17:1, 2 – “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show 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.”
As suggested, the “seven angels which had the seven vials” represent the Lord’s people still in the flesh in the end of the gospel age, i.e., during its Harvest. Perhaps, then, the “one” of the seven, now referred to (Rev. 17:1), as ready to show John, the judgment of the “great whore,” was Pastor Russell, and the staff of pilgrims associated with him. Surely, he through the pages of Zion’s Watch Tower, and the Scripture Studies and they, as his representatives, by way of lectures, etc., were instrumental in making known to the whole household of faith – the John Class, the judgments being visited upon the false Church system, guilty of spiritual fornication, and making the inhabitants of the world “drunk” with her “spiked wine” (evil doctrines)! As long ago as 1879, Pastor Russell wrote:
“As originally planted by Jesus and his apostles, the church was a ‘chaste virgin espoused to one husband, even Christ.’ For some time she maintained her purity and suffered persecution of the world, but gradually became enamored of the world and the prospects it offered, and finally united with it, constituting the system of Papacy. This system church, living in union with the world constitutes ‘the abomination’ – ‘the harlot,’ and the name Babylon, meaning confusion, is applicable because the world is called a beast and the church a woman. This then was the union of the woman and beast which is expressly forbidden in type. (Lev. 18:23) ‘It is confusion.’ We feel sure that we have the name Babylon properly applied since in Rev. 17, we see the church seated on the beast – i.e., supported by and controlling the world. ‘And in her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.’ – (Rev. 17:5)” (R45:2)
The Whore … Sitteth Upon Many Waters
“In the symbolic language of the Scriptures the word ‘water’ has two distinct interpretations: (1) Water is a symbol for Truth; (2) Water also symbolizes revenues from outside peoples and kingdoms. In harmony with this latter thought we read that the woman with the golden cup sits upon many waters; ‘and the waters which thou sawest are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.’ (Rev. 17:1-15) This ‘woman’ does not reign over one nation or people alone; her rule is catholic, or general; for all nations were made more or less ‘drunk with her false doctrines.’ The water of the River Euphrates, flowing through Babylon, might, therefore, be understood to symbolize the peoples and nations supporting Mystic Babylon by contributions, offerings.
“… If … the waters of that river signify revenues … the drying up … implies a cessation of the revenues of Babylon … millions coming every year from rich and poor of all nations, for her support.” (Sermon Book 409, 410)
Babylon’s “wine”
“Concerning this symbolic wine and intoxication, the Lord declares that Babylon has ‘made all the nations [inhabitants of the earth] drunken’ with the wine of her incontinency and unfaithfulness to Him. (Rev. 17:2; 18:3) The stimulating power is not of the spirit of a sound mind, but the delusion of a false doctrine: as the Prophet declares, they are ‘drunken,’ but not with wine. (Isa. 29:9-13)” (R2904:6)
“She neglected the heavenly Bridegroom, and mingled in her ‘cup’ a stupefying potion that has intoxicated the world; even the Lord’s saints were bewildered. (Rev. 16:1-6)” (R5478:1)
“Babylon has had indeed the golden cup of the Lord’s Word in her hands and has affected to give from it to the people the spirit of the Lord, but instead she has filled the cup and presents as the teaching of God’s Word intoxicating errors which have misled the so-called Christian world. Thus the Adversary has used the nominal Church of God as his tool to deceive all that dwell upon the face of the whole earth – to misrepresent the divine character and plan. (Rev. 14:18)” (R3104:3)
17:3-5 – “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”
The John Class is “carried away in the spirit into the wilderness” to see this “vision”; for none, really, save the truly consecrated children of God can have it. Neither Catholics, nor Protestants are able to see it, because of their identification with it.
“… this fact is recognized by the Revelator, who shows that all who would get a true view of Babylon must, in spirit, take their position with the true people of God ‘in the wilderness’ – in the condition of separation from the world and worldly ideas and mere forms of godliness, and in the condition of entire consecration and faithfulness to and dependence upon God alone. ‘So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness; and I saw a woman … Babylon.’ (Rev. 17:1-5)” (D27)
“The vesture and decorations of this woman … are in striking harmony with the application made of this symbol; for purple and scarlet are the chief colors in the robes of popes and cardinals; and among the myriads of precious stones which adorn her service, according to an eyewitness, silver is scarcely known, and gold itself looks but poorly. And from the golden cup in her hand – symbol of purity of doctrine and profession, which should have contained only that which is unadulterated, pure, or, explaining the figure, only that which is in full accordance with truth – there
came forth only abominations, and wine of her fornication, fit symbol for her abominable doctrines, and still more abominable practices.” (Uriah Smith – Thoughts on Daniel and Revelation, p. 658)
“The Revelator intimated that it would not be difficult to discover this great mystical city, because her name is in her forehead, that is, she is prominently marked, so that we cannot fail to see her unless we shut our eyes and refuse to look – ‘And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the great, the Mother of Harlots and abominations of the earth.’ (Rev. 17:5)” (D23)
The Harlot’s Name!
“The Revelation of our Lord to St. John is a book of signs, in which the things stated symbolize the things meant. To illustrate: In this book a woman is used to represent a church – a pure woman, a pure church – a false woman, an apostate church. In Rev. 17:1-6 a picture is given of a false woman, disloyal to her engagement, and therefore no longer worthy to be the bride of Messiah. This unfaithful woman is branded ‘Babylon.’ We read that she sat upon a beast, a symbolic statement of her control of the power of Rome.
“In her hand this woman held a golden cup full of abominations, and thus symbolically she is represented as making all nations drunk with the wine of false doctrine. The cup suggests that the unfaithful church, symbolized by this woman, had once been the receptacle of divine truth – ‘Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord’s hands.’ (Jer. 51:7) In Rev. 17:5 she is called ‘The Mother of Harlots’ – a term suggesting a mother church, and daughter churches which are said to closely resemble the mother. As the mother was called ‘Babylon,’ the daughters – so like their mother – bear also the family name.” (R5092:1)
“The term Babylon seems to signify a concentration of the various errors in apostate church systems, personified in Revelation as mother and daughters. ‘Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots’ is the name given by the Lord to the original system, thus intimating that the whole brood is illegitimate in every sense of the word.” (R5478:1)
Babylon tThe Great!
“The depravity attributed to ‘Babylon the Great,’ the peculiarly solemn adjuration to God’s people to come out of her, and the utter and awful destruction denounced against her, all combine to attach great practical importance to the inquiry, What system is intended by this symbol?
“A perusal of the 17th and 18th chapters of Revelation shows that ‘Babylon the Great’ represents a system which should last long, exert a subtle and extensive influence, and be guilty of exceeding iniquity and cruelty. This system must still be in existence seeing its destruction takes place simultaneously with ‘the marriage of the Lamb,’ an event which we know to be still future; and seeing also that up to the moment of its destruction or very nearly so, children of God will be found more or less connected with it, so that a need will exist for the urgent call ‘Come out of her, my people.’ This system is prefigured as a cruelly persecuting one, as one that would ‘shed the blood of saints and martyrs of Jesus,’ one on whom the Lord God would ‘avenge the blood of his servants’.” (R471:3)
Some Additional Thoughts Anent Babylon!
“The history of the building of the city and its tower (Gen. 11:1-11) called Babel (Akkad, Bibulu, ‘Gate of God’) is explained by popular etymology based on a similar Hebrew root Babal which means ‘to mix, confuse.’ Babel, therefore, became a synonym for the confusion caused by the language barriers which God imposed because of the human pride displayed in the building.” (The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol. 1, p. 438)
According to Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible, Babylon is the Greek mode of spelling what in the Hebrew is uniformly Babel.
“The name Babylon originally signified God’s gateway; but afterward, in derision, it came to mean mixture or confusion. In the Book of Revelation this name is applied specifically to the church nominal, which, from being the gateway to glory, became a gateway to error and confusion, a miserable mixture composed chiefly of tares, hypocrites, a confused mass of worldly profession in which the Lord’s jewels are buried, and their true beauty and luster hidden.” (C153)
“It is clear, therefore, that while many faithful souls, ignorant of the real state of the case, have reverently and devoutly worshipped God within these – Baby- lon systems, nevertheless, this does not alter the fact that they are, one and all, ‘harlot’ systems. Confusion reigns in them all; and the name Babylon aptly fits the entire family – mother, daughters and accompli- ces, the nations styled Christendom. (Rev. 18:7; 17:2-6, 18)” (D35)
“The word ‘Babylon’ means confusion. It is here used symbolically, since the literal city by that name was at the time of this writing ‘a mass of ruins.’ …
“Now let us inquire what is represented by the symbol. As originally planted by Jesus and his apostles, the church was a ‘chaste virgin espoused to one husband, even Christ.’ For some time she maintained her purity and suffered persecution of the world, but gradually became enamored of the world and the
prospects offered, and finally united with it constituting the system of Papacy. This system church, living in union with the world constitutes ‘the abomination’ – ‘the harlot,’ and the name Babylon, meaning confusion, is applicable because the world is called a beast and the church a woman. This then was the union of the woman and the beast which is expressly forbidden in the type. (Lev. 18:23; ‘It is confusion.’) We feel sure that we have the name Babylon properly applied since in Rev. 17 we see the church seated on the beast – i.e., supported by and controlling the world. ‘And in her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.’ (Rev. 17:5)” (R45:2)
17:6 – “And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.”
This “Woman’s” Thirst for Blood!
“Charles V., Emperor of Germany and King of Spain and the Netherlands, persecuted the friends of the Reformation throughout his extensive dominions.… In the Netherlands the men who followed Luther were to be beheaded, and the women buried alive or if obstinate, to be committed to the flames … The Duke of Alva boasted of the execution of 18,000 Protestants in six weeks. Paolo reckons the number who in the Netherlands were executed on account of their religion at 50,000; and Grotius gives the list of the Belgic martyrs at 100,000.” (B337)
“The massacre in Paris on St. Bartholomew’s day, August 24th, A.D. 1572, equalled in cruelty, but exceeded in extent, the massacres of Merindol and Orange. This has also been detailed by Catholic historians, one of whom, Thuanus, stigmatizes it as a ‘ferocious cruelty, without a parallel in all antiquity.’ The tolling of the tocsin at midnight, August 23rd, gave the signal of destruction, and the dreadful scenes of Merindol and Orange began to be re- enacted against the hated Huguenots. The carnival of death lasted seven days; the city flowed with human blood; the court was heaped with the slain on which the King and Queen gazed with extreme satisfaction. The body of Admiral Coligny was dragged through the streets; and the river Seine was covered with floating dead bodies. Accounts of the number killed vary from 5,000 to 10,000. The work of destruction was not confined to Paris, but extended very widely through the French nation. On the succeeding day special messengers were dispatched in every direc- tion ordering a general massacre of the Huguenots. The same scenes were accordingly enacted in nearly all the provinces, and estimates of the number slain vary from 25,000 to 70,000.” (B338)
“A picture of St. Bartholomew’s Massacre was hung in the Vatican. It had a scroll at the top, on which was inscribed, in Latin, words signifying, ‘The Pontiff approves the fate of Coligny.’ Coligny was a prominent leader of the Huguenots and one of the first to fall. After he was killed, his head was severed from his body and sent to the queen (who had it embalmed and sent as a trophy to Rome), while his body was dragged by the populace through the streets of Paris.” (B340)
“Under his commission from Pope Innocent, to punish with confiscation, banishment and death the heretics who would not receive his gospel Dominic stimulated the civil magistracy and populace to massacre the heretical Waldenses; and he at one time committed one hundred and eighty Albigenses to the flames. It was for such faithfulness in the service of Antichrist that he was canonized a saint, and is today adored and prayed to by Roman Catholics …
“It would be impossible briefly to convey any adequate conception of the horrors of the Inquisition, or of the dreadful fear which it inspired among the people. Those not loud in their praise of Antichrist, or who ventured a criticism of his methods, were suspected of heresy; and such persons, without warning or redress, were liable to imprisonment in a dungeon for an indefinite time until a convenient season for trial – both the accuser and the accusation often being equally unknown to them. The proceedings of these trials were conducted secretly, and tortures were often employed to extort confessions. The tortures inflicted were almost too appalling to be credited in this age and land of freedom, yet their reality is confirmed by evidence which even Catholic historians cannot deny; and their fruitless attempts to apologize for them only tends to substantiate the evidence.” (B342, 343)
“Torquemada, another famous Inquisitor General, furnished a marked illustration of the spirit of Antichrist. Roman Catholic writers admit that he caused ten thousand, two hundred and twenty (10,220) persons, men and women, to be burned alive. Llorente, who was for three years the Secretary General of the Inquisition, and had access to all the documentary evidences in his Reports, published A.D. 1817 (4 vols), shows that between the years 1481 and 1808, by order of this ‘Holy Office’ alone, no less than 31,912 persons were burned alive, and nearly 300,000 tortured and condemned to serve penances. Every Catholic country in Eu- rope, Asia and America had its Inquisition.” (B345)
17:7 – “And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.”
We, the John Class, living in the end of the Gospel age, are privileged to recognize the facts of history, which incriminate this “woman” (the Papacy, also designated, the “Man of Sin” (2 Thes. 2:3, 4; and the “Anti-Christ” – 1 John 2:18; 4:3), herself “drunk” with the blood of the saints, and the martyrs of Jesus.
“The Waldenses and Albigenses were the most numerous bodies of Protestants against Papacy; and when the literary awakening of the thirteenth century came, it was mainly from these that the truth shone out, though reflected and intensified by Wycliffe, Huss, Luther, and others. And their doctrines, backed by simplicity and morality, shone out with the greater luster in contrast to the pompous pride and flagrant immoralities of the then exalted Papacy.
“Then it was that popes, councils, theologians, kings, crusaders and inquisitors combined their fiendish powers to exterminate every opponent, and to extinguish the faintest rays of dawning light. Pope Innocent III, first sent missionaries to the districts in which the doctrines of the Albigenses had gained foothold, to preach Romanism, work miracles, etc.; but finding these efforts unavailing, he proclaimed a crusade against them and offered to all who would engage in it the pardon of all sins and an immediate passport to heaven without passing through purgatory. With full faith in the Pope’s power to bestow the promised rewards, half a million men – French, German and Italian – rallied around the standard of the cross, for the defense of Catholicism and the extinction of heresy. Then followed a series of battles and sieges covering a space of twenty years. The city of Beziers was stormed and taken in 1209, and the citizens, without regard for age or sex, perished by the sword to the number of sixty thousand, as reported by several historians. The blood of those who fled to churches, and were murdered there by the holy crusaders, drenched the altars and flowed through the streets.
“Lavaur was besieged in 1211. The governor was hanged on a gibbet, and his wife was thrown into a well and crushed with stones. The citizens were without discrimination put to death, four hundred … burned alive. The flourishing country of Languedoc was devastated, its cities burned, and its inhabitants swept away by fire and sword. It is estimated that one hundred thousand Albigenses fell in one day; and their bodies were heaped together and burned.
“All this rioting in blood and villainy was done in the name of religion: professedly for the glory of God and the honor of the church, but really to uphold Antichrist, sitting in the temple of God (the church), showing himself that he is a God – a powerful one – able to conquer and destroy his enemies. The clergy thanked God for the work of destruction, and a hymn of praise to God for the glorious victory at Lavaur was composed and sung. The dreadful carnage at Beziers was accounted as the ‘visible judgment of heaven’ on the heresy of Albigensianism. The crusaders attended high mass in the morning, and proceeded throughout the day to waste the country of Languedoc and murder its inhabitants.
“In these dreadful scenes of carnage Antichrist found extreme satisfaction. The pope and his court exulted at the victory of Catholicism over Waldensianism at Merindol, and the impious Oppeda was styled ‘the defender of the faith and hero of Christianity.’ The French King went to mass, and returned solemn thanks to God for the victory over, and massacre of the Huguenots at Paris. This carnage, sanctioned by the French King and Parliament and Roman Catholic subjects, was probably at the direct instigation of the pope, and the Papal Hierarchy. That it was highly approved, at least, is evident from the fact that at the Papal Court the news was received with great rejoicing. The Pope, Gregory XIII, went in grand procession to the church of St. Louis to render thanks to God for the signal victory. He at once proclaimed a jubilee, and sent a nuncio to the French court, who in the pope’s name praised ‘the exploit so long meditated and so happily executed for the good of religion.’ …
“In horror and wonder we ask ourselves, why did kings, and princes, and emperors, and the people at large, permit such atrocities? Why did they not arise long ago and smite down Antichrist? The answer is found in the scriptures (Rev. 18:3); The nations were drunk (stupefied), they lost their senses in drinking the mixed wine (doctrine, false and true mixed) given them by the apostate church. They were deceived by the claims of Papacy.” (B348, 335, 336, 339)
At this point, we fear the Authorized Version, gives an erroneous impression concerning the Apostle John – the seer of Patmos, for it says that on seeing this “woman,” he wondered with great admiration! The thought of the Greek text, however, is better expressed by the rendering of the Revised Standard Version: “When I saw her, I marvelled greatly.” And this too, we know, that the anti-typical John, now living, has no admiration for this “woman” though they do marvel, perhaps, at all this very loose “woman” has been able to accomplish, seeing that she hates instruction, and casts the Word of the Lord behind her. (Psa. 50:16, 17)
Though the “mystery of iniquity” was already present and working in the early church (2 Thes. 2:7; see also R711:1) it was not until about the fourth century (during the Pergamos period) that it developed into the “woman” here depicted. Thus to the Apostle John this vision was really in the nature of a prophecy, to be recorded in the interests of those who in due time were to recognize the “woman” – and that most definitely! And, that there might be no doubt about the matter, the angel subsequently identifies “her” with the city of the seven hills – Rome! (Rev. 17:9)
In response to John’s wonderment, the angel says in effect, “Don’t wonder or marvel any longer John, about this mysterious ‘woman’ for I will tell you more about ‘her’ and also about the beast that carries her, which latter has seven heads and ten horns.” For the John Class in the end of the Age, as already set forth, the “woman” is the Papacy, and the beast, civil Rome, which supported her and over which she in time obtained full control. Anent the terms “beast” and “horns,” Bro. Russell had this to say.
“It should not be forgotten that these are figurative expressions descriptive of the character and claims of a symbolic ‘beast’ (government) and ‘horn’ (power) out of the old Roman beast or empire. In some respects, Papacy was a new government (‘beast’), distinct from the old Roman empire; and in others, it was a horn or power among others out of that empire, which for a time held superior control over the other horns or powers. It is presented in symbol from both these standpoints so as most thoroughly to locate and designate it.” (B305)
The “Mystery of Iniquity”
“The ‘Mystery of Iniquity’ came into place gradually, and it was not until it had sat for a long time in the holy place, ruling and governing it, that its abominable and detestable character was seen, and still it is not seen by all the saints, many of whom still bow to the teachings and commands of that system which God calls abominable.
“The god of this world – Satan – has by many devices blinded the eyes of many, while exalting and keeping in power this system, which is ‘after’ or like him, whose child it is. When his power begins to fail because the stronger than he begins to spoil his house (Matt. 12:29), then this system will begin to be seen, to be revealed and recognized in its true character as ‘The Mystery of Iniquity.’ Of this time when the abomination shall be seen occupying and ruling in the Church, the Apostle says: ‘Then shall that wicked be revealed (literally uncovered or exposed) whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming’ (literally destroy with the bright shining of the present one. – 2 Thes. 3:6)
“This accords perfectly with Jesus’ words: ‘When ye shall see the abomination;’ that is, when the mask shall be pulled off and you shall be enabled to see ‘The Mystery of Iniquity’ as such, then you may know that you are in the consummation of the age, in ‘the time of the end.’ Your knowledge will be the sign of this.” (R711:1)
17:8 – “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not: and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”
The beast, of course, is the fourth universal empire of which Daniel the Prophet of old speaks saying how it was:
Dan. 7:7, 8 – “… dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and break in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it; and it had ten horns … I considered the horns, and behold there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.”
Concerning it, Bro. Russell had this to say:
“Here the Roman Empire is shown; and the divisions of its power are shown in the ten horns, a horn being the symbol of power…
“To this fourth beast, representing Rome, Daniel gives no descriptive name … John, the Revelator, seeing in vision the same symbolic beast (govern- ment), was also at a loss for a name by which to describe it, and finally gives it several. Among others, he called it ‘the Devil.’ (Rev. 12:9) He certainly chose an appropriate name; for Rome, viewed in the light of its bloody persecutions, certainly has been the most devilish of all earthly governments. Even in the change from Rome Pagan to Rome Papal it illustrated one of Satan’s chief characteristics for he also transforms himself to appear as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14), as Rome transformed itself from heathenism and claimed to be Christian – the Kingdom of Christ…
“This beast or Roman Empire in its horns or divisions still exists, and will be slain by the rising masses of the people and the overthrow of governments, in the ‘Day of the Lord,’ preparatory to the recognition of the heavenly rulership.” (A258)
In Daniel’s vision, the earthly governments are depicted as “beasts” – thus, there was the lion to represent Babylon; the bear to represent Medo-Persia; the leopard to represent Greece. (Dan. 7:1-6) And while Daniel called the fourth animal representing Rome, a beast (Dan. 7:1, 7), it was so terrible that he could not find a name for it. In the Revelation John refers to it as a dragon (Rev. 12:3) and again as a beast. (Rev. 13:1) In all instances, it should be noted, it was said to have “ten horns.” (Dan 7:7; Rev. 12:3; 13:1) Thus is the fourth, and last of the earthly universal empires – Rome, designated in the Scriptures. The ancient pagan Rome was inextricably identified with its religion, of which Caesar was not only the Head, but often also the god of its worship! It is this phase of the Roman Empire that is referred to as the beast that thou sawest which “was,” and “is not,” (Rev. 17:8), for during the reign of Emperor Constantine it began undergoing a change from its pagan worship to that which purported to be of Christ Jesus! – the Rome which “yet is.” (Rev. 17:8) Despite the change which thus began in the reign of Constantine, the title, Pontifex Maximus, (chief religious teacher) remained with the Emperor, until during the reign of Justinian (in A.D. 533) it was relinquished by him to the bishop of Rome, for like Constantine he sensed an advantage in throwing the weight of the Empire to the side of the so-called Christian Church. Thus was it that the red dragon – the Roman Empire, gave “his power and his seat and great authority” to the beast the new Roman Empire, as it was represented by the Papacy. (Rev. 13:2) And so too, we read of “the whore” of Rev. 17:1, that she sits “upon a scarlet colored beast.” (Rev. 17:3)
Let it be noted also, that both the dragon and the beast are said to have “seven heads and ten horns.” (Rev. 12:3; 13:1)
“Beast” and “Horn”– Figurative Expressions
“It should not be forgotten that these are figurative expressions descriptive of the character and claims of a symbolic ‘beast’ (government) and ‘horn’ (power) out of the old Roman beast or empire. In some respects, Papacy was a new government (‘beast’), distinct from the old Roman empire; and in others, it was a horn or power among others out of the empire, which for a time held superior control over the horns or powers. It is presented in symbol from both these standpoints so as most thoroughly to locate and designate it.” (B305)
Pontifex Maximus
“The Apostle Paul foretold that this iniquitous principle would work secretly for a time, while some opposing thing stood in the way until the hindrance being removed, it could have a free course and progress rapidly to the development of the Anti-Christ. He says, ‘Only he that now hindereth will hinder, until he be taken out of the way.’ (2 Thes. 2:7) What does history have to show in fulfillment of this prediction? It shows that the thing which hindered a rapid development of Antichrist was the fact that the place aspired to was already filled by another. The Roman empire had not only conquered the world and given it politics and laws, but recognizing religious superstitions to be the strongest chains by which to hold and control a people, it had adopted a scheme which had its origin in Babylon, in the time of her greatness as ruler of the world. That plan was that the emperor should be esteemed the director and ruler in religious as well as in civil affairs. In support of this, it was claimed that the emperor was a demigod, in some sense descended from their heathen deities. As such he was worshipped and his statues adored; and as such he was styled Pontifex Maximus – i.e., Chief Priest or Greatest Religious Ruler. And this is the very title claimed by and given to the pontiffs or popes of the Roman Hierarchy since this Antichrist obtained ‘the power and seat and great authority’ of the former ruler of Rome. (Rev. 13:2)” (B288)
The Merger of Church and State
“Constantine discovered that the support of the Church was politically valuable. The result was a sort of informal concordat, the Church cementing its association with an emperor who was almost persuaded to be a Christian by appealing to him as arbiter on certain pressing questions of Church discipline on which it was divided; with the further effect that on the one hand what had been a purely religious brotherhood acquired a great and increasing political influence, while on the other the state invested itself with powers of ecclesiastical legislation.” (The Illustrated World History – Hammerton and Barnes, p. 326)
Constantine
“It is not likely that Constantine gave much thought to the truth of Christian doctrine, and we know that he did not practise Christian virtues. But he was wise enough to recognize the good policy of allying this rising power to himself against his rivals.
“… it is not correct to say that he made Christianity the state religion. At the most, he seems to have given it an especially favored place among the religions of the empire. Constantine himself, as Pontifex Maximus, continued to make the public sacrifices to the pagan gods; but partly as a result of the favor he showed the church, both court and people passed rapidly to the new religion.” (Ancient World – West, p. 551, 552)
The eventual destruction of this Satanic Masterpiece, which arose, as it were, from the bottomless pit, will cause consternation and wonderment to all; save the true saints of God – foreknown of Him, and thus those whose names were written in the Lamb’s “book of life” from the foundation of the world – “the wise shall understand.” (Dan. 12:10)
Names Written in The Book of Life
“… we … understand it to mean that the book or scroll covenanting life to an elect number was prepared from the foundation of the world, and that the names in it have been written as the individuals have made consecration of themselves, coming under the terms of the divine call. In this view of the matter the book or scroll would represent the original divine purpose – God’s intention to have a church, of which our Lord Jesus would be the Head. Such interpretation would be in perfect harmony with the various figures of speech which represent the writing of the names of the believers in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and in harmony also with the other records which speak of blotting out the names of such as prove unfaithful to their consecration. (Rev. 3:5)” (R2540:5)
17:9 – “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.”
To help John (the John Class) identify the beast and the woman, he is told that the woman sits upon seven mountains (hills)! No simpler means of identification than this could have been given; For the city of Rome rests upon seven hills – Palatine, Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caeline and Aventine!
“And Rome was seated on seven hills – ‘the seven mountains on which the woman sitteth.’ Her common name with the classic writers of St. John’s age is ‘the seven-hilled city’; an annual festival used to be held in honor of the ‘seven-hilled city’; every Latin poet of note, during a period of five hundred years, alludes to Rome’s seven hills. The medals and coins of the day represent Rome as a woman sitting on seven hills: and her titles show, with sufficient clearness, how thoroughly she reigned. She was styled ‘the Royal Rome’; ‘the mistress of the world’; ‘the queen of nations.’ Her sway was all but universal. She was the metropolis of that fourth great empire which Daniel foretold would break in pieces and subdue all things, ‘dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly’; and at the time of the Apocalyptic visions, her power was at its height. Rome, and no other city can be intended here; the woman is in some way identified with Rome.… The harlot is the Church of Rome; for simple minds there seems no escape from this conclusion. ‘The woman which thou sawest is that great city’ ‘which reigneth over the kings of the earth.’
“… If the woman be identified in some way with Rome, why is her brow emblazoned with the name of Babylon (Rev. 17:5)? The answer is evident; the Apocalypse is a book of mysteries; things are represented by signs; realities are veiled; and it would have been altogether inconsistent with the whole style of this prophecy to have written Rome on the harlot’s brow. The woman is a figure of the church, a corrupt, idolatrous church; that is, the symbol seen by John was suggestive of something widely different from itself; so the name with which the symbol was stamped, was also suggestive of something widely different from itself, though mysteriously similar. The harlot is ‘Mystery, Babylon the Great’.” (R472:5)
The Rise of Antichrist
“… in 533, one of the most significant events in connection with the rise of the Papal Antichrist occurred. It was in this year that Justinian, the Eastern Roman Emperor, issued a decree constituting the bishop of Rome the head of the Church on earth. Thus do we have the fulfillment of the expression, ‘and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.’ For some time previous to this there had been a rivalry – indeed, a dispute between the bishop of Rome, and other ambitious, aspiring bishops of other cities, concerning which of them could, as they expressed it, rightly claim the honor of Apostolic succession, etc. This decree of Justinian settled the matter in favor of the bishop of Rome. The decree was not enforced, however, until the armies of Eastern Rome under Belisarius over- threw the Ostrogothic power, that under Theodoric ruled Italy. This was in 538 or 539 A.D., and without doubt, marked the beginning of the period of the twelve hundred and sixty years, when the saints were delivered into Papacy’s hand. (Dan. 7:25) It was the beginning of the Papal Antichrist; also the time when the ten kings began to give their power and strength unto the beast, as represented in its Papal head.” (The Revelation of Jesus Christ – Streeter, Vol. 2, p. 81)
“On Christmas day (A.D. 800), at the conclusion of the service held in St. Peter’s to celebrate the holy day, as the unconscious king (Charlemagne) knelt before the high altar, Leo, moved, as he declared, by a sudden inspiration, set a crown upon his head, and proclaimed him Augustus, Emperor of the Romans, crowned by God. The words were taken up with a universal shout. The Holy Roman Empire had sprung into being.” (The Illustrated World History – Hammerton and Barnes, p. 410)
17:10-14 – “And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdoms as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with 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.”
The “seven kings” of Rev. 17:10, do not here, in this book of symbols, represent seven kings, per se: but rather, seven types or forms of government, which may be said to have had a “headship” (be that civil or ecclesi- astical, or both) in the city of Rome.
1 See Re: “Mussolini” page 188
The time referred to in this prophecy, we believe, was that when the full, clear revelation of the “woman” was made to the “John” class – sometime after the Fall of A.D. 1874. At that time five of these seven forms of government had already “fallen” – passed away. Nor is it important to know exactly what these forms of government were; except, perhaps, that the sixth, which then was (“is”), was that of Victor Immanuel – i.e., the Victor Immanuel dynasty, which in unifying Italy, took away from the Papacy practically all of its temporal properties (territories). In 1896 Bro. Russell wrote as follows:
“To our understanding, the present Italian government is the seventh head of the ‘beast’ (Rev. 17:9-11), which has continued ‘a short space,’ represented in the present monarch and his father, Victor Immanuel. According to prophecy, Rome will never have another head – the eighth condition will be the beast without a head – either a republic or anarchy. If a republic, we shall shortly expect anarchy, ‘perdition’.” (R2062:6)
It will have been noted that Bro. Russell, at the time, understood that the Victor Immanuel dynasty was the seventh – the last “head” of the Roman Empire; and that he expected a republic or anarchy to supersede it. But, Bro. Russell died before Benito Mussolini came upon the scene. Perhaps, had he been living then, he might have recognized the Dictatorship of Mussolini, which preceded the present republican government, to be the seventh and last; and that the Victor Immanuel dynasty was really the sixth, followed by the seventh “head” which continued for “a short space.”
About six years after Bro. Russell’s death (in 1916), Benito Mussolini¹) became Italy’s Premier (in 1922); which premiership he soon worked into a Dictatorship. In 1929, he negotiated the Lateran Treaties, by way of which some of the territories that the Victor Immanuel dynasty had taken away from the Papacy were restored; thus creating the Vatican an independent state. Mussolini’s rise to power runs a deadly parallel to that of the first real emperor or caesar of Rome – Julius Caesar! Julius Caesar had crossed the Rubicon on Italy’s border or frontier, at the head of his victorious legion of soldiers; and, declaring “the die is cast,” marched on the city of Rome where he overawed the authorities, inducing them to appoint him Dictator! Mussolini, at the head of his black-shirted hordes, also marched on the city of Rome. This was in 1922, at the time he was made Premier; but he gradually amassed more and more power unto himself, till he became like Julius Caesar, Dictator. However, his empire did not last too long, for it collapsed in 1943; and, in 1945, he was executed! Thus did he continue but “a short space.” And then as Bro. Russell had anticipated, a republic was set up. This eighth condition, a virtually headless government, has much of the communistic element in its present makeup; and is, of course, “of the seven” that preceded it, a part of the “beast” “that was and is not” and yet is – a part of the same old Roman empire, and still more or less pagan, and like those before it, slated for “perdition.”
“Ten horns,”¹ is but a symbolic expression or representation of the complete cycle of disintegration of the original Roman empire into its numerous divisions and powers. The “ten” therefore, is not to be taken literally; nor are the original “ten” divisions, necessarily the same as the “ten” of the final phase! Thus there is a difference between the “ten horns” of Dan. 7:7, 8, and the “ten horns” of Rev. 17:12, though all are involved in the one disintegration.
Of the former “ten” it will be recalled that there was one “horn” – the Papacy which subdued three other “horns” (Dan 7:24) – the Heruli, the Eastern Exarchate, and the Ostrogoths. (A258) The latter “ten” at the time had not yet received their respective powers (Rev. 17:12); but did do so subsequently. At first, these “ten” were of “one mind” inasmuch as they supported the new “beast” – the Papacy; and thus, they reigned (exercised power and authority) “one hour,” – i.e., simultaneously with it! However, the time was to come (and now is, since A.D. 1800), when they would hate the “woman” that had so long sat upon the old “beast” and by identification with it, controlled it, when recognizing her whoredoms, etc., they would make her desolate and naked; yea, they would even “eat her flesh, and burn her with fire” – bring her unto utter ruin and destruction.²
This brings us again to the final disintegration of the Roman empire – the time for the establishment of earth’s fifth universal empire, the Kingdom of Jehovah God³, who will be represented in it by his vicegerent, Christ Jesus. The last vestiges of the old Roman empire, now functioning without the unifying headship of the Papacy at Rome, are endeavoring to maintain a status quo; yea, to even establish universal peace among its many divisions. The first attempt of these “ten horns” to accomplish this was through the League of Nations, which, of course, utterly failed. Their second attempt is by way of their international organization – the United Nations; and this is likewise doomed to failure, because they are warring against the Lamb of God, whom Jehovah has already set up “upon my holy hill of Zion.” (Psa. 2:6)
1 See “Ten Horns” page 190
2 See “The Hatred of the Whore” page 192
3 See “Overthrow of fourth by fifth Universal Empire” page 189
Prophetically, the Psalmist David, portrayed for us, these very times in which we are living, when he declared:
Psa. 2:1, 2 – “Why do the heathen [the nations] rage, and the people imagine a vain thing [the establishment of universal peace without recognizing the great Prince of Peace]? the kings of the earth [civil and ecclesiastical authorities] set themselves [in opposition], and the rulers [their mighty ones] take counsel together, against the LORD [Jehovah] and against his anointed [Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God].”
But, as the Revelator was privileged to prophesy, “the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and they that are with him (the saints – the ‘very elect’) are called, and chosen and faithful.” Not only are they with him, but they share the honor of “executing vengeance upon the heathen (the nations), and punishment upon the people,” and in the binding “of their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron,” and in executing “upon them the judgments written,” for “this honor have all the saints.” (Psa. 149:7-9)
Mussolini
“In 1929 Mussolini paid the Vatican $92 million in return for Italy’s previous takeover of the Papal States.” (Time magazine)
“After the war he organized his followers, mostly war veterans, into the aggressively nationalist Fascist party. Strikes and general unrest gave him a pretext for ordering the fascists to march on Rome (Oct. 28, 1922). King Victor Emmanuel III, called on him to form a cabinet. By degrees, Mussolini transformed his government into a ruthless dictatorship, particularly after the murder of Matteotti (1924). Parliamentary government was suspended 1928 and replaced by the Fascist Corporative State. He signed the Lateran Treaty with the Papacy (1929) and initiated public projects, such as the draining of the Pontine Marshes. He conquered Ethiopia (1935-36), annexed Albania (1929), and allied himself with Hitler.… In 1940 he entered World War II … estab- lished a puppet government in N. Italy. He was captured and shot by Italian partisans after the collapse of German army.” (The Columbia Viking Desk Encyclopedia)
Julius Caesar
“Plainly Caesar had not made preparation for civil war. He had only one legion with him in Cisalpine Gaul. The other ten (an irresistible force) were far distant. But the Senate had at last made him choose between civil war and ruin both to himself and to all his noble hopes for the Roman world. Promptly he chose war, and in January 49 B.C., he led his one legion into Italy.
“A Roman proconsul was strictly forbidden by law to bring an army into Italy; and the story goes that as Caesar crossed the Rubicon – the little stream between his province and Italy – he exclaimed, ‘The die is cast!’ He never again looked back. With audacious rapidity he moved directly upon the much larger forces that ponderous Pompey was mustering slowly; and in sixty days, almost without bloodshed, he was master of the peninsula.
“Pompey still controlled most of the empire; but Caesar held the capital and the advantage of Italy’s central position. Turning to Spain, in three months he dispersed the armies of Pompey’s lieutenants there. Then following Pompey himself to Greece, in a critical campaign in 48 B.C. he became master of the world.” (Ancient World – West, p. 447)
Overthrow of Fourth by Fifth Universal Empire
“No matter what may be the means or instrumentality used, the cause of this fall will be the establishment of the Fifth Universal Empire of earth, the Kingdom of God, under Christ, whose right it is to take the dominion. The transfer of the kingdom from the fourth beast, which for its appointed time was ‘ordained of God,’ to the fifth kingdom, under Messiah, when its appointed season has come, is described by the Prophet in these words: ‘And behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given unto him (the Christ – head and body complete) dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.’ This the angel interpreted to mean that ‘the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’ (Dan 7:13, 27)
“Thus seen, the dominion of earth is to be placed in the hands of Christ by Jehovah (‘the Ancient of days’), who shall ‘put all things under his feet.’ (1 Cor. 15:27) Thus enthroned over God’s kingdom, he must reign until he shall have put down all authority and power in conflict with the will and law of Jehovah. To the accomplishment of this great mission, the overthrow of these Gentile governments is first necessary; for the ‘kingdoms of this world,’ like the ‘prince of this world,’ will not surrender peaceably, but must be bound and restrained by force. And thus it is written, ‘To bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the judgment written: this honor have all his saints.’ (Psa. 149:8, 9)” (A260)
The King of Kings – The Lord of Lords
1 Tim. 6:15 – “Which in his times … shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.” (See R2747:4) Re: 1TimotThy 6:14-16
“We understand that the Apostle here refers to our Lord Jesus. Our reasons for so concluding are as follows:
“(1) While immortality belongs exclusively to the divine nature, we are to remember that the Apostle Paul declared that the entire church is called to ‘glory, honor and immortality,’ and the Apostle Peter says that God has given us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ‘we might become partakers of the divine nature.’ This implies, therefore, that the church of God is to possess this divine attribute of immortality or deathlessness. But only our Lord Jesus had yet been made partaker of this quality at the time of the Apostle’s writing. The church, his body, would not be thus honored and glorified until their due time, in the first resurrection, when they shall be like him, sharing his divine nature, glory, honor and immortality, etc.
“(2) That our Lord Jesus already possessed this divine nature and, therefore, possessed immortality at the time of the Apostle’s writing, is fully attested by the Scriptures, which assure us that ‘as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.’ This describes immortality, for no other condition of life is inherent life; all other conditions are derived or imparted life. The statement here that our Lord will give this same inherent life to his followers, is in agreement with the Apostle’s assurance that all who have part in the first resurrection are raised in incorruption in immortality (1 Cor. 15:52, 53), and remembering that it could have meant no less to him, the Head, than it is by and by to signify to the members of his body. We are to remember the same Apostle’s declaration that our Lord Jesus’ resurrection was as a ‘first-fruits,’ that thus he became the ‘first-born among many brethren.’ We are to remember also that the Apostle, in harmony with the above, expressed the desire that he might have a share in ‘his resurrection,’ ‘the resurrection,’ ‘the first resurrection,’ in which all the overcomers are to share. (Phil. 3:10, 11; 1 Cor. 15:20; James 1:18)
“(3) If, therefore, sharing in ‘his resurrection’ is to bring his faithful members to immortality, our Lord’s own resurrection can have no inferior condition. Hence, to apply the text in question to the heavenly Father would not be consistent with the testimony of Scripture, that the heavenly Son possessed immortality at the time, as well as the heavenly Father.
“(4) That the passage relates to our Lord Jesus and designates him the only Potentate, King and Lord, does not imply any disregard or disrespect of the heavenly Father and his attributes, kingship, etc., as the same writer (St. Paul) elsewhere points out. When speaking in similar strain about Christ’s kingdom and the subjugation of all things under him, he says, ‘It is manifest that he is excepted who did put all things under him.’ In other words, comparisons which show dignity and honor pertaining to Christ, Head and body, are never understood to be comparisons with Jehovah, who is beyond all comparison. (1 Cor. 15:27, 28)
“(5) The correctness of this application is further attested by our Lord’s own application to himself of the same titles. (Rev. 17:14; 19:16)
“(6) The Apostle’s entire discourse is along the line of showing the faithfulness of our Lord Jesus, his humility and high exaltation and how servants and all of us should be likewise humble and lowly and faithful to the truth as servants of God, and in due time be exalted – manifested to the world – in glory, honor and immortality in the Kingdom.” (R2746:4)
The “Ten Kings”
“Whatever was their number afterwards, as some of those kingdoms at length fell, and new ones arose, they are still (in the prophecy) called the ten kings from their first number.” (Isaac Newton, Observations Upon the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse)
The “Ten Horns”
A Rev. T. H. Birk, wrote a book entitled The Four Prophetic Empires in which he had a list of kingdoms for each century from the ninth to the nineteenth, which he introduced with the remark: “it is sometimes doubtful whether a kingdom can claim an independent sovereignty on account of the complex and varying nature of its political relations.” Those kingdoms in the lists below, where an interrogation is inserted by Mr. Birk are the ones he thought contained some elements of doubt as to whether they should be included:
A.D. 860 Italy, Provence, Lorraine, East France, West France, Exarchate, Venice, Navarre, England, Scotland – (10)
A.D. 950 Germany, Burgundy, Lombardy, Exar- chate, Venice, France, England, Scotland, Navarre, Leon – (10)
A.D. 1050 Germany, Exarchate, Venice, Norman Italy, France, England, Scotland, Aragon, Castile, Normandy (?), Hungary (?) – (9 to 11)
A.D. 1150 Germany, Naples, Venice, France, Eng- land, Scotland, Aragon, Castile, Portugal, Hungary, Lombardy (?) – (10 or 11)
A.D. 1250 Germany & Naples, Venice, Lombardy, France, England, Scotland, Aragon, Castile, Portugal, Hungary – (10)
A.D. 1350 Germany, Naples, Venice, Switzerland (?), Milan (?), Tuscany (?), France, England & Scotland, Aragon, Castile, Portugal, Hungary – (9 to 12)
A.D. 1453 Austria, Naples, Venice, France, England, Scotland, Arragon, Castile, Portugal, Hungary, Switzerland (?), Savoy (?), Milan (?), Tuscany (?) – (11 to 14)
A.D. 1562 Austria, Venice, France, England, Scot- land, Spain, Naples, Portugal, Hungary, Switzerland (?), Lombardy (?) – (9 to 11)
A.D. 1648 Austria, Venice, France, Britain (?), Spain and Naples, Portugal, Hungary, Switzer- land (?), Savoy, Tuscany, Holland – (8 to 11)
A.D. 1750 Austria & Hungary, France, Savoy and Sardinia, Venice, Tuscany, Spain, Portu- gal, Switzerland (?), Naples (?), Britain (?), Holland – (8 to 11)
A.D. 1816 Austria, Bavaria, Wurttemburg (?), Na- ples, Tuscany, Sardinia, Lombardy (?), France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Britain (?), Switzerland (?) – (9 to 13)
“An examination of this list reveals the surprising fact, which would only become more apparent were the list lengthened ten times, so as to present a census of each decade instead of each century, that amidst unceasing and almost countless fluctuations, the kingdoms of modern Europe have from their birth to the present day averaged ten in number. They have never since the breakup of old Rome been united into one single empire; they have never formed one whole even like the United States.” (Excerpted from Daniel, the Beloved of Jehovah – Streeter, p.187, 188)¹
Anent the “Called, Chosen and Faithful”
“… the statement that the final overcomers of the bride class will be those who were not only called, but also chosen, and also found faithful. (Rev. 17:14) All can readily recognize that, while sinners are called to repentance, only justified believers are called of God to this high calling, this heavenly calling of joint-heirship with their Lord in the kingdom. If we assume that throughout the age all the justified ones were granted that privilege in order that they might be ready, we must admit the force of the declaration that ‘many are called, but few are chosen.’ This Scripture shows us a wide distinction between merely a position of justification by faith and a position of acceptance with God. Only such called ones as accept the call by making a full consecration of themselves belong to this ‘chosen’ class.
1 (1) Austria, (2) Belgium, (3) Britain, (4) France, (5) Germany, (6) Holland, (7) Italy, (8) Portugal, (9) Spain, (10) Switzerland — those surviving to our day!
“The chosen ones, begotten of the holy Spirit and adopted as Spirit-begotten sons of God, are forth- with in the school of Christ, with a view of their development in grace, knowledge, love, and with a view to their testing as respects the thoroughness of their consecration even unto death. We well know that not all who reach this chosen place will prove faithful and win the crown. The great majority of the exhortations in the New Testament are addressed to this chosen class, accepted of God as probationary members of the bride company, the little flock, the body of Christ. To these come the exhortations to ‘fight the good fight,’ to ‘bear much fruit,’ to ‘let their light shine,’ to ‘so run that they may obtain,’ to ‘lay aside every weight,’ to ‘strive to enter in,’ to be ‘faithful unto death, that ye may receive the crown of life,’ to be ‘filled with the Spirit.’ They are ex- horted that if the various fruits and graces of the Spirit be in them and abound, an entrance shall be ministered to them abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Pet. 1:11)” (R4078:2)
17:15 – “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multi- tudes, and nations, and tongues.”
Ancient vs. Mystic Babylon
“Literal Babylon being built upon the river Euphrates, which materially contributed to its wealth and resources, its overthrow was accomplished by the turning aside of those waters. So Mystic Babylon sits upon, is supported by, many waters (peoples, nations), and its fall is predicted through the turning aside of it supporters and sustainers – the people. (Rev. 16:12)” (B208)
The Fall of Ancient Babylon
“Under Nabonnadus, the last king, B.C. 538, Babylon was taken by Cyrus, after a siege of two years, in the dead of the night. Having first, by means of its canals, turned the river into the great dry lake west of Babylon and then marched through the empty channel he made his way to the outer walls of the fortified palace on its banks, when finding the brazen gates incautiously left open by the royal guards while engaged in carousels, he entered with his train. ‘The Lord of Hosts’ was his leader, and Babylon as an empire was no more.” (McClintock & Strong’s Cyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 595)
Christ, the Antitypical Cyrus
“As Cyrus, a type of Christ, overthrew Babylon, so a part of the work of the second advent will be the overthrow of anti-typical Babylon. (Jer. 51:6; Rev. 18:21)” (R5092:3)
Already, by the mark in her forehead, is the “whore” identified as the mystical Babylon (Rev. 17:5), the apostate Roman Catholic church; and like the ancient city of Babylon, this one too is depicted as situated upon a great “river” – the mystical Euphrates – “peoples, and multitudes, and nations and tongues” (Rev. 17:15); i.e., those who through their membership, influence, money, etc., have supported the PAPACY.
It will be recalled that Cyrus of old, in order to lay the ancient city low, did it by way of diverting the waters of the river. So is it also to be with the mystical Babylon, the antitypical Cyrus – Christ Jesus, will be responsible for diverting the “waters” of the modern Babylon.
“Babylon and her fall are frequently mentioned, and here the drying up of the Euphrates adds to the correspondence. While ‘Babylon’ is used as a general name for the entire nominal Church, it is used and is specially applicable to that portion of it called ‘the mother of HARLOTS.’
“… Babylon, the mother … while other systems have channels, or rivers, her system is built upon the ‘GREAT RIVER.’ … Following the literal, and applying it to the symbol, we reason that the waters of this great river represent the people who, by their influence and money, support Papacy – from which Babylon the Great draws her revenues. And to this agrees the explanation by the angel: ‘The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.’ (Rev. 17:15)
“The millions of Papacy’s subjects are of every tongue and clime, and this symbol shows that a disaffection is to spring up between the subjects and the Church authorities which will turn aside her support and ‘dry up’ her revenues, and thus speedily lead to Babylon’s complete destruction.
“The direct cause of the drying will be the relationship existing between Papacy and the kingdoms of earth. Papacy, under the claim that it was Christ’s vicegerent – His representative – in the days of her prosperity claimed the right to appoint the kings of earth, and did so; and subjects had a right to REBEL against any government or king not thus recognized by Papacy. Since she has lost her power over the kingdoms of earth, she does not press this old claim, but would rather conciliate all the kingdoms; both those which she appointed and those appointed and sanctioned by other daughter churches.” (R510:1)
17:16, 17 – “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. 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.”
As previously set forth, the “ten horns” (divisions) of the Roman empire were once of “one mind,” in their support of the new “beast” (Papacy). However, after Napoleon had defied the Papacy, taking the Pope a prisoner to France where the latter in due course died; seeing that there was no divine malediction invoked against Napoleon, these “ten horns” (since A.D. 1800), have once again “one mind” in their resistance to any domination of the Papacy over them or their people. But what was on their part at first but a calculated indiffer- ence, and, as the light gradually revealed the “woman’s” intrigues and whoredoms, it became disgust and hatred. Yet all these attitudes on the part of these “ten horns” we are told, are instilled by Jehovah himself – “God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will … until the words of God be fulfilled” (Rev. 17:17)! This fact, however is to be understood in the same way as is the statement to the effect that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. (Exod. 4:21; 7:3; 10:1; 14:4) In neither instance did God interfere with the freedom of the will of those concerned; they did as they wished; and it was made easy for them to do just that. Yet, in the ultimate, the foreknown will of God is ultimately always accomplished.
The Hatred of the “Whore”
“As, prior to the year 800, Papacy was rising, supported by the Roman ‘beast’ (people) and by its ‘horns’ (powers), so since 1800 it has been cast off from temporal authority over kings and peoples, and has been torn and pillaged by those who formerly gave it support. (Rev. 17:16, 17) Today, though still the recipient of honors, and still possessed of a wide influence over the consciences of the people, Papacy bemoans its loss of everything resembling temporal dominion.” (B354)
17:18 – “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”
The “woman” of Rev. 17, is identified with the seven- hilled city – Rome. This “city” for centuries exercised political, as well as ecclesiastical control over so-called Christendom. This is what is implied by the words, “and the woman … is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” It is this so-called Christendom, which today corresponds to the “ten horns” of the disintegrated Roman empire!
“In the Revelation Jesus prophetically pictures the greatness of this City, this spiritual empire. It is essentially religious, although it includes the great kingdoms of earth, which unitedly are styled Christendom. This great ‘city,’ Babylon, is represented as being divided into ten different wards, each of which represents one of the kingdoms of Christendom, and which corresponds to the ten horns of the symbolic ‘beast’.” (SM405)
Could These Prophecies Have Reference to this Great City too!
Zeph. 3:1-4 – “Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!* She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God.** Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow. Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have polluted the sanc- tuary, they have done violence to the law.”
Nahum 3:1-6 – “Woe to the bloody city (Christen dom) it is full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not: The noise of the whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing of horses, and the jumping of chariots.* The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear, and there is a multitude slain and a great number of carcasses; they stumble upon their carcasses. Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favored harlot (Papacy), the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcraft. Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.** I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazing stock.”
* Rev. 18:2; 17:1-6; 17:16
** Rev. 2:21; 3:17; 17:16
Note: Of course, this prophecy of Nahum concerned Nineveh of old; but might it not also have reference to a more modern “Nineveh” Christendom, and its paramour, the Papacy?
The “Woman” and The “City” The “Woman” and Babylon (“Systems” including the Nations)
“… many faithful souls, ignorant of the real state of the case, have reverently and devoutly worshipped God within these Babylon systems, nevertheless, this does not alter the fact that they are, one and all, ‘harlot’ systems. Confusion reigns in them all, and the name Babylon aptly fits the entire family – mother, daughters and accomplices, the nations styled Christendom. (Rev. 18:7; 17:2-6, 18)” (D35)
Could it be, that this “woman” (Rev. 17:18) is also in some way identified with the one depicted in Zechariah’s prophecy (Zech. 5:5-11)? In that prophecy it says that the “woman” is “wickedness” (verses 7 and 8)!