3841 — The Beast That Was and Is Not
By W. B. R.
The understanding of this chapter involves a study of chapter 12, and to some extent of chapter 11. For this study we have not space in the "Question Corner." We will say in brief, however, that the beast with its seven heads represents the dynasties through which Satan has wrought against God's work in the past. The beast itself stands for church-and-state government over the great, dominating kingdoms of the world. The different heads represent different phases of that government. The beast becomes the beast of the head, while that particular head exists, for these heads are not contemporaneous, but successive. That is, they do not all exist at one time. One follows the other. The first of these heads was the Babylonian, under which the people of God went into captivity. Following that was the Medo-Persian, then the Grecian, then pagan Rome, then papal Rome, the fifth head, the fullest and worst union of church and state which the world ever knew. This fifth head is shown in verses 3 to 6, the government itself represented by the scarlet colored beast, the apostate church by the corrupt woman who sits upon it. This beast passed away, or in other words, this phase of the beast came to an end, when the power of the Papacy, through the state, was taken away in 1793-1798. Since that time the Papacy has had no general jurisdiction over the governments of Europe. Following that, however, there was a condition of things akin to the Papacy in some respects, yet so different as to constitute another head. Instead of having one general union of church and state, the different countries themselves set up their own national churches, and each formed the union of church and state in itself, yet all of them generally after the same pattern; and this constituted the sixth head of the beast power, an utterly unsatisfactory condition both to government and to church. But the prophet sees beyond this. He sees a restoration of the fifth head. "The beast that thou sawest," that is, during the wilderness state (compare with chapter 12:6), when apostasy was riding in triumph, and the church of God was hunted and torn and persecuted, is restored, making "the beast which thou sawest and is not" during the time of the sixth head. During the closing days of that sixth head, the seventh is about to come out of the abyss and to go into perdition. There is where we stand at the present time. The whole tendency of the world is toward a union of church and state, and that will be consummated under the Papacy. Then will be restored the fifth head. Just beyond that—lies perdition to everything connected with church-and-state government and identified with sin. It has been predicted that the Papacy would never be restored. It has been predicted that we would never see a recrudescence of the Dark Ages, and therefore they that dwell on the earth shall wonder when they see the beast, how he "was, and is not, and shall come." It is only the wisdom of God which can interpret this, and the interpretation must come through the agreement with the Bible. The seven heads are seven mountains, and these mountains represent seven kings. Not "there are seven kings," but "they are seven kings: five are fallen"—as beast powers—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, Rome pagan, Rome papal. "One is"—the mixed condition of Protestant and Catholic and governments in the old world; the other "is not yet come"—a restoration of the Papacy. "When he cometh, he must continue a little while." This same beast is also an eighth, that is, according to our understanding of the text. Just previous to the time when the Papacy shall be developed again, there will be a socialistic organization developed as a hope of saving the people from calamity in this old world; but the earth is waxed old, calamity continues, and to save themselves the socialistic governments of Europe, or "the united states of Europe," will restore the Papacy, the two counted singly making eight, but the two last together forming one, making up the number of the heads as in Revelation 12 and 13, so that the very last head combining with the seventh head is an eighth, and is also one of the seven, because it is a restoration of one of the seven. This will give our inquirer some suggestions for further study in the matter.