Revelation 13-
p 558 - VERSE 1. And
I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea,
having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his
heads the name of blasphemy. 2. And the beast which I saw
was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth
as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and
great authority. 3. And I saw one of his heads as it were
wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered
after the beast. 4. And they worshiped the dragon which
gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like
unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? 5. And
there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and
power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6.
And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name,
and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 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. 8.
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not
written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9. If any man have an ear, let him hear. 10. He that
leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword
must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the
saints.
The sea is a symbol
of "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." Rev. 17:15. A
beast is the Bible symbol of an unrighteous nation, or power, representing
sometimes the civil power alone, sometimes the ecclesiastical in connection with
the civil. Whenever a beast is seen to come up out of the sea, it denotes that
the power arises in a thickly populated territory; and if the winds are
represented as blowing upon the sea, as in Dan. 7:2, 3, political commotion,
civil strife, and revolution are indicated.
p 559 -- By the
dragon of the previous chapter, and the beast first introduced in this, we have
the Roman power as a whole brought to view in its two phases, pagan and papal;
hence these two symbols have each the seven heads and ten horns. (See on chapter
17:10.)
The seven-headed and
ten-horned beast, or, more briefly, the leopard beast, here introduced,
symbolizes a power which exercises ecclesiastical as well as civil authority.
This point is of sufficient importance to justify the introduction of a few of
the conclusive arguments which go to prove it.
The line of prophecy
in which this symbol occurs commences with chapter 12.
The symbols of
earthly governments embraced in the prophecy are, the dragon of chapter 12, and
the leopard beast and two-horned beast of chapter 13. The same line of prophecy
evidently continues into chapter 14, closing with verse 5 of that chapter.
Commencing,
therefore, with verse 1 of chapter 12, and ending with verse 5 of chapter 14,
we have a line of prophecy distinct and complete in itself.
Each of the powers
here introduced is represented as fiercely persecuting the church of God.
The scene opens with
the church, under the symbol of a woman, anxiously longing for the promise to
be fulfilled that the seed of the woman, the Lord of glory, should appear among
men. The dragon stood before the woman for the purpose of devouring her child.
His evil design is thwarted, and the child is caught up to God and his throne.
A period follows in which the church suffers severe oppression from this dragon
power.
And though in this
part of the scene the prophet occasionally glances forward, once even down
almost to the end, beckons all the enemies of the church were to be actuated by
the spirit of the dragon, yet in verse 1 of chapter 13 we are carried back to
the time when the leopard beast, the successor of the dragon, commences his
career.
From this power, for
the long period of 1260 years, the church suffers war and persecution.
Following this
period of oppression, the church has another conflict, brief, but sharp and
severe, with the two-horned beast. Then comes deliverance; and the prophecy
closes with the
p 560 -- church
brought safely through all her persecutions, and standing victorious with the
Lamb on Mount Zion. Thank God for the sure promise of final victory!
The one character
which ever appears the same in all these scenes, and whose history is the
leading theme through all the prophecy, is the church of God.
The other characters
are her persecutors, and are introduced simply because they are such. And here,
as an introductory inquiry, we raise the question, Who or what is it that
persecutes the true church? - It is a false or apostate church.
What is it that is
ever warring against true religion? - It is a false and counterfeit religion.
Who ever heard of
the civil power, merely, of any nation, persecuting the people of God?
Governments may war
against other governments, to avenge some wrong, real or imaginary, or to
acquire territory and extend their power, as nations have often warred against
the Jews; but governments do not persecute (mark the word - do not persecute)
people on account of their religion, unless under the control of some opposite
and hostile system of religion.
But the powers
introduced in this prophecy, - the dragon, the leopard beast, and the
two-horned beast, - are all persecuting powers. They are actuated by rage and
enmity against the people and church of God. And this fact is of itself
sufficiently conclusive evidence that in each of these powers the
ecclesiastical or religious element is the controlling power.
Take the dragon:
what does it symbolize? - The Roman empire, is the undeniable answer.
But this is not
enough. No one would be satisfied with this answer and no more. It must be more
definite. We then add, The Roman empire in its pagan form, to which all must
also agree.
But just as soon as
we say pagan, we introduce a religious element; for paganism is one of the
hugest systems of counterfeit religion that Satan ever devised.
The dragon, then, is
so far an ecclesiastical power that the very characteristic by which it is
distinguished is a false system of religion. And what made the dragon persecute
the church of Christ? - It was because Christianity was prevailing against paganism,
sweeping away its superstitions, overturning its idols, and dismantling its
p 561 -- temples.
The religious
element of that power was touched, and persecution was the result.
We now come to the
leopard beast of chapter 13. What does that symbolize? The answer still is, The
Roman empire.
But the dragon
symbolized the Roman empire, and why does not the same symbol represent it
still? - Ah! there has been a change in the religious character of the empire;
and this beast symbolizes Rome in its professedly Christian form.
And it is this
change of religion, and this alone, which makes a change in the symbol
necessary.
This beast differs
from the dragon only in that he presents a different religious aspect. Hence it
would be altogether wrong to affirm that it denotes simply the Roman civil
power.
To this beast the
dragon gives his seat, his power, and great authority. By what power was pagan
Rome succeeded?
We all know that it
was by papal Rome.
It matters not to
our present purpose when or by what means this change was effected; the great
fact is apparent, and is acknowledged by all, that the next great phase of the
Roman empire after its pagan form was its papal.
It would not be
correct, therefore, to say that pagan Rome gave its seat and power to a form of
government merely civil, having no religious element whatever. No stretch of
the imagination can conceive of such a transaction. But two phases of empire
are here recognized; and in the prophecy, Rome is pagan until Rome is papal.
The statement that
the dragon gave to the leopard beast his seat and power, is further evidence
that the dragon of Rev. 12:3 is not a symbol of Satan personally; for Satan has
not abdicated in favor of any other malevolent being; and he has not given up his
seat to any earthly power.
But it may be said
that it takes the leopard beast and two-horned beast together to constitute the
papacy, and hence it is to these that the dragon gives his power, seat, and
great authority.
But the prophecy
does not say so. It is the leopard beast alone with which the dragon has to do.
It is to that beast alone that he gives his power, seat, and great authority.
It is that beast that has a head that is wounded to death, which is afterward healed;
that beast that the whole
p 562 -- world
wonders after; that beast that receives a mouth speaking blasphemies, and that
wears out the saints for 1260 years; and all this before the succeeding power,
the two-horned beast, comes upon the stage of action at all. The leopard beast
alone, therefore, symbolizes the Roman empire in its papal form, the
controlling influence being ecclesiastical.
To show this more
fully, we have but to draw a parallel between the little horn of Dan. 7:8, 20,
24, 25, and this power. From this comparison it will appear that the little
horn referred to and the leopard beast symbolize the same power; but the little
horn is acknowledged on all hands to be a symbol of the papacy. There are six
points of identity, as follows: -
1. The
little horn was a blasphemous power. "He shall speak great words against
the Most High." Dan. 7:25. The leopard beast of Rev. 13:6 does the same.
"He opened his mouth in blasphemy against God."
2. The
little horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them. Dan. 7:21.
This beast also (Rev. 13:7) makes war with the saints, and overcomes them.
3. The
little horn had a month speaking great things. Dan. 7: 8, 20. And of this beast
we read, Rev. 13:5: "And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great
things and blasphemies."
4. The
little horn arose on the cessation of the pagan form of the Roman empire. The
beast of Rev. 13:2 arises at the same time; for the dragon, pagan Rome, gives
him his power, his seat, and great authority.
5.
Power was given to the little horn to continue for a time, times, and the
dividing of time, or 1260 years. Dan. 7:25. To this beast also power was given
for forty-two months, or 1260 years. Rev. 13:5.
6. At the end
of that specified period, the dominion of the little horn was to be taken away.
Dan. 7:26. At the end of the same period, the leopard beast was himself to be
"led into captivity." Rev. 13:10. Both these specifications were fulfilled
in the captivity and exile of the pope, and the temporary overthrow of the
papacy by France in 1798.
p 563 -- Here are
points that prove identity; for when we have in prophecy two symbols, as in
this instance, representing powers that come upon the stage of action at the
same time, occupy the same territory, maintain the same character, do the same
work, exist the same length of time, and meet the same fate, those symbols
represent the same identical power.
Now all the
particulars above specified do apply alike to the little horn, and the leopard
beast of chapter 13, showing that these two symbols represent the same power.
It is admitted on all hands that the little horn represents the papacy; and he
who claims that this leopard beast does not represent the same, must, to be
consistent, show that at the same time that the papacy arose, there arose
another great power exactly like it, occupying the same territory, bearing the
same character, doing the same work, continuing the same length of time, and
meeting the same fate, and yet a separate and distinct power; which would be as
absurd as it would be impossible.
The head that was
wounded to death was the papal head. We are held to this conclusion by the very
obvious principle that whatever is spoken in prophecy of the symbol of any
government, applies to that government only while it is represented by that
symbol.
Now Rome is
represented by two symbols, the dragon and the leopard beast, because it has
presented two phases, the pagan and the papal; and whatever is said of the
dragon applies to Rome only in its pagan form, and whatever is said of the
leopard beast applies to Rome only in its professedly Christian form.
But Rome was pagan
in John's day, who lived under the sixth or imperial head. This shows us at
once that six of the heads, including the imperial, belong to the dragon; and
if it was any one of these heads which was wounded to death, then it was one of
the heads of the dragon, or one of the forms of government that belonged to
Rome in its pagan form, and not one of the heads of the beast; and John should
have said, I saw one of the heads of the dragon wounded to death.
But he says that it was one of the heads of
the beast that was wounded to death. In other words, this wound fell upon some
form of government that existed in the Roman empire after its change from
paganism
p 564 -- to
Christianity.
But after this
change, there was but one head, and that was the papal. 1
Thus it is placed
beyond controversy that it was none other than the papal head that was wounded
to death, and his deadly wound was healed. This wounding is the same as the
going into captivity. Rev. 13:10. It was inflicted when the pope was taken
prisoner by Berthier, the French general, and the papal government was for a
time abolished, in 1798.
Stripped of his
power, both civil and ecclesiastical, the captive pope, Pius Vl, died in exile
at Valence in France, Aug. 29, 1799. But the deadly wound was healed when the
papacy was re-established, though with a diminution of its former power, by the
election of a new pope, March 14, 1800. (See Bower's History of the Popes, pp.
404-428; Croly on the Apocalypse, London edition, p. 251.)
This beast opens his
mouth in blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name. (See mention under Dan.
7:25 of the presumptuous titles assumed by the popes.)
He blasphemes the
tabernacle in heaven by turning the attention of his subjects to his own throne
and palace instead of to the tabernacle of God; by turning their attention away
from the city of God, Jerusalem above, and pointing them to Rome as the eternal
city; and he blasphemes them that dwell in heaven by assuming to exercise the
power of forgiving sins, and so turning away the minds of men from the
mediatorial work of Christ and his heavenly assistants in the sanctuary above.
By verse 10 we are
again referred to the events of 1798, when that power that had for 1260 years
led the saints of God into captivity, was led into captivity itself, as already
noticed.
1-- The
symbol as here presented has but seven heads, denoting seven forms of
government, not contemporaneous but successive. Of course only one head is
ruling at any one time; but all are placed alike upon the dragon and beast to
identify both these symbols as denoting the Roman power. Six heads belonged to
the dragon; that is, six forms of government were developed and passed away one
after another,while the religion of Rome was pagan; and only one remained to be
developed after the change to Christianity, and that was the papal; which as a
spiritual power continues to the end (2 Thess. 2:8), and as a temporal power to
the time when his dominion is taken away just before the end. Dan. 7:26.
*******
By the grace of God
more tomorrow. May God bless us with understanding and the ability to keep what
we read.
All in the name of
our Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord, now and forever… amen.
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