Fought and his angels.—Did everything possible to circumscribe the growing power of the papacy, but all in vain.—Rev. 2:12.
12:8. And THEY prevailed not AGAINST HIM, neither was [their place] HE THEN found any more in heaven.—The Papacy came out of the contest victorious. “Paganism, defeated, relinquished all things pertaining to religious affairs and contented itself with social, civic and political affairs,” so stated one of Pastor Russell's coworkers.
12:9. And the great dragon was cast out.—Verses 9 to 12 contain the rejoicings of the Papacy over their triumph.
That old serpent, called the Devil, [and] Satan.—“To this fourth beast, representing Rome, Daniel gives no descriptive name. While the others are described as lion-like, bear-like and leopard-like, the fourth was so ferocious and hideous that none of the beasts of earth could be compared with it. John the Revelator, seeing in vision the same symbolic beast (government), was also at a loss for a name by which to describe it, and finally gives it several. Among others, he called it ‘the Devil.’ He certainly chose an appropriate name; for Rome, when viewed in the light of its bloody persecutions, certainly has been the most devilish of all earthly governments. Even in its change from Rome Pagan to Rome Papal it illustrated one of Satan's chief characteristics; for he also transforms himself to appear as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14), as Rome transformed itself from heathenism and claimed to be Christian—the Kingdom of Christ.”—A. 258.
Which deceiveth the whole world.—By intimating that anybody in it except the pope has any right to say anything about how it should be run.
He was cast out into the earth.—We, the Papacy, are in control!
And his angels were cast out with him.—We, the cardinals, etc., have the positions of power once held by the priests of Pagan Rome!
12:10. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven.—In the Roman Catholic Church.
Now is come salvation, and strength.—“Cardinal Manning, Papacy's chief representative in England, endorses and draws public attention to the following clause of the Catholic faith: ‘We declare, affirm, define, and pronounce it necessary to salvation, for every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.’ And in a published discourse he represents the pope as saying, ‘I claim to be the Supreme Judge and Director of the consciences of men; of the peasant that tills the field, and the prince that sits on the throne; of the household that lives in the [pg 190] shade of privacy, and the Legislature that makes laws for kingdoms. I am the sole, last, Supreme Judge of what is right and wrong.’ ”—B. 317.
And the kingdom of our God.—The Papacy really believed that its exaltation to power was the exaltation of the kingdom of God in the earth, and so it was, but not our God.—2 Cor. 4:4.