The Apocalypse of St. John by Rev. E. Sylvester Berry [1921]

[Stone]

Part II
THE BEAST AND THE HARLOT

CHAPTER XVII

1. And there came one of the seven angels, who had the seven vials, and spoke with me, saying: Come, I will show thee the condemnation of the great harlot, who sitteth upon many waters,

2. With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication; and they who inhabit the earth, have been made drunk with the wine of her whoredom

3. And he took me away in spirit into the desert. And I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

4. And the woman was clothed round about with purple and scarlet, and gilt with gold, and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, full of the abomination and filthiness of her fornication.

5. And on her forehead a name was written: a mystery; Babylon the great, the mother of the fornications, and the abominations of the earth.

6. And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And I wondered, when I had seen her, with great admiration.

7. And the angel said to me: Why dost thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast which carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

8. The beast which thou sawest, was, and is not, and shall come up out of the bottomless pit, and go into destruction: and the inhabitants on the earth (whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world) shall wonder, seeing the beast that was, and is not.

9. And here is the understanding that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, upon which the woman sitteth, and they are seven kings:

10. Five are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet come: and when he is come, he must remain a short time.

11. And the beast which was, and is not: the same also is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into destruction.

12. And the ten horns which thou sawest, are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but shall receive power as kings one hour after the beast.

13. These have one design: and their strength and power they shall deliver to the beast.

14. These shall fight with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, because he is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and they that are with him are called, and elect, and faithful.

15. And he said to me: The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and nations, and tongues.

16. And the ten horns which thou sawest in the beast: these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate, and naked, and shall eat her flesh and shall burn her with fire.

17. For God hath given into their hearts to do that which pleaseth him, that they give their kingdom to the beast till the words of God be fulfilled.

18. And the woman which thou sawest, is the great city, which hath kingdom over the kings of the earth.


1, 2. The fall and devastation of Rome were mentioned in the preceding chapter,1 but its importance as the seat of the false prophet and the capital of a world wide empire under Antichrist demands a more detailed account. Hence St. John now describes at length the new pagan empire of Rome (ch. xvii), and foretells its complete and final destruction (ch. xviii).

The great harlot sitting by many waters is Rome holding sway over many nations" that share in her corruption and infidelity to God. Ancient Tyre and Ninive were likewise designated as harlots by the prophets Isaias and Nabum,3 St. John simply follows out the symbolism in which infidelity to God is called fornication and adultery.4

3. St. John is led into a desert which foreshadows the great devastation and desolation that shall be wrought upon the unfaithful city. There he beholds a harlot seated upon a scarlet beast having seven heads and ten horns and covered over with names of blasphemy. This is evidently the beast from the sea, a symbol of Antichrist.5 Hence the vision indicates that the new pagan empire of Rome holds sway over the nations through the power and influence of Antichrist.

Scarlet is the emblem of imperial power, a power exercised over the nations by Antichrist through his prophet in Rome. Scarlet is also the color of blood and forbodes terrible persecutions in which the blood of martyrs will flow in copious streams.

The significance of the heads and horns and the names of blasphemy has been explained in connection with the beast from the sea.6 A further development is found in verses 9, 17.

4. The harlot wears a mantle of purple and gold, an emblem of the imperial power possessed by Rome as capital of a vast empire. The gems and golden cup imply riches and material prosperity, but the cup is filled with every iniquity and immorality.7 Riches and luxury have ever been the great demoralizers of nations as well as of individuals.

5. Through her power and riches Rome leads other nations to worship Antichrist and imitate her own immoralities. Hence the harlot bears upon her forehead the mystic title: "Babylon the Great, Mother of the Fornications and the Abominations of the Earth." It seems that Roman harlots often wore upon their fore heads a label whereon their names were conspicuously displayed.8 Here the name is a mystery showing that Babylon is used figuratively for Rome as in the Epistle of St. Peter and other early literature.5

6, 7. The woman glutted with the blood of martyrs is a warning to the faithful of great persecutions at Rome and throughout the empire during the reign of Antichrist and his prophet.

8-11. The angel s interpretation bristles with difficulties. He says the beast was, and is not, but shall come forth from the abyss only to perish again after a short time. In verse 11 the beast is identified with one of the heads which shall be the eighth although it is one of the seven, and shall quickly go into destruction. Further on (v. 16), it is said that the ten horns of the beast (in Greek, "the ten horns and the beast) will fight against the harlot and destroy her by fire.

Those who take Nero to be the Antichrist find an explanation for these mysteries, which at first sight, seems quite plausible. They have recourse to a popular legend that Nero, after attempting suicide, fled to the East and would soon reappear with the Parthian armies to conquer Rome and regain his throne.10 The writing of the Apocalypse is assigned to the reign of Vespasian who thus becomes the sixth head, the one who "now is," Titus is the seventh who is yet to come. His short reign fulfills the prediction: "He must remain a short time." Then Nero, one of the five who have fallen, re turns with the kings of Parthia (the ten horns) to regain his throne and establish himself as the eighth although he is one of the seven.

This interpretation is ingenious but impossible be cause, as already noted, Nero cannot be identified with Antichrist.11 But the insuperable difficulty lies in the fact that it destroys inspiration. The use of a legend in an inspired work might be admitted, incongruous though it seems, but a prophecy without fulfillment can not be inspired. Yet according to the above widely received interpretation the prophecy remains unfulfilled except in so far as Domitian was known as a second Nero on account of his cruelty.12 If the ten horns be interpreted as the Parthian kings, or satraps, there is no ground in history for representing Domitian or any other Emperor, as their leader. Neither was Rome ever destroyed by a Parthian invasion.

The settled conviction of many scholars that Nero was Antichrist makes it necessary to refer this whole prophecy to the time of St. John and interpret the seven heads as Roman Emperors. But the context shows that the prophecy concerns events that are still in the future, and most probably the seven kings will not be emperors of Rome. "The one who now is" refers not to the time of St. John, but to the time when the prophecy shall be fulfilled.

St. John says there will be many Antichrists; in fact there were many even in his day: Even now there are become many Antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last hour."3 Again he writes: "And every spirit that dissolveth Jesus is not of God: and this is Antichrist of whom you have heard that he coineth and he is now already in the world." According to these words of St. John every teacher of error and every adversary of the Church is an Antichrist.

Nero has ever been considered one of the principal Antichrists. Sts. Peter and Paul were the two witnesses raised up against him. Arius, leader of the first great heresy may well be called an Antichrist with St. Athana sius and St. Hilary as the witnesses opposed to him. Mahomed, Luther, and Voltaire are often enumerated as Antichrists and many others could be added to the list.

These few examples are sufficient to show that Antichrist will be like the true Messias in having forerunners who typify him in various ways; and since they are types of Antichrist it is not surprising that the prophecies concerning him can often be applied to them also in one or more particulars. But in Antichrist alone will they be realized in every particular. Hence the faithful will recognize him and avoid his snares, but the rest of man kind will be deceived by his "lying wonders."

The angel tells St. John that the seven heads are seven mountains and seven kings. The seven mountains upon which the harlot sits are quite generally interpreted as the seven hills of Rome. The only apparent reason for mentioning the seven hills would be to show that the name Babylon is used figuratively for Rome, but the usage seems to have been well known to the early Christians. The connection of kings and mountains under one symbol suggests the imagery of the ancient prophecies where mountains so often figure as symbols of kingdoms and empires.15 Hence the seven heads, which are seven mountains, may be the seven principal nations subject to Rome in the days of Antichrist.

One of the seven kings devotes himself and his kingdom so completely to the cause of Antichrist that he can rightly be identified with the beast as is done in verse 1 1 . This is the head which St. John saw in a former vision where it was wounded unto death but revived and healed in a mysterious manner to the astonishment of all.

"Five are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet come," and the "beast which was, and is not; the same also is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into destruction." Any attempt to explain this mysterious prophecy before its accomplishment can be nothing more than speculation. Nevertheless we may find a solution that has some degree of probability.

Verse 10 may mean that five nations supporting the cause of Antichrist are overcome, one still maintains the conflict, and a seventh has not yet submitted to the domination of Rome, but will soon do so only to be defeated after a short time. Through the influence of Antichrist and his lying wonders, the nation most devoted to his cause will rally from defeat and be organized anew as the eighth kingdom although it is really one of the seven. It shall soon go down to destruction in the final defeat of Antichrist and the destruction of his empire.

Again the prophecy may be interpreted of the rulers instead of their kingdoms. In this sense "five are fallen," etc., would probably mean that the rulers of five nations have fallen from power, presumably by violent means, but the sixth still holds his throne. In the seventh kingdom a ruler is yet to come who will use his power in support of Antichrist.

One of the five kings, identified with the beast on account of his great devotion to the cause of Antichrist, has received a sword wound unto death13 but is quickly healed and reorganizes his kingdom, or obtains power over another nation. Thus he becomes the eighth, yet in reality he is one of the seven. The sword wound unto death may be understood literally thus making this extraordinary recovery one of the "lying wonders" of Antichrist, or his prophet, to deceive the nations.

12-14. The ten horns are ten kings or princes who shall come to the assistance of Antichrist for a short time.17 They will place all their power and resources at his command to accomplish the one object in view, the destruction of the Church. Despite their efforts they shall be overcome by the faithful of Christ who is Lord of lords and King of kings.

15. As in other visions the waters, or the sea, symbolize human society. Here they represent in particular the peoples and nations subject to Rome and with her in revolt against the Church. The seven principal ones were symbolized above by seven mountains.

16, 17. After a time the beast and his allied kings (the ten horns) will make war upon Rome and lay it waste with fire and sword. The barbarian invasions of Rome in the fourth and fifth centuries give some idea of the manner in which Rome shall become the prey of a "scourge of God"18 in punishment for revolt against the Church and for its worship of Antichrist. St. John gives no reason why Antichrist and his allies turn against Rome except that God puts it into their hearts to accomplish His purposes.

According to the Vulgate, only the ten kings will make war upon Rome: "The ten horns which thou sawest in the beast: these shall hate the harlot" etc. The Greek text reads: "The ten horns which thou sawest and the beast: these shall hate," etc. This is evi dently the better reading, as it fits into the context, God put it into the hearts of the ten kings to give their power to the beast to do His words. The "words of God" can be nothing else than the destruction of Rome.


(1) Ch. xvi, 19; cf. also ch. xiv, 8.
(2) See below, v. 15.
(3) Isaias xxiii, 16, 17; Nahum ill, 4.
(4) See above, page 45.
(5) See ch. xiii, 1.
(6) See above, page 122.
(7) Jeremias li, 7; Ezechiel xxviii, 13-19.
(8) Sieneca, "Controv. i."
(9) I Peter iv, 13; Sibylline Oracles v, 143, 159; II Baruch Ixvii, 7.
(10) Tacitus, "Histories" ii, 8; Suetonius, "Nero" 57.
(11) See above, page 140.
(12) Cf. Juvenal iv, 37 sq.; Martial xi, 33; Tertullian, Apology v.
(13) I John ii, 18.
(14) I John iv, 3.
(15) Cf. Isaias xli, 15; Jeremias ii, 25; Daniel II, 35, 44; Zacharias iv, 7.
(16) Cf. xiii, 3, 14.
(17) The Greek text reads "one hour with the beast"; cf. also above, page 157.
(18) Atilla called himself the "scourge of God."