(7) And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. (8) The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall 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. (9) And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. (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. (11) And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. (12) And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. (13) These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
There can be no doubt, but that when the whole of this blessed book of prophecy comes to be unfolded, every minute circumstance concerning it, will appear to the Church, as plain, that we shall only wonder at our dullness of apprehension, in not having discovered it before. But certain it is, that what is here said is not rendered so perfectly clear at present, as that the whole is level to our thoughts. That the seven kings are those that worship the beast, we can easily conceive, and that both those that receive the mark of the beast, as well as the beast and false prophet, shall finally be cast into the bottomless pit, these are truths we can readily apprehend. But concerning the beast that was, and is not, and yet is, and the eighth that shall arise and go into perdition, together with those other ten kings, who receive power for one hour with the beast, these things have called forth a great variety of opinions, but there are none on which we can lean with a certainty of assurance, that they are correct. I therefore pass them all by, and desire not to, be wise above what is written.
In the place therefore of writing upon mere conjecture and supposition, I would beg to offer a short observation which the present moment seems to furnish, and which, if I am correct, may be profitable. I assume for granted, (what I venture to conclude, none but the worshippers of the beast will deny), that the woman which John saw sitting upon the great waters, is Papal Rome, and if so, the late wonderful events very clearly manifest, that the Lord's purpose concerning this heresy, hath undergone a great change within the last thirty years! To what a humiliating state was this Anti-Christian power brought, before a late change raised her up again. Now, the prophet Daniel, speaks of the scattering of the power of the holy people, and then all these things shall be finished, Daniel 12:7
And that Daniel had one and the same object in view, and John and Daniel were both taught by the same Holy Spirit is most certain, by comparing Daniel 12:7 with Revelation 12:14. Hence, therefore, I am inclined to believe that the late humbling of this Anti-Christian power, is only preparatory to a greater extent of power than she hath ever yet had, and as the language she useth in the next Chapter, seems to imply. And, thus, just before her final overthrow, she shall exult in her security, and seem to bid defiance to heaven and earth. She saith in her heart, I sit as a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow, Revelation 18:7. This appears to me to be her present language, in consequence of the recent lifting up, after her former depression. I shall rejoice, if it be the Lord's will, and for the Lord's glory, that I am mistaken in my expectation, and that she will not arise higher. But the scattering of the power of the holy people, which the Prophet speaks of, hath not in my view taken place, neither are the two witnesses slain, neither hath the sixth vial been as yet been poured out. All these events appear to me, to be first expected, before that this intoxicated woman will have her plagues come upon her in one hour; and her everlasting destruction follow. And here for the present I leave this subject.