The Revelation of Jesus Christ - The Herald

of the beast will be. It would seem that this last form may be the peoples and nations, or
body of the beast, without an organized government--the anarchistic phase in connection
with which the Papal Church and all ecclesiastical and civil governments will go down to
make way for the Kingdom of God, the fifth universal empire, which will be under the
control of the Son of Man.--Dan. 7:14,27.
We next have a most remarkable and significant statement by the angel, to the effect that
the dwellers of earth, except those whose names are recorded in the book of life, will be
moved with wonder and amazement when seeing the beast, "that was, and is not, and
shall be present." These words of the angel seem to emphasize a fact regarding the beast-that
it existed once under its Papal head, then ceased in that phase for a time, and
afterward confronted the inhabitants of the earth again. The question is, In what form will
it confront the world again? Understanding that the Prophet Daniel saw the beast, the
Western Roman Empire, until it was slain and its body was given to the burning flame,
would cause us to suppose that this stage when it will confront the world again represents
the period of anarchy when the governments existing up to that time will be destroyed.
Furthermore, in Daniel we are informed that this destruction occurs after the judgment on
the "little horn" (Papacy) had resulted in taking away its dominion, to consume and
destroy it unto the end.
"I beheld, then," said Daniel, "because of the great words which the horn spake [it was in
1870 that Papacy's most blasphemous "words" were made --the claim of infallibility]: I
beheld even until the beast was slain, and its body destroyed, and given to the burning
flame." (Dan. 7:11.) We shall see as we consider the further explanation of the angel in the
Revelation visions that the consuming process, preceding the destruction of the "little
horn," Papacy, is accomplished by the beast that carried her, which means the nations that
supported her. The destruction of the beast in its last form is described in Dan. 7 and Rev.
19.
It will be only fair to note that the older expositors interpret these words of the angel
different from the above. "The beast that was" is explained by them to refer to the Western
Roman Empire before it fell in 476. The "is not" state they interpret to refer to the brief
period between 476 AD and the rise of Papacy, a period of a little over half a century. "The
beast that is," its last form according to these writers, represents Papacy as it has existed
since its rise in the sixth century.
The revealing angel next proceeds to explain what is represented by the seven heads, in
the words, "Here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains
[hills] on which the woman sitteth." The angel, as we have already noted, explained these
words as referring to the seven-hilled city of Rome. He further states: "And the kings are
seven; the five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come, and when he may come he
must remain a little while." This is quite generally understood to represent the seven
successive forms of government that have ruled from the city of Rome. The angel's
explanation most naturally suggests the question, Does the expression, "five are fallen,"
mean that such was a fact at the time St. John saw the vision? or, does it refer to a future