Does the Apocalypse Speak of the Papacy?
By John Nevins Andrews
WE find an article in the journal L'Eglise Libre of Jan. 20, published at Nice, entitled, "L'Apocalypse parle-t-elle de la Papauté?" The writer quotes from our journal of August, 1881, the statement that the great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, of Rev. 12, signifies pagan Rome; and that the beast with seven heads and ten horns, of chapter 13, signifies Rome papal. The writer, M. C. B., thinks that opinions so erroneous ought not to be permitted to be introduced among the Protestant churches of France. He therefore proceeds to refute them, by attempting to establish the proposition that the great red dragon of Rev. 12 is Satan himself, and that the beast like a leopard, in Rev. 13, represents the Roman empire during its entire history. In our age the idea has become prevalent, we might say almost universal, that there is no personal devil. It is therefore interesting to find one man who believes in the actual existence of Satan. The writer bases his argument, that Satan in person is intended by Rev. 12, on the declaration of verses 7-9: First, that there was war in Heaven, which he supposes to be the war which occurred when Satan and his angels rebelled against God. Second, that the dragon and his angels were cast out, which he supposes to signify the expulsion of Satan and his angels from Heaven. Third, that the dragon is said to be that old serpent called the devil and Satan. This is the substance of the argument of M. C. B., that Rev. 12 cannot relate to pagan Rome, and must relate to Satan in person. But we shall show by incontrovertible proofs that the heaven where this war took place is not the Heaven where God resides, and that those who overcame Satan in this conflict were not literal angels, but the servants of Christ who overcame through the blood of the Lamb, and at the expense of their own lives. We shall also show that though Satan is called the dragon because he had absolute sway in the Roman Empire, yet the seven heads and ten horns do not belong to the person of Satan, but symbolize the Roman empire through which he acts. In like manner he is called the old serpent, not because he was literally a serpent, but because he acted through the serpent to ruin man, though himself an angel. It will aid us very much in understanding Rev. 12, if we can ascertain at what epoch this prophecy commences. The first event noted in this chapter is the birth of a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and who was caught up to God and to his throne. Verse 5. Who is this man-child? The second psalm speaks of the Son of God as the one that should rule all nations with a rod of iron. Ps. 2:7-9. This declaration is repeated in Rev. 2:26, 27; 19:11-15. The Son of God was caught up to his Father's throne. Mark 16:19; Heb. 8:1; Rev. 3:21. There can be no doubt, therefore, that this man-child is our Lord Jesus Christ, and that this prophecy commences with the birth or first advent of Christ. Who is intended in this prophecy by the woman, or mother of whom Christ is born? If it was a literal woman it was the virgin Mary. But it is not true that the virgin Mary was clothed with the sun and that she had the moon under her feet; nor is it true that she had a crown of twelve stars upon her head, nor that she had two wings of a great eagle which enabled her to fly into the wilderness where she was fed 1260 days. Verses 1, 6, 14. The woman of this chapter is not, therefore, the virgin Mary nor any other literal woman. But in the prophecies the people of God are many times represented under the figure of a woman. Jer. 3:6-14; Isa. 37:21, 22; Lam. 2:13; Micah 4:8; Zeph. 3:14; Zech. 9:9. There can be no question that the woman of this chapter signifies the church of God. The sun with which she was clothed must signify the gospel, for it is the light of the gospel which illuminates the church. The moon beneath her feet must signify the past dispensation, which had no light in itself, but shone by the light of the gospel. The crown of twelve stars upon her head must represent the twelve apostles; and the distress of this woman signifies the earnest,560agonizing prayers of the people of God as they waited for the coming of the Redeemer. Matt. 13:17; Mark 15:43; Luke 2:25-38; 23:50, 51; 1 Pet. 1:10-13. John said that he saw this woman in heaven. He said also that he saw a great red dragon in heaven, who stood before the woman ready to devour her child as soon as it should be born. What did John mean by the word heaven? He could not mean heaven literally, for Christ was not born in the heaven where God resides, but he was born in Bethlehem of Judea. The heaven, therefore, of which John here speaks is situated upon our earth, for Christ was born in this heaven, and was afterward caught up to God and to his throne. Verse 5. The heaven where Christ was born, and where the great red dragon sought to destroy him, is not the Heaven where God resides. The heaven of this chapter must, therefore, represent the exalted sphere in which the church of the primitive ages moved and acted; and it must be situated upon our earth, as the facts already cited clearly prove. This shows that the war between Michael and the dragon is not, as M. C. B. supposes, the war which took place between Christ and Satan at the time when Satan rebelled against God; for the heaven where this war took place is the one where Christ was born, and cannot be the one where God resides. We have another fact equally decisive that this war took place upon our earth; for it is said of the army of Michael who were victors over the army of the dragon, that they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and that they loved not their lives unto the death. Verse 11. This shows that the victors were not literal angels, but men of God who laid down their lives for the cause of Christ; for the word angels, like the other terms used in this chapter, is not literal, but symbolic. Who is intended by the great red dragon of this chapter? M. C. B. says that this dragon is Satan in person. We say that it signifies the pagan Roman Empire, used by Satan as his chief agent in the government of the world. If M. C. B. is correct, then we have in this chapter an exact representation of the personal appearance of Satan. He has several heads and ten horns; he wears seven crowns; his color is red; and his tail enables him to cast down the stars. If he was the highest of the angels before his fall, he has undergone a surprising transformation. But we think that on reflection M. C. B. will see that these heads and horns are used as prophetic symbols, and that they do not pertain to the person of Satan. This must be the truth, as we will now show. It is said that the dragon who had seven heads and ten horns gave his power and his throne to the beast like a leopard, which also had seven heads and ten horns. Rev. 13:1, 2. And in chapter 17 this beast with the seven heads and ten horns is again brought to view. Verse 3. These heads are explained in verse 10, to signify seven kings, five of which had fallen, one of which then existed, and one had not yet come. The heads, therefore, represent successive forms of government before the empire was divided, for only one head existed at a time. The ten horns are explained in verse 12 to signify ten kings who had not yet arisen, but who were all to reign at the same time. These must, therefore, represent the empire after it was divided into ten kingdoms. The distinction between the dragon of chapter 12 and the beast of chapter 13 is marked by the fact that the dragon had crowns upon his heads and not upon his horns, which signified that he bore rule while the empire existed in its undivided state, for there was but one head at a time. The beast like a leopard, on the contrary, had crowns not upon its heads but upon its horns, which signified that he bore rule after the empire was divided into ten kingdoms. The dragon must represent the empire through which Satan ruled the world at the birth of Christ, and which sought to slay him as soon as he was born. We know that it was a Roman governor who sought the life of Christ. Matt. 2. In our next number, D. V., we will continue this subject.—Les Signes des Temps.