The dragon that gave this ecclesiastical beast its authority and seat was the Roman state. In connection with this we will consider the first three verses of the twelfth chapter of Revelation. “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” Ver. 1. The woman is the church. By believing or standing upon the Word a soul is brought into the church by the Spirit. Thus the church stands upon the moon (the Word of God), clothed by the sun (the Spirit). [pg 424] This is no disagreement with a former use we have made of the sun and moon as symbols. An object may be used to symbolize different things in different prophecies.
“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns.” Ver. 3. This dragon is the same as the dragon that gave power to the beast of Rev. 13:2; namely, the Roman state. The Roman empire, pagan as it was, endeavored to devour the church as is said of the dragon in Rev. 12:4.
We will now return to Rev. 13:3: “And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.”
As we have before observed, the seven original heads were the seven principalities, or forms of government, which gave rise to the Roman empire. A head or an ecclesiastical form of government in Romanism received a wound. The world wondered after the beast. This beast religion—manism—the Catholic sect, was now looked upon as the church. It was considered the only way to heaven. There was no salvation outside her walls. The true church was hidden. The sun, moon and stars were eclipsed. Christ had given his authority over to the pope, so it was believed, and the Romish sect stepped into the place of the true church. Christ and his church—the lights of the world—were no longer seen. The pope and [pg 425] his church stood up in their sins and abominations, and the world looked upon them as the church. This is certainly sufficient cause for darkness at the noonday.
Ver. 4. “And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
The people worshiped not only the church of Rome, but both church and state; for they were now consolidated. So the people worshiped the dragon and the beast, and boasted of their greatness.
Ver. 5. “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.”
From this text there opens a wide field before us, which we will enter for a while, and then return again to the further consideration of this chapter.
The pope's claims of power to forgive sins, to be infallible, to be the vicegerent of the Son of God, to have power to deliver from purgatory, and a number of other shameful pretensions, are certainly shocking blasphemies. Power was given him forty and two months.
In Rev. 12:6, the woman (the church) is described as fleeing into the wilderness prepared for her of God, there to be fed a thousand two hundred and three score days. Here we learn that the woman fled [pg 426] from before the dragon and was protected of God (or fed) from the dragon's power for a thousand two hundred and three score days. This is virtually the same power; namely, the Romish state and church, that continued forty and two months as spoken of above.