Philologos | The Apocalypse by E.W. Bullinger

This is by far the most important of all the Visions seen by John, in relation to the earth.

It consists of the great judgments introduced by the sounding of the seventh Trumpet, which completes "The Mystery of God," by the pouring out of the seven Vials. The next Vision is the last seen in Heaven, and it introduces the actual Revelation or Apocalupsis of the Lord Jesus, personally, to the earth; and thus brings on the conclusion of the whole prophecy.

This Sixth Vision on Earth consists of three divisions, which are so marked and distinct that those who divided the chapters found no difficulty in making a right division here.

The following brief structure of this Vision as a whole, is shown to consist of these three. Their many and various expansions will follow in their respective places. The readers will find no difficulty in following and connecting them, if the references to the back pages and letters be carefully noted:—

Of these three we commence with the first, which we have marked "V," and which consists of the whole of chap. xvi., describing

Eleven times we have the word "great" in this chapter; more often than in any other chapter in the New Testament, the next being chap. xviii., where it occurs nine times.

We are justified, therefore, in entitling the judgments and subjects of these chapters as "great."

All is now ready to begin this final assault on the kingdom of the Infernal Trinity— the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet, which will mark "the great and terrible day of the Lord."

Since we were told of the sounding of the seventh Trumpet (xi. 15), we have been taken back and enlightened as to several important particulars, so that we might understand more clearly the relation of these Visions to each other; we have been informed, by the last heavenly utterances, what we are to look for as the result of these judgments.

The Dragon is to be attacked in his capital and on his throne. The Beasts are to be attacked in their seats of authority; and their followers and worshippers are to "have no rest day and night" upon the earth (xiv. 11).

There is some similarity between the Vial-judgments and those of the Trumpets; but there are some variations also.

The structure of this first division "V," shows that these seven Vials are divided into five groups: each consisting of cause and effect. The third and sixth are marked off by an additional characteristic: the third by "things heard," the sixth by "things seen." The Structure is as follows:—

We have observed above that the 1st and 2nd Vials form a pair, also the 4th and 5th; and, like the 7th, consist of two parts, viz., the pouring out of the Vial and its effect. These three groups are separated by the 3rd and 6th Vial, which have each three parts. To the pouring out of the Vial and its effect is added, in the former case, Things heard; and in the latter case, Things seen. The effect of the last (or seventh) Vial is to bring up "great Babylon into remembrance"; and this leads on naturally and consecutively to the judgment on Babylon in chapters xvii. and xviii.

xvi. 1. And I heard a loud voice out of the Temple (Naos), saying to the Seven Angels,

These seven Vials and their effects we take to be literal; i.e., to be exactly what is said of them. They belong to no figures of speech. The language is clear and precise. There is nothing beyond our faith, though there may be beyond our reason. True, they are supernatural, but not unnatural. In the plagues of Egypt, which all take to be literal, we have many judgments exactly similar. Indeed, six out of the seven Vials are just the same as the plagues of Egypt, and God has again and again declared that their final judgments should be like, yea, should be worse than those (Ex. xxxiv. 10).

The second and third Vials are like the first plague, when the waters became blood.

The fourth is the only Vial which has no counterpart in the Egyptian plagues; and that is the great "heat." Now, if six out of these seven judgments have already been once seen and experienced, why should not like plagues be sent again, when it is expressly said that the supernatural events connected with Israel's return shall be "like as it was ... in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt" (Is. xi. 16)?

In the face of this, is it not strange that these Vials should ever be taken to mean:

It is a waste of precious time and space even to chronicle such interpretations, which make the Word of God none effect.

Does any believe that we have passed through the greater part of the "great and terrible Day of the Lord" without knowing it; and yet all the time preaching the Gospel of God's Grace, instead of proclaiming that "the hour of his judgment is come"? Is this really "the day of vengeance of our God," and yet Ministers on every hand are telling us how the Millennium is actually dawning; and some that it has already come — a Millennium without Christ? No! Bible students, who believe what God says; and whose one desire is to understand what He has said, can never be satisfied with such confusion as that, which only perplexes the mind, instead of enlightening it.

xvi. 2. And the first went forth, and poured out his Vial into* the earth; and there broke out a noisome and grievous sore upon** the men who had the mark (or brand) of the Beast, and upon those who were worshipping his image.] The words "poured out" are more than hinted at in Ps. lxxix. 1-6. Lam. iv. 11; and a similar plague had been more than once seen before. Ex. ix. 8-12. Job ii. 7, 8. I Sam. v. 6. Num. xii. 10.

Moreover it was one of the judgments threatened to Israel. Deut. xxviii. 15, 27, 35. Lev. xxvi. 16.

The first to suffer on account of this plague are the worshippers of the Beast and his Image. These had been warned (xiv. 9-11) that those who are engaged in worshipping the Beast (it is the present participle both there and here) should have no rest day and night." Here we see how this is to be brought about: none can rest who are afflicted with these "noisome and grievous sores."

xvi. 3. And the second* poured out his Vial into the sea: and it became blood, as of one dead; and every living soul died that was in the sea.] We may compare this with the second Trumpet (viii. 8) and the first Egyptian plague (Ex. vii. 20-25. Compare Ps. cv. 29. Isa. l. 2. Nahum i. 2-4). The literal understanding of these plagues makes things so clear, that little or no further explanation is necessary. They explain to us the nature and effect of these judgments.

xvi. 4. And the third* poured out his Vial into the rivers, and** the fountains of waters; and they became blood. (5) and I heard the angel of the waters saying,

This is Divine comment from heaven on the judgment of the third Vial. The expression, "angel of the waters," shows that angels have their spheres and offices; that the operations of nature are not left to blind chance, but that He who made what men call "the laws of nature" has a mighty and capable executive to see that those laws, and God's will, are carried out.

The Altar is either personified (for the prayers of the saints are upon it; and the martyrs are beneath it); or the words "[the angel of] the Altar" must be supplied. In either case, the emphasis is on "the Altar."

The Angel's words, here, show that they are uttered in another dispensation, altogether different from the present dispensation of grace; even in the dispensation of retribution and judgment. That dispensation to which such passages as Ezek. xxxv. 6 and xvi. 38 refer.

Just as Matt. xxiii. 34, 35, and Luke xi. 47-51, refer to a day of judgment and not of grace. God is "not imputing their trespasses" unto His people now, having imputed them all to Christ. This shows that unless we rightly divide the Word according to its dispensation, our reading of it must be in hopeless confusion.

The reference of verse 6 ("They have shed the blood of thy prophets," etc.) is evidently to chap. xvii. 6; xiii. 15; xi. 18; and xviii. 20. Pss. lxxix. and lxxiv. should be read in this connection.

xvi. 8. And the fourth [angel*] poured out his Vial upon the Sun; and it was given to him to scorch men with fire. (9) And men were scorched with vehement heat, and they blasphemed the name of God (i.e., God Himself), who hath authority over these plagues: and they repented not, to give Him glory.] At the sounding of the fourth Trumpet the Sun was smitten, but only one third of it. There are to be "signs in the sun" (Luke xxi. 25). Isaiah tells of a time when "the inhabitants of the earth are burned and few men left" (Isa. xxiv. 6; xlii. 25). Compare Mal. iv. 1, which says: "Behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be as stubble." The moral effects, here, are a defiance of the demands of the angel in xiv. 6, 7. They refuse to "give glory to God." They cry not for quarter, nor will quarter be given. Yet men tell us that all we have here is the tyranny and oppression of Napoleon!

xvi. 10. And the fifth [angel*] poured out his Vial upon the throne of the Beast: and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues from their pain, (11) and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores (verse 2), and repented not and turned not from their works.] This proves that the Seven Assemblies belong, by interpretation to that dispensation of judgment. For to the Assembly at Pergamos Christ says: "I know thy works and where thou dwellest; where the throne of Satan is, and thou holdest fast my name, and didst not deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwelleth" (ii. 13; xiii. 2). So that not only is it clear that those Assemblies are on the earth at this time, but that chap. xii. records events prior to chap. ii, and that the persecution and martyrdom of chap. xiii. have already commenced in the days to which chap. ii. 13 refers. This Vial initiates a direct attack on the throne of the Beast, the vice-gerent of Satan. He is no more able to defend himself against this plague of darkness than Pharaoh was (Ex. x. 21-23). The darkness here referred to will be as real as the darkness was in Egypt. Joel prophesied of this when he said (ii. 1, 2, 31):

In Mark xiii. 24, 25, the Saviour said "the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light."

Great is the vexation caused by this awful darkness. And yet we are asked to believe that this is nothing more than the Suppression of the Monasteries, etc., in France, in 1789, by Napoleon.

Is this what all the prophets have been occupied with? Even symbols must symbolise something that is congruous. But, here, the bringing on of gross darkness is made to symbolise the suppression of what is the cause of darkness! If it were taken to symbolise the setting up of monasteries, it would be more relevant. No wonder that darkness has come over this book — when imagination is substituted for faith.

The sixth Vial, like the third (xvi. 4, 5), has three divisions (whereas all the others have only two). These three are (1) the pouring out, (2) the effect, and (3) things seen. The third Vial was the same, except that there we had things heard: and here we have things seen.

xvi. 12. And the sixth [angel*] poured out his Vial upon the great river the** Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings that come from the East might be prepared.] We take this to refer to the actual river Euphrates. All else in the chapter is literal; and so is this. There is no reason why it should not be so. Those who assert that this means the wane of the Turkish Empire say so on their own responsibility. There is not a word about it here, and there is nothing to lead us to imagine it; especially when we think of the object for which the river is to be dried up. The sixth Trumpet has to do with the river Euphrates also. The context here, and the "things seen" in connection with this Vial, tell us that the kings of the earth are about to be gathered together to the great battle in which the Heavenly and Satanic and earthly forces are about to be engaged. With the view of preparing for this gathering, the way of these kings which are to come from the East, is to be prepared. The Vial is connected with judgment, and not with mercy; and therefore to interpret these kings of the Ten Tribes, or of "Christian princes," or of any propitious or auspicious event, is out of all harmony with the whole scope of the context. At the sounding of the sixth Trumpet a vast supernatural army is let loose to slay a third part of men. Here, under the sixth Vial, a vast human army is gathered together, the whole of which is destroyed by God. Moreover, a similar effect on the river Euphrates is the subject of another prophecy: "And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with His mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river [Euphrates] and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dry-shod" (Isa. xi. 15).

Again, "I will bring them also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and ... the deeps of the river shall dry up; and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away" (Zech. x. 10, 11).

The kings from the East journey Westward to Palestine. East and West are to be reckoned from the standpoint of the prophecy, and not from that of the reader. Here, that standpoint is God's Land and City.

The Euphrates is indeed a great river, as here stated. It is 1,800 miles long, and from Mohammarah to the sea it is 3,6000 feet wide and 30 feet deep.* This river is to be dried up for the more easy gathering of this infernal Crusade against the Lamb and His host. They gather to a scene of slaughter, from which they never return. It is this gathering which the Scripture now proceeds to describe to us.

xvi. 13. And I saw going forth out of the mouth of the Dragon, and out of the mouth of the Beast, and out of the mouth of the False Prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were* frogs. (14) (For they are demon spirits working miracles), which go forth to the kings** of the whole world to gather them together to the*** battle of that great day of God, the Almighty.] The Holy Spirit does not say there were frogs, but that they seemed to look like frogs. But He actually says they were not frogs, and thus not like the plague of frogs in Egypt (Ex. viii. 1-14), but "spirits," i.e., demon spirits. They work miracles, as does the false prophet (xiii. 13-15. 2 Thess. ii. 9).

They give apparently convincing evidence of their reality and mission: and if thousands could be gathered to the Crusades by a man (like Peter the hermit), tens of thousands will be gathered by these wonder-working demons, and persuaded to join the advancing hosts against God and His saints. We see a similar and real persuasion in 1 Kings xxii. 19-38. See Joel iii. 9-11. Ps. ii. 1-3.

Then we have this interjectional clause, which must be read as a parenthesis; for it does not interfere with the course of the prophetic events.*

While the demon spirits are gathering the kings and their armies, John hears the Voice of Christ, saying:

These words are addressed to those in the other host who have not worshipped the Beast or his image, and have not received his mark or the number of his name. They receive this encouraging Benediction. True, it is "as a thief" He is now coming. This proves that the Church of God is not in the judgment scene here described, for the Thessalonian believers were positively assured that the day shall NOT come on them as a thief (I Thess. v. 4. Compare Matt. xxiv. 38-44. Luke xii. 35-40). This blessing is not for us now, in this dispensation of grace, even as the assurance is not for us. The Lord is then about to come as a thief. Hence this announcement; and hence this blessing. Those who will need it will be on the earth at that time, as we learn from chap. iii. 3 (compare Mark xiii. 34-37).

After this Parembole the prophecy proceeds as though it had not been interrupted.

xvi. 16. And they (i.e., the demon spirits of verse 14) gathered them (i.e., the kings and their armies) together unto the place which is called in Hebrew Har-mageddon*] This mention of Hebrew connects the Apocalypse with the Gospels (See John v. 2; xix. 13, 17. So Rev. ix. 11). And in this we have also a reference to the Old Testament. The name (...) (har-megiddo) means the mount of Megiddo; and the name is ominous as to what the result of this battle will be. For there Deborah and Barak destroyed Sisera and his host (Judg. v. 19); there King Josiah was overthrown by Pharaoh-Necho, king of Egypt (2 Kings xxiii. 29. 2 Chron. xxxv. 22-25). Slaughter and lamentation are associated with Megiddo (Zech. xii. 11). In Isa. x. 28, which describes the invasion of Anti-Christ, the Septuagint version reads Megiddo.

Megiddo probably means a place of troops (from (...), gad), a troop (Gen. xlix. 19); and the verb (...) (gadad), to cut to pieces. (See Deut. xiv. 1. 1 Kings xviii. 28. Jer. xvi. 6; xli. 5. Mic. v. 1). It is part of the great plain of Esdraelon. It is a real locality, and the transactions yet to take place there will be real also.

Having gathered the hosts of the enemy thither, the sixth Vial ends. The description of the events which took place there is delayed until the events of the seventh Vial bring on the final catastrophe in chap. xix. There we have the battle itself (xix. 11-18). The sixth vial brings us up to the point where everything is seen to be in readiness, and then abruptly breaks off so as to allow of our coming up to the same point through another course of events, which are brought on by the pouring forth of

xvi. 17. And the seventh [angel*] poured his Vial upon** the air; and there came forth a loud voice out of*** the Temple (Naos),|| from the throne, saying, "It is done."] i.e., the last Vial has been, at length, poured out; the last judgment entered upon; the last plague begun. This will end all up and fulfil and accomplish all the Divine counsels as to these judgments. Therefore this voice comes forth; and this solemn announcement is made, "It is done." The Temple is seen at the close of each of the three series of judgments. This is the last. In the New Heaven and New Earth there will be no Temple (ch. xxi. 22). This is the final act, which chronologically brings on the opening of heaven and the coming forth of the Son of God Himself to the battle in xix. 11.

But before that happens we are detained and told of the destruction of Babylon and the Empire of the Beast (xvii. and xviii.); and the marshalling of the heavenly forces (chap. xix). We are, however, told of the commotions in heaven and on earth, which are given in a general statement or summary.

xvi. 18. And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders;* and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since man was on the earth, so mighty an earthquake, or so great.] Similar results take place at the opening of the seventh Seal (viii. 5); and at the sounding of the seventh Trumpet (xi. 19). This is the great earthquake spoken of by the prophets (Ezek. xxxviii. 20. Isa. ii. 19, 21. Hag. ii. 21, 22).

xvi. 19. And the great city became divided (or split) into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell; and great Babylon came into remembrance before God, to give to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.] Not only is great Babylon split up into three parts by this earthquake, but the capital cities also of the confederated nations, the allies of the Beast (verse 14; xvii. 13-17) were destroyed. Some say that "Great Babylon" means "Rome"; others hold that it means "Jerusalem"; while others, like ourselves, believe what is written. Babel or Babylon was the scene of the first apostasy from God after the Flood. Always the enemy of God's people, she became in later days the metropolis of the first great Gentile Empire as seen in the image and dream of Nebuchadnezzar. God promised to remember His covenant with Israel; and when He did so He promised to also to remember Babylon in the day of His wrath. Hence His people cry concerning it, "Remember, O Lord." Ps. cxxxvii.; xcviii. 3; xv. 8, 42.

Babylon is only partly destroyed now in token of its total destruction soon to follow. One tenth of the city will have fallen, as we are told in xi. 12, 13. And chapters xvii. and xviii. are going to tell us of the causes, and of the manner, and the consequences of that judgment.

xvi. 20. And every island fled away, and certain mountains were not found. (21) And a great hail, as of a talent's weight, falleth out of heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; because the plague thereof is exceedingly great.] The judgments increase in their severity. In chap. vi. 14, the mountains and islands were moved. Here, they flee. By and by the whole earth and heaven will flee away, and no place be found for them. There is no article before mountains, so we have supplied its absence by the word "certain." Had every mountain been meant the article would have been used. Mountains will exist during the millennium. (See Ps. lxxii. 3, 16; cxlviii. 9. Isa. ii. 2; xliv. 23. Ezek. xxxvi. 8). The plague of hail in Egypt was real (Ex. ix. 18-21). So is this. Why not? The stones are indeed great in size. A Jewish talent was 114 lbs. troy weight. Josephus says that stones of a talent's weight were thrown by the Romans against Jerusalem (Wars iii. vii. 9). Surely God can send from heaven what man could send on earth.

M. Huc says, in his Travels in Tartary*: "Hail is of frequent occurrence in these unhappy districts, and the dimensions of the hailstones are generally enormous. We have seen some that weighed twelve pounds. One moment sometimes suffices to exterminate whole flocks. In 1843, during one of these storms, there was heard in the air a sound as of a rushing wind, and therewith fell in a field near a house, a mass of ice larger than an ordinary millstone. It was broken to pieces with hatchets; yet though the sun burned fiercely, three days elapsed before these pieces entirely melted."

Hail had been before one of God's engines of war, beyond the use or defence of man. (See chap. xi. 19. Ex. ix. 22-26. Ps. lxxviii. 47; cv. 32. Josh. x. 11). And they are the tokens of Divine wrath. (See Isa. xxx. 30. Ezek. xiii. 11).

No wonder the blasphemy that follows from the worshippers of the Beast, impenitent to the end, will also be exceeding great.

This concludes the great Judgments of the Seven Vials recorded in chap. xvi. We come now to chap. xvii., the Judgment of the great Harlot.

This is the second of the three great divisions of the sixth Vision "on Earth." We have shown them as follows:—

It is the first of these which we have just completed; and we pass on to the second — in chap. xvii. — which, perhaps more than any other, has caused the widest gulf between the various schools of expositors. It is one of the most prominent of all the subjects of which the Apocalypse treats. Indeed, taken with the eighteenth chapter, which is part of the same Vision (the 6th "on Earth"), it is the most conspicuous prophecy of this book. None of the current expositions are sufficiently consistent or satisfying. Preterist Expositors differ among themselves as to whether "great Babylon" means the City of Rome, or the Church of Rome: Rome Pagan or Rome Papal. But, if this is all that these solemn chapters mean, we may well say with Dr. Seiss, "If we cannot find more solid ground than that on which the Rome theory rests, we must needs consign the whole subject to the department of doubt and uncertainty; and let all these tremendous foreshadowings pass for nothing."*

But we shall best accomplish our object by keeping to the Text of the Word itself; learning its scope from its structure; and giving its translation.

No current theory takes in the whole scope. One or two points are seized upon, and treated quite out of all proportion to the rest; while others, quite as essential, are passed over slightly, or ignored altogether. Any satisfying interpretation must take in the whole of what is written; and must treat each part, not as though it were in the way, or inconvenient, but as though it were indispensable.

The chapter itself is divided into two parts; (i.) the Vision, and (ii.) its Interpretation.

And first expanding "W," The Vision (xvii. 1-6), we find it is constructed as follows:—

xvii. 1. And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven Vials,] Which of the seven we are not told; but it was probably the last; inasmuch as it was the pouring forth of his Vial that brought Great Babylon into remembrance before God.

We have before observed, that when symbols are used in this book they are generally explained by the Holy Spirit Himself. When this is not the case, we must, of course, use our best judgment and compare other Scriptures, so as to see, as far as we can, what the symbol means. But, when He does tell us what the symbols mean, we are not left in any doubt or uncertainty. We cannot go wrong if we keep to the interpretation which the Spirit Himself gives. We are not to re-interpret His interpretation; or to further explain His explanation. If so, we should be treating the Divine interpretation as though it were another symbol. This, therefore, we may not do; but we are to accept it, and believe it, and rest on it.

Now, in this chapter, the Spirit has been pleased to give us His own interpretation of the Vision. We have seen how this is emphasised in the structure, which is expressly divided into these two parts. We have marked them

These two are again subdivided in a similar and corresponding manner. Each is introduced by a Promise ("C" verses 1, 2 and "D", "E" verse 7); and is followed by the Performance of that promise ("C" verses 3-6 and "E", "D" verses 8-18). See the structure of "Y" and "Z".

In this manner has the Holy Spirit called our attention to His interpretation, and impressed its importance upon us.

Indeed, it will be better to give the structure of the Interpretation (verses 7-18) here, and now, and incorporate the two together, in order that the one may elucidate the other; and, that we may thus use both to greater profit.

The member E (verses 8-17) will require expansion later on; together with the special consideration for which the structure of that member calls.

Now, there is a well-known principle which is often practised in algebra with great advantage in the solution of a problem; and that is, where one things represents another, to express that one in the terms of the other.

The same principle may be followed here, where we have the Vision and the Divinely-given interpretation. We will re-write the Vision in the terms of the interpretation: i.e., instead of putting what John saw, we will put the explanation at once, and thus bring the whole more clearly before our minds.

We will, therefore, do this, using two different kinds of type to make the matter more clear and enable us to distinguish what is the symbolic prophecy, and what is the Divine interpretation. Thus we shall introduce the interpretation given in the latter part of the chapter, and substitute it (in italic type) for the symbols used in the former part of the chapter, thus:

This, of course, characterised the worship of Pagan Rome, but cannot truly be said of Papal Rome, of which this chapter is commonly interpreted. But inasmuch as this was the mark of all the heathen nations, it does not, of itself, identify this city with Pagan Rome: for it is a city, the Spirits says (verse 18).

3. And he (i.e., the angel) carried me away by the spirit] as in chap. i. 10, upon which passage it throws great light. (...) (en pneumati) means by the spirit, or by spiritual power, as in i. 10; iv. 2; xxi. 10. Acts viii. 26, 29, 39.

into the* wilderness; and I saw a woman] i.e, that great city (verse 18).

sitting upon a scarlet beast] i.e., supported by that being who is described in verses 8-11.

full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns] Now we must treat this verse as we have treated verses 1, 2 above, and express the vision in the terms of the interpretation:

Now, from this, is it not clear that we are dealing not with world-powers in the successive or mortal stage, but with individuals in their contemporaneous and superhuman form?

It is very important for us to note this important fact, which is vital to the understanding of the whole Vision and its Divinely-given interpretation.

Our business is not to interpret the Vision. That is done for us. What we have to do is first to believe what God says, and then to try and understand it.

The world-powers of Dan. ii. are then seen in their mortal stage, and hence are seen in their successive existence, in which they were rival powers. In Rev. xiii. and xvii. they are seen in their superhuman stage, and they then form one vast colossal Power, having absolute dominion in the world. In Dan. vii. 26, this Power is seen judged as a whole, and goes down into perdition. Dan. vii. 26 treats of the superhuman stage as do chapters xiii., xvii., here.

The Beast receives his deadly wound in his mortal stage, previous to going down into the Abyss. He comes up with the other heads and ten horns. All come together and are seen together in their superhuman form.

Chapter xii. when compared with chap. xiii. and xvii. shows that there are two great confederacies treated of — the Heavenly and the Earthly — and they are not identical.

There is the Dragon Confederacy of seven heavenly dominions with their ten armies. This is a Confederacy of evil angels with Satan at their head (chap. xii).

The other Confederacy is of mortals who went down into the Abyss, and come up a superhuman Confederacy on the earth (chaps. xiii. and xvii).

xvii. 4. And the woman (i.e., the great city, verse 18) was arrayed in purple (Judg. viii. 26. Est. i. 6), and scarlet, and bedecked with gold and precious stone and pearls, having a golden cup (Jer. li. 7) in her hand full of abominations and having the unclean things of her fornication:]

That great city is described as having all luxuries, combined with her idolatrous worship. The word "Abomination" is used of an idol (see 2 Kings xxiii. 13. Is. xliv. 19); and in the plural, of idolatry (see Deut. xviii. 9; xxix. 17; xxxii. 16. 1 Kings xiv. 24. 2 Kings xvi. 3; xxi. 2; xxiii. 24. So Ezek.. viii. 6, 9, 13, 15, 17; xi. 18; xiv. 6; xvi. 2; xx. 7, 8). Doubtless the idols and idolatry were so called, because of the uncleanness practised in their worship. Can we doubt that when we meet with the word here in Rev. xvii. 4, 5, we have the same idolatrous uncleanliness referred to?

5. And upon her forehead a name written, — a secret sign.] By printing (on its own authority) the word "mystery" in large capital letters, the AV. has made it appear as part of the name. The Revisers have followed this example, printing the name in small capitals instead of large. But they have, in the margin, said "or, a mystery, BABYLON THE GREAT," as though the word "mystery" did not form part of the title. We believe this to be the case, and we further believe that what follows the word "great" does not form any part of this "name," but is the Divine meaning and description of it.

So we read it, that she had a name written on her forehead — a secret symbol —

"BABYLON THE GREAT," the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth.] Written on the woman's forehead, it was a secret sign or symbol. It does not mean that she or any woman could be so described. But that, as the explanation of what the woman represented is deferred till the very last verse of the chapter, the meaning of the name was a secret, till it was then and there revealed that it referred to "that great city" (verse 18), and not to an individual woman, or to any human being.

The word (...) (musterion) means simply a secret. It occurs in the Septuagint (280 B.C.) only nine times, of the king's secret which had gone from him (Dan. ii. 18, 19, 27, 28, 29, 30, 47 (twice), and iv. 9). See also its usage in the Apocryphal books in the same sense.* But the Greek Christian fathers used the word of any such sign, whether of words or actions. They spoke of the offering of Isaac as a musterion: i.e., a sign or symbol of the secret purpose of God concerning His Son, Jesus Christ. And they used it interchangeably with the words (...) (tupose) type; (...) (sumbolon), symbol, and (...) (parabole) parable.

The meaning of the word mystery, therefore, here in Rev. xvii. 5, 7, must have this later signification which the word had acquired. We give a few examples in a note.* And others might be cited, but these will be sufficient to show us how the word mystery had, at that time, come to be practically synonymous with symbol. Perhaps secret sign would be express it; and this was the usage of the word when this Revelation was given to John. Hence, in this book, we must give the word this signification.

In Rev. i. 20, the seven stars are used as a secret sign for something which they signified (So also Eph. v. 32).

So here, in xvii. 5, 6, the woman's name is a secret sign; and refers to something much deeper than the name itself could convey. The name was the name, not of a woman, but of a city, "that great city," even Babylon. But it signified not merely the material city as such, but the vast system of idolatry connected with it. That is why the explanation of the secret sign follows "the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth." Not merely of Rome, or even Babylon (as a city), but "of the earth": i.e., the mother, or fountain-head of all the systems of idolatry which have since flooded "the earth" from that one great source; and of which Romanism is only a part.

We have here two things, (1) the reality, which is that "great city," which will be seen by the uninitiated; and (2) the woman, which is the "secret sign" of what it means.

The picture of the woman, as described, may be regarded as the "drop-curtain." But the initiated are those who will be admitted behind it, and learn "the depths of Satan:" and, behind the scenes in his own great theatre, will learn what Satan's religion means as they "worship the Dragon."

The uninitiated will see only the curtain— the wonderful city. Compare Prov. ix. 13-18, where both are shown and may well be applied to the passage here.

Idolatry was no mere sin into which people gradually sunk; but it was the creation, by Satanic wisdom, of a mighty system, which he intended to us, and to lead up to his own worship.

Nimrod was used as the great founder of this marvellous scheme of Satan. Babylon was his city (Gen. x. 10). Would not Cain's city before the flood answer to the people of that day, the same end as Babylon did afterwards (Gen. iv. 17)? Each would be the capital of their respective idolatrous systems. The words "Cain went out from the presence of the Lord" are very significant. So is the name of Cain's city. He called it "Enoch," which means initiated.* The corruption of mankind spoken of in Gen. vi. must have led to abnormal forms, which would account for the half-human, or super-human beings, which became the Nephilim, the Rephaim, and Anakim of Scripture; the Titans of the Greeks. It would account for the worship of Ishtar, Isis, Ashtaroth, and all the abominations of spiritual harlotry.

We thus see how "that great city," Babylon, founded by Nimrod, was the source of all idolatry.

This is not true of Rome. Pagan Rome itself was only one system; one of the polluted streams from that corrupt source. Papal Rome is only another single stream. It is not possible that a part can be the whole! It is not possible that one of many streams can be the fountain-head of all streams. Was there no idolatry before Pagan Rome? Whence then came the worship of "Moloch" and "Remphan," and "Chium," in the wilderness (Acts vii. 43. Amos v. 25, 26); and the worship of Ashtoreth, the abomination (i.e., idol) of the Zidonians, and Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites, and Milcom, the abomination of the children of Ammon, which were introduced by Solomon (1 Kings xi. 5. 2 Kings xxiii. 11)? Was Rome the mother of these? The description here goes back to the origin of all the abominations of heathen idolatry. Rome's place in history makes this an absolute impossibility. It would be just as absurd to say that the Zionist movement of to-day was the source or the mother of the Jewish nation!

Just as impossible was it for the Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar's day; and for the same reason. It does not date back far enough. We must go farther back, and find it in Gen. x. 8-10 and xi. 9. There we find it in the land of Shinar. Under Nimrod began the work in the spirit of Anti-christ; his object being to build a city, and make for his People a name, so that they might not be scattered. Babylon was founded in rebellion against God. Nimrod was "a mighty one on the earth" (Gen. x. 8). He called his city Bab-El.* Some take this to mean the court or gate of God; for he, like his antitype, would fain thus exalt himself (2 Thess. ii. 4).

Others derive it from Belus, the name of the principal idol of the Babylonians. Sometimes written Bel (...). If so, Babel would mean — for Bel or of Bel.

In any case we are taken back to the fountain-head, and shown the source and origin of all idolatry. Nimrod is called a mighty hunter.* The Targum of Jonathan (an ancient Jewish commentary) interprets this to mean that he was a mighty rebel before the Lord. The Jerusalem Targum reads it as meaning mighty in sin, lying in wait to catch and overthrow men; drawing them away from the worship of the true God, as taught by Shem, to join that taught by Nimrod. Hence, his name became a proverb for any great rebel or Apostate. (Read Gen. x. 9).

It is equally impossible to interpret the words of Rome — and to say that this woman made "the inhabitants of the earth drunk with the wine of her fornication," i.e., made the whole earth partake of her idolatrous system. Neither of Rome, papal or pagan, can this be said. They both drank of her cup; but it is a perversion of all known history, to say that either of them was the tutor of all the nations; and an insult to common sense to apply this to "the inhabitants of the earth for more that 3,000 years before Rome was dreamt of." As Dr. Seiss well puts it, this wine "was already bottled and labelled before the first dispersion. [Gen. xi.]. It went with that dispersion into every country and nation under heaven. As a matter of fact we find it to this day among all the nations of the earth; affecting, if not controlling their thinking, their politics, their faith, and their worship. Not less than two-thirds of the population of the earth at this hour are Pagan idolators, drivilling under the same old intoxication which came forth from Nimrod and Babylon; whilst the great body of the other third is either Mohammedan, Catholic, Jewish, Infidel, or adherents of some tainted and anti-christian faith and worship. Nor is there a kingdom or government on the face of the whole earth at this hour which does not embody and exhibit more of the spirit of Nimrod than of the spirit, commandments, and inculcations of God. All the kings of the earth, and all the governments under heaven, have more or less joined in the uncleanness of that same old Babylonian Harlot who had defiled every spot and nook of the whole inhabited world, notwithstanding that God from the beginning set His seal of wrath upon it. The Jewish whoredoms, and the Papal whoredoms, and the Mohammedan whoredoms, and the whoredoms of all perverted Christian religionists, though not entirely letting go the confession of one only God, are still, in essence, the same old harlotry which first found place and embodiment on the banks of the Euphrates. It is the same old Babylon, and her harlot daughters, bearing rule or kingdom upon the dominions of the earth, and intoxicating the inhabitants thereof out of the wine of her fornication."*

It is indeed surprising how any mistake could have been made in the identification of this woman. For the Holy Spirit first shows us her very name upon her forehead. Then, in verse 18, He tells us as plainly as words can tell anything, that "the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth"; and chap. xvi. 19, as well as xvii. 5, identifies this city with Babylon. God says it is a "city." He does not say a system or a religion, but a "CITY."

Now, when the Vision is a "Woman"; and God tells us that He means by the woman "that great city," Is it legitimate for us to treat this again as another symbol, and say it is not the city He says it is, but another?

There is no limit to such a process as that. We may go on to say that Rome means London, and that London means some other place. Why not be content with the explanation which God has Himself given? instead of taking the solemn responsibility of saying that His explanation is no explanation at all; and that it means something else. We are not saying there are no symbols: We are not saying that Jerusalem is not called Sodom. It is; but God leaves us in no doubt as to what He says and what He means. That is one thing: but it is quite another thing when we treat His own interpretation of a symbol, as though it were only another symbol which is left for us to interpret.

It is not that we wish in any degree to minimise the awful abominations of Romanism. None can have a greater abhorrence of them than we have. We see in it one of the most filthy of all the streams that have flowed from Babylon; but we do try to rise above the level of "a Local Board" when we are dealing with God's account of how He is going to close His great controversy with Jew and Gentile, with Earth and Hell. Our survey must extend beyond the Tiber. We must see something beyond Protestantism and Romanism. These do not make up the whole history of the Universe, either in time or extent.

There are many other absurdities connected with the current interpretations, which we shall notice as we proceed further into this chapter, and consider the Divine interpretation there given of the Vision as a whole. There is one point, however, to be referred to here, and that is "the cup." It is "golden"; and hence, beautiful and attractive in appearance. The cup is one. This tells us that the corrupt streams which flow from this one fountain-head are all one in essence, and character, and effect. It is the religion originally instituted at Babylon, by Nimrod, at the instigation of Satan. (See Appendix).

It is seen in all the great religions of the world. They are all alike in substituting another God for the God of the Bible: a God, made either with the hands or with the imagination; but equally made. And a religion consisting of human merit. These things are common to all systems of false Religion, and unite them in one. True, some of the rivers from this corrupt source are great and mighty; others are in smaller streams, but their waters are one, and the cup is one. Those who say that this "cup" means the cup used in the Mass, furnish us with a good example of the value of all such interpretations. We have only to remember concerning this "cup," here, that all nations are made to drink of it; while the one great characteristic of the Romish "cup" in the Mass is that it is withheld from the people!

6. And I saw the woman (i.e., the great city, verse 18) drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and I wondered when I saw her, with great wonder.]

Here again we must express the Vision in the terms of the Divine Interpretation.

Here we have another reference to the martyrdoms which will take place during the time covered by the Apocalypse.

The Psalms, also, connect these martyrdoms with the future "times of trouble" under the rule of the Beast:

The Psalm then goes on to speak of a ten-kingdom confederacy similar to that which we have in Rev. xvii.

That many martyrs — very many — have been killed at the hands of the Church of Rome, if not in the city of Rome itself, none can deny.

But these are not "ALL that have been slain on the earth" as martyrs. Myriads of martyrs for God and His truth were slain, as such, hundreds of years before Rome ever had a Pope. The "prophets" of the Old Testament were dead, and many had been slain as martyrs centuries before Rome existed, whether Papal or Pagan.

Rome, whatever may be her guilt in this matter, cannot be charged with "all" the martyrdom of the ages. All persecution can be traced up to false religion. False religion has ever been possessed of a persecuting spirit from the day that Cain slew his brother Abel; and Rome, as one of the largest streams from the Babylonian fountain of corruption, has slain her full quota, for which she is verily guilty, and will share in the judgment when "the cities of the nations fall." But not all the martyrs have yet been slain. Many passages in this books show us that the days of the coming Great Tribulation will fill up the measure of Babylon's bloodguiltiness. (See chap. vi. 9-11; xi. 7, 8; xii. 13, 17; xiii. 7; xviii. 24; xx. 4). The same future period of martyrdoms is prophesied of or referred to in the Psalms. (See Ps. ix; x; lxxix. 2, 3; xliv. 22; xciv. 5. Also in Dan. vii. 21, 25; viii. 27; xi. 33, 35). All these passages should be carefully read and noted. If these Old Testament passages do not speak of the same future time spoken of in the Apocalypse, to what period can they be referred? When they are read together they form one harmonious whole; but, if they are not rightly divided according to their respective dispensations, all will be, and cannot but be, confusion.

We come, now, to the Interpretation of this Vision (seen by John in xvii. 1-6) which is given to us by Divine inspiration.

We have seen the structure of both the Vision and the Interpretation. As the latter is very brief we may repeat it here.

We are struck with the gracious words of the Interpreting Angel. "I will tell thee the secret sign of the woman and the wild Beast" (verse 7). This being so, we are made independent of human interpreters, for God has sent and signified it to us by His special angelic messenger. In fact, we are, here, really placed on the same level as the Apostle John himself. No further explanation than this was given to him by the angelic interpreter. Therefore, we, in reading his words, have exactly what John had himself: no less and no more. Oh for grace and wisdom to understand his words!

7. And the angel said to me, Wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell thee the secret (i.e., the meaning of the secret sign) of the woman, and of the Beast that carrieth her, that hath the seven heads and the ten horns] We have the promise, as shown by the structure (verse 7); and in the rest of the chapter (verse 8-18) we have the performance of the promise. The woman and the Beast are first mentioned in brief; and then the explanation is given in full, the order being inverted. First the Beast is explained, and then the Woman. Ten verses (8-17) are given to the former, and only one (verse 18) to the latter; so that the Beast is now, evidently, the more important of the two subjects.

We shall have to expand the member consisting of this longer structure concerning "the Beast," marked E. in the above structure.

It will be seen from this Structure that the Interpretation of the Vision concerning the Beast (E. xvii. 8-17) consists of three pairs, the Beast alternating with his Confederates:—

In order to understand the words of the Interpretation here given, it would be well if we could forget all that we have ever heard from man on this subject. We find even ourselves hampered at every turn by what we have learned from tradition. Not until we can divest ourselves of all traditional interpretations can we hope to understand the interpretation given us in these verses.

The Structure shows us that "the Beast" and his confederates are the two subjects with which we have to do. They are arranged in the form of a repeated alternation; and are given in three pairs.

8. The Beast which thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to ascend out of the Abyss, and to go* into perdition: and those who dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose name** is not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the Beast; because he was, and is not, and shall be present.***] These three notes as to time (twice given in this verse), mark off for us, as clearly as possible, most important and significant points necessary to the interpretation.

The Beast is he who "hath the seven heads and the ten horns" (verse 7). The word "hath" refers to the ten horns equally with the seven heads. The seven are therefore contemporary with the ten.

In their mortal stage of being, the seven kings were successive. But that mortal stage is referred to in Daniel, not in Revelation.

In chap. xiii., the Beast comes up out of the Abyss, and is therefore, clearly, superhuman. During the first half of the week he is in his mortal stage. In the last half he is in his superhuman stage; for in chap. xiii. 3, he is seen as having been "wounded to death." But, here, in chap. xvii., we are taken back, and are further informed as to the past, present, and future of the Beast,

This eighth verse therefore refers to the mid-career of the Beast; and the point of the vision is the moment between the mortal and the superhuman stages: i.e., between chaps. xii. and xiii.

In the ninth verse the previous mortal stage of the seven heads are spoken of. In that stage they were successive; but in their superhuman stage they will be contemporary.

We have already seen that the seven heads or kings are individuals; and that the Beast himself, when revived from the dead, will be "the eighth" king. We believe that all the confusion, and all the divergent opinions on this chapter arise from ignoring this simple fact, and from looking at these as kingdoms instead of "kings"; and as world-powers instead of individuals.

Moreover, further confusion has been introduced by taking the words of the interpreting angel (in verse 10) as referring to the time of his speaking to John; instead of, as in all other cases, as referring to the time of or stage in the fulfilment of the vision. In other words, the expressions "was and is not" (verses 8, 11), and "one is and the other is not yet come" (verse 10), are taken as referring to the moment when the angel was actually speaking to John.

But why not take it, as in all the other cases, as referring to the time when the vision shall be accomplished?

The words of the souls under the altar (chap. vi. 9-11) are regarded as spoken at the time when the fifth seal shall be opened. The cry to the rocks "Fall on us" will be uttered under the sixth seal. The angel himself states (verse 1) that the vision is the future judgment of that great city. When the present time is thus used in prophetic language it refers to the future time which is spoken of as being present, and not to the time when the prophecy was written or spoken.

We have seen, throughout, that this whole book refers to "the Day of the Lord." It is in that day that the Beast will be manifested in his superhuman form with his seven heads and ten kings. At the future point of time spoken of in verse 10, five of these kings will, as to their mortal stage, at that moment "have fallen" (i.e., have been removed by violent death*); one of the kings (the sixth) will be reigning; and the seventh will not at that juncture have yet come. When he shall have come ((...), elthe) he will first overthrow the last three of the seven (Dan. vii. 8); but will remain only for the first half of the seven years, or thereabouts, in his mortal stage (xvii. 10); for he will then receive a deadly wound (by assassination probably), xiii. 3, and afterwards be brought to life by Satanic power, have his deadly wound healed, and become the "eighth" king. In his mortal stage he is the seventh head; but in his superhuman stage he is the eighth king.

All is thus intensely individual. Who the five kings will be, as to their mortal stage; or who the sixth will be, we know not; nor is it necessary for our understanding of the Vision. Who the seventh will be, we do know; for it is the Beast in his mortal stage, "the little horn" of Daniel's Visions. He will be in his superhuman stage, "the eighth" king — the final embodiment of Satanic power, whose doings are described in chap. xiii.

The ten kings of verses 12-17 are not successive in their mortal stage; they will be contemporary when they form an integrant part of the Beast. The seven heads and the ten horns, with the necessary members which go to make up the leopard, the bear, and the lion parts of the beast as an organised body, as shown in chap. xiii. 2, are all superhuman, all contemporary, have all passed through the mortal stage, and have all suffered the first death, so that afterwards they can altogether be "cast alive into a lake of fire," which is the second death (see chap. xix. 20).

It is well to remember that "the time of the end" (Dan. vii.) takes in the full extent of the Gentile Dominion. "The end time" (Dan. viii. 23) is the end of this "time of the end"; the Sunteleia or Consummation. While "The last days" (xi. 21) is the Telos, the crisis of "the end time."

The Sunteleia or "End-time," commencing immediately on the removal of the Church of God, may run into thirty or forty years; and of these, the last "week" of Daniel (ix. 27) will be the last seven.

This allows all the prophetic periods marked off in 42 months, 1,260 days, and 3 1/2 years, to be taken as literal months, days, and years, if we understand them as falling within these last seven years which form the crisis, and end up with the final judgment.

If the period referred to under the word "hour" (one and the same hour, or time) of xvii. 12 and of iii. 10 be the same as the 42 months, then this "day of vengeance" of Isa. lxi. 2 may be these 42 months.

The term kings and kingdoms are used interchangeably in Daniel. The kingdoms of Dan. ii. 37, 39, 40, 42, are spoken of as "these kings" in verse 44, and so elsewhere.

But in looking for them we must note four very great and important governing principles which will be a sure and certain guide in our understanding of this matter. They are these:—

(1) Israel and Israel's Messiah: in other words, God's Anointed, God's Land, God's City, God's People, form the great centre around which all prophecy circles.

(2) Jerusalem is also the centre of the points of the compass. East and west, North and South, are to be reckoned from Jerusalem, or from the standpoint of the writer: and not from that of the reader; or from any other astronomical or geographical arbitrary position.

(3) The "Heads" denote headship over the People, the City, and the Land of Israel.

(4) The world-powers or kingdoms of prophecy are reckoned only as they come into connection with, or into possession of, Israel's Land, and City.

In these four simple propositions we shall find the key to the understanding of the Vision and its interpretation.

The nations were originally formed with reference to Israel; for we are expressly told, in the wondrous "Song of Moses," that "when the Most High (the title that relates to dominion in the Earth) divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel" (Deut. xxxii. 8). The nations were not divided by chance; neither were the stars of heaven; for in Deut. iv. 19 it says "the Lord thy God divided them unto all the nations under the heaven."

Many nations are mentioned in the Bible; but only those are the subject of Divine history and prophecy which have relation to Israel; and even these, in proportion to the closeness and extent of that relation. For example, the monuments show us the large numbers of Dynasties and Kings, etc. there were in Egypt. But only those come into the Word of God which had to do with Israel. Many have been, and are, perplexed because of this Biblical silence as to the ancient kingdoms of Egypt and Assyria, etc.; but this great principle explains it. The Pharaoahs of the Oppression and the Exodus would never have been more than mere names but for their connection with Moses and Israel. "Pharoah, king of Egypt, is but a noise" (Jer. xlvi. 17) — a noise that is heard for a moment and then passes away. Such would Pharaoh (Ramases II. and Meneptah) have been but for Moses and Israel.

There were many kings of Egypt before Pharaoh; and many kings of Babylon all through the centuries; but they are mentioned only as they come into touch with Israel. The Bible ignores them all except on this ground. That is why it could be said to Nebuchadnezzar, "THOU are this head of gold" (Dan. ii. 38). This was said of him only in connection with the Counsels of God, and the People of God; for Nebuchadnezzar was not the head or first king of Babylon. It is of Nimrod that it is written, "the beginning of his kingdom was Babel" (Gen. x. 10). Nimrod was, historically and chronologically, the first king of Babylon, and there was a long list of Babylon's kings from that time before Nebuchadnezzar possessed its throne.

Why, then, after all that lapse of time, is Nebuchadnezzar singled out and spoken of definitely as the "head"? It can be accounted for only on the great principle which we seek to enforce, viz., that all Gentile history is ignored in the Bible, both as to kings and kingdoms, except as they stand and come into the Divine Counsels concerning Israel, and became "heads" over God's Land, and City, and People.

This being so, we have a limit set to our interpretation of the great Kingdoms or Heads in the prophecies given in Daniel and in the Apocalypse. These prophecies are concerned with them only within those limits.

Nebuchadnezzar and his father came into power, and made Babylon the new capital of Assyria in B.C. 625.* On this account, and because he was the first of the Gentile powers into whose hands dominion and headship over God's Land and City and People were given, it could be said of him, "Thou art this head of gold" (Dan. ii. 38). There is not a word here as to when he became the "head"; but the fact is declared as to this person that he, as the head of Babylon, was also the head of the Image, and, therefore, the head of Gentile supremacy.

The earlier history of Babylon is not taken into account. A new departure is made in reckoning when, in the Counsels of God, Nebuchadnezzar becomes the king of Babylon.

God sends him notification of the fact in that wonderful dream, where the great outline of this Gentile dominion over Israel's People, City, and Land is made known.

This seems to be clear enough; only we have always been so accustomed to hear the fifth spoken of as part of the fourth, or the fourth revived, that we read the Scripture in the light of our tradition.

It is not any answer to say that Dan. ii. mentions only four Gentile Powers. Dan. ii. says nothing of the kind. It mentions "the fourth." That is not "four." The Original is not (...) arbag (four*); but it is (...) rebegahe (fourth**). It is most important to note the difference between the ordinal number and the cardinal number. It nowhere says there were only four. On the contrary, the five are twice distinctly enumerated as being perfectly separate and independent. In verses 35 and 45 we have two separate enumerations of these five:

Verse 35	Verse 45
1. the iron,	1. the iron,
2. the clay,	2. the brass,
3. the brass,	3. the clay,
4. the silver, and	4. the silver, and
5. the gold.	5. the gold.

Here, the five are not only mentioned separately, as to their material; but diversely, as to their order; so as to distinguish "the clay" as being one of five, and not as part of the iron (the "fourth") as is usually done.

We need not dwell long on the details of the fulfilment of this Image. They are well known, and belong rather to the book of Daniel than to the Apocalypse. We content ourselves with their enumeration:

1. The first of these Gentile Dominions was given by the God of Heaven to Nebuchadnezzar. It was formally taken from Israel and "given" to the Gentiles. Headship over Jerusalem (as well as over the Gentile powers) was that which specially marked that Gentile Power from all the other Gentile Powers that were, or might be, in the world at that time.

The Powers that followed Babylon successively held Jerusalem in possession; and each succeeded the other, by conquest, in obtaining and holding that possession.

5. The fifth was, either the present power, which succeeded Rome in 636-7, and is still treading down Jerusalem, thus fulfilling the Lord's prophecy in Luke xxi. 24; or, it is a yet future power, which is to be manifested in the Sunteleia after the Church shall have been removed: in which case the Lord's prophecy in Luke xxi. 24 would refer to some future treading down e.g., that mentioned in Rev. xi. 1, 2.

The common interpretation reckons the "feet and toes" as part of the "legs," and divides the fourth power into two manifestations: one past, and the other future. But, even in this case, the future manifestation of the fourth could still be called the fifth as to numerical order.

Surely, the mixture of "clay and iron" can no more be left out of our calculations than any of the other four metals.

But what this fifth power is remains to be seen. It is partly strong and partly fragile*; i.e., there is in it "the strength of the iron," and the weakness of "potters' clay." There can be no real union between the two characteristics of this fifth kingdom. It can be merely a mechanical mingling like that of iron and potters' clay; for, it truly says, "iron is not mixed with clay" (verse 43).

On the one hand we have a fifth power which did actually succeed the fourth power, as the fourth succeeded the third, as the third succeeded the second, and the second succeeded the first.

Neither of these, so far as we know, ever exercised the universal dominion which was given at the first; but what marked the true succession was Headship over God's Land and God's City, while Israel was excluded from the place and power which had been transferred, and committed to the Gentiles.

When the Lord (in Luke xxi. 24) uttered that prophecy of the treading down of Jerusalem by the Gentiles (not "the nations"), the fourth Gentile power was exercising headship over the Land. To what treading down did He refer? Did He refer to the power which did actually succeed the fourth in 636-7? or Was He referring to a treading down that is still future? and Did He ignore and pass over the present treading down, which has lasted as long as all the other four put together?

Whatever answer we may give to these questions, all must agree that after the Church shall have been removed; and the time shall have come for steps to be taken to reinstate Israel in its own Land, there must necessarily be some Gentile power in possession.

The beginning of the Sunteleia must find some Gentile power exercising sovereignty over the City and the Land; and it cannot be denied that the present power now in possession may be the power found there when Israel comes into connection again with the Land.

Rapid and sudden national changes, of course, may take place any day in the near East. But whatever may happen, the power then in possession will be the fifth, referred to in Dan. ii. and in the angel's words, uttered at the particular point of the Day of the Lord referred to in Rev. xvii. 10, which will be true of the Gentile powers as well as of the individual "heads," or kings, which may arise in the new Jewish State, after its resettlement; and immediately prior to the covenant which Antichrist will make with Israel at the beginning of the Telos, or seventieth week of Dan. ix.

The Zionist Movement commenced with the first National Congress in 1896, and has made great strides since then. Other changes in the Balkan States, and in the Constitution of Turkey, which took place so unexpectedly in 1908, show us how suddenly a change may take place which will lead up to the re-settlement of the Jews in their own land, perhaps, at first, under the suzerainty of the Sultan; and prepare the way for the rise of the Beast, first, in his mortal stage as the seventh head, and then in his superhuman stage as the eighth king.

The dream was not given to Nebuchadnezzar until after his portion of it had been accomplished. The words, "Thou art this head of gold," were not uttered until some years after he had actually become the "head"; and many years after he acted as the "head," when he first came against Jerusalem.

It is clear, therefore, that the date of the dream and its interpretation is not the date from which our reckoning of the times of Gentile dominions is to commence; for they had already commenced, and that dominion was an accomplished fact at the time the dream was given.

It is also clear that the date of the taking of Jerusalem and burning of the Temple is not the commencement of "the times of the Gentiles," or of Gentile dominion; inasmuch as Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem in the nineteenth year of his reign, and exercised a Suzerain power for many years before. For he first came against Jerusalem in the eighth year of Jehoiakim, and Jehoiakim served him three years (2 Kings xxiv. 1). Then his son Jehoiachin reigned three months — reckon it one year (2 Kings xxiv. 8), when Nebuchadnezzar came against Jerusalem, and sent him a prisoner to Babylon in the eighth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings xxiv. 12).

Then Nebuchadnezzar set up Zedekiah as king in the place of Jehoiachin (his uncle), and for eleven years he reigned in Jerusalem (2 Kings xxv. 2); but having rebelled and sought to regain his independence (2 Kings xxiv. 20), Nebuchadnezzar came against Jerusalem, and finally took it in his nineteenth year (being the eleventh of Zedekiah, 2 Kings xxv. 8). Not until the twenty-third year of his reign did Nebuchadnezzar complete the carrying away of the people (Jer. lii. 30). Now, if the Holy Spirit reckons the actions of Nebuchadnezzar, not by date of the year, but the year of his reign, we have a clear indication that we are to reckon the years in the same way, and say that "the times of the Gentiles" began with the first year of the reign of him of whom it was afterwards said, "Thou art this head of gold."

If so, then we have a period of at least twenty-three years cut off from, and marking the commencement of, these times of Gentile headship over the Land, the City, and the People.

Why may not the closing period of these Gentile times (called the Sunteleia) be marked by a corresponding or similar number of years (23 or more)?

We believe there is a double fulfilment; first in Kingdoms, then in Kings. There have been, up to the present, four kingdoms, as enumerated above (Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome), then the fifth, present or yet future. The Kingdom of the Beast will be the sixth, and the seventh will be "the Kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ." The Kingdoms being reckoned distinct from the Kings.

So likewise, will there be at the time of the end (in the Sunteleia), five individuals who will briefly and successively contend for independence, and then the sixth (the "one is" referred to at the point of time of the Vision); he will be followed by the Beast, who will be "the seventh head" in his mortal stage for 3 1/2 years, and then "the eighth" king in his superhuman stage for the other 3 1/2 years (the last half of the seven years referred to in Dan. ix. 27).

There were three kings in Jerusalem who struggled for independence, and whom Nebuchadnezzar put down and punished. Why may not there be five individuals in the Sunteleia who will lead the Jews to struggle likewise for independence against the Mohammedan Suzerain power?

We read of "five kings" and the "sixth" in Rev. xvii. 10. Under these the Jews may rebel against the Suzerain power and finally "make a covenant" with the seventh, the Beast (Dan. ix. 27), in order to regain their complete independence.

This would of course be in the mortal stage of these five kings, and of the sixth as well as the seventh. The duration of the mortal stage of the Beast, as the seventh head, will be, we know, only 3 1/2 years.* The rise and fall of the other kings may also be of very short duration. A few years would suffice for the fulfilment of Rev. xvii. 10.

Dan. xi. shows how the Jews will be affected by him who in his mortal career is the first king of Syria: and then, on the rooting up of three of the kings, becomes the seventh head of Gentile power.

At the point contemplated in the Vision (Rev. xvii. 10) this fifth head will have fallen: The fifth head of Gentile dominion over Jerusalem; as well as the fifth of these last individual kings in their mortal stage. Thus a co-terminous point may mark an important epoch, for it is of the "sixth" king that it is said, at this juncture "one is." Of the "seventh," at that moment, it is said he "is not" but is then about to arise and "be present."

During the years of the Sunteleia, or consummation, there will be ample time for the Euphrates valley to be developed and Babylon to be rebuilt. That it will be rebuilt is necessitated by the fact that it has never yet been destroyed in the manner prophesied. The further evidence of this must be reserved till we come to chap. xviii.

One thing we know, and that is, that God will accomplish all that He has foretold; and, if we refer to present movements, it will be only to show how easily and simply all may come about; and so naturally too, as to be almost unnoticed except to those who "know the times."

With regard to the Beast, proper, we are further told in this verse, 8, that the Beast spoken of "shall ascend out of the Abyss and go into perdition." We see this ascending in chap. xiii. 1. This is the Beast in his superhuman stage. For John saw the mark of the wound on him. And John wondered. All shall wonder at this manifestation, and the object of that wonder is this Beast who "was, and is not, and shall be present." The world-powers are, when represented as "the Beast," always viewed as one. The Beast is never seen apart from his seven heads and ten horns; if so, they must be contemporary.

In chap. xvii. the Beast is seen as one individual, as well as collectively. The Dragon in heaven comprises seven heads and ten horns; but, when the one individual who directs all the movements of the Dragon Power is spoken of, Satan is referred to (chap. xi. 7; xiii. 5. Comp. Dan. vii. 11; xi. 36). The same is true when the one who is the executive head of the seven, and all the parts comprising the Beast is referred to.

At the close of his mortal stage, i.e., the first 3 1/2 years, he receives his death wound; and therefore at this stage, before he comes up out of the Abyss in his superhuman form, it can be truly said that he "was" and "shall be present." It could also, at the moment of time referred to by the Angel, be as truly said "and is not."*

The "is not" does not mean that he never had an existence, for the very expression implies it; as it could not be used of one who never had any existence at all. Just as with Christ Himself, relatively, as regards the earth, it can at this present moment be truly said He was and is not, and yet shall be present here again.* But of course as regards Himself absolutely, "He was, and is, and is to come."

The following verse connects this Beast directly with the Beast of chap. xiii., for it is added

9-. Here is the mind which hath wisdom.] This repetition of xiii. 18 identifies and connects these two chapters. "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the Beast, for it is man's number" (See above, on xiii. 18). The word rendered "mind" in xvii. 9, and "understanding" in xiii. 18, is the same, viz. vous (nous). And this "wisdom" is, to understand that, though a "Beast" is seen in the vision, it is not a wild Beast that is meant, but one great final superhuman personality; viz., "a man" energized by Satanic power.

-9. The seven heads are (or represent) seven mountains on which the woman sitteth, (-10-) and they are (or represent) seven kings:] We translate the last clause thus, with Alford, RV., and others. The punctuation of the AV. in this verse is very faulty. Verse 9 should end with the word "wisdom," and the remainder of the verse should form part of the tenth verse.

The explanation of the angel would not then have been cut in two, and interpreted separately as is commonly the case; and the "seven mountains" would not have been treated independently of the clause which goes on to further explain what they signify. The "seven mountains" are, according to this, "seven kings." It does not say that "there are seven kings" over and above, and beside the "seven mountains;" but that the "seven mountains are (i.e., represent) seven kings." The seven heads belong to the Beast on which the woman sitteth. According to the structure of "E., 1.", verses 9, 10 have for their subject the confederates of the Beast. Now "mountains" cannot be confederates, but kings can. Hence, though the word "mountains" is used, it is at once explained that "kings" are meant, so as to keep us from making a mistake. Compare Zech. iv. 7.

These mountains, then, are no mere heaps of earth or rocks, but "kings." The word "mountain" is often used as a Figure (Symbol, or Metaphor, or Metonymy) for a kingdom. It is used of Babylon itself in Jer. li. 25, and of Messiah's kingdom in Dan. ii. 35.

For interpreters to take these literally as "mountains," in the midst of a context which the same interpreters take to be symbolic; and in the face of the interpretation actually given by the angel that "they are seven kings," is to play fast and loose with the word of prophecy. It says here that "they are seven kings," and we believe what is said.

The seven heads do not belong to any one of the world-Powers; for each kingdom had many such "heads" or kings.

They necessarily belong to all of them, and are viewed as one Beast, so that they may be seen as belonging to, and forming part of, the whole. That is why this Beast in chap. xiii. 2 is like unto a "leopard" (the third, Greece), and his feet as the feet of a "bear" (the second, Persia), and his mouth as a "lion" (the first, Babylon). He combines in himself the symbolic marks of the others.

The woman (i.e., that great city, verse 18) sitteth on many waters (i.e., reigneth over peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues, verse 15), and is seen seated on a scarlet coloured beast (i.e., carried and supported by all the kings and all the members which make up the body of the Beast. This will be the condition of things at the point of view referred to in the Vision. In this 9th verse we have a description of what will be at an early part of the first 3 1/2 years. It is the present tense, "IS SITTING," and is prophetic of what is now still future. It does not say has sat or did sit, but is now sitting, i.e., not at the moment when the Angel was interpreting it to John, but the moment when it will be actually taking place in "the day of the Lord." It is the woman (i.e., that great city, verse 18), upon which our attention is concentrated in this verse, and the support afforded to her at that time. All are contemporary with each other; joined together as the metals are joined to make up the figure of a man.

If in verses 9, 10, literal mountains be meant, then commentators are divided between Constantinople, Brussels, Jerusalem, and Rome.

The late Albert Barnes says, "All respectable interpreters agree that it refers to Rome; either Pagan, Christian, or Papal."

If this be so, then we must be content to be reckoned, with many others, among those who are not "respectable." Rome Papal cannot be meant, as it never had seven regal powers. Rome Christian cannot be meant, as it never had any regal powers at all. Rome Pagan cannot be meant, as no seven kings can be agreed upon by commentators; and it is to be destroyed by the stone of Dan. ii. 35, 45. See also Dan. vii. 26, 27.

-10-. Five are fallen, the* one (the sixth) is (at this stage of the Vision), the other (the seventh), is not yet come.] If this be interpreted of Gentile Dominion at the future point of the Vision referred to by the Angel; then, as to the dominions, the five will have fallen: (1) Babylon, (2) Medo-Persia, (3) Greece, (4) Rome, (5) Mohammedan. The sixth will be the Kingdom of the Beast, (7) the seventh will be the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.

And as to the individuals, five of the seven (and the sixth) will have obtained sovereignty or independence for the Jews, and the way will be clear for the seventh to come in his mortal stage.

The seven are all of one series. How can the sixth be Rome, and thus be the Beast, and contain the whole, including the eighth!

If we interpret these kingdoms and kings in any other way, and on any other principle than that given above, we are at once landed in a mass of conflicting opinions and speculations that are perfectly appalling.

Alford gives us (1) Egypt, (2) Nineveh, (3) Babylon, (4) Persia, (5) Greece (with, of course, Rome for the sixth), and the seventh the Christian Empire under Constantine!

Others give us (1) Assyria, (2) Egypt, (3) Babylon, (4) Persia, (5) Greece, (6) Rome, (7) Future.

Others (Moses Stuart among them) give (1) Julius Caesar, (2) Augustus, (3) Tiberius, (4) Caligula, (5) Claudius, (6) Nero, (7) Galba. He also suggests beginning with Augustus, so as to make Nero the sixth; but in this case he defies all history, which makes Domitian the Emperor in John's day.

Others make (1) Romulus, (2) Numa Pompilius, (3) Tullus Hostilius, (4) Ancus Martius, (5) Tarquinius Priscus, (6) Servius Tullius, (7) Tarquinius Superbus.

Others, confining the list to those who died violent deaths, make it (1) Julius Caesar, (2) Tiberius, (3) Caligula, (4) Claudius, (5) Nero, (6) Galba, (7) Otho.

Another suggests (1) Pharaoh, (2) Sennacherib, (3) Belshazzar, (4) Antiochus Epiphanes, (5) Herod Agrippa, (6) Nero Caesar, (7) Napoleon.

These are all by "respectable" interpreters. But is not the confusion such as to make us regard this book with anything but respect? Which of these and many others are we to take as the meaning of the angel's words "five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come"?

With regard to Gentile power, why, we may ask, go back behind the beginning God has Himself set and given when it was said to Nebuchadnezzar, "thou art this head of gold"? (Dan. ii. 38).

Why go back to Egypt, Assyria, and Nineveh; or begin with Rome, when God makes the beginning at Babylon?

And with regard to individuals, Why make all the seven kings belong to one of the four world-powers, when the Beast represents the whole? If we confine ourselves to one — the fourth — it had many more than seven heads. And if we include all the "heads" or "kings" which the whole contained, then we have so many that it is quite impossible to do anything with them in connection with the interpretation of these prophecies.

The greater error has always been in making anything, rather than Israel, the pivot of the prophecies: and reckoning the points of the compass from any centre except Jerusalem, or the place where the Vision was seen, or the prophecy written.

There are other difficulties connected with the common interpretations of the fourth World Power, which makes Rome the whole Beast, and yet one of its heads at the same time. "Respectable interpreters" who make the whole Beast, Rome; make also one of its heads or kings to be Rome; and this one head afterwards comprises the ten kingdoms into which it is subdivided! Whereas the ten kings of Daniel are not identical with the ten of the Apocalypse, for the ten of Rev. xvii. never were kings in their mortal stage, for it expressly says in verse 12 that they "have received no kingdom as yet."

How anyone can hold that this one "head" afterwards comprises the ten kingdoms, it is difficult to understand. Territory may be divided into ten kingdoms, but the "head" cannot be.

The image of Daniel ii. was seen complete as it will be in "the end time," while as yet only the first of these powers was then existing, and all the others were future. So, in like manner, the image is to be viewed also as complete when the whole shall be combined in the Beast (and the seventh and eighth heads), though all the others will then be past. The stone falls on the feet of the image and destroys the whole image at one blow. The Beast as see in Rev. xiii. and xvii. combines the whole, and is destroyed at one stroke at the Apocalypse of the King of kings in Rev. xix.

It is important to observe that the Beast is never seen in the Apocalypse without the seven heads and ten horns, because they are then seen as being contemporary and in their superhuman form. But they were successive in their mortal form.

The Beast in Daniel has not got seven heads. He could not have unless they were contemporary, which is against the prophecy in Daniel. He has ten horns during the time when the seventh head becomes supreme.

The only solution of all these difficulties seems to be in the "eighth" king, who is regarded as "of the seven," and yet fulfils all that is said of "the fourth Beast" and of "the little horn" of Dan. vii. and viii.

We have to note (1) that Dan. ii. and vii. show the full length of duration from Nebuchadnezzar to the coming of the Son of man in Rev. xix.

(2) that within that duration the whole of unfulfilled prophecy concerning Gentile Dominion must find its place.

(3) that Dan. viii. gives the "end time" of that duration linked on to the earlier period in order to show its connection with the whole. And

(4) that Dan. xi. gives the "last days" of that "end time," but linked on to the earlier verses (xi. 1-4).

Thus we have the whole period of "the times of the Gentiles;" then, "the end time" of Gentile rule; and, finally, "the last days" of that rule.

What is said in Dan. vii. and viii is for the most part still future. It is seen in immediate connection with the setting of the throne of the Ancient of Days (Dan. vii. 9-27). "At the time of the end shall be the Vision" (Dan. viii. 17). It relates to "what shall be in the last end of the indignation, for at the time appointed the end shall be" (Dan. viii. 19). The prophecy relates to "the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full" (Dan. viii. 23; marg., are accomplished).

In Dan. vii. 17, 18, we are expressly told that "these great Beasts, which are four, are four kings which shall arise out of the earth, but the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom." Their rising, therefore, is at the time of the end, and they are "kings."

When it was said to Nebuchadnezzar, "Thou art this head of gold" (Dan. ii. 38), did he realise all that it meant? Did the sons of Abraham realise all the promises to Israel as to the complete possession of the whole Land? Just so with the Beasts of Daniel. In their mortal stage they failed (especially the fourth) to realise all the prophecies of it. But as Israel will realise all its prophecies in its second manifestation, so will it be with the Beast in its superhuman stage.

Rev. xvii. 10 fixes the point of the Vision, there referred to, as being just between the mortal and the superhuman stages.

-10. and when he shall have come, he must remain a short time.] i.e., a short time compared with the others. We have a similar statement in xii. 12; where, when Satan is cast down, he had "great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."

Six "heads" will then have already appeared, both as dominions, and as individuals in their mortal stage. They will have gone down into the Abyss. At that point in the Vision the rise of the "seventh" head will be imminent as to his mortal stage. Then after three-and-a-half years will come his death; and then (after three to four days' public exposure), his re-incarnation.

The seventh head can be no person or king that has ever yet existed on the earth. We have no kingdom here, but a mighty and terrible king. He "falls" like the preceding six. He will be slain with the sword (chap. xiii. 3, 14), but he comes to life again; and then the last great superhuman ruler of "the kingdoms of this world" will stand revealed until he is destroyed by "the King of Kings." Everything will then have been prepared, and events will move with unparalleled rapidity.

"KINGDOMS"	"HEADS" or "KINGS"
"The times of the Gentiles"
1. Gold.
2. Silver.
3. Brass.
4. Iron.
5. Clay (or Iron and Clay)
	The Sunteleia, or "Day of the Lord."
	1. The 1st Head.
	2. The 2nd Head.
	3. The 3rd Head.
	4. The 4th Head.
	5. The 5th Head.
	("Five are fallen")
	6. The 6th Head.
	("one is"; "the other is not yet come")
"The Great Day of the Lord" (The last "week.") The making of the Covenant (Dan. ix. 27).
6. The Kingdom of the Beast	7. The 7th Head (Mortal Stage)
	("who was, and is not, and shall be present" as the 8th King.)
"The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord" (the last half of the "week.") The breaking of the Covenant (Dan. ix. 27).
	8. The 8th King. The Beast. (His superhuman stage).
7. "The Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ."

The above refers to Headship over God's City, People, and Land. It does not, therefore, include the "Ten Kings" or "Kingdoms," either of Daniel or Revelation, which are outside the Land.

The eleventh verse brings us to the second pair of members which interpret the Beast and his Confederates. Chap. xvii.