Attributed commentary excerpt
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Revelation 17:10
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · 19th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
there are--Translate, "they (the seven heads) are seven kings." five . . . one--Greek, "the five . . . the one"; the first five of the seven are fallen (a word applicable not to forms of government passing away, but to the fall of once powerful empires: Egypt, Eze. 29:1-30:26; Assyria and Nineveh, Nah. 3:1-19; Babylon, Rev 18:2; Jer. 50:1-51:64; Medo-Persia, Dan 8:3-7, Dan 8:20-22; Dan 10:13; Dan 11:2; Greece, Dan 11:4). Rome was "the one" existing in John's days. "Kings" is the Scripture phrase for kingdoms, because these kingdoms are generally represented in character by some one prominent head, as Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, Medo-Persia by Cyrus, Greece by Alexander, &c. the other is not yet come--not as ALFORD, inaccurately representing AUBERLEN, the Christian empire beginning with Constantine; but, the Germanic-Slavonic empire beginning and continuing in its beast-like, that is, HEATHEN Antichristian character for only "a short space." The time when it is said of it, "it is not" (Rev 17:11), is the time during which it is "wounded to death," and has the "deadly wound" (Rev 13:3). The external Christianization of the migrating hordes from the North which descended on Rome, is the wound to the beast answering to the earth swallowing up the flood (heathen tribes) sent by the dragon, Satan, to drown the woman, the Church. The emphasis palpably is on "a short space," which therefore comes first in the Greek, not on "he must continue," as if his continuance for some [considerable] time were implied, as ALFORD wrongly thinks. The time of external Christianization (while the beast's wound continues) has lasted for centuries, ever since Constantine. Rome and the Greek Church have partially healed the wound by image worship.
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