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 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. 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. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. 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. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Revelation 17:8-14
 

For nearly 500 years Rome itself was a republic in which virtually all free males were eventually franchised.
 
From Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia

Inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, and supported by the expanding French armies, new republican regimes arose near France: the Batavian Republic in the Netherlands (1795-1806), the Helvetic Republic in Switzerland (1798-1803), the Cisalpine Republic in N Italy (1797-1805), the Ligurian Republic in Genoa (1797-1805), and the Parthenopean Republic in S Italy (1799). A Roman Republic existed in 1798 after Pope Pius VI was arrested by French troops. In Italy and Germany, new nationalist sentiments were stimulated both in imitation of and in reaction to developments in France (anti-French and anti-Jacobin peasant uprisings in Italy, 1796-99).  From the Microsoft Bookshelf World Almanac

 
It is said of the seventh head of the Beast of Revelation 17, that when it comes it must continue a 'short space'.

We have determined that this seventh head must refer to the Papacy of the middle ages which was to continue 1260 years.  One may immediately ask, how can this be considered a short space, and does not such an interpretation do violence to the text?

We feel the answer to this question is two-fold.  First, a 'short space' in comparison to what?  And second, might this king have been described in this manner  simply to indicate that its reign was strictly and definitely limited in scope, and by describing it thus would always keep alive within the hearts of the saints that its power would soon be broken?

In answer to these questions, we must point out that if one has a problem with our interpretation of 1260 years as a short space, then they must also have a problem with many other verses in the Book of Revelation.  It was Jesus himself who 2000 years ago said he was 'coming quickly' and that the 'time was at hand'.  We are told also that when Satan was cast out of heaven he was angry because 'he knows his time is short.'  All of these periods, though described as brief, have spanned centuries.

Surely such an objection cannot stand unless we are also willing to admit that the testimony of Jesus himself is also misleading.

We must also point out that we are not alone in out interpretation of the Papacy as the seventh rather than the eighth king. John Gill, who died in 1771 wrote:

...'and when he cometh he must continue a short space';

forty two months, or 1260 days; that is, so many years, which, though a long time in itself, and in the account of man, yet with God, with whom a thousand years is as one day, and in comparison of the everlasting kingdom of Christ, and his people, it is but a short space... and this is said for the comfort of the saints, and to keep up their faith and patience under their sufferings in antichristian states.

We believe that the proper interpretation of the beasts of Revelation 13 and 17 demands that the Papacy be the seventh head, while some other form of dominion is represented by the eighth and final head.

Please see more information to the right:

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The angel of Revelation 17 explains to John that the seven heads of the mysterious beast are seven kings.  Of these, five had fallen, one was in existence, another had not yet come.  The beast itself was representative of an eighth and final king; one that would be reigning when the beast goes to 'perdition'.

This vision has been a riddle which has intrigued as well as perplexed the servants of God down through the ages.  Among protestant scholars, there was wide, if not completely unanimous agreement as to the identification of the first six 'kings'.  The first five were five forms of government through which Rome had passed prior to the writing of the Revelation.  The sixth king was the imperial power of Rome which was reigning when John received the vision.

There was however widespread disagreement over the identification of the seventh and eighth kings.  Most commentators assumed the Beast of Revelation 17 to be exactly the same as the Sea Beast of Revelation 13.

Protestant commentators believed, and with this we would agree, that the Sea Beast of Revelation 13, which was to oppress the saints for 42 months (1260 years) was a clear reference to the Papacy. By their calculations they believed that the power of the Papacy would be broken right around the beginning of the 19th century.  They believed that this would be followed in short order by the imminent and long awaited return of Christ.

Because it was assumed that the Papacy would be the last form of Roman government before Christ returned, commentators equated this seven headed sea beast of Revelation 13 with the eighth power of the Beast in Revelation 17; that which would go into perdition.  But Christ did not return as many of them had expected.  Could they have erred in their interpretation of the eighth king?

Two hundred additional years of history has allowed us to see more clearly where they may have made this error in judgment, and has cast further light upon the proper interpretation of Revelation 17.

The beasts of Revelation 13 and Revelation 17 are not identical.  One arises from the sea, the other arises from the bottomless pit.  One has crowns upon his horns, the other has no crowns.  One has seven heads, and while the other also has seven heads, the entire beast is said to be an eighth also.  One is to have a strictly limited and revealed duration - 1260 years, the other is given no specified time limit. 

Many commentators who did not believe that either of these beasts represented the Papacy pointed out these inconsistencies.  They also asked; if the Papacy is the beast of Revelation 17, then how can it also be the woman riding the beast?  It would seem that the expectation of Christ's imminent return blinded many commentators to these problems, and led them to believe the eighth king to be the papacy which would soon go into perdition.

But was such an interpretation even likely?  John is told of the eighth king that it 'was, and is not'.  The papacy had never existed prior to John's time.  Nothing like the papacy had ever existed in history.  If it had never been, then surely it could not be the eighth king which had once existed and was to arise out of the bottomless pit.

History has solved for us this riddle, although it is sad as well as frightening that so many in our day refuse to see this amazing prophecy being fulfilled before our very eyes.

If the seven headed sea beast of Revelation 13 - a beast which came up out of the sea, had ten crowns, and was to continue 1260 years - if this beast was indeed the papacy, then it was the seventh head of the Roman beast and clearly not the eighth.  This eighth head could only arise after the expiration of the 1260 years.

This eighth head must be ROMAN.  It must consist in ten powers which once were part of the Roman empire.  It must arise AFTER the 1260 years of the sea beast (the Papacy).  It must be something that existed in Rome at one time in the ancient past, but had ceased to exist by the time John wrote the Revelation.  It must have NO CROWNS. It is now pictured, not as the apostate Catholic church itself, but with this church riding on its back.  It must end up hating this apostate church to which it owes its very existence.

Brothers and sister in Christ, it is time we open our eyes and see what has happened in our world.  It is time that we acknowledge this prophecy which we have seen fulfilled in our time and before our very eyes!

The collapse of the Holy Roman Empire around 1799, and the breaking of the Papal power did not witness the imminent return of Christ as many protestant commentators had expected. It did however give rise to one last power and form of government- DEMOCRACY AND REPUBLICANISM.  This is a power which once existed in Rome, then ceased to be.  It arose immediately following the fall of the Papal Power.  Because its power is vested in the people, and not a monarchy, it has no crowns.  It is no longer ruled by the apostate Catholic Church, but now only has this church riding on its back, drunk with the blood of centuries of atrocities and persecutions against God's true saints.  It has ended up hating that very religious system which gave to it its existence, and in the end of the age will turn against it violently. Even in our day many writers refer to Europe as being in a 'post-Christian' age.

Shall we shut our eyes and simply ignore one of the most amazing facts of history; that around the turn of the 19th century or shortly thereafter, all the nations which once comprised the Holy Roman Empire shed their monarchies and became Republics?  Shall we blind ourselves to the fact that these events occurred right around the time protestant commentators believed that the Papal power would be broken?  Will we downplay the significance that these nations reverted to a form of government which had been dormant for nearly eighteen centuries?  How can we stop our ears to the message of the Angel; 'The Beast that thou sawest WAS, and IS NOT, and SHALL ASCEND out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition'?

The eighth king was not the Papacy.  The eighth king is not some future antichrist.  No, the eighth and final king before the return of Christ is with us this very day.  It is Republicanism and Democracy, which although for a space allowed the greatest wave of Bible Study and Evangelism the world had ever known, has for the most part turned its back on God, is becoming increasingly hostile towards Christianity in general, and in the future will violently oppose the inauguration of God's kingdom on earth.

We read in Daniel 12:4 that 'in the time of the end, many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased'.  It was the resurgence of Democracy on a world-wide scale which has brought this prophecy to fulfillment.  We have made incredible, almost miraculous advances in transportation and science by reason of our free society.  But we have also shown that even in a free and Democratic society, we cannot govern ourselves.

In the 21st century the human race stands on the brink of disaster.  Our technology has given us the ability to wipe our race off the face of the earth.  We are destroying our planet and consuming our natural resources at an alarming rate.  When will we learn that mankind is fallen and not capable of governing ourselves?  The only solution to our problems is the fast approaching kingdom of God which must do away with this eighth and final king in order to begin its reign.  Only then will mankind be truly free and able to live as God intended.