Revelation Chapter 17

Now what we are about to present with regards to Verse 8 are two completely different takes on the subject both of which nevertheless have their merits, and both of which could very possibly reign true in the end, the first as presented by Brother Frank Shallieu is one which I believe is (was) generally held by most Bible Students since the Pastor’s day, although of late many have departed from this view imaging such a scenario of events to impossible to fandom, this we believe is most likely due to the fact that as we have approach the end of this age with most of the Little Flock having been gathered to their Lord, having passed beyond the Vail, the Great Company class which remains with us today is now in the majority, this class for the most part is now guiding (and in some instances teaching) and directing the brethren which remain this side of the Vail.

This class unfortunately is lacking sufficient “oil” in their vessels (the holy spirit, and thus its special guidance), and so are insufficient, unable to comprehend clearly the path before them (that is with respects to the unfolding of events here at the end of the age) their “lamps” slowly going out (See Matt 25), thus they are not very competent guides of the brethren, and unless they rectify this matter very soon (purchasing more oil for their lamps), they along with all those poor souls who heed them will be in for a great surprise shortly when events foretold begin to transpire.

Now our second view is that presented by the New Albany Class a somewhat newer take on the subject but nevertheless not without its supporters, myself included. Remember since we’re dealing with prophecy here, much of which has yet to have been completely fulfilled the wise course before jumping to any hasty conclusions would be to hear out the arguments of each side before deciding the matter. Try not to allow any preconceived ideas of your own or someone else’s to becloud your ability to reason things out. A wise man once said that we should never bury our tent pegs so deep in the ground that we cannot pull them up again.

As I said we shall begin with Brother Shallieu’s presentation of the matter.

VERSE 8 “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”

“The sacrilegious animal or “beast” betokens a religious government. The beast is the Papacy, the “man of sin.” The pope claims both

(1) Ecclesiastical authority over the Catholic Church, and

(2) Secular sovereignty over the former papal states.

The beast is not, and never was, the dragon or civil Rome. Neither does the beast represent the various nations of Europe, for at no time in the past did the nations on the Continent collectively cease to exist, a requirement stated in Verse 8 as “the beast that . . . is not.”

The beast is the Holy See, the political rule and administration of papal government, viz., the pope and those about him engaged in that administration (the Curia Romana).”

The Beast That Was

The apostasy, since the time of its inception, has always existed as a church or “woman” and, as such, boasts of being the “eternal city,” against which the gates of hell will not prevail. Catholicism’s wound (Greek sphatto, meaning to kill or slay—Rev 13:3 KJV margin) unto death was along political or temporal lines. In Verse 1, the woman is seen sitting upon many waters. This is the time frame of the entire scenario of Chapter 17 except for Verses 3 through 6. Verses 7 through 17 merely show the divine intent as regards the future destiny of the beast and the woman from the standpoint or time setting of Verse 1.

John was carried away “in the spirit” (Verse 3) backward in time to an earlier period when the woman was seated not upon many waters but upon the beast. This transferal was approximately to the middle of the Gospel Age and not to its beginning. During this period the true Church fled into the wilderness—for the 1,260 years from 539 A.D. to 1799 A.D., the period of the fifth head of the beast. Within this time frame (but not necessarily all throughout), the scarlet-colored papal beast full of names of blasphemy rose to the zenith of its power in support of Catholicism, the woman.

We continue with this in our next post.