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The Revelation of St. John the Divine · Chapter I. Analysis of the Chapter · Part 53

3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness; and I saw a woman sit upon a 514scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, 515having seven heads and ten horns.

3. So he carried me away in the spirit. In vision. He seemed to himself to be thus carried away; or the scene which he is about to describe was made to pass before him as if he were present. ¶ Into the wilderness. Into a desert. Comp. Notes on ch. xii. 6. Why this scene is laid in a wilderness or desert is not mentioned. Professor Stuart supposes that it is because it is “appropriate to symbolize the future condition of the beast.” So De Wette and Rosenmüller. The imagery is changed somewhat from the first appearance of the harlot in ver. 1. There she is represented as “sitting upon many waters.” Now she is represented as “riding on a beast,” and of course the imagery is adapted to that. Possibly there may have been no intentional significancy in this; but on the supposition, as the interpretation has led us to believe all along, that this refers to Papal Rome, may not the propriety of this be seen in the condition of Rome and the adjacent country, at the rise of the Papal power? That had its rise (see Notes on Da. vii. 25, seq.) after the decline of the Roman civil power, and properly in the time of Clovis, Pepin, or Charlemagne. Perhaps its first visible appearance, as a power that was to influence the destiny of the world, was in the time of Gregory the Great, A.D. 590‒605. On the supposition that the passage before us refers to the period when the Papal power became thus marked and defined, the state of Rome at this time, as described by Mr. Gibbon, would show with what propriety the term wilderness or desert might be then applied to it. The following extract from this author, in describing the state of Rome at the accession of Gregory the Great, has almost the appearance of being a designed commentary on this passage, or is, at anyrate, such as a partial interpreter of this book would desire and expect to find. Speaking of that period, he says (Decline and Fall, iii. 207‒211):—“Rome had reached, about the close of the sixth century, the lowest period of her depression. By the removal of the seat of empire, and the successive loss of the provinces, the sources of public and private opulence were exhausted; the lofty tree under whose shade the nations of the earth had reposed was deprived of its leaves and branches, and the sapless trunk was left to wither on the ground. The ministers of command and the messengers of victory no longer met on the Appian or Flaminian Way; and the hostile approach of the Lombards was often felt and continually feared. The inhabitants of a potent and peaceful capital, who visit without an anxious thought the garden of the adjacent country, will faintly picture in their fancy the distress of the Romans; they shut or opened their gates with a trembling hand, beheld from the walls the flames of their houses, and heard the lamentations of their brethren who were coupled together like dogs, and dragged away into distant slavery beyond the sea and the mountains. Such incessant alarms must annihilate the pleasures, and interrupt the labours of a rural life; and the Campagna of Rome was speedily reduced to the state of a dreary WILDERNESS, in which the land is barren, the waters are impure, and the air is infectious. Curiosity and ambition no longer attracted the nations to the capital of the world; but if chance or necessity directed the steps of a wandering stranger, he contemplated with horror the vacancy and solitude of the city; and might be tempted to ask, Where is the Senate, and where are the people? In a season of excessive rains, the Tiber swelled above its banks, and rushed with irresistible violence into the valleys of the seven hills. A pestilential disease arose from the stagnation of the deluge, and so rapid was the contagion that fourscore persons expired in an hour in the midst of a solemn procession which implored the mercy of Heaven. A society in which marriage is encouraged, and industry prevails, soon repairs the accidental losses of pestilence and war; but as the far greater part of the Romans was condemned to hopeless indigence and celibacy, the depopulation was constant and visible, and the gloomy enthusiasts might expect the approaching failure of the human race. Yet the number of citizens still exceeded the measure of subsistence; their precarious food was supplied from the harvests of Sicily or Egypt; and the frequent repetition of famine betrays the inattention of the emperor to a distant province. The edifices of Rome were exposed to the same ruin and decay; the mouldering fabrics were easily overthrown by inundations, tempests, and earthquakes; and the monks who had occupied the most advantageous stations exulted in their base triumph over the ruins of antiquity.

“Like Thebes, or Babylon, or Carthage, the name of Rome might have been erased from the earth, if the city had not been animated by a vital principle which again restored her to honour and dominion. The power as well as the virtue of the apostles resided with living energy in the breast of their successors; and the chair of St. Peter, under the reign of Maurice, was occupied by the first and greatest of the name of Gregory. The sword of the enemy was suspended over Rome; it was averted by the mild eloquence and seasonable gifts of the pontiff, who commanded the respect of heretics and barbarians.” Comp. Rev. xiii. 3, 12‒15. On the supposition, now, that the inspired author of the Apocalypse had Rome, in that state when the civil power declined and the Papacy arose, in his eye, what more expressive imagery could he have used to denote it than he has employed? On the supposition—if such a supposition could be made—that Mr. Gibbon meant to furnish a commentary on this passage, what more appropriate language could he have used? Does not this language look as if the author of the Apocalypse and the author of the Decline and Fall meant to play into each other’s hands?

And, in further confirmation of this, I may refer to the testimony of two Roman Catholic writers, giving the same view of Rome, and showing that, in their apprehension also, it was only by the reviving influence of the Papacy that Rome was saved from becoming a total waste. They are both of the middle ages. The first is Augustine Steuchus, who thus writes:—“The empire having been overthrown, unless God had raised up the pontificate, Rome, resuscitated and restored by none, would have become uninhabitable, and been a most foul habitation thenceforward of cattle. But in the pontificate it revived as with a second birth; its empire in magnitude not indeed equal to the old empire, but its form not very dissimilar: because all nations, from East and from West, venerate the pope, not otherwise than they before obeyed the emperor.” The other is Flavio Blondas:—“The princes of the world now adore and worship as perpetual dictator the successor not of Cæsar but of the fisherman Peter; that is, the supreme pontiff, the substitute of the aforesaid emperor.” See the original in Elliott, iii. 113.

¶ And I saw a woman. Evidently the same which is referred to in ver. 1. ¶ Sit upon a scarlet-coloured beast. That is, either the beast was itself naturally of this colour, or it was covered with trappings of this colour. The word scarlet properly denotes a bright red colour—brighter than crimson, which is a red colour tinged with blue. See Notes on Is. i. 18. The word here used—κόκκινον—occurs in the New Testament only in the following places:—Mat. xxvii. 28; He. ix. 19; Re. xvii. 3, 4; xviii. 12, 16—in all which places it is rendered scarlet. See Notes on Mat. xxvii. 28 and He. ix. 19. The colour was obtained from a small insect which was found adhering to the shoots of a species of oak in Spain and Western Asia. This was the usual colour in the robes of princes, military cloaks, &c. It is applicable in the description of Papal Rome, because this is a favourite colour there. Thus it is used in ch. xii. 3, where the same power is represented under the image of a “red dragon.” See Notes on that passage. It is remarkable that nothing would better represent the favourite colour at Rome than this, or the actual appearance of the pope, the cardinals, and the priests in their robes, on some great festival occasion. Those who are familiar with the descriptions given of Papal Rome by travellers, and those who have passed much time in Rome, will see at once the propriety of this description, on the supposition that it was intended to refer to the Papacy. I caused this inquiry to be made of an intelligent gentleman who had passed much time in Rome—without his knowing my design—what would strike a stranger on visiting Rome, or what would be likely particularly to arrest his attention as remarkable there; and he unhesitatingly replied, “The scarlet colour.” This is the colour of the dress of the cardinals—their hats, and cloaks, and stockings being always of this colour. It is the colour of the carriages of the cardinals, the entire body of the carriage being scarlet, and the trappings of the horses the same. On occasion of public festivals and processions, scarlet is suspended from the windows of the houses along which processions pass. The inner colour of the cloak of the pope is scarlet; his carriage is scarlet; the carpet on which he treads is scarlet. A large part of the dress of the body-guard of the pope is scarlet; and no one can take up a picture of Rome without seeing that this colour is predominant. I looked through a volume of engravings representing the principal officers and public persons of Rome. There were few in which the scarlet colour was not found as constituting some part of their apparel; in not a few the scarlet colour prevailed almost entirely. And in illustration of the same thought, I introduce here an extract from a foreign newspaper, copied into an American newspaper of Feb. 22, 1851, as an illustration of the fact that the scarlet colour is characteristic of Rome, and of the readiness with which it is referred to in that respect:—“Curious Costumes.—The three new cardinals, the archbishops of Thoulouse, Rheims, and Besançon, were presented to the president of the French Republic by the Pope’s nuncio. They wore red caps, red stockings, black Roman coats lined and bound with red, and small cloaks.” I conclude, therefore, that if it be admitted that it was intended to represent Papal Rome in the vision, the precise description would have been adopted which is found here. ¶ Full of names of blasphemy. All covered over with blasphemous titles and names. What could more accurately describe Papal Rome than this? Comp. for some of these names and titles the Notes on 2 Th. ii. 4; 1 Ti. iv. 1‒4; and Notes on Re. xiii. 1, 5. ¶ Having seven heads and ten horns. See Notes on ch. xiii. 1.

4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked516 with gold and precious stones and pearls, 517having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations of filthiness of her fornication:

4. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour. On the nature of the scarlet colour, see Notes on ver. 3. The purple colour—πορφύρα—was obtained from a species of shell-fish found on the coasts of the Mediterranean, which yielded a reddish-purple dye, much prized by the ancients. Robes dyed in that colour were commonly worn by persons of rank and wealth, Mar. xv. 17, 20; Lu. xvi. 19. The purple colour contains more blue than the crimson, though the limits are not very accurately defined, and the words are sometimes interchanged. Thus the mock robe put on the Saviour is called in Mar. xv. 17, 20, πορφύραν—purple, and in Mat. xxvii. 28, κοκκίνην—crimson. On the applicability of this to the Papacy, see Notes on ver. 3. ¶ And decked with gold. After the manner of an harlot, with rich jewelry. ¶ And precious stones. Sparkling diamonds, &c. ¶ And pearls. Also a much-valued female ornament. Comp. Notes on Mat. vii. 6; xiii. 46. ¶ Having a golden cup in her hand. As if to entice lovers. See Notes on ch. xiv. 8. ¶ Full of abominations. Of abominable things; of things fitted to excite abhorrence and disgust; things unlawful and forbidden. The word, in the Scriptures, is commonly used to denote the impurities and abominations of idolatry. See Notes on Da. ix. 27. The meaning here is, that it seemed to be a cup filled with wine, but it was in fact a cup full of all abominable drugs, leading to all kinds of corruption. How much in accordance this is with the fascinations of the Papacy, it is not necessary now to say, after the ample illustrations of the same thing already furnished in these Notes. ¶ And filthiness of her fornication. The image here is that of Papal Rome, represented as an abandoned woman in gorgeous attire, alluring by her arts the nations of the earth, and seducing them into all kinds of pollution and abomination. It is a most remarkable fact that the Papacy, as if designing to furnish a fulfilment of this prophecy, has chosen to represent itself almost precisely in this manner—as a female extending an alluring cup to passers by—as will be seen by the engraving on this page. Far as the design of striking this medal may have been from confirming this portion of the book of Revelation, yet no one can fail to see that if this had been the design, no more happy illustration could have been adopted. Apostate churches, and guilty nations, often furnish the very proofs necessary to confirm the truth of the Scriptures.

Medal of Pope Leo XII.

5 And upon her forehead was a name written, 518MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF 519HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

5. And upon her forehead. In a circlet around her forehead. That is, it was made prominent and public, as if written on the forehead in blazing capitals. In ch. xiii. 1 it is said that “the name of blasphemy” was written on the “heads” of the beast. The meaning in both places is substantially the same, that it was prominent and unmistakable. See Notes on that verse. Comp. Note on ch. xiv. 1. ¶ Was a name written. A title, or something that would properly indicate her character. ¶ Mystery. It is proper to remark that there is nothing in the original as written by John, so far as now known, that corresponded with what is implied in placing this inscription in capital letters; and the same remark may be made of the “title” or inscription that was placed over the head of the Saviour on the cross, Mat. xxvii. 37; Mar. xv. 26; Lu. xxiii. 38; Jn. xix. 19. Our translators have adopted this form, apparently for the sole purpose of denoting that it was an inscription or title. On the meaning of the word mystery, see Notes on 1 Co. ii. 7. Comp. Notes on 1 Ti. iii. 16. Here it seems to be used to denote that there was something hidden, obscure, or enigmatical, under the title adopted; that is, the word Babylon, and the word mother, were symbolical. Our translators have printed and pointed the word mystery as if it were part of the inscription. It would probably be better to regard it as referring to the inscription, thus: “a name was written—a mysterious name, to wit, Babylon,” &c. Or, “a name was written mysteriously.” According to this, it would mean, not that there was any wonderful “mystery” about the thing itself, whatever might be true on that point, but that the name was enigmatical or symbolical; or that there was something hidden or concealed under the name. It was not to be literally understood. ¶ Babylon the great. Papal Rome, the nominal head of the Christian world, as Babylon had been of the heathen world. See Notes on ch. xiv. 8. ¶ The mother of harlots. (a) Of that spiritual apostasy from God which, in the language of the prophets, might be called adultery. See Notes on ch. xiv. 8. (b) The promoter of lewdness by her institutions. See Notes on ch. ix. 21. In both these senses, there never was a more expressive or appropriate title than the one here employed. ¶ And abominations of the earth. Abominable things that prevail on the earth, ver. 4. Comp. Notes on ch. ix. 20, 21.

6 And I saw the woman 520drunken 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.

6. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints. A reeling, intoxicated harlot, for that is the image which is kept up all along. In regard to the phrase “drunken with blood,” comp. Je. xlvi. 10. “The phraseology is derived from the barbarous custom (still extant among many Pagan nations) of drinking the blood of the enemies slain in the way of revenge. The effect of drinking blood is said to be to exasperate, and to intoxicate with passion and a desire of revenge” (Prof. Stuart, in loco). The meaning here is, that the persecuting power referred to had shed the blood of the saints; and that, in its fury, it had, as it were, drunk the blood of the slain, and had become, by drinking that blood, intoxicated and infuriated. No one need say how applicable this has been to the Papacy. Compare, however, the Notes on Da. vii. 21, 25; Re. xii. 13, 14; xiii. 15. ¶ And with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. Especially with their blood. The meaning is, that the warfare, in which so much blood was shed, was directed against the saints as such, and that, in fact, it terminated particularly on those who, amidst cruel sufferings, were faithful witnesses for the Lord Jesus, and deserved to be called, by way of eminence, martyrs. Comp. Notes on ch. ii. 13; vi. 9; xi. 5, 7. How applicable this is to the Papacy, let the blood shed in the valleys of Piedmont; the blood shed in the Low Countries by the Duke of Alva; the blood shed on St. Bartholomew’s day; and the blood shed in the Inquisition, testify. ¶ And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. I was astonished at her appearance, at her apparel, and at the things which were so significantly symbolized by her.

7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of 521the woman, and of 522the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

7. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? He was doubtless struck with the appearance of John as he stood fixed in astonishment. The question asked him, why he wondered, was designed to show him that the cause of his surprise would be removed or lessened, for that he would proceed so to explain this that he might have a correct view of its design. ¶ I will tell thee the mystery of the woman. On the word mystery, see Notes on ver. 5. The sense is, “I will explain what is meant by the symbol—the hidden meaning that is couched under it.” That is, he would so far explain it that a just view might be obtained of its signification. The explanation follows, ver. 8‒18. ¶ And of the beast that carrieth her, &c. Ver. 3.

8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall 523ascend out of the bottomless pit, and 524go into perdition, and they that dwell on the earth shall 525wonder, 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.

8. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not. In the close of the verse it is added, “and yet is”—“the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.” There are three things affirmed here: first, that there is a sense in which it might be said of the power here referred to, that it “was,” or that, before this, it had an existence; second, that there was a sense in which it might be said that it is “not,” that is, that it had become practically extinct; and third, that there is a sense in which that power would be so revived that it might be said that it “still is.” The “beast” here referred to is the same that is mentioned in ver. 3 of this chapter, and in ch. xiii. 1, 3, 11‒16. That is, there was one great formidable power, having essentially the same origin, though manifested under somewhat different modifications, to one and all of which might, in their different manifestations, be given the same name, “the beast.” ¶ And shall ascend out of the bottomless pit—ἐκ τῆς ἀβύσσου. On the meaning of the word here used, see Notes on ch. ix. 1. The meaning here is, that this power would seem to come up from the nether world. It would appear at one time to be extinct, but would revive again as if coming from the world over which Satan presides, and would, in its revived character, be such as might be expected from such an origin. ¶ And go into perdition. That is, its end will be destruction. It will not be permanent, but will be overthrown and destroyed. The word perdition here is properly rendered by Prof. Stuart destruction, but nothing is indicated by the word of the nature of the destruction that would come upon it. ¶ And they that dwell on the earth. The inhabitants of the earth generally; that is, the matter referred to will be so remarkable as to attract general attention. ¶ Shall wonder. It will be so contrary to the regular course of events, so difficult of explanation, so remarkable in itself, as to excite attention and surprise. ¶ Whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. See this explained in the Notes on ch. xiii. 8. The idea seems to be, that those whose names are written in the book of life, or who are truly the friends of God, would not be drawn off in admiration of the beast, or in rendering homage to it. ¶ When they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. That is, the power that once was mighty; that had declined to such a state that it became, as it were, extinct; and that was revived again with so much of its original strength, that it might be said that it still exists. The fact of its being revived in this manner, as well as the nature of the power itself, seemed fitted to excite this admiration.

9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The 526seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

9. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. Here is that which requires wisdom to interpret it; or, here is a case in which the mind that shows itself able to explain it will evince true sagacity. So in ch. xiii. 18. See Notes on that place. Prof. Stuart renders this, “Here is a meaning which compriseth wisdom.” It is undoubtedly implied that the symbol might be understood—whether in the time of John, or afterwards, he does not say; but it was a matter which could not be determined by ordinary minds, or without an earnest application of the understanding. ¶ The seven heads are seven mountains. Referring, undoubtedly, to Rome—the seven-hilled city—Septicollis Roma. See Notes on ch. xii. 3, (d). ¶ On which the woman sitteth. The city represented as a woman, in accordance with a common usage in the Scriptures. See Notes on Is. i. 8.

10 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.

10. And there are seven kings. That is, seven in all, as they are enumerated in this verse and the next. An eighth is mentioned in ver. 11, but it is, at the same time, said that this one so pertains to the seven, or is so properly in one sense of the number seven, though, in another sense, to be regarded as an eighth, that it may be properly reckoned as the seventh. The word kings—βασιλεῖς—may be understood, so far as the meaning of the word is concerned, (a) literally, as denoting a king, or one who exercises royal authority; (b) in a more general sense, as denoting one of distinguished honour—a viceroy, prince, leader, chief, Mat. ii. 1, 3, 9; Lu. i. 5; Ac. xii. 1; (c) in a still larger sense, as denoting a dynasty, a form of government, a mode of administration, as that which, in fact, rules. See Notes on Da. vii. 24, where the word king undoubtedly denotes a dynasty, or form of rule. The notion of ruling, or of authority, is undoubtedly in the word, for the verb βασιλεύω means to rule, but the word may be applied to anything in which sovereignty resides. Thus it is applied to a king’s son, to a military commander, to the gods, to a Greek archon, &c. See Passow. It would be contrary to the whole spirit of this passage, and to what is demanded by the proper meaning of the word, to insist that the word should denote literally kings, and that it could not be applied to emperors, or to dictators, or to dynasties. ¶ Five are fallen. Have passed away as if fallen; that is, they have disappeared. The language would be applicable to rulers who have died, or who had been dethroned; or to dynasties or forms of government that had ceased to be. In the fulfilment of this, it would be necessary to find five such successive kings or rulers who had died, and who appertained to one sovereignty or nation; or five such dynasties or forms of administrations that had successively existed, but which had ceased. ¶ And one is. That is, there is one—a sixth—that now reigns. The proper interpretation of this would be, that this existed in the time of the writer; that is, according to the view taken of the time of the writing of the Apocalypse (see Intro., § 2), at the close of the first century. ¶ And the other is not yet come. The sixth one is to be succeeded by another in the same line, or occupying the same dominion. ¶ And when he cometh. When that form of dominion is set up. No intimation is yet given as to the time when this would occur. ¶ He must continue a short space—ὀλίγον. A short time; his dominion will be of short duration. It is observable that this characteristic is stated as applicable only to this one of the seven; and the fair meaning would seem to be, that the time would be short as compared with the six that preceded, and as compared with the one that followed—the eighth—into which it was to be merged, ver. 11.

11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

11. And the beast that was, and is not. That is, the one power that was formerly mighty; that died away so that it might be said to be extinct; and yet (ver. 8) that “still is,” or has a prolonged existence. It is evident that, by the “beast” here, there is some one power, dominion, empire, or rule, whose essential identity is preserved through all these changes, and to which it is proper to give the same name. It finds its termination, or its last form, in what is here called the “eighth;” a power which, it is observed, sustains such a peculiar relation to the seven, that it may be said to be “of the seven,” or to be a mere prolongation of the same sovereignty. ¶ Even he is the eighth. The eighth in the succession. This form of sovereignty, though a mere prolongation of the former government, so much so as to be, in fact, but keeping up the same empire in the world, appears in such a novelty of form, that, in one sense, it deserves to be called the eighth in order, and yet is so essentially a mere concentration and continuance of the one power, that, in the general reckoning (ver. 10), it might be regarded as pertaining to the former. There was a sense in which it was proper to speak of it as the eighth power; and yet, viewed in its relation to the whole, it so essentially combined and concentrated all that there was in the seven, that, in a general view, it scarcely merited a separate mention. We should look for the fulfilment of this in some such concentration and embodiment of all that it was, in the previous forms of sovereignty referred to, that it perhaps would deserve mention as an eighth power, but that it was, nevertheless, such a more prolongation of the previous forms of the one power, that it might be said to be “of the seven;” so that, in this view, it would not claim a separate consideration. This seems to be the fair meaning, though there is much that is enigmatical in the form of the expression. ¶ And goeth into perdition. See Notes on ver. 8.