Revelation 13:1. And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.RRTSE 5.1

IN this verse we are taught that John had a vision, and saw himself standing among the tumultuous nations of the earth; and he saw the Roman kingdom rise up out of the nations, having seven forms, or all kinds of governments, seven being a perfect number in this prophecy. Heads denote governments, or supreme power: 1, Republican; 2, Consular; 3, Decemvir; 4, Dictatorial; 5, Triumvirate; 6, Imperial; 7, Kingly. John saw until the Roman was divided into ten kingdoms, all jointly reigning at one time over these ten separate kingdoms, denoted by ten crowns; and this kingdom was a blasphemous power, because they claimed the ecclesiastical power or authority over mind, and dictated how and what men should worship.RRTSE 5.2

2. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.RRTSE 6.1

The Roman kingdom, John saw, was like the Grecian in conquering the world; and his march, or power to tread under foot, was equal to that of the Medo-Persian kingdom. His laws and commands were as lion-like as Babylon, and as imperious as Nebuchadnezzar’s decree. The Emperor of Rome, who had obtained power by means of the arch-deceiver of mankind, the devil, Revelation 12:9, having received his august, supreme power over all nations, and exercised the ecclesiastical power of Paganism over the people of the earth — he, the Emperor, called “the dragon” in the text, would destroy or take Paganism out of the way, 2 Thessalonians 2:6, 8; and would give the saints into the power of the Bishop of Rome, Daniel 7:25. Thus the Emperor Justinian did give the Pope of Rome power over all the Christian churches, eastern and western, and gave him “his seat,” the city of Rome in the west; he also gave him great or supreme authority in his pandect or code of laws. This was in the year A. D. 538; from which time the Pope exercised his supreme power over the saints and kings of the earth, until A. D. 1798 — during 1260 years of Papal supremacy.RRTSE 6.2

3. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed, and all the world wondered after the beast.RRTSE 7.1

John saw the blasphemous Pagan head wounded to death and taken away, and the Papacy take its place as a supreme head. Then the deadly wound was healed, and all the world wondered when they saw the power of the Pope of the Roman kingdom.RRTSE 7.2

4. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?RRTSE 7.3

And they worshipped Justinian, the Emperor of Rome, submitted to his arms and Orthodoxy, and they worshipped the kingdom of Rome, saying, boastingly, Who is able to make war with the kingdom of Rome?RRTSE 7.4

5. And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.RRTSE 7.5

A mouth was given to the Pope, or Papal civil power, to speak great words or things and blasphemies, claiming universal power over the kings and kingdoms of the earth, as vicegerent of God; and he was to exercise this power forty-two months, or 1260 literal years, beginning A. D. 538, and ending A. D. 1798. Daniel 7:10, 20, 21, 25; 2 Thessalonians 2:4.RRTSE 7.6

6. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.RRTSE 8.1

The Papal power blasphemes God by calling himself by names which belong only to God; claiming the offices and power of a God, by his pretended power to forgive sin, not only in this world, but in the place of departed spirits. He blasphemes them which dwell in heaven, by praying to, and teaching others to worship and to pray to the departed saints. He also blasphemes the tabernacle of God by calling the city of Rome a holy city, and their abominable places of idolatry and sin, holy places.RRTSE 8.2

7. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.RRTSE 8.3

This Papal kingdom will make war with all real Christians and churches, who will not obey the laws of the Catholic church. This power will make war upon and overcome the kingdoms and nations of the world. This prophecy has been literally fulfilled for more than twelve centuries past.RRTSE 8.4

8. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world.RRTSE 9.1

And all who dwell upon the earth shall worship this Papal power, — shall confess and acknowledge the Papal church to be the only catholic church on earth: for the true church of Christ will be in the wilderness, not recognized among the nations of the earth. It is remarkable that no historian for ages ever pretended to find the Church of Christ, only as they traced it through the church of Rome. And even to this day, many trace their pedigree through her who had fallen from the true faith ages before. Yet God had a true people in the wilderness of this world, who were truly converted to God, and had their names written in the Lamb’s book of life — who believed in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, which God had prepared from the beginning of this cursed earth, as a medium of salvation for lost man.RRTSE 9.2

9. If any man have an ear, let him hear.RRTSE 9.3

An exhortation. If any man wishes to hear of the true way of salvation, let him come to Christ, who is the way of reconciliation to God, and not depend on a false church; for none but Christ has power to forgive sin.RRTSE 9.4

10. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity; he that killeth with the sword, must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints.RRTSE 10.1

The Papal supreme power, which had led the world into idolatry and the saints into captivity, will, at the end of forty-two months, or 1260 years, ver. 5, itself have to yield to the supreme power of an Emperor greater than the Papal, and the Papal head be led into captivity in turn. And as Papacy had killed millions in war, so, in turn, it would be killed by the next supreme power, in a war for the power it had before exercised over the kings of the earth. All this was literally fulfilled in the French Revolution. — Then let the saints have patience, and wait for this time, when their faith in the promised deliverance will be increased, and their hope brightened for a future and final deliverance.RRTSE 10.2

11. And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.RRTSE 10.3

What other kingdom is this? I answer: It must be an image of the one just described. It must be an ecclesiastical kingdom, for it has, or pretends to have, two powers of Christ, the Lamb of God. It also speaks with the same authority as the Roman Emperors before him. It is evident, then, that it is the next succeeding ecclesiastical Roman power to the imperial power of Rome, and must, of course, mean the Papacy; for the Emperor gave this its power, and seat, and great authority. The Papal power of Rome did copy after the old Roman form and laws of government; although this was the eighth, yet it is of the seven, Revelation 17:11. Papacy did pretend to work miracles; to call fire down from heaven, to burn heretics, and to forgive sin. Then this kingdom, which arises out of the fourth or Roman kingdom, is no less than the Papal ecclesiastical power. The prophet having in the preceding verses described the civil power of the same, now gives us a prophetic description of his ecclesiastic authority, which he exercised over the saints.RRTSE 10.4

12. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein, to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.RRTSE 11.1

In this verse the prophet describes the Pope as exercising all the Roman Pagan power which existed in the Latin kingdom before him. And he causes men to worship in like manner as did the Roman Emperors under the Pagan worship, which head had been wounded to death by the pretended or real conversion of the Latin Kings, and which ecclesiastical head was healed in the establishment of another blasphemous head under Papacy, an image, erect and bloody, equally supported by the civil power, as the former Pagan Rome.RRTSE 11.2

13. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.RRTSE 12.1

Here we have described the miracles which Papal Rome would pretend to have power to perform in public, to deceive the multitude, and make men worship as the Roman Papal power might direct.RRTSE 12.2

14. And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast which had the wound by a sword and did live.RRTSE 12.3

We are here told the object of this power: to deceive those who dwell on the earth, by means of those miracles which he pretended to have power to do, in the presence of the civil power; and by so doing to cause the citizens of Rome and the subjects of that kingdom to give the same power, both civil and ecclesiastical, to Papacy, which had before been held by Pagan Rome under the Emperors; and by so doing to establish a second kingdom, as an image or a corresponding power to the first, both civil and ecclesiastical, thereby to heal the head of wounded Paganism, and there would be established in Rome Papal what had been lost by Rome Pagan.RRTSE 12.4

15. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.RRTSE 13.1

The Papal power received great authority, so that it could give life or death, as the case might be, and cause as many as would not obey the Bishop of Rome to be killed: Papacy being the image of the Pagan Roman Empire.RRTSE 13.2

16. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads.RRTSE 13.3

And he (Papal Rome) caused all under his authority, from the infant in its mother’s arms to the aged man of many years, rich and poor, bond or free, to receive the mark of initiation and confirmation into the church of Rome, under the control of this ecclesiastical power. The initiation rite, which they call baptism and regeneration, is performed in their foreheads, and the confirmation, or token of fellowship, by the right hand. These marks bring them into full fellowship and communion with the great body of the Roman Church, and were both established by a law of the Roman Church.RRTSE 13.4

17. And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.RRTSE 14.1

No man, during the reign of Papacy, where the laws of Papacy were supreme, could buy or sell, or use any lawful trade, except such as were initiated into the Roman church, had a name in this Roman church or kingdom, and were numbered with the multitude in the great association of this blasphemous power.RRTSE 14.2

18. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six.RRTSE 14.3

Here it is necessary that the reader should exercise the wisdom given to us of God in his word, and by comparing Scripture with Scripture, get an understanding of:
1. What is the meaning of the beast in this text?
2. What it is to number the beast?
3. What is the number of a man?
4. To understand the number given, and apply it to the beast.RRTSE 14.4

1. It cannot mean the Papal kingdom; for that is an image of this beast. Then if we can learn what Papacy is the image of, we shall have a clue to an understanding of the beast. It is a beast which existed before Papacy did, or how could Papacy be made in its likeness or image — See 12th verse. Now compare Revelation 13:1, with Revelation 12:3, 4, and 17:1-7; also with Daniel 7:7, 8, 23, 24; which shows plainly that it is the 4th or Roman kingdom, and a blasphemous, bloody, persecuting power. Then it is a plain matter of fact, that it is a full and clear description of Rome Pagan.RRTSE 14.5

2. What may we understand by numbering this kingdom? I answer, it is to finish, or take it away. See a sample in the first of the four kingdoms — Babylon. Read Daniel 5:26, 30. To number, then, is to finish or take away. Compare Daniel 11:31, and 12:11, with 2 Thessalonians 2:7.RRTSE 14.6

3. What is the number of a man? It is the number of his days, or the years of his life. See Psalm 90:12; Job 10:5; 14:5, 6, 14; 16:22. See margin, years of number. The number of the years of the Roman kingdom under its first blasphemous head of Paganism, was six hundred sixty-six years, beginning B. C. 158, and ending 508 A. D.: it being 666 years that Pagan Rome reigned as the supreme power over the earth, and was that bloody, persecuting power over the people of God, which destroyed the city and sanctuary, and trod down the holy people, until its power was taken away, to make room for the image-beast of Papacy, which reigned supreme forty-two months or twelve hundred and sixty years.RRTSE 14.7

CHAPTER SEVENTEENTH