7. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? He was doubtless struck with the appearance of John as he stood fixed in astonishment. The question asked him, why he wondered, was designed to show him that the cause of his surprise would be removed or lessened, for that he would proceed so to explain this that he might have a correct view of its design. ¶ I will tell thee the mystery of the woman. On the word mystery, see Notes on [ver. 5]. The sense is, “I will explain what is meant by the symbol—the hidden meaning that is couched under it.” That is, he would so far explain it that a just view might be obtained of its signification. The explanation follows, ver. 8–18. ¶ And of the beast that carrieth her, &c. Ver. 3.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall [523]ascend out of the bottomless pit, and [524]go into perdition, and they that dwell on the earth shall [525]wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
8. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not. In the close of the verse it is added, “and yet is”—“the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.” There arethree things affirmed here: first, that there is a sense in which it might be said of the power here referred to, that it “was,” or that, before this, it had an existence; second, that there was a sense in which it might be said that it is “not,” that is, that it had become practically extinct; and third, that there is a sense in which that power would be so revived that it might be said that it “still is.” The “beast” here referred to is the same that is mentioned in ver. 3 of this chapter, and in ch. xiii. 1, 3, 11–16. That is, there was one great formidable power, having essentially the same origin, though manifested under somewhat different modifications, to one and all of which might, in their different manifestations, be given the same name, “the beast.” ¶ And shall ascend out of the bottomless pit—ἐκ τῆς ἀβύσσου. On the meaning of the word here used, see Notes on [ch. ix. 1]. The meaning here is, that this power would seem to come up from the nether world. It would appear at one time to be extinct, but would revive again as if coming from the world over which Satan presides, and would, in its revived character, be such as might be expected from such an origin. ¶ And go into perdition. That is, its end will be destruction. It will not be permanent, but will be overthrown and destroyed. The word perdition here is properly rendered by Prof. Stuart destruction, but nothing is indicated by the word of the nature of the destruction that would come upon it. ¶ And they that dwell on the earth. The inhabitants of the earth generally; that is, the matter referred to will be so remarkable as to attract general attention. ¶ Shall wonder. It will be so contrary to the regular course of events, so difficult of explanation, so remarkable in itself, as to excite attention and surprise. ¶ Whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. See this explained in the Notes on [ch. xiii. 8]. The idea seems to be, that those whose names are written in the book of life, or who are truly the friends of God, would not be drawn off in admiration of the beast, or in rendering homage to it. ¶ When they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. That is, the power that once was mighty; that had declined to such a state that it became, as it were, extinct; and that was revived again with so much of its original strength, that it might be said that it still exists. The fact of its being revived in this manner, as well as the nature of the power itself, seemed fitted to excite this admiration.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The [526]seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
9. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. Here is that which requires wisdom to interpret it; or, here is a case in which the mind that shows itself able to explain it will evince true sagacity. So in ch. xiii. 18. See Notes on that place. Prof. Stuart renders this, “Here is a meaning which compriseth wisdom.” It is undoubtedly implied that the symbol might be understood—whether in the time of John, or afterwards, he does not say; but it was a matter which could not be determined by ordinary minds, or without an earnest application of the understanding. ¶ The seven heads are seven mountains. Referring, undoubtedly, to Rome—the seven-hilled city—Septicollis Roma. See Notes on [ch. xii. 3], (d). ¶ On which the woman sitteth. The city represented as a woman, in accordance with a common usage in the Scriptures. See Notes on Is. i. 8.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
10. And there are seven kings. That is, seven in all, as they are enumerated in this verse and the next. An eighth is mentioned in ver. 11, but it is, at the same time, said that this one so pertains to the seven, or is so properly in one sense of the number seven, though, in another sense, to be regarded as an eighth, that it may be properly reckoned as the seventh. The word kings—βασιλεῖς—may be understood, so far as the meaning of the word is concerned, (a) literally, as denoting a king, or one who exercises royal authority; (b) in a more general sense, as denoting one of distinguished honour—a viceroy, prince, leader, chief, Mat. ii. 1, 3, 9; Lu. i. 5; Ac. xii. 1; (c) in a still larger sense,as denoting a dynasty, a form of government, a mode of administration, as that which, in fact, rules. See Notes on Da. vii. 24, where the word king undoubtedly denotes a dynasty, or form of rule. The notion of ruling, or of authority, is undoubtedly in the word, for the verb βασιλεύω means to rule, but the word may be applied to anything in which sovereignty resides. Thus it is applied to a king’s son, to a military commander, to the gods, to a Greek archon, &c. See Passow. It would be contrary to the whole spirit of this passage, and to what is demanded by the proper meaning of the word, to insist that the word should denote literally kings, and that it could not be applied to emperors, or to dictators, or to dynasties. ¶ Five are fallen. Have passed away as if fallen; that is, they have disappeared. The language would be applicable to rulers who have died, or who had been dethroned; or to dynasties or forms of government that had ceased to be. In the fulfilment of this, it would be necessary to find five such successive kings or rulers who had died, and who appertained to one sovereignty or nation; or five such dynasties or forms of administrations that had successively existed, but which had ceased. ¶ And one is. That is, there is one—a sixth—that now reigns. The proper interpretation of this would be, that this existed in the time of the writer; that is, according to the view taken of the time of the writing of the Apocalypse (see [Intro., § 2)], at the close of the first century. ¶ And the other is not yet come. The sixth one is to be succeeded by another in the same line, or occupying the same dominion. ¶ And when he cometh. When that form of dominion is set up. No intimation is yet given as to the time when this would occur. ¶ He must continue a short space—ὀλίγον. A short time; his dominion will be of short duration. It is observable that this characteristic is stated as applicable only to this one of the seven; and the fair meaning would seem to be, that the time would be short as compared with the six that preceded, and as compared with the one that followed—the eighth—into which it was to be merged, ver. 11.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
11. And the beast that was, and is not. That is, the one power that was formerly mighty; that died away so that it might be said to be extinct; and yet (ver. 8) that “still is,” or has a prolonged existence. It is evident that, by the “beast” here, there is some one power, dominion, empire, or rule, whose essential identity is preserved through all these changes, and to which it is proper to give the same name. It finds its termination, or its last form, in what is here called the “eighth;” a power which, it is observed, sustains such a peculiar relation to the seven, that it may be said to be “of the seven,” or to be a mere prolongation of the same sovereignty. ¶ Even he is the eighth. The eighth in the succession. This form of sovereignty, though a mere prolongation of the former government, so much so as to be, in fact, but keeping up the same empire in the world, appears in such a novelty of form, that, in one sense, it deserves to be called the eighth in order, and yet is so essentially a mere concentration and continuance of the one power, that, in the general reckoning (ver. 10), it might be regarded as pertaining to the former. There was a sense in which it was proper to speak of it as the eighth power; and yet, viewed in its relation to the whole, it so essentially combined and concentrated all that there was in the seven, that, in a general view, it scarcely merited a separate mention. We should look for the fulfilment of this in some such concentration and embodiment of all that it was, in the previous forms of sovereignty referred to, that it perhaps would deserve mention as an eighth power, but that it was, nevertheless, such a more prolongation of the previous forms of the one power, that it might be said to be “of the seven;” so that, in this view, it would not claim a separate consideration. This seems to be the fair meaning, though there is much that is enigmatical in the form of the expression. ¶ And goeth into perdition. See Notes on ver. 8.
In inquiring now into the application of this very difficult passage, it may be proper to suggest some of the principal opinions which have been held, and then to endeavour to ascertain the true meaning.