Revelation Chapter 17

In Chapter 17 of Revelation, John was shown the great whore who was sitting upon the scarlet coloured beast which was upon many waters. Upon her forehead was written, “Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.” The woman was drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

When John was wondering of this surprising scene, an angel came to him to give him wisdom and instruction of the vision.

The beast had seven heads and ten horns. The only kingdom to which all the descriptions fit is the Roman Empire and the woman riding on it, the papacy.

This compares with the prophecies of Daniel chapter seven and Revelation chapters 13 and 18. Verses nine and ten give us the explanation that the seven heads are seven mountains around the city of Rome. History calls it a city of seven hills. Also the seven heads are seven kings. Since these heads are on the same beast, they must be the seven different forms of government that the Roman Empire had.

Rome was founded in the year 750 B.C., and in the first 300 years the kings were ruling. After them a republican government was established with consuls ruling it from 444 B.C. to 367 B.C.

After them, a new type of government was established called Decemvirs, where two groups of men up to ten were ruling the nation.

The next type of government was a dictatorship and then triumvirs, where three Praetors ruled the country.
In the year 27 B.C. the Imperial form of government was set up. In this form the Caesars ruled the nation. The five previous forms of government had fallen, and the Imperial was now in power.

From 395 A.D., the new type of government was seen. Two or more colleges ruled. It was still one country even that it was ruled by a plurality of men, and with senators. The Western part alone had 200 senators. This was the seventh head, or the seventh form of government.

Verse 12 says that the ten horns are ten kings which will come out of the beast, the Roman Empire.

When Western Rome was divided in 476 A.D., exactly ten separate independent kingdoms were created, which were the Germans, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Suevi, Burgundians, Heruli, Anglo-Saxons and Lombards.
Here we find also the three phases of the Roman Empire, the beast. They are the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
The Pagan Rome which persecuted Christians was called beast. When Emperor Constantine was baptized into the Christian religion, the persecution stopped. The Roman Empire did not look like a terrible beast as before. Also, there were Arian nations that opposed the religion of papacy; therefore they did not have power to persecute the true Christians in the ten new kingdoms yet. They had to go to war against the Heruli, the Vandals and the Ostrogoths.
When the last Arian nation, the Ostrogoths were defeated in 538 A.D., then the papacy had the power to start persecuting God’s people in the nations; then the ten kings also received the power to persecute and to kill God’s people.

Verse 12 shows that power was given to both to begin the persecution at the same time. Who gave this power to them; was it not God himself? “And power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” Rev. 13:5.

Therefore the persecution began in 538 A.D. and continued 1260 years until 1798 A.D. Both the papacy and the ten kingdoms had existed before, but now God gave them power or authority to begin their persecution. As in the case of Job, God gave the power to Satan to persecute him, otherwise, Satan could not have done any harm to him.

The third phase of Rome was papal persecution. Now it looked like a terrible beast again, red in colour; red from the blood of the martyrs. This papal form of the government was really the eighth, but of the same mind and purpose as Pagan Rome.

Still today this persecuting church exists, but it does not have the power to kill and to destroy; its power was taken away in 1798.

But the prophecy continues in Chapter 13 of Revelation, when the beast will receive power again to force the mark of the beast upon the people. But we as God’s people have nothing to worry. Our Lord will win the battle.

They have continued to make war with the Lamb and seemed victorious for a while but in the end the Lord, against whom they have been fighting, will come out victorious. The ten kings and their people will turn against the woman who had deceived them. The weapons which were to slay God’s people are now turned against the religious leaders.

“The people see that they have been deluded. They accuse one another of having led them to destruction; but all unite in heaping their bitterest condemnation upon the ministers. Unfaithful pastors have prophesied smooth things; they have led their hearers to make void the law of God and to persecute those who would keep it holy. Now, in their despair, these teachers confess before the world their work of deception. The multitudes are filled with fury. ‘We are lost!’ they cry, ?and you are the cause of our ruin;’ and they turn upon the false shepherds. The very ones that once admired them most will pronounce the most dreadful curses upon them. The very hands that once crowned them with laurels will be raised for their destruction. The swords which were to slay God’s people are now employed to destroy their enemies. Everywhere there is strife and bloodshed.” GC 656.

Often we wonder, why God permits the persecution to come upon His people. It is not for evil people to triumph over God’s faithful children, but the purpose of persecution is to purify God’ people, to make them ready for heaven.

“Of all the gifts that heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honour. Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was greater or more honoured than John the Baptist, who perished alone in the dungeon. ‘Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake.’ Phil. 1:29.” MH 478.

We have only one thing to fear, and it is sin. Sin can hurt us more than all the forces of the enemy. Before this beast will receive power from God to destroy again, our judgment and sealing will be finished. Let us put therefore, all the effort into the warfare against our sins and neglected duties.
AMEN.

Timo Martin