In chapter 17 we come back to that unusual beast. First, an  angel of destruction says to John, 'come and let me show you details about the harlot and its final history of doom.'  Then,  he discovers that evil woman is sitting right on that beast! We know the world is wondering after that beast and at the very end the earth is even enticed by the harlot. When it is time, the kings of the world will have committed fornication with her. The inhabitants of the earth will have become drunk with her wine – the bonding drink of her deception. The world unites over something deceptive that the beast and harlot have. This imagery, these messages, go back and forth with ever more intensity and clarity all the way through chapter 18. It is a message of the final battle on earth between good and evil, the final stand off between God and Satan, a graphic picture of the earthly forces in final conflict right up to its end in the seventh plague (when Jesus returns). Chapters 13–19 provide the clearest picture of earth’s final events, which have begun. But more, they confirm why the time we are now in is end-time!

      “John in the Revelation writes of the unity of those living on the earth to make void the law of God [Rev. 17:13, 14; 16:13 quoted].” E. G. White, Manuscript Release #14, p. 90 (emphasis added).

      This chapter is a prophecy of when all the earth’s powers unite against God and His people just before its fall. Let’s begin our discovery.

“And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:” (vs 1).

      A fascinating statement is made on Revelation 17 in the book Revelation, Four Views – A Parallel Commentary (Gregg editors, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1997).

      “Though the fall of Babylon has been announced in 14:8 and described in 16:19, another whole section (of Revelation) is required to tell the story more thoroughly. Chapters 17–19 reveal[s] ... Babylon[‘s fall] in greater detail.”

      These appear as a series of events that climax the history of the apostasy on this earth, coming right up to the marriage of the Lamb. When the angel said, “I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters,” it suggests the story of her doom, the sequence of events that will happen to the apostate church to bring its final end.

      In Revelation 14:8 we find the horrible apostasy of Babylon and its influence on the world. In Revelation 16:19 we see God’s final retribution on Babylon because of that apostasy. Revelation 17:1 brings another interesting picture into view. The angel is now going to show (“I will show you”) what occurs at the end that leads to this final destructive act of God. In this context, it makes the end-time meaning of each verse in the whole chapter more clear.

      Harlot:  A woman represents a church – thus a harlot or prostitute, a false church. This harlot symbolizes a religious system of enormous falsehood. In the first verse, the word “great” is used in many translations to describe this harlot. She represents a great and well-known system of falsehood. In the Christian world, what system of deception stands above all others? It can be none other than the Roman Catholic Church. Why? A harlot means a false “Christian” church. A church that is known for its notoriety and greatness – a church that prides itself on assuming the authority of Jesus often in its magnificent display of grandeur.

      Finally, in verse 1, there is another clue as to this harlot’s power and role. Though riding on the beast, the woman is sitting also on “many waters.” Most translations use this vernacular. This suggests that this system of religion strongly controls or is over many groups of people or nations. Another way to address this is that this church has power over the world in its twilight hours. (Verse 15 describes the waters.)

“With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication” (vs 2).

      This next verse continues to describe this woman. But now a functional view of her position emerges. This rebellious system of religion has had illicit relationships with the leaders of the world. Someway, this religious power has a charisma that attracts the leaders of the world. The world is so enamored by the papacy and specifically the pope, it continually wonders after its power of leadership (Revelation 13:3). This end-time picture comes after the wound was healed. This is the story of the final acts of the papacy to its judgment or end.

      When did the wound become fully healed? It was in 1929 that Mussolini’s prime minister and the pope’s Cardinal Gasparri consummated the Lateran Treaty. This treaty began a true religio-political state for the papacy with the pope as its head. Thus, the historical framework for Revelation 17 and parts of 13 appears to be 1929 on. This will be reinforced as our discussion progresses.

      It is interesting that this verse presents global imagery of its influence as an ecclesiastical power. Not only have the leaders or political powers had a close association, an intimate relationship, with the papacy, the people of the world are also deceived. They are stupefied by her messages and her miracle-working power (Revelation 13:13-14).

      By the end of the second verse, the angel has choreographed a scene that sets the stage for phase two of this angel’s message. An angel tied in with the final earthly judgments comes to describe to John the final acts of the great, false system of Catholicism. In this drama there is something about what it does or says that so enamors the leaders of the world and its inhabitants that they are mesmerized by the papacy. This is so great, the whole world submits to the Vatican leadership. In this relationship the leaders of the world will all do something illegitimate together – “commit fornication.” The wine means it will be something specific they will share together. The rest of the world will be intoxicated or totally enamored by what is going on. It is now that the angel takes John into the wilderness in spirit. This is a new phase in this prophetic message. An important issue is now becoming clear. The messages of Revelation 13 have been reinforced. Now the final history of this illegitimate power is unfolded.

“So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns” (vs 3).

      This break in the events is significant. The angel moves from a preamble of a bad woman – a woman riding a seven-headed beast out in the wilderness.

      The angel transfers John – he is carried in spirit to a wilderness. John’s attention is drawn to this scene as now the main object of the angel’s message. The wilderness symbolizes a desolate barren place. To the pure woman in chapter 12, it was a hiding place. For the harlot and the papacy it symbolizes the barrenness that surrounds this whole system of power and worship. The papacy is surrounded by nothing that is deeply spiritual or abiding. It is desolate, devoid of spiritual significance.

      This is the first time John sees the woman. He describes her in the next verse. But his first reaction relates to what the false system of worship (the Catholic Church) is sitting on. This chapter describes three things the woman sits on or has control over – waters (verse 1), seven mountains (verse 9) and here in verse 3, the beast. As we previously discussed, the waters represent groups of peoples (verse 15). The papacy at some prophetic point in time is over all the people of the world. The seven hills represent Rome, which we will discuss below. Can we refine our understanding of the beast?

Here is where we have myriads of challenges from different expositors. Most agree that a beast symbolizes a ruling political power. A head symbolizes a leader (someone over that government or power). We have several prophetic beasts with seven heads. There are several ways to interpret the beasts. One is to view the beast of Revelation 17 as the same beast of Revelation 13 and perhaps related to the seven-headed dragon beast of Revelation 12. Another is to consider them as representing totally different powers. A final way is to view them as representing the same power but in different time periods. There has been strong posturing to adopt a historical interpretation of this beast. As we shall see, this locks out clear end-time prophetic messages.          

We will discover as this chapter unfolds that it is best to view the seven-headed beast of Revelation 13 and 17 as representing the same power – the papacy. But regarding time sequence, chapter 13 follows chapter 17.

Isaiah talks of our sins being as scarlet and that they can become as white as snow. This implies that our sins are cleansed – removed – they have disappeared. Red or crimson stands out. It is bold. Symbolically, it suggests something is tainted. The beast is tainted with sin. One could even say it represents sin. But why is this beast red and the one in Revelation 13 is not.

There is a second application to this color. J. Stuart Russell wrote: “The scarlet color ... may easily be recognized as the symbol of Imperial dignity.” The Parousia: A Critical Inquiry into the New Testament Doctrine of our Lord’s Second Coming.” (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1887, rprt 1983). The Vatican became an imperial state – a sovereign nation for the first time in 1929. It is imperial, dignified in its own eyes and full of sin.

      Something very important is found in this imagery. The woman and the beast are together but separate entities. The political power, the beast, is distinct from the religious power, the woman. In the setting of this chapter the angel now begins to unfold a time in papal history when the church and the state of the papacy are clearly two entities, yet are tied together. The question then comes: “Has there been a point in time where this separation became clearly defined? The answer again is “Yes.” It would have to be a time in history when the papacy functioned as a distinct political force and had a strong, well-defined religious body. Here it is again! That occurred in 1929. In that year Pope Pius XI (the first modernist pope) became king of the Holy See as an independent neutral sovereign power.

Pope Pius XI

       Vatican City became an independent state where the Holy See would reside and exercise its sovereignty. The agreement also guaranteed to keep open lines of communication between the Vatican and the rest of the world – telephone, postal and rail links. Italy was to build a rail station inside the Vatican. The Lateran Treaty was formally signed on February 11, 1929. The Vatican thus, for the first time in history, became the smallest independent state in the world (108 acres). Paul Johnson, The Papacy (Barnes and Noble, Inc., Weidenfelf and Nicolson, 1997), p. 196.

      Now a new era enters the papacy. Ambassadors were quickly appointed to various countries. Various countries reciprocated. The papacy had become a sovereign church state. The angel’s description of the beast and the woman now takes on new significance. History now presents this satanic power as having these two distinct entities. 1929 becomes a pivotal prophetic time in our understanding of Revelation 17. Thus, an analysis of the first three verses of chapter 17 means that the angel is opening up a prophetic view of the papacy from 1929 on.

      The third verse also says that the beast had seven heads and ten horns. We will move into the meaning of both of these as the discussion matures. But it might be prudent to say in passing, heads mean leaders or controlling individuals. There are seven distinct leaders of the papacy that are represented. The horns represent political or ruling powers or leaders over specific entities. There are ten horns or ten unique powers bonded to the papacy in some way that act as a force to carry out its will.

      Of great importance is what is written all over the crimson beast. Various translations suggest that the blasphemies against God are many. Numerous issuings of defiance against God are recorded all over the animal. The papacy is labeled repeatedly in all its parts with acts of defiance against God. Taking this a step further, the papacy from 1929 on will be guilty of horrible dogmas, acts and words against God. This labeling helps to understand that this beast is the same as the one in Revelation 13!

“And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:” (vs 4).

      This verse refines our understanding of the woman. She is clad or arrayed in purple and scarlet. The imagery suggests a picture of royalty, pomp and arrogance. It is a striking contrast to the woman of Revelation 19:7-8 who will be the wife of the Lamb. That church is humbly and simply dressed in fine linen, clean and white. Intriguingly, the white linen represents the righteousness of the saints (verse 8). The scarlet of the harlot represents being clothed with sin; the purple, the claim to royalty and authority. “How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, ... for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.” Revelation 18:7.

      The adornment of gold, precious stones and pearls is to make her outwardly attractive. These parallel the seductive appearances of a prostitute. It also presents a deep imagery of the Catholic Church where the senses are stupified by glamour and the awesome appearance of opulence in its churches and religious rites.

      “While Romanism is based upon deception, it is not a coarse and clumsy imposture. The religious service of the Roman Church is a most impressive ceremonial. Its gorgeous display and solemn rites fascinate the senses of the people and silence the voice of reason and of conscience. The eye is charmed. Magnificent churches, imposing processions, golden altars, jeweled shrines, choice paintings, and exquisite sculpture appeal to the love of beauty. The ear also is captivated. The music is unsurpassed. The rich notes of the deep-toned organ, blending with the melody of many voices as it swells through the lofty domes and pillared aisles of her grand cathedrals, cannot fail to impress the mind with awe and reverence.” The Great Controversy, p. 566.

      The golden cup in the woman’s hand – the receptacle that is passed out to others – contains something she wants to use to influence or share with others. The Scripture says that the cup was full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. The woman – the papal system of worship (the Roman Catholic Church) – has prostituted, degraded, cheapened and adulterated the purity of truth and the gospel. Her cup is full of unclean and false doctrine. A cup held up is a form of celebration. The woman honors falsehood. She flaunts her power to change laws. She becomes an abomination to God.

“And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (vs 5).

      Each descriptive image becomes a metaphor for the next effigy. One builds upon another. The angel is reinforcing again and again the heinous anti-God picture of both beast and woman. But now, with focused interest, John’s attention is drawn to the forehead of the woman. On the forehead – the center of thought and character of this apostate church – he sees a name or words that define its very nature. “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”

      Let’s look with care at the four parts of this inscription. The word “mystery” does not appear in all translations. In the RSV it is placed in this context: “On her forehead was written a name of mystery.” In using this word, the implication is that of wonder or marvel – it does not suggest the name cannot be understood. Rather it appears as if to convey, “this is the wonder and marvel of this woman.” It is less of a name (the word “name” is often absent in various translations) and more of a caption of what this woman represents. It is her functional title.

      The woman is a mother of harlots. She has offspring. Something has come out of her. She has children that are like her. They are women – other churches. They are harlots – they also adulterate truth.

      “Benedict 13th, in his proclamation of the Jubilee, A.D. 1725, explains this sufficiently. His words are, ‘This catholic and apostolical Roman church is the head of the world, the Mother of all believers, the Faithful Interpreter of God, and Mistress of all churches.” Quoted: Greg, Steve – editors, Revelation, Four Views – A Parallel Commentary (Nashville, TN, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1997), p. 402 (emphasis added).

      Most fascinating is this claim of the papacy that she is the “mother of all believers,” the “mistress of all churches.” The plea of the late Pope John Paul II to the Protestant world was to “come back home.”

      “The description of the woman as arrayed in purple and scarlet and decked with gold, precious stones, and pearls is all too familiar to one acquainted with the trappings of ecclesiastical pomp today and especially of high officials in the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches.... It has been noted by many writers that the iniquitous and pagan rites of Babylon crept into the early church and were largely responsible for the corruptions incorporated in Roman Catholicism from which Protestantism separated itself in the Middle Ages.” Walvoord, John, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Chicago, IL: Moody, 1996.

      This is not an isolated position in the Protestant world:

      “It is hard to escape the conclusion that the Roman church is the harlot. But this is not the whole picture, for the apostate church is not merely the Roman church. It will include other groups in a family relationship with their mother.” Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Revelation, Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1968.

      This little phrase, “Mother of Harlots” gives to us a powerful clue as to when the prophecy of Revelation 17 applies! When the Protestant churches broke away from the papacy, they were not harlots. They were part of God’s people seeking to find direction and communion from God’s Word. The Catholic Church would not become the mother of apostate churches until the pure thrust of the Reformation became adulterated and tainted. Pope Pius XI came into power in 1922. He was a politician and a religious leader. Though he forbade Catholic participation in ecumenical initiatives, he fostered links with eastern-rite churches. However, there was a significant ecumenical conference in Stockholm in 1925 called the “Life and Work.” This began the momentum of all subsequent ecumenical work by which Protestants began to compromise their doctrinal heritage of the Reformation. Thus – the prophecy of Revelation 17 is an end-time prophecy that commences sometime after 1925 when the children of the harlot also become harlots!

      The forehead title begins by saying “BABYLON THE GREAT.” Babylon derives its roots from Babel, as in the Tower of Babel. Originally, it meant “the gate of God.”

      “Harlot Babylon considers herself a gate of God, the gate of God. Extra ecclesiam non salus est was for centuries her official Latin doctrine, ‘Outside the church [of Rome] there is no salvation.’ But evidently in God’s sight she was a place of confusion. Her teaching, a misleading mixture of truth and error, created a monumental muddle.” C. Mervyn Maxwell, God Cares, vol. 2 (on Revelation), Boise, Idaho: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1985, p. 460.

“The message of Revelation 14, announcing the fall of Babylon, must apply to religious bodies that were once pure and have become corrupt. Since this message follows the warning of the judgment, it must be given in the last days; therefore it cannot refer to the Roman Church alone, for that church has been in a fallen condition for many centuries. Furthermore, in the eighteenth chapter of the Revelation the people of God are called upon to come out of Babylon. According to this scripture, many of God’s people must still be in Babylon. And in what religious bodies are the greater part of the followers of Christ now to be found? Without doubt, in the various churches professing the Protestant faith. At the time of their rise these churches took a noble stand for God and the truth, and His blessing was with them. Even the unbelieving world was constrained to acknowledge the beneficent results that followed an acceptance of the principles of the gospel.” The Great Controversy, p. 383 (emphasis added).

      When did the noble stand for God change to a stand against Him? The prophecy of Revelation 17 declares that the application is at the time of the end.

“And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration” (vs 6).

      It is a church that is responsible for the death of saints. So significant is this, the church is drunk or intoxicated by its power to kill those who witness for Jesus.

      Dave Hunt in his provocative book, A Woman Rides the Beast, has these comments:

      “‘The horrid conduct of this Holy Office (Inquisition) weakened the power and diminished the population of Spain ... by emulating on its flaming shambles more than thee hundred thousand victims.’ Jean Antoin Llorente, Secretary to the Spanish Inquisition, p. 242, 1790-92.

      “Failure to give whole hearted allegiance to the pope was considered treason against the state punishable by death. Here was the basis for slaughtering millions. (p. 243).

      “Remember, it is not that the woman’s hands that are red with blood but that she is drunk with the blood of martyrs. Her condition depicts a church that not only kills but tortures its pitiful victims for days and even weeks. (p. 249).

      “The Catholic Inquisition in Holland ... burned tens of thousands at the stake for espousing the baptism of adults who had come to a personal faith in Christ.” (p. 258). Dave Hunt, A Woman Rides the Beast, (Harvest House Publishers; Eugene, OR; 1994).

      Hunt is right. The blood of the millions slaughtered for Jesus made the Catholic Church drunk by its torture. Consider this:

      “The Roman Catholic Church, uniting the forms of paganism and Christianity, and, like paganism, misrepresenting the character of God, has resorted to practices no less cruel and revolting. In the days of Rome’s supremacy there were instruments of torture to compel assent to her doctrines. There was the stake for those who would not concede to her claims. There were massacres on a scale that will never be known until revealed in the judgment. Dignitaries of church studied, under Satan their master, to invent means to cause the greatest possible torture and not end the life of the victim. In many cases the infernal process was repeated to the utmost limit of human endurance, until nature gave up the struggle, and the sufferer hailed death as a sweet release.” The Great Controversy, p. 569.

      Those spectacles actually show the historical triumphs of the harlot’s sin. But that was in the Dark Ages. This chapter is end-time. Those same persecutions will be revisited.

      John had some sensitivity as to the hideous nature of this terrifying scene and what the harlot symbolized. The Living Bible has a unique and probably accurate sentiment of this apostle: “I stared at her in horror.” He is mystified at the scene. This evokes a reaction from the angel.

      Since the torture of saints is pre-end-time, it is an affirming statement as to who this woman is. It also reveals another issue. She is here drunk at the time of the end. Her evil, murderous nature has not changed, and during the time of the end she will experience the same intoxication again, causing death (same as the fourth Seal of Revelation 6 and the martyred saints in the fifth Seal).

      “God’s word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution.” The Great Controversy, p. 581 (emphasis added).

“And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns” (vs 7).

      The angel questions John: “Why are you so amazed? Is this arrogant behaviour so surprising when there is so much sin and blasphemies against God? Put things in perspective, John. Look, I’ll explain to you what the woman and the beast represent and mean.”

      This now brings us to another transition in chapter 17 of John’s experience with this angel. It is now time to explain what the significance of the Vatican nation and the Catholic Church is after 1929. This is what this apostate church and civil power will be like right at the end of time.

      In this context, we can approach what now is to come with greater confidence. The interpretation is contemporary. Like Protestant pioneers discovered the contemporary understanding of Christ entering the Most Holy place in the sanctuary in heaven, we can understand through concurrent revelation what is evolving with the papacy now as it relates to the end of time.

“The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is” (vs 8).

      John’s attention is now drawn away from the woman back to the beast. The angel said “it was” (existed in the past); “is not” (left the world scene); and clearly, it now “is” – “the beast that thou sawest.” It is a beast that is present at the time designated for the prophecy to be fulfilled. As we discussed above, it could only be after 1929. John is drawn into the future with this vision. And in that context, the beast (the papacy) “is.” But, there was a time it was not, and before that, when it existed. This reinforces our earlier position that the presentation of the beast represents the papacy in different prophetic time periods.

      When did the beast in the past exist? We are told in Daniel 7:25 that the papacy would have power over a 1260-year period from 538 A.D. (when Justinian, a strong leader at Constantinople, awarded the pope to be head of the Christian churches) to 1798 (when the pope was taken prisoner – a crippling blow to the papacy). This was followed by land being taken from the Catholic Church (1870) and a time of complexity and impaired influence in the world at large. Though many landmark events occurred within the Catholic Church’s hierarchy during this period (especially 1869-1929), its world influence was compromised. Then in 1929, with that Lateran Treaty, the beast came fully alive. It had ascended out of a bottomless pit. This was to be for only a short time because soon there would be a rapid transition to its doom. The next historical scene of this beast is its final doom – it goes into perdition, which was described in the previous chapter.

      “The beast that thou sawest.” That is, the beast of verse 3 (John was not shown the beast in either its “was” or its “is not” state but in its revived state, following the “is not” period. However, the angel briefly recounts the past career of this fearful creature by way of identifying the beast as John saw it.

      “At the time John saw this beast in vision it had already ‘ascended out of the bottomless pit.’” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 853.

      Reinforcing the historic event of 1929 is this statement:

      “All the world wondered after the beast.... And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” If ch. 13 here refers to the same event as ch. 17:8, it follows that the statement ‘his deadly wound was healed’ (ch. 13:3) is equivalent to the expression ‘shall ascend out of the bottomless pit.’” Ibid. This would mean that the beast that “yet is” is now alive.

      Again, viewing the scene in a historical setting, tying in the rise and fall of kingdoms doesn’t fit. The imagery and symbolism is end-time. The evidence puts us into the 1929 period on. The unconsecrated people who have not their names written in the Book of Life will be enamored by the papacy. It appears that the angel is saying that because of what has happened to the papacy, its modern day/end-time charismatic presence causes people to marvel over this power.

      “All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life.” Revelation 13:8. An outcome of this papal allegiance:

      “Protestants little know what they are doing when they propose to accept the aid of Rome in the work of Sunday exaltation. While they are bent upon the accomplishment of their purpose, Rome is aiming to re-establish her power, to recover her lost supremacy. Let the principle once be established in the United States that the church may employ or control the power of the state; that religious observances may be enforced by laws; in short, that the authority of church and state is to dominate the conscience, and the triumph of Rome in this country is assured. The Great Controversy, p. 581.

      Some contend that the beast is the devil. As we shall discover, the Bible gives the beast a dual identity. The primary imagery is of the papacy. In verse 11 the symbolism changes and a picture of Satan emerges as the conflict of the ages comes to a close – that is, a later application.

“And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth” (vs 9).

      The wording of the first part of this verse is similar to that of the last verse of chapter 13. “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding....” In 13:18 is a special check on one’s interpretation – it is like the messenger is saying to all readers, “if you still have uncertainty as to who we are talking about (the beast), here is the number of his name.” In 17:9 is another invitation – “think carefully, this is a verification as to who the beast power is.”

      The woman is sitting on seven mountains or hills (as some translations say). What apostate religious power is sitting on seven hills? Rome is often referred to as the City of Seven Hills by men such as Horace, Virgil, Martial and Cicero and Propertius as noted in the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 855. Modern writers of commentaries hold similar views, such as Adam Clark, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Holy Bible (Grand Rapids, Baker Book House, 1967).

      The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, pp. 854-855 reviews the many positions of various writers. There is a significant clue that tells us how to interpret the seven heads/hills in this verse. Besides the beast being from an end-time period, the woman is associated with the seven heads. She is sitting on them – is an intricate part of them. If we apply historical powers, such as Assyria, Egypt, Persia, etc. to them, it brings uncertainty to the rest of the chapter. For the heads are associated with the woman or the Roman Catholic Church! Those ancient nations existed before the papacy ever came into being. So we must look for a more contemporary explanation. Since there has been ample evidence of this power from 1929 on, the view of Clark and others that this is the Catholic Church sitting in Rome is a clearer meaning of verse 9.

“And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space” (vs 10).

      The angel just addressed the seven heads as being seven hills. Immediately, he gives another meaning to these heads. They are also “seven kings.” A king is a ruler of a sovereign nation or empire. The heads are part of the beast or papacy. The time the papacy became a sovereign nation was in February, 1929. The “king of the papacy,” the head of the Holy See (the Vatican) is the pope. If we try to assign countries or nations to the heads, we break apart the imagery of the beast. To do this interjects a disassociation between the broad messages the angel is giving. Historically, we already segregated the Catholic Church from the Vatican state. The angel pleads, have the mind of wisdom. Interpret the message in the simplest most reasonable way possible.

      “As we near the close of this world’s history, the prophecies relating to the last days especially demand our study. The last book of the New Testament Scriptures is full of truth that we need to understand. Satan has blinded the minds of many so that they have been glad of any excuse for not making the Revelation their study. But Christ through His servant John has here declared what shall be in the last days.” Maranatha, page 30 (emphasis added).

      As this chapter and specifically this verse is studied, a very logical and simple picture emerges. The woman (the Catholic Church), the beast (the papacy, the Holy See, the Vatican state) and the heads (the popes, leaders of the Holy See) are all next to each other. They are associated together in this particular time period. There can be no other conclusion that draws together the meaning of the Vatican leadership than to view the heads as seven sequential popes, beginning in 1929, when the church became a sovereign power. [Note: The head that was wounded in chapter 13’s beast is seen as the pope that was taken prisoner – Pope Pius VI. Why can’t the heads of Revelation 17 refer to popes also?]

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Before we move to elaborate on this further, it would aid our sensitivity to look at a principle outlined by the late Ellen G. White, an amazing Bible expositor. There have been myriads of interpretations levied on the book of Revelation. Chapter 17 is of no exception. Understanding and application is progressive. God designed the messages to bring special blessings at appropriate times. At any given time there is a level of God’s revealing for that time.

      “Even the prophets who were favored with the special illumination of the Spirit did not fully comprehend the import of the revelations committed to them. The meaning was to be unfolded from age to age as the people of God should need the instruction therein contained.” The Great Controversy, pp. 344-345.

      They had the Bible, as we have; but the time for the unfolding of special truth in relation to the closing scenes of this earth’s history is during the last generations that shall live upon the earth. (Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 692-693).

      We have chosen for discussion purposes to call this concurrent revelation. In His infinite wisdom, prophecy fills generational needs. Hope is affirmed in just the needed way to inspire God’s people to press forward. Understanding where we are in the sequence of end-time events becomes a powerful incentive to prepare for heaven.

      “The prophecies of Daniel and of John are to be understood. They interpret each other. They give to the world truths which every one should understand. These prophecies are to be witnesses in the world. By their fulfillment in these last days they will explain themselves.” E. G. White, Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 949 (emphasis added).

      Assurance after assurance has been given that at the end diligent study will be rewarded with understanding. This is wonderful. The prophetic secrets of God shared with His servants so long ago are for us. Like discovering a treasure, Daniel and John held the container full of treasure but were not permitted to open it up. Future generations would be given that privilege. To them, they rested in being the mouthpieces for special messages from heaven.

      “As we near the close of this world’s history, the prophecies recorded by Daniel demand our special attention, as they relate to the very time in which we are living. With them should be linked the teachings of the last book of the New Testament Scriptures. Satan has led many to believe that the prophetic portions of the writings of Daniel and of John the revelator cannot be understood. But the promise is plain that special blessing will accompany the study of these prophecies. ‘The wise shall understand’ (verse 10), was spoken of the visions of Daniel that were to be unsealed in the latter days; and of the revelation that Christ gave to His servant John for the guidance of God’s people all through the centuries, the promise is, ‘Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein.’ Revelation 1:3.” Prophets and Kings, pp. 547-548.

      Again, the prophetic messages are to be understood at the end of time. What value is this? Why have prophecies? Why have passages that require intense research to grasp? God is drawing our interest and attention to the scenes and events which immediately precede His return. As Satan will seek to affirm his lordship through spiritualism, God is affirmed through the fulfillment of end-time prophecy. Confidence is inspired in the sovereign Father as at no other time in history as we observe unfolding events foretold centuries ago. His omniscience is verified as His foreknowledge becomes our experience.

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Picking up where we left off , the angel says of these heads or leaders of the papacy: Five popes are fallen, one is, and the other is yet to come; and when that pope comes, he will lead only a short time.

      In 1929 Pope Pius XI was in power. He was an aggressive pope with a world view and with a passion to control the United States with Catholic dogma. He had little interest in church and state separation. He was the first pope to aggressively take action to achieve these goals. He fostered the Catholic Action organization to stimulate help from the Catholic laity. It was during his “reign” that the Vatican became a true sovereign state. He had diplomatic skills. He devised international rules to arbitrate disputes between countries and spoke out vigorously against fascism and communism. Clearly, he was the pope that helped heal the wound inflicted in 1798.

      Pope Pius XII follows. He had been Pius XI’s Secretary of State. His mission took him all over the world. His reign created controversy over the quiet permissive spirit he seemed to have over Hitler’s extermination camps. He was vocal in setting positions and recommendations for world leaders. He despised communism. He was also in competition with the ideology to control the world. Pius XII was more open than all his predecessors relative to ecumenical ties to other churches.

      His successor, Pope John XXIII, is known for Vatican II. It was there that other churches were called to participate with ideas and recommendations. Vatican II molded the church to fit into a contemporary world – and created imagery acceptable to other denominations. No pontiff in modern times transformed the face of Catholicism as this man. Ecumenism took huge strides forward. He laid the foundation for the world to see the Vatican as having a major role in peace, human rights, and social welfare reform. He courted Jews and Muslims, Buddhists and Christians. He died only four years into his power, leaving the finishing of Vatican II’s work to his successor, Pope Paul VI.

      Pope Paul VI was hesitant and unsure of himself. He became unpopular, even among Catholics, by his encyclical, Humanae vitae, against artificial contraception. The backlash was so deep that he never wrote another encyclical. During his reign the Vatican Bank became rife with scandal. He did, however, guide into completion Vatican II.

      The next pope was Pope John Paul I. He was swiftly elected by the College of Cardinals on August 25, 1978. He had a background of being an academic scholar and a pastor. He was deeply interested in investigating the Vatican bank. On September 28, 1978, he was found dead on his bed. Rumors still abound that he was murdered. He also announced that he would reverse the teaching on birth control.

      To this point we now have five popes – “five are fallen” (verse 10). “These prophecies are to be witnesses in the world. By their fulfillment in these last days they will explain themselves.” E. G. White, Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 949 (emphasis added).

      Crucial Note: “Five have fallen” refers to the time when this prophecy would be understood. At this time, as we seek to understand the contemporary meaning of this, is it possible that we have concurrent revelation working?

The pope who took Pope John Paul I’s place is Pope John Paul II. He died in 2005 and was the second longest reigning pope – “and one is” (verse 10). The weight of evidence suggests that this pope is the one “that is” – at the time of our understanding of verse 10.

Pope John Paul II did indeed emerge as the international pope. No other papal figure has drawn more favor from world political leaders as that man. He was the most traveled pope. He addressed crowds as large as one million. With President Ronald Reagan, they were the most responsible for bringing down European communism. The world truly wondered after Pope John Paul II.

“... and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space” (verse 10). As we put together the puzzle of Revelation 17, the evidence mounts that the present pope, Benedict XVI, is now the one who has come. That reign will be short. Paul Johnson, in his book, The Papacy (London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1997), p. 208, said, “Whatever may happen in the immediate future, the Roman Catholic Church is entering the last years of a pontificate. John Paul’s successor in the world’s most extraordinary job is almost certainly already among the college of cardinals [that was certainly true]. On the evidence of past successions, he will probably be quite unlike the man he will replace” (emphasis added).

This posturing is reinforced as we move on through the chapter. The heads seem to come to an end. These leaders, part of the papacy, appear to be the final popes. Something happens after the seventh. The 10th verse also clearly sets a sequence of the heads – a sequence of leaders of the beast or papacy. This infers that the heads of the dragon in Chapter 12 and 13 have also a sequence to be understood. Then follows a fascinating power after the seventh.

“And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition” (vs 11).

      The beast is once again addressed and described in such a way as to make clear that the angel is referring to the beast of verses 8 and 9 (implied also in verses 3 and 7). This beast, the papacy, “is the eighth.” The Modern Language translation says it in what appears to be a clarifying way: “The beast that was and is not, is himself an eighth king; he springs from the seven and goes on to destruction.”

      Two additional fascinating comments help to shed light on “the eighth.”

      “The preposition ‘of’ is tis to be understood in its common acceptance in John’s writings, as denoting origin, identity of nature: as Primasius puts it, ‘the beast is the essence, the concentrated expression of the seven, the embodiment of their spirit.’” Milligan, William, The Book of Revelation (London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1889) [quoted in Revelation, Four Views – A Parallel Commentary, p. 411].

The beast is an expression of the seven or perhaps better, the seven is an expression of the beast. The papacy embodies their spirit. This is carried a step further by Arnoc Gaebelein in The Revelation: An Analysis and Exposition of the Last Book of the Bible (Neptune, N.J., Loizeaux Brothers, 1915, as quoted in Revelation, Four Views – A Parallel Commentary, p. 411):

Franklin S. Fowler Jr., M.D.; EndTime Issues... of Prophecy Research Initiative
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