605, 607, 615, 635. It will be observed that apostate Protestants "unite with the world and
with the papal power against commandment-keepers" (5T. 449). "Under one head-the papal power-the
people will unite to oppose God in the person of His witnesses" (7T. 182). Thus this vast confederation
all come under the one headthe 7ththat lasts until it is destroyed when God intervenes on behalf of
His people in the events of the 6th and 7th plagues.
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This great confederation of evil is depicted in such prophecies as Ezek. 38; 39; Joel 3; etc. A careful study
of those prophecies reveals that passages of Scripture are quoted from them by the Revelator when
describing the events to occur before, and after, the millennium. In Ezek. 38; 39 there is graphically
described a prodigious army, a combination of forces from all quarters led by Gog against the Israel of
God. John definitely quotes from Ezekiel's prophecy concerning Gog in Rev. 16:16; 19:17, 18; 20:8. An
analysis of these three quotations from Ezekiel's prophecy concerning Gog reveals that the Revelator
quotes it with reference to the gathering of the enemies of God's people both before, and after, the
millennium. The burial place for Israel's enemies is pictured as being in a valley east of the
Mediterranean Sea (Ezek. 39:11). This is stated by commentators who have given considerable study to
the topographical, geographical, and historical features of Ezekiel's description, to be a reference to
Megiddo. The reference to Megiddo in Rev. 16:16 is partly taken from the scene of the destruction of
Gog's armies on "the mountains of Israel"-see Ezek. 39:4. The enemies of God's people are said to be
destroyed upon the mountains of Israelsee also Isa. 14:25-27, and see our comments in another
chapter. The slaughter of Israel's enemies on "the mountains of Israel" is the basis of the first part of the
word "Armageddon", for "Har" in the Hebrew, to which we are specifically directed in Rev. 16:16, means
"a mountain". "Megiddo" means "slaughter" or "destruction". Thus Armageddon, or Har-Magedon,
means "the mountain of slaughter", hence the appropriateness of the use of the name in the description
of the overthrow of the enemies of Christ and His true Israel. Because the burial of Gog's army is
pictured in Ezekiel's vision as being at Megiddo (already mentioned in judges 4 and 5 as the place of the
defeat of Israel's enemies) Jesus, in Rev. 16: 16, connects up the two features of "Mountain" and
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"Megiddo" as one wordArmageddon. Actually Megiddo is said in the Bible to be in a valley, and not on
a mountain. In judges 5:19-21 Megiddo is said to be in the valley where flowed the river Kishon"the
waters of Megiddo ... the river Kishon". In 2 Chron. 35:22 we read of "the valley of Megiddo". And again
in Zech. 12:11 we read of "the valley of Megiddon". We never read of "Mount Megiddo", yet that is the
meaning of Rev. 16:16. Thus it is obvious that reference is not made to a literal place, but to a symbolic
place (with which is associated "Megiddo" meaning "slaughter" or "destruction"), for the Word of God
does not contradict itself-yet by applying Rev. 16: 16 to a literal place the Word of God is thus forced to
contradict itself.
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The burial place of Gog's army at Megiddo (which was on the ancient road east of the Mediterranean
Sea) Ezek. 39:11 refers to as "the valley of passengers [var. travellers] on the east of the sea ... and there
shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it, The valley of Hamon-gog, or the
multitude of Gog" (margin). Because Gog and his army are destroyed "upon the mountains of Israel" and
gathered and buried at "a place ... on the east of the sea" (which describes Megiddo in the valley along
which flowed the river Kishon), Rev. 16:16 combines the "mountain" with "Megiddo" in the valley.
Because Gog's burial ground "in the valley of Megiddo" is described in Ezek. 39:11 as "a place", Rev.
16:16 refers to "a place called in the Hebrew tongue. Armageddon". (For fuller application of Ezekiel's
prophecy see my other publications.)
Rev. 19:17, 18 is a quotation from Ezek. 39:4, 17-20, and by the Revelator's application of these verses
of Ezekiel's vision concerning Gog's mighty confederation of forces from all quarters to attack Israel, we
know that that prophecy of Ezekiel has reference to the attack upon God's remnant people, for Rev.
19:17, 18 quotes from this prophecy when describing the fate of the combined armies of the beast and
the false prophet in conjunction with the kings-see also Rev. 19:19, 20 and observe the context, vs. 1116. Thus the prophecy of Ezek. 38; 39 depicts the combination of forces in the last days who will
combine to attack the remnant church. Thus Ezek. 38; 39 is a portrayal of the 7th head of the beast of
Rev. 17.
Rev. 20:8 is also a reference to the prophecy of Ezek. 38; 39. Rev. 20:8 applies Ezek. 38; 39 to the
enemies of Christ and His church. Therefore this must be regarded as the Holy Spirit's emphatic teaching
concerning Gog's great confederated army against Israel: any other application is therefore from him
whose work is to oppose the work of Christ. As the Holy Spirit has thus applied the prophecy of Gog's
great combination of Israel's enemies coming from the "four quarters" (note the use of the word
"quarters" in Ezek. 38:6 and Rev. 20:8) to the wicked attacking the saints who are with Christ in the Holy
Jerusalem after the millennium, we know that that prophecy when quoted in Rev. 19:11-21 also refers
to the attack of all the wicked-the 7th head of the persecuting beast-against the remnant church who
are "with" Jesus in the symbolic Jerusalem on mount Sion (compare Rev. 17:14; Rev. 14:1; and Rev. 11:2;
14:20). Before the 1000 years that gathering is a symbolic gathering against God's people in "the holy
city"; after the 1000 years it will be a literal gathering against the literal holy city.
The thought of a huge confederation of all Israel's enemies is the outstanding feature in both Ezek. 38;
39 and the Revelation.
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A study of Ezek. 38; 39 will reveal a vivid presentation of the last-day combination of all Israel's enemies
against the remnant church. The combination of armies in Ezek. 38; 39 is against the Holy One of Israel
in the midst of His people (see Ezek. 39:7; 43:7). The last-day confederacy is also said to be the attack
against Jesus Christ Who is in the midst of His people (see Rev. 17:14: 19:19),
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In an earlier chapter we have shown that in the Revelation, which is a book full of the use of numbers, a
book written by Palmoni "the Wonderful Numberer" (Dan. 8:13, margin), the numbers employed as the
symbol number for the resurrection. All the sevens of the Apocalypse-the words "seven" or "seventh"
are found at least 59 times; besides a variety of other ways the number 7 is employed-point to the
ending of sin and the commencement of the eternal world that will rise from the death of this old world
of sin. The number 8, though only employed once in the Revelation (Rev. 17:11) concerning events to
occur before the millennium, is nevertheless a number that runs as a watermark throughout the
Apocalypse, ever pointing to the Lord Jesus Who now imparts the power of His resurrection to His saints
today, and Who will physically resurrect them when all the sevens of the Revelation have expired.
The Book of Life is mentioned 8 times in the New Testament: Phil 4:3; Rev. 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15;
21:27; 22:19. This book, after the judgment, will contain the names of those who will inherit the new
world; names which the Lord in His foreknowledge wrote in it from the very foundation of the world
(Rev. 13:8; 17:8)those whose names were written in the Book of Life as candidates for Heaven but who
did not endure until the end and thus live up to their profession by the power of an indwelling Christ,
will be blotted out, leaving those names foreseen by the Lord. The new world comes after this earth has
run for 7,000 years. 6,000 years roll by before the millenniumGC. 659 673. 1,000 years Satan is bound
to the desolate earthRev. 20; GC. 659. So that when the new world commences it will be at the
beginning of the 8,000th year of the globe.
Then may be seen a larger significance in the 7th head being stamped 8 to denote that it was the 6th
head which had been wounded to death and would be resurrected to become the 7th head of the
persecuting beast. Then the 7th head of the persecuting beast representing the combined world forces
of Papal and apostate Protestant powers which receives a death-stroke at the second advent, becomes
an 8th head, for all the wicked will be resurrected, and once more combine-this time on a much more
magnified scale, for all the wicked will be there who have lived since the dawn of sin.
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Viewed in the light of events to occur at the end of the 1,000 years the prophecy concerning "the beast
that was, and is not, and is to come"; "tile beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is o f the
seven", is seen in a larger sense-that larger sense which may be observed in the application of the
prophecies depicting the final conflict. As in the period since receiving the death-stroke in 1798, the 6th
head has existed without political power with which to persecute the church, so Satan during the 1,000
years will be alive but with the wicked all dead there will be no nations through whom he can work to
persecute the people of God (they of course will then be in Heaven). However, there is a powerful
analogy between the Papacy receiving its death-stroke in 1798, and from then until just before the
second advent being unable to wage war on the saints, and Satan receiving his death-stroke at the
second advent because, through the death of the nations who have previously done his bidding, he is
obliged to desist from his warfare against the church. The Papacy has lived on since 1798, but has been
powerless to harm the people of God. So Satan will live on during the millennium but be powerless to
wage further warfare against the people of God-until the resurrection of the nations who have
previously done his bidding, and the saints return to this earth in the New Jerusalem. Then will be
fulfilled in a double sense: "the beast that that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the
bottomless pit" (Rev. 17: 8).
Then will be fulfilled in a larger sense: "And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and
is of the seven" (R.V.): "So must the beast that was, but is not. He counts as an eighth king, although he
is one of the seven" (Rev. 17:11, The Twentieth Century N.T.). The 7th head is made up of a combination
of all the persecuting powers of the last days, and is stamped 8 because it refers to the resurrection of
the powers of persecution against the people of God. That combination of persecutors is symbolized as
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a vast gathering of the world forces against Israel on the mountains of Israel; on mount Zion and "in
Jerusalem". After the millennium, when the wicked have all been resurrected, all the enemies who are
depicted as the seven heads of the persecuting beast, are then resurrected to unite in their common
aim, which they had shared down through the corridors of history though divided by time or distance,
namely, hatred for God and His people. As they came into existence down through the stream of time
they were each, in his turn, the enemy of God and His Anointed (see Ps. 2). And the 7th head represents
the greatest combination of these enemies, for the 7th head will be comprised of "the kings of the earth
and of the whole world" led by "the beast and the false prophet", and that greatest of all combination
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of Israel's enemiesthe 7th headis depicted by the colossal hordes of Gog's army pictured in Ezek. 38;
39.
As before the millennium the combination of all the persecutors of the remnant church is referred to as
the armies of "Gog and Magog", so after the millennium the far greater combination of all the enemies
of Israel represented by the whole of the 7 heads is also mentioned as the armies of "Gog and Magog"
(Rev. 20:8). Thus the 7th head which is made up of the combination of all last-day persecutors of God's
people, finds its larger application after the millennium in the vast combination of all the 7 heads. As
before the 1000 years there will be a combination of all forces against the remnant church, so after the
1000 years there will be a greater combination against the whole of the saved. Then, in their rebellion
against the King of Israel, and in their hatred of God's people, they gather together as one vast combination to make assault upon the New Jerusalem, then settled down upon and covering all the literal
land of Israel. As the armies of Gog are said to combine in their attack upon the spiritual or symbolic
Jerusalem before the 1000 years, so it is said to be the armies of Gog that combine in their attack upon
the literal city of the New Jerusalem after the 1,000 years. As the 7th head of the persecuting beast (in
the conflict in the last days between Babylon and Jerusalem) is a combination of all persecutors, so all
the enemies of God and of His people throughout all ages may be fittingly depicted by the 7th head
which has been resurrected and also by all the 7 heads which have also been resurrected: "He counts as
an eighth king, although he is of the seven." The 7th head (to which the prophecy concerning the armies
of Gog is applied by the Revelator) bears the number 8 because it is to have a political resurrection
before the 1,000 years, but it has its larger application in the armies of "Gog and Magog" after the 1,000
years because of the physical, literal resurrection of so many multiplied millions of the unsaved of all the
ages, who will then make up the vast army of Gog.
Concerning the 7th, or resurrected, head in the last days, we read: "He must continue a little while"
(Rev. 17: 10, R.V.). We also read the same concerning the restoration of Satan's power at the end of the
1,000 years, when the wicked of all ages are resurrected: "He must be loosed for a little time" (Rev. 20:
3, R.V.). Of the beast under the 7th head we also read: "And shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and
go into perdition ... and goeth into perdition" (Rev. 17:8, 11). In fulfilment, the 7th head comprising the
vast combination of Gog's great army goes into perdition at the time of the second advent-is destroyed
at Armageddon. After the 1,000 years, the resurrected 7th head combined with all the persecuting
heads of all the ages all go into perdition, never to rise again.
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As the 7th head before the 1,000 years is to "come up out of the abyss" so Satan at the end of the 1,000
years is also to come up out of "the abyss" into which he had been cast (Rev. 20:1-3). As the 7th head
before 1,000 years "must continue a little while", so Satan at the end of the 1,000 years "must be loosed
for a little time". As the 7th head before the 1,000 years is resurrected to power only to "go into
perdition", so Satan and all his followers at the end of the 1,000 years are to be resurrected to life and
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power only to "go into perdition" (2 Pet. 3:7; etc.). As the beast and the false prophet (who combine
before the 1,000 years to make up the 7th head) are "both cast alive into a lake of fire" (Rev. 19:20) at
the second advent, so Satan and all his evil hosts at the end of the 1,000 years will be "cast into the lake
of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet were cast" (Rev. 20:10, 15). In other words,
the "perdition" said to come to the 7th head at the time of the second advent is applied also to all the
wicked after the 1,000 years. Concerning the Roman beast we read: "I beheld even till the beast was
slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame" (Dan. 7:11). Concerning the spiritual
Roman powerthe Papacywe also read that it is termed "The Son of Perdition" (2 Thess. 2:3). The
"perdition" refers to the overthrow of the Roman beast at the second advent, but also refers in the
ultimate larger sense to the destruction awaiting that power after the millennium. Before the 1,000
years there is symbolic resurrection and a symbolic lake of fire into which the symbolic beast and false
prophet are cast; at the end of the 1,000 years there is a literal resurrection and a literal lake of fire into
which all the wicked of all the ages are cast. We have already shown that the winepress trodden
"without the city" (Rev. 14:20) refers to the destruction of the wicked before the 1,000 years, pictured
as taking place symbolically around the church, "the holy city". After the 1,000 years the wicked literally
are destroyed "without the city", the literal New Jerusalem.
In these things (and we have considerably enlarged upon this principle in "The Certainty of the Third
Angel's Message" and shown how it applies to everything brought into the Revelator's description of
events before and after the millennium) a definite connection is maintained in the Revelation between
the scenes described as taking place before the 1,000 years and those which transpire after the 1,000
years. The one great difference is that the Jerusalem attacked before the millennium is symbolically
intended, while the Jerusalem after the 1,000 years refers to the literal New Jerusalem. The gathering
before the 1,000 years is a symbolic gathering-a uniting of purpose-against Israel; while
234
after the 1,000 years it will be a literal gathering against the literal New Jerusalem.
The resurrection of the 7th head before the 1,000 years is a spiritual or symbolic, resurrection, while
that after the millennium will be a literal resurrection. The burning of the beast and the false prophet in
"a lake of fire" before the 1,000 years symbolically depicts their destruction at the time of the second
advent, while the burning of the wicked after the 1,000 years will be a literal burning. The burning of the
whore mentioned in Rev. 17: 16 symbolizes the destruction of that Babylonian whore before the 1,000
years; those who are depicted by that symbol are literally destroyed after the millennium in the lake of
fire.
The book of Revelation is largely made up of quotations from books of the Old Testament, and the first 8
of these are used in such a way as to make an Epanados, to which we have made reference elsewhere.
As we have shown, the first of these quotations is taken from the book of Isaiah (compare Isa. 55:4 and
Rev. 1:5 and observe the word "witness") and the last is also from the book of Isaiah (compare Isa. 49:2
and Rev. 1:16 and observe the reference to the "mouth" and "sharp sword"). In other words, the 8th
book quoted is the same as the 1st book quoted, namely, Isaiah. In other words, the 8th commences
another seriesan octaveand brings us back to Isaiah from whence came the first quotation. The 1st
text from Isaiah says the Messiah would be a "Commander" of the people. The 8th quotation in Rev. 1 in
bringing us back to Isaiah shows how the Messiah would prove himself to be the "Commander"by the
destruction of the wicked by the sword of His mouth (compare Isa. 49:2 with Rev. 1:16 and Rev. 19:15,
21). Christ destroys the wicked by the sword of His mouth at His second coming (Rev. 19:15, 21). But
after the 1,000 years the larger destruction of all the wicked will prove in a larger sense the Leadership
and Kingship of the Messiah. As in music, etc., the octave brings us back to begin again, only on an
octave higher, so the resurrection brings the wicked back to where they were before-only those who
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have persecuted Israel in their respective days, will then be all together to engage in the same "war"
against the saints. Then, the people of the 7th head of persecution will actually be resurrected, also all
the people comprising all the heads of the persecuting beast: then "the eighth" wil be of the seven".
Then instead of making "war" on the saints successively, they will all unite at the one time in their
attempt to destroy the people of God.
Working upon the principle which we have seen operate in the Revelator's description of the final
conflict, and observing the enlarging principlethe application of the same thing in a larger sensewe
know that the same principle operates with regard to
235
the victories of Israel recorded in the Old Testament: they combine to present the perfect picture of the
final victory of spiritual Israel, just as ail the defeats of Israel's enemies recorded in the Old Testament
combine to present the complete picture of the final defeat of the enemies of God's people. In the last,
worldwide overthrow of those fighting against God all the scenes of the past recorded in the Old
Testament are gathered into one picture. The overthrow of all the powers represented by the 7 heads
prefigured the overthrow of the vast world-wide combination of foes who are pictured as the 7th head,
and who will come under the general term "Gog". After the 1,000 years all the enemies who anciently
suffered, and all of God's people who enjoyed victory through the Lord's intervention on their behalf,
will actually be gathered into the one picture to re-enact for the last time all the defeats and all the
triumphs of the past.
Terrible as the slaughter of the wicked will be in the first phase of Armageddon before the millennium, it
will be vastly more terrible after the millennium, for it will involve all the resurrected wicked from the
days of Cain until the second advent. All the persecutors of the people of God will be there with hatred
still in their hearts for God and His saints. Haughty Pharaoh will be there seeking to "pursue" spiritual
Israel to death; the Edomites with their "perpetual" hatred of Israel will be there; the kings of Canaan
who were destroyed at Megiddo will be there to again take part in a devil-controlled conflict; the proud
Assyrians and the Babylonians from the region of the Euphrates will once more march towards the land
of Israel; the Scythian kings (who anciently went by the name of Gogsee Pocket Commentary on Rev.
20), the unsaved Armenians (house of Togarmah), Gomer and all his bands, the Persians, Ethiopians,
Libyans, the unregenerate of Sheba, Dedan, and "the merchants of Tarshish with the young lions
thereof" (who were greedy for booty from Israel's anticipated defeat (Ezek. 38) and who in Rev. 18 are
pictured as most loudly lamenting the downfall of Babylon with whom they traded) will be there; "the
beast" and "the false prophet" and all who have made up the 7th head of the persecuting beast in the
last days will be there. But Immanuel"God is with us"will be therepersonally, visiblyto deliver His
people and to destroy their enemies as when He destroyed the Assyrian hosts threatening to destroy His
people in Jerusalem in the long ago, That Assyrian invasion was likened to the flooding of the waters of
the Euphrates over the mountains of Israel. The r of the word Euphrates is that of rushing. Then, in the
imagery employed by Isaiah (8:7, 8), the hosts of Assyria rushed upon the people of God, to meet with
death at the hands of Him Who never slumbers nor sleeps,
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but Who ever watches over His people. At the end of the millennium Satan proposes not only to "reach
even to the neck" (Jerusalem was then likened to a man nearly drowning in a raging flood) with his
flooding multitudes, but to drown the inhabitants of Jerusalem with the swirling waters of his fury. But
the waters òf the EuphratesBabylon's river-are dried up forever, and the great army of Gog is
destroyed on "the mountains of Israel". The 8th head of the persecuting beast, after having ascended
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from "the bottomless pit", "the abyss"from the place of deathwill then, full and finally, "go into
perdition" Rev. 17:8, 11)
But the people of God who have stood with Him in the great controversy between Christ and Satan;
those who have determined to follow "the Lamb whithersoever He goeth" and who have found refuge
in His loving care, will live on endlessly in that kingdom that will endure throughout all eternity because
established upon love. "Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation.... World without
end" (Isa. 45:17). "Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without
end Amen." (Ephes. 3:21.)
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Why is the seventh Head

The Mysteries of Revelation 17 Solved.

LOUIS F. WERE 1952

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SATAN AND BABYLON.

Rev. 1:4, 5. The Trinity-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Rev. 12; 13; 16:13, 19. False trinity - dragon, beast,

Rev. 14:8 ; 17:2; 18:3. Wine False doctrine.

Rev. 9:11. Apollyon or Destroyer.

Rev. 13:17, 18. The Pope's title, in Latin, numbers

Rev. 9:1. Key to Bottomless pit.

Rev. 3:21. Christ's "throne".

Rev. 2:13; 16:10. "Throne" of Satan.

Ps. 113: 5; Isa. 40:18. "Who is like unto the Lord?"

Rev. 13: 4. "Who is like unto the beast?"

Rev. 5:6. "A Lamb as it had been slain."

Rev. 13:3. One of the heads of the beast "as

Rev. 1:18; 2: 8. Christ died and lived again.