It should be noted here that it was one of the angels who had one of the last judgments—the bowls—who calls on John to see “the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters.” In point of time this judgment is long past. It is a backward glance at the judgment of the great whore which had to be removed to make way for the worship of the Beast.
In the third verse she is pictured as a woman sitting on a beast which had seven heads. In the ninth verse we read “the seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.” This is Rome “the seven-hilled city” known all over the world as such. This fact established in the minds of those who have wisdom, we see clearly how what is said of the woman fits the picture exactly. Let us bear in mind that Rome purports to be a Christian church—the only one—its head “Christ’s vicar on earth.” Scripture gives only one head—a heavenly One—to the church—“He is the head of the body, the church” (Col. 1:1818And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:18)). In the address to Thyatira the Lord calls it “that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess” (Rev. 2:2020Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. (Revelation 2:20)). She is unfaithful to her self-appointed profession in the Christian sphere, one of the “birds of the air” lodging in the branches of the great mustard tree (see Matt. 13:3232Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. (Matthew 13:32)). An unfaithful, immoral woman—“a great whore” in the eyes of the Lord! Alas, she sits upon many waters. How true! Where could one go on earth where she is not found? And men truly love darkness rather than light. It is a religion of the flesh, and suits them.
In the figure we see the “kings of the earth” carrying on an illicit connection with “the great whore.” No separation of church and state here. Rather do we see the meaning of the Pope’s triple crown again “Bishop of Kings!” For nearly a thousand years the history of the kings of Europe was tied in with the Church of Rome. Kings received, and retained their crowns, only by the will of the Pope. He could topple their thrones at his pleasure. The arrogant King John of England—of Magna Charta fame—was brought to his knees by means of a Papal interdict on the nation, as was Henry 4 of Germany, a powerful prince in his day. Charles 2 of England masqueraded as an Episcopalian during his lifetime, but on his death bed he secretly secured the services of a Popish priest and died a Romanist. In our day Adenauer, former Chancellor of Germany, died in the Romish faith. General DeGaulle of France attended mass on a recent visit to Canada. The kings of our day, and presidents and diplomats, including those of godless Russia, must visit Rome and shake hands with “His Holiness.” Were it not for the doctrine of his infallibility he would have many more visitors. The Church of England would return to the bosom of its “Holy Mother”; the Eastern schism would be healed.
Not only the great ones of the world are enmeshed in her web but “the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” When I was a very young Christian I disputed with a Roman Catholic. He solemnly assured me that his was “the truest religion in the world.” In later years I knew a man who reached the pinnacle of fellowship in an anti-Catholic order, but who secretly, when his end was in sight, returned to “the fold.”
To see “the woman”—the great whore—John, in spirit, is carried into “the wilderness.” We might surely add, it was a barren one! She is seen riding “a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.” She is carried to begin with by the revived Roman Empire, but a sudden change takes place, as at the end of our chapter we see that the ten horns (kings) and the Beast “shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire” (v. 16).
In a wilderness who would expect to find a woman dressed in purple and scarlet raiment, bedecked with gold and precious stones and pearls? She is surely “the strange woman” of the Book of Proverbs. The golden cup in her hand is full of her seductions. Woe to her victims! “Many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell” (Prov. 7:26-2726For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. 27Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death. (Proverbs 7:26‑27)). In Jeremiah 3:33Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed. (Jeremiah 3:3) we read—“thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst to he ashamed.” How descriptive of “Babylon the Great.” Not only is she a spiritual harlot, but the mother of a numerous progeny who spread her abominations over the earth.
Of Babylon of old time it is written—“it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols” (Jer. 50:3838A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols. (Jeremiah 50:38)). Hear the Word of the Lord regarding idols—“their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths but they speak not, eyes have they but they see not, they have ears but they hear not, noses have they but they smell not, they have hands but they handle not, feet have they but they walk not, neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them—so is every one that trusteth in them” (Psa. 115:4-84Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. 5They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: 6They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: 7They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. 8They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them. (Psalm 115:4‑8)). The modern Babylon too is full of graven images and frightful idols—dumb idols—dead idols. Everything in the Papal system has the odor of death—dead images and statues, dead bodies and bones, to which can be added numerous monstrosities, such as pieces of “the true cross,” a vial containing some of “the darkness of Egypt,” and so on ad infinitum—an insult to human intelligence, and specially obnoxious to those who have been turned “from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God” (Acts 26:1818To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. (Acts 26:18)).
To her other heinous sins “the woman” added that of drunkenness—not with wine—ah no!—but “with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs [witnesses] of Jesus” (v. 6). Nothing more than this is needed to let us know who “the woman” is—the arch persecutor, tormentor, and murderer of God’s dear saints—“the witnesses of Jesus.” Let history speak here. Consider the persecution of the Waldenses, the Albigenses, the Huguenots, and the “Holy Office” of the Inquisition. And what of those who ascended to heaven in the chariot of fire? Well do they deserve the front rank there.
The angel would not only show John the mystery of “the woman,” but of the beast that carried her as well. The beast’s seven heads being seven mountains, on which the woman sits—the seven hills of Rome—the beast, as well as the woman is identified as Rome. Rome is the last of the Gentile empires described for us twice in the Book of Daniel. There were four successive empires—Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. “The beast” then, which was, and is not, is the Roman Empire of the past, which became decadent, but will reappear in the power of Satan, and shortly be destroyed.
“There are seven kings—five are fallen.” When John wrote, five forms of government of this empire had passed away. These were—first kings—second consuls—third dictators—fourth Decemvirs—fifth military tribunes. “One is”—the imperial Caesars . . . under this form of power John was banished to the isle of Patmos. This was the sixth. “The other is not yet come, and when he cometh he must continue a short space” This was the seventh, and was no doubt Napoleon Bonaparte, whose meteoric rise to power, short-lived but brilliant military achievements, and sudden eclipse are too well known to need elaboration. He was a foreshadowing of the final beast who will accomplish what Napoleon only had in his mind. Here are Napoleon’s words—”France must be first among the states, or she is lost . . . there will be no rest in Europe until it is under a single chief—an Emperor, who shall have kings for officers, who shall distribute kingdoms to his lieutenants.” “The eighth”—an entirely new and hitherto unknown form of the Roman Empire, is entirely in the power of Satan. Historically connected with the seven forms of Roman power which preceded him, “the Beast” is seen ascending out of the bottomless pit—the abyss— and goes to destruction. This is “the Beast” that carries “the woman,” and is described for us in the thirteenth chapter, which we have already considered. He has ten kings under him but God does not permit him to consolidate his kingdom. They “receive power as kings one hour with the Beast”—a short time surely, but in the meantime they are unitedly behind their Satanic chief. Together they will be found fighting against the Lord Himself, only to be overcome by Him who is “Lord of Lords, and King of Kings” who has an army with Him of those who are “called and chosen, and faithful.” This subject will be considered again when we come to the nineteenth chapter.
Meantime let us return to the subject of “the whore and the waters on which she sits, being peoples and multitudes, and nations and tongues.” “The ten horns AND the Beast [not ‘the ten horns upon the Beast’ as some times incorrectly translated] will hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire.” The chief use God makes of the revived Roman Empire—the Beast and his ten servant kings—is first to hate the whore—Babylon, Papal Rome—then “eat her flesh,” that is, take away her riches—finally “burn her with fire”—that is to say eradicate the whole system from the face of the earth. The eighteenth and nineteenth chapters will give us more details regarding this. In the address to Thyatira we find “the depths of Satan” in the Roman church of the middle ages. To think that the Beast who received “his power, and his throne, and great authority” from Satan should now destroy Satan’s masterpiece of corruption can only be understood by the words “God hath put it in their hearts to fulfill His will.” The cursed woman, great city indeed will reign no more over the kings of the earth!
A supplementary word may be added here regarding the ten horns AND the Beast of the sixteenth verse of our chapter. There are ten horns, and a “little horn” who obtains the preeminence, but who plucks up three of the ten horns “by the roots.” Who these three kingdoms are in the latter day, we do not know, nor how it comes to pass that in the end there are not seven kings, but ten kings and the Beast. It is there in the Scriptures, and it will be fulfilled when the time comes.