We know that the dragon is the devil (Revelation 12), so we know that he does not
have royalty or prosperity as his characteristics. Some would argue about
the royalty issue, but consider that Jesus took over ownership of this world when
he died, so
the devil is a squatter
and he knows it. Revelation 12 even tells us that he knows his time here is
short. Before Jesus died, the devil was the owner of this world and its representative
in gatherings in heaven of representatives of the different worlds God has made
(see Job 1 and 2). But, when Jesus died, Satan lost that position. That
is what Revelation 12 means when it tells us that after the death of Jesus (the
time of which is depicted as Jesus being snatched up to God in heaven), the dragon
perceived that he had been hurled to this world and then began pursuing the woman
as a result of his anger. He apparently did this, according to Revelation
12, because he knew that his existence is soon to end. He knew that he had
lost the war for the hearts and minds of other worlds and those angels remaining
in heaven. Thereafter, he was no longer royalty and he he knew he had lost
his position. The bible does say he is the prince of the power of the air,
but that does not make him royalty over all the people of this world. I don't
think we would say he is prospering either considering his future. However,
he does have iniquity (sin) and conquest of souls for his characteristics.
The papacy can be painted with all these characteristics. It claims royalty
because the popes claim to be kings, they certainly have generally prospered through
the centuries, they have engaged in conquest of souls and lands, and because of
the sins they have committed in the form of blasphemy and murder of God's people,
they have the characteristic of iniquity.
The color red can possibly be associated with warfare (conquest) in Revelation.
Revelation 6:4 speaks of the red horse that went out to take peace from the earth
by causing war. So, war probably is another characteristic of the dragon.
And since Revelation 12:7 and 12:17 says that the dragon is involved in war,
this clearly is a characteristic of his. But we cannot distinguish the dragon
from the Papacy by this characteristic because Revelation 13:7 says that the leopard
beast would also cause war (at the instigation of the dragon, of course).
The scarlet beast is covered with names of blasphemy. The dragon is certainly
guilty of blasphemy, but there is
nothing
on the dragon indicating blasphemy as a characteristic he carries. We have
no statements to that effect in Revelation 12 nor are any physical characteristics
indicative of blasphemy as a behavior of the dragon - in other words, being a dragon
does not tell us that he is guilty of blasphemy, and neither does having a red color
make him guilty of blasphemy. We have to use what God shows or strongly implies,
rather than what He does not show, so blasphemy is not a characteristic found on
the dragon, even if we all know he is guilty of it.
If you want to identify the scarlet beast through the behavior of blasphemy, what
other prophetic beasts or parts of prophetic beasts show blasphemy in Daniel or
Revelation? The answer is that blasphemy is a characteristic of the talking
horn of Daniel 7 (it speaks great words against God, another definition of blasphemy),
and you will find blasphemy as a characteristic of the leopard beast of Revelation
13 because it speaks against God and it has blasphemy written on it's heads (so
it has blasphemous behavior during the time of the heads). Because of this
commonly shared characteristic and other characteristics of the scarlet beast, we
may be sure that this is indicating the scarlet beast is the same as the leopard
beast of Revelation 13 and the talking horn of Daniel 7.
Another aspect that identifies the scarlet beast comes from the following.
Something that has been commonly missed about the story of the leopard beast (which
has 7 heads and 10 horns) in Revelation 13 is that the story is incomplete.
In Daniel, wherever heads or horns appear, you get an explanation of the heads and
horns. Daniel 7 presents the leopard beast with the 4 heads, and an explanation
of that comes through the symbolism of the goat in Daniel 8. Daniel 7 also
presents the dreadful beast with 10 horns and a talking horn that comes up and removes
three of the 10 horns before it. The explanation for this is given in the
same chapter and vision. In Revelation 13, you get an explanation of the body
of the sea beast, but no in-depth explanation of the heads and horns that you would
recognize as such. The only complete explanation you find of heads and horns
is in Revelation 17, so it is logical that
Revelation 17
MUST
complete the story
by explaining the heads and horns.
At a minimum, this indicates that the heads and horns of both beasts are synonymous
with one another. Consideration of the fact that blasphemy is a characteristic
of both beasts is a strong indicator that the beasts themselves are synonymous with
one another. Therefore, for this and several other reasons, the leopard beast
of Revelation 13 and the scarlet beast of Revelation 17 are one and the same, but
look different in order to point out different characteristics of the same power.
The point here is that there is only one story of heads and horns in Revelation
for the dragon, the sea beast of Revelation 13, and the scarlet beast of Revelation
17. Though the dragon is not the same as the leopard beast or the scarlet
beast, it has the same set of heads and horns. However, the explanation
of this is rather complicated.
Please click here for an explanation of the heads and horns being the same for all
3 beasts of Revelation 12, 13, and 17.
But, some would argue, the woman riding that beast represents the church that is
corrupted by the Babylonian religious practices that have invaded it, so the scarlet
beast must represent something entirely different. Not necessarily so.
Just how different must it be? Consider that the woman is said to be riding
that beast. At least one Greek English Interlinear has translated the word
for "ride" as "sustain", which would suggest that the beast
in fact supports the woman. Another item to consider is that beasts usually
represent powers (whether predominantly religious or political), so given that this
beast itself points to the papacy, one could conclude that this beast represents
the state power of the Papacy. So, the picture given of the woman riding the
beast is one of a particular church and a particular state, the papal state.
Bear in mind, that this beast is nonetheless a religious power. The beast
supporting the woman on it's seven heads creates a picture of the papal government
keeping the church in power by force or intimidation, something it did a lot of
during the dark ages and was quite successful at it too.
Here is another way to identify the beast. Consider the general layout of
the story between Revelation 16 through 18. Revelation 16 is about the 7 last
plagues. Revelation 17 is about the judgment of the woman. Most of the
activity of the story in Revelation 17 centers on the scarlet beast, the 10 horns,
the return of the beast, and finally a quick statement about the punishment of the
woman at the end. Revelation 18 is about the execution of judgment (punishment)
upon the woman.
Given this layout, there are a couple of questions that become evident. First,
Revelation 17 begins by saying that John was to be shown the judgment of the woman.
Then it shows the woman sitting on the scarlet colored beast in the wilderness.
It is obvious that she has killed a lot of people because she was drunk with the
blood of the saints. From the fact that she is already drunk when he sees
her, it is obvious that this killing has already occurred. Once John has
seen this woman, most of the rest of the story centers on what the beast, the 7
heads, and the 10 horns will do. At the end of the story, the woman is punished.
Strangely, until the punishment phase begins, in the explanation of the heads, horns,
and the return of the beast, nothing further is said about the activities of the
woman.
But then, at the end of Revelation 17 and in Revelation 18, WHY is the WOMAN punished
for the activities of the beast and the 7 heads that occurs in Revelation 17?
Why not punish the beast, because it is the beast that does most of the activity
of the story that is told as part of the explanation of the woman sitting upon the
beast? Remember that it is the beast that makes war with the 10 horns against
the saints of God (Revelation 17:14). Think about this for it is very important.
It can help you identify that beast.
Have you ever noticed what Revelation 17:2 says? Here is what it says:
Rev 17:2
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.
Why is this verse included, especially the first phrase? Is there a connection
between the woman, the kings of the earth, and the beast? Now, please!
Think hard about this for a minute before going on. What is the woman representing
in general? Answer: a church (and apostate religions in general). What
are the kings of the earth in general? Answer: the state. The phrase
"With
whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication" is telling you that this is a combination
of church and state! In Revelation 13:1-10, the leopard beast has generally
been considered to be a combination of church and state, it is true that the church
predominated. The particular church power has been clearly identified as the
Papacy, which is the government structure of the Catholic Church. This scarlet
beast (in Revelation 17:3) has blasphemy all over it, just as the leopard beast
of Revelation 13 and the talking horn of Daniel 7 had. The Bible gives no
provable examples of government powers with blasphemy upon them, but does give examples
of religious powers with blasphemy on them or indicated in their behavior.
This simple fact should make it abundantly clear that the scarlet beast of Revelation
17 is a religious power, not a political power.
Next, you have the woman punished for the recent activities of the beast.
The only rational reason for that must be that she is actually part of the beast
itself, which in light of Revelation 17:2 (combining church and state), Revelation
13:1-10 (identified as the Papacy and a power representing the combining of church
and state), the fact that she is shown drunk with the blood of the saints and martyrs
(Revelation 17:6), and finally the words of blasphemy all over the scarlet beast
(Revelation 17:3), makes logical sense. The only reason she is punished for
the activities of the beast absolutely has to be because she is part of the beast
itself. She and the kings of the earth combining together in their fornication
actually is what the beast itself represents. Thus the identity of that beast
is identical with that of the leopard beast of Revelation 13!
This really makes excellent sense when you consider carefully what Revelation 13
and 17 have to say about the activities of the 2 beasts. Here are the common
identifying factors:
(1)
Both make war against God.
(2)
The Revelation 13 beast is known from it's identifying marks and history to have
been a combination of church and state. Revelation 17 says the woman and the
kings of the earth fornicate together, which is a clear symbol of combination of
church and state, and then turns around and says the woman is punished. If
the combination of church and state forms the beast of Revelation 13, then should
not the same thing happen in Revelation 17?
Revelation 13:7 is a verse that has been taken by many to indicate that the beast
of Revelation 13 will return someday. Here is what it says:
Rev 13:7
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and
power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Because the Papacy did not achieve power over all nations during the dark ages,
it has been understood by many that this is a prophecy that indicates the beast
will return someday again, and become even more powerful than it was in the past.
This creates a 3 phase beast power -
(1)
the 1260 years,
(2)
the time when it is in restraint, and
(3)
a time of return of the beast power. This view is bolstered by the verses
near the end of Revelation 13, which prophecies a time when the earth beast will
create an image to the beast and enforce worship of the original beast and it's
image. Thus, this foretells the return of the beast, which again reinforces
the idea of a 3 phase beast.
Given that the scarlet beast is a 3 phase beast (the "was" time, the "is
not" time, and finally the "yet is" time), this helps indicate that
these two beasts are one and the same.
Now, than being the case, then the scarlet beast also should be created by the fornication
of the woman with the kings of the earth. This is not absolute proof, but
the evidence is rather strong.
Revelation never says the scarlet beast is punished, only that the beast is punished
- which everybody assumes is the leopard beast of Revelation 13. It seems
illogical that the scarlet beast would not be punished, and yet it never says it
receives punishment. Or does it? If the two beasts are synonymous, then
the scarlet beast will be punished, for then it is the beast - which we know will
be punished.
(3)
Both the woman and the scarlet beast are shown together in the wilderness, which
is equivalent to the abyss, so the vision begins in the abyssal time of the beast.
If that beast is the papacy, then that time frame is clearly identified by church
historians as describing accurately the condition of the Papacy after 1798.
(4)
Both commit blasphemy. Daniel 7 said the beast would continue to blaspheme
God right up until the end (Daniel 7:7-11, 19-22 - the sequence of dominion of the
beast being removed, judgment time, and the second coming and the blasphemy is said
to continue until it is destroyed which will not occur until the end). The
leopard beast of Revelation 13 also commits blasphemy both during the time of the
body and also the time of the heads, which are in sequence with one another.
The scarlet beast of Revelation 17 has words of blasphemy all over it, which means
the body and heads are covered with words of blasphemy. This would indicate
that blasphemy would occur both during the time of the body and also during the
following time of the heads. Thus the blasphemy will also continue to the
end of time with the Revelation 13 and 17 beasts.
it should be abundantly clear that the two beasts of Revelation 13 and 17 are identical.
There are enough identifying marks to clearly delineate their identity as being
synonymous.
The presence of blasphemy all over the scarlet beast (including the heads, evidently)
should indicate that this beast is not a political beast. Hence, the heads
cannot be ancient kingdoms such as those found in Daniel 7. None of the political
kingdoms of Daniel 7, nor the dragon for that matter, were shown to have blasphemy
on them. Nothing in the description of these powers in Daniel 7 even hints
of blasphemy. To say that the heads of the scarlet beast are any of the kingdoms
of Daniel 7 means you have to apply the characteristic of blasphemy to them because
words of blasphemy are written all over that beast, according to the observations
of John while in vision.
The author has encountered a situation where an individual who believed that the
scarlet beast was the dragon insisted that the dragon has blasphemy on him.
Yet if you read the description, that is not the case. He admitted that he
assumed it because the devil is certainly guilty of blasphemy. While that
is true, God still does not show it on him. The reason God would not include
blasphemy on the dragon is because He did include it on another power, and He does
not want us to confuse the two powers by using the same dominant characteristic
for identification of both beasts. So it is that we should not assign characteristics
to beasts that are not shown.
Of course, there are those who claim that the heads of the scarlet beast ARE the
ancient kingdoms occurring in a sequence, so here God is assigning the characteristic
of blasphemy to them. The problem with that is that there is plenty of evidence
pointing in another direction, and virtually none proving that they are the ancient
sequential kingdoms. Should we trust such evidence? I think not.
That being the case, then we should not assign blasphemy where God does not make
it abundantly clear that this is to be done.
Some would argue that the leopard beast is shown differently than the talking horn,
and even has a few additional characteristics shown for the leopard beast, so therefore
we can assign blasphemy to the ancient sequential kingdoms. However, there
are enough common characteristics identifiable between the two powers, that you
can know without a doubt that these two powers are really the same power.
From that, you may be safe in applying the additional characteristics shown on the
leopard beast to the talking horn. But otherwise, it would not be safe to
do this for the result would be that we fail to properly identify the powers involved.
Some would argue that the woman and the beast are church and state. In general,
that may be true to some extent. But, keep in mind that the
Singularity Principle
indicates that the body of each beast represents one and only one power. This
indicates that the woman must represent a specific church and the beast must represent
a specific, singular power as well. So, to say it is church and state is insufficient.
It must indicate the specific church and the specific power or state.
During the 1260 year time period (538 AD -1798 AD), the church certainly did often
rule over the kings of Europe that were under its control. But, that control
was not absolute. They often were allowed to stray from the dictates of the
popes as long as they didn't go too far. This results in a picture that would
not be the same as a woman riding the beast, for it should show her riding a number
of beasts to make the picture accurately represent that type of actual events.
But instead, you have here a picture of a woman riding a particular beast.
Now, when you ride a beast, you and the beast generally go in the same direction
and to the same places. Is that a picture of the church of the dark ages and
the states of Europe which at times went about as they wished? I think not.
More specifically, this picture is telling us that the only state that can match
this picture is the Papacy. The church and the Papacy certainly went together
whatever they were doing. Further, the Papacy certainly made sure the woman
was "sustained" by keeping the church in power and maintaining it's position
through force or intimidation as needed. This more accurately reflects the
proper understanding of the vision John wrote about in Revelation 17.
This picture of the church and Papacy is not contradictory. To be sure, the
church certainly contains the Papacy because the church as a whole must include
everything in it, including its governing structure. But, the Papacy is the
religious and political power of the Catholic Church and therefore can accurately
be represented as a beast. It indeed is a state too. The church as a
whole cannot best be represented by a beast, so a woman is chosen for that symbol.
There are some who maintain that the scarlet beast was present during the time of
John because of Rev 17:10 ("And there are seven kings: five are fallen,
and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue
a short space. ) and must be Pagan Rome. Though it appears to be true because
of the appearance of present tense verbs in the statement of the angel, this is
a false assumption. Consider this. According to Daniel 7, the 4th beast
was 4th in a line of powers that arose, beginning with Babylon. This means
the 4th beast of Daniel 7 is Rome. Now note that the talking horn arises AFTER
Rome is gone. This talking horn is the Roman Catholic Church. In Revelation
17, the woman is the Roman Catholic Church. Now here is the key idea: the
woman and the beast she rides on represent powers and corresponding time periods
for each of those powers. The woman represents the time from the beginning
of the beast, which according to Daniel 7 did come to have power after Pagan Rome
but did exist before then. But the beast she rode on, if it was Rome, simply
disappeared and ceased to exist after 476 AD. Now, her presence on this beast
is to continue to the end of time, of that we may be certain. But if that
beast ceases to exist in 476 AD, how can she have a beast to ride on after that
date???? It is pretty hard to ride a beast of any kind that does not
exist!!!! So, that scarlet beast cannot be Pagan Rome.
Of course, there are some who argue that Rome continues today in the form of the
western powers that descended from Rome. But that is not the way the Bible
shows it in Daniel 7. It indicated there by symbols that Rome would have an
end and would be followed by others that arose from it. These kingdoms certainly
are its descendants, no doubt about it, but they are not Rome per se. Caesar
is not still ruling in Rome is he? You get the point? That beast, if
it was Rome, disappeared when Rome disappeared and the woman would have nothing
to ride on after that. The fact that she does have something to ride on indicates
that the beast itself is not Rome, and so must be something else.
Here is another way to identify the woman and the beast. Note that Revelation
17:9 says "...
The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth." Also, Rev 17:18 says "And
the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of
the earth." Some symbols in Daniel and Revelation receive multiple uses.
These verses show multiple use symbols, in particular the heads, mountains, woman,
and Babylon. The woman has the word Babylon written on her forehead, which
appears to be what the term "great city" is referring to (Revelation 18:10
refers to Babylon as a great city and Babylon did at one time rule over the kings
of the earth). Now,
Babylon is also a code word for Rome, so the woman in Revelation 17:18 could reasonably
be said to be equated to Rome. Revelation 17:9 says that the woman sits on
the seven heads or seven mountains. The word translated as mountains could
possibly be taken to also translate to hills, though it is usually translated as
mountains in the New Testament. Rome is known as the city of 7 hills because
the original city of Rome was built on 7 hills (as it happens, the Vatican sits
on an 8th hill). There are several other cities in Europe that were also built
on 7 hills, but these were built centuries after the time of John. Now, this
tells us that the woman, who has been equated to Rome, is sitting on 7 hills.
The expression "the city of seven hills" or its equivalent has been for
centuries a commonly known symbol of Rome. Remember that this picture is not
literal but is a picture of symbols intended to convey a meaning other than what
the symbols themselves are, for the woman could not possibly be big enough to literally
sit on 7 hills. So, the neither the hills nor the woman are to be taken as
literal, but rather as symbolic.
Just so the reader and writer are understanding the meaning of the word "symbol",
here is the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of this word as the writer is
using it: "something that stands for or suggests something else by reason of
relationship, association, convention, or accidental resemblance; especially : a
visible sign of something invisible". The bible usage fits within this
because normally prophetic symbols stand for something else.
The 7 heads should not be taken to be the literal 7 hills of Rome, for the vision
is made up of symbols, so the heads which are also mountains must also be symbolic.
This rules out any direct translation of the hills or mountains into Rome.
Instead it must be understood in terms of symbolism. But, as it happens, the
term "7 hilled city" is something that is a common symbol for Rome, so
it is useful. Some have objected that Rome is no longer built on the original
7 hills, something that is definitely true, and based on this objection, the claim
is made that this means it must refer to the time of pagan Rome when this was true.
However, irrespective of the geographical location of most of the city of Rome,
the city has been known and is still known today as the city of 7 hills. The
author happened across a movie on TV recently in which it was mentioned that certain
people in the movie (which was made about 20 years ago as of the writing of this
page in November of 2002) had "gone to the city of seven hills".
The next scene was of the actors in what was clearly Rome. So, even in the
media it can still be called the city of 7 hills. As a symbol, the term "city
of seven hills" still denotes Rome, even if the city is no longer restricted
to the 7 hills.
As a symbol, the term "seven mountains" is a substitute or stand in for
something else. Normally a symbol does not directly translate to the direct
counterpart for which it stands. In other words, a beast can represent a nation,
but it does not represent its exact counterpart, another beast. Yet it is
clear that the woman is being equated to a geographical location by the symbols
employed, which happens to be Rome. So, it is not unreasonable to say that
it is very likely that the beast also refers to a geographical location. The
fact that the woman rides the beast or is sustained by it would indicate that the
two of them go together wherever they are, so if the woman is located in Rome through
the interpretation of the symbols, there also the beast must be as well. For
this reason, it is not unreasonable to say that the 7 mountains are in fact a stand
in for the expression that makes the reference to Rome. Symbols can reference
many things in the bible, so it does not seem out of line to do this, though some
may disagree with this. But in use of this symbol, one must be careful NOT
to use the 7 mountains as stand ins for the literal 7 hills of Rome. That
would be incorrect for then one is having the symbol reference (or stand in) its
actual physical counterpart, something for which symbols don't do normally.
Rather, the seven hills should be used as a symbol of a common expression which
references the city of Rome, which has been known since the time of John.
This is very likely a more correct usage of the symbolism. The geographical
location can be deduced from that.
So, symbolically, the woman is Rome and the 7 hills are also a reference to Rome
through a common expression. Therefore, the final picture is that Rome is
sitting on Rome! Clearly, that sounds ridiculous, but what it is telling us
is that the woman represents something from Rome and the beast also represents something
from Rome and nowhere else. This takes us back to a specific church and a
specific power (Singularity Principle) that
the woman and the beast each represent. In other words, the woman represents
the church which has the Babylonian beliefs in it (the word Babylon is written on
her forehead, behind which is the brain where thinking takes place, which would
suggest that she has wholeheartedly taken in those beliefs from Babylon) and Babylon
also indicates the woman represents something from Rome. She is "sustained"
by the beast (and remember beasts always have power, be it political or religious)
which logically is the government structure of the Catholic Church, which is also
centered in Rome. It would not be the Italian government as other characteristics
of the beast point back to the Papacy (the color and the blasphemy both do that)
rather than to a political government power. Therefore, for the primary
interpretation sense, the beast cannot be European governments or a generalized
"state" (as in "church and state") or "republicanism"
or any other "isms" out there. These other interpretations that
have been proposed in the past are ruled out as primary interpretations by the combined
meanings of the symbolisms present in Revelation 17 and history. It must come
from Rome and must sustain the woman. Only the Papacy can qualify.
However, having said that, it is true that the woman is said to be sitting on the
mountains, which are equivalenced to the heads. She is not on the beast's
back for Revelation 17:9 says "...The seven heads are seven mountains, on which
the woman sitteth. " and at no point does it ever say she is sitting anywhere
else on the scarlet beast. Some would argue that the woman is sitting on the
back of the beast, but that is not at all certain at any time. Revelation
17:3 says "...and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast".
This tells us nothing about where on the animal she is sitting. But the angel
does distinctly later tell John that the woman is sitting upon the 7 mountains which
are equivalenced to 7 heads. Though this might seem a bit strange that she
would be sitting upon the heads rather than the back, there is a reason for it and
I think we destroy the intended meaning by trying to picture the woman upon the
beast's back because it alters the symbolism and the message it is intended to convey.
No matter, the woman isn't there on the back as far as can be determined from the
text, and no amount of wishing can place her there.
Now, knowing the
Miller Principle
would apply here, this is telling us that the woman sitting on the mountains/heads
means that her sitting there applies during the time of the heads, not the body
or the horns. It is just like the leopard in Daniel. That 4 headed leopard
had 4 wings on its back, which indicated that during the time of the body, there
would be very rapid conquest. So, likewise, this woman sitting on the heads
is telling us something about the beast during the time of the heads. This
would take us back to the
Characteristics Principle, which tells us that things attached to a beast
other than the body, heads, or horns, will tell us something about how a beast will
behave, what it will do, or how it will do something. So, what could it be
that this picture is trying to tell us by having the woman riding on the heads of
the scarlet beast?
Let's go back to the definition of the beast place based on its powers. The
beast was created by giving it the power to punish heresy and the pope was made
head bishop over all other existing bishops within the Christian Church of the time.
This combined the government of the church, which we call the Papacy, and the church
at large with the power of the state over individuals wherever punishment of heresy
was desirable. It also extended the power of the pope over all other churches.
That constituted the sea beast as shown in Revelation 13 and the scarlet beast of
Revelation 17. When Napoleon's general Berthier conquered Rome, he issued
and circulated a decree removing the power of the papal government. This thereby
reversed the original decree of Justinian which was implemented 1260 years earlier.
This meant that the powers the pope got originally were removed, so it removed the
power the pope had to punish what he considered heresy (which removed the right
to use the state for this purpose), and it also removed the power over bishops who
did not wish to follow the pope.
It is clear that the primary purpose of the symbols of the woman riding the beast
is intended to convey the idea of church and papal government, but it may in a secondary
sense be trying to tell us that during the time of the heads, the power of church
and state will be separate by showing the church, represented by the woman, riding
(or supported by) the Papacy (papal government and represented by the heads of the
scarlet beast). This is in contrast to the sea beast of Revelation 13 or the
body of the scarlet beast in Revelation 17, in which the powers of the church and
the state were combined into the Papacy. Is that possible?
The writer wants to be careful here because the
Singularity Principle
does hold here for the primary interpretation, but the writer cannot help but wonder
if this implied meaning is there. It would seem that this would fall under
the
Characteristics Principle, in which the woman is looked upon like a secondary
characteristic, not unlike the wings on the 4 headed leopard of Daniel 7, so as
to help us understand something of the behavior of the beast during the time of
the heads. So, maybe during this time the heads will behave in a manner that
is in keeping with the times. The idea of freedom of conscience came about
around 1798, along with separation of church and state, so maybe this picture is
telling us that the heads will appear to go along with that idea for the time being
because it is in it's best interest. Interestingly, the woman is not said
to be sitting on the horns, so it would appear that this behavior would apply only
during the time of the heads.
In the sense that the picture above at the top of this web page shows the woman
sitting on the back of the 7 headed, 10 horned scarlet beast, it is inaccurate in
some sense because in Revelation 17, the woman is said to be sitting on the 7 mountains/heads
(it is reasonable to interchange the word hills for mountains). At no point
in Revelation 17 is it stated that the woman is sitting on the back of the scarlet
beast. But, the picture does give some idea of what the vision is trying to
convey, so the writer uses it. Sorry about the inaccuracy, but it would be
difficult for an artist to portray the woman sitting on the 7 heads and also show
the 10 horns!
Who Are the 10 Horns?
Revelation 17 says that the 10 horns will give their power and authority to the
beast. Who are these 10 horns? Many think they are political leaders
or political entities such as 10 nations of Europe, but given that the beast itself
is predominantly a religious power (the Papacy), and knowing that the
Miller Principle, the
Similarity Principle, and the
Difference Principle
would apply here (principles that
DO APPLY
to beasts!), we can deduce the following about the 10 horns given the following
additional facts: (1) the woman has daughters that are prostitutes like her, and
(2) the 10 horns give their power and authority to the beast. Now, here is
how to understand who these 10 kings are.
The
Miller Principle
tells us that these horns have their days of dominant power during the third phase
of power represented on the beast by the body (phase 1), the heads (phase 2), and
horns (phase 3, see
the 3 phases of the beast). We know that the time represented by the
body is past history as of 1798 as that closed the first phase of power of the beast.
We also know that the heads are nearly done with their day of power (written during
November of 2002). The time of the 10 horns is almost here. So, we know
that their time is yet future. The
Similarity Principle
tells us that these 10 kings will be religious powers because they come out of a
religious power (the Papacy). The
Difference Principle
tells us that they will probably be smaller and weaker than what came before.
Now, one could say that this is somehow a further division of the Papacy's power,
but it turns out that the
Exception Principle
comes into play here. The statement that the 10 horns give their power to
the beast is the exception. Here it is telling us that somehow these horns
have become so different from the original power which they grew out of, that they
are not the Papacy or the Catholic Church itself, yet we must not forget that
because they are on the beast, they must be similar and must arise from it.
Now, given that the woman has daughters, we could ask ourselves a few questions.
Since the woman represents a church that has apostatized and she has daughters,
could it be that she has spawned daughter churches that have also apostatized?
What religious powers have come out of the Catholic Church in history? The
answer to this is pretty obvious if history is known to the reader. The answer
is that the
Protestant Churches
are what these daughters and 10 horns are all about. They are the only powers
that have come out of the Catholic Church that can match. For certain, the
Buddhists, the Confucianists, the Hindus, and even the Muslims cannot claim to fit
this. Only the Protestant Churches fit this prophecy. Now, heads can
be taken to represent leaders (secular or religious). So, as the heads on
the scarlet beast of Revelation 17 can represent the leaders of the Catholic Church
during the "is not" phase of the beast (1798 to the end of the 7 heads),
so also the 10 horns represent the leaders of Protestant Churches that have or will
apostatize and at some point in time in the future, will give their power and authority
over to the Catholic Church for accomplishment of a common purpose. So, it
is the leaders of the Protestant Churches who are the 10 horns.
What is the connection of the beast to the number 666?
The original discoverer of this connection relates that he was contemplating the
interpretation of the 666 number from Revelation 13:18 when the thought occurred
to him that the popes have numbers after their names, such as John Paul II.
He noted that the text in Revelation 13:18 was introduced by the phrase "Here is
wisdom" while the text in Revelation 17:9 says "And here
is the mind which hath wisdom". These phrases are nearly identical
in meaning, so he began to realize that this was telling the reader that there is
a connection between the number 666 and those 7 heads in Revelation 17. Knowing
that the beast itself was the papacy, he began to research this connection.
First he began by gathering a list of the popes, and then progressed to adding up
the numbers of all the popes. This came to a number much too large.
He thought on that for a while and wondered if the year 1798 might have something
to do with this because of the prominence of that year in prophecy and papal history.
So, he selected out the list of popes after 1798. About that point he noticed
that there were 7 such names when the numbers after the names are ignored.
This last discovery interested him because of the prophecy in Rev 17:9 - 11, which
says: And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains,
on which the woman sitteth. 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. He began to realize the 7 kings were
in fact the 7 names occurring after 1798. Believing this to be possible, he
gathered a list of all the popes who ever reigned who were members of these 7 names
and then added up the numbers assigned to their names. This produced a total
of about 679. Much better, but still not correct.
Further research led him to realize that the text says to count or calculate the
number, so he began to wonder if counting was the correct way to do this.
He found that if you simply make a list of the popes for each name, count the popes
in each name, and then add up the count for each name, and finally add up the count
totals for all the names, the total comes to 665!
Now, here is where things begin to get really interesting. Further research
into the history of the 7 papal names occurring after 1798 revealed that from the
perspective of Pope Paul VI (1963-1978), 5 papal names had already died out, one
was at that time (Pope Paul), and there was one more yet to come who had never been
before - John Paul. So these elements of the prophecy matched exactly with
the history of the 7 names. More research by the writer revealed that for
each of the 7 papal names, if you add up the total number of years each papal name
has reigned, you find that the John Paul series is by far the shortest, which as
of the writing of this page in November of 2002 stands at 24 years. The next
closest one is about 67 years. So, this element of the prophecy matched as
well. What is even more interesting is that when the count of the popes is
added up, as of John Paul II it comes to 665.
See Papal Names Die Out Date Chart.
There are objections to the interpretation presented here based on the idea that
in Daniel 2 and 7, the visions there have explanations which always start with the
prophet Daniel's time, language, place, and empire he is in. Of course, they
forget that Daniel 8 does not start there also. But, they claim, this vision
in Revelation 17 must also be of John's time because the vision is followed by an
explanation which includes the statement "five have fallen, one is, and one
more is yet to come..." (Revelation 17:10). They conclude that the "one
is" must be John's time. This is a mistaken idea, though, because at
the beginning of the chapter, the explanation begins with the statement that John
is going to be shown the punishment of the woman. The vision is then shown.
But, the explanation has already started, and continues after the vision.
Again, the beginning of the explanation is about the punishment of the woman.
This is something that is clearly yet future, even by their definition because of
their statement that the "one is" is at the time of John. The woman's
punishment is after that event according to the chapter. The chapter clearly
does not start with John's time, especially given that the woman is the apostate
church which has not yet been punished even as of the writing of this web page in
November of 2002. So, their dating is way off.
So, it would appear that under their premises, the chapter backs up in time.
This is not impossible, but it makes better sense to consider that maybe the whole
chapter is dealing with events near the end of time, not at the time of John and
then forward towards the punishment of the woman. Further, under their premises,
they must place the scarlet beast prior to the time of John, for heads cannot exist
independent of the body and they claim that the 5th head is at the time of John.
This also ignores the clear evidence from Daniel (with no counterexamples from Daniel)
that heads on a beast are to be considered concurrent rather than sequential.
Their premises rule that out and clearly go against the rules laid down in Daniel.
Of course, some of those who believe this will try to say that the scarlet beast
is the dragon. That may appear logical but it ignores the clear evidence pointing
towards the papacy as being the scarlet beast. And, you still have the concurrency
problem. So, this objection should be put to rest by the facts.
The conclusions from this are profound and really amazing. This is telling
us that the next pope who has an assigned number of one (his name has never been
used before by any other pope), will in fact be the last pope ever. Sometime
during his lifetime, Jesus will come and end this world. We cannot know the
year, day or hour of his coming from this prophecy, and because of the possibility
of life extending scientific breakthroughs that might come in the next few years,
it is not even certain that we can tell what decade of this next pope's life this
will occur in, but of one thing you can be certain is that this world will end before
he can die a natural death. This is really an amazing prophecy.
Considering that the current pope is aged and has Parkinson's Disease (and the writer
does feel sorry for him on a personal level about that as the writer's father-in-law
suffered a lot from and died of complications of Parkinson's Disease) and is not
likely to live that much longer, we can know that the time of the 8th king is probably
not that far off. Further, consider that the likely replacements for John
Paul II are all in their 70s. This has profound implications for our world's
future, our personal lives in how they should be lived, and the religious world
as well.
Research by the writer has found that the method used by the discoverer of this
connection between the 666 number and the 7 heads of the scarlet beast of Revelation
17 closely parallels the method used by the Babylonians for calculating the number
666.
See the history of the 666 number for more information. They simply counted their gods and then added
up the count (which was: 1+2+3+4+...+35+36 = 666). In like fashion, the discoverer
simply added up the total of the counts of the 7 papal name lines and it totaled
to 665. Because of the inclusion of the Babylonian worship practices into
the Christian religion, it is to the religion that did this that the number 666
applies. There can be no other meaning, for to apply any other meaning is
to divorce the actual history of this number from the facts of history of the Christian
Church.
The typical method employed for calculating the number 666 has been through what
is called gematria, or assigning a numerical value to each of the letters in a name
(based on the Roman numeral system), and then adding up the numbers translated from
the letters contained in a name. For example, one of the titles that the popes
used to claim is Vicarius Filii Dei (which roughly translated means Vicar of God).
This number can be run through using the rules of gematria and it does add to 666.
There are a number of other such similar results found with the papacy, the Catholic
Church, and even some of the names associated with Italy.
Click here for a web page that explains in detail the gematria system.
Note that the web page I just referred you to has a lot of other information on
it, including some on the history of the number 666, much of it quite interesting.
But, none of the other methods such as the gematria system, employs the original
method used by the Babylonians, which means they are historically inaccurate and
therefore of suspect value. Further, many individuals' names add to 666 under
the gematria system. Should they be called the 8th king too? I think
not.. One last point about this is that the alphabet system we who speak English
or many European languages use is only one of more than 30 in use in the world today.
What about those who use an alphabet where Roman Numerals cannot be assigned because
there are no equivalent Roman alphabet letters that can be assigned a numerical
value? Must they be denied knowledge of this because of that quirk in history
which gave them the "wrong" alphabet? However, counting and adding
is valid in all languages and is not alphabet dependent. That gives virtually
every person in this world access to this information as the rules of arithmetic
are not language or alphabet dependent.
The number 666 as applied by this web site tells us that God knew all the details
of the popes from the beginning. That should give us confidence in him that
he can see us through to heaven.
